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Three Down
Argus - no, Reidoth, said there's one more. Was his information accurate?
Are more being made? Recruited? Brought up or brought back?
Are we capable of winning this battle? Can it be won?
Are we just slowing the spread of a disease?
Are we enough?
Am I?
-------
Above ground, on the grass, with fresh air, Flicker usually felt more capable. Constant shrieking was difficult to drown out. The unnatural storm was stifling and the thick darkness disorienting. Without the high ground she could hardly rely on sight even with the aid of magicked vision, and her tendency to keep her distance meant she quickly lost track of her allies.
Sefilwyn was expending Lathander's gift rapidly keeping the others alive. Amarille was breaking herself over and over again as she refused to leave the fray. Flicker had seen Keth hurt before, but she was unprepared to witness the aggressive onslaught against him.
She hated it.
---
For most of her youth, Flicker Greenridge lived with her grandparents. As they aged and she grew, she took on more and more duties around their small cabin. She had always been tasked with some level of care for the chickens on the property, but in her eleventh year she took a particular interest in the chore. One night as the stars came out, she and her grandmother went to the coop to candle the eggs there t0 see how many new chicks might come. Flicker learned which eggs must be removed before rotting, as there was no life inside the shell. The loss had already occurred, and though disappointed, the young girl's sorrow for the would-be chicks was fleeting. At the end of the month the eggs began pipping, and soon there were happy peepings from the fuzzy little birds. Counting the hatchlings, Flicker spied an egg not yet fully broken. The life inside had begun the process but progress had stopped.
"Yes, dear. That one is having some difficulty, isn't it?" Flicker's grandmother asked with a hand on the girl's head. "We'll check again tomorrow to see if it can get itself out."
"Tomorrow? I don't want to wait that long, gran. Can't we help it now?"
A light chuckle came from the old woman's chest. Years of wisdom more apparent in the presence of the inexperienced. "We can't help it at all, love. A good healthy chick can get itself out. A weak one is best to leave for nature to take its course."
---
The vision of Argus, not yet two tenday old, was fresh in her mind. Seeing his twin renewed many memories of her mystic, but that most recent dream came to the front. She would be thankful, was already thankful, for the time spent with her new companions. Would they find more fulfillment aiding the needy, or building a library, or even resting at a quiet home in a distant land, she would be disappointed, yes. She couldn't change their purpose, and wouldn't try to alter their path. For them, her sorrow would be fleeting.
---
Had she been too rough when she fetched the eggs to be candled? Could the flame be held too close for too long to the shell? Had she not provided enough warm straw for the roost? Was there anything she should have done differently up to that point? Was it really nature taking its course if humans had already been interfering?
To her mind, she was watching the little chick die. It hurt to see. It was agony to wait. She hated it.
---
This was different. She didn't want to let go. She couldn't just be grateful for what she had. She didn't want to lose them this way. She didn't want to let her lack of scouting, her poor tactics, her slow stride or human vision or immature fear hurt them. She didn't want to hurt them. She wouldn't hurt them. She had to help.
---
The chick died.
---
They lived.
Continue reading...
-
Every Time
Marpenoth 29, 1492
-
Poor Judgement
Marpenoth 30, 1492
-
Second Thoughts
Uktar 1, 1492
-
Being Present
Uktar 2, 1492 - day
-
Getting Through
Uktar 2, 1492 - night
-
Organizing Ideas
Uktar 3, 1492 - part 1
-
Strange Happenings
Uktar 3, 1492 - part 2
-
More Surprises
Uktar 3, 1492 - part 3
-
Shell Games
Uktar 3, 1492 - part 4
-
Clipped Notes
Uktar 4-6, 1492
-
Logging Camp
Uktar 6, 1492
-
Years Ago
Years Ago
-
During Watch
Uktar 7, 1492
-
The Band
Marpenoth 2, 1492
-
Of Apples
Uktar 8, 1492
-
In Town
Uktar 9-11, 1492
-
Meeting Falcon
Night of Uktar 11 - Night of Uktar 14
-
Woodland Walk
Uktar 15-16, 1492
-
Mad Manse
Uktar 16, 1492
-
Still Up
Night of Uktar 16, 1492
-
Processing Change
Late Uktar 16/early Uktar 17, 1492
-
Three Down
Uktar 17, 1492
-
New Debt
Uktar 18, 1492
-
To Return
Uktar 19-20, 1492
-
Kindling Papers
Morning of Uktar 21, 1492
-
Light(ning) House
Uktar 21, 1492
-
Cloudy Mind
Morning of Uktar 23, 1492
-
Pip Stonehill
Uktar 24 1492
-
Herbal Teas
Marpenoth 10, 1485
-
Ice Wall
Uktar 26, 1492
-
Going Back
Uktar 28, 1492
-
An Ending
Feast of the Moon, 1492
Marpenoth 29, 1492
Marpenoth 30, 1492
Uktar 1, 1492
Uktar 2, 1492 - day
Uktar 2, 1492 - night
Uktar 3, 1492 - part 1
Uktar 3, 1492 - part 2
Uktar 3, 1492 - part 3
Uktar 3, 1492 - part 4
Uktar 4-6, 1492
Uktar 6, 1492
Years Ago
Uktar 7, 1492
Marpenoth 2, 1492
Uktar 8, 1492
Uktar 9-11, 1492
Night of Uktar 11 - Night of Uktar 14
Uktar 15-16, 1492
Uktar 16, 1492
Night of Uktar 16, 1492
Late Uktar 16/early Uktar 17, 1492
Uktar 17, 1492
Uktar 18, 1492
Uktar 19-20, 1492
Morning of Uktar 21, 1492
Uktar 21, 1492
Morning of Uktar 23, 1492
Uktar 24 1492
Marpenoth 10, 1485
Uktar 26, 1492
Uktar 28, 1492
Feast of the Moon, 1492
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