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 Posted: Sat Jun 07, 2008 5:08 pm
There it was, that little “habit” of his. Though not quite as bad as she’d been told. In fact, by the way it had been described by the minders, Breeze had expected Holly’s little compulsion to completely overcome his will, to rise above the voices of anyone around him and obstruct his own sense of self if only for a few moments. She was pleasantly surprised by his ashamed awareness. It was almost endearing.
“Now, Holly, I don’t believe I’ve told to use your beak. I’m quite sure the metal is heavier but that’s no reason to do it like that. It is a test of will, after all.” The teacher’s eyes were on her student as she spoke, silently delighted by the unexpected double meaning of her last words.
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Posted: Mon Jun 09, 2008 6:34 am
Ossie was worried, and tensed as Holly lifted the pebble in the all too familiar swallowing fashion. She gave a little sigh of relief and fluffed her feathers as he gave up the pebble. Her lifting of the items was momentarily forgotten, which really did not bother her. She didn't much like this test, as it was.
All that was left was the scrap of metal, which she went away at. Holly might be more embarrassed if she brought it up, so she said nothing about the incident, only gave him a brief, encouraging smile. At least he stopped, instead of swallowing.
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Posted: Mon Jun 09, 2008 4:48 pm
He didn’t say anything in response, didn’t even meet Breeze’s eye. He was glad he had caught himself both these times. Ever since a rather unkind (and somewhat elderly) Minder had called him out and actively berated him for it, Holly had managed to catch himself. Usually. And this time he was lucky. He hadn’t swallowed anything...for now. It was, as most would say, an improvement.
So maybe he was getting better? He hoped so.
“Sorry, m’m,” he mumbled, looking at his feet until he felt sufficiently confident to let his feathers fluff out again. He still wasn't looking at anyone.
But now his concentration was broken, and he didn't bother even trying again. It wouldn't work now that he was focusing on it so much.
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Posted: Tue Jun 10, 2008 10:07 am
“Well, I guess there’s no point in wasting time on this. Enough, both of you. Drop the metal, Osprey. Follow me.” The ghost teacher strutted to the edge of the platform, where she sat facing her students, red eyes languidly moving across her surroundings.
“Will is… a gift. It can be a powerful tool for a Sentinel of any task if used appropriately. Unfortunately, it is often used with the sort of frivolous intent that I’d rather you never showed. I will not be teaching you Will control but simply test your abilities from time to time to decide on whether or not you’ll require a suitable teacher for that specific area of knowledge.”
Ally watched her master for a few moments before she began picking the seemingly forgotten objects, carefully carrying them to a small depression on one of the largest trunks which supported the main platform.
“From now on and with a few notable exceptions, you will not leave this place. It will be your home until you are strong enough to fend for yourselves and ready to take your place on our society. In order to serve the Clan, you will to grow into responsible adults that I won’t be ashamed to acknowledge as past students.”
She paused for a few moments and eyed each fledgling with her typical intense stare.
“And now… the Rules.”
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Posted: Fri Jun 13, 2008 12:38 pm
Osprey never really considered the fact that she would not be seeing Twistumbler before dawn. She never really considered that being with a teacher meant staying away from the enclave. At this news, her beak parted and her eartufts shifted to express alarm and worry.
"Rules?" she inquired in a small voice as she tried to mask her worry by fluffing her feathers and settling down. She worried about not seeing Papa Twist and she secretly wanted to attend Songbloom's graduation, even if she and her nestmate did not get along well at all. Maybe Breeze would make an exception for that. She certainly hoped so.
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Posted: Sun Jun 15, 2008 4:15 pm
Holly followed, glad that he didn’t seem to be in much trouble, and listened acutely. It was...different, this thinking about Will. He had heard others make such a fuss about it that it was strange to think any differently. Tilting his head, he shuffled to the edge of the platform and continued to listen.
This was...a change from his life. Before this moment, Holly hadn’t realized he’d be gone, not really. And while he wasn’t as strongly affected as Ossie—he had never had a Minder of his own but rather ended up in the care of almost everyone for a bit—he was certainly nervous...and a bit concerned for Ossie. She didn’t look...that happy. He leaned in and preened one of her eartufts to gently reassure her. He pulled away as soon as that bloodred stare transferred to him, though. Didn’t need to be told twice.
Instead of echoing Ossie, he simply blinked up at Breeze and contrived to look attentive.
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Posted: Mon Jun 16, 2008 1:47 pm
The teacher noticed Osprey’s surprise, took it in and simply chose to ignore it.
“The rules are quite simple, really. They’re fairly obvious and self-explaining. You are not to leave this place alone or without my permission. There is thick foliage below the platforms so it safe to practice your flying here but anywhere else is off limits. Especially the stream and the sunflower field which extend to a rather fierce gentleman’s territory. It would be wise not to disturb him as I will have no problems teaching you two what happens to trespassing sentinels.” She paused for a second to catch her breath and locked her gaze on Hollyhock’s.
“Last but certainly not least: do as you’re told and never talk back. Understood?” No, that little bit of inter-type preening did not go unnoticed.“Oh… and don’t eat the skurri. Noctus knows how many nights it took to train her. Many more than you have lived, that’s for sure.”
“If there are no questions, we will begin your flying lessons. Ally, the harness.”
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Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2008 2:45 pm
Ossie watched and listened silently, but was still unnerved by the thought of not going back to the enclave. Well... Save for the leaving part, the rules seemed followable. But she wouldn't leave, or so she told herself. "Yes ma'am..."
She would make not to speak to her teacher later, once lessons were finished with.
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Posted: Thu Jun 19, 2008 12:18 pm
Ah, she had seen. Perceptive, curious little Hollyhock, who had been listening attentively but still paying attention to other things, he was getting the hang of this. Or at least...he would be getting the hang of this in the future.
The rules seemed easy enough, though he wasn't entirely sure how far the territory extended. Huh. That could pose a problem. He debated for a moment whether to interrupt, or to speak up, because he wasn't sure how Breeze would react, but his curiosity got the better of him.
"Yes, ma'am," he said quickly, but then he couldn't not let the question go unexplored. "But, um....I do have a question, ma'am. How big is 'here'?" he asked. "Just the platforms, or more?" Everything about his expression, even his voice, added 'begging your pardon for asking, ma'am' to the end of the question. If he had known the phrase, it most certainly would have been added.
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Posted: Sat Jun 21, 2008 3:56 pm
((to make it easier to picture the area (= )) 
“The teaching grounds consist of the platforms where you stand, the trees that support them and the ones directly in contact with them. On the ground, we have that small portion of the creek and it ends right there at the beginning of the sunflower field. It’s a dangerous area particularly to fledglings and newly fledged. So I’d appreciate if you stayed away from it. We’re right at the edge of the deep woods so there are creatures below quite often especially when our neighbor isn’t around. And it’s a bit of an open space, no trees to hide you from anything lurking over our heads so I expect to have half a brain and never go there. Well… for now at least.”
She might’ve added a small “Good question, Holly” at the end had she not seen that bit of preening. The teacher turned to her small audience and spoke much more solemnly, with a kind of grave tone that commanded silence.
“If you can’t fly, you can’t hunt. If you can’t hunt, you can’t eat. If can’t eat, you die. It’s as simple as that. Whether it’s to nourish yourselves or to provide for the Clan, flying and hunting are skills that you must grasp to perfection.”
Ally hopped to the teacher’s side, dragging a brown harness and stared at the fledglings, waiting for Breeze’s command.
“I like to start the flying lessons with this harness. Simply put, I will carry you through the harness and show you what it really feels to fly. So even though you can’t do it on your own – yet -, your wings and tail feathers will slowly begin to understand how they should move and when you do attempt to fly, those movements will seem familiar and easier to perform. You will see that you will learn to fly rather quickly but to really perfect your abilities and to fly with the proper grace of your ancestors, it will take many nights of practice. But I’m sure you feel up to it.”
There was a small smile on the corner of her beak as the teacher took a moment to breathe after the small speech.
“Osprey will go first. Ally, prepare the harness on the white girl. Holly, you will stay with my skurri and do exercises . She knows what to do. She also tends to be a little too soft so I expect you not to take advantage of it. “
Ignoring this last comment, Ally rushed to Osprey and began to strap the harness around her body with tiny red-dyed paws.
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Posted: Mon Jun 23, 2008 12:32 pm
Osprey listened closely, though worry about missing Songbloom's graduation still gnawed at the back of her mind.
As Ally approached with th harness, Ossie eyed it with a bit of worry and wonder. Breeze was going to carry her in that? It would be a little unnerving, but it was also an opportunity for something sort of like an adventure, combined with learning the way the wind would feel. The excitement she had at the start of the night's lessons seemed to return as she inspected the harness the little skurri was placing on her.
"Oh... This is gonna be fun I c'n--can hardly wait tunil I can fly good, too." Ossie peeped cheerily, mmentarily forgetting her worry about her little "family" as the prospect of doing something new arose.
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Posted: Fri Jun 27, 2008 12:04 pm
Listening carefully and quietly repeating everything Breeze said under his breath to better remember the boundaries, Hollyhock listened and nodded and then settled down to watch whatever was happening next. The harness seemed interesting, if a little bit threatening, and he tilted his head curiously. Watching Ally strap Ossie in, he actually moved a little closer to look at the harness, curious about how it worked and where its straps went.
He didn't get close enough to get scolded, however, and Breeze's orders made him nod. "All right!" he said, with all the cheeriness he could manage. Ossie was going first because she was first to get there, he assumed, or maybe because she was a girl, or because she was bigger, or maybe even because she was more enthusiastic.
Maybe even as punishment to Holly.
It didn't matter, really. He settled down and preened his chest feathers while he waited to see what would happen to him next.
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Posted: Sun Jun 29, 2008 6:08 am
As soon as the mist fledgling was fully strapped, the teacher moved to her side and pulled the main strap with her will to make sure everything was safely connected, suspending Osprey for a few seconds. Then after a soft chuckle, she dropped her again, pleased that the girl showed more excitement and curiosity than any fear she might’ve felt about the whole idea.
“Hope you’re ready. There’s just one rule. No matter what you do, don’t flap your wings. I want you to glide and play with the currents, not throw me off balance. Understood?” And without even waiting for a reply, the ghost’s talons kicked the wooden platform, grabbed the main strap of the harness and the teacher lifted herself and her student up in the air.
Ally stood silent for a moment as she watched the two shapes move further away and then mysteriously summoned a juicy red berry from her back.
“Eat, eat!” she spoke excitedly, rolling the berry in Holly’s direction. “Must do exercises!” she scurried towards a small opening in a tree trunk and came back with a large piece of chalk and immediately began to draw small circles on the wooden surface before turning to the peaceful fledgling.  “Easy. Tire much but easy, easy. You,” she started, pointing at Holly. “Jump right, left, right, left… until end. No flap. In end, flap up and touch bell. Easy!”
Moving between the marks as if showing him what he would have to do, Ally spoke in a rather confusing speech, confusing right from left and obviously forgetting she hadn’t hung the bell from the tree branches yet.
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Posted: Mon Jun 30, 2008 9:57 pm
Before Osprey could part her beak in response, Breeze had gone higher into the sky; pulling the little mist typed fledgling with her as she went. The sensation was completely new to the inexperienced little feathered ball of a fledgling. Her golden eyes were wide with wonder, mixed with a smidge of fear and uncertainty.
What if Breeze dropped her!?
She would surely plummet to the earth as if she had stones strapped to her stomach. She tried to block this image and closed her eyes in an attempt to get more accustomed to the way the wind felt on her feathers. It was so temping to flap, but if she did she was sure Breeze and she would fall.
Besides, Breeze wouldn't drop her. The host was infallible in the mist girl's eyes. She emulated her teacher more than any other sentinel she had known... Other than Papa Twist, that is.
So she held her wings steady and out, as if she were gliding. It was an interesting and new experience. She would have to tell Holly all about it, if they took a break before he went.
"This is so awesome!" She peeped cheerily beneath the teacher, as she could barely contain her excitement. The urge to chatter on was welling up inside of her.
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Posted: Fri Jul 04, 2008 8:51 am
Holly twisted his head sideways and watched Breeze take off with Ossie, interest bright in his golden eyes. He wished a little bit that he had been the one there, but he understood why he was not, and turned immediately to watch Ally. Noticing the berry at his feet, he leaned down and snapped it up quickly, making sure to dispose of the evidence as soon as he possibly could.
Whatever it was that the Skurri was doing, it was something Hollyhock had never seen before. Watching her with the chalk very carefully, he pinned his eartufts when she began to explain. Right and left.......oh, that was simple. The little animal probably didn't know those directions and was just using them as descriptions. That part wasn't hard. He thought he understood it pretty well, but..........bell?
"I....um......don't see a bell," he said quietly, tilting his head.
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