Every step away from home is a chance for an adventure and Darcy is on her first one. She's been dreaming of finding her father for as long as she can remember. He's out there and she's got a list of clues and a crappy map, but it'll do. Less than a...
There were ducks everywhere. They were ruffling their feathers and quacking incessantly at each other as Darcy carefully stepped around them. Their one goose threatened to knock her over completely when it dove into the backs of her knees. He gave her a toothy goose grin and scurried off.
"Well excuse me for not trusting when you keep watch after the tree incident," Vess shouted up ahead.
"We promised never to speak of that," Appall shouted back.
The two of them were nose to nose, or as close as they could be given Appall's extra inches. They hadn't even noticed Darcy rejoining them by the crackling fire. Not everyone could be a morning person though, so she forgave their lack of attention.
"Could you please just go find breakfast?" Appall asked.
"I got food," Darcy chimed in, startling them both. Their eyes flicked to the snow globe tied to her belt like they always did nowadays. It didn't change anything.
""Food for everyone?" Vess asked skeptically,
Dacry opted to back away slowly rather than answer. Once she was back behind the tree line she called back over her shoulder, "I'll go find more." If they shouted anything back, she didn't hear it. Her fingers were already reaching for an arrow to ready her bow.
A bright blue ball of fluff dropped from a tree as she passed. Darcy caught it at the last second and held it up by the scruff so she could meet its gaze. "We do not drop out of trees onto people's heads, Meep," she reminded him. After a contrite series of trills she kissed his head. "Now, back up you go. We need breakfast for the cranky pants." She launched him back towards the trees and heard him land safely on a branch.
Whether it was her crunching twigs or Meep's chittering above her head, Darcy couldn't find a single animal that would make a proper breakfast. She threw herself onto the forest floor on a bed of sweet smelling moss and groaned. Two days in a row of failed hunts? This must be some sort of curse.
Meep dropped down from a nearby tree and barreled into her side. A bright red and yellow fruit was hanging from his mouth. He proudly presented it to her and awaited his praise. At least one of them could hunt.
"What have you got there, buddy?" Darcy took the fruit and stared at it. This was the first mango she'd seen in years. "I didn't even know these could grow up north." She slid a dagger free from its sheath at her waist and sliced off a chunk. The sweet yellow fruit hit her tongue and dragged her into a memory as she got up to continue the hunt for breakfast.
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