Hermiel stared up toward the sky, foreclaws lightly flexing upon the ground. The clouds were threatening rain again. It had been raining all week. The lowlands were flooding, mudslides had already buried many and not all could be rescued in time. The others in the area looked to him for guidance, and he was doing his best, but it wasn't enough. He hadn't anticipated the amount of rainfall that had fallen, hadn't anticipated the mudslide. Those deaths were on his head as a result. His failure had cost lives, and though no one had come out and blamed him, he knew they were. Their hurt and accusing stares. As if he could control the weather!
His claws dug into the muddy ground, digging in and pulling up soil and roots. He needed to do better! He couldn't undo his mistakes, but he needed to do better from here. He was a tri-wing, their tri-wing! He had to do better!
Hermiel's chest tightened with the weight of responsibility. He felt the burden of their expectations and the heavy cost of his mistake. He shook off the mud from his claws, determined to find a way to mitigate the damage and prevent further tragedy.
Taking a deep breath, he rose to his full height and looked toward those even now attempting to dig free shelters and homes. How could he do less than them now? No. He had failed to protect them, so he could at least help them recover the lost.
Blessedly the rain was light this time, enough to soften the sun-hardened mud. Much to his shock and pleasure, more survivors were found in pockets where the mud had failed to fully penetrate. All was not lost!
They worked through the night and managed to rescue many stranded individuals and recover bodies and belongings. Exhausted, everyone moved themselves to higher ground, away from the mud.
As dawn broke, Hermiel stood among the weary but resilient survivors. The devastation was evident, but a glimmer of hope emerged from the collective effort to rebuild. The accusing stares had transformed into grateful, if still grieving, gazes. The tri-wing's commitment to rectifying his mistakes had not gone unnoticed.
Hermiel addressed the group, his voice steady but filled with remorse. "I cannot change the past, and for that, I am truly sorry. But together, we can forge a new future. We will rebuild, and we will learn from this tragedy. No one can control the weather, but we can control how we respond to it."
The survivors nodded in agreement, recognizing the sincerity in his words. They began the challenging task of rebuilding their lives, constructing shelters, and fortifying the area against future disasters. He led by example, working alongside them, and while he could see resentment remained still to a degree, that he was willing to work and suffer beside them helped to mitigate that.
Days turned into weeks, and the community slowly but steadily rose from the ruins. Hermiel organized efforts to implement early warning systems and emergency preparedness plans, ensuring that they would be better equipped to face whatever challenges nature might throw at them in the future.
But the rains that had left for a time, soon returned with a vengeance. What had once caused a mudslide turned into a newborn river, a raging torrent that claimed the entire valley. This time at least no one had been in the lowland when the water had struck, and but could do naught but watch as whatever remained was claimed. It was decided then; no one would move back there. Not unless they could find a way to prevent water from claiming the area again. But first they had to wait for the water to subside so they could begin to rebuild. This was truly going to test them to their limits, for though there were temporary and more permanent shelters still, much of their food was gone, their storage lost to the flood. But surely this wouldn't go on for much longer?
Optimism faded quickly however, for even as the rains moved on from their home, it still fell upstream. Their new river continued to rise, and they were forced to retreat further and further away. Disheartened and disillusioned. Tired and hungry, Hermiel finally made the decision to migrate. They would find new land, new territory and perhaps when the rains finally abated, they could attempt a return. The river was surely not going anywhere, but once it calmed perhaps it would prove a stable new water source. Maybe it would bring rich soil with it for planting.
But that was something for later. For now they had to retreat and find a new home. Hermiel was determined to return one day, and hoped it would be soon, but those who looked to him for protection needed to come first, and he had no way of knowing how much higher the river would rise.
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