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It was a dark night, and the atmosphere was heavy with sickening humidity. It had rained during the day, and the forest's ground was spotted with mud. The thick smell of mildew filled the muggy atmosphere, yet the forest's children were just as lively as they were in the daylight before the rain. Most of the creatures were nocturnal. After all, due to how much the trees cloaked the forest from the sun, it always seemed like night. Perhaps the only living things that saw the sun in the Black Forest were the trees that stood over it, taller than most skyscrapers, feeding from the sunlight.
Everyone by this point knew to stay away from the Black Forest. They knew the cruelty of its rulers, the Three Birds, and the dangers of being so far from home in uncharted territory. The towns near the forest had become sparsely populated, most of their inhabitants either moving away in fear or meeting their death at the hands of the Birds. Big Bird, which had more eyes than a city's worth of mankind, could see through everything. Little Bird had an all-consuming mouth that delivered divine punishment, earning him the moniker "Punishing Bird" among the townspeople. Lastly, Long Bird, the Judgement Bird, had given judgement to all. It wasn't an uncommon occurrence for lost travelers exploring the forest to be rediscovered hanging from a noose.
The scales that determined this judgement were broken, and would only ever tilt one way. To Judgement Bird, who had no eyes, this didn't matter. He could not see the faults for himself. He believed he was holy and right. Nobody was sacred when it came to this judgement. Nobody was pure, except his brothers.
There was only one time when he found a human innocent.
Various footprints were imbedded in the mud of that darkness on that humid night. Some of possums, some of bears, some of raccoons. The pained heavy steps of a fox losing a battle against parasites, the limp of the owl that had lost its wings, the death throes of the baby robin that fell from its nest that was being devoured alive by ants. The cruelty of nature was what the Black Forest thrived on, more than any other ecosystem. Bloodshed was its life, death, and resurrection. There were some small creatures, who in a stroke of bad luck, drowned in the mud.
Yet, at this time, living furry and feathered animals were not to be found anywhere. Despite the clear tracks in the mud, the only animals were the terrible scavengers, so small that early man hardly considered them animals. Flies, ants, and worms broke down the bodies. Some were devoured by the mud themselves. The scavengers didn't care for the danger that was about; they only saw the feast that the rain had given them. Thankfully, for the vermin, the danger did not care about them. Judgement Bird didn't bring judgement to beings that couldn't slip in a noose, no matter how small. A maggot has no neck to hang from. A fly could take to the air. Ants come in collectives. The most crucial member of that decomposition, the most natural state of nature, the bacterium, is too small to be seen with even Big Bird's eyes, so it cannot be hung either. For Judgement Bird, the smell of rot wasn't worthy of judgement, for it was the natural state of the Black Forest. The carcasses might have belonged to sinful beasts as well.
Out of all of the tracks, whether they were Insecta or Carnivora, the largest were those of the bird that kept all other beasts away from the site. Large, spindly, and powerful, the footprints of Judgement Bird made the deepest impressions in the mud. All beings that could think knew to stay away when one of the Three Birds was nearby. In the far past, people had confused the tracks of Big Bird with those of ancient dinosaurs. A small, yet vocal sect of religious folk claimed that the tracks of this beast in the forest were proof that beings like Tyrannosaurus rex still roamed the Earth, their numbers impacted by a flood from years past. After following these tracks, it was not Big Bird who brought them to their end. It was Judgement Bird, tall and slender, who had woven nooses out of his feathers that fit these pious men and women perfectly. When the townsfolk of old saw these people hanging from thick feathers, they knew what they were facing was much worse.
The Three Birds and the Black Forest were bad news. They were inexplicable, their presence in this world unable to be explain. Yet it has always been in man's nature to rebel against the absurd, and try to make sense of it. Year after year, people kept wandering into the forest, fully aware of its beasts. Campers, scientists, paranormal investigators, fixers, entire offices, religious groups, the young, the elderly, suicidals... All met their ends in the dusky forest, knowing fully what they were up against. Some knew they wouldn't survive. Others were determined. Some didn't even know where they were until it was too late.
Judgement Bird never thought of these poor souls. He hung them, and then he was done. Sometimes, if that person had committed a particularly awful sin, he felt disgusted for hours on end before forgetting about it. Sometimes, these hangings would give him a rush of pride. Others, a slight sense of sorrow, melancholic over the fact that the world was able to contain so much sin. Yet most of the time, he simply felt it was his duty. As he walked down the muddy path into the drier part of the forest, the thick leaves shielding that segment of it from the daylight's rain, he thought nothing. Fleeting anxieties about the fabled Beast in the Black Forest came and went. In this moment, though, his mind was blank. His empty eye sockets saw nothing, and he heard nothing other than the hum of the insects. There was nothing to think about. Why waste precious energy on thinking when it's unnecessary could be used once the Beast comes, after all?
This night was different. Perhaps Judgement Bird made an accident. Maybe he gained a sense of mankind's "correct" morality (does such a thing truly exist?), even if only for a moment. Because when he heard footsteps, his response was benevolent.
The footsteps were small, followed each time by a small jingle. The bird's sense of hearing was top-notch; he did not need his eyes. After gifting his eyes to Big Bird, all of his other senses had sharpened. It could sense how things looked, as if it had magic. The abnormalities of the world were born of humanity's emotions, not nature. Emotions do not require eyes. They only require a thinking mind. When he swiveled around, scales in hand, there was a small girl in the woods. She was pale and bruised, standing at about 134 centimeters, her shirt having the logo of one of the Wings; however, the print had faded beyond recognition.
The child, looking around 8 years old, did not flinch at the sight of the massive avian before her. She had been trembling long before she saw him, and if anything, the sight of a living being gave her relief. She did not process the beast as not being human. In this land, what was human and what was beast was hard to define. Humans came as regular flesh-and-bone apes, mechanical chimeras, scavenging gas-masked metal brutes, and so much more. Judgement Bird, not being a regular animal, was percieved as human in the girl's eyes.
"Sir... Sir..." She walked up to him, her voice shaky. She unhooked the small flashlight from the keychain on her backpack (so that's where the jingle was coming from!) and shone it on the bird's figure, the scales glistening softly in the light. "Sir, have you seen mom? She got hurt by a bear by the lakeside, and she hasn't come back. I don't know where she went. She went away." She pointed to a scratch on her leg. "Like that, but worse. I don't know where she went. Can you help me?"
Poor soul! She was lost in the woods, and despite seeing her mother ripped to shreds before her eyes, she unable to comprehend death at her young age! For her, her mother had simply disappeared under the weight and teeth of the bear, leaving a smashed carcass in its wake. To the little girl, her mother was alive, breathing, and thinking of her beloved daughter somewhere in the forest. Her mother's heart was still beating in the shadows of night, and she was just as lost as her daughter was. What sins had she committed to provoke this beast of nature? Judgement Bird's mind began racing. He could not bring the mother to judgement, for the murderer had done it for him.
What sins has this small life committed?. No soul, regardless of age, as long as it could be hung by a rope, was free from Judgement Bird's judgement. Without hesitation, he rose the scales into the sky, awaiting the fated result; to relish in the reward of potentially removing a sinner from this forest. The bear would follow the demise of this lost soul, without a doubt. He put his faith in his broken scales, unknowing that they would always tilt left.
And so, against all odds, the scales tilted right.
Judgement Bird was in disbelief. How could this be? He couldn't deny the innocence of the girl who wandered right into his territory. The scales he carried, to him, were not just an extension of him, but a god. The scales could never be wrong. So many beings sinned, and all sin was the same in his eyes. Any sin, from white lies to murder, is what feeds the Beast. Any man who sins must be judged. A sin cannot be washed off. The Judgement Bird sees all. The scales judge all.
The disbelief quickly faded. The scales were always correct. He obeyed them without a single thought of rebelling. If he had lips and not a beak, the bird would have smiled. Finally! A human free of sin! This is what the core of humanity should be; untainted, obeying to laws, honest, and kind! Compared to her fellow humans, no matter how much more mature they seemed, this unblemished creature of man was a god! He was careful not to idolize the new child of the Black Forest, however. After all, he was the ultimate being of truth and honor, alongside his brothers. Compared to them, she was as righteous as the maggots on the ground, eating away at the cadavers of fallen fledgeling birds, getting ever so closer to bursting into dreadful blow-flies. This girl would sin eventually, without a doubt. She'd fall into the traps all humans do. But for now, she was an angel from the stars; untainted, impeccable, and righteous.
The bird put his scales back down, and approached the girl slowly. Without a word, for he could not speak human tongues despite understanding them all perfectly, he kneeled down, opening his wings wide as if he were about to take flight. Everyone knows that Judgement Bird is flightless, however. Its feathered arms opened for one thing and one thing alone; to embrace.
And so the young girl, unknowing of the danger the beast before her held to the rest of the world, reciprocated the monster's affection. She clipped the flashlight back onto the keychain, which was decorated with other decorative chains fitted with all sorts of symbols from kittens to stars, and one of a small Fixer office. Did her mother work there? Considering the poor woman's state, it can never really be known. Warmly and lovingly, as if the bird were family, she embraced him and his glossy feathers. His feathers were damaged from often venturing into the sunlight in search of sinners, so they were stained with signs of wear and tear. Quite a few of them were sticky from the amount of humidity in the air that night. They were not even close to how silky they once were. Nevertheless, she stuffed her face into the warm plumage of the abnormality as if it was the softest thing she had ever felt. The body of the bird nearly eclipsed her.
After a few quiet moments, she pulled away to examine the bird's face in the twilight. She examined at the bandages wrapped around his eyes, and how his head was completely stripped of feathers except for two that hung behind the crown of his head. His head stood tall above his long neck, almost as if he were closer to one of his ancient sauropod cousins, lost in time. Or perhaps a heron, swan, or flamingo? No, his feathers and calls in the night resembled those of a raven. Perhaps an undiscovered species of jet-black crane? No, none of these things. Judgement Bird defied scientific classification. He was not a creature of any god, nor any aspect of nature. He was the result of mankind's striving, born from nothing. A creature that can satisfy nobody's view of life. A being that, to the human eyes unknowing of abnormalities, can only be described as the result of the absurd. Judgement Bird was not a bird, but a concept, enveloped in flesh, blood, and feathers. He had no ancestors, only brothers. He had none of the chemical compounds of an animal, and didn't need to eat. He seemed to thrive off of pursuing justice alone. Judgement Bird is the result of man's crooked sense of judgement. A beast beyond our comprehension, its presence on Earth unconcerned with science or religion.
The little girl knew nothing about any of this. Nor would she have wanted to learn. She simply knew that the bird was good, since he hugged her and judged her correctly. She took the bird's spindly finger in hand, and held it tightly. "F-Friend," she faltered, "you are my friend."
Friend...
Judgement Bird, unable to physically speak her language, let out a low coo in response before using his free hand to gently pet the child's head. Humans were creatures of warmth, beings of extremes. This is my friend. Despite his blindness, he turned his head down as if he could look at her, possibly out of habit.
"Sir... Birdy-Man," she stammered, "Can you help me find mom? If not that, something to eat?" She gripped his finger tightly and stared at him with big eyes, as if she were about to sob. "I haven't had food in a day. Mom took me and my big brother out here to see animals. The only park was five hours away, and it just shut down. We really like animals. Especially me. My dad used to talk all about animals before he went away to work at something called a Wing. Mom told me on the way here all about the deer and the rabbits, and told me what each thing was. My brother's a huge coward though! He saw how dark the forest was and ran all the way back to the village." She pouted. "He could've helped find mom. I bet he's sitting watching TV right now. His shows really suck."
Judgement Bird thought nothing of her past or her family, yet he wanted to obey this being's wishes anyway. It won't be long until she inevitably sins, so I should make the most of this friendship. He thought for a moment until he remembered a certain spot in the forest where the sun was able to shine completely, filled with lush apple trees and stones that humans could comfortably sit on. He picked the girl up with both hands and placed her on his back, letting her latch onto the skin under his thick feather coat. Once the child had fully secured herself, putting her trust in the monster she had befriended, he stood up and tilted his beak to the stars. The little girl now stood taller than anyone she had ever seen, over seven feet off the ground.
The bird knew every square inch of the forest from memory. He could locate any stray pebble in the forest, if he truly wanted to. The Black Forest was one with him, for it was like a cunning octopus, tentacles inching throughout the landscape as it slowly grew, the Three Birds each being one of the cephalopod's triad of hearts. He knew the exact way to the small haven the sun had for itself in the Black Forest, and was ready to take that path to feed his friend. Maybe this is what parenthood felt like? The Three Birds do not have any need for a parental instinct; they weren't true animals, but abnormalities born from the hearts of mankind. They have no offspring to ever worry about, no genes to pass on. And yet, despite all of this, Judgement Bird took the role of a guardian in this innocent soul's venture into the Black Forest. In some long-forgotten past, perhaps this is what Judgement Bird was to all but the worst sinners, before his scales broke. It's impossible to tell in the modern age.
He marched through the Black Forest, his Black Forest, without a sound. Despite the silence of the bird, the path stayed clear of large life, for the air around it had a supernatural element to it that could chill you to the bone. This terrible air didn't seem to affect the girl, oddly enough, as she trusted her newfound friend like a dog. She relished in being able to witness new heights, and she felt like she was among the finches and jays in the sky she adored so much. As Judgement Bird crushed fallen branches that would trip most people, parted seas of leafcutter ants bringing stock for their nests, and stepped through large bushes full of thorns, his new companion told stories of herself, and of her family. Judgement Bird could not understand a lot of the details, for as a creature of the Black Forest, he knew almost nothing of human culture, let alone the intricacies of things like the Wings and fixers.
She told him all about how her father left their town one day to go work at a mysterious place called H. Corp. H. Corp is a Wing in the nearby City, a place bustling with life, and her mother told her often about how the people of the City were plagued by unhappiness and disease. Becoming a "feather of the Wing" was nevertheless an extremely high honor, even outside of the City's walls, and her father had placed this honor above his own family. Oh, if only her father knew how horribly H. Corp would fall to the Head's own feared Garion just mere years later!
She told Judgement Bird about how her mom worked at the village's food market as a stocker, or in her words, "she puts the cereals on the shelves." She then got incredibly sidetracked for a moment, talking about all of her favorite cereals before returning to the topic of her parents. Judgement Bird did not know what a cereal was. She liked the apple-flavored ones, "because they taste like the forest dad took me to when we went to his friend's place a while back."
When her mother went to work at the market, her dad would pull out a box from the kitchen filled with strange "adult drinks". According to her, she accidentally had a tiny sip once thinking it was a sugary drink, and immediately gagged. From this point forward, she called it "yucky soda". Her brother despised him for this. She felt a tinge of guilt as she quoted her brother's words, as they were filled with swears; "fuckin' asshole. He doesn't know how to be a father. He doesn't give a shit about mom. He doesn't give a shit about us. All he cares about is drinking and the vague hope that he'll get into a Wing since grandpa pressured him to look into them when he was still alive. It's always 'my father', 'my father', it's never about his wife or his kids." She recalled her older brother taking a puff of a cigar and shaking his head. "Jackass, jackass," she quoted him saying, "jackass."
What a wretched, good-for-nothing man her father was! And her brother was a vile boy as well, sinning more than some adult men had. The girl clung tighter to her companion, her guardian in this humid forest moonlight. "Please tell mom I'm sorry for saying bad words to you when we find her, okay, Birdy-Man? I was just saying what he said. I don't like keeping secrets. Dad keeps secrets, and they make everyone angry."
With a nod of the head, the 'Birdy-Man' cooed lowly, as if to say, "Don't worry about it." Despite her sinlessness, this life had already gone through so much turmoil, as is the life of mankind in this current world! Every soul, no matter their level of sin, has suffered immensely. There's a chance that the only human being free of suffering is the most sinful person in this corner of the Earth, sitting at the top of skyscrapers, commanding their Eyes, Arbiters, and Claws; the Head. Judgement Bird had suffered bringing justice to the forest himself, and so had his brothers. Chances are, if the girl hadn't suffered, she wouldn't have wandered into this forest in the first place. Some said that this forest was made of sorrow, attracting the miserable and mad to it like moths to a lamplight.
The girl never told Judgement Bird her name, nor was it labeled anywhere on her belongings. Judgement Bird connected the simple things he associated her with to make a symbol for her in his head. Apple... Kind... Girl. Apple-Kind-Girl... Apple-Girl. The two beings, unknowing of each other's true names, and so different in form, cared for each other nonetheless. To him, she was 'Apple Girl'. To her, he was 'Birdy-Man'. Her guardian, her guide, her... father? Of course, it was all doomed to end. But in the moment, both felt as if they had reunited with a lost family member.
The walk took a little while, and by the time the little girl had spotted the light in the distance, it was the break of dawn. The sound of blackbirds filled the air as they flew in flocks over the forest canopy, singing their morning calls in nature's chorus. There were some small squirrels basking in the sunrise's light, yet they scattered into the black woods as the bird came closer. When they reached the spot in the forest where the sun reached, the child's face lit up.
Apple trees, all standing over 30 feet tall, with their fruit clearly ripe! The fruit's lively red peel stood out in the forest's array of earthy greens, deep browns, and grayscale pigments. The trees were strong and healthy, with lots of apples ready to be picked from the branches that hung so high in the air. Large, smooth rocks spotted the landscape. Some of the rocks were chiseled by long-gone explorers into chairs, and these stones were placed around a bundle of twigs surrounded by rocks; remnants of a fireplace. For years before the birds came, people would come into the forest and feast on the lush apples in this haven of light, skilled adventurers carving the natural rocks into thrones for themselves. Though the people perished alongside the practice of going into this forest as a jolly adventure, and the darkness of the forest consumed all, the chairs and hearth remained, staying strong throughout all of the elements.
Slowly and carefully, Judgement Bird crouched down, letting the girl hop off of his back onto the vegetation below. "Birdy-Man! Can you get me some apples, please?" She looked up at him, unknowing that he physically could not return the gaze. "I'm not tall enough yet to get them from the trees. But soon! Soon I will be!" She crossed her arms and sat down on the stone chair. "Dad used to go to the City a lot before he moved there, and he'd tell me all about these strange people with strange things! It's easy in the City to get an obligation" - she meant augmentation -, "to become taller than even my dad! He told me of this girl his friend knew, a lady named Martina, who stood taller than her two boy friends in her 'fixing job' because of this obligation." Judgement Bird kept listening to his beloved child as he stood tall into the trees, picking apples for her. Even though he could not understand human culture (a lot of her talk sounded like gibberish to the bird), he felt it was in both of their best interests to listen. "I'm gonna be like that! But even taller! Taller than that bear that took mom away when he stood up! I'm gonna be just as tall as you, Birdy-Man!"
Idolizing a beast that comes from man's wretched desires isn't good in any case, especially for a child. But the phases of a child's life are often fleeting, coming and going before accelerating and shifting evermore in puberty, so it's not too much of a cause for concern. Judgement Bird thrived in this fragment of idolatry. Finally, somebody other than his brothers appreciated what he did for the Black Forest! He was a hero, and he knew it. Even if nobody saw it but his family, both found and blood, it was the truth that panged in his heart. Heroism was what he thrived on; he thought to himself, over and over, I was born to defend this forest from a wretched Beast!
After some minutes of picking, he crouched back onto the ground, his hands full of the finest apples. Malus domestica has been a long-domesticated plant, and is not a native species to the Black Forest. Perhaps some stewards placed the seeds here long ago? Maybe the hand of a deity planted these bastions of fruit here for the animals of the forest to eat? It didn't matter. All that mattered was that the fruits were edible, and delicious. 'Apple-Girl' reached into her backpack and retrieved a small pocket knife; something a child under the age of 10 probably shouldn't have. Yet she used it carefully as she peeled the skin off of the apples, leaving the rinds to be feasted upon by the ants. "I don't like how the skins feel," she told him, "plus it's always fun to watch the ants."
She peeled half of the apples, and left the others untouched. She happily ate every skinned apple right to the core, relishing in the feeling of being able to eat after so long. Judgement Bird looked up towards the morning sky as his companion had her long-awaited breakfast, analyzing what he believed was up there yet couldn't see. After an hour or so of relaxation, drifting off and retreating into his own mind, he felt a nudge on his leg.
"Birdy-Man." The girl held a peeled apple in her hand. "I'm full. Do you want this one?"
As mentioned before; Judgement Bird does not need to eat. He is not a product of nature. He thrives on emotion. If all of mankind's emotions died, he would as well. He could if he wanted to, and he felt moved by the sight of generosity. So he bent down his neck to her palm and ate the apple from her hand, crushing it to mostly juice in his beak before swallowing it down. Even the core and seeds were crushed to bits under the sheer force. It was completely tasteless, as the abnormality has no need for tastebuds, but he enjoyed it nonetheless. It was a gift from a friend, like how he gifted his eyes to Big Bird.
The child stuffed the rest of the apples into her backpack and pulled the bag back up onto her shoulders. "Birdy-Man... Do you know where the lake here is? That's where I last saw mom. Maybe she came back there. It was pretty anyway."
With the worldless, eyeless gaze of Judgement Bird, she was assured that 'Birdy-Man' knew his way to the lakeside, and all around the Black Forest as a whole as well. 'Apple-Girl' reached back onto the bird's lowered body and clung on, the feeling of apples heavy on her back, yet not in the least suffocating. Judgement Bird stood up slowly and felt his soul's compass adjusting. The Black Forest's lake was on the other side of the map, all the way west, when this patch of light was far east. Yet this travel wasn't a problem for Judgement Bird, nor his brothers. They never got tired. Only one thing could ever wear them down; E.G.O., and its wielders. But they wouldn't come into contact with those people in a very long time. There were no leg pains or heavy breaths, as they ran on feeling.
It took several hours for the duo to get there. On the way, Judgement Bird had to slow down, as he noticed a weight intensify on him; the girl had fallen asleep. He was careful to not stir her, and even more careful to not drop her, since she could not hang on as tight in her slumber. A full belly, the sounds of nature, and being surrounded by warm feathers could put anyone to sleep. The air slowly grew more humid as they ever so slowly approached the lakeside. For some, it was suffocating. But Judgement Bird could not feel the temperature, and his friend seemed to have no care for the elements.
When she finally woke up, they were close enough to the point that a blue was visible in the horizon, and it was once again nighttime. She stretched a bit, then clung more to Judgement Bird. "I had a dream," she said. "You were in my house. My dad was home, and he didn't have any of that gross stuff that makes my brother angry. My mom was home, too, and so was my brother. All of them liked you a lot, which is good, because you are my friend. We were all having breakfast, and I fed you spoonfuls of my apple cereal. It was fun. Can you come over, once this is all done?"
I cannot come to your home for friendship. I will only come when it is time to judge you once more.
When they arrived, the girl did not see her mother thriving. She had not stirred. The bear wasn't in sight, but what remained of her mother was. Mauled to pieces, skin torn off, blood drying in the uncaring forest floor. And, as always, with all who die in the forest, she was returned to it. The same vile worms, insects, and bacterium that broke down the fledgeling birds in the core of the Black Forest were breaking down this sinful being as well. Yes, she had sinned. To provoke nature, you must sin. Yet her death had broken the heart of someone truly innocent. The bear had harmed this beauty among the blemishes of mankind, even if it did not have the mental capacity to know what it was doing.
No matter what, that sin was unforgivable.
With Judgement Bird's kneel, 'Apple-Girl' hopped back on the ground as he stood back up. She unclipped her flashlight and shined it into the darkness. She stared into the unknown.
Two eyes stared at her right back.
The beast in the dark was a grizzly bear, large, old, and powerful. It held a fish in its jaws, and chewed so hard that it split in two, the pieces falling to the ground. The animal was provoked.
"This... This is the same one that made mom disappear." She couldn't comprehend that the mess on the ground was her mother. If he could speak, Judgement Bird wasn't sure if he would even be capable of telling her the truth. The bear stood on its hind legs and bellowed, its teeth a vapid yellow, stained with blood. This was a force of nature, yet a sinful one. It broke a heart, so it was time for judgement to break its own.
Feeling this injustice in his heart, Judgement Bird felt himself become enraged. He pulled up his scales, tilting them into the moonlight once more. And, just as expected, they tilted left.
A noose made of feathers erupted from the ground, right behind the bear, and snagged it by the neck. Any other kind of rope would snap under those hundreds of pounds of downward force. But not Judgement Bird's. The part that held the noose up into the sky grew in height until the bear dangled 3 feet above the ground. It suffered immensely in these moments; it choked out, it roared, it growled, it almost seemed to scream for help. Then, as abruptly as the crying started, it went silent. The animal that had mauled 'mom' beyond recognition was hanging by the same kind of rope that hung all other sinners of the Black Forest.
Silence filled the air for an uncomfortably long time. Then, a human sob broke out.
"Mom's necklace... It's here! On this!" She pulled a beautiful necklace off from the mangled body, clutching it tight. "I miss her so much... Birdy-Man, where did she go? This looks a lot like her, but it's not her. Mom is strong. She would never be eaten by ants. She's an adult, bigger than me. She could just step on them."
Yet she was. The ants trailed all over her body. The queen and her thousands upon thousands of children were in for a feast.
"Look, even I can step on them!" As the girl got up and was about to stomp on the ants, she was picked up above the ground by Judgement Bird. Judgement Bird knew the animals of his forest very well, and these were dangerous ants that shouldn't be messed with. These were bullet ants, Paraponera clavata. In most other environments, they mostly feasted upon other arthropods. But in the Black Forest, they miraculously gained a taste for the flesh of large tetrapods; including humans. Their attacks are said to be one of the most painful inflicted by any member of Insecta.
The girl quickly learned that these ants were, for some reason or another, a kind that shouldn't be stepped on. She looked back at Judgement Bird as he held her effortlessly.
"I think mom might be in the town, where I live. Up in the north, where the clouds are."
Judgement Bird knew searching for this woman was a lost cause. But he also knew that this little girl had to eventually go home. And thus, he pulled her up onto his back and began their voyage home, paying no mind to the bear hanging from the noose he had made.
---
The little girl fell asleep again on the way to her town, and much harder than before. When she awoke, she was surrounded by the concerned faces of friends and neighbors. She was placed in a bed of hay.
"Elizabeth! Elizabeth! Where were you," her school teacher yelled, "for the past week! We were all worried sick!" She sobbed, half out of anger and half out of relief, and hugged her closely. "Oh, you're the sweetest kid I've ever had the pleasure of teaching. I was gonna go insane, insane! All the other kids drive me up the wall. But you! You're an angel! Your mother raised you right. And to think that you have those disgusting excuses for men as your father and brother! Good lord, I felt like the heavens above answered my prayers when your father moved away, but your brother has taken the throne! Like the traitor Judas would do if he found Hell's throne empty! Always smoking indoors and causing mayhem, always doing stupid shi-"
Her teacher got pushed away by a frustrated older woman, who loudly shushed her. "She's a kid. She's just a kid. Michael's not that old. He still has time. He's only 18. And get my son's name out of your mouth, you don't know anything about him. For heaven's sake, Elizabeth is just a kid. Keep all of that malarkey to your therapist!" She embraced the child, Elizabeth, gently. This was her grandmother, who raised her father from when he was a little boy. Other than her mother, she knew her closer than any other member of her family.
She was distressed that, among the crowd, she could not find her mother anywhere. But the girl was more curious about her new friend she made. She looked back into the woods where she came from.
And she saw the bird looking on blindly from the shadows, before disappearing back into the Black Forest.