Every Path [Lukasse, Dragonfly, OPEN]

[Deleted]

Although Lukasse had lead the way out of the Orchard, with Dragonfly trailing behind, Kota had somehow ended up a part from them. It had only been moments before that he was following behind the brown reptile, his head down, bright blue eyes scanning the ground in which they walked over. And then, the crunch of gravel and the rush of water had dulled their steps out. That had been ago that his group had first stepped unto the beginning of the crunchy riverbank, and he had lost his audio connection with them. Not having been paying attention, he had finally looked up to find the gone. No longer trotting in front of him on their two-legs, just gone. Completely out of sight. He stopped immediately upon finding this out, and started looking around in every direction. However, there were no bobbing heads among the foliage along the water. He was alone.

Long, quiet minutes passed as the blue-grey feline decided to just sit where he was and wait to see if they would come back. It occurred to him, though, that he might have strayed off the same path as them and through some bushes into a completely different area. They had been ducking under giant leaves and leaping over groups of flowers for what seemed like forever now. In fact, now that he was stopped, he realized he felt quite empty inside, and tired. It was uncomfortable, and something he tried to sate by lapping up water from a nearby pool left by the river when it had been high. He didn't know that though, and didn't know why it was so hot now that he was outside of the Orchard. Things were definitely changing, and he wasn't sure if he liked it or not, since he didn't even understand it.

Finally, he got tired of waiting, and tried his voice out again. "Lukasse? Dragonfly?" It wasn't as loud as it should be to carry over the water, but he didn't know that. Instead, his voice was timid, and a bit afraid. The two reptiles had been his only connection to how to live so far, he couldn't be on his own soon yet. It felt...unsafe. He could encounter danger, whatever that was. A small whimper escaped him in instinct as he hunkered down to the ground like he had done back in the Orchard upon first seeing the two reptiles. His half-stump of a tail lashed back and forth irritably, feeling very uncomfortable and waiting to see what would happen to him.

[meixiaotian]

While they walked along, a silence had fallen. Not paying attention to much, Dragonfly was looking everywhere, taking it all in awe. There were flowers everywhere, mounted on tall stems, and embedded in soft moss. Bushes, ferns, and reeds were abundant as well, spotting the land in different areas. Beneath the small and large greenery were rocks and bits of dirt that also changed shapes and size. To top off the new scenery was the river. It was amazing. Clear and shallow waters that slowly went along, passing through stones, plants, and dips in the land like they didn't matter. The young reptile's violet eyes couldn't get enough of the new world that had opened to her and didn't seem like a fact of life yet. New words and ideas were flooding her mind, which left her her mind full of thoughts, so much that she didn't notice when her dull ears stopped sensing the steps of the feline behind her.

Among the greatest part, the river, were small animals, undoubtedly prey, that moved every once in a while, then froze, disappearing into the water's floor. Perhaps she could catch one for Kota, who hadn't eaten on their way. So her eyes set to focusing, and studying the prey that seemed to sometimes be barely smaller than herself. Still, a good amount were small enough of her to feel that she could get one. She decided to stop, and hoped nobody would wonder what she was doing, because it would only be a moment. She froze, and waited for something to move, so she could see it. A small flash of movement to the left of where she was looking. Ahah! Her small legs bunched up, and she leapt, surging forward. Undoubtedly, her tactic was odd, as she simply was swinging her head, mouth open. When she crashed down, the fish scattered, but she managed to nick a medium-sized creature. Her mark gave its position away when she was completely in the water, and she surged forward again, this time knowing exactly where to aim. Still, she only barely managed to catch it, dropping it once, but managing to hold on with her arms.

During this time, she barely noticed the water, but now she took a moment to appreciate the amazing feel of water slowly swirling around her. The moment took barely any time, as she realized she didn't see anyone anymore. Looking up and down the bank, she saw nothing, and the moss did not yield any tracks. That was okay, the reptile felt she could find them relatively easily. She got out of the water and decided to go back from the way they came. Perhaps they noticed her absence, and went to look, but overshot. Probably not, but she decided to anyway. It would be nice to see where she came from earlier. She decided to hold the fish with her mouth, as it was slippery, and would easily drop from her claws.

Her pace was relatively slow and relaxed, she was in no hurry to find them. Then, she heard Kota's voice calling somewhere nearby. She sped up, and thought about his wording. Something was off. It didn't sound like he knew where Lukasse was either. That meant they all were separated. While that would not have worried her, she remembered how she had accidentally split up with Artemis and Lukasse, and still didn't know where Artemis was. What if the same thing happened again? The young feline suddenly came into sight. He looked scared and unhappy yet again, like before. Dragonfly trotted up to him, and dropped the fish so she could talk.

"I'm here."

[Deleted]

Lukasse had gone on, looking around nervously as they drew near the river. The strangeness of the area scared her, though she didn’t want to admit it to her companions. She had no idea what sort of beasts they’d encounter here. Then there was the water itself, which could be hiding anything. As could the plants. And the sky. The orchard was safe, but the lands beyond…

Well…too late now. Besides, she was thirsty. She bent down to drink, but only took a few laps of water when she noticed her companions hadn’t lined up beside her. She looked back, opening her mouth to tell them to come drink. Surely at least Dragonfly knew about quenching thirst by now?

Except…there was no Dragonfly. No Kota, either.
The pale reptile let out a sound between a whine and a hiss and looked around. When had her companions left her?! She could have sworn they were right there just a moment ago…did something get them? No…no, there’d be blood and fur and feathers and—no! She shivered and shook her head. She couldn’t think about that. She had to find them before something happened! But…where to start?

A splash to her left caught her attention and she rushed toward it, not caring how much noise she made. She thought she caught a flash of brown in the distance, so she sped up, not wanting to lose sight of it. Then she caught up, and saw both of her companions together. Poor Kota looked as unhappy as she felt, and Dragonfly seemed to be comforting him.

“Oh, good.” She sighed and slowed to a stop beside the two. “There you are.” She looked around. “I was worried something bad had happened. I’m glad you two are okay.”

[Deleted]

Within moments of his soft spoken words, Kota could hear foot step running across rocks up the shore. He pressed himself as close to the ground as he could, bright blue eyes peeking over stray blades of grass and riverbank pebbles as he waited to see what was about to come upon him. But when Dragonfly came into view around the bend, the blue-grey feline relaxed and immediately sat up. As the reptile approached, though, he noticed something very peculiar within her jaws. It wasn't until she came to a halt in front of him and began speaking that he got a good look at the small, scaly creature between her teeth.

It was definitely not a feline of any sort, and seeing as it was limbless, it didn't seem to be a reptile either. Kota became so engrossed in the fish that he hardly noticed Lukasse joining them. But when she spoke up, he jumped in surprise and stood on edge while glancing between the light blue and white reptile and the fish. Once he processed her words, though, the blue-grey feline relaxed again and spoke up in his usual quiet, timid tones.

"I was looking at ground, and then looked up and you two gone. I was worried, but I'm glad you're back." Kota admitted, a small smile creasing his maw as he looked back and forth between his companions. Now that they were back, he felt much more comfortable with being in this new place. Then the fish caught his eye again and his curiosity got the better of him as he asked,"What is that Dragonfly?" Nodding at it in her mouth to indicate what he was asking about in case she didn't understand.
The smell of it was starting to waft up into his nostrils, awakening his sense of smell like never before. Without knowing why, his insides twisted and writhed, aching in a very uncomfortable way. He let out a small whine at his first experience of pain, but nonetheless stayed quiet to see what Dragonfly would say. He had a feeling that he wanted one of the little limbless creatures for himself, though what he would do with it he was unsure of as of yet. All he knew is that his insides told him he had to find one, and soon.

[meixiaotian]

The words and tones of both of Dragonfly's companions confused her. She hadn't noticed it before, but they seemed... Unhappy. They weren't as happy as she was to be there. She knew they were both timid, but how could they not enjoy this? They were exploring, seeing a new world ripe with possibilities and ideas, places to find, things to enjoy! They'd realize it was a good place soon enough. At the very least, it had new food, like the creature, the fish she had somewhat caught. That reminded her, she had hunted so Kota could have his first meal. His words confirmed that he was interested, so she decided to toss in her reason for disappearing too.

"I think it's a fiss. No, that's not right, maybe a fish? Yeah, um, I think it'll be good food. D'you want it?" She was interested to see how he'd interpret it. She had to watch someone else from a distance to understand what the purpose was, but then it was easy to figure out what could be eaten, and what couldn't.

She suddenly realized that she was wet, and her back feathers wee plastered down against her body, while her tail and arm one were dropping small bits of water. Then the water just rolled off of her scales. It wasn't unpleasant, but she decided to try to get some off. Her instinct told her to shake her body, so that's what she did. It wasn't a fierce shake, but the water, sprayed Lukasse and Kota, along with the fish. It left her feeling less heavy, which was nice. It didn't occur to her that her companions might not have appreciated water suddenly on them, so she simply waited for Kota's reaction to the prey.

[Deleted]

Lukasse watched the interaction between her companions, studying the fish a bit. It looked tasty, and it occurred to her that it might be a good idea to catch a few more, but that could wait. She wanted to see if Kota would eat it and if he liked it, first. Besides, she was in no hurry to take her eyes off her companions again. What if they got separated? They’d been lucky to find each other, and that may not happen next time.

Before she knew what was happening, she found herself sprayed with water. She backed up a couple paces and closed her eyes, ducking her head down so her arms could shield it a bit. Water wasn’t dangerous, she knew, but becoming unexpectedly wet wasn’t pleasant, either. Where had the water even come from? She opened her eyes in time to see Dragonfly finish shaking out her feathers and sighed, the sound coming out as a soft hiss. Well…at least it was her and not someone or something they’d have to run from. Lukasse shook off the droplets of water that had landed on her and stood tall, looking around to make sure they were still alone. It would be very bad if something managed to sneak up on them, so she decided she wasn’t going to let that happen.

[Deleted]

Dragonfly's reply only confused Kota even more. A fiss? No, a fish. What was a fish? He stared at the limp, scaly thing hanging from the brown reptile's jaws. Cautiously, he took a step forward, and even no one reacted, he took another, bringing him face to face with Dragonfly. Being so close, he could now see every detail of the dead creature. It wasn't until that moment that he even knew it was a living thing, or at least had been. He wasn't sure how he knew about death, it was just one of those strange feelings he got deep inside. To him, it felt like...well, nothing. Ceasing to be something. That was pretty scary to him, but the smell of the fish kept enticing him.

Large, round eyes glanced between Dragonfly and Lukasse with uncertainty. Was he supposed to eat other creatures? The fish obviously wasn't like any of them, but the thought still bothered him. However, Kota's belly rumbled, and a deep ache clenched his insides. Gasping in surprise and pain, the blue-grey feline took a step back and then sat down. Well, he would have to eat something, and whether he liked the idea of it or not, the fish sure did smell good.

"Um...I think I wanna...eat it." Kota said slowly, trying out the new words and repeating them over and over in his head. Speaking seemed to be the hardest thing to learn about being alive. Dragonfly and Lukassa seemed pretty fluent, though, so he was able to listen and repeat the sounds in his head before trying them out by tongue. Everything was still new and different though, and he was adjusting and accustoming himself every moment to life.