[Trade] On The Move

It was a warm spring morning when the young twins made their decision to strike out on their own. They were beginning to outgrow their nest and after learning to hunt for themselves they no longer relied on their mother to survive. They also had each other, a built-in mini pack to help stake out territory in their new lives. Frasil was convinced, and had convinced Fainel in turn, that nothing could stand up to two Cryos working in perfect tandem. Nothing they had encountered in their lives, at least, there was always room for a wild card to emerge. Like a two headed Suchomimus or something. Either way, Frasil had to do very little to talk Fainel into leaving with her and their mother didn't seem to have any reservations. The morning of their departure however, she looked contemplative, looking out onto the horizon and seemingly miles away.

"We'll be okay, mama," Fainel reassured her while finishing packing her scant few medicinal herbs.

“I’m not worried about the two of you,” their mother said dismissively, “I’m worried about what hell I’ve just wrought on Isla Kela by letting you both out of my sight.” Frasil rolled her eyes while Fainel made a noise of indignation.

"Genius is never recognised in its lifetime," she told Fainel confidently as they walked away from the only home they had ever known. "She'll realise how wrong she was when we run this island."

"Do we want to run this island?" her twin asked, looking genuinely confused.

"Obviously," Frasil scoffed, "the more you own, the stronger you are. We just need to find a base of operations first and then we can start expanding our territory across the island."

"And how are we supposed to patrol all that territory when you saw how long it took mama to patrol hers?" Fainel argued. Frasil refused to elaborate, if her sister needed it explained to her then it was clearly beyond her abilities to comprehend at all. 

Fainel didn't take this snub lightly and continued to annoy Frasil with questions as they ventured further into the forest. 'Where are we going, Frasil', 'what's your plan for when we get there, Frasil,' 'where do we find things to eat, Frasil', it was hard to be a prodigy when the people around you weren't on your level. As the sun rose higher above the trees, Frasil was still keeping her eye out for the perfect lair. It would have to be spacious to fit two grown Cryos inside, well-hidden from prying eyes and with room to expand out further down the line. Nothing arose from the thick foliage so they simply kept walking. The trees shielded them from the majority of the midday sun but soon enough the heat rose and the air became heavy. Frasil tried to downplay her fatigue but she knew Fainel was catching on. For some reason, despite her plethora of feathers, her twin never seemed to feel the heat or the cold the way Frasil did. Perhaps her senses were simply too dull to feel the changes in weather as keenly as she did. At some point in their trek, her feathery twin had taken the lead and Frasil collided with her back end when she came to a sudden stop.

"Look, look, look!" she chirped, gesturing into the brush. Frasil followed her directions and saw a cave worn into the rock face of a cliff. The cliff itself was so tall the peak vanished into the clouds but the entrance of the cave was just above ground level. It would be easy enough to climb in and out of, which set off alarm bells in the smaller twin's head. Fainel of course hadn't considered this and was already charging ahead into the cave, patting the ground with her feet like she was testing the floor for something. "It's nice here, come see!" she called, practically vibrating with excitement. Frasil reluctantly agreed and stepped inside, feeling the refreshing coolness of the surroundings and sighing with relief as she finally had a break from the sweltering heat. The cave was fairly shallow, but a slight bend in its tunnel-like structure allowed the very back of it to be out of sight from the forest path. The ceiling cleared their heads easily and a plush bed of moss already awaited a pair of sleepy Cryos. Frasil was instantly tempted to throw herself to the floor and call it good but she recalled her grand ambitions. It was far too small and exposed for what Frasil had in mind so she let her sister ramble on about how perfect it was until she ran out of steam. Frasil took a deep breath and let out a pitying smile, trying to look as sorry as she felt for stamping on fainel's dream.

"Fainel, what could we do here?" she asked. When her fluffier twin didn't respond, she elaborated. "Are we supposed to grow here? Build a strong foundation? We can't even hide very well here, we'll be discovered immediately. It's nice but I think we can do better."

"Then we can do better tomorrow, I'm not letting you get heatstroke out there," Fainel said stubbornly. Frasil tried to stamp down the irrational flare of anger but she couldn't help it.

"Why won't you listen to me?" she shouted, her voice echoing in their small surroundings. "I have good ideas, the best ideas! I've never even lost tag! You're just jealous I'm smarter than you!" She wanted to take the words back the second they left her mouth but it was far too late. fainel's expression darkened and she spun around to face the cave wall, breathing heavily. Frasil stood up to approach her but her twin was faster, tackling her to the ground. She shrieked indignantly and tried to kick Fainel off of her but her sister held tight and made them both tumble further into the cave. Frasil bit her twin's arm and made her screech in anger, twisting them both further into knots as they wrestled. Frasil released the feathery arm from her mouth and spat the loose down out before going back in to continue trying to shove her sister over. They continued scratching and kicking at each other until both of them were too exhausted to continue, lying heaving on the cave floor.

"I feel better now," Fainel panted.

"Me too," Frasil admitted. She stared at the ceiling for a while, letting her heart rate recover. The stone felt pleasantly cool on her back and the noise from outside was all but muted. She glanced over at her twin, who looked expectantly for her next words. "This place isn't so bad," she said softly before turning back to the ceiling. "We can make a proper bed later, I kinda wanna nap now." She heard Fainel hum in agreement and shuffle her way into a more comfortable position.

"Love you, Frasil," she said into the dark of the cave.

"Love you too, Fainel."