295. Changing something, 7

(Rose)

R - I still want to say it. It is a very bad idea.

B - It could still bring something good.

R - At least let's try not to end up dead nor killing all of them.

B - I will do my best.

I have no control over her.

It pains me today.

I see her coating a few arrows with the anti-gravity sap, as well as a bolt of thread that looks metallic.

R - What is your idea?

B - Like you sometimes say, be smart with what you have. You will see.

~

As we climb the mountain softly, I do get a chance to see.

We're camouflaged with dry and liquid sky, to trick the eagles' eyes.

Bleue aims her bow towards a lonely wild dog quite far away.

She looks fierce for a second and I feel a shiver. Her wounded arms covered with deep cuts must hurt a lot, but she still pulls the bow string quite well.

I don't think I've ever seen Blue so passionate about a goal actually...

She impresses me now at the oddest time.

The arrow flies away, almost in a straight line despite the distance. More than a hundred metres by the looks of it.

It misses the dog grandly. But as I shift my gaze from the spooked dog back toward her, I see her shooting a second arrow.

The bolt of thread on the ground vanishes. She tied it to the arrows?

Bleue built something complex with the threads as I see other bolts bouncing around and vanishing as the subsequent arrows are shot and flying away. She seems to be missing by large distances each and every time.

It's hard to see what she's attempting.

I see the dog vanish in a sudden splatter of blood in the distance.

What just happened?

Bleue begins rolling back the threads on their improvised spools as we get closer to the scene.

What we find is just butchery. The guts are spread everywhere and the dog has dismembered limbs.

R - What did you do?

B - Just a thread between two or three arrows. I didn't expect it to cut right through actually. I wanted to tie it down.

R - It'll need some rethinking.

She'd like to craft a net I now understand. Something to pin down and trap the target without wounding them. But it'll need a little more work.

Unfortunately we don't really want nor can stay on this dry mountain edge for too long to engineer it out.

Something cheaper made of shreds of clothes and an empty rug bag would have to do.

But alas it doesn't work at all.

Thankfully, Bleue gives up on the idea of incapacitating the birds in such a fashion before something really bad occurs. And to her merit, she found a way to track and recover her arrows more easily, and also to make them fly a significant lot farther.

~

After a careful hike, we find cliffs with nests.

Bleue's eyes and pupils have widen as if she were a cat looking at something enthralling.

One of her dreams is almost at hands.

The parent birds seem away. Bleue gives me the bow, and coats her skin with the sap rapidly, before putting back her sky covered clothes.

She starts to climb the cliff with her much lower weight before I can say anything.

I'm supposed to defend her from the ground.

I see Bleue climb like an animal I would never have encountered before.

A little like human or ape, but also able to jump and bounce slowly at times and on long distances.

She's rapidly getting close to one of the nests where big birds are chirping.

They seem already big as swans from what I can see from below. Very large eagle like things, with white to rocks patterned and coloured feathers.

Bleue reaches the first nest. One of the birds there actually flies away as she approaches, shrieking loudly.

Bleue is stepping back suddenly as if scared by something, and almost falls.

Something I can't see from here surprised her.

She recovers and looks around for another nest it seems. And there she goes, above and around rocks no normal person could climb.

At this distance, more than fifty metres already, I wouldn't risk using my weapons toward her if she was under attack, as I easily could hit her.

I spot the eagles in the sky, they are on their way back. I signal it to Bleue as she reached another nest.

She's actually fighting with the young birds there, and I hear her yell in pain a few times. I think she punched a bird in the head and out of the nest?

She's not the child I used to help put on her socks and lace her shoes anymore...

The bird falls injured on another rock level below, and remains there, squealing in pain and for help.

Bleue kidnapped one of the smaller birds by covering its head and body with her coat, and tying it up.

The thing we suddenly realise at the same time, is that she would be too heavy if she were to jump holding it. There's not enough sap for them both, she would crash.

Meanwhile, the parents are getting rapidly closer and chirping unhappily.

They will shred her to pieces.

She has the choice to give up her dream and jump to save her life, and has to decide now.

She's panicking.

I shot an arrow close to her.

She was startled, but understands quickly.

She tied her shrieking prize and tells me an OK.

I shoot the second arrow close to her again.

She was startled again.

She would tell me later she expected me to shoot the second arrow straight at the sky, to make the package fly away like a balloon and gradually fall right into my hands. I didn't think of that and I don't think it would have worked.

Bleue having the other end of the thread is lowering the captured bird down the cliff, for me to recover. That was more my thought, and I already begun to run toward the cliff for it.

Bleue is about to get attacked by the parents. I shot with the rifle in their general direction but cautiously away from them all.

The noise itself is unnaturally loud and echoes strongly, surprising the birds.

Bleue obviously considered for a moment trying to hop and ride one of the bigger birds, taming it like a wild stallion, but choses the less insane option of jumping the cliff.

The captured bird fell a few metres into my arms. I put the moving package down in a hurry as I want to catch and recover another falling bird.

Bleue is falling a little too fast. But there is no choice. She crashes onto me as I moved to catch her.

I let her carry and take care of her catch while I reload the rifle. The birds are not happy and more numerous.

I shoot straight at one and wound it.

Bleue jumped past me, the big package somehow holding on her back. We begin stepping away, but there is clear fury in the air.

I shoot at another one diving at me, but miss it as it swiftly avoids the gun's aim.

They seem terrified enough of that weapon to give us a chance to go. I begin running too.

Bleue is light on her feet and already quite far away, I'll be catching up with her slowly.

We were lucky this time.

~

At our camp, what I find is a Bleue in tattered clothes, smeared all over with blood she lost, but with the insanely most radiant of smiles.

As she sits there almost naked and covered with more cuts from talons instead of teeth and claws this time, she's holding against her a huge bird, the like of which I've never seen.

More than an eagle, it looks like a crow. A giant crow, with black and dark grey, slightly bluish feathers. It has some juvenile features left despite its size.

It doesn't shriek but does try to move as Bleue is holding it tight against her like a dear toy or child.

Bleue has this surreal radiant smile, showing that even her teeth were damaged and stained. Her eyes are wide with thrill.

Her eyes are yelling at me to a deafening degree how happy she is. It's blinding bright.

As she clings a little more to the panicked bird, it does open its beak, to pinch her wounded arm, even ripping her skin. Bleue yells, but only holds it tighter.

I bring a cloth and put it onto the bird's head. After a few seconds of calm, and as Bleue is gently releasing her grasp, the bird lets go as well.

Bleue is licking her wounds, while I finally can sigh and breathe. I've been so scared.

Sitting next to me, Bleue's gaze becomes unfocused, and she passes out, falling unconscious next to me.

~