♁.•°°•.•⭒•.•°˙°•.✧{14}✧.•°˙°•.•⭒•.•°°•.♁
3rd POV
After the group was shuffled out of the hut, minus kaily, they walked a few steps to a staircase fastened into the side of the tree. Amelia's glowing berry vine lit the way as the group climbed the tree. They passed some small branches that grew oit under the stairs as supports but other than that their werent many branches. Eventually the group managed to make a little over a full loop around the tree were they where met with another tree hut. From the outside this one looked like a handful of mud was slapped onto the tree. It was a rough surface, you could see sticks in the mud every great once in a while. The door stuck out like a sore thumb, it being the only fully visible wooden thing. A wood decklike platform branched out to the side of the hut and the path continued carved into the tree; curving around the hut.
Reaching the hut Amelia opened the door and walked in to the left the wall was smooth wood but it was evident the bark had been cleared away. On the wall to the left of the door was another door. Ava opened the door and walked in, shuffling around for a second before cracking another glow seed pod and managing to not spill seeds everywhere. With the new source of light you could see that the door led to a bedroom. The rest of the hut looked pretty much like the other a blank room waiting to be filled and three large glow flowers hanging from the ceiling.
"Are you people gonna choose or are we just gonna have to leave on of you behind?"
The chittering of animals could be heard outside as the rescues blinked back at ava.
After a few seconds amelia groaned and pointed tward mae.
"Youre staying, take the seed pod. I don't wanna be here all night."
Mae awkwardly stepped forward and took the seed pod from ava.
"Don't worry it will be prettier in the summer when the moss and vines grow over it, you can even get kire berries to grow in the clay sometimes"
Ava called as the group quickly shuffled away.
Maes POV
I flinched a little when the door closed, i had never been properly alone on this journey. We either shared rooms or where within speaking distance with at least one person but as i heard the voices fade away i knew that wasn't how it was gonna be tonight. The quiet russell of leaves was the only thing i could hear above my footsteps. I walked into the bedroom and slowly closed the door behind me. The bedroom was small and consisted of a dresser with an empty wooden vase on top a stool next to the bed acting as a nightstand and a bed on the far side of the room. I walked over and set the seed pod in the vase, it was just short enough to let the light from the seed pod seep out the top creating a moon like circle on the ceiling. Next i walked over and sat at the foot of the bed. Untying and removing my boots. I had to have scott tie them for me before we left because i couldn't figure out the stupid things so it took me a bit to remove them. After removing my boots i shed my sweater ploping it on the nightstand and crawled under my blanket, sighing as i sank into the mattress knowing this was the last day of extreme travel.
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3rd POV
The remaining group continued to climb the tree. Branches where becoming more abundant and longer doing more than supporting the stairs. At some point glowing vines started appearing in the bark wrapping around the railings of the stairs and bringing more light to the general area.
"The vines started somewhere at the top of the tree weve been trying to get them to grow on the railings" ava said noticing tial and taylor following the vines up.
"Their beautiful"
"You should see some of the fish if you think the vines are pretty"
The group continued the climb the rescues knees where probably tired but that continued anyway. They wee used to pushing themselves at this point.
Taylors POV
Yep my knees hurt i want to be done right now. It feels like we've been climbing this tree for hours, i'm pretty sure it's only been fifteen minuets of actual climbing. These stairs are super steep though. We finally entered the leafy area of the tree, it was nice to finally be sheltered.
"And here we are, our final destination, well kinda."
Ava spread her arms wide as we stepped out onto a flat platform. Glancing to my left, I was greeted by a huge tree hollow. The edges had glowing vines and moss practically painted across the surface. All sorts of glowing bugs flittered around in the open area and their where even a few small fruit trees growing. In the middle of it all sat a hut, much like the one at the base of the tree it in no way was suspended. It was a smooth cylinder and no part of it was intercepted by tree. The hut sat niceley in the tree hollow. Ava and amelia started tward it, we walked down into the hollow only three stairs down. Once off the stairs the wood turned to a compost and the path to stone slabs. When we reached the door amelia opened it and ushered us inside. I barely saved myself from slamming into tiah as she took two steps inside and stopped. We where both standing on a fluffy rug but that didn't seem like a reason to stop so i peeked over her shoulder. Instead of a large open room with a few windows and a door leading to a bed room their where two doors and a very small area. Tiah glanced back at me with a confused expression.
"Go right"
With amelias instruction tiah opened the door to the right and entered.
Inside was a simple bedroom. A dresser to the right with a bowl on top of it, a bed in the back of the room fit to the curved wall. A chest at the bottom of the bed, and two mid sized glow flowers one above the bed facing into the room and the other in the cnter of the room hanging from the ceiling. Ava breezed past us and unclasped the chest. She popped it open and grabbed something before closing it again. As she removed the outer leaves she walked over to the dresser and held whatever it was over the bowl cracking it, a few seeds fell into the bowl but the seed pod lit up. Ava held the seed pod out to tiah and i so i reached out and took i from her hand.
"Great, next hut"
The group shuffled out the door, amelia practically dragging ava out as she tried to wish me a good night.
By the time they were gone i had already unclasped and removed my boots, the knife holster around my calf had shifted to be under my sock and had been rubbing into my leg for the better part of an hour by now. I really don't understand the need for this holster. They didn't even give me a knife. The dumb holster wrestled with me as I tried to take it off. Once I got it off after nearly falling over about a dozen times I tossed it on top of the dresser and grabbed the boots. slinking over to the bed, I suddenly felt exhaustion take over as i plopped the boots at the base of the bed next to the chest and set the seed pod on top of the chest. I layed down face first into the bed not wanting to move a muscle but eventually sitting up due to lack of oxygen. I glanced down at my calf and examined the raw skin, the harness hadn't done much but rub the skin raw. I would probably still have to ask for something to relieve the sting tomorrow. Who knows why they insisted on me wearing it anyway. Tucking myself into the bed I melted into the soft mattress and drifted off to sleep.
Tias POV
Amelia pulled me out of the hut. Well I suppose it's Taylor's hut now. Unceremoniously she dragged Ava and I out of the tree hollow and followed the wooden path out onto a branch. She practically threw me inside the hut at the end.
"Alright this is your hut no it won't fall yes it is perfectly safe I'm going to bed goodnight"
Amelia left the room in a flurry of words, her chocolate hair whisking out the door behind her like a shadow.
The room plunged into darkness when the door closed and I stared into the inky black.
CRACK
"Ahhhh what who's there"
I whipped my head around to see Ava standing on a balcony holding a new glowing pod.
"Just me"
She waved a little then motioned for me to come up the stairs.
"We tried to maximize space by making a loft, hanging houses tend to be a little smaller"
"Honestly compared to the districts this is huge"
I rounded the corner up the curved stairs Ava was standing with her upper body leaning on the balcony railing looking down into the room. Its basket looking walls illuminated by the white glow pod. The space in the loft was much like the first treehouse with a cutout in the floor that held a large mattress like object with multitudes of pillows and blankets on top.
"Now"
Ava turned her head to address me
"You do have an actual bedroom down in that door."
She pointed under the loft at a door I hadn't even seen.
"However believe me when I say this is comfortable, but also believe me when I say it's not if you're already sore from something else"
She stretched her arms up over her head and then let one fall behind her to pull the other sideways. A jarring crack sounded from her shoulder and the bones seemed to shift slightly which churned my stomach.
"But that's up to you, just don't forget to remove your shoes, cleaning these things is a pain."
With a huff Ava walked over and placed the seed pod in my had before marching down the stairs and out the door. I leaned over the railing as she walked out the front door.
"WAIT"
The door stopped a second before closing and Ava's head popped back inside.
"Yeah?"
"How are you gonna see out there Amelia left"
I scrabbled down the stairs as I bumbled about Amelia taking the glowing thing with her. And about tripped on the way over to the door. Ava just chuckled and held out her hand revealing a pile of glowing seeds that had fallen out of the different pods she had cracked for all of us.
"Don't worry we've always got a backup plan around here"
Ava smiled and closed the door. I could hear her steps down the wooden path. It would probably take me forever to understand some of these other escapees. They all are so different. Leaning down I un strapped my boots, who knew why each side needs five buckles, then removed them. Moving over to the bedroom and sliding the door open I was greeted with a pleasant little room. Straight across the room was a little window with a wardrobe to the left and a bed to the right. In the right corner a little table was shoved and a vase sat on top of it. I gently placed the seed pod in the vase and closed the glow flower on the ceiling above by gently tugging on the string attached to its pedals. According to Amelia those will be dormant soon. I didn't even bother poking around in the small room and went straight to bed.
Amelia's POV
I practically shoved Tiah at Ava before bailing down the tree stairs. I'm so tired of carting these rescues around. I feel like I'm a dog tied to a pole. Heck the blond one is as close to scared of heights as you can get.
I continued down the stairs two at a time. I would've just climbed the vines to the bottom but they didn't reach.
I may have been this inexperienced when I first started but I had no one. Yeah I had Scott and Ava and what not but I didn't have the crutch of someone experienced who could hunt. Heck it took the five of us a year to find the village. These rescues are being babysat by all of us. No wonder they still can't do anything.
Finally reaching the forest floor I held my glow berry torch up. Pausing briefly when I realized Ava didn't have any light before remembering the glow flower seed pods and continuing on my way. I walked straight through our fruit tree orchard and skirted around the small glow berry grove we had established when we first arrived.
The tree my hut was constructed in a shorter tree not like the noble trees that stood tall and were some type of mutated redwood. My tree was more like an old oak. Smaller than a redwood but a much stronger tree.
I climbed the stairs quickly looping around to the small hollow my hut was set inside.
My small garden of bushes and plants greeted me as I entered my hut. My cat Serafina curled herself contentedly on the sofa on the far right of the room. She raised her head with a purr as I walked in. Stripping my jacket off I hung it on the hanger at the door well yanking off my boots then I walked across to my bedroom door scooping up serafina on the way by. The silver she cat wasn't too pleased when her nap was interrupted but she snuggled close anyway.
After I placed the glow berry torch in a torch holder mounted on the wall just outside my bedroom I slipped into the room and laid down on the bed carefully placing serafina down on the extra pillows above my head.
I heard a chitter come from my doorway and was soon greeted with furry paws to the face. The long furry calico rubbed his face along mine before settling next to Serafina but not before receiving a hiss and a cuff over the ear when he tried to play.
"Dominick serafina is tired leave her be"
The tom huffed a little bit and plopped down on the pillow. I sighed and pulled the blankets up, closing my eyes and listening to the rumbling purring coming from my pillow.
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