The sun's barely risen, its golden streaks pierce through the leaves as the wind whispers its morning greeting. In about thirty minutes the people would begin to rustle and the city would wake in response, but that didn't matter. Right now Veera didn't care. She was seething with little release. The wind seemed to pull her anger away, but it came in waves. The moment she let it be taken a thought would resurface and a fresh wave would roll off of her. Stewing did little good for her mood but she had few other options available to her. So she just sat and let the wind attempt to console her more.
The time passed much the same as it had all night. Veera had been out on the limb of the Great Tree for quite some time. For as long as she remembered Veera sought the tree when she needed to think. Something about the solidity of it made her feel safe. Safe enough to be honest with herself. She would speak to the tree, and even though it never answered her she felt like it listened. Somedays that's all she needed. Someone to listen to and not tell her how to feel. The tree was a great strength to her people, they resided in its top branches. Many would talk to it as if it was sentient. It was comforting practice, like when someone tends their garden.
Veera let her feet dangle from the branch for a while watching as the wind would play with the laces that wrapped them. The ground wasn't visible from this high up but she could see the canopy that her people had stitched together from the leaves of the tree. When she was young Veera often contemplated what lay below the thatched leaves, now that she was older those thoughts were more terrifying than they were curious. It took all she had to think about the future let alone something so far out of her world. "Your left" The Wind whispered.
"Veera! There you are." A voice broke through the silence.
The being to her left was very persistent at times. It often found Veera when she came up here to brood. It was attached to a tall and slender boy. He wasn't what most would call physically fit. Not much muscle sculpted his physic and he held himself too casually to be considered composed. Grace wasn't an accurate adjective, more goofy. His lopsided grin consumed his face as his warm brown eyes disappeared behind a mass conglomerate of fluffy blond hair.
"What do you want Damon?" Veera responded to the boy.
"That's no way to talk to your best friend in the whole wide universe." Damon landed on a near branch and crouched down to be at the same level as Veera.
"I don't remember ever giving you that title, but ok." Veera's mood was lifting, just like it always did when her friend was around.
"You didn't have to! The role is self-appointed. After all who else could replace me?" Damon said confidently. "What are you thinking about so hard that you spent the night up in miss branchy again?"
Damon had an unnatural way of knowing when Veera came up here to brood. He would always wait a while until he eventually made his way to pull her back down from her swirling thoughts. Sometimes she appreciated it, others she wished she could wait another day alone in her thoughts.
"Nothing." You wouldn't understand anyway -Veera thought.
"...Uh-huh" Damon knew not to press too far on days like this. "Well, you and I have an assigned job today. We're on patch duty!" He got up and stretched his long limbs before offering her a hand.
"Greaaatt, just what I needed today- a long tedious task to fill my day." Veera took his hand and allowed him to help her up.
"It's not too bad, at least it wouldn't be if you were any good at it." Damon teased. Veera winced. The joke landed well but she was a bit sensitive at the mention of her lack of ability.
"It's not like I'm not good at other things! Besides who likes patch duty anyway?" Veera retorted.
"I can think of some people who do. "
"My little brother doesn't count. He isn't old enough to realize how boring the task is yet." Veera laughed.
Damon shrugged. "It's a bit more than that. I think he speaks the great tree. After all, I've never seen anyone able to channel the leaves as he can."
"Maybe you're right Damon. Maybe you're wrong. It's too early to know what his life gift is yet. What's the point in guessing now?"
"Don't you find it fun to guess? Every gift is so different and unique. It's exciting to see how they fit the person." Damon was always one to idolize things. His eyes were bright once again with creativity.
"No, I don't." What's the point? it's not like we have a say over it either way. "Where's the patch today?" Veera said.
"I don't know" Damon shuffled from foot to foot. "I didn't check yesterday when I got the assignments."
The outpost where they both worked assigned different small jobs to every pair based on age and ability. It wasn't meant to be a final job; everyone worked there until their apprenticeship. These jobs were easy to the point anyone could do it. The difficulty was assigned by the age of the pair. Damon and Veera had been a pair since the young age of five. Gradually the work got more difficult. At first, it was small community work such as delivering a message to the neighbors. Now that they were older they had various other responsibilities to attend to. The system was put in place to teach responsibility and community work from a young age. Veera's father said it helped in building a love for the community. Veera just liked the paycheck and the opportunity to do something in her free time.
"I guess we have to go to the outpost first then." Veera shook her shoulders and began to lean forward. "Do you want to race?" Her voice began to have the first spark of energy in it since the conversation began.
"Not particularly, but I suppose if you're willing to lose I'ma let you." With that retort, Damon suddenly fell back and dropped out of the tree. "Beat you there!" He yelled.
"Not a chance!" Veera was finally laughing, her mood suddenly better seeing Damon take off ahead of her.
"We can beat him!" The Wind pushed her forward electric with energy to play.
Yes, we can. Veera thought as she stretched out her arms, hunching to furl her wings out to their full length. Muscles tensed and her shoulders bunched with the weight of her wings being bared. Veera leaned forward and let the weight of her body pull her forward into the air. As she dropped the wings scooped the air and pulled at her back. The tension as she began to pump her wings was exhilarating. she pushed forward and let the wind aid her in catching up to her soon-to-be-passed friend.
The wind curled around Veera as she glided through the air. Her wings did little work as she caught a draft and propelled forward. The coolness of the breeze swept through her feathers stealing heat as it went. The feeling was comparable to the breeze gliding through her hair close to her scalp. The feeling was euphoric and sent shivers down her spine as she parted the air in front of her pushing to a higher elevation. Damon was close in sight just in front of her, as graceful in the air as he was on two feet- that is to say, not at all. Wings furiously pumping and unable to catch the draft as easily as Veera did, Damon looked like a bird first taking flight. A rather remarkable feat considering he had been flying almost all nineteen years of his life.
"Come on! Faster!" The Wind egged on. Veera was right behind Damon now. She tipped her wing and allowed the wind to curl her up and around into Damon's view. Upside down she called out to him, "I thought you were gonna let me lose!"
"Yeah, I've changed my mind! I think it would be better sportsmanship to let you win. After all, what are friends for?" Her retorted on the end of his breath."
"Sure thing buddy." Veera sneered. "I will of course accept my victory with dignity and grace." She twisted with a corkscrew maneuver and caught the wind with her wings again. "I'll meet you at the outpost, Damon! Don't take too long. I'd like to be done before noon today!" She called back behind her.
As she went forward she could faintly make out Damon yelling back to her, "Show off!" The town was set up with small pockets all branching out from the Great Tree. Common buildings were placed near the center closest to the tree. There were varying levels but for the most part living quarters were all built within the upper branches of the tree. Right below was the town's center, essentials were distributed there. Going forward were various other buildings: ones for schools, different trades, and businesses that filled the town. Veera was making her way through those such facilities now weaving in and out of the air channels. The Avian people knew how to tell air travel and build their structure to allow the flow through. These are the channels that most opted to travel. Veera enjoyed the flight though and preferred to choose back air paths. It allowed her to lose herself in exertion.
As she got closer to the edge of the town the outpost came into view. A long line of patched-together walls circled the town. The wall was intercepted by a small lookout hut otherwise known as the outpost. This was one of many but Veera and Damon were assigned to this one and didn't visit the others except on rare occasions. Usually, they visited the other outposts only when they were short on staff. Now Veera swooped down and feet first landed on the outskirts of the property. The hut was built with light-colored material and had a straw roof. It was just sturdy enough to last a storm, albeit uncomfortably. After being on the lookout one night Veera could verify that she didn't want to be in there while it rained anymore. The ventilation for a hot summer day did little to keep out the rain, but the roof did provide just enough to avoid a total drenching.
"We Won! We Won!" The Wind was ecstatic with victory. Yes, we did. Veera turned around to greet Damon ad he landed in a heap next to her. "I appreciate the sportsman attitude in letting me win but I think there was some foul play at hand. Otherwise, how are you so out of breath while going easy on me?" Veera teased.
"Yeah, yeah, Veera. Well, I'll tell you what happened. You see I had this huge cramp came upon me a mid-flight in my right-wing mid-flight. Like a real man though I pushed through just to make you not have to wait long for my arrival." Damon puffed out with grandeur climbing up from the dust.
"Sure thing Damon. That's believable, and the bird at your homework that one time too I'm sure." Veera laughed as the adrenaline of the flight dissipated some as she helped Damon to his feet.
"I'm telling you, that really happened! I don't know why no one believes me. That bird loved homework and I worked really hard on that math homework!" Damon, mockingly offended, pulled himself up.
"Ok, Ok. Now let's check and see where we are posted today." Veera and Damon made their way to the outpost.
"Well good morning Damon! Good morning Veera!" Nice to see you this morning!" Kathrine was on outpost duty today. She greeted the pair with a smile and a frantic wave through the cut-out of the hut. Her straight brown hair fell over the sill as she leaned on the frame.
"I thought you both already checked your assignment. Why are you here?" Cade wasn't in the mood for pleasantries it appeared. Then again, Cade was rarely in the mood for pleasantries. His dark auburn hair had a slight curl to it that defied his normal pessimistic outlook on life.
"Oh, Cade! You could try being nice to our friends here! They might have come just to say hello before the job." Kathrine nudged Cade with her elbow, doing very little to his sturdy frame leaning against the wall behind her.
"Doubtful" Cade replied unfazed. "It's more likely that Damon forgot where they were supposed to go." He opened his grey eyes to peer at the pair. "I doubt Veera bothered to even check. Coming here gives her more air travel as well as time on the clock."
Damon laughed, "Well Cade you always seem to have me nailed to a T!" He walked up to the window and gazed into the hut. "You two are the only pair here today?"
"Yeppers!" Kathrine said placing her small hand on Cade's shoulder. "Me and the big fellow here are the outpost's main line of defense until we get relieved at noon!" Her small frame next to Cade's muscular build was the picture of trustworthy security.
"We're doomed." Cade breathed as Kathrine huffed in offense.
"I have the utmost confidence in your pair's ability to defend the post, Kathrine." Veera injected. "Just as long as you let Cade do all the defending and don't get in his way."
"How rude! I'll have you know that I scored tenth in defense training at the barracks!" Kathrine crossed her arms over her thin frame.
"Out of twelve," Cade added under his breath earning a glare from Kathrine.
"Well Kat, I for one trust you with my life." Damon stated. "if it comes between you and me against an onslaught of invaders, I trust you with my life!"
"I'm sure that means a lot coming from the guy who scored eleventh on that same training," Veera added. "So Kathrine, where are we assigned today? Damon did remember that it was patch duty, but not where we were patching. I think the only reason he remembered what the assignment was at all is that he likes to torture me."
"Yes! Right!' Kathrine turned to shove Cade out of the way to access the shelf he was leaning on. "Let me see, this paperwork says you'll be patching holes in sector 14 near outpost three. They are a little short-handed lately due to heavy traffic in the neighboring outpost." Kathrine said flipping through the paperwork.
"What's causing such heavy traffic?" Damon asked. "Was there an issue at outpost four?"
"Oh no!" Kathrine stated. "There's nothing to be worried about at all. Outpost four has just received more guests than normal."
"Guests? Were we expecting any other tribe this week?" Veera asked.
"No, the tradesmen visited yesterday. They come and go as they please." Cade answered. The tradesmen were a nomadic tribe that traded their goods as they traveled the highways and byways of the atmosphere. There were even some among their tribe who were rumored to glow at night for ease of navigation. However as elusive as they were to find they came with an air of secrecy, leaving few rumors to be confirmed. They were pleasant people, however, sharing stories and goods with those who dwelt in the Great Tree.
"Sounds like we are in for a festival later tonight Veera!" Damon looked excited again. He always enjoyed the buzz the tradesmen brought with them. He also enjoyed the trouble he could get into while they kept the townsmen busy and distracted.
"Then we'd better hurry and finish the job so we have time to show and trade with the tribesmen," Veera said rearing to take flight. "See you later Kathrine, bye Cade. Try and put forth a little effort to not ruffle Kat's feathers!" Veera called out leaping into the air.
"Lot of good your advice will do him Veera! Have fun patching holes!" Kathrine called as Damon took off after Veera. Soon the pair was just a dot in the distance and Veera was immersed in the wind; headed for their assignment.
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