Life is a Canvas - Chapter 11

I lost track of time as we walked. I was too busy wallowing in self-pity to bother being social, so Nia and Charlie hung out together a little in front of me. I don’t have the greatest sense of direction, so Charlie had once again taken the lead. I left them to it, thinking my own thoughts and feeling sorry for myself.

Hey, get rid of that look. Yes, I’m a person who sometimes feels sorry for themselves. Everyone does it. And I’m not a hero who puts all that aside “for the mission” or whatever. The mission at this point was more walking, I was tired and cranky, feeling bad about Charlie, and worried about my Dad… I needed a bit of quiet time to do nothing more than feel sorry for myself. It’s not that weird. If anything, it’s perfectly normal.

In any case, we eventually stopped for supper, and found the snacks my mom had given me. Organic healthy stuff. Things my dad would have loved. I wasn’t quite so fond of it as he and – apparently – my mom were. I liked junk food too much. I wonder where I got that from…hmm…well anyway, we munched on things and started walking again.

Looking back, it was a good thing we were being quiet.

Charlie had gotten stopped by a thorn bush snagging his jeans. Nia was helping him, and I walked past. It didn’t really matter that I was in front, someone would correct me if I went the wrong way. Unfortunately, neither of the other two knew about the cliff on the other side of the bushes I was pushing through.

It felt sort of like when you get to the top of a staircase and think there’s another step, so when your foot keeps going your heart sort of ends up in your throat. Even though there’s no real danger. Well, there’s a very real danger about stepping off of a cliff Which was exactly what I did. Not to most impressive moment of my demigod career, I know.

I didn’t really have a chance to correct my error. I don’t think I even had a chance to scream really. A sort of strangled squeak escaped and then I was gone, tumbling into the air. I think I heard Charlie and Nia yell after me, but it’s hard to focus on things like that when you’re falling to your death. About ten feet down was the world’s skinniest tree, clinging to the rock face. I managed to grab it, though the whole thing bent over with my weight. I could practically feel the thing’s roots pulling from the rock as I clung to the rough bark for dear life.

“Heather!”

“Get me up!” I screeched, looking up at the pair. Charlie was reaching for me, though there was no way he’d reach the full ten feet. Finally he pulled out his weapon, the naginata. For a moment I was afraid he’d reach the sharp end down to me and accidently cut the tree in half. He flipped it over though, half hanging over the edge of the cliff with Nia holding his legs, and reached the butt of the staff end down to me.

I didn’t want to get go of my little tree, though my own weight would pull it free of the cliff before too long. It was a solid thing to hold onto, letting go felt like the not smart thing to do. I did it anyway after a moment, making a desperate reach for the staff.

“I can’t reach it!” I cried, returning my hand to the trunk of the tree. Charlie cursed overhead and I looked down. Which was a really bad idea, because it was a very very long drop.

“Heather, come on, you have to reach!” I looked up and shifted my weight to one hand, once again reaching for the butt of the staff.

“Almost, just a little-” I was cut off mid-word when the tree pulled free of the cliff. Charlie and Nia screamed. I screamed. And fell. And fell and fell and slammed against the cliff sloping outwards. I grunted and rolled, getting snagged by more scraggly trees and bushes. I couldn’t tell which way was up, all I could tell was that I was falling and then getting caught by sharp branches and then rolling and falling some more.

It felt like forever, but eventually, everything stopped. Something snatched my arm and yanked me upwards, nearly pulling my shoulder from its socket. Not quite. I didn’t know it then, but I’ve dislocated my shoulder since, so looking back it wasn’t nearly as painful as I know it could have been.

So for a moment I was way too dizzy and in too much pain to think. It’s hard to explain it now…I think it must be normal to block the pain from your memory over time. But I was covered in scrapes, bruises and scratches. Nothing life threatening, but it still hurt enough to sort of fog up my mind.

When I finally looked up, I wished I hadn’t. It looked like a mountain lion, except it had the head of a golden eagle and the talons of one too. Talons which gripped my arm at such a weird angle. A gryphon. I’d heard Percy mention them before. He said they were black like a weird panther and raven crossbreed. I figured these must be the mountain versions. I reached up with my free hand and gripped at the large taloned feet holding onto my arm. It took the weight from my shoulder, so that was nice. Though the gryphon seemed anything but happy. He kept trying to lean down and snip at my fingers with his beak, but the movement kept throwing him off course. I don’t think he was very old honestly.

I looked back towards the cliff. Charlie and Nia were waving their arms, like they were trying to get the gryphon’s attention. But honestly, I don’t think he cared. I couldn’t even hear them anymore.

I was scared, but after the last few days, I think I was getting a little numb to the fear of random attacks, you know? Like…I could handle it better. Which was good, because it meant I was calm and could think straight rather than flailing and screaming like I might have only a few days before.

I may not be a hero, but I grew a lot on that trip.

So I paid attention to the ground below me. It was long way down, but I was alright. I wasn’t really afraid of heights thanks to Popcorn. Though I may have gotten it from my mom too? I don’t know, goddesses aren’t afraid of much, so that might not count. In any case, I logically knew that the gryphon wasn’t about to drop me for no reason, so I didn’t need to be afraid of falling. And this way, I knew where he was taking me.

And this way, I spotted the nest at the top of the tree. It wasn’t built in and around the branches of a tree like I’d been expecting. But on a cliff face on the far side of the valley where I’d been talking with Nia and Charlie. And there were more. Half a dozen nests were scattered in a few places along the cliffs. Each had a pair of gryphons, carefully keeping watch over their eggs.

My gryphon dropped me into his nest. In an instant the fear came back as his mate looked me over. She was a little smaller, but that was the only difference between the two. I figured I was about to be supper for hungry Mom.

Instead…she came forward and nudged my chest. Much like Popcorn would have, except she had a razor sharp beak rather than a soft nose. I froze, watching as she pressed her head into my chest again. She seemed to be looking me over, while the male chirped at her. Was he telling her what had happened to me on the cliff? Was she checking me over for injuries? Making sure I wasn’t too badly hurt? She seemed less like the dangerous monster I expected her to be, and more like…a mom.

“Hello.” I breathed, reaching up to run my hands along the top of her beak, and up to smooth back the feathers on her forehead. She made a soft chirrup noise and nudged me over, inviting me deeper into the nest. I followed her lead, not wanting to be knocked over, even though she was being wonderfully gentle. I had no idea what was going on, but neither of them seemed to want to eat me. So that was good, right?

At the back of the nest sat two eggs. They were about the size of my head, maybe even a little bigger. I knew gryphon eggs were gold…but these weren’t. Weird.

I glanced at the mother and then moved slowly forward, kneeling beside the eggs and, after another glance to make sure I wasn’t about to have my fingers bitten off, I resed my palm against one of them.

“They’re warm!” I exclaimed softly, a smile appearing on my face. I admit, I hadn’t expected to be smiling about anything about two minutes before, so this was a little weird. But I felt…oh what’s the word…privileged? Special? These creatures had basically invited me into their home and introduced me to their kids. Sort of. You get the idea. I had no idea why they were doing this, but I’d never heard of it happening before. Everyone saw them as monsters, not…animals. Animals that have mates and families and homes..

“Why are you showing me?” Of course they couldn’t answer. I ran my fingers over the smooth, spotted eggs. “You wanted me to see them.” I said, thinking out loud. “You wanted me to see your eggs. That they’re not gold!”

They still didn’t answer, and they didn’t know what nodding was, so I wasn’t certain if I was right. But I was pretty sure I was as I watched the father bring a beak full of fresh grass over, dropping it down by the eggs and burying them to keep them warm. I sat back on my heels and watched, perched at the front of the nest. They wanted me to see their eggs. Their normal looking, not golden eggs. These weren’t eggs that heroes would steal for trophies, or people would steal for money. They were just…the beginning of new life. Nothing more than that. And these two wanted me to see that. I felt like I should know what they were trying to tell me, like something should click in my head. That I should understand what I was supposed to do with this information.

“I’ll tell Chiron when we get home.” I offered. “Will that help you?”

No reply. Not that u was really expecting one. I looked out of the nest over the forested valley below. It was a beautiful view. I wished I had a camera…but I had my sketchbook! It was getting dark, I knew I wouldn’t be able to climb down to the valley floor in the dark. Not to mention find Charlie and Nia again. Instead I pulled out my flashlight lantern. One of those cool flashlights that pulls open into a light you can set down. Using that, I sketched the view really quick before the sun went down. Then I drew the gryphons curled up together beside their eggs. The mother had her head on her mate’s front legs, and he rested his over the back of her neck. I wondered if they mated for life…the way swans do.

And before long, I fell fast asleep, curled up against the dad’s warm side, hugging my sketchbook to my chest.

I woke to the sound of falling rocks. Not a full on landslide or anything, just a few pebbles falling and clicking their way down the cliff. I looked out, the sunrise only barely starting to lighten the sky. It was a gorgeous sight, with the silhouettes of the trees and the mountains, in front of the soft blue sky, with a hint of orangey pink… Sorry, off topic. Anyway, rocks were falling!

I crawled to the front of the nest again, turning off my flashlight/lantern thingie along the way. I’d fallen asleep with it on, whoops. Waste of batteries… I leaned out over the edge of the nest and looked up, only to see the bottom of someone’s shoes.

“Charlie?”

“Heather! You’re alright!”

“Well…yeah.” I said, as if it was perfectly obvious. After spending the night with the gryphons, I didn’t really feel like they were worth being afraid of.

“Come on, now’s your chance to escape!” That was Nia. She was right there, climbing down after Charlie. She was a good climber, and soon was perching on the edge of the nest looking rather bird-like herself. Charlie was there a moment later, grabbing my bag and stuffing my sketchbook and flashlight into it.

“Good thinking with the flashlight.” He breathed. “We could follow the light to find you. Now come on!”

A sudden hiss scared us all so much that we jumped; Nia rocked dangerously over the edge of the nest before she found her balance again.

“Come on, we have to go!” Charlie said again, not bothering to keep his voice down as he pulled out his spear. There was no need to be sneaky when the two gryphons behind me were so clearly awake and angry.

“No! Guys, stop!” I said, shooting to my feet and hurrying to the mated pair. “It’s alright, they’re friends.” I told them, running my had along the male’s feathers and glaring at the boy. “You’re in their nest, of course they’re afraid of you.”

“Wait… They are afraid of me?” he said, lowing the spear tip a little.

“Yes. They’re just protecting their eggs. Their family! How would you feel if a couple murderers showed up in camp while you were asleep, hmm?”

“Murderers? Heather…they’re gryphons. Monsters!” Nia said warily, still perched on the edge of the nest like she might take off in flight at any moment.

“No they’re not.” I was slowly starting to realize what I was being told. Not just by the gryphons…but Drake had shown me the same lesson. “They’re just animals. Scared animals who want to live their lives without being afraid of a bunch of Demi-gods coming to kill them.”

Charlie looked like he didn’t get it at all. “Okay, rainbow, I think it’s time to get you away from the scary bird things-”

“No. Charlie, they’re friends. They didn’t kidnap me or anything. They saved me. I should be a pancake after that fall off the cliff, but I’m not. They brought me here, and…look, they’re not monsters. No more than a Pegasus, or horses, or bears, or anything!”

“But…Percy-”

“Percy doesn’t know everything. Annabeth doesn’t even know everything. Even Chiron… Charlie, what if they’re wrong?”

“Heather, what do you mean?” Nia said slowly. She lowered herself in her seat. It was a sign of trust, and I could practically feel the gryphons relax a little. As a look from both Nia and me, Charlie did the same, putting away his spear. Now that everyone was being civil, I sat down myself, and each of the gryphons took a seat on either side of me.

“I mean…think about it. We’ve been hunting all these creatures from mythology…but what if we didn’t have to? I mean…some of them are monsters. But that doesn’t mean that all are. Like… Drake! Living it up at Niagara falls. He’s just a baby, he was afraid of us! That’s not fair…”

“I never thought about it. Usually they come after  us though, it’s not our fault.” Charlie pointed out, though he looked like he felt a little guilty. For years he’d wanted to get out of camp and hunt some monsters.

“But there are so many that don’t. Like these guys…they probably wouldn’t have even shown themselves if they didn’t have to. They don’t want to be hunted…” I’d figured it out. The thing that hadn’t clicked in my head.

I wanted to help them. Maybe I had a purpose after all. Maybe I was going to make a difference. Just…not in the way anyone expected me to.