bevy only, on the hunt for some medical supplies!
take a course in good water and air;
and in the eternal youth of Nature you may renew your own
go quietly, alone; no harm will befall you
A gembound was dying and she was the only one who could save him.
First thing was first. Don't panic. Panic only makes things worse. The young bird flew until her wings glided smoothly on the air, the trembling fear gone from her body. She couldn't be a scaredy-birb anymore. She had to be an adult.
There were three things she needed. First, something to hold water in. Second, the water. And third, vines and wide leaves, anything she could find that she could wrap around the wounds and stop the bleeding or infections. Bevy began her search, flying through the treetops, looking for a good leaf or something to put water in. She knew well enough where to get the water-- that part, hopefully, would be easy as catching a fish back home. Not that Bevy hunted fish, mind you.
;; post roll
Nothing! No matter where she went, she couldn't find anything-- only the flat leaves, holed leaves, useless vines and trees. There was nothing. She fought back the panic, but she knew time was running out. Maybe she should check the ponds and streams first for a good water source; heck, maybe there was something--
WACK
So caught up in her hurry to find something, the bird flew straight into a branch (which sprung forward in the impact and then promptly flicked back) the crash launching her somersaulting through the air until she hit the ground with a dull thud. She shook her head, getting back up, the effect leaving her shaking once more. She hadn't broke anything, had she?
She tested her wings. Nope. Still good. She was okay. She had to keep going... In an instant, she was off flying once more.
Eridanus was a beautiful wonderland. The first time she had stumbled upon it, she had been breathless. She loved the place of green and wished that she could stay there forever-- it was warm, lush, full of tasty bugs. Her home was Maji Walezi though, and she wouldn't change it for the world. Recently, Calypso had taken many trips here, and slowly Enna was coming to pry information off of the stubborn headmate. She wasn't the most friendly, but as a part of Bevy, they had to get along.
Calypso knew the pools that she landed beside quite well. Water dripped down from them, cool and damp, pooling into the ponds from the rocks above. Although no part of Bevy knew just yet, she was sure that the water had to be clean. Perhaps it collected some minerals from the rock around and was quite healthy-- but this place was so still, so preserved. She would check with her white sense for dirty bacteria, but else she had to assume that the Eyes were the cleanest source of water around. If it was true, then she just needed a way to transport the water-- or the lump of fur she had left behind.
;; post roll
Bevy didn't see much bacteria at all. Little flickering white sensors went off in her head, but only for a moment. It didn't seem to be swarming with the stuff... so it would be fine. Powers that be, will it to be fine. Just for this one thing.
Time to look for supplies. The water was clean, she just needed something to put it in, as well as vines and leaves she could use for bandages. It was a bit overwhelming, but she stuck close to the pools so she wouldn't have to spend much time going back and forth.
Please, please, Origin Cave, let this little bird find what she needs. She hoped and prayed that the cave would provide as she looked around, her feathers shivering as she landed beside some vines, inspecting them for thorns or any other sort of dangerous nature.
;; post roll
She was delighted to find that the vines did not have any sharp bits or anything poisonous. They were strong, flexible lengths of plant matter and with just some sharp chewing at the tops of them, she soon had plenty of long lengths of rope. She inspected what she had, and determining it was good, brought it back to the pool for safe keeping. Later she might be able to fashion something out of them-- she certainly could use the vines to hold bandages and injured bits together. She wasn't a doctor, but she was becoming one, slowly.
Taking a deep breath, the young bird took off once more into the forest.
The world of green overtook her once more as she flew off, a tiny dart of red in the cavern of lush vegetation. She needed flat leaves, right? She wasn't sure what the best kind of leaf would be for bandaging, so this would be a bit more difficult. She was determined, however, and that was enough to keep her going.
Bevy flew on warm drafts of air, circling the Eyes of Eridanus with her own keen eyes. Would the cave be watching her good deeds, would it reward her determination? She hoped so, flapping wildly to avoid another branch that narrowly got in her way.
Unfortunately there were just so many kinds of leaves. She grabbed them at random, filling her beak, before returning to the water. She would sort them later-- she swore she saw the perfect thing to hold water in... She just had to get back to it and find out if it was true. Then she would test the leaves and find the best one and get more, surely that would work?
Oh, the Pitohui bird really did have no idea what she was doing, did she? She kept praying, wishing, searching. Would it be enough? How much time did she have left?
Bevy was off again, throwing her caution to the wind. She was a dart of red and black feathers, sharp eyes glinting a reflection of green in the endless forest. She swooped and served, looking around for the perfect container to hold a sizeable amount of water in. Her feathers rustled like the leaves in the wind, her breath coming quickly, too quickly. She was afraid, nearly panicking as she swept through the great forest. A life depended on her and she was close to falling apart. She had to save this gembound, she just had to. There were no other options.
The great forest flashed past her. A jungle of vines and of mushrooms. As she grew more desperate to find her solution to the problem, she flew further and further from the Eyes, until she finally reached the great monarch-- a massive mushroom. Her eyes flashed, memories flooding over her. It had only been a few days since the game of Truth or Dare... She remembered the fruit bearing trees. She spotted on in particular, a round, huge thing. It was brown and fuzzy like the mustelid. Her heart leapt and he lunged at it, wings flapping wildly towards it. She landed on the trunk and began to peck, peck, peck at it.
The coconut fell to the ground with a satisfying crunch and she landed down at the leaf litter floor to meet it, her eyes bright and hopeful. She heard the sloshing inside and knew it must be hollow, though where her mind had collected this information she couldn't recall. Collecting the coconut in her talons-- it was a bit heavy and awkward-- she hauled it back to the Eyes, where she could fill it with fresh water.
Bevy caught her breath for a moment by the Eyes, peering into their depths. They were a strange thing, the way they collected water. However, they were as pure as could be, and after a few more pecks the bird had managed to dig a hole through the coconut and get the milk to spill on to the earth. She quickly got to work, filling it with water, rinsing it clean, and eventually had an even heavier coconut full of nice clean water to use. It wouldn't be much, but hopefully it would be all she needed. Taking a deep breath, she stared at her leaves. It was time to make a small package of supplies with what she gathered... Hopefully she could make something easy to carry.
There. She tied together a good bundle of leaves she thought might be useful using the strong vines she had collected, and gripped the bundle in her beak. She sank her talons into the coconut and took off again. It was slow going, but she knew she had to get a move on. Every second counted when it came to saving a life. If she wasted too much time, his life could be snuffed out--
Bevy shook her head. She couldn't afford to think like that. She flapped her wings hard and dove around overhanging vines and thick trunks with grabbing branches. She would dodge them all, as she hurried along, desperate to get back to the tunnel with the bleeding, sad sack of brown fur.
Although it was quite the difficult flight, she managed to get through the dense jungle. She swore she lost a tail feather, and maybe some of the water sloshed out of her coconut, but she could see the entrance just up ahead. Hold on, friend, I'm almost there. It's going to be alright! She thought, desperately pushing on her thoughts, but unlike Makyna's they would not carry to the injured, perhaps dying fisher cat. She wished she had such useful magic-- her "Life" magic only did so much, and it took so much out of her.
But she would return, safe and sound, with the things the gembound needed to survive to live another day. Despite everything, Bevy had succeeded in this part of her mission.
;; bevy exit!