II: Mesprit
"Help!" The word echoed in their mind, yet just a faint memory. Their eyes were still shut tight. They could feel grass against their side, and the warmth of the sun's rays. A small chirp could be heard, but they couldn't quite tell what animal it was coming from, not from noise alone. Something small though. A river's stream could be heard in the distance- No. A river rapid.
As they opened their eyes to the harsh morning sun, they squinted, rolling onto their stomach, and raising their head. Their left eye was practically shut, but they could at least see well enough. They were surrounded by oak trees and bushes. Though, it seems like the bushes would be taller than them if they stood up, and they didn't believe themselves to be a child…Right? Surely they weren't, yet she couldn't remember anything. Maybe it would one day come to them.
That wasn't important however. They felt quite parched, and hungry. As if on instinct, they tried to stand on two legs, but Perdita quickly lost balance, and fell on all fours. Somehow it felt more comfortable, even if unusual, to stand like this. Indeed, when they looked back at the bush, it was indeed taller than them. They looked to their left, where the river was, rocky banks on either side. To their right, there was simply more forest. A relatively large green caterpillar with a red antenna on its head was crawling one of the trees. It was quickly taken by a small brown bird with a tan underbelly.
They shuddered to think what would happen to them if they strayed too far into the forest; They'd be lucky if there wasn't anything. She stumbled towards the rapids, and stopped next to it, looking over at the other side, but it wasn't anything to gawk at. They started to walk alongside the river downstream. Perhaps there'd be people somewhere. At the very least, the river might calm down enough so they can drink out of it. While they walked, the river had bits of rock separating the river slightly before it came back together. The other side of the rapid seemed to rise into a slight cliff.
This form didn't feel right, however. Even as it became easier to walk on all fours, they had a sense that this wasn't always the case. Their uneasiness at their apparent new form didn't go away the further they trekked. The ears on her head felt too long, and their tan mane itched strangely at her fur-covered skin. Their tail dragged across the ground, which they quickly raised, shaking off the dirt now attached to it, or at least trying to. Most of it wouldn't come off.
Great. They sighed. Of course I have a tail. They would continue their way regardless of the irritation. Eventually, the river's current seemed to be slow enough to at least not be dangerous, if for just a short moment. Perdita dipped their tail into it, letting the river wash away all the grime that she couldn't shake off, and shook it dry.
Perdita at least got used to this new form quickly, even if they didn't know who or what they were before. They decided to set off again. It was nearly noon, and they didn't want to waste anymore time here. Everything seemed rather calm for now at least. As they looked up slightly, they saw some kind of grey bird slowly circling the surrounding area. They couldn't quite tell what kind yet, and they set their eyes on their path once again. This was a terrible mistake.
They could see a shadow begin to grow smaller and smaller, closer and closer, but it stopped. On a pure whim, perhaps on instinct, Perdita jumped to the side, whirling around on their front two feet to see numerous seeds pelt the ground where they once stood. They looked up to see a woodpecker with a multi-colored beak, shades ranging from red to yellow flying above. Its blue keen eyes were focused on Perdita.
Perdita didn't have time to wonder about this unprompted attack as they started to dive at them. They started to sprint back down stream, but veered towards the forest to stay under tree cover, in hopes of losing the feral bird. The bird pulled up, and nimbly flew between tree branches, even managing to slowly catch up with Perdita as they felt low hanging branches graze past their ears. Tripping on a tree root, they fell to the ground, the impact knocking the wind out of them. Turning around, they realised there was no time for hesitation.. They rolled left as the bird rammed it's beak into the ground.
Now's my chance! Perdita scrambled to their paws, facing their opponent as they pulled their beak out the earth, turning towards her. They sprinted directly towards their foe, pouncing.
They found their mouth had wrapped itself around one of the bird's wings as it screeched a deafening plea for help. Their long beak swung at Perdita, banging itself against their head. Her vision felt blurry as they clenched harder, closing their eyes tight.
Eventually, it stopped as they felt themselves tempted to be lifted into the air. They opened their eyes, batting away at the birds' face. A claw went through their mane, and Perdita was forced to let go before it dug into her skin. Their legs shaking, they looked up at the bird, who had taken off into the air. Their eyes locked.
The colourful beaked bird shot a single seed at Perdita's head as they ducked under the projectile. As they jumped forward, her adversary had started towards the skies as they got a mouthful of feathers, falling into a patch off leaves, crumpling beneath her weight.
As they spat out the black feathers, she stood up and stumbled forward, turning around and landing on their side, and yet… No one was there.
They took a deep breath, then another, and another. They felt their heart beat like a galloping horse on the wind, mouth dribbling down their mouth, the warm, salty liquid sliding down their chin
At least she wasn't being attacked anymore, but they weren't safe if that was anything to go by. The forest seemed rather silent, and her heartbeat wouldn't slow. She spat out the rest of the blood in her mouth as they stood up. I…I'm alive…
Regardless, they slowly made their way back to the river they once travelled along. Their ears stood straight on her head, their mane and fur stood on end. A burning sensation started to become apparent as Perdita stumbled a bit. She stood still and looked down as they noticed a small part of her fur had turned red with blood. They had to keep moving forward. With each step, their ears flickered to a new sound, the rustling of the leaves, and the hoot from an owl. A woodpecker's chirp made Perdita flinch, but as they looked in the direction it came from, they saw nothing. Perdita marched on.
They finally reached the river again- Though perhaps they should've went straight back instead of going along a diagonal path to it. The river was once again thin, and its current was still fairly quick. How am I ever going to survive this place? Why would I ever come here?
On the otherside was a cave in the small cliff of which now wasn't right up against the river. Perhaps the water level was higher than it was now, as there was a small sandy bank on the other side separating the cliff from the water. Perhaps that'd make a good resting spot…
As they pondered about the cave, they saw a green snake-like-pokemon fly out of the cave. "ACK!" They land in the rapids, being dragged under. Without a thought, she ran alongside the snivy, struggling for air, and jumped into the river. It was much more difficult to swim than they ever would've imagined. The current forced them along like a truck, and their feet were swept up from under them the moment they touched the water. They held their breath as they went under, and could barely see- But they still could nonetheless.
They had already made it past the Snivy, and turned themselves towards them, and grasped at their tail with their paws- and finally got them closer. Perdita then put their mouth around the leaf end, and flung them around, turning for the shore, but it wasn't enough- They already felt themselves start to turn over, tumbling through the rapids. A vine seemingly flashed past them, wrapping around their stomach, and the two were thrown onto the shore. Perdita sprawls onto the ground, coughing up water.