Chronicles of Yugure: Plummeting into Uncharted Depths

Day Two

We are standing in Portal Junction, the portal station that the Professor invented where travelers may go to different realms. My bag sits by the portal I will be traveling through. I'll be traveling lightly, so the only thing coming with me is my satchel, which is stuffed to the rim with the miscellaneous items.

"Make sure you stay warm, wear your scarf that Shade made you, earmuffs, and mittens that I packed you. I also packed some crumpets in your bag in case you get hungry. Don't talk to any strange creatures, and be sure to use your pepper powder if you feel threatened," my mother nags, preening my feathers.

"Mum," I protest, but she keeps going on. "Mum, okay, I get it, I get it. Please, I'm an adult now. I can handle m'self." I try not to look at her with the tears in her eyes. She has always been very attached to me, for reasons that I don't know; motherly instincts, I presume.

Shade comes up and hugs me. "You be careful out there in the big world. Be sure to draw pictures. I want to see what you got to see once you get back." I smile and nod at her, feeling sad that I'll be missing out on all the fun experiments she and Blacktalon will be doing without me.

"Hey, try not to have too much fun without me." Erickson grins and grabs my head in his arm and noogies me. I push myself away with a laugh, attempting to give him a noogie.

I turn to Professor Blacktalon, who pats me on the back reassuringly. No words are spoken between us, but I know he wishes me luck on my journey.

Taking my bag, I sling it over my shoulder. I bid them all one final farewell, waving as I enter the portal. The magical breeze that brushes by your face as your body goes through the rip in space tingles like tiny water droplets streaming past you.

"C-c-coooold!" I whimper, prancing in an undignified way through the snow covered pathway. Elk blankets would have been a smart move in packing, but alas, I did not do so. The wind blows against my feathers, smearing them every which way, my hot blooded arms shiver at the ice that is thrown at my scales, my fur is already being weighed down with all the snow melting in it.

'Five minutes in and I already look like a disheveled bum.' Snow crunches beneath my feet, making an oddly attractive sound. I have no clue where I'm going-everything looks the same! Far too much white and not enough green. I give up guessing and go to pull out the map Shade had given me from the archives in the back of the laboratory. My satchel jingles and ruffles with noise as I reach for the folded up paper.

"Aha! Oh," I exclaim, pulling it up, only to have it blow out of my hand and into the snowbank a few feet away. Grumbling, I run after the the paper, slipping as I go. My mouth lets out a quick cry as I slide too fast and land headfirst into the snowbank. I blink, looking at the other side of the snow bank. Apparently I have managed to shove my head all the way through the snowbank, leaving my rump exposed to anything that may wish to prey upon me from behind. The lost map flutters in the breeze above my head. A sharp wind blowing in the opposite direction of the original breeze flings the map over my face.

Churrs can be heard somewhere above me in the trees. Quiet wing beats land on a branch with snow. I know this because the snow lands on my head, pushing the map off my face.

"Lost, are you?" A voice calls out. I look around at the forest surrounding me, but see nothing. I take another glance around the trees and spot two bright orange eyes gazing down on me.

'Must be a snowy owl,' I note as I watch the eyes of the bird blink. My body shakes itself out of the snow and I reach for the map, pulling it close to me as if it may try and make a run for it.