Zoë of the Mouse Wing – Part 8

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May 042012
 

“Do we have everything?”

The kittens answered in the affirmative. It had been a tough decision to make, but Zoë had seen little other choice. They had to move. They had foraged all there was to eat in the immediate area and still there was no sign of Popkin or any other Mouse Wingers.

She wasn’t able to walk. Trip would have to carry her on his back. She was small enough that even Biki could carry her, but as the oldest, Trip had insisted that he be the one to carry her. It was a pride thing that she wasn’t inclined to argue with.

Despite everything she couldn’t imagine that they were that deep into the forest, about half a day’s travel at most. The problem was making sure that they were headed in the right direction. She didn’t have a compass and the canopy of trees made it difficult to get her bearings with her ‘scope.

Fortunately she had some basic survival training. “Moss grows thicker on the north side of a tree.” She explained to the kittens. “We just keep going left of the moss.”

It had been enough for the kittens. They were happy to be moving.

“Remember, keep in sight at all times. No wandering off on your own.”

“We won’t wander off,” the kittens promised. As with Popkin, it never hurt to repeat instructions to children. They had a tendency to forget things.

“Alright. Let’s get moving then!” She slipped into the makeshift harness she’d helped the kittens build to carry her. Normally she’d have just hung on to Trip, but in her condition she wasn’t sure she could manage even that.

“Biki, Greggy, go a little ways ahead and look for trees with moss. The rest of you, stay with Trip and me.”

The trek was on!

Zoë of the Mouse Wing – Part 6

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Apr 202012
 

Even before she awoke, Zoë felt warmer. She was wrapped up in a blanket She breathed in the familiar musty scent. It was HER blanket. But that was impossible. It had been lost along with the rest of her gear in the storm. And yet, there was the undeniable truth that she was wrapped up in it.

She opened her eyes to see liquid yellow eyes staring at her. A cat! Fear born of instinct, kicked in. Generations had passed but the old instincts remained. She squeaked and curled up into an even tighter ball than when she had been sleeping.

“You’re awake!” The voice was young. A kitten then. “You looked so cold before.”

“You found my blanket.” Zoë stated evenly.

“We didn’t know it was yours,” the kitten replied.

“We?” Zoë looked beyond the kitten. A clowder of kittens huddled around behind him. “You’re the missing younglings,“ she observed in the same even tone. She was slowly regaining control over her fear. Funny, she had assumed they would be mice.

“We were playing in the woods and we got lost.” the lead kitten confirmed.

“Everybody gets lost in the Forlorn Forest,” Zoë explained. “That’s why we warn little children not to play here.”

“You’re here!” the kitten countered.

“Looking for you!” Zoë shook her head. It was no good arguing with the kittens. They had no doubt learned their lesson. There was no need to hammer it home. “Thank you for finding my pack.”

“It fell on Trip’s head!” one of the girl kittens giggled.

The lead kitten, Trip no doubt, frowned, “It’s not funny! It really hurt!”

Zoë tuned them out for a moment. “How long did you walk through the forest before you realized you were lost?”

“A few hours,” Trip answered. “We were playing hide and seek.”

“And you’ve been here since?” Zoë asked hopefully. If that were the case they couldn’t be too far from the edge of the forest.

Trip looked a little sheepish, “No. When we realized we were lost, we started running around trying to find our way out again.”

They were only children, Zoë reminded herself. She might have done the same thing at their age. Assuming she had been foolish enough to play in the Forlorn Forest in the first place.

“My friend Popkin flew off for help. He should be back soon.” Not all that soon, she knew, but it would do no good to say so to the kittens.

“You’re a member of the Mouse Wing!” the girl kitten said awestruck. “Momma told me stories about the Mouse Wing!”

“Why did your bird fly away without you?” Trip asked.

“My saddle broke in the crash,” Zoë explained. “I was too hurt to follow him, so I sent him for help.”

“Birds are pretty forgetful,” one of the boy kittens said. “Are you sure he’ll remember the way back?”

Zoë had the same concern, but again, it would only serve to upset the children to admit it. “Popkin isn’t like most birds. He’ll find his way back to us.”

“I’m hungry!” another kitten announced. He was much more rotund than his young friends.

“You’re always hungry, Greggy.”

“Only when I haven’t eaten!” the chubby kitten protested snottily.

Zoë stepped in, “I’m sure we’re all pretty hungry. Where’s my pack? I had some rations in there.”

Greggy looked guilty, “I ate them hours ago.” The other kittens turned and frowned at him.

Zoë shook her head, “That’s alright. Come to think of it, there wouldn’t have been enough for everybody anyway.” She struggled to sit up. The throbbing pain made her feel dizzy. The kittens looked worriedly at her. Be strong, she thought to herself. You need to be strong for them. Quickly she began formulating a plan.

Zoë of the Mouse Wing – Part 5

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Apr 132012
 

“Remember Popkin! Keep flying west. That’s where home is!”

Popkin nodded, “I know Zo! I remember where home is!”

Zoë repeated it anyway, “Go west until you reach Sunnyvale or the Cross.” Popkin was simple-minded enough that he forgot even the simplest instructions unless they were repeated multiple times to him. “Then go to the nearest Mouse Wing hangar and get help!”

She hoped there would be help to find. The whole Wing had scrambled yesterday. Who knew where they could all be today? She shook her head. That was silly. Surely some mouse would have returned. They probably had found the younglings already, instead of flying into a storm cloud and crashing.

Popkin looked blankly at her as she talked to herself, “Are you okay, Zo? Does it still hurt really bad?”

Zoë’s head snapped up. Tears were rolling down her cheeks. She was crying! She wiped them away with the back of her paw, “I’ll be fine, Popkin. It hurts a little less than yesterday.”

Popkin stared at her for a moment, then nodded, “Okay. I’d better go then.”

“Remember! Fly west!” The mouse pointed the way with her scope. “WEST!”

Popkin nodded, “West! I won’t forget, Zo!” He started to run and flap his wings. In seconds he was airborne. “I’ll be back soon!” And just like that, he was gone.

Zoë looked around her. The Forlorn Forest was gloomy even in the daytime. And it was cold. If only she hadn’t lost her backpack. The supplies she’d been carrying with her, would have come in quite pawy right about now.

“Nothing I can do about it now“, she thought to herself. “I might as well, take another nap. I can’t worry if I’m asleep.”

And so she curled up as best she could to conserve heat and dozed off.

Zoë of the Mouse Wing – Part 1

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Mar 162012
 

The stars. They called to her. Ever since she could remember, she had been fascinated by the twinkling points of light in the night sky. She would spend hours each night gazing up into the night sky, noticing the different patterns. The only trouble with the stars was that they were so very far away. When she was little, she thought that being a member of the Mouse Wing would allow her to fly between the stars. It’s what she dreamed of.

She was not so little anymore. She knew from experience that the birds the Mouse Wing rode could not reach the stars, but it had not affected her desire to join their ranks. The day she first flew with Popkin had been both the most exciting and terrifying in her life. Over time, the terror faded, but the thrill remained. Older members of the Wing confirmed that they never lost that feeling of exhilaration.

She was still a junior member of the Wing; a greenie. That meant that she was partnered with a senior Winger, a blue, whenever she flew, which was not nearly often enough for her. Most of her time was spent taking care of the Wing’s bird steeds.

Most of the birds were of the Wild. They had been tamed by the members of the Wing and lived in symbiosis with them. The mice took care of the birds and in exchange, the birds let the mice ride them. Birds naturally like to fly so it was a good deal. Some birds, like Popkin, were enlightened. They called themselves the Avian and they joined the Mouse Wing for the same reasons the mice did…to help their fellows.

Popkin was talkative, even for an avian. He especially liked Zoë because she actually listened to him. She found him exasperating at times, but no more than her little brother had been when he was three.

“So when are we going out on patrol, Zo? Do you think it will rain? I’m hungry. Are there any more of those little pickles left? I really liked those. They were tasty. That reminds me, I’m hungry.”

Zoë listened patiently as she brushed Popkin’s back to smooth his feathers. “I’m hoping we can go out on patrol today. I don’t think it will rain. I think I gave you the last of the pickles yesterday, but I’ll ask if there are more on the way.”

Popkin nattered on happily as Sam entered the stables. Noting the serious look on her mentor’s face, Zoë set her paw on Popkin’s beak to silence him. “What is it, Sam?”

“A group of younglings has gone missing, possibly within the Forlorn Forest. We’re scrambling the Wing to search!”

Zoë was stunned. “The whole Wing?” She had not been a member for very long, but this was the first time she’d heard of such a wide call to fly.

Sam nodded, “Get Popkin saddled up, you’re going up as soon as you’re ready!”

Zoë nodded, “Who am I flying with this time? You, Sam?”

Sam smiled a half-smile, “Not me. You’re flying solo this time, greenie.”

“By myself?” Zoë said, both worried and excited.

The elder mouse recognized the tone of her voice. He’d sounded the same way when his blue gave him his first flight plan. “That’s what solo means, yeah.  We need every mouse in the air searching.”

“Don’t worry, Zo,” Popkin said, unable to keep quiet anymore, “I’ll take good care of you.”

All of a sudden a thought occurred to Zoë. She bolted towards the stable door. Sam called out to her, “Where are you going? I told you to get Popkin saddled up!”

“I need my scope!” Zoë called back to the bewildered elder Wing member.

The Mouse Wing

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Nov 162011
 

From the journal of Ardebast Raconteur:

The Mouse Wing is an organization of brave mice who fly over Pelaria on the backs of birds. They are mostly  responsible for patrolling the farming community of Sunnyvale. Given their small size, mice can ride on the backs of birds as they fly over land. Normally, these are Wild birds, but one or two Avian have been spotted amongst the Mouse Wing. Though the Avian are Awakened and capable of independent thought, it still falls to their mouse rider to guide them as Avian are too unpredictable to be counted on on their own. Once they spot danger, the mice of the Mouse Wing will report to the nearest ranger station. The rangers will then deploy to handle the situation. Without the Mouse Wing, the rangers would spend almost all their time patrolling and would often be unavailable should a situation arise when they’re not near.

Excerpt from Zoë of the Mouse Wing:

Most of the birds were of the Wild. They had been tamed by the members of the Wing and lived in symbiosis with them. The mice took care of the birds and in exchange, the birds let the mice ride them. Birds naturally like to fly so it was a good deal. Some birds, like Popkin, were enlightened. They called themselves the Avian and they joined the Mouse Wing for the same reasons the mice did…to help their fellows.

Carja’s Notes:

The Mouse Wing came about as I was thinking about the different groups and organizations that might inhabit Pelaria. It’s not difficult to see that it exists as a direct homage to the excellent comic series, Mouse Guard.  Never mind that some birds feed on mice, these are awakened mice we’re talking about.

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