The Lore of ZooKazoo -- Day 10

How about those creepy Dragoon Flies? We want to thank one of you for that great idea -- an entire flying army of Dragoon Flies based on dragonflies. Ugly little devils. You'll hear and see more of them before this tale is over. And now, Day 10 . . .

When Seeds suggested that everyone leave the battle scene fast, no one argued. The new foursome -- Princess Kazooba, Growler, Pricilla, and Seeds -- took off down the jungle path as fast as they could go. So fast, that Seeds' short legs would never keep up. Pricilla lifted him and put him back in her pack at a dead run. "Oh, no," thought Seeds. "Here we go again." He was determined not to get sick again as he was bounced around in the bottom of Pricilla's pack. He climbed up and got a good grip on the top edge of the pack, then pulled himself up until he could see out. "Better," he thought, "I just need to be able to see out and get big breaths of fresh air."

They made good time down the trail. Growler seemed tireless as he loped along. Princess Kazooba was keeping up after two hours, but was beginning to breathe hard. Pricilla had, miles ago, taken to the trees and was swinging along above the rest. She, too, was very well trained and conditioned and could have done this for days without stopping. Seeds was, of course, breathing easily, but his hands were firmly clenched over his eyes. The view from his perch at the top of the pack was, well, he said it best, "Gulp!"

Princess Kazooba gritted her teeth as she jogged: "I'm not going to be the first to call for a halt," she insisted to herself. She doubled her effort and made sure she kept right up with Growler.

Growler could hear the sound of Kazooba's feet as she caught up with him. He knew they had been moving very fast for two hours. He guessed Kazooba had to be wearing down, but he also bet that her pride would keep her from calling for a rest. He was proud of her determination, but the last thing he needed was a worn-out or injured member of the group. He wisely held up his hand and said firmly, "Halt. Let's take a breather here. Just a short one."

He had stopped at a place with a thick carpet of soft grass. The opening in the jungle allowed a cool, fresh breeze to blow across them. Pricilla reached back over her shoulder and neatly grabbed Seeds and set him down carefully. He wobbled a bit, as he walked back and forth trying to regain his balance. Pricilla remained standing, watching and listening. Princess Kazooba stretched her arms above her head, bent backwards, and then gracefully swung forward to touch her toes. She sat on the soft grass and again reached for her toes, stretching her leg muscles to prevent cramping. She knew they'd be moving on further before stopping for the day.

Growler sat, totally relaxed. The warm sun glinted off his shiny coat. A puff of breeze fluffed the fur around his neck. He sat back with his weight on his arms, looking from member to member of this strange little band. "A Kazoobian Princess, a walking, talking apple core, and a royal member of the famed Monkey Troop -- a woman warrior monkey at that."

"Kazooba, Princess of the Realm, was still stretching. He was impressed with her feistiness. She certainly had a lot to learn, but she had a good and strong heart. That was a good place from which to start turning into an adult."

"Seeds was by far the smallest, but he had proven his grit and surprising abilities. He had saved them all from the Dragoon Flies. Seeds knew about those dangerous creatures. Clearly he had had experience with them before. Growler thought he probably had even more to learn from the little guy."

"Pricilla was amazing, too. He knew that she would never allow anything to happen to the Princess -- not on her watch -- even at the price of her own life. Pricilla had even faced off with him, he thought, with the stance of a true warrior. He was glad the Princess had stopped the silly fight that was about to begin because he and Pricilla would have probably injured each other in the struggle. Neither, he knew, would have allowed the other to win. Pricilla would be a good person to have by his side if they got into more trouble, and he knew they would. There were things ahead that would be dangerous. There was simply no way to escape their fate."

His thoughts continued to swirl. "He had a lot to learn about each of his new friends, but they had a lot to learn about him too. He smiled outwardly, knowing he had more tricks than stripes."

Pricilla was the first to speak. They'd all been quiet with their own thoughts while they rested. "So, Princess, what is going on here? I need to get you back to the palace. Your parents are worried sick, and I have the distinct impression that you are going to argue with me about returning home."

The Princess looked at Growler, then dropped her eyes to her hands as she fidgeted with them nervously. She did not know exactly what to say. As Pricilla waited, all there was to hear was the gentle sound of the afternoon breeze and the equally soft bwok, bwok, bwok of the suction pads on the ends of the Princess's fingers. Finally, "I did something very stupid, very immature," Kazooba began. "I thought I could teach my dad a lesson, that I was growing up and could do things on my own, things that are important. He keeps treating me like I'm just a kid. I thought I'd leave the palace in the dead of night, have an adventure, and then return with everything ok. I didn't think about how he or my mom would worry. I should have known he'd send his best troops and spies out to find me and now, I've put you two in danger too."

"But maybe I was meant to leave the palace on that very night," she continued, "because at the very next sunrise, in the very first rays of dawn, I was in the right place at the right time to see this bottle with the map inside tumble down the Great Waterfall and make its way right to my fingers. I just don't think that was by chance. And then, this tiger, Growler, showed up disguised as a tiger cub -- you wouldn't believe how tiny and cute he can appear. And he knew my name! How did he know that I would be there, picking up that bottle that very morning? Maybe we should all ask him what is going on."

"Very clever," mused Growler. "The young Princess had neatly turned all the attention right on him." He almost winced as Pricilla turned her stern gaze at him.

"Well, Growler? If that is your name. The Princess raises a very interesting question. Tell me what is going on and don't leave anything out!"

If Seeds had ears, they would have been standing straight up. He did not want to miss a word of this!