time.
But that would take three more times. Three more times of blathering his name into the moonlit night.
Three more times of feeling the terrible twinge in his gizzard. "12-1, tip that beak up!" It was a sleep monitor. He felt a thwack to the side of his head. Hortense was still next to him. She mumbled, "12-8, what a lovely name that is. 12-8, perfect name. I love twos and fours and eights. So smooth."
"Hortense," Soren whispered softly. Her talons might have just vaguely begun to stir on the floor, but other than that, nothing. "Hort! Horty!" He tried, but the little Spotted Owl was lost in some dreamless sleep.
Finally, Soren was back under the arch and quickly moved over to the other side, which connected to the
neighboring glaucidium. The sleep monitors had just barked out the command, "Now, sleep!"
Suddenly, Gylfie was there. The tiny Elf Owl swung her head toward Soren. "They're moon blinking us,"
she whispered.
CHAPTER FIVE
Moon Blinking
What?" It felt so good to say a whh sound that Soren almost missed the answer.
"Didn't your parents tell you about the dangers of sleeping under the full shine?"
"What is 'full shine'?" Soren asked.
"When did you hatch out?"
"Three weeks ago, I think. Or so my parents told me." But again, Soren was not really sure what a week was.
"Ah, that explains it. And in Tyto there are great trees, right?" Gylfie asked.
"Oh, yes. Many, and thick with beautiful fir needles and spruce cones and leaves that turn golden and red." Again, Soren wasn't sure about leaves turning for he had never seen them anything but golden and red. But his parents had told him that once they were green in a time called summer. Kludd had hatched out near the end of the green time.
"Well, you see, I hatched out more than three weeks
ago." They spoke softly, so softly, and managed to maintain the sleep position, but neither one of them was the least bit sleepy "I was hatched after the time of newing."
"The newing? When is that?" asked Soren.
"You see, the moon comes and the moon goes, and at the time of the newing, when the moon is no thicker than one single thin, downy feather, well, that is the first glint of the new moon. Then, every day it grows thicker and fatter until there is full shine, like now. And it might stay that way for three or four days. Then comes the time of the dwenking. Instead of growing thicker and fatter, the moon dwenks and becomes thinner, until, once more, it is no thicker than the thinnest strand of down. And then it disappears for a while."
"I never saw this. At least, I don't think I have."
"Oh, it was there but you probably didn't really see because your family's nest was in the hollow of a great tree in a thick forest. But Elf Owls like myself live in deserts. Not so many trees. And many of them are not very leafy. We can see the whole sky nearly all the time."
"My!" Soren sighed softly.
"And that is why they teach all of us Elf Owls about full shine. Although most owls sleep during the day, sometimes, especially after a hunting expedition, one might be tired and sleep at night. This can be very dangerous if one
sleeps out bald in the light of a full moon. It confuses one's head."
"How?" Soren asked.
"I'm not sure. My parents never really explained it but they did say that the old owl Rocmore had gone crazy from too much full shine." Gylfie paused, then hesitating, went on. "They even said that he often did not know which was up and which was down and that finally he died of a broken neck when he thought he was lifting off from the top of a cactus." Gylfie's voice almost broke here. "He thought he was flying toward the stars and he slammed into the earth. That's what moon blinking is all about. You no longer know what is for sure and what is not. What is truth and what are lies. What is real and what is false. That is being moon blinked."
Soren gasped. "This is awful! Is this what is going to happen to us?"
"Not if we can help it,
But that would take three more times. Three more times of blathering his name into the moonlit night.
Three more times of feeling the terrible twinge in his gizzard. "12-1, tip that beak up!" It was a sleep monitor. He felt a thwack to the side of his head. Hortense was still next to him. She mumbled, "12-8, what a lovely name that is. 12-8, perfect name. I love twos and fours and eights. So smooth."
"Hortense," Soren whispered softly. Her talons might have just vaguely begun to stir on the floor, but other than that, nothing. "Hort! Horty!" He tried, but the little Spotted Owl was lost in some dreamless sleep.
Finally, Soren was back under the arch and quickly moved over to the other side, which connected to the
neighboring glaucidium. The sleep monitors had just barked out the command, "Now, sleep!"
Suddenly, Gylfie was there. The tiny Elf Owl swung her head toward Soren. "They're moon blinking us,"
she whispered.
CHAPTER FIVE
Moon Blinking
What?" It felt so good to say a whh sound that Soren almost missed the answer.
"Didn't your parents tell you about the dangers of sleeping under the full shine?"
"What is 'full shine'?" Soren asked.
"When did you hatch out?"
"Three weeks ago, I think. Or so my parents told me." But again, Soren was not really sure what a week was.
"Ah, that explains it. And in Tyto there are great trees, right?" Gylfie asked.
"Oh, yes. Many, and thick with beautiful fir needles and spruce cones and leaves that turn golden and red." Again, Soren wasn't sure about leaves turning for he had never seen them anything but golden and red. But his parents had told him that once they were green in a time called summer. Kludd had hatched out near the end of the green time.
"Well, you see, I hatched out more than three weeks
ago." They spoke softly, so softly, and managed to maintain the sleep position, but neither one of them was the least bit sleepy "I was hatched after the time of newing."
"The newing? When is that?" asked Soren.
"You see, the moon comes and the moon goes, and at the time of the newing, when the moon is no thicker than one single thin, downy feather, well, that is the first glint of the new moon. Then, every day it grows thicker and fatter until there is full shine, like now. And it might stay that way for three or four days. Then comes the time of the dwenking. Instead of growing thicker and fatter, the moon dwenks and becomes thinner, until, once more, it is no thicker than the thinnest strand of down. And then it disappears for a while."
"I never saw this. At least, I don't think I have."
"Oh, it was there but you probably didn't really see because your family's nest was in the hollow of a great tree in a thick forest. But Elf Owls like myself live in deserts. Not so many trees. And many of them are not very leafy. We can see the whole sky nearly all the time."
"My!" Soren sighed softly.
"And that is why they teach all of us Elf Owls about full shine. Although most owls sleep during the day, sometimes, especially after a hunting expedition, one might be tired and sleep at night. This can be very dangerous if one
sleeps out bald in the light of a full moon. It confuses one's head."
"How?" Soren asked.
"I'm not sure. My parents never really explained it but they did say that the old owl Rocmore had gone crazy from too much full shine." Gylfie paused, then hesitating, went on. "They even said that he often did not know which was up and which was down and that finally he died of a broken neck when he thought he was lifting off from the top of a cactus." Gylfie's voice almost broke here. "He thought he was flying toward the stars and he slammed into the earth. That's what moon blinking is all about. You no longer know what is for sure and what is not. What is truth and what are lies. What is real and what is false. That is being moon blinked."
Soren gasped. "This is awful! Is this what is going to happen to us?"
"Not if we can help it,
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