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 Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2008 9:49 am
“Good, Osprey.” Breeze said curtly as she watched the mist fledgling’s prompt preening.
As soon as Ally finished adjusting the straps around Holly, Breeze’s talons pushed against the platform as the large ghost’s wings tasted the air once again.
“Done.” Said the skurri proudly to the deep woods just before the fledgling got snatched from her tiny paws. With an indignant sound, the companion jumped backwards and whispered for a few seconds before finally settling down to watch Osprey.
“Don’t flap, Holly. Just glide with me.” Holding the harness tightly between her talons, Breeze rose slowly in the air as she circled the platforms with strong flaps. Up, up swerve to the left, short plummet, up again… She was moving a little slower now that a mild weariness was threatening to shorten Holly’s first harness experience so she tried to compensate by making some bolder moves and sudden changes of pace to liven it all up.
“So Holly, what do think?” she asked wickedly against the wind.
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Posted: Thu Sep 04, 2008 6:17 am
Osprey watched as Breeze took off with Holly, while running her beak through her feathers. When she finished she glanced to Ally.
"So... I hop..." She tucked her wings tightly to her side and studied the circles for a moment, then hopped to the first, the second, the third. She came to the realization that she did not like this very much. The flying was cool, but this was droll and strenuous.
As she came to the end, she pushed off the platform hard and flapped her wings up, up, up to the bell and hit it with her beak.
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Posted: Mon Sep 08, 2008 8:32 am
Holly wasn't sure what to expect, but the harness didn't necessarily feel uncomfortable, and he wasn't unhappy in what he was doing. It felt...weird, and actually quite a bit scary, but it also felt exhilarating, and he quickly realized how powerful he felt in this position. He kept his wings outstretched and still, and concentrated on the feel of the air. Every now and again, he glanced up at Breeze, watching her wings and tail, and just...trying to experience. So focused that he didn't hear Breeze's question right away, he blinked when he realized he had missed something.
"Um...." he answered, trying hard to keep from flapping as Breeze made another sudden change of direction, "it's...different! And awesome!" he added, suddenly realizing that he loved the feel of the wind and even the surprise of the changes in pace. Someday...he'd be able to do this alone. And he'd be able to do it well!
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Posted: Tue Sep 09, 2008 3:02 pm
Breeze’s reply was a discreet expansion of her smile and the teacher settled to a more constant flight pattern as she gracefully circled the trees of her territory, briefly explaining the boundaries and neighboring territories to her student.
“… and lastly the sunflower field. I absolutely forbid you or Osprey from ever going there unaccompanied. It’s not safe enough for inexperienced flyers and most of it belongs o the deep woods hunter who would not appreciate the company. I can assure you of that. We’re going back now.”
After one last circular glide Breeze began her descent, fully intending to drop Holly onto the wooden platform just as she had done with Osprey. Once she had decided on a spot, the teacher raised her talons as she prepared to release the harness.
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Posted: Wed Sep 10, 2008 10:26 am
Osprey was unhappily picking away at the exercise task that had been set before her. She had made a few laps while Hollyhock was taking his turn to "fly" with Madame Breeze in the harness, and she was to the point where she felt like she would drop with exhaustion.
What a busy night it had been!
The little mist fledgling pushed hard off of the platform and flapped up to ring the bell yet again, then fell and landed on her paws with a thud.
And it brought down her spirits to think that the bell would go higher and the practice would be harder...
But she would learn to fly, and hunt, and provide for the clan.
She spared a glance only for a second as Breeze made to land with Holly, then went back to work.
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Posted: Thu Sep 11, 2008 8:31 am
Holly looked at that field and felt, like all fledglings everywhere, the instinctive urge to immediately go and explore it the first time Breeze was elsewhere. He made a note to talk to Ossie about it, maybe go see at some point, but for now, he definitely had to be focusing, because they were coming in for a landing. Hollyhock wasn't quite ready for what was about to happen, and he honestly had no idea how the entire landing situation was going to work.
And then he got dropped.
He managed to suppress a very immature peep of surprise and scooped the air with his wings, managing not to fall flat on his beak when he hit the platform, but still not landing quietly or neatly. The ungainly thud made him flatten his eartufts in embarrassment, and then leaning down to peck interestedly at the harness. He looked up at Breeze and smiled. "That was amazing!" he said brightly, if still not as loudly as Ossie.
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Posted: Thu Sep 11, 2008 9:52 am
Breeze landed just a couple of wing beats in front of Holly and immediately began the usual preening that always came after flight, glancing discreetly (or maybe not so) at the fledgling as if expecting him to follow her example. She hadn’t missed and was rather pleased about Holly ‘s mini experiments up there so she refrained from ordering him around too much… this time.
Both her students had reacted well to the harness and she hoped that would keep them motivated during the arduous and tiring exercises to come. She felt a little proud of herself for choosing her students so well. As a deep woods, she assumed Holly would find flying slightly easier than Osprey so she fully intended on visibly prioritizing and encouraging Osprey, hoping to increase the deep woods competitive nature as well as developing both student’s abilities. But... that would all come later. They had just survived their first lesson, after all.
“It is but a little taste of what you’ll be doing from time to time. It will help understand what you’re doing wrong and develop your little wings. Of course these old bones can’t go around carrying two fledglings all night so from now on, every time we use the harness only one of you will be flying with me.” How she would choose between the two, it was left unsaid but that tiny crooked smile on the corner of her beak did not bode well. “It’s enough for today. Be prepared to work a lot more tomorrow. Ally, remove the harness and take the children to their nest. Osprey, Holly. Ally will take a couple of mus, a few berries and nuts to you in a little while. If you’re thirsty she’ll fetch you some water as well. Don’t leave the nest.”
The skurri hopped closer to the deep woods fledgling and released him from the tight grip of the harness.
“Free! Now follow. Follow Ally.” She said as she jumped over a few low branches to reach a small cramped hollow where Ally had build a large nest of twigs, large leaves and sunflowers for the fledglings. “Come, come.”
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Posted: Thu Sep 11, 2008 12:42 pm
"'Kay--- Ah, I mean, Yes Ma'am." Ossie responded in a mumble with her eyes closed. She was a very tired fledgling and would sleep well through the day. She couldn't of disobeyed Breeze's order, even if she really wanted to.
The exhausted Osprey followed after Ally by moving from limb to limb with awkward hops and wing beats, enough to prove how really tired she was, although she was doing her best not to show it.
Upon entering the nest that Ally had built and decorated, the little mist girl preened and fluffed her feathers, then nestled down. It was cramped, but she was sure enough to leave space for Hollyhock.
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Posted: Thu Sep 11, 2008 1:24 pm
Hollyhock, freed from the harness, preened as carefully as Breeze did, making sure to pay the most attention to the areas where the harness had been. Listening to her talk, Holly nodded as if he understood, but in reality he was tired. He wasn't really registering at this point. The only thing he really got was that it was time to sleep.
"Yes'm," he murmured, keeping his eyes open in spite of the tremendous force attempting to drag them shut over and over again. Following Ally and Ossie to the nest, he clambered in somewhat clumsily after his Mist friend, snuggling in close to her and peeping quietly as he closed his eyes.
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Posted: Thu Sep 11, 2008 2:10 pm
“And no talking, now.” Breeze shot at them from the distance even if she was certain they were too exhausted to chitchat for the rest of the night.
As soon as they were both inside the small hollow, Breeze glided silently to a large depression on an opposite tree. She sat at the edge, looking down at the tired students as they let their exhaustion overcome the excitement of the first lesson. She barely had time to think before her companion joined her and sneaked into a tiny hollow at the end of the depression – where the teacher and the skurri stored all the food.
“Nevermind the berries, Ally. Just take the mus. I don’t think they can stay awake long enough to have a proper meal. We’ll compensate on breakfast tomorrow.“
Ally agreed cheerfully as she retrieved two mus and dragged them down the branches to the platform and then over to the fledgling hollow “Holly, Holly. Ozzy, Ozzy. Eat, then sleep. Eat, then sleep.” And she was gone just a moment after, quickly returning to her master’s side.
“You take the first shift.” The teacher said softly as she prepared to sleep for a few hours. “Don’t let me sleep for too long.”
“Yes, yes. First shift.” The skurri took the edge for herself along with a few almonds who had mysteriously found their way to her and sat quietly as she watched over the little fledglings on the opposite tree. “Good ones, huh? The two?”
“Yes. Good ones.” The teacher replied and she smiled in the darkness. Those two would make her proud.
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Posted: Thu Sep 11, 2008 2:17 pm
"Huh...?" Ossie parted her golden eyes tiredly to look over the skurri. For a moment she seemed confused and disoriented, but caught on after a second. "Uh, oh. 'kay. Thank you."
She was too tired even to tear into the mus. She certainly felt hungry earlier, but was so exhausted that she didn't feel like she could eat. Despite this, she took a small tear of the mus with her beak.
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Posted: Sun Sep 14, 2008 10:22 am
Holly was half-asleep when the Skurri brought him the mus. Blinking at it, he looked at Ally and blinked a few times. Fluffing his feathers, he shooks his head to wake himself up. Lifting his head, he started work on the mus.
A few minutes later, he was finished and settled down again, blinking slowly. "G'morning, Ossie," he mumbled and closed his eyes. He was asleep almost instantly.
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