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 Posted: Thu Apr 03, 2008 8:24 pm
Osprey, Bumblebee, Dodger, Hawthorn - Names won't fit on top
Granny’s biggest classroom is a neatly carved hollow in the biggest tree in her territory. It’s too big to offer any real warmth unless it’s packed with bodies, but it is a safe enough place to wait out the storm. The unlucky Sentinels stuck in here will just have to huddle together for warmth and keep away from the opening.
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Posted: Fri Apr 04, 2008 5:15 pm
Osprey waddled anxiously about the center of the classroom, but otherwise struggled to keep from showing her fear.
She had wanted to go to classes for some time now, but she had not expected this at all and she wanted to be back with Twistumbler more than ever. Gone were her wants to be adventurous. The little female mist had never lived through such a storm and she was quaking. She feared the other sentinels picking on her, however, if she displayed her emotions.
Her "sister" and she did not get along at all. Often times the older fledgling, Songbloom, would pick on her. Or vice versa, the situation depended on it.
A clap of thunder sent the little fledgling into a crouching position. Her feathers and eartufts pressed tight against her frame and she gave a muffled peep of fear.
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Posted: Fri Apr 04, 2008 6:08 pm
Somehow, in all the noise and confusion when the storm first hit, the aberrant has been separated from her teacher. Buffeted by the winds and swept from what she'd thought was a stable perch, Dodger is more than a little bit dazed and off-balance thanks to a decent crack to her feathered head. It's a good thing that Dodger has been getting lots of practice flying and maneuvering in her lessons with Hawthorn, since she's having to put every ounce of skill she has into her last, desperate, storm-drenched flight towards the only shelter she can see.
She lands without grace in a tangled, soggy heap. A convenient crack of lightning illuminates her bright white patches and lends them an almost unearthly glow for a brief moment, and then the Thunderbird cracks his wings almost directly overhead - startled, she skitters blindly away from the entrance without any care for who (or what) she might bump into on her way towards safety.
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Posted: Fri Apr 04, 2008 7:06 pm
Unfortunately for both Dodger and Osprey, the little mist sentinel was directly in her path.
The already frightened fledgling gave a small, short, and terrified squawk as the patchy Dodger hurried into the entrance of the classroom. She floundered backwards and beat her wings furiously to right herself on her paws and her golden eyes were wide with fear and her little heart pounded furiously. Once she settled, she tried to speak, but her words were jumbled as she tried to think, speak, and breath all at once.
"Oh! Okay! You... Sorry, inna way... Th' storm! Y'okay?" She peered closely at Dodger and gave a small peep of alarm. She had never seen anything that looked quite like the patchy aberrant and was thoroughly confused.
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Posted: Fri Apr 04, 2008 8:21 pm
"Fffff.. hff, hffFFFT!!" She sputters, shaking her head and wings and.. well, pretty much every part of her patchy little body in a (somewhat pointless) effort to dry off. Her sodden feathers continue to drip as she staggers about, bumping into anything or anyone nearby, bleary-eyed and clearly confused. "Whu- wuzza. Wheresat? Hawth'rn? Whoza.. wuh." Aaaand she's down, plopping firmly on her feathery butt in the small puddle that's been collecting around her. It takes a moment for Dodger to realize that she's sitting down, and at first she seems inclined to get up and keep moving.. but then her swimming head (and another crack of thunder) convince her to stay put for now.
"Huh?" Brilliant blue eyes blink up at Osprey, her head tilted to the side.
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Posted: Fri Apr 04, 2008 8:30 pm
Osprey watched the patchy fledgling from a bit of a distance. Or rather, as much distance as she could without scooting her rear out of the entrance of the classroom.
She was crouching again and was unsure if she should approach the strange creature. She opened her beak to ask a rather blunt question, but thought the better of it and tried to remember what manners Twistumbler had taught her.
Instead, she chose to ask a different question. "'Re y'alright?" She hesitantly inched a step closer and tried not to stare. Her biggest concern was that the aberrant might of been sick, but she did not voice those thoughts just yet.
Another flap of the Thunderbird's wings made her shudder again.
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Posted: Fri Apr 04, 2008 8:38 pm
 Bumblebee had been huddling close to the wall of the hollow tree, not knowing any of the other young Sentinels there and being too shy to approach them. She jumped a little and tucked her head farther into her wings with every thunder crash and lightning strike. But she looked up when quite a different sort of crash came to her ears - the crash of one fledgling flying straight into another, and then a squawking and a flapping of wings. Bee began to edge closer to the other two fledglings as the one crashed into began to apologize. She didn't want to interrupt their sorting out of the crash, but perhaps she might try to make some friends after they were done. It looked like they'd all be here together for a while, after all....
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Posted: Fri Apr 04, 2008 9:08 pm
"I... uh. Yeah?" Comes the hesitant reply, as the dizzy fledgling tries to take stock of the situation. Let's see... wings and feet where they're supposed to be: check! Feathers mostly intact: check! No major bumps or scrapes: not-so-check. Annoyed and more than a little bit worried, Dodger drags herself to her feet despite the pounding in her head and the wobble in her legs. "S'ere any adults here?" She slurs faintly, looking about the enclosed space. Her movements are very deliberate and slow, and it almost looks like she might fall over at any moment - maybe she is sick. All those strange bleached-white feathers, after all.. could be a sign of some horrible disease.
It's really, really tempting to freak out when she doesn't see Hawthorn there. But Dodger's become quite adept at hiding that sort of thing, so she works on composing herself as best she can before she takes another look around to see the Mist she'd collided with and a Wildtype over by the wall there.. and it looks like they're in a classroom. Three fledglings, herself easily the oldest of the lot, and no adults. And the storm is still raging.
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Posted: Sat Apr 05, 2008 11:28 am
"N-n-no." Osprey replied as she hesitatnly inched towards the wildtype, making a bit of an arch around the dazed and patchy sentinel. At her slurred speech and deliberate movements Osprey's fears seemed to be confirmed. Once she found herself positioned near Bumblebee, she crouched down again and whispered.
"Stick nex'tme, h'okay?"
Her eyes were still trained on Dodger as she sized the ill fledgling up.
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Posted: Sat Apr 05, 2008 7:41 pm
Bumblebee nodded silently and crouched alongside the Mist fledgling, watching the patchy one with concern. She didn't look quite all right -- perhaps she'd managed to hit her head in the tumble.
"Is she all right?" Bee quietly asked the fledgling beside her. "Is she hurt? Should we -- should we try to help?"
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Posted: Sat Apr 05, 2008 7:57 pm
"Oh," she replies absently, head tilting slowly to the side. She remains thus, wobbling just a little bit in place, while the other two huddle close to each other and whisper. "Kin hear you, y'know. S'nothing wrong with my hears... uh. Ears." And then she suddenly turns her head towards the other fledglings, pinning them with her bright blue gaze - before she slowly tilts her head to the side, again. "S'good. Stay together.. warmer together. Gonna get colder before it gets better."
With short, shambling steps the patchy aberrant staggers towards the entrance to the classroom. The driving wind pushes her back a few times and threatens to knock the still-unsteady fledgling off her feet, but she struggles gamely towards the outside. "Hawthorn!" she calls out, her voice torn away by a particularly strong gust.
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Posted: Sat Apr 05, 2008 8:39 pm
"Oh..." Osprey pressed tightly against Bumblebee and gazed up at Dodger with something mixed with fear and curiosity.
She tipped her beak back towards Bumblebee and lowered her voice sharply. "I don't know... I think she migh' be sick... What with... I mean, her feathers are awefully funny. I ain't seen nothin' like it, afore."
She gulped quietly before raising her voice yet again. "Migh' wanna stay 'way from th' entrance, y'might get hurt..."
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Posted: Sat Apr 05, 2008 9:08 pm
Bumblebee frowned thoughtfully at the Mist fledgling's comment about the Aberrant's feathers. "You mean the colour? I don't think that's anything bad, just... different. Kind of pretty, actually..." She trailed off, for a moment absorbed in gazing at the Aberrant's plumage.
But Bee's eyes grew wide in alarm as the Aberrant ventured close - too close - to the entrance. "Oh, be careful!" She struggled to her feet, talons tangling for a moment and threatening to trip her up before she sorted them out. Once up, she couldn't decide whether to approach the teetering fledgling or not, and settled for hopping anxiously from one foot to the other. "Be careful!" she called again to the other fledgling, and then, after a moment of brow-furrowing, "Who's Hawthorn?"
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Posted: Sat Apr 05, 2008 10:19 pm
Dodger called out a few more times for Hawthorn, pausing after each attempt to frown out at the storm and try to peer past the sheeting rain. If he's out there... well, he'll be fine! Besides, she can't worry about him right now, there are younger fledglings in here with her and if he was here he'd make sure they were safe and as comfortable as possible.
"Don't worry 'bout me, I'm okay," she begins, wobbling away from the entrance. The aberrant is still a bit unsteady on her feet, but she's compensating as best she can for her lingering dizziness. She's also coming closer to the pair, moving slowly while she scans the classroom. "S'there anything here we can use to block the entrance? Cold out, gonna get colder.. I think I even saw some snow mixed in with th'rain, there. Who're you guys? I'm Dodger, an' Hawthorn is my teacher! Best teacher in the whole of Noctua, he's way smart and tough. I watched him ride a Waral to death, one time."
The words tumble readily from her beak as the piebald fledgling settles into her self-appointed role, and her eyes brighten when she spies a likely plank of wood. "There! We should jam that in the doorway, to cut some of the wind. Then we can go... over there!" And she points to the corner furthest from the door, with one irregularly-coloured wing. "An' we can huddle together, for warmth until the storm ends. Anyone have a companion here so's we have a snack if we get hungry?"
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Posted: Sat Apr 05, 2008 10:43 pm
"Nuh-uh... I dun't. I ain't asked Papa Twist fer if I can has one yet." Osprey replied warily. The white was sort of pretty. She took pride in her own light plummage, but the patches on Dodger were so... Pristine.
"I'm... Uh, Ossie. I 'aven't met Hawth'rn yet... But I am lookin' fer a teacher. Papa Twist said I could start lessons, soon." She waddled towards the wood plank that Dodger had motioned towards and peered down at it with some concern. She tried to nudge it with her beak, but it felt rather heavy for her. "In fron' the entrance, y'say?"
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