Lion Head Mesa Winds Of Sorrow

Date is forwarded to 19th July for aftermath of the BWP Twister

The small rock wren had been journeying west to find a new location for a home, and so far had no luck. Then her troubles only got worse. First, the world seemed to go silent, as if taking in a breath. And then, it let out it's breath in the form of a terrifying twister. Itsy had never seen such a thing, but she had heard of them. Knowing of the danger they posed, she had tried to race away. It only ended with her being dragged in.

That had been the day before, and she found herself to be alive. Though not unscathed. When she moved to stand up, a cry of pain slipped out as her left wing flinched. It seemed that she had either sprained or broken it.

"Of all the places to end up grounded, I end up in a place full of predators. Well I say bring them on!" she shouted. Although a part of her had said not to, and now it seemed like a bad idea. Anything could answer her call, and just to be safe, she hid herself in a fallen hollow tree.

Of all the places to end up grounded, I end up in a place full of predators. Well I say bring them on! Scratch winced at the noise. It was one of the first things he heard in a while, aside from the strong winds he heard as he came into the Teekon Wilds. He turned to the noise and slowly made his way through the mess of trees. He had to be careful, as it could be anything. The fox bit his lip, suddenly terrified that it could be an eagle. The scar across his eye throbbed at the thought. He was lucky that he could still see out of it (though it was still blurry enough to only detect moving things) and preferred to not meet another eagle to finish the job. He darted through the wooden structures with such ease it seemed like a red flash traveling through. The sooner he checked on this, the better it was for his health. He then came to a clearing, carelessly stopping in the middle. He saw no eagles around, nor anything else really, but he was sure this was where the voice came from.

Maybe it was just my imagination he reasoned, hoping that he was right. The Teekon Wilds were new territory, and that meant anything could happen to him.

Itsy backed up more into the hollowed out wood when she heard something outside. She knew that there was the sound of feet walking across the ground outside. But she kept her brave face on, and if it were to come any closer, she held a talon up. To do that, though, she had to lean against the wood, and she never expected that it would break behind her. It was too late to move when she heard the cracking, and a surprised squawk escaped her beak as she fell back.

"Aaaaaahhhhhh!" she screeched before landing hard on her back. Two things were sore then. Her wing, and her back. And the fall most likely made her wing worse. Luckily there were no splinters, but that was the least of her worries. Whatever was on the other side would have heard that.

"Why me? Why must this always happen to me?" she asked herself. All the little rock wren could do was hope that nothing could make this day worse.

The fox's ears shot up when hearing the bird speak, causing him to tense up. He turned his head to the supposed direction as fear gripped him tighter. It was definitely a bird, no doubt about it. He slowly walked up, his curiosity the only thing pushing back his desire to run. He had really only seen one eagle through all of his years alive, so maybe they're different. He crept onto a tree trunk, slowly and steadily making his way on it. He thought of what this eagle would look like. Well, it couldn't be too different from... he glanced over the log and saw the bird in question. Despite his eyes telling him it was obviously too small, past experience made him hallucinate it bigger and saw it coming for his good eye.

AGH! he sprung from the tree trunk as if he was a coiled spring, flying into the air for a few good seconds. With the hallucination draining away, he saw the giant eagle shrink to a smaller bird. With a sigh of relief, he then remembered that he was a few feet in the air. With another scream, he fell back to earth and landed on the log he was on, smashing through it with a thud. He wearily struggled up, ignoring the minor pains his battered body sustained, before bringing his attention to the bird in front of him.

The small bird recovered quickly, only to see a creature that seemed to be very similar to a predator she had seen only a few days ago. A wolf. Only this one was smaller, and had a different fur color, among other differences. She had never known of such a creature. But even still, it could very well be a predator. And it could take advantage of her state. Though Itsy had other ideas.

"I will fight, so stay back! My claws are sharp, with pointy beak!" she threatened in a sing song voice as she stood up. Hopefully the creature would not notice her injuries.

He backed up, regaining his defensive stance. The bird in question seemed more...aggressive than her kind usually is. He ran into a few of them before, but they tend to run away. Maybe this one couldn't since she was injured from the storm. He also reasoned that it was his bloody mouth that could've agitated her. Even after trying to wash it off at the lake, he still noticed it would stain his fur for who-knows-how-long. He backed off, trying to put the bird at ease. For all he knew, she was friends with some other big bird in the area. He snuck a glance to the sky as if to anticipate one flying down on him. Looking at the bird once again, he started to walk away.

I don't mean any harm, just a bit curious of what you were. He stopped himself in his tracks, awaiting a response from the bird.

Itsy was at first a little frightened by the creature, especially the blood around it's mouth. It could have easily meant that it had recently eaten something, or something like that. But then she saw that it was equally fearful of something, so she made a scan of the area nearby, yet found nothing more dangerous that this animal.

"Well, you should know!" she replied, surprised by his words. Although she didn't know what his words truly meant, and believed he was talking about not knowing she was a bird. "I am a bird! Is it not obvious?"

He made an amused grin. Aye, it was, but I couldn't see you at a first glance. There's a lot of trees here to be able to. It was a nice change of pace to not see something smaller than he was run away, even if half the time they did, he was running after them for a meal.

He pawed at the ground with nothing else to do. Remembering the wolf he met before, he decided to ask. Do you need help?

Itsy stood upright, but had to bend forward a little when a sharp pain coursed up her tiny spine. She winced, and tried to hide it. The canine didn't seem to be fazed by her courageous charade any longer. It actually seemed to find it amusing, and that made the small bird quite agitated.

"You find me amusing, do you?" she questioned. Itsy had expected such a thing from a creature larger than her, but she was stubborn, and had a plan to wipe that smirk of it's face. But it spoke before she could ask, and this time seemed to be concerned. This was a first, since most animals larger than her either try to eat her or mock her. And this was unusual. So unusual, that she found herself surprised, for she had never been shown such compassion, and it took time for her to answer.

"I..." she paused hesitantly, then went on. "My wing, I think it's broken or something. But the pain is nothing" the small wren added, trying to be brave. Though when she held up her wing for the animal to see for itself, she did wince a bit.

The bird offered the injured wing for Scratch to look over. Scratch had little experience of healing others, but knew a thing or two about how the body worked. He bounded up on the bird and looked closely at her wing with his good eye. He noticed that it seemed to be in proper order, without any part jutting out at an odd angle. As well, he noticed the bird managed to move the limb and only gave off a wince. If it was really broken, the bird...whatshername was really strong. Overall, the wing appeared only bruised or sprained.

Well, the wing looks fine, he commented, just a bit sprained. However, it may be more serious, so you should find a healer or someone of that caliber. He stood back at a safer distance. A bit late for introductions, but why not? I'm called Scratch, you can probably tell why. You?

The creature examined her wing, and it was just what she believed had happened. The small bird's wing was sprained. She sighed sadly. The creature then suggested that perhaps she should find someone who was more of an expert on the matter.

"Perhaps I should. Any recommendations, because f you haven't guessed, I can't fly to find any."

The animal introduced itself as Scratch, and proceeded to ask hers. So far it had been kind, so perhaps she would be kind enough to do the same.

"Itsy. My name is Itsy" she answered.

He could only give her a sad smile to her first question. I have no idea. I only came in just as the storm hit, so I'm as clueless as you are. If she doesn't know about the others here, either she just entered the Teekon Wilds or flew too high to care.

After the bird told him her name, he simply nodded. The name was likely given from her friends or family, unlike his own self-appointed name. He glanced away, thinking or something else to say. There wasn't really anything more he could do. Well, if you need nothing else, I'll be heading off

The creature began to leave, but she didn't want to be alone. Not in this state. So she made a proposition, one that would depend on it's decision.

"Let me come with you. Please" she asked pleadingly. For a bird, it was a death sentence to be grounded in such a place as this, with barely any food sources and no places to be safe. If she could come with it, perhaps she would be safe. She wouldn't normally travel with others, but this may mean the difference between life and death. "Only until my wing heals. I won't survive out here. I won't be a pest to you, and will leave as soon as I can." She waited, staring at the creature with pleading eyes.

The fox glanced back at the bird's request and thought to himself. Another set of eyes wouldn't be too bad of a change, and the extra company should make his life less boring. Still, being as shy and timid as he was, he knew that he may run away at the bat of a moment's notice. He didn't run into any real trouble so far, but who knows what could happen.

With a heavy sigh, he turned to the bird, hoping for the best. "There's a place I'm heading to. I heard it was some kind of safe haven." One of the wolves he met mentioned of the place, though he didn't know the name (Northstar Vale). He had no idea how much damage the storm did to the area, but he believed it was worth a shot. "Anyways, we can go there and see what kind of chaos it's in. I know it's in the mountains, so the journey's going to be a bit rough. Are you up for it?" He reassuringly smiled, hoping that he wouldn't freak out and leave her behind. He made a similar mistake a year ago, and while it may have been the thing that kept him alive, he is still haunted by it.

The animal, Scratch, asked if she was sure about her coming. And she was. If anything, itsy loved adventure then her own species. The thrill kept her going for more.

"I'm ready. I'll follow along behind. Unless you have something else in mind?" she asked, trying to hint at what he could do. No doubt it was something he didn't want, so she would be fine walking. Even if it hurts her talons, she needed somewhere to be safe. She started towards him, and reached his side. She was now ready.

The bird was definitely more-than-willing to come along, though Scratch questioned her walking abilities. Itsy was a small bird, which could become a problem for traveling. She must have thought the same thing. "I'm ready. I'll follow along behind. Unless you have something else in mind?". Whatever her talons could do to rip up his back wouldn't be anything too severe, and the giant scar across it was why he cared little of its appearance afterwards. "Actually, why don't you ride on my back for some of the trip? It should make everything go faster and you can heal up a bit."

Remembering what the wolf said, Scratch thought about the journey. Going to the mountains, he remembered seeing a forest (Blackfeather Woods) and a lake (Greatwater Lake) to their destination. He would go around the two and approach the narrow area between the two mountains (Granite Gate). After that, he should be able to get into the valley he has heard so much about. If that wolf was right (and as nice as he was, he should be), the valley will be a safe haven for the time being.

last one for me. we should make a thread later, maybe tomorrow when they part ways. What you think?

The bird began walking forward, but then the animal beside her made an offer. An offer she would be stupid to let down. She didn't want to hurt him, but it would be near impossible to cause injury by accident with her little talons. Though they could be used to have a good grip.

"Thank you" Itsy thanked graciously, and hopped onto his back, though it was a bit hard at first with her injuries. "I'll be sure to find some way to repay you once we arrive to this 'haven' of yours." And with that, she made herself comfortable in the fur of his back.

With Itsy making herself comfortable, Scratch set off. At the back of his mind, he hoped that this place wasn't touched by the tornado.