Mira's Return

“Greely…”

Greely moaned in his sleep.

“Greely, wake up!”

Greely opened his eyes, blinking them with sleep.  He began to recognize the figure hunched over him with concern as the panda alpha, Liza.

“What happened?”  murmured Greely groggily.

“The Phantom King shocked you.  It looked really bad.  You passed out.  Then he vanished.” Liza looked uncertainly into the shadows, and Greely could make out the faint sound of electricity which could only belong to one thing.  Phantoms.  “I’m holding the rest of the phantoms back with the powers of my staff, but I can’t hold them much longer.  No, Greely, you’re not strong enough!”  she added as he attempted to stumble to his paws.  She tried to push him back, but he threw her off.  

“We need… to get back.. to Jamaa… now!” Greely muttered hoarsely.

“But how?  We’re too far away!”  Liza shrieked.  “And I don’t have any means of communication because you told me that we were just “checking out the place”!  Of course, you forget to mention that the place was infested with phantoms!”  She was practically working herself into hysterics.

“Liza… calm.. down…”Greely whispered.  “I.. cannot.. live… unless we.. get back…”

“I will NOT calm down!”

“Liza-”
 “No!”

“Look behind you…”

Liza turned and her jaw dropped.  A huge circle of stone, imbedded with what seemed to be giant emeralds and had certainly not been there moments ago, was standing right behind her.

            “What- what is it?” whispered Liza, and Greely could detect just a hint of fear in her voice.

            “I think it’s a portal.”  The words flowed from Greely's mouth before he could stop himself.

            Liza turned to face Greely, with an awe-filled and frightened look on her face.  “Do you really think so?”

            Greely pursed his lips.  “I know it is.”  Why was Liza dilly-dallying?  Didn’t she see that they had to go through the portal NOW?  He could see white eyes through the gloom, approaching.

 “Come on!”  Before she could protest, he mustered all his remaining strength and shoved her into the portal, before plunging himself in.  As he sank through the gem, he saw the shapes of phantoms waving their tentacles angrily, before he sensed, more than saw, the portal seal over and vanish.  

            Greely felt himself plunging through what felt like liquidized air, except it was bright green.  Once or twice, he thought he glimpsed an eye, maybe a flash of a wing, but it was always gone as soon as he saw it.  In what seemed to be seconds, he felt himself hit the ground, and with a moan, he passed out.

***

 Liza sipped her tea, deep in thought.  Without warning, she slammed her cup down onto her saucer, making Peck jump with fright, and shattering both teacup and saucer.

 “That Greely!”  Liza growled.  “Ever since we’ve come out of the portal he’s been bothering me, interrupting me when I have important business to be getting on with!  And no, it’s not anything useful!  It’s always “Did you smell fish or anything like that in the portal” or “What did you see in the portal” or something ridiculous like that!  What in the world is Greely up to n-”

 The door flew open, and standing in the doorway was, in fact, Greely himself.  “When you’ve quite finished raging,” Greely said coolly,” I have some important news.  Unless, of course, you think my little research is too trivial to be acknowledged.

“I never- I didn’t- “ Liza spluttered.  

“Liza-” Peck started.

“All right, all right, then let’s hear what you have to say!”

“Alright then.”  Greely sat down on a ancient, wooden rocking chair, rocking back and forth ever so slightly.  “You all know how Mira died, or at least, her spirit left her body.  By sacrificing herself to save the phantoms.  We all accepted the fact without question.  Until I went through the portal, that is.”

“Greely, how can you possibly -”

“Liza, please!”  warned Peck.

Liza sniffed.

“Thank you.” Greely said sarcastically.  “That night, I saw what I thought to be an eye, and a wing in the portal, and I wondered… Well, my research has brought me to the conclusion that… Mira is alive, whole, and well.”

“What?!”  Liza and Peck both shrieked simultaneously, jumping up from their chairs.

“She created that portal, carried us back to Jamaa.  Whether Mira just came to recently, or she has been alive for a while now, is hard to tell.”  Greely stood up too and walked to the window, gazing out.

“But if Mira was really, well, alive, then why wouldn’t she tell us?”  Liza whispered, coming to Greely’s side, all past arguments forgotten.

“I don’t know. I just don’t know.  But I am certain of one thing.  The way ahead of us is dark, we have always known that.  But now, with Mira back on our side, the way seems just a bit brighter.  There is still hope.”

***

 From then on, whenever jammers needed assistance, one of Mira’s portal would appear.  Without them, we would be nowhere.  And the next time you go through a portal, pay attention.  You might just hear a soft murmur, or feel the brush of a wing, carrying you to safety.

A Stranger's Gift

A short story that is not the best.  I will soon have more recent stories up :D

A Stranger's Gift

One day long ago, the alpha Peck was restless. There was nothing in Jamaa left for her to paint! She had drawn every leaf and twig, every root and stone. Others were having problems too. The water had dried up in Jamaa. A terrible drought was happening. They were also unhappy that Peck had stopped drawing. Her drawings lightened up the day of anyone. They tried to get her to draw, but she refused. "Not until I see beauty in the world." 
Unfortunately, with her unwillingness to draw, her magic powers were disappearing. Her pictures crumpled and tore from around Jamaa, falling off the walls and dissolving forever. Her paintbrushes no longer glowed with color, and her eyes were as dull as an unsharpened knife, no longer sparkling with the happiness of a creative mind.
One day Mira came to visit her. As they settled down for tea, Mira asked what was bothering her. Peck confessed, and Mira sighed. "For that my dear, there is nothing I can do."
The next day, a stranger came to town. She did not look like any animal they had seen before. "I am a jaguar," she told them slyly, slinking in between them all. "I have been sent here to grant one wish. What shall it be?"
"Sent here?" exclaimed Peck. "By who?"
"By a force so deep and mysterious, yet generous, that you would not know," replied the jaguar. "Now give your wish."
Immediately, half the group called out for water to come back. Instinctively, the other half wanted Peck to have something to draw again. 
The leopard sat down thoughtfully. "I cannot give more than one wish." Her tail curled around her paws. "But I think I know a way to combine both."

***

Peck sat down, thrill in her eyes, as she saw the beautiful waterfall roaring through The Temple of Zios. "It's magnificent!" She sighed. In her mind, she was already thinking of her
paintbrushes working across paper.
So everything was back to normal. And years after, the waterfall still remains, never to be stopped. 
Though, however we wish we knew more, the mysterious stranger was never heard from again.

The Temple of Mira

I fear that this story is rather lame.  It's one of my oldest, and it doesn't really have a plot.  I hope you enjoy, nevertheless.

The Temple of Mira

Long ago, before Jamaa as we know it, Zios decided to create a temple.  But who for?  He sat many days, thinking, and then finally realized who in all of Jamaa deserved a temple.  It was his beautiful Sky Mother, Mira.  He called Peck to his palace and gave her his instructions.  She was to draw a design for the temple, decide where to put it, and then craft the most magnificent statue of Mira that was possible.

Peck went to work at once, sketching and erasing and throwing out bad copies, until she finally had the perfect temple for Mira.  She then went to the forest and found the finest and smoothest wood and sparkling crystals.  She painted the wood a pretty bluish-green and carved it in the shape of a bird holding her wing up.  She then took her two best crystals and fit them on her head for eyes.  She stepped back and sighed.  It was almost as if the beautiful bird was in the room herself.  

All of a sudden the statue turned its head to her.  “Hello Peck.  That’s a wonderful statue you built of me.”  Peck started, then turned around and realized she was looking at the wrong thing.  It was Mira!  Well, the statue still wasn’t too bad.

Mira flew Peck back to Zios, the wind blowing in her face.  Peck bowed and presented her sketch to him.  He looked at it thoughtfully.  “And where would it go?”  Peck dipped her head respectfully.  

“In that empty clearing in the Township, sir.”  

Zios smiled.  “Peck, you are one good little rabbit.”  He snapped his fingers.  “Now the Temple of Mira is complete.  Go visit your wonderful creation, Peck.”

Once again Mira flew Peck across Jamaa, landing lightly in the Township.  Peck felt nervous, but she raised her voice to the animals surrounding her.  “Everyone, a special thing is happening today.”  She paused, trying to find the right words.  “Sky Father Zios has opened a temple for our Sky Mother, Mira, and now if you’ll follow me, we can visit.”

Peck quietly led the animals up the path to the empty clearing.  A curtain of lichen hung in front of it.  She took a deep breath before pulling the curtain to the side.

When she looked up, she gasped at her creation.  They were in a large temple made of white cement with large arches over them.  Feathers hung from the ceiling, creating an awesome feeling of mystical things in the room.   Feather curtains surrounded the walls for privacy. A swirled pattern lay beneath their feet, leading to the same spot the dozens of crystals were reflecting their light on.  The Mira statue was in the center of the room, shining with the light of the beautiful crystals.  It was on a magnificent gold pedestal and the twinkling of its eyes made it seem almost alive.

The animals gathered around in awe, silent for once.  Then one animal called out from the back.  “Whose creation is this?”  

Peck felt like she would sink into the ground.  “Mine…” she said weakly.  

Everyone fell silent.  “Three cheers for Peck!”  A shout came from the back.  Animals around her started cheering, waving their paws in the air.  Peck smiled.

Then the crowd parted and Mira appeared beside Peck.  “I think Peck deserves a round of applause!  Or appaws, should I say.”  While the animals clapped for Peck, Mira bent down to whisper in Peck’s ear.  “I am very proud of you, my dear.  You are one of my finest children.”

 And with that, Mira gave a gigantic flap of her wings and flew up into the sky, soaring higher and higher until she was gone.  

Peck stared after her with a smile in her eyes.  “I love you, Mira,” she murmured.  Then she turned back to the watching animals.  “I think this calls for celebration!”