There. That would do.

Tangy coolness erupted over Halcyon's taste buds as they bit down upon one of a small handful of berries retrieved from their Mother-gifted provisions. Perfectly spherical and a pleasing golden hue, it could be no surprise they'd gravitated toward it first as a sample of the many tastes the caves had to offer. The juice, quite a different experience from meatier delights, proved a welcome balm for lingering pain; it distracted well from the stubborn sting slow to fade from their shoulder joint.

While such a meager bite of food was a far cry from fully refueling them, the energy ought to suffice for what should be simple magic use. With how frequent they stumbled at its casting nowadays, though, perhaps a reconsideration of what counted as virtually effortless was in order. Or, loathe as they were to propose a personal shortcoming, a thorough review of how to access the power all Drones had as birthright.

Swallowing back the interesting flavor saturating their mouth, they narrowed sight and mind once again to the clean white scales cladding their arm. A trickle of what they knew as Order was directed just beneath them and pooled into place. There the accumulation of magic would wait for a careful nudge, and hopefully then it would be guided into finally forming the proper shape they required.

And so it did, rippling into existence and flowing down their entire arm's length like a gentle stream: a slim blade rose, its edges sharp and surfaces absolutely smooth.

Halcyon answered the image with a mild smile. Their glow intensified and bathed them in golden, ethereal light.

"Acceptable."

With that satisfied murmur, onward they could proceed.

The main difficulty that arose when using a bladed arm was keeping the material secured in place so the desired length of rope, and not an inch or two less, was properly achieved. One hand straightening out the vine cordage while a bent knee prevented it from coiling inward, Halcyon found the awkward lopsided crouch they'd been forced into for the sake of their task far from the most comfortable. The longer they held this pose, chitin tool set at an awkward angle and head cocked sideways, the more liable cramps were to occur. As those complications became likelier, so too did the chances of failing to make a simple clean slice through their current handiwork. Therefore all focus was mustered to combat these possible disadvantages. After eyeballing out the measurements twice over to ensure they were up to par, no hesitation delayed them. A swift thrust cleaved through twisted plant fibers.

If their sight remained flawless, this would be enough to be divided into two ropes of equal length, one for each side of what would be their cradle for projectiles. Forearm lifting from the first cut, it glided to the middle of the new, shorter rope and chopped down once more. The resulting pieces were then arranged side by side, and a pleased hum confirmed the fact that they mirrored each other.

Leaves crunched as Halcyon rolled onto their back. They raised arms in front of them and reached out to the ceiling as if desiring their claws to breach the canopy and scratch the stone looming above it. This was the first in a series of motions they directed themselves through to work out the already developing knots all over their body. Next came leg stretches and a slow roll of the neck. They eased themselves onto their feet and finished this with a slow massage of their palm against the base of the spine. Ready to continue, any dust was brushed off of scales, and the hole-punched leather piece was retrieved from where it lay.

Each rope was threaded through its respective hole and knotted into place, a feat which took multiple tries due to claws lacking the finesse to navigate through such minuscule and delicate maneuvers. On more than one occasion a slipup led to a weak grumble rising in their throat before dispelling the frustration with a sigh and trying again. Nevertheless their sling was constructed, and the lines that would attach it to the wooden staff were secured.

But were they done well enough, even with fumbling claws, to not come loose?

The knots seemed tight enough under scrutiny, a major accomplishment considering the physical drawbacks that might've hindered perfection. However, overconfidence wouldn't be wise; perhaps they could produce something to guarantee nothing would undo. Draw upon Order to provide another useful substance for their needs.

Instinct guided them, combined with the telltale tickle of power dancing on their tongue. Thorough licks coated the tied portions of rope in a mixture of saliva and a thicker material, its name unknown to them. The concoction seeped into crevices, a bonding agent that in time would cement these areas in place. They would hold their own against the wear and tear of daily activities.

Waiting for the sticky coating upon the tied knots to dry, of course, took some more time out of their long and busy day. How much though—seconds, minutes, hours, or worse—was yet to be discovered. Staring, as much as one might wish the fantasy to work, strained eyes and accomplished little to hasten the process. Seeing as it would do no good to be idle, Halcyon did their best to fill this emergent gap in their work, tackling practicality first and settling afterwards into quiet indulgence of their senses.

They laid the sling out beneath a gap in Eridanus's thick leaf canopy where cavern lights would stroke it with their warming touch. Content to leave it there, sidelong glances keeping it under casual but careful observation, they walked back to their bundle of snacks. Exploration of the caves' various edible offerings continued, beginning with the remaining berries inside their small silk sack. Each was consumed by the Drone like they were a dedicated critic: gazed upon to burn the image into their mind, a detailed description memorized, and the taste savored until the fruit was little more than watery pulp in their mouth. Moving on to other foods available, the procedure repeated.

In between, they returned to the sling to poke at the knots and gauge their wetness. Unsurprisingly, there seemed to be gradual progress. They needed only to exercise patience, a virtue they were already a natural at. Then the final steps could be completed and the excitement of testing could start.

It was at the conclusion of a final nibble of one of the provided assortment of dried meats that this came to pass. Claws tapped upon the gloss covering a section of rope and found nothing clung to their tips when pulled away. Halcyon hummed approval, grabbed their staff, and carried it over. Time to secure the ropes.

Despite requiring finesse on the level of the previous knot tying and rope making, winding a single line of the sling around the bare branch and fixing it in place turned out far less arduous than expected. Practice or the fact this was on a larger, more manageable scale than the other activities? They wouldn't know for certain which without further research into the advantages and disadvantages they possessed crafting tools. Regardless, next came determining how to handle the second length of rope; this was meant to release any projectiles, necessitating something different from a tight grip.

A period of puzzling, fiddling with the rope's end to see what might be a sensible option, eventually yielded a loose loop that could be put over top of the staff. Casting it forward would send the loop sliding off and allow the sling to properly swing. In theory, that is—reality might not agree.

Diligent they'd been when sweeping away leaves and twigs so nothing could impede their work. Apparently far too so, as the bare soil underfoot which should have yielded a wealth of objects to gather and place in their sling instead turned out to be utterly barren of such usefulness. If there ever were a downside to Order's meticulous nature, this would be it: minor inconveniences as a result of instinctually quelling any and all disorder witnessed. To meet the requirements for testing their new weapon out, they'd need to venture beyond their established workspace. Braving the tangled undergrowth would be the best bet for obtaining natural ammunition, provided discomfort did not send them into a scrambling retreat.

A chorus composed of snaps, cracks, and dry rustling heralded Halcyon's return through the brush. Alas, menaced by the prick of thorns and squeezing spaces even their lithe form struggled to maneuver, the souvenirs from this trip were pitiful compared to the effort exerted in order to obtain them. They carried barely a handful of stones of varying size, the vast majority small enough they bordered on being referred to as pebbles. Textures ranged from smooth and worn to rough and sharp-edged; perhaps this would affect possible damage inflicted once tossed at a velocity that partnered well with their staff.

Soon they would see.

Taking up their staff and holding it one-handed in order to choose a stone out of the small collection they carried went about as well as would be expected for a being lacking opposable thumbs: with plenty of practice required to manage an unshaking grip, Halcyon struggled, claws threatening to loosen while they used needle teeth to select their projectile. Guiding their staff hand down its length, they knelt to set the remainder on the ground—an action that made clear the importance of a container for transportation and storage in the future. They then rose and settled the decided upon jagged piece of rock into the constructed sling after placing its loop over the staff's end.

Now with both hands resting on the branch—one in the middle and the other at the bottom—they angled themselves toward a tree trunk, knees slightly bent to assume a well-rooted stance. Gaze fixed on an imagined point, they inhaled deeply. Their grip tightened and they swung.

Though the sling operated as expected, nothing followed the whoosh of it sailing by Halcyon's head. The lack of impact and a realized loss of weight caused them to stumble, fins flickering in simultaneous shock and displeasure. Wheeling around revealed the culprit of the unexpected problem: the stone innocently nestled in grass and far from the target, fallen out of its cradle the instant the staff had dipped back too far.

At the very least, this mishap had its upsides. Needing to work through the same motions to reload the sling, although it persisted in being a tiresome task due to lack of experience, provided Halcyon extra practice in handling their staff than would have otherwise happened if their deft swing had actually resulted in a hit. After setting the stone back into its cradle, narrowed eyes refused to leave the sight, only pulling away from it and back towards the designated tree target when the swaying sling was positioned behind their shoulder. They were prepared once more for a test run of the weapon—this time, hopefully, a successful one.

The swing the second go around brought another whistle of wind rushing past their face. Contrary to previous events, however, what came next was not empty and disappointing silence. The arc of the stone, tiny as it was, could be tracked during its launch toward the tree trunk. A few seconds of tense anticipation passed, rewarded by a solid thunk and bark flaking off to reveal the white threads improving the entirety of Eridanus at present.

The damage appeared to be off from where they'd intended the throw to land, a few inches below the mark. Nevertheless, it was the start of evidence backing their concept: the creation of a weapon that can fling projectiles better than hands was possible, provided the wielder could use it with proper accuracy and care.

Halcyon did not allow themselves to be carried away by a preemptive sense of victory, but still a momentary warmth filled their consciousness at the promising sign before them. Their efforts were not in vain, and the Hive very well might prosper from them.

Time to ascertain then whether their last shot's inaccuracy was a matter of poor technique or simply an untrained eye. Retrieving another gathered stone from the ground and loading their sling once more, falling back into a throwing stance wasted less time than the last. Already repetition was training their subconscious to hone movements into better efficiency. Improvement could only increase with further dedication, and like all duties, they wouldn't falter at ensuring this came to pass.

No adjustments to the positioning of legs or the grip upon their staff were made. Determining the cause of their less than ideal fling of the projectile would be impossible if the second trial didn't mirror the first in every important way. Target unchanged, Halcyon whipped the branch forward and watched for the stone tumbling through the air.

Where the previous result had been a firm knock against the wood, this strike reduced it to an innocent, friendly tap. A resounding crack rang out as impact was made, and a ragged slab of bark broke away and toppled to the grass. Tied as this tree was to Order's influence now, a sympathetic wince couldn't be suppressed at the grievous pale wound that had been inflicted. After testing was concluded, reparations would have to be pursued and more fungi introduced to the environment; it wouldn't do, after all, for friendly fire to ruin everyone's hard-earned accomplishments.

On the more positive side, they had a more definitive answer to their question: the approach was correct while inexperience was the limiting factor. Enough practice aiming would eventually allow precise attacks on any weak points of an opponent. They'd be able to give others the upper hand against enemies from afar.

Halcyon, after drawing this conclusion, took a few more attempts at attacking the same target. By the end, although their hands quivered from the strain of holding their staff, the results had continued to carry an optimistic light. While they'd more than a few misses and near misses due to a still developing technique, fury appeared to have rained down upon their chosen tree; multiple spots were stripped of bark and repeated impacts had worn dents into the fungus-woven interior.

True to previous thoughts, they would spend some time repairing whatever damage they'd wrought and reinforcing Order in the immediate forest around them. But not yet, as other decisions needed to be addressed: the matter of the remaining rope and leather and what to do with them.

Leaving them unattended simply wouldn't do. There'd be too much of a chance of them falling into clever hands capable of using them for a project against the Hive. If that wasn't the case, their efforts would instead waste away amongst leaf litter, a fate undesired when so much time had been invested into gathering and crafting.

No, Halcyon decided, they would have to make another sling. Whatever materials leftover would then be stowed away in a distant alcove for further retrieval should they require more later.

Mind firmly made, they strode over and settled beside the coil of rope, reassuming the position necessary to cut well and straight. Their bladed arm chopped a new length once the measurements were properly eyeballed. Then they grabbed their second, less durable leather piece and drove holes into it with a single claw.

Done before, while this was not routine, the process had been expedited. Next came threading the lines through their respective holes in the sling cradle and knotting them. This, too, went faster—less noticeably so than the previous steps though, experience limited by poor dexterity. All that was left then was to ensure their handiwork stayed secure. A touch of hardening saliva, they suspected, should do the trick like last time.

Each knot made to attach a rope to the cradle received a thorough licking before the entire construction was set aside. After waiting, Halcyon tested its integrity and found their suspicion was proven correct. A firm tug applied to the lines on either side of the sling cradle failed to undo their efforts. This would hopefully remain just as intact as the previous sling, unable to be taken apart by the snap of the staff swinging forward and releasing its projectile.

Taking the positive result as a sign their spare sling met standards, they decided the best place to keep it was close by for easy replacement in case the first broke. Using the lines to their advantage, fumbling fingers still learning how best to operate wrapped the sling around the staff's middle and tied it in place. Positioned so, it might function as a makeshift grip if chosen to be; and this they did, allowing one hand to slide down and settle upon leather crisscrossed by scratchy plant fiber.

Finished at last with their project, priorities could now shift to repairing any damages from their practice and ensuring Order's presence was not hastily banished by hostile forces. They strode forward to the tree whose trunk had patches bare of outer bark from multiple attacks and laid a palm against its vulnerable, exposed fungus. While they could not regrow the armor that'd protected the connection to Mother, more of her influence could be encouraged to flourish to make up for the harm inflicted, a suitable repayment for knowledge gained.

The blows which had exposed the fungus to the outside world had done more than rob them of their natural shield in the form of this tree's sturdy trunk. On the way down, the pieces of outer bark Halcyon had broken off had taken away small white chunks out of the existing colony as well. The remaining mass continued to appear like a fibrous second skin over the inner bark it grew upon, but telltale dents demonstrated the harm caused. Now the touch of Order rectified the mistake innovation had made.

More fungus rose out of nearby patches. Each fuzzy white surface brightened in intensity as these new threads wove themselves amongst the old. All fed upon the exact same source, and whatever stress on the tree that might have been relieved from the loss of unwanted tenants renewed with a sudden vengeance. The insidious spread was encouraged once again by the one who'd engineered it in the first place.

Halcyon considered the spots of damage too far to be affected by their restorative efforts with a calm, considering eye. The current nudge might be enough to ensure those recovered as well in time despite lacking direct treatment. However it'd be better to not be too complacent. They lifted their palm away from its resting position on the tree and reached out a claw to one of these trouble areas.

A second dose here ought to do the trick.