All in one Basket [P]

[Fletcher Fairleigh]

Plop. The fish landed in his basket, flopping amongst the other four he’d caught already. The young osprey landed next to the bountiful catch and proudly preened his feathers before shifting back into his human form. Fletcher beamed at the collection of small fish he’d amassed; they weren’t very big, but they were enough that everyone in Haven would be able to have one of their own for dinner. It made the boy proud to be able to contribute to the group instead of feeling like everyone was taking care of him. He peered in the basket and counted up all the fish, making sure he had enough. “Papa, Daddy, Adi, and Lina. Oh, one more… oh, for me!” he laughed. “None for Mila though, cause she can’t eat food yet,” he mused aloud, proud that he remembered what Lina had taught him after the first time he’d tried to sneak Mila his yucky greens at dinner. Fletcher picked up the basket and got ready to trek back to the river crossing when suddenly he heard a twig snap from just beyond the tree line. He froze and peered int the direction of the noise, not sure what to do. Instinct said to drop the fish and fly, but he wouldn’t abandon his hard work so easily. “…Is someone there?” he asked quietly, voice shaking. It’s probably just a deer, he thought. Though he had never seen a deer on this side of the river before.

[Delilah Harper]

If Delilah told anyone what her personal mission was they would have told her that she was crazy for even attempting it. She knew herself that on a whim to pack up all her stuff, become a traitor to the Fallen, and go on a journey to find Adelina was insane. Before going on this journey Delilah stole quite a bit of supplies to aid her. With her dog Tina by her side Delilah felt comfortable enough to push through it. Also, it helped that Tina was able to carry just a few things on her back that she was able to tie down with rope. In a huge bag she carried everything that belonged to her along with what she stole which included a tarp from a medical tent. Attached to her back with rope are the metal rods that are meant to raise the tarp. On the way over she was able to gather as much water as physically possible from the Oasis. Out of all the options Adelina could have chosen Delilah knew the best one would be toward the foothills away from all the other rings. For a little while she pondered if Adelina would have headed to neutral territory, but something inside told her that was not the right direction to go. The forests in the Analoya territory were way too dense as well as unsafe so she trailed along the mountainside to continue on. At this point Delilah felt completely lost and expected to die before getting anywhere close to her niece. The Rogue felt horrible about Tina’s fate that would also lead to death. Back in the Fallen when she planned on leaving her behind to stay safe her loyal pitbull refused to leave her side. Even with the struggles that they are going through Tina still stayed by Delilah’s side. On a total chance of luck Delilah found a stream of fresh water. She ran out of water for herself two days ago and let Tina drink the last of it. Delilah ran to the edge of the stream and continuously cupped water into her hands trying to drink as much as possible. Tina alongside her almost fell into the stream out of excitement of finding water and dipped her big head into the water slurping as much water as well. After what felt like eternity of drinking water to quench her thirst Delilah sat with her legs open and Tina in between them cuddling up to her. Delilah held onto Tina with joy as she tried to enjoy the moment of not feeling as if she was on death’s door. To relax for a bit Delilah untied the rope from Tina as well as herself to feel less restrained. Sitting there for a good ten minutes Tina jumped out of her lap facing in a direction down the stream with her ears perked up. “You hear something, girl,” she asked Tina. In a weird way it looked like she nodded at her. Slowly she walked with Tina toward the noise that she pointed out with her Persian Style knife in hand. Delilah knew that no one else was around so she left her belongings behind as they trailed toward the noise. After a few minutes she came across a young boy talking to himself holding a basket full of fish. Still out of sight due to the trees the young boy was unaware of her presence. After stepping on what looked like a very large twig the loud snapping sound caught the attention of the boy. Hoping to come across as passive as possible Delilah put the knife back in her pocket, raised her hands in the air as if she was surrendering to a fight, and made herself in clear view of the boy’s sight. “Hi. I mean you no harm,” she said in a warm tender tone. “Are you okay all by yourself? Do you need help?”