CHAPTER 3
BROWNIE
“Caw, caw, caw,” cried the crows angrily. “Crow killer, crow killer, crow killer.” Angry but clearly concerned about Blue’s demonstrated fighting skills, the six crows paused their attack. "Blue death, blue death," one of them squacked.
This was a jay the like of which they had never seen before. He stood tall before them, atop the body of his latest kill, legs spread, feathers ruffled, eyes cold and beak covered with crow blood, ready to strike and kill or maim still more of them.
He tensed as if to spring at them and the crows cowered back, stumbling, half turning away from Blue and holding wings up while ducking their vulnerable heads low and behind a screen of black feathers. Four of the crows were very young, Blue noticed.
One of the more mature crows suddenly cried out loudly in plain language. "The New Order," she crowed, over and over. The others soon took up the strange chant, and as they did they seemed to rediscover their courage. They turned again towards Blue and held themselves erect, eyes on the jay and beaks open as they chanted together. Then as one, all six again advanced on Blue.
"KEEEEEE," came the sudden call of multiple red tailed hawks from above, as three blue bodies came hurtling down from the trees to knock three of the crows off their feet and away from Blue. The largest of the attacking jays hopped close to Blue while the other two flapped wings and yawed angrily at the scattering crows. The big jay was Scar, and the other two were Bob and Nod. "Fly away from this place, Blue Dawn Jay," ordered Scar. "The crows will regroup soon. Follow me."
"I can't leave this exhausted creeper," said Blue, nodding towards the panting, open beaked, wide eyed little brown bird that huddled behind and underneath him.
"Carry him then," replied Scar. "You're big enough." With that he hopped into the air and flew off, low and fast.
Blue had never carried another bird in flight. He had seen songbird parents carry their downed chicks to safety, but never did one adult bird carry another, except as prey. It was a thing that raptors did, not songbirds. Still, Blue didn't hesitate a moment. He grasped the creeper at the base of one wing with his left foot and hopped awkwardly up with his right leg while executing a strong downward wing stroke.
They were airborne, barely. Blue's grasp of the creeper held, despite the slipperiness of the little bird's feathers. They flew safely over the reaching heads of the regrouping crows before the awkward black birds could take wing, but the creeper suddenly thrashed about violently and cried out in panic: an uncontrollable reaction to being grasped like prey and carried off. "Hold still," Blue admonished repeatedly, as he pumped wings furiously to catch up with Scar, with Bob and Nod following close behind. The little bird’s struggles subsided but did not cease.
Scar dodged around tree trunks and branches skillfully, while Blue awkwardly followed, the squirming creeper providing unaccustomed wind resistance as well as extra weight. Blue’s dodging of obstacles in the dense growth was especially difficult, as he had to take into account both the added weight and the dimensions of the dangling creeper. Worse, the small bird still squirmed. Just as Blue's tenuous grasp of the tiny bird was nearly lost, he managed to grasp one of the bird’s tiny kicking legs firmly with his other foot. Though it was now upside down, the creeper's struggles further subsided, and Blue became more accustomed to his feathered burden.
A dozen cawing crows pursued the fleeing songbirds. Twice when crows tried to close on Blue, they were driven off by Bob and Nod, who both turned out to be very skilled fighters, and whose loud cries also helped hold the pursuing flock at bay. Scar expertly dispatched several crows that tried to get ahead of the fleeing songbirds.
Familiar with the area, the jay flock leader quickly led them directly into a stand of much smaller trees, where they had to dodge through very dense foliage. Though flying was problematic for Blue, it was totally impossible for the big awkward crows, who finally had to give up the chase.
Frustrated crow cawing was far behind them before Scar finally landed on the ground below dense undergrowth. Nod and Bob flew away yawing loudly, to lead away any potential crow pursuit. On foot, Scar led Blue deeper into thicket while the stunned creeper, following in Blue’s shadow, scrambled along at the bigger bird's feet, often nearly tripping him.
Not being able to see very far through the dense leaves and twigs concerned Blue, as crows could be flying silently overhead close by, but at least now they were well hidden from above. After they finally stopped, Scar and Blue whispered quietly to each other while the exhausted, traumatized creeper huddled between them on a bed of leaves and immediately fell asleep.
"I am again in your debt, flock leader," said Blue, when he had caught his breath.
"Only doing our duty, young Blue. I watched it all from above. They didn't have cause to attack you or the creeper, not after they got the cardinal they wanted. Never have I seen such determination and ferocity in crows. I saw them attack you in flight!"
"They were trained to fight while in flight. Well trained, though many of them are very young."
Blue jays were not born with the agility and speed to be natural great fighters and flyers; they needed to train extensively to have any chance at defending against raptors and blackbirds. Raptors could count on superior inherent abilities, while blackbirds counted on wit and numbers. Training among blackbirds was unheard of until now.
"I agree. Fortunately you were trained even better. Never have I seen a jay fight so well, or show more dedication to protecting other birds. Of course you were pushing the limits of Law just a bit, but in our favor. Black Heart was wrong when he said you had abandoned the Pact of the Jays to be merely a songbird, and though I am myself no song master, I intend to sing a song or two myself about you and this day, if we live through it."
Blue was embarrassed. He had only done what he had to do. "I am jay," he explained simply.
Scar nodded. "Indeed. That much is certain. But the rest is muddled. Why was the leader of all crows in the World so determined to get at that particular cardinal? Why are they now so determined to get at you and the brown creeper? And how do I rid my woods of a flock of hungry crows so big that it threatens all other bird life within it?"
"I thought it the raving of an old sick bird at the time, but before he died Song Flame told me many strange things." Blue rapidly repeated to Scar what Song Flame had told him, note for note.
Scar shook his head. "I do not understand much of it, it is beyond me. I am simply a common forest jay, I have never even seen a Council member before, except for one early acquaintance of mine who later rose to perch in the Council. Was that old cardinal truly of the Great Council?"
"He was; and there he sang well for all birds. But he was very old and badly injured. I don't know if his mind was sound, at the end. Four months ago he went on a peculiar quest alone, following rumors of strange happenings in the Far South Forest. Birds sing."
Scar nodded. "Yes, birds sing. I too have heard dire rumors that the Law and the Balance have been forgotten, further south. There are rumors of other things so strange that there is no song that can be sung of them, including discordant notes of Old Ones. I thought it was all just odd song, maybe from young, loose singing, free-flyers, meant to shake up the nesting oldsters, as the young often have a mind to do, but now given the blackbird situation and the cardinal’s story I am convinced that there is something truly odd actually happening, something very strange and very dangerous.
"What is this 'New Order' business that the crows were singing of?” Scar asked. “The crows are involved in the trouble in the Far South Forest somehow, I'd wager spring eggs on it. Besides, there have been far more blackbirds in the forest this season, even before you came, Blue Dawn. And they all fly in from the Far South Forest, mostly very young crows and grackles, as you have also noted, as though from a great recent hatching."
Blue nodded agreement. "Something is not right in the Far South Forest. There must be some measure of truth in what Song Flame sang.”
/> Scar nodded his agreement. "If there is the slightest chance that the Old Ones have really returned, the Council should be told. And they should be told of our suspicions about the blackbirds also. The Council will then understand what is happening and know what should be done about it."
That’s the way it’s supposed to work, but Blue had seen too much of the Council to have Scar's apparent naïve faith in it. Scar’s earlier digging remarks concerning the Council’s preoccupation with trivia were uncomfortably close to the mark. Nevertheless, Song Flame had wanted Blue to carry his last song to the Council. It was the old bird’s last wish. Blue had experienced enough questing to suit him for a long time, but he had no choice. "I will rest today and leave for the Council early tomorrow."
"Well sung, Blue Dawn. It will be dangerous alone, but I would be reluctant to order any of my own jays to go on such a quest so close after hatching time, given the crow situation here. We have already lost far too many eggs and hatchlings to crows and grackles, more than in the ten previous seasons. The Council must do something.” Scar twisted his head as though a sudden new thought perplexed him. “Tell me, does Strike True still sing in the Council?"
"He does," replied Blue, who did not volunteer that he was the son of Strike True.
"Tell him of your encounter with me then, and that I said that this matter is very important."
"You know him then?"
Scar nodded. "From a long time ago, Blue, but I think he will still remember me. The Council is not the true work of most jays, but tell him also that I am very proud that he serves on the Great Council."
"That I will do," agreed Blue, though he was taken aback by the personal tone of the message.
"Fly low and fast then, young jay," said Scar. "The crows will still be looking for you."
"I am not afraid of crows," replied Blue. "I am jay."
Scar laughed, as he turned and hopped away. "Fly free, Blue Dawn Jay, and be always welcome to join my flock." It was the highest compliment that a flock leader could give to someone outside his own flock.
"Fly free, great Flock Leader Scar," returned Blue, not knowing what else to sing.
After Scar had gone, Blue foraged around the immediate area while the creeper rested, for it was mid-morning and Blue still hadn’t had an opportunity to eat anything. He quickly found that there were many berries, a few acorns, many fat crawlers, both legged and non-legged, and even a small stream nearby. Occasionally Blue heard dozens of crows high above, sweeping the area, but he remained safely hidden by forest growth as he ate. Scar had taken Blue and the creeper to a perfect refuge.
However, judging from the cawing sounds, the big blackbirds had not left the vicinity, but were even now perched high above in practically every great forest tree, watching, waiting, and judging from the sounds made by terrified song birds and defending jays, attempting to feed on anything they found.
Blue crushed and brought a few crawlers back for the creeper, as creepers seldom ate anything but crawlers, but didn't wake him, as at the moment the little bird was obviously more tired than hungry. The tiny brown bird was a mystery. What was he doing with Song Flame in the first place? Perhaps if the little bird woke up before he left, Blue would ask him, though he doubted that he would get much of a response. Brown creepers weren't known for their intelligence.
Near dusk, when it was nearly time to sing away the light, the little bird woke up on his own, wide eyed and shaking with fear.
"You are safe, little one," Blue reassured him quietly in plain language. "We can sing now, but only using very soft tones, for crows may be near. What is your name?"
"Name is Brownie."
Blue nodded politely. Probably half the brown creepers in the World were named Brown or Brownie, though the names could be sung in hundreds of different ways in their own language, such that individuals could easily be identified.
"You should stay here for five days. Hide quietly and stay safe from the crows. Rest. Feed. Grow strong again. Listen for a day in which you hear no crows. Then fly away to your home flock; fly low and fast, under the cover of tree and bush, and fly very far."
The little bird apparently understood, as he nodded while he ate some of the crawlers that Blue had brought him. "Our friend is dead," said the creeper presently, after he had finally eaten his fill.
Blue nodded his head. He had been avoiding thinking of it, but there was no way around it. Song Flame, his closest friend and teacher, was indeed gone. "Song Flame was your friend also?"
The little bird nodded in agreement. "Song Flame friend, Jack friend, blackbirds not friends."
The creeper had sung the odd and meaningless word 'Jack' very strangely. Creepers are fairly accomplished little singers, but this note was sung very plain and thick. "Who is Jack?"
"Jack is human. Jack feed Brownie. Give songbirds nesting place safe from bad blackbirds."
"Hu-man?" This had been sung very strangely also; slow and very plain. "What is human?"
"Slow, plain singer, but very smart."
"Can you sing their song?"
The little bird nodded. Then he quietly sang a very strange song, full of very dull sounds much like 'Jack' and 'human'. Blue had never heard anything like it before. It reminded him of common Plain Song or crow song, though it seemed to be much, much slower and even duller. There was no beauty at all to it, no subtle messages hidden within complex sub-frequencies, and nothing at all that Blue could match with his extensive knowledge of bird songs. It was by far the strangest thing he had ever heard.
"That is human song? What does it mean?"
"Brownie sings 'I am a hungry bird, give me food.' Then Brownie gets food from Jack or friends of Jack. Brownie eats little crawlers, but big crawlers give Brownie human food."
"Big crawlers?"
"Humans be crawlers, not birds. No wings. No feathers. Four legs like furry crawlers but they walk on only two large back legs. Jack be crawler. Jack has big, big crawler nest. Big like big tree. Flat-faced featherless crawler named Jack gives songbirds food and shares his safe nest and food with many songbirds.”
Shock of understanding hit Blue. Humans were the big strange crawlers that Song Flame had sang of as being Old Ones, and Brownie had actually sung with and lived among them! Remarkable! That behavior didn't seem to fit with the ancient songs of the Old Ones, however. In the end, the Old Ones fought great battles with the birds, according to the old songs. The birds finally triumphed and wiped out the Old Ones forever, or perhaps only drove them away; it was unclear which. "Are there many humans?"
"Yes, many; a great flock of humans with great nests, many places with nests. Great, big crawler nests, not bird nests."
The answer chilled Blue further. The Old One songs described huge, strange nests. "Are humans the Old Ones returned?"
Brownie didn't answer for a long time. "Brownie not know. Humans be humans. Big strange crawlers. Smart. Very smart. Brownie see humans. Humans sing. Brownie hear. Brownie learn to sing human song. Brownie not see Old Ones, not sing with them. Brownie not know what Old Ones be."
"Did Song Flame sing with humans?"
"No. Song Flame see humans, hear humans. Song Flame very frightened. Not sing with humans. Not live with them like Brownie."
Blue could understand why Song Flame was frightened of these legendary monsters. The Old Ones could not be trusted, it was sung. The Old Ones were first friends and masters to birds, and then they became deadly enemies, according to the oldest songs. "Do other birds sing with humans?"
"Grackles sing with humans."
Grackles. Jay-sized blackbirds, smaller than crows, but just as black hearted, clever, and shifty, and sometimes allied with their larger cousins the crows, when it suited them or Black Heart ordered it. Blue was startled by the notion of blackbirds singing with humans. What were they up to? "Do crows sing with humans?"
"Brownie not know."
“What about jays? Do blue jays sing with humans?”
“No. No jays liv
e where humans live. Many blackbirds, many starlings, many cow birds, some songbirds, no jays.”
The statement stunned Blue. Blue jays lived everywhere in the World, or so he had been taught. “Who protects the songbirds if there are no jays?”
“No birds protect songbirds,” Brownie shuttered softly. “We die. Blackbirds hunt us.”
Blue’s head spun. This was a true horror story. "Do you know the song about The New Order?"
Brownie shivered. "Crow song. Grackle song. Bad for most other birds. Good for blackbirds. Also good for starlings and cowbirds that work for blackbirds and humans in the Far South Forest. Bad for other songbirds. Very bad for blue jays. Brownie has heard this bad song many times."
"Is it a human song?"
"No. Crow song, grackle song. Brownie tired now; Brownie sleep." The tiny bird immediately curled up into a little ball again and closed his eyes.
Blue studied the little bird. Brown creepers, like most tiny birds, were usually non-stop bundles of energy. This one had been through a lot though, escaping the crows with Song Flame. He was obviously of unusually high intelligence, for a creeper. Blue could well imagine Song Flame becoming acquainted with such an interesting little bird. Song Flame was a bird of all flocks.
Painful thoughts of Song Flame and his death filled Blue again. He felt lost. He would need to return to his own flock and lead a normal life, now that Song Flame was no more, but there would always be an enormous void in his life, from this point on.
First his new quest to reach Council had to be concluded. Blue nodded his head slowly as he stared at and further considered the little creeper. Now he knew why the crows wanted Brownie, and why Song Flame was flying with him. This little bird from the South Forest was full of information that the crows did not want the Council to know. Song Flame had merely seen the humans from a distance; Brownie had sung and lived with them. Already Blue had learned much information from him, much of it horrific.
Blue couldn't leave the creeper behind; he'd have to take the tiny bird with him, for three reasons: First, because the crows would still be after the tiny bird. Second, because he was needed as a witness. Blue hadn't seen or sung with these strange new crawlers, or witnessed that there were no jays to protect songbirds, but Brownie had. Blue needed to take Brownie to the Council. That must be what Song Flame was trying to do.
Most important, Brownie had been Song Flame’s friend. Tiny Brownie, though exhausted and terrified, had actually attacked the evil king of all the crows of the World to defend the old cardinal. Blue promised himself that he would sing many songs of the little bird's amazing heroics when he had the chance, songs that would echo through all the forests of the World for all time. But first they had to escape, and they had to do it together.
How could that be done? The tiny bird was still far too weak to openly flee from even the clumsy crows. Worse, what if grackles joined the hunt for them? The grackles were evidently allied with these crows. Grackles were as swift and maneuverable as jays, and averaged sligtly larger than jays. He couldn't wait for the creeper to fully rest himself, for the crows, possibly with grackle help, could mount a ground search long before then.
Also, as Scar had said, the crows were a terrible danger to this forest. Such a huge flock had to feed, and would feed on anything and everything if they stayed here for long. Even now, the dusk was ominously silent. Songbirds in the area were not singing away the great light, and probably would not sing the return of the light at dawn either. Blue could sense a tension in the air, as if a great storm were threatening.
Suddenly Blue heard the soft sound of wings nearby, and then the rustle of something at ground level, walking towards them quietly. Blue stood alert, poised to fight whatever came.
"Yaw-Yaw," sang both of the new arrivals, though it was whispered very quietly, almost as quiet and sweet as a tender love song of a jay to a beloved mate. "Blue Dawn Jay, it is Nod and Bob!"
Blue relaxed as the two jays hopped into view. "What are you two doing here?"
"We came to join your quest," answered Bob.
"Quest, quest," echoed Nod.
"I am not your flock leader; I am a stranger jay."
"You are jay, we are jay," answered Bob.
"We helped you escape today, we can help you escape tomorrow," explained Nod.
"But it is still hatchling time!"
"Egg eating crows," hissed Nod, angrily.
"Crows, crows, crows," hissed Bob, with bitter anger. "Two months ago. Too many to stop. Crows ate our eggs. Too many crows this season; too, too many."
"Too many, too many," echoed Nod. "We would go with you to Council, to sing that there are too many crows. We have seen them. They have eaten our eggs."
"You are a great warrior, let us join your flock," said Bob. "We will help you fight the crows."
Blue considered it. Without them, he would have to fly defenselessly as he carried Brownie. He needed them, but there were serious problems with the idea. "I am not a flock leader," he explained. Indeed, that was a big problem for him personally. It was at the root of his difficulties with his father. He had forsaken his opportunities to become a jay flock leader to learn wisdom at the wing of Song Flame.
"For this quest, by Freedom of Flight, we sing that you are our flock leader, Blue Dawn,” said Nod with conviction.
“Flock leader Blue, flock leader Blue,” seconded Bob.
It was certainly not unheard of for birds to pick a flock leader in this way. But if a bird was already committed to a flock, it was a very serious matter to leave it, as Blue knew from personal experience. “You are of Scar’s flock. You are needed here by Scar.”
“We have Scar’s leave to go with you; we sang to him of our plan earlier,” explained Bob.
"Our nest is empty, this season we have no hatchlings to care for," lamented Nod. “Also, it is Freedom of Flight. Scar agrees.”
Blue was stunned by the honor being given to him by these fine jays. At last he nodded in agreement, and his spirits improved greatly. “Then it is so. You do me a very great honor. Sleep well, my flock. We leave at the dawn of twin lights.”
Blue slept fitfully. He despaired greatly over Song Flame’s death. Also, the night sounds were unusual; the screech of hunting owls was far more frequent than he had ever heard before. The night time predators usually sought hairy crawlers that came out in nighttime, but Blue had a feeling that many birds would also not live to see the suns. Were the owls also in league with the crows, or where they merely taking advantage of the chaos caused by them? Or were they actually attacking the blackbirds? Blue didn’t know. He was beginning to suspect that after finally finding Song Flame, and seeing his best friend die and be eaten by crows, he had embarked on a second, far more dangerous quest.
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