"Okay, so who, we exactly, do you need again?"

"Ummm, Cloud, definitely. Rose. Mantis. Oh, and Glimmer and Cascade. Ash and Comet, if they're not busy. Probably Hone, too."

Aven counted the names off on her talons. So that leaves Tint, Tide, Olive and me. Oh, yeah, and also Moon. She glanced over at Winter, who had continued talking.

"Just tell them to come after lunch or something, I don't care. I have nothing to do anyway, so…"

"I don't have to come too, do I?"

"I mean, if you want to, you can, but you don't have to-"

"Yes!" Aven pumped her fist and grinned at Winter. "Nothing against you, just…"

"They're boring and a waste of time?"

"Well, I wouldn't say boring, especially if Mantis and Cloud are there, but you get the point. They're- What is the word…"

"Tedious?"

"Ya. That." She stood there for a moment, grasping for something to say Okay, I'm gonna go do that now, and you can get back to your…" she bowed her head, gesturing at his desk. "Stuff."

"Sounds good."

"Oh! One more thing! Where should I tell them to meet you?"

"Anywhere is fine. How about the dining room?"

Aven headed to the door, gave a mock salute, then opened the door and dashed away. "Cya later, boss!"

"Don't call me boss!"

As she jogged down the hall, Aven went through the list Winter had given her. Okay, so Cloud is right through here, I can hit him first, then mom, then Mantis. And… ummm… Cascade is down in the west wing with Glimmer and Tint, but I don't need Tint, plus he's probably can't oking lunch right now anyway. Then… Hone in the east hallway and Comet and Ashe in the Observatory.

She skidded to a stop in front of Cloud's office and winced at the scratches she had made in the wood.

"Whoops," she muttered, turning to face the door. Her mother's voice echoed in her head. Don't run in the halls!

Yeah, yeah, whatever mom. She drew in a breath and yelled: "Oi, Cloud! Winter is holding a meeting in-"

The door slid open and Cloud stared out at her. "There's no need to yell," he chastised her. "I'm right here. Anyway, what is it?"

"Winter's having a meeting in the dining room."

"About what?"

"Moon, I think. Like, wheat do we do with her now, and, umm… anyway you get the point. It's in the dining room."

"Did he say when?"

"He just said after lunch. I dunno. You're eating there anyway, sooo…"

"Alright, thanks, Aven!"

He closed the door and she continued down the hall, coming down the stairs and hanging a hard right to her mother's office. The room, though fairly spacious, looked comically small with the huge RainWing inside it.

"Hiya, mom," Aven called from the doorway before inviting herself in and flopping into the spare chair pushed against the wall. Rose turned around and regarded her with her large orangy eyes.

"Yes, Aven?"

"So, Winter wants you to have a meeting in the dining room after lunch to talk about M- I mean the new NightWing. Also could you ask them if she can stay in our dorm? We've got an extra room set up and everything!" Though she had said Moon could stay with her and Olive, Aven hadn't checked with Winter or anybody else. She assumed it would be fine; there was no reason to say no, but she wanted to be safe.

"I guess I could. Only if she wants to, of course. Have you talked to her about it?"

"Oh sure, Moon's fine with it. Don't worry, mom, we'll make her feel at home."

"Okay. Now I have to get back to work, and you look like you've still got to let a lot of people know about this. I'll see you later, okay, honey?"

"Alright, bye."

She headed out and continued on with her route.

She spent the rest of the morning telling the other staff members Winter had listed, finally coming to an end in the other side of the building with Hone and his piles upon piles of paper and scrolls.

"See ya, Hone!"

He gave only a small wave as Aven walked out and dusted her talons off, finally done her task. It had taken all morning. Time for lunch, I guess. Everyone who can boss me around will be at Winter's meeting, so I guess I've got the rest of the afternoon off.

Now what to do first…

"As you all probably know by now, there is a NightWing mind reader here who will probably be living here for a while."

Winter sat at the table with most of his crew surrounding him. Cloud was at his right, followed by Mantis, Rose, Ash, (Comet was apparently busy), then Cascade and Glimmer, the SeaWing couple, and finally Hone. Tide sat in the corner of the room, but had his nose buried in a scroll and didn't seem to be paying attention. Tide mostly kept to himself but if you left him alone with a pile of work and came back in an hour, everything would be done and he would still be sitting there reading as though he had never moved.

Mantis was munching on some sort of grilled sandwich, and Tint could be heard banging about in the adjacent kitchen, cleaning up after the midday meal.

"We already know that," a voice complained, dragging Winter from his train of thought. "There's no point in calling this meeting."

"Yeah, maybe we should call it off so you can do your WORK like you're SUPPOSED to!"

Mantis and Cloud glared at each other to Winter's right. He pinched the bridge of his snout.

"Guys, shut up… I mean what we're going to do with her. She's only here for three weeks and she can read minds! We could get information that we never could have before. This is a great chance to dive deeper into how intelligent scavengers really are."

"That is, if mind readers really do exist."

Glimmer crossed her forelegs in front of her. "I'm having trouble believing that these things exist. Sure, there are tons of rumours, but I certainly haven't met anyone who can read my thoughts."

Glimmer and Cascade were the SeaWind couple who had joined the roster of the Sanctuary a mere two or three months ago, the latest additions. Glimmer was very lithe and a light blue colour, and Cascade was pale pink.

"I'm willing to believe it," interjected Cascade. "And I agree with Winter, it would be exceedingly interesting to gather data from one with her talents."

"I think we should do it," said Cloud from beside him. "She's here anyway. Why not put her to work?"

"I'm okay with it as long as she agrees to do it," concluded Rose. "We can't force her, but I'm sure she'll be happy to help."

"Okay! We've decided!" Mantis burst out. "Can I go now?"

"Nope. Who the hell's gonna do it?" Ash asked. "I know I'm not quitting my project, mind reader or not."

"Agreed," said Rose. "Surely somebody can switch, though. Is anyone done their project, or almost done?"

Cloud mumbled something about how Mantis would be done if he did his work, to which Mantis began to reply "What was that?!" But was silenced by Rose's glare.

"Comet is, I believe," said Hone in his soft voice. "I have not received any files or scrolls stating that she has started another project."

"She has. She's about a week into it, we just haven't gotten around to giving them to you. Sorry about that." Said Ash.

"I forgive you."

Winter sighed. "Is anyone ACTUALLY done their studies?"

Everyone was silent. Cascade coughed.

"Winter… aren't you ready to do another study?"

Glimmer tilted her head at him. "If all this is true…which seems to be, or at least has you convinced, then couldn't you do it?"

"Oh, hey, yeah. That will work."

"Alright. Winter, can you do it?"

Winter grimaced inwardly. He knew if he said no, it would just lead to more questions and more questions. But the truth was… he wasn't sure if he was ready to take on a partnership with Moon.

"Okay, sure."

Winter flashed a confident smile, attempting to convince himself just as much as everyone else. His team had made up their mind.

And there was little you could do once that happened.

"That's decided. Can I leave now?"

Author's Note:

Sorry about the wonky update schedule, I'll try to get it back on track!

When you think you posted it but you didn't actually hit upload

But I got it out now! So yeah.

Nothing really to say. Manhattan was really crowded. Hah.

Any criticisms, blah blah the usual and such. Have a good day/night, I hope you enjoyed.

Thoughtfulll out;)