Wajas | News Post

Part 2: A Hot Afternoon Meeting
The Grand Admiral	September 9, 2022 5:01 pm

“It has a face, right here!” “No it doesn’t! Rocks don’t have faces.” “This one does! Look at it. There’s the eyes, and the mouth, and the…” “I’m hungry. And it’s too hot out here. What are we waiting for anyway?” The midafternoon sun was bright and hot in the cloudless sky above Lunaria, a typical warm summer day. The three pups gathered underneath the beating rays had certainly not given forethought to their meeting place, for there was little shade to be found in this immediate area. What lush plantlife there had been years before had been charred away, and even today some places still faintly smoldered. But the pups had given these smoky spots a wide berth, choosing instead a peculiarly shaped boulder by which to wait for their final friend. Two had spent most of the wait time so far in squabble, their usual joy marred by irritation, heat and tiredness. The lone neutral, a large Earth pup, had finally broken his silence as his plump belly audibly rumbled. His friends turned and briefly glared at him. “You’re always hungry,” the argumentative Water pup said grumpily, his long body slumped to the dry grass. “We’re waiting on Taddie,” the last pup, a sleek Egyptian with the buds of wings growing from slim shoulders, added. Despite their argument of moments before, the pup crouched by his Water friend and fluttered his wing, trying to create something of a breeze. “He said he had something amazing to show us.” Seafoam, the Water pup, rolled his eyes again, but some of the grumpiness faded from his expression at Abacus’ attempts. Even in the midst of the grumps they were still the best of friends. And when Taddie said he found amazing things, he was usually right. Taddie was by far the most adventurous of all of them. As if on cue, a shadow fell over the trio. A fourth pup had appeared, leaping atop the face-rock and thrusting out his furry chest, spreading his much larger wings. Taddie—short for Tadavar—was the oldest of them, though not by too much. All three of his friends sighed in relief at the slight shade and considerably stronger stirring of breeze. “Was anyone followed?” Taddie asked, looking back and forth suspiciously. Seafoam, Abacus and hungry Earth pup Bowli stared at Taddie in bewilderment. “Yeah…whole bunches,” Seafoam finally answered. “But they all shriveled up and blew away.” “Why did you make us come out here?” Bowli complained. “I’m hungry, and it’s hot, and my mom says we’re not allowed out here anyway.” “It’s not dangerous if you stay away from the smoldering spots,” Taddie replied. “And anyway, this is the last time we’ll meet here. I found a much better secret place for our meetings." “Where did you go now?” Seafoam asked. Taddie grinned proudly. “The mining caves,” he boasted. That got his friends’ attention. As one all three pups sat upright, gaping in surprise. “The mining caves? But we’re not allowed there!” Bowli protested. “If we get caught there, my mom will send me to bed without supper.” “But it’s cool and dark, and there’s a tiny hollow that grown-ups can’t fit in, so they’d never find us there,” Taddie said patiently. “And I found this!” With a flourish of a wing, the pup pulled the shimmering rock he had found into view. Out in the bright sun, its surface seemed even more strange. Like faintly rippling water, except not as smooth. All the pups gaped at it. Even Bowli seemed to have momentarily forgotten he was hungry. “Wow!” he exclaimed. “That’s amazing! What is it?” “It’s…a rock,” Abacus said, startled that his friend would not recognize a rock. Bowli glared. “I know it’s a rock,” he fussed. “But it’s so glimmery! It must be special.” “Yeah! Like magic,” Seafoam added. “Yeah…a magic stone,” Taddie agreed. “Our magic stone. And it’s our secret. We just need to…” “I hope there’s something especially interesting about that little rock, because I can see a certain group of pups who know full well they aren’t allowed to be out here!” All four pups turned with a gasp, and Bowli yelped, trying to hide his pudgy bulk behind Taddie. A very familiar Earth waja had appeared seemingly out of nowhere, giving the guilty group of pups a stern look. One hoofed foot tapped the ground impatiently. “Well?” Paisley asked. “What do you have to say? You know it’s dangerous out here. You can get hurt where it still burns. Not to mention it’s blazing hot! With no shade!” She tossed her head, shifting sweaty strands of mane out of her eyes. “You will get sick in weather like this. Now come along, right now. If I’m going to keep scolding you, I’m going to do it in the shade.” She turned and started marching towards the trees in the near distance. The pups followed morosely, knowing they were going to be in trouble. Bowli had hoisted Seafoam onto his back, the poor Water pup the most tired of them all. Fat tears were welling in his eyes. “My mom is making my favorite tonight,” he whimpered softly. “How did you find us, Miss Paisley?” Taddie asked. Much of his bravado was gone now. Despite her irritation, Paisley smiled a little. “You may think you’ve found a secret place, but noise travels far here. If you want to sneak, you have to sneak and be quiet.” She glanced over her shoulder at them. “Why are you so fascinated with that little rock anyway?” Taddie obediently showed her the rock. The keeper of park snacks froze in her tracks, her eyes widening as she studied it. “Well…that is an interesting little thing,” she conceded. “Where did you find it?” Taddie blanched, glancing frantically at his friends. “Um…around,” he said hesitantly. “It’s…special, isn’t it?” Paisley chuckled. “Yes, it is special. Moreso because it is yours. Treasure it carefully.” She sighed, rolling her eyes indulgently as she started walking again. “Alright, listen. I do have quite a bit of work to do at my stand this afternoon. I could use the help of four industrial little pups. Maybe if I get it, I’ll forget where I found my helpers. As long as they promise never to come back out here.” “We promise!” the pups said in chorus. Paisley smiled. “And I suppose if certain pups did a good job, there might just be a little reward at the end.” “Cookies?!” Bowli exclaimed excitedly. With a cheer, the formerly sluggish Earth pup took off at a run, Seafoam clinging to his back for dear life as they vanished in a small cloud of dust. Taddie and Abacus could only laugh at the sight. “Come along, dears,” Paisley encouraged. “There is plenty of shade at my stand.” She glanced down at Taddie. “As for that rock, find Lil’ Tuff Pebbles. He might know more about it.” Taddie and Abacus glanced at each other, surprised at the suggestion. “That’s a good idea, Miss Paisley,” Taddie agreed. “We will.” The sun continued to shine bright and hot as the group made their way out of the smoldering park. The heat was set to linger for a few days more, but for now at least a small group of pups were safe from its clutches. And elsewhere, deep in the cool darkness of the mining cave, a small group of wajas discussed the sight they had seen earlier of the rapidly departing pup, debating on whether or not to find the little fellow or just brush it off as a one-time curiosity. After all, the caves weren’t quite as dangerous as they had once been, and the pup had been running away so fast that surely he had learned his lesson. None noticed the small hollow the pup had found, or heard the slight tick tick of something dropping down from above. Only the faint beam of sunlight caught the glimmering flash as the small stone skittered down from above and tumbled across the rocky ground to settle in a tiny divot. A few moments later, another rock fell. And then another…and another… To be continued…

There are 9 comments on this post

Lottery

Home » News » News Post