The next day after she finished drying her clothing by slept extremely close to the fire, relying on her shield to revolve around her as she slept without fearing an animal attack or an attack of the mysterious creature. She slept with very little worries, the temperature helping her to sleep more comfortably.
Iris wakes up, her hair an incomplete mess, the fire almost extinguished, her nose covered with ashes. She violently begins to sneeze, her nose a deep red after her minute-long sneezing.
She looks back to see if Apatura is still in the cocoon. Her face sulked after seeing Apatura still inside the cocoon, with no signs of distress or any movement inside the cocoon.
Iris stands up, her legs stiff, as she starts stretching to have better momentum. She looks down at her feet covered in dirt; she is quite impressed how they still look in decent condition, only having a few blisters, which are becoming easier and easier to walk off.
Iris stretches her hands, feeling how every muscle is being prepared for the rest of the day, her arm mobility improving, blood rushing into them.
Now warmed up, her goal is to find more fish and try to create a shelter for Apatura and her to stay in if the mysterious creatures appear.
Iris takes a deep breath, feeling the wind move her hair, the smell of burnt wood, and the sun heating the forest. The sounds of the chirping birds and moving leaves make her feel at peace.
Iris starts walking to where she found the fish to find other fish, which she can later cook. Following her path, she is more careful to not step on or encounter any aggressive animal that was asleep or hiding last night.
What should I do today? I need a house, but will it be enough to hide Apatura and me inside? What should I do if Apatura doesn't wake up for a month? I am not strong enough to defend against a mysterious being. Will Apatura be strong enough? Iris's body walked without her realizing it, her brain focused on the future.
Iris reached the river; she carefully hid inside one of the bushes, looking at the drinking animals, trying to find easy prey or learn how to effectively hunt fish by copying their techniques.
She watches attentively, looking for the dumbest animal. She waits and waits, seeing animals drink and leave, none attacking the fish, all of them a nightmare full hybrid of the animals she knew. The one that left her impressed was a crocodile, which can make its legs larger and body compress to have an easier time running away.
She waited until her body told her that she needed water, the sun appearing to be in summer, the temperature quickly rising every hour. She drops herself, covering with some leaves on top of her body, walking on four legs.
Iris crawled slowly, looking at the lion with wings, the wolves she once fought, more crocodiles, eagles, and unicorns.
Reached the water, and then gave a glance up to see if any animal was suspicious of her, fortunately, no one paid attention, and she began drinking till her heart was content.
After feeling hydrated, she mistakenly stands up, forgetting her disguise.
She looks around at the animals blankly staring at her, the lion and wolves looking aggressive while the rest look fearful of her sudden change. Before she could get attacked, Iris rapidly left, her little legs running with so much speed, a wolf following her but quickly giving up after seeing how far she was.
Successfully running away, she feels ecstatic, ready to tackle more challenges. However, with her collecting no meat, she decides to wander around to find any fruits.
She grabs a stick and walks around while creating holes to find a way to where Apatura stayed.
Iris walking around found many fruit trees with many shapes and colors. Colors and shapes she never knew existed. The more she wandered the forest, the more confused and amazed she became.
She soon completed a circle, looking up and seeing the set she decided to go back to, her hands filled with many fruits she found.
Reaching her zone, she sets down all of the fruit, seeing the colors ranging from pink to a combination of blue and red. The shapes range from perfectly spherical to fruits reminding Iris of a dragon fruit she once begged her mom to buy due to its unique color and shape, only to be disappointed by how bland it tasted.
Iris took a bite of the ones that looked the most appetizing, the first fruit being a red triangle. She liked how sweet it tasted; however, the fruit had a massive seed in the center covering eighty percent of the fruit.
Her second fruit was a lot better due to how sweet and watery it was despite its plain look—a small green oval fruit.
"Apatura, taste it. It is very good." Iris cheerfully extended the fruit to Apaturas cocoon.
Her smile turned; she ate the remaining in one bite. Looking up at the moon, seeing the many beautiful stars, her eyes glowing with the beauty of the stars. Seeing how the stars aligned and the many star-like shapes passing the beautiful sky.
Iris can only admire, lying back to see all the beautiful stars; everything is relaxed, and nothing feels rushed or out of place. The silence was only interrupted by the sound of wind, nothing except Iris and the wind looking up.
Iris extended her arms, wanting to touch the stars, the moon, and everything passing by. Her heart relaxed; all of her fears and emotions halted. Her emotions about her parents and Apatura are all relaxing to give her a chance to worry only about herself without the burden of revenge or deep fear for the person right beside her.
The voice of her mother's soothing voice rang in her brain; closing her eyes, she heard the song. A love song, which she loved, a song about a young woman desperately trying to reach her love as he slowly gets apart from her.