Chapter 71 - Fight or Flight

When the youngling wyvern awoke, he found himself alone, the young harpy nowhere in sight. Panic gripped his heart as he scoured their hideaway – the bushes, the trees, every nook and cranny – but Lunabunny remained elusive.The worst scenarios played out in his mind. Had she abandoned him, perhaps as retribution for his earlier prank? "Coo~" He tilted his head skyward, fearing the young harpy had taken flight and left him behind."Meep!" A familiar call pierced the silence, and relief washed over him as Lunabunny emerged from the forest, her claws laden with an assortment of treasures.Approaching their hideout, she carefully deposited her bounty into a bowl-shaped wooden log – an array of insects, from roaches and beetles to crickets. The juvenile wyvern's curiosity was piqued, and he inched closer to inspect the strange offerings.At first glance, the bugs appeared lifeless – three grasshoppers, a beetle, and several flat, oval-shaped creatures with six spiny legs, long antennae, and dark mouthparts.Just as the juvenile leaned in for a better look, the creatures began to wiggle, eliciting a startled "Bwa!" from the wyvern. He leaped back, wings outstretched in a defensive posture, attempting to intimidate the unsettling bugs.Lunabunny couldn't stifle her giggles at the youngling's overreaction, clearly amused by his antics."Coo~" The wyvern squinted, his wings still raised as he studied the writhing, oval-shaped bugs, mustering his courage to approach once more.Bum! With a sudden pounce, he brought both wing-alulas down upon one of the wiggling creatures, intending to subdue it. To his surprise, the bug remained defiantly alive despite the forceful blow, its shell as strong as steel. The others scurried frantically in response to the disturbance."Eek~!" Overwhelmed, the youngling retreated, seeking shelter behind the young harpy's reassuring presence."Kehihi," Lunabunny's melodic laughter filled the air as she covered her lips with a wing, unable to contain her amusement at the adorable sight of the once-intimidating wyvern cowering in fear.Brushing his head tenderly, she sought to soothe his worries, conveying through gentle gestures that the bugs posed no real threat. Emboldened by her confidence, the juvenile wyvern trailed cautiously behind as she approached the wooden log.To his astonishment, Lunabunny plucked one of the oval-shaped creatures and took a bite, savoring it like a juicy biscuit.The youngling watched, awestruck, as his new mom consumed the very bug that had sent him fleeing moments earlier, her actions a silent lesson in conquering one's fears and embracing the unfamiliar.Bugs, Lunabunny explained through gestures, were a crucial part of a harpy's diet. Harpy chicks, the newborn harpies, thrived on a steady intake of insects, which provided the nourishment they needed to grow into strong, healthy adults.After weaning from their mother's milk, bugs became the first solid food introduced to the chicks before they could graduate to consuming meat. Even adult harpies preferred the tender innards over tougher cuts of flesh.To illustrate her point, Lunabunny plucked a plump cricket from the wooden bowl and popped it into her mouth, savoring the tingling, crunchy delicacy with evident delight."Kweh," she encouraged, gesturing for the juvenile wyvern to partake in the bounty.Tentatively, the youngling selected a cockroach, grimacing as he bit into the tough exoskeleton. The unpleasant taste was evident on his face, a stark contrast to the harpy's gleeful consumption of the crunchy morsels.As Lunabunny continued to enjoy her insect feast, some of her feathers became dislodged, drifting lazily to the ground. She glanced around their ancient tree trunk hideaway, noticing the telltale signs of an impending molt. Her feathers were becoming increasingly sparse, leaving her more exposed than usual, and even the simple act of flying had become a laborious task in recent days."Kweh?" She offered another bug to the youngling, only to be met with a shake of his head and a resolute refusal.Undeterred, the young harpy flapped her wings insistently, conveying through gestures that the insects would provide the nourishment he needed to sustain his burgeoning flying abilities.Still, the wyvern remained steadfast in his pickiness, evading her attempts to coax the bug into his mouth with a muffled "Nn..Ga!" before scampering behind the safety of the dead trunk.Peeking out from his hiding spot, the youngling watched as Lunabunny patted her wings against the ground, a signal for him to stay put. With a final affectionate pat on his head, the harpy took to the skies, her powerful wings carrying her away in search of more sustenance at her favorite hunting grounds nearby.Left alone, the wyvern emerged from his refuge, crawling slowly to the spot where the harpy had been moments before. Settling down, he allowed memories of his parents to resurface, the pangs of longing and loss a familiar ache in his heart.As the forest sounds ebbed and flowed around him, the youngling rested, finding solace in the tranquility of their sanctuary, awaiting Lunabunny's return with a mixture of trepidation and anticipation."Kyeah!"The young harpy's piercing scream shattered the tranquility, startling the juvenile wyvern from his reverie. Without hesitation, he bolted toward the source of the cry, his heart pounding with dread.Emerging into a clearing where the trees stood distant, the wyvern's worst fears were realized. There, lying on the forest floor, was his harpy mom, a cruel iron clamp fastened around her ankle.She had fallen victim to a trap, the vicious jaws of the clamp gripping into her ankle as she struggled against her bonds. The trap itself was securely fastened to a nearby tree trunk by an unyielding iron chain.The juvenile rushed to her side, inspecting the contraption with growing despair. He gnashed his teeth against the unforgiving metal, but not even a scratch marred its surface. Together, they clawed and pried, but their efforts were futile against such sturdy construction.As the sun began its descent, bathing the forest in a warm, golden glow, a sense of resignation settled over the pair. The young harpy's fate seemed sealed, her captivity all but assured."Wark," she uttered a mournful sound that conveyed her acceptance of the grim situation. With gentle gestures, she urged the wyvern away, back toward the safety of their hideout. The humans, she knew, would come for her soon, just as they had taken Queen Harpy and her captured sisters before."Coo~" The juvenile was reluctant, unwilling to abandon his friend and foster parent to such a cruel fate, the prospect of being alone once more filling him with dread.This, Lunabunny knew, was the very reason the Queen Harpy and Wingclaw had warned their flocks to steer clear of the Song Forest. Too many of their sisters had fallen prey to the humans' traps, spirited away to the sea, never to be seen again.She did not wish the same fate upon the juvenile wyvern, her desire to protect him overriding her own self-preservation. The harpy had hoped that the recent raids on the human village would deter further intrusions into the forest, restoring it as a safe haven for her kind.But now, as the iron jaws gripped tighter into her ankle with each passing moment, that hope seemed increasingly futile.The wyvern closed his eyes, and his decision was made. He would not abandon Lunabunny, come what may.⁕⁕⁕It was already past midnight and the breeze got more freezing. He couldn't sleep, even with Lunabunny's wings wrapped around him, the chill seeped through.He didn't know how his foster mom managed to sleep during this freezing night.He looked up and took a good look at his harpy mom's face, she was so peaceful. Her breath was warm, her hug was tight even when her ankle was strapped by a trap.The juvenile wyvern was very concerned about her. He was in a dilemma. She hasn't eaten anything since she got ensnared by the trap.He thought he must look for food for her but he couldn't hunt. He never hunted anything in his life before except when he swam on the beach. Diving into the sea in the night was a bad idea. Going to the seaport was also not a very good idea, the goblins or worse, the harpies might claimed that place already.He couldn't come out with a good idea. no plan was good emerged in his head, he kept remembering. There might be something he missed, something to find him food or a source for his harpy mom."Wa!" He exclaimed so loud he woke up Lunabunny.He remembered the human building in the seaport which has abundant fishes. If he could slip inside the fish building in the night without anyone or anything noticing him he would stand a chance to get something for the young harpy to eat.He must take the risk."Meep?" Lunabunny wondered what made him still awake late at night and act strange.He dashed out, leaving the ensnared young harpy alone in the woods."Meep!" Lunabunny called for the juvenile wyvern. She was worried the juvenile wyvern might do something terrible.The juvenile wyvern headed straight toward the seaport. He could navigate the forest easily during the night. Stormwing wyvern could see better in the dark. Their eyes could invert the light in their vision and see things differently in the dark. They were made and born for it. That's how they didn't get blinded by the flash of their own lightning bolt.The juvenile wyvern trod the descending path carefully. although he knew the shortcut still he had to be careful. The shortcut was steep with jaggy rocks. He scaled the bedrock down the mountain, between trees and bushes, across foliage, he knew his route even in the darkest night.For three hours he scaled down the mountain, jumped down, spread, and flapped his wings to reduce the fall, his steps and wings flap woke up every critter and sea bird that rested on the mountain slope.His thought of his foster mom overcame his fear of the unknown stocked in the darkest night. It was either she got captured by humans or she died out of starvation. The juvenile wyvern couldn't afford the latter.it was near dawn when he got into the seaport. he managed to save much time with his new ability thanks to his new mom's lesson. He stepped into the dock, he remembered correctly that the dock was full of wooden crate stacks making a wall of crates with multiple alleyways. He trod carefully, sneaking his way into the seaport as stealthy as he could.He must be careful as he didn't want the incident with the goblins to happen again. The seaport was full of goblins before the muscular harpies wiped them out. Those ugly creatures might have come back and reclaimed this seaport.At the dock, he heard some commotion on the pier. Flashes of light filled the dock, they came from the fire that the humans brought with sticks. He peeked from behind the crate stacks, it was not the goblins. He saw a group of humans on the boat with a captured harpy on the wooden floor of the deck.humans and a captured harpy. His foster mom was also ensnared by the human-made trap.many thoughts swirled inside his head like a storm. The human would be back to the Song Forest to go get his ensnared new mom.He must be haste and sneaky. He slipped into the fish building. There was no light, only the moon providing the light shone from the windows.It was more than enough for the small wyvern to see the inside of the building.Inside the building, he found the pools and barrels full of fish. He dived into one of the barrels full of salmons. Ate two of them and grabbed another two. He jumped out of the barrels with dripping water.He heard someone closing in, and with two salmons between his jaws, he ran toward the back door and exited the building straight up to the mountain.The dawn already breaking, when he got out of the fish building.There were many harpies above the seaport."Coo~" The juvenile wyvern contemplated. It was a fight or flight situation, he must decide. Yet deep down he knew, he must push through. He measured the distance from his spot to the mountain road, as long as he could reach the tree line on the ascending road to the mountain he would be safe. Harpies wouldn't dare to fly under or among the crowded trees with huge and outreaching branches.The juvenile wyvern mustered his courage. out of the moment, he heard a heavy flap near him."Eek!" He instantly dashed forward, avoiding all the debris and obstacles on the beach. The harpies were at him, or so he thought.He ran as fast as he could toward the entrance of the mountain road where the tree canopies would give him protection from the harpies. He didn't even look back. He was too afraid to look back. he ran as if the harpies were at him with their claws.when he reached inside the road, he looked back.The harpies paid the juvenile wyvern no mind, too preoccupied with their fixation on the human-made fish building. They seemed to be bickering over who would claim it as their own, now that the goblins had abandoned the structure.But the wyvern's sole concern was bringing the purloined fish back to the young harpy, praying fervently that she had not yet fallen into human hands.He could not bear to lose another being who had shown him such love, protection, and nurturing care. Not after the devastating loss of his parents.With the fish clutched tightly in his jaws, the juvenile bounded through the forest, leaping over obstacles, hopping across branches, and skipping nimbly around fallen logs. Every twist and turn of the path was etched into his memory, as familiar as the very trees that surrounded him.After what seemed an eternity, he finally veered off the mountain road, taking a sharp right turn into the welcoming embrace of the Song Forest."Wark!" he called out, his muffled cries announcing his approach and the prized cargo he carried. He was telling Lunabunny that he had managed to bring her food, and sustenance to tide her over until they could find a way to free her from the cruel trap.As he neared the place where she had been ensnared, relief washed over him – she was still there, her eyes brightening at the sight of her young friend and his thoughtful offering.With a grateful gesture, Lunabunny accepted the fish, her gestures conveying both gratitude and a renewed sense of hope. As long as they had each other, they could face any challenge, any adversity that dared to tear them apart."Ark," He put two salmons in front of her. Dropping the fish at her feet, the wyvern nuzzled her reassuringly, silently vowing that he would not abandon her, no matter what dangers lay ahead.She smiled. With a grateful gesture, Lunabunny accepted the fish, although he didn't hunt at least he knew where to find something to eat. Diving into the sea was very dangerous, especially in these days when the sea might freezing chill and the fishes were scarce.She was proud that the juvenile wyvern had so much progress in a few days. Just a few days ago he couldn't even hover in mid-air or seek food for himself, but today he couldn't just manage to take a leap between branches, he also was the one that searched for food and fed her.He was a good boy, she mused, her heart filled with a maternal affection that transcended species lines.Unfortunately, his flight lessons would have to be postponed. Two crucial skills remained – long glides and solo flight – but for now, mastering the leap from perch to perch was achievement enough. He was a wyvern, after all, and as Wingclaw had always warned, wyverns were intelligent creatures.Though they lacked a shared spoken language, the wyverns' intellect was on par with, if not superior to, that of harpies themselves.As Lunabunny took a bite of the succulent salmon, a pang of sadness gripped her at the thought of potentially having to leave the youngling alone. She quickly brushed the notion aside, focusing instead on offering him the remaining fish.But the wyvern refused with a dismissive blerch, indicating that he had already partaken of the bounty at the fish building.The juvenile observed his harpy mom, taking in her disheveled appearance with evident concern. Her condition was dire, her feathers nearly all gone, even the flight feathers that once adorned her majestic wings. Without her plumage, she resembled more a human with elongated arms and bird-like feet than the regal harpy he had come to know.⁕⁕⁕