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 Posted: Sun Aug 31, 2008 3:21 pm
Tousled, however, had her misgivings about the little girl. With the memory of that trembling little body snuggled up so very close still lingering in her feathers, the little Crafter sent a worried glance upwards at the pale form.
"Umm..." she began, but her renewed self-consciousness had made her voice so small that it all but disappeared in the sound of the wind. "...M-maybe you could... you two should go ahead... I-I'll be all right... I think..."
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Posted: Thu Sep 11, 2008 12:34 pm
"Not let Tousled move," Craneberry parroted back in a small voice, and she even opened her eyes again. But then the medic contradicted herself and told her they would go back. Down there. And the fledgling shrank visibly on her perch. This didn't make sense at all!
"We're not going back," she finally said, as if she had just figured out a big secret, "'S dangerous for Tousled to move. And there's monsters."
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Posted: Thu Sep 11, 2008 2:39 pm
Whirlwind eyed the little fledglings for a few seconds as if she couldn’t quite understand what she had just said. When she finally spoke it was clear the medic was little confused.
“We need a shelter. We can’t just stay outside. The other one is too far to be worth the risk.” Her head tilted to the side, with a confused expression. Monsters. Mosters? She was certain she’d heard it right but it was hard to be completely sure with the dying wind still making it hard to hear the muffled words of a fledgling.
“Every creature in Noctua is comfortable inside their shelters waiting for the end of the rain. We should too… We just have to go a little down now.” And suddenly, it came to her that going down was exactly the thing the fledgling was afraid of.
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Posted: Thu Oct 02, 2008 2:55 pm
"There are things," Craneberry said, looking up at the Medic with huge pleading eyes, "And you're not s'posed to go down because then Mudbeak will die."
She was just very, very frightened at this point, and everything she had ever heard about the ground was jumbled together into a huge frightening fairy tale about doom and death. Grown ups were supposed to know this. Grown ups were the ones telling the stories in the first place. The fledgling closed her eyes and tried to make sense of this frightening place, or make it go away.
"Cuddle a tree," she sang to herself, starting to parrot what minders and teachers had said about getting lost in the forest, "Stay where you are."
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Posted: Sat Oct 04, 2008 3:24 pm
Tousled found it heartbreaking, and a bit frightening, to watch the little girl retreat into herself. She fluffed up in sympathy, and shook out her wings in an attempt to shake off the unpleasant feeling of awkwardness, without really thinking about her current state. With a sharp wince and a muffled moan of surpised pain, Tousled quickly pressed her wings against her body again.
The pain faded quickly, but still. She cracked one eye open and glanced over at Whirlwind, forcing a bit more strength into her voice, to be heard over the sound of the wind and Craneberry's frail songs.
"Really, I think it would be best if the two of you moved out. I'll be fine, really... once you've reached a safer place, you could perhaps alert someone that I'm here... if you want. But I really will be fine, I... I really think so." She tried to add a brave, encouraging smile, but wasn't sure how well she succeeded at it.
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Posted: Sat Oct 04, 2008 6:31 pm
The minute Craneberry mentioned Mudbeak, Whirlwind knew she was fighting a tough battle. But when the fledgling closed her eyes and began singing to herself, the medic knew she had lost. Not that the thought of dragging the fledgling by force didn’t cross her mind for a fleeting moment but she could never do that to a frightened fledgling (nor had she any hopes she could succeed at it).
She turned to Tousled with a pitiful look filled with uncertainty that clearly begged for suggestions and was once again surprised by the other female’s composure and bravery. Taking a moment to silently consider Tousled’s words, the medic glanced at Craneberry before replying.
“Alright. Yes. You go back to the shelter and then and I’ll take the girl to the other one. Wit will stay with you…he can stand guard…” Whirlwind was actually hoping that anything harmful that could possibly reach the gatherer’s shelter would settle for the mus and leave the injured Sentinel unharmed. The little mus’ speed as he dropped from the medic’s back and ran towards the crafter was slightly disconcerting but the small companion was quickly stopped by his master’s swift talon. Raising the mus with her will all the way to her back, Whirlwind reconsidered.
“Actually, I’ll take Wit with me. I can drop Craneberry at the shelter, leave the mus with her and come back for you. It won’t take long. We can go to the higher shelter together. What do you think?” She was speaking tentatively now, almost as if asking for the other female’s approval – no, permission – to leave her alone for a few moments. It was very likely that the medic was still feeling guilty for shouting at the other female.
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Posted: Sat Nov 08, 2008 7:04 am
"...a tree..." she whispered, closing her eyes again.
Craneberry was still huddled close to the tree trunk, scared out of her mind, and she had stopped paying attention to what the adults said. She just knew that they couldn't go back or something really, really bad would happen. They couldn't, they wouldn't, right?
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Posted: Tue Jan 06, 2009 1:48 pm
Tousled saw how difficult the Medic's decision was for her, and heard the softness, kindness, in her voice as she agreed to Tousled's suggestion. Touched at the concern, Tousled glanced away for a moment, inspecting little Craneberry briefly before looking back at Whirlwind with a confident and grateful smile.
"That seems like a sound plan." She nodded as assertively as she dared, Once at Whirlwind and once more, though slighter, at little Wit - the Mus' apparent eagerness to accompany her had also touched her, and she felt it would be rude not to at least acknowledge it.
"I'll be fine," she added with another little smile. "I'm... pretty good at hiding."
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Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2009 4:17 pm
Whirlwind smiled shyly at Tousled as the two Deep Wood sentinels reached an agreement.
“I’ll come back as quickly as possible.” She said moving closer to little Craneberry. “Let’s go, dear. We’re going up, up.” And to better illustrate her point, she hopped to a slightly higher branch and nudged the fledgling eartufts with a soft touch of her will.
"I'm... pretty good at hiding."
The medic didn’t quite understand what the female had meant but she wasn’t really paying as much attention to the crafter as before. She now had a plan and Noctus willing, the three of them would be safely tucked in a better shelter in no time.
“Come, Craneberry. Just follow me slowly through the branches.”
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Posted: Sat Jan 10, 2009 1:55 pm
Craneberry finally looked up at Whirlwinds gentle touch. Up. They were going up! She nearly forgot to stretch and preen, and then she tried to do everything at once. After the sloppiest preen of her life she rushed after the Medic, going up! Up!
Her rush ended in something that was dangerously close to a crash landing when she reached the branch she had aimed for. With a sheepish look at the adult Craneberry started to preen properly and even started to stretch wings and legs. The teachers and Minders told them that it was important to prepare before flying and she was starting to see why. Flying in bad weather with ruffled feathers and cold, sore muscles hadn't been very pleasant.
The flight to the next branch went much better and the fledgling turned to Whirlwind with a tentative smile on her beak.
"Is Tousled coming," she asked, suddenly realising that the nice lady was still below them.
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Posted: Sat Jan 10, 2009 2:46 pm
Tousled watched the other two begin to move off, cracking a smile at little Craneberry's eager, fumbling efforts to preen and prepare for flight: If the fledgling was that energetic, she was sure to be just fine.
As soon as the Medic and the eager girl had managed to reach the first branch safely, Tousled heaved a little sigh and turned her attention to her own situation. Turning around to face the direction of the low shelter, she flexed and preened as carefully as she could, blinking at every little throb of pain. For a brief moment she considered remaining on this branch, just huddled close to the trunk, but quickly discarded the idea. The rain - though not quite as ferocious anymore - and the chill would only make matters worse. Possibly much, much worse.
With a deep breath, Tousled spread her wings, steeled herself against the pain, and... well... flapped quite ungracefully back down into the welcoming darkness of the hollow.
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Posted: Sat Jan 10, 2009 7:10 pm
Even if she was feeling a little impatient, Whirlwind waited calmly as the fledgling preened and stretched. The medic smiled at her obvious eagerness but Craneberry might feel a thug or two of the medic’s will every time she tumbles a little too heavily.
“Yes, she’s coming, dear.” Whirlwind said softy, smiling back at the fledgling, not one bit amazed at how the fledgling had managed to miss out such a large part of the conversation. “But she’s injured so she’ll wait until I come back for her. Don’t worry! As soon as I drop you off at the shelter, I’ll come back. But it’s just too risky for any of you to fly on your own right now.” The medic watched as Tousled entered the shelter, shuddering at how close to the ground the hollow looked as they moved up.
“Now let’s hurry, dear. I don’t want to rush you, but the sooner I drop you off in a safe place, the sooner I can come back for Tousled. It’s that tree, see? It’s just a little far for someone who can’t fly properly but we’ll get there in no time.” She was doing her best to avoid another melt down from the fledgling but she also wanted to understand her reactions a little better. “Are you afraid of the ground, Craneberry?”
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Posted: Sun Jan 11, 2009 3:03 pm
The fledgling nodded solemnly and seemed content with that answer. With a target in mind flying seemed easier and Craneberry worked her way towards the shelter with a new determination.
“Are you afraid of the ground, Craneberry?”
The fledgling flinched visibly at the question and she nearly missed the branch she had aimed for. She righted herself and fluffed up before answering.
"I fell," she said as if that would explain it all, "I was lucky."
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Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2009 9:52 am
“Oh.” Whirlwind said plainly. That did explain the fledgling’s behavior. She was quiet for a while as if gathering her thoughts. “Being afraid of the ground is not just normal… it’s healthy.”
The medic avoided the fledgling’s eyes, focusing more on her talons as if not to pressure Craneberry in any way, ready to change the topic in case the little one looked too anxious.
“But we can’t be too afraid of the ground. Gatherers go down there all the time… and it’s true, accidents do happen but they happen in many different tasks… do you know what is down there, Craneberry? I can tell you if you want.”
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Posted: Wed Jan 14, 2009 2:25 pm
Craneberry watched her toes and slowly fluffed up as Whirlwind spoke, but she didn't say anything until the Medic asked if she knew what was down there, on the ground. The reaction was almost comical. She went from fluffed up to sleeked down so quickly it seemed like the fledgling suddenly shrunk to less than half her original size.
"Bad things," she whispered. "Bad, bad things."
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