Feather turned a purple seashell that mimicked Greyling's conch over, admiring how it shone in the Sunlight.
Waves gently caressed the soft, sandy shore and Feather looked at it thoughtfully.
She trotted over, sniffed it, it smelling as salty as could be, and stuck her paw in the water, feeling the salty water wash over her fur. She only realized how dirty she was in that moment because after she had taken her paw back out, it looked... Nearly brand new.
She gazed at the waves in amazement. She had seen water before, but Crystal Lake was the biggest body of water she had seen. She had never seen this much water before! As far as her eyes could see and even farther was only water.
"Whoa," she whispered, her ears twitching as she put another paw in the waves.
Soon enough she was splashing and whooping and laughing in the water without a care in the world.
Then, she had gone out just too far and the waves came harder and crashed over her. Feather yelped, struggling against the waves that had welcomed her only a few minutes before.
She managed to break to the surface and take a gasp of air before another wave crashed over her.
Panic completely consumed her. She would kick her legs and thrust her wings but the current just tossed her around like a helpless puppy. The Pond didn't have any currents or deadly waves! She wasn't sure about the Lake, but from what she had seen, she didn't ever want to find out.
She pushed through, trying to pull herself to the surface and back to the safety of the shore. She held her breath and kept pumping her limbs but whenever she nearly made it back to the shallows the water stole her away again.
Then she saw something, she could hardly see anything with the salt stinging her eyes, but a silhouette with a long tail and pointed ears approached her and pushed her to the shore with surprising force.
Feather yelped, then clung to the rocky beach for dear life. Before she could even look back at the water to thank whoever had saved her, the Creature was gone. Not even a trace of its existence, like it was just a figment of her imagination.
But she knew it wasn't, she was on land, and she couldn't have done that herself. She shook her paws, half expecting them to disappear into thin air.
She realized just how powerful the waves were, they had carried her so far out from where she had originally started. Before, she had been on a soft, clean, sandy beach. Now, thanks to the waves, she was laying on a tough, jagged beach covered in pebbles.
Thank the Stars whoever had been there was when they were, a couple minutes more and she would've been nothing but a distant memory. She shuddered at the thought of that.
She stumbled to the ground, collapsing next to a small, red crab. She looked at it thoughtfully and jabbed it with a claw. It pinched her and she yelped, then kicking it away.
She was exhausted and felt like crying. She suddenly panicked and checked her satchel, thankfully finding the Orb still safe and snug inside. She let out a breath of relief and howled, hoping her friends could hear her. She didn't know how long it had been since she had left, but it seemed to be over a week.
She turned back to the water, unsure of what to do. She was hopelessly lost and confused. She just wanted to sink into her friends' embraces and let herself be held forever.
Eventually, something landed behind her while she was resting at the waters edge and she felt a paw on her shoulder. She only knew three Jickeys who did that, and two of them were dead.
"Thorn!!" she cried, spinning around and hugging him as tight as she could.
His unmistakable yellow eyes scanned Feather up and down for injuries. She was damp and she looked exhausted, but other than that she looked unharmed.
He wrapped himself around her, breathing in her scent and clamping his eyes shut.
Feather's tail wagged and she jumped around him excitedly.
"I can't believe it! You're here! You're really here!"
Thorn nodded, smiling so wide his face hurt. "Of course I am! I snuck out to look for you, it's only been six days but I thought it was close enough. I heard your howl and came as fast as I could, are you alright?"
Feather nodded, shaking water from her fur.
"I'm better than alright. I missed you, Thorn."
She hugged him again, afraid that if she let go he would disappear.
Thorn smiled softly, resting his chin on Feather's head.
"I missed you too, Feath."
YOU ARE READING
Saviors of the Forest
Fantasy"Five wolves with wings at the edge of the wood, they are the ones to bring forth the greater good. The Inventor's coat is gray, like a dying ember. The Crafter's coat is white as December! The Magical's coat was the color of luck, while the Healer'...
