Bloom Boom (Spring 2025)

Agave and Cinna - Bloom Boom

972 Words

The warm sun flooded the Scrublands where Cinna and Agave walked.  Cinna let out a relaxed sigh and craned her neck down to her hatchling, slowing her gait and gently pressing her nose to her baby.  Agave was pushed slightly and caught her balance with her thin legs, she had only just been born this spring and was still extremely tiny.

“I’d like to show you something,”  Cinna spoke gently, shifting her weight between her legs as she came to a stop, “There’s a beautiful valley nearby and this time of year there will be lots of plants and things coming up after their winter sleep.”  

Agave excitedly nodded and smiled,

“I bet that looks pretty!”  she blurted excitedly, squatting slightly and wiggling with joy.  Cinna lifted her head back up, glancing around to figure out her orientation.  She looked around at the scrubland horizon until she spotted a notch in the distant mountain,
“That way.”  She motioned toward the notch with her head, looking to Agave happily, “That’s the entrance to the valley; it’s held on all sides by the mountains and protected from the Scrubland weather and winds.”  She began walking forward, Agave in toe.  

The two travelled for the rest of the day, only briefly stopping for Cinna to snap up small lizards and rodents for the two of them to eat.  They only stopped when the sunset began to pour orange and yellow hues over the landscape, peeking over the mountains ahead.  

“We’ll rest here for the night.”  Cinna paused by a scraggly tree with Agave in toe, gently pawing at the dirt under its canopy before bracing and gently bending to rest on her keels with a gentle groan.  Agave plopped down next to Cinna’s arm, tucking herself slightly underneath it before fluffing her feathers a bit to protect her from the cooling temperatures.  The pair was used to this, travelling and stopping only to rest for a short while.  The pair was nomadic, and while they frequented familiar places and areas, they never seemed to stop moving.  Even though Agave had only lived this life for a short period, she didn’t know any different and obliged, happily and readily travelling during the day and crashing wherever their feet may take them when night fell.

Agave woke to a gentle nudge.  Cinna was rocking her gently with the tip of her snout to wake her.  Agave peeled her eyes open, rolling onto her side and then onto her back, dust clinging to her brown feathers.

“Is it time to go already?!”  Agave whined playfully, slightly kicking her feet at Cinna’s snout.

“Yes, we’ll be able to make it there in no time from here.”  Cinna glanced up at the notch in the mountains, now being able to make out the rocky texture and small plants that grew along the side.  Agave completed her roll back onto her keels, leaning forward onto her feet and lifting herself up.  She shook herself off, somewhat unsteadily and the two headed toward the notch.  

Agave and Cinna could smell the scent of growth and plants as they climbed up the path in the notch.  Agave had never smelled anything like this, she’d spent her life thus far amongst the dry scrubland where the scent of the plants was muted.  As the pair crested the ridge, Cinna and Agave could see the verdant valley below.  It seemed to almost glow amongst the brown and grey of the surrounding rocky mountains and Agave had never seen anything like it.  Cinna picked up into a slow run, Agave skittering behind her, headed straight for the grass below.  Cinna got to the grass, slowing down and before her momentum had even run out, she dropped into the grass and rolled in the same way a cow or horse would in dust.  Agave mimicked her, although not really knowing why.  She dove into the grass clumsily, taking in it’s earthly scent.  

“It’s so soft!”  Agave lay on her side, rubbing her face in the grass.  

“We don’t get to often, but when you can take a night and sleep on grass like this it’s like heaven.”  Cinna leaned herself up onto her feet and keels, turning toward Agave and flicking some grass off of her with her stumpy arm, “Follow me.”  She lifted herself onto her feet, calmly walking toward a small oasis that laid ahead.  Rich, leafy plants grew on the edges of the pond amongst a few small trees.  Agave followed Cinna over to the edge of the water, pushing leaves and stems out of her way with her head.  Cinna was already taking deep sips from the pond while Agave was absorbing the plants all around her.

“This is all so pretty.  Are there more places like this?”  Agave looked around herself, nosing and biting at a nearby flower as it bobbed gently.

“Yes and I’ll take you to see them someday.”  Cinna looked at Agave, “Springtime is the most beautiful time of year and I want you to enjoy it for a bit.  We can stay here for a bit as there’s plenty of prey and water for us.  We will sleep under the stars on the warm grass and listen to the frogs sing at night.  You’ll be surprised how alive this place is once the animals begin to show up as the weather becomes warmer and warmer the closer we get to summertime.”  Agave listened to her mother speak, taking in the greenery around her, listening to the crickets beginning to sing as the sun finally set.  

“I love this place so much, Mom.”  Agave finally leaned down to take a sip of the fresh water before briefly pausing, “Can we see more places like this?”  

Cinna looked down at her tiny hatchling, “Of course.”