StrangeOwl Chapter 4
Pulling on the robe I hurried towards the camp, my mind flying as fast as my feet were moving. As I entered the camp the people stopped what they were doing and stared. A few hesitantly raised their hands as if to wave and others pulled their children to them. Dogs strangely enough, did not bark at me but nor did they come to greet me as they usually do. I was really a stranger among the people.
The Chief was standing by the lodge as I approached and ushered me inside. The lodge was crowded and I stopped in my tracks in apprehension. "Come! Come!" said the Shaman as he waved for me to stand next to him. My audience were all the village Elders and 4 warriors that I knew and called brother. I was given the place of honor and then given food by the Shaman himself. "Eat for you will need strength for the journey ahead of you." said the Shaman. I replied, "I don't think I could swallow let alone stomach food right now."
Nodding in understanding, the Shaman then gestured to the Elders. "The Elders before you have all watched you and taught you various skills that normally no woman before you has been taught." said the Shaman. "You are so very special in their eyes." he continued. I swallowed and nodded in greeting to the Elders. A few of the women present had tears in their eyes and sniffing could be heard. The Chief then stepped forward and rested his hand on one of the warriors and then turned to me. "Strange Owl, you know these warriors and have called them brother." I nodded in agreement. "You have trained beside these warriors and are just as sharp and skilled as they are, as no woman before you have and no woman after ever will." I nodded again not knowing where he was going with his speech. "These warriors whom you know have come forward to be your escort." he pronounced. "Escort to where?" I asked.
"These warriors are escorting you to the hidden glen where you were found as an infant." said the Chief. "From where you came from, so shall you return." he finished. Some of the Elders snorted at his comment and I couldn't but help but grin. The Chief was really in his element and when he started speaking in such old ways; one couldn't help but fight a snicker. Despite all that I had been through the last few hours, I couldn't help but return the favor. "Oh Chief, Wise in the Knowledge of my past I began." The Shaman suddenly had a fit of coughing and had to turn his head away. One of the warrior's stern faces twitched for a second and I swore I saw another roll his eyes. The Chief, concerned about the Shamans coughing turned away so he missed the warriors losing their cool.
Catching myself, I knew I was preventing the inventible and mentally chastised myself. "Chief" I said to get his attention away from the Shaman. "Please, tell me what happened to me and why I am being sent away." I pleaded. "I beg your pardon, but the short version if you will as Dawn has already broken." I went on hastily.
Raising an eyebrow at my comment, the Chief said nothing for a moment and I could see him mentally skim his story as he looked at me. "Alright, the short version." he said with an injured sniff.
"The robe that you now wear was the blanket that you were wrapped in as an infant." he said. "No feather of any raptor that we know on this planet has those particular feathers." he went on to explain. I interrupted him. "Yes, these feathers are from my mother." Raising his eyebrows in surprise he said "How do you know this?" Gathering the robe forward and up to my nose, I inhaled deeply. "The scent I recognize and I have a vague picture of a woman in my mind's eye of a woman, my mother." I replied. Nodding in understanding, the Chief continued. "We believe that you were left behind for whatever reason for your protection." he said. "Those birds that guarded you we believe were not of this Earth. Our clan is the Bird Clan and that is why we were entrusted with your keeping." "When you cut the young Shaman with a tiny claw, we knew then that you were special and that sometime in your growing up, you would transform." The Chief turned to the Shaman and the Shaman stood up. "These Elders are all grandchildren of the Elders that were alive at the time of your birth." said the Shaman. "They were appointed to teach you all they could about defense, healing, weapon making and use, hunting as well as the skills of the women." I nodded and gestured him to continue for I felt something within telling me I had to get moving and soon.
"Now that you have transformed, we have nothing left to teach you to prepare you for your journey." the Shaman went on to explain. "We feel that even now, there are, for lack of a word, Raptor People, coming back for you." He looked at me grimly. "Not all of them are friendly." he said. "You are in danger and by being in danger, you put this village at risk." I was about to protest when he halted my speech with an raised open hand. "This village would defend you to last warrior, if these were people we had experienced fighting against." "We cannot fight a foe we do not know or could recognize." "Nor do we know which ones are friendly and which ones are the enemy." he continued.
"Strange Owl, you have wings that you do not know how to use to fly with." "You have been taught all about the birds in this world and now you need to apply what you have learned to yourself." "The hidden Glen is the best place for you to do this, away from prying eyes." "There you can further prepare yourself and await the adventure to come." "It is timed you packed and readied yourself." Once you leave, you will not be able to return." said the Shaman in a final sounding tone. The Chief moved next to the Shaman and with sad eyes said, "The time has come for you to learn to be a Bird Woman." "Now go."