~Home~

~Three~

Opal blinked furiously as she woke from her slumber. She didn't think about grabbing the flower crown when her paws put the masterpiece on her head. She took a few pieces of meat from her pouch and ate them. Her paws landed softly as she leapt down to the second floor. She bustled around, preparing veggies and fruits for her friend's arrival.

      Bumble woke up on time this morning, their internal clock working again. Excitedly, they remembered what had happened the day prior. They hopped out of bed and opened up their curtains, letting sun filter through the windows and into their dark den. Grabbing their basket, they put in a few little things they may need before going outside to wait for Opal to arrive to take them to the river.

"I'll come by tomorrow morning so we can go down there!"

     Her words echoed in their head, and they hoped that wasn't the last time they would hear their friends voice. Opal jogged to the raptor's den on all fours. She smiled as she stood before her new friend.

    "Hi Bumble! Ready to go?" Bumble hopped on their paws, bouncing up and down excitedly. Nodding, they started to follow their friend, the necklace hanging from their neck swinging in time with their steps. Opal trotted to her home, then waved her paw, motioning them to follow her upward onto the second floor. Bumble cautiously followed Opal up onto the second landing of her tree den. They found it fascinating, yet terrifying. Opal looked back.

      "Don't worry, the final floor is more open." She took out the platter of sliced foods. "I prepared breakfast!" She sat down on a sculpted branch chair, nodding to the one across from her as she picked up sliced bananas and a few blueberries. Bumble happily sat down across from her and took a few blueberries for themself.

      "If we run out of cucumbers, there's plenty of them in my garden up top." Bumbles eyes widened. They loved cucumber slices. Opal finished off the bananas and grabbed another bunch from a hanging vine. She opened a few, then threw the peels into a compost bin. Taking a knife she made, she chopped up the bananas, putting them on the platter and hanging the rest on the vine. Bumble loved how smoothly everything flowed in Opal's home. They took a bite of a banana. Opal looked at the vegetables and took a cucumber slice in her teeth, biting it when she raised her feathers and looked out a window. Her eyes drifted downward to the stream and her tail feathers flapped.

     "The stream's alive with fish today! I can't wait to get down there and start fishing!" She walked up the stairs to the third level, then came back down with metal covers over her feet that had a large raptor claw. She walked around a bit, then took them off to shine them and sharpen them. She placed them by the stairway as she snagged a dragonfruit and sliced it, popping the slices into her mouth.

       Bumble watched as their friend sharpened their shiny feet weapons. Chirping, they pointed to them with a quizzical look in their face. Opal looked at her friend.

    "They help me hunt bigger prey. I just needed to sharpen and shine them just in case. Do you want a pair?" Bumble never thought about hunting, they had always eaten mainly Fruits and Veggies. Although it never hurt to learn something new. Bumble nodded slowly. Opal looked surprised.

    "You sure?" Bumble tilted their head. They weren't sure, not at all. But why not? The Raptor chirped and nodded their head again. They wanted to learn how to hunt. Opal smiled.

    "Cool! We can fish first, they're the easiest. But first I need to measure you foot for the gauntlets."

    Opal measured their feet and paws, then went down to the ground level and attached metal pieces fit for Bumble with her sticky saliva. She brought the gauntlets to her friend. "Wanna try them on? I padded them with some moss just in case."Bumble nodded quickly. They were shiny and awesome looking, and Bumble quickly slid their paws into them. They were comfortable and Bumble liked them quite a lot.

     "They're also this new resistant fabric I came up with so the webbing between the gauntlets will move with your paws! I need to upgrade mine..." She looked out the window and at the stream.

     "Wanna go down to the river?" Bumble threw their paws in the air excitedly, chirping happily and nodding. They were extremely excited (although thats how they were with everything in general.) Opal nodded, then skipped down the stairs and out the entrance through the vines, and trotted to the stream. Bumble followed, still careful not to fall down the tree. They exited the den and walked to the stream where Opal now was. She had her mouth close to the surface, and her head was submerged when her jaws clamped around a big bass. She lifted her head as the fish limply dangled from her jaws. She placed the fish in the woven basket next to her, then moved along the stream to pull fish from her traps and put them into the basket.

     Bumble watched curiously as their friend caught the fish, staring at it in the basket. They wanted to do that too! Bumble stared at the water until the image of a fish came into view. Doing as they saw Opal do, they got their mouth close to the water and... their head submurged underwater as they attampted to close their teeth around the bass. Unfortunately, their paws weren't in the best position for this, and they slipped out from under them, causing Bumble to topple over into the stream, making a loud splash. Opal gasped, then put her paws around Bumble and pulled them up.

    "You okay?" Bumble laughed as they were pulled out of the stream. They nodded and smiled at Opal. They had tried their best.

    "Your footing was just a bit off. Like this," Opal said. She got on all fours, her back paws spread out backwards. One forepaw raised in the air, the other gripping the bank.Bumble did as they were instructed. This already felt more secure. They raised one forepaw like Opal was. Opal smiled, then her feathers flattened. She lunged, digging the claws of her gauntlets into the dirt as she re-surfaced with a smaller fish in her jaw. She placed the fish to her side in the basket.

     "You try." Bumble nodded and positioned themself near the water. They dug their claws into the ground so they wouldnt fall in again, and waited for a fish to pass by. Finally a small fish swam under their face, and they did as Opal had, lunging at the fish then re-emerging with the small fish in their jaws, using their hind paws to keep them steady. Triumphantly they dropped the fish in the basket.

     "Nice! That's a good size for your first catch!" She held up a paw, wanting a "paw-five".
Bumble placed their paw on Opal's returning said "paw-five". They grinned. Opal grabbed the basket with her paws.

     "I'll be back in a bit, keep practicing while I take these up in the fridge." Bumble nodded and kept at it. They missed quite a few times, but finally they got the hang of it and caught one more.

     From inside, Opalcs father's stood on end. Her eyes opened widely and she rushed outside, then looked directly to the right outside of her den. Her teeth clacked as her eyes opened wide. She lashed her tail as it made a sound like a whip, then looked at Bumble.

     "Get inside, hurry!"

×+×+×+×
1,301 words
×+×+×+×