Chapter Text
Bandaid sat on the cracked grounds of Red territory, more specifically on the outskirts of the camp. She looked over at the Oziphrages, content and settling in for the night. Bandaid huffed, getting up to dust off her pants before heading back to her medical tent. She was stopped in her tracks when one of the Oziphrages, Gunner, who belongs to Starwheel, cooed at her as gently as a giant bird could get. Bandaid looked over her shoulder, blinking before turning to face the bird. She looked back towards camp, then back at Gunner, torn on what to do. She'd love to head out, take a flight, and enjoy herself after spending hours in her medical tent, but what if something were to happen? Bandaid would hate to miss anything that she may be needed for, despite not being the only medic around camp.
Yet her first mistake was looking back at Gunner, who tilted his head and took a few steps towards her, as if aware of her internal debate. Bandaid pouted. She loved that bird, and he was making it really hard to resist. Bandaid discreetly slipped away from camp, heading over to slip on basic tackle on Gunner. She heaved herself up and managed to sneak off, lying low until feeling safe enough to take off without notice.
Bandaid clutched the reins tightly, looking over her surroundings. Everything looked good so far, nobody was trailing her, and no wild Oziphrages in sight. Bandaid let out a sigh, shoulders relaxing before taking a deep breath, trying not to second-guess her decision whilst already mounted.
It didn't take long for her disappearance to be noticed, and it definitely didn't take long to track her down. Starwheel had borrowed another bird to head out, being the one responsible for Bandaid.
He ascended higher, wearing protective goggles against the wind, making things a whole lot easier for Starwheel. Eventually, he recognized a figure below, flying at a lower altitude. He could see the light green and tan accents in her clothes. Not only that, Starwheel's bird that suddenly disappeared along with Bandaid. He looked down, then began to make a steady descent.
"Bandaid!" Starwheel called out to her once in range. He didn't want to startle his sibling, but he had to catch her attention through the wind whipping around them somehow.
She jumped in her saddle, squinting towards the direction of Starwheel's voice. "Star- Ah! Starwheel?!" Bandaid was undeniably shocked to see him here, catching her taking a flight without permission or any guidance.
Though she wasn't complaining now, not when she felt lost. She hadn't exactly learned the whole layout of Redcliff territory, merely the surrounding camp area and nearby canyons, nothing beyond that. To see Starwheel when lost, Bandaid felt relieved.
Before she could get a word out, she was instead abruptly cut off by her unimpressed sibling. "Yer not supposed to be out here! Have ya any idea of the dangers out here?! Ya barely know Red territory!" Starwheel steered closer, giving Gunner a quick check-up to see if he was alright. Bandaid too, he supposed. Both seemed alright, but he was mindful to keep away from Gunner. That bird was a hard one to tame, always with a low temper towards any other Oziphrages or any other animal that breathed.
Bandaid wasn't quite aware of that.
She noticed the distance between them and moved closer. Gunner was fine up until now, getting uncomfortable and tense near the other bird, who didn't seem to pick up on that.
"Well, I apologize for wanting to get away from camp a little.. That tent is always so stuffy! If ya were working there for several hours a day on patients, ya would want to get away too!"
Starwheel rolled his eyes, letting out an exasperated sigh. "Y'got to stay in yer lane, Bandaid. Yer aware of how hard things are, we ain't risking an accident with ya! Get back to camp, we need-"
Gunner snapped, pushed beyond his limits with the proximity. He lunged out towards the other Oziphrage, and instead of a quick skirmish, it was a full-blown fight.
Bandaid wasn't expecting this out of Gunner and easily lost her grip on the reins. She let out a panicked yell, trying to reach for the reins flying just out of her reach. Starwheel could see her grip onto the bird's feathers, trying to keep hold, but let go so as not to harm him. Her consideration of Gunner was going to kill her; that much was proved when she began slipping from her saddle.
"BANDAID!- KEEP AHOLD, WHAT'RE YA DOING?!" Starwheel yelled out at her, but he could tell she was more panicked than he was, unable to act accordingly. Bandaid wasn't trained for this.
Barking commands at her wasn't going to help, but no matter what Starwheel did, nothing was helping her, nothing was going to change the outcome.
Bandaid shut her eyes tight, crying out at Gunner to stop. As if he would listen, being too caught up in fighting off the other Oziphrage.
Inevitably, Bandaid fell out, unable to keep herself from being thrashed off. Starwheel was quickly overwhelmed, having to fight off his own bird, the screeching of the two animals brawling in the air, and then Bandaid's screaming. His eyes shot wider than before, seeing his sibling quickly descending towards the oasis below. With a wave of adrenaline, Starwheel forced himself to tear away from Gunner, who reluctantly pulled away before circling above, letting out victorious screams.
Meanwhile, Bandaid cried and screamed with terror, her body falling fast and unevenly, flipping in the air, the wind loud in her ears, and unable to see except a blur. Starwheel was diving after her on his current Oziphrage, beginning to reach her. Suddenly, despite not commanding his bird, its wings shot out, refusing to descend any further. Bandaid had disappeared into the thick oasis; the dense trees were too narrow and tightly knit for a bird of that size to safely fly through. Starwheel let out a yell of despair, watching his sibling disappear.
He was helpless, trying to command a bird he wasn't familiar with. The commands only stopped when he heard a distant thud, and Bandaid's screams died out in an instant. Starwheel remained idle in the air, eyes blown wide. He shakily sighed, closing his eyes tight.