Chapter 1: Where It All Starts

Cheve, a pre-teen swan, was swimming at the end of the 5 other children in front of him. Their mother was leading the line, swimming through the small stream that lead to the lake their nest was near. He was beautifully white with a green spot on his forehead, his tail and wings tipped in blue-black. Cheve was thinking about the unexplored river on the opposite side of those rocks and reeds to his left. What was beyond that river? Infinite supplies of grass? Frogs? And why was his only sister, right in front of him slowing down? 

Cheve swam to his right a little to see that his mother had stopped, causing a chain reaction. "Mother!" He called out. "Yes dear?" Cheve's mother said, twisting her long neck around. "Why'd you stop?" "Those pesky human boys pushed the rocks to block the stream, so everyone find an opening to get out, and we'll fly."

Cheve found one first to his left, up the rocks. He scrambled up them and called for his family. They followed suit. Cheve started walking down the way they wanted to go, like a tightrope. 1 side was a roaring rapid of river, the other a gentle stream. He was wobbly a bit, trying to get used to walking again. "Ok everyone! Fly!" His mother sprang from the rocks and spread her wide wings. One by one his siblings followed until only Cheve remained. He knew he should follow, but his curiosity got the best of him. He looked down the rocks to the frothing river. But he couldn't see anything with the white foam!

Cheve lowered his long neck and head down farther, his feet sliding and slipping, threatening to fall. Then WHOOSH! A rock landed to his right with such force, he jumped and landed in the river. The last thing he saw before falling in the water was those human boys, rocks in hand, doubled over laughing.

Cheve struggled against the strong current, trying to avoid the big, sharp rocks like teeth up ahead. He squawked and screamed for help, but his family was long gone. Right before his head hit the rocks, a tide knocked his head under the water and he saw a load of grass under the water. 'At least there was a lot of food, like I suspected.' He thought when he blacked out.

Bela, a white with light brown spots wild female goat was grazing on the top of a mountain when she heard "HELP! HELP! HEL-" Bela's unused mothers instincts kicked in to go and help that goose or something in distress. She pranced gracefully down the mountain, her dark brown hooves going clop each time she landed on a rock. When she landed, not even panting, on the soft marshy ground covered in reeds she was not at ease.

Bela was used to hard ground, which she could depend on to not swallow her up like quicksand. She evenly distributed her weight on her legs and started moving around so she didn't sink in. Her ears swiveled round and round trying to locate the victim. Bela found 3 human boys laughing with rocks at their feet. She jumped over a river, covered with thick white froth onto rocks, then over the stream to the boys. 

Bela snorted, pawed the ground with 1 hoof and lowered her head, 2 short but sharp brown horns near her ears. The boys quickly stopped laughing and ran away. Where was that bird in distress? Was she too late? She sighed, feeling very guilty. Bela turned around and jumped over the stream on the rocks in the middle of the river and brook. Just as she was about to jump, she saw a green spot right in the middle of the thick froth. Bela looked more closely and saw a head! A neck! It was a swan. 

She balanced very gingerly on the rocks the body was stuck on. Bela grabbed it's neck very gently and stepped down from the river rocks to the soil. Bela pulled it up to safety and laid down, waiting for it to wake up.