Colour Pencils

I finished the first chapter of the story, and I want you to comment. If you like it, then I’ll continue it, if not, then I won’t. Oh, and if you’ve noticed the stories page up there, you should check it out. It has all my stories there!

Chapter One

The forest was flooded with dying leaves. Each step broke a few leaves and brought out a glorious crackling noise that filled the silence.

Jaybird slowly walked across the carpet of red and brown, delighting in the noise. It helped soothe his frayed nerves, but he was still shaking as he looked up at the sky. Instead of the shining sun he was so much used to, a large circular shape filled the sky. It was a deep translucent blue, so clear he could see the Avians walking and flying about, so far away from all the troubles of the world beneath. The Avians called it Receir, everyone else called it “The Floating City”.

His father was up there. His father and his older sister and brother. They were trying to trade ancient technologies from the Ages Beyond for a magical trinket or two, something they could use or give to the Naga for even better technology. Of course, Jay wasn’t worried about the trading process.

However… you heard stories about the Avians. They preformed horrible magical experiments on you or they turned you into a Felid. Or maybe, if you angered them, maybe they just chucked you off the side of the city. Or worse: they turned into birds and made fun of you as you fell… No, Jay did not like these rumours.

He continued walking through the dying woods, crunching through the fallen leaves and every so often glancing up at the floating city. It was strangely hot under the city, so hot the air made simmering dragons in the breeze. Jay watched these for a while, fascinated in the way they seemed to be almost… alive.

He was so engrossed in watching that he walked into a tree.

“Ouch!” he whimpered. Then he heard voices. Thinking fast, Jay dropped to all four paws and shifted to become more wolf-like. He hadn’t really mastered changing yet, but it was all he had at the moment. Sometimes he got stuck, though…

“Letheila, what does page one hundred and eight tell you about Air Elementals?” Jay started to snigger. Letheila, what a stupid name! Only the Avians ever gave their children weird names And this… Letheila had to learn from a textbook? He learnt from his family and from the ancient technology from the Ages Beyond. He also learnt from nature, which was much better than a textbook.

“It says… um… Air Elementals will obey all Avians and some of the Grounders.” Letheila sounded relieved, but Jay was majorly annoyed. Grounders?! Was that what the Avians called all species that lived on the Earth?

Jay growled softly under his breath. He was proud to be a Lupian. He sung the moonsongs every moon, and he listened to all the elder’s stories. He knew all the tales, and he had heard that all the other species had dropped the ancient traditions. He had did so much more than any of the deceitful Felida, and certainly a lot more than that Avian.

He bent down, almost fully wolf, ready to pounce and… then he was yanked back by the scruff.

“Do you want to expose me?” a voice hissed. “Are you sure you want yourself to be discovered, werewolf?”

Jay growled quietly and focused on changing back to his normal form. As soon as he could stand on two paws, he stood up and glared at the voice, which came from a girl. “Don’t call me werewolf!”

“Why not? Aren’t you werewolves?” the girl asked as she pulled Jay further from the teacher and her student. “Come on, werewolf.”

“That’s a foul word from the Ages Beyond, and my name is Jaybird. We are Lupians, not… werewolves!”

“Who cares? The city’s all messed up right now, and I was trying to learn about elementals until you threatened to give me away.” The girl stopped and sat down on a log, sighing. She didn’t seem angry anymore, and she looked sad. “Sorry if I offended you, sorry…”

Jay decided to change the topic. “Were you that teacher’s student?”

“No. They would never let my kind learn magic, especially me… I am an Avian, yes, but…” The girl looked up at Jay. “Everyone calls me… Althena, but you can call me Althie or…”

“Althie? That’s a weird name. You Avians have weird names, like Letheila and Althena.”

The girl gave a small smile. “Then what would you call me?”

Jay thought for a second. “You look like a… Amy to me. Or maybe Amya!”

“I like Althie better, but you can call me anything you like.” Althi- Amya (that was a much better name!) gave a small laugh, then a small choke. “I… I think I should be going. No one notices me, but I think I can hear Letheila and her teacher coming.”

“Will we see each other?” Jay asked. He was a bit lonely, it would take a while for his father to trade and none of his siblings ever played with him, so…

“Maybe. If not, I’ll find you. I always do. Bye.” And with that, she turned and ran deeper into the forest.

Jay watched her go as he slowly walked away. He expected to hear the beat of slow wingbeats and see a dark shape rise into the air, but there was nothing. Any time now, a bird would soar to the shape in the sky… but there was still nothing.

And he wondered about who Amya was, and why she didn’t become a bird.