“Alright, first things first,” Ezra said. “We need to see to your arm. Get it tied up and close to your chest. You need to move it as little as possible.” He looked over to the girl and for the first time, said her name. “Bet, you got enough tape in your bag?”

“Yeah,” she said, “but that’ll be almost the end of it. Won’t be much to do with what’s left.”

“Well, there’s no real choice is there?” He still sounded irritated but he’d calmed a bit. “You, what’s your name?”

“Will.” It was all the information he gave.

“Just Will?” The girl gave a bit of a smile as she approached and began to unsnap her backpack.

“Yeah,” Will said.

“Perfect,” Ezra said. “That makes it easier. I’m just Ezra, and she’s just Bet. Look, she’s gonna help with your arm while I go try to get a better view of the portal. Maybe I’ll be able to figure something.” Then Ezra turned his back and began to walk away, softly tracing his hands across the top of the oddly shaped grass.

The girl’s backpack was open now. Will’s eyes darted over to see what might have been making it move. Inside was a grey squirrel with bat-like ears and very large eyes. As soon as it saw Will it shuffled downward to hide itself as best it could.

“And that’s Pexel,” Bet said.

“Is it a squirrel?” Will said. Bet ignored him and pulled a roll of medical tape from the bag, stuck the tip of it in her mouth and began to unroll it with wide winding motions.

“No, Pexel is not a squirrel,” she said. “Please, don’t even say that. That’s… it’s an insult.”

“What is it then?”

“Listen, I won’t ask you questions about your Cakrit if you don’t ask me questions about Pexel, okay?” The squirrel continued to press itself to the bottom of her bag. “Hold your arm exactly where you want it to be, somewhere close to your chest. It’s gonna be there for at least a day, so really think about it. We can’t do this twice.”

Will nodded, and pulled his arm in close. It was hard to decide where he wanted it. It didn’t matter where he put it, everything hurt. It was just a matter of which position might hurt the least till he got some help. When he’d finally decided, he gave Bet a single word. “Okay,” he said.

“This isn’t gonna be easy,” she said as she began to wrap the gauze around his neck and back. I can hardly see.”

On cue Will’s Cakrit opened it’s wings and held them stiff. It didn’t fly, but instead sat against Will’s shoulder like a statue. The new light cast an eerie purple-pink glow across the two of them. The girl gave Will an unnerved look.

“It’s like it heard you. I mean understood,” Will said.

“You really don’t know much about your bird do you?” Bet said.

“I told you, it just started following me.”

“Well, they don’t just do that, so I know you’re lying there. But, I think you honestly have no idea what’s going on. Me and Ezra have been in enough situations to tell when someone’s totally clueless. Keeps us alive most the time actually.” The gauze was out of her mouth now and she spit a bit into the grass.

Will wanted to know more, but didn’t know how to ask.

“What’s it’s name?” she said.

“The bird?”

“Yeah.” She now looked completely occupied from the process of wrapping Will’s arm.

“I, guess I haven’t named it. I haven’t thought that I’d get to keep it. My parents, they’d never let—” He stopped himself. He felt like he’d said too much.

“Listen, if you want to start things good with your Link, you need to name it. Give it a good name, something it likes. Pexel here, he loves his name.”

For the first time the squirrel pulled itself within view. It’s head popped out of the backpack, and Will could clearly see it’s big expressive eyes. It turned toward Bet, then buried itself back in the bag.

“What are some names of other Cakrit birds?” Will said.

“Well, considering what they are, they don’t often have the nicest names. But, don’t worry about that. Name it what you want.”

“Murden called it a girl,” Will said.

“Then at least that helps a little.”

Will thought for a long while, mumbling and arguing in his mind till he’d nearly forgotten the pain in his arm. Then he thought of it. The only name that somehow felt right for his brand new friend.

What is the bird’s name?

Sarah

Jet

Swoop

Misty

This Poll is Closed