Wings of Fire: Secret of the Bushes

Chapter 3

It had been a few days since his experience at the scavenger den. Persevere considered going back to continue observing them but decided against it to leave them alone for now.

Getting their attention too often would make them more cautious which would make it even harder to observe them. For now Persevere should just stay away from the den until they calm down.

The forest was strangely quiet today. Birds weren't chirping as much and the morning sun sat lazily in the sky. Persevere scoured the forest floor in search of other scavengers to observe. Outside the den, they're a lot harder to find; what with their camouflage that hid them well in the foliage.

Gliding across the forest, Persevere remembered to keep his scales shifted to remain hidden. He also needed to keep his emotions in check or he'll give himself away again. He thought back to how the scavengers had reacted to him near their den.

They're very aggressive when it comes to their home. I should try not to provoke them.

These scavengers were more dangerous than what Persevere thought but he still didn't know what the scavengers were capable of. He needed to be careful around them or who knows what other tricks these scavengers are hiding.

As Persevere landed on the branches, the leaves from the impact. Foliage rustled on his contact before he hopped off into a glide.

Nothing yet had caught his eyes. He kept scanning the forest floor for any movement but that proved to be difficult. There was no other sound but some sounds of chirping in the forest.

A few more minutes of tree hopping passed but nothing had yet showed itself. Persevere began clutching the tree trunks between glides to minimize the sound he made on the trees and not scare the scavengers but that might not help him enough.

Persevere guessed the scavengers may have returned to hiding after all. After what happened at their den, it wouldn't be a surprise if they didn't want to get out now. Persevere silently cursed himself for being so careless near their den.

However, his thoughts were interrupted by the sound of some leaves rustling below him. He looked down and saw the shrubbery sway slightly. He stayed his gaze for a few moments until he saw the weird yet familiar sight of what looked to him like some bushes walking.

Scavengers!

There were two of them this time. One was a tall scavenger moving rather quietly through the bushes. The plants barely swayed around him as they passed and they moved with intent on each step. The other one was a tad shorter and moving rather clumsily. The bushes rattled at the scavenger's ungraceful movements, giving them away unlike the more quiet scavenger.

Persevere clutched the tree he was grasping and observed them. He decided to follow them to see where they were going.

I wonder what they're up to.

Persevere sneakily followed them through the trees. He glided quietly between him clutching on trees.

The two scavengers seemed to be rather close. The taller one looked like a parent to the other judging by how closely the shorter one was following them but the taller one was too focused on what's ahead to pay attention to the shorter one.

A few minutes later, the scavengers stopped moving and ducked below the underbrush. Persevere found himself on a sturdy tree with a clear sight off the area below him.

A distance away from the scavengers was a group of boars in a rather wide clearing under the trees.

Are they being cautious of the boars?