Special Delivery

Maizy and Branch flew high above the tree when she spotted an unknown eagle patrolling the skies. She froze, trembling.

Get a grip! That’s a fishing eagle—not a hawk!

She slowed enough to let the eagle glide beneath them.

"BY THE GODS! Branch! How!?" it cried.

"Haha! HELLO, Mrs. Fisher!" Branch shouted back. "Have you met Maizy yet? She’s the demon slayer with two tails—on my back."

"Oh! Is that how? Yes, Mr. Fisher told me about her..." She started to continue, then suddenly noticed something.

"Oh dear," Mrs. Fisher said before letting out a piercing screech.  Her sharp eyes had spotted something.  She tucked her wings and zoomed ahead.

Then Maizy heard it—the chirping alarm. She shook harder, and this time Branch really felt it.

"No worries, Maizy!" Branch tried to reassure her. "Just watch Mrs. Fisher at work. You’ll be impressed. Make us light and slow so we can watch her destroy our natural enemies.  Muwahahaha!"

Maizy wanted to make herself heavy and dive back into the canopy—not slow down to watch! But she did as Branch asked and squinted in Mrs. Fisher's direction.

No fewer than five hawks were flying straight toward them—from the direction of the kittay village.

Since when do hawks flock together!?  Then again, this IS a completely different world.  Maizy mentally shrugged, then returned to her terrified state.

Off in the distance, Mrs. Fisher dove on a hawk. It tumbled from the sky. A millimoment later, she was on another, and it too dropped like a stone.

Wow! She's really good!  Maizy's respect for fishing eagles skyrocketed.

Then a hawk latched onto Mrs. Fisher's back with its claws. She screeched again—this time twice in a row.

Oh no!

"Uh oh." Branch sounded nervous now too. "Maybe we should head back to the tree. Then I can impale a few." He was clearly bracing himself for a fight.

Poor Mrs. Fisher!  Maizy could see she was struggling to shake off the hawk clinging to her back—and the others were closing in fast.

Maizy suddenly let go of Branch, and he dropped into his usual heavy glide.

"Hey! What are you doing?" Branch thought she was bolting back toward the tree, but instead she surprised him—pausing in midair, reaching into her poncho, and pulling something out.

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BOOM!

An explosion of feathers burst out as Maizy slammed her nearly indestructible, full-size ruler into the hawk on Mrs. Fisher's back. The strike was so powerful the bird’s neck separated from its body, while Maizy rocketed past.

The hawk’s body slid off Mrs. Fisher, who instantly resumed chasing the others.

Then, to her astonishment, the last two hawks lost their heads one after the other. They didn’t even know what hit them.

Maizy flew in front of Mrs. Fisher, spun around to fly backward, and signed, "Got ’em!" Then she zipped back toward Branch, who had seen everything.

I can't believe I just did that! Gods, that was scary!

"THAT WAS AWESOME!" Branch was ecstatic, then he noticed Maizy was trembling—much more than before. "Why don't you just act as my thruster and let me steer for a while?"

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Branch acted as a tour guide as the two gently glided down the mountain, then over the village of Mirehaven. There wasn’t anyone around.

Must still be too early in the morning.

"This is Mirehaven. The kittay are really going to appreciate all those hawks you killed." Branch laughed. "They’ll probably end up in tonight’s stew at The Lair! Oh kad, do they love birds!"

The Lair? Must be a restaurant?

At the far edge of Mirehaven, Maizy spotted a non-magic tree with a kad-sized building perched on top. She lifted a claw from Branch’s back, reached over, and pointed to it.

"That? That’s the Mirehaven Post Office," Branch said. "You can sleep there if you’re ever stuck here after dark. DO NOT try to fly up the mountain at night. Nooo no!"

What’s so dangerous at night? This world is scary!  Maizy kept shaking, unable to banish the vision of hawks from her mind.

"See that lake ahead? Stillhome is on the other side." Branch suddenly jolted upward to gain altitude. "Whoah. I almost had us flying too close to the water. That’s a big no-no. There are HUGE fish in there that can jump out and eat us."

Yikes! What ELSE is trying to eat me!?

Then Maizy spotted them:  Lizard people!  Several were out on the lake in all kinds of small boats—rowboats, canoes, kayaks, pontoon boats, paddle boats...  Are those boats shaped like swans!? Most were fishing—some with nets, some with poles, while the swan boat riders held spears.

Branch noticed Maizy’s excitement. "First time seeing the chessafolk? They’re sky chill. Obsessed with cheese. Like, really obsessed. I don’t even have words for how much they love the stuff, haha."

Sky chill? Haha, is that like, cool, kad?

"Obviously, they do a lot of fishing. But they're terrible at boat building. Oh kad, they have these strange ideas. I've helped them a few times. I do like that they're always willing to try new things. They're prophecy's favorite in that way."

Prophecy's favorite? Branch is so cool—no, sky chill. Haha.  Maizy could do this every day. Without the hawks. Probably. Maybe.

The chessafolk waved as they flew overhead. Maizy noticed that many wore shiny necklaces, bracelets, anklets, and other jewelry.

They showed their teeth in a strange way that Maizy assumed was their style of friendly smile. It wasn't scary—just a bit goofy. They pursed their lips like they were about to kiss a frog, then lifted them slightly to reveal their teeth.

Haha! I like chessafolk already.  Maizy had finally stopped shaking.

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They arrived at the Stillhome Post Office, landing gracefully on the balcony.

"Hail, Branch!" said a kad nearby, busy sorting letters.

"Hail, Ledge!" Branch replied.

Then, in an oddly loud voice, Branch declared, "What do you think, Maizy? We paused midair to kill three hawks and even took the scenic route, but I’d say it only took us about fifteen moments to get here."

That Kad Sign Language book had signs for units of time, but I still have no idea how long a moment is.  Maizy decided she should probably ask about that soon.

Ledge stopped what he was doing and looked over. "What!?"

Maizy was still clinging to Branch’s back, so he spun around and pointed at her. "Let me introduce you to Maizy Debugger—our 7-days-emerged Kad Post Cup racer who’s going to win it!"

She hopped down and waved at Ledge. He looked a lot like Grove—if Grove were all grown up.

Maybe Grove's dad... Or his brother? Do kads just stop aging at some point?

Ledge gave Maizy a skeptical look. "I’ve heard about you: two tails; same gift as Patch Cracker." Then he squinted. "I can believe you killed three hawks—your poncho’s covered in blood stains—but..." He turned to Branch. "There’s no way you made it here from Bark Village in just fifteen moments. Impossible. Even a birdo can’t fly that fast."

Blood stains?  Maizy grimaced.  The Postmaster won't be happy about that.

Ledge turned back to Maizy. "That second tail... Is it a speed tail or something?"

"Haha, nope!" Branch laughed, then pointed at Maizy. "Go on, Maizy—give him a little demonstration of the future."

Maizy grinned, shot off the balcony like a rocket, looped around, and came flying straight back—right into Branch’s arms.

I think I understand Brook a little better now.  Maizy began plotting ways to deal with her cousin.

"WHAT WAS THAT!?  HOW DID YOU DO THAT!?" Ledge looked like he was about to lose his fur.

Branch beamed. "Maizy invented these." He was still holding her, so he lifted her up, and Maizy took the hint—holding her feet out so Ledge could get a better look. "They're called ascendals. After the race tomorrow, we'll make some for everyone.  But don't tell anyone until then!  We can't have Slope finding out early."

Ledge grinned and nodded. "Ah, yes! YES! My lips are sealed." He pumped his fist. "I can’t wait to tell that overgrown kite that Maizy already beat him here! Haha!"

Then he raised his brows and looked at Maizy. "No wonder my brother likes you. You're a genius—obviously—and you've got a smile that could tame a granolith."

Tehe, yes, yes... Tell me more about how cute I am!  Maizy tilted her head and gave him the cutest open-mouthed smile she could manage on short notice.  Brother? That’s gotta be Grove.

Branch jumped in, "I know, right!?  It's totally not fair to the other kaydees! My sister said their whole generation is going to have to form an anti-Maizy alliance at the next mating wind, haha!"

Mating wind? What?

"Yeah, seriously." Ledge stared at Maizy like he was hatching a scheme. "You should help me come up with a plan for my brother."

A plan?  Maizy squinted at him.

"Oooh no." Branch shook his head. "No way. The Woodmaster would kill me. You know Maizy is his sister, right?"

Ledge nearly jumped out of his fur. "WHAT!?  No! I didn’t know that!" He looked at Branch, aghast. "Gods... Poor Grove. Actually..." He turned back to Maizy. "All the keedos of her generation are in trouble."

Branch and Ledge nodded in agreement.

They know I'm right here, right?

Branch wandered over to the baskets of letters. "Got anything for the village? We’ll have it there in..." He grinned. "Moments."

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Branch and Maizy zoomed into the Bark Village Post Office and went straight to the back, dropping off the letters from Stillhome. Brook was standing nearby and noticed them.

"That basket is for incoming letters from Stillhome... But it's still morning. The Post Office hasn't even officially opened yet!" She spoke the words knowing full well what Branch and Maizy had just achieved.

Branch grinned, "Yes. We just arrived from Stillhome."

"But I saw you going up the tree with Maizy this morning!" Brook looked at Maizy, who was peeking over Branch's shoulder.

Branch kept grinning. "Yep." He then looked serious. "Do NOT tell anyone. Maizy is going to compete for us tomorrow, and I was just showing her the race route."

Understanding hit Brook like an overpowered kaydee beheading a hawk. Her mouth fell open—then she spotted the blood on Maizy’s poncho.

"WHAT IS THAT!?" Brook pointed at Maizy's blood-stained hood.

"Oh, Maizy helped Mrs. Fisher kill some hawks on the way." Branch winked.

Brook’s horrified look caught Branch off guard. "What's that look for?" he asked.

She didn’t hesitate for a millimoment. Striding forward, she held out her hand. "Give me that poncho." She looked serious.

Maizy thought she understood, so she hopped down, slipped it off, and handed it over. Brook snatched it with a stern glare.

"Maizy can't compete in a blood-stained poncho! If the Postmaster sees this, she'll start leaking old curses! Again!"

Branch and Maizy grimaced, then exchanged a look.

"Brook... can you get the stains out? Like, right away?" Branch asked, suddenly desperate.

Brook smiled.  Oh, this day is starting off so well, she thought, then spoke. "I can. But it'll cost you."

Branch narrowed his eyes. "What do you want?"

Brook gave her prettiest, most sinister smile and motioned for Branch to come closer. She leaned in close to his ear, whispered something, then licked it.

Gross! I wonder what she asked for?

Branch was unfazed—he smiled and nodded. "That can be arranged." He bowed, "For any other pretty thing, no. But for you..." He met her eyes. "No problem."

Brook looked very pleased with herself.

Yeesh! I wonder if Branch is going to say I owe him one after this.

"Now, you two need to get out of here.  Immediately." She pointed at the balcony. "Before the Postmaster comes out of that meeting." She flicked her tail toward the meeting room.

Branch nodded. "Come on, Maizy. I'll show you the gate."