The world feels like it is moving fast and I will never catch up. I feel unsettled and moody one moment and full of exuberant energy in the next. I ache with the desire to be doing something. Anything. My body is leggy, but slowly filling out. I have the awkwardness common to my age with too large brown eyes and a half grown smoky black mane. My curves are starting to portend an inherited delicate beauty, but that loveliness is still only a promise.
Growing up is hard.
I sigh aloud, the noise of my exhalation startling a parrot I have been watching. It chatters angrily at me. I throw the gaudily colored bird a scowl and instantly feel abashed. It isnt the bird's fault I am out of sorts, after all. Still, parrots have never been my favorite. They are awfully noisy. I move away from the scolding creature and down a familiar path to the less populated area of the Jungle.
I feel at home. This is my home, of course, and always has been, but I truly feel it to the far reaches of my soul. The sisters and the jungle are inseparably intertwined in my make up. Nothing can come between us. Even as a stumbling yearling, I know that I will live and die for my home. I may not know yet the gravity of such a decision, but still I make it with a solemnity beyond my years.
A thought strikes me with a suddenness that almost takes my breath away. I feel stupid, and childish and eager all at once. Lifting my head up I scent the wind, looking for a familiar bay mare. If there is anyone who can help me fulfill my vow it is Joscelin. I make a silent wish that she is willing to help, and once I have found her I approach with a hopeful look on my face.
“Joscelin? Do you have a minute?”
the jungle princess