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No time for oohing and ahhing.

Rather than just popping out, she whistled to alert the gigantic birds that she was there. Dozens of heads popped up all at once, big dark eyes focusing on her. She whistled again, mimicking their twitter. Movement amidst the mass of feathered bodies caught her attention and she grinned as the three little chicks darted out to greet her.

“Hello to you, too,” she chuckled, ruffling their feathers.

She looked up to see Momma and her crested mate had joined the babies. Their big heads bumped her in greeting.

“Easy.” She patted their foreheads then pushed the curious feathered goliaths aside. “I’m just here to get some water.”

As she wove her way through the Xerocle, she licked her parched lips. Her eager smile fell when she reached the underground pool. She could drink her weight in water but all the feathers floating in the estuary killed her hopes.

“Fuck my life,” she grumbled, having forgotten this was also an overgrown birdbath. “No. Don’t get discouraged.”

Thankfully it didn’t look too disgusting to take a dip, so she waded in, cooling her overheated skin. One of the large bathing birds moved, revealing where the water trickled into the chamber, feeding the old estuary.

That’s what I need.She hustled to the old stone wall and held her mouth up to the little waterfall.Oh, that’s good, she sighed and drank her fill.God only knows how clean this is either, but I really don’t care.It was odd how water could normally be so bland, except when you’re desperate, it’s somehow turned unbelievably refreshing and sweet.

Reluctantly she pulled back.I need to go.Their route hadn’t taken them out of the way, but she couldn’t waste time either.

Swiftly she filled their flasks and secured the straps around her shoulder, then made her way back through the pool and the mass of curious birds. Momma and the chicks followed her the entire way. As she attempted to exit behind the columns, Momma’s head blocked her path.

“Momma, I gotta go.” She patted the large feathery forehead.

The big dark eyes that once looked so menacing blinked sweetly at her. The way Momma’s feathers were ruffled she could see the bird was concerned and it nearly made her cry. Yes, they tried to kill Aculus, but the birds were actually very intelligent and sweet if they didn’t feel threatened.

“Thank you for letting me cool off and get a drink of water.” She nuzzled the big head the way she’d seen the chicks do, before gently shoving Momma away.

The overgrown ostrich relented and she climbed into the fissure. A snort burst out as one of the chicks tried to follow her, evading Momma’s beak to join her in the cramped tunnel. Although Momma couldn’t fit, the fluffy niblets certainly could.

“Nope.” She shooed the chick back out.

Momma instantly plucked the ball of fuzz up, foiling its escape.

Chuckling, she started her climb back up the flat shaft, feeling for the debris she had to maneuver around, until she saw the light from the surface. She crawled faster then stopped just inside the entrance.

“Is that you? Goddess, I was starting to worry,” Makissa declared while peering into the crack.

“No, it’s a big scaly Gocke,” she teased as she blinked, letting her eyes adjust to the bright light.

“Very amusing.” Makissa reached out to help her. “You’re soaked. There’s that much water down there?”

“I told you.” Nadzia passed her friend one of the flasks as she stretched, working the kinks out of her back.

“Thank you.” Makissa shook her head in disbelief. “If you’re ready, we really need to go. A projection screen passed and one of the others is nearly to the arena.”

Searing pain shot up her back when she opened her mouth to reply. Makissa’s eyes flew wide followed by a pained grimace frozen on her face.

Fuck!They’d been found.

Aculus

“Yes, that’s Makissa of the Ula colony, but Nadzia of Earth is nowhere to be seen. Perhaps their partnership has come to an end,” one broadcast announcer declared as the candidate was shown on the projection screen.

“We’ve seen this before. Joining forces can be a sound strategy but we’ve seen it go bad, too,” another announcer added.

“I don’t know what you viewers think, but I’ve enjoyed watching the Earther. The way she made it across the estuary then used her diminutive size to dodge her competitors was a pleasant surprise.”

“I know I’m rattling around in my shell to see where she’ll pop up next,” the announcer commented before moving on to highlight another candidate.