The journey back to his family's territory seemed longer than Seeker remembered. The forest, which had always been his home, now felt like an obstacle between him and the new world he had discovered. Yet he moved with purpose, following the scent-trails and the patterns of the land that his people knew by instinct.
He found them in their usual haunt, among the fallen timbers where the land-prawns were plentiful. Mother-of-Many, the wise female who led their small clan. Strong-Arm, her mate, whose prowess with the prawn-killing stick was legendary among their kind. Two other females—Gentle-One, who always moved with quiet grace, and Bright-Eyes, who was nearly as curious as Seeker himself. And precious above all, the tiny one, barely weaned, whom they called simply Little-Little.
Seeker's tale spilled out in the rapid, ultrasonic speech of his people—stories of the Tall One, of the Wonderful Place, of food that came without hunting, of safety from the harpies and the damn things. At first they feared he had been touched by sun-madness. The old wisdom was clear: the huge ones were dangerous, unpredictable. Had not their ancestors always fled from such beings?
But Seeker persisted, and something in his manner convinced them. Perhaps it was the strange, wonderful scent that clung to his fur—the smell of the golden food, of clean water, of safety. Perhaps it was the bright certainty in his eyes. Or perhaps it was simply that the forest, which had always been both mother and teacher, had grown harder in recent times. The land-prawns were more plentiful than ever—the dry weather had seen to that—but so too were the predators who hunted the small folk.
Just days before, they had lost one of their number to a damnthing. Sweet-Singer, a young female full of joy and promise, had been caught away from the group. They had found her broken body and given her to the earth with all the proper ceremony, placing her prawn-stick beside her so she would not be defenseless in whatever lay beyond. The grief was still fresh, the loss still aching.
And so, when Seeker led them through the forest toward the Wonderful Place, they followed.
The journey was an adventure worthy of the oldest forest tales. They traveled by day and by twilight, moving as a unit with the practiced coordination of those who have survived together. Strong-Arm and Mother-of-Many carried their weapons—beautifully crafted sticks of hardwood, weighted and balanced for striking at the vulnerable neck of a land-prawn. Gentle-One carried Little-Little when the infant grew tired. They stopped to forage and to drink from clear streams, to rest in the heat of the day beneath the cool shade of the featherleaf trees.
When they finally approached the clearing where the Wonderful Place stood, Seeker felt his hearts (for his people had two, as did many creatures of this world) beating with anticipation and slight fear. What if Pappy Jack did not welcome more of the small folk? What if the magic only worked for one?
But he need not have worried. When they emerged cautiously from the tree line, when Pappy Jack saw them and understood what Seeker had done—brought his entire family to share in this new life—the Tall One's reaction was one of pure joy. His face split in that strange expression that meant happiness, showing his large, flat teeth. He made welcoming sounds and immediately began preparing food for all of them.
And so the family of the small folk—who would come to be known as Little Fuzzy, Mamma Fuzzy, Baby Fuzzy, Mike, Mitzi, Ko-Ko, and Cinderella—began their new life in the Wonderful Place. They learned the rhythms of this strange new existence: the times when Pappy Jack would leave to work with his great machines, the times when he would return. They learned which objects were theirs to play with and which were not to be touched. They learned the magic of the viewing screen, which showed them wonders from beyond the forest. They learned to love the golden food that came from tins, though they never lost their skill at hunting land-prawns in the grass outside.
But most of all, they learned that the Tall One called Pappy Jack loved them, and they loved him in return. It was a love that transcended species, that bridged the gap between the forest folk and the builders of machines, that would soon be tested in ways none of them could imagine.