Streak

by Leila Hayes

Overview

Streak is an ambitious young seagull, eager to make his way in the world beyond his nursery home. Since learning to fly, Streak has admired the adult seagulls across the bay. His goal is to become a member of their colony.

As he grows, he ensures hes the fastest and highest-flying gull in the nursery flock. When he believes hes ready, he happily leaves his parents, teachers, and the other young gulls and flies to the island across the bay. Unfortunately, the adult seagulls there dont greet him warmly. Even though their leader, Onnorsos, is kinder to him, hes not welcome to join their colony. Fortunately for the disappointed young gull, a Cormorant named Dastfee, a friend of Onnorsos, invites him to live on the outskirts of her colony. Streak accepts the invitation, but still hopes to become a member of the gull colony hes admired.

Not long after Streak settles in, Dastfee learns of a plot to overthrow Onnorsos. Dastfee asks Streak to help protect Onnorsos by using his ability to fly higher and faster than all of the other gulls. She entrusts Streak with a mission to determine what the plot involves, so Onnorsos can be warned of the threat. Streak is happy to help. He hopes it will prove his loyalty to the leader and finally enable him to reach his goal of becoming a member of the Onnorsos colony.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781504314381
Publisher:	Balboa Press AU
Publication date:	08/24/2018
Pages:	88
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.18(d)

Read an Excerpt

CHAPTER 1

The young seagulls played happily around their rocky nursery home. They were growing bigger and stronger each day. Their feathers were beginning to change colour from the brown tones of adolescent birds, to the silvery white and grey feathers of an adult.

Whilst they were in the nursery flock, the young gulls were taught how to fly and dive by the male elders assigned to watch over them. It was their parents' responsibility to teach them hunting skills. The eager students were taught how to drop hard-shelled oysters or mussels onto rocks to break them open and reveal the prized food inside. But their favourite was stamping on the ground to make earthworms think it was raining and come to the surface.

During the young gulls' training, the elders noticed one student flying higher and faster around the nursery flocks' secluded beach, than any of the other birds in their care. After watching him closely for a while, it was decided the talented youngster should be known as Streak.

As time went by, the elders also noticed that even though it was usual for seagulls in nursery flocks to stay together until they were old enough to breed, Streak seemed eager to leave the safety of his flock and make his way in the world.

Actually, the young gull had already decided that once he mastered the art of flying and the vital skills needed for hunting food, he would leave his nursery home and become a member of the gull colony that lived on a rocky outcrop across the bay. He often watched them flying above the sea near his home, and he marvelled at their skills. As he grew older, Streak became increasingly fascinated with the grey and white adult birds, and each afternoon as soon as classes were over, he flew to the highest point of the island to watch them.

He marvelled at the way they floated on air currents before diving with incredible speed down to the sea to catch fish with their sharp beaks. The magnificent adult gulls inspired Streak to study harder and practice whenever he could. Soon he was not only the fastest flier on the island — he was the best hunter too.

One afternoon as he watched the adult gulls fly back across the bay to roost in their nests on their rocky home, Streak decided he was ready to become a part of their colony. The next morning, before classes began, he told the elders of his plan. They tried to change his mind, but Streak stood firm. He thanked them for their care and guidance. Then after saying goodbye to his parents and friends, he soared into the wind and up into the blue sky, flying swiftly away from the only home he had ever known.

He did not look back.

CHAPTER 2

Streak was delighted to be free at last. He loved the challenge of being on his own, away from his nursery flock. He felt strong and confident and looked forward to meeting the gulls he had admired for so long.

As he flew towards his destination, Streak's excitement grew. Every now and then, shrieking loudly, he swooped down and almost touched the turbulent water below him. Then he skimmed along the waves before flying back up into the salty air to continue his journey.

He was a very happy young gull.

Streak finally arrived at the beach, where he hoped to find the gulls he was looking for. As he glided down onto the sand, he noticed a few humans walking along the water's edge some distance away. He was surprised; he never expected to see humans there. He always thought the gull colony had the entire beach to themselves. As he looked around, Streak saw a group of seagulls running in and out of the water.

He had noticed them when he was approaching the beach. He walked towards them, politely bowed his head, and squawked in a friendly manner. When he got close enough, he asked if he could speak to the leader of their colony.

The watchful seagulls had stopped what they were doing. They stretched out their necks and wings and quickly walked towards Streak, squawking in a loud and threatening manner to warn him off. But he held his ground.

"Why do you wish to see our leader?" a large gull asked.

"I have something to discuss with him," Streak answered, hoping he sounded more confident than he felt.

"What sort of business would a seagull still displaying some brown chick feathers have with our leader?" asked another gull with a sneer.

"If you just point him out to me, I will be happy to tell him." Streak had waited too long to be put off by a few bullying gulls.

Another gull was about to speak when a loud and raucous cry pierced the air. Streak and the gulls looked up and saw a particularly large seagull gliding down onto the sand.

The magnificent bird was greeted with cries of adulation. "Hail, mighty leader! Hail, great Onnorsos, most powerful of all gulls." Streak was instantly forgotten.

He watched with fascination as the chanting gulls, heads bowed in reverence, formed a circle around the awesome gull standing proudly on the yellow sand. Gulls from farther down the beach flew up to join them. Streak crept closer; this was obviously the gull to whom he needed to speak.

"Members of my colony," the leader squawked loudly and clearly, "during my time away, I have flown over many areas, searching for a possible new home for us."

The gulls looked at each other with concern; this area had been their home for so long.

Onnorsos continued. "Because there are more and more humans coming to live near our colony, I believe it is necessary to move away from here and establish a new home."

"But Onnorsos, we have never had any problems with the humans," said one of the gulls who had confronted Streak. "Why should we move just because there will be more of them on our beach?"

"I agree with Spodmark," added the gull who had first spoken to Streak. "Should we not take a vote on such an important issue?"

A chorus erupted as a few of the gulls, expressed their concerns.

"Sylazifo is right."

"We must vote on this matter."

"Besides, the humans always have food, so there is plenty for us to eat when they are around."

Onnorsos smiled indulgently at this last comment. "That may be so, Wotk Wotk, but not all the food they eat is good for us."

Wotk Wotk persisted. "But it does not go astray when other food is hard to find."

Streak slowly moved a little closer to the flock. He noted there seemed to be a few seagulls who did not like their leader. Without stopping to think, Streak squawked loudly, "After living in this beautiful area for so long, it does seem a shame to have to move away."

The gulls stopped their chatter and turned towards him. The silence was almost overwhelming, but Streak held his ground once more.

"Excuse me for speaking, sir," he said with respect. "But you see, I used to watch your flock flying over the sea near our nursery every afternoon. I watched you right up until you flew back to your rookery to roost for the night." He quickly glanced around. "I admired all of you so much. I've been wanting to live here in your colony ever since I was a chick." Streak spoke with a confidence he did not feel.

The gulls stared at him in stunned silence. Then they slowly parted as Onnorsos, his grey, white, and black feathers glistening in the sun, walked regally towards the intruder. "And who might you be?" he asked.

"I am known as Streak, sir."

The other gulls squawked with amusement. "Streak!" Sylazifo said, turning back to the other gulls. "What sort of a name is that for a seagull?" The gulls squawked even louder. "Even if it is not fully grown yet," he added.

"Silence!" Onnorsos squawked loudly. "As the leader of this colony, I will not have this rude and insulting behaviour."

The gulls immediately fell silent. Sylazifo looked at him defiantly and then turned away from the other gulls, but there was no missing the belligerent look in his eyes.

"Good," said Onnorsos. He walked closer to Streak. "We are a closed community, young seagull. We do not invite strangers in to our midst." It was not said in an unkindly way. "What made you think you could just fly here and immediately become one of us?" He waited for Streak to reply.

"I was not aware that you were a closed community, sir," Streak answered. "But even if I had known, I would have come here anyway."

Onnorsos was taken aback by the honesty of Streak's response. The other gulls quietly squawked among themselves. Their leader was not going to be happy with such a cheeky remark from the overconfident young stranger.

Streak refused to look away from Onnorsos as he waited for the leader's response. Onnorsos turned to his colony of seagulls. "Leave us for the moment. I wish to speak with this brave young gull alone."

Sylazifo stepped forward. "But he is an intruder, leader. He must be sent away from here."

Onnorsos looked at the defiant bird with steely eyes. "Enough, Sylazifo! Do as I say."

Sylazifo glared at Onnorsos before turning back to the watching gulls. "Come! let us do as our leader dictates." he said sarcastically before flapping his wings and flying swiftly down to the other end of the beach. The rest of the gulls bowed their heads at Onnorsos and then followed Sylazifo, squawking their confusion into the wind.

Streak did not know what was expected of him, and so he waited for Onnorsos to speak. The older bird walked towards the shore and waded in the rippling waves. Streak still waited.

"When I was your age, I used to love to wade in the ripples on the shore, looking for tasty morsels to eat." Onnorsos said without looking at him. Then he looked towards the gulls gathering around Sylazifo at the far end of the 4beach. "I do not get to do it so much now. Being their leader takes up most of my time."

Streak looked at the other gulls too, but he did not speak.

Onnorsos turned back from the shore and walked towards him. "For one who had so much to say earlier, young Streak, you seem exceptionally quiet now."

Streak could still not find his voice, and so he bowed his head as he had seen the other gulls do.

"Hmm." Onnorsos folded his wings and tucked one leg under his body. "What shall I do with you?" He smiled at Streak. "I must admit I admire your tenacity and your determination to become one of us, but it provides me with a problem." Again he looked towards the other gulls. "It has never been known to allow gulls from outside our colony to join us." He looked back at Streak. "Well actually, it has happened on the odd occasion." He leaned closer. "But not a lot of us know that."

Streak finally spoke. "Under what circumstances were newcomers allowed to become a member of your colony, sir?"

"Ah, he speaks at last," Onnorsos said. He untucked his leg and lowered it to the sand. "I was beginning to think you had lost the ability to talk. And that is a good question — one that I will think upon as we walk."

Aware of the watchful eyes of the gulls huddled farther along the beach, Onnorsos walked in the shallows of the water, in the other direction. Streak had no choice but to follow the only gull who had shown him any courtesy since he had arrived.

They walked in silence for some time until finally, Onnorsos stopped and turned towards the sea stretching out before him. "I was once a curious and adventurous young gull like you, Streak." He paused but did not look at Streak. "Such an odd name for a seagull."

Streak waited. He knew it was not the time to speak.

Onnorsos spoke again. "I have seen many things, and I have learned many things during my time with this colony."

Again, Streak remained silent. So, the leader was not born as part of this colony, he thought.

Onnorsos turned away from the sea and continued walking. After looking at the other gulls and noticing that they appeared to be walking back up the beach towards Onnorsos and Streak, Streak followed. Suddenly, a large black cormorant flew towards Onnorsos and landed next to him on the sand. Onnorsos turned back to Streak. "Stay here, Streak."

"What an odd name for a seagull," the cormorant said as she and Onnorsos walked towards the gnarled trees at the edge of the sand.

CHAPTER 3

Whilst he waited, Streak began to look for food. His parents had told him all about the soft shellfish to be found in the shallows, when they were teaching him how to hunt for food. Within a few minutes, he saw some and was just about to pick one up in his beak. However, Sylazifo swooped down and snatched it away with his sharp claws. Streak had been so busy looking for the shellfish that he had not noticed the large gull flying towards him.

"You will have to do better than that if you want to survive, young gull. Ours is a harsh world. We do not share our food here."

Still taken aback by Sylazifo's sudden appearance, Streak did not reply immediately. When he did, he spoke with controlled anger. "And you obviously steal it from each other if you can. I was taught better manners and better behaviour than that which you have just demonstrated."

Sylazifo walked aggressively towards him, wings outstretched and head bent forward. "You do not speak to me that way! I am Sylazifo, deputy leader of this colony. You will suffer for your rudeness, young gull!"

Sylazifo lunged towards Streak, but the youngster dodged the sharp beak aimed at his head.

"Stop!" Onnorsos flew at Sylazifo and almost knocked him over. "I am still the leader of this colony, and I will not have this appalling behaviour. Stand away from him, Sylazifo."

Sylazifo did not move.

"Now!"

The two gulls were head to head, eyeball to eyeball. Sylazifo took two steps back, still looking hard at Streak and then at Onnorsos. "Leadership can be changed, Onnorsos," he said before he turned into the wind and flew back to the other gulls.

Onnorsos watched him go.

Streak watched Onnorsos.

From among the gnarled trees at the edge of the sand, the cormorant watched all of them.

No one spoke.

Finally, Onnorsos spread out his wings, stretched his neck, and squawked loudly to the gulls surrounding Sylazifo. They immediately flew towards him.

"I obviously still have the support of my colony," he said almost to himself. "Streak, I think it would be best if you joined Dastfee." He indicated the cormorant watching from the trees. "And quickly."

Streak flew swiftly across the sand and joined the large black bird sitting on the grass beneath a leafy tree. Onnorsos stood upright and walked towards the other gulls, his head held high.

CHAPTER 4

"So, you want to join Onnorsos's colony, young seagull?" the cormorant said as she walked farther away from the beach. Streak followed obediently. It was cool among the trees, and the grass was soft on his feet.

They walked for some time, and then the cormorant finally stopped and rested on a large tree trunk. "You are making it very difficult for him as the leader of this colony."

Streak was immediately on the defensive. "That was not my Intention. Um, do I call you Dastfee?"

"That is my name."

"Well, Dastfee, as I said, that was not my intention. All I have ever wanted to do was become a part of this colony. I have dreamed of it for most of my life. I had no idea there would be any problems."

"Oh, really?"

"Yes, really! I flew higher and faster than any other gull in my nursery flock." He puffed up his feathers, adding proudly, "I was the best hunter too. I was never beaten, and the elders admired me tremendously." He spread his wings. "I naturally thought that my talents would be appreciated by any colony I wished to become a part of."

Dastfee looked towards Onnorsos, and the gulls gathered around him.

"Onnorsos does admire your spirit. In fact, he told me you reminded him of himself when he was a young gull. Confident, brave, and just a little too brash." She turned back to Streak. "He meant it in the nicest way."

Streak had no idea how to respond, and so he did not.

"Why Streak?" Dastfee asked.

"Pardon?

"Why are you called Streak?"

"Because I was the fastest and the best," Streak answered with pride.

"I see." Dastfee smiled at him once more. "The elders certainly did not teach you humility."

Streak was about to reply when Onnorsos squawked loudly once more. Streak and Dastfee watched the leader as he walked confidently among his fellow gulls. They were too far away to hear what was being said, but it was obvious that the gulls were happy to listen to him. Each one bowed his or her head with respect as he passed them.

Onnorsos squawked again. The gulls responded with three sharp squawks of their own — all except Sylazifo, who was standing a little apart from the other birds. Then the colony began to move in a slow circle around Onnorsos, bowing and chanting as they had done when Streak had first seen him.

(Continues…)

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Excerpted from "Streak"
by .
Copyright © 2018 Leila Hayes.
Excerpted by permission of Balboa Press.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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