Sythe had a difficult time landing. He had intended to touch down near Lexx, but overshot him by a few yards. Both dice hit the ground and went rolling. They came to a stop facing each other.
Fly bristled at the panting hawk, a little annoyed at the landing, then both collapsed in weariness and thirst. Lexx and Chel rushed over to the pair as quickly as they could. Chel had a little trouble crossing the rocks, but made it shortly behind Lexx.
"Good work, Fly,…" Lexx complimented while scooping Sythe up in his hands. The hawk was very slippery, his feathers were like an incredibly soft down. It made Sythe very difficult to hold onto unless he was held just right. Lexx quickly closed the tagging ring on one of Sythe's foot spurs, the only place that would hold the ring.
"Hey, Fly?" Fly was very hot and exhausted. Chel carefully picked up the squirrel, tucking his tail under him to make him easier to move. "Are you okay? You're not hurt anywhere, are you?" She gently stroked the squirrel between his ears, trying to get some response from him other than panting.
"Water,…" chirred Fly, his ears laying limply at the sides of his head and fur sticking up all over his body from sweating. Chel marveled at that. Most animals on Earth can't sweat. She was pretty sure that typical earth squirrels couldn't. She pondered the use of a fully body deodorant on the squirrel. He smelled slightly musky, like damp wood.
