Firewing Read Free Page B

him Griff. She was the only one who did, and it made him feel special. Not only was he her friend, but he was a friend deserving of a nickname. He didn’t want to let her down now.
    “Well,” he said, thinking fast, “a tall stalk of grass, maybe. We could shove it into the flames until it catches fire, and then … fly it back to the roost and put it in a little nest like theirs, with some dry twigs and leaves at the bottom. Somewhere near Tree Haven, close to the stream, maybe. Someone’ll have to go on ahead and get that ready.”
    “I
like
it!” Luna said, turning to the other newborns. “So, who’s going to steal the fire?”
    Skye, Rowan, and Falstaff shifted uncomfortably on the branch, then looked at one another expectantly, all talking at once. “Probably best if you—” “You’re stronger—” “Need someone really fast—” Griffin noticed they didn’t even glance his way. “Me,” he blurted out. “I’ll do it.” They all turned to him, incredulous. “You?” Skye said.
    Griffin nodded slowly, as if trying to balance a heavy stone on his head. “Sure. Why not?”
    Maybe this was the way you did it, he thought. He wasn’t brave. But maybe if he faked it,
pretended
to be brave enoughtimes, it would get easier. And then it would come naturally. And he’d be truly brave.
    “I don’t know,” Rowan said uncertainly, “maybe Luna should do it.”
    “Not me,” said Luna. “It was Griffin’s idea. He’s the one we need.” She looked straight at Griffin as she said this, smiling, as if to say she knew all along he’d volunteer, and that he could do it. Then she turned to the others. “You three go on and make the nest.”
    “Come on,” said Falstaff with a laugh. “He’s not really going to do it.”
    “Just make sure that nest is ready,” Griffin said, and before he could give himself time to start thinking, he dropped from the branch, unfurled his wings, and dived.
    In the deep shadows at the edge of the clearing he sighted a clump of tall grass. He came in low, spraying out sound to check for predators, then touched down. It was not a graceful landing. He skidded on his rear claws, then pitched forward, his face in the mud. Scrambling up, he twitched dirt from his fur. He hated being on the ground.
Hated
it. Bats were made for flight, not for scuttling around. Laboriously he moved towards the grass, dragging himself forwards with his thumb claws and elbows. He pushed with his legs, but they were too weak to be of much use. Anything could be lurking in that grass. Rats, snakes, a crazed skunk.
    The first stalks he examined were too wet to catch fire easily. Further in, beneath the shade of a large oak, he found some drier grass and peered up to pick out the tallest stalk. For a moment he felt as if he were circling overhead from some safe distance, watching himself. He was crazy! What was he doing down there? His heart began to race, and his teeth started chattering, eventhough he didn’t feel cold. He forced himself to pay attention to what he was doing.
    He started chewing at the base of the stalk of grass, spitting out its sour tang. He bit through, and the stalk fell flat. Awkwardly he took it in his rear claws, lengthwise beneath his body. Then, flapping furiously, he managed to get airborne.
    Hidden in shadow he made a full circle of the clearing, then came in low so he wouldn’t be seen. He made sure to approach the fire on the far side from the two Humans, and when he was about twenty wingbeats away, he made another clumsy landing on his chin. He dragged himself forward, the stalk of grass still clutched in his rear claws. He looked up at the Humans, their torsos and heads towering above the flames. They were still sitting, and they hadn’t noticed him. He wondered if he’d be able to take flight fast enough if they tried to catch him.
    Griffin hesitated, glancing up at the pines, hoping Luna was seeing all this. He wanted her to be able to tell the colony all about