Eye daisies (Scientific Name: Oculus Bellis) were only known to grow in the appropriately named “eye daisy meadow”, which was located 5-ish miles to the east of Woeridge. Though attempts had been made in the past to grow them outside of the meadow, none had been successful. Even when the flower was transplanted with the soil it was originally growing in, given water with the exact same properties as the waterfall next to the meadow, and put in the exact same conditions that were in the meadow, the flowers would just... die. Shrivel up as though they were a fish out of water. As a result, this meant that if someone needed eye daisies for anything, they would have to travel to the meadow using the well-worn dirt trails of Woeridge.

Thankfully it wasn’t monsoon or fire season, so the weather in the meadow was of moderate temperatures and mostly sunny skies. The cool breeze rolled off the surrounding mountains, making the flowers and the leaves of trees sway. It was relatively quiet, save for the rushing of the waterfall and bubbling of the river that meandered from it. 

Eggie, Mark, and Reraik were sat in a circle in the part of the meadow furthest from the trail entrance. With the former two focusing on the latter as the five-eyed young man carefully inspected an eye daisy with a hazel iris, measuring it with his thumb before reaching into his bag and pulling out a white-handled herb knife. Reraik double checked his measurements, then, with practiced ease, cut the stem of the flower at an angle. The eye of the flower grew for a moment, then shrinked back to its normal size as it rolled a few times. Eventually, the eye stopped moving, resuming its natural position of staring straight ahead. 

The green-eyed man hummed, speaking in a tongue that was foreign to the ears of his two companions briefly before turning his attention to Mark. The younger man was fiddling with a blade of grass, seemingly zoning out as his screen slowly faded into a bouncing blue DVD logo.

“Hey, uh, Mark? Could you do the uh, thing?” Reraik asked.

“What?” Mark asked, snapping his attention up to the older male as his eyes popped back on his screen.

“You know, the thing? I forgot my basket so could you… you know.”

Mark’s eyes narrowed, knitting together in confusion as he stared at Reraik. 

“The… thing… thing… basket…” The monitor quietly repeated to himself, eyes darting around rapidly, “Thing... basket…”

A little exclamation point popped up on the monitors screen briefly, and he quickly straightened. Mark put his hands out in front of him, powering down his screen as he went into what Eggie had nicknamed Mark’s “Focus Mode”. The monitor took a deep breath, held it, then violently ejected a decent amount viscous liquid from his screen with an appearance similar to TV static into his palms. Mark shook, heaving as the blob in his hands squirmed while a few drops of the liquid dribbled down his monitor. The blob buzzed, trying and failing to take a more distinguished form. A little basket icon appeared on Mark’s screen, and the blob in his hands slowly took on a shape vaguely similar to the icon.

Suddenly, the blob took on a solid, slightly glowing dark blue color that quickly began to cycle between reds, pinks, greens, and yellows before becoming enveloped in a bright ball of white light. Mark let out a soft mechanical “ding” sound as the light died, leaving a decently sized brown wicker basket in his palms with little glittery stars surrounding it.

“I will never get sick of watching you do that.” Reraik mumbled as Mark handed the basket over. The monitor’s face returned to its usual look, and he raised a metaphorical brow at Reraik. The green-eyed man shrugged, and gently put the cut eye daisy in the basket.

“So this is it? We’re just... cutting flowers?” Eggie asked, eyes narrowing, “You said this was going to be difficult.”

Reraik shot the cat a look of slight annoyance, then sighed, “Cutting them is the simple part. Finding them is the difficult one.” Reraik paused, then perked up as an idea came to mind. 

Reraik looked around, then, with the same care he used to cut the first flower, proceeded to cut two more flowers after briefly inspecting them. He sighed, then held the two flowers out to his friends, one in each palm.

“Tell me the difference between these two eye daisies.” Reraik asked, staring patiently at his cohorts, who both leaned in to inspect the flowers.

The two flowers were nearly identical. Both had white petals, rich green stems and leaves, yet when it came to their actual eyes…

“The one on the right is blind.” Mark said, continuing to stare at the two flowers.

“Yes. And that means…?” Reraik asked, trailing off as he waited for an answer.

Eggie let out a little “ah” sound, looking up at Reraik, “The one on the right is a mock!”

Reraik nodded, slumping his shoulders slightly, “Yes, and a mock-”

“-Lacks the medicinal properties of an Eye Daisy despite having a nearly identical appearance and is potentially poisonous.” The cat finished for him. The eldest of the group nodded once again.

“Precisely. Which is why this task is more difficult than just “cutting flowers” as you put it. We need to make sure we’re cutting actual eye daisies and not mocks” Reraik said, setting aside the mock on the ground and placing the true eye daisy in the basket, “You need to pay attention to detail when it comes to these things, Eggitha.”

Eggie bristled, “I do pay attention!” She retorted, her tone sharp and defensive, “You just made it sound… simple.” Reraik rolled his eyes at that, then began to inspect another flower. The cat shook her head, “Anyways, wouldn’t it be more, y'know, efficient if we were all hunting for these? It took us an hour to get here, and we only have two hours to search before we need to start heading back.”

Reraik hummed, slicing another flower and setting it in the basket with the others, “You have a point. But I only have two knives-”

“I can carry the basket while you and Mark cut the flowers!” The cat quickly interrupted, “Kinda like a relay race- except I’m the only one running around.”

Reraik raised a brow, then shot said monitor a questioning look. Mark glanced up and shrugged, “I’m fine with that.”

The next hour and a half was full of Mark and Reraik cutting flowers on opposite sides of the meadow, with Eggie running between the two of them every time one of them found and cut a new eye daisy for the order. Unfortunately, it was slightly too early in the season for eye daisies to be in full bloom, which meant that the group had to be thorough in their search of the meadow. Or at least Mark and Reraik had to be, as they were the ones actually inspecting the flowers and cutting them. Eggie, while waiting, had been intensely observing a white walking leaf that had found its way onto a mock and the other various insects roaming around. 

Eventually the trio regrouped, deciding to sit on a flower-free slope that overlooked the meadow in a semi-circle. Each of them had decided to pull out their drinks and a snack or two from Reraik’s satchel to refuel. With Eggie picking the salmon snack cubes and can of sweet tea, Mark picking the chocolate milk and apple puffs, and with Reraik deciding on the orange slices and water. Reraik, however, unlike his companions who were mostly resting, was focused on the basket of eye daisies more than he was on his treats from Beeboh.

“41… 42… 43… 44…” Reraik muttered for what must had been the tenth time, “Damnit, we’re still one short.”

“How the hell are we one short?” Eggie asked, narrowing her eyes in confusion as she looked over at Reraik, “It’s been nearly an hour and a half and we’ve combed through the whole meadow.”

Reraik pinched the bridge of what was most likely supposed his nose and shut his eyes with a sigh, “I don’t know. Hell, I don’t even know where we’d even look for more.”

Mark, who had seemingly been zoning out during the whole interaction as he slowly ate his apple puffs, moved his distant gaze to the meadow’s waterfall. It was 30 feet tall, as it was wide. It’s crystal blue waters rushed down into the river below from the little three walled meadow above. An idea suddenly popped into the monitor’s head.

“What if we went up there?” Mark asked, turning his attention back to the group while he jabbed a thumb back at the waterfall, “I mean, there could be another eye daisy up there since it is technically part of the meadow.”

Reraik cracked his eyes open, zeroing in his gaze at the waterfall, “I… Suppose it is. But the real question is how the hell we’d get up there.”

“Welllll…” Mark trailed off, looking at Eggie in an almost expectant manner. 

Reraik followed Mark’s gaze, his hand falling slightly further down his face as he gave a sort of confused look. Eggie, who had resumed sipping her drink, shot the duo a look of confusion.

“What?”

“You can climb, right?” 

“Excuse me?” The cat asked, seemingly taken aback.

“Cause’ you’re the lookout. You have to know how to free solo climb, right?” Mark repeated.

“I mean, yeah? But I don’t see how…” Eggie trailed off, slowly realizing what Mark was getting at. Her eyes narrowed at the monitor, “You’re kidding.”

Mark shook his head, his screen taking on a look of amusement, “I’m not.”

Eggie scowled, her ears pinning back while her claws shot out, scratching her can of iced tea, “I am NOT going to climb up there, Screenboy.”

Mark’s amused look only grew into the monitor’s equivalent of a shit eating grin, “C’mon Eggie, you’re the most qualified here to go up there. I’ll just fall and Reraik will hurt himself.”

“No I-” Reraik started.

Eggie let out a groan of annoyance, “Listen, I’m more than willing to comb through the whole meadow again but I won’t-”

“I’ll buy you a case of Mr. Taiyaki’s Rich Boy Chocolate Taiyaki if you go up there the moment we get home.” Mark interrupted, then quickly added, “Please?”

Eggie fell silent, staring at the monitor with an incredulous, yet simultaneously suspicious look. It… honestly wasn’t that bad of an offer. Eggie loved Mr. Taiyaki’s Rich Boy Chocolate Taiyaki, but a whole case? That’d wreck her system for at least a week! And Eggie sure as hell wasn’t about to test if her teenage metabolism was still kicking in her 20s.

“...Buy me one every Friday instead.” The cat eventually said.

“So you’ll go up?” Reraik asked, raising a brow.

Eggie rolled her eyes, “Only if blue screen over here keeps his word.”

Mark raised his hands, his finger tips pointing to the sky with his palms facing the cat, “Swearsies. Promise.”

The trio quickly got up, grabbing their stuff and heading to the right side of the cliff next to the waterfall. Eggie sighed, handing Reraik her snacks so she could adjust her scarf. The green-eyed man hummed, fiddling with his fingers nervously after putting the items away.

“Now remember, cut the stem at a slight angle 2 inches from the bottom. Any less and it can’t be used.” Reraik said, chewing the inside of his cheek.

“Cut 2 inches from bottom at angle, no less. Got it.” Eggie said, flexing her paws as she scanned the cliff side, making notes of which parts seemed easiest to get a foothold in.

“And make sure to-”

“-not squish it in my scarf pockets.” Eggie said, obviously impatient as she began to stretch, “Got it.”

“And-” Reraik started again.

“Reraik I-” The cat began, whirring around to face the green eyed man with an annoyed look, only to be met with a relatively soft one.

“Be careful.” He finished, sagging his shoulders, “And PLEASE try not to do anything stupid, yeah?”

Eggie’s expression faltered, her ears pinning back as she quickly looked down and away in embarrassment, “Yeah… sure… will do Reraik.”

Reraik and Mark let out a sigh of relief as Eggie quickly made her way over to the cliff-side, watching as she bounced a few times before hopping up, latching into the dirt wall with practiced ease. The cat looked up, taking a deep breath before quickly climbing the rest of the way up and rolling onto the top in record time (without totally slipping briefly down the wall which totally didn’t make either man below nearly scream). The cat let out a loud, half-exhausted sigh as she took a moment to catch her breath.

“You good Eggs?” Mark called from down below, tilting his head as his screen took on a worried look. Eggie peaked over the edge, digging her claws into the grass to steady herself.

“Y-Yeah…” The cat panted out, giving a shaky thumbs up to the two men below, “I’ll be back down soon!”

This smaller part of the meadow was divided in half by the upper part of the waterfall, which trickled out of a small cave in the northern corner. The ground vegetation was dense, and old, giant Woeridgian oaks towered and provided shade with their bowing trunks and leaves. Eggie frowned, desperately trying to see if she could spot anything daisy-like at first glance, but ultimately failed. 

“Guess we’re doing this the ol’ fashion way then.” Eggie mumbled to herself, sighing heavily as she got back onto her feet.

The cat got to work exploring the upper meadow for an Eye Daisy. She pushed aside the waist-deep grasses she found herself in, scanning each and every spot she had access to. Eggie pushed aside fallen branches, checked behind every rock and inside every (reasonably safe) looking bush she came across. Yet she couldn’t spot a single Eye Daisy. Or at least not until she found herself standing atop a fallen log that acted as the perfect little pseudo bridge for the river, scanning the other half of the meadow for the flower- almost missing a small speck of white in a shadier, slightly less overgrown part of the meadow in the back near a vine covered alcove.

Eggie did a double take, eyes widening to the size of saucers as she registered the flower. The cat did a silent fist pump, then quickly, yet carefully navigated her way over to it with a grin. 

“Please be an Eye Daisy. Please be an Eye Daisy. Please please PLEASE be an Eye Daisy…” Eggie whispered to herself, kneeling down in front of the flower and inspecting it with heavy scrutiny, “White petals, green leaves and stem… And…” The cat carefully turned the flower, zeroing in on the pistil, “...And a pretty electric blue iris and normal black pupil for the pistil!”

Eggie couldn’t help but do a little happy dance as she carefully measured the flower’s stem, ensuring she was 2 inches down on the stem before pulling out her orange-handled Swiss army knife from her scarf and flicking it open. The cat hesitated briefly as she angled the knife, taking a moment to remeasure before steading the flower. She took a deep breath, then slowly released it as she sliced through the stem of the eye daisy at an angle.

The cat watched as the eye of the flower grew for a moment, then shrinked back to its normal size as it rolled a few times before stopping, resuming its natural position of staring straight ahead as it laid in her palm.

“Whew.” Eggie said, flicking her blade closed and placing it back in its pocket in her scarf, “That was easy.”

A sudden hissing sound behind her made Eggie jolt up, her ears standing straight up and her eyes growing wide. The cat bit her lip, and slowly looked behind her.

There, in all its 2 foot tall glory, stood a clearly pissed Woeridgian Bearded Goose. It black wings were spread out to the sides, it’s red and yellow eyes focused on the cat as it reared its white feathered head and body back. 

“Uh… n-nice Goose?” Eggie offered, grinning nervously.

“What’s taking her so long? Surely the upper meadow isn’t that big, right? No… It couldn’t be.” Reraik asked, more to himself than Mark as he stared up at where Eggie had gone. The monitor-headed man glanced over at him, sighing as he glanced at his phone to check the time.

“We have another couple of minutes before we have to head back. Be patient.” Mark said, swaying side to side as he held the basket, “It’s not like she’s-”

Mark was interrupted by a shrill scream from above, mixed with aggressive honks and hisses. Both men jumped, snapping their attentions to the upper meadow with panicked looks on their faces.

“EGGIE!” They shouted in unison, eyes wide.

“ONE OF YOU GET READY TO CATCH ME-” The cat screamed, not giving either man a chance to react before she jumped off the cliff side with a yelp, her fur bristled and her teeth clenched.

The boys panicked, both dropping everything in their hands and rushing to catch the cat as she fell through the air and continued to scream. Reraik quickly lifted his hands up, stumbling as he tried to steady himself right below where Eggie would fall. Mark mirrored him, settling himself in front of the green eyes man and also outstretching his palms to the sky. Unfortunately, though both men had gotten their positioning right and Eggie fell straight into their arms, the height and speed of her fall send the three of them crashing to the ground dizzy eyed.

The group let out a collective groan of pain, panting hard as they attempted to catch their breaths in their little pile. Reraik was the first to recover. 

“You… ok… Eggs?” He asked in between light gasps.

Eggie let out a squeaky noise, shakily holding up the unharmed Eye Daisy in her left hand, “I… got… the thing.”

The two stared at each other as Mark finally (partially) recovered, and Reraik couldn’t help but let out a snort. 

“What?” Eggie asked, eyes narrowing.

Reraik gently set the cat down, then quickly covered his mouth, shutting his eyes as his shoulders began to shake. The monitor moved his attention to Eggie, glancing between her, Reraik, and the Eye Daisy in her palm. Then slowly began to chuckle himself.

“What’s so funny?” Eggie asked, staring at the two men in confusion.

Reraik and Mark shared a look, then burst out laughing, unable to hold themselves back any longer. Eggie’s ears pinned back in annoyance, and she quickly pushed out of their holds. In all honest, neither man really understood why they were laughing about their friend’s response. Maybe it was the delivery of her words, or the slight absurdity of the situation as a whole, or maybe it was the fact that the honking above had stopped the moment Eggie had jumped off the upper meadow’s ledge. 

“I’m- We’re sorry it’s just-” Mark tried to say between laughs as Reraik harshly bit down on one of his knuckles in an attempt to silence himself.

The group was interrupted by a very loud, clearly annoyed honk from above, forcing their attention back up to the cliff. The bearded goose flapped its wings aggressively, hissing as it stalked from side to side, it’s gaze never leaving the trio below. The group tensed, eyes widening in fear.

“Uh-Oh.” They said in unison.

The Bearded Goose jumped down.

And the group screamed.