Anishift

Chapter 15

Chapter 15

(Cat)

The Fovid Forest might have the clue we need.

The woman in front of us is elderly, with greying hair that has tones of dusty red strands. Her eyes are a deep grey that is close to black, glinting in the sunlight that managed to strike past the branches. Her skin is dusty with dirt, and her nose a bit pointed. She wears a grey dress that stretches down to her feet, tears in it. There are wings on her back and a feathered tail that reaches to touch the ground. Around her neck is a grass strand, a black feather tied to it, with one robin feather in her hair.

She eyes us with her deep gaze, and Russhell answers her question. "We come seeking for certain people," Russhell answers, not completely answering the entire question. "We are passing through," She adds.

Many birds flock behind the old woman, all tilting their heads and blinking at our group. They are an assortment of colours and sizes, some rustling their wings or chirping. The woman's tail ruffled as if the wind passed through it.

"Who are these certain people?" The woman asked. "The Forvid forest is forbidden to trespassers."

"We understand this, given what it means," Russhell said dryly. "We need a place to stay for a bit and then we will be on our way."

"Who are the certain people?" The elderly woman repeated.

"The Kohaku people," I answered for Russhell. The woman's eyes widened.

"Why do you seek them out?"

"Why do you ask so many questions?" Makar asked back. "All we need is a place to spend the night."

"Very well," The woman concluded, shifting in a flash of dusty red and black light. She flies into the air, leading us farther into the forest.

The birds flew behind her, some leading off in front as well. One small black coloured bird with white underbelly watched us, not paying much attention to flying. It was small and plump, probably a songbird, with a larger head and medium long tails that were squared. Its bill was straight and thin, with a slightly darker head. The wings were edged with pale grey, and its legs black.

It flew into another larger bird as it was flying and scatter down to the ground. In an instant I snatched it up in my hands, the bird's head shifting around and it turned. Gently I let it go, and it beat its wings and flew up into the air.

We came to a village, deeply hidden within the forest. There were few treehouses and more birdhouses around, with one main hut in the front of the clearing. All kinds of objects, displaying from dull to sparkling were strewn across the clearing and woven into branches. There were nests in all the trees, ranging from large and small. The woman shifting and he birds went to their trees or houses, but the small black and white bird stayed nearby, curious.

"We have treehouses open for use if you can all take one to share. You will have to get your own food, but none of our birds are to be harmed. Understand?" The woman asks, and we all nod in agreement. Satisfied, the woman leads us to a treehouse and we climb up the ladder to get inside.

Salali opens the door first, and dashes inside to a room. The treehouse is mostly empty except for a table, so we all set out our bags to sleep on when the time comes. Makar thankfully takes the smaller room while the girls pile into the larger one.

I go out again to look around the village. Makar is falling asleep while Salali and Russhell go out to find food nearby. I don't know what to eat, and as cats commonly are, I was curious about the place.