Wild Flowers, Electric Beasts by Alina Leonova

Author:Alina Leonova [Leonova, Alina]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Alina Leonova

***

Balika must have passed out because she didn’t recognise the trees below them. She could feel Yemi’s exhaustion, and her own body was a tangle of searing pain, but they shared a reluctance to land in an unknown place. They would have to stop sooner or later, though.

Dawn had touched the sky to the right, painting it bright crimson. How long had it been since they’d left the strange glade? Balika didn’t know. They needed rest, but the forest was too thick for Yemi to land anyway. Mist rose from the treetops, flowing over the wood like an airborne river, reminding Balika how thirsty she was. She licked her dry lips and stroked Yemi’s back. Her head spun, and it was so hot that she could barely breathe.

An hour later, they were still flying. The temperature of the damp air had become unbearable, and the sun felt like liquid fire dancing on her skin. She noticed blisters and rashes on her arms, and her whole body was sore and itchy. Yemi shifted with discomfort beneath her, kir skin irritated, too. They needed to get meyola leaves or one of the other soothing plants, but who knew if they could find them in this part of the forest.

When they finally noticed a glade, Yemi circled it several times before landing. The grass looked normal, and the ground didn’t feel suspicious, but Balika made some holes with her knife to make sure there were no unpleasant surprises. Yemi wandered around, digging and smelling before ki dropped in the shade and moaned.

Ki rolled around on kir back, rubbed kir sides against the trees, leaving purple fur everywhere, and used kir tail and paws to scratch kir body. Balika scratched her burning and itching skin, too. She felt lightheaded; her mouth and throat were dry, and her body was desperately signalling that it needed water. They hadn’t seen any streams from above, and Yemi was in no condition to make a reconnaissance flight. Balika needed to go herself. She hated how weak and shaky she was. Her legs felt as if they would give way at any moment.

She steadied herself with a deep inhalation followed by a slow exhalation. She couldn’t afford to collapse. She needed to get water and treatment for their skin. Noting the position of the sun and a huge tree with long pink and blue spiral leaves gently twisting in the wind, she headed to the south-west. She would find her way back, and the unusual tree would help her recognise the glade if Yemi wasn’t there when she got back.

Ki laid on kir side, panting. Balika wanted to come over and hug her friend, but she was too weak to spare precious energy, even on a few additional steps. Instead, she thought kir name and imagined a song of care and support. Her throat was too dry to sing out loud, but Yemi felt her message and sent the same emotion back, although darkened by pain and weakness.

The sun rose to its zenith, and even though Balika stayed in the shade, she could barely stand the heat.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.