I’ll put this one in the short story section of my website. It’s a small snippet of a character I have planned from another realm and for a far-off day in another series.
Keesoo’s Plan
Keesoo maneuvered the pack carefully from his back as he balanced on the leafy branch. The seeds inside had been painstakingly harvested from one of the first cones of the season, packed up, and carried out to this portion of the forest. It was a prime nesting area for the tree rats, and he wanted a ride. Keesoo was on a mission.
Today was the day he would ask Mish for the honor of trial as her partner. Mish was strong and beautiful. Her claws were sharp, and her mind focused. He had no doubt they would make a fearsome pair of hunters for the clan. But he wanted a trial offering worthy of Mish, which meant making his way to the upper canopy in the honey zone. The one where more birds gathered and defended their colorful nests full of blooming flowers.
The nests were not his objective, but the flowers were. They grew high up where they could reach beyond the thick forest leaves to the sun shining down. Birds would eat and poop out the seeds, littering the upper branches and their nests with the leavings where the plants could sprout and grow successfully.
Keesoo could physically climb up there on his own. It would take him more than a day, but the feat could be accomplished alone. The problem was that the birds would see him as one of the insects they frequently crunched on and gobble him up. He needed the tree rat to return before the day was out and for camouflage.
His plan was not without risks, but Keesoo was a talented rat rider. Better than most, he guided the rats where he wanted to go instead of hoping they would head in the direction he needed. The trick was knowing what the rats were interested in and what could entice them to act. Hence, the seeds in his pack.
Blinking his large eyes and scanning the area for predators, he took a few steps closer to the thicker, vertical branch where the rat’s nest sat cradled in the crotch. He grabbed one of the seeds, clutching it between two of his sharp claws, and deliberately flung it into the nest opening.
Sniffing sounds, then a soft crunch. The rat’s searching, twitching nose poked out of the hole and then back in. Up a bit more. Back down. Up again, and Keesoo could see its eyes that time, so he plucked up another seed. The rat watched intently as he took slow steps forward, placed the seed on the branch where it would not fall, and then backed up.
With every step back, another seed. Keesoo left a short trail in his wake, and the nose twitching intensified. The rat looked from the seeds to Keesoo. Seeds. Keesoo. It snuck further out of the nest until it picked up the first seed in its own clawed paws and started munching.
Keesoo’s mouth curled up in pleasure as the rat continued forward, and he held out a final seed in his claws. Just a bit further, then he could mount and get them started on their journey.
Almost…Almost…Ready…and…BOOM!
The rat froze, and the last seeds on the branch rattled and fell to the forest floor far below. Another BOOM sounded, shaking the earth, followed by a screeching, bellowing roar echoing through the forest. His potential mount fled back to the relative safety of its nest. Birds squawked in fright and took to the air.
Keesoo mashed his lips together in a grimace and sighed through his nostrils. He held back a curse at the horrible luck. He should have had another month. Why, of all the years, was this the one? Why had the dragon woken early?
Tiffany Shearn 