"WHO. DID. THIS!?"
"Oh my lord, I bet that was Sundew," Willow said, "Seriously Croc? She is going to kill us! We should probably leave. Now. Like, run!"
Sundew spots them and flies towards them.
"You!!" She yells, pointing at Croc. "You stole my stuff!!"
"Umm... I gotta go!" Croc yelps, then sprints away.
"Me too!" says Marigold, following.
"See you!" Willow shouts, leading the rest of the group away.
They all run away, leaving Sundew behind.
"Come on guys! We have to go NOW!!" Willow shouts, beckoning them forward. "Sundew is going to kill us!!!"
"Ha ha. Hopefully not literally," mutters Marigold.
They run until they reach the ocean.
"Please tell me we're not-" Marigold begins.
"Ok, let's fly!" Croc shouts, motioning forward.
"-flying," finishes Marigold.
As Croc takes off, he isn't looking where he's going and slams into a tree.
Willow rushes forward and catches him.
"Oof," Croc says. "I think my wing is broken"
"So we're not flying?" Marigold says hopefully. "I- I mean- Are you okay?" She corrects hurriedly.
"I swear. If your wing is actually broken, and we have to go back to Nurse Willow-" Willow threatens.
"Um... guys?" Says Marigold, pointing back the way they came. "Now might not be the best time..."
An angry green figure was approaching them. Fast.
"Oh my gosh. This cannot get any worse." Says Willow, smacking her forehead.
"Guys, I don't think I can fly..." says Croc worriedly, testing the wing he hurt.
"Ok. Plan." Willow says commandingly. "Stella, Reef, Kimber, you fly below Croc and catch him if he falls. Marigold can ride on my back, and we try to get to that island." She points to a distant spot of land.
"Roger that!" The group choruses, getting into a formation.
Sundew gets close enough for them to see the rage in her eyes.
"Now!" Shouts Marigold, clambering onto Willows back as they take off.
"Did you know," shouts Croc over the wind, "that I've never flown before?"
"How in the world have you never flown!?" Cries Marigold, clinging to Willow for dear life. "You literally broke your wing flying! And you grew up in a forest for heavens sake!"
"Oh just great," says Willow, "we've got a dragon with a broken wing who's only flown like twice."
"I grew up in a rainforest. There's a difference." Croc says, annoyed.
"But wouldn't you have to fly around in the trees?" Marigold persisted, "Wild, back me up!"
"I had to do fly around, you probably had to, too." Wild says.
"Have you forgotten about Sundew?" Croc asks, exasperated.
"Speaking of Sundew..." Marigold says.
"On it." Says Willow, shooting a dart at Sundew. "She won't get too far. As long as we can get far enough away from Pantala, we should be good."
Croc looks at the holster of darts.
"Good, because we're running out of darts"
"It's ok, I can make more darts." Says Willow impatiently.
"There probably won't be enough resources until we get to Middle Town." Croc points out.
"True, but we can manage until then." Willow answers.
"Guys, how fast can you fly?" Marigold says, looking back.
"Fast enough I hope. Sundew?" Willow says.
"Yup."
"I could just give her a sedation plant?" Croc suggested.
"Yea..." said Marigold skeptically. "And she's gonna just let you?"
"Of course not!" Says Croc, grinning. "But that's what Wild is for!"
"Wait a second-"
"Wild, will you disguise as me?"
"Oooh," Marigold says, realizing Crocs plan. "I'd prefer to be on someone else's back when this happens.
Willow sighed.
"Fine"
Willow shifted her colors to look like Croc.
"This good?"
"Make the feet a bit more brown," says Marigold, glancing at Croc.
Willow shifts the feet color.
"Better?"
"Yea," answers Reef, who was observing the interaction.
"Ok, let's go in that cave and hide while Wild does her thing." Says Marigold.
The group flies into the cave on the island they had gotten near, leaving Willow-Croc outside.
"Hide! She's coming!" Willow whisper yells in their direction.
•••
Sundew approached quickly, spotting Willow-Croc and flying towards her.
"YOU LITTLE BRAT!! GET BACK HERE!!" Sundew bellows, anger dripping in her voice.
"Oh hi Sundew," says Willow-Croc, as casually as she could muster.
"GIVE ME MY STUFF BACK," Sundew yells.
"Ok," says Willow-Croc, grabbing some random leaves and handing them to Sundew.
"Also, I decided you kids need supervision. I'm coming with you!" Sundew announces, grabbing the leaves.
"Ha ha!" Says Croc, running out of the cave.
Sundew stops, confused.
"There are two-"
Sundew falls to the ground, knocked out by a sedation herb.
"Ok, that's taken care of." Says Marigold, stepping out too, followed by the rest of the group.
"What happened?" Kimber asks, staring at the unconscious LeafWing.
"She wanted to come with us, to 'supervise' us," Willow fills him in.
"And we should probably go now," Croc suggested, "Hopefully we can be away by the time she wakes up."
"One problem..." says Stella. "Most of our supplies were left behind in Pantala."