Rain and the Seven Stones
A Short Story by Jill D'Entremont
Chapter 5
Across a sandy expanse from Rain’s ocean-view cave was a tall, spire-like mountain with a cave hewn at the top. It stuck out above the nearby rocky cliffs that separated the grassy fields above from the ocean below. It also continued a line of smaller boulders that jutted out into the water.
The mountaintop cave had huge windows carved out of the sides to allow light and air through and, most importantly, to allow the greedy creature who lived in it to better view her many treasures.
A few feet below the main opening of this cave clung a blue crested grazer, gripping the ledges of the rocks with clenched fingers and tense toes.
“You there!”
Rain glanced up the steep cliff face, her mouth askew in concentration.
A tiny beaked head was protruding from the stone precipice above her, glaring at her with beady eyes.
“So much for sneaking in...” she muttered under her breath. “Hello!” she called back, uncomfortably shifting her toes on the narrow ledges. “You’re Treeka, aren’t you?”
“Yes, but what are you doing up here? You’re a grazer!” The windbeak clattered.
“I was looking for you,” Rain scanned the rocks near her feet worriedly.
“Why?”
“I heard you’re a collector.” She eyed the opening with clenched teeth. Her arms were beginning to tremble from fatigue. “Would you mind if we continue this discussion up there?”
Treeka shrugged. “Well, why not.” With that, she disappeared from view.
Rain huffed and continued her climb.
The golden windbeak watched curiously as Rain scrambled over the edge, and laughed when Rain sighed with relief once all fours were on level ground. “Impressive. You are the first grazer to make it up here.”
“I like to try new things,” Rain mumbled dryly. She glanced up and was immediately shocked at the amount of trinkets stored within Treeka’s nook. The hoard was so great, the pile was taller than Treeka herself; though, if Rain had been standing, the yellow-hued windbeak would have barely made it past her knees to begin with.
“So! You have an interest in viewing my collection, eh?” Treeka waved a wing over the pile of relatively dull-colored material.
Rain was forced to remain seated due to the low clearance of the windbeak’s cave. “Well, I was interested in what you might want to trade.”
“Trade?” Treeka seemed exasperated. “Pah! No, thank you. Move along.”
Rain pressed her lips together as the miniscule creature began shooing her with her leathery wings. “Now, wait a moment,” she attempted.
“No!” Treeka continued to chatter, “It’s bad enough you know where my collection is—now it’s even worse to know you can climb to it. Move along!”
“Treeka, please,” Rain arched her head away as Treeka’s wings pattered against her side, “let me at least show you what I’ve brought!”
The windbeak’s movements finally slowed. “All right. But it had better be good.”
“To me, it’s priceless,” Rain slid her bag to her front and dug her fingers inside. “It’s been a part of my family for some time, so it’s got a lot of sentimentality to it.”
“Yes, yes,” Treeka’s beak began to poke closer. “Let’s see it!”
Rain slid a dull, round stone from her pack and cradled it in her hands. It was practically the size of Treeka—minus her elongated beak.
Treeka blinked. “That? A... round stone?”
“Like an egg,” Rain smiled at the stone.
“Pah!” Treeka waved her wing. “Not interested. Move along!”
Rain’s smile faded. “I climbed all this way, and you don’t want it?”
“That isn’t my fault!”
“Well, all right,” Rain carefully drew the rock back to her bag. “If you really want to pass up this opportunity...”
Treeka’s beady eyes locked onto the rock, despite the fact that rest of her body was now half-turned away. Her beaked head bobbed as the rock slid back into Rain’s bag.
“Now—now wait a moment,” she began to backpedal. “What opportunity?”
“Oh, it doesn’t matter,” Rain nonchalantly closed the bag.
“But it might!” Treeka was back at Rain’s side, poking her beak near her hands. “Let me see it again!”
Rain raised an eyebrow. “I’m not sure, you didn’t seem to like it before.”
“I may have missed something—like—like its true character!”
Rain sighed. “Well, all right.” She reopened her bag, “But remember: this is a family heirloom. I don’t appreciate it being insulted.”
“Fine, fine!” Treeka let out a gasp as the rock was again produced. “Oh, it’s stunning!” She immediately began to gawk, “The roundness... and the egg-ness!”
“I hoped you’d come around to see its beauty.” Rain smiled.
“Oh, yes!” The windbeak was almost dancing on her clawed toes. “The beauty—I cannot believe I was blinded to it before!”
“Now,” Rain reeled Treeka back in by tucking the rock to her side. “About the trade...”
The envious creature finally took her eyes away from the stone. “What do you have in mind?”
“Well,” the grazer scanned the pile. “I was looking for something purple…”
“Ah, purple, yes! That will go well with your scales!” Treeka waved her wing as she turned. “I know just the thing!” She started moving pieces of her pile almost methodically until she uncovered a crystalline purple stone exactly as Kotah had described. “Here!” Treeka announced, lifting the moderately sized stone over her head. “You like?”
Rain’s grin widened. “Oh, yes. I really like.”
“A fair enough trade for your egg-stone?” Treeka shuffled over, still holding the purple stone broadly. “I would so very much like to have it!”
“Well, the sentimentality of the piece is really hard to let go of,” she mused, rocking the stone between her hands. “I’m afraid I may be getting cold feet.”
“Uhh,” Treeka was beginning to panic. “But... but the purple...”
Rain was shaking her head. “I’m not sure...”
“Wait! What if I—I gave you,” she winced, as if speaking the words were truly a difficult task, “another stone?”
The grazer played coy, glancing down her nose. “Well, I do have a good friend who has a fondness for pink stones...”
“Pink! Yes! I have one!”
Rain blinked as Treeka dropped the purple stone and dove headlong into the pile. Much less gracefully, she pulled a faceted pink rock from the mass and thrust it into Rain’s sight.
“Hmm,” Rain thumbed her chin. “You wouldn’t mind parting with both of these?”
“Only if I can have your egg-stone! Please?”
Rain nodded with a contented smile. “You have a deal, madam; thank you.” Rain pushed the egg-stone forward and accepted the pink stone from Treeka moments before it was dropped out of the windbeak’s excitement.
“Ahh, at last!” Treeka practically collapsed over the egg-stone. “Thank you, grazer!”
“Rain,” the grazer commented, pocketing the purple and pink stones. “My name is Rain.”
“Yes, yes,” Treeka was too preoccupied with ogling the stone. “Have a nice day.”
The grazer shook her head and smirked, patting her filled bag. “I believe I will.”
--
Rain could hardly contain her laughter as she leaned backward onto her tail. “I literally picked up a rock on the way over and talked it up like it was some special, sentimental thing my family has had for years. And she bought it!” She snorted, “She even called it beautiful!”
“What a marvelous trick!” A smile was evident on Kotah’s voice as his grazer form stood beside the wall. Beside him were four of the seven stones, lined neatly on the ground and glistening in the light from the fire.
“I almost can’t believe it worked! But her greedy little claws couldn’t handle missing out on something that amazing...”
“Indeed; you had her pegged for sure.”
Rain stretched her arms and settled back into her nest. “Whew... but my arms are going to be sore tomorrow. I am not a rock-climber...”
“Maybe not,” Kotah crossed his arms, “but you still accomplished it.”
Rain smiled proudly and folded her hands. “You’re staying in your grazer form tonight,” she commented idly.
“Yes, with the stones in my presence, I can already feel my energy returning. I can remain in this form much easier now.”
“Interesting,” she tilted her crested head. “I thought you needed all seven to have the power?”
“To have the full power, yes.” Kotah paused. “You’re incredibly observant.”
Rain shrugged before laying her head on her hands. “I have to be. That’s what happens when you don’t have a herd to look out for you.” She let out a deep breath as Kotah’s form turned away. “What’s your story?”
“My story?”
“Like... what was your life like before you became a shadow?”
Kotah sighed. “There you go asking questions...”
Rain rolled her eyes. “It was worth a try,” the mumbled, tucking the top of her head onto the sand. She had just closed her eyes when Kotah’s voice returned to her head.
“I was not so unlike you,” he began as Rain’s head reemerged. “I had known for many years that I was different from the rest of my herd, and that was confirmed when I was exiled. So, I cut my own path, and I did well for quite some time.” The form turned and leaned against the wall. “But I made a few too many mistakes, and it cost me my former life. I’ve been trapped in this shadow prison ever since, slowly making my way across this world... until I found you.”
Rain blinked. “Wow,” she said, slack-jawed.
“Does my story surprise you?”
Her lips pulled to a smirk. “I’m more surprised that you actually answered me,” she raised her brows, “But it’s surprising, and yet comforting, to know that I’m not the only one trying to make it on my own.”
A grin had returned to Kotah’s voice. “You seem to be doing it far better than I did.”
“Well, it depends on who you ask,” Rain shrugged. “Many still think I’m a lost cause. I will forever be the odd-ball.”
“But that’s precisely why I like you.”
Rain felt her face flush warm as the shadowed grazer looked down on her. Her reaction startled her more than Kotah’s words, and she attempted to hide her embarrassment by clearing her throat and stretching her forearms across the ground.
“Maybe, when this is all over, we could try to stick together,” he offered gently. “It wouldn’t hurt to have someone keeping an eye on me now and then. And I could try to look after you.”
She was still caught in a flux of emotion as she wrung together her hands. “Yeah, maybe,” she mentioned idly.
Kotah’s shadow turned and melted down to the floor. “Pleasant dreams, Rain,” his voice came as Rain curled away her head and let out a deep breath. “Tomorrow begins the search for stone five.”