Chimera

Chapter Twelve: Camila

A small pond, slightly stagnant, but water nonetheless. The most amazing thing was that the pond was connected to a thin stream. This cave wasn't just a single cave, it was connected to a whole system of caverns, with the stream running right through all of them.

"This stream runs through this entire system?" Alana asked.

"Yes. And you know what that means. If we follow the stream, we should end up in a bigger body of water," Lance said, a smile breaking on his face. The coyote next to him yipped.

"This tiny pond would never sustain Las Lagos, but maybe the water at the end of the stream will," Jaylin realised.

"Well," Camila said, "there's only one way to find out. We should follow the stream. It's the most promising sign of water we've found yet. Let's go!"

"I think we should follow the stream too, but maybe not right now. The sun's setting anyway," Jaylin reasoned, gesturing to the sky.

"I vote we stay here for the night too. We can recover that way. We've had three fights in one day! The sentries, the snake and now this," Alana said.

"I guess that's a good idea," Camila said, yawning.

"It's settled then," Lance declared, "we'll sleep here for the night. But first thing in the morning we follow the stream."

Agreed, they walked over to the stream and refilled their canteens in the water. The water felt cool on Camila's tongue and refreshed her as it trickled down her throat. She would be reinvigorated the next day, as long as she could get something to eat.

While Alana stayed at the cave and nursed her injuries, the other three set off to find some food.

"Let's hunt in the forest," Jaylin suggested, "there were lots of animals and fruit there."

They entered the maze of trees and vines, surveying everything for potential food. Camila looked up at the canopy and saw a scampering silhouette, but she had no idea what it was. It scurried briefly into a shaft of light, and she saw that it was a magpie with shining feathers, beady eyes, and a long, squirrel-like tail. It flicked its tail once and then vanished into the shadows.

"How will we even know what's edible?" she asked.

"I might have an idea," Lance said. He revealed a notebook and opened it to the first page.

"This is my catalogue of flora and fauna in the forest," he explained, "I saw a squirrel eating these things, so I don't think that they're poisonous."

He pointed to a paragraph in the catalogue. Jaylin and Camila leaned in to read it. It described a black acorn that contained edible purple liquid.

"Well then, let's do this!" Camila said, catching sight of a tree with the dark hued acorns. She morphed her fingers into sharp fox claws and jumped onto the tree, her claws digging into the tree. She scrabbled up the bark until she was in the uppermost branches.

Carefully, she stretched out a claw and took an acorn. Then she smashed it against the thick bark of the tree. It cracked open and liquid streamed out.

"Magical purple juice! Yummy," Jaylin laughed from down below.

Hesitantly, Camila let a droplet of the liquid fall onto her tongue. She instantly wished that she hadn't.

It was horrible. It didn't have the burning, acidic taste of a poison or the blunt, sterile feel of a chemical, but it was bitter enough to make Camila's face contort in repugnance.

"Well, it doesn't look exactly delicious," Jaylin quipped.

"How very observant of you," Camila said drily, swinging down from the tree.