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Oddities
xxxxxDarkness clung to the treetops, the ever present kind that never seemed to turn grey. Its casual descent through the canopy was stopped only by the small glowing orb held in smaller hands. The light reflected off the sharp edges of the trees’ cascading curtains of deep green leaves. Odd clasped the glow-fruit to her chest as she shuffled across the ground. It dipped and swayed under her feet, only holding up where the roots of nearby trees interlocked and collected the dirt between them.
xxxxx“They’re going to be so excited when they hear,” Odd said to herself. She shuffled on, unaware of the danger ahead of her. One wrong step in the wrong direction ended her retreat. Instead of simply dipping beneath her feet, the ground tore, then split, then wasn’t there at all.
xxxxxOdd’s feet dangled over nothing. The root she clung to shivered with her weight. “Help!” Odd said. A frantic glance below revealed nothing but darkness and stray roots. Somewhere down there, the glow-fruit continued to fall, leaving nothing but darkness behind.
xxxxx“Odd? You down there?” a familiar voice said, accompanied by a more familiar face that peeked over the edge of the hole. It was covered in the same same fur that grew in small patches on her own face, though his was orange and almost hid those brown eyes that looked perpetually sad. All four of his long, pointed ears twitched with concern.
xxxxx“Matt!” Odd said. She would have smiled if the situation weren’t so dangerous. Her friend was here, and by the indignant huffs coming from above, Shine was here, too.
xxxxx“You’ve really gone and done it this time, Odd. I told you the ground was weak around here,” Matt said, reaching down with a hand covered in equal proportions fur, mud, and scars. Odd quickly grabbed his hand and scrambled out of the pit with his help. Odd didn’t need to look back at the gaping hole her fall had created to know there would be repercussions for it later.
xxxxxShine held aside the leaves of a nearby tree and let Matt and Odd into the safer, more sturdy ground around the roots. From this new position, Odd could see Shine more clearly than before. She sat straight-backed in her tree, her oversized scales providing a pointy armor that brushed away the sharp edges of the leaves. Her crest rose in a threatening halo around her head. She was a spectacular specimen of her kind.
xxxxxMatt’s face looked thunderous at the moment, but it was difficult to pull off threatening when he couldn’t even stand up straight. Instead, the orange fur gathered in small bushes over the brown eyes and flat nose typical for the Pasu. His knuckles brushed the ground at the ends of his long arms, clearing a small space of the old leaves that had fallen there.
xxxxx“Odd, what the heck happened earlier. You should know to be more careful of where you walk,” Shine said as Odd tried to hide her cuts from the light of the glow-fruit Matt had brought. Other lights floated in the darkness beyond the trees illuminated by Matt’s glow-fruit, all moving in the same direction.
xxxxx“Sorry. I dropped my glow-fruit and wanted to get it,” Odd said, finally relaxing into the safer embrace of the tree trunk. The merry voices of Pasu and Skela mingled into a strange sort of hush around each of the points of light out there.
xxxxx“You should’ve asked a Pasu to get it for you. Or better yet, get a Skela to pick you another one,” Matt said, attempting to brush the ever-present dirt off his arms. Odd watched as two lights quite obviously found each other and floated quickly away between the trees.
xxxxx“You know how they would have reacted to that,” Shine said from her perch in the branches, “ ‘So the Mik wants us to do all the work? How ungrateful.’ ” Shine did her best impression of a snobbish voice and gave a disdainful sniff at the end that was so familiar, Odd started giggling. The old insult was less painful when she could laugh.
xxxxx“At least then she wouldn’t have almost died! You know there’s nothing down there but death. She’d fall forever and still not reach the bottom,” Matt said. His hands fisted beside him, and he looked as if he would pace if the leaves hadn’t been so close. Odd’s laughter subsided as quickly as it had come.
xxxxx“Hey, stop fighting, okay? I’m perfectly fine thanks to you two, and we’re going to be late at this rate,” Odd said. She slowly moved to the drooping leaves of the blade-tree they were under and looked at Shine. Shine rolled her eyes, but she complied and pulled aside the dangerous curtain of leaves with her scaled hands.
xxxxxThey were the last to arrive at the Gathering. The giant stump that served as the central point was surrounded by circles of wary Pasu leaning down, knuckles brushing the dirt at the ends of their long arms. They spaced out evenly over the ground, leaving symmetrical rings of indents around the stump, their slight weight allowing them a place on the ground. The Skela, however, clumped in the branches of the trees nearby, whispering and laughing quietly enough to almost be polite. Their scales were large and often protruded at their shoulders or as a kind of crown about their heads. This was the place where the glow-fruit grew brightest, and the lights shown benevolently here at the Gathering.
xxxxxMatt and Shine went to their respective groups, and Odd did her best to avoid those already seated. She knew she only had two ears, and that her legs were too long and her hair the wrong shade of fishscale silver, but she liked the somewhat irregular patches of tiny scales and the clumps of soft fur that grew intermittently between them. Odd found it difficult to fit into either group. Those who saw her usually cast baleful looks or scalding comments her way, which only made Matt and Shine more special to her. Determinedly, she picked her way across the treacherous ground until she found refuge at the trunk of a dead tree at the back whose leaves had fallen sometime after the last Gathering.
xxxxx“Welcome, all! It’s time for the Gathering to begin,” a loud voice said from the stump in the middle. It came from a Pasu Odd knew was Shag, a larger specimen of the Pasu, even when stooped. “Platelet, leader of the Skela, is to lead this Gathering. Platelet.” Even if Odd couldn’t see over the heads of the other Pasu, she knew that an equally large Skela would be carefully coming down from the nearest branch to stand next to Shag on the stump.
xxxxx“Thank you, Shag. The Skela recognize this honor and hope to do it justice,” Platelet said. There was a general murmur from the crowd as Pasu shifted away and Skela grew quiet. “There once was a time when our peoples lived without fear of the dark. Our ancestors came here from a place known only as the Roofless Domain. They descended upon this place and named it Misrit after the capital of the Roofless Domain.”
xxxxx“I thought they named it after their brave leader,” a Pasu said nearby. They were quickly hushed by a group of Skela hanging out in the back, and Odd had to focus to hear Platelet’s voice over the din.
xxxxx“Misrit was a dark place, cloaked in eternal night until our ancestors came,” the Skela leader said, “They brought with them the glow-fruit, and the safety those fruit brought, though they could not have anticipated the changes that would occur.
xxxxx“The trees did not grow as our ancestors had expected. They developed the large, blade sharp leaves we all know. These leaves cut and scarred our ancestors until their leader, the first Skela, stepped up and protected the others from the leaves.”
xxxxx“You liar! Everyone known the leader was a Pasu,” someone said from the crowd. Mumbles of dissent passed through the crowd, and Platelet had to raise her voice to be heard.
xxxxx“This Gathering is led by the Skela, and I tell no lies. Do not disgrace this place with your false accusations,” Platelet said. Odd could not see her, but she guessed the leader had specifically directed the words at the dissenter. “As time went on, the differences between the first Skela and Pasu were passed on to their children, and the differences grew more extreme. Those with scales sired larger, more durable scaled children, and those with no defences grew more and more defenseless. Only the Skela could climb the blade-trees and harvest the fruits for the Pasu below, and so the relationship continues.”
xxxxx“Platelet, please do not forget the part we play in caring for Misrit,” Shag said. The crowd grew quiet again, and the leader of the Skela did not speak. “We, the Pasu, travel the ground and plant the trees in which you Skela live.”
xxxxx“Lies! The Skela depend on no one,” someone said. Odd just hoped whoever it was would be quiet. Platelet had been getting to her favorite part, and now there were so many interruptions.
xxxxx“Tell me, then, how you would replenish your trees once they got to be too old. You could not come down yourself, since your heavy scales would send you straight through the ground and into the Pit below. You may be young, but it wasn’t so long ago that we witnessed a Skela attempt to walk below and fall into the hollow beneath all our feet,” Shag said. Odd’s ears perked up at the sound of this new tale, but they soon fell again.
xxxxx“Shag, they may be your Pasu, but this is not your Gathering,” Platelet said, “Remember that.” Odd would have liked to hear more, especially since she knew what would happen next, but someone shouted somewhere closer to the stump. Shine and Matt came quickly through the trees, trying to be quiet while rushing through the foliage.
xxxxx“Odd, a fight’s breaking out. We have to leave before things get worse for you,” Matt said. He grabbed Odd’s hand and started leading her away from the Gathering.
xxxxx“It’s not like I wanted to hear the legend of the Tooth Tree. Again,” Shine said. Her eyes avoided contact, but her lower lip betrayed her real feelings.
xxxxx“It’s not a legend. Odd found one, right?” Matt asked. He was in front, so he didn’t look back at Odd, but she could feel the expectation in his question.
xxxxx“It seems to match the legend’s description, but I was hoping to confirm it once more before showing it to you. We’ll need another glow-fruit to find it again,” Odd said. She carefully put her feet exactly where Matt did, even if the ground seemed to sink a little under her scaled feet. A stray leaf brushed the top of Odd’s head as Shine let out a gasp.
xxxxx“You went beyond the village borders! Odd, you know the penalty for that. You’ll be sent to the Pit,” Shine said. She worried at her plate like scales, buffing out imaginary scratches. Matt and Odd were forced to stop, and Odd took the time to see how much fur had been cut off by the leaves.
xxxxx“Odd would never try to bring down the sky; she’s not like the first Mik. You know that as much as I do, so don’t tell anybody, got it?” Matt said. Shine looked him in the eyes long enough to make the silence uncomfortable before disappearing up the current tree. She returned a moment later with a glowing orb in her hand.
xxxxx“Here,” she said, tossing it down, “I won’t harvest any more for your adventuring, though. You know the others keep a steady count of the light sources around the village.” Odd thanked her and directed Matt toward the outer edge of the known.
xxxxxThe glow-fruit beat away the darkness at further and further intervals until the only one left was the single fruit Shine had gotten for them. “Go left here,” Odd said to Matt, tapping his shoulder.
xxxxx“Why that way? You’re lost, Odd. Just admit it,” Shine said. She perched on another branch, hidden by the blade-trees that could support her.
xxxxx“No, I’m not. The Tooth Tree is right that way, just past the stream,” Odd said. She reached up and carefully moved the nearest leaf.
xxxxx“I believe Odd. Come on, Shine, just this once?” Matt said. Odd pulled back quickly and examined as the cut on her hand began to well with blood. Shine said nothing, but she did part the leaves. Matt kept up a steady flow of chatter that kept up with Shine’s regular complaints until the trio passed the small stream.
xxxxx“This way!” Odd said, lunging forward. Matt squeaked as the ground beneath the two of them dipped dangerously and began to rip. He pushed her back, both of them falling through leaves onto more solid ground.
xxxxx“Odd, what were you thinking? You could’ve doomed us both,” Matt said. His eyes were wide, and it took him a few extra moments to stand up.
xxxxx“As it is, you both are bleeding. We should go back,” Shine said, quietly rustling leaves betraying her presence.
xxxxx“We’re so close. We can’t turn back now,” Odd said. Silence greeted her statement. “Matt, come on.” Still no response. “Shine, remember what’s at the top of the Tooth Tree?”
xxxxx“The Roofless Domain. A place with more light than a hundred glow-fruit, but that kind of light should be glowing around that tree right now, but the only light is the glow-fruit,” Shine said. For once, her scales were completely covered, and nothing gave away her presence except her mumbles.
xxxxx“Odd, I know you want to believe in the Roofless Domain, but don’t you think someone would have found it by now?” Matt asked.
xxxxx“It is real; I found it. I thought you would believe me, but if you want to go home, then take the glow-fruit and go,” Odd said, testing the ground in front if her and moving carefully. Shine sniffed and set off, away from them by the retreating sounds.
xxxxx“Odd, I’m sorry. Let’s just go to the tree. I’ll get the glow-fruit,” Matt said. He carefully retrieved the light source and continued moving. The blade-tree leaves hung about them, and the two crawled beneath the leaves for the last leg of the journey to the Tooth Tree.
xxxxxTheir crawl ended in a small clearing. In the center, a large tree spread branches with blank, circular leaves in a layered pattern, very different from the deep green of the blade-tree leaves they were used to. Gingerly, Odd reached up and touched one of the Tooth Tree leaves. “They’re not as sharp as the blade-tree leaves, but be careful,” she said. Matt understood, and for once, Odd took the lead; her half-formed scales provided more protection from these leaves than Matt’s fur.
xxxxxThey climbed up the Tooth Tree, Odd pushing aside leaves while Matt held the glow-fruit. The branches grew thinner and thinner until Odd finally pushed through a layer of dirt and crawled out onto it.
xxxxxOut here, there was space. More space than Odd had ever thought existed, and nothing stopping her from stretching up and standing tall. She looked up, and her breath caught. “Matt, come look at this,” she said as he crawled out behind her.
xxxxx“Odd, where are we?” Matt asked. His shoulders hunched forward around the glow-fruit, and the hitch in his voice didn’t go unnoticecd.
xxxxx“We made it. It’s the Roofless Domain. Look up there,” Odd said. She pointed up, and instead of the solid dark brown that the two of them were used to, thousands of tiny white lights twinkled above the treetops, accented by the biggest source of light either of them had ever seen. Odd laughed suddenly and pranced away. There were strange plants here, and new sounds all around that caught at her attention.
xxxxx“Odd! What about the holes? You’re going to make a hole in the sky,” Matt said. Odd’s laughter only increased at his statement.
xxxxx“My feet don’t sink here. Matt, we made it,” Odd said, but Matt stayed quiet, not moving from the entry point.
xxxxx“Odd, we have to go back. This isn’t safe,” Matt said. Odd spun around and glared at him.
xxxxx“Go back? Why would I go back? I finally found a place that is safe for me,” Odd said. Her eyes were wide as the light source above them, and she felt a small knot form in her stomach.
xxxxx“Odd,” Matt said, “There’s a reason the ancestors left this place.”
xxxxxOdd stopped gazing at the strange foliage around her and instead looked at her toes. Patchy fur and tiny scales stared back at her.
xxxxx“Come on. Shine might be lost back there. We have the glow-fruit after all. Let’s go look for her.” Matt said. He turned and dropped halfway down the opening. Odd didn’t move, and when Matt looked back at her, she didn’t look at him.
xxxxx“Odd?”
xxxxx“Don’t worry. You can come visit if you want to.”
((A/N: Huzzah! 5 drafts later, and I finally turned that unformatted block of text into something! Also turned it in for a major grade in my creative writing class, so here's hoping it goes well. It's like, the length of a legit short story, so I'n pretty pumped. I could see extending the story into Odd's adventure out in the Roofless Domain, or maybe finding out what really happened with the first Skela/Pasu/Mik and why they moved down. Maybe both. At the same time.))
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