“Are you okay, Zo?”
It was dark and it hurt when she moved. Zoë tried to sit up and immediately regretted it. She groaned, “What happened?”
“It was the storm. I was trying to find a place to land when the wind blew you out of your seat. You’re lucky I was able to catch up to you!”
Zoë forced through the pain to sit up. Her head was throbbing, “What happened to the tether?”
“I think it snapped…Do you have any food on you, Zo? I’m hungry! Preferably pickles if you have some!”
Zoë slowly started to feel around for her pack, “You know we don’t have any pick…” She stopped all of a sudden. “Where’s my pack?”
“I think it flew off when the tether snapped.”
“My scope!” Zoë was heartbroken. Her scope was her most prized possession. It had been a gift from her uncle when she was accepted into the Wing. It had been really expensive. It would be a long time before she could afford another one.
“You mean this?” Popkin produced a cylindrical objet from his plumage. “You were clinging tightly to this when I caught you. I thought it might be food, but it tasted awful!”
Zoë took the offered scope back. There was obvious scratching on it from where Popkin’s beak had bitten into it, but other than that it was fully intact! “Thanks Popkin!”
“No problem Zo! Only, what are we going to do for food without your pack? I’m hungry!”
Zoë forced herself to her feet. She was a little wobbly at first, but she was able to stay on her paws. “We’ll have to forage. Is there a stream nearby? You said you liked to fish.” She looked around. Everything was so dark and there were so many trees. “Popkin? Are we in the Forlorn Forest?”
Popkin nodded his head, “I couldn’t fly and hold on to you at the same time, so I had to land in the forest. I don’t know why they call it the Four Corn Forest though. I haven’t seen so much as a kernel!”
That was going to make things difficult. Furs got lost in the Forlorn Forest. Really lost! Some said that the Forest itself conspired against furs to keep them from leaving. Zoë considered that to be a fairy tale told to children to keep them from wandering into the forest. She could send Popkin out on his own, but she didn’t trust that the bird would be able to find her again. Best to stick together. Besides, she was confident that with her scope she’d be able to navigate their way out.
“Fly ahead of me, Popkin…” she told her friend, “Look for a stream so we can get some water and maybe some fish. I’ll follow on paw.”
“Okay Zo!” Popkin spread his wings and with a couple of flaps, he was off.
Zoë watched him fly for a moment and then slowly started to follow. If only it didn’t hurt when she moved…