//------------------------------//
// Chapter the Fourth: The Land Will Provide 
// Story: Not Out Of The Woods Yet 
// by Kiernan 
//------------------------------//

Perry was the first to awaken the following morning. He was still a bit damp, but the nearby river provided enough humidity to ensure that was the case. At any rate, Venny was all warmed up now, and quietly snoring next to him. He looked very peaceful, almost the same as what he looked like when sleeping at home. Considering they were sheltering under two bushes and covered head to tail in mud, that was quite the feat. 

As Perry pulled away, Venny pulled him back. It was an unconscious movement, but it was endearing nonetheless. He pulled a little harder and managed to wrench himself free from his brother's grasp. He needed to be separate for this.

He looked carefully up and down the riverbank, checking to see if they'd been followed. Thankfully, there was nopony around to see him. After moving down to the water to have a sip, he remembered back to yesterday. It may have been a chunky, mucous mess, but he had managed to spit out fire. It was possible now. If he could figure out how, that would be very helpful to them. Or to him, at least. Perry could eat meat to stay healthy. Venny might not be so lucky.

He took a deep breath. As he pushed it out, he tried to replicate what he thought might have happened. All he managed was a torrent of black smoke. It disappeared as quickly as it arrived, dissipating into the air. He tried a few more times, to no avail. Only after half an hour did he manage a single lick of flame.

Venny had stirred from his slumber, and had been watching him for a few minutes. As he approached, he saw the tiny fire light up Perry's lips. "That was really cool, Perry." Perry turned his attention to Venny and stood up. "Like uncle Storm and Somber do, right?"

Perry nodded. Of the three half-dragons that had been rescued that day, Perry was the only one that couldn't yet breathe fire regularly. Granted, he was also the youngest, but he needed the ability now, or he wouldn't be able to cook anything, even if they managed to catch something edible. It was quite irksome to be in need of something so vital, and not have the capability.

"So, what's the plan, now?" queried Venny. "I don't want to go back in the water unless we have to."

Perry shook his head. He took another drink from the river, prompting Venny to do the same. They were no longer dehydrated, But Venny was still cold, and they were both still hungry. 

The duo followed the north bank of the river, twisting where it curved and following where it guided them. Every so often, they'd stop to drink. The cold water was refreshing and clear, and loaded with minerals. By noon, they were feeling much better than the day before. That wasn't saying much, as twenty four hours prior, they'd been held aloft by an angry unicorn, but this was almost pleasant.

Venny's stomach growled audibly. Perry's had been going off all day, but he couldn't do anything about it. He saw some familiar foliage, but what he recognized wasn't safe to eat. He didn't see anything that was confirmed safe to eat. Then, as they reached the bottom of a waterfall, he saw it. A small pool, filled with brown trout.

He stopped in his tracks, licking his lips as he watched the delicious fish swim around among the rocks.  He tried again to conjure up a flame, this time succeeding after only a few tries. He kept going eventually being able to put forth enough energy to create a small blaze.

"You did it, Perry!" clapped Venny excitedly. "You made a fire!"

Perry turned to his brother and put a hoof to his lips. He understood that he was happy, but he needed to keep quiet. They might still be under pursuit. With an affirmative nod, Venny quieted down. Perry offered him the knife and motioned toward the forest.

"You want a campfire?" asked Venny. "Why?" Perry poined down into the water, showing Venny the fish. "You're going to catch a fish, and cook it?" Perry nodded. "Do you know how to do that?" Perry shrugged.

Venny looked down at the knife. He saw how sharp it looked, and to be honest, it scared him. If he was careful, though, he could probably do something decent with it. He took the knife, being very careful not to cut himself, or his brother. That would be disastrous. 

He nodded. "You can count on me, Perry." He made his way into the woods, taking care to keep track of where he was going, so he could find his way back. There were plenty of trees, and he didn't know what to look for to make firewood. He decided that he didn't want to hurt the trees, so when he found something dead, he was happy with that. Using the backside of the knife, he sawed through a few branches, which he stacked off to the side. He even found a vine that he could pull down and use as rope. Tying the branches together, he dragged them back to the river. He ended up a fair way downstream from where he'd set out, but he was able to find Perry again and drag the branches to him.

While Venny had been sawing through branches, Perry had been working on catching the fish. He'd started by trying to grab them, but they slipped through his hooves too easily. He would have tried to spear them, but he'd given Venny the knife before he'd made one, so that was not an option at this juncture. After several attempts, the voice in his head had told him to trust his instincts, which meant fishing with his teeth. Perry was a bit skeptical, especially with the pain of a broken tooth, but it had worked. As he'd made his way out of the water, he glanced back at the waterfall. There was a small cave behind it; perhaps that would be a good place to rest.

When they came together, the brothers worked together to drag the dried branches into the opening. They only just fit through. The cavern was oddly dry for being behind a waterfall. There was a lot of cold moisture in the air, but that would soon change. First, they had to start their fire.

Venny had game camping with his father exactly once, but he'd asked lots of questions about  the campfire. He knew to start with small stuff and work up from there, and he knew that dry was better than green. He had no idea what that last part meant, as the subject changed immediately after. Still, he knew what small stuff was. He began breaking down the easier branches into kindling.

Perry began cutting the fish in half. A lot of the organs fell out; he just tossed those into the stream. A carnivorous fish would come along at some point and eat them. He didn't know that he was supposed to scale it, but he didn't much care for the skin, so that came off, as well, negating the need to do so. He didn't want to think about eating the head, either. Something about that just didn't feel right. It, too disappeared downriver.

He lit up the fire, and soon they had the two halves of the fish cooking over the top of it. This was the first time either of them had ever cooked anything, and even though it didn't taste very good and was full of bones, they were happy to have their bellies full. They went to bed early that night, sleeping on a bed of moss, lulled to dreamland by the dull roar of the waterfall.