+1 Dexterity

"Oh thank Escal" Bartlon exhales loudly with relief, holding one hand to his heart as I appear out of the maze of roots surrounding the boat. The poor, wrinkly saint physically deflates, slumping down on his seat in the row boat as all his tension melts away. "After seeing all those leaves flying around I thought that I lost you forever! That Ivos is a terror! If I had of known he'd be here..... I would of never taken you here... I'm sorry"

Oh gosh, why does he look so sad? I mean he should feel sad, just not 'this' sad, it makes me sad seeing him like this!

"I'm ok, don't worry! He ran away after eating some leaves" I tensely chirp as I flap across the roots into the safety of the boat, away from prying eyes. "Can we go now?" I ask in an almost pleading tone while pressing my belly against the hull so that I can't be seen.

I will admit, he was pretty terrifying. He made the wind go all "whooshhh' and 'hooooohh' like some kind of walking cyclone. But its not like I actually got hurt, so I don't mind too much, and I'm sure if he had moved a few steps closer I could of given his knees a nasty few pecks before running away!

Wearing a warm and somewhat puzzled smile, Bartlon wordlessly reaches over me while holding an oar and stabs it into the leafy shore. With a big grunt, he lurches the boat into the placid lake before returning to his seat and placing both oars in their notches. Giving me an reassuring look, he starts rowing away from the island with steady, powerful strokes, cutting through the water like a talon through a blanket.

Gosh golly am I happy to be leaving! That island is too tiresome for me! Each stroke of the oars is a step towards freedom!

"Well... at least I collect enough for the next 2 weeks" Bartlon sheepishly grins with a half-hearted chuckle, patting the bulging pouch at his side. "Did you finish your thing?" he asks cheerfully, effortlessly dispersing the tense mood in two short sentences.

"I FOUND A NUT!" I instantly chirp in response, returning to my perky self at the mere thought of the tasty treat.

"Oh... good for y-".

"You should of seen it! It was huge! Even bigger than me! I had to drop it from all the up in the branches to open it! And it tasted like the best thing ever! So flavorful and bubbly! I don't normally like crunchy things, but it was just perfect! I've never tasted something so yummy! I would've brought some with me so you could try it too, but I was worried I was taking too long! So I came back straight away! *after a nap* I almost got lost too, but that grumpy bum's voice helped me find you straight away!"

I pause with a huff and suck in another big breathe to continue my story while Bartlon grins fondly and opens his mouth to speak.

"Oh really? I ha-

"ALSO!" I squawk, pretending not to hear "When I ate the nut for the first time I got a whole bunch of squigglies! So many! More than ever before! And they felt really, really nice! Like leveling up, times a million! Although I'm not 100% sure if it was because of the nut, because Mr. Squiggle didn't come back when I ate more of the nut! Anyways! I remember the first squiggle! So, give me a minute! Its super important!"

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

I scramble to the piece of hull where my previous status is engraved and begin carefully scratching the new squiggles down from memory. I really, really hope Bartlon knows this one! These squiggles were the best! I would forsake eating for a whole day if it meant I could feel those squiggles just one more time.

Bartlon leans forward and sways his head left and right above my outstretched wings, trying to take a peak at my new discovery as I'm hard at work. When will he learn? Keeping an eye on him, I playfully scoot to block his vision, only for him to shift in his seat and loom over me from a different angle. Such impatience! After a several seconds of similar back and forth he finally retreats with a retiring snort and returns back to diligently rowing the boat.

"So..." Bartlon begins, glancing at me with a mixture of guilt and 'I told you so' in his wrinkly face.

"Not to nag" he continues, voice void of any anger or accusation "but, I do vividly remember telling you to avoid being seen, which, as it seems, wasn't enough of a warning. I have no doubts that tongues will wag for many months about all that mysterious fire you flashed up the Harou Tree" he sighs.

Yup, I kinda abandoned being sneaky the minute after he warned me, but what else could I do?! I had to use Cinders to get to the tree in the first place! Trying to flap/walk there by myself would've taken years! And I would have never of found that pale, green nut in the tree top, so I think it was worthwhile in the end, it tasted delish!

I meekly emit an apologetic whistle to appease the doting Bartlon.

"Need I remind you" Bartlon presses, his voice dropping an octave "A pheonix is an incredibly rare sight, more of a once in a lifetime occurrence really, triply so in a uneventful and forgotten place like this. Any sighting would make the people go crazy... in many senses, and if they learnt of how young you really are, they'd undoubtedly go crazy in the worse way imaginable".

My foot comes to a screeching halt... because I finished with the squiggles.

I give the etchings in the aged wood one last satisfied look-over before spinning to face the boat's captain and presenting them with a grandiose flapping flourish and proud head bob! This time there's no mistake! I only hope he understands what they mean!

The darkened expression in Bartlon's wrinkles quickly change to excitement and curiosity as he wiggles to the edge of his seat. In the span of a breathe, his eyes zip left to right across the squiggles in the hull . That quick!? How does he understand it so easily?! It took me a whole minute to scratch it down! He's amazing!

"Haroune's Fruit?" he wonders aloud, recoiling in his seat with furrowed brows "What? The Tree? It isn't called Harou? Is that a joke? Been calling it Harou my whole life! Wait, you said it was a nut, right? Are nuts fruits?" he asks with a tilted head.

I can't tell if he understands this squiggle or not. I was hoping he could tell me more about it, not the other way around! Oh golly, I wish I could remember what the rest of the squiggles were.

I helpfully shrug my birdy shoulders in profound honesty. I dunno. "What does fruit taste like?" I ask with undisguised hunger. Are they similar to nuts? If so, that's all the more reason to get a pouch for carrying food!

"They're usually sweet, sometimes sour, tart or bitter, personally, I'm not fond of taste, but that's besides the point." he chuffs with a wide a shooing gesture. "For the nut to be named is very surprising, it must be quite significant. The only named objects I've seen are weapons, armours and unique artefacts, never any foods! But there's no way that you found and ate a food artefact, right? Ridiculous."

"I only ate half of it!" I correct hastily, worried he might think I'm greedy, or worse, a glutton.

He strokes his faint, salty white chin stubble thoughtfully. "Well... Even half of a named object should hold some value. Maybe we should go back for it?" he asks while wistfully drifting his gaze back to the giant blue tree.

How could he even suggest that?! "Absolutely Not!" I peep in outrage, causing Bartlon to lower his head in guilt. "Not while that awful hunch-backed creature is still there! He's evil!"

Bartlon gives a meek nod and grabs a hold of the oars again. "Right, that was a silly question. Ivos is the equivalent to a feral cat, vicious and unwanted at the best of times. I'd rather not see him again so soon either" he grumps "Sorry for asking, it was just the greed from my younger days lingering in my thoughts. Artefacts are a vaunted commodity".

I settle my ruffled feathers and hop up to the ship's stern so I can forget the recent event and enjoy the breezy wind. I can't help being moody! Before seeing Ivos, I thought the biggest threat in the jungle was the Misty Death, when really, its a walking fossil. A disappointment honestly, at least the Misty Death was soft and fluffy!

Although that raises a worrying question. Am I actually really weak? Bartlon made the other pheonixs' seem so powerful and terrifying, something that people fear and love! But I barely defeated a creature less than half of his size, not very awe-inspiring of me.

Ugh, just thinking about the Misty Deaths reminds me of how long its been since I've felt the warm touch of a blanket. Too long! How can I bring myself to think about my powerlessness when I don't even have a blanket to call my own! My priorities are clear!

I politely wait for Bartlon to make eye contact with me before asking, possibly the most life altering question to ever be asked in the history of questions asked.

"Do you have any spare pouches?" I chirp melodically.

"Small, pheonix-sized ones?" I quickly add.