I've always wondered..., Do leprechauns bite?

[Xinra]

"Savannah, yo," Xinra said, mentally surprised at the softness of her voice. "How di' ya fin' th's, yo."

The pair had walked down a small hill and were now standing on the stony bank beside the small river that the Avian had figured flowed around the far edge of the fields. The water seemed serene and beautiful as it flowed over the rocks, no more than a few inches deep. Though, the Avians opinion of it changed as she dropped a stick into the water and watched it thrash around as though it were caught in the roughest of rapids.

She gulped lightly.

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[Xinra]

Savannah gave a light but distressed squeak from beside the Avian, grabbing the trainers attention. As Xinra looked down at the Wotcher, she realized that Savannah was talking to... something.

Curiously, she looked over to the other side of the bank, giving a light gasp. On the other side of the river, about six feet away, Hanukkah was being forced towards the rushing water, confronted by a very annoyed looking Immuto.

A Bone Immuto.

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[Xinra]

'There ya go, Xinny. You found what you were looking for. Now go get it.'

"Go', I ha'e my conscienc' som'times," Xinra muttered, shaking her head. It was either her conscience, or it was karma. Either way, it was about to bite her on the behind.

Literally.

63

[Xinra]

"Hol' on, Hanukkah," Xinra said in an urgent but calm voice, reaching down to pick up a large rock, which she then flung at the Bone Immuto which towered over the Wotcher.

The rock hit the creature hard on the head, and seemed to put it off whatever it was doing. Seeming slightly annoyed, it turned tail and disappeared back into the tall clovers lining the bank.

64

[Xinra]

Hanukkah gave a thankful call to the Avian, receiving an echo of the sound from Savannah. The two began having a conversation over the river before the Avian cleared her throat.

"So, uh, Hanukkah, yo," Xinra said, looking up and down the river. "How'd ya ge' ov'r the'e?"

Xinra was surprised the creatures understood her. At the same time, they nodded to each other and began heading upstream along the bank, careful not to stray to close to the water.

65

[Xinra]

Xinra gave a light groan. "Grea'," she said sarcastically. "Mo'e runnin', yo." Heaving a sigh, she walked after the creatures, taking into account that they were running slower over the loose rocks so as not to fall into the water.

If they fell in, they were screwed. There was no way they would be able to grip onto the rocks in that current, especially since they were covered in slime.

66

[Xinra]

... If either of those creatures fell in, they were screwed. There was no way that the Avian would go in after them.

Xinra swore lightly. That wasn't true. She knew as well as any of her creatures did that she would gladly give her life to save theirs. That was more than what she could say about her actions towards other trainers.

The Avian stumbled lightly, picking up her footing again after standing on a loose rock and having it slip out from underneath her. She managed to balance herself again, stopping herself from falling, before continuing on after the now walking Wotchers.

67

[Xinra]

"Wha' ar' ya lookin' f'r, g'ys, yo," Xinra said, having caught up with Savannah, both Wotchers with their eyes fixed on the water. They were both obviously looking for something. Probably a calm in the current, or a set of clean stepping rocks that sat just below the waters surface.

Whatever it was, the two of them were having one helluva time finding it, and Xinra felt she could almost go to sleep.

68

[Xinra]

Xinra sat down on the top of the small bank that dropped away to the stone, eventually leading down to the water. The two Wotchers had been pacing back and forth along the same stretch of the water's edge, which obviously meant that whatever they were looking for had been last seen here.

The Avian gave a seemingly happy noise as she removed her shoes and socks, stuffing the material into the shoes before placing them on the bank beside her. Her feet were hot, and needed some air. Besides, they were getting sore being cramped up in the shoes for almost 36 hours straight.

69

[Xinra]

After a while of the Avian sitting there and the Wotchers pacing back and forth, a sharp noise caught Xinra's attention.

Savannah was standing on the waters edge, one paw cautiously lowered into the water, Hanukkah mirroring her on the other side. Xinra stood, walking over to crouch beside the Wotcher after checking both their footing.

With a careful eye, she noticed the thin pathway, less than a foot wide, of slow, almost unmoving water, surrounded on either side by fierce current. Small flat stones were visible just below the water's surface. This must've been where Hanukkah had crossed.

"Goo' eyes, yo," The Avian commented, standing up slowly.

70

[Xinra]

Xinra let her gaze drift up to the sky briefly. It was clear and blue, not a cloud in sight, just like it had been the day before, as well as the day before that. It seemed like everyday in the Freehold was perfect weather, with no clouds. In fact, she had only ever heard it rain once in the freehold, but that was before she had found Savannah and Hanukkah, so she felt it didn't count.

Thinking of her Wotchers, she looked back down, watching as Savannah cautiously dipped her paw into the water, grabbing a hold of the first stepping stone. After what seemed an eternity, she reached forward and place her paw on the next one.

71

[Xinra]

Xinra crouched down on the stones, watching as Savannah continued to make her way slowly across the stones. The stream wasn't that wide, and though the water looked much calmer where the crossing was, the Avian could see that the current was still rather strong as the water rushed past the Wotcher, splashing against her underbelly.

The Avian gazed across the river, noticing that Hanukkah had disappeared momentarily and was making her way back from deep inside the clovers, seeming rather... relieved. The Avian rolled her eyes lightly, returning her gaze back to Savannah to check her progress.

72

[Xinra]

Savannah hadn't moved far. She was half-way through stepping onto the stepping stone that marked the halfway point, her paw hovering just above the water as she lowered it down, putting it into the water silently and letting the pads of her feet grip onto the stone.

Casting another brief glance over at Hanukkah, the Avian saw that the other Wotcher was curled up on the stones that had been warmed by the uninterrupted runs of sunlight that flooded down around them.

73

[Xinra]

"Hanukkah! Wh' don' ya go lookin' f'r som'thin', yo," Xinra called over to the seemingly bored Wotcher. "We'll catch up t' ya soo'. Afte'wa'ds, we c'n go ge' som' foo'."

Both Wotchers seemed delighted at the prospect of food. Hanukkah jumped up and bolted off into the clovers, while Savannah began to pick up her pace, taking less care in her movements.

74

[Xinra]

After Hanukkah had disappeared out of sight, a loud screeching noise snapped her attention back to Savannah. "Savannah!" No sooner had the Avian shouted, there was a splash and the Wotcher was gone beneath the surface of the water. Within moments, her head bobbed up, though it was easy to see she was gasping for breathe as she was quickly carried downstream in the current.

Xinra was already on her feet, running across the stones, keeping level with the Wotcher, a look of shock welded onto her normally calm face. It was apparent that Hanukkah was out of hearing range, as she hadn't come running back at the call for help, so the Avian had to rescue the Wotcher alone.

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