intensified; all he wanted was to flee far away on strong wings so that he could put the ominous shadows out of his mind forever.
Instead he swooped down with the rest of the flockto land in a brackish meadow close to the water’s edge. Seaweed was strewn all along the waterline; Ujurak’s feathers prickled with anticipation as he spotted the tasty green and brown heaps, and he realised how hungry the flight had made him. He splashed across the muddy grass, shouldering his way through the crowd of geese, and began to feed.
Gulping down the first delicious strands, he remembered that there might be danger here too. He raised his head, casting quick glances from side to side, all his senses alert for enemies. But he couldn’t detect any wolves here; there were no bears close by, and no foxes either. No landwalkers. For the time being the flock was safe.
Ujurak lowered his head and tucked into the seaweed again. His pangs of hunger began to fade as he filled his belly. Then as he stretched out his neck to swallow a big clump of seaweed, he felt something hard hidden inside it. He retched, trying to get rid of it. Instead he felt a sharp pain as something stabbed into his throat from the inside.
Lowering his head, he tried to cough up the obstruction, and spotted a long, thin tendril trailing from his beak. It was clear and so fine that he hadnot seen it tangled up with the seaweed. Ujurak’s throat spasmed and he broke into a burst of racking coughs as he struggled to free the tendril from his throat. Blood spurted out of his beak and the stabbing pain grew worse.
‘Help!’ he choked out. ‘I can’t . . . I can’t breathe . . .’
The geese around him turned to give him sharp, suspicious looks, and when they saw he was in trouble they edged away from him. Ujurak realised despairingly that there was nothing they could do to help. He raised one foot in an effort to pull at the tendril, but the webbed pad swiped uselessly across it; unbalanced, he fell over on one side, flapping his wings in a panic.
A wave bigger than the rest washed over him, half lifting him as it retreated, washing strands of seaweed over him. The world was growing dark, clouds swirling around him.
Change
. . . an inner voice told him.
You won’t survive like this
.
Ujurak wasn’t sure what the voice meant, but he stretched his limbs and soon his white feathers blurred, and brown fur flowed over his body. Still,his strength was ebbing fast. He gave one last hacking cough that shook his whole body, then let his head drop and lay limply in the surf, his blood flowing into the sea foam on the edge of the waves.
CHAPTER NINE:
Kallik
K allik pounded along the valley, desperately trying to keep the departing flock of geese in sight. Already they were almost a skylength away. Toklo ran beside her, while Lusa raced along a bearlength behind. Toklo had given up shouting for Ujurak to come back; he seemed to be saving all his breath for the chase.
Pebbles and gritty soil stung Kallik’s paws as she ran in a wild zigzag, changing direction to follow the flock whirling above her. Her chest heaved as she fought for air.
What if they fly out of sight? Will Ujurak be able to find his way back?
The geese left the hills behind and flew on towards the coastal plain. They followed the line ofthe shore for a little way, then to Kallik’s relief alighted on a smooth stretch of grass reaching down to the water’s edge.
Thank you, Silaluk!
Toklo halted, and Kallik drew to a stop beside him. A moment later Lusa came panting up.
‘What do we do now?’ the little black bear gasped. ‘If we just dash up to them, the whole flock will take off again.’
‘I know,’ Toklo growled. ‘Somehow we have to get closer to them. If we call out so that Ujurak hears us, he might remember he’s a bear.’
His eyes glittered with fury; Kallik was half afraid of him when he was like this, but she knew that he was angry with Ujurak only because he was so worried
Instead he swooped down with the rest of the flockto land in a brackish meadow close to the water’s edge. Seaweed was strewn all along the waterline; Ujurak’s feathers prickled with anticipation as he spotted the tasty green and brown heaps, and he realised how hungry the flight had made him. He splashed across the muddy grass, shouldering his way through the crowd of geese, and began to feed.
Gulping down the first delicious strands, he remembered that there might be danger here too. He raised his head, casting quick glances from side to side, all his senses alert for enemies. But he couldn’t detect any wolves here; there were no bears close by, and no foxes either. No landwalkers. For the time being the flock was safe.
Ujurak lowered his head and tucked into the seaweed again. His pangs of hunger began to fade as he filled his belly. Then as he stretched out his neck to swallow a big clump of seaweed, he felt something hard hidden inside it. He retched, trying to get rid of it. Instead he felt a sharp pain as something stabbed into his throat from the inside.
Lowering his head, he tried to cough up the obstruction, and spotted a long, thin tendril trailing from his beak. It was clear and so fine that he hadnot seen it tangled up with the seaweed. Ujurak’s throat spasmed and he broke into a burst of racking coughs as he struggled to free the tendril from his throat. Blood spurted out of his beak and the stabbing pain grew worse.
‘Help!’ he choked out. ‘I can’t . . . I can’t breathe . . .’
The geese around him turned to give him sharp, suspicious looks, and when they saw he was in trouble they edged away from him. Ujurak realised despairingly that there was nothing they could do to help. He raised one foot in an effort to pull at the tendril, but the webbed pad swiped uselessly across it; unbalanced, he fell over on one side, flapping his wings in a panic.
A wave bigger than the rest washed over him, half lifting him as it retreated, washing strands of seaweed over him. The world was growing dark, clouds swirling around him.
Change
. . . an inner voice told him.
You won’t survive like this
.
Ujurak wasn’t sure what the voice meant, but he stretched his limbs and soon his white feathers blurred, and brown fur flowed over his body. Still,his strength was ebbing fast. He gave one last hacking cough that shook his whole body, then let his head drop and lay limply in the surf, his blood flowing into the sea foam on the edge of the waves.
CHAPTER NINE:
Kallik
K allik pounded along the valley, desperately trying to keep the departing flock of geese in sight. Already they were almost a skylength away. Toklo ran beside her, while Lusa raced along a bearlength behind. Toklo had given up shouting for Ujurak to come back; he seemed to be saving all his breath for the chase.
Pebbles and gritty soil stung Kallik’s paws as she ran in a wild zigzag, changing direction to follow the flock whirling above her. Her chest heaved as she fought for air.
What if they fly out of sight? Will Ujurak be able to find his way back?
The geese left the hills behind and flew on towards the coastal plain. They followed the line ofthe shore for a little way, then to Kallik’s relief alighted on a smooth stretch of grass reaching down to the water’s edge.
Thank you, Silaluk!
Toklo halted, and Kallik drew to a stop beside him. A moment later Lusa came panting up.
‘What do we do now?’ the little black bear gasped. ‘If we just dash up to them, the whole flock will take off again.’
‘I know,’ Toklo growled. ‘Somehow we have to get closer to them. If we call out so that Ujurak hears us, he might remember he’s a bear.’
His eyes glittered with fury; Kallik was half afraid of him when he was like this, but she knew that he was angry with Ujurak only because he was so worried
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