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 Posted: Tue Apr 08, 2008 3:50 pm
Tousled's departure was a little late - she had barely had time to react before the fledgling was already falling through the air. She sucked in a quick but deep breath and... not so much launched herself, as fell off of her perch, beak first.
She saw the little one up ahead and her frantic flapping to not end up on the forest floor, and the other Deep Woods female following closely behind, doing her best to help the girl, and she saw that she fell faster than each of them. Probably because her wings were still halfway tucked and unmoving. A great tiredness had come over her. She had never been outside for this long, in weather like this, before, and she was cold, cold to the core and all worn out by her earlier flight and all the excitement.
Yet somehow, the moment that she let go, something inexplicable stepped up inside her and grabbed an even firmer hold. Moult made it through, it whispered. You don't want to disappoint him, do you?
Her numb wings spread out, her fall angled up, up, up... Twigs and branches grazed her but did not stop her, and then they were gone, and the ground laid bare beneath her. The speed she had gathered in her fall stayed with her as she swooped up beneath the fledgling and took her place on the little Ghost's other side. "Easy now!" She yelled, and even her voice seemed to belong to a different person - it carried over the howl of the storm. "Almost there! Can you see it?"
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Posted: Wed Apr 09, 2008 1:39 pm
Craneberry was less bothered by the gentle nudges of will than most other fledglings would have been. This was an emergency after all, and from her frequent visits to Lichen she had learned to get used to the sensation of being touched by another Sentinels will.
"Easy now!" the ruffled female yelled "Almost there! Can you see it?"
Craneberry was too focused on flying to answer, or even nod but she kept her eyes firmly focused on the shelter and pushed on with the last of her strength.
The shelter seemed to rush towards her too quickly, and Craneberry suddenly realised that she would have to somehow slow down unless she wanted to crash-land into the shelter. She fanned her wings and tail feathers, and extended her legs to try to land with her feet first at least.
"Oh, oh... Bad!" she squealed as she rushed towards the opening of the shelter.
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Posted: Wed Apr 09, 2008 4:17 pm
She was going too fast. Even with the Whirlwind’s wavering guidance, the medic could tell the fledgling would have a hard time landing if they kept flying at that speed.
“Slow down! Slow down!” But she felt the warning came a moment too late. Whirlwind’s wings opened abruptly against the devious wind and the medic flapped as powerfully as she could, fighting the fall with her last bit of strength while pulling the little ghost back. For a split second she considered grabbing the child but she feared her sharp talons would injure Craneberry or even cause a disastrous landing accident. She was known to have been involved in a few even without the presence of that murderous wind.
Besides… it was a little too late for that.
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Posted: Thu Apr 10, 2008 4:35 am
Tousled saw what was going to happen. The little girl came in too fast, and the other female did her best to slow the fall - and it was working, surely, but not quite enough. What could she do? Her Will was so very weak, that Tousled often tried to use her beak or talons instead whenever possible, so she felt there was no point in reaching out that way.
What could she do? The impact surely wasn't going to be fatal. Painful, yes. Harmful, maybe. And grabbing the girl physically with her talons could also be harmful - what if the little one sprained her wing? That would be awful. So what could she do?
She made a decision without really thinking about it. Her wings folded and she plummeted for a very brief instant, only to flare out again right in the flailing fledgling's path, only one wing's length to spare before the entrance into the shelter. Bracing for impact, the little Crafter hoped intensely that the other Deep Woods' Will was stronger than her own.
Controlled tumble, fold your wings, controlled tumble, try to slide in...
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Posted: Thu Apr 10, 2008 2:34 pm
Craneberry was bracing herself for impact when suddenly the ruffled female was in front of her. She barely had time to wonder how that had happened before she collided with her back, feet first. Talons! Ouch, that must have hurt...
The fledgling tumbled off Tousled’s back and into the shelter where she sat dazed on the floor. Not quite believing that she was alive and safe and not chewed up by the Thunderbird.
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Posted: Thu Apr 10, 2008 3:38 pm
Whirlwind did try her best to hold the little fledgling back but her weariness betrayed the efforts of the medic’s weak will. Tousled ‘s decision surprised her so much that at first she assumed the other female had accidentally crossed the fledgling’s path. She quickly realized what a brave (and dangerous!) action it had been as she landed heavily on a branch just outside the shelter’s opening.
Wit dashed in panic in every direction, finding himself accompanied by someone other than his master. The white mus squealed loudly, taking sudden jumps and changing his course every so often as if trying to escape an invisible enemy.
“Wit! Stop that at once.” From the outside came the tired but surprisingly firm voice of the medic. “Go wash up. Now.” The command seemed to have the desired effect as the white mus scattered quickly towards the opening and started washing his tiny front paws in a small depression of a barely sheltered spot where the rain had accumulated in the form of a water puddle. Once he finished, the companion started moving towards the medic, balancing on his back legs, making sure his front paws didn’t touch the wet floor or the rest of his tiny body again.
Whirlwind entered the shelter with a short decisive hop looking around intently as she proceeded to make a brief evaluation of the others’ condition, falling into an odd sort of daze. The girl should be alright. Her fall was cushioned by the wings of the deep woods. Better do a quick check of bones and muscles none the less. Hum, hum… But first, those wings. The impact and the ghost’s talons must have left some damage.
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Posted: Thu Apr 10, 2008 6:12 pm
Tousled had tried to make a good landing, she really had, but her exhaustion combined with the heavy impact of the fledgling and the consequent pain of talons raking over her back - why could she feel that so clearly when everything else was such a pleasant numbness? - was simply too much for her and she ungracefully tumbled over, smacking her breastbone against the ground.
"Nnnnh-!" It was hard to draw breath. Everything hurt. Her breastbone ached with the sort of dull pain that floated out through the body and even seemed to seep into the mind - and still she felt the bruising that the fledgling had accidentally given her with her flailing wings, as well as the piercing pain of the scratches left from the talons. Tousled's third eyelid was plainly visible, and she, herself, saw nothing.
Not that she was trying to look at anything, she had her talons full just trying to breathe.
((Note for the Medic - Tousled's breastbone is not broken, just badly bruised.))
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Posted: Fri Apr 11, 2008 10:55 am
Craneberry crouched low with flattened eartufts in the corner where she had "landed". She felt sore in every muscle in her body from the flight, but right now she was more worried about the injured female. The noises Tousled made scared her and Craneberry worried about what damage she might have done. She should probably stretch, but the fledgling didn't dare to move.
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Posted: Fri Apr 11, 2008 7:42 pm
Whirlwind hurried towards Tousled and had barely whispered an apology for her intention to prod her with her will when she caught the fledgling’s worried gaze. “Don’t move.” She barked harshly even though it seemed quite unnecessary. She turned to the deep woods with a resolute expression, analysing every inch of the female’s body with one quick glance before addressing her breathing distress. Not broken, not broken. Thank Noctus, there’s nothing broken.
“Lucky, very lucky. What a silly thing to do, dear. What a brave silly thing to do. Look at these feathers, they look terrible. The Thunderbird didn’t go easy on you, no, no….” Whirlwind mumbled on as she felt the cervical vertebra and sternum of the injured sentinel. She felt naked without her medicine bag which only made her relief the greater when failing to find a major injury in Tousled’s body. “It will hurt, yes. Sore… witch hazel on the cuts would help…with a touch of willow…” she continued barely making herself heard “Wit, come. I need compression here.”
The medic seemed to have been caught in sort of an odd daze as she continued move around the deep woods female. “Look up, keep your neck straight, it will be easier to breath. Slow deep breaths, dear…I’ll be right back.” The medic hurried towards the fledgling and began to examine her without so much as a word. But when she finally did speak, her relief was fairly obvious. Apart from a slight resistance to movement, there didn’t seem to be anything wrong with the ghost’s body either. “Good, good. Stay put a bit, alright?” The medic whispered softly as she returned to Tousled’s side.
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Posted: Sat Apr 12, 2008 4:57 am
The pain was slowly subsiding as the medic looked her over, at least enough to leave room for other feelings and impressions. Tousled squinted at the painted Deep Woods female and wondered at her luck - who would have known this lady was actually a medic?
Which immediately brought on a different set of thoughts. She hadn't known that the other female was a medic. Why in the name of Noctus and all of Notcua had she decided to do something so rash and foolhardy? What if she had gotten herself seriously wounded? The medic's words, confirming the notion that she had been silly, made her feel like a berated fledgling. She was right. It was very silly. Not brave at all, just silly. She could have gotten herself hurt, or the little girl...
The girl! Tousled glanced around as the rest of the hollow came into focus. Was the little fledgling all right? Her eyes fell on the small, bright, huddled shape and noticed her wide, frightened eyes. This made Tousled's mood take another abrupt turn, because if the child was worried on her behalf it probably meant that she wasn't hurt, herself. Elation filled Tousled's chest, easing the pain a little: Perhaps what she had done had been stupid, but it also seemed to have been successful. A smile crept onto her beak between the small gasps of air, and she relaxed a little, submitting herself to the medic's care.
When the painted female returned from having checked the fledgling over, Tousled could breathe easily enough to shape some words. "Feathers... always..." she gasped, still smiling stupidly, "Looked... terrible..."
But when she looked over at the fledgling, some seriousness crept back into her features. "Are you... okay?"
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Posted: Sat Apr 12, 2008 10:10 am
"Witch hazel, willow..." the young ghost whispered, a spark of curiosity in her frightened eyes. "Willow for pain."
The medic's silent examination was oddly comforting. It was something Craneberry was familiar with at least, and she obediently stretched and folded her wings to let Whirlwind see.
“Good, good. Stay put a bit, alright?”
Craneberry nodded and followed the medic's every movement. The other female was talking now so she couldn't be too badly hurt, right?
"Are you... okay?"
Craneberry nodded, and opened her beak to speak.
"'M fine," she said, slowly working herself up to her usual cheerfulness, "Bit sore. Lichen says my wings need to relax because they forgot how to move right. And I got some medicine. And I need to stretch every day."
The fledgling was suddenly reminded of her daily stretches and she started to go through the motions Lichen had showed her. She was much more sore than usual, and being cold made it more difficult, but Craneberry knew that she would feel a bit better afterwards.
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Posted: Sat Apr 12, 2008 3:09 pm
"Feathers... always... looked... terrible..."
Whirlwind kept mumbling softly next to Tousled. “Don’t speak, not just yet. Keep breathing. I’m a medic. Whirlwind. That’s my name.”
What did she say? Something about feathers, yes… The medic wasn’t really paying attention to anything other than the female’s breathing movements but a fledgling’s rarely went by unnoticed Whirlwind’s ears. “Yes, willow for the pain but also to prevent a strong wound reaction.” She spoke instinctively, eyeing the fledgling with interest as she shifted her gaze between the two sentinels.
“Lichen? The medic? Wait dear, don’t move. I don’t think there’s anything broken but there might be a small bone fissure. We don’t want to make it worse. What happened? Did you have an accident? Were you injured? Did you recover? Exactly where were you injured?” in a second the medic was right back next to the fledgling spouting questions and holding her breath as she waited for the answers. An old injury… will it become worse? The fall, fighting the wind to reach the shelter… the effort to hold on to a branch… is she really alright?
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Posted: Sat Apr 12, 2008 5:24 pm
Reassured by the little girl's calm and informative reply, Tousled gladly submitted to the Medic's ministrations and did as she was told. So, instead of introducing herself in return, she remained silent and felt herself gradually become able to draw deeper breaths.
While the Medic - Whirlwind - fussed over the fledgling, the ruffled little Crafter tried to preen herself a little, but had to give up since the motions seemed to aggravate the pain. Oh well. At least she wasn't getting wetter anymore.
A somewhat distant look came into her eyes as she thought about her little friend, Tuft. It was really a good thing that she had told him to stay in that tiny hollow that he had found: The poor little bird would never have made it all the way to this shelter. She only hoped he would get to stay there, unharmed, until she could go back and get him again.
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Posted: Sun Apr 13, 2008 1:58 pm
Craneberry slicked her ear tufts back and crouched down again at the sudden flurry of questions.
"Fell," she said, reverting to a more childlike manner of speaking, "Ground. Was lucky, nothing eated me. Hurt my... my... my... this bone broke. Hadn't fledged yet."
She makes a vague motion towards her chest as she mentions the broken bone.
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