Out over the lake, the steady patter of raindrops against the water's surface begin to stir me from my stupor. The normally silent caverns echo in relaxing harmony, a melody that lures me towards deeper slumber akin to a gentle request from a peaceful siren. For now I heed her song and let my consciousness float away once more.

As the world drowns out around me and fades to black, I feel the entirety of my being expand. Despite lacking in form, I reach out and find myself trapped behind invisible barriers that encompass me completely. Yet I grow. The confines of this black void suddenly finite and dwindling. As I am pressed helplessly against the boundaries, I am made aware of the presence of noise beyond the limits of my space. Outside, a rattling of sharp sounds, followed by the occasional boom of something large. Again and again the booming grows louder-

KER-CRACK!!!!

My eyes snap open at the explosion of sound that bounces ruthlessly off the cave walls. During my snooze, it would appear the slight rain from earlier has intensified into a full-on storm, drowning out every other noise. I get to preening my feathers so they can go back to their ordinary flat position. The thunder that woke me up was so startling they all shot up like little soldiers all on their own. Maybe I'm still a little rattled from yesterday, and the storm is merely dredging up those recently buried fears.

Looking down as I am midway through my preening session, I notice the half-way finished cord I was working on the night prior. Guess I fell asleep in the middle of my work. Heh, I sure was busy last night.

…

Know who else was busy?

These bloody mushrooms.

At this point, I shouldn't even be surprised. I should just be glad that they are content with aiming their roots at me like some sort of solar panel and not defiling me with their endless extremities. Realizing where that train of thought was heading, I nip it at the bud and go investigate the bladder I separated from the other scraps.

For the plan I have in mind, it is beginning to become too stiff, and it is quite clear that if it continues to dry it will be worthless. So I go about moisturizing it by dripping a controlled amount of water over it, not too much to drown it and not enough for it to lose its strength. While waiting for some results, I help myself to three octocrabs that foolishly wandered into my trap. It takes several minutes for any noticeable signs to appear, but as I'm slurping up the last of my breakfast, it has revived back into a far more useful state. While flimsy and slightly moist, it still holds a decent amount of tension strength, far more compared to when it was freshly harvested. Perhaps even ready for a test run.

Taking all the time I need to do so without tearing it, I fill the bladder to the brim with some of the nearby sand. Now to seal it. If I had finished the cord like I was supposed to last night, I would use that to tie it off. But for a simple one-time prototype, I think I can get away with folding the open lip over top of itself and pinning it closed with some of these broken ribs bones I was working with last night. A crease here… perforate it there… and done! One sand-filled bladder just barely sealed shut!

Now it is completely reasonable for someone to think "why would anyone want that?" Well, that explanation can wait for later, first to see if it will even work. For the time being, there is one last preparation I must make.

I pick up a 'pencil' looking rock in my beak and size up the nearby cave walls. There should be some of that stuff here somewhere... ah here we go. A large spread of exposed granular sandstone. While perhaps a bit awkward, I use the rock to scrape away a large circle, then a smaller circle inside of the first one. Taking a step back to inspect my work, it's clear as day that I failed spectacularly at making a circle, but did a marvelous job at making a blob. And here I thought I was doing a good job… Whatever, it never needed to be a perfect circle, is what I say to my deflated ego.

From about 20 feet away I can still make out the terrible drawing fairly well. Time for some throwing practice! I've already taken the liberty of collecting some baseball sized stones into a neat little pile. One at a time I take them in my talons and do my best to hurl them at the target. Except I can't get them to go far enough, let alone hit the target!

Sigh

This is what I was worried about. Considering the anatomy of my legs and the difficulty of balancing myself on one leg while tossing the stone, the whole ordeal is a grossly underrated challenge. Countless times, as soon as I whipped my leg, it would ruin my center of balance and cause me to fall.

Hours went by before I finally managed to get one good toss in without tripping. The sound of the stone hitting just outside of the mark sent my heart soaring. I could care less that it missed, I was thrilled. I did it! I finally hit the wall! With that surge of motivation I pressed on with my assault, the storm outside doing just the same. Even now, the cavern still thrums with the unrelenting downpour, the occasional thunderous rumble blending into the mix. I don't mind the weather, on the contrary, I quite welcome it. Keeps my inner demons at bay and leaves me level-headed and focused. Great for getting this practice in.

After another hour I think I get a handle on it. If I prepare by getting lower to the ground and get a solid arching motion with my legs…

SMACK!!

A clean hit! Right in the center blob too! Alright I think it's time for the moment of truth, to see if this practice was worth a damn or not.

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

I fetch the sand-filled bladder and gauge the weight thoughtfully in my talons. Just like how I practiced hundreds of times before, I line up the shot in my head first. Tightening my core to maintain my balance, I lower myself. Once in position, I begin to wind my throwing leg like a coiled snake, before quickly rounding it about in a beautiful arc… and… release!

The fleshy sac sails straight towards the wall and-

SPLAT!!

Sand sprays out in every direction and I feel hope blossom explosively in my chest. It worked! I was so worried that it would get too dried out and it would just flop against the wall pointlessly, but it actually burst and spread out the sand! Oh this is so perfect! I might just have a chance! Oh Big Jonas, you have no idea what's coming pal. Hehehehehe… I can already feel my shoulder angel abandoning ship. The shoulder devil on the other wing, he is preparing some gilded VIP tickets for my trip straight to hell.

However that shiny one-way ticket can wait until after I push up daisies, or wobbling mushrooms, you know, same thing. For now I need more of those bladders. A lot more. More hooks and cord for that matter too. I'd wager that I need… ten? About a dozen or so wouldn't hurt, the more the merrier.

So with a diabolical plan set in motion I help myself to my new favorite activity, fishing! Time to clear out this lake of all its stock! Meanwhile the thunderstorm hammers away at world above, and now that I'm paying attention, it seems that the world up there is flooding. Streams of water fall from the sky vent, cascading with a steady flow upon the lake below. Wow it's really pouring isn't it? Now that I think about it, it has been going on for several hours now with no signs of slowing down. It certainly gives me pause to think whether it's any concern to me. I end up dismissing the issue, figuring the cave was far too large to warrant any needed precautions.

Back to fishing then I guess, I decide as I scoop up some bait fish. Maybe all this turbulent weather will make the fish more active, and perhaps easier to catch. While I'm not exactly on any strict time constraints to get these fish, I am eager however to see my plans come together. Now if I could find some more of those lemonheads while we're at it… My mind wanders back to that lovely memory of its juicy, tart flavor.

SPLOOOSH!!!

The sound of something large crashing into the water diverts my attention towards the center of the lake. Thrashing for dear life out there in the middle of the lake is some sort of small white furred creature. From this distance it's difficult to make out finer details, but one thing is clear. And that is the fact that the animal is drowning, struggling to surface with the deluge of water flooding down over top of it.

There is no good reason for me to feel pity towards this thing. So far I have killed my fair share of creatures and tore them apart for food and goods. Yet I feel a pull on my soul towards the lake. Maybe it's the loneliness that I have managed to suppress up till this point, or perhaps the knowledge that I have the ability to help and am able. But will I?

Seeing a white furred arm break the surface only to flail about helplessly is finally enough to tip the scales and stirs me into action. I take giant strides towards the center of the lake until I feel the cold waves swallow me up to my chest. Only then do I dive head-first towards the distressed creature, kicking powerfully against the water.

By time I arrive, the animal is no where in sight, and the waterfall above drowns out all other noise. Fearing for the worst, I dive my head and scan below for any traces. It's difficult to see anything so near the cascade. Tiny air bubbles were dispersing in every direction from where the waterfall and the lake clashed. Then I see it. A glint of white fur reflecting from the light of my necklace.

Target in now in sight, I dive deeper towards the depths. The small white creature is motionless in the water, likely drowned, but I've already come this far. Taking the nape of its neck in my beak, I ascend back towards the surface with the aid of my strong legs. With a muted splash against the backdrop of an echoing downpour, I get my head above the water and strain to keep the animal's head above the water too. Even now it fails to move, so I hasten my journey back to the shoreline. The hanging weight certainly makes it far more difficult to swim, forcing me to use my good wing to balance myself in the water.

At last I feel solid ground beneath me and carry the poor wet thing onto dry land before setting it down.

Nothing.

It doesn't move at all. Don't tell me I risked swimming in deep waters again just for you to die on me! I place the flat of my foot on its chest and begin press down my weight on it. Not my full weight mind you, only light enough as to not to crush it. Seeing no signs of life emerging from my intervention, I withdraw my efforts.

Finally taking a proper look at it now that saving it's life sadly isn't a concern anymore, it appears to be a small mostly-white lemur with a disproportionately long banded tail. Dare I say it has, or had a cute masked face composed of dull green fur with a charming pointed snout. Its tiny hands and feet are splotched in green tinted fur while the rest of the body is predominately white.

Well you had a good run little monkey, I tried.

I give the fallen creature a small moment of silence before reaching down to start digging in. While I feel for you, I can't exactly let food go to waste. However before my beak reaches its flesh, the monkey lurches forward coughing up a gout of water.

Wait, you're alive?

I immediately back off and give it space as it wretches the remaining dregs of water trapped in its lungs. Once it has time to get its composure, it spins itself back onto its stomach and attempts to stand up. Only it is too weak and splays itself across the floor, panting heavily from the whole experience.

Meanwhile I'm just staring at this thing, not exactly sure of what to make of it all. For now, I sate my curiosity by watching it.

Eventually when it musters the strength to sit up, it finally notices me, and when it does, it starts making the strangest sound. Some sort of mix between chittering and… mewing? Meanwhile it backs away hesitantly, keeping its verdant marble-like eyes fixed on me.

I'm not exactly threatened by this critter, but part of me is worried that it might pull a stunt similar to that stupid lizard. Thankfully my gemstone is secure around my neck, so it's unlikely to nab it as easily as that thief did.

Only after several minutes did the creature finally take its eyes off me, and start looking around its new space with child-like curiosity. The closest thing to it was my workstation, and decided it was worth investigating. It walked on all fours towards my collection of failed hooks with its tail hiked high in the air. Once it got closer, it begins sniffing the pile.

Maybe its hungry and thinks there's food?

It holds its tiny green paws in front of itself, half a foot away from the pile. Suddenly, the bones are blasted skyward as if some geyser opened up and shot them high up into the air. The monkey-like creature lets out an excited mewing sound and rolls onto its back, batting at the pieces with its hands and feet as they fall back to the ground.

…

What just happened?