10 Into the Forest

Not the cry, but the flight of the wild duck, leads the flock to fly and follow." -Chinese proverb

"Tell me again how you survived the trip over here?" Luke gritted at Julie as they came thudding to rest on yet another branch after yet another terrifying free-fall. Icarus swooped above her, accompanied by the massive form of Athena and the smaller dartlike shapes of Tupac, Rhona's kestrel, and Cyan, the blue jay who was Orinda's bond.

"You got into a tree too," Julie reminded him. "You should know."

"I was unconscious!" Luke protested. "And I'm really starting to wish I was agaiiiiiinnnn…"

His sentence melded into a sound halfway between a yell and a moan as the two Silva who carried them awkwardly on their backs leapt into space yet again. Julie, who was still using the tried and tested method of closing her eyes and clenching her stomach, just held on and waited for it to end. It had to eventually, didn't it?

The breath whooshed out of her as Rhona landed. Julie was draped uncomfortably across the Silva deputy's back and shoulders, her arms wrapped around the other girl's neck and chest. She would have complained, but she knew Rhona was probably just as unhappy as she was with the awkward arrangement. Luke didn't have quite the same qualms; at every break point between jumps he had seized the opportunity to make a comment. The result was that Orinda, who was bearing his weight, was becoming increasingly irritated. Julie, despite the fact that Luke was her best friend, could almost see why. The young Silva girl had gone from being Luke's guard to being his transportation in the space of a few minutes.

Now, as both female Silva crouched low on the branch, bending under their human burdens, Orinda growled out, "Oh shut it, tough guy. I could drop you like a sack of corn anytime I liked, and you wouldn't be complaining anymore then, let me tell you. Besides, we're here."

"Thank goodness for that," groaned Luke with exaggerated relief. His moment of melodrama was ruined by a fed-up Orinda dumping him unceremoniously from her back onto the tree branch, where he landed sprawled with a harsh thud. Orinda didn't look sorry.

Rhona let Julie slip off with a bit more dignity, for which she was grateful. Now that she could open her eyes, she could fully appreciate the place where they'd ended up.

It was a tree, but a massive, ancient oak tree, with a spreading crown of leaves and thick, knarled branches. It was riddled with hollows and holes that looked too neat to be natural.

"Welcome to the Great Home Tree of the Silva Offendo," Rhona declared, and there was definite pride in her voice as she straightened up, stretching her spine with a grunt.

Even the grouchy Orinda seemed to cheer up at the sight of the huge natural wonder. "Mostly we just call it the APO among ourselves though," she informed Julie and Luke. "Stands for All-Purpose Oak. This is where everything happens, pretty much."

Julie felt the reassuring weight of Icarus as he settled on her shoulder. He groomed a few locks of her hair that had been rumpled by the wild flight through the trees. Athena was doing the same, although it was much more comical to see the bulky eagle owl doing a kind of shuffle on the tips of her talons to reach her large round head around Luke's to get at his ruffled bangs. After a few seconds he batted her good-naturedly away, sitting up from his sprawled landing position.

"What's with Luke? Tree-travel doesn't agree with him?"

Julie nearly fell off the branch, wide as it was. Seth's voice was literally right in her ear; he had come up behind unnoticed by any of them.

"When did you get here?!" Julie decided to substitute this for what she had been about to say, which was 'Don't do that!', because Seth never would have listened.

"Me? I've been here for twenty minutes already. What kept you?" Seth was hanging lazily by his forearms from a tree branch, as if he were about to do a pull-up exercise. Corax was perched between his gripping hands, head cocked impudently.

Julie tried, and failed, to suppress a smile at his impertinence. Luke muttered something about, "Easy for you to say." Both the Silva were watching Seth with undisguised admiration. Julie felt that uncomfortable twinge of protectiveness again. She didn't want the Silva trying to take Seth from them. Something was still telling her that they needed him.

"Let's go, or all the food will be gone." Orinda turned away first, interest in Seth dissolving into anticipation of dinner. She headed for the huge arched doorway hacked into the side of the tree, a bigger opening than any Julie had seen so far. The frame of the entrance was carved with tiny symbols: birds' heads, trees, flowers, knives, spirals, feathers, eyes. Surmounting the door was a large etching of a tree with branches spread wide; words in surprisingly neat script wound artfully through its carved boughs: Permoveo amo ventus, quod credo nemus.

Julie squinted at the words. She knew few languages, as there was little variation in the common Rathyan tongue which most people spoke. Rhona noticed her looking and paused just before their group passed through the doorway.

"It's the old language," the Silva girl told her. "Tamal's very fond of it for some reason. The Silva never carried a name until he began leading us. 'Silva Offendo' comes from the same dialect. Those words," Rhona tilted her chin up at the carved tree, "mean: Move like the wind and trust in the trees. It's our motto."

"Who did the pictures?" Luke asked. His attention had been drawn to the ornaments now too. Seth and Orinda had paused and were shooting them impatient looks; both were clearly more eager to eat than discuss Silva art.

"Oh, Tamal did all those." Rhona's mouth quirked when both Julie and Luke turned to stare at her in disbelief. "Surprised? Just wait…lots of things about Tamal will surprise you."

That said, she continued on inside. Luke and Julie exchanged a raising of their eyebrows.

What do you make of that, Ic? Julie asked her gyrfalcon, studying the intricate carvings with new eyes. That overconfident tree-jumper is an artist.

I think what Rhona said was accurate. You chose not to dismiss Seth when you first met him, and that turned out to be a wise choice. Do not discount Tamal either.

Julie thought about this. Yeah, well, at least Seth was polite. But it wasn't really an argument. She decided she'd better just go in and eat, and ponder the layers of Tamal's character later.

The hall of the Silva Offendo was packed. For that was what it was; an enormous hall that stretched upwards into a domed wood ceiling far above, walls that looked like they had been rubbed smooth by hand, and a floor that was bumpy with humped tree roots. Julie couldn't imagine how they'd managed to hollow such a huge space out of the trunk.

The stumps of other, smaller trees had been carried in for seats; long, rectangular tables appeared to have been roughly carved out of the inner wood itself, so that they looked as if they were growing right out of the floor. Each table was laden with rows and clusters of wooden and woven leaf platters, heaped with food that was indistinguishable from where Julie stood. It smelled okay though; the hall was full of a pleasant cooking smell that seemed to combine meat, rice, herbs, sauces, and desserts. Spaced along the tables where there was room were what appeared to be clay pitchers and bowls of various liquids, but whether they were toppings or drinks Julie didn't know. Either way, the entire setup looked nice enough, if not completely organized.

And every stump seat appeared to be occupied. The variety of Silva was incredible. They were all dressed relatively similarly, in varying shades of brown, black, gray, and dark green, in gender neutral outfits that consisted mainly of a belt, boots, and a cloth tunic and pants. Some had chosen to add small ornamentation in the form of simple necklaces, bracelets, or scraps of bead and metal sewn to their clothing. But apart from the way they dressed, there was every kind of look under the sun. Brown hair, blond hair, red hair, black hair, and a multitude of shades in between, of all lengths and styles. Every kind of skin color, varying heights and thicknesses, the entire range of body builds. The only other factor that linked them was their age; none of the Silva appeared to be out of their teens.

And then there were the birds. The noise from the Silva alone was deafening. Add the cacophony provided by their bird bonds, who perched, fluttered, swooped, and dove all around the hall, and it looked like chaos to Julie.

Her eyes, instinctively seeking something familiar in the sea of humans and birds, came to rest on Tamal, who was already seated at the head of the longest table. He did not sit on a stump; his perch was what could reasonably be described as a throne, a tall chair deep enough to sit back in. It, like the tables, was attached to the floor because it had been carved directly out of the tree's center. Unusually though, it was undecorated. Its back and sides were hewn smooth, and there was no trace of carvings or other fancy additions. Taking a second look, Julie revised her initial scorn regarding the chair. Tamal did not lounge in it like a throne, nor was the chair actually raised up off the ground. It did not lift Tamal obviously above the other Silva, and he did not look like he was lording over them. On the contrary, he was leaning forward intently, Vega on his shoulder, listening to something a solid blond boy on his right was telling him.

Julie watched as Orinda disappeared into the crowd, sliding herself skillfully into an open stump seat between two other Silva. The only other spot Julie could see open was the one on Tamal's left, and she was almost certain that one was Rhona's. Which left the problem of where she, Luke, and Seth were going to sit.

At that moment, Tamal's sharp, dark eyes spotted them. He jerked his head in a subtler version of a beckoning, indicating that they should come to him. Rhona shepherded the three of them in front of her and brought up the rear. Julie wasn't sure if that was politeness or caution.

It was one of the most self-conscious moments of Julie's life, walking the gauntlet aisle between tables of staring Silva Offendo. Every row of forest bandits they passed seemed to fall silent to look at them. Julie found herself unable to meet any eyes straight on, so she simply skimmed her gaze over them. Expressions seemed to range from curious to hostile. Murmuring erupted in their wake; a low gossipy sound that when multiplied to fill a hall of hundreds became a dull roar.

Julie snuck a quick look at Luke and Seth. Her best friend looked just as unnerved as she felt. Seth was outwardly calm, even nonchalant, but his eyes were totally alert.

Julie focused on just reaching the end of the hall, trying not to hear the muttering or feel the gazes burning into her.

Suddenly, Icarus flattened himself on her shoulder. Julie turned her head to see why and was nearly clipped over the head by the angled wing of a massive brown bird. Her hair blew with the force of its passing. Icarus rattled off a furious chatter next to her ear.

The bird swept around, and now Julie could see what it was. An eagle, so brutally huge that it could be only one species. A golden eagle.

And then she realized that it was coming back for another pass.

In disbelief, she sidestepped, trying not to throw off Icarus. But the eagle's target was Corax this time. The crow ducked with a harsh caw as the predator's talons swept past. It was a bully's game; meant to intimidate, not to actually injure. A jibe, like one human giving another a solid shove in the chest.

The murmuring of the Silva grew louder. Julie thought she heard a smattering of laughter. They were being made fools of. The hot rage that she thought she had left behind back in the dungeon tree came shooting back again.

She didn't know what she might have done next. Try to knock the eagle out of the air, thus breaking the taboo against a human touching another's bond. Send Icarus after it to take revenge. Find the Silva who was sending the bird in the first place and pick a fight with them. She would never know.

As the eagle completed yet another banking turn across the hall, it was intercepted by a bright white bullet. The thing flew with utter silence; that is, until it let loose with a hoarse shriek that caused every bird bond in the hall to fall silent.

The golden eagle braked in midair, a comically awkward maneuver for such a huge bird. And the bird that had interrupted it, a pure white Barn Owl, now flew back and forth, inelegantly but efficiently, in its path.

It was Vega, Tamal's bond.

"Zephyr!" Julie jumped as the Silva leader's voice rang out, magnifying itself against the walls until it was thunderous. "Call him off, now."

The eagle hovered in indecision a moment more, and then, responding to some silent command, swooped its way down to the tables. Julie couldn't make out where it landed amidst the sea of heads.

Vega banked gracefully, returning to Tamal with hardly a whisper of white wings.

Julie stood frozen, unsure of what to do. She couldn't believe Tamal had intervened on their behalf.

She heard Rhona hiss softly from behind them, "Keep moving." But as Julie took a couple tentative steps, Tamal raised his hand in a 'stop' gesture from the head table. Not knowing who to obey, Julie stopped again.

Tamal stood. His outer cloak looked much more impressive when he was standing upright; it billowed around his feet. He held his arm in what Rathyans referred to as the "falconer's stance"; one arm held up at an angle with the elbow pointing outward. Vega shuffled forward so she was seated more commandingly on his forearm.

Tamal's piercing brown eyes seemed to sweep across every Silva in the hall. There were very few people even whispering now. They were all quiet, waiting.

Finally, Tamal spoke.

"All right. Anyone else want to get a blow in? Anyone else want to have a try?"

He spoke loud enough to address the whole hall as one. His voice was measured and even. No one else spoke.

"Come on. They're standing still now. Perfect targets. Who else wants to have some fun?"

Silence.

"No takers? I thought so." Tamal took one pace back, so that his chair pressed against the backs of his knees. He still held Vega aloft in a vaguely intimidating pose. The Silva leader lifted his chin and spoke strong and clear.

"They are here under my protection. Vega and I would be more than pleased to have a chat with anyone who challenges that protection. But for now, if I see any bird or human go after those three, that bird and that human will answer to us."

Tamal's voice dove low on the last word, almost a growl. Vega shreed, backing up his words, a chilling Barn Owl cry that penetrated the entire hall.

Dead silence. There was not even a cough or a rustle to be heard.

Julie had to consciously check to make sure her mouth wasn't hanging open.

Tamal sat down smoothly, Vega returning to her position on his shoulder. Then, as if nothing had happened, he leaned forward and raised his eyebrows questioningly, inviting the young man to his right to resume their conversation.

Several paces behind her, Julie heard Seth whisper under his breath, "Now that's a leader."