The darkness began to fade, and Ginger's eyes pried open with a tired groan.
"Ugh...What...Where...?"
Once her vision had cleared, her gaze darted everywhere. She was in a small stone cave, it looked like, with nothing in it except herself. A dull ache still resonated in her head, leftover from her collision in the storm...That was proof she wasn't dead at least, so she was happy at that.
But if she was alive, where was she? Everything that happened after she was knocked on the head was...fuzzy. Had she been rescued?
Rescued...
That word alone made her remember something from within the fog in her brain; the dark image of another bird, and the sensation of being grabbed by the talons by those of another. Everything had gone black after that point, and it had been too dark and stormy to clearly make out any features anyway, so who was she saved by? And what did they intend to do with her, if anything?
Ginger stood up on her talons, becoming lightheaded for a few long moments, but ultimately shaking her head and snapping herself back into alertness. Deciding that she would find out all of this for herself, she called out in hopes that she would be greeted by...someone.
"Hello...?" she asked quietly, her voice echoing a bit off of the stone walls. No answer yet, so she raised her voice a bit more.
"Helloooo?"
This time, she did get an answer. Muffled voices came from outside the exit to the hollow, and she curiously tried to take a peek outside.
But before she could get a good view of what was outside, two enormous figures blocked the sight and entered right into the hollow!
"Well, well, well, look who finally decided to get up!" one of them exclaimed.
"'Bout time, eh, sleepin' beauty?" the other chimed in. "We was afraid we'd lose you for a while!"
She paid no mind to the smiles on stheir beaks; Ginger was horrified by them! These owls were enormous! The first was whitish with an odd brown symbol of some sort painted across his chest, and the second was the same, but with the colors reversed. They sporting large, imposing ear tufts, somewhat ragged plumage, and their large, peering eyes were two different colors each; one glowing green and the other a piercing yellow. An odd and very frightening combination of features in Ginger's eyes.
In an attempt to ward them off, she spread her wings and tilted them forward in attempt to make herself look bigger, but up against these two, it didn't amount to much.
"Who are you!? Get away from me!" she warned them.
The two owls looked at each other, a might confused as to what she was so afraid of, before speaking to each other.
"Kid must've hit her head harder than we thought," the white one rasped to his comrade.
"My thoughts exactly; why else would she be 'fraid of the ones who saved her very hide, eh?"
Saved my hide...?
"Wait a minute," Ginger realized, slowly folding her wings again and straightening her posture. "You two are the ones who got me out of that storm?"
"Guess you'd already lost it at that point," the second owl surmised. "You was just about to make a splash right in the gulf, you was, and I just barely managed to snag you by the feet before you went in head first. We took turns carryin' you 'cross the ocean and back here."
"The unknown?" she echoed. "And where's the unknown?"
"The two Long-Earred Owls exchanged glances again.
"Erm...Where you from?" the white one inquired. "The mainland, I'm assuming? The U.S and A.?"
"Yeah...Chatham, Georgia, to be exact. How far am I from there?"
The brown one huffed.
"A long way," he admitted. "We weren't sure EXACTLY where you might have blown in from, so we, um...decided to bring you back here with us. Besides, if we hadn't, you'd have probably never seen the light of day again; that skull o' yours wasn't in the bet condition, 'specially after three days out cold over the South Pacific, plus another four once we got you here. We had to force-feed you so you wouldn't starve. Eesh...Good thing you were at least breathin' the whole time. Consider yourself lucky."
"You mean to tell me I was out for a WEEK!?"
"Um...Yes? Hey, you're not brain-damaged so far, so that's a plus."
She stared out blankly in her own disbelief for a few moments before looking up at the two again. Now knowing what she knew, Ginger lowered her guard more still.
"Um...Sorry about that," she told them. "Guess I was a bit shocked by all this."
It seemed like she'd been quick to judge these two. They weren't really all that bad.
"If you wanna talk shock, ask us," the brown owl continued. "We happened to see what you pulled off in that hail cusp, and it was...well...amazing, to say the least."
"Barely got hit by anything bad until the end!" the first agreed. "Even flyers with decades experience have trouble in those!"
"What? The hail? I dunno, I just...It was an instinctive thing, I guess."
"So you mean to tell me that you did all that...without even realizing it?"
"Um...Maybe? I mean, I realized it when I got out of there, but-"
"How long have you been flyin'?" the second asked.
"A few months, I think..."
"A few. Months."
She nodded, and the two owls looked at each other yet again, then back at her.
"Well, I just realized, Tyto," the white one remarked. "We haven't properly introduced ourselves yet, now, 'ave we? Well, let's fix that now. He's Jatt."
"And he's Jutt. So, you, now. What's your name, eh?"
"It's...Ginger. Ginger Wingren."
"Well, young Ms. Wingren, welcome to the Beaks," Jutt told her. "Now, if you'd be so kind as to follow us outside. This dinky lil' place ain't the whole thing, you know."
"Besides, there's someone who'd probably like to see you, now that you're up ant at 'em," Jatt continued. "Told her about what we witnessed, we did."
The young Barn Owl nodded complyingly, then followed the two Long-Earred Owls towards the hollow door.
"So, this place is stone," she noted. "Are we in some sort of cave system?"
"It's far more than that," Jutt answered her, extending a wing, insinuating that she exit first.
Ginger stepped outside, and her beak fell open at what she beheld.
Scores, or perhaps hundreds of owls were bustling about the great stone structure. It was much like a cave, being very large and open with several different pathways and openings leading to different parts of it, but also had a lot of openings leading to the outside, above and along the walls, letting the light of the moon in and illuminating the grey walls. There were all sorts of owls marching and flying among the caverns, but the majority of them appeared to be those of the Tyto Genus; those with the heart-shaped face, much like herself. Some of them even wore face-obscuring iron helmets, but she could still tell they were Barn Owls by what parts of the face she could see from underneath their masks.
"Impressive, ain't it?" Jatt asked her, noting the awed twinkle in her blue eyes.
"What is this place...?"
"Jutt, you take over; I've gotta fetch for the Ablah General."
The brown owl flew away, leaving Jutt to answer her question instead.
"What'd you guys say it was called? The Beaks?"
"That's the Kingdom this place is situated in. And the Owl Kingdoms are all situated on this big island in the South Pacific. See, there's something special about this place; we don't know exactly what, but something protects this place from being found by the humans. no matter how much they advance, no matter how hard the look for us, mankind can't find his place...Either that, or they're just blind as bats with their maps. This place is as big as Spain, so it's said. One might've thought they would've found us by now."
"So, what were you and Jatt doing in the Gulf Coast? And...Come to think of it, how did I get there? I started off along the Atlantic coast."
"You? Dunno," Jutt replied flatly. "Maybe that cyclone blew you 'cross that big peninsula, or something. Forget what it's called...But in our case, we've been trying to branch out and look for new recruits or other apt forces outside the Kingdoms to mix into the force as of late."
"New recruits?"
"Wait till the Ablah General gets here; she'll make sense of it for you."
One of the helmeted owls passed by the empty hollow, giving them a nod as he went.
"Evenin', General," the white-stained owl greeted him.
"And hello to you, Patrol Jutt," he answered gruffly, then turning his attention to Ginger.
"Oh...Is this-"
"You bet your britches it is. And you said she wouldn't make it past the second day, heh..."
"Give it a blow, Patrol," he told him, rolling his slate grey eyes before diverting his attention back onto his path. Once he was out of earshot, the young owl whispered to Jutt.
"Who was that guy?"
"Ah, don't worry 'bout Stryker. I told him to bet his britches that you'd live...To be honest, he's a might big for them at his point; just because he does his job good enough don't mean he gets away with being a snooty old windbag all the time. They keep him in place when the need be, rest assured."
"Hey, you two! Down!"
Jatt's voice rang from above, and he was returning with another owl in tow. Jutt knowingly bowed his head, but Ginger just stood and stared, awestruck, at the owl as she alighted on the stone floor just a few yards away from them.
She was another Barn Owl, just like her, but of particularly slender build, and much taller and older. Her feathers were unnaturally light; not quite an albino, but still very fair, and the tips of her flight and tail feathers were painted a bright blood red, along with the crest of her facial disc. Her eyes were like sapphires, much brighter and darker than Ginger's, and the pupils were ringed with bright gold; it almost looked like the sun trying to shine through her gaze, only to be blocked out like in an eclipse. The sight of her gave off an intimidating aura of graceful regality, powerful authority and vast wisdom.
"So..." she directly addressed the younger Barn Owl, not bothering to introduce herself first. "You're the young Tyto Alba who took on a hail cusp and came out of the thick of it unscathed, who says to have barely been flying for a dozen moons, more or less?"
Her voice was immensely strong; booming and direct, no playing around. Ginger found herself backing away some, and she nodded in response to her before she, too, bowed her head in submission like the two Long-Earred Owls had.
"And is it true what you say about how long you've been flying?"
She was answered with words this time.
"Yes...Yes, ma'am."
Some of the owl's imposing demeanor softened, and she gave off a smile.
"Well, I say...You barely look old enough to have begun the very basics yet. How did you manage to do it?"
"I don't know, ma'am," Ginger answered. "I...I did watch my parents fly a lot when they came and went with food and stuff, so...Maybe I learned some from watching?"
"Hmm...Well, I did some of the same myself when I was your age, did you know?"
"You did?"
"Are your talons really as interesting as you make them out to be, child?"
The owl chuffed out a stifled laugh, and Ginger took the hint, raising her head again to look her in the eye.
"...I suppose you're a might curious as to why you're here," the white Barn Owl presumed. "I'll tell you now; it's not just because we didn't know where exactly you lived."
"Then...Why?"
The owl stepped back, and Jatt and Jutt flanked her on either side, making the already tall bird look even bigger.
"I am Nyra," she introduced herself. "Ablah General of St. Aegolius, and mate to the Lord High Tyto. We are the Tytonic Union of Pure Ones, and we are situated in the Beaks, one of many different Kingdoms of Owls that form this hidden land. The Pure Ones were once harsh, and unyielding toward all things we simply disagreed with, but through a great event from days gone by, our eyes have since been opened, and we have been mended, striving to achieve leadership over the many who need it, instead of a cold set of iron talons, as was once our goal."
"Erm...So...You guys are the good guys?"
"Yes, yes, young Tyto. Well...NOW we are, at least. You'd have to look more into it at our library."
"You guys have a LIBRARY here?"
"Oh, yes. And a dining hall, and several training facilities, a few forges, etcetera, etcetera. I'll give you the grand tour by and by. But before any of that, now that you have proven yourself to be alive and well, you could say that I have an offer for you."
"An, uh...An offer?"
"Yes...What is your name, Tyto?"
"Er, Ginger Wingren, ma'am-Nyra, ma'am. I mean-"
"Just 'your Pureness' will do nicely, young one."
"Yes, your Pureness."
"Excellent. Now, Ginger. The Tytonic Union has accumulated quite a bit of power overtime, but we are still a growing organization. We need all of the help we can get. As a matter of fact, this is exactly why Jatt and Jutt ventured so far from here; to add to our forces, and to see if foreigners would be willing to contribute to our cause. You are the first of what we hope to be many outsiders to plant their talons on Hoolian soil."
"So...What exactly do you want from me?"
"It's simple, really. We wish for you to join us. Become a Pure One. Train. Fight. Fly. Rescue those in need of rescuing. Help to destroy those forces that need be destroyed. Should you accept, your courage and bravery will be rewarded power, purpose, and recognition."
Ginger's eyes widened at the thought. This sounded MUCH better than just wandering around the earth like some vagabond.
Besides, the incident with the hail cusp had caused her to have second thoughts about her original plan.
"Well...Guess I might give it a go," she decided. Nyra chuffed out another laugh.
"Wise choice. Now, I hope you don't mind, but I've already chosen a chamber for you among the trainee's quarters, within close reach of the training grounds and the hollows of the young Tytos you will be training alongside. Think you're up for a flight?"
"Actually, giving my wings a stretch sounds good right about now."
"Then follow me...If you can."
With one powerful sweep of her red-tipped wings, the Ablah General took off, leaving Ginger in the dust.
"Hey-Wh-Wait!"
The young Barn Owl tried to run after her along the ground, slowly spreading her wings as she went, desperate to at least become airborne before Nyra could disappear from view. Finally, her spread wings caught some air, and she was able to push herself off the ground and straight into level flight, her unsteady wings beating loudly and messily. Nyra squeezed through the cracks and crevices of the stone chambers with ease, but her follower could barely align herself with her wake, struggling to just keep from losing sight of her.
Finally, she was able to even out her wings, and managed to gain a bit of speed; Nyra was still leagues ahead, but she grew ever closer as they descended into another large, open section of the cave system, the rising sun shining down through the cracks and holes along the walls giving the grey stone a soft, golden glow. Nyra began to slow her flight in preparation for landing, and she extended her talons to plant them on the floor. Ginger tried to do the same, but was shaky with her descent, and while she landed without a crash, she had to hop a bit when she made it to the ground to keep herself from running right into the white queen. By the time everything was said and done, the younger owl was entirely out of breath.
"Not bad for someone as you as you," Nyra marveled. "Especially one who just awoke after a week of recovery. We need work on your dry takeoffs, though; from the looks of it, you know what to do while IN the air, but not so much how to start and stop it right. Nothing a bit of practice can't fix."
"That's...reassuring..." Ginger huffed.
"But you likely need a tad more rest before we get down to business. In here; this is the chamber I had prepared."
Nyra motioned for the owlet to enter first, and Ginger stepped into the stone hollow that she'd been lead to. She marveled at just how HUGE it was; perhaps it seemed so big because it was mostly empty, but even so, it was still at least three times the size of her old hollow in the spruce tree. The only things in the chamber were a down-lined nest parallel to the exit and two metal pegs jutting out of the wall to the right. And it was especially tall; the ceiling reached up perhaps seven feet, as tall as a young tree.
"...Wow," she chortled.
"What do you think?" Nyra asked her. "A bit spartan, I know, but at some point, we could put in a few bookshelves, maybe some banners if you-"
"This is incredible..."
"Oh. Even without anything showy? Well, I'm glad you think so, Tyto."
"Man..." she marveled again, emitting a breathy laugh. Was all of this to be her very own? It was amazing. "...My old hollow has NOTHING on this place."
"Now that you mention that, I have a question, young Ginger," the General said to her. "Why exactly DID you leave said old hollow? You're barely old enough to fly straight, yet you were found floundering in the Gulf. And yet still, Jatt tells me you come from along the Atlantic coast. Why did you leave so soon? Haven't you a family back home?"
"Well..."
Oh, boy. Ginger didn't want to get into the nitty-gritty of why she fled her home.
"I do. But...I couldn't stay with them."
"Were they cruel to you?"
"Oh, no, no, your Pureness," she corrected. "Mom and Dad, they..."
She sighed.
"They were always good to me...It was my brother who was the problem. Drove me nuts. Next thing I know, I'M the one posing a danger...So I left."
"How would you endanger-"
"I'd rather not talk about it."
Ginger turned her back to the Ablah General, not wanting her to see how wet her eyes had become. Nyra took the hint.
"...I see," she nodded. "Well, one thing is certain; if they knew where you were now, your parents would be immensely proud."
"You really think that?" she asked, turning her head towards the white owl again.
"I know it. Now, it's twixt time; you might as well give that nest a try."
Nyra turned to leave.
"Sleep heavily, Tyto. Your training begins at sunset."
And then she was off, disappearing like a white comet up into the grey caverns. Ginger approached the nest, letting her legs give out and flopping right into it with her wings outstretched. As the woes and worries of days past began to fade away, the Barn Owl let herself fall asleep, and began to snore loudly.