Summer 1, 516 AV
She looked up the tree, and then back down. It would be quite the climb but high within the branches was her prize. A nest, and hopefully one with eggs in it. With a grim but determined smile, Sayana readied herself by donning her leather gloves and popping open her bladed boots to assist her with the climb. She dumped her backpack at the base of the tree and then took her first step against the trunk, digging the blade into the soft bark.
Unfortunately there weren’t main branches on this tree, but it did have thin bark which was easy to pierce. Thin white bark with patches of black… Birch? She was still learning the names of the trees and this one at least was more distinguishable than others. With another slow step she dug her bladed boot into the bark and wrapped her arms about the trunk for support. Yank, position, dig down, and step. It was a long way up but she continued her steady pace up the trunk. When she reached the first thick branch, she was able to pull up with her arms and swing herself up to get her feet upon the brank. At least that saved her five or six slow steps up the trunk.
As she got higher, the trunk began to thin and she noticed there was a slight sway as she climbed. But when she was able to get a closer look at the nest, to her dismay there was a bird sitting in it. Would it peck at her if she attempted to grab the eggs? Or would it fly away? Suddenly a bit uncomfortable at her predicament, she instead climbed to a branch underneath her target and decided to wait it out.
The forest looked different from above as she peered down through the branches. There seemed to be a lot more leaves and branches. Even as looked around from the heights of the tree, she could see a small clearing. That was how she had first spotted the bird’s nest.
Suddenly there was the sound of flapping wings. For a moment Sayana thought it was the bird she was watching but it was coming from a different direction and sounded much much larger. There upon the ground of the clearing was a black dark shape. She didn’t need a second look to identify it as a zith. But there was something oddly familiar about it. About him. He looked somewhat civilized and was clearly active during the day. The zith seemed to be looking around, hunting… Then just as suddenly he was gone, hunting, flying, something but having clearly left the area.
For a couple ticks she was silent, not daring to make a movement, but after three or four chimes there was no indication of the creature or its return. Slowly she stood up to peer through the leaves, but she was sure it was gone. Then she remembered the eggs. Curiously she looked up at the branch above and grinned when she saw that it was empty. Gleefully she reached in and plucked two blue eggs from the nest.
With the eggs in her low hands, she pushed the blades back into her boots. She would have no need for them now. Spotting a nearby but significantly lower branch, she leapt from where she stood and caught hold of the branch in her highs as she fell. Swinging back and forth and feeling the tree bend with her weight she then let go and landed upon the forest floor. It was dramatic and certainly not quiet, but she didn’t want to get caught in a compromised position if the zith decided to come back.
She looked up the tree, and then back down. It would be quite the climb but high within the branches was her prize. A nest, and hopefully one with eggs in it. With a grim but determined smile, Sayana readied herself by donning her leather gloves and popping open her bladed boots to assist her with the climb. She dumped her backpack at the base of the tree and then took her first step against the trunk, digging the blade into the soft bark.
Unfortunately there weren’t main branches on this tree, but it did have thin bark which was easy to pierce. Thin white bark with patches of black… Birch? She was still learning the names of the trees and this one at least was more distinguishable than others. With another slow step she dug her bladed boot into the bark and wrapped her arms about the trunk for support. Yank, position, dig down, and step. It was a long way up but she continued her steady pace up the trunk. When she reached the first thick branch, she was able to pull up with her arms and swing herself up to get her feet upon the brank. At least that saved her five or six slow steps up the trunk.
As she got higher, the trunk began to thin and she noticed there was a slight sway as she climbed. But when she was able to get a closer look at the nest, to her dismay there was a bird sitting in it. Would it peck at her if she attempted to grab the eggs? Or would it fly away? Suddenly a bit uncomfortable at her predicament, she instead climbed to a branch underneath her target and decided to wait it out.
The forest looked different from above as she peered down through the branches. There seemed to be a lot more leaves and branches. Even as looked around from the heights of the tree, she could see a small clearing. That was how she had first spotted the bird’s nest.
Suddenly there was the sound of flapping wings. For a moment Sayana thought it was the bird she was watching but it was coming from a different direction and sounded much much larger. There upon the ground of the clearing was a black dark shape. She didn’t need a second look to identify it as a zith. But there was something oddly familiar about it. About him. He looked somewhat civilized and was clearly active during the day. The zith seemed to be looking around, hunting… Then just as suddenly he was gone, hunting, flying, something but having clearly left the area.
For a couple ticks she was silent, not daring to make a movement, but after three or four chimes there was no indication of the creature or its return. Slowly she stood up to peer through the leaves, but she was sure it was gone. Then she remembered the eggs. Curiously she looked up at the branch above and grinned when she saw that it was empty. Gleefully she reached in and plucked two blue eggs from the nest.
With the eggs in her low hands, she pushed the blades back into her boots. She would have no need for them now. Spotting a nearby but significantly lower branch, she leapt from where she stood and caught hold of the branch in her highs as she fell. Swinging back and forth and feeling the tree bend with her weight she then let go and landed upon the forest floor. It was dramatic and certainly not quiet, but she didn’t want to get caught in a compromised position if the zith decided to come back.
Credit: Shimoje
