Guardians of Ga'hoole:Rising Flames

Chapter 9:A Tale Of Escape

"I was just an egg when I was snatched." Esbjorn recounted his tale. "So was my friend Gibney, the pygmy owl. We hatched at the same time in the same nest."

"We hated it from the start. We never were moonblinked, but we were able to pretend. They never caught us."

"An owl named Dash taught us to fly. We escaped one night from the library. Nobody ever knew we did. We hear he's still working for them." Gibney said with a hint of worry.

"We decided to head for Ga'hoole, but we stayed in Ambala instead. We had a lot of owls to help. Now we decided to stay after the fire. These owls need us here to help." Esbjorn said.

"But we both hope your journey is successful. You never know what's in the Beyond." Gibney and Esbjorn bowed in respect.

"We hope you two can help as much as you can. It takes a good gizzard to set out a fire like this." Rose said. Riyu nodded, spreading their wings.

"Oh, and before we go, what might be your name, miss?" Riyu asked Naiku's mother.

"Kala. This is my daughter, Topaz."

Riyu nodded and took off with Rose. Together they flew over the charred forest and went east, headed for the Beyond.

"Aren't you an owl with Ga, huh?" Rose nudged him playfully. Riyu rolled his eyes, sighing, and then smiling. Rose was pretty good company for her type. She reminded him of Ruby.

"Do you wonder why the Beyond is inhabited by the dire wolves?" Rose asked.

"They had to migrate a long time ago to a warmer place." Riyu responded. Rose nodded and flew low, with him on her starboard wing.

Rose wondered off in her mind, noting how Riyu seemed fascinated a bit by the region of the Beyond. As they edged over to the Barrens and Ambala border, Rose felt tension rising up in the air.

She could tell that Riyu seemed nervous. His feathers under and around his eyes were slightly twitching. She felt the same as him, but knew she couldn't fully understand it.