I land softly on the ground with the help of my wings. I see Kasumi hurling spears at the Gryphon. I see Capense and Cyl fighting hard, and Capri scraping and tearing at the Gryphon for all she's worth. I see Storm perched on a branch, concentrating on his wind so hard you could almost see it. I hate to leave them, but I have to do this. It will be better for everyone in the long run. I race into the village, The Power of Wing tucked safely under my wing. " Zephyra!" I call frantically. "Zephra! We need you!" I see a black figure flying above my head. "Zephyra! Is that you?" The bird swoops down and lands beside me. "Are you looking for my aunt?" He says. "Little Crow! Do you know where she is?" "Well, not exactly. She should be around here somwhere, though." This isn't looking good. "Oh, ok. I'll keep looking." "You want me to help?" "Sure! You fly ahead and tell me if you see anything." He flaps his wings, then rises into the air. I race along the ground. If I were Zephyra, where would I be? I think.  Well, let's see. She could be at the Bog and Burrow inn. She loves that place. As if reading my mind, Little Crow calls down to me. " Hey, let's check the Bog and Burrow! She goes there all the time!" "Great!" I call back. I race in the direction of the Bog and Burrow. It isn't far, but on two short legs running as fast as I can, it gets tiring. "I see it! I see it!" Little Crow yells. Yep, that's it. I burst in the door, gasping for breath. Little Crow lands and comes in behind me. "Is..... Zephyra....... Here?" I say between breaths. Wigbig the rabbit walks out of the kitchen. "Hey Little Crow! Hey Scarlet! You want some worms, pizza? I know your favorites, both of you!" "Wigbig! Is Little's ........ Aunt here?" I say, still breathing hard. "Sorry, Scarlet. She just left. Is the Gryphon still rampageing in the human village?" "Yes! That's why we....... Need Zephyra!" I say, exasperated. "Well, she's busy right now, but if you really want her, she should be on her way to the little town where the Gryphon is." I race out the door, not even noticing the customers that had been staring and just now started eating again, or band that was playing until we so rudely and accidentally interrupted their song and had just been getting the beat back up. "Thanks Wigbig!" Little Crow, who hasn't forgotten his manners, calls. Without even thinking about how hungry or tired I am, I race into action. Run, turn a curve, jump over a rock,flap my wings to rise above a fallen tree,grab at the power that's slipping from my wings, marvel at the speed I never thought I could travel, run, turn, jump, flap, grab, marvel, repeat. It's all I'm focused on. This is what I was born to do. Little Crow shouts, a Crow shouts back, someone's calling my name, I bump into Zephyra, Zephyra! "Zephyra! I'm sorry I didn't see you there!" I'm suddenly nervous. I'm talking to a guardian. "I, um, I love your jacket! But no time! Here, your Power." I hand over The Power. "Thank you, um,-" " Scarlet" I interupt. " thank you, Scarlet. You have no idea how much this means to me. I was afraid that this might be lost forever. You look so tired. You must rest. Did you run all the way here from the bog and burrow inn?" "Ya she did, and I flew! Isn't she awesome! And fast! She works for Capt'n O and she fought the Gryphon and she can fly! Just like me but not as long!" Little Crow was talking a mile a minute, and I didn't even see him land. I knew Zephyra and Little would take care of everything, and I had no energy left in my poor, battered body. I suddenly felt dizzy, and began to lose my balance. I had run my hardest, and my small chicken body couldn't take any more. I fell to the ground, exhausted.  I knew I would wake up, Eventually. Then I went unconscious.

~ Scarlet

Giniva ~

I let out a string of unnecessary, almost-curse words as the world falls down. "Whale-blubbarian! Fudge, fudge fudge your potatoes and oh my GANDALF a spoonful of sugar will not help this time MARY POPPINS!"

The rubble wasn't too bad where Seth and I were: we could still move freely. Some rocks had hit us, but as I glanced at Seth I deducted both of us were relatively okay. The walls had caved in, but we were near the middle of the hall, mostly out of reach. However, the ceiling had collapsed, and was dangerously close to smushing us if the rubble decided to roll away.

Seth coughed, rubbing dust out of his eyes.

"MARY POPPINS!" I gasped, catching him unaware. He jumped, and I could help smiling. "My purse!" I suggested, reaching around to grab it.

"Wait no! Where did it go?!?"

Seth groaned, moving to hist feet. "How willl your purse help? We are stuck!"

"It's Mary Poppins' purse, remember! We can either find something useful in it, or fill it with rocks!"

Understanding dawned upon him, and he glanced around the tight space. "Weeee should probably start looking..."

OOO! This is getting interesting...

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~Storm

My thoughts bounced in my mind. We should start an association where humans and animals work together. Tani already knew some bird, so it is quite possible... I shook my head. We were in the middle of war right now. I go to the Gryphon's back, pecking hard. Though my magical energy was gone for a while, my physical strength was replenished while sitting on that branch. I pecked hard and using my battle claws, I reached through the thick fur and feathers of its neck and reached flesh, tearing a large wound in its skin with my talons. The Gryphon screeched and stopped moving for a minute. Have I reached a weak spot? Have I defeated it? I thought. Suddenly, the Gryphon started moving again, tossing me aside, but there was a strange glow surrounding the Gryphon's body like fire, except it was gold in color. I panicked. How were we supposed to defeat this thing? A squawk rung through the air. Zephyra is here! She was holding the power of wing in her beak, leading Little Crow, and had Scarlet on her back. 

" Bye guys!" I say to Zalia, Peck, and Amethyst as I jump out the window, armed and ready. I am fully recharged and take to the air. I see Storm and call for him. " Storm!" He flys over. "Are you hurt?" "No, but I brought these!" I hand him a knife and a spear. "Thought they might come in handy" I say. "Great! Thanks!" He calls as he flys away. I swoop down to where Capri is fighting and hand her a spear and knife. " here Capri!" Then I call for Cyl. "Here! Give these to Capense. Here's two more for you." I land with a gentle flap of my wings. "Here Kasumi" I give her a spear and Knife. Zephyra struts over. "Where did you get these, Scarlet?" "My friends gave me the knives and I made the spears. Here." I hand her a couple. "I'm sure this will give us an advantage. How many do you have?" "I'm not sure, but I think about twenty spears and maybe seven knives. Im leaving them in my belt. If you need more, just tell me." I fly into the air, but not very high. I hurl a spear when I'm sure that none of my teammates are in the way. Then I see something I haven't even thought about before. Is that a tear glistening in the Gryphon's eye? The beast was destroying many people's and animals lives. Tearing down buildings. Crushing the ground. But what about us? Surely this wasn't just any dumb beast. The Power of Wing wouldn't have summoned it. I haven't studied much about the origin of the powers, but there's obviously something none of us know. Should we really kill it? I land and walk up to Zephyra. "Do you know anything about the Gryphon?" I ask. "Not much more than any of us, dear." She says. "Well, maybe we shouldn't kill it." I say. "I know it sounds crazy, but it's a mystical being summoned from a power. Maybe we could hold it captive and get it to talk. To tell us more about the powers and why it's rampaging in the village. What does it want?" "Hmm, if we could find a suitable place to imprison it, you might just be on to something." She rose high into the air and yelled, "Everyone! Listen! Scarlet has an idea!" Within five minutes, everyone was gathered on the ground around me. "We don't have much time. Hurry and tell us the plan before the Gryphon gets over here." Cyl looks worried as she says this. "Well maybe we don't have to kill it. Maybe we shouldn't. Maybe we could just imprison-" an blood-curdling shriek rings through the air. "Think about it!" I call as everyone flys,or runs to fight the gryphon.

~ Scarlet 

Whoo boy have I missed a lot!!!!!
Trill: Happy birthday!

Oh, thanks Trill!

Trill gasped at the explosion noise. Racing to the window, she grabbed the sill as another boom rang through the floor. Squinting to look outside, her eyes darted from one thing to the next. An overturned basket with Storm's iPad translator under it-Tani trying to jump from a tree with a drone-Seth and Giniva racing through the building on the other side-Laria being dragged away by Bob and Gog-"Oh boy. Tonight is not the best night for poor B.I.G....." Trill muttered. Sighing, she jumped the window, cleanly clearing the sil, and raced out into the night.

~~~

"Trill!" Trill heard her name from up above. Tani. Quickly, she climbed the tree. "What's up?" Tani filled her in. Trill nodded quietly. "We can't let Seth and Giniva see us together much more. They suspect something." She hurried. "You do whatever you must. Laria is being dragged off by Bob and Gog-I'm getting FaFA backup, then going to get her. got it?" They nodded together, and Trill darted off.

~~~

"Yes, that's why we need your help." Trill said impatiently. She was standing in a clearing with an owl. "I still don't know your name. Are you coming to help or not?" The owl hesitated, then nodded. "I'll get backup." It hooted, then flew off. A few minutes later, crashing footsteps came through the underbrush, and Trill found herself surrounded by animals. "Come on," She cried, and ran back towards B.I.G.

~~~

~Storm

I quickly perched on the tree for a moment. I got the knives and needles lined up along my wing tips. I then flew off and considered Scarlet's decision. We shouldn't be selfish, we need to think about how the gryphon is feeling. I got the sleep darts from the previous mission and put their poisons on the knives and needles. I got an extra one and held it in my beak. Sheathing my wing needles and knives, I flew silently over to the Gryphon, and I shot a dart at it's back. It went into the fur, but failed to touch the skin. I shot agian, this time, at the tail, where the fur is thinner. It went through this time, into the skin. It may take a while to get this huge creature to sleep, so I shot more darts at the eagle talons. The Gryphon started to have slower movements and lazy slashes and whips at us. It was working! The Gryphon then tumbled onto it's side, snoring loudly. I screeched my battle victory cry. Other people and animals join in with their victory cries. We have stopped the Gryphon. 

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CAPTCHA says odin. Odin is a Norse god, and I don't think he has anything to do with chickens. Is your name Odin? Also, Odin is male, and you're a female chicken.

 
I look over at Storm. He throws a sleep dart at the gryphon. It falls over. Yes! We're winning. What to do now? Well, we will need a giant cage or something. Who do I know that has a giant cage or the skills to build one? I don't know. Maybe someone else will. I fly over and land on a branch next to Storm. "What are we going to do with it?" I ask. "I don't know. I guess we put it in a cage or something." "Where can we get a cage that big?" "That's what I'm trying to figure out." 

~ Scarlet

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Sorry if this is short. My CAPTCHA says cerg. What's that supposed to mean? 

Nice twist. Now I just have 

Tani~

I tucked my staffs back into the sheaths and stooped over the K.O.'d Gryphon. There were mutterings from all sides (and chirps, so I'm guessing the birds were discussing as well) about a cage. Where would we find one? For that matter, where one big enough?

"Uh...hey...guys?" I said quietly. The assorted humans and animals kept right on talking.

I cleared my throat and said, more loudly, "Hey!"

Many eyes turned to me and I felt my face heat up.

"Well, the nearest store that would have traps is on the other side of the forest, bordering Idria, 'cause hunting's the main career there. But we don't need the store. We've got this." My conviction was slowly returning, and I swept my hand out to the forest next to us. "If we work together I'm pretty sure we can build a cage before this thing wakes up. We've got wood, vines, and natural adhesives right here in all these trees." I trailed off, looking around at the faces staring back at me. Nobody looked especially doubtful, so I continued. "Right then. Maybe the humans, the ones with knives or spears, could find and carve branches. Birds and other animals could gather vines, long grasses, sap, anything to attach the wood. And I've made a few cages in my life - sorry, animals, I didn't know you could think then - so I could probably help out with putting the thing together."

I stopped and looked around again. There were no dubious faces. Some were even nodding, the birds doing so with little dips of their heads.

I grinned. "Okay. Cool. We should probably start." 

Woot Woot!!!!!!! We did it!!! Yay!

Sorry, guys. Trill would LOVE to help, but she's busy helping Laria. ::blush::

Trill raced through the woods. Behind her, a pack of wolves, birds, deer, you name it, ran as well. Skidding to a stop in front of the HQ, Trill saw the gryphon and everyone running around and making....a basket? Twisting her head, she saw it was a cage. Color rushed to her cheeks and she pulled her red hair in front of her face to hide it. Seeing Tani at the head of the group, she waved at her. Tani waved back. Trill took a deep breath and walked into B.I.G. The animals followed.

Sneaking quietly along the third corridor, Trill motioned behind her back. Soft animal footsteps came up behind her. Then she saw it. 

A slightly open door.

Tiptoeing up to it, she peeked inside.

Then pulled back as she saw Prof. Hornshaw. "What should we do?" a droopy male voice asked. Trill guessed that was Bob. "Smash her to bits." A fierce voice. Gog, Trill thought, wincing. High heels clacked softly against the floor. Trill held her breath.

Suddenly, the door slammed shut. Trill sighed. "We can't do anything at the moment," she whispered to the animals. "There are too many people in there." Taking the door slam as their cue to leave, Trill walked softly down the hall.

Only to walk into Giniva around the next corner.

"Giniva!" Trill cried, motioning for the animals to go through the back door at the back of the corridor, instead of through the main door where they were heading. Seeing a shadow behind Giniva, Trill tensed slightly. "And Freya!" Another. "And Seth!" Trill's heart sank.

How could she explain herself out of this mess?

A little help? Someone reply! ;-) 

Tani's idea sounds great. I flap onto the ground, and begin running toward the forest. I gather vines and twigs, sorting them into piles as I go. Humans are carving sticks and branches. Then I see a few strange faces peeking out of the bushes. I step quietly toward them, trying not to crunch the leaves. "Hello?" I say. "Is the monster gone?" I hear a tiny voice say. Then,"sshhhh!"  "Hello?" I repeat. "Is someone there?" "It's just a chicken, Dear. We'll be alright." I hear.Then three small creatures step out of the brush. It looks like a family of beavers. "Is the Gryphon dead?" The tallest one says. "No" I reply.  "But we subdued it." "That's a relief." The next to tallest says. "We have a dam nearby and we hoped it would be safe." She says. Then the little one speaks,"can we hep?" "Yes! We're making a cage for the Gryphon, and we could really use some beavers." Their faces light up and they look behind them and call. Five more beavers walk out of the forest, following me. "Hey guys!" Everyone looks me with faces that say, you're supposed to be working, and we are too. What do you want? I feel my face getting hot. If it wasn't for my red feathers, I would probably be blushing. "Um, I brought some help." I step out of the way and expose the trail of beavers.

_____________________________________________________ 

The beavers begin chewing logs right away, and I  finish collecting vines and twigs. Someone gives the order to start building. The beavers drag logs into place, while the birds (including me) tie them with vines. The humans begin making the door with a latch. Then I hear it. The Gryphon is waking up. Maybe another sleep dart? "Storm!" I call. But he's busy tying a knot. "Guys! We need another sleep d-" I'm cut short, the gryphon hits me with a pounding blow. It knocks the wind out of me, but I don't go unconcious this time. Storm notices me gasping for air, then sees the Gryphon. I hear him telling the others. This could ruin our plan. If Storm doesn't shoot the sleep dart in time, the Gryphon could tear the cage apart. It's not sturdy enough to withstand the beasts strength yet. I call to the beavers. "Hey, beavers. Follow me." I have to get them out of harms way. Before I help with the gryphon. I can only hope the others know what to do

~ Scarlet

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my CAPTCHA says noin. Are you trying to say coin? None? Loin?