The Fight of Our Lives - NewScapeSquad Fanfic

Healing

Jon's POV

I walked through the dark woods, shivering every so often. The wind was not cold, but the trees seemed to radiate a menacing feel, giving me the impression that if I took even a tiny step off the path, something terrible would happen.

I was alone. Dew and Echo had left me a long time ago, saying that they had to take care of some things, and I'd be fine by myself. They had left with barely a backward glance, leaving me to find the boy and his friends on my own. Having two prophets and a mind reader would have been more than a little comforting right now.

Looking up through the trees, I couldn't see anything that resembled a house, or any kind of civilization for that matter. I pulled my jester hat even further down my forehead, bells jangling at the slight movement. A squirrel, high above my head, squeaked in alarm and took off, rustling the leaves with the 'pitter patter' sound of its feet.

No! It's okay, little squirrel! I'm not going to hurt you... I thought absentmindedly, watching the animal as it scurried away. I continued walking.

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About five minutes later, there was a similar squirrel-noise, except it was a lot louder and it seemed in pain. I started running towards the sound.

I burst out into a clearing. The noise was coming from a spot near the center, underneath a large rock. There was a large, angry magpie flying around the rock, taking jabs at the undergrowth near the edge. I rushed over to the angry animal, shouting and waving my arms in an attempt to scare the bird. But instead of leaving right away, the bird turned around in midair and stared me down with it's beady-eyed gaze. I stopped in confusion, and that's when it stopped attacking the squirrel, and instead went after me.

It dive-bombed my head, screeching angrily and using it's claws and beak to nick my skin as I put my arms up to defend myself. I felt one of the scratches sting in pain and warm liquid started dripping down my arm. I squealed in pain and swung my fists wildly, anger beginning to gather in my stomach. There was a sickeningly satisfying "thump" as I connected with something. The magpie squawked in agony and fury, feathers floating down from its damaged wing. It glared at me one last time before flapping noisily away, stumbling through the air. I watched it for a second more before turning on my heel and heading back to the large rock, looking for the squirrel that the magpie had been harassing.

"It's okay, little friend," I whispered soothingly, parting a bunch of grass stalks to see if the animal was hiding behind it. "I'm not going to hurt you, I promise."

There was a small squeak, and I turned around at the noise, startled. The squirrel was lying underneath a fern bush, tail fluffed out and spine arched in defiance. There were scars on it's back from the magpie's talons, which were sticky with blood. It's small teeth were bared, but it's beady eyes were exhausted, drained from the fight with the magpie.

I extended my hand slowly, gently reaching out to help the animal, hoping that there might be a wildlife clinic nearby that I could take it to. When it finally relaxed, I reached down and put my hand around the creature's back, lifting it off the ground and settling it in my arms. It was still tense, but at least it wasn't fighting my grip.

Now that it was in the light, I could see that the top of the squirrel's head was dyed blue, the longer tuft of colored fur covering one of it's eyes, which never left mine. I started stroking its head, which actually seemed to calm it down.

Suddenly, I felt a shock go through my body, making me yelp in surprise and pain. My hands started tingling, going hot, then cold, and then hot again. My heart ached, and I wondered if I was having a seizure. The squirrel chittered and looked at me in confusion. I bit my lip to prevent another yelp and closed my eyes. Then the sensation stopped, and was replaced by a cool calm. Opening one eye hesitantly, my jaw dropped as I saw what had happened. My hands were GLOWING. A emerald green light with whorls of purple was emanating from my palms, bathing the squirrel in a colored aura, who looked as confused and as shocked as I felt. I felt the power flowing from my heart to my fingers, and as I watched, the squirrel's wounds closed. It's gray fur smoothed over, the scars disappeared, and it looked less exhausted than it'd been when I'd found it. Even the scratch on my arm that the magpie had inflicted had vanished, leaving a pale, faded scar.