Suffered 1 Falling Damage

"C'MON YOU SILLY NUT!" I shout in anger.

I hop back to my feet and wrap my arms around the nut in question, standing on top of a branch below it. "Why won't you let go!!" I complain for the millionth time while sinking my talons into the wood and pulling with all of my might.

The stem of the nut strains under my tug, but holds tight, refusing to separate from the stupid tree. Why! "Just come with me Nutty, I'll take you away from this abusive tree and give you a good home..." I attempt to coo while under strain "...in my belly!"

Muscles burning, I exert the rest of my strength, hugging the nut even harder and clenching my talons until my feet start to cramp. I bend my knees and twist my shoulders back and forth, eliciting a few snapping and groaning sounds from nut's stem. Yes!

Eyes closed in pain, I give a final tug with every ounce of my soul.

*Tckk*

"Muahahahah. You are mine!" I cackle maniacally, gently stroking the prize lovingly, as the canopy slips away.

I just can't wait to tuck-in to the yummy insides, its gonna taste sooooo good! Worth every second of misery in that horrifying trunk! *Don't ask me how I know it'll be yummy, I just do. I mean, how can it not be delicious? I had to fly all the way up here to find it!*

Now that the nut is in my feathery grasp!... I just need to crack it open, which might be pretty difficult, the husk feels very sturdy. Pecking it open is undoubtedly out of question! I might damage my beak! My cute yellow beak shall never be placed in harm's way! I need a safer method than that.

Maybe I can drop a rock on it? That sound easy.. but.. ah! how am I suppose to pick up a big enough rock in the first place?! Not to mention that there won't be any rocks in the branches here. That won't do.

I could ask Bartlon if he has any ideas, but there's no way in chirp that I'm going to fly to Bartlon then back here! I'd starve to death on the way! That won't do either.

I'm in quite the predicament. I didn't think this through properly. If only this nut wasn't so ridiculously big! Its the only one I saw too, there weren't any smaller ones around and I don't think my legs have the strength to pluck off another.

As much as I don't want to, it looks like I might have to drop it on the roots at the bottom. Even if it might be a little messy, I can search around for the edible bits in the crash site afterwards. It sucks, but it can't be helped, I'm starting to get hungry.

Well, I'd better get to... Oh... never mind then....how did I not notice... I'm already falling.

My senses switch back on, bringing the reality of my situation to light. I'm falling. Very fast. And my wings are preoccupied holding the nut. How did I not notice? I really need to pay more attention to these things! Being distracted by some over-sized nut is unbecoming!

The winds howls balefully in my ears as I look up to the canopy that I thought I was in, shock widening my eyes. I've already fallen half-way! Golly gosh! That could've gone badly! I need to do something!

I look at the pale green nut cradled in my wings, then at the spiraling white island below. Tears start to well in my eyes. Sacrifices must be made. I wordlessly offer a prayer to the food gods that my nut may survive this tribulation as I release it to the wind. Hopefully, it won't get totally obliterated by the fall, I was planning on dropping it from a lower height, not from all the way up here, but I don't really have a choice. My own health is more important than food.

I fan out my wings to slow my descent and I dishearteningly watch the super-sized nut plummet away, slowly getting smaller as we drift further apart.

A few of my golden tears join the nut on it's journey. "I swear to the bird gods, that if I don't get a nibble of that nut, the nut I worked so hard to get, someone, or something, will suffer." I promise solemnly.

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I rapidly careen down to the roots in a semi-controlled fashion, attempting to glide down with minimal effort, which proves nearly impossible. Much to my disappointment, my wingspan is still to small to glide without having to constantly flap to maintain balance and altitude. I need another feather's length on my wingspan to do it properly. Its ok though, I'm still a growing girl! I'll be able to do it one day!

Although, I have more immediate concerns than my wingspan right now.

Did my lunch survive the fall?

"Cinders, Cinders, Cinders" I call out hurriedly to smooth-out my landing on one of the hundreds of protruding roots. An unfortunate number of leaves instantly combust due to my fiery entrance. No magical wind to save them this time, I guess it really was coincidence all those other times?

Suffered 3 Falling Damage

"Cinders" I call out again and again, desperately zooming from root to root towards the place I last saw my nut falling.

"Oh good golly gosh I hope it survived that insane drop" I whisper in concern. My tummy is getting the serious rumbles. I'm hungry and angry!

I dip, drop, duck, dive, dodge, and d'jump deftly through the tangle of of twisting roots for countless frantic minutes, before the unmistakable pale green of the nut's hard shell catches my eye.

I halt my search and immediately dive into the nest of white petals that the nut landed in with immeasurable relief.

What luck! If it wasn't for the stem of the nut poking out of the pile of leaves like a nutty-periscope I would've of never found it!

I wiggle under the ocean of white and sweep away with my wings to find the that the nut has indeed been cracked open  with a spider-web-like looking pattern of fractures originating from the bottom up to the very top, but its almost entirely intact! Golly gosh I am so lucky in landed on the leaves! The leaves prevented the shell from exploding out everywhere and kept it all nice and tidy for me! I can't tell if this tree loves me or hates me!

I nudge away the fractured shell with my claws and beak to reveal the rich, dark blue seed inside, perfectly untouched by the impact of the fall and glistening invitingly. Drool pools at the edges of my beak and my tum-tum rumbles hungrily in agreement. It looks so delicious! Eat! Now!

I flap to the top of the seed and use a claw to rip out a bite-sized chunk of blue goodness. Slowly raising it to my mouth I indulge in the rich nutty aroma which is so fresh and vibrant it makes me cry. I chomp down on the chunk, taking blissful seconds to feel the smooth texture and wild flavor swish around in my mouth. Ah! So sweet and crunchy! Am I in heaven? It tastes better than anything I could of ever imagined!

Ohhh! There's a little tangy taste too! I can feel a soft tingling sensation as it bubbles down my throat to it's new home, my belly. Its simply the best! How can can such a divine taste exist?!

Haroune's Fruit Received!

Trait Unlocked: Soul Affinity

Trait Unlocked: Lesser Light Affinity

+5% Max Health

+5% Max Mana

Ok then...

"Uhh" I stutter dumbfound as I mentally process the sudden and unexpected appearance of Mr. Squiggle.

"WHAAA!!" I chirp out in confusion.

What! Why squiggles! What did I do?! Why now?! I can barely recognize a handful of these squiggles! ...but they feel great! Like every other good sensation I've had combined into one! Its euphoric! What does it mean? Could this be some type of a 'super-level-up'? I must remember the squiggles before they leave!

Before that...

I raise my foot to my mouth and voraciously nibble down the remaining seed in my claws, hoping to renew the sensation, to no avail. Not giving up, I reach down and pull up another chunk of seed, which I consume with greater gusto, my concern with the fleeting time making me swallow without chewing. Still, the squiggles in my brain continue fade away. That's not good. It seems that eating this seed wasn't the reason these squiggles showed up? Was it just random coincidence?

Argh!

I let go of the seed in my grasp and focus all my attention to the fading sensation, burning every strange symbol in my memory so that later, I can show them to Bartlon in hopes that his ability to understand them will shed light on this discovery. I can't just ignore something so wonderful! I've never felt so satisfied by the squiggles before! Far better than 'Level Ups'!

In the end, I'm only able to remember the first line of squiggles, 'Haroune's Fruit Received', the rest disappearing before I can memorize them fully. Maybe that'll be enough for Bartlon to help? I hope so. Its frustrating, but I quickly drown my sorrow by shoveling down huge lumps of the scrumptious blue seed down my gullet until my belly becomes so large its actually physically uncomfortable to move. I might've ate my own body weight in seed!

Laying on my back in the soft embrace of the leaves I stare lazily at the drifting clouds as I rub my belly. That was delish, a proper feast. I really should be heading to Bartlon and pursing these new 'super-level-up' squiggles, but I'm just so comfortable right now. When was the last time I had a break?! I deserve a moment of peace after a filling meal! Just a few minutes won't hurt anyone.

At least I can finally say that coming to this tree was totally worthwhile, I found a nut! And even though they aren't soft or fluffy, warm or cute, I think seeds are one of my new favorite things in the world! They're exquisite!

Oh! And I just remembered!

"Status" I chirp happily.

Name: -----, ------

Health: 90/90 Mana: 138/169 Level 4 (191/400) Strength: 13 Endurance: 20 Species: Pheonix Dexterity: 11 Intelligence: 41 Class: Pheonix, Level 2 Affinity: 30  

Status Haroune's Fruit

Skills Traits Cinders, Level 4 Mythical Bellows, Level 1 Fire to Fire   Profound Fire Affinity   Soul Affinity   Lesser Light Affinity   Dungeon Bound

"Oh great... more I don't understand" I sigh with resignation. This is going to get out of hand...