Chapter 2: Eternal Dance with Weariness

After a short rest, Rey decided to continue and it was written in his eyes. Leaving the nice warm nest, he continued on his way to the top. Against the storm, enduring the cuts that the sharp ice made on his skin, he continued climbing until he broke through the blizzard.

The little one was surprised, perhaps because he did not expect such calm past the stormy clouds. Rewarded by the absence of cold, a whole clear landscape opened up before his eyes. He could also notice how the top of the tree had leaves, flowers and fruits to eat, although not a few seconds passed and disappointment tormented the little boy who saw beyond what could be seen and understood what made up an ironic metaphor. Rey said to himself:

"Hard work, ummm....".

He understood that the tree he sat in was not nearly one of the largest in the area. If he were to compare himself to such a tree and even if he were to grow as big as he could, there would always be someone in his way who was much higher than him, perhaps because he had lived longer, worked harder, had more power or even better luck. Like those trees he saw, there would always be someone taller than the ones before his eyes that rose up and almost reached the other side of the Heavens and out of sight.

"How dare I compare myself to this tree? Climbing to this point is insignificant compared to all that this sturdy living thing has had to struggle to get to be the size it is. Relative to the other monsters that have had time to grow, it looks insignificant; still, I do not allow myself to compare, but intend to learn as my teacher told me. I choose to learn that, regardless of those around me, I must continue to grow and take the path with more ambition."

Giving a laugh in the air and spreading his hands with a true mental imbalance, the little boy turned around and continued to reason.

"Back to the main objective. The trees are in descending proportion. The larger ones outside and the smaller ones are heading towards the center.

Nearby, several tops overtook the blizzard while others disappeared and settled according to their size.

"I already know which way to go, but how do I stay on course without deviating. Once down, I'll be lost again. To evade the nature of the ground I would have to fly... and to soar through this sky I need wings. Mother has them. Mmmm. She had wings coming out of her back. Yes, pulling out wings is similar to the same feeling as turning my hand into a claw, then it shouldn't be a problem... After all, I'm a hybrid."

Eating fruits and resting as much as he could while trying again and again, Rey finally extended two extra limbs from his back to the sides. They were two wings, covered in black plumage, which he could move awkwardly, but he could move them at will.

"I wonder if drinking from the blood of my fallen enemies had anything to do with the new functions my body develops?" said Rey to himself, remembering the wings possessed by the creatures that reigned high above the place.

Questions aside, Rey had never flown before, nor had he analyzed how to do it. Although it looked easy it was something that must have been complicated, but the void no longer intimidated him at all. First, he opened the one on the left, extending it as far as he could, then the one on the right and then both at once as he settled on the branches with his feet and hands. He turned around and tried to fly a little where he was, making a simulation of takeoff and landing. He repeated the process several times, lifted himself up a bit more and flapped with better coordination.

"If in order to learn to fly I have to throw myself, I'm ready" he said to himself and so, without further thought, Rey launched himself into the void with expanded wings.

At first, the descent did not have many problems, a little unbalance to the sides, but if he did not move his wings his body and the direction of the fall did not vary. Suddenly, with the speed, Rey could not prevent one of his feathered limbs from colliding with a branch sticking out of the cold fog. It was a small branch, something he could very well break with a punch, but the collision fractured the bone of his right wing and with that the chaotic fall became inevitable.

Rey spun around and around in a spiral, with his claws out he tried to break his fall and although he held on to the branches, they did not resist his weight and broke. Crashing into everything in his path, the blizzard of cold air treated him like a leaf that had fallen off. All he could do was protect his head.

"Oof! I can't put my wings away. What an inconvenience. Broken they can't be kept" he said to himself. "I have no choice, one more hit and I may lose consciousness."

Rey, having pulled his hands behind his back with a jerk, tore off his wings and as soon as he had got rid of them with his claws, he tried again to break his fall, only to succeed half-heartedly. Like a sack he fell crashing to the ground and ended up rolling all over the flat ground covered in white.

Shaken, in pain, painting the snow with the red of his blood. Rey tore off with his teeth the pieces of branches that pierced his flesh at the extremities. First, he pulled the smaller ones and then spat them aside. So on and so forth until he had to deal with the largest trunk that was almost sown into the lower side of his abdomen.

"No, I'd better not," he said to himself, barely touching the wood. "If I split this log I'll lose a lot of blood. Better split it just enough so it won't interfere with my walking.

Crack, crack. Rey had to endure the pain to then, somewhat lighter, continue on and try to look at the situation on the bright side.

"Ah, I finally left the forest behind. A little further ahead is the house where my parents must be. This cold is nothing compared to what I felt at the top of the tree...."

As soon as enough time passed for the broken bones in the little boy's feet to heal, he stopped crawling on his hands to stand up and walk. Rey continued his advance until he reached the bottom of five steps that adjoined the door of the residence that seemed to float in the air. The windowless place in which the elders dwelled when they slept had no intention of letting him enter without someone inside to greet him. The entrance was locked and no matter how much he knocked on the door, no one answered.

Rey continued his advance until he reached the bottom of five steps that adjoined the door of the residence that seemed to float in the air. The windowless place in which the elders dwelled when they slept had no intention of letting him enter without someone inside to greet him. The entrance was locked and no matter how much he knocked on the door, no one answered. Rey continued his advance until he reached the bottom of five steps that adjoined the door of the residence that seemed to float in the air. The windowless place in which the elders dwelled when they slept had no intention of letting him enter without someone inside to greet him. The entrance was locked and no matter how much he knocked on the door no one answered.

"Indeed, everyone is still asleep. Just because I can see doesn't mean it's daytime... if I remember correctly, there must be another entrance to the inside of the house. If I turn around, I can enter between the ground and the roots. But if I climb up to the roof, I could also sneak in through the chimney. On second thought, it's best to avoid heights for a while. I'll go in underneath."

The little guy, just as he intended, went in through the roots. In itself, the place he was using to access the inside of the house was more like a secret exit, since it lacked windows. If an emergency arose, and the gigantic house ended up under attack, the residents could employ the floor hatch to escape.

Exiting inside the dining room, just across from the kitchen, the small body was greeted by the warmth of a home a hundred times more comforting than the nest or cave it had been in. A place that smelled of family and an unmistakable smell of food coming from inside an air-conditioned box.

Following his nose, Rey opened the box and found a treasure trove. He couldn't help but open his mouth, nor stop holding back his saliva at the wonderful find. Packets and packets of meat, bags and bags of blood, bundles and bundles of fruits, vegetables and water. Most conveniently, even if he ate everything, he only had to leave a single sample of something for it to be doubled or tripled. Closing the air-conditioned box and opening it was enough for it to replenish what was missing. A truly unlimited food source.

"By taking this box with me, I wouldn't have to worry about going hungry" he said to himself already as he chewed and swallowed a steak almost as big as he was. "But I can't take it with me. It's not mine. It belongs to father, mother and the others. It would bring me a lot of trouble if they get mad at me....".

Suddenly, Rey stopped dead in his tracks, frisked his body and opened his eyes as wide as he could. He had become distracted and without noticing all his movements were under the gaze of someone who didn't move, but also didn't stop looking with interested eyes and hands behind his back.

"Why didn't you open the door for me if you were awake, Silvia Divan?" he asked, at the same time pulling back his right leg to stick his body to the floor in defense.

Silvia, eyebrows raised and jaw dropped:

"Hum-humm-nn Good question? I wasn't awake when you knocked" As one who changed the subject. "I never told you my last name, did I never tell you about the secret entrance either, young master... Huh?"