Chapter 23
Smash!
"Lolly..."
"FLOCKE!"
Who was screaming? Was that her? What was that thick liquid dripping down her side? Surely it couldn't be her blood...she couldn't feel anything. She couldn't think. What is going on?!
Larimar lost her grip on Flocke's tail the moment he was tugged upwards. She hadn't even noticed the huge shadow of the hawk swooping down; she'd been so busy getting her claws around the blue chick's tasseled tail-tip. Larimar didn't have the chance to process what was going on.
She lost her balance, smashing the already weakened branches underneath her. Flocke's name was the last thing to leave her beak as she fell. Larimar closed her eyes, sure that she was about to die. There was just no way Lolly or Skah or Ghost could catch her...so why wasn't she dead by now?
She squeezed a single eye open. Blue. Beautiful blue and white stretched on forever, out over the distant mountains and as high as she could see. She looked down and immediately wished she hadn't. The trees became smaller and smaller as she rose into the sky. Wind chilled her, her short down providing little protection. She noticed a small pain in her side and swung her head around. A few small droplets of blood ran down her lime green feathers. It was mainly the view that made her nauseous, but the sight of red made her feel like throwing up.
Her gaze traveled up the scaly foot that was holding her. Its huge, black talons scared her. She tried to avoid looking at those. A feathery leg...more feathers...and a wing. A huge wing. A bird! Wow, this one's huge. And sharp. Very, very sharp. Her breaths started to quicken with fear. I need to get down from here! It'll kill me...it'll kill Flocke. Flocke! Where's Flocke? He has to be safe!
"Flocke," she chirped weakly. The wind carried away her soft voice. She kept searching her chaotic surroundings for him, ignoring the strong wind and amazing view below. Larimar's eyes finally landed on the second hawk, who was higher than hers and had a splash of bright blue in its clutches. The raptor holding her let out a loud scream that rattled every bone in her body. She let the tears fall from her eyes. She was going to die.
But what an amazing view, she thought. She took a second to watch the land below rushing past them. It was horrifying, beautiful, and magical. She remembered her earlier thoughts. Everything beautiful is dangerous. Is this what flying is like? Is this what I would have gotten to feel?
And in that moment, Larimar forgot about Flocke. She accepted her doom, accepted that any moment now, she would die. It seemed a small price to pay for this marvelous view of the world.
Skah say the hawk at the last moment before it dived, too late to help Flocke and Larimar. He let out a loud hiss, more a venting of frustration than anything else. The fool makes trouble where ever he goes he thought angrily.
A cry escaped Ghost's mouth. She knew that Lolly would want to help them, however they could. She also thought of helping them, but she didn't know what Skah would want to do. She glanced up at him, and as she knew he would be, he was deep in thought. No Doubt calculating what he should do.
Thinking quickly Skah decided that he would try and help the pair of chicks, afterall Lolly would never stay with him if he didn't try. SO springing into action Skah scurried up the tree until he was as high as he could get. His eyes searched for the pair of birds and their unfortunate baggage. He found them easily, they were the only thing in a clear blue sky. His wings opened and twitched, another hiss escaping his beak. This one another of frustration directed towards his undeveloped wings that wouldn't let him fly.
"Get up here Ghost", Skah ordered. She reacted without hesitation scurrying up the tree nimbly. "Keep your eyes on them, we have to see where they land".
The instant her friends were grabbed by the birds, Lolly was running along her branch after them, leaping clumsily from branch to branch to keep up. Of course, since she lacked the experience, that was impossible to do, but she was able to keep her eyes locked on the hawks that stole her friends. She didn't wait for Ghost or Skah nor did she wait for their help. She was in pure action mode and logic and reason took a back seat to pure instinct.
Adrenaline coursed through her body as she struggled to keep her friends in sight. "Larimar! Flocke!" she cried, mostly to keep her focus. Soon, however, even the energy boost her adrenaline rush was providing would run out, and she wasn't sure what to do when that happened.
Her ears twitched at a familiar voice, so she paused and glanced back just a moment to see that Ghost and Skah were coming to help. Somehow, knowing that they were at least trying to help made her feel a rush of relief. Still, she couldn't allow herself to let her guard down now. She resumed the chase with renewed vigor.
Ghost watched Lolly take off with concern. She didn't think that Lolly would get very far before falling behind and getting lost, both from finding her friends and them. So she glanced at Skah who was keenly watching the pair of birds fly still further away, before announcing, "I'm going after Lolly, follow us when you can".
WIthout waiting for his reply she scooted down the tree to the sturdier branches she could travel quickly on. It didn't take long for her to catch up with Lolly, she raced along beside her silently.
Skah meanwhile was keeping his eyes on the birds and his ears trained on the forest. He could hear the sound of Lolly crashing along in the trees not far away. If he knew what direction she had taken off in he would have an easier time tracking her down later. Even better he would know where the birds had taken Flocke and Larimar.
Flocke slowly came out of unconsciousness, and the first thing he felt, was the gut tugging sensation of falling. This was closely followed by a loud thud as he hit something rough and poky, yet soft and warm. Quickly, he scampered to his feet and took his surroundings in.
A nest... he was in a nest. But it was small- not a griffin nest. Looking around, he saw three other beings inside the nest. They were roughly his size, but had a bit more fluff and feathers than he did. 'Birds?' he thought to himself. They were definitely strange looking. But why were they in a nest? Only mothers and fathers and babies... oh. So those other birds were... babies?
With a gulp, Flocke immediately decided he didn't want to meet their parents. They looked at him for a moment, then looked up and chirped. That's when Flocke heard another thud. Looking to the source of the noise, Flocke saw a pile of green.
"Larimar!" he cried as he raced over to her. "Are you okay?!" he asked, all concern for his own well being forgotten. Then he heard the same terrifying screech as before. Looking up with panic, Flocke froze as he saw the two hawk parents circle above him. He looked back at the hawk chicks, who were eyeing him and Larimar hungrily. 'So... the babies want to eat us? I don't think they could beat me and Larimar in a fight though... Maybe the parents plan on killing us for them...'
Just as he thought this, the bigger of the two hawk parents landed. Her babies flocked over to her, chirping excitedly. She nuzzled them with her beak before turning on the two griffin chicks. Flocke quickly looked back up- the father was still circling above- before he pressed himself closer to Larimar's side. Whether it was an act of protectiveness, or the need to feel protected, he didn't know. He just wanted the other chick's side for comfort.
Slowly he backed up to the back of the nest, but for every step he took, the mother might as well have taken three or four. She was mere inches from her intended prey, when a foreign screech sounded through the air. The mother peeled her eyes away from the chicks and looked up. Her mate followed her line of sight, and the pair spotted a rival hawk couple in the distance.
Hawks are fiercely territorial. Especially when they have chicks to protect and feed. So, without thinking of the still undead prey in their nest, the parents flew off to confront the intruders. Flocke let out a shaky gasp. Now they had time to think and, hopefully, escape.
Turning to Larimar, he said, "Where are we now?" before looking around to pinpoint where they had come from. All he saw was trees, trees, a distant river, and more trees...
Larimar sat up, dazed. She stumbled to the edge of the nest and looked out longingly, her face blank and unresponsive. Her eyes flitted toward Flocke once or twice. Otherwise, she didn't even acknowledge him. The two hawks spiraled and glided as they flew. She noted each one of their complicated turns and wing-beats. She didn't want to survive anymore. She wanted to fly.
"Where are we..." Her wings flew out. Flocke. You need to get to safety and make sure Flocke's okay. Right now. Flying later. Larimar turned around. "I-I'm not sure. I can't see the tree from here." She did a quick check of Flocke. Four legs, two wings, and a head. He seemed alright.
One of the baby hawks started making hungry noises. Larimar didn't understand their language, but she knew what a plea for food was. "Should we fight them?" she asked, nodding her beak toward one of the eyases. She knew that would make the parents mad, but what else were they suppose to do? Larimar sat down, feeling hopeless.
Flocke looked over to the three chicks. They seemed harmless enough. He doubted they were strong enough to kill their own food yet. He turned back to Larimar to say this when he felt a sting in his side. He yelped as he jumped away, and turned to see a chick standing there with some of his fluff feathers in its beak.
He glared at the chick. The pain had been annoying, but it faded almost as quickly as it came. Killing these chicks wouldn't be worth the rage of their parents. Even if they escaped, the parents may decide to hunt them down in revenge.
"Let's leave them alone and figure out how to get away." he said hurriedly. He peaked over the nest to see how they could get down and nearly puked. They were really, really, really high up. Higher than the last tree. It might as well be higher than the clouds!
Okay, it wasn't that high, but for Flocke, it was pretty darn close. In actuality, the nest was maybe twenty, twenty-five feet high. It was the type of tree that, if a human child saw it, would be dubbed a climbing tree, or a tree fit for a tree-house. So many nooks and crannies and footholds. In truth, it was an ideal escaping tree. The two griffin chicks should have no problem. That is, if Flocke hadn't recently discovered his fear of heights...
He felt a sting in his rear that brought him out of his haze once again. He whipped around and accidentally knocked heads with the chick. It squawked at him angrily, but Flocke squawked back. "Leave us alone!" he yelled at it, and the chick immediately joined its siblings again.
Flocke turned back to Larimar. "It's really high... Maybe... we should wait for the others to find us?" 'Though the parents will probably find us first...' Shivering, Flocke looked to where the parent hawks were. They were currently in a mid-air battle with the rival couple. All four of them looked graceful and powerful in the fight. Flocke didn't miss the way they used their talons, and thought of how they could easily be used on him.
"Er... Actually... Maybe we should get away before the others find us." With this, he sucked up all the courage he could muster, and went to the edge of the nest. The branch on this side connected to the trunk, so he clambered out of the nest and onto it. He suddenly didn't feel as safe as before. He no longer had the safe protection of a stable nest.
'It's an easy choice Flocke... Get eaten, or fall. At this point... I'd rather fall! Even with those wonderful reassuring words, Flocke just couldn't bring himself to move. He whimpered at his cowardice, knowing that if he couldn't get down, then Larimar couldn't. (Because he had gone first...) He heard the loud screeches of the parents, and turned to see that their fight was over. The new pair had lost and was retreating back the way they came.
Flocke had a moment of panic before he realized that the parents weren't coming back to the nest. 'Huh... he thought. 'They must have forgotten about us.' It seemed the two hawks were going hunting again. Even with this wonderful news, Flocke was unable to loosen his grip. He let in a shaky breathe. "I'm sorry Larry..." he cried quietly as he slowly began backing up, back into the nest. Once inside, he was greeted with the painful peck of one of the chicks.
Instead of glaring, Flocke just sat there in self-pity.
"What are you doing?" Larimar snapped. Her voice was still hushed even though the hawks had already left to find more food. "We have to climb down!" She looked in Flocke's fearful eyes, trying to figure out what was wrong. Concerned, She went over to the edge he'd started to climb down from.
It took her a while to pinpoint the right way to get down. I can do that, she told herself uncertainly. But can Flocke? The blue chick had climbed pretty high in that tree earlier. Surely he would be able to do this! Larimar swung herself up onto one of the outermost sticks of the nest. "Come on," she cheeped.
It occurred to her that Flocke might still be scared of falling. Well, she still was too, sort of, but not nearly as much as the first time she'd climbed up a tree. This one was much, much higher than the trunk they'd previously scaled. It wasn't a few broken bones and getting knocked out if they fell. A miscalculated a step, and they were certainly dead. Larimar gulped. Death up here in the sky by the claws of a bird, or getting smashed against the forest floor and cracking like a stick. Hmm, hard choice.
"Flocke," she said, trying to sound nicer this time. "I'll go down first if you want me to. If you fall, I might...If you fall, I can catch you." No, I can't. Larimar highly doubted she'd even see him before he was a pancake below her. She trusted in Flocke's climbing skills, though. Her voice turned calm and steady, losing some of the affection. "Please, we have to find our friends."
Lolly had at least seen the tree which the hawks had deposited her friends into, though she was still quite far from it. The squirrels and Ghost and Skah made limb-to-limb travel look like a breeze, but for clumsy, bulky-built Lolly it was an ordeal. Branches groaned and snapped under her weight, and she constantly had to regain height.
"No more... trees for either of them until...until they can fly!" Lolly panted. She was far more worried for them than annoyed, but she still grumbled from frustration and pain from all the bruises one could expect she'd have gotten from all the slipping and falling. She was beginning to see why most mommies built nests on the ground. Who'd want to maneuver like this all the time?
She slipped once more and nearly lost sight of her tree. Her energy reserves were quikly running out, and she was very much hoping that she wasn't going to find a fight once she made it there. She decided to catch her breath a moment. "They need you, Lolly. Come on!" she encouraged herself, "They need you to get to them before something bad happens...again!"
Sufficiently motivated and breath all caught, she continued her mini-journey and leapt to the next bough perfectly. She grinned.
