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Tani~

I'd scattered with the rest of the spies after the mission had been completed. They went their ways, I went mine. I had chosen to take a path through the woods, as I'd studied them, and, well, going through forests reminded me of my home in the trees.

I started on the looming black edge of the woods and just plunged into it. As I went on, more sun filtered through the branches, and it was almost pleasant in the sea of trees. I knew that from where I had entered, I had to go directly south to get back to B.I.G., but I decided to scout out my surroundings, just to be sure. I hoisted myself up onto a tree and climbed up until the top layer of branches were visible. I pulled myself up and broke the surface of the forest. It was blindingly bright, but when my eyes adjusted, I saw the tops of all the trees in the dense forest, almost all of them touching to form a leafy carpet. 

Except one.

I squinted in disbelief. That tree didn't look natural at all. Almost as if it was completely made of stone. I had to check it out.

Hesitantly, I stuck my foot out onto a branch. It held.

So I walked across the tops of the trees, cautiously and slowly, until I came to that small clearing. I dropped down from a branch and saw the weird stone tree in front of me. I feel like I've heard something about this -- I have to get back to B.I.G. so I can get the latest news --

I came up to the tree and touched it. "Holy Toledo!" I said softly. It was completely stone.

Just then, I heard another voice, and I whipped my head around. Somebody walked into the clearing. "Trill?" I said, laughing with relief.

"Tani!" She said, grinning. "So I'll guess you haven't read the latest letter..." 

kzcz really cappy? Why are you speaking computer again! Moments ago you were speaking!

~Storm

I was working on the Magical Creatures Study mission (see the magical creatures forum) by recording the wind patterns on my atlas and practicing what types of air masses and were where and such. After memorizing, I worked on the aerial attacks and defences outside. I trie to concentrate, but when I tried to slash my talons out at the invisible enemy, it was more like carelessness.

I overveiwed the attacks agian, but better this time. Afterwards, I stop and think in my hollow. The word creeps into my mind. The Power of Claw The Power of Wing; was my gizzard telling me something? Something bad must've happened. I get up in the forge part of my hollow and examined the copy of the power of wing that I stole and replaced wrongly. In case if you don't know, we swapped what we thought was the power of wing, but swapped another replica made by BIG. I quickly got bored and decieded to just go out on a night flight. 

Seth~

"Bye, Laria." It feels so good to say that. To talk again to someone who was almost my friend... almost. There are so many almosts in our lives. So many almosts lead to so many what ifs, which lead to so many regrets. Laria is like that: a regret. A what-if. I had a chance to have a friend, and I gave it away. After dinner, I run up to the dorms. My thoughts are still far off in What-If Land, so I almost don't notice that there is a note stuck to my door. It takes me a few minutes to decipher it-I have both mild dislexia and really bad reading skills in general.

Seth, would you like to go check out the woods tonight? You don't really have to, but I'm going to see what's over there. I deeply apologize if I sound like a brat, but this could be the beginning of something big! (Pun definitely intended) I'll be out there one hour after dinner.

Sincerely, Giniva. 

Wait... Giniva sounds like a rat? No, brat. I check my watch. 7:42. An hour and twelve minutes after dinner. I didn't realize that I had spent that much time fixing my pen! Giniva might still be outside. I dash down the steps and slip out the door. 

Giniva~

"Well now he probably thinks I'm desperate..." I sighed, pulling my coat tighter around me. The sun had just set and the last signs of light pink hovered just over the tips of the trees. 

It was usually midly warm through the day, but with the flaming ball of heat dousing its flame for its rest, the air took on a colder temputature. I could just see my breath misting in front of my face.

"What did you say?"

I let out a startled squeal, immediately bringing my hands up to my mouth as I turned around. My initial surprise turned to mock anger as I saw the culprit.

Seth was practically doubled over, clutching his stomach as he tried to keep his laughing contained.

"Seth!" I hissed, crossing my arms and frowning at him.

"Come on...that was funny," he giggled, trying to coax me into believing the lie.

"Uh uh," I responded, shaking my head. 

"It was too. You should have seen the look on your face!" he spurted with anouther bout of laughter.

I watched him, trying to look menacing and unconvinced. But to my distaste, a hint of a smile tugged at my lips. "Maybe a little..." I admitted, glancing up at the quickly darkening sky.

He smirked as the shadows across his face lengthened. "Payback," he muttered under his breath.

"Mmmm..." I glared at him and he finally shut up.

I returned my gaze to the sky, scanning the living portrait before me. The colors merged into one another, the dark blue fading into a lighter color before merging with the remnants of pink and orange.

"I'm thinking this will be like a stakeout," I whispered, returning my gaze to him as he stood awkwardly. He nodded, and I glanced over to a thick row of bushes. "They will provide some good cover. Let's go before it gets dark."

"Alright," he whispered, following my hurried but silent footsteps to the forests area.

We crawled into them as inconsipicuosly as possible, before making ourselves comfortable. "We just watch now....for a while....I guess..."

"Alright. After that we can go scan the area if nothing shows up."

"Yeah," I agreed. "Good idea."

We eventually lapsed into silence, our eyes scanning the small clearing. In the natural quiet of the forest the side of the B.I.G. dormitories seemed out of place.

Emerald walked towards the entrance of the big, sprawling white marble building. Plastered on it in official-looking gold letters was "The Brazen Inquiry Guild". She gulped.

On the wooden door was an application to join the B.I.G. She glanced at it.

--How will your latest invention further humankind's mastery of the natural world? 

--What wild animal would you most like to domesticate, and why?

--Do you have any relevant certifications (i.e. cage building, cage soundproofing, cage maintenance, interrogation techniques, testing cosmetics on animals, etc.)? 

She wasn't sure she could do this. Spying on the B.I.G. would be hard. But, she knew, it would be worth it. She took one and ran home before she could change her mind, planning to inform her parents and aunt of her decision to become a spy for the FAFA.

Emerald walked towards the entrance of the big, sprawling white marble building. Plastered on it in official-looking gold letters was "The Brazen Inquiry Guild". She gulped.

On the wooden door was an application to join the B.I.G. She glanced at it.

--How will your latest invention further humankind's mastery of the natural world? 

--What wild animal would you most like to domesticate, and why?

--Do you have any relevant certifications (i.e. cage building, cage soundproofing, cage maintenance, interrogation techniques, testing cosmetics on animals, etc.)? 

She wasn't sure she could do this. Spying on the B.I.G. would be hard. But, she knew, it would be worth it. She took one and ran home before she could change her mind, planning to inform her parents and aunt of her decision to become a spy for the FAFA.

Seth~

"What's that noise? We're supposed to be quiet!" Giniva hisses. 

"The mini engine's broken. Again." I hold up my pen.

"Why would you want a motorized pen?"

"This is much more than just a pen," I whisper.  

"Show me," Giviva demands. 

"None of its functions are working at the moment..." 

"Then what's the point?" 

"The ink-covered ball at the end," I reply. It takes her a few seconds to get it. 

"You're hopeless," she decides. Silence falls once more. Twigs and pine straw prick my skin. I shift uncompfortably. Suddenly, there's a rustling sound in front of us.

"Shh!" Giniva cautions, "it's probably just an animal anyways."

"I don't think there are any animals around here which are that big." I point to the top of a small hill. A shadowy figure is walking among the sparse trees. 

"Excellent!" Giniva says, rubbing her hands together, "We've found out shadow." 

"Oh great," I mumble as we start walking towards the figure. It takes a while to catch up, but when we do...

"That's Tani!" Giniva exclaims in a surprised whisper right as I squeak:

"That's not the same person!" Tani seems caught up in her own thoughts, so she doesn't notice us (thank goodness). We follow Tani for about 30 minutes through the forest, and she finally stops in the middle of some trees. I yawn. It must be, like, almost 10:00. As we watch from behind a prickly bush, another person steps out of the trees.

"That's Trill," Giniva informs me.

"Who?" I ask.

"She's in MART classes," Giniva prompts.

"Uhhhh..."

"You don't even know the names of your students?"

"Oh, yeah, Trill." A faint memory of Trill greeting Laria a few days ago flickers across my mind.

"Sheesh, do you expect me to keep up with all of them?" I question. Giniva rolls her eyes. I take it that's a "yes." Trill and Tani talk for so long that I have the time to prick myself 15 times in 9 different places from the sticky ends of the bush leaves. When the finally leave, we wait for about 1/2 an hour, in which I start taking selfies with Giniva's phone. At first she looks at me like I'm crazy, but then she gets bored and joins in. If there's a prize for the strangest selfies, we should win it.

It's like midnight by the time we finally start walking again. (I don't have a watch, so I'm guessing). 

Bored, Storm decided he wanted to spy on BIG to find out what they do to the animals they captured there. He got the ipad up and typed in "BIG" on Google. Many resulted popped up, but there was one that was labeled BIG: Bottled Ignition Goop Shop. Ignition Goop? Must be like a lighter. I found nothing related to the BIG that we know of. When I was about to give up, I found in teh news section, ANIMALS INVADE KYNGDOM LABATORY!. I excitedly clicked it. There was an article:

One night, animals have attacked the world renowned Brazen Iquiry Guild, the only known animal studies lab. "They have slipped passed our security and have stolen a rock we used as a paperweight!" Corneila Hornshaw, the Brazen Inquiry Guild's President, reports. ...

I hooted. All lies. Corneila Hornshaw is such a liar to that poor reporter! 

Ember pulled on a bright pink top and blue jeans and headed downstairs. As she came down the stairs (three steps at a time), she called, “Mom, time to go to school!” Her mom agreed, and since Ember was an early bird at that time, she was at her school a few minutes before it even began.

After saying goodbye to her mom, Ember turned around and sat, facing the school on a bench. She surveyed the school’s painted blue walls with her bright green eyes, and then noticed a small forest next to it. As she advanced toward Golden Oak Academy, her new school, the school bell rang. Ember grabbed her backpack and ran inside. 

She wandered slowly toward her classroom, staring in awe at the beautiful art projects and expert murals painted on the walls. She passed corner after corner, hallway after hallway until she noticed she had gone too far to find class 308. She turned and ran toward the class. 

After a few wrong turns and dead ends, she found herself in the room, realizing she was 4 and ½ minutes late. However, she was only the second one there. “Welcome, um, Amber, right?” Ember couldn’t explain her name, so she just nodded.  The teacher said. “I’m Miss Sanders, and I will be your teacher.” “Now open to page 325, and…” Ember sat up in surprise trying to figure out when Ms. Sanders had ever said that and realized that she had been remembering 1st grade, the awful day when her mom was taken. She sighed, and closed her eyes again.

This time she began remembering at dismissals. Her mom had been late, and so she had stood with her new friend, Siralina. “Do you like nature?” She asked, suddenly forgetting she had asked her that a billion times today. Siralina laughed, but took it in stride. “Yup! I love anything animal, plant or nature-ful!” She smiled with relief, just like every other time. Her mom came up to us and said, ‘Hi Siralie! Who is this?” “Hi,” Ember said with excitement. “I’m Ember!” The woman laughed, and quickly answered, “Nice to meet you. I wish I could stay, but Siralie and I have to go home. See you soon!” With that, she grabbed Siralina’s hand and ran to her car.

Ember’s mom picked Ember up late, but she still excitedly told her every detail of my day, afterwards, she gave Ember cookies that she had handed out at her preschool, Da Vinci Preschool. After talking for a while, we decided to take a walk in the woods. Ember’s mom took her deeper and deeper into the woods, until no one could see her from the outside the woods, when she let go of Ember’s hand, and turned into a fox. She already knew our family secret (she had known it for years), but she couldn’t control my shape-shifting yet. Whenever she was feeling very happy, sad, excited, angry, etc., my nose would turn black and wet, my ears would turn orange and would turn pointy, or my feet would get smaller and darker. I just wasn’t old enough to learn, but she luckily understood this was not normal.

Ember managed to get her feet and nose to change, and got a little tail, but for the moment that was the best she could do. They ran around and watched deer, rabbits, and other small animals, and had lots of fun frolicking in the woods. Suddenly two people (who were wearing a shirt with Brazen Inquiry Guild written on it) appeared, but they didn’t notice them. Ember got so scared of them seeing her, that she fully turned into a fox cub. She ran behind the tree and observed them. She turned toward where she thought her mom would be, but she wasn’t there. She was taking a drink (out in the open) from a clear stream. She obviously didn’t see the men standing now only ten feet away from her and coming closer, but Ember couldn’t say anything for fear of what they might do to them.

As Ember tried to subtly get her mom’s attention, the men noticed the bright spot of orange in the green woods, and started towards Ember’s mom. They hit her with a tranquilizer dart, and then put her in a cage, and took off. Ember held back tears and ran back towards our house. Since she had no idea what B.I.G would do to her mom, she had didn’t know if her mom would come back. 

Ember ran back to her house, but since her dad divorced her mom and moved away, the house was empty. She ran up to the door, and had some trouble changing back, but eventually she was all the way back to normal. She tried the door, and luckily it was open.

` For two years Ember lived by herself. She wore darker clothes, and was always doing what she could to try to get her mom back, but the only clue she had from all of those library trips and internet searches was that B.I.G. was an organization that captures animals.

One day, Ember got the best clue yet, an envelope from BIG itself! It was a letter formally inviting her to join BIG. Ember was furious at first, (yelling “Just because I’m human doesn’t mean I’m EVIL!!!”) but she quickly realized that it was a chance to rescue her mom. As she turned around to go inside, though, another letter arrived, by crow. “Hi, you’re Ember, right?” The crow asked. Ember nodded. “Most people call me Amber, though.” I answered. The crow tilted his head and replied, “I, however am not a person, and as far as I know, neither are you. My name’s Little Crow if you were wondering.” “Oh, okay,” I said. “But I don’t know how you know about the whole fox thing.” Little crow laughed. “I am a messenger from Fur and Feathers Association. We know about most of the people around here.” “You’re from Fur and what?” Ember asked, confused. “Fur and- oh never mind just read the letter.” Little Crow handed Ember a letter sealed with mud and took off. The letter asked Ember to join FAFA to help get all of the animal out of, and stop, BIG. I sent a “yes” both ways. As much as I hated BIG, being a spy and getting animals, including my mother, free would be a lot more helpful than sitting in FAFA headquarters, doing nothing.