CHAPTER XXII.
THE UPPER NORTH Georges stood with stoicism as the plunts scythed the air.
Its balance depended on the skill of the eight strata designated to carry him.
This is unnatural.
What would Elfride think if she saw me now,
He thought.
His mind slipped subconsciously back to his first wife in his distress.
The strata were flying at a height of about ten thousand feet.
The air was cold and the fluffy clouds drenched the passengers as the birds cut through them.
Felicity,
Reuben and Little Green sat on the leader strata.
Felicity was placed at the back and she focused entirely on not slipping silently off.
The wings felt powerful as the bird pulled the air past them with its strong muscular action.
When it was climbing to its cruising height the three leant forwards instinctively and gripped hard with their knees.
The strata smiled to himself.
He had no intention of losing his precious cargo,
But their concentration would keep him silent and allow him to fly as swiftly as he was able with such a weight.
He felt the aura of Little Green flow through him.
He was proud to carry such a learned plant.
As he flew he thought serenely about this problem of the toxics and their threat.
The perspective of distance gave problems clarity.
He washed his fiery eyes with a blink of purple eyelids.
He and his kind lived in territory unknown to all the other creatures.
They remained separate,
Impartial observers that were so essential to the balance.
He thought of the clifftop where he had been raised and of the forest canopy which sheltered his latest fine brood.
The toxics were lost.
It needed intervention.
He agreed with the ancient Oceanids.
Their recent tantrums were ultimately only going to destroy all the answers they sought.
It was time.
He heard George bellow and chuckled.
Felicity felt the leader's tremor of laughter beneath her.
The ground was terrifyingly far below,
And the shuddering she felt under her bottom wasn't good,
She thought.
She didn't look,
But she knew behind her were the other three strata.
Strata second held Zib.
Strata third Gus and Scrat,
And the last three strata carried Wolfgang and Pippi.
The eight tethered strata bravely pulled George,
Whose complaints she could hear in spite of the wind.
Felicity was inclined to think he was actually scared.
Not surprising,
She thought,
As they disappeared into wet blindness yet again.
She leant forwards and tried to relax.
How long was this interminable journey going to be?
For her horror,
She nodded off to sleep.
She was shaken awake by Little Green.
Felicity,
Felicity,
Look!
Little Green was saying.
Felicity looked.
They had reduced height and were now soaring over vast stretches of snow-topped ground.
Felicity could see a white fox running low as he darted amongst the shadows the strata created.
The land gave way to an ocean broken with small lumps of ice.
We're in the Upper North,
Said Little Green,
Home of the Oceanids.
Felicity was glad to have arrived.
The Upper North was magnificent in its bleached starkness,
But absolutely freezing.
She thanked Mrs.
O.
Silently for her extra clothing.
She and Reuben had numerous tops of soft hide that felt like velvet as she slid them on,
And over that they wore soft fur that fell into all the right gaps.
The others had to literally smear themselves with the flubbum.
Felicity thought of the foods she'd seen being bundled into her package and her mouth watered.
Some banished sticky buds that Reuben had asked his mother especially for.
There were river reeds,
Sand shoots,
Forest bees,
Small chicanes,
Earth balls,
Strape,
Plants,
Chicklers.
The good aunties would not store,
And Mrs.
O.
Said the Arctic rolls were better fresh too.
But there was plenty of Felicity's new favourite,
Liffles,
Crushed and mixed together in a rainbow of crunchy colour.
For drink there were tiny,
Non-porous flasks of amber and nectar,
And Orion River water of palest blue.
The flasks came in a myriad of shapes,
And the Orion children had enjoyed selecting the perfect size and shape for each nook and cranny of the packs.
Felicity was particularly relieved the stoddables had not been included.
The strata flew evenly between two icy peaks,
And as they emerged from the glacial walls,
The white,
Frozen ground had become a vast lake.
It shone to the furthest horizon,
A black abyss of depths unfathomable.
They flew over it for the rest of the day.
George was grumbling intermittently,
Reuben risked turning round to wink at Felicity in little green.
Just when the whole troop couldn't take any more of the feathery,
Bumpy ride,
The strata dropped suddenly to the water's surface.
With his keen eyes,
Strata One had seen the beach,
And he led his flock to the ground.
The beach was small,
And behind it was a cave,
That was all.
Water,
Grey beach,
And a cave.
The landing of George went especially badly.
He tried to launch himself to the ground before his team had balanced.
The plunge tipped as he leapt,
And only with sheer lack did the packages not disappear into the black,
Watery depths.
The strata bowed to each of them.
And then without song,
But in perfect union,
They took off.
Thank you,
Reuben said,
And stood watching them disappear from sight.
Come on,
Gang,
He said,
Let's see what's in the cave.
Felicity thought that was a stupid idea,
And wanted to stay on the beach.
Pippi came and licked her face.
Come on,
Little Felicity,
It will be warmer out of this wind,
She said.
We must make a large fire for the night.
Wolfgang padded over to them.
Pippi,
My little cub,
You must not take the chill.
Pippi nuzzled him.
Then together they loped with Felicity between them to the cave.
Sib,
Scrat and Gus were gathering some driftwood,
But Reuben was concerned it would not last the night.
Little Green explained that the flubberm would act as a sort of long-burning oil if they smeared it generously over the wood.
George offered his pot to use,
As his muscles would keep him warm.
But Reuben said it was better they all donate a little.
As the large moon swung up into the starry sky,
The glowing fire crackled with promise.
They were all exhausted,
In spite of no activity.
They ate a few sunshoots from their provisions and chatted softly amongst themselves.
Reuben asked Little Green what she would do about her and Harmonic.
In view of our hasty departure from Orionwood,
I will simply have to wait,
She said.
But I feel strong,
Reuben,
Even without my final transition.
Reuben felt differently and told her to keep her mind open to contact from her and Harmonic.
"'We should discuss the problem of the Sibylline,
' announced Gus unexpectedly.
They looked at him with surprise.
"'Not now,
Gus,
' said Reuben.
"'I apologise,
Reuben,
But it must be before we sleep to-night.
' His eyes were dark in his spiky face.
As a small gang of hippies sat up,
George trotted closer,
Disturbing a pile of driftwood they prepared for the night.
It slithered flat.
Sib's hooded eyes were unreadable.
"'We'll talk until the moon sits on that tallest peak,
' he said.
"'And then we sleep.
Tomorrow the Oceanids will come.
' He came closer to the fire and Gus began his subtle interrogation.
Sib made monosyllabic answers.
The Sibylline wanted a different enharmonic,
One with more respect.
They wanted a different homeland,
Less arid.
Clisty wondered why it was so important to Gus to hear Sib's opinions.
The moon travelled down to the peak,
And Reuben drew an end to the discussions.
"'Soon we'll discuss further this idea that the colour-changers are less respected,
' he said,
"'for like the Toxics' misjudgment that they have no place in this world.
So is any belief that there is lower esteem for the plants that work so hard to keep us all comfortable.
I worry that the Sibylline have so lost their balance of perception.
' After a small pause he thanked Sib for his patience and ended the discussion.
They settled down in the flickering firelight.
Clisty was happy to be in Reuben's arms,
But despite her warm Orion hides,
She was still very cold.
Reuben opened his fur and she shuffled inside.
Only the odd firecrack and the water lapping gently on the shore could be heard.
Reuben kissed the top of Clisty's hair.
She could feel the tension in his body.
"'Please,
Please let me mature,
' she whispered.
"'Please,
Please,
Please let her mature,
' he prayed in an innocent echo.
And the night wind carried their prayers up,
Up,
And across the deep cold water,
To a place unknown even to the old world's inhabitants.
