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Description

Unshaded version with clearer reference shots for upgrade approval purposes here: Fledgling Flats

Sparrow

+ Traitor's Flight [GG- Wyld Hunt] Conversation

+ Simple Spots

- Acorn Count: 150

11/346 acorns

Tracker: docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d…

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1613 words

TW: Injury effects, unreality (dreaming/nightmare)

Sparrow drifts in and out of consciousness for a time, her brief moments of awareness clouded by a haze of pain. It’s certainly not as bad as when she was first slammed into that tree, but her whole body still aches, and her right eye socket throbs. Eventually, she finds herself slipping further into unconsciousness; but somehow, a different kind. One that unnerves her, but that she finds all too familiar at the same time.

Her eye snaps open.

The ground is cold, hard, and jagged beneath her back; it irritates her wounds through her bandages. Above her, a vast, clear sky full of stars stretches out. Sparrow slowly sits up, suddenly feeling more tired as she looks across the bare mountainscape. She does not remember this place, and yet she knows she has been here twice before. The first time, she’d been just a kit, and she’d woken up from this strange dreamworld looking nothing like herself. As if the emotional toll of this alone wasn’t enough to mess with a child’s mind, her parents had promptly abandoned her over it. Can’t have a mutated child, oh no.

As Sparrow staggers to her feet, she wonders if her parents would be proud of her now, had she not changed so drastically. Would her losing an eye still have driven them to replace her?

Making her way across the craggy terrain, the main thing in her mind is how much she hates how the rocks feel against her injured foot. But she knows where to go from here by pure instinct; she’s had this dream often enough that its events are almost hard coded into her brain, even if she doesn’t actively remember them. Besides, the last time Sparrow had been here was far more recent. It had been right before she’d left for the Wyld Hunt; her avian claws are much better at navigating this terrain than the soft-pawed kit she’d once been was. After that dream, she had woken up with a second set of wings to frame her eyes. This time, traversing the area is much harder; everything hurts, and her depth perception is shot.

But she still knows the way. She will never forget the way.

After several minutes of travel, a cliff comes into view; the sight of which sends a chill down Sparrow’s spine. The small folk does not remember exactly what happens here, but she knows it’s nothing good. On the horizon, the stars are brighter than she’s ever seen in reality; and she feels compelled to reach them.

She will never be able to reach them; she’s tried twice before. But she must join them.

The cold, harsh wind stings Sparrow’s face as she steps towards the cliff’s edge. It feels like it’s blowing right through her; and she’s pretty sure this is not a new feature. She balances right on the edge, looking out to the horizon. Below her, a vast void stretches out as far as she can see, filling her with dread. She has plummeted into its depths twice before.

But the stars call her name, louder and louder with every passing second. She has no choice but to join them.

Taking a deep breath, Sparrow takes a few steps back, closing her eye. She knows what comes next, but she isn’t in control right now. She must reach the stars, but she can never be allowed to. It is how the dream must go; and the sooner she gets it over with, the sooner she can wake up, the sooner the nightmare ends. Slowly reopening her scarlet eye, she looks towards the stars, so radiant, so welcoming.

She will join them. She runs forward, and takes the leap.

As she free falls, Sparrow instinctively spreads all of her wings; but even with her ear, eye, and arm wings, she knows she’ll never fly. She’ll fall into the void, just as she always has. But she will get to wake up; and briefly, she’ll know what the wind feels like in her feathers as she cuts through the sky, eyes squeezed tightly shut.

The sensation makes her feel more free than she ever has in the waking world. What a shame that it cannot last.

It takes her a second to realise that she isn’t falling.

How can this be? None of her wings are remotely large enough to even glide, let alone achieve full flight! Sparrow reopens her eye, checking herself over. Much to her surprise, the arm feathers that were once small and soft, the colour of cinnamon, have become slightly larger, ethereal feathers the colour of her phylactery; and a small bone juts out of each wrist. And she’s really flying. For the first time in quite a while, she laughs with joy.

The stars are in reach. She just has to fly up.

It’s easier said than done, and she swears it shouldn’t be working, but Sparrow flies higher, and higher; relishing the wind beneath her wings, hardly noticing how hot it’s getting. The only thing in her mind is that she has to reach the stars. She will not fall into the void below this time; she will triumph over this nightmare, once and for all.

She realises far too late that she’s not reaching for the stars. She’s flying towards a sun, and she’s heard the Old World tale of how that goes.

The sun’s light grows brighter and brighter; but like a moth drawn to the flame, Sparrow is still compelled to fly towards it even as she begins to sweat more and more, much to her horror. The heat grows stronger, and stronger, and each wingbeat becomes harder and harder to complete; until her body eventually gives out. Collapsing midair, she finds herself plummeting into the endless, blank abyss, and she passes out from heat exhaustion long before she reaches the bottom.

Her eye snaps open as she awakes in a cold sweat.

She’s back in reality this time, Sparrow thinks. All she can see above her is the ceiling of a tent, and she’s surrounded by other injured folk. That… seems about right, given the last solid memory she had from the real world was being knocked out cold by the snapjaw. But even now, she’s already losing grip on the memories from her nightmare. Just like the first two times. She prays that she never has a fourth time in that dreamscape. Pushing through the ever-present pain, she slowly drags herself into a sitting position… only for her blood to run cold when she feels hard appendages by her wrists that weren’t there before.

Vaguely, she can remember seeing her wings in the dreamscape. They’d changed there; and every time she’s had this dream, a new physical change has greeted her when she awakened. Reluctantly, Sparrow raises her wrists to inspect them. And sure enough, small bones have grown from each wrist, and her feathers have become translucent. She… thinks she needs some air.

Stumbling to her feet, she scans the tent for familiar faces. Suncrest is sound asleep not far from where she had been resting, his torso wrapped in bandages; and a wave of relief washes over her. Sparrow will leave him be, for now. There will be time to catch up; although, as she remembers the last interaction they’d had, a light, golden blush comes to her cheeks. But she shoves any thoughts of those moments aside, as now is still not the time to unpack them; and she leaves the tent.

The air outside is cool and crisp, and she’s never enjoyed it more than she has at this moment. The details are gone, but Sparrow strongly suspects extreme temperatures were involved, with how warm she’d felt when she woke up, despite not actually being warm. However the fuck that works. She shambles away from the tent, needing to stretch her legs despite the aches plaguing her body. And she takes stock of what has happened to her as she walks.

Obviously, there’s the situation with her wings. They were definitely not like that during the battle. Therefore, the dream must’ve done it, because of course it did. That’s just her life now, apparently. Gently raising a hand to her face, she touches first her ear wings, and then her eye wings. Both are still made of soft feathers. Thank Azalhai for that. Her foot is wrapped in bandages, which throws off her balance ever so slightly. But she supposes it’s better than leaving it uncovered. Sparrow’s torso is covered in bandages as well, presumably for the back wounds. And oddly enough… she can already feel all those wounds fading. They still hurt, but nowhere near as much. Which brings her to… her eye. She doesn’t need to touch her face to know there’s a bandage wrapped around her head and eye, to realise how much her injured eye still hurts. It’s gone, and she knows it. Most of her hopes it returns one day; as most of her ambitions are best achieved with good depth perception. But a small part of her is glad to lose another part of her parents.

Sighing, Sparrow hoists herself up onto a tree stump. She didn’t make it far from camp, but she needs the rest, and she hates it. From here, she can see a clear patch of sky through the mushrooms and trees, and the stars shine bright in the clear night sky; no longer stained red by the blood moon. Resting a hand on her raised knee as she gazes at the bright stars, one thought echoes in her mind.

Where is she supposed to go from here?

Description

Unshaded version with clearer reference shots for upgrade approval purposes here: Fledgling Flats

Sparrow

+ Traitor's Flight [GG- Wyld Hunt] Conversation

+ Simple Spots

- Acorn Count: 150

11/346 acorns

Tracker: docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d…

---

1613 words

TW: Injury effects, unreality (dreaming/nightmare)

Sparrow drifts in and out of consciousness for a time, her brief moments of awareness clouded by a haze of pain. It’s certainly not as bad as when she was first slammed into that tree, but her whole body still aches, and her right eye socket throbs. Eventually, she finds herself slipping further into unconsciousness; but somehow, a different kind. One that unnerves her, but that she finds all too familiar at the same time.

Her eye snaps open.

The ground is cold, hard, and jagged beneath her back; it irritates her wounds through her bandages. Above her, a vast, clear sky full of stars stretches out. Sparrow slowly sits up, suddenly feeling more tired as she looks across the bare mountainscape. She does not remember this place, and yet she knows she has been here twice before. The first time, she’d been just a kit, and she’d woken up from this strange dreamworld looking nothing like herself. As if the emotional toll of this alone wasn’t enough to mess with a child’s mind, her parents had promptly abandoned her over it. Can’t have a mutated child, oh no.

As Sparrow staggers to her feet, she wonders if her parents would be proud of her now, had she not changed so drastically. Would her losing an eye still have driven them to replace her?

Making her way across the craggy terrain, the main thing in her mind is how much she hates how the rocks feel against her injured foot. But she knows where to go from here by pure instinct; she’s had this dream often enough that its events are almost hard coded into her brain, even if she doesn’t actively remember them. Besides, the last time Sparrow had been here was far more recent. It had been right before she’d left for the Wyld Hunt; her avian claws are much better at navigating this terrain than the soft-pawed kit she’d once been was. After that dream, she had woken up with a second set of wings to frame her eyes. This time, traversing the area is much harder; everything hurts, and her depth perception is shot.

But she still knows the way. She will never forget the way.

After several minutes of travel, a cliff comes into view; the sight of which sends a chill down Sparrow’s spine. The small folk does not remember exactly what happens here, but she knows it’s nothing good. On the horizon, the stars are brighter than she’s ever seen in reality; and she feels compelled to reach them.

She will never be able to reach them; she’s tried twice before. But she must join them.

The cold, harsh wind stings Sparrow’s face as she steps towards the cliff’s edge. It feels like it’s blowing right through her; and she’s pretty sure this is not a new feature. She balances right on the edge, looking out to the horizon. Below her, a vast void stretches out as far as she can see, filling her with dread. She has plummeted into its depths twice before.

But the stars call her name, louder and louder with every passing second. She has no choice but to join them.

Taking a deep breath, Sparrow takes a few steps back, closing her eye. She knows what comes next, but she isn’t in control right now. She must reach the stars, but she can never be allowed to. It is how the dream must go; and the sooner she gets it over with, the sooner she can wake up, the sooner the nightmare ends. Slowly reopening her scarlet eye, she looks towards the stars, so radiant, so welcoming.

She will join them. She runs forward, and takes the leap.

As she free falls, Sparrow instinctively spreads all of her wings; but even with her ear, eye, and arm wings, she knows she’ll never fly. She’ll fall into the void, just as she always has. But she will get to wake up; and briefly, she’ll know what the wind feels like in her feathers as she cuts through the sky, eyes squeezed tightly shut.

The sensation makes her feel more free than she ever has in the waking world. What a shame that it cannot last.

It takes her a second to realise that she isn’t falling.

How can this be? None of her wings are remotely large enough to even glide, let alone achieve full flight! Sparrow reopens her eye, checking herself over. Much to her surprise, the arm feathers that were once small and soft, the colour of cinnamon, have become slightly larger, ethereal feathers the colour of her phylactery; and a small bone juts out of each wrist. And she’s really flying. For the first time in quite a while, she laughs with joy.

The stars are in reach. She just has to fly up.

It’s easier said than done, and she swears it shouldn’t be working, but Sparrow flies higher, and higher; relishing the wind beneath her wings, hardly noticing how hot it’s getting. The only thing in her mind is that she has to reach the stars. She will not fall into the void below this time; she will triumph over this nightmare, once and for all.

She realises far too late that she’s not reaching for the stars. She’s flying towards a sun, and she’s heard the Old World tale of how that goes.

The sun’s light grows brighter and brighter; but like a moth drawn to the flame, Sparrow is still compelled to fly towards it even as she begins to sweat more and more, much to her horror. The heat grows stronger, and stronger, and each wingbeat becomes harder and harder to complete; until her body eventually gives out. Collapsing midair, she finds herself plummeting into the endless, blank abyss, and she passes out from heat exhaustion long before she reaches the bottom.

Her eye snaps open as she awakes in a cold sweat.

She’s back in reality this time, Sparrow thinks. All she can see above her is the ceiling of a tent, and she’s surrounded by other injured folk. That… seems about right, given the last solid memory she had from the real world was being knocked out cold by the snapjaw. But even now, she’s already losing grip on the memories from her nightmare. Just like the first two times. She prays that she never has a fourth time in that dreamscape. Pushing through the ever-present pain, she slowly drags herself into a sitting position… only for her blood to run cold when she feels hard appendages by her wrists that weren’t there before.

Vaguely, she can remember seeing her wings in the dreamscape. They’d changed there; and every time she’s had this dream, a new physical change has greeted her when she awakened. Reluctantly, Sparrow raises her wrists to inspect them. And sure enough, small bones have grown from each wrist, and her feathers have become translucent. She… thinks she needs some air.

Stumbling to her feet, she scans the tent for familiar faces. Suncrest is sound asleep not far from where she had been resting, his torso wrapped in bandages; and a wave of relief washes over her. Sparrow will leave him be, for now. There will be time to catch up; although, as she remembers the last interaction they’d had, a light, golden blush comes to her cheeks. But she shoves any thoughts of those moments aside, as now is still not the time to unpack them; and she leaves the tent.

The air outside is cool and crisp, and she’s never enjoyed it more than she has at this moment. The details are gone, but Sparrow strongly suspects extreme temperatures were involved, with how warm she’d felt when she woke up, despite not actually being warm. However the fuck that works. She shambles away from the tent, needing to stretch her legs despite the aches plaguing her body. And she takes stock of what has happened to her as she walks.

Obviously, there’s the situation with her wings. They were definitely not like that during the battle. Therefore, the dream must’ve done it, because of course it did. That’s just her life now, apparently. Gently raising a hand to her face, she touches first her ear wings, and then her eye wings. Both are still made of soft feathers. Thank Azalhai for that. Her foot is wrapped in bandages, which throws off her balance ever so slightly. But she supposes it’s better than leaving it uncovered. Sparrow’s torso is covered in bandages as well, presumably for the back wounds. And oddly enough… she can already feel all those wounds fading. They still hurt, but nowhere near as much. Which brings her to… her eye. She doesn’t need to touch her face to know there’s a bandage wrapped around her head and eye, to realise how much her injured eye still hurts. It’s gone, and she knows it. Most of her hopes it returns one day; as most of her ambitions are best achieved with good depth perception. But a small part of her is glad to lose another part of her parents.

Sighing, Sparrow hoists herself up onto a tree stump. She didn’t make it far from camp, but she needs the rest, and she hates it. From here, she can see a clear patch of sky through the mushrooms and trees, and the stars shine bright in the clear night sky; no longer stained red by the blood moon. Resting a hand on her raised knee as she gazes at the bright stars, one thought echoes in her mind.

Where is she supposed to go from here?