I flew until I felt like I got a cramp in my back. It was an odd feeling. I didn't want to land on the ground just yet so I rather clumsily landed on a tree. The branch held but the shock of what happened made me go to my knees and I threw up. Ugh. After wipping my mouth and spitting a few times I decided that the thing I needed most now was to rest. Leaning my back against the trunk of the tree I let my thoughts wander. I didn't feel so good, the spells those Fox Deer had been using really messed with my head. I needed to find that herb my mother-in-law told me about. The one that could dispel illusions and help clear the mind. That herb was going to be the key factor of my survival after all. Yawning I did a quick glance down to see how high up I was, hmm not bad about 30ft I quietly mused. I think I can try and get some sleep.
***************
Hot it was so freaking hot! Those were my first thoughts as my eyes opened to the bright light of the sun. I was totally exposed to the light so the heat naturally was hitting me full on dead center. Sitting upright I stretched out a bit and looked around. I wasn't in the tallest of the trees of the forest but at least it had done in a pinch. I noticed now though just how lucky I had been to land here, underneath me a herd, a freaking herd of Fox Deer were all stalking another Hellcat.
She was small, fragile looking, and she had no idea of the danger behind her. I had a front row seat to what was probably going to be a gruesome death. I was about to call out to her when I noticed something. It was true that she had her back to the Fox Deer but looking at her movements now I wouldn't say she had no idea anymore that they were there. What was she doing? She carried what looked to be a crude but efficient looking handmade spear. She was slowly walking towards a spot on the ground that looked a bit off. Was that a trap? Did she plan to trap one of them and spear it? No, it wasn't her trap because the next instant she screamed in pain as her foot hit the outside of the dark ground. Spikes of earth erupted and pinned her feet to the ground rendering her helpless to run. Why didn't she fly? I squinted and saw the reason, her wing was broken. That's why she looked so fragile her right wing was hanging awkwardly on her back. The Fox Deers let out chilling howls as they saw this, they knew they had her.
Damn it, damn it, damn it! I reacted before I even realized what I was doing. Launching myself from the tree I angeld myself to where I could fly by and grab her under the shoulders easily. The Fox Deers saw what I was doing and raced towards the helpless girl. They were fast, I had had a head start but they were still too fast.
Come on think! What was it that mother-in-law did when she wanted the plants to grow a little faster? "Visualize what you want them to do." Her voice came as a memory surfaced of her telling me to visualize the plants in the ground. Picture them moving in the earth and reaching for the surface.
[Skill learned: Call of nature]
{Call of Nature (lvl1)}
[By focusing on the ground you can now call upon the very roots of the forest to obey you. All plant life is within your power.]
Dozens of tree roots suddenly sprang from the ground forming a plant wall between the Fox Deer and the girl, just in time for the lead Deer was about to launch a claw attack. I swooped over them and grabbed her as gently as I could and lifted her away from the danger.
She was shocked and struggled a bit, but as soon as she realized it was another Hellcat she relaxed. It still didn't make things easy on me however. Carrying her was straining all the muscles I had.
[Strength has leveled up!]
[Strength has leveled up!]
[Strength has leveled up!]
[Strength has leveled up!]
[Strength 80 -> 84]
[Hp 75 / 80]
It became easier to carry her as Debs voice rang in my mind. So I had gained a little Strength by rescuing her? It looks like I also lost some Hp because I'm tired and havnt eaten yet. That's interesting to know. I needed to find a safe place for us, somewhere preferably with no Fox Deer. A small lake came into view, from what I could see there were no beasts around.
"Hang on we are landing, I'm sorry if this will be a little rough." I warned the girl as I headed for the lake. We tumbled as we hit the ground my wings folding against my back as we both rolled to a stop.
"Owe man that stings." I complained as I sat up. I looked over to the girl and hurried over. "I'm sorry are you okay? I didn't know how to land..." I stopped talking quickly as she too sat up and started to laugh. Like a genuine laugh of pure happiness. I was baffled, I mean I just rescued her from danger and she was laughing here like I had said the funniest thing in the world. Her laugh sounded like little bells and for a min I just listened letting her enjoy herself.
"I'm sorry you must think I'm weird." She said after a while, her eyes still wet with tears. "However that was the LAST thing I expected you to say after we landed. That we...." She chuckled again, "That you didn't know how to land because I mean that should have been obvious in how we all tried to fly at first last night." She sobered up quickly after saying that. "You know if it hadn't been for you we all would be dead. I would have been dead twice now without you. You saved me when you could have just ignored me after I got trapped in those spikes. You know I had no clue there was that many behind me, I was wanting to lure one into a trap I had made but then I set off one of theirs. They knew that plot of ground would react like that, they cornerd me."
She had said this so softly and yet her words rang through my head like thunder. They led her into a trap. The Fox Deer are as cunning as they are quick my dad had said. They will use every trick in the book to devour you, be wary. Did they also know I was there? They could have gotten her immediately after the spikes nailed her down and yet they howled instead as if signaling their intention to charge. If that was the case then this trial of life was more dangerous then I had originally thought.