[Flashback] Birds of a Feather (Lucy)

[Oluse]

Oluse's brow knitted together at she squawked and moved back, then a melted as she moved back. "Sorry, did I hurt you?" He scratched his face without a thought, and started gathering her clothes. As he did so his senses closely returned to normal, his mind drifting back into his surroundings. He was frightened again. He realized that Lucy could fly, but he was stuck on the ground where he was exposed. His legs felt so restricting all of a sudden, and he decided if anything attacked him he'd just climb a tree.

Slowly he folded up the clothes and slipped them into his side back with the herbs. "You're not allergic to anything are you?" He thought to call up to her, but immediate corrected himself, "Oh yeah you can't talk. Sorry! Well if you are chirp once, and if you aren't chirp twice!" He smiles at his plan. He likes Lucy in this form. It was odd how her being a bird, without the ability to talk, made it so much easier to open up to her. He didn't feel awkward at all.

[Lucy]

He apologized in case he hurt her. Suddenly she considered a boy another stupid human, and the human part of her were trying to tell her it wasn't fair, but she ignored it. The friendly tone he had calmed her, but it still felt weird. She felt he was afraid of something too. She chirped twice, as she have been told to, wandering why would he ask something like that now. She felt a little superior for being here, on the tree, above him, where he can't reach her, but anyways being able to go down there anytime. She climbed the nearest branch above and concluded she likes that feeling. Suddenly she saw something moving in bushes a little ahead, but close enough. Her eyes were fixed on the animal as it approached. It was a snake, but little one, not really dangerous. But she remembered it could be dangerous for a boy, so she landed her claws on it before it was close enough for boy to even notice it. He was probably surprised to see it in her claws. She wanted to eat it, but she thought it would be disgusting for Oluse to watch so she bring it with her while flying and threw it far away in the forest. After that she came back to the same branch she have been on, and looked at the boy again.

[Oluse]

Satisfied that none of the herbs in his satchel would get the girl sick, he finished slipping the clothes in snugly against the freshly harvested plants. He hoped she liked how they smelled later. He loved the smell of herbs on his clothes, though it could be overwhelming at times.

"So-" He began projecting up toward the bird, just as it seemed to fall from the branch! Nimbly it veered up, skimming across the ground behind some bushes. A split second later, following a slight crunch, the eagle emerged with what looked like a snake in talon! His mouth dropped open, and excitement coursed again. This was just getting better and better. He started moving, comparatively slow, across the meadow after the eagle above. It skillfully tossed the trophy into a thickly wooded patch of forest, just bordering the meadow itself.

What Oluse did next he never did figure out any true reasoning behind. Perhaps he wanted to see the snake, perhaps he was just mentally retarded for a moment. But, much like a dog chasing a stick, he began parting the thick branches, moving quite quickly toward where he assumed the snake must have landed. Loud snaps and rustling rumbled up through the tall trees as Oluse disappeared under the thick brush. What lay on the far side of the brush was clear from an aerial perspective, but unfortunately there was no time to give true warning.

Oluse's foot slipped on a sudden wet decline in the earth below him. Effortlessly, with tremendous speed his rump connected firmly with the ground, and he began to slide. Eyes slamming shut he blindly groped outward for a natural handhold to stop his descent. What his tender palms found was unfortunately less than helpful. He let out a quick yelp of pain as his grasp firmly onto the thorned plant, dozens of slender natural needles piercing into his palm, rending small bits of flesh in the process. Recoiling his hand he simply pulled his arms up over his face, to protect them from the vicious branches whipping by, and hoped for the best.

The world shifted suddenly again, as he fell straight down this time, only for a moment at which time his back landed firmly with a slight splash, and his headed thudded with a heavy sound against underlying stone. Water, stone. His head was suddenly spinning, and screaming in pain. He wondered if it would be a concussion, though he really didn't have the skill to tell one way or another. He quickly tried to stand up, his hand objecting violently as the watery ground drove the thorns deeper. Half on his feet he stumbled, his balance vastly displaced from wherever his center of gravity had gone. He ran into what felt like a stone wall, his good hand bracing him against it as his vision began to clear, drunkenly taking in the scene. What seemed to be slabs of stone all around, watery floor basing the death trap, and more horrifying of all a symbol of death itself. Laying just downstream of him in the narrow enclosure was a half set of bones, likely from a mishappened elk, do to the small rack of antlers reaching up over them, keeping them from passing through a narrow opening in the wall. Oluse panicked.

The scene however was much clearer from Lucy's view, though the situation did not look any more promising for Oluse. He had fallen into a full river basin, and had found himself wedged narrowly between multiple boulders. On one side was a a tall and steep incline upward onto land, which would only place him on the slippery slope again if he managed to scale it. Opposite him of the shore was a giant of a boulder, half of which extruded out of the water upward, still reaching three times the young boys height. Upstream of the child was an oddly shaped rock, with a medium grade incline, just enough to keep the small child from scaling it, in his now soaked shoes. The incline of the rock circled up under Oluse, offering him somewhat of a natural floor to his cage, holding him above all but an inch or two of water. It was likely this water that broke the fall enough to keep him from sustaining any serious injuries. And finally down river to him rest another large boulder, fractured on top as if broken within the last twenty years, the rounded edge sit dipped into the water below, closing off what would be Oluses escape down steam. It appeared the rock had broken off higher in the forest, and rolled down, much like Oluse had, finding itself edges tightly in it's current place. Under the fractured boulder there was room for only the smallest of animals to squeeze through, unless perhaps there was a way to swim under, which was unseen by the eagle from her perspective.

What Oluse couldn't see, but only hear, was the raging spring river outside his trap. He in a way was lucky he had fell into his natural pitfall. If he hadn't he would have found himself engulfed in the hungry torrent of water speeding downstream. Down left river, where Oluse was trapped, there lay a small boulder, peaking just over the high water line. A gruesome and gluttonous hole lay just below it, formed by the suction of water. Just past that was a tentative eddy, which could offer bastion. However, just passed that eddy lie a series of rocky patches and intimidating rapids, that carried water down toward Denval. He very well would have found his corpse in the city water supply had he not been saved by the enclosure.

Oluse steady himself slowly. He tried to remind himself to stay calm, just as something collided with the top of his head. Small and fleshy. He quickly spun and looked at it as it fell into the water. The flow of water seemed to give the snake life for a moment, and he jumped letting out a yell that couldn't be heard over the roaring river. Backing up he pressed himself against the river wall, panic attack ensuing.

oocFeel free to add any details you'd like to the scene. I remember this spot from a river near where I live when i was younger. We used to raft it quite a bit, and I'd always think of getting stuck in it, and how much that would suck. I wrote down all i could remember about it, feel free to fill in anything I forgot.

Also, if Lucy needs to fly off for supplies or help feel free, I'll just entertain myself by having Oluse be emo and cry about how he is guna die. Trust me he isnt going anywhere. Feel free to come up with any solution you want though. Birds are crafty animals, with a good mind for puzzles.

[Lucy]

As she was coming back she saw a boy running in her direction. She wanted to scream, to tell him not to, but by the time she got what's happening it was already too late. Oluse was running strait into the river. Luckily, there was a stone-made barrier in river basin which held him from falling directly into river. At first Lucy thought he won't fall there, but he hit some branch which changed his direction. His hands were covered by blood which woke some strange feeling in Lucy. Fear. Protection instinct. Blood was slowly weeping into a river, drop by drop. It will be a sign for all animals in water. Oluse panicked, risking to end up in fast river again, hitting a stone wall and then falling again. He was sitting on the boulder which held him from dying, looking at the water. He gone few steps backwards, as much as he could and pressed himself to a stone-wall. It was snake, Lucy couldn't realize was that the one she threw or some water snake, but it seemed dangerous anyways. She ran at it again, catching it before if hurt the boy. She killed the snake and left her on the river waves. It will be nice bait to cover Oluse for a while, at least she hoped so. Incredibly, Oluse's basket was hanged onto some bunch above them so she picked her clothes, or what was left of them, or it would be true to say she picked her torn dress. She succeed to morph half in air and land before Oluse dressed. She practiced that technique for fun, and it was not really necessary in situations like this, but she was still ashamed of a boy she just met. She'd trow her dress while in air and fly in the cotton from bottom while morphing, so she'd usuallt just miss sleeve or something like that. "Are you alright?", she asked. She was really scared for him, she was the one who made him go into forest. He was right, it was dangerous. The sudden thought slipped trough her mind, she wasn't able to really think about it, but she knew it now. The forest was dangerous. It was dangerous for him. They are not the same. "Are you good swimmer?", she asked without waiting for the answer on last question. "You might need to swim, you know, the river rises incredibly much today, my parents are fishers and they said they never saw this much fish around, they're in lower course of the river because of speed! We need to get you out of here fast, if you stay more then few hours you might drown!" She didn't notice how scary her words were for the boy. She was a perfect swimmer and she could fly too, so she wouldn't be scared at all if something like this happened to her. She realized it is dangerous for him, but she couldn't understand that somebody would fear of death in situation like this. It's like convincing fish you'll die because you can't swim or bird you are not able to hold in air somehow. She knew he can't do it, but yet it was unbelievable for her. She just wanted to get all the informations and think of the plan, she couldn't think about how panic might ruin everything.

[Oluse]

He held his hand to his chest, trying not to look at the blood as Lucy appeared and bombarded him with questions. He knew that in life or death situations one had to think clearly, and act fast. However, he wasn't used to being on this side of the life or death situation. He wasn't used to it being his life in danger.

"I um... I don't know. I can swim. Wait swim?" He looked worried, and stared around his trap. "Drown?!" It was silly but the thought that entered his mind was not that of his risked mortality, but of how much trouble he was going to be in when he got home! He closed his eyes hard, squinting for a moment as he tried to clear his head. His eyes opened but the situation didn't go away as he had hoped it would.

"I'm... yeah. I'm fine. I just." He looked down at his ripped up hand, and hissed in pain. It wasn't bad, but it hurt, and would keep him from climbing anywhere without some difficulties. "The water makes it look like more blood than it is." He explained, still cradling his hand. "I hit my head, but I think I'm ok now." That was an outright lie, his head still ached and he wanted to go lay down somewhere safe to ease it.

"A few hours is plenty." He said, in what he hoped was a calm voice. The truth was he wasn't sure of anything, but he needed Lucy to calm down and help him. "We just need to calm down, Lucy. Everything is going to be just fine." He couldn't help but think he sounded a little like his father when he spoke like that. "Lucy, can you tell me whats outside of these walls? I think I could swim out over there, maybe. If I tried." He wanted to ask her to go get help, but depending on what the river was like he might be able to get home without his parents having to know how naughty he had been.

[Lucy]

"Are you even listening to me?", she was a little angry at him acting calm and stuff. She understood he wanted a solution, but it just wasn't the one she expected from him. Maybe she haven't met him in past hour of two well enough to judge, but it wasn't like him. "I just asked if you could swim so I can be sure you'll survive until I bring help, just in case, get it? I told you water was so fast fishes escaped from here, what chances you have? You need to tell me how can I find your parents or somebody wishing to help, I don't know much grown-ups... And do not dare to try swimming while I'm not there!" She felt like yelling at some naughty kid. She couldn't imagine him wishing to swim in that water if he could wait for help. He knew she could just fly and find somebody, that's what all this trip to the forest was - her and her ability to fly and stuff. She was still angry at herself. What was she thinking? That he is different from other Denvali children? That he is careful and that he is not putting himself in danger? It was all her fault, she shouldn't even shown him her true form in first place, not to mention everything else. "I'm sorry", she said, surpassing tears. "But you'll have to wait for me and don't move. Just climb as much as you can if you think you can't stand water pressure anymore. But don't climb too much, hurt like that you could fall and break something or something worse. Just tell me how I find your parents.", she repeated.

[Oluse]

She may be slightly hysterical but Oluse still had to admire the young girl's tenacity and courage in the face of danger. More so he admired her compassion. This inspired him, and he nodded, truly mastering his emotions now. "You remember the sign, right? The one you mentioned earlier when I told you about my family? Go there, inside my father should be working, my mother should be at the docks if you can't find him. If neither of them can be found you can try the Citrine for my sisters. If that doesn't work or if time is running out just talk to any adult." He took a deep breath, and nodded, more at himself than Lucy. He was proud of himself for answering so maturely to the question, even if it did take some prompting.

He thought about thanking her, but he decided he would wait till later to do so, assuming he survived. He glanced down, noting the water was already rising, unless it was just his mind playing tricks on him. "I can swim." He let out meekly with a nervous gulp.

[Lucy]

"It's Fortis-Saro?", she checked one last time before morphing and flying away. She was flying above the river, forest and the road they met on. It finally felt right, passing here. She felt as she could see Oluse from few hours ago collecting mushrooms here. She sped up her flight to the city. Whwn she came to the place she described to Oluse earlier she saw she was right, it was his family sing, wood-made white and red. At first she wanted to knock on the window like this, but then she remembered his parents don't even know who she is. She took her dress with her, so she just hid and morphed, guessing she was allowed in situations like this, so in girl form she knocked on the door. "We're busy!", she heard a voice inside. It seemed like something important was happening. She hoped it isn't life matter, because this was too. "It's important! It's about your son!", she yelled to the door. She heard some noise inside, then steps and finally a man opened the door. "What is it? Are you his school friend?", he asked with more welcome voice then earlier. She didn't know what to say, will Oluse be in trouble? She decided the truth is the bes opinion, since he haven't told her anything. "No, we only just met", she answered carefully. "And we went to forest...", she saw the mans confused and angry face, so she hurried to finish. "And he fell into some stone barrier, he almost fell into the river. You must hurry to help him, water is rising very quickly at this seas..." She haven't finished yet, Oluse's father run inside and took few things, said something to patient or patients and gone out. "Lead me", he said. She thought about morphing, but it won't really speed them up, so she decided to do it only if it's necessary. She noticed Oluse's father picked rope from home and one of his elder brothers by the way. As she led they way trough trees trying to find easiest rotes for them they barely spoke. She felt they were afraid for Oluse, so she didn't want to try and comfort them, it was a dangerous situation indeed. After a while they made it to that place, but she was afraid for them to go on that way. "You have to be really careful here, or you'll end up like him. It's just behind that bush.", she said to them and then she yelled: Oluse, we're here! Are you alright? How is water? She wandered what has he been doing while she was away. It took at least half of a hour to come back, if not more. She looked at the water far away and thought her parents must be somewhere around peacefully fishing.

[Oluse]

It didn't take long after Lucy departed that Oluse began to shiver. He couldn't tell if it was from the early onsets of hypothermia, or if he was well into shock. Despite the shivers he busied himself with the thorns dug in his palm, attempting with great difficulty to remove them without causing any further damage to his rended flesh.

He manged to distract himself for some time as he removed the thorns and assessed his body. His headache progressively got worse, and his body was beginning to feel fatigued from the experience. When the last thorn fell into the water below he finally observed his surroundings again. The water had risen another few inches, and was well on it's way up toward his knees. He couldn't remember a time when he had been so scared in his life. For his life!

For several minutes he screamed out, against all logic. He hoped somebody was close, that somebody might come save him. His mind played paranoid tricks on itself, telling him the girl wouldn't help, that she meant to lure him into this death trap, that it was some foul magic that had forced him into the situation. He was young scared and very alone in his own watery tomb.

As his family, and the frantic Kelvic finally returned he had just begun sobbing hopelessly to himself. His father's voice did not reach him through the heavy brush and roaring river, so he could not respond. And if he had the sound would be carried away down the river, never to be heard again. He needed Lucy to carry any messages of their rescue plan to him.

[Lucy]

"Listen", she said to his father. "I guess he can't hear us. I can deliver a messages to him, if it's necessary, but I have a better idea." She explained her plan. One of them, the one who was stronger and better in climbing rope, was supposed to go down and take Oluse with him. But Oluse was hurt, his hands were bleeding, so he probably can't climb, especially not this much, so someone must carry him. But they must not fall, because there's no second chance. Chances were tiny for two persons to fall from that height back to stone barrier and not to the river, and even if they fallen back into it, they will break something or hurt badly, so they will be stuck for too long before help comes. Oluse's brother said he will do that. They tied the rope to a tree, checked it, and threw it down. "Good luck.", she said. "And try to keep Oluse calm until you get out of there", his father added. He was obviously worried about his sons. She owed him a big apologize, but it was not time now. She thought about morphing and taking a look if something happens, but she was afraid to leave Oluse's father alone at this rate.