The Urbem (Completed)

Chapter Twenty-Seven: A New Ally

 (Lyra)

We arrived at the camp later the next day. This camp was very different from one we came from. It was actually a stretch to call it a camp; it was more like a small seafront fishing town. Even after being there for a matter of hours, we quickly started to feel connected to all these strangers; all Insurgo were unified by the animals. There were many differences around here, the most dramatic being that they had actually in-ground buildings and not just tents or tree houses. I gussed that all the different Insurgo camps were adapted to the climate and surrounds. For instance, it was warm and overgrown where we came from, so we had built our homes in relation to nature. Here, on the other hand, it was very open because it was so close to the sea, so they had room for buildings.

The other thing that we come to realize was that hunting wasn't a "community" event here; fish was the primary food, and if fish wasn't good enough, we were expected to hunt ourselves. I had nothing against fish, having eaten it when I lived in Uxor-Europe, but Dolosus had more or less thrown a temper tantrum when we had be informed that he'd be stuck eating fish.

'I will NOT eat fish!' he spat in my head. 'I am a barn owl, not a puffin!'

"No you're not," I smirked, "your head is far too big to belong to a puffin..." He flew to the top of my head, grabbed a clump of my hair in his talons, and yanked it. I shooed him away with my hand angrily.

"Alright, we can go on a hunting trip. Would that make you happy?"

'Yes,' he sniffed. I scoffed and rolled my eyes, but followed him as he glided several feet above me back out into the thicker woods.

After walking for a couple miles, I stepped through a row of trees, only to be met face-to-face with the angry roaring jaws of a cat I recognized all too well. I screamed quite frightenedly, jumping back almost a full five feet. He stood up and glared at me, still snarling. I then realized that I had been standing on his tail, judging by the way he was flexing it so I quickly stepped back, apologizing hastily.

"I'm sorry, I didn't see you there, Imara..." How did I not seen him...? He was so big...

"What's wrong with you!?" Nephele hissed, suddenly appearing from the bushes just next to him. She shoved my shoulders back. "He was concentrating!" My heartbeat was racing.

"I'm sorry..." I panted, still too surprised to think straight.

"So you should be," she huffed, "you just lost him his dinner."

"I think I'm lucky I didn't become his dinner if I'm being honest with you, Nephele..." I muttered. I wasn't really afraid of Imara when he wasn't roaring in my face, but I certainly recognized that he was not a creature that it would be wise to pick a fight with...

"Yeah, well... He forgives you." She took a few deep breaths and ran her hand through her hair. Learning to control her temper was still a challenge for her, and, if I was honest, I doubted she would ever really become a figure of calm, but it was progress. "Anyway, what are you doing out here?"

"Same as you from what it looks like. Dolosus is hungry."

"Oh, well if you see anyone else warn them Imara's hunting. I don't know all the Bonded animals and he might just find one that he likes the look of."

"Okay," I nodded. The Animus could hear each other, but was only if they were familar, so it was possible to accidentally kill another Animus... Imara would have to be very careful. "He does at bit too good of a job with concealing himself," I joked. "I didn't think it was possible for me to be standing a foot from him and not see him..." Nephele seemed to lighten up at the complement of Imara.