Chapter 20 Enharmonics Ruben and Orcadia had gone.
The elders came to their tepee to collect little green,
And turning over,
Flisty realised Ruben had left.
The dent in his feather cushion showed where he'd lain,
Holding her until she slept.
She couldn't think of the evening now.
It was like a party she hadn't wanted to attend.
All the eating and dancing had led up to the moment when Ruben and Orcadia would leave.
Like a wedding banquet.
Flisty stood up restless and walked to the opening of the tent.
George was going to spend the next few days on the outskirts of the village now the welcome banquet was over.
He said at his age he deserved a couple of days' good sleep after the long journey.
Wolfgang had suggested it was meeting Titania that necessitated the rest.
Gus had much to discuss with the elders.
They wanted to know all he could tell them of these destructive new toxics.
Flisty was astonished they held no fear,
Only curiosity.
Remembering the face of the toxic Demet at the landing beach,
She wondered if their lack of fear was ignorance or wisdom.
She didn't want to listen to Gus and the elders,
Even if they had invited her,
Which they clearly hadn't.
Wolfgang and Pippi were going to spend the time here mating.
Pippi said her pups would not be born until long after they'd defeated the toxics.
Flisty imagined Luparta cubs and smiled.
What are you smiling at?
Said Scrat,
Coming up behind her.
The others were stirring now.
Flisty turned to him.
I was thinking of Luparta cubs.
Ah,
Truly beautiful balls of fur,
Said Scrat.
As our enharmonics,
We do,
Of course,
Take special interest in them.
Wonderful little beasts.
Nippy,
Though.
Even a four-week-old Luparta can give a fair bite.
Flisty wondered if she would still be here to find out.
How she would love to take one home.
A gurgle of laughter welled up inside her.
What would Mum say if she took one back?
Mummy,
I brought a Luparta cub for us to keep.
He'll chew up most of the furniture and needs walking at least eight hours a day.
He'll grow to about the height of our conservatory,
But that's OK.
He can sleep outside.
Scrat left to chat and breakfast with a couple of young thorns.
If he couldn't mature,
Then he would have some fun.
He approached them with a half-smile.
Flisty flopped onto the rubbery,
Bright green grass.
A flurry of colour-changers brought over some drink.
It was the pale lemon water.
Sib poked his nose out of the entrance and then shuffled over.
A stray feather was clinging to his scaly back,
But he hadn't noticed.
Flisty needed to talk.
She didn't want to think about Ruben on Orcadia.
Have you bumped into your enharmonics since your soul-bonding?
She asked.
She still had no trust in Sib,
But he was with them for now.
Sib's tongue flicked out as he composed a reply.
His eyelids half-covered his orange eyes as he replied,
No,
As I told you before,
There is no reason.
Our use to each other was finished.
Our lives are now ours to lead,
Alone or partnered.
But if you're so important to each other,
Said Flisty,
There would only be one reason to seek out our enharmonic during our lives,
As I explained before.
Sib opened his eyes wide and looked directly at her.
It's dangerous and could kill.
I forgot.
Thank you for reminding me,
Flisty said.
Sib looked away.
She surveyed the camp.
Little Green was in the banyan,
Bravely meeting the challenges the elders had devised.
Deciding to escape Sib,
Flisty walked across and tried to peek inside.
A large pair of thorns shielded the interior view.
Flisty tried tapping one of them on his branchy arm.
No response.
She tried pushing her face through the lighter green bits.
But that hurt.
She was a quest-member,
After all.
She strolled slowly to the corner where their bodies met the wall of greens forming the tunnel.
She really wanted to know what poor Little Green was having to do in order to gain permission to travel on.
She prayed for Little Green's success.
Meanwhile,
She was going to find a way into the banyan tunnel.
There was not even a chink of light at the corner,
But Flisty discovered if she went round the side of the greens' walls,
She could at least hear.
My knowledge was passed to me by my mother before she died,
Little Green was saying.
Yes,
Child,
But you cannot have taken in all the knowledge needed for a mature greeness at such an early age,
Replied the rumbling voice that Flisty recognised as the elder green of the previous day.
I assure you I am no longer a child,
Look,
Said Little Green.
And then all was silent.
Flisty thought they were mind-sharing.
This was pointless.
If they didn't speak aloud,
She would have to give up.
But as she turned away,
The light pulled her back.
Even through the dense curtains of the greens' outstretched arms,
Little Green's phosphorescence shone.
Looking up in amazement,
Flisty saw that the entire banyan tunnel shimmered from the outside with a blue light.
She heard a collective gasp from the judges.
Then Little Green spoke again,
As she concealed the true power she had developed,
And the blue light faded.
Furthermore,
Please listen,
She said firmly,
And all was quiet once more,
As their minds connected within.
After a long time,
Flisty heard the elder green say in a hushed voice,
Surely you cannot be.
It is impossible,
Said another voice.
Little Green replied clearly and loudly,
I am.
My mother used my capacity to shed all the ancient knowledge she held from her family,
My ancestors.
They were the first stipples of the West.
After a pause,
Little Green continued.
We passed through the south-east,
And my parents used their combined skills to bring us safely past the edges of the shadowed south,
But we were overcome as we touched the shores of the temperate north.
It was as if my mother knew our time was limited.
Flisty heard the grief in Little Green's voice,
But she went bravely on.
She gave me all her knowledge.
I was able to take it as you see.
I am a stipple,
And I have the strength.
I am the first greenest stipple since our world began.
I descend from the first stipple created by the old world,
And I have matured.
Let me honour my parents,
Soul-bond,
And finish this quest.
A crescendo of voices met this statement.
Flisty could not hear who was speaking.
She wanted to ask Reuben what all that meant,
But of course she couldn't.
She left the meeting as two thorn patrol approached with a look of intent.
She was going to be courageous too.
She was going to find Reuben's mother.
Reuben and Orcadia had travelled until the sun was at its fullest.
They understood what they had to do.
Neither of them spoke.
The presence of the stranger Felicity had unsettled Orcadia.
Felicity was not of their world,
And her jealousies had affected Orcadia's balance with Reuben.
But Reuben's need was strong,
For Norcadia knew when the moment came,
The old world would ensure there was perfect communication.
They walked swiftly.
Reuben smiled at Orcadia.
Her pale,
Green-blue eyes were clear and calm.
We should make our union here,
He said finally.
They'd been following a broad,
Calm river,
Which as it turned a corner had started to pick up force,
And they saw the now bumpy water had reached its drop.
A cascade of green-blue water tumbled down into a deep lagoon below.
It was not a huge waterfall,
But still a place of potency and yet serenity.
Above them wheeled two large birds,
Wings outstretched,
And below lay the smoky blue water.
They scrambled down the sides of the fall,
And found a small path that ran behind the great wall of water.
It was slippery,
But wide enough to tread.
About halfway along,
The cascade had a break that allowed the now-lowering sun to pass into the secret cavern in which they stood.
Staying within the sunlight,
They walked to the back of the space.
It was peaceful.
They sat facing each other,
Legs crossed and arms relaxed.
A perfect circle.
Reuben focused on Orcadia's face until it became a blur.
Orcadia closed her eyes as he did,
And they mindshared.
Let the ground and the water and the air take us.
Unite us together and within this old world.
May we now become complete.
Reuben saw images of his world,
Of the great rivers of Orion country,
And of the den in which his mother had given birth to him.
He saw himself as a baby,
And then flashing pictures of his life flowed until his mind was filled with Orcadia.
He saw her as a tiny fragrant,
Clinging to her mother,
And then growing tall into the beautiful plant she'd become.
He knew she was with him,
Seeing all this at the same time.
They were together and yet apart.
And then he felt a pull.
He felt himself pull down as if falling.
He was lying flat on the ground and Orcadia was too.
They were connected to the earth and part of the earth.
He saw the roots of the plants and the fissures in the rocks until he touched the molten core.
The heat burnt his skin and he tried to come out of the trance,
But the bonding with Orcadia needed them there.
He was aware of her fear too and he tried to calm her.
Orcadia,
Trust it,
He tried to say.
Then quite clearly,
Whilst the fire scorched him and he learnt to conquer the fear,
It happened.
It was as if something had been bolted onto his innermost being and he knew the deed was done.
The heat abated and he felt himself pushing through the earth until he broke out of the ground like a vast,
Free bird.
Looking down,
He saw the immobile figures of a young Orion and fragrant lying flat on the earth.
Their colours disappeared to insignificant specks as Reuben and Orcadia attained the heights and soared over the world's surface.
They flew free and cooled their burnt faces on the cooling winds of the thin air.
The flight was glorious,
Something Reuben would never forget to his last day.
Then gently,
Gently,
Like feathers falling after a fight,
The two free spirits came slowly back to earth and reclaimed their quiet bodies,
Fully mature at last.
