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 Posted: Tue Apr 22, 2008 8:03 pm
The final end to the Thunderbird's rampage left a wake of debris, death, and destruction. There seemed to be an uneasy silence as the sky cleared and the last of the rain clung to the standing limbs and leaves. Creatures large and small were peeking out of their hideaways with a bewildered cautiousness.
Twilla's icy blue eyes were peering upwards, towards the canopy. The sky was not easily visible from where she and the missing fledgling sat, but she could easily tell that the night sky was void of the once threatening clouds.
She was cold and wet. Chilling talons pierced her weary bones and her sodden feathers where in much need of a preening, but her main worry was for little Nica, whom she had held close to her thoughout the spectacular and devastating end of the Thunderbird's storm. She was already crouched and pressed as close to the fledgling as she could possibly be, so she backed away slightly, giving herself an easier access to the little one, whom she promptly began to preen.
Sly had flown off and she did not blame him. She was glad to be rid of him, but at the same time was relieved that he had been with herself and the fledgling, for it was he who had been behind Nica and helped bring her to safety.
"It's all over, now, little one..." She murmured quietly between feathers. It was an obvious statement, but she was exhausted with worry and could think of nothing else to say at the moment.
Tikki and Auze both stirred in her partially empty pack. The painted companions had been curled about eachother, keeping eachother warm. They were just as soaked as their master and went about grooming themselves.
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Posted: Tue Apr 22, 2008 8:52 pm
Nica shuffled slightly as the Gatherer moved, attempting to make herself somewhat useful. As she was preened, she fluffed up slightly, noticing Twilla's far from ideal state. Having the Mist's trait of the thick down layer, the hatchling had managed to avoid much of the cold. None-the-less, the rain had dampened much of her feathers, and the preening seemed much appreciated.
At least that Shadow is gone… slightly optimistic words echoed in her head. Nica wasn't sure how much longer that could have gone on before something broke out. More than once, she came to question which was worse; the storm outside, or the storm that had been brewing inside.
"I…" The aberrant cheeped shyly, looking up at the shadow. "I really…need to find my minder Twilla…" Her words faltered slightly as she looked up. "He…he's gonna be looking for me…"
He head shifted slightly to her own companion, who in the commotion had been shoved between her and the trunk. Shade cheeped once in recognition of the glance, before wiggling forward in a semi-demand for her own preening.
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Posted: Tue Apr 22, 2008 9:00 pm
"Don't you worry... We'll find him." She replied as she methodically preened the little lost fledgling. Despite her weariness, finding her minder would come first, followed by gathering as much food as possible. While Twilla had never seen a storm quite so large and powerful as this one, she knew what would be expected of her.
"Do you remember which way you came from?" Twilla asked quietly, though she expected Nica to be disorientated from the storm and their search for shelters. She was probably at the Minder's Enclave, which wasn't too terribly far, though they would have to wing a ways.
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Posted: Tue Apr 22, 2008 9:22 pm
Tiny black and white eartuffs lifted slightly in hope at the Gatherer's words. She seemed to cling to every word of hope, and with the little encouragement, the aberrant regained some of her posture.
"I…." She paused, trying to remember. It was in the Minder's Enclave…it had to have been. Yes, Nica shuttered slightly as she remembered back on the situation. "It…it was the Minder's Enclave." She peeped, suddenly dreading a return.
Despite the horror of being lost, caught in a storm, and picked apart by Sly, the young one seemed hesitant to leave. It was refreshing to meet Sentinels like Twilla. Sentinels that could look past her mix of colours, and see just another fledgling.
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Posted: Wed Apr 23, 2008 10:33 am
"Well, then! The Minder's Enclave isn't too far from here. I bet your minder is worried sick! I would be, if I had a missing little one." Twilla chimed as cheerfully as she could manage, but she could not help but note Nica shake as she preened her.
"I'm sure he or she will be delighted to find that you are safe and sound. A bit damp, perhaps, but we were lucky to have made it out as well as we did." Her thoughts turned to her newly proclaimed mate and she felt another stab of dread slice through her chest. She hoped Jester had fared as well as they had.
"Once y'feel ready to move on, we can start out." The gatherer continued. Once she deemed Nica well preened, she began to run her beak meticulously through her own soaked ebony and blue feathers.
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Posted: Wed Apr 23, 2008 7:51 pm
"Yeah…" Nica paused, golden eyes shifted towards the recovering night, and away from the conversation. She might be easily labelled a 'troubled fledgling' now, and she wasn't quite sure she could deal with the responsibility she faced for her initial flawed decision. "He will." Twistumbler was a good Sentinel…never singling her out, and she couldn't help but to feel guilty for what worries she might had brought him.
"I…I didn't mean to cause so much trouble," the aberrant squeaked, deciding Twilla deserved somewhat of an explanation. "It's hard sometimes…being different. I…I just had to escape...I couldn't take much more…" Nica looked down, to shamed to look eye-to-eye. "I'm…I'm so sorry."
The fledgling nodded at the Gatherer's last comment, watching her preen, and moving slightly to begin on Shade.
"I'll be ready as soon as you are," she cheeped, not wanting to rush her.
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Posted: Wed Apr 23, 2008 8:24 pm
Twilla continued to preen her feathers, but her icy blue eyes rested on the youngster. She did not appear angry, nor did she pass judgement. If she and Jester were to ever have fledglings, they would have little wildtype and shadow hybrids and this thought sometimes worried her. She held nothing against the aberrants, though her mother was known to be quite judgemental.
"Nica, I cannot say I understand your unhappiness. I've never been in your paws, so I could never say I understand... But the only thing different about you are your feathers. They might appear different, but underneath you are just like any other fledgling. Some sentinels are unable to see that, while others choose to ignore it..." She placed a few feathers before continuing. While she did this, she chose her next words carefully. What could she say to make the younger sentinel feel better? She was never much one for this. She did not spend much time with fledglings and had hardly any experience with comforting them.
"You look different, yes... But I have never seen one sentinel look exactly like another. We are all different. Hopefully the clan will open their eyes to this one day. Until then... Well, until then... You just have to try and be strong." She did not want to leave it at that. It sounded, in her mind, almost to harsh for the little one.
"Try not ot let their taunts get under their feathers. Deep down, you are a wonderful fledgling. They just can't see it, but you are. The storm was dangerous, but you are safe. I found it no trouble."
Perhaps the last little sentance was smudging the truth. Keeping the young one safe and sound had been a difficult task and lacked both the safe and the sound aspect, but she did not regret it. She was glad to have found Nica before the storm became to heavy for her to survive on her own.
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