Clucksalot doesn't like it at all when the little girl picks up the 'egg'. Clucksalot squawks and flaps and generally protests.

The rock has no great wisdom with which to shape answers for the little girl who is questioning most carefully so being a good rock, it stays silent as rocks are wont to do. Even if the rock did have something to say, no one would hear it over the sound of the ruckuss Clucksalot is making.

The frantic antics of the chicken stirr the dust and in the far corner of the cave what once seemed to be an unremarkable boulder turns out to be a small rucksack. When Clucksalots flutter knocks it over a few yellow mostly melted smarties spill out and an old but valuable antique magnifying glass bearing, engraved on it's handle, a symbol rarely seen outside of the realms most often frequented by the Starfire Court.

Kat knew the rucksack and the magnifiying glass the moment she spotted it. The glass was from the Sanctuary. She knelt by the bag and cradled the magnifying glass. Bright had been here! He'd been sitting right there probably. But where had he gone? It was so close to the water. Kat worried that he'd fallen in and gotten very very hurt. She sniffled and tugged the dust covered rucksack over to her. It had been sitting there a very long time with the ammount of dirt that was on it. She turned the rucksack upside down to see if there was anything else inside.

The rucksack contains the following

Twelve mostly melted yellow coated candies that appear to be either M&M's or Smarties. Close examination proves them to be M&M's.

One Antique Magnifying Glass

One writing kit contaminated with melted green crayon wax. Including three spare stamps, eighteen sheets frog stationary and several envelopes pre-addressed in ink to both Granny Jaeden and Mommy Seraphine.

Three ancient silver coins circa first century.

One ball of odd bits of string.

One peanut butter jar half filled with chicken feed.

One raincoat, boots, umbrella, rubbergloves, all size six, the boots look like rubber duckies the remainder or the gear shares a frog theme and in all of it has Bright sewed into the labels. (probably Mommy Seraphine's doing) All slightly stuck together as if from heat but essentially undamaged and easily pulled apart.

One packet dry rations marked West Ranger Unit 313 Enchanted Forest.

One small rock with a fossil in it that looks really neat under the magnifying glass.

Kat looks through the contents of the rucksack for the ten billionth time and sighs. She puts the rain hat on and looks around.

"If I were a little star, where would I go?"

She pulls on the rest of the rain gear and holds the magnifying glass over the niffty little rock, then hops around the room like a frog, though there really isn't enough room to hop.

Glimmer watches her from the edge of the cave, tipping his head wondering if she has gone off her rocker.

Piper and Swift flit around as she jumps only to land on her shoulders again.

Kat sits down to think some more, looking at one of the coins under the magnifying glass and absentmindedly putting an M&M in her mouth.

"blech" She spits it out again because it's hot and stale and old and ucky and yellow.

Her little fangs rest on her lower lip as she chews it in thought and looks up at the dark sky. She misses Bright especially now that it's dark. His glow always kept the shadow monsters away.

Kat, dressed in Bright's forgotten rain gear, sits down on the edge of the cave, her feet swinging and looks up at the stars.

"Bright? Did you go home?"

As the days pass, the only thing that can be said for sure is that the cave is not an ordinary sort of cave.

A cave should be cold and perhaps a little damp especially if it is by the sea. This cave is always warm and because of that dry too. If anything it seems a little warmer at night then in the day. The heat comes up from below.

In time, the cave seems to finally sense that it has company and the sense of loneliness changes and grows lighter and the cave is almost,.. almost content, almost happy. It is certainly patient and seems to be waiting for something with a timeless sort of resignation.

When the waves from the sea are at their highest and the wind crashes them against the shore, the cave is a terrifying place. The feeling of panic returns in rhthym with the fury of the sea. The fear is potent and contagious. Surely the whole cave is going to come crashing down. Even the animals grow uncomfortable and ill at ease. The cave is hottest at times like this.

Clucksalot, everyday, goes up into the market and steals bread scraps. The stupid chicken often has long conversations with the strange creature that's come to live with her. Simple little conversations like:

Cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck, buck, cluck, scratch, cluck. (which is chicken for: You're a whole lot of chicken but not much feathers.)

or

CLuck cluCK CLuck cluck, cluck ,clluck, cluck
(chicken for: Rutabega sweet socks what a hot lipped teapot.)

or

CLUCK CLUCK!! Cluck cluck.
(chicken for:I'm too sexy for my beak but that rooster just doesn't appreciate me.)This last conversation occured after Clucksalots' favourite seagull had been around again.

Sometimes when the sea is very calm and the wind is still. Sometimes on nights like that the cave without sound seems to sing soft songs that seem to echo in infinities, cherish growing things, offer comfort against greif, and open the imagination in a multitude of dreams and wishes and whisper of love. These celestial concepts are are often crammed inside musical packages they don't seem to belong in. eg.

Inch by inch, row by row
... grow
... mulch it deep and low
gonna make this fertile ground...
(a Pete Seger folk song?)

next time your found
with your chin on the ground
... learn
so look around..
...just remember that ant..
(High hopes by Sinatra? That's just silly!)

Nel blu dipinto di blue.. (Volare an Italien Love song by Domenico Modungo?)

In anycase these things they tend to ellude focused thought. When you pay them to much attention they disappear.