Good Source of Protein [Amber]

[Kieron Sharpe]

Needed at med centre.

Kieron sighed as he read the message on the beeper that was attached to his wrist like a watch; he’d only just got away! Sat on a rock jutting out of the middle of the lake, the nurse was wearing gloves, a heavy sweater (slotted at the back so his wings could protrude) and thick trousers despite the late summer warmth, his tinted goggles perched over his eyes and shielding them from the harshness of the midday sun above. With his vast wings relaxed and outstretched behind him, this was the closest K ever got to sunbathing.

Standing, the Irishman brushed the rock dust off the seat of his trousers and with a powerful beat of leathery wings he was in the air once more, skimming across the surface of the lake before rising above the tree line to head back towards the campsite. Even after all these years the sight of his silhouette still thrilled him. If he held his body just right he was like a dragon, soaring far above the terrified villagers, waiting to burn their houses to the ground and devour their women and children. It was a fanciful thought but one he much enjoyed.

All too soon he arrived back at the campsite, which thankfully had a rather large clearing where he could come down without clipping his wings on any trees. As much as he loved his wings, sometimes having such an enormous wingspan was inconvenient. Gliding into the clearing (he couldn’t actually fly down because the downward air currents from the wing beats would have sent things blowing everywhere), K landed on his feet and tilted forward, resting on all fours while he folded his wings in close and stood upright, taking off his gloves.

Kieron kept his wings manifested but tucked as close against him as he could manage, making the most of the freedom to do so while he could, and as he approached the little campsite medical centre he shoved the gloves into the pocket of his sweater and fished a small packet of treats out of the small bag around his waist. All the extra flying he’d been doing here was really eating into his protein reserves, and he popped one of the honey roast bugs into his mouth as he walked up to the girl and the campsite worker who had taken her to the centre. Despite his quiet annoyance at being disturbed from his break, K’s tone was bright and friendly. “Hello. I’m Kieron, one of the Hammel nurses. What seems to be the problem?”

[Amber Krasenski]

The Hsmmel school retreat was always an excellent time, brimming with games and activities. Even better, it was set against a backdrop of secluded woodland peace, which meant that the over active imagination of a youth fed on fairy tales could run wild.

Unfortunately, not all of the activities, when combined with youthful enthusiasm and not much care, at times had less than ideal results.

Such as when Amber had been concentrating so hard on pretending that he was one of the Dunedain while walking across the wires strung up across the trees that he hadn't actually paid attention to balance.

At least the wires were set low to the ground, which helped prevent serious injury, but his ankle hurt when he bore down on it, and the palms of his hands and his knees were scraped up. While waiting for the nurse he told himself that Dunedain had to deal with worse injuries than this; how could he fight off orcs and nazgul if a little fall hurt so much?

And then the nurse showed up.

The nurse's words were lost on the student, who had honed in on the crunchy snack the man was holding. Delight that he wasn't the only one who enjoyed them colored his voice as he asked, "you eat bugs?"

[Kieron Sharpe]

As much as his ability had its drawbacks, Kieron would not swap it for the world. He firmly believed that flight was one of the greatest gifts that could ever have been given to him, and being able to see perfectly clearly in pitch darkness had its own fair share of perks. Since his youth he had always loved heroes and monsters and flights of fantasy, and his ability had blessed him with the chance to live his own epic tale.

It was just a shame that life was always so ordinary and repetitive. Where were the damsels in distress, the poor villagers who needed saving? Then again, with his wings he was much more likely to be cast as the rampaging dragon rather than the bold and valiant knight. That was a rather sad thought.

Once he had gotten to the little medical centre Kieron fished his sunglasses out of his waist-bag, using them to replace the tinted goggles that he had been wearing while flying. If he ran into Mr Batista again he would have to thank his mentor for that particular piece of advice.

The girl's enthusiastic question caused a soft chuckle to leave K's lips and he gave a small shrug of his shoulders, causing his wings to twitch slightly. “I do, yeah. I need a lot of protein and these are super-high in it. Plus, they taste pretty good.” He tucked the packet back into his bag and let his wings disappear as he headed inside to wash his hands. “Once I've got you patched up again you're welcome to try one, if you'd like.” He thought he recognised the girl(?) from one of the student files he had read a little while back. “Is your name Amber, by any chance?”