Chapter 8- Rana's story concluded (
Back to the beginning)
Ree was contemplating mischief again. What else was there to do in the rain? Earlier while hunting she had come across a freshly-molted tarantula exoskeleton. It was kind of creepy at first, coming face to face with a looming, motionless arachnid in the gloom of the forest floor. Ree giggled at herself as she remembered how she had assumed the defensive posture of poison frogs- up on all fours, plainly visible so that her coloring could do the work of warning away predators. After an embarrassingly long time frozen in that position she realized that it was not a spider before her, but rather its "ghost". Which is when the ghost of an idea began haunting her brain.
There were logistical problems, of course. Not to mention the general ickiness of wearing a spider skin. But imagine Roar's reaction when she crept up and jumped out in front of him! Again, though, the yuck factor was a little high for comfort. Reluctantly, she told herself that wearing animal parts, even just cast-off outgrown skin, was just too morbid. not really her style. Oh well.
It stopped raining. Time to make her way back to her mate. She had last seen him to the north. Casually she wended off in that direction, keeping an alert eye out for tasty snacks and edibles along the way. As always, there was no shortage of bugs and worms emerging after a rainfall. Hopefully Roar was also enjoying a post-rain treat. He got a little grumpy if he went too long without eating.
She waved absentmindedly at a pretty orange toad who must have just woken up from a nap, judging by the groggy expression on his face.
The clean, serene silence of the freshly washed rainforest was abruptly broken by a familiar voice singing a dreadful song. Roar was sounding a Frog Chorus alarm. A second voice, one she didn't recognize, could also be heard. Clearly something was afoot. Ree abandoned her casual stroll and broke into a frog gallop, enabling her to cover the remaining distance startlingly fast. She emerged into a clearing and saw Roar rushing about, and more of those orange toads, and a flock of green toucanets. It was chaos. And it was carnage. All this Ree saw in a glance, and she also saw immediately what she had to do.
Without slowing she veered directly towards the most urgent crisis- one of the toucanets was swooping down on a lethargic toad. For some reason the toad was not doing anything to avoid the bird. Why were all these toads so dopey? It didn't matter. She needed to help. If she timed it right . . . yes! The bird was on the ground, lazily regarding its intended prey with casual arrogance. It didn't see her.
With a mighty heave of her fatigued leg muscles she leapt aboard the green pirate. Even though she was expecting it, it was still a shock when the bird took to the air. The way the wings were fluttering, the speed of the launch, it was more than she had anticipated. Ree held on tight, committed now to an action she hadn't really planned out in detail. Grasping hold of the iridescent plumage she pulled herself along, fighting vertigo and trying not to look down. She had to hurry.
The toucanet was squawking and trying to stab at Ree with its great beak, but it couldn't reach. Ree waited until the next thrust, concentrating fiercely to get the timing right, and grabbed hold. Her stomach lurched and the rational part of her brain kept telling her she was crazy. Crazy! But it worked. She was atop the bird's beak, with nothing the bird could do. With regret but not hesitation, she swiped at the toucanet's eye. The poison on her fingerpads killed the bird instantly. It plummeted to the ground. Ree jumped away and fell too. She landed without dignity, but also without injury.
Breathing heavily, she looked around. The remainder of the flock had flown away at the commotion. The surviving toads, finally shaken from their hazy daze, looked at her in astonishment. They began to sing a song of thanks.
Roar came up to her, hugged her, and said, "I hope you're the last frog to rain down out of the sky today because it's just weird."
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Since I couldn't think of a good song about birds and frogs, I will use a song from the new Raconteurs disc instead- it's called The Switch and the Spur and has a cool poem in it that sort of fits this chapter:
Any pour souls who trespass against us
Whether it be beast or man
Will suffer the bite or be stung dead on sight
By those who inhabit this land
For there's is the power and this is the kingdom
As sure as the sun does burn
So enter this path, but heed these four words,
You shall never return...
Anyways, I'm not entirely satisfied with the action sequence- the description of it at any rate. Action is not my strong point as a writer. But I can practice and get better and this is how I do that. But overall I'm happy with how this turned out.
Dedicated to Taymin who just turned 1 last week and is getting a stuffed froggie from me as a present. I'm sure she'll like the frog better than the chapter, at least for a few years!
