Flying around the Bay of Leo was the little nuisance king, escaped from her chrysalis and simply vibing ever since. She was like a seagull surveilling a beach for signs of bread and fish. She was, in this case, a bit of a desperate seagull. Had to find something lest she become too hungry to leave, had to leave in order to find... more things to eat? Or people to annoy? Any sort of fight to get in or source of menial entertainment would be much appreciated. But she had to eat first.

Surprisingly, Balder's find would start with what her ears picked up. Talking. Casual, a little loud. Words being spoken. That wasn't the same thing as food, but Balder would absolutely take it. Maybe she was hungry but more than anything she was bored.

So she would land. Her brain registered the scent of prey, but Balder knew that people that talked tended to look like anything, even edible things. Maybe she'd fight the people and then eat them. Hm... actually, nah, didn't like the sound of that. Not because she was against eating things that smelled like food, mind, but more she was... Balder wanted to... never mind. She just didn't feel like it.

Approaching the source of the noise, Balder would find... bushes. Underbrush. Dense and shady, good for hiding things. Like people. She noticed (an amazing feat) that they kept repeating words... that was really weird, kind of creepy. They weren't stopping in their chatter either. Had they not... noticed her?

Balder would meander further in the direction of the noises. Now it sounded like they were coming from all around. This was really weird and strange, but Balder didn't entirely care. What were they talking about? Why were they talking this way? Why hadn't they noticed her yet?

There the crystalwing cat stood, sparkling like a precious metal (more like a precious meal) among a swarm of rats.

Their lack of engagement with her was annoying. "HEY!" She would make herself known. "I'M BALDER, AND YOU IDIOTS ARE--"

Eyes gleamed at her from every direction. Balder wasn't paying enough attention to see them, he was too caught up in his monologuing. Little tails and claws, little legs coiling up, waiting to spring.

"--SUPER ANNOYING WITH ALL YOUR CHATTERING SO--"

Waiting...

"--IF YOU WANNA KEEP TALKING ALL CRAZY WITH EACH OTHER THEN--"

Waiting...

"--YOU'RE GONNA HAVE TO PROVE--"

One more second...?

"--YOU HAVE THE RIGHT!!"

Go.

Straight out of the woodwork came five, six, seven, ten--? WAY too many rats. The lurched for the pelt of the feline, clinging onto anything they could and attaching fiercely. Balder responded with a sharp screech as panic unwitting gripped him. Instincts kicked in all at once, only serving to paralyze Balder. Surprise was truly a disastrously powerful element.

The rats whaled on him, digging their ways through his thick pelt and cutting into every piece. Flail as Balder might, the performance was pathetic and none were unattached.

Still, Balder's survival instincts worked their darndest to keep Balder alive. Scanning the territory, Balder's eyes would land on the water. Without even really thinking about it, he would attempt to race towards it. The rats were throwing him off a great deal, however, so he was way too slow. Balder would reroute then, traveling back the way he came, rats still gnawing on his flesh.

This was getting bad. Any more energy lost and Balder wouldn't be able to throw them off. Then they'd-- no, he was not going back into that chrysalis. He was stronger than this!

Balder would attempt to dig into a reserve of energy. Balder wasn't some weak prey animal, he was certain he had some inner power to show of!!

Balder would attempt to dig into a reserve of energy. Balder wasn't some weak prey animal, he was certain he had some inner power to show off!! Pride and survival would combine forces, allowing Balder to reach deep within himself and bring out... SPEED!!!!

Not a great amount, but definitely an improvement from the first attempt. Balder could work with this, yes! Racing once again towards the water, Balder would leap upwards at a certain point and flap her wings, trying to catch enough air beneath them to glide higher. Then, once sufficiently high enough (it wasn't really as high as Balder had hoped to get but she would never admit that), Balder would suddenly plummet into the waves.

Balder was braced for the impact. The rats, on the other paw, were not. A few of them lost their grip and fell away, failing to attach again. Balder would resurface, more confident and less encumbered. Still, some rats persisted.

So Balder would try slamming himself into the sand. The rats wants to ride the bucking bronco, and so the broncing bucko they would GET! And the fact that they were all wet now would help.

With a last effort, Balder would manage to get all of the rats off but one. A foolish gnawer gripped hard to the back of Balder's neck. Balder would make a special little hell just for that one.

Gritting his teeth and shaking his pelt ferociously, Balder would manage to get the thing to loosen its grip. Rolling over and pressing his neck against the sand, the rat would finally be squished, crushed, and stunned enough to let go.

But Balder wouldn't stop until this one was super mega exceptionally dead.

There wasn't anything toxic or poisonous to feed the defeated rat, so Balder would have to home-craft this slow and painful end. First, he'd try to... half-kill it. It should have the agony of dying before the resting moment, really make it work for that final repose.

Once that was done, Balder would start tossing it around like a yarn ball, kicking it up and down and spinning it, getting a little bit of sand on it here and there.

And finally, to top it all off, Balder would latch onto it with one back foot, fly up into the air, and fling it down into the water.

Sploosh!

That'd teach any darn rat to mess with the king again.

Ah, but there was one thing Balder hadn't considered. By letting all her "catches" escape except for one, and then letting that one she killed sink to the bottom of Leo, she had... well, she now had to go searching again for some food. Crap.

At least she was already in the air to survey the land again. Shoot, but she was tired from having already "caught"-- caught a FEAST! UUUUUURGH. She'd find something easier. And hey, at least she had gotten the fight she was looking for! Even if it was just a bunch of Lessers. Wasn't that satisfying? ...

...

...

...No it was not. OKAY, WELL anyways. She was already catching sight (and sound!) of other stuff! Epic poggers. Something was making an impressively good tune from among the more forested area of the Bay. Could something that made beautiful music really be that dangerous?

Always count on dumb idiot babies like Balder to fall for the same trick twice.

So he landed nice and easy and, yet again, there was nothing in sight among the plants. Only that singing. Hm.

Well this time -- maybe because not even five minutes ago Balder had been mauled by a pack of rats, or maybe because Balder was just really wise and cool and smart -- the crystalwing was going to be cautious. At least, that's what she was promising to herself. In her mind. As she traveled further into the wilderness-- HEY! In her defense, she's getting really hungry now.

Which is exactly why he sHOULDN'T BE PUTTING HIMSELF AT RISK RIGHT NOW--

Okay! Okay! Just for you, who is me, who is puppeting the hollowed vessel of Balder, son/daughter/child of Alrik... we will think about this. "We" as in Balder. For once in her life, she will think. About this.

...Bushes, bushes bushes, trees, muuuusic.... uhhhh stomach getting grumbly, uhhhhhh... ummm....

Okay. Thinking: accomplished.

Balder was going in.