Leon breached the water and gasped in a huge breath. He pulled himself fully out of the water and fell against the stone beach, panting.

The pain in his stomach flared up as the water did its work, and he gasped in breaths as best he could.

Out in the water, the corpse of the mouse bobbed gently.

He was alive. Somehow, he was alive.

That had been the first real fight of his life, and it had lasted all of three seconds.

He felt like he should be disappointed, but he was struggling to feel much of anything except relief at the air which he greedily gulped in.

He felt a feeling of warmth spread through him. It was a welcome change from the bone chilling cold of the water.

A small part of him wanted to black out right now, but the adrenaline that pumped through him wouldn’t allow that yet, so he propped himself up and called up his Mana Affinity wheel.

It was complete. He watched the final section go bright as the warmth in his chest sunk into his core and dissipated.

He waited for some big announcement. Did he have magic now or what?

He waited a bit, checking over his status and affinity to see if anything changed, but the wheels stayed stubbornly constant. He sighed. Something to deal with later. He looked around for a way to carry it, but it looked like that wouldn’t happen soon either. He looked over at the corpse of the mouse as it was slowly picked apart by a multitude of little fish.

He wondered how his friends were. He hoped they weren’t too broken up over the whole thing. Well, more specifically he hoped they cried about it for a bit before moving on with great guilt and sorrow, before eventually having fond memories of him as they lived their own lives years into the future.

He laughed at the thought for a bit, happy in his own company for a little while.

As he contemplated whether or not to get up and move somewhere else before he eventually blacked out, he heard something in the distance. Like consecutive rolls of thunder.

He looked in the direction of the noise. The sky was clear of clouds. What was it?

The rumbling grew louder and was soon accompanied by the sound of cracking branches and shaking leaves. Leon stood up and so too did the bird up above, both searching for the source, before the source found them

The behemoth had returned, and it had a goal.

It flew over the ground, paws smacking against earth like the rumble of thunder, and then it was up.

Leon watched in disbelief as the giant beast flung itself up the cliff like it was running on land.

It snagged its feet on an outcropping, before leaping towards the nest. The bird shrieked, and was struck, and the pair fell towards earth.

Half the nest came down with them, and Leon barely managed to avoid a falling log as the bulk of it fell to meet him.

He fell, scrambling backwards as the nest contacted the water. Nearby, he watched as the behemoth and the bird brawled. Considering what the mouse had tried to pull already despite its injuries, he doubted the victor would be happy with his presence. He was about to get up and run when a flicker of white drew his vision.

Somehow caught by the branches of a bush, there was a single intact egg.

He stared at it, for some reason feeling inextricably drawn to it.

He could leave it there, of course. Worst came to worst, the panther would eat it and it would never be seen from again, but as he watched the two giant monsters’ struggle move inextricably towards the bush, he couldn’t bring himself to leave it there.

He was caught in a trap of thought and his legs made the decision for him. He ran for the bush, diving under a flailing wing, and drove his arms into the bush, finding a strength he hadn’t known he’d had. His hands wrapped around the egg, and he ran.

Not a moment later, the bush was crushed beneath the full weight of the behemoth as it was flung away from its rampaging opponent.

Leon ran, and he didn’t stop until the sound of the fight faded into nothing, and he entered a familiar patch of forest.

A few minutes of walking later, and he found his hollow.

He collapsed on the packed earth, barely mustering the energy to shut the makeshift door behind him. He lay there shivering, cold, tattered clothes heavy on his skin. The egg was large, and as he held it close to his chest he felt a lingering warmth.

His shivering slowly stilled, and soon he was fast asleep.

With that, the day drew to a close.

* * *

By the lake, in the dim light of dusk, the roc tore chunks of flesh from the still form of the behemoth. It had been a powerful opponent, and had he been a younger bird he would have relished the opportunity of such a fight. Now, he had a duty. To protect the young she had left behind. He had cleaned himself in the healing waters, taking barely any notice as his wing snapped into its correct shape. Even as he ate, the damage the beast had done was fading as the dusk. Forgotten.

He scaled the cliff, claws digging into the stone like it was loose earth. There, he found the ruins of his nest. He nudged around in the rubble, searching for her eggs.

He found none.

He glided down and searched the lake. Her eggs were nowhere to be found.

He spotted something white among the wreckage strewn across the beach, and he hopped towards it.

The egg was shattered, and he stared down at the still form of the nearly hatched chick. He nudged it, and for a second it moved before going still.

He cried out, a broken wail piercing the sky.

That was, until he heard a thin squeak. He looked down at the chick. It was moving, ever so slightly.

He closed his beak around it, lifting its tiny form upwards to safety. It flew down once more, feeling the weakness that came with the water’s healing.

He lifted up a mouthful of water. By the time he had reached the nest once more, it was warm, and he poured into the small divot in which the underdeveloped chick lay.

It grew, ever so slowly, and the roc felt sleep drawing near. He curled up around the chick, wing covering its body. He would keep it safe. No matter what.