Karrah's Knight

Written by: Twizzler1071

"Parron! Where are you? C'mon now, its getting dark," Karrah called out, glancing through the deep jungle. She sighed, rocking back slightly. She shook her head, and pushed a lock of red hair back behind her ears, as she surveyed the landscape around her. "Dumb bird. Where did you go?"

"Braawk! Pretty bird!" A parrot's voice sounded from behind her. Karrah sighed once more in relief, and then turned around to greet the small green bird. Parron squawked once more, then flew from the branch he was sitting on onto Karrah's shoulder.

Karrah shook her head, and lifted her hand to pet him. "There you are, you silly bird. Why'd you have to go and fly off? You know you're already on thin ice with mother... once more, and you'll get your wings clipped. And you know neither of us want that to happen!" Laughing, she turned and headed back, only to realize she had gotten lost.

It was because it was dark she had gotten lost, and if it was daylight she could probably pick out her surroundings enough to figure out where she was. Everyone knows that in the darkness everything looks different, and it was no exception in her case. The trees cast strange shadows over the ground, hanging eerily over her and the bird, and the moon gloomed eerily upon them. All was strangely silent, and it seemed very out of place...

Wait. Silence? The thought rushed through Karrah's mind quickly, over and over again until it outnumbered all other thoughts. She frowned, remembering the nights when she could hardly go to sleep because of the noise the wild life made at night. Something isn't right here....

She began to walk slower, looking about her for any sign of movement, all the while soothing Parron. And then, she saw them. The Panther's eyes gleamed at her from the depths of the bush, and as it moved closer to her, flashed a deep violet. It growled deep within its throat, its ears flicked back.

"It's not going to hurt me...," Karrah whispered, mostly to soothe herself as she backed slowly away. "I'll just make a lot of noise. Is that what you do? I'll do it anyways... Parron!" Her voice squeaked as she called out the parrot's name. She was too late though; the parrot had already flown off. She took a deep breath as softly as she could muster, staring into the eyes of the large cat, too frightened to do anything else. She started counting by tens, trying to remember what she had just been thinking of doing, and willing herself to stay calm.

"Ker-click. BANG!" Karrah jumped high into the air at the unexpected noise. It had startled her very much, but it startled the Panther much more. With a surprised yowl, it sped off into the night, and Karrah could hear it for what seemed like forever afterwards. Then she heard the soft flutter of wings as Parron once more fluttered onto her shoulder. "Ker-click. Bang!"

Karrah laughed softly as she realized that it had been the parrot that had made the noise, and then remembered why she was there in the first place. She opened her mouth to scold him, but the words she wanted didn't come out. "Good bird, Parron! I'll get you a papaya when we get home. You like those, don't you?" And with that said, she walked off in the direction she thought was home.

---

Karrah opened her eyes sleepily, blinking as she turned off the alarm clock. She held her breath for a second or two, and then breathed out as she heard the soothing voice of her mum. She tried to pull the covers back over her head, so she could get back to sleep. Her dream had been interesting, she remembered, but she couldn't remember exactly what it was about... just that it had been scary, but had turned out for the better after all.

"Karrah, honey. I know you're awake. Can you do something for me?" Karrah grumbled, not wanting to leave her bed. After a few seconds, she gave in, however. She sat up, and looked at her mom. "Sure. What is it?"

"Parron got out again... do you think you could go get him? You always seem to find him."

Nodding, Karrah slipped her shoes on and grabbed the flashlight near her bed. After all, this time she might not be so lucky.