The Forest Child

Chapter 1

Ten years later...

I reached up and plucked a piece of colorful, bumpy fruit from the tree and placed it in my linen sack, careful not to shake the branches too much and knock down the rest of the round baubles hanging precariously from the slender branches. I was suspended in the air, held up by a few sturdy vines bunched together to make a seat. There were a few other men and women with me while the children, who weren't quite as comfortable trapezing through the vines, collected berries below.

My muscles ached and I squirmed uncomfortably, itching to stretch out. I leaned back and one of the vines slid up to rest just beneath my shoulder blades, forming a make-shift hammock. I sighed as my joints popped and the the tension in my shoulders and back relaxed.

I picked a small piece of fruit out of my bag and bit into it, my teeth sinking into its ripe, juicy flesh. There were many kinds of fruit in the jungle, but sweetfruit was always my favorite. It tasted sweet but it also had a slight tang to it.

There was a tug on my vine and I looked up to find a small rodent climbing down for a visit. I didn't even flinch as it crawled across my shoulder and came to sit on my stomach, something that came with spending your entire life in a jungle paradise.

"Hello there, little one," I said, my fingers glowing as I touched the small creature's head. He was a jibber, a type of rodent-reptile hybrid that was common in the jungle. Like many of the types of Jibbers, this one had flaps of skin between his front and back legs so that he could glide from tree to tree. He also had a plume of gold and blue fur running down his back that ended in a bright blue tuft on the end of his reptilian tail.

The creature blinked and snuggled into the palm of my hand, sensing that I wasn't a threat. It's tongue flicked out and licked my sticky fingers. When he got bored with that, he went for what was left of the fruit in my hand.

"Excuse you!" I laughed, and tore off a piece of fruit and handed it to him. "There. Now we both have some."

He snatched the treat from my fingers and nibbled it excitedly. There were streaks of blue underneath his black eyes like war paint.

"So, what am I going to call you?" I asked. All the animals had names, you just needed to take the time to discover them. Once you did that, they recognized you and you could make a mental link with them at any time. In a place like the jungle, it was always good to have allies everywhere.
I brushed my fingers down his back and felt my aura connect with his. After a moment I felt him open up and I heard his voice talking.

Well then, he said, I guess since you shared your food I'll let it slide this once.

"What might I call you?" I asked.

He paused for a moment, Riki. My name is Riki, warrior of the Tavi tribe.

"Pleased to meet you, Riki," I put two fingers to my forehead and then to his in a warrior's tribute. "My name is Tamara." He blinked twice and then bowed his head.

You have a warrior spirit, Tamara. Suddenly his ears perked up. Danger!

He sprang off of my stomach and into the air, soaring off into the trees with a startled screech. I sat up, my body fully alert as a foreboding knot formed in my stomach.

Suddenly I heard the sickening crack of a large branch giving way and a trumpeting call. Animals screeched and birds retreated to the sky as the rumbling charged toward us. It could only mean one thing.

"STAMPEDE!" I yelled.

The other harvesters scrambled up into the trees, some dragging bags of fruit others children in their wake as a stampede of panicked, six-legged sextiphants devastated the ground below.