Soara and the Owls of Ga'Hoole

Chapter 4: Flying and a Dangerous Master Plan

The next morning, Soara felt totally helpless. I mean, owls were meant for nighttime activities, not daytime ones.

"All right, my lovely little owlets." said Jutt. "That's enough beauty rest. Wakey, wakey. Rise and shine. It's another glorious day..."

Soara went to the owl next to her, trying to move her wing up and down for the owl to see her.

"Oh, no," said Soara.

"Soara," she heard Gylfie. "Soara. Where are we going now?"

"Gylfie, act moon blinked," Soara urged her friend. Quickly, Soara acted hypnotized to the moon's influence.

"Keep moving. Lots of pellet picking ahead," said a Pure One.

"You may have noticed that we don't like dawdling."

"Anything with w's in it, we don't trust."

"Come on. Shuffle those talons. The sooner you get there, the sooner we start. The sooner you start, the sooner we finish. Let's go!"

Grimble watched Soara and Gylfie very closely. He knew something was up after he saw Gylfie with her wings up. Most of moon-blinked owlets didn't even have their wings up at all. It was as if Soara and Gylfie were never Moon-blinked. There was something strange going on with those two girls, and Grimble was going to find out why.

Right above the pelletorium, Nyra was up above, training those who chose to follow the ways of the Pure Ones. She was mostly training the Barn Owls, and no other species. However, being Nyra, she didn't believe that the Tytos should waste their time with lower species.

"You mustn't feel sorry for them down there," Nyra told them. "As lower species, they are fortunate to serve a higher cause. As Tyto owls, their natural superiors... ...you too are part of that plan. One that will soon bring order to all the owl kingdoms when the Pure Ones will rule. A new and noble era will dawn. Now, prove your greatness... ...and rise."

The owlets raised themselves up off the ground. Nyra wanted improvement. She wanted them to go higher.

"Higher!" she shouted. The owls went higher. "Higher!"

Later, Gylfie and Soara were lined up "moon-blinked" with other moon-blinked owlets. They were disgusted by the sight of seeing other owls pellets.

"Ugh. Other owls' pellets," said Gylfie.

"You know, maybe it would have been better if we had been moon blinked," Soara said, with Gylfie agreeing with her. They quickly went back with the blank expression.

"Oh, here we go. Eureka," said Jatt. He grasped onto a nearby owl. "Great job, number 857... whatever."

Jatt moved on, not bothering with learning that owl's real number name.

"All right, everyone, gather around," said Jatt

"Hey, you with the blank expression," Jutt snapped at one of the moon-blinked owlets.

"That's all of them," Jatt pointed out.

"Oh. Pay attention." Jutt snapped. "He's talking."

"Now this is the kind of pellet you're picking for," said Jatt. "Mouse fur, mouse bones, that's all standard."

"But the secret rare ingredient in this one is what Mr. Mouse ate: A metal fleck."

"Metal fleck."

"Now, I'm very perceptive."

"He is."

"I am."

"And I'm detecting you..."

Soara was pushed by the owl who previously captured her when she fell on the ground (thanks to the courtesy of her brother)

"Nicely done..." Jatt said.
"You want to volunteer to take this fleck to where all the flecks belong.

They shoved the fleck into Soara's beak. The girl couldn't believe the taste of it right now. For one, it was notably unpleasant to have hacked up flecks from an owl's pellet. She wasn't that far from the basket filled with what appeared to be piles of flecks. As Soara got closer, the other blue flecks touching Soara felt like it was crushing her gizzard. A bat took her fleck and put it in with the basket. It nodded and then screeched at another bat, which took the basket full of flecks away.

"All right, more baskets to fill. Back to work," said Jutt.

"Soara, what happened?" Gylfie asked.

"Listen, Gylfie, those birds are doing something terribly wrong. We have to find Kludd and we have to get out of here, Soara explained.

"And exactly what do you two young ladies think you're doing?" the girls heard the voice of Grimble.

Far far away, two owls were overlooking the production of more flecks appearing and appearing. It was growing, and hopefully, there will be enough to ruin this great enemy.

"Once we have amassed enough flecks," said a very sinister voice. "...we will set a trap. Then it is up to you to lure our enemy to their rightful place: Into our claws."

He looked at his companion.

"And then the Western Kingdoms and the Tree," said a less sinister voice, "those will be mine."

"You have my word," his boss promised. As the strange owl flew out the hollow, the sun revealed that the figure watching the flecks be collected was a sooty owl with a mask that sported a metal beak.