Alma let's go!" A sharp voice snapped from across the corridor. The petite 8 year old girl quietly glanced up at the much taller boy in front of her. "Come on! Your book can wait!" He smiled as he grabbed her up off the chair. Alma giggled delightfully "Jack I just had one page left!" She mockingly sighed.
"Well it's going to be dark soon!" He took her hand gently. "We have to run into town, mom said we need some eggs for supper tonight." He grabbed his coat, then handed the Ravenette hers.
"Is Myron coming?" Alma asked as she swiped a strand of hair out of her face.
"No, he doesn't feel well." Jack said as he opened the door. Alma nodded, a bit more excited as Jack closed the door behind her than before. Now that they were alone, she knew they could really talk.
"I'll race you down!" Jack yelled. Alma's Forest green eyes lit up in the crescent moonlight. She bolted down the rocky trail away from the quaint cottage, Jack trailing behind. He chuckled as he watched her go. After Alma got her head start, Jack was able to quickly catch up, startling her into running more. Within seconds they were both deep within the forest, both stopping at a twisted willow tree.
" Can you do the thing?" Alma gasped for breath, bouncing on her toes "Please?!"
"The thing?" Jack asked, looking around the surrounding area for people "if anyone sees..." He muttered, turning back to Alma. The coast looked nearly clear except for the lighting bugs illuminating the fall air.
"Alright...we gotta be quick though." He whispered as he placed her on a huge boulder. Alma gleefully bounced her legs, watching jack step into a small glimpse of the moonlight through the trees. Alma watched intently as he shut his eyes, leaping into the air. Within moments he was soaring around the forest, nearly loosing sight of Alma as she clapped for him.
"She's so excited... It's so sweet." Jack commented as he landed gracefully beside her. He enjoyed his little trick, his little show he could put on for his sister.
"Birdie!" Alma commented petting his head. Jack hopped closer, getting closer as he ruffled his feathers up, preening his tail feathers while Alma watched.
"What are you-?" She tilted her head to the side, but paused as Jack pulled out on of his tail feathers, placing it on her lap.
"For me?" She asked, examining the long feather. "Thank you!" Alma smiled as she tucked it into her hair. Jack nodded, hopping down to his clothing that was strewn about. Alma turned away, giving her brother some privacy, all the while examining the feather.
"All done!" He said as he finished buckling up his shoes. "Alma?" He asked, stepped closer "hey, we gotta get going." He lightly tapped her shoulder.
"Jack?" Alma asked curiously, shifting herself to look at him. "Do you think I could ever be like you?" She asked, holding the feather up. "Like a birdie?"
"Well...I don't really know." He answered honestly. Jack wouldn't of have discovered that he could do it himself if it wasn't for his own silly daydreaming one day on a trip home from the butcher for his parents. His father ridiculed him all the time for his small spouts of daydreaming off into space, but Jack found it incredibly relaxing to be able to gaze off into the sky and loose yourself in it.
At first Jack didn't even believe it himself. For three days he remained paranoid he had been cursed by a miss Snow, the town's widowed hag that part timed as a witch that the parents threatened thier children with if they dared misbehave. After four days he finally told Alma, deciding she was young enough that if she did slip up it would be chalked up to her imagination, plus he had to get it off his chest.
"Well how did you do you do it?" Alma inquired "what's your secret?" She asked giddily.
"I really don't know Al. I just shut my eyes, and was walking, thinking about some random game pigeons I saw for sale in the Square. I imagined how they would feel if they were free on a forest, and then bam, I was a bird." He shrugged.
"Alright, I got this!" Alma declared, hopping off the rock. Jack sighed "Alright, but be careful. Don't become a birdie too fast!" He chuckled, but remained skeptical. He knew what he had was special and unique to him, no one else could do what he could.
Right?
Alma stood in her brothers imprinted mudprints, holding her arms out. Jack hopped ontop of the rock, watching curiously.
"Don't hurt yourself Al." He warned after five minutes of staring at her awkwardly try to flap her arms. "I don't want to carry you all the way home."
"I won't!" She smiled. Jack nodded, starting to play with a small rock he had in his pocket.
Within moments of tossing it up a sudden shift in front of him caused the dime sized pebble to fall back and hit him straight atop the head as a tiny baby falcon sat in front of him, chirping helplessly as it tried to flap.
"ALMA!" Jack gasped, his heart pounding as he hopped off the rock. "You-you did it?!" He exlcaimed, holding her up. The tiny falcon squeaked flapping it's wings hard as to tell her brother to set her back down. Alma quickly grabbed the feather in her beak, holding it close as she started to shift out again. Jack quickly turned as he threw his own coat down on top of her, enveloping her whole body against the ground.
"So I am a birdie like you!" She exlcaimed from under the thick murky coat.
"Yes, yes get dressed!" He exclaimed "it's indecent for you to be nude!"
"Sorry! I forgot!" Alma giggled as she got dressed. Jack finally turned around after she had given the all clear.
"You can't tell no body!" He bent down to be her height. "No one!" He repeated "come on, let's go get the egg. Mama's gonna be worried if we don't get home soon"
"I'm a Birdie too!" Like you!" Alma chripped as they walked down the trail together, her brothers feather still in her hands.
"One day I'll give you one of my feathers too!" Alma put Jack's feather in her small purse that her mother had given her to use as a play toy.
"I'd like that." Jack sighed as they made it to the packed square.
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"Jack!" A now 10 year old Alma tugged on her brothers nightgown. "Jack!" She tugged again, her voice full of panic and worry.
"Huh?" He asked groggily. "Why did you light that candle again? I told you I have to be up early-"
"I didnt!" Alma exclaimed. Jack finally opened his eyes, confused. "Did Myron?"
"No! He's still asleep!" She exlcaimed. "I-i did something with this watch and now the candle relit!" She hissed. "And the moon moved backward! BACKWARDS, JACK!"
"Calm down!" He snapped as he sat up, rubbing his eyes wearily "what did you do?"
"I found this pocket watch today while out with mother, and I put it in my pocket. I just went to set the time right so when I take it back to town tommrrow, it would be accurate. I moved it backwards to reset it, and I moved it like an hour and then the candle re-lit, and the moon moved backwards! Watch!" Alma turned and blew the candle out, and waited about ten seconds. Then she started to move the clock back, and then the candle re-lit and then went out as if it was never burned. "See!" She exclaimed
Jack marveled at the candle "let me see the clock!" He exclaimed, nearly swiping it from her hands. "Re-light it!" He pointed to a matchbox on the floor excited. They all shared the same abilities of being able to transform into birds, they had to be able to share this ability to, right?
As Alma relight it and then blew it out. "Alright!" She smiled Jack focused hard on the clock, turning it back but nothing seem to have occured. The moon didn't move, the candle didn't relight, nothing happened.
"I don't understand..." Jack mumbled, relighting the candle himself, and waiting s counter twenty seconds and then blew it out.
Jack tried four times to relight the candle, but nothing occured.
" I can't do it." He said defeated. Alma frowned, taking the watch back and setting it on the nightstand.
"Maybe it's because I got it first, like you got the bird thing first? Maybe it will just be a bit longer to set in?" She smiled "don't loose hope!"
Jack sighed but nodded "I need to sleep." He mumbled, pulling the blanket up "we will try again tomorrow." He whispered "with Myron." Alma nodded climbing back into bed and cuddling up under the covers, leaving the watch on the nightstand as they both fell asleep
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"I can't find miss A's watch!" A young voice hissed in the darkness of the small dormitory. a few creaks echowd off the walls as someone turned over
"What?" the groggier voice mumbled form across the room.
"I lost her watch! It isn't in my coat pocket!" The girl whsipered, crawlinf out her warm covers
"Isabelle!" The girl groaned as she turned over "are you sure it's not in your pocket? Any of them?
"No!" She exclaimed "Millie!" Isabelle shook her back awake. "What do I do?!" She kept shaking her until the girl geabbed her hand, squeezing it tight in annoyance.
"I don't know! We can find it tommrrow! Just go to bed!" Millie grumbled, releasing her tiny hand and turning back over. Isabelle tapped her foot, moving to look out the huge window between them, moonlight pouring in like heacy cream. "What if someone stole it?" She flopped down on her own bed "Miss A is gonna kill me!"
"It will be okay. She will understand, she always does." Millie mumbled, drifting back off as the silver haired girl shook her again. Millie inhaled, ready to smother isabelle with the very pillow she was sleeping on if it meant she would stop bothering her.
"We have to find it!" Isabelle trembled, her eyes pooling with huge tears. Millie moved some of her golden brown hair out of her eyes She couldn't just leave her like this could she?
"Belle, we will find it tommrrow I promise!" She exlcaimed "we can leave out after class tomorrow! Just tell miss A you want to continue practicing. She most likely won't push the issue. and then we can go find it!" Millie tried to soothe the younger girl. "We forget, she's a seasoned Ymrbyne, she doesn't necessarily need her watch to do the reset!"
Isabelle at this notion seemed to slow her sobbing down to a quivering lip and sniffles "are you sure?" She asked.
"Of course." Millie turned over "let's go to sleep." She yawned. Isabelle laid in bed, starring at her ceiling until dawn broke the dusty darkness.
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"Millie?" Isabelle shook the Thrush awake again after nearly four hours of anxious tossing and turning.
"Huh?" She asked groggily as she opened her eyes. The sun seemed to be higher than the usual time she woke up.
"Morning class was canceled today. Apparently Miss A isn't feeling well!" Isabelle said nearly delighted. It wasn't so much she was happy about miss Avocet being sick, rather the extra time to find her watch. "Miss Hoopoe is going to come and teach in The afternoon sense Miss Bunting will be taking Miss A to see a doctor!"
"why'd you wake me then?" Millie grumbled, turning back over to go back to sleep. If class was canceled she was certainly taking advantage of it.
"Let's go find her watch!" Isabelle nearly dragged Millie halfway off of her bed "Come on!"
Millie glared, her hair fulffed in her face. "Can't we find it later?" She pulled the blanket down over her legs that were now on the cold floor.
"No!" She exlciamed "look I am halfway to a breakdown, and if we don't find it, I'm going to make it to my destination real quick!" Isabelle snapped, already on the verge of tears. Millie sighed, crawling out her warm covers
"I don't like you." Millie grumbled as Isabelle grinned, holding her dress out to her. Millie sighed as she started to unbutton the back of it.
"But you love me enough to help me, and that's what I need right now!" Isabelle hugged her "I appreciate it!"
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Alma sat on her rock in the middle of the woods. Squinting to see the tiny printing on the watch as she moved the dial backwards slowly. The world around her quickly started to melt back to the morning hours, much to Alma's surprise.
"Its like magic!" She smiled as she continued to play with It. She didn't reverse it to far back or forward, afriad of what could happen.
"I can repeat any moment I desire..." Alma continued to repeat a a crash of thunder that was accompanied by a crack of lightening, a small green butterfly fluttering back to it's home, along with a gust of wind that blew a few of the dried out October leaves spiraling down to the floor.
"One more time and then I should head home-" Alma froze as a fluffy silver haired girl about two years her senior along with a much shorter brunette both barreled through the bushes in front of her.
"YOU!" Isabelle exclaimed, her eyes full of excitement. She and Millie had been wandering the forest and town square for nearly two hours in search of the watch. About an hour and half in, Millie took note the somehow the people around them had been repeating their tasks over and over, leading them to track down the one creating the mini loop of 2 minutes and 37 seconds only five minutes away.
Alma froze, her heart dropping just as fast as she dropped the watch.
"I'm so glad you found it!" Isabelle exclaimed to the trembling Alma. "Can you just uh...toss that over to me?" Isabelle asked calmly. Alma quickly swiped it up, readying to throw it back at them.
"I don't think we should be tossing that around. Plus this girl, we might need her to come with us to miss A, she needs to be evaluated" Millie whsipered. "Why don't we just hand it to me gently?" She asked, but found Alma holding her travel sack in a grip as if she was going to swing it.
"Millie!"
"what?!"
"Your a terrible whisperer!" Isabelle hissed, as Alma shook her head, standing up with her hands up.
"I-i don't want any trouble!" She exclaimed as she set the watch down. "I don't know why that happened, or what exactly happened, but I'm not going with you!" She put the watch down on the ground, then proceeded to turn around, running as fast as she could.
"See if you can get her! It isn't safe for her to be out in the normal world with her peculiarity just blossoming like this! It can lead to dangerous consequences especially now that it's not dormant!" Millie bent down and snatched the watch. She knew Isabelle could run much faster than she could by a long shot.
Isabelle sprinted off, her flowy dress getting caught on many branches as she followed the winding trail of dusty dirt.
Alma could feel the girl gaining, each footstep bringing her closer to the banks of the river that lied up ahead until a sudden thump echoed throughout the forest accompanied by a sharp yelp. Alma turned around, fully expecting to see the girl right behind her, but Isabelle was sitting quite a ways back, holding her knee close
"I can't just leave her there, can I?" Alma felt her heart sink "she can't be that much older than I am..." She glanced down at the ground, grabbing a small but sturdy stick, holding it close like a metal bat as she approached the sobbing girl who seemingly paid her no mind.
"Are you alright?" Alma asked as she noticed the blood staining Isabelle's pale yellow dress "oh your bleeding!" Alma suddenly dropped the stick, fishing in her purse much to Isabelle's shock "it's not much, but I have it for when my brothers or I fall." Alma offered over a tiny roll of bandage. I also have a handkerchief." She bent down beside the girl.
"Go ahead and remove your hands." She directed.
Isabelle slid her hands off to her thighs, digging her nails into her them as if it would help ease the pain. Alma quickly dabbed the handkerchief with some water from her canteen bottle and held it to her wound. " I've never seen this much blood before! It looks quite bad. I would have your mom look at it or something."
"Thank you." Isabelle said through her sniffles, trying not to cry harder. She had already brusied this knee several days beforehand, and those bruises had barely recovered from before.
Alma started to wrap her leg in the bandages, using the whole roll just on her left knee. "There you go!" She exclaimed once her knee was wrapped to be twice the size of her right one. "Sorry it's so messy, my mama only shown me briefly how do really take care of injuries like this!"
"It-its fine. Thank you!" Isabelle tried to curtsy but failed due to how unbendable she now found her serviced knee "my name's Isabelle, by the way. What's yours?"
"Alma." She said quietly.
"Alright...well Alma-"
"We have much to discuss" a strict, older woman's voice chorused front he side of the woods, Millie peaking out from behind the new woman
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Well, I hope you enjoyed chapter one! Please let me know if there's anything you want to see and anyways I can improve!