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 Posted: Thu Apr 03, 2008 8:41 pm
Sentinels: HighFog, Songbloom, Sagebrush, Aspen (names don't fit)
These nests are built to be sturdy, and the surrounding trees are doing a good job of keeping the wind and rain out. Sadly they can't keep the roars of the Thunderbird out. To make matters worse the minder supervising this nest went off to search for a missing chick before he realised just how bad the storm was going to get. The fledglings are not sure where Twistumbler went or why he's not back with Nica already.
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Posted: Fri Apr 04, 2008 4:16 pm
Highfog was too young to have experienced such a violent storm. Of course, she recognized instantly the cracks of the smallest and driest branches, the leaves forming ever-changing weird shadows against a sky that was so dark already. She had seen lightning before, of course, and remembered faint roars coming from the metallic throat of the Thunderbird. It sounded so close, today.
A bit awkwardly, almost pushing the kids inside the nest, she shouted: “Get in there, kids! The Thunderbird is going to burn you if you don’t, you have to hide in there! Quick!” When the fledglings nice enough to obey her got in, she hopped in as well.
The Teacher couldn't help, in the nest, but feel bad for the lost girl. She barely knew her Minder, he just looked... very dyed, for lack of a better word. Was the young aberrant going to survive? If this Minder hadn't found her already, there was no way she would come back alive, Fog thought.
The oldest Sentinel in the tree had a hard time hiding she was worried. She counted once, then twice the fledglings around her. She had to make sure they were in safety, all of them, the same ones who were near her when the storm began. One, two, three fit fledglings... one, two, three safe fledglings .
Spreading slowly and carefully her wings, she tried to keep the young ones inside around her, to give them some warmth. Somehow, without having to actually teach anything to her students, she felt a sort of motherly instinct overwhelming her.
And fear.
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Posted: Fri Apr 04, 2008 5:31 pm
Songbloom didn't have to be told twice - threat of a singed tail by way of the Thunderbird was enough to have her clambering into the hollow, a shaking puff of feathers. Catch fluttered in after her, and she toddled towards her Minder's parus obediently. But once inside, the little Ghost couldn't keep from chattering. She turned expectant eyes on Highfog, pinning her with wide-eyed fear.
"Where's Pa Twist?" she shrilled. Her brow dimpled and her tufts quavered. All the while Catch hopped about the fledglings, crooning notes of consonance that came out as little more than anxious squawks of fear. At least he tried.
But Song couldn't help but rush through the hollow, fearful and bewildered. Twist was supposed to be back, he was supposed to be back, hewassupposedtobeback. If that silly aberrant girl had just stayed in place, Twist would be here and she would be safe and not scared and it probably would have neverrainedever! The Ghost fledgling was too frightened to even label what she felt as fear; all she knew is that she wanted her Pa Twist and she wanted him here now.
"Where is he! He was supposed to be back! Where is he!"
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Posted: Fri Apr 04, 2008 5:58 pm
The Thunderbird was scary, that was for sure. Whenever it made a noise, Sagebrush tried not to shake with fright. It wasn't as bad as it could be, though; he was out of the storm and in the safety of the nest. The only other thing that bothered him was that Twistumbler wasn't back yet. Earlier he had gone out searching for a lost fledgling and still had not returned. This made him, along with the other people in the nest, anxious for his arrival back.
"Did the Thunderbird eat Twistumbler while he was searchin' for Nica?"
It was a perfectly legitimate question. As the rain poured down from the heavens, Sagebrush couldn't help but look from Highfog, to Songbloom and then to his Chirop companion, Boxthorn. Boxthorn, despite not being a sentinel like the rest, seemed just afraid of the storm as they all were. Sagebrush extended a wing out, gave his companion a pat on the back and stared out of the entrance to the nest and into the forest. Was he scared of the Thunderbird, too?
"Don't worry, Boxthorn," the young fledgling told his friend, "if the Thunderbird is going to get you, it will have to go through me first."
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Posted: Sat Apr 05, 2008 3:29 am
Fog knew the fledglings would ask this kind of questions. She took a good breath, and answered with the most serene face she could manage right now: “I am sure Pa Twist is hiding somewhere with Nica. As long as they don’t get out, they will be safe. The Thunderbird won’t eat them; they are too smart to wander in plain sight.” At least, it was a plausible and comforting thought to her too. Songbloom found herself wrapped a bit more with fluffy grey wings.
But damn, this Parus was annoying. Losing very fast her temper, the teacher spat: “Keep quiet, you!” At least the Chirop was calm. Highfog turned to Sagebrush. “Boxthorn, right? Boxthorn can keep an eye on what is going on outside.” The suggestion was less cute in her mind: if something bad happened, anything, including falling trees, aggressive Sentinels, wild animals and Sky Fiends, it would happen to the Companion first. Better it than the kids.
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Posted: Sat Apr 05, 2008 3:45 am
A particularly strong gust of wind rattled the surrounding trees, and while nothing but the frightening noise reached the nest it was painfully obvious that a small companion venturing out there would fly to its death. Full grown Sentinels had difficulty flying in this kind of weather, and something smaller would run an ever greater risk of crashing or getting thrown off course by the wind.
(I'd appreciate if you would wait for Aspen before you move this rp forward too much. Since he's technically in the nest already you shouldn't play too much without him, ok? Another round of posts is ok, but not too much)
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Posted: Sat Apr 05, 2008 8:13 am
Aspen quickened with fright, making no show that he was frightened to death. His heart was pattering fast in his chest, beating like a caged parus in his ribcage that was beating around to be freed, only freezing when he heard that large thunderclap outside. Quivering, Aspen tried to bring his body closer to the warm body that he was trying hard to press as much as he could against. As much as he was in the wings of the Teacher, he didn’t feel as comforted. It felt like Thunderbird would fly right into their Enclave and gobble them all whole, or burn them to a crisp. Such images didn’t help his heart any.
It frightened him even more that the other Minder and Nica were gone. He didn’t know Nica, but he felt frightened to think how it was out in the storm. “Mama Fog. Will the tree break?” He was wondering if the tree would snap.
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Posted: Sat Apr 05, 2008 11:00 pm
Perhaps the dark Wildtype's interjection was a good thing. For a moment Song forgot her worries and woes and spun sharply on Sagebrush, her eyes ablaze with petulant, fledging-anger. She bristled in defense of her minder, tufts flattening against the curve of her skull.
"Thun'rbird would NEVER eat my Pa Twist! Why...why, I be' he beat tha' Thun'bird righ' up with a good ol' one-two! Pa Twist prolly gobbled him up!" There was a note of pride to that shrill voice of hers, but it was more panicked and anxious than boastful. The young Ghost quieted and stewed upon her own discontent, burrowing in Fog's proffered wing. This wasn't fair. It wasn't fair at all.
Catch trilled and was silenced by the minder's command, beetle-black eyes regarding her with a shine of fear. A cooing note left him a second before the gale rattled the trees; another squawk and he went skittering towards Song, his only reminder of his own Sentinel. The fledgling trembled and poked her head out, regarding Aspen in fright. The tree couldn't possibly break, could it?
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Posted: Sun Apr 06, 2008 7:11 am
The eyes of the wildtype fledgling widened once he heard Songbloom's shrill. He hadn't meant to make her upset; it was just a simple question. Sagebrush himself didn't even know for sure if Twistumbler got eaten. All he knew was that the Minder wasn't back yet. "I was just asking..." he found himself mumbling quietly. Not wanting to cause any more trouble, both Sagebrush and Boxthorn shrunk back to a corner of the cave so to not draw anymore attention to themselves.
Highfog's suggestion for Boxthorn to watch outside made Sage frown. Why did he have to watch what was going on outside? If you were to look at the two of them, it was clear that the young Chirop was more afraid of the storm going on outside than the fledgling. Frightened at the teacher's suggestion, Boxthorn shrunk to an even smaller size behind Sagebrush, trembling at the thought of having to look out.
"Boxthorn doesn't want to look outside," he noted. Sage's eyes then drifted over to Aspen, who was quivering next to the teacher. He was afraid, too. Well, they all were in their own right. Some didn't want the Thunderbird to get them. Others were afraid that the tree would break or that something had happened to Twistumbler. All for good reason, of course. Thinking about all of this, Sagebrush let out a soft sigh and peered out of the nest to look at the raging storm. He then took a moment to pause and speak mentally to himself: Oh, please stop raging soon, great Thunderbird. Everyone is scared, and it would just be best if it was over.
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Posted: Sun Apr 06, 2008 8:41 am
Fog apologized to Sage: she really was not fond of companions, but it was not a reason to upset a kid. "Alright, Boxthorn stays with us, then." If only there was a way to know how far away were the other Sentinels, or if trees had fallen down...
Replying to Aspen, and to other fledglings in general, she started a speech on trees: "This Minder's nest was chosen because, over anything else, it has a great solidity. Such trees aren't easily found, and are reserved to Minders taking care of hatchlings and fledglings. Given we are protected from the cold rain and wind, I'd say we are currently in one of the best tree around!"
Unsure about her own claim, she nonetheless added: "The other strongest tree being, of course, the one your Pa Twist would have chosen as a shelter." Yeah, right... better not think about the poor guy. She wished he was lucky enough to have found a good place to hide.
At least, having those fluffballs so close to her was comforting. She'd felt all warm and fuzzy inside when Aspen had called her Mama Fog! But... what more could she do?
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Posted: Sun Apr 06, 2008 9:16 pm
Aspen felt assured now. All it took was for the Minder to say something along the lines that things would be okay to make him belive, to it's fullest extent, that it was true. Minder's didn't lie. They cared. Still, he was perplexed over half the things that Fog said. Sol-id-ity? Forgetting the word, he concentrated on them being in the best place for the storm. This must have been the best tree in all of Noctua and he was here, the other tree, hopefully a sibling or child of this tree, had to be the second best, and he hoped that both Nica and Twist where nestled together, braving the storm with them. Well, not 'braving', as quivering like Aspen was wasn't brave at all. Still, be breathed deep, but failed to bring about the show of courage he was going for, quickly regressing back to shaking. How sad was he? He was a terrible Wildtype. He was bigger than some other Sentinels his age and yet he felt the smallest.
"That's good. I hope they are safe in the tree. I hope the Thunderbird doesn't see them. I hope the Thunderbird goes away soon. I don't like it here. It should go back home." He said to himself, partcially muffed under the wing of the Minder though shared to the fledglings who where tucked with him. He felt jelous of the others who had companions. They looked like they where safer with one, though the companions where racing back to the fledglings, Aspen thought against it. They where brave to comfort the companions. He couldn't even comfort himself, so it was good he didn't have one. Whichever companion he would have would have been frightened and he would just feel bad for not being of any help.
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Posted: Sun Apr 06, 2008 11:13 pm
She knew that if Twist had been there he would have reprimanded her thoroughly for snapping at the other fledgling. Song could hear him now, lecturing away in her head about manners and etiquette, especially something as uncalled for as an outburst in his defense. This castigating Twist in her head made her feel guilty, though she was hard pressed to offer an apology of any sort. He had insulted her minder, so he deserved a good feather-nibble or two. The only female fledgling nestled tightly against Fog's wing and side if only to keep herself from making unnecessary amends with Sage, even though she knew she should have.
"'Course he chose th'other strongest tree," she mumbled against Ma Fog. "Pa Twist know how'ta scope ou'the bestest." Turning her face, she glanced over at Aspen and was stricken with confused wonderment. He was much bigger than them - or her, at least - so why was he so scared? Song stared for a bit.
Catch, on the other hand, bustled around the group, whistling softly. He was wary of nearing with Highfog hogging all the fledglings, but he wanted in on it too! Spying Aspen, the little Parus nestled in close to him with a contented chirp. He may have been annoying as all get out, but the little companion had the uncanny ability to know when a bit of comforting contact was needed, even if he was terrified himself.
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Posted: Mon Apr 07, 2008 1:37 pm
Sagebrush listened to Songbloom go on about Twistumbler while she sat next to Ma Fog and gave Boxthorn a shrug. She was probably right. Twistumbler had to be safe. After all - he was the Minder. The wildtype fledgling remained silent for a few minutes, though, not wanting to Song mad again. If there was one thing he didn't like more than being alone, it was being yelled at.
"I just hope everything is over soon. I want the rain to stop, so I can go play with my friends," exclaimed Sage. His Chirop companion chattered in agreement. The two of them loved spending their days exploring the surrounding area, but the heavy rains and high winds had put a damper on that. "The Thunderbird should just go away. That way we can all be happy again instead of scared..."
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Posted: Tue Apr 08, 2008 9:54 am
"The Thunderbird will go away soon, I promise you" whispered Fog, unsure about her own claim. She didn't mind Catch coming closer however, as he stopped screaming. "I knew he would do this", she agreed with Song, believing a bit more in her wish.
She would take a quick look outside if she wasn't too scared to do so. Besides, the fluffy feather balls kept her from moving. At least, the teacher thought, everyone was warm and safe and...
Highfog's feathers puffed all of a sudden. Oh dear Noctus she was sure she heard a suspicious noise oh dear oh dear. Despite her paranoia, she tried to stay calm.
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Posted: Tue Apr 08, 2008 8:44 pm
Aspen felt surprised and excitable when he saw the little Parus rush to his side and nestle against him, sandwiching him between the parus and the Minder, Fog. It was a mixed emotion of feeling unsure of what to do and overwhelmed with a unexpected happiness as having the parus, of all of the other fledglings, seek him for support. Did he really look that brave? That strong? That…big? Perking with his new distraction, Aspen wasn’t about to let his appearance of such a mighty wildtype go without evidence, and brought his wing in an awkward way around the parus as he imitated what all the Minders did. It felt…rewarding. He wondered if this was what Liam, Fog, Medler, and Twist all felt when they protected someone from their fears. A quick kaboom of thunder cracking outside made this show stop and he quivered, curling his wings in and the parus with him in a tight embrace. Okay, so it was short lived. “It’s okay. Fog said it should stop. It’ll stop…It’ll stop.” Aspen whispered this chant. It had to stop.
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