Avifauna

Hard hot earth pressed into Nuavas palms. Flecks of obsidian speckled the dry ground. Sweat poured down her dark skin. Her arms and legs were stiff from crouching so long. 

A couple of feet away from her a pile of the most shiny stuff she could find was collected in a heap. She had purposely set it a couple of feet from the Vorexs lair. The Vorex are simple creatures, according to the elders they were collectors, which was why she was here in the first place. The Vorex had somehow made it into their village and stole one of the elders' relics, and she was going to steal it back. They would finally see who she was, a warrior. If the Vorex ever came out!

The Vorex's home was completely made out of obsidian. It was as if the rock had been liquid at one point before freezing into a solid mass. The effect was a large misshapen mound of rock. Sections of the rock overlapped each other. She could see swirls on the rock's surface. They had carved holes into the obsidian. They were roughly shaped into small round tunnels. Nuava assumed it was for their entrances. 

Motion came from the tunnel entrance nearest her. Nuava slunk back letting the dry reeds hide her from view. A Vorex poked its head out. Its beady eyes darted around the savanna. It was taller than Nuava expected. But the description matched what the elders had told her. A humanoid flightless bird. Fluffy blue feathers covered most of its body. The only bits without feathers were the scaly forearms and the lower half of the legs. Brass beads decorated its feathers, shining in the setting sun.

It straightened, its eyes fixed on the pile of stuff she had collected. Nuava grinned. Her muscles itched to be put to use. Nuava tracked the Vorex’s movements. It was so close now. The Vorexs hand reached the pile of treasure. Its clawed hand reached out toward the jewel pile. Nuava unconsciously leaned forward. A dry branch snapped under her palm. The Vorex stopped. Nuava froze. It looked around alarmed, Its feathers flared up. 

Her chest tightened. This wasn’t going to work. The Vorex were known to be superhumanly fast. If it ran off before she could make it take her to the relic…

She launched herself at the Vorex. Her entire weight fell onto the Vorex. They collapsed into the dirt. Dust flew around them. The Vorex Shreaked. Her hands scrambled for purchase. The Vorex bucked under the sudden weight. Its beady eyes flared in shock and confusion. Nuava whooped.

“HA! You're mine now!”

The Vorex kicked, catching her in the stomach. She flew backward and crashed into the hard ground. She rolled, landing on all fours. Her heart drummed against her rib cage. Her body vibrated. This is what she was meant for. 

She charged on her hands and feet. The Vorex had stood up and was starting to make a run for it. She Leaped, tackling the creature around the legs. It thrilled loudly as it fell. It tried to kick at her but this time she had its legs. She pulled herself up until she was sitting on its chest. Her fingers wrapped around its throat. It froze its eyes on her hands. She could feel Its rapid heart right under her fingertips. 

“WHERE IS IT?” Nuava demanded.  

It blinked. The Vorex cocked its head to the side. 

“ THE THING YOU STOLE FROM THE ELDERS?” The Vorex opened its beak slightly letting out a weak chirp. Nuava growled. 

“I KNOW YOU HAVE IT.” The Vorex’s eyes looked at her blankly. Frustrated Nuava let go of the Vorexs throat. It started to squirm immediately. Nuava cursed. In one swift movement, she pulled out her dagger and threw it at the Vorexs head. It flinched away as the blade sunk into the ground mere inches from its head. It stopped. 

“That's what you get for being a Feather Butt!” Nuava huffed. She glared at the Vorex. It shrank away from her. She pulled a piece of paper from her belt. A quick sketch was inscribed on the paper. She pointed at the picture to the Vorex.

“This thing. Where is it?”The Vorex eyes widened with recognition. “See? This is what I want.” She gestured again at the picture. The creature nodded, its eyes glued on her face. “You're my prisoner now, so if you try anything-” 

 She pulled a dagger from the ground. The vorexs eyes followed its movement. She let the blade shine in the fading light. It shrank away from the dagger. 

“Good.” Nuava stuffed the dagger back into her belt loop. She let it get to its feet. 

 “Now all that's left is for you to show me the way.”

The Vorex stalled. It looked at the knife in her belt, then back at her. 

“Yes, this sharp object will hurt you unless you get a move on!” she snapped. Nuava motioned for it to move. It started moving towards the obsidian caves. Nuava followed closely behind. 

When they reached the entrance of the caves, Nuava stopped. Her hand lingered on the wall. A dark abyss opened up in front of her. She stopped. The Vorex stopped watching her. Her hands lingered at the door. The darkness continued on forever. The elders' voices cramped in her head. Speaking all at once. “Shes just a child.”

“You can’t”

“Weak.”

The Vorex had grown impatient and started walking. “Hey come back here.” Nuava shoved the elders' voices away And ran into the darkness.

 The tunnels she discovered weren’t all that dark. luminescent mushrooms framed the tunnel sides, allowing her to see just enough. The obsidian caverns were surprisingly quiet; she hadn’t seen another Vorex (except for Feather Butt). 

 Ahead, the tunnel expanded outwards into a cavern. 

“Is this it?” She could barely keep the eagerness in her voice away. The Vorex let out a chirp. Nuava didn’t know how to interpret that. 

The walls of the new cavern were chiseled away revealing the fine smooth stone underneath. 

The walls were cast in a greenish glow, making the room look haunted. Cubbies were carved into the rock. Hundreds of them were all over the room. Each cubby held some foreign object. On the other side of the cave was another tunnel. 

She absently wandered to the cubbies nearest her. It held a small jeweled dagger. She slid her fingers over the hilt. Feeling the cool metal. Jewels decorated the hilt. She held it up. It felt good in her hand. The weight was perfect. She practiced a couple of swings.  She Imagined herself on a battlefield. Her enemies fled before her as she tore down the battlefield. The elders smiled as she came home triumphant. 

Feather Butt caught her hand mid-swing. His eyes widened. He chittered at her. Nuava tilted her head. He waved frantically at the dagger to the cubbies and back again. His voice pitched upward when she still didn’t let go.

“I get it you cocky bird.” Nuava jerked her hand from its grasp. She set the jeweled dagger back in its proper cubicle. 

“Ok, I stopped.” She placed her hands on her hips. “Show me where you hid the relic.” 

Feather Butt stared at her blankly. Nuava sighed. She gestured for the thing she wanted. Feather Butt nodded. He made his way to one of the cubbies and Nuava followed close behind. 

Feather Butt brought her to the other side of the cavern. These cubbies were small, dozens of small objects were crammed into the spaces. Most of them were useless objects.

The Vorex hand hesitated around a cubby. Its eyes flicked to her, then back at the object. 

“Go on.” She motioned for it. The Vorex pulled out a small medanion.

It shone gold in the light. Integert patterns were carved into the metal. Ancient text danced along the eagles. She stared at it in awe. The relic from the elders…

Her hands shook as she took the item in her hands. She felt the smooth casing, it was unlike any material she had ever seen. The elders would have to see her now.

She flipped it over. Feeling the smooth surface. And the delicate work of it. Her fingers slipped and the object fell out of them. It crashed onto the ground with a clatter. Panic gripped her. She scooped it up dusting the metal on her clothes. It was undamaged. She let out a sigh.

“It’s fine. It just has extra weathering. Right?” 

The Vorex stared at her in horror. It flexed its talons like it wanted to take the thing from her. Nuava tucked the object into her belt snuggly with her dagger. 

“Well, then I best get going,” Nuava said. She walked toward the tunnels. Feather Butt caught her arm. She stared at the scaly claws on her bicep then back at Feather Butt. 

“Look I can’t stay, I have to take this to my elders,” She shook him off. She started walking towards the tunnels again. Feather Butt stood in her way.

“What are you doing? Move!” He didn’t. He kept glancing at the object in her belt and then back at her. No, not at her, behind her. She slowly turned around.

“Stop.” The harsh raspy voice came from the other tunnel’s entrance. Ice crept up in her veins.  Another Vorex. Its feathers were molting, its back stooped in a hump. Golden ringlets decorated its feathers. It leaned heavily on its cane. The Vorexes elder. More Vorexes stood behind the old one. “Are, surrounded, stop.”

“You talk?” she whirled around to Feather Butt. “You could talk this entire time?”

“Understand little, language hard.” The elder Vorex's voice was raspy. It spoke slowly, its voice half rasp half chirp. “Knew, you would come.”

“You didn’t. There's no way you could have, I didn’t tell anyone I was coming here.” 

“Your kind… would come… for medallion .”

The old bird motioned with its clawed hand. More Vorex filled the room. Nuava crouched watching as they marched into the room. She stepped backward toward the other tunnel. She bumped into Feather Butt. 

Nuava looked up.“You're not going to let me go either are you?” Feather Butt grabbed her dagger from her belt and threw it onto the floor. 

“Hey, that's mine!” More Vorex marched into the room. Nuava crouched at the ready. 

The elder Vorex spoke again “Want peace, you stay. Be a-.     What word?” 

“A hostage?” 

“No, trophy”

“I think that's worse.”

“Stay here… with others… good care for you.”

Nuava looked around at the dusty objects. “Uhh no thanks.”

“Then, will make, stay.”

The Vorex lunged at her. She dove to the ground, rolling like her dad taught her. She was on her feet in an instant. Something glinted out of the corner of her eye. The jeweled dagger. A Vorex lunged at her. Its clawed talons dug into her skin. She gave it a sharp jab In the stomach. It reeled backward, letting out dry coughs. 

She ran to the cubbies. Her hand curled around the dagger hilt. The familiar weight once again, in her palm. She twirled around brandishing the knife. 

“Ha, try to get me now!”

The Vorex stopped. Their eyes now on the dagger. 

“Scared aren’t you?” She spun the dagger between her fingers. The Vorex’s eyes follow the movement. They didn’t advance farther but they didn’t back away either. They looked to the elder Vorex. Its eyes were on the dagger too. 

“Careful, priceless” It croaked. 

Nuava stopped spinning the knife. They weren’t scared of her… Puzzle pieces slide together. The way Feather Butt had reacted when she threw the relic and how he had reacted with the dagger. 

She held the dagger above the floor. Holding it between two fingers. Instantly the Vorex grew more tense as they backed away from her. Their eyes fixated on the dagger between her fingertips. 

“No drop, bad.” The elder voice was anxious. 

“So I shouldn’t do this?” Nuava let the dagger slip between her fingers. It crashed onto the floor, the careful inlaid jewels burst from the hilt skidding around the floor. Chaos ensued. Multiple Vorexs leaped for the falling dagger. Others scrambled for the jewels. 

“Break, priceless, enough, kill now.” the elder barked out something that sounded like a shrill bird call.

The other Vortexes' heads snapped up. Talons reached for her. They all swarmed her all at once. Nuava grabbed another item from the cubbies. This one was a wooden box.

The Vorex froze.

“And what if something happened to this?” 

“Let go, now, priceless,” the elder's voice dipped into a growl. “will kill, no stay,"

“Not if I do this.”

She tossed the box. It arched high over the vortex heads. They lunged for the small object as it fell through their talons. It bounced across the floor. The Vorex made a mad scramble to save it. Nuava threw something else. The Vorex dived. She grinned and turned back to the cubbies and began pulling everything out and tossing them over her shoulder. The Vorex scrambled for the items falling over themselves to catch them. Some items shattered upon impact. Others bounced and rolled. 

“Stop now.” Nuava jumped. The voice came right behind her ear. She spun. The elder Vorex stood right next to her. Nuava froze an object still in her hand. She held it up.

But the elder was faster. Its claws wrapped around her wrist before she could move. They pressed on her wrist, freezing her fingers.

“No, will not.” the elder's grip tightened. Pain shot down from her wrist. She felt the bones in her hand grind together. 

“Drop, now”

Its grip loosened. She dropped the object. The elder snapped it out of the air faster than she could see. The Vorex put it safely back on the shelf but it didn’t loosen its grip. Instead, it twisted her arm. Nuava cried out.

“Pay for damage,”

Nuava gritted her teeth. She swung her leg out. Catching the old bird in the knees. It fell, hitting the ground in a pile of feathers. She staggered away. Her arm throbbed where the old Vorex had held it. The Vorex stopped grabbing for the fallen items. All eyes turned to her. Their beady eyes surrounded her. 

“Get her.” The elder Vorex croaked.

Nuava bolted. The obsidian walls blurred past her.  The rough stone dug at her bare feet. The Vorex launched themselves after her. Talons scratch against stone. The tunnel split. Nuava hesitated, breathing heavily. Something flew past her ear. Nuava scrambled away. She bolted down the nearest tunnel. It looked the exact same as the one she had just left. The relic thumped painfully against her hip. 

More Vorex appeared in the tunnel ahead of her. Nuava cursed and changed direction, she bolted through a tunnel to her right. The Vorex knew these caves far more than she did. Nuava stopped. The tunnel she had chosen led to a dead end. Light came from the ceiling. Silvery moonlight poured onto the floor. 

Bird calls screamed from the tunnel behind her. She spun. The Vorex had reached her. Nuava ran for the skylight. If she jumped for it she could make it.

Vorexs poured into the room. Claws grabbed her, pulling her back. She Kicked punching at the writhing masses all around her. There were too many. So many talons grabbing at her tearing at her skin. 

Suddenly they stopped. Their  heads unanimously turned to something on the ground. Something gold. The elder's relic! It must have fallen as she was fighting. Nuava kneed her current captor in the groin. She dove for the relic. 

Talons raked across her back as she scrambled for the object. Feet kicked at her. Her hands wrapped around the relic. She lifted it triumphantly in the air.

Everything stilled. 

“Not so tough now.” 

The Vorex leaped after her. Apparently they decided it was not worth it.  She jumped. She grabbed onto the rim of the skylight. Her fingers gripped the hard rock. 

Claws grabbed at her legs. She screamed. Her grip loosened as she was dragged back towards the ground. There claws digging into her skin.

The elders' words echoed in her head. “weak.” She kicked. The claws grabbing her loosened.

Nuava pulled herself up. Sprawling onto the stony ground. She had gone into the heart of the beast and came out a warrior. She had done it.