Dawn met the world swiftly, washing over the mountains with a cool, crisp light. The sleepy town of Laurel barely stirred under the sun�s first rays, quietly glinting under its blanket of early-summer dew.
The glow of morning crept into Calley�s bedroom to find the girl fast asleep, her erinacci curled up on the perpendicular bottom bunk. Wooden toys and plush doll animals littered the room, but a space had been cleared by the bed, and leaning there against the wall was a large travel backpack.
There was, though, someone awake in the room. Ryle, the tarri, sat quietly in the windowseat, looking out onto the flowering gardens of the backyard. His ears, as before, were folded back from his fox-like face; a warm gold tone highlighted his fur. He sat in complete, unmoving silence, watching the gardens contentedly as the dawn brought light to the world, leaning against the windowseat�s wall amongst the stuffed toys. He held one in his hands, gently stroking its fake fur with his thumb.
Time passed; birds fluttered about in the garden, some drinking from the stream, others pausing at the flowers for a sweeter refreshment. Ryle sat, his yellow eyes passive and unseeing, his graceful feline tail only twitching every now and again.
He slowly lowered his head. Calley stirred in the bunk, and, with calm slowness, he passively glanced towards her.
Calley rose from her dreams with a yawn and a wide stretch. She paused a moment and then grinned, looking over towards the window, her heart beating fast.
At the windowseat, a stuffed toy settled in the morning light, rolling off the edge of the seat onto the floor. Beyond the empty seat, the sky was bright, the treetops were shining, and the mountains were beautiful.
Calley slipped off the bunk to the floor, striding quickly to the window in excitement. She picked up the little stuffed fox toy and, hugging it tight, leaned over the windowseat to stare out at the world. �Today�s the day�� she said to herself.
Dropping the toy back to the windowseat, she ran back to the bed, leaping onto the bottom bunk. �Nips, Nips! Wake up! Today�s the day! Today we go on our test!�
�Ungh�� Nips curled up tighter into a sleepy ball, ignoring the girl.
Calley just picked him up and, laughing, bounced out of the bedroom to wake her parents, as giddy as if it were Christmas.
The windowseat was empty; Ryle was gone.
* * * * *
Calley, Nips at her heels, had her pack on her back and her cloak pushed back over her shoulders. The green wool cloak, scrunched up under her pack�s tight straps, flitted its tail about in the warm breeze as she walked. To either side, her parents accompanied her as she walked down the road; high above, her father�s falconi, Scrapp, was circling the morning air lazily. Ahead, Peiro was bouncing through the long grass alongside the path, laughing and tumbling in a kitten�s stop-and-go play.
The castle of the Laurel Guide Hall loomed among the rolling hills, its grey stones worn with age; beyond to the west, a long, high stone wall lined Laurel�s western boundary. Wildflowers peaked with tiny faces from the grass of the rolling fields; here and there, flocks of sheep and a herd of dairy cattle grazed placidly. A mixture of trees grew in shady copses around the Hall�s outer fields, the groves set with benches and gazebos.
The Hall was a palace of nine towers. The tallest tower was set in the back wall of the rectangular castle with a spear-like peak, from which a long banner stretched out in the breeze. The Hall�s thick walls were, for the most part, three stories in height and topped with embattlements, a small shelter-topped tower rising from the walls at each of the four outer corners. Short wings stretched out to the east and west, and each was cornered with a pair of towers. The western wing housed the feast hall and kitchens; the eastern was comprised of offices, lounges, and sleeping quarters for staff, travelers, and maow alike. A long, arched tunnel led in an entranceway through the front wall and into the long inner courtyard; just above the Hall�s embattlements, the tops of the courtyard�s ancient trees were visible.
Calley led the way under the gate and into the cool passageway. As they walked through the passage, the stonework sides of the arched tunnel gave way to glass windows, which looked down onto a sunlit pool that was built, with supporting columns, under the front wall of the Guide Hall. Far below, people and maow were swimming laps in the sunlit waters.
The bridge-like walkway over the pool led out into the courtyard, where the glass walls of the pool room�s roof stretched out like twin, squat greenhouses on either side of the path. Metal grillwork held the glass in place, lacing around the panes of glass like living vines.
The courtyard�s gardens were dancing with butterflies; Calley�s heart was racing so fast that she felt as though she�d swallowed some of them. She bit her lip in anticipation as she turned towards the feast hall, its tall, stained-glass windows visible through the garden�s forest of trees. A little ways off, a brunette girl was seated on a bench, a kriewolf much smaller and younger than Jackavar sitting next to her. The girl jumped up when she saw Calley and ran over. �Calley!�
�Silvi! Hey!� Calley cried back in greeting, running to hug the other girl. Mr. Taylor smiled at Silvi; his wife waved, grinning.
�I�m so excited! Aren�t you?!�
Calley eagerly looked towards the feast hall, �Yeah, I can�t wait!� and she looked to Silvi�s maow, Cygnus. �Isn�t it so cool?! You guys always teamed up so well��
Silvi grinned leaning down to stroke the happy Peiro along his smooth neck. �Yeah, I wasn�t surprised when you two got paired! Come on, I was waiting for you! They have donuts, too! With sprinkles!�
Calley�s mother laughed, her eyes bright. �I hope they have some cream-filled ones left��
The girls, laughing, raced ahead with their new moaw friends into the feast hall, leaving Mr. and Mrs. Taylor to themselves in the courtyard. Nips bounced after the girls, eager to get his paws on a donut; the parents hung back, watching them go with soft smiles.
�I hope Makzin gets here on time,� Mr. Taylor said, looking towards the large clock that was set into the side of the Guide Hall�s tall, back tower. He looked refreshed and lively in the morning light, now that he�d had a night of sleep to replenish him from the previous afternoon�s weariness.
�Don�t worry about him,� Mia chided, pulling her husband towards the feast hall. �He left before we did.�
�Did he? I didn�t even hear him go��
Mia just smiled, hanging to his arm. As they walked lazily towards the western wing, she looked skywards. �They�re growing up so fast��
�I know� I almost wish we could go back. You know, to before they were born� and relive it all over again��
Mia gave him a playful glare, �That�s the last time I take you to a baby shower, Donovan��
He put up his hands in self-defense, grinning, �Hey, I said almost��
Mia laughed, hugging his arm. They stopped just outside the rounded, arched entranceway to the feast hall, looking out into the garden. �As much as I�d like to relive their childhood� I wouldn�t want to go back, yet,� she said, looking back to her husband. �They have so much ahead of them. I want to see where they take themselves� where Calley goes, now that she�s able to wander��
Donovan nodded with a gentle smile gracing his lined face. His long hair was pulled back from his face; it was the same blue hue as his son�s. �I know� I just...� and he trailed off a moment, looking skyward himself. Above, Scrapp was alighting upon the Hall�s tall tower, perching upon the stone edge of the balcony above the clock and looking out over the town like a sentinel. ��well, it�s just that I won�t be able to protect her��
Mia smiled, hugging him. �They have each other. And they will come to us� if they need our protection. The world�s not as bad as it once was, bayyo or no bayyo��
Donovan nodded thoughtfully, sighing. After giving the sky one last distant look, he put an arm over his wife�s shoulders, and they walked together through the archway and into the feast hall.
(cont'd)
