Junior School Magazine - Edition 5 (June 2018)

T he A mber O utcast Pienn shook her reed-like, russet coloured hair out of her river coloured eyes. The dark was blinding her. She had to find it. Pienn couldn’t believe she’d lost the amber brooch with the dragonfly inside. It was her only connection to her poor mother, well on her way on the death journey. Pienn was agitated. How could she have lost it? What was she to do? Pienn didn’t know how she could possibly find it, now that the dark had strolled across the sky. What would her father say? Pienn mustered all her courage and set forth towards the River Tribe camp for nightmeal. Pienn arrived at the camp, only to find it deserted. The camp was usually bursting with activity. Women chatting around the fire while they wove grass to make little pouches for food, hunters preparing for their hunt, children setting traps in the river to catch food. None of that was happening now. The forest echoed back. The tribe had moved on. She would have to learn how to survive alone. Pienn signed. Not only had she lost the amber brooch, her tribe had left her too. She wandered back to her shelter to contemplate. When she arrived a surprise met her. Around her small reindeer-hide shelter, lay three other ones. They were bigger shelters, propped up against a few giant sequoias. In the centre lay a steaming fire, surrounded by a group of women. One stood out. She had fiery amber eyes, slate grey hair and wore a bone necklace around her neck. Pienn thought she looked mystical and very wise, and was probably the tribes’ Elder. The woman glanced over, and for a split second, their eyes met. The old woman rose and sauntered towards Pienn. “Hello,” the woman said, acknowledging Pienn. “I am Seubek, Elder of the Far Forest Tribe. I can see something is A young boy, about 13 summers old, interrupted her thoughts. “Seubek, a storm is coming from the south; our camp could be washed away by light!” he cried. Pienn moaned, what hope did she have of finding the brooch now? “Pienn, go grab your sleeping sack, we’re leaving at dawn,” Seubek ordered. “What about the brooch?” cried Pienn painfully. “Floyd will help you find it, don’t worry,” explained Seubek. Floyd and Pienn traipsed out of the camp, hoping to find the lost amber brooch. Floyd had hair of a black bear. He was tall and looked strong; most likely he was an experienced hunter. Pienn observed that he was also very clumsy. So when Floyd tripped over something for the tenth time, Pienn didn’t even bother looking back to see if Floyd was okay. “Pienn!” cried Floyd, observing the thing he had tripped over more carefully, “I think I’ve found your brooch!” Pienn glanced back at the amber that lay beside Floyd’s boot. “Shattered,” she exclaimed. “It’s in a million pieces, what am I to do?” Pienn and Floyd traipsed sorrowfully back to the camp. “So did you find it?” pestered Seubek when they arrived. Pienn unclenched her hand and unveiled the broken pieces of amber. “What can we do?” questioned Pienn. “Pienn, I can enchant the amber and join the souls back together, it won’t be perfect, but you will still have it,” explained Seubek. “You can join the Far Forest Tribe while we find your father.” wrong, what is it?” Pienn sighed, how could Seubek read her mind? “I have lost something,” Pienn said. “An amber brooch, my mother’s.”

Penelope Deacon Year 6G

JSM Edition 5

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