The adventure awaits . . .

 He and Traveler knelt together through tears.  They knew what must be done, but also knew it had to come from wee-one alone.  Dweller and Traveler wept as they feared she was not strong enough for the journey.
     Terba gingerly lifted wee-one’s limp body from the swirling waters.  The bevy moved in closer to sing the healing lullaby.  The wedge swooped lower to join the verse.  Terba cared for wee-one’s wounds as she wept.  The bevy and the wedge sang louder as each wondered whether wee-one would awaken this time.
      Dweller and Traveler hid themselves among the caverns to discuss what would become of Wee-One, if she awakens.  They knew the path she would need to traverse was quite treacherous.  They also knew they could not travel with her this time.
      Terba’s tears flowed freely down her face.  She had never experienced this before.  She could barely sing any more as she was caught up in the emotion of losing her dear Wee-One.  What was she to do, if she had no one left to care for?
     Terba was too caught up in her own grief to notice the bevy and wedge had stopped singing as Dweller approached.  In his hand, he held a single bud.  This precious flower blooms only once a year and this was far too late to see a blossom.  Dweller approached Terba and caught one single teardrop in the bud.  All watched as the bloom burst forth in brilliant color.
     The petals slowly fell upon wee-one’s body as darkness hid the sun.  No soul moved, each feared to breathed, willing each breath to go toward the lifeless Wee-One.  As the bevy and wedge silently wept, Dweller and Traveler knelt and prayed.
      The sun appeared beyond the mountains and the petals began to dance along wee-one’s body.  When the sun reached her eyes, the petals slid off to reveal not her solemn, injured eyes, but eyes that had been replaced with hope.  Terba’s teardrop sank into these eyes as Wee-One blinked.  She blinked and reached her small hand up to wipe Terba’s tears.
      Terba lifted her head to see Wee-One smiling at her.  She gathered wee-one up as each petal softly fell to the ground.  No other soul noticed they were missing nor had they seen the sun over the horizon.
          All came to attention as wee-one stood before them in her regalia.  She was dressed for her journey.  Dweller and Traveler still knelt for they were in awe at her changes from the bloom.  Neither had witnessed such a transformation.
     Nom-Mee no longer wore the garments of a child.  Her regalia included things she would need for the journey, coverings made from animal skins, carefully sewn by Terba, mlooks (m’locks) made from hooves of those animals to cover her delicate, yet deformed, feet.  The bevy and wedge had quickly gathered all the tools and sleep gear needed for the journey.
      Though many volunteered to aid in the quest, all knew few would be chosen and all knew who would be chosen first.  Terba was chosen for her gentle, kind spirit.  Her mending skills of coverings and bodies was known throughout many kingdoms; she was able to keep a tune most of the time, but most importantly, she was a friend to Nom-Mee.  Yeinar (yay-nar) was a steadfast member of the wedge, who was often called up to lead through the worst storms.  He had a great singing voice, sense of direction, and was a pretty good listener.  Yeinar did have a hard time admitting when he was wrong.  Cleinags (clay-nags) was a former member of the grove recruited for the mission by Dweller.
      Wee-One was unsure about Cleinags participation.  Would he turn Nom-Mee over to the Rock Monster the first chance he got?  Dweller assured her that Cleinags and his family had been taken by the Rock Monster when he was young.  Cleinags was forced to live in the grove.  The last member of the crew was Magsbraenty (mags-bran-tee).  She was another member of the bevy, but with an absolutely beautiful voice.  She was the best flyer and could fly higher than any member of the bevy or the wedge …