Chapter 3: Butterbarts in the Woods

There is a time for impulsiveness, and there is a time for reason. It’s your job to decide when to use either.

Éclair started blushing for some reason, but Ryan wasn’t really paying attention. Ryan just remembered his secret place in the woods that not even Henry knew about. As if compelled by a celestial force, he felt a strange compulsion to take Éclair to that secret place.

Besides, this will give me the perfect chance to test the Devastator.

Without a second’s hesitation, Ryan took Éclair by the hand, pulling her into the woods.

Éclair, surprised by his actions, began to protest. “What do you think you’re doing? I need to get back to Zand. He’s probably worried sick about me. I want to get out of the woods, not go deeper into them. What if there are predators about?”

“I want to take you to a secret, magical place so that we can have an adventure, just like real Elementals,” consoled Ryan with a reassuring smile.

“You don’t understand. If I don’t return as soon as possible, I’ll get into loads of trouble.”

Ryan shrugged. This girl didn’t know trouble like he did. Besides, a girl like her - who probably never misbehaved a day in her life - would most likely just get away with a slap on the wrist. “This will only take a minute. It’ll be fun, trust me. We’re going on an adventure. What could be so bad about that?”

Éclair seemed like she wanted to argue some more, but as she opened her mouth, Ryan took her by the shoulders. He brought his face up to hers and looked her square in the eye with his most serious look ever; he called it his ‘Staring Zombie.’ “You want to be an Elemental too someday, right?”

Éclair jolted in surprise, and Ryan knew that he guessed right. He wasn’t sure until he had actually said the words, but from everything he’d deduced from Éclair’s behavior, he somehow knew. One of the reasons that he felt a strong connection to her was that she shared the same dream as him, a dream that others would scoff at.

“One of the most sacred duties of an Elemental is to understand the mysteries of the universe, fighting and warfare are only secondary; at least that’s what my dad tells me. We are standing in an ancient forest on a world that you’ve never even been to before. Don’t you want to know what’s out there? Don’t you want to see it for yourself instead of just hearing about it from others?”

Éclair glanced down briefly, her facial features showing uncertainty.

“Even if it’s for just a moment,” Ryan continued. “It could be the moment that changes your life forever. Besides, I know these woods like the back of my hand, and there really isn’t much of anything that dangerous, as long as you know where to go. And even on the off chance that we do see something bad, then I, Ryan Uruks, vow to protect you with my life, Éclair Hamashe! Please, believe me!”

Wow, I just gave myself chills! Thank you, father, for pounding into me the art of public speaking ... and thank you soap operas as well for my flair for the dramatic.

Éclair seemed shocked at his speech, as if she had never heard anyone talk like that before. Ryan was about to dig deep and rack his brain for something that sounded even cooler, but it turned out to be unnecessary. Slowly, Éclair took hold of Ryan’s hand, which felt really good for reasons that Ryan’s nine-year-old brain couldn’t explain.

Éclair smiled her amazing sun smile and said in her sweetest, silkiest voice, “I do believe you, Ryan Uruks. Very well. I’m already in trouble as it is, so I might as well enjoy my moments of freedom while I can. Besides, it’s not every day that a maiden is offered such a kingly escort.”

Ryan nearly blushed yet again. He wasn’t sure what she meant by ‘escort,’ but it sounded awesome. He quickly turned around to lead the way so she couldn’t see his face turn a slight shade of purple. Ryan had first turned purple one night when he woke up outside and realized that he’d been sleepwalking in his underwear. His dad told him that it was just a Saurian thing, and that it should wear off eventually; though, Ryan doubted it because he could swear that he saw his dad turn purple once.

It didn’t take long to get to his secret place in Pinnfar Woods. Éclair only occasionally glanced around as she acclimatized to her new environment. Ryan had come across his secret spot years ago, the one place in Pinnfar Woods where the sun shone down onto the ground unopposed; though his dad had warned him never to go past it. Ryan never really knew why, and his dad only told him that the forest was uncharted past the secret spot.

The sunlight streaming down looked like a beacon from heaven, and even more glorious were the strange plants in the clearing that glowed and changed colors when people approached them. The clearing sported a large field of different kinds of flowers with a sparkling stream surrounding the multicolored floral arrangement. He called it the Butterbart’s Meadow, because it was one of the few places where the Butterbarts rested on the forest floor.

Right on cue, the little creatures flew up from their hiding places in the flowers and began to swarm around Éclair and Ryan. Éclair became frightened at first as she tried to run, but a reassuring pat on the shoulder from Ryan mitigated her fears. The Butterbarts were just happy to see them. They didn’t get very many visitors to their secret meadow.

Ryan boldly walked into the middle of the Butterbart’s swarm to show Éclair their docile nature. “These are my friends, the Butterbarts. My parents have some long and complicated name for them, but I like to call them Butterbarts because they are like a mix between butterflies, birds, and bats! See?”

Ryan gently plucked one from the sky, petted it on the soft spot on its back which made it purr pleasurably, and then held it up to Éclair. Her mouth hung open in obvious wonder. Sure enough, in the palm of his hand, she beheld a strange little creature that had a black, furry body with long pointy ears on its head that looked like a bat, a small yellow beak and legs like a bird, and bright, purple wings that looked like a butterfly’s. Each creature had slightly different colors on its wings, ranging from differing shades of red, blue, and yellow. Ryan let the flying creature join its swarm as they swirled around him and Éclair in oscillating patterns of various colors.

“Don’t worry. They’re really smart, and they love people, especially kids. But they don’t get to play as much as they would like to because most people are too afraid to come this far into the woods for some reason. I like to play tag with them because they make some weird, funny noises when you catch them. Watch!”

Ryan then ran towards the Butterbarts, and they knew instantly that the game was on. He would sometimes come to the meadow and play tag with the Butterbarts for hours. It was a fairly simple game; Ryan would run into the swarm and try to catch one in his hands. The Butterbarts wanted it to be as fun as possible, so they stayed low to the ground so that he could still reach them. When he did catch one, it would make a funny noise as if signaling to the others, and then they would swarm around Ryan and try to tag him with their wings. It was loads of fun because their wings tickled, and sometimes they would peck him on his belly with their tiny beaks. It didn’t hurt, but it made him laugh even more. Ryan had even begun to name a few of them that he recognized and would sometimes bring them treats.

Knowing that they preferred playing after snacks, Ryan fished out some crackers from his pockets, and the creatures circled his hand, buzzing and nibbling with obvious delight. He then threw the crumbs in the air, and the Butterbarts caught every piece without touching the ground. He played with the Butterbarts shamelessly in pure childish glee. Ryan motioned for Éclair to join him. She seemed to hesitate as she maintained her static position. He realized that as some important noble born, she had probably never done anything like this before.

Maybe she’s having second thoughts. Maybe she thinks I’m some weirdo.

Almost as if to put Ryan’s worries to ease, Éclair abandoned her inhibitions as she joined in the revelry, giggling madly. It was glorious. The Butterbarts chirped in delight, because now they had two targets instead of one. They played a game of tag like they never played before. Éclair was quick and light on her feet as she tagged Butterbarts right and left. In response to this new level of resistance by their opponents, the Butterbarts started picking up small twigs and pebbles to drop on Ryan and Éclair’s heads.

Apparently, they thought that should count because they ran away when they hit their targets. Ryan shook his head in astonishment. They had never done that before when it was just him playing. In response, he and Éclair climbed the taller trees where they could better reach the high-flying bombers. When the Butterbarts realized that their plans had been foiled, they headed towards the small stream at the edge of the meadow, scooping up the water in their beaks and shooting it at Éclair and Ryan.

Éclair then dashed into the stream and splashed some water at the aerial misfits. That counted too, because when they were splashed, the Butterbarts would make their weird noise, scoop up some water, and return fire at Éclair. It was the most fun that Ryan ever had in his life.

Eventually, children and Butterbarts alike exhausted themselves, and without an official timeout, both teams flopped down into the color-changing flowers. Ryan could tell that the Butterbarts were really taken with Éclair judging by the way they nuzzled up next to her. As they cuddled up all around the princess, they looked like her stuffed animals, or something girly like that. Éclair laughed gently as one small Butterbart climbed into her lap, yawned, and took a nap with its butterfly wings tucked beneath it.

After moving the creature on her lap to the ground next to her, and petting it fondly, Éclair turned to Ryan with eyes glistening in wonder. “Thank you, Ryan. This has been one of the best days of my life. To be honest, I’ve never really done things like this with other children. You know, normal mischievous things that kids do. My mother always taught me that I must compose myself at all times, because there will come a day that I will inherit the responsibility of leadership.”

“What do you mean? Isn’t she an Elemental too?”

Éclair shook her head sadly. “No, my godfather is an Elemental. My mother was a ... a noblewoman from a wealthy family, much like my birth father. She says that the life of an Elemental is not fit for a lady of the court. Don’t get me wrong. Mother is a kind person who loves me very much, but she is a little bossy.”

Ryan nodded in understanding. “Yeah, my mom is like that too sometimes.”

Éclair leaned on her elbow, though carefully so as not to jostle the sleeping Butterbarts. “Mother wants me to join the Imperial Court and become a politician. I don’t have any Elemental powers right now, but if I did ... I mean, on the off chance that I awakened Elemental powers like my godfather, I would be prohibited from running for office in the Imperial Court. It’s their way of maintaining the balance of power between the Elementals and the normal humans, or the ‘Pureskins’ as some like to refer to themselves. That’s why mother discourages my dreams of one day walking in my godfather’s footsteps.”