"Now, now" Bee chuckled "there's plenty to go around."
The chicks were so large now that they were clambering over each other for the food we tore apart and fed them.
I worked from one side while Bee did the other. Pretzel covered the ones in the middle.
In what I thought would have taken months only took one. I had been robbed of time so quickly, it was unbelievable to think that our babies could be leaving us so soon.
I had only just grown comfortable with properly telling them apart. As soon as thier feathers came through, I could see the little differences.
Pancakes was indeed the greediest and reached above the others for the first feedings. He had a small spot of white on his right feather, right by the shoulder blade.
Bobby was mostly grey, like her siblings. It extended over her shoulders a little higher than the rest to give her pronounced arches.
Rory was the smallest of them all. She had no identifying feature except for her tiny size beside her siblings. We did start prioritizing her once it became obvious she didn't grow as fat as the others.
Flower had unusual stripping of the feather tips of her wings. It wasn't anything life-changing but did worry me when I had first noticed it. It wasn't until I saw her bobbing along beside Butter and seeing the dog excessively licking her wings that I pieced it together.
And Dandelion. He was certaintly a character. He had speckles of grey at the back of his head where the others didn't. He usually competed with Pancakes and outran the others whenever they found something interesting in the flowers around the nest.
Out of the five, Pancakes and Dandelion had the most fight in them for survival. Sometimes, it was tough to keep up with their demand.
When they grew, so did thier appetites. Worms didn't cut it anymore. They liked stripped rabbits and fish now.
It was a fete in itself to raise five to the size they were now. But with them so curious about thier surroundings and constantly running off, it made me wonder how long that would last.
"Do you think they'll be OK?" I fretted when Flower slipped from the nest to hobble over to Butter who was coming down the stairs to the house enthusiastically "when they leave?"
Bee watched Flower nip at Butter's dangling cheeks and be bathed in the slobbery tongue.
"They'll always know thier way home" she smiled when the others spread outwards to forage in the flowers and practise jumping on them "they'll come back here one day to have families of thier own. They'll know the way back; it's ingrained in them like a special gut feeling."
A special gut feeling to guide them where they landed? I didn't know demons had such things.
"And you know, when they do, we can go look for your humans."
The statement caught me by surprise. Bee only laughed when I lifted my head to hers.
"They actually sounded nice in your stories. And it sounds like the woman left without a choice. It would be a shame to carry on without knowing where they are. They would be people you actually would want to reunite with."
They really were. But hunting them down seemed so selfish when I had a family to care for now. They still held a special place in my heart, but not a place I could rekindle just yet.
"Maybe one day" I replied with a small smile "but for now, let's not worry about things of the past. We have all this to focus on."
I watched our babies running about the flowers excitedly. They were off in thier own adventures, jumping and tumbling as they tested how high they could sail through the air.
Soon, all this would be over.
"One day" Bee grinned out over them too "one day we will find them, OK? It has to be in this life, Teddy. There is no use leaving it unfinished, because you won't get that chance in the next. Humans are fragile things. They die and that's it."
"They are, aren't they?" I sighed back when the reality of it weighed on my chest "they don't get the chance to get spots like we do."
"Well" Bee snorted "neither do we; not yet anyway."
Why did she have to speak so much truth? It was funny the way we talked about such heavy topics in light tones. It was like I wasn't worried about what happened anymore. I knew what to expect and wasn't afraid.
"Besides, we need to think of some more names" she nudged me with a sly smile "we have Autumn and Winter to think before Spring comes back again. Spring is the best time."
My heart fluttered at the possibility of extending our family again next year. I wanted to make it as large as she did; growing it twice a year if possible.
Summer wasn't the season, but it held more hope than windy autumn's or raining winter's.
We had two chances. And even though it was barely into this year, I couldn't wait for the next.
A low clicking interrupted my pleasing thoughts and pulled me to the fence where Angler stood. 99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdVlQ80raEt
99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa4eLQ9IWwU
He waited until we both turned before carefully crossing the fence, purposefully moving slow and halting when he crossed.
I didn't charge him this time. I had to determine what he was here for before leaving myself open to his teeth again.
Angler saw the chicks tumbling in the grass and perked up in interest. Bee didn't like the keen expression in his eyes and promptly blocked the way.
"What is he doing back here?" Bee whispered to me "he hasn't been here since you attacked him."
That was true. I had seen his lights flit past the fence a few times after I left his cave, but nothing had come of it until now.
The low clicking came again. Pretzel didn't hide behind her mother, instead coming to join my side closer to Angler.
"Papa" she tugged on my wing "that's Worm's papa!"
"Worm?" I frowned, seeing Bee shrug at the unusual name.
"Wait, did she name the little one?" I gasped "Pretzel! You can't just do that! Obviously it has a name."
"That we don't know" Bee agreed as she kept her eyes on Angler inching closer to me "perhaps he's here to look for it?"
He wasn't searching though. He only wanted to see our babies who were now aware of the strange presence and huddled down in the flowers instantly.
Angler moved around me, eyeing Pretzel as he went. He then approached Bee, looming over her for a moment with intense eye contact neither of them broke.
He was the first to move before Bee could react. He slid further from us and closer to the chicks, but didn't head towards them. Instead, he lowered himself into the flowers nearby to smooth out his own area that he laid down in with his mouth open and teeth glistening.
What did it all mean?
Bee shuffled over to check on the chicks while I turned to check on Pretzel who had dodged around me and was already running toward Angler happily.
"PRETZEL!" I cried out as I sprinted after her laughing at me.
"It's OK, Papa!" she grinned when she reached his side to slap her hands down his back "he's just like Worm!"
Angler didn't even flinch when Pretzel slapped along his back. He just gave me a look of defeat and accepted his fate at the hands of the little girl giggling behind him.
She wasn't being gentle either. I could hear each hit through the air. Angler did seem to be enjoying her amusement and closed his eyes.
So, he wasn't here to harm the chicks after all.
Was he just being drawn to them since they were as little as his own son?
"Worm likes to steal our worms we use for fishing" Pretzel grinned as I approached her to pry her from Angler's body "and he kinda looks like one too! He comes out of the ground at the creek to steal our can we keep them in, so we make it a game to try and catch him on our lines."
It sounded like she really loved the little demon. She slipped around me so she could sit beside Angler's head that forced an eye open to check who was so close.
"Pretzel" I hissed to her, trying not to disturb Angler "come here."
She pouted and ran a finger over one of the protruding teeth that quivered under the touch.
"Can i stay? I'll be super quiet" she whispered back "he's super nice, promise."
There had to be somewhere else where Angler had shown up to meet Pretzel while neither me or Bee were present. She was too comfortable around him for him to supposed to have still been a stranger to her.
Maybe at the creek?
The hole in the back of his cave was too small for Angler, but the right side for his son. The water though; that could link up somewhere and lead him straight to where she would have been with her friends.
No wonder she was always so keen to go to the creek all the time. There had to be something there keeping them interested other than fake fishing poles and the lure of friends.
As long as Angler was asleep, we didn't have to worry about him getting too close.
"An odd place to make himself at home" Bee muttered with a glare to Angler only meters away from our family "do you think he's trying to take over this area as his own too?"
I checked the fence line and saw no sign of the marked trees around our territory. In fact, I hadn't seen it creep much further through the other side of the deer field.
"He's just tired" I tried to justify the situation with a shrug "I'm honestly as clueless as you are."
Bee kept her hard glare fixed on Angler as she sighed and ruffled her feathers.
Butter was already doing the rounds to check on each chick and give them slobbery love to pull them up from the flowers again and resume thier playful tirade.
"Do you think something else has moved into his cave? Is that why he's here?" she fretted and started to pace "we can't have him moving in here with us. We need this place for our family."
I glanced over to Angler, then pulled out a wing to stop Bee in her tracks.
"Why don't you go check it out? Put your mind at ease? Since he's here, you don't need to worry about anything. I'll keep an eye on things here."
Bee nodded, her worry smoothing out a little. She looked relieved to be given the chance rather than to ask for it.
"I'll be right back" she snuggled under my head "I'm sure it's nothing."
"It'll be fine" I smiled back and felt her run her body past mine before rushing off to the fenceline.
I saw her glide over it and saw Angler's head lift in response. We both made eye contact for a moment before he dropped back down to resume sleeping.
It was nothing. He was just eager to see our family, that's all. 99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ87Sk5VQo0H
I kept my eyes to the skies as they burned and slowly dwindled. 99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEkonYqvaoh
99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDJ0JPh0b5P
The babies gathered around me to demand for food once more, as they had done for the last few hours.
I could only peer apologetically down at them again while Pretzel tried to keep them happy with worms she dug up. I couldn't leave them alone with Angler still here and Bee still absent. She was probably hunting out a massive catch to bring home.
But where was she?
I was starting to worry. She had never been gone this late before. And she had said she was only checking out the cave; nothing more. I knew there was nothing down there but a deer-bone human, and some water.
She wasn't even that far away.
Angler could sense something was wrong. He sat up, and then crept closer to me until he planted himself beside me, flaring up excitedly when he saw the chicks gathered there.
"She's never been this late" I worried with a grimace up to him.
Angler tilted his head up to the skies I watched, then blinked back down at me. He only turned when his son happily bobbed from the fenceline and towards us.
Not knowing where she was ate me up inside. The dread and panic was whimpering out my throat and prickling in my eyes. And seeing someone so happy while I was drowning in worry only made it cut deeper.
Angler moved from me so he could heave up his pile of slimy fish heads into the flowers. 99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuw7ut7I7rD
99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLg9qySRB0s
The chicks ran for the offering before I could stop them, gobbling down the food greedily.
Angler looked over them like a proud parent. He held nothing but love for them fighting over the best cuts from the slimy pile.
"Papa" Pretzel whimpered and gripped onto my feathers "I want Mama back."
She looked like she was holding back tears. She had told me that Bee had gone for days before in the past just to find food. But the food here was plentiful and within reach of our nest.
The fact that Pretzel was worried for her mother scared me. She knew her better than anyone.
But, our chicks...
Angler shoved my back with his head to encourage me. Pretzel looked up at him, turning to the house.
"Please find Mama" Pretzel whined "I'll get the other Mama and Papa to help look."
Angler shoved me again, and I had no choice but to listen to his wordless command.
I bolted through the field to give me the momentum I needed to soar upwards into the dying sky. It was still light enough to see, but I was losing that sight quickly.
I had to find Bee before it got dark.
Angler's cave had Bee's tracks through the dirt when I kicked them up in panic. 99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbO2LEfw0pM
99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg4IcJhOXVI
I forced myself down the tunnel that had Bee's scent trapped to its sticky surface.
"BEE?"
I broke out into the opening to see nothing. The bone human stood in its corner, and the water slowly dripped from the back wall.
I checked the pool, only to get my frantic reflection.
The place was swarming with Bee's scent, but held no actual trace of her. It was only an old memory.
I forced myself back out to inspect the dirt. In my blind panic, I had trampled over the prints leading away from the cave. There were more that circled to the marked trees to the left of the cave, before scratching along the ground where they stopped as she had taken flight again.
But where too?
"BEE!"
I peeled into the sky to head for the river. I knew that Bee liked to take advantage of Angler's skills to snag her some fish here. 99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKor0yAEZHB
99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY72oiwR4FB
She had probably come hunting here and had lost track of the time. It was easy to do when the fish were too cautious.
But, there was no sign of her either when I stumbled onto the pebbles and scanned the river for her. 99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuumFdpG3C7
99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPooFooUgUz
There wasn't even a scent. The open air and water here would have destroyed it instead of preserve it like the closed cave did.
"BEE?!"
I was terrified now. I could hear it in my own voice that cracked when I screamed out her name over and over in the hope that she would respond with my own.
Where else would she be?
I left the river to speed back home.
Maybe she was there, waiting for me to return while I was out looking for her? We would laugh about the whole thing, and vow to never worry each other like that again.
But, Bee was not home.
The bright torchlight from phones held close swept over the grounds I landed in to dart through, trying to cover all the corners at once.
"BEE!"
Angler even joined the chorus of calls from the humans, letting out a terrifying screech that shook everything inside me and broke me.
Tears blinded me when I shot upwards to try and see if I could spot her white or grey feathers amongst the trees or running creek further down. 99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7TOAQDoxvS
99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH4PgJLvFjL
I couldn't see a thing. I was too scared, and my time of daylight was up.
The spirits had no sense of urgency. They had shown up at the worst possible time, to offer nothing yet again.
"Papa!" Pretzel called from below "the others are going to look in thier car. I'll go with them!"
It wasn't a question but a statement. I was too shaken to even think clearly as she rushed off to climb in with the humans and thier dog who all sped off on thier own hunt.
Angler was the only one left when I crumpled to the ground in defeat and wailed for Bee to return.
He said nothing when I poured out my breaking heart for my missing mate lost in the darkness.
I didn't want to wait until morning, but I couldn't search blind. Angler was more than willing to be my eyes, but knew I wouldn't abandon five other lives in the hunt for one, no matter how important.
We had raised our babies together. I wasn't going to leave them unprotected for a goose-chase through the night.
Angler curled up around the nest that I flopped over miserably. I felt like I didn't even have the energy to hold myself upright anymore from all the misery pouring out of me. It made me want to just curl up and cry until Bee made her safe return.
I wanted her back. She was nowhere to be seen, and only lingered in a dying scent within that cave her last movements were stamped outside. 99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdbtKRZnmYl
99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRsmWBZCcZa
They hadn't been distressed either. She knew exactly what she was doing when she left the area.
Angler was the one who shoved me awake again. I tried to peel my weary, aching eyes open and gaze at whatever he wanted me to look at.
I felt my whole body drop when I saw Bobby perched up on the fence line, just watching the first dull rays of the morning hit the earth.
It was a beautiful sight, but not one I could enjoy. I wanted Bee to see this. She was the one who had longed most to raise just one baby to fledging. 99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡylwCUkdYyM
99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7lHGJgGz79
There she was, and Bee was missing it.
I'd have to tell her when she came home. She'd like that.
Bobby let out a triumphant screech to me as she shakedly turned herself around on the post to beem at me, her wings spread wide to stabilise herself.
Angler's son watched from the ground happily. His lights flickered when he watched Bobby face the sun again.
I wasn't going to stop her. If she wanted to find her own way, she could.
It was going to hurt to see my baby leave when she was still so small, but I just had to trust she would find her way and grow old.
With a fluff of her feathers and another shaky step, Bobby fluttered into the air and sailed away.
I watched her until his little white feathers dissapeared, fearing for her safety and hoping that the spirits would care for her.
With Bobby gone, it only left four more. 99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡErjQ1Z40Ss
My search for Bee had to be put on hold as I watched the sun rise and warm the air.
Pretzel took my place instead to search with her humans, while I watched our family branch outwards on the hunt for adventure.
It scared me how quickly they all wanted to leave after Bobby did. 99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyCJaRBVbWP
99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnCG2A2UBQJ
I was hoping for a little more time, but the call was too tempting for them.
They wanted to start thier lives. I wanted to selfishly coddle them forever.
Flower was the next to find her vantage point. 99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9lH51sEZjt
99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTvupb4VfAz
She made her way up the stairs to the house before I saw her hop up on the side of the verandah.
It was a much taller advantage than Bobby had, and one Flower stood proudly on.
She wasn't cautious of the humans like the others had grown to be. Flower wasn't even detered by Butter who had made Flower her favourite companion.
It worried me how trusting she was. There was no boundaries with Flower; she would have to learn it all the hard way.
With one last flutter of delight, Flower leapt from the verandah to fly off towards the creek.
Such a little thing trying her hardest. Other than Rory, she was the one I was afraid for the most.
Angler saw my worry and tried to cheer me up with a toothy smile and flashy encouragment.99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhmrxF8RjJm
99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnFhV4KJ0Dm
He was ecstatic that he could be witnessing such a huge milestone that he couldn't have himself.
To have someone here to share my twisting emotions and support me was uplifting. I wished desperately it was Bee, but Angler was good enough.
I expected nothing less when Pancakes and Dandelion tumbled around the flowers in their rough play before fighting thier way up to Flower's vantage to stake it for thier own.
They jostled along the edge and even tugged at each other's wings to be the first to leave for new grounds.
Pancakes broke from Dandilion's grip on his wing and bobbed along the side of the verandah as he ran for the edge. He fluttered into the air, calling out proudly at beating his brother who snapped after him.
They chased each other off along the road leading towards town.
There was no goodbye from them, just playful antics and endless competition. 99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvDM1B7OGW6
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Always trying to outdo each other. 99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLUGTSEh9G3
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It made me chuckle at how determined they were. I did think they were going to be the first to leave, but Bobby outsmarted both her brothers while they were still sleeping.
With the rest gone, that only left Rory.
I didn't mind having her still here. She did get a later start in her life, so it was only fair she took advantage of not having her more boisterous siblings taking her share of the food.
Besides, with her still here, Bee could actually see what she had accomplished when I brought her back home.
Rory wasn't going anywhere; I could begin my hunt again.
I still hadn't caught sight or scent of Bee when I dropped to the ground again. 99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiuFSH7caoW
99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDkawb1tLKC
Pretzel had returned too, leaning on the verandah to mutter miserably to the humans who comforted her.
They were what she needed. Someone who could sympathise in a way I couldn't. 99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXOlNDTYHk6
99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGsBcBCvxQw
The more I watched the mother and father try to make her smile or rub her shoulders as they embraced, the less I saw of me in that picture.
I peered down at Rory and felt a smile creep up again when she fluttered her wings back up at me excitedly.
"At least I've got you, right?"
Rory chattered back noisily and rubbed her beak on mine with a squeaky croon.
Angler stood proudly over her then gave her a little nudge towards the fenceline. He stopped there, looking back at both of us.
He wanted to keep searching.
But what about Rory?
I joined Angler's side only to see Rory running along to catch up to us. She ran with such enthusiasm her wings flapped beside her, fluttering when she parked herself at my feet and opened her beak for food. 99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2DcU5bwNhN
99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnRDJKxmLbS
Worm pattered up beside her to mimic her. Angler disproved of his sudden neediness with a low growl and shake of his head.
Such a character.
We climbed over the fence and watched Rory slide under it. Walking was slow with her little legs trying to keep up, but it was a nice change from the frantic flying I had been doing. Worm sped along at such a speed it genuinely surprised me for something so small. He showed this off to Rory by running circles around her and keeping her on track.
Maybe the sound of Rory's constant pips of curiosity would reach Bee now she was out here with us? She wouldn't ignore her own baby.
We made our way back down to the river. 99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA6xBf66o0C
99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgvSwDqraWZ
I had checked this area multiple times hoping that something, anything, would change from the rushing waters and rocky surrounds.
But, it was all like it was before. It sounded the same, smelled the same, and felt the same.
The hope I had turned rancid in my gut. I felt nausea roll over me at the continued absence.
Wherever I looked, she wasn't there.
It was like she would never be here.
Angler led the way along the bank that ran down the river. It thickened in certain spots and disappeared entirely in others that forced us to cross the waters to reach it only a few meters away.
Everything here was new to me. If it had been different circumstances, it would have been beautiful to feel the wind gently bending the trees arching over to the water, or hear the birds echoing out their whip-like calls in the undergrowth.
I was too nervous and stressed to focus on what could have been. My mind was beginning to doubt even my own thoughts.
We only went as far as the bank would allow several kilometres from home. The river swallowed up any crossable land and stretched on for what looked like forever.
Angler continued without me. We both called out and listened for a response that never came, before he slipped into the water with his son and I took my daughter to turn for the trees and head home.
There was no use trying to deny that I couldn't keep searching for Bee as far as I could walk, as much as i wanted to.
I had to think of Pretzel and Rory still. If I didn't have to worry about them, I probably would have slipped into that river with Angler to let it carry me away to wherever it would end. Flying only gave me a slice of what I could experience on the ground.
I would keep walking until I dropped from exhaustion if it meant I would find something belonging to Bee.
But, I did need to acknowledge I had limitations. I couldn't do things I wished I could.
I wished I could bring her back.
"We just have to keep our heads up" I forced a smile down to Rory walking beside me "Mama will be back soon."
Rory grinned at my words and bounded along excitedly.
Such optimism. I had that once too.
"She just got lost, that's all" I tried to convince myself rather than comfort Rory "Mama will be back soon."
How on earth could she get lost so close to home?
At least Rory believed it.
Pretzel waited by the fence for us when we crossed it and were back in our own boundaries.
"No luck?" she spoke with a fallen voice even before hearing the answer.
"Not yet. But we will."
Pretzel kicked her feet on the ground and nodded as she tried to keep herself from crying.
"And all the others? Did they leave? Or are they missing too?"
She had missed them leaving the nest while still searching. Understandably, that would be a confusing thing to come home to. She would have assumed the worst too.
"They are all fine" I reassured her when I pulled her close to my side "they all went off on thier own today."
"So, I missed it" she stated glumly "I was looking forward to seeing it with you and... Mama."
Pretzel dropped down to Rory who eagerly clambered onto her and tried to nibble as much skinnas she could find.
"At least I can still see Rory go" she tried to lighten her mood.
I saw Pretzel check her shoulders and wings to make sure it was her.
"What?" she sniffles through her giggles when she noticed I had seen her not so subtle movements "got to make sure I'm talking about the right one."
I sat down beside her and felt her tremble and sob into my feathers.
I said nothing and just wrapped my arm around her to comfort her. The poor girl was so confused and hurting at why her own mother; the only thing that had wanted to care for her all these years, suddenly disappeared from our lives.
She just needed someone to listen, not commentate. I could hear it all, and it broke me too.
Rory was the only one oblivious to our fearful tears. She snuggled into Pretzel to try and cheer her up through little squeaks, or pinch at her hands for food.
She was too young to understand. I was grateful for that at least.
"Do... Do you think s-something got her?" Pretzel whimpered up at me "M-Mama is a big d-demon. Maybe something e-else got her?"
"Something bigger than Angler around here?" I pulled her closer to hide my own tears and worries that she could be true about that "o-of course not. We are the only ones here."
Keep your voice light, Teddy. 99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHY6nauCmXv
99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0kQRkT3uhm
Pretzel can hear if something is worrying you. You have to stay hopeful for her.
"It's not possible, i-is it?" she continued "Worm's P-Papa is really big."
"Of course, not" I rubbed her shoulder now "Mama w-will be fine."
I heard a high pitch whine slip from her, and quickly checked on the sobbing Pretzel trying to wipe her eyes.
"I want Mama back" she cried and sniffled "I don't w-want her to go."
"Oh, baby" I choked on my own tears as they spilled out "I want her back too."
But there was no denying whatever the spirits had planned for her. She might be needed more elsewhere, even if it shattered us inside to try and come to terms with that.
It had been niggling at my mind too; that possibility.
"D-Do...." Pretzel paused to try and fight through her grief "do y-you think s-she's....?"
She pointed a finger upwards that I followed.
I didn't know the answer to that. She was asking all the things I wanted to know too, and expecting me to have all the knowledge.
I just peered at her blankly as I tried to think.
Saying yes would give up all hope of ever seeing Bee again. All the effort gone into finding her would be only done now to try and find out why the spirits had chosen this time to take her from us.
Saying no would be fostering that hope that she was somewhere still out there. And even though there was no new scents or evidence of where she had gone after her trip to the cave, there was still the possibility she would return safely to us.
There had to be some logical explanation as to why she wasn't responding to our calls when we searched for her every day.
What did I say? I was sliding between both possibilities being the right one.
"Papa?" Pretzel whined as she held onto Rory.
I shook my head.
I had to give us some sort of hope. Bee wasn't the type of demon to let anything defeat her so easily, not even the spirits themselves.
"I think so too" she shot me a weak smile and leant into me again "M-Mama will be back."
What if I had said no?
I saw the little glimmer in Pretzel's eyes she dried again and decided that nothing was worth crushing that. 99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4yCsY88TAD
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Even if it was the wrong answer, it was the one we needed to hear right now.
Bee was a smart demon. Maybe she was using this time to scout out a safer nesting ground after Angler and his son had intruded on ours?
She did say that she was worried about him being here. I had encouraged her to leave too.
That was it. She was just thinking about a future that only we shared.
I felt the bubbles of excitement fizzle inside me again for the first time in what felt like forever. It was that new hope I had been looking for.
The sound of Angler's call warbling through the air nearby only sent them sailing higher.
It wasn't a call I recognized. It was more frequent and urgent, like he had found something....
I jumped to my feet and locked my eyes on the fenceline immediently.
Pretzel jumped up too with Rory still in her arms, looking between the fence and me.
"What's that mean?" she whispered, gasping "does that mean he found Mama?!"
"He found her" I felt the words drop from my beak in disbelief when I spotted the glimpse of white and grey feathers appear through the surrounding trees.
Angler's son came bolting to the fence, squeaking frantically up at us. He twisted his way up the fenceline, strobing his little lights and snapping up at us.
"Mama" Pretzel gasped as she caught sight of the feathers too "MAMA! IT'S MAMA! THEY FOUND HER!"
Her wild shouts of tearful joy sent the humans sprinting out onto thier verandah. I heard the thundering of wood when they started to bolt down them.
Angler held Bee against his body as he walked slowly through the trees to the fenceline.
Bee's back dominated his back, her head resting into the crook of his neck.
"MAMA!" Pretzel cried out as she rushed to the fenceline and placed down Rory so she could climb up it "WHERE WERE YOU? I MISSED YOU SO MUCH!"
There was still silence from Bee.
I studied the slow movement of Angler and saw the remorse in his eyes that focused on the ground rather than us. His lights were low and pulsed slowly, not the way they usually did in his happiness.
"Pretzel" I placed a hand on her shoulder to stop her lifting herself over the fence. She sat there on the top, confused.
"It's Mama" she tried to smile "she's back."
She watched Angler patter up to the fence and stare down at Pretzel sitting there. He lifted both he and Bee over slowly, continuing on past us.
Pretzel jumped back over instantly and chased after him. I followed and snagged one of her arms to pull her back from him and into me. Rory huddled under my wing to watch Angler curiously.
I saw Bee's wide, unblinking eyes staring at the ground. Her head dangled with each little movement, flopping over when Angler lifted Bee from his body to lay her into the flowers. 99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNsRwIWtM7t
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Her feathers were dusted with dirt and moss from Angler's body. I could see her pink skin from where most of her wing feathers had been pulled from her.
She couldn't fly back like that.
"MAMA!" Pretzel screamed at her body and yanked against me "NO! LET GO OF ME!"
She hit and kicked me, but I still held on. She even bit down on my arms wrapped around her, her strangth failing her the longer she looked at her mother just laying there.
"Bee" I whimpered "please. Get up."
She couldn't be. Not like this.
"MAMA!" Pretzel screamed furiously now "GET UP! GET UP! YOU AREN'T DEAD!"
She yanked against me again, wailing when Bee didn't move. 99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2p3UxYc3C0
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She had the unashamed anger for both of us.
I thought I would have been furious like Pretzel was, but all I felt was numb sadness. 99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN5ZCV5qJiL
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Everything felt so far away and quiet. My jerking tears and trembling body trying to restrain Pretzel all felt like it wasn't even mine. I was blind to anything else that wasn't my Bee laying there so quietly.
"Bee!" I choked out when it all hit me at once that she was never going to come back "BEE!"
She'd never see Rory leave for her own life. I'd never get to tell her about how our other children had left, or how we had both been right about Pancake and Dandelion. 99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN0HkM3r5ta
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She's never come sailing over that fence with some story about what new thing she had discovered while out hunting. 99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnfmZtOtA79
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We'd never snuggle down for the night together with Pretzel between us, and our babies beneath us. 99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMf0GbbXrzP
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She wouldn't see her daughter change for the better with her new humans, or be there to hear about her first chance at childish love. 99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8wHlD6LPG3
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She wouldn't be there with her teasing jokes or ringing laughter.
She was gone, forever, and her feathers had been pulled to make sure she never returned.
Her last moments had been in the dirt, scared out of her mind, as something mutilated her chance at seeing her family again.
My sudden agony caught Pretzel by surprise. Even though she was now free from my restraints, she didn't rush to her mother.
"BEE!"
Words failed me. I wailed without words with Pretzel who gripped onto my side. Rory hid under my arm, confused by the death of her own mother before her.
The humans cried with us side by side in the flowers. Angler hung his head low and stood off to the side to mourn quietly with his son who whimpered for Bee.
Everyone just stood in their own groups to grieve for the demon that had brought us all together in her own way.
In the flowers and peaceful breeze, she laid. And under the clear afternoon skies, we cried for her and what would never be.
Maybe, one day we would meet again in different lives; brighter and better ones.
She would always know her way back. And when she found the flower fields again; in the next life, or ten more from now, I would be waiting for her with a smile and open arms.
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