Sonny and I were just two of the thirty volunteers standing on the platform outside tree seven. The sun was just beginning to rise above the treetops and provide light to the nest when the appointed meeting between captain and recruit was supposed to take place... Except, no Captain could be found.

We waited... And waited... And waited some more.

Three hours after our appointed meeting time, and 'captain' Rogar was still nowhere to be found. A few Birds had broken off from the group to ask after him, while others had taken to napping in the warm sunlight.

Sonny and I were not part of either group. No, we stood off to the side and chatted amongst ourselves while we waited.

"Think he forgot about us?" Sonny asked anxiously.

"No... Though it's certainly possible."

We nodded at a group of other students that passed by us.

"What'll we do then?"

"Dunno." I admitted.

I'd never encountered a situation where a captain forgot about his entire squad... The Spartans would have the idiot's head for such a mistake.

Sonny's eyes suddenly widened. He glanced around the platform with spastic jerks of his head in one direction, then another.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"What if it's a trick?" Sonny whispered.

"If what's a trick?"

"This," He motioned to the area around us. "What if the captain's been here the entire time, we just haven't seen him."

...

"That's a little paranoid, don't you think?" I'd known Sonny had anxiety issues for a while, now. But maybe the stress was finally getting to him? We had been through a lot, lately... And he refused to talk about what mom did to him.

Honestly... I was fine with that. I had a feeling it was better for both of us if I didn't bring it up, and just let him repress it...

I felt something incredibly light land on my head. So light, in fact, that I was about to ignore it entirely because I'd thought it a leaf, or a bug... Until Sonny's body spasmed and he was suddenly backpedaling.

I jerked my head back and down to dislodge whatever it was, then spread my wings wide.

"Not a bad reaction speed." I heard a deep, masculine voice mumbled from behind me.

I spun around to face them... But no one was there.

"Your spacial awareness is crap, but I can fix that." The voice said from behind me, again.

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I feinted to one side, then quickly spun to the other... Still nothing.

"Obvious combat training, but... Still unrefined. A re-lifer, perhaps?"

Voices began to echo all around me... Then the screams started. It started out slow with one person yelping in surprise, then another on the other side of the platform cried out. Then another... And another... Until an avalanche of noise descended upon the platform. Birds young and old cried out in alarm. Shouts of "Who said that!?" seemed to ping-pong back and forth across the platform.

And during all of this commotion, not once did my own, personal critic stop pointing out my flaws.

"Body is... weak, but young. Definite room for improvement." It mumbled.

...

"Captain Rogar?" I heard Sonny say out loud.

"Oh?" My personal critic said in response. "Interesting."

And then the voice was gone. I spun in the direction I'd heard Sonny's voice... And saw him staring down a bird even smaller than I was. The bird had dark green feathers on his body and wings, while his head was almost entirely black except for a white spot on the tip of its long, slender beak. The bird's wings were moving at speeds much faster than my eyes could follow, making them appear as a constant blur.

"Ferret, male, Sonny Lynes? Yes, most likely identity. Pleasure to meet you." The bird disappeared in a blur of movement, then reappeared behind Sonny as if he'd always been there.

"Interesting. Never seen a Ferret's E-Chart before. Are all Ferret's like this?"

"Um..."

"Sorry, not talking to you." The bird disappeared again and reappeared next to Sonny's ear.

From the way Sonny jerked away from the bird, it wasn't hard to figure out why. Sonny's ears were very sensitive, after all. The bird began mumbling to himself, even as he left Sonny alone and flew to the front of the group.

I hurried over to Sonny.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah," he said while pawing at his ear. "But he blew in my ear!" he finished with a hiss.

"Apologies,"

Sonny and I both jumped away from the voice... But when we looked for the little bird, he was floating at the front of the group.

"Hello, everyone." The bird said as it floated in the air. "As some of you have surmised, I am Captain Rogar Solaris. Previously of the Galactic Peace Corps. A pleasure." He finished with a bob of his head.

"Any questions?"

"Yeah! Why were you late!" A large green bird yelled from the front... of the... crowd?

"Gri?" I stared at the large bird. Sure enough, it was my older brother. His sleek, green feathers seemed to shine majestically in the sunlight, and he stood a clear head above even the tallest of the other volunteers. He'd obviously gone through a few evolutions of his own, as noted by the large wings he kept at his side, the sharp-edged beak, and the fact that he was even larger than the last time I saw him.

"Standing like that, he kinda reminds me of one of those comic book heroes I read about in the hospital... But wait, why is he here!?"

"Business. Next question." C.R replied curtly.

"That's not an answe—" Gri went silent and collapsed. His body shook for a moment, then went still...

"Next question." The bird said, not having moved or even acknowledging one of his recruits collapsing to the ground.

"Gri!?" I yelled. I fought my way through the stunned crowd and checked on him... His eyes were open and he was breathing steadily... But seemed to be unable to move.

I sighed.

"Not dead, only immobilize. Next question."

"What'd you do to him?"

"Magic. Next question."

"You can use magic!?" Someone yelled.

"That's what I said. Weren't you listening? No, don't answer that. Answer is obvious. Next question."

"What are you?" I heard Sonny ask.

...

"An excellent question... Next question."

It went on like that for several minutes. Some birds asked why he wouldn't answer Sonny's question, but after getting nothing but silence ten questions in a row, they moved on to other questions.

"When are we leaving?"

"We leave for the training course tomorrow morning."

"How long will we be gone?"

"Unsure."

"Will we die?"

"Most likely."

"Why'd you volunteer if you think we're going to die?"

...

"Personal business." was his succinct response.

He looked up at the sky, then looked at all of us.

"Be here at Zero-five-hundred. Dismissed."

...

"He... Did he just vanish?" Someone whispered a little too loudly.