Coda

Coda waddled across the marsh-like green field, squawking nervously. He had seen a beetle crawling through the rain, and had chased after it, heedless of the direction he had been running. He could not find any trace of his family and was beginning to grow quite frightened. He was not yet old enough to realize the dangers of paddling off on his own, but he instinctively understood that being separated from his mother was a very bad thing. Now that it was getting late in the day, and shadows were beginning to cast an eerie gloom about the surrounding forest, Coda was crying out even more loudly and desperately for the family that he had bravely wandered away from only two hours before. "Squeesqueesquee!", he cried, tripping over his webbed feet as he tried to run in the direction he thought he had come from.
"SCRAAAK", came a loud noise from the trees, causing Coda to jump and many other birds to take wing.
Coda looked up at the darkening trees, and it seemed to him that he could see large, yellow eyes glaring back at him. Coda seemed to remember his mother talking about yellow eyes to Coda’s oldest sibling, Kro, after their father had disappeared. Coda cocked his head and gazed up. There was definitely a pair of eyes in that tree. Perhaps, he reasoned, it’s friendly. Maybe they will help me find mama! He jumped out of the grass bravely and began doing all he could to attract the strangers attention.
The eyes widened, and there came another screech from the foliage. The leaves began to quiver a bit, and suddenly a dark brown mass burst from the branches. Coda saw dark, speckled brown feathers adorning a strange bird with sharply curved feet and a small, curved bill. It face was a strange round shape like Coda had never before seen. Thinking it was going to help him, Coda began to chirp louder, and jump, flapping his downy feathers around in a wild attempt to get the bird to come closer.
It screeched again, and just when Coda thought it would land next to him, it opened it’s talons, prepared to strike. Coda realized what was about to happen and tried to back away quickly, but he knew he would not have time to escape. He closed his eyes, as if hoping that that might make the nightmarish bird disappear.
Suddenly there was a loud growl and a rush of wind against Coda’s feathers. He peeked open his eyes and saw a large, four-legged form running angrily after the yellow-eyed bird. The bird screeched angrily and desperately flapped it’s wings, soon going far beyond the long-snouted animals grasp.
“Coda! Coda are you alright?”, came a motherly quack. Coda turned and saw his mother and three siblings waddling towards him. “MAMA!”, he quacked joyfully, running towards her. She nuzzled him all over, checking injuries. “Oh Coda, Praise God that you’re safe! I was so worried!”
“I’m alright Mama”, he squeaked.
“What on earth did you think you were doing!?”, she demanded, suddenly very unhappy, “You should consider yourself lucky that Keely managed to sniff you out in time!”
“Who’s Keely?”, he chirped. His mother extended a wing towards the black four-legged creature that was walking towards them, spitting feathers out of it‘s mouth. It was almost five times as tall as Coda’s mother. It had a brown snout, paws, and chest, and a long fluffy tail that curled up. There was a strange string around Keely’s neck, with two feathers and a small rock tied to it. She also had ears, something that Coda had not seen very often. His mother quaked gratefully towards Keely, “Thank you, m’dear. I wouldn’t have found him in time if you hadn’t helped me.” Keely nodded, “I’m glad I could have helped.” Coda’s mother then turned back to him, “Keely is a dog, Coda. You must be very careful around dogs, only Keely can be trusted. Any other dog would snap you up just like that owl tried to do!” Coda tried to look brave, “I’m not scared of any dog!”
“Coda!”, snapped his mother. Keely cocked her head and smiled in amusement, “Even so, little fawn, there is a difference between courage and stupidity. Even the bravest of Duckalopes can be taken by a Screech Owl.” Coda looked up at the dog, thinking on this new theory. Keely looked back at Coda’s mother, “If you like, Issa, I can escort you and your family home. There are many dangers out tonight.”
“Thank you again, Keely”, sighed Issa, shaking her feathers.
Coda, forgetting the danger of only a few moments ago, jumped up, “I’m going to lead!”
“Oh no you’re not!”, chuckled Keely, lifting the fawn up delicately with the jaws that had only minutes ago been tearing the feathers off of an owl. She placed him on her back, and the fawn quickly waddled onto her forehead. Keely was careful not to drop him as they traveled through the forest, heading towards the duckalope's home by the river in the opposite direction Coda had run earlier. Coda asked Keely many questions, and she gladly answered them. Issa began to scold him once for asking so many, but Keely quickly told his mother that she enjoyed his questions, and was not bothered by them. Every once in a while, she would stop and scent the air, and the other duckalopes would crowd around her nervously. The full moon had risen by the time that they reached the nest, and Coda had drifted off into sleep. Keely gently leaned her head down so that he could climb into the nest. “Sleep now, little warrior.”, said Keely in a motherly tone. He shook himself groggily, finding that the air had grown cold without Keely’s fluffy coat helping to keep his feathers warm. Issa and the other exhausted fawns climbed into the nest and tried to get into comfortable sleeping positions.
Keely smiled at the small family, “I’ll be moving on now, Issa.”, she whispered. “Bless you, m’dear”, quacked Issa fondly. Keely turned around and, as silent as a shadow, padded into the gloom.
“Wait!”, said Coda drowsily, “Don’t go Keely!”
But the dog had already disappeared.
“It’ alright”, cooed Issa softly, “I’m sure you’ll meet Keely again one day, my love. But for now, sleep, and recover your strength, you have a bright new day waiting for you with the morning sun.”