Rosebloom was following in her parents' footsteps. The young belemoid was full of spirit and often mischief. Her best friend Aria came along for a lot of her schemes, and together the youngsters hid bugs in friends' beds, painted silly faces on the ceiling above their bunks, and explored every small cranny they could find.

It was a beautiful day in Rekes, the kind where the light hit the crystals just so and the rocks looked ripe for climbing, and Rosebloom had discovered a small cave close to the main path that hadn't yet been mapped and marked by the colony. It's possible they simply hadn't gotten to it yet, or it could have been too small for the adults to want to bother with. Either way, it seemed ripe for an adventure and Rosebloom and Aria spent an afternoon doing some amateur spelunking. The cave wasn't very big or wild, two branching paths and not too much in terms of challenging climbs or crawls. There weren't even any cramped spaces they were in danger of being stuck, which was a minor miracle in itself, so the girls spent some time debating its usefulness as a clubhouse.

It was on the way out of the cave that they ran into a problem, ironically enough. Aria hit a loose patch of stone that she hadn't expected, and her rear leg twisted under her as she slid backward and fell awkwardly down the minor slope. A freak accident and a wrong landing. She squeaked in pain as she hit the dirt. Rosebloom came running, asking if her friend was all right.

Aria tried carefully to get to her feet, but immediately fell back down. "I hope it's just a bad sprain, but I can't move that leg at all," she panted. "And it hurts to put any weight on it."

Rosebloom helped her get to a more comfortable position, and looked at the leg as best she could to see if there were any obvious injuries. "You aren't bleeding," she reassured Aria," but it seems pretty swollen already. I don't know a lot about this kind of stuff, but it doesn't look very comfortable... I don't think you should move it. I better go back to the colony and get someone to carry you home!"

Aria nodded, not looking forward to lying in the dirt with only the pain to keep her company, but knowing there wasn't much other option. Rosebloom took off at top speed, hoping she could find Taiah, who was their doctor, or Blip, who usually knew what to do. Or even Rashi, who was practical and strong enough to carry Aria home without much trouble.

About halfway up the trail, she nearly ran over Remiel as she rounded a corner of the path. They both cried out as they narrowly avoided colliding, and then overcompensated and landed on their rumps anyway.

"Yikes! I was looking for you," the tsabhua said as he shook himself off. "You and Aria didn't show up at midday check in... where IS Aria, anyway?"

"We were on our way back but she slipped and fell!" Rosebloom said urgently. "Her leg is real hurt. We don't know if it's sprained or broken, or maybe even discombobulated!"

"Dislocated?" Remiel asked.

"Yeah that!" she nodded. "She's not bleeding but the leg is real swollen. I came to get someone to carry her back."

"Well, like half the adults are out looking for you two," Remiel explained. "I think it might take a while to find someone. Maybe you and me better get her home, if we both help I bet we can do it. Then Taiah can look at it sooner."

"Do you think we can carry her between us without hurting her leg more?" Rosebloom asked.

Remiel thought for a moment. "I know! We'll make a little mat, like a raft, with a towel and some rope. If we tie it real good to a stick it should distribute the weight a bit and we can drag her."

"Okay," Rosebloom agreed.

Remiel pulled the supplies out of his pack and the two children raced to where their friend lay, wincing but doing her best to be brave. In a matter of minutes they'd rigged up the towel and helped the young tarkee limp onto it. They were able to pull her with relative ease, though of course the rough ground wasn't all that comfortable to be dragged along. Aria locked her beak shut and bore through the best she could, barely making a sound as her friends tried to navigate along the smoothest areas of the rock path for her. It was an agonizing journey for everyone.

Once back they went and got their doctor straightaway, who was able to determine it was a tiny crack in the leg bone. Cleaned, splinted, and given painkillers, Aria felt a lot better. Blip doled out hard candies as a reward for bravery and quick thinking.