The Long Way Home: Chapter 10 - Follow the Birdie

The night passed slowly while Samber was on the wing. The wind and sea were calm all around her, but even with easy flying conditions exhaustion started to creep in. By the time the sun had turned the sky a pale blue, the colourful corva was spent. She barely had the strength to keep her wings locked in a glide let alone flap them to gain height. Looking around she silently preyed to all three gods for something to rest on, a ship, land, a driftwood tree, anything. But there was no sign of anything she could use. All she could see from horizon to horizon was the rippling murky blue sea. Heart sinking Samber called out a long note of despair, she couldn't stay airborne for much longer. She was slowly getting closer and closer to the surface of the water when someone answered her call. It took an effort for the little corva to lift her head. But high above her, she saw a large gull gliding along on long slender wings. Hope ignited in Sambers chest. It gave her the strength she needed to work her heavy wings and gain at least a little hight. The much smaller bird stayed far higher, eyeing her suspiciously. It probably thought she was going to try and eat it, but food wasn't the priority. She wanted land. Any land, big, small, even just a rock sticking out the sea would do. Overhead the gull tilted his wings, Samber matched his directions. Hoping that the smaller bird wasn't lost at sea like she was. He seemed to be heading purposefully in one direction. 

 

When she saw the dots on the horizon Samber's heart felt like it could have flown all the way there without the help of her wings. It was hard to tell what they were at first but as she and the gull got closer the dots formed into a cluster of small islands. Some of them were small, proably smaller than her nesting barn back home. Those small rocky islands were covered in bickering gulls just like the one that had led her here. But a few were a decent size and blanketed with greenery. Fixing her gaze on the nearest of the larger island relief flooded the little corva. It might not have been home or even a large mass of land but it was land. 

 

As soon as there was ground under Samber's feet the corva gave in to her exhaustion. She didn't even look around before she curled up in a ball of feathers and fell into a deep sleep. For the rest of the day and the full night, she slept. It was the gentle warmth of the sun that woke her finally. Out on the small islands clouds of gulls sqorked and squabbled. Samber had half a mind to go see if she could catch some to eat but it felt wrong after one of those very gulls had led her here to safety. Instead, the little corva stretched out her wings and turned her attention to the island she was on. There was something she needed to find before she could continue her journey. 

 

The foliage was dense and twisted, so much so that Samber had to bite and slash at it with her talons to make her way into the heart of the island. Under the green canopy, the air was cool, dappled light filtered threw the layers of leaves. It took a while for Samber to find what she had battel her way into the trees for but cradled between two grate trees roots sat a shallow pool of rainwater. It was slightly brown in colour but she didn't care, she was too thirsty to be fussy about how clean her water was. She drank the puddle almost dry. Just as it had the first day she had spent away from home once her thirst was slackened the little corva's mind turned to food. She doubted there were any smoking huts of fish or kind fishermen to give her scraps on this island. She would have to find her own food. 

 

Retracting her path back towards the beach it turned out easier than she thought. Not far from the puddle of water Samber caught a sweet smell fragrancing the air. Stomach growling she followed the scent all the way to a thick tree, its branches were heavy with large yellow and orange fruits. It was the fallen ones that had cracked open that she had smelled. All around the tree, they littered the floor. Experimental Samber reach out a claw and turned one over. They where large soft fruits, about the size of a humans fist. Speering it on a claw Samber sniffed it. It didn't look or smell poisonous. Sticky juice dripped from it ran down the reddish-orange skin. Cautiously Samber licked it. The taste was sweet and pleasant. The skin was a little bit fuzzy but that didn't bother the little dragon bird. Satisfied that it was edible she gulped it down nad began to rummage around for more. The ones that looked as though they had been on the ground a while she left. They smelled sweet, but she knew from past experience that eating rotten fruit was a bad idea. Especially when there was plenty of recently dropped fruit to pluck from the ground. 

 

Methodically she worked her way around the base of the tree. Picking threw the leaf litter for the best fruit. When there was no more good fruit to be found she went surging for other trees. It was tough working batteling threw the thick undergrowth but with a little bit of determination, she found a handful more of the fruit trees on the island. None of them where as big as the first one she had found but all of them had dropped fruit. Sweet and ripe she ate as many as she could find before heading back to the beach. She needed more rest before she made the next leg of her journey and with her belly full a nap on a sun-soaked beach sounded like a good plan. 

 

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