When Plucky opened his eyes, he saw Djim's upside-down face looking down at him.
"AHHH!" they both yelled nearly simultaneously.
"Djim! Where did you go?"
"Not now! The King wants us both in his tent."
"Okay."
Plucky got up and stretched. When they reached the bottom of the ladder, two guards were waiting for them. The four entered the King's tent. There, the King was waiting with a cheerful demeanor.
"Djim... Plucky. As you may have guessed, I have requested you both to carry out my final command concerning you..." he turned to Plucky and finished his sentence. "... Both of you."
After a moment, the king sat on his throne. He continued.
"Plucky, my dear cub, I wish to commend you for your service. Although you did drop the warning banner, your quick employ of the blanket alerted us to the situation in our valley. You did your best, and as such, I cannot expect anything beyond that. I, at this moment, thank you. Effective immediately, I release you from my service.
Plucky kneeled and replied, "Thank you, your Majesty."
The King smiled, then looked at Djim, who promptly kneeled and bowed his head.
"Your Majesty," he reverently said.
"I would also thank you for your valiant effort on the battlefield. Please do your best not to trouble yourself with what occurred in its aftermath. I would have you know I experienced that in my way many moons ago. It is in this spirit that I give you a new mission. I believe it would suit you to spend some time away from the chaos of war. Your new mission is to serve as a companion to Plucky on his quest to find his mother."
"Your Highness, I thank you for my new mission. I accept it and vow to do it to my utmost ability."
"It pleases me to hear this. As promised beforehand, you are at this moment pardoned for your past actions. It shall be as if you had never committed them."
Thank you again, your Majesty."
"Djim and Plucky, now arise. May you both travel safely."
Outside the tent, Plucky rounded Djim.
"Where have you been all this time?" he demanded.
"I was in the Owl's cave. I spent the night there, though I was yelling through most of it. You don't need to hear about that. I did one last thing before I left the cave."
A few moments passed. Plucky impatiently asked, "Are you going to tell me what you did?"
"I was hoping you'd ask! To answer your question, I made an oath. I vowed I would find the Great Owl and bring him back to our valley."
"Are you sure this is a vow you will be able to keep? I mean, the Witch is very powerful...."
"You don't know me very well. I have never made a vow I could not keep," Djim said as he proudly stood.
"I thought we were going to save my mother first?"
"Well, thanks for ruining my moment in the sun!"
Plucky glared at him.
"I jest! I jest! I was only trying to lighten the mood. Hey! You never know... We may find ourselves in a position where we can get all four berries in one paw."
Plucky counted on his fingers, a perplexed look on his face.
"Why four?"
"I made a vow to myself the day my parents were taken from me: that I would avenge my parents, no matter what it took."
"What is the fourth berry?"
"Seeing as I took your father away from you, even though I was under a spell, it would only be fair if I helped you look for him as well."
Plucky smiled at Djim.
"So... Pack your stuff, Plucky! We leave as soon as you are ready!"
Djim began descending the ladder as Plucky grabbed his pack. After Plucky reached the ground, Djim asked, "Where are we going?"
Plucky opened his pack and pulled out the map, still neatly rolled. Djim curiously approached. When Plucky unrolled it, they looked at the map briefly. Plucky pointed toward the silver meadow. At length, Djim spoke.
"I had thought about crossing the plains, but it's too risky now. We will have to take advantage of the protection that the river affords us."
"But the river runs right through the Forest! What if the Lions capture us?" When the Great Owl's magic was taken away, every cougar in our tribe fell into a deep sleep. Because all our exhaustion was returned in a single stroke...."
Plucky nodded, realizing where Djim was going. Djim continued.
"And as I understand it, the Lions had the same magic since you all are from the same place. No magic means no woken Lions on the hunt. We need to hurry, though. There is no telling when they will wake up ...if they haven't already."
"I do hope you are right about that," Plucky said.
"I hope I am too. Now let me fetch our canoe... Hey! That rhymed!"
Plucky chuckled. With that, Djim was gone again. Plucky realized he had not thought about his home in some time... Not since he first left the forest. Lions or no Lions, it would be good to visit his home once more.
"I'll be okay now that Djim is around," he reassured himself. When Djim returned, he was sitting in the canoe, lazily floating in the middle of the river. Plucky first smelt, then saw a few fish rations already in the boat. Plucky's eyes lit up as he began wading into the water.
"We will have to make this last as long as possible. There's no telling how far the Witch's enchantments have reached."
Plucky nodded as he jumped up and wobbled into the canoe.
"Whoa! It took me long enough to catch these fish! It wouldn't do to undo what I just did!"
"Wait, what?"
"Next time, don't jump into a canoe! Never jump into a canoe!"
"Oh... Sorry," Plucky sheepishly replied as he placed his paw on his forehead. It was then Plucky noticed the King was approaching from shore. Plucky bowed his head. Djim didn't immediately see the King, who began speaking.
"I will not delay you from your mission. I..."
Visibly startled, Djim fell off the boat and into the water. Sticking his head up from the water a moment later, he realized it was the King. Without missing a beat, the King continued.
"I have come to offer my final blessing. Totsiens, Plucky. Farewell. I shall await your return."
Djim leaped out of the water and landed squarely into the canoe, then knelt and bowed his head before the King left.
"Totsiens, your Majesty," said Plucky.
The King nodded, looked at Djim with an amused grin, then went on his way. "I thought you said not to jump into the canoe!" Plucky yelled.
"I've had practice," Djim answered with a wink. "Grab an oar, and off we go!" Djim shouted.
"I'm coming home!" Plucky shouted in reply.
With the Valley of Cougars now behind them, they flowed down the river's current. According to Plucky's map, they would reach the opposite end of the river by dawn.
"The forest seems further away than I remember," Plucky said.
Djim, without looking, replied. "Even the largest fish must be eaten one bite at a time."
Plucky took a deep breath and nodded his head. He rolled up the map and stowed it in his pack.
"So... Plucky, what's the rest of your story?"
"The rest? Did you hear everything I told your King?"
Plucky asked with a hint of astonishment in his voice.
"I am a cougar, you know...." Djim said with a smile.
Plucky then told Djim the rest of his story until they first saw each other. Some time passed, then Djim broke the silence.
"I underestimated you, Plucky. For a young cub, you have already been through too much. You seem to have been handling this very well. How are you managing this?"
"I keep going in the hope of seeing my parents again."
Djim nodded once, then looked around. Plucky squinted and then hopped up in his seat.
"There's my forest... My home!" Plucky said as he pointed forward.
"We are making good time," said Djim. "Plucky, look!"
Djim gestured towards his left. They had just passed the mountains. Plucky saw a large grove of trees. Throughout the forest were many cougars, hard at work tending to and harvesting many kinds of crops. The current was not as strong here, so Djim handed Plucky the second oar. They rowed slowly to avoid exhaustion. The sun had passed the midpoint of the cloudless sky. A few uneventful hours passed, and they crossed the border of the Evergreen Forest. This gave both Plucky and Djim some much-needed shade. They stopped rowing and let the current carry them along. As Djim took in their new surroundings, Plucky happily pointed out all the places where he had romped around and fished with his friends. He told of his memories of growing up in the forest. Djim cleaned one of the fish and shared it with Plucky.
After the quick meal, they took up their oars once more and began rowing. They were now deep into the forest. Plucky shivered. They were passing through a portion of the forest Plucky was unfamiliar with. The river broadly curved a few times. Despite the canopy overhead, which blocked out most of the sunlight, Djim estimated it was late in the afternoon.
Plucky had grown tired of rowing, so he set his oar down. Djim grabbed it and continued rowing, an oar in each paw. Some more time passed. Djim decided it would be best to stop rowing for the night. They chose to remain in the canoe and take turns keeping watch. Plucky volunteered to go first. He dug into his pack – there was no fruit left. He reached for another fish, but Djim suggested he only eat half. At length, Djim covered his eyes with his forearm and fell asleep. Plucky suddenly felt nervous. After twisting around and confirming there were no Lions in their immediate vicinity, he relaxed and listened to the vibrant nightlife of the forest. He heard the chirping of cicadas and crickets on both sides of the river. He looked up and saw the first stars twinkling in the sky. They were interspersed with several fireflies flitting about. Plucky raised his paws into the atmosphere. Beautiful! He thought to himself. It was then he yawned. Sleep was coming, whether he wanted it to or not. Plucky absentmindedly grabbed his pendant and studied it. He then recalled a song his mother used to sing to him at night.
