Pompods

15

Elder Ino contemplated what Zaree had told him the previous day. How the creature that had slaughtered the Tark beasts had changed to a being of beauty with great wings that radiated iridescent blue light. The beauty and warmth that this being had radiated towards her had filled her with a complete and utter sense of calm.

She had used words such as reassurance, protection, love and serenity to describe how she had felt, but still felt as if all those words paled to how it had truly made her feel. So enthralled with this being's presence, it was not until it had shifted into Oku's original form that she realized she was being held in his arms.

Should he tell the council of Elders what Zaree had revealed to him? Why was Oku so different than the rest of them? How could he change between these forms, each so different in appearance to the other? So many unanswered questions, so many more he wanted to ask.

It was difficult to concentrate solely on Oku. Baru had returned from his expedition and the revelations he had brought back were astonishing. Just the knowledge contained in the journal had been a revelation.

The first recorded meeting of their ancestors and their subsequent separation. The ancients one's journal had become a wealth of knowledge and helped fill in the gaps to their past. It helped to complete the story of their evolution, but also opened up a slew of new questions.

How long ago had their ancestors separated? They had no way to compare how the ancients calculated the passage of time. How many years since their first arrival? How long ago had their ancestors homeworld collapsed?

But with some questions, came answers. Now they knew where the Memees had come from but still had a hard time comprehending what they were and what their function was. Why were they rebuilding the ship? And even the origin of the silver lake itself confused them.

Baru had recounted his adventure and the sights that he had seen as he had travelled. The boiling sea and its rising island, the collapse of the mountain onto the ancient one's hidden valley. The rolling river of fire that he and his companion were forced to circumnavigate in order to return to the village. The world beyond their village's valley was changing, transforming, heaving itself up or receding away. Paths that were once easily accessed had been closed. Sheer rock faces now blocked once easily traversed terrain as rapid torrents of raging water flowed through a newly formed gorge.

Even the Memee that had followed Baru seemed different. It rarely left his side, preferring to spend its time sitting on his shoulder. It looked calmer than its brethren and no longer appeared inclined to join them in their pursuit of self-entertainment. It had even fashioned itself a crude satchel out of a large leaf to mirror the one Baru carried.

It sat quietly as Baru told the Elders of his findings. Occasionally it would hop off his shoulder and act out a scene to help visualize a specific event. But mostly it quietly sat on his shoulder and listened. Only once did it become agitated when the Elders had begun to debate loudly on the relevance of this new information. As if sensing the change, it had engulfed itself with air, jumped off Baru's shoulder and violently expelled the air out its bottom as it gently touched the ground. It waited for the dust to settle, raised its small appendage to its face in a sign of silence and then returned to its perch atop Baru who had simply grinned to the stunned looks of the Elders at being silenced by the small creature.

Elder Ino looked out onto the lake as the suns neared the top of the western ridge. He knew the Memees were reassembling a ship in the center of the lake. But to what end? Were they planning to leave the world after all this time? It would have eased his mind if only they would communicate their intentions.