#flia

[princess-paige-place-of-fun]

Flia!

Fan art of Flia from TeraDactylGirl, now known as RhinoWalker.

Flia is by @rhinowalker

[roseandgold137]

Enwa snarled, flaring her spine feathers at the approaching shadows.  Ula whimpered, ducking behind her legs. They were cornered. Trapped. Enwa hadn’t had a chance to rest for days, trying to protect the four hatchlings she’d saved during the attack, but even the adrenaline couldn’t keep her running forever. She’d stopped, dug out a burrow for them to hide in, had finally let her defences fall just low enough to relax. She was exhausted. She couldn’t back down. She bared her canines.

The shadows weren’t overly deterred. One, the leader, most likely, stepped forward, hands held wide in surrender. Enwa’s wings puffed - but she was hardly a full fledgling herself, and the effect was negligible. “Hey, hey. It’s okay. We’re not going to hurt you.” Enwa hissed. “We want to help.”

Yeah, right. Enwa had heard that before. Very rarely was that help delivered. The closer the shadow came, the clearer Enwa could see its face. Its eyes were almost a void - accentuated by the gold paint across their face. 

Enwa tried to snarl again, but couldn’t quite get it to sound anything close to threatening. Mika, bless her, poked between her wings to give a baby growl. Ula seemed to try to join her, but his growl quickly turned into a keen and he hid again. Plona and Shia were - wisely - staying quiet. 

“My name is Rabha,” the person said. “Behind me -” they motioned to their companions, “is Flia, Eigan and Taran.” Rabha inched forward some more. “Do you need a ride somewhere?”

Enwa simply stared at them. Rabha, unfortunately, seemed prepared to wait her out, and didn’t budge. 

“We’re fine,” Enwa snapped after another eternity of tense silence. “Go away.”

“Could we at least offer you some food?” Rabha insisted. “We have fruit, berries, some meat. Whatever you three need.”

They hadn’t noticed Plona and Shia yet, then. Good - very good. Enwa deliberately spread her puffed wings further, obscuring as much of the back of the burrow as possible. “We don’t need anything,” Enwa repeated, voice as steady as she could make it. “Please go away.”

Rabha sighed, and Enwa tensed - but they simply shuffled backwards to the entrance of the burrow, stood, turned, and walked back to their group. Enwa didn’t relax - she really couldn’t afford to, and this experience had really only hammered that message home - but she did let her wings rest on the walls and floor of the burrow rather than holding them up by herself. 

One of the other shadows came forward - Taran, maybe? Enwa hadn’t really cared to track what name was to which person. Unlike with Rabha, Enwa could recognise Taran’s species - there was a colony of them across the lake from where their village is - was. Cregheid, insect-like, relatively small, but with vicious claws. Enwa had seen them fight over food before, during a drought years ago. 

Taran was a different colour. Enwa vaguely wondered if that was a regional thing or something to do with diet, because all of the lake Cregheid had been a greenish yellow, whereas Taran was more of an orange-red. 

“Listen, kid, we’re not luring you into a trap, or whatever,” he said. Enwa bristled. “Take the help or leave it, doesn’t make a difference to me,” he continued. Taran paused - clearly waiting for Enwa to do something. She didn’t. Taran, too, sighed and left. 

Enwa could hear the group arguing amongst themselves, but she ignored them. They weren’t relevant to her - not her priority. The hatchlings were. 

“It’s okay, Ula,” she whispered. “They’ll leave us alone.” She hoped. 

Enwa pulled Mika’s wing out of her mouth before she could gnaw the feathers too much. Plona puffed up. Shia started to pull at her sister’s wings, tugging downy fluff away. Enwa made a small grumble, but didn’t step in yet. Shia should know when to stop preening, and if Plona got sick of it, she could throw her off.

The argument faded. Enwa gave it another while before she poked her head out the burrow. Gone. Good. She ducked back inside, facing the hatchlings. 

“They’re gone,” she said. “We’re going to have to go soon too, okay? We’ll leave in a little while.” Plona chirped, like she was about to protest, but Enwa shook her head. “We have to leave. It’s not optional.” She swallowed convulsively. “There’s no choice.”

—

Enwa ended up waiting until dusk. It made sense, she told herself. They were adapted to low light, and even the babies could see perfectly when the sun went down. On top of that, no travelling group would risk a nighttime walk, not through the forest. Not if they couldn’t see what was ahead. 

Plona was first to grab onto Enwa’s tail, so she got to be and the front of the group - Shia quickly grabbed her sister’s tail, followed by Ula, and Mika took last place. Enwa crawled slowly, keeping low to the ground. The dark browns of her wings should keep her relatively hidden, as should the ashy colours of the hatchlings’ wings. 

They made it all the way to the next stream before a low growl started behind them. 

Enwa immediately spun around, leaping across the hatchlings to protect them from whatever had decided they looked like an acceptable target, and sent and growl of her own into the darkness. Her night vision was good, incredible even, but it wasn’t perfect. Even squinting, she couldn’t make out what was hiding in the bushes. 

She almost wished she hadn’t had the nerve to wonder what it was as it stepped out - a massive, towering Laukeis, one of the larger - and more aggressive - forest predators. Enwa ran the facts in her mind. 

One; she was at a disadvantage. She had four chicks to defend. Two; the Laukeis may look unbalanced, with its short back legs, but it was frighteningly quick and could make powerful jumps in less than a blink of an eye. Three; she couldn’t escape it. It was dangerous for a reason, and had already found them. It wasn’t going to give up on the trail unless something bigger came along or if Enwa managed to kill it, and she wasn’t liking her chances. 

The Laukeis didn’t seem to like Enwa’s chances either. It pounced. 

Enwa hardly remembered leaping forward to meet it in midair. She certainly didn’t remember the ensuing fight - adrenaline quickly covered up any feeling given to the deep cuts the Laukeis’ claws made, and every swipe made at her only angered Enwa more. 

She wasn’t going to win this fight. But she certainly wasn’t going to lose, either. 

Distantly, she heard the hatchlings crying - she needed to check on them - the Laukeis snapped its jaw around her arm, and she sunk her fangs into its neck, clamping down and refusing to let go, no matter how hard the Laukeis tried to shake her off. The clawed tips of her wings latched onto the coarse fur. The Laukeis yowled, an awful sound that pierced Enwa’s ears, before crashing its side into a tree. Belatedly, Enwa realised it had smashed her into the tree, but by then, the Laukeis had already limped away. Hopefully. Enwa couldn’t really see much at all, now, which was odd, because she thought her eyesight was better than this. 

She chirped for the chicks. She’d - she’d protected them. They were safe. She did good. 

A tiny cheep. Enwa swayed towards the sound, chirping louder. She could dig another burrow. Just for the night. A nice, cozy burrow for them to rest in. No Laukeis in the burrow. The burrow would be safe. Why had they left the other burrow, anyway?

Enwa’s limbs felt so distant. They were right there, though, so she should be able to move them, right? Right. She chirped again, more insistently. The cheeps were getting closer. Something… else was, too. Enwa tried to puff her feathers, but only succeeded in falling awkwardly forward before catching herself on wobbly, red hands. Hmm. Her hands weren’t usually red. 

Enwa blinked, and the something was closer. It was… familiar. Gold paint. Where had Enwa seen gold paint before?

“- it’s alright, we’re just trying to help.” Odd. Enwa’s hearing was fuzzy. Like when she dove wrong off the tall trees and ended up hurting her ears. “Can we please help?”

Help sounded nice. Enwa… Enwa was a little in over her head, she thought. She hadn’t planned much beyond getting out of the burning village with the chicks. She probably needed help. 

Enwa nodded, or thought she did, but either way, the night became abruptly darker, and she didn’t hear anything after that. 

[sambuchito]

siguiendo con la línea de la gente de afuera y de acá que tiene una imagen en la cabeza de argentina como "blanca", me rompe soberanamente las pelotas cuando lo repiten los de afuera sin saber, pero cuando es la misma gente del país me dan ganas de matarlos. no dudo que sea un poco culpa de ciertos porteños que se piensan que caba es el culo del mundo solo porque no interactúan con otra gente a más de un radio de 20 cuadras en puerto madero que hacen más ruido que otra gente. pero no son los únicos que me preguntan de "donde soy?" desde que nací y muchas veces se sorprenden o no me terminan de reconocer como alguien que pertenece realmente a “acá” les hace ruido mi cara supongo qsy. así como muchos otros que tienen padres de otros países de la misma latam pero por alguna "razon" no se refieren a ellos como argentinos posta o no cuentan tus experiencias a la hora de hablar otras realidades en tu propio pais porque "tus viejos no nacieron acá es distinto".....te recuerdo que tus abuelos venían de afuera también. que te hace más argentino que yo? que haya más inmigrantes europeos en buenos aires? a veces se pasan de joda con los chistes de argentina es italia o españa 2.0. la herencia de argentina no es únicamente la europea dejémonos de joder

[superbattle117]

Here's peashooter and his friends travelling the sea with boat.

[bring-it-on-zorra]

Che argieblr

Parece q mi tía es muy amiga de la tía de la ex empleada de Lautaro Martinez q se murió y, uh, no está pintando muy bien al toro

[messiology]

mi novio es una persona que come entre poco y normal, pero cuando hago empanadas se ha llegado a comer hasta 9 o mas y creo que es el mejor halago que me puede hacer

[idon-twannabeperceived]

La agüela uruguaya me hizo videollamada y dice q mis rulos están muy lindos 😌😌

Cuiden a sus novias petes q mi abuela dice q tengo facha 😎

[seddenostalgia]

no me perdí en mundo marino me encontré pero ustedes no me dejaron ir

[lesbiano-tonta]

Esto va a sonar muy Dios, Patria y Familia pero no veo la hora de tener MI familia y estar comiendo los domingos en lo de mi señora o en mi casa, me mal acostumbraron en mi flia a que siempre nos veamos con alguien los domingos es inconcebible para mí estar solo

[roseandgold137]

Enwa woke slowly, or maybe didn’t at all, because everything felt like it was trapped behind a veil. Or maybe a fog. It felt… heavy, which was weird, because Enwa felt as if she had no weight at all. Hmm. She should probably open her eyes and investigate that. 

Instead, she relaxed further into the soft nest below her. 

Something twinged in her shoulder as she moved - Enwa grumbled, rolling to her side to take the pressure off it. She must’ve hit a tree again. Her eyes opened to barely-there slits. She couldn’t see anything beyond vague yellow light and the suggestion of a shape in the distance. 

Eh. She’d get back to that. Later. Later…

—

Her second return to consciousness was far more abrupt. She lurched forward, claws extended, tumbling ungainly to the floor. The… floor. There was a floor. Enwa scrambled backwards - she was in some kind of room - the hatchlings weren’t with her - everything smelt weird - 

She keened before clamping a hand over her mouth. She needed to find the babies - but she needed to stay hidden. She pulled herself under the table, as if she didn’t have a massive pair of wings and a long tail swishing anxiously behind her. 

A door creaked. 

Enwa froze. The person that had just entered froze. They were holding a bowl of something - fruit? Enwa’s nose twitched and her stomach growled in spite of herself. 

“You hungry?” the person asked eventually, with an air of forced casualness, and the memory clicked into place. 

“You’re Rabha,” Enwa said. “You were supposed to be gone.”

“I’ll just leave them here,” Rabha sighed, and they left the fruit bowl on the side table next to the door. 

“Where are my hatchlings?” Enwa snapped before Rabha could turn to leave. Rabha’s face twitched before smoothing back into neutrality. 

“They’re fine,” they said. “Flia is looking after them. They aren’t hurt. Scared, maybe a bit traumatised, but they’re doing well, all things considered. You can see them soon.”

The relief was dizzying. Very, very dizzying. Enwa was already close to the floor and the wall, so she simply let herself list to the side and sink down with a heavy exhale. She felt more than heard the startled step forward that Rabha took. 

“Woah, there.” Enwa hissed half-heartedly. Rabha reached for her, and Enwa lashed out on instinct. Rabha was faster - swiftly trapping her wings before they could flare out and pinning her. Enwa growled ineffectively. “I’m trying to help you,” Rabha said. “You’re injured. Don’t pull your stitches.”

“Let me go,” Enwa snarled, spine feathers flaring as much as Rabha’s hold would let them. 

“I can’t,” Rabha said with a frustrating calm. “You’re panicking,” they added. Wow, wonder why, Enwa thought, baring her canines. “You’ll hurt yourself. Breathe.”

Traitorous tears gathered in her eyes. Enwa made one more effort to bite Rabha before slumping in defeat. 

Enwa counted to a minute before Rabha released their hold. She didn’t bother moving. Rabha slowly got up, retrieving the fruit bowl. They put it in front of her. 

“I’m not hungry,” Enwa said, but there was no bite in it. Rabha’s expression didn’t change. “I want to see my hatchlings.”

“You will,” Rabha assured her. “But, please, eat something first.” They paused. “And take some medicine. And I might have to check your bandages. But after that, you can see them.”

So, Enwa found herself glumly gnawing on a mananyi while Rabha sewed her side back together. She didn’t have an appetite, but Rabha had watched her with their unsettling eyes until Enwa had picked up a fruit. She didn’t even like mananyi.

“Are you even eating that?” Rabha asked after a moment. Enwa lamented the fact that she couldn’t run away with the needle still in her skin. 

“I’m not hungry,” she repeated. 

“You have to eat.”

“No I don’t,” Enwa said. “My mama said I don’t have to eat if I’m not hungry.”

Rabha was quiet for a while before they resumed the stitches. “Can you at least try to eat something? You can’t take the medicine on an empty stomach, or you’ll vomit.”

Enwa frowned. “How many fruits do I have to eat to not vomit?”

“Ideally three,” Rabha said. “But one will do if you can’t manage any more.”

—

Enwa hissed at Rabha, before retching again. She’d eaten two mananyi before taking any medicine. Still, she’d thrown them up again hardly five minutes after taking Rabha’s stupid, stupid medicine. 

“I’m sorry,” Rabha said. “I don’t suppose you want to try that again?”

Enwa retched up a pitifully small puddle of bile. Rabha, sensibly, did not push the subject. After two dry heaves, Enwa had decided that enough was enough, and clambered back into the wide cot she’d been in earlier. She slumped into it with a happy trill, ignoring how the climbing made her gut twist. Stupid mananyi fruit. Stupid medicine. She was fine anyway. 

Rabha came back with cleaning supplies. Hmm. Enwa supposed she should probably help, since it was her puke, but moving seemed like so much effort, and her eyes were making themselves heavy again. 

Rabha cleared their throat, once they were done. “Well, I don’t think we can bring you down to see the hatchlings,” they began, carefully. Enwa frowned - she’d eaten the fruit and taken the medicine, even if it did come back up again. “But - I’ll head down to Flia, and we’ll bring them up here to you, okay?”

Enwa’s ears perked up. She nodded quickly, then stopped when the world swirled around her. By the time she regained her vision, Rabha had left. 

Minutes dragged by. Enwa began preening - she’d made a bit of a mess of her feathers when she’d tumbled to the floor - keeping her ears focused on the door. Maybe… maybe she should go outside. Just to make sure that they were coming. 

Rabha hadn’t locked the door. Enwa blinked at it for a few seconds before pushing the door open fully. A breeze ruffled through her hair as she crept onto the… balcony? Enwa’s hands curled around the rail of the lattice fence and she let her eyes wander across the small clearing below. 

There were other small buildings, like the one she was in, curling around trees - she spotted some other people milling around the base of one tree-house, sharing a bottle of red liquid. Under another tree-house, there was a small garden of plants - maybe where the fruit had come from. Enwa’s ears swivelled towards a familiar sound. 

There - near the pond. Enwa pushed the thrill of fear about the hatchlings being beside water without her. One, two, three - four, Plona was beside a basket. Okay. Four out of four. Good. 

Good. 

Enwa leaned against her arms and watched as Rabha walked up to them - and the woman guarding them, probably the Flia that Rabha had mentioned. She wasn’t too different from them, really, Enwa mused. No wings, sure, but similar markings. She wondered where she was from. One of the desert species, maybe, or from the coast - she’d have to be closer to tell. 

The breeze continued to pull her hair across her face. Enwa blew it back with a huff - she had a hair tie for it, at some point, but it must have been lost along the way. She reached up to gather her hair, only to snap her arms back to her sides with a pained hiss. Stupid stitches. Stupid Laukeis. If they hadn’t been found by it, then Enwa could have had the hatchlings across the entire forest before sunrise. 

… Actually, how long had it been? Enwa had no reason to believe that it had been any more than just the one night - but she didn’t have any reason to believe it had only been last night, either. 

The hatchlings followed Rabha easily. Maybe Enwa was just being pessimistic and paranoid, but she didn’t think that they would be so open to a stranger in such little time. Especially not after what happened - Enwa shut down that train of thought. 

So. A day or two, maybe, since they’d been brought… wherever here was. Still forested, but possibly not the same forest. 

Enwa shrunk away from the fence as they drew closer - Rabha hadn’t said she couldn’t step outside, but they hadn’t said that she could, either. 

The cot didn’t feel as comfortable anymore. Enwa half-heartedly rearranged the blankets while she waited. 

Mika was first to burst through the door, launching herself across the room with a high-pitched trill, skidding to a halt just before she could collide with the cot. “Enwa! Enwa!”

Mika pulled herself over the edge of the cot, tumbling in. “Enwa! We made bracelets!” Mika practically shoved her wrists into Enwa’s face, and Enwa had to catch her hands before she ended up with anymore bruises. 

“Aw, they’re lovely, Mika,” Enwa said. It wasn’t even a lie - they were lovely, twisted grass looped through glass beads, with little wooden charms dangling on them. Ula peeked over the side of the cot, and showed her his arm too, smiling - his front tooth was almost all grown in, Enwa mused, as she ruffled his hair. “You’re all so good at this. You’ll have to make some for me too, yeah?”

“I have one!” Shia announced. She pushed the bracelet into Enwa’s lap, then followed as quickly as she could, dragging Plona up with her. 

“It’s beautiful, Shia,” Enwa said. “Thank you.”

“Plona helped with the grass and stuff,” Shia said. “But I did the beads!”

Plona nodded, grave. 

Enwa hardly noticed the other occupants of the room until the fruit bowl was, once again, set in front of her. She thinks she at least twitched at the surprise, but either way the exhaustion was pulling her down again. Ula grabbed a mananyi to gnaw at - his tooth wasn’t quite down enough to help him break the skin - while Shia took the softer rusu fruit. 

“We’ll just be in the corner over here,” Rabha whispered. Enwa hummed in acknowledgement, and sank deeper, and deeper, and deeper into sleep. 

[sambuchito]

[elizabethbcnnet]

going back home and doing the whole job hunting process again vs possibly getting a job offer here and having to deal with getting a visa ... both choices sound horrible actually why don't i just jump off a window

[quemirabobo]

Yu ♡ alguien se habrá acordado que mañana es navidad?

Adari💚

JAJAJAJAJAJAJ no puedo creer que mañana es navidad, sigo re manija lpm

Vivo cerca de una zona de mayoristas, fui ayer y hoy y era imposible de la cantidad de personas que salieron a comprar a último momento (like me). Hasta el martes/miércoles ponele era todo de la selección pero ahora se acordaron que es navidad y sacaron los fuegos artificiales y juguetes ajajjaajjaja

[manaosdeuwu]

hoy es 420... tendría que prender uno.... esto es por ustedes licha molina y cuti‼️

[thebluesargent]

I'm looking for an apartment to rent and this shit is so stressing as everyone said, everywhere I've reached out to was already rented or I got an ominous email the following day with the address in the subject and just "is rented" as the body of the email