My Little Bird | Blue Eyes (Under minor grammatical editing)

Chapter 11

-one month later-

My wounds have healed fabulously, as Brent said. Brent is the male Oba that had been helping Deja treat me. He was still learning, but he was good at healing, and that's what mattered. He was nice, and had a good sense of humor, Dax would have liked him. My stitches had dissolved into my skin and I was left with four scars raked into my midriff, the first and shortest one riding the ridge of my hipbone. It no longer gave me pain unless I moved too quickly, though Aria insisted that I stay in the healing hut until I was completely free of pain, no matter how much I complained. I wasn't allowed to do anything strenuous, i.e run, jog, so I wasn't allowed to go anywhere much now. I hadn't been able to climb in weeks and I was itching to use my limbs, but every time Aria assesses me, she says I'm not ready yet. I'm starting to feel a bit babied.

Though Aria did allow me to go out to gather fruits with Blue Eyes, as long as he promised to move slowly. I was surprised when she came up with the idea, but I think she caught on at how tired I am of just sitting around. So, at this moment, I was busy plucking fat blackberries from their respective branches, while Blue Eyes was up in an apple tree a few feet away, gathering the ripest fruits at the top branches. I sighed and internally grumbled over my jealousy. I wanted to be up there too, I loved the feeling of being suspended in the air, knowing I could rely on the tree's strength, but of course, I couldn't risk re-opening my wounds. Just as I thought that, a dull thump sounded just behind me. I looked back to see Blue Eyes walking forward, his arms struggling to cradle too many apples.

I giggled as they tumbled from him and onto my shoulders to roll across the grass. I caught one and smiled up at him amusedly as he stood there looking embarrassed. He mutely apologized and I forgave him, turning to help him pick up the lost apples and placed them in a separate basket we had brought along. At one point, we both reached for the same fruit and we both froze when our fingers overlapped one another's, and I looked up into Blue Eyes' cerulean gaze. His eyes were wide, as were mine, as we both seemed to stop breathing. My cheeks felt warm as my heart started thumping in my chest. We both seemed to snap out of our daze when two squirrels leaped noisily into the branches above our heads, Blue Eyes broke eye contact as he cleared his throat and awkwardly removed his hand from atop mine, and we both avoided eye contact while returning to the task of picking up the discarded apples.

The awkwardness didn't last long until we both reached forward and simultaneously bonked our heads together. He grunted and I let out a little "oh!" as we retracted and placed a hand on our foreheads. Blue Eyes and I locked eyes again and this time, we both started laughing. I giggled as I rubbed the soreness from my head.

"Aria will have my hide for that." Blue Eyes signed, still chuckling.

I let out another giggle and stood up from where I had been crouching in front of the blackberry bush. "Come on, let's get back to the village before one of us breaks a bone." I exaggerated jokingly. He tittered and picked up the full apple basket and I toted my berry basket as we started the trek. But when Blue Eyes suddenly stopped, confusion scrunching up his face, I turned to question him. But before I could form the words, the earth under my feet started to shake.

"Whoa.." I muttered as the shaking caused me to stagger. "Blue Eyes?" I said, worry and fear heightening my voice as I looked to the sky eyed ape.

"Earthquake!" He growled, dropping the apple basket. I felt something move under my feet, but it was different from the tremors coursing through the earth, and I gasped when a thundering sound erupted from the soil under my feet. My eyes darted to Blue Eyes' and he took a step toward me before the earth split from under my feet, and my stomach dropped as I fell. A frightened cry tore from my throat, but it ended in a pained grunt as I landed after about eight feet. Pain ached in my side hotly as my back collided with the hard ground, and I gasped as the air was forced from me.