Wa—who—!...There's a Thumbling on this thing?!

His confusion was cut short when the large white bird tore through the air with thousands of angry birds zooming in pursuit. The usual calm and slow scenery was now a flash of blur he could barely see.

Tai clung onto the bird's feathers for dear life as his body cut through the air space, together with the Thumbling and his mount. He was almost addicted to the exhilaration and terror coursing through his veins.

The Thumbling who saved his life was laughing loudly and was nowhere near as rattled as Tai was to see him.

Suddenly, the Thumbling stopped. He swung his head around to face Tai. The wind whipping by crashed against his skin, sending ripples throughout it. His head, however, was as stable as the buildings those rich folks had.

"Kid, you better come up here and hold onto me. The balance of my ride is way off with you there," he said.

Tai tried but failed to move an inch. He was still trying to accept what's happening. He heard the adult Thumbling sigh audibly.

He grabbed him by the arm and against all odds, dragged Tai to the leather seat behind him with ease.

"Hold unto me. Don't let go," the Thumbling said. Tai quickly positioned himself and held firmly onto the back of his clean yellow shirt.

Immediately afterwards, the bird reached the forested edge that marked entrance into the forest. It dove in and without reducing its speed, pressed forward, dodging every tree.

It looped and twirled as it wove through the branches. Resisting the airforce, Tai gave in to his curiosity and looked behind him.

Scores of birds crashed into trees and fell unconscious to the ground. Eventually, after weaving tirelessly around tree branches for an hour, they eventually lost the fleet.

The bird made a sharp ascension towards the barrier of leaves separating them from the sky. As it broke free out of the sea of green, they were greeted by clear, whimsical blue skies.

However, it continued its dizzying speed in the air. A few minutes passed by, and thankfully, it steadily decreased its speed. After a while, the bird was casually gliding through the air.

"Hey kid. What's your name." the Thumbling said.

"Tai," he said weakly. Too much happened to him in one week.

"You see that tall tree over there? We're making a stop there." he said. Tai looked to where he was pointing.

There, a tree noticeably towered above its counterparts. Its rouge bark was thicker than anything he had ever seen. Innumerable branches decorated the tree and were accompanied by an abundance of leaves which were comparatively bigger than its surrounding competitors.

...

The tree was much, much bigger up close. The bird gracefully landed on one of the bigger branches. The stranger quickly dismounted the bird, and Tai followed.

As he followed him towards an unnatural hole in the tree bark, Tai observed him.

The first thing he noticed was that he was not starving. He was bulky, yet not overly so. Despite all that, he definitely looked well fed.

Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

He was also clean. His yellow shirt was the cleanest yellow he ever saw a person wore. His pants, though black, were free of holes and obvious smudges. Within the Thumbling kingdom, persons who were that clean would not even glance at him out of scorn.

His raven-black hair was short and obviously well-trimmed. Even the way he walked made him look important. Maybe the stranger felt the stare in his back, because abruptly he stopped walking. He turned towards Tai who was trailing behind him. Two vertical light blue strokes laid parallel on his right cheek.

He scanned him from head to toe before he spoke, "Tell me everything about yourself."

Tai raised his eyebrows. He was grateful for this guy saving his life, but there was no way he could push him around. He doesn't even know his name.

"Why should I tell you?" Tai said with a taunting smirk. He must be crazy to trust some stranger, even if he saved his life. His parents cared for him for years, yet they tried to kill him. In response, the man laughed loudly.

"Kid, no need to be scared. We're all in the same boat here. I'm not asking for your life secrets. Tell me about yourself," he smiled kindly at him.

Since he seemed so sincere, Tai decided to tell him something. He proceeded to tell him only of what he encountered in the forest. As far as personal information went, he only knew his name.

As he narrated all that he went through, they entered what seemed to be a house carved inside the gargantuan tree.

"I'm impressed that you and your friend didn't die. My name is Tenma. There are many survivors like you in these woods. Together, we thrived and created villages of our own. We have been saving every kid abandoned all these years. Normally, there is a set time the kids are thrown out here to die—which is every two weeks—but your set came a week earlier. I apologize. We failed this time."

This news was a bombshell he never expected. Until he met Tenma, he really did believe Tziporah and himself would be living in solitude for years to come. Remembering his dear friend Tziporah, his heart skipped a beat.

"We need to save Tziporah. She is all alone, bedridden," Tai said. Thankfully, there was food stored in their hideout, so she would not be in danger anytime soon. Unless, a predator finds their not-so-hidden hole in the tree.

"The search teams were notified of you and your friend's existence today," he sauntered to his table filled with weird tools and jars filled with various specimens. With nonchalant grace, he began working on...something.

"I want to find her myself," Tai said. He needed to see that she was fine.

Turning his attention away from what he was doing, he looked at him laughingly, "You need to trust me kid. Besides, playing hero is not my job"

Tai's muscles tensed as boiling anger filled his chest. This guy was not taking him seriously at all. Trying not to seem rattled, he changed the subject.

"Alright. Are you all a resistance?" He asked.

"We are, but,we're survivors, first and foremost. Not everyone wants to dedicate their life to fighting some kingdom. After all, in many ways, living here is a luxury they never would have gotten if they were back there," Tenma said as he busily tinkered with his tools.

"Aaaand done. Here, drink this," he strode towards Tai and shoved a crude, weirdly shaped glass bottle in his hand. Within it was a murky blue liquid.

"What is it?" Tai said.

"A tonic for your bony body. Don't worry, it only has a quarter of the usual potency," Tenma said.

Tai glowered at him, "You think I can't take it at full strength?"

Tenma laughed, "I know you can't". With that, he went to the white bird who was sunbathing in a sunbeam outside. He then gently rummaged beneath the bird for something.

He fished out a bird's egg that looked awfully similar to the ones within the nest of those deadly birds. However, it was four times smaller. Even with it being so small, it was as tall as Tenma's torso. Tenma had a satisfied smile on his face whilst he carried it inside.

He fell into the couch with a thud, and with supernatural speed, he flicked out a knife and gently knocked around the top of the egg with the hilt. A mouthwatering scent wafted into Tai's nostrils.

Tenma gorged down the golden liquid and Tai was too embarrassed to ask for any. He was already saved by the guy. He didn't want him to be his caretaker either.

After that torturing episode, Tenma licked his now glossy lips. He then focused on Tai who was awkwardly standing in the same spot ever since he walked in.

"It's true that a lot of us don't want to directly butt heads with the rulers of the Thumbling Kingdom," he said, "but that doesn't mean we don't want to overthrow them. We have a plan, and for it to be a success, we need kids like you."