#the bird is a rednecked tanager

[ancientechos]

The Island Adventure [P1?]

For @meepsthemiqo ‘s Castaway WoL AU!

Mentions of @windup-dragoon​

Brigid & Lyra ♡ 1016 words ♡ no spoilers/indeterminate timeframe

“Mama! Mama?! Mama!”

Alarm causes the viera’s blood to seize into ice as she bolts up. The small hands shaking at her shoulder vanish as the girl peering above her scoots back to avoid collision. Brigid tastes sand when she opens her mouth to speak; turning to the side, she coughs violently, spitting out grit. Grimacing, she turns back to stare at the pale-haired girl sitting in the sand next to her. Sand...?

Brigid can’t remember anything past the pounding in her head. But she’s certain that this isn’t where they’re supposed to be...or what they’re supposed to be doing. Her daughter’s face has a sizable, dark bruise on her cheek, and her clothes are dark from water, but, strangely, relatively dry. Just how long have they been like this?

“Lyra.” She lifts a sand-blotted hand to touch against the girl’s face. Lyra’s reddish, almost pink-hued eyes, well up with tears.

“Mama,” she sobs, throwing herself into the woman’s arms. “I was afraid you weren’t gonna wake up...”

Brigid’s arms close tightly around the girl, pulling her into her lap. A pang of guilt stabs deeply at her chest, though the expression doesn’t manage to surface on her face. Instead, she presses her mouth to the top of the girl’s flaxen hair in a gentle kiss.

“I’m sorry. I’m all right. You don’t...you don’t need to worry about me.” For some reason, it’s difficult to get the words out. Too difficult. Her tongue feels too large for her mouth. It’s -- it’s hot. She must be thirsty. And while there is certainly plenty of water within reach now...she is all too aware that it isn’t drinkable. If she just had her pack...but right now she needs to focus on Lyra. The girl is still sobbing, rubbing her tearful eyes against Brigid’s torn shirt.

“A-at first I was o-okay,” she mumbles, wrapping her arms tight around Brigid’s middle. “I-I even made a f-friend!” The woman’s jaw clenches with this new revelation, though for the moment she refrains from asking. It appears, however, that there was never any need -- Lyra lifts her head and twists slightly in her arms to point somewhere to the left.

Looking up, her heart sinking into her stomach, Brigid squints against the beaming sun to look where she had been bade. Sitting upon a rock in the sand is...some sort of...small bird? It peers at her with large black eyes, ruffling its multicoloured feathers with a squeak. Though mostly green, it also sports black, red, and blue plumage -- most notably its red neck and blue crown.

She has to resist the urge to sigh in relief. At least it isn’t some sort of godsforsaken creature. -- Or so it appears.

“But then...then a long time passed...and I couldn’t find anyone...and then I got scared of leaving you, b-because you didn’t wake up...” The girl breaks off into sobs again as she presses her face against her. Brigid rubs a hand soothingly up and down her back, smoothing her rumpled shirt as she does so.

“But I’m all right now,” Brigid rasps gently. “We’re both okay. Right?” The viera girl looks up at her with large eyes and nods. “Do you know how long we’ve been here?”

“No...but it feels like hours and hours.”

Of course. With a final groan, Brigid heaves to her feet, lifting Lyra with her, before settling her down once more. To her vague amazement, the bird flutters up from its rock to perch upon her shoulder. Well then.

“You said you couldn’t find others...there were...others?” Brigid asks, as she inconspicuously pats herself down, squinting across the sand for...anything. Her pack, her tools, her weapon -- anything she might be able to use.

“You don’t remember?” Lyra asks, stumbling back a little as she watches her. “We were on the ship...we were supposed to be having fun. And then...then something happened...and Kirishimi told us all to jump off...it was scary...”

She can’t remember -- any of this. Brigid feels as if a large chunk of her mind had simply been scooped out and done away with. The sensation is -- disconcerting. She suspects the pounding in her head has something to do with it.

Frowning severely, the woman gives nothing more than a nod as she continues surveying her surroundings. Suddenly, among the wreckage of wooden crates and waves, she sees something glinting.

There’s fruits, she notes, as she approaches. Seawater-soaked, but perhaps better than nothing. She hopes. But more importantly...there’s an axe. While it is most certainly not her axe, it is an axe, and for her purposes, it will be enough. Picking it up with a grunt, she swings it up to heft it onto her shoulder. She grips Lyra’s hand with her free one.

Things would be different if...she weren’t here. The girl is a liability, no matter how much she adores her. And --

“Lyra.” Her name grinds out between her teeth as she looks down at the young viera. One of her ankles is swollen -- rather nastily. “Your ankle -- “

“Oh, this? It’s okay, it doesn’t hurt too bad. I was walking around just fine.” The smile her daughter gives her is far too bright for the circumstances. Brigid wants to curse herself for not noticing sooner.

“No,” she snaps, dropping both her hand and tossing the axe into the sand. She scoops the girl up bringing her onto dry land, and sets her down. Kneeling, she gently touches the injured limb with her fingers. Though Lyra doesn’t make a sound, Brigid doesn’t miss the way her lips scrunch. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because it doesn’t hurt!” The girl is now absolutely glaring at her. “I was walking around just fine earlier! It doesn’t hurt at all!”

The older viera closes her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose as she exhales loudly. She has no idea where she is...or where anyone else is. And, as her luck would have it, Lyra is injured.

-- They’d need to find help.

But first thing’s first.

“Did you eat anything while I was...out?”

“Yeah! The birdie showed me some pretty berries.”

“Of course...”