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Description
Windsonde Twistoult Challenge #1!

Your friends tell you a rumor that the shamans will be eternally grateful if you bring them a powerful medicinal fruit. Problem is, it only grows on Tookie Island. Do you dare venture to this mysterious island of primitive gryphons? Do you think your friends are telling you the truth or playing a prank on you?

------------------------------

Living on the coast of Twistoult for what amount of life he had lived so far, Augi had seen silhouettes of Tookie Island during clearer days, and had only suspected it to be another land like the one he himself lived on. When he was told that there were treasures to be found and dangerous mysteries, he quietly kept his interest to himself and plotted his manner of approach. The prerogative to claim a nondescript fruit was the least of his priorities, but he decided to go along with it - it was a great excuse to explore.

Being a naturally innate ocean glider, he sailed over the waves with ease, and Augi whistled his excitement as he caught a large updraft over the swells. Soon enough, however, he had to land; he had arrived on the foreign shore of Tookie Island.

The lush foliage made Augi a little uneasy - odd trees, naked but for a topknot of greenery, loomed over his head as they marked the entrance to what looked to be impenetrable darkness beyond.

Augi paced at the water's edge, infinitely more comfortable further away from the green, and ruffled his wings as he reconsidered his decision, his ears flattening in frustration at his own insecurity.

A few minutes of introspection later, and he looked up at the threatening forest once more to see a welcome surprise; medium-sized spheres of yellow-orange shone dully in the sun, but were as pieces of gold to Augi. Little did he know that in his musings, he had traversed some ways around the peninsula he had landed on, and fruit trees were abundant in this new location.

Augi nearly galloped over to the shining fruit, his webbed forefeet clumsily digging up the sand, and slid as he came to a stop under one of the lowest hanging branches. In his excitement and anxiety to remove himself from the foreboding foliage wrapping about him, he reared up to snag one of the fruits, taking part of a branch with it in his momentary strength.

As he turned tail and prepared to take off, he did not hear the sudden low buzzes coming from the leaves.

In a few forceful pulses, Augi lifted himself off of the island, and quickly leaned into an updraft of air, his heart thrilling to be over the ocean once more. His thrill turned into confusion as his ears pinned backwards to hear an odd series of sounds. There was something odd about the sound of the waves; they almost sounded like were buzzing... and what was that?... squeaks? What in the earth was squeaking?...

Augi was suddenly hit in the head by what felt like a needle poking the back of his skull, and he squawked in surprise and momentary pain, unwittingly dropping the branch in his bill. The fruit dutifully obeyed the laws of physics as it quickly plunged away into the waves.

What happened next was something Augi couldn't exactly take a grasp of until he discussed it with his fellow peers who had also traversed to Tookie (in which they heartily laughed at him for being such a coward): a multitude of colors, purple, blue, and green, flared iridescently in front of Augi's eyes as tiny yet furious little winged creatures pelted him from all sides, squeaking harshly in his ears and pulling at his feathers and tried to jab him in the eyes. He thought he could make out some words, but the only thing he could understand was "Out! Away!" and the unmistakable signs given to him from the stabs of pain delivered.

Thankfully it took only a few more tens of feet before the little warriors thought they had done their job and zoomed away on near-invisible wings.

After his friends had laughed at him, Augi now decides to keep this excursion to himself.

-----------------------------------

Sorry for the huge story! I hope it wasn't too boring.

TL;DR : Augi went to Tookie Island and almost succeeded in his mission if it weren't for those meddling islanders!

The islanders are combinations of various hummingbird species from South America, all with Jerboa hindquarters.

Species used:

Sparkling Violet-Ear ( Colibri coruscans ) : [link]

Booted Racket-Tail ( Ocreatus underwoodii ) : [link]

And the Snowcap ( Microchera albocoronata ) : [link]

And of course, Augi is a Greater Black-Backed Gull (Larus marinus) and domestic house cat (Felis catus) - this is his 1st winter plumage, so he is still quite the juvenile here. I hope to alter his plumage from 1st year onward for each oncoming 'Young Gryphon' challenge, and then use his adult for when he actually becomes an adult XP

Enjoy, and thank you for reading!

Augi character and art © S. Dziezyk/LeccathuFurvicael 2011. Do not redistribute, copy, alter, etc., any portion of this image without personal and direct permission from me, the artist.

Description
Windsonde Twistoult Challenge #1!

Your friends tell you a rumor that the shamans will be eternally grateful if you bring them a powerful medicinal fruit. Problem is, it only grows on Tookie Island. Do you dare venture to this mysterious island of primitive gryphons? Do you think your friends are telling you the truth or playing a prank on you?

------------------------------

Living on the coast of Twistoult for what amount of life he had lived so far, Augi had seen silhouettes of Tookie Island during clearer days, and had only suspected it to be another land like the one he himself lived on. When he was told that there were treasures to be found and dangerous mysteries, he quietly kept his interest to himself and plotted his manner of approach. The prerogative to claim a nondescript fruit was the least of his priorities, but he decided to go along with it - it was a great excuse to explore.

Being a naturally innate ocean glider, he sailed over the waves with ease, and Augi whistled his excitement as he caught a large updraft over the swells. Soon enough, however, he had to land; he had arrived on the foreign shore of Tookie Island.

The lush foliage made Augi a little uneasy - odd trees, naked but for a topknot of greenery, loomed over his head as they marked the entrance to what looked to be impenetrable darkness beyond.

Augi paced at the water's edge, infinitely more comfortable further away from the green, and ruffled his wings as he reconsidered his decision, his ears flattening in frustration at his own insecurity.

A few minutes of introspection later, and he looked up at the threatening forest once more to see a welcome surprise; medium-sized spheres of yellow-orange shone dully in the sun, but were as pieces of gold to Augi. Little did he know that in his musings, he had traversed some ways around the peninsula he had landed on, and fruit trees were abundant in this new location.

Augi nearly galloped over to the shining fruit, his webbed forefeet clumsily digging up the sand, and slid as he came to a stop under one of the lowest hanging branches. In his excitement and anxiety to remove himself from the foreboding foliage wrapping about him, he reared up to snag one of the fruits, taking part of a branch with it in his momentary strength.

As he turned tail and prepared to take off, he did not hear the sudden low buzzes coming from the leaves.

In a few forceful pulses, Augi lifted himself off of the island, and quickly leaned into an updraft of air, his heart thrilling to be over the ocean once more. His thrill turned into confusion as his ears pinned backwards to hear an odd series of sounds. There was something odd about the sound of the waves; they almost sounded like were buzzing... and what was that?... squeaks? What in the earth was squeaking?...

Augi was suddenly hit in the head by what felt like a needle poking the back of his skull, and he squawked in surprise and momentary pain, unwittingly dropping the branch in his bill. The fruit dutifully obeyed the laws of physics as it quickly plunged away into the waves.

What happened next was something Augi couldn't exactly take a grasp of until he discussed it with his fellow peers who had also traversed to Tookie (in which they heartily laughed at him for being such a coward): a multitude of colors, purple, blue, and green, flared iridescently in front of Augi's eyes as tiny yet furious little winged creatures pelted him from all sides, squeaking harshly in his ears and pulling at his feathers and tried to jab him in the eyes. He thought he could make out some words, but the only thing he could understand was "Out! Away!" and the unmistakable signs given to him from the stabs of pain delivered.

Thankfully it took only a few more tens of feet before the little warriors thought they had done their job and zoomed away on near-invisible wings.

After his friends had laughed at him, Augi now decides to keep this excursion to himself.

-----------------------------------

Sorry for the huge story! I hope it wasn't too boring.

TL;DR : Augi went to Tookie Island and almost succeeded in his mission if it weren't for those meddling islanders!

The islanders are combinations of various hummingbird species from South America, all with Jerboa hindquarters.

Species used:

Sparkling Violet-Ear ( Colibri coruscans ) : [link]

Booted Racket-Tail ( Ocreatus underwoodii ) : [link]

And the Snowcap ( Microchera albocoronata ) : [link]

And of course, Augi is a Greater Black-Backed Gull (Larus marinus) and domestic house cat (Felis catus) - this is his 1st winter plumage, so he is still quite the juvenile here. I hope to alter his plumage from 1st year onward for each oncoming 'Young Gryphon' challenge, and then use his adult for when he actually becomes an adult XP

Enjoy, and thank you for reading!

Augi character and art © S. Dziezyk/LeccathuFurvicael 2011. Do not redistribute, copy, alter, etc., any portion of this image without personal and direct permission from me, the artist.