4. Moon and Stone: the Time of the Eastern Colony

Flying over the plain was hypnotic, the wind sending waves and ripples through the tall grass like a deep green dryland sea. The day was so dreamlike, seeing the sky start to darken toward sunset was almost a surprise.

They had been sleeping atop the occasional stone pillars that stood up a hundred paces or more above the ground, remnant of some ruined aqueduct or other structure. There weren't any in sight now, and when Stone slowed to circle down toward the ground, Moon thought they would be sleeping in the grass.

But when Moon dropped down after him, he saw Stone had found an old fragment of ruin. There was a big disk of shaped stone, the surface cracked and stained with age, and a tumble of broken blocks taller than Moon's head. The grass had grown up right around them, mostly hiding them from view.

When Moon landed, Stone had already shifted to his groundling form, and was down beside the disk, digging in the dirt.

Moon shifted too, glad to be rid of the weight of his wings and feel the warm wind tug at his hair. He crouched on the rock above Stone and asked, "What's down there?"

"A spring," Stone said, waving a hand dripping with mud.

Moon found it incredible that Stone had been able to scent it from the air, but he wasn't going to say so. The grass scent was so rich and varied, acrid and sweet, damp and dry, mingled with decomposing greenery and fresh new life, it overwhelmed any other scent. He stood up and was just able to see over the waving tops. The plain looked empty, nothing alive except them and the gnats and glass-winged insects in buzzing clouds. He knew that impression was deceptive. "It could draw predators."

Stone straightened up, stretching his back.

"Good. I'm a little hungry."

That settled that, then.

***

The cloudless sky was crowded with stars when Moon stood and tossed a bone into the grass. The angry four-horned snake-lizard thing that had charged them at dusk had been pretty tasty. Stone had already stretched out on the sun-warmed disk, half dozing. Moon thought about taking the opportunity to ask him more about this settlement they were going to, but it had been hard to make himself ask questions. Part of him was still getting used to the idea of traveling with someone who knew what Moon was, let alone the idea of someone who was what Moon was.

And maybe he didn't want to think about their destination at all. Traveling like this with a companion had been like nothing he had ever experienced before, and he wouldn't be sorry if it went on a long time. No matter how strange and cranky Stone was.

Moon didn't feel like sleeping yet, though Stone would probably want to leave before dawn. He sat on the disk feeling the warmth of the rock through the thin material of his pants, listening to the rush of the wind through the grass.

Then he realized there was something else under the susurration, another sound.  Stone sat up and said, "Something's coming."

Moon pushed to his feet, looking over the top of the grass. He pivoted and spotted motion, a dark shape coming this way. "There.  I can't tell what it is."

Stone got to his feet with a sigh, narrowing his eyes at the shape. It stood tall enough to be above the grass, as if it was floating atop the stalks. "I think it's a wagon. Must be groundlings."

They had left the raised stone trade road behind a couple of days ago, and Moon had been hoping not to see any more groundlings. He said, "I hope not."

Stone gave him a sideways look. "You lived with groundlings; why are you so afraid of them?"

"Because I lived with them," Moon hissed.

They stood there, waiting, as the sound grew louder and the shape drew closer. It became obvious that the main body was on tall narrow wheels, and that two large shapes seemed to be pulling it. Moon caught a sour avian scent off them, and snarled silently. Then a light swept the grass, still some distance from them. Moon tensed warily and glanced at Stone.

Stone seemed vaguely annoyed. "Is this going to take all night?" he muttered.

Moon started to make out detail. The wagon part was oblong, higher at the back, and the two creatures drawing it were birds, more than twenty paces tall. Red and blue feathers caught the light with an almost metallic glint, and their beaks were long, arching, and came to a sharp point. The way they moved, the hitch to their gait caused by the backward bend of their knees, the predatory cant to their heads, made a growl build in Moon's chest. They didn't much resemble giant vargits, but they seemed just as mean. He said, "How is that a good idea? Why not use grasseaters?"

Stone snorted. "What, are you afraid of birds now too?"

Moon hissed at him.

As the light swept toward them Stone turned unhurriedly and stepped off the disk into the high grass. Moon shifted and flipped backward and away just as the light crossed the disk. He landed, crouching.  Then he saw the light had stopped, and so had the wagon.

That was when Moon realized they had forgotten the packs. Stone's ragged blanket still lay on the disk, and one of the embossed metal cups, and a waterskin they had just filled from the spring. The light shone on all of that, as well as the scattered bones from their dinner and the head of the horned snake-lizard thing, which Stone had been saving for breakfast.

The light was still for what seemed like forever. Moon heard voices from the wagon. Two, three, four of them, speaking in a hush, in a language he didn't think was Altanic or Kedaic. Then one of the birds squawked restlessly, and the wagon jerked. After another exchange of unintelligible whispers from those aboard, the wagon jolted into motion.

Moon waited until the sound had faded enough that it clearly wasn't a trick. Then he crept out, still wary, and climbed back onto the disk, his claws scratching on its weather-roughened surface. He crouched, listening to the wagon move away. Then Stone slung himself back onto the disk so abruptly Moon nearly leapt into flight.

"What's wrong with you?" Stone grumbled, watching Moon settle his spines and furl his wings again.

"What's wrong with you?" Moon demanded. "They saw our stuff. They know something -- someone -- was here."

Stone shrugged and stretched out on his blanket again. "It's good for them.  It'll keep them on their guard. It's easy to lose your concentration in a place like this."

"No kidding," Moon said.

"Are you going to sleep or what?" Stone asked.

Moon hesitated, considered refusing just on principle because he was still irritated, then gave in and stretched out next to Stone. It took some time to relax, but finally the wind worked its magic again, and he fell asleep listening to the waves moving through the grass.