XIV. PREDISPOSITION
A new sunlight cascades across Ruby's room as she and her two closest friends gather around.
"Blake, you have to fly ahead of us and make sure we don't run into any Giant Walkers."
"B-but Ruby,..W-w-what if they spot me? What if I freeze? What if I fall? What if they can jump 100 feet into the air? I'll be a Giant Walker's snack!"
"It's okay, Blake. My Gopher mind hatched an idea!"
"How do we know you're not hatching gas?" Ruby interrupted.
"Hey!"
"What is it, Graham? I could go for anything to save my bird feathers from being eaten."
"We could ask Eustice for assistance!"
Ruby's head went around in circles at the suggestion. "We already have Blake to look ahead. Why would we need another bird for help, let alone someone as sketchy as Eustice?"
"Because it'll keep Blake calm. Plus, the further Eustice is, the more space we have of being warned and making a run for it."
"Who are you to judge, Ruby? Eustice has been my rock with all the shaky ground my home has been on top of lately. Take that back!"
Ruby is in no mood to argue. The more time they spent on this squabble meant less time to be able to search for her glamorous Twin-Tails. "Alright. I take back my words about Eustice. Happy, Blake?"
The three packed nylon bags with water, and assortments of different berries and personal favorite foods to take with them. Blake took the lead on bringing the others to Eustice's place. What they witnessed is an empty home. Branches where Eustice would rest on all fallen off the tree.
Ruby sighed. "What a waste of time coming here. This is literally the opposite direction of where the mountains are."
"I thought I was the airhead. Ruby, we're just going a North-West instead of North-East. It's not the exact opposite." Graham stated.
"Weast, Eats. I don't care. It's still not the right direction."
Blake flew around the tree hoping to find any clues of where Eustice could be hiding. He noticed claw marks on the ground below a barely hanging branch. The claw marks pointed towards Lana's den, which is right outside the border and towards the mountains they were going heading towards.
"Guys. It looks like Eustice may have already thought about this. See those claw marks on the ground?"
"They're pointed towards Lana's place! They're gonna beat us to Twin-Tails! Hurry!' Ruby's feet ran fast before her words came to be. So quick in fact, that the steps were short and hasty. Not much for a productive use of her energy Blake thought to himself.
"Pace yourself. We'll make it and have energy left over if we pace ourselves. Like eating a good meal too fast will knock you out, a quick dash will leave us breathless." Graham gave himself a pat on the back for the analogy.
"I like the way you're thinking, Graham. Ruby, you got all that?"
"Shush! Just run!"
Blake and Graham had their hands in their face as their words of wisdom towards Ruby were tossed aside. Their eyes met, giving each other a defeated nod as they followed her to Lana's den.
Peering eyes came from Ruby's as she tried their best to see if Lana is still around. It's difficult to search as is still panting nearly breathless. "O-Okay. She's...she's not here either. Quick. First. We gotta be...first...aghhh." She stumbled on her feet as quickly as she stumbled on her words.
Her friends went to comfort her. "Let's rest with a drink of water." Blake advised everyone. They dug through their bags for a drink. Blake and Graham took their time and got a sip in as Ruby chugged the entire bottle in a single gulp. Her feet already running by the time water entered the throats of the other two. Her friends hurriedly pecked up their bags to trail her shadow.
Being careful to not let her sweat slip in her mouth as she ran, Ruby demanded Blake to fly ahead as they arrived at the river. "Make sure we don't run into any Giant Walkers!"
Too tired to refute her suggestion, Blake flew ahead as they crossed the shallow river. His focus is scattered from not having a long enough rest for a clear head. Nothing in sight as he told the others it's safe to cross.
What Blake failed to see is a Giant Walker hiding behind a bush past the river. The three of them froze up. Minutes had passed as no one made a move. Ruby is too determined to go back. She made steps as quiet as a leaf blowing against the wind as to not gather any attention to herself and friends.
Stealthy footsteps made isn't enough when she passed the bush the Giant Walker hid behind. The Giant Walker's body could be seen slightly above the bush. Its claw extended forward out the bush and towards her, but no movements came from it. Ruby froze at the sight of it, but not due to its menace. "It's--It's dead! There's blood all over the bush!"
Blake flew closer to examine the body. "It's not breathing either."
Graham looked up slowly as he heard something coming towards them. "G-guys..."
An earth shattering wail brought froze everyone like ice.
"Did you three do this to my son!?" The Giant Walker spoke on its hind legs with its face pointed toward at them. The three of them noticed the sharp claws raising up ready to strike them at any moment.
Blake is having flashbacks of all the tension his family had built up over the years. Ruby's heart began to ache at the thought of never being able to meet her idol. While the two of them were trapped in either the past or future, Graham took the moment to speak up. "N-no, sir."
"Ahem. I am a mother."
"Oh! Yes, ma'am."
"You have some manners. Must have some good parents by your side."
"Right you are."
Ruby loosened up and wanted to be a part of the conversation. It's not quite as mesmerizing as engaging with Twin-Tails, but when will she get another chance to have an actual dialogue with a Giant Walker? "More like, lazy parents."
"Hey. They're just chill."
Ruby rolled her eyes.
"Now, now, child. No need to pour boiling water on green pastures."
"But all they do is let lil' ole Graham here run free and do whatever he wants!"
"And I love it!"
"Where's your sense of responsibility? This is why you didn't think to ask Twin-Tails for its name, airhead!"
The Giant Walker took a pause. "Twin-Tails?"
Feeling the tension being replaced by curiosity, Blake felt comfortable enough to be part of the group exchange. "Yes. A mysterious red creature with Twin-Flame's for a tail."
"She an--"
Ruby's words bursted out of her. "She!? Twin-Tails is a girl!?"
"...Yes. She and I go back a few years. I knew her when she was still a baby fox."
Graham had other things on his mind other than the Twin-Tails at the moment. "Excuse me, ma'am."
"Yes, uhm, Graham is it?"
"Yup. Graham's my name. I'm kind of insane."
The Giant Walker gave off a chuckle. "Is that so?"
"It'd be rude to not ask for your name before you continue."
The Giant Walkers cheeks glew red. "Oh. I like you, Graham. My name's Bearrianna. And sadly, the fallen bear you see is my son, Bearry." Her feet were slow as she approached her son’s lifeless body slowly. No words came as she gently laid her chin on his stomach.
Graham and the others took in the somber moment. The three of them looked at each other knowing fully well it was Lana who did this act of violence, but no one felt comfortable speaking up about it. Graham ended the silence. "I'm sorry for your loss."
"It's okay. I know three youngin's couldn't have done this monstrosity. Especially not someone as sweet as you lil' Graham Cracker. You're like a sweet little ball of honey rolled up into a cute little teddy."
Graham's cheeks puffed up as his posture straightened out with his smile being brought to the forefront. "Awwww."
Ruby put her arms behind her as she bent her body backwards to disengage from the lovely exchange between them. She wanted to remove herself from the feelings of jealousy enveloping her in the moment.
"Bearry and Flora--"
Ruby jumped forward close enough for her nose to brush up against Bearrianna's. "Flora!? That's Twin-Tail's name, right!?"
"Indeed it is. Now, before you rudely interrupted, Bearry and Flora were both cubs when we came together. They were practically siblings growing up. Back in my day, we hunted foxes as a part of our food, but my son found her before I did. And when I was ready to treat him to his first fox meal, he would get in my way and shield her with his body. 'Well, it could grow up to an even bigger meal,' I thought to myself.
She didn't have a name growing up, but she always seemed in tuned with Mother Nature. She was a kind fox. Always there to tend to the injured bears. Always bringing us the sweetest apples and fruits. The others began to appreciate her healing presence, and the delicious presents too. Her connection with the Earth made it easy to give her her name. I knew deep down that she is Flora."
Excitement ate Ruby's body as she began jumping up and down, shaking enough where she almost accidentally smacked everyone around her.
"Flora and Bearry--"
"Flora is practically a Goddess!!!"
A frustrated gaze came from Graham to her. "Ruby! Learn to listen and let Bearrianna speak!"
"It's okay child. I've rambled on enough. Surely she would rather be talking to Flora rather than me."
"This was lovely. I'll come and visit you sometime?"
Blake shared Graham's sentiment. "Mind if I did the same, ma'am?"
"Absolutely. There's room enough in my den for the three of you. I'll treat you to some juicy sarsaparilla berries."
Graham put his hands to his tummy. "The way to my stomach is the way to my heart."
"You talkin' like I don't know that, Graham Cracker."
The two of them had a hearty laugh.
"And my name's Blake. You're a lot gentler than we imagined for a Giant Walker."
"Giant Walker? Oh, honey. A whole boulder times more ferocious than Walker. Sheesh. Could at least add killer to the name. We definitely are Giant Killers, or at least we used to be. But don't tell anyone. We got a legacy to uphold."
Graham tilted his head sideways. "You're much too sugar and spice for a name not so nice."
"What an adorable lil' rhyme, haha. I still have the killer instinct in me when the moment calls for it. Flora's influence has made the whole lot of us much more open to strangers. Who knows? Maybe you guys could give us some delicious treats if we didn't mangle you to juicy bits."
"Oooh! We can mangle some strawberries to a tasty juice and munch on its itty bitty bits?"
"Can't say I've eaten a strawberry."
The three of them bumped heads in unison. "Ow!"
Blake shook his head as he stood back up.
Graham massaged his head as he made it back on his feet. "You're going to love it! Red, sweet, and glowing like your pure heart of love!"
Ruby's bum is still on the floor as she sat up. "And I can make the most scrumptious cake out of it!"
"Cake?"
The three bumped noggins once again with double, no triple the force. With the three lil' ones knocked out in the summer heat, Bearrianna took them near the river to cool off.
Some time passed as Blake woke up.
"Hey there, lil' Blake."
"How long were we out?"
"About half an hour."
Ruby's ear began to twitch before she tossed up into the air. "Time's a-wasting, you two! We're so close to the tip of the mountain. Flora can't be too far ahead! I can feel it in my flesh!"
Graham mumbled his response. "That sounds nasty."
"Be careful, youngin's. Whoever did this travesty to my gentle Bearry can't be too far ahead. Make sure to watch each other's back."
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