Tovi awoke to the lonliness that she had left before her black out. She remembered Raven taunting her and flashing his ebony feathers in an effort to confuse her. Tovi knew Raven's tricks very well and the stories of his journey in the mother earths belly. He and the wolf had taken the journey together into the light and now they walked seperate paths. There was a pull and tug there that Tovi used to guide her in the right paths.
Tovi was alone again and no soft beating of Raven's wings fell on her ear. In fact, the forest was quiet, a quiet that meant something was standing of the edge of the earth and about to dive off. Tovi sensed a tightness in the air around her and she shivered. She wanted to find her sister and just go home. She craved no more of the forests games. She wanted mother. She wanted tavi and she wanted the warmth of their hides and she wanted the village she grew up in. Tovi was so homesick, she could taste the rabbit stew on her tongue and feel the tools in her hand when scraping hides. Had she been gone that long or had she began to feel that she might not get to go home at all. Tovi swallowed hard and shook off the spirit's tugging claws. Yes, it was Raven in her head now. When she slept, he had crawled into her ear and taken over her thoughts.
"Si gi na!" Tovi scolded and dug her finger into her ear. Maybe she could catcha feather and pull him out. But no sooner did she push her finger into her ear and shake her head, than she saw Raven standing in the clearing. Tovi stopped her nonesence and stared at him. "Raven, where is my sister? I want to go home!"
Raven stood still and began to groom himself. He plucked his beak into a couple of his breast feathers and then looked at her. He spoke in another voice that he had stolen from somewhere.
"You must sit still, she is coming." Raven pointed the tip of one wing to the left and nodded. "If you sleep once more, she will be here when you wake. Stay here and Tavi will be returned to you."
Tovi didn't really know whether to believe the Raven or not, but she could feel her sister in her blood. Raven was telling the truth, Tovi could feel her sister draw nearer with every breath she took. Her heart began to race and she smiled.
"Oh Tavi, we shall be together again and this time, they won't have us to part." Tovi thought about how her people would respond with their disreguard for the Elders decisions. Tovi knew she had broken the rules and that her mother had found her empty hides several passing of the suns ago. If fact, the people may even think that they are dead by now. "Doesn't matter, we will find a way, dear sister.
Tovi stood on shaking legs and watched in the direction that Raven had pointed. Her body felt strange and cold. Tovi was having trouble standing because she could not feel her legs. Her chest felt hollow. It was an odd sensation, much like when she had gotten a sparrow's bone caught in her throat. She swallowed over and over again but the strange feeling persisted. She took a couple of steps forward but her legs were still numb and stiff. Tovi frowned. "Raven, what's happened to me? Why do I feel so bad? Then her thoughts returned to her sister. "Oh my, If I feel so bad, then Tavi must be sick...or hurt. Oh Tavi, just come back and I will take care of you."
Tovi watched the clearing for so long her eyes began to fall. Right before they would close, she would jerk and pull herself up by holding onto the large pine she leaned against. Tovi watched till the sun had almost fallen into the trees, then she saw her.
In the distance a pale figure approached with a glowing orb following close behind. The closer the figure got to Tovi, the worse the pain grew in her tummy. Tovi buckled over and puked blood upon the grass and screamed in agony.
The figure drew near and rain began to fall. Tavi trudged throught the overgrowth and pushed aside face-slapping branches. Wolf circled Tavi growling and snipping at her heels. Tavi ignored him and moved toward her sister. Her eyes were sunken and hungry.
Tovi raised her head just in time to see Tavi reach down and grab the wolf by the throat. She chunked him into the weeds and moved closer to her twin.
The wolf let out a painful yelp. Raven watched from a tree top nearby.
No comments:
Post a Comment