Chapter 2
1155 Words
2
Madas couldn’t believe her luck! The sonic boom had made her jump and startled the birds she was studying. When she had looked up, she was excited to see the fireball cutting across the sky in her direction. She stuffed her sketchbook in her bag and grabbed the spear she always carried. In seconds, she was running through the forest with her eyes glued to the fireball.
Jumping over a fallen log, she fervently hoped that the fireball would not land too far away or in one of the large lakes that dotted the surrounding area. The thundering snap of tree limbs shattering under the force of the meteorite sent a thrill through her.
It was close! She looked at the broken limbs. A path had been cleared through the trees. She saw the line stretch to the edge of the lake. Her heart pounded when she paused along the tree line. Madas reached out, gripped the rough bark of a fallen tree, and pulled herself on top of it. She looked down into a medium-sized crater with steam rising from it.
“Incredible,” she whispered in awe.
Jumping off the tree trunk, she slowly walked toward the crater. Her lips parted, showing off perfectly straight, sharp white teeth. Inside the crater was a melon-sized meteorite. She shrugged off her bag, dropped it to the ground, and stabbed her spear into the saturated soil beside it.
As she stepped into the crater, her boots sank into the damp soil loosened by the meteorite’s impact. Squatting, she studied the dark gray rock. The steam created from its entry into the planet’s atmosphere and its contact with the cold mountain water of the lake gave it an eerie appearance.
Moving her hand to her belt, she pulled the long knife that was sheathed at her side. She waved her hand over the rock to clear the steam. There was a crack in it.
“Perhaps there is a treasure inside—and finally I’ll have enough wealth to leave my village and travel to the stars,” she wistfully mused.
Madas tilted her head and slid the tip of her blade into the crack. She froze when she heard a small hiss from inside. She shook her head at her fanciful musings. It was simply the heat trapped inside escaping. Nothing could survive inside the iron-ore rock while it hurtled through space, she thought.
Pushing aside her hesitation, she wiggled her blade a little farther into the crack and pried it open. Her lips parted in awe when the meteorite split open and revealed a small but brilliantly colored creature with large ears, huge eyes, and tiny toes.
“Aren’t you the most handsome little creature that I’ve ever seen,” she cooed to the frightened reptile that stared up at her.
Madas sheathed her knife before she gently reached inside to scoop up the unusual body. He fit in the palm of her hand. She giggled when he wrapped his front toes around her finger as she ran her other hand over his head. She studied him for a moment before she lifted him to her nose and tenderly rubbed it against his soft scales in a sign of affection. His body vibrated, and she heard the distinctive sound of his purr. Lowering him, she laughed when he grinned up at her.
“You are adorable. My very own fallen star,” she chuckled.
The creature’s eyes glittered with amusement. She grinned when the chameleon twisted around in her hands and climbed up her arm, and laughed when he paused on her left shoulder and brushed her cheek with his nose.
She remained still when he weaved his small body through her long green locks and reappeared on her right shoulder. He sneezed and shook his head before he sat down. Reaching up, she scratched him under his chin.
“L’eon,” she murmured. “I think I will call you L’eon.”
Three hours later, Madas reached up and stroked L’eon as she walked back along the path to her village. He had his tail partially wrapped around her neck and was looking around with wide, curious eyes. Inside her bag, she carried the remains of the meteorite.
“Good day, Madas,” a male’s deep voice greeted.
Madas drew to a startled halt along the path and silently groaned. Standing in the middle of the path was Cardin, son of one of the clan’s council members.
I should have taken the long route home, she thought with a sigh of resignation.
“Cardin,” she reluctantly acknowledged.
“Where have you been?” he demanded.
Madas raised a delicate eyebrow and studied Cardin’s expression. The male Tearnat was only slightly larger than she was, but he was sturdily built. There were dark markings on his green skin along his forehead and cheeks. Two of his sharp teeth were broken, and one was missing.
I might have been responsible for that one, she humorously thought.
As if he could hear her thoughts, he snapped his mouth shut, and his scowl turned darker. She could tell by the way his tail was moving back and forth that he was feeling aggravated. She wondered what had set him off this time.
“Watch your tone with me, Cardin. I don’t answer to you,” she warned.
“You may not answer to me yet, but you will,” he retorted.
“What do you want, Cardin? I have someplace to be,” she stated.
He sneered at her blunt, dismissive tone. It was obvious she had gotten under his scales. He crossed his arms over his broad chest.
He is trying to intimidate and dominate me. If he continues trying, he just might lose another one of his teeth—or two, she savagely thought.
“Your mother sent me to find you. A trading ship is expected to land soon. She wants you to return to the safety of the village,” he said.
Madas rolled her eyes. “My safety is the last thing my mother is concerned about. You know as well as I do that I can fight. She is more worried that I might escape her control and lose what little value I have for her,” she dryly replied.
Cardin walked toward her. Madas kept a wary eye on him. She tightened her grip on the spear in her hand, her body stiffening with unease when he reached up and grabbed her chin. His sharp nails bit into the skin along her jaw.
“You are too willful for your own good, Madas. One day it will get you into trouble,” he said in a cold voice.
She tilted her chin and pulled it free from his grasp. The tip of one of his nails scratched a thin line along her jaw. He yanked his hand back when a low, menacing snarl filled the air. His eyes darkened with confusion, and he gazed at her with a befuddled expression.
Madas lifted her hand and soothingly stroked L’eon’s head. She smiled when the little creature affectionately rubbed his nose against her neck. Lowering her hand, she gripped her satchel, and pushed past him.
“What I do is no concern of yours, Cardin. Remember that if you don’t want to lose the rest of your teeth,” she called over her shoulder.
- Writer
