Sun light creeps into the room shining down Lī. "Hhhmm, Nooooo." She tosses under the covers.
"Hahahaha" comes from her brother as they run down the hallway. Their feet stamp the floor.
"Huh," Lī says. Her pillow is pushed hard against her ears.
The door opens gently. A tall shadow creeps in. "Darling its time to wake up."
Lī peeks out from the covers see her Mom peering in from the door. Lī wines out "Ten more mins"
Rosa her mom stands their; a smile crosses her face. "Lightning, it's time to wake up; there carrot pancakes with chocolate chips," her mom says with a voice as soft as the scent of tulips.
Lī giggles and says, "yes Mama. I love you."
Light shines brightly in the room blinding out the blissful scene.
"Darling it's time to wake up," a woman says peering in the room
"Hmm Mom ten more mins"
"We have peanut butter, chocolate, and cherry oat bars dear."
I roll from under the cover feeling excited and puzzled. "Hhmm that sounds so good mo.. Oh Im so sorry."
"Hahaha its okay, we have fresh Juice."
I get up grabbing my now dry clothes putting them on. Small tears can be seen on them. I sit there wondering what could of happened if things went differently.
"NO! It's time to move on Lī. You got this"
I can see the walls have a dull pink tone. It much cozier inside then outside. As I reach the door, I notice three carved statues. The first reminded me of the owners but the third looked like a fusion of some sort.
My gaze is lost a second later when my stomach growls.
I had down the hallway back towards where I came in from. I distinct smell of peanut and cherries was in the air. The thought to satiate my hunger took over. The smell brought a sense of life no different then ambrosia.
I reach the main room of the house. A small stone fire pit with a large vent sat against the wall. There were two tables fixed to both sides of the pit. I see Rosa pull out a large dish from the fire.
"Just in time, breakfast is ready. Come come sit"
Rosa is gesturing to the round black table with three matching chairs sat on the other side of the room. If Rosa had not pointed it out, I would not have noticed it.
I sat down next to Chris. He seems lost in thought.
"Hey, Chris is something wrong?"
"Uhh of no, today the rain stopped with not a cloud in sight. We will be packing up today. The festival of rain has ended and we will return to our city above."
"City above?!"
"I thought I mentioned it. Any how every rainy season we come down under the Heffalump. Once the rain ends we pack up and go back up."
"How… do you… get up there?"
"You must of missed all the hanging rope. Our ancestors tried to capture it but it failed. The net got stuck on his body. He has osteoderms around his spine. They hold the net in place, and we attach more rope has it grows bigger."
"Oh wow! Isn't this a good thing."
"Yes and no, Are community is about go through a cleaning and moving phase. We have to make sure everything stays functional for the next year. There's also carrying the young to the top."
"Dear don't stress so much we all know what to do. We've been through it all before."
His hands bang against the table. "Our child is gone because of my mistake!"
"You can not blame yourself. When the calling winds stir and blow, we follow. My love, life will always have a way for all. It hurts I know, but we can only accept life and move forward. She was strong. She more then likely survived."
The man breaks down crying " I know but it hurts. Thirty years have passed, and I still can not let that nightmare go. It haunts me every time the rain ends yet the pain does not. It drowns my night and surfaces throughout my days. If only I was blown away with Lys that day."
My eye go wide and realization set in. The small figure that looked like the two of them. The sense of familiarity in the air. "Grandpa?"
I can see Rosa's eye poor out like rivers breaking dams. Chris on the other hand looks bewildered. My breath is extinguished while I force out the words "My mom's name is Lys"
"Skin as black as night and ears like breaking of dawn."
I become puzzled, so I take a deep breath. I rush my words as I speak "She has four arms, twin tails, and cat ears."
*Heavy Inhale*
They embrace me. I feel as if Im suffocating.
Nope definitely Suffocating. If you're reading this, please help! And I die. Ahhh err uhu dead *dramatic pause* *tongue*
"Okay, where is she?"
"Umm sooo what had happened was. I honestly don't know."
Chr… Grandpa's right hands smack his face.
"Lets start from the top. Do you know where home is?"
My eyes dart to Grandma Rosa. I shoot her eyes asking for help.
"There's something you're not telling us isn't there. Christopher already told me about the Rooster. If I had to guess, you were carried off by it."
My eyes widen. How did she know?
"Your silence says it all"
Grandpa chuckles
"So It's safe to assume you ended up at its nest, went down the cliff, and started walking in what ever direction you felt was right."
"NO!" Is she some kind of Goddess?
"No, but I know how my husband and daughter both think. You're are just as predictable as they are." She says with her squinting like daggers of eyes draining me dry of all my lies.
Eesh my grandma is scary. Note to self don't mess with old people.
"Life is without {Co-In-Side-Ence} coincidence. I will take the opportunity to raise you while we look for your community."
*gulp*
"Yes ma'am." Grandpa Chris heads out the house with a sense of purpose while Grandma Rosa takes her time packing up what we need. After packing everything up she comes back to the kitchen, and begins to grope the wall.
*Click* my eyes light up with anticipation. What was that sound?
The wall tilts back making a small gap. She pulls out two spears. The first diffuses into the background. The tip was a shiny grey-white color while the shaft was black with small white crack throughout the wood. The other one has dull black tip and a shaft with a rich pink hue. She then pulls out a bow with rich green color. Leaves are still attached to it like it was just plucked from the ground moments ago. Light brown arrows with bright red thorn like tips accompany the bow. They sit in a lush red-brown quiver made of stone. Where can I get weapons like these?
"Here take this"
My eyes blink rapidly in confusion as a small clear ball is placed in my hands.
"What is it?"
"Squish it and find out" I press lightly on it and the object springs to life wrapping me in a clear bubble like substance.
"Ummm"
"It's algae. When you squeeze it, it releases agar. This particular species produces one that redirects impacts. Only sharp objects can penetrate the defense of it. After a while, it will form back into a ball."
"This thing seems porous. It was uncomfortable to breathe but I can still breathe."
I hear the door squeak open
"We're all set on my end dear. Are we ready?"
"Yes."
The three of us walk out the door. The once full sled is now completely empty.
"Where is everything?"
Grandpa speaks up, "Everyone and everything gets moved back up to the top. All that remains is the sled. It keeps serious damage from occurring and allows us to inspect the aging process of our homes."
Grandma chimes in, "Our house will be staying down here though. We have no reason to remove it and its the safest place. Now dear tell us everything about your community so we can find it."
Okay is anyone else scared of my Grandma. I thought she was nice but she knows everything. Also, why does her character trait still say kind?
Characters:
Name Lighting - Age 16 - Date of birth 2/3/1000 A.N. - Sign Hippocampus - Mutation ¿none? - hair brown curly - eyes brown or white - skin light brown - Fear Thunder (Astraphobia) - Fatal Flaw Diabetic - Character flaw Lazy and Lies - weapon bubble
Name Chris - age 72 - mutation four arms - hair white - eyes brown - skin midnight black - character trait extrovert - weapon twin spears - married to Lys
Name Lys - age 72 - mutation tiger - hair/fur orange & black - eyes yellow - skin white with black stripes - character trait kind, strong, observant - weapon bow and arrow - married to Chris
Creatures:
Type Iguana - danger level 1 - size 3 ft - ability camouflage & climbing - attack claws
Type Heffalump - danger ??? - size ??? ft - ability unihemispheric sleep & thick skin - attack walking
School:
satiate - satisfied to the fullest.
ambrosia - is a food eaten by the gods in greek mythology. It was said to grant immortality. It's also used to express that something is sweet and yummy.
osteoderms - have similar structure to bones. It is produce by skin tissue which leads to strong ribbed structure across the animal. Alligators still produce these. It is used to regulate temperature as well and are a type of scute
Scute - is similar in structure to fur feathers and scales. Turtles and birds (feet) still produce them. They are roundish bumps produced around the skin and are used to increase the thickness of the skin.
coincidence - I wanted to use a specific pronunciation to add a tone of Control. The events of Lī being flown away are similar to her mothers, Lys. Grandma Rosa believes this to be fate not accidental.