Chapter Text
Blu stood there, in the middle of a forest clearing. Both of his hands were limp by his side, his metal arms lengthened. His stance was sharp, ready to move. He let his arms stay limp, but his empty goggles were locked on a creature in front of him, several feet away. He breathed hard but controlled.
The creature was there. It was twitching. As Blu watched, the movements became slower. He dared not take his eyes off it. It twitched one more time, then lay still. Blu watched it take its final breath, but held his.
For a moment, the forest -and all its occupants- were still. The small ecosystem was quiet, like it was mimicking Blu’s breath.
Then Blu retracted his metal arms, and the world could breathe again.
Cautiously and carefully, he walked over to the unmoving creature. He then crouched down and checked. He had hit a vital point, so it should be. . .
Dead.
Blu stood up and turned around. “Lucy!” He called out into the woods. “Lucy, it’s okay to come out now!”
The small Lucy peered her head out from the top of the trees, holding onto CG with one hand.
“It’s dead?”
“Yep, dead as a doornail.”
Lucy smiled and disappeared in the overgrowth for a moment before Blu saw her climbing down, quickly but carefully.
“C’mon, Mole!” Lucy called up when she was about halfway down the trunk. Blu, who had now walked up to the tree, looked up to see Mole, who was practically hugging the trunk.
“You can’t be that scared,” Blu muttered, but he must have been a little loud, as Mole shouted down
“This is why I lived underground!”
“You mean in that dusty tunnel? I’m surprised you could breathe down there!” Blu shot back. Mole scowled down at him but didn’t move.
“What should we do?” Lucy was now on the ground.
Blu sighed. “I’ll get ‘im.” Extending an arm, he grabbed onto the tree branches just above Mole’s position. Carefully, he climbed up the tree by retracting his arm, slightly moving to dodge branches. When he reached Mole, he stood on the same branch as him and held out his free hand. Mole’s response was a squint. Blu sighed again.
“I’m not doing this right now.”
He wrapped his arms around Mole’s upper torso and pulled back, forcing him to let go with a yelp. Before Mole could say anything, he grabbed a branch and began his descent. In his panic, Mole hugged Blu and closed his eyes. Blu started descending more slowly.
When they touched the ground, Mole held on for a moment before opening his eyes. When he did, his face flushed as the realization set in. He quickly stepped away, muttering a small “Thanks.”
Blu didn’t respond to him, but said, “Well then! Now that that’s all taken care of, we should continue on our way. Lucy?”
Lucy was crouching near the dead beast, and Blu saw CG attempting to scan it, either to add it to their database or identify what it was.
“C’mon, Lucy, we should get going before dark,” he shouted. Lucy did not respond, but instead muttered
“It’s the same one. We’ve encountered three of these this week.”
CG, done with their scan, gave Lucy a concerned look.
“What was that?” Blu had walked up to her, with Mole close behind. Lucy didn’t look up, even though she had heard them. She was quiet, scanning over the dead being.
“Blu, what are these things?”
“I don’t know.” He shrugged. Mole, who was now next to Blu, leaned over to get a better look.
“It looks like the other creature from a couple of days ago.”
“It is!” CG piped up. “According to my scan, at least. But I still don’t know what they are…”
“That’s okay, CG,” Lucy said, then slowly stood up. “Blu’s right, we should be going now.” She turned away and started walking without looking at Blu. Mole glanced at him, who was watching Lucy. For a moment, he was stiff. Then it seemed to dissipate, and he began walking, confident and calm as ever.