The Last Light of Eden (Sky Children of the Light)

Chapter Two: Into the Woods

     A cool night breeze drifted gently through the forest, flowing between tree trunks and picking up small clusters of rain-soaked leaves as it went, blowing them off into the foggy white mist. The forest, it seemed, sat in the center of its own little bubble. Walls of white clouds rose up in all directions, parting occasionally to let beams of moonlight stream down through the treetops. A huddle of small white birds perched on a trees' gnarled branch, their tiny heads drooping with sleep. It was a calm, serene place. . . Though peaceful things tended not to last when the twins were around. . .

     "Watch were you're going, you dunce!" Tor shouted and made a grab for the reigns. "You're going to crash!"

     The manta they rode on gave a startled cry and flapped its enormous white wings, narrowly sliding between two trees. Its tail flicked out, as it tried to regain balance, startling a group of birds into frantic flight.

     "Hey!" Tun cried, and pulled out of reach, pushing his sister away with an elbow. "I've got this! When have I ever crashed a manta before?"

     "You've never even ridden a manta before!" Tor pointed out and ducked her head down to avoid a branch. "We're too high up! Fly lower!"

     "We'll crash--"

     "We're going to crash either way with you flying!" Tor yelled and reached out, trying to yank the reigns from her brother's hands.

     Hey--!" Tun shouted and tugged hard, pulling back.

     The manta called out in confusion as it was jerked sideways. It flapped its wings in an attempt to re-balance, but it was too late. The manta hurdled downwards, spinning and thrashing as it went. It pulled itself upright and folded its wings just as it smashed into the ground with a dull "Thud!". Dirt sprayed up into the air and clotted chunks of muddy grass fountained up behind the manta as it skidded across the forest floor. It smacked into a tree trunk and came to a sudden halt.

     For a moment, the forest was still and quiet, almost seeming to hold its breath. Then a voice shattered the silence.

     "That. . ." Tun groaned as he stood up, steadying himself against a nearby tree. "Was all your fault."

     "Not even going to argue with you. . ." Tor grumbled and slid up onto her knees. She reached out, gently running a hand across the manta's golden plated forehead. The creature opened its eyes and slowly unfurled its wings, sending a waterfall of dirt cascading back down to the ground. "The manta's fine." Tor said, stroking the creatures' head. "But there isn't enough space down here to properly take off." she glanced around the dark woods warily. "Looks like we're going to have to walk."

     "Walk where, exactly?" Tun asked, rubbing the back of his head. "Do we even know where we are?"

     Without looking up, Tor pointed a thumb over her shoulder. "Check the saddle. I brought a couple of maps from the library before we left."

     "Elder Sage is going to kill you!" Tun gasped in mock horror, putting a hand up over the bottom of his mask. 

     Tor smirked and glanced around the dark, quiet woods. "Well. . . He'll have to find us first. Not an easy task from the looks of it."

     Tun laughed and hopped up onto the mantas' back, unlatching the pouch sewn into the front of the saddle. He paused for a moment, then reached inside, and gingerly lifted out a rolled up sheet of parchment. Carefully, he untied the twine knot that held it closed and rolled it out on his lap.

     "Could you have picked an older map?" he muttered sarcastically as he slid into a cross-legged position to read. "This thing's practically falling apart in my hands. . ."

     Tor shrugged. "Hey! Don't blame me! I didn't exactly have much time to pack! I just picked up the first one I found!" She stood up, brushing dust and dirt from her clothes as she went. She grabbed onto the sides of the saddle and hoisted herself up, sitting down beside her brother. "Have you figured out where we landed?"

     Tun shook his head and handed the map over with a shrug. "No idea. Everything looks the same around here."

     Tor took the map and squinted at it in the gloomy darkness. She scooted over to the side of the saddle, holding the map out over the edge to catch a beam of moonlight that shone through the treetops. "Hmm. . ." she muttered, twisting the parchment from side to side, looking at it from all angles. "I'd say were probably somewhere over here. . ." she mumbled and circled a small patch of forest with her finger. "It's the closest to the Valley. . ."

     Tun winced and ran a hand through this pointed white hair. "How're we meant to find anything out here? This place is huge!"

     Tor looked up and glanced around at the trees whose grasping branches were mostly hidden by clouds. "Well, the thing we saw fell from the sky. . ." she started and turned back to the map. "It'd probably cause some damage coming down. . ."

     "So, what. . . We just look for broken tree branches or something?" Tun asked and watched his sister quizzically. "Not trying to be negative or anything, but I've said it once, and I'll say it again: this place is huge! It'll take weeks to search the whole forest!" he pointed down at the manta. "And it'll take even longer with the manta!"

     The manta gave an annoyed huff and twisted up onto its side, dropping the young elders down onto the forest floor.

     "Oi!" Tun yelled and waved his fist up at the giant creature.

     It stared down at the him for a moment, huffed, and turned away, whacking him across the face with its tail as it went. Tun stumbled and slipped, falling over and landing on his back, a stunned look on his face.

     Tor, who had already settled back down to look over the map, glanced up and snorted with laughter. "You totally deserved that."

     Tun grinned, sitting up. "Yeah, I probably did."

     "Anyways. . ." Tor sighed and rolled up the map, slipping it over her shoulder next to her blade. "We should get going. If we start walking now, we can probably cover a few miles tonight. Hopefully, whatever Elder Sage is looking for in the Vault takes him a long time to find."

     Tun lifted himself off the ground, and glared over at the manta. "Sure thing, but I'm not walking next to him!"

    "I wouldn't worry about that." Tor replied and slid to her feet, taking the manta's reigns in one hand. "It doesn't look like he wants to travel with you, either." She gave the reigns a gentle tug and the manta, floating a few feet above the muddy ground, rose to follow. 

     Tun rubbed the back of his neck and watched them go. He took a step forward, then stopped and turned around. The woods behind them was silent and empty, not even a bird in sight. . . But the elder had a strange feeling that there was someone out there. . . Someone watching. He shivered, and shook his head, hurrying off to catch up with Tor and the grouchy manta.