Lapu squeezed his eyes shut, reviewing the events of the day in his head. Stupid campers, he thought angrily. If they hadn't been so reckless, his life would still be perfect, as it had always been. He was a wild kalon, but he knew some of the ways of the civilized beings of his kind. He liked to climb up in trees, and watch them camp, and he would explore their temporary homes when they went off somewhere else. He knew of the fires they built, and he would always make sure that they were put out properly.
If they weren't, he would kick dirt over the embers. But this time, for some idiotic reason, the kits had run about the camp,
with makeshift torches that they had made from the fire, sticks, and some paper. Some shrubs had quickly caught fire, and destruction was well on its way. The campers escaped quite quickly, and called 911. Though the firefighters had hurried, his forest was so far away from the station, it had been a bit dry recently, and not to mention all the fresh, fallen leaves, that the fire managed to spread quickly.
Tears leaked from his eyes and he remembered the wreckage. He had been abandoned as a kit in the forest, and thanks to all the good powers in the world, had somehow managed to survive the dangerous wilderness. He built a treehouse, which was, well
had been quite a masterpiece before the fire. Now here he was, strapped down to a long, board thing that he didn't quite know the name of, in an emergency car. (An ambulance, for you modern kalons.)
The doctor examined him, poking and prodding him constantly. Lapu knew only a few words, so he spent this time glaring and growling threateningly. The doctor smiled, and in garbled talk, explained something that Lapu couldn't quite understand. Out of it,
he heard burns, fire, help, and a few other words he had heard, but didn't know the meaning of. So Lapu just glowered, and let out an awfully incoherent
"No!"
The doctor, quite stunned, paused, and asked Lapu something.
Lapu was shackled down, almost as if the medics had predicted his wildness. Perhaps they already knew. He snapped at the air, causing the doctor to take a step back. Lapu paused, then began struggling against his bindings. He wanted out. He
needed out. He had managed to get only one paw out before the nurses rushed in to hold him down. They continued to speak in this confusing language, and Lapu, quite tired out from his escape attempt, finally let sleep consume him.
The days had slowly slinked by, like an ashamed, out-foxed fox. Lapu continued his unfriendly behavior, growling and acting quite aggressive. Today though, went a little differently than the others. He was strapped down into a cart, and bumped along into a van. He was secured in the back, but no one was watching him any longer. He took his chance, and began to wriggle free from his new bindings, which had been hastily applied. He managed to get both his front paws free by the time he reached the unknown destination. He pushed himself out of the other two straps, then padded quietly behind the cart, sitting on all fours, his nubby tail flicking angrily. As the medics opened the back doors, he thrust himself forward, letting out an unearthly yowl. The startled kalons jumped back, their eyes wide, while Lapu streaked away. He didn't know where they had planned on taking him, and he didn't particularly want to find out.
Suddenly, his breath was caught short as an unfamiliar paw held him by the scruff. It was another nurse, or something of the sort.
He spat at her and scrabbled clumsily at her face with outstretched paws. She looked into his eyes, and a feeling of understanding passed between the two. She made a cooing noise, one that mothers use to calm kits. Lapu stopped struggling, but remained tense and growling. She carried him over to the building, and passed him off to the other medics, with a slight nod. The others carried him a bit more roughly, so he would snap at them a little, all the while continuing to growl. The medics talked to another kalon sitting at a desk for some time, and Lapu took this time to watch another kit. She was playing with some blocks, and making some sort of castle with them. He stared, and a feeling of longing rose up in his heart. It was swiftly disturbed though, as a new set of paws carried him off.
He was so bored. The room was cold, and the only things of interest were books, and Lapu could make little use of them. After he had been taken by the new kalon, he saw many plain, boring rooms, each with a kit of varying age in it. He was placed in a room not unlike the others, with a bed, rug, and some books in it. The door was locked from the outside, so he had no way of getting out. Hours passed of seemingly nothing, before another kalon walked in. She looked friendly enough, so Lapu only growled uneasily,
as he let her lead him away. He was taken to a room filled with new things. There was a large board in front of him, with many unusual figures and shapes on it. Some were quite large, but they began to shrink as they went down the board. The nice kalon pointed to the board, and asked him something. He cocked his head and let out a chirp. The kalon repeated what she had said,
and gestured towards the board and then his eyes. He shook his head wildly, and ran over to the door and began scratching it.
The kalon gave an exasperated sigh, picked Lapu up, and carried him off to a new room.
It had been a long day, but Lapu was back in his own room. He had seen a large room, full of tables and exciting smells. He had even gotten to eat some new, exciting foods. He was becoming more comfortable to his surroundings, and decided that perhaps,
he could make this work.
It was a month later, and life had been going fairly well for Lapu, considering his situation. The kalons worked at, as he learned,
an orphanage, and he was an orphan. They had been teaching him their language, and he was picking up on it quite well. He had managed to tell them his name, Lapu, and he was gaining a vast vocabulary quite quickly. He was now allowed to venture about the orphanage without a staff member as a constant companion, and he was very interested in what his teacher would tell him.
Even with his academic success, there was still a nagging feeling, he was missing something in his life. One look out the window,
and he could see what is was, as plain as the sun in the sky. He missed his forest, the days spent exploring, trying new things,
and simply having fun. There was no need for math or English there, the birds, deer, and him could communicate easily with no words spoken. Though the orphanage had daily recess, it was not enough. He missed the wind in his fur as he raced the bees after stealing their honey. And so, he sadly sat upon a hill overlooking the mountains that encircled the town he was in. He sat, with such longing in his eyes, that one employee could stand his pain no longer.
"A field trip!" Lapu stared at his teacher, quite confused. "What's a field trip?" Shira, as his teacher was called, giggled. "You go,"
she said, moving her paws together, tracing a diagonal line into the air. "to forest, and stay for a night!" Lapu's eyes widened at the thought. A forest?! He jumped out of his seat with pure joy exploding from his eyes. "When?!" Shira smiled. "Tomorrow." Lapu raced to bed, prepared to sleep away the entire day, just to be in the forest faster.
When he awoke, he became a pure bundle of energy, chattering away with his newly acquired words, and helping the staff get ready for the trip. As his fellow orphans loaded into the van, he picked out a seat beside the window, and bounded in before anyone else had a chance to get it. As they traveled, he dreamily stared at the rolling hills and farmland. Golden flowers swayed in the breeze, and Lapu's heart soared when they drew near the forest. Ignoring the rules that had been set up, he stuck his head out the window, and relished the crisp, autumn air. Soon, they arrived at the camping spot. Lapu raced out, and began rolling in the freshly fallen leaves. Oh, how good to be back in his element, the wilds! He ran about, having the time of his life. The instructors called him back, and he sadly padded to the camp, his tail drooping. The rest of the day was spent learning about nature, and doing fun camp activities. They identified trees, made shelters from sticks, and even went out on a lake in canoes! It was great fun, even if Lapu wasn't doing his normal forest activities.
Oh dear, night time had come so quickly! Tomorrow, the group would leave, and go back to that dull orphanage. He rustled unhappily in his sleeping bag, and decided to take a walk to ease his discomfort. He quietly sneaked out of the tent, and chose a deer trail to follow. He eagerly did so, and began bounding about. Oh, how he loved the woods at night! He began to sprint. Faster, faster, faster, the night air whistled through his fur! Suddenly, the forest began to quiet, he slowed, then paused curious as to what it could be. Suddenly, he saw two ice-blue eyes staring out at him. He froze, terrified for his life. What kind of beast was this? He knew of big cats, and that when you encountered one, they knew of your presence. The matter of the problem is to escape.
As Lapu's mind raced for a solution, the creature crept closer. Suddenly, they were face to face. "Young kit of the forest, I can see it in your eyes. You are of my kind, do not worry. You are like me." A large paw touched his own, and she became visible. A lovely kalon with glittering eyes, and spotty fur. "See me?" Lapu nodded, his eyes widening. "Where- how? I thought all kalons should live tame." She smiled gingerly. "No, some of us are wild. I was tame, but I left society for the wilds. You belong here, you should not be a mere visitor to these lands." she sadly remarked. "Where is it you come from?" "I come from the orphanage," Lapu quickly spoke.
The kalon's eyes brightened. "An orphan? Perhaps I can help you return..." She broke off her words, but mumbled to herself now and then. "Then it is settled," she suddenly remarked, lifting her head and once again meeting Lapu's gaze. "I will bring you here.
Return to your companions now, and I shall find you soon, and adopt you. Then we will figure out what should happen next."
His returning walk was slow, for Lapu cherished every moment he had left in the woods, even though the kalon said she'd bring him back later. He padded up to the tent, climbed in, snuggled up in his sleeping bag, and drifted to sleep with warm thoughts coursing through his mind.
A long day had passed, leaving Lapu exhausted. They packed up, and headed back to the orphanage. Everything was normal,
but Lapu's mind kept drifting to the kalon... As a car pulled up, his ears pricked.
"Thank you."
His eyes met hers, and the kit was wild once more.
