Quete

by Comrade Bagel Muffin

tu t'appelles Turkeylegs

Escutcheon finally had to leave the lake and continue on dry ground on his quest. His sides still hurting from the burns. He took off his bags, and carried them in his mouth. He may still have his magic but he didn't doubt that any kind of exertion right now would cause him to burn out again. The sapphire in his bag glowed a soft blue lighting his path for him as he and the giant bird walked along a long forgotten trail. That lead the two of the westward. The moon was beginning its slow arch to the horizon before Escutcheon decided to stop for the night.

"Well that's that then." He looked behind him to the east the colony and Dusk at least two days behind him now. "Your safe now Dusk. Please just wait for me until I get back." The large bird lay down next to him putting one of its wings over him. the feather and wing acting much like a blanket. He moved his new bag to his head, so that he could us it as a pillow. The leather was firmer than his cloth bag had been. He didn't like the fact that he enjoyed the firmness and texture of the leather more than he had the fabric. It wasn't natural. "Good night bird." He looked over at the bird. It was already fast asleep. He smiled. "Tomorrow I'll give you a name." He closed his eyes and followed the bird to sleep.

Morning came quickly. Escutcheon groaned as he woke from his sleep. He wiped the drool from his face and tried to clean of his saddle bag. Before noticing that the feathery wing that had covered him was no longer there. He stood in a panic. His ears drooped as he looked around the small clearing were the two of them had laid down the night before. He fought back the tears that slowly came. He felt abandoned, rejected. The was a soft hum as the bushes on the other side of the clearing rustled and the bird slowly came out of the forested area. The bird stepped out carrying a dead possum in its beak.

"Good morning." Escutcheon wiped his face with a hoof, as he sighed with relief. He tried his hardest not to notice the possum, that the bird soon ate whole. "Well since you had breakfast, and I just lost my appetite I think we should start heading out." He looked to the western horizon. "Good night Mother. Good night Father," he said, before throwing his bags over his sides and heading into the forest with the giant bird. His sides still hurt but he needed to get used to it, and now seemed like a pretty good time to start.

The two of them continued until noon when Escutcheon finally regained his appetite. He the two of them stopped as Escutcheon went through his bag seeing if there was any food left. "Stupid shrimps." He dropped his bag as his stomach rumbled. He sighed he knew what he had to do, though he didn't like it. He leaned down and started grazing on the grass. It would take him a while but eventually he'd satisfy his stomach. The grass was bland and had a weird taste, subtle but enough that he was beginning to get queasy. He looked up from the ground to the bird that rested at the side of the small trail the two had been following.

"I think it's time that I gave you a name." The bird looked over at him. "How about Ostrich?" The bird just looked at him blankly. "How about Chicken. Penguin. Dodo. Scootaloo?" He chuckled. "Yeah it's a good thing that you don't like that one if I called you that Auntie Scootaloo would be pretty mad at me." The bird just looked at him. "How about Turkeylegs" The bird hummed softly, and Escutcheon to it as a sign. "Turkeylegs it is then. So Turkeylegs let's get going." He swallowed down a few more mouthfuls of grass before heading down the trail Turkeylegs walking at his side.