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 stretched and got up. When they reached the bottom of the ladder, there were two guards waiting for them. The four entered the king's tent. There, the king was waiting with a cheerful demeanor.
"Djim, Plucky, as you both 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 up in this throne and 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 hereby thank you and effective immediately, release you from my service."
Plucky kneeled and replied,
"Thank you, your Majesty."
The king smiled then turned to look at Djim, who immediately kneeled and bowed his head.
"Your majesty," he said.
"I would also thank you for your valiant effort in battle. Do your best not to trouble yourself with what occurred in the aftermath. I would have you know I experienced that in my own 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 perils of war. Your new mission is to serve as companion to Plucky on his quest to find his mother."
"Your Highness, I thank you for my new mission. I accept and vow to carry it out to my utmost ability."
"It pleases me to hear this. As promised, i have pardoned all your past actions. It shall be as if you had never committed them."
"Thank you again, your majesty."
"You both may now arise. May you both travel in safety."
———
Outside the tent, Plucky rounded Djim.
"Where have you been all this time?"
"I was in the Owl's cave. I spent the night there, though I was yelling for most of it, but you don't need to hear about that. I did one last thing before I left the cave."
A few moments went by, then Plucky curiously asked, "What did you do?"
"I was hoping you'd ask! I made a vow. I vowed that I would find the Great Owl and bring him back to our land."
"Are you sure this is a vow you will be able to keep? I mean, the witch is very powerful."
"You clearly don't know me very well. I have never made a vow I couldn't keep," Djim said as he proudly stood.
"I thought we were going to find my mother first..."
"Well thanks for ruining my moment!"
Plucky glared at him.
"I jest, I jest! I was just trying to lighten the mood. Hey, you never know... we may find ourselves where we can get all four bears..."
Plucky frowned.
"... birds?"
Plucky shook his head.
"Stars... with one net."
"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's the fourth star?"
"Well, seeing as I took your father away from you, even though I was under a spell, it would only be fair I get him back for you."
Plucky smiled at Djim.
"So pack your stuff, Plucky! We leave as soon as you're ready!"
Djim began descending the ladder as Plucky grabbed his pack. After Plucky reached the ground, he asked Djim, "Which way are we going?"
"I had thought about crossing the plains, but it's too risky now. We will have to take advantage of the protection the river affords us."
"But the river goes right through the Evergreen Forest! What if the Lions capture me?"
"When the Great Owl's Magic was taken away from us, every cougar in our tribe, fell into a deep sleep, because all their exhaustion was returned to them in a single stroke..."
Plucky nodded, realizing where Djim was going.
"... and as I understand it, the Lions had the same magic, by keeping you in the forest. No magic means no lions hunting you. We need to hurry though. There's no telling when they will wake up, if they haven't already."
"I hope you're right about that," Plucky said.
"I hope I am too. Now let me go fetch our canoe."
With that, Djim was gone again. Plucky realized he had not thought about his home in some time... not since he left the forest. It would be good to revisit home once more, Lions or no Lions.
"I'll be okay, now that Djim is around," Plucky reassured himself.
When Djim returned, he was sitting in the canoe, lazily floating in the middle of the river. Plucky saw there were a few rations of fish already on board. Plucky's eyes lit up as he began wading into the water.
"We'll 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 teetered 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 hand on his forehead. It was then Plucky noticed the king was approaching on 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 from the boat into the water. Sticking his head out from the water, he realized it was the king. Without missing a beat, the king continued.
"I have come to offer my final blessing. Totsiens, Plucky. Fare thee well, Plucky. I shall await your return."
Djim leapt up from the water and landed squarely into the canoe, then kneeled and bowed his head before the king left.
"Totsiens, Your majesty," said Plucky, followed by Djim.
The king nodded, amused, then went his way.
"I though you said no jumping into canoes!" Plucky yelled.
"I've had... practice," Djim said with a wink.
"Grab an oar! Off we go!" Djim shouted.
"I'm coming home! Plucky cheerfully shouted in reply. With the valley of cougars now behind them, they flowed down the current of the river. According to Plucky's map, they should reach the opposite end of the river by morning.
"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?"
"You heard everything I told your king?" Plucky asked with a hint of astonishment in his voice.
"Well, I am a cougar, you know..." Djim said and smiled.
Plucky told Djim the rest of his story up until they first saw each other. A few moments 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 doing this?"
"I keep going on the hope of seeing my mother once more."
Djim nodded once, then looked ahead. Plucky squinted, then hopped up in his seat.
"There's my forest! There's my home!" Plucky pointed ahead.
"We are definitely making good time," Djim said. "Plucky! Look!"
Djim pointed to his left. They had just passed the mountains. Plucky saw a large grove of trees, and throughout them many cougars hard at work tending to and harvesting various crops. The current was not as strong here, so Djim handed Plucky the second oar after which they rowed slowly, to avoid exhaustion. The sun had passed the midpoint of the now cloudless sky.
A few hours later, they crossed the border of the forest. This gave both Plucky and Djim some much needed shade. They stopped rowing and let the current carry them along. While Djim took in their new surroundings, Plucky happily pointed out and told Djim of the places where he had fished and romped around with his friends, and of his memories of growing up in the forest. Djim cleaned one of the fish and they ate it raw.
Plucky and Djim took up their oars once more and they began rowing. They were now deep into the forest, and Plucky was no longer familiar with their surroundings. The river broadly curved a few times. Despite the forest blocking out most of the sunlight, Djim estimated it was late in the afternoon. By now Plucky was tired of rowing, so he handed Djim his oar and Djim rowed until it got dark. They decided it would be best to stop rowing for the night. They also decided it would be best to remain in the rowboat and take turns keeping watch. Plucky volunteered to take first watch. He dug into his pack but did not find any food left.
At length, Djim covered his eyes with his paw and fell asleep. Plucky felt suddenly nervous. After twisting around and confirming there were no Lions in the immediate vicinity, he relaxed and listened to the vibrant nightlife of the forest. He heard the chirping of countless cicadas and crickets on both sides of the river. He looked up and saw the first stars in the sky, interspersed with several fireflies flitting about. Plucky raised up his paws into the sky. 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 looked down at it. He then began singing a song that his mother used to sing to him:
