Firefly | Shelha Series 5 | ✔

Secrets Below

The morning chorus had waned enough to hear each other by the time they reached the place in question. The hole was a fairly large one for the second canopy; large enough that Whipper could have crawled through had he wanted to. Sethral took her turn poking her head down it. When her eyes adjusted to the gloom of the understory, she saw what the others had: the ground was slick, smooth and shiny, still wet and dotted with puddles. Mud had gathered at the bases of the trees; The water had been flowing with and out from the river they were following.

She pulled her head back. "Who here's got the best night vision?"

"Probably me," said Firebrand when Whipper on her back failed to respond.

"See how high the water got."

"I was already going to." Firebrand took her turn at the hole and pulled back with an expression of amazement. "Right up the trees. It must have been half a tail-length below us."

"And we didn't even hear it?" said Taz. "We've got Phoenix with us! What if it had made it all the way up here?"

"I didn't realize the ground had dropped this much these last few days," said Loki. "That rainstorm we had last night wasn't any stronger than the one we got out of the canyon colony on."

"The canyon here is narrower, though," said Firebrand. "The water would have risen farther than it did there."

"That doesn't fully explain 'right up the trees' silently enough that we didn't even hear it. I grew up in a river. Trust me."

"Well? Who wants to go down and explore?"

Taz stared at her. "You're kidding, right?"

"I'm not. Salisetta disappeared what... four years ago? If it sank and this river floods often, we might find debris stranded in the forest. Like the mast was."

"And if it floods again while you're down there?"

"It won't," said Ryatzi. "We've already had our rainstorm for the day."

"There are days when we get two."

"You don't have to come," said Firebrand. "But I want to go down."

Whipper got up and jumped from her back to Fletch's, where he curled up and buried his face again.

"I'll go too if it makes you feel better," said Loki.

Taz eased up, but only a little. "Be careful, dammit. Fibes, no excuses if Loki hears the water coming."

Firebrand smirked. "Yes, mom. Oh... sorry, Seth."

Sethral turned away before they could see the tears that had sprung up. "Have fun. Tell me what you find." Before they could answer, she walked back towards the group's camp.

"Nice going, Fibes," she heard Taz say behind her.

The walk was enough to stop the breakdown before it began. The forest was quiet and peaceful, with scraps of sun from a top canopy a little thinner than it had been before. Most of the trees here had stilted roots, great rods angled down and out from their trunks. Some of the stilts were so enormous, they punctured through the second canopy floor and connected to their trees up to a tail-length above. Sethral wondered what kind of force it would take to knock one of those trees down.

Dusk was awake and glaring at her when she got back. "Thanks for the guard."

"We figured you or Fifi would wake up if anything happened, and you're capable of defending both of you."

"Wake up? He's been comatose since morning and I sleep like a rock. We all know that."

"I didn't know rocks could sleep. And no, you don't anymore. You woke up when I threw a leaf pellet at you earlier, remember?"