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 Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2008 11:42 am
There was a very large tree, with many branches entangled with each other. A perfect surface to stand on. From where Highfog was standing, she had a very nice view of the Minders' area. Fledglings were close enough voice-wise. The teacher cleared her throat, and hooted loudly.
"Young ones, it is time for me to teach you more about life!"
Gliding closer, she waited for her first students. Eager to see more young Sentinels, a large smile appeared on her face.
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Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2008 2:35 pm
Craneberry remembered this teacher from before, even if she couldn't remember her name. Her face painting was so neat, as if she had a third eye. Eagerly, she hopped closer, flapping a little to speed up the process.
She was glad her parents had left her with the minders today. Craneberry settled in as close to the teacher as possible and watched her eagerly.
"Why did you paint your face like that?" she blurted out before remembering her manners. "Miss Teacher, what are we going to learn today?" She flapped her wings, impatient for the lesson to start.
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Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2008 3:01 pm
"It's painted this way, so you remember I'm watching you, not twice, but thrice as carefully as anyone else when you are with me", explained Fog with a serious stare. She puffed her feathers, and replied to the fledgling with enthusiasm: "Today, dear, I'll teach you everything you need to know about hunting. That is, the basis. You will need to fend for yourself sooner or later, and feeding is more important than anything else." While speaking, she stood upright even more, giving herself a more impressive appearance.
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Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2008 3:37 pm
"Oh, WOW! Do you really have three eyes? That's so cool! What happens when you blink!? What about when you moult, wouldn't your third eye fall out then? Does it hurt? I bet that people look weird at you like..." The words fly out of the erratic fledgling as she flies towards the teacher, spilling forth as eagerly as her patchy wings claw at the air. Aaaand they fade away as hyperactive fledgling flutters past, having missed her desired perch on the first flyby. She returns swiftly, however, and has obviously had a fair bit of practice at flying. And missing. And flying some more. And even landing!
"So we're learning how to hunt? Awesome!"
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Posted: Fri Jan 25, 2008 4:13 am
Fog decided it wouldn't hurt fledglings to have their dream come true today. "This one eye never blinks, always looks at you, and it would be foolish to hope it vanishes into thin air as soon as I shed", replied the teacher, trying to keep her real eyes on the excited Aberrant. What a relief when she landed at last!
"Good to know you consider this as an interesting subject!", said Fog, as she gathered a few small, rotting fruits in front of her. "Everyone's safety is important, and that's why you will practice with these. Juice is the same as blood, seeds are vital organs. One fruit each. When you all are ready, I will show you how to hunt."
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Posted: Fri Jan 25, 2008 5:23 am
"Oh, you fly much better than me." Craneberry said without any trace of irony. "I'm Craneberry. What's your name, and what happened to your feathers? I like them."
She was far from comfortable with flying yet. Hop-flap-gliding from tree to tree felt much safer. Berry turned her attention towards the teacher again and watched the Ghost female arrange the fruits in front of her.
"We're hunting fruit?" she asked, wide eyed. "What kind of fruit is it? Are they poisonous? They smell kind of bad."
She hoped closer to investigate.
(might be gone until next weekend, but will try to answer sooner if I can)
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Posted: Fri Jan 25, 2008 5:46 am
"Today, we are hunting fruits, but we will pretend they are mice", said Fog, "They are, of course, not poisonous, but they are rotten. They are much more similar to small preys this way than edible fruits."
Slowly, claws reached the biggest fruit left, and delicately, were lowered at midsection of its target. "Do you know what move is the most important? Well, what every Sentinel needs to be able to do, is breaking the spine of their prey. You claws are designed to hold firmly your meal. With your beak, or your foot if it is strong enough, you snap its neck." Her face went closer to the large stem, forced to inhale a sickening bitter scent. "The stem should be hardened enough. Think of it as the neck of your prey, and try to break it, quickly, but properly."
((Don't worry, take your time 3nodding ))
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Posted: Fri Jan 25, 2008 8:30 am
"Never blinks? What if something gets in your extra eye then, wouldn't it hurt? Does it have that neat clear eye-thing, I wanna see!" Thrilled to have her inane questions answered for a change, Dodger leans closer and closer, nearly tumbling from her perch in her eagerness. Fortunately for all concerned parties, Craneberry's comments and questions distract Dodger and cause her to settle back into a safer posture. For now.
"Dodger, Dodger!" She chirps happily, bouncing a little on her perch while she bobs her head in greeting to the other fledgling. "I been practicing a lot, thanks! And I'm just patchy, I dunno why. Always been that way." The youth shrugs her wings, glancing down at the eerily-bright white feathers, and then looking away when Highfog's statement about the fruit-mice catches her interest "Whooaa.. neat! Those look way more interesting than real mice, and I bet they can't run away as fast." Bright blue eyes sparkle with amusement at her own perceived wit, and finally, to everyone's relief, the fledgling settles down to watch closely.
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Posted: Fri Jan 25, 2008 1:54 pm
Surprised, Fog contorted to keep her face away from Dodger. She didn't expect that reaction. A sigh of relief thanked Craneberry. Such curiosity wasn't something the teacher really frowned upon, but were she to try it again today, she would have to remind her firmly that fashion statements are never part of her lessons.
A motherly light in her yellow eyes shone as she was watching Craneberry and Dodger talking. As soon as the fledglings were done meeting, she leaned back forwards. "Exactly, my dear! However, they do fall faster." Softly, Highfog's beak prodded the surface of the makeshift prey. "If those fruits fall down, they explode in a juicy burst. That is not my purpose. The same goes for rodents: if they get messy, chances are you aren't taking care of mice properly. A few drops of blood are an unavoidable occurance. But you all need to learn how to make them stop moving quickly."
Her short beak then moved to the dry stem, and as easily as scissors cut paper, she snapped it in half, making a faint "Krak".
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Posted: Sun Jan 27, 2008 2:55 pm
Craneberry was torn between talking more to Dodger and listening to what the teacher had to say, but she ultimately decided to talk to the other fledgling more after class. She delicately grasped the stem of the closest fruit with her beak and carried it back to her place carefully. To her delight she didn't drop it or make a mess. Now to break the stem-spine... Craneberry frowned and tilted her head, thinking over her next move. She nibbled the stem, testing its strength and gradually increased the preassure. Perhaps it was better to try to make one swift snip like the teacher had done?
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Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2008 5:05 am
"Oooooo," cooed Dodger, suitably impressed by the lesson, and even more so by the demonstration. She watches keenly, head tilted just a bit to one side, and squints happily at the sharp 'Krak' of the stem snapping. Eager to give it a go herself, Dodger flaps excitedly and darts in after Craneberry, clutching a stem within her beak and carrying the fruit back to her place...
...or, well, mostly back to her place. Perhaps something excited Dodger enough that she began to speak without thinking, or perhaps she was just over-careless, but whatever the reason - she drops her fruit mid-hop. "Sss!" Hissing loudly in annoyance, Dodger promptly folds her wings and plummets after the falling fruit, diving downwards without a care for her own safety. Somehow, through a minor miracle, she manages to miss the larger branches on her way down. The fruit, on the other hand, does not. It is lucky enough to land upon a well-padded soft spruce branch, nestled safely in a bed of snow and soft needles.
Mere milliseconds after the fruit has come to its safe and slightly-dented rest, Dodger crashes through the branch in a huge puff of snow and needles, and then is lost to sight; her fate shrouded by the cover of the thicker, lower branches of the forest.
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Posted: Wed Jan 30, 2008 8:44 am
Fog was so proud among the kids. Standing upright again, she watched her students trying to do as she said. She knew breaking a prey's spine should be taught first, before inserting this deadly move in a set of calmer choreography in the air.
The sudden disappearance of Dodger was not unseen by the teacher, who hardly had a chance to say anything. At the very second she dove downwards, Fog looked in her direction. "Stop it, you're flying too fast!", she warned with increasing worry, as if it could have frozen Dodger in mid-air. Until she crashed, the older Sentinel had not let her leave her field of vision. Grimacing in anxiety, she turned round and shouted to Craneberry: "Stay here, please, don't follow me, I'm back shortly" before leaving the safety of her tree and flying down as well.
How has she managed to vanish? It seemed that she was buried under the snow of a big branch. But as she landed near, it was obvious she couldn't be hidden under such a thin layer.
She's not on the ground, now, is she?
Oh dear.
"Can you hear me?", cried Fog as she leaned forward to see better, eyes as round as the full moon, "Are you hurt? Do you know where you have landed?". Motherly worry filled her mind. She doesn't know what to do if Dodger had been more than a little hurt. This possibility was too scary and too unexpected for her to even consider.
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Posted: Wed Jan 30, 2008 2:12 pm
Caneberry had been to preoccupied with her own fruit to notice Dodgers sudden disappearence, but she did notice Fog calling. She looked up from the stubborn stem in time to see her teacher dive groundwards. She put the fruit down carefully and hopped forward on the platform. After stopping as far from the edge as she could while still being able to see, she slowly leaned forward to peer down towards the scary below. Her heart fluttered like a trapped bird in her little chest. Did Dodger fall all the way to the ground? Would she be all right?
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Posted: Wed Jan 30, 2008 5:10 pm
"I think I broke it," comes the weak little reply, surprisingly near to Highfog's current locations. Almost directly below her, actually.. so near that if the Teacher were to lean over just a little more and look under the branch she's perched on she'll be able to see the patchy little fledgling. Hanging there. From one foot. With the rotten fruit clutched firmly within her other foot.
While Fog watches, Dodger brings the crushed fruit closer to her face and neatly snaps the stem with her beak, while its juices drip to the forest floor. "Sorry, sorry! Can I try again?" She pipes up, dropping the fruit to the ground - oh dear, is the ground actually that close? A little shudder threatens Dodger's grip when she sees just how close she came to disaster, but she's holding on to the branch. Somehow.
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Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2008 4:39 am
The emotion that suddenly showed on Fog's face certainly wasn't called 'relief'. No, as she listened to Dodger and leaned over increasingly, the best word that could have described her current mindset was 'anger'.
"You have no idea of what you are doing", yelled a frowning teacher as she flew near the acrobatic fledgling. She paid no attention to the fruit, and instead put a large foot over Dodger's, making sure she wouldn't fall down... again. "You're not trying it again until we have a very necessary conversation, young lady", she spat, "You are never doing this again. Not as long as I'm taking care of you." Fog was almost ready to take off with her student uncomfortably held between her feet, blinded by annoyance.
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