Queen Of The Ventils

V

Ever since I discovered the little clearing, I had gone back every day to watch for humans.

I suppose it was curiosity that drew me to them. The curiosity of their ways, and their lives. I guess I wanted to learn what made them so, well, human. Or maybe I was going insane and I needed one of my friends to knock some common sense into me.

There were two times I had large encounters with humans. The first one was when I saw one for the first time.

About a week after archery practice, I saw her. I believe it was a female, as it was kind of short and had pretty long hair. She was wearing an extremely vibrant pink-colored top, which barely covered her chest.

She was also wearing odd, black garments on her legs, which reached about halfway down her thighs. Thick strings hung from her ears and were fastened to the sides of her leg garments, which I assumed must be a certain tribal fashion of some kind.

She jogged past the clearing, and didn't even look my way once. She just jogged into the clearing, looked at the board with words on it, turned back the way she was going and jogged back into the woods.

I was so confused. Why would she completely ignore the incredible view of her home?! Did she not realize how lucky she was to have the overlook? Humans, I decided that day, are very peculiar creatures.

The second large encounter with humans I had, I nearly got caught. There were so many of them. It was three dies after I saw the first one. They were in a group of 5 or 6, mixed genders, and they looked to be about my age. They built a large fire on the overhang, and started talking amongst themselves.

One human, a male, stood up and started making strange gestures, walking around the fire like he was stalking the humans sitting around it. Sometimes, he would lunge forward, scaring the others and they would scream and squirm around like helpless prey. Perhaps he was telling a tale of his adventures, and they feared for him.

After the male was done scaring the other humans senseless, a small girl pulled out an odd, stringed contraption and started making odd sounds with it. Then, she started plucking at the strings to form a beat, and the humans started to speak in rhythm with the girl's plucking.

What is it they're doing, I thought, puzzled by their strange behavior. Correct me if I'm wrong, Scales said, But I think that's the human's version of singing.

Singing, I nearly shrieked aloud. Humans sing for fun?!

Oh, yes, Aquarius sighed. I remember many nights when sailors would sing and dance on their ships. The thumping of their boots....the smell of the ocean...their drunken songs of longing...

It's so funny when they fall for our calls, Ela agreed wistfully. Running to us like they depended on us for their survival.

Don't humans know that singing is a sacred art, I exclaimed. A tradition passed down from parent to child as long as the Earth has stood?! It's the heart of our very souls!! Our most dangerous weapon is our voice!!!

Yeah, I don't think they got that message, Cephas chimed in. In the name of Eclipse, I wailed, These humans could make me tear my feathers out!!!

After a good ten seconds of shrieking, I realized I could no longer hear the humans joyful singing and plucking of the contraption. The overlook was silent as night. Tentatively, I peeked from between the leaves of the tree I was perched in.

The humans were all standing, the female clutching the stringed object close to her chest, and they all looked like they were searching for something. Searching for me, I realized. They conversed for a little while, then a male pointed towards the tree I was in. I fled the scene as soon as they started moving.