Agile’eka was dozing under a mesquite when Thunder first spotted her. Since he and Berland had stayed awake all night talking, he was out and about before first light. He started the search for his rock, even though it was almost too dark to move around.
He saw Agile’eka only an instant before she saw him. He raced toward her. She sprang to her feet. Eyes wide and head crest high, she sprinted across the flat to greet him.
They raced toward each other so fast they barely managed to stop before they crashed. So excited that she couldn’t keep from hopping all around, Agile’eka rubbed her neck feathers against his.
“I thought the coyote got you,” she said, her clattering almost a whimper. “You disappeared into those tall weeds. He was right on your tail feathers. I could hear him crashing around and . . . and . . . as long as he stayed in there . . . I . . . I just knew you were a goner.”
He explained to her about the mud. About how his feet were big enough to keep him from sinking, but the coyote’s weren’t. He also told her not to try the same trick with the cattails, because with her little, dainty feet, she’d sink like a rock.
He told her about Winterfat, who was Scruffy’s mate, and how they usually hunted together. But yesterday she’d stayed in their den to nurse the new pups. Then he told her about Tess.
“Bobcats are quick. They can leap almost as high as you can fly. You’re not even safe in a tree,” he explained. “With their long, sharp claws, they can climb higher than even the strongest roadrunner can fly.”
When Agile’eka asked him how he knew all these things, he told her about Berland. Well . . . he tried to tell her about Berland. It was really hard to do, because, even though he’d described Berland to her before, she still had never seen a gopher tortoise. Neither had Speedette, who showed up about the time he was trying to explain again. They listened to Thunder’s description but kept looking at each other and rolling their eyes.
“A head that looks like a snake?” Speedette asked when he finished.
“Little short legs?” Agile’eka added. “Lives inside a rock?”
“Only he calls the rock a shell? And he carries it with him wherever he goes?”
“Right.” Thunder smiled. “That’s it.”
Smirking, both girls blinked about five times while they looked at each other. “We just don’t get it. We think you’re making it up. If there were such a strange animal, why haven’t we ever seen it?”
Thunder puffed his chest feathers out, proud of himself for knowing the answer before they asked. “Gopher tortoises spend most of their time underground, in their burrows. Berland’s territory is a seven-mile circle. One end is at the edge of the short grass prairie where I was born. The other is the ridge just above this valley. In between, he has eleven burrows. He spends his days there, when it’s hot. He feeds at night. Sometimes—if he’s found a lot to eat—he might spend five or six days before he moves on to the next burrow. He’s like underneath the sand most of his life. That’s why you never see him.”
Speedette shook her head, and, spotting Brisk beside a cholla, trotted across the flats to ask him about the strange creature Thunder had described. Rocket watched from the edge of the pond, far down the valley.
Alone once more, Thunder turned to Agile’eka. He told her about his rock. What Berland had told him he needed to do so he could fly.
“What do you mean, you have to leave?” Agile’eka pouted. “I love this valley.”
“I told you. I have to find my rock,” Thunder explained. “I’ve looked all over. I can’t find the right one. I have to keep searching until I find it. Will you go with me?”
Her eyes tightened. She looked at him a moment and gazed around the valley. “Why can’t you stay here?”
“If I stay here,” Thunder explained with a sigh, “I will not survive. If Scruffy and Winterfat come at the same time, or if Tess comes—there will be no more Thunder. But once I’ve found my rock, once I’m in shape, once I’ve trained and worked out and am ready, we can come back. Come with me. Please.”
“You’re leaving to go find a rock?”
“Yes.”
“You’re talking a rock rock? Or a rock like your friend Berland?”
“A rock rock.”
She looked around again. “There are lots of rocks here. Why do you need to leave the valley to find a rock when there are so many here?”
“I haven’t found the right rock. I started looking before light. I’ve searched this whole valley and the ridges on either side. It’s not here.”
“I really like this valley, Thunder. There’s plenty to eat. We have friends here.”
“As soon as I find my rock,” he promised, “as soon as I’m ready . . . we’ll come back.”
Agile’eka hesitated a moment. And in that instant, Thunder felt his heart sink deep in his chest. She turned to him and fluttered her eyes. “I really like you, Thunder. You’re nice. I think you’re kind of cute, too. But . . . but . . .” she stammered. “Tell you what. You go find your rock and work out. I’ll wait for you. I’ll be right here when you come back. How does that sound?”
His heart was heavy. His fat feet were even heavier. They thumped the ground as he ran. The sound seemed so loud it echoed against the valley walls. It followed him to the ridge, to the mesa beyond. No matter how fast or how far he ran, the sound followed him. Almost as if repeating his name, “Thunder. Thunder. Thunder!”