REMEMBER. AT THE moment Chardiye could to nothing but remember. As he stared
at the charm Alurula had given him, his heart longed to see her magnificent
face again, but he knew he never could. How could he ever forget her?
A rustling noise behind him brought him back
to reality. The Lupes had returned, looking particularly smug about something.
"What do you want now?" Chardiye snapped at them,
stepping back, "Going to try to destroy me again, are you?"
"Again?" said Uryoo, looking bemused, "We never
tried to kill you, did we boys? I'm Uryoo and this is Urg and Udd."
"But-" Chardiye hesitated. Either the Lupes were
lying to him, or Alurula had placed him back in time just early enough to avoid
the attack. Without stopping to ponder this, the Eyrie spread his wings and
took off into the sunrise, leaving Uryoo, Urg and Udd far below.
As he soared over the sea, he finally found the
time to think about the conversation he had had with the voice of Alurula, the
green-eyed girl. So, she really had been watching him, hadn't she? She had returned
him to mortal life in time to prevent being hurt by the Lupes, and she had left
him with the pretty charm around his neck. Nothing could stand in his way now.
Chardiye had not flown for a long time. He zigzagged
and faltered slightly, but soon he became accustomed to flight again. He looped
and twirled across the fresh morning sky, peeking down eventually to look at
the corrupt world. He flew over cities and towns, forests and marshes.
His wings were beginning to tire him by the time
he reached the sea. Hoping for a glimpse of some island or boat he could land
on and perhaps have breakfast, he flew more slowly beneath the clouds. His wings
ached, but he did his best to say high enough up so as not to attract the attention
of unfriendly eyes. Why he finally spotted a long, dark ship skulking around
in the deep water, he was too exhausted to do anything but land on the rough
deck.
He looked around a bit, taking in the black sails
and a dark, un-scrubbed wood and crude rigging. He was much accustomed to living
conditions worse than these so it did not strike Chardiye as ominous that the
ship was so disorderly.
"Oy! You there!"
Chardiye whipped around to face a plump, dull-coloured
Techo wearing a bandana. Chardiye opened his mouth to give an answer he had
not thought up yet when the Techo yelled, "'Ey, crew! Someone's jus' arrived
on our ship!"
Four or five more pets wearing assorted bandanas,
peg legs, or eye patches clambered up on deck. Followed slowly by them was a
large Krawk with a hook for a hand and only one eye, looking very unhappy.
"What is it, Tom?" the Krawk asked the Techo.
"Er, Cap'n, sir, this Eyrie just landed on our
deck!" the Techo answered back in a timid, nervous tone.
The deformed Krawk limped up to face Chardiye.
The Eyrie looked straight into his one eye and saw that it was clouded and aimless.
The Krawk Captain was blind.
"What are you doing here?" the captain said sternly.
"I-I was tired and I needed a place to rest-"
"Mmm," said the blind Krawk, "How likely. Search
him for treasure!" he commanded his crew.
"I haven't got any treasure-"
"Yes, you 'ave!" piped up Tom the Techo, "It's
'round yer neck!" He grabbed the beautiful charm and yanked it off Chardiye's
throat. The golden chain snapped.
"Oh, no!" The Eyrie cried, making a lunge for
the treasure, "Please, don't take that! I'll give you anything!"
"Ha! Bet you wouldn't," taunted Tom, "We're pirates.
We steal stuff. That's how it goes."
"Hey!" cried a Poogle-pirate from the other side
of the ship, "You can't keep that all to yourself! Didn' yer mother tell yer
to share?"
"It's mine! I found it," retorted the Techo.
The Poogle snatched at the charm in Tom's hand.
Within a moment the whole crew, captain, and Chardiye were immersed in a tumultuous
racket, during which everyone was fighting for the charm and trying not to get
clawed by Captain Krawk's hook.
Tom the Techo had the charm once more. Chardiye
dashed at him and shoved him to the ground. The charm was knocked from his grasp
and flew backward. The whole ship watched, as in slow motion, the golden charm
fly over the deck and land on the railing. No one moved except Chardiye, who
was running as fast as he could to catch the charm before it toppled into the
sea. He made a swipe with his paw, but too late. With a dull plunk, the treasure
that Alurula had bestowed upon Chardiye was gone, drifting down into the depths
of the ocean.
"NO!"
Chardiye hung on the railing, staring down into
the place where the charm has been dropped. Eyries could not swim. Then, fighting
a crazy urge to burst into tears again, he launched himself off of the pirates'
ship and soared toward Mystery Island. He tried to remember the face of Alurula,
but the memory was slipping away as if it were water in his cupped paws. The
ocean beneath him was mixed in with tears wherever he flew. He thought about
just plunging himself into the sea and drowning, but he knew that he couldn't
betray Alurula.
Chardiye felt strangely bare without the charm
when his paws landed on the soft white sands of Mystery Island. He didn't know
where to go, but he needed to go somewhere. He passed a small wooden sign that
was stuck in the stand that read, "Wondering Woods This Way" and thought he
might as well, just because he could think of no better answer.
The Wondering Woods looked a little dark and
creepy, but Chardiye thought that the darkness and creepiness would distract
him from his disgust of himself. Without hesitation, he entered.
To be continued... | 
