Laria~

I sigh and stare anxiously at the letter from B.I.G. on my workbench. In my other hand is my letter from Dr. Sheepshank, my idol and hero. BIG is ridiculing Sheepshank, and Dr. Sheepshank is absolutely opposing BIG. I love Dr. Sheepshank, but I've been waiting for a letter from BIG forever. I don't like them, but there always seemed to be something wrong with them. Now, getting the letter with the pawprint? It's a little more than I bargained for. I have to decide soon. Another sheet of paper in the envelope said that I need to register soon. I take a deep breath and make up my mind.

I step inside. "Mom? Dad? I've decided to join B.I.G." Mom appears in the kitchen doorway.

"Join what?" 

"B.I.G. It's short for the Brazen Inquirey Guild. They sent me a letter."

"Can we see it?" Asks Dad. I hesitate, holding it close. I'm afraid that if they see it, they'll stop me.

"I'd rather you didn't. There's some. . . secret information here. Reciever's eyes only. You know how that is." My parents frown and I feel sort of bad lying to them. But then I remember the pawprint, and I remember the etter from Little Crow. No. They can't see. There's something wrong with BIG. At last, Mom nods. Dad sighs.

"Alright, sweetie. We knoe how much you wanted this. We're proud of you." I stare. I expected a very different reaction. More like screaming, 'No! You can't go to some stupid invenoer's faucility! You need a btter carreer!'

"Why don't you go and pack your things?" Mom suggests. I nod numbly and hurry off, tears filling my eyes. They said yes. I sort of wish they'd put up even a weak argument, and sign that they didn't want me to go. 

I enter my room and again see all the papers and post-its on the wall. I've forgotten what color my walls are. I guess I'll find out when I try to stuff all these into a binder to take with me. I stuff my bags with my clothes and books, register oline, then tackle my walls. There's no way I'm leaving all my Potentials here. I eagerly dig around and find an empty binder. I carefully yank a sheet of paper off the wall. Green. I grimace. No wonder I covered the walls. I glance again at the note. I wonder how many new friends will be there. . . and how many enemies.

Storm looks at his giant notebook of notes in his hollow. He hoots in excitement. He's found another letter from the B.I.G. sent to another human child. Storm quietly thanks the wind of mischeif, Missy, for delaying the letters from being sent. He took a thorn from his little rosebush and pinned the letter on the notebook. He flipped back to the cover and read the letters again. One of them was about the uses of the Cypher, probably to try to convince someone. One of the reasons, to tame animals, gave Storm the chills. Most of them were unique, but a few were the same exact letter shipped to a different child. He glanced at his copy of Little Crow's letter, given to him by a messenger who copied the letter to send it to me. He shrieked to clear his throat, strapped on his battle mask, and flew out of the hollow for a night flight. 

Bird debated in her mind. What was this mysterious object? She wanted to know... but no, she had to help Little Crow. His letter seemed much more pressing... and she couldn't join anything, she'd already made up her mind to accept KMC (Kyngdom Music Conservatory)'s scholarship when the time came. She put the letter down on the bed as Bear called, "BIRD! DINNER IS ON THE TABLE AND DADDY SAYS-" She tuned him out. As she walked downstairs, she decided that the only option to find out the use of the object AND help Little Crow was to act as a spy for the rebels- and "join" the Brazen Inquiry Guild.

~Juliet

I look at the lake in front of me. It's water is so delicious, so clear, with that special hint of lilypad. As I bend my head down to take a drink, I automatically close my eyes, and suddenly the horrible scene flashes through my mind. 

It was a long time ago, I'm cuddling with my mother, and my father, a great stag, is nearby. An instant too soon, I hear a loud bang, and she falls to the ground. My father bucks and charges at the human who is holding a long wooden barrel. There is another shot, and he falls, too. A third one is heard, and even though it is just a dream, a memory, I can still feel that sharp pain shoot up my leg.

I yank my eyelids open, and visciously shake off the thought. Every time I close my eyes, it's the same nightmare . . . I look at a piece of my father's antlers, stored in a small bag tied around my neck.

I bend down again and open my mouth, about to take a sip. Before I can, a yellow piece of paper lands at my shiny hooves.

I sigh and stare at it. Why in the world would humans murder trees to make this thin stuff?

Curious, I decide to read it. I don't know many human words, and they always like using long and fancy ones. It takes me a few minutes to decipher it, but then I finally let out a loud gasp.

"YOU. CRAZY. HUMANS." I begin stomping on it in a rage of fury. 

It's from something called the B.I.G., wanting to recruit young humans to join them. As I jump up and down some more,I notice a big brown splotch on it. It says something about don't join them, along with a pawprint of what I believe is a wolf's.

I shrug. I approach the water's surface again, yet another piece of paper blows my way. Except this is made from pure trre bark. It's a message a message from someone named "Capense."

Dear Juliet,

Greetings. In case your father (who was a friend of mine) didn't tell you about me, let me introduce myself. I am a snowy owl, in charge of the FAFA, or Fur and Feather Association. We are a team of rebellious animals trying to stop the Cypher from landing in the wrong hands. It has alerted me that the B.I.G. is very interested in it, and we are trying to stop them. We need spies, workers, etc. If you'd like to join us, we are currently planning a rescue mission for an informative crow. Meet us at the Bog and Burrow Inn whenever you'd like. There will be all sorts of creatures! Snakes, cats, elves, even humans.

I gasp again and drop the letter. Humans! The enemy of nature! Why would I join them?! I bet they're double spies! Pretending to work for both sides when they're really for B.I.G.! I let out a shriek and consider fainting. Sure, I'm interested all right. Other than hunting season, my life's pretty boring. And I need friends. And the "Cypher" sounds pretty powerful.

But I can't. I can't work with humans. They think we're stupid, and they can't be trusted. 

I sigh, about to toss the paper into the lake. Then something in the corner of Capense's letter catches my eye. It says:

Don't forget about the human girl who rescued you. 

Uh also realky sorry if I controlled Capense too much! Not sure if that's allowed (I'm just used to controlling all of the characters!)

Ivy~

I lie in the willow tree, drifting in and out of sleep. A peace of paper drifts onto my paw. Vaugly interested, I read it. It's from something called the B.I.G., wanting to recruit young humans to join them. And it says that we animals don't feel pain, pity, anger, sadness, happieness, or any other emotion. I'm fully awake now, and feeling very angry indeed. My claws dig into the paper, and I roar, really roar with anger. Then I begin to shred the letter into tiny peaces of paper.

All of a sudden, I hear a "Caw!" Already angry, and happy for soemthing to direct my anger at, I immediantly pounce in the direction of the noise. I land on a small bird, a crow by the looks of it.

"Hey! I was just going to deliver a messege to you! You don't have to kill me!" it says. "'Hello, dinner. You can't fool me with lies. See you in the next world, dinner," I say, getting ready to kill him. "I'm not lying, I can prove it!" he protests. "Then prove it, bird." I let go of him and he immediantly flies to the highest branch above me. "Here's the messege." He throws a peace of bark at me, and I only just dogde it. "What was that for? Did you want to get a fighting chance at me before you die?" I reply, angry at him. "There's writing on it," he replies, unruffled.

I hiss at him, but begrudgingly look at the peace of bark. It says:

Dear Ivy,

Greetings. You may not have heard of me, but please, trust me. I am a snowy owl, in charge of the FAFA, or Fur and Feather Association. We are a team of rebellious animals trying to stop the Cypher from landing in the wrong hands. It has alerted me that the B.I.G. is very interested in it, and we are trying to stop them. We need spies, workers, etc. If you'd like to join us, we are currently planning a rescue mission for an informative crow. Meet us at the Bog and Burrow Inn whenever you'd like. There will be all sorts of creatures! Snakes, cats, elves, even humans. 

Even Humans..... not wise. They'll.... they'll destroy everything. Just like they destroyed everything in my life. A memery envelopes me. The memory of my family's death. We were resting for the night, we had been traveling all day. Me and my sister trained as my mother and father set up camp, using dead tree branches and leaves to make a shelter. Then a man comes into the clearing. A man with black hair and a coat. he said for my sister to come with him to a different clearing so that he could talk to her. He spoke in our language.

My sister refused, saying that either she came with her family, or not at all. The man became angry and said that she could either come here and talk to him alone, or be carried here and talk alone. Again she refused. the man took out a knife and started towards my sister. he dragged her to another clearing, but my father, mother, and I ran after him. In the clearing, he saw us. He withdrew a knife from his coat and put it to my sister's neck. my father leaped onto the man, clawing at him furiously, but the man stabbed my father. Then he slit my sister's throat. my mother threw herself at the man. He brandished the knife and stabbed her too.

Then he turned to me. He ran towards me and I ran, ran, ran. My lungs burning, tears obscuring my vision, and blood splatters on my fur.

i shook my head, dislodging the memory. i turned to the crow and said; "I'll help FAFA." He looked at me and said; 'Okay. by the way, now that you've joined i kind of need your help to rescue my Aunt....... wait, no, this peace of bark should explain everything." He tossed me another peace of bark, then took off. As a last word, he said; "They'll be a messege if you need to go to HQ. Oh, and, my name is little Crow. Bye!" Then he flew off. i stared after him. Then i jumped off the tree, and continued onwards.

~~~~~~~~

I know, kinda long. Hope I didn't control you too much, little crow. 

Cyl~

"One little digit! One-little-digit! It's easy; just change two to one and..." I plead with the snowy owl in front of me, my claws determindly planted on the hard-packed ground outside of The Bog and Burrow Inn.

"Cyl, stop it. Look, you're never going to be a spy of the First Order of Stealth," Capense looks straight at me with his big, serious eyes. The wind ruffles his white feathers. He looks so dominant and powerful, which makes me hate him all the more. I had been trying for weeks to make him raise me to the First Order of Stealth, which was the highest position a spy could reach. Now, as he tells me the truth, I feel mad enough to burst, but I can't think of an insult strong enough to throw at the domineering owl. I spread my wings, preparing to catch the wind.

"Cyl!" he calls, but his words fall on deaf ears. I'm already soaring. 

Seth~

I watch as Chermain dashes down the hallway. What is up with her? She's been acting weird ever since they brought that crow in...well, she's been acting weirder than normal. 

"You got grease on your overalls. Please don't tell me that the wacky pen you've been working on is acting up again!" I spin around quickly to see who is talking to me, and find myself staring into Tristen Lionheart's brilliant green eyes. 

"Huh?"

"Machine grease. On your overalls," Tris repeats. Looking down, I study the pocket where I keep my latest invention. Sure enough, the pocket was soaked with oil... or something like that. 

"Oh great," I mutter as I examine the pen. Deftly taking it apart, I lay the pieces out on my hand and study the tiny steam-powered engine inside, which is about as big as my thumb. Unidentified liquid is dripping from a crack. 

"It's broken. Again." Tris grins lopsidedly as she bends over to study the disassembled pen.

"It isn't broken! I can fix it," I assure her.

"That's what you said the last time." Tris, still grinning, rolls her eyes.

~Wiseowl

Searching to make sure no one is watching, a small 11 year old girl morphs into an owl. She now has bits of color on her feathers in her barnowl form due to her ability. Sophia (translated wisdom in Greek) is what regular people think is her name, but in the world of trusted friends her name is Wiseowl. She looks for a safe landing spot and spots a tall shrub that will cover her transformation. After she has morphed back into a human, she walks in the back entrance of Readers Barn library. Heading to her uptairs quarters she selects a book to borrow. When she gets to her cozy room she notices that to diffrent envelopes are on her bed. One has a fancy red seal that has the letters B.I.G on it. "Well,"  she thought,"they must have plenty of arrogance to call themselves B.I.G." The letters reminded her of something though. She closed her eyes and opened them instantly in fright.                 -Flashback- .......Kiddnapped as an owlet.....Being trapped in a room,a cage........Feathers being pulled out for examination......Someone setting her free......The Brazen Inquiry Guild......-

Brazen Inquiry Guild! That might stand for B.I.G.! And sure enough it was from the very company that changed her forever, asking her to join. She looks to see if the other envelope is from the same group but instead it was sealed with mud. "More wild the better," thought Wiseowl. This letter was more comforting, asking if she would join a group against the B.I.G.. She sends a reply to both that each says yes, not because she is unsure which to choose but because she has decided to to repay the thoughtful stranger by spying on the B.I.G. as well.