Dead End // open

[serrod]

His large body casted a shadow of the rocky landscape that surrounded the Canyons. He was headed, or thought he was headed, towards the Great Tree in hopes of locating his family. Though, he wasn't that worried about his parents, since they could care for theirself, but his sister started to be delusional before flying off. If anything, she had gone and got herself killed.

He flapped his wings to keep himself in the air, though not at all gracefully. He wobbled a little as he did so but managed to steady himself. Skelbury was far from knowing how to fly without making himself work hard. Of course, he had just started to fly a few weeks ago.

He angled his body downward and quickly descended, leveling himself out close to the mouths of the canyons. He didn't pay much attention to what was down there or who was down there. He kept his attention on the horizon in the distance believing that his destination was just past this land.

[Saiko ♫]

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[atrb=background,http://img409.imageshack.us/img409/591/nymbusmid3second.png] Nymbus slowly walked his way toward the entrance of the St. Aggies Orphanage. He stood on the platform of hard rock just beyond the pelletorium. The Ablah General walked up tall as he looked to the sky he could see the sun had finally started to set and he wondered about the daily moonblinking that was about to commence. The Orphanage had gained quite a number of "orphaned" owlets thus far. It was the patrol and the sorry owlets who strayed too far into the canyon that had gotten them caught. Th air was stiff and dry where the General stood. Wind barely found its way through the rocky ribbon shaped canyon walls. Spreading his wings and bringing them down hard against the ground he became aloft. He knew his Orphanage was in good talons and he would only be a few minutes. He needed a good place to think. Finally reaching an updraft the male owl steadied his wings and soared gracefully on the open sky. His eyes darted the skies around him and thats when he saw something unexpected. "An owlet? Strange..." he hooted against the wind as a sly smirk reached his beak. Tipping his body slightly to the left he drifted to the side of the owlet. "Young owlet, where are you headed?" the general hooted trying to sound genuinely curious. He really had no interest in the owlet's reason of flying over his canyons. He was a new recruit in Nymbus' eyes but he preferred to brainwash the chick in following the snowy owl on his own accord instead of brutally snatching him out of the sky. Of course he had no problem fatally wounding any adult owl who crossed his path.

[vae]

Vae's wings tilted this way and that as she enjoyed the warm, dry air slipping between her feathers. She was nearly bursting with happiness, having just seen her beloved brother up in Southern Silverveil. The had cut down South through the Shadow forest to see her parents, and had been blown south by a warm but strong wind. She didn't mind too much, it was lovely weather for flying, though she feared mobbings during the daylight. She would probably make it back for tweener if she flew quickly.

The glare was harsh and pained her eyes, but she ignored it and followed the path the wind took her on. She tipped her beak slightly upwards, enjoying the warm yellow kiss of the sun on her beak. It lit an ugly red glare behind her eyelids, but the warmth radiating on her face was enough to make up for it.

Opening her eyes she was greeted by an onslaught of sunlight. She blinked rapidly, as if to disperse the sun fro mher eyes like she would rain or debris, and her vision gradually returned to normal. In the distance she could see a young-looking owl flying in the same general direction as she was. Something tweaked her gizzard in an unomfortable way, and she got the feeling she should make her way towards him.

As soon as she shifted her course, another figure caught her eye. It was a snowy owl, also making his way towards the owlet. Her gizzard clenched painfully, fearfully. The Ablah General of St. Aggies was a Snowy. She didn't know what his name was or what he looked like, but she knew he was a snowy.

Flaping her wings to propel herself faster towards the young owl, she tried to make herself calmer. What are the chances of the owl actually being The Ablah General? Whoever they are, they're probably just trying to help the poor owlet. But even after repeating this a hundred different times in a hundred different ways; her gizzard still screamed at her to fly as far and as fast as she could.

And she would have, if not for the owlet.

She got there just in time to hear the Snowy, a male by the sound of it, ask the other owl where he was heading. Noticing his direction she decided to pipe in. "It wouldn't by the Great Ga'Hoole tree, would it? Because I'm on my way there as well, young'un." She cast a nervous glance at the other owl, hoping with every feather on her body that she wouldn't have to fight her way out of this situation. "I could guide you there if you like... She added nervously.

[serrod]

Skelbury wobbled a little in the air as his attention moved to a large snowy owl who had approached him. He wasn’t sure where exactly this owl came from, or why such an owl would be in the canyons in the first place. As far as he knew, snowy owls only occupied the Northern Kingdoms. He flapped his wings a few more times to keep level with the other. “To the Tree,” he simply replied. The young owl was never one for many words, preferring to keep things short and to the point rather than spending unneeded time just to explain a simple subject. He couldn’t tell if the owl knew what he was talking about, but he didn’t really want to take the time to specify. He was tired and sore from all of this flying, and desperately wanted to land and rest. He could care less about trying to please the snowy by carrying on a conversation.

“Is it safe down there?” he asked the snowy owl as he motioned with his head towards the canyons. Of course, this land would not be his number one choice to rest but it was better than continuously flying. Skelbury hoped that the owl would understand his weariness and shed some light on where he could rest, but even he knew that it was hard for others to understand what he was feeling.

It wasn’t long after he asked the question that a smaller Barred Owl came up to them. He guessed that she must of overheard the question for she also mentioned she was headed there. He thought about it for a few moments, silently flying beside the snowy. “What direction?” he asked her. He figured he could compromise and hopefully rest here, then set out for the Tree afterwards.

He stayed silent for a few moments thinking of the odds of two owls, whose species would normally never reside in the canyons, running into him. He found it an odd coincidence, perhaps even a dangerous one. He had heard stories told by his father of a dangerous group of owls who resides in the barren land, though Skelbury always understood that land to be the Desert of Kuneer. He looked back at the two owls in a questionable manner. He wanted to clarify the location of the owls his father spoke of, but didn't really know how to go about bringing it up.

[Saiko ♫]

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[atrb=background,http://img409.imageshack.us/img409/591/nymbusmid3second.png] The Ablah General looked to the owlet, his yellow orbs filled with amusement. If he played everything right he could get the poor little owlet into the clutches of St. Aggies without a problem. After asking his question the small owl answered briefly as if not one for a lengthy conversation, "The tree." The snowy owl stiffled a curse and trues desperately to hide his disdain for even just the place where the Guardians resided. He once longed to be a guardian himself as a young chick. He father filled his head with stories to the point where he longed to make the flight, but one's fate can easily be rerouted. "I see...well you do seem quite exhausted little one. It's the safest canyon you'll ever find, why don't you follow me and I'll escort you myself--" The snowy owl was interrupted by a foul sound to his ear holes. As he turned his head slightly his eyes met another owl, a Ga'Hoolian Owl, and Nymbus fought the urge to launch an attack. His yellow eyes were merely slits of electric hatred for the female owl that infringed on his plan. As he listened to the words that slipped from the barred owl's beak. 'On her way there!! Guide him there!!' Nymbus' mind snarled with outrage and fury, but he kept his composure. Taking the more calmer approach to the situation, rather then just ripping the Guardian to feathery pieces and feeding her to the moonblinked shrieks, he looked away from the female owl and spoke calmly with a slight harsh tone "Can't you see the lad needs sleep? Leave him be. I will take the situation from here Guardian!" The owlet looked to the two owls seeming a bit confused with the whole situation but the General needed to get the owlet back as soon as he could before a fight broke loose and possibly killing the owlet in the act. The one thing Nymbus had on his side were the two owl's lack of knowledge. The guardian didn't seem to truly know the owl before her was the Ablah General and the owlet had no idea that St. Aggies was just below.

[vae]

Vae's gizzard was practically scrunching up into nothingness as soon as she heard the owl trying to persuade the owlet to rest in the canyons below. OWls didn't live in the Canyons exept for those who were imprisoned there. Owls such as St. Aggies. She knew then, by heart and by gizzard, that the owl flying by her was the infamous Ablah General of St. Aegolius Academy for Orphaned Owls. She tilted her head this way and that, listening subtly to the area below them. Indeed, just barely, but the sounds of thousands of tiny talons could be scarcely heard clicking on the stone below, right where the Snowy had come from.

She kept her composure, though her heart felt as if it were to drop right out of her body and splatter dramatically all over the rocks below, so great was her fear. She made sure her wings continued to flap steadily, not wanting to go yeep from the sudden dread she felt coursing through her body. Do not fall, do not fall, she commanded herself. It had only been a few seconds since the Snowy had spoken, but it had seemed like an eternity.

"I'm not sure, young'un. Word of the beak is, there are some dangerous owls around these parts kidnapping owlets as slaves. They're called the St. Aggies, lead by a fearsome Snowy." Vae paused, trying to let the last sentence sink in. The owlet seemed smart, if anti-social. She prayed to Glaux the owlet would understand her message, although it was said in her usual cheery, uplifted voice, it carried possibly the most important message the owlet would ever hope to understand.

The tone the Snowy was using with her made her both want to wilf and puff up in rage. Instead of sealing her fate with a smart comment she responded with a voice soaked in honey, sweet and motherly as could be. "Oh, sweetie you can at least keep flying to Ambala, can't you? Lovely trees there for roosting. It's not so far!"