Chapter Nineteen: "LYRA'S WONDERING"

Zela walked through the night. Tonight, the sky was cloudy and dark. Long shadows surrounded everything, enveloping Sonaria in her black wings. Zela couldn't see a thing four paws ahead. Her third eye was trying its hardest, still not very good vision though. She frowned and stopped. And odd scent crossed her nose. What the-? She wondered what it was. She kept walking, hearing footsteps behind her.

Ora padded up to her. "You smell the weird scent too?" she whispered. Zela nodded. Flower looked around anxiously as SunDrop had a worried expression.

"Hmmm. The trail is coming to an end..." Flower noted. The sweet smell ended. A small pile of the juiciest Sonarian cherries SunDrop ever saw was there. Her mouth began to water at the sight. Flower's favorite ringberries were mixed in with some delicious looking lunaris -or lunana- berries. Flower was very tempted to eat from it. A juicy carcass from a Pero lay on the ground in front of Ora. The Pero's feathers were plucked, giving the tasty meat that was her favorite.

Zela looked at the pile of desert flowers from a cactus and the underwater sea plants at her feet.

The four looked at each other. To eat, or not? "I vote we shouldn't eat it; it could be a trap.'' SunDrop said reluctantly. "If it was a trap, they couldn't possibly know our favorite foods. I vote eat!" Ora said, licking her sly lips.

"That is a good point, Ora." Zela said. "I guess we could take a little bit." Flower looked down. "Yes, a little- just a tad bit of food." She agreed.

They had decided they would eat. Ora bent down to take a bite, then looked around. Nothing happened. "Welp...its trap-free I suppose." Zela, SunDrop and Flower began to eat.

Flower woke up. Woke up...where? It seemed she was moving, and she was in a small room. Wait, no it was too soft for a floor. She was in... a sack maybe? Flower's instincts then kicked in. Her eyes went wide as her pupils contracted. She began kicking and waving her tail, but to no avail. She tried to scream, but her mouth was tied. Her six front pairs of arms were tied to her chest. She began to hyperventilate. Ora in another sack woke up too. But for her, realization kicked in immediately. She squirmed, then realized she was tied. She tried to bite something, but her mouth was tied too tight.

Zela was awoken, but in a dreamy state. She half-heartedly moved around, thinking she was in her bed. SunDrop on the other talon just went full-on terror mode. She wailed and hummed, kicking and twisting. She pawed at her muzzle with her back legs, but just couldn't reach with her elbows blocking the way.

The four sacks were dumped onto the floor and left there. Suddenly, the four were unzipped but not untied. They sat on the floor, staring in awe at the creature in front of them.

A Saikarie stood next to them. Her whole body was pinkish black, glistening with dirt in the cold light. She had four white spots on her tail feathers, and two white tendrils sticking out of her tail feathers. Her mask was completely white, and her one eye marking had no pupil. Only a black outline was there. Two white feathers behind her head stood.

"Hello there. My name is Lyra. Now, if I untie you, you must promise to not attack." She spoke. The four looked at each other and nodded. Lyra then carefully untied the bindings on their legs and then removed the muzzle rope.

She set the ropes aside and clapped her hands together. "Now, I must answer your questions." Lyra said.

"Ok then...where are we?" Ora asked. "Ah- an excellent question! We are in a cave in the tundra. We are currently in a prison cell." Ora blinked. "Ok then. Well, that was...straightforward."

"Uh...who are you?" Zela questioned. "As I said before, I am Lyra. I am the Black Saikarie, most low-ranking of all. My mother is Purity, and my father was Heaven." Lyra responded. Flower raised her hand. "Why are you in prison?" Lyra looked down her a moment. "That is...a long story..."

Next Chapter: Chapter Twenty: "THE BLACK SAIKARIE'S STORY"

Previous Chapter: Chapter Eighteen: "FLASHBACKS OF WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN"