The first light of day that came over the eastern hills prompted Dera'nah to come out of her meditation. Slowly, her mind took note again of her surroundings. She was sitting cross-legged on a small rocky hammock at the end of the forest with the hills behind her. Looking straight on, she could just make out the hovels surrounding the city that was barely visible on the horizon through the morning mist. Another day and she would reach her aim. Humans.
She let go of the small wooden pendant and placed the now warm piece of wood on a vine again around her neck. She took a deep breath of the cool morning air and sat up slowly and brushed the dew from her leather trousers. She tumbled slightly because of her stiff legs and a startled beating of wings told her that she had woken Sira'nah, who had slept on a branch almost reaching the hammock from the nearby tree where they had set up camp for the night. Reaching out to tousle the small feathers on the tiny owl's head she spoke softly "We'll soon reach our target and I guess you have to get used to being woken harshly. The lands of the humans are loud ones. How they can hear the voices of the land over all their chattering and clattering, is a mystery to me!"
While she jumped down from the small rocky ledge, she let out an almost inaudible whistle and started walking towards the small green tent. A few moments later, the small pony came lazily around the tree. "Rata'nah! You could show a bit more enthusiasm on this fine morning! I heard there are many horses and ponies in the city. Maybe you can make new friends tomorrow?". The look on the ponies face spoke volumes and she had to smile. "Right you are, those city dwellers wouldn't know how to really live a good life! Then you should tell them!" She winked and started to get their stuff together. Sira'nah stretched her wings and with an elegant gliding motion settled on the branch above her. Dera'nah looked up. "Why don't you make yourself useful and find us the shortest path to the next road? We have already learned last week that humans prefer that we use their roads and not their fields, as that farmer made abundantly clear!" The owl gave her a disapproving look, stretched again and silently lifted off toward the city.
Stowing the last items in the saddlebags, she looked again towards the city. The sun had cleared the mist already and the grey city walls were clearly visible on the horizon. She could already make out small dots moving towards one of the gates. What will it be like? She had never seen any human settlement that consisted of more than a few houses connected by packed dirt. They had chosen a path through the woods that kept them well clear of the smaller settlements, but now she could not stall any longer. The mission by her mother was clear: Learn all you can about those that slowly intrude into the forests and hills of the Killoren, her folk. She had been chosen because of her likeness to the human complexion. Her skin only had a soft greenish tint and felt like a young leaf to the touch. She also was small and frail looking and would not scare humans, like her bothers would. Their muscular bodies resembled tree trunks with their barklike skin and they also were not born with much inner calm nor traits for diplomacy or many words. No, gathering and guarding knowledge and wisdom always had been a woman's vocation. That's was why her grandmother had sent her out when she became an adult. After all, she was now 10 and would one day take over as guardian of the shrine. Although her grandmother gave no indication of wanting to leave the world soon, the increasing spread of humans with their love for metal and stone would sooner or later lead to conflict. And then she had to be ready to lead her tribe. But first, she had to get to know some humans she could study. The reaction of the farmers that they had met since entering these lands had already told her that she, with her skinny body and her smaller height, apparently resembled a human adolescent that human parents would not send out alone. Don't they know that in the forest one is never alone? Aren't they teaching their children? Well, being taken for a child could make asking questions easier. And the looks of the men also told her that she could gather an audience if she wanted to. Whether this would be an audience she could get knowledge from, was another matter. But she was here to learn all she could.
A hoot woke her from her thoughts. Sira'nah sat 50 yards away on a branch, staring her silent stares. Before she could react, Rata'nah already started to move towards the owl. Well, at least her companions had accepted their fate. With a sigh and a long look back at the forest, Dera'nah shouldered her sack and held on to her wooden pendant again. Feeling the connection to her mother strongly, she set off after her own small family.
