Post by Kypriotha on Aug 30, 2013 5:29:33 GMT 10
Title: Mama Bird
Rating: G
Category: Emelan, <1000 words
Length: 633
Original and Subsequent Haunts: Original - Goldenlake; Subsequent - Fanfiction.net
Summary: Tris finds an abandoned baby bird in her first few months at Lightsbridge. Things go downhill from there!
Notes: Written for the Goldenlake Holiday Wishing Tree - prompt: "Tris. Lightsbridge. Dorm rooms. Stray animals."
---
Tris hated Lightsbridge when she first arrived. The stuffy, overbearing people were only matched by the stuffy overbearing buildings. The first chance she got, she escaped to the top of the outer wall and let the winds soothe her. She took deep calming breaths and reminded herself why she was there. After that, she made sure to visit the walls at least twice a week.
It was whilst she was returning from one of these visits in her second month that she heard a familiar cheeping. She closed her eyes. "Oh no. Oh no, no, no."
But she couldn't block out the desperate call of the baby bird and with a resigned sigh she set about finding it. When she did, she propped her hands on her hips and glared down at it. "Now what am I supposed to do with you?"
The problem was that Tris knew exactly what to do with the lost baby bird. Wrapping it in one of her handkerchiefs, she carried it back to her dorm room, sheltering it with her body the whole way. Once there, she set about collecting all the materials she would need until it was big enough to feed itself.
***
That bird didn't make it. Tris cried when she found its poor cold body when she got back from class one afternoon. She wished her siblings were there to help her and was angry at herself for feeling so helpless. She buried the baby bird under her favourite tree and vowed never again, but she couldn't quite bring herself to get rid of the things she'd collected for its care.
When she found the second baby bird, Tris hesitated – but only for a split second. This one was a bit older and, she hoped, a bit stronger. She planned a careful feeding routine and made a warm nest in one of her desk drawers. She even plucked up the courage to ask one of her lecturers if she could keep it in her office during class, so that it was closer by and she could feed it more regularly.
***
That bird did make it, as did the one after it and the one after that one. Tris enjoyed their company and they stopped her from feeling homesick. The letters her siblings sent were amused but supportive. But Tris was almost afraid to tell them about the day she came home after class and found two wet and shivering kittens mewing pitifully outside the door to her dorm. She threw up her hands in despair. "How did you know to come here?"
In the end she had to write Briar, to find out the particulars of cat care from him and Evvy. She could hear him cackling as he wrote about the menagerie her room was becoming, even though he was too far away to mind-speak.
Deep down though, Tris didn't mind. She knew Briar well enough to know his funning was always done with love and she could accept that from him in a way she wouldn't from anyone else. And her menagerie came with an unexpected surprise – the lecturer who let her keep the birds in her office was an animal lover as well and sometimes invited Tris to have tea with her. Tris felt more comfortable with her than with her classmates and enjoyed their afternoons. But most of all, Tris delighted in the day when she could repay her lecturer's kindness by making her a gift of one of the stray kittens.
Plus, she needed the extra space back in her dorm room. The week before she'd found an injured puppy she just couldn't surrender to the town's dog shelter. She only hoped this one didn't grow as big as the last injured puppy she'd helped look after.
Rating: G
Category: Emelan, <1000 words
Length: 633
Original and Subsequent Haunts: Original - Goldenlake; Subsequent - Fanfiction.net
Summary: Tris finds an abandoned baby bird in her first few months at Lightsbridge. Things go downhill from there!
Notes: Written for the Goldenlake Holiday Wishing Tree - prompt: "Tris. Lightsbridge. Dorm rooms. Stray animals."
---
Tris hated Lightsbridge when she first arrived. The stuffy, overbearing people were only matched by the stuffy overbearing buildings. The first chance she got, she escaped to the top of the outer wall and let the winds soothe her. She took deep calming breaths and reminded herself why she was there. After that, she made sure to visit the walls at least twice a week.
It was whilst she was returning from one of these visits in her second month that she heard a familiar cheeping. She closed her eyes. "Oh no. Oh no, no, no."
But she couldn't block out the desperate call of the baby bird and with a resigned sigh she set about finding it. When she did, she propped her hands on her hips and glared down at it. "Now what am I supposed to do with you?"
The problem was that Tris knew exactly what to do with the lost baby bird. Wrapping it in one of her handkerchiefs, she carried it back to her dorm room, sheltering it with her body the whole way. Once there, she set about collecting all the materials she would need until it was big enough to feed itself.
***
That bird didn't make it. Tris cried when she found its poor cold body when she got back from class one afternoon. She wished her siblings were there to help her and was angry at herself for feeling so helpless. She buried the baby bird under her favourite tree and vowed never again, but she couldn't quite bring herself to get rid of the things she'd collected for its care.
When she found the second baby bird, Tris hesitated – but only for a split second. This one was a bit older and, she hoped, a bit stronger. She planned a careful feeding routine and made a warm nest in one of her desk drawers. She even plucked up the courage to ask one of her lecturers if she could keep it in her office during class, so that it was closer by and she could feed it more regularly.
***
That bird did make it, as did the one after it and the one after that one. Tris enjoyed their company and they stopped her from feeling homesick. The letters her siblings sent were amused but supportive. But Tris was almost afraid to tell them about the day she came home after class and found two wet and shivering kittens mewing pitifully outside the door to her dorm. She threw up her hands in despair. "How did you know to come here?"
In the end she had to write Briar, to find out the particulars of cat care from him and Evvy. She could hear him cackling as he wrote about the menagerie her room was becoming, even though he was too far away to mind-speak.
Deep down though, Tris didn't mind. She knew Briar well enough to know his funning was always done with love and she could accept that from him in a way she wouldn't from anyone else. And her menagerie came with an unexpected surprise – the lecturer who let her keep the birds in her office was an animal lover as well and sometimes invited Tris to have tea with her. Tris felt more comfortable with her than with her classmates and enjoyed their afternoons. But most of all, Tris delighted in the day when she could repay her lecturer's kindness by making her a gift of one of the stray kittens.
Plus, she needed the extra space back in her dorm room. The week before she'd found an injured puppy she just couldn't surrender to the town's dog shelter. She only hoped this one didn't grow as big as the last injured puppy she'd helped look after.