These are not the flight lessons I ordered!

Gavroche II · 08-06-2023, 05:41 PM

He was learning firsthand what flying was like, but not the way he expected to. And the experience was terrifying...

Gavroche was used to everything being bigger than he was, not as tiny as he felt! The world below was so small, so far away, and it made his head spin as the flapping of wing beats were heard right above his head. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest, uncertainty at the fate that was to befall him as the hawk carried him back to its nest. He didn’t struggle - struggling now would cause him to fall. He wasn’t sure he trusted his own wings to catch him on his way back to the ground. He hadn’t learned to fly like this hawk had! And hitting the ground from too high up hurt lots! If he fell from this high up it was going to REALLY hurt!

The calico-marked boy was helpless, carried along by the bird of prey that had taken him from his packlands away from his home, from his family. He had no idea how he was going to find his way back… his mama was going to be so worried! And Ink would be so mad… but it wasn’t his fault! The bird grabbed him and he didn’t want to go! He whined as squeezed her bright green eyes closed. Yet, even as uncertain as Gavroche was, he did not realize just how much danger he was in. The weight of the situation was lost on the innocent boy. Death was a foreign thing; he only knew of boo boos and simple ouchies.

The hawk would start to descend and Gavroche let his eyes slip open. He could see trees, and a flicker of hope bloomed in his chest. They were getting closer to the ground! If he just let the bird set him down then he could get away! He remained still for now, letting the hawk land. But the moment it set him down in the nest and tried to pin him the boy would react. Growling and barking the calico pup started to thrash, disrupting the hold of the hawk. It stumbled as Gavroche beat at it with his wings, using the appendages as another limb to flail. It took a second of the hawk losing its grip and Gav was free!

Free, but not safe!

He felt a beak dig into his hip as he scrambled away and yelped. He hadn’t exactly had far to get away either, and the next thing he knew the ground and the tree limbs were suddenly getting closer much faster!

Gavroche screamed, again flailing his limbs as he tried to catch something, anything, on his way down. He would get caught briefly in branches and leaves, enough to slow his descent as he got numerous scratches and bruises on the way to the earth. From its nest the hawk cried in displeasure about its lost meal. The fall in total took less than a minute, but it felt like an eternity to the terrified child as he screamed the whole way down.

Then, there was the ground. He landed on it in an unceremonious heap, tears stinging his eyes as he hit it hard. It was nothing short of a miracle he hadn’t broken anything during the ordeal, but he was hurting, scared, and had no idea what way to get home! The boy sat up, but he wasn’t rushing to get fully to his feet. His green eyes scanned the unfamiliar forest, the fog swirling around making it impossible to tell what way led where. Gavroche lowered his ears. He was too far from Ethne for his family or his parent’s family to find him… whimpers began to leave his lips as he crawled towards the roots of a tree. He didn’t want to get grabbed and brought farther away!

“Now what do I do…?” Tears rolled down his cheeks as he lowered down next to one of the roots. “...Mamaaaaa!” Despite not being close enough to hear the boy could not help but wail for his mother. “Mama help!” He continued to cry loudly, wings pressing against his body as sobs shook his tiny frame.

"Speech" 'Thought.'

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These are not the flight lessons I ordered!

Dusk

Gavroche II