The pair of them, the noulicorn buck and the deep purple scuttle scale, had been friends for some time now. Their friendship began by urgent happenstance. Dousan had been on a return trip to Homewood through the Barrens, where Romy happened to live. She had been fleeing from a pursuing predator when she came across the buck. Without any warning, in her desperate bid to escape, she scaled up his back haunch to cling to his back, shaking and gasping for air. Instead of flipping out at the unexpected passenger, Dousan had looked the direction she had come from, spied the shape of her pursuer, and simply asked her to hang on as well as she was able, that it'd be okay. Then off he ran, adjusting his speed as needed if he felt like the scuttle scale was having trouble hanging on. He had only slowed to an easy walk when the familiar growth of Homewood became visible. Dousan had invited her to stay in Homewood once they had arrived at his den. They had more or less been together ever since.
Making their bond official had come up over breakfast, both in agreement that it was well and truly time. They needed to collect the meaningful plants and then go perform the ceremony that would take them from simply friends to bonded. Dousan disappeared out into the barrens for a couple of hours before returning with a small desert bloom. Romy inquired after it. The buck smiled. "This plant has to deal with a lot of hardship out in the barrens, but still it flourishes where it manages to find a home. Not unlike yourself. A rare find out there, but well worth looking out for."
The scuttle puffed up and huffed a sharp exhale. "Dousan, you're so corny." Nonetheless, she bunted her head against his leg, drawing a laugh from the noulicorn. "Thank you."
"What about you, Romy? Did you find what you were looking for while I was out on my search?"
She nodded and withdrew a sprig of a plant with rigid leaves and a soft creamy yellow flower at the center. "These plants remind me of you. They're sweet," Granted sweet smelling, but their fragrance comforted her. "They're a hardy, sun loving plant that seems to often support growing vines or nesting birds or just other little aspects of life here in Homewood." She puffed up again, a sheepish or embarrassed response of hers.
The companion beamed at his friend. "Ohh! Romy!" He nuzzled the top of her head and collected his plant sample. "Ready to do this?" The scuttle scale collected hers and nodded. And so the pair were off to Brightheart's Grove. Once there, they found a secluded place to erect their cairn of rock, laid their plants on the top, and lit in on fire. They settled in opposite each other, breathing in the smoke.
One moment they lay there, and the next, the pair felt the alarming lurch of the feeling of free fall. Dousan had at least some experience with previous Grandfather Tree visions, while Romy was thrown for a loop with the sensation. She cried out in fear and then suddenly everything was water. The buck tumbled and pushed hard off of the bottom to get a lung full of air. He spun, calling for his reptilian friend. Her deep purple hide was easy to spot amidst the churning water. Shouting her name drew her attention, she seemed to be having trouble keeping up in the fast current. "Romy, cling to my horn! I can help keep you above water."
It took some maneuvering but the scuttle scale was able to clamber on top of Dousan's head, clinging in a somewhat upright position to his horn to get a better view of their situation. "Ah, Dousan, there's, ah- It drops off up ahead. A cliff, a waterfall! We don't have much time..."
The buck coughed and spluttered in the water. Scanning around, he became aware of smaller branches that hung low over the rushing water. "Romy, I have an idea. Think you can make the jump to one of the branches ahead? If you can climb up, you could get to the shore," He coughed as another mouthful of frothing water caught him off guard.
"Yeah! I can get to shore, run ahead, and dig out the roots of one of the small trees! You could grab hold when it drops into the water! I see what you're getting at. Hang on, Dousan!" Carefully climbing up as high as she could, the scuttle scale leaped up to catch one of the branches, quickly skittering out of sight. The buck bobbed under the water briefly after her springing off of his head. Romy made another long leap to the shore then raced along side the rushing river. A well angled tree caught her eye. The roots didn't look super deeply entrenched in the soil, but they were decently sized and numerous, which should make for a decent hold. She hoped anyway. She tore into the roots and dirt at the base until the tree seemed less stable when upright. Throwing her weight against the trunk, it gave little resistance to falling forward into the water. She shouted for her friend, desperately scanning the water. Ah, there! He spotted her and did his best to angle himself toward the small tree. With a final hard kick, Dousan managed to jump up enough so the trunk caught him about the ribs. The tree shuddered and swayed with the new weight, but kept its rooted position. Quickly but carefully, the noulicorn scooted to shore, the foam of rushing water rushing up his back. After a few tense moments, the pair collapsed back away from river, panting from exertion, shaking.
Without lifting his head, Dousan spoke softly. "I knew you could do it, Romy. Knew it. Proud of you."
"We did good. We did good. I'm so glad we got out okay...You're okay, yeah?"
The buck gave an exhausted chuckle. "I'm okay. You?" She gave her assent. "Good, good. We should rest a bit."
[WC: 1021]
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