Chapter 91: 9: Leading Hearts

"I didn't meet any squirrels until I'd left the beginner's vale," Danika told Kit as they flew back to the area where she'd spotted the monkey, "and only the oldest one could talk."

Kit explained, "The more time I spend in a shape, the more of its natural skills I can learn if I can solve the riddles that lock them. I don't know if that's part of being a druid or not, but I don't have a skill that mentions being able to learn skills like yours. I haven't learned any fish language yet, if there is one, but I can speak a bit of cat, hawk, and squirrel now." 

"It must be a druid thing," Danika speculated. "My mentor told me that you could learn skills in your chosen path as though it was a natural talent, so I might be able to learn the squirrel language from you, but even if I learn your shifting skill I guess I probably won't be able to automatically learn the linked skills." 

Kit spotted a monkey with her hawkish vision and swooped down toward it. ZipZing's butterfly wings let her make much sharper turns than a bird and she spun in the air and zipped after Kit. The monkey caught sight of a bird of prey diving toward it and used its long powerful tail to swing itself deeper into the foliage.

Kit was forced to veer away from the tree, but ZipZing was a little smaller and more nimble. Danika darted between the branches and called out, "Wait!"

The dark brown monkey turned and gave a scolding cry and swatted at her. Danika barely dodged his strike. She backed off a little and examined the monkey who hung from only his powerful tail, leaving his hands and feet free to use against her if needed. His thick soft fur reminded her of MatchlessMinion's plush chinchilla fur. 

The monkey bared his teeth at her and then swung away. Danika followed, while wishing that Shrubbery were along to tell her what the monkey was saying. From the ground Kit called out, "ZipZing?"

Kit had reverted to her human form and stared up into the trees uncertainly. Danika called back, "I'm following the monkey!"

Danika activated her dazzle and Kit replied happily, "Oh, I see you." Her feet crunched through the undergrowth of the forest floor as she followed ZipZing who followed the monkey. 

The monkey led them back to his troop, a group of about 20 dark brown monkeys of varying ages. The older individuals had a yellow strip of fur along the tip of their tails, but Danika would have described them as thick tailed instead of yellow tailed. They were all very plush furred brown monkeys with long powerful tails.

One of the older monkeys lifted a bright red fruit that Danika recognized to its mouth while the monkey she'd been pursuing gestured toward her and verbalized his complaints to the others. The older monkey calmly finished eating its strawberry, and looked between Kit, who had just arrived below, and ZipZing, who still sparkled brightly.

The older monkey swung almost elegantly over to another tree, farther away from the intruders. Danika looked down at the forest floor, and spotted the patch of strawberries that must have provided the fruit. Kit started to follow the retreating troop of monkeys, but Danika held up her little clawed hand and said, "Wait, aren't strawberries heart shaped if you remove the top and cut them in half?" 

Kit looked up at her hopefully and asked, "Do you think we've already found the first heart shaped fruit?"

"Maybe?" Danika replied. She dove to the ground and plucked a small wild strawberry and held it up to Kit.

Kit reached down and took it, and then exclaimed, "Even if you don't cut them in half, these are much brighter red and have more of a point on the bottom than the kind I see in stores! They really look kind of like little hearts already!"

They gathered several handfuls of strawberries, and ignored the scolding retreat of the monkey who had led them to the rest. His troop had retreated without making any large display of resistance, and soon melted invisibly into the forest. 

Danika looked around hopefully, searching their surroundings for any sign of the hooded guide the traveling merchant had mentioned. After a few quiet minutes spent cupping a handful of sweet smelling strawberries, Kit asked, "Do you think we were wrong?"

As soon as her attention was distracted, a little bird swooped down and snatched one of the strawberries Danika held right out of her claws. The bird had bold blue feathers everywhere except for its pale yellow belly and black face. Danika activated her Impartation and used her Animal Identification on it.

Kit gasped as the familiar soft chime of a skill learned rang out. Danika smiled and let Kit have enough time to use her new skill, which identified the bird as a Hooded Mountain Tanager. Kit exclaimed, "I think the little berry thief is our guide! Follow that bird!"

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The two of them followed the plump bird higher into the hills. Kit had to stop and transform when they reached a small, but rushing brook. Danika chased the bird and Kit soon caught up in her hawk form. The little bird panicked and darted through a series of maneuvers that eventually lost them. They came to a halt at the edge of the snowline.

Danika asked, "Should we set out the berries as bait and see if it comes back? I hadn't realized we had followed it so far." 

Kit landed beside a tall shrub with small red berries, and replied, "Oh no, I hadn't realized either. I'm out of time too. I hope we can tempt it back out tomorrow."

"I expect we can," Danika said with a smile as she looked at the shrub beside Kit with her Plant Identification skill. 

Kit replied, "Ok, I'll use up my transformations and log off. See you tomorrow!" Kit quickly resumed her human shape and quickly changed between it and each of her animal forms again, and then vanished.

Danika looked at the Winter-Flowering Honeysuckle with its little heart shaped red berries, and ate one of the sweet little wild strawberries that she still held and then stored the other. She didn't disturb the shrub without Kit, instead she pulled out her garden's pebble and laid it down. She touched the little stone and whispered "dragonheart".

-- 

Inside her garden, Danika picked a strawberry seed out of her little dragon teeth, and planted it on the side with the view of the mountains. It seemed like a good place for a mountain strawberry. The strawberry responded well to her plant growth spell and actually bloomed with little white flowers as she watched.

Aishin's little bat arrived a few minutes later with: "Can you stay logged in for awhile, or return in about an hour? Shrubbery gave me some seeds for you this afternoon, but I haven't had a break yet this evening."

Danika replied quickly, "Sure, I can wait."

She sat in the center of her little garden, beneath her young apple tree, and practiced the Meditation Enhancement skill. Waiting for Aishin while doing the quiet breathing exercises and gazing at the beautiful view Logical Heart had created for her combined to give her a more peaceful feeling than she'd felt in a long time.

Aishin arrived with almost zero health this time, and Danika asked worriedly, "Does the cost of that skill increase each time you use it?" 

Aishin laughed easily and replied, "No, but I was already injured when I used it. I had just assumed it had been long enough to have healed up and didn't check." He looked at her anxious expression and withdrew a piece of cheese from one of his pouches and ate it. His health began to rise a little faster, and Danika let out a relieved breath. Aishin asked teasingly, "Do you need to be so worried when it's just a game?" 

She looked at him and replied a little tartly, "What if you die after you're my familiar?" 

Aishin blinked at her and asked, "Is there a penalty?" 

Danika looked at his expression and exclaimed, "You're home? You sounded like you were working!" 

Aishin laughed. He grinned at her and replied, "Yes dear, I'm home."

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