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~Four~

Bumble's tail stuck straight out like a stick, but Opal didnt have to tell them twice as they dropped the fish they caught and rushed inside the den on all fours. Confused and scared, Bumble made nervous chirps, waiting for Opal to explain. Opal clicked through what sounded like a growl. She kicked something and a stone slab covered the vine entrance, locking Bumble in. She darted outward, looking up through the window at her nervous friend before she hissed at a huge black bear. Bumble cowered, still confused and scared as they were locked inside the den. They quietly chirped and wined nervously, shifting on their paws.

     The bear flicked it's ears, nearing closer to the scent of fish, not noticing the tall raptor. Opal hissed again, her white fangs sparkling like jewels. Her feathers ruffled and rattled together as her hackles stood straight up. The bear looked at her and roared. She "roared" back, then ran at the beast as it swiped a massive claw. Opal was hit in her shoulder and thrown to the dirt, raising her head and jumping up to bite down onto the creatures paw. She dug in the metal raptor claw as she climbed up the arm, swinging around to ready herself to bite the scruff. The bear caught her tail in its teeth, then bit down and pulled. Opal shrieked as dark blue blood seeped from the bite wound.

     She positioned herself and sliced her gauntlet across the bear's eyes.The animal roared and swung it's massive head, getting up onto two legs and shaking. Opal bit down onto the beast's scruff, her fangs so long in to draw blood. Her paws gripped the bear's shoulder and back, raking the metal weapons to create long gashes as her back paws inflicted cuts and scratches. She finally swung around and bit the animal's upper throat, making the bear roar and shake the raptor off. Opal shrieked and hissed as the animal lumbered away hastily.

    Bumble could hear the shrieking of their friend from inside the den. Immidently going to the door they attempted to open it to no avail.
Opal looked up, her pupils growing as her feathers drifted downward.

At least Bumble's safe,

She thought. She turned, her shoulders slumped and tail dragging as she neared the stone door. She kicked the lever to lift the rock when she collapsed, her gauntlets covered in blood and fur. Bumble shrieked as the door rumbled open to reveal their friend collapse in front of them.

     A million thoughts rushed through their head as they rushed to Opal's side and stared at her. They made a terribly worried squeaking sound, looking for any sign she was okay. Opal purred, then looked at herself. Her brown fur was adorned with cuts and scratches, a large bite mark near her tail feathers. Her shoulder was bruised and scratched horrendously, as her legs were cut up at her ankles. Bumble had medical supplies at their den, but they would have to get Opal there first. That would be difficult, seeing as Opal was about two feet taller than them. Maybe they could run to their den then bring everything back? Could Opal walk that far? Bumble tried to help Opal to her feet.

If they could get her there...

Opals feathers drooped as she shook when she finally got to her feet. Her one arm hung limply as if it were broken, and her tail swung sadly as she swayed from side to side. She dropped to her feet, holding her one injured foreleg up as she limped on her fours - well, threes. Bumble looked at her sympatheticly, and started to lead their friend to their den over the hill- Bumble just hoped that she would make it that long. Opal smiled as she limped beside her now safe friend. She blinked. If she hadn't heard that bear, it probably would've come up behind them and chucked them into the river, making sure that Bumble had been out of the way for the fish. If only she had gone inside to safety... No. If she hadn't done what she did, that bear would've depleted her fish supply for months to come.

       By some miracle, they made it back to Bumble's den safely. Once inside, Bumble lead Opal over to the couch in the back of the room. Turning on the light, Bumble laid her down on her back with a pillow propping her head up. Quickly they ran over to their bookcase. There were three boxes on the lowest shelf, and the shortest one held her first aid supplies. They pulled out the box and hurried over to Opal, box in paw. Opal closed her eyes, her leg swinging limply off the couch, opening her white-pupiled eyes halfway to look at Bumble, her hurt arm coiled against her chest as  she shook off the gauntlets to reveal cuts inflicted from the metal hitting her fur.

      Bumble started with the largest wounds first. They took a bandage out of the box and motioned to Opal's obviously broken arm. They wanted to make sure the raptor knew that they were going to touch said arm. They gently took the arm to examine it. Luckily the bone hadnt been knocked too far out of place, so Bumble wouldn't have to realign the bone. Taking the heavy duty bandage, Bumble started to wrap the arm tightly. After wrapping it completely, they stuck out their tounge and licked the entire bandage. It was gross, but they knew their saliva would dry and harden. They took another bandage and wrapped it around the first, creating a cast type of thing with it. Sighing, they moved on to the next largest wound, her tail. Moving down to examine it, they felt the tail with their paws, making sure to be gentle. It had been bitten quite harshly, and it was still slowly seeping blood. The raptor quickly scurried over to the kitchen area, grabbing a towel and dampening it in a bucket of clean water.

     Walking back over to their friend, they began to gently wash away any blood still found on the wound. After cleaning it, Bumble took some alcohol pads to disinfect the area. It would sting a little, but they knew their friend was tough so the continued to clean it. After using the pads, they began to search for a bandage large enough to cover the wound. They finally found four that would cover it on both side, and after licking them only a bit to make them stick, they could move onto smaller wounds.

    Opal laid completely still, as if she had gone through this before. It took some time, but finally Bumble had Opal all patched up. Bumble could now relax, their friend was okay. A sigh of relief escaped them, and they gathered up all the stuff to put back in the box on the shelf. They sat next to Opal on the floor next to the couch. Opal looked at her casted arm, then down at her tail and at the bandage. She sighed as she waved her tail a bit, then let it relax. She placed a gentle paw on her friend's shoulder.

    "Thank you, Bumble." Bumble smiled in a reassuring way. They were happy that their friend was okay.

    "You're such a good friend, and I hope you know that. I want you to know that I'll be here for you, any time of day, no matter what. You mean a lot to me..." She smiled, hoping her friend wouldn't take it the wrong way. She never liked anyone, not after what happened to her when she was younger - her pre-partner had left her after she had taken him in when no one else would, after he cried and she listened. She didn't believe she could be in a relationship ever again. Bumble blinked slowly.

"You mean a lot to me too, Opal."

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