- Jun 4, 2012
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(continued from a while ago...)
Surprisingly, it was Sadie, lowest of the Flock, who let loose first. Or perhaps not so surprising, after all. Sadie had been the victim of another bully in a previous flock, and had most of the feathers pulled out of her back and tail. They were only half grown back. Sadie had made the mistake of not getting out of Queen Penelope's way in the first few days of this new Flock, and had nearly lost an eye for the transgression. She only just had a little blurry vision on that side, and no way to know if it would ever improve. Sadie was always on edge these days, always dodging away from every sound, always following behind the others, barely able to see the few scraps they might have left her.
As the Flock spread out into the world on this hot afternoon, Sadie saw with her good left eye a chunk of watermelon rind, with a large portion of red fruit still clinging to it, that no one else had seen. She paused for a moment to see if Penelope would grab it first, not wanting to risk the anger of her superior - then remembered that there was no Penelope, not any more. No one had perched upon her vacant throne. Suddenly Sadie threw caution to the wind and charged for the rind. She reached it in three quick strides and began to feast.
Sadie was in heaven as she pecked and swallowed the cold, delicious melon. Then she saw someone moving toward her, someone who would surely try to take the fruit from her, and she wasn't wrong about that. What surprised her a little was that it was Elsa.
Sadie and Elsa had been friends from the first day of the Flock. Elsa would often turn to Sadie for comfort, and they had leaned on each other for strength and protection. They ate together and roosted side by side. Elsa would often try to tuck her head under Sadie's wing, even though she was really too big for such things. After Sadie's injury, the Man had taken her from the Flock and put her in her own tiny cage in another place. She was glad, because she was weak and hurt and couldn't have defended herself from much more attack. But she was also lonely. She spent two days alone in that cage before the Man brought someone to keep her company, and it was Elsa that he brought. Elsa patiently tolerated the close quarters and frequent visits by the Man, and the extra handling that came with it, and Sadie was very much comforted by the presence of her friend. Once the two of them rejoined the Flock, they remained inseparable. Elsa would often guard and defend Sadie, who had only half of her field of vision, and was vulnerable from her entire left side. The only exception was at night. Sadie would climb the ladder and roost next to Ariel, but Elsa would launch herself to the top of the coop, and alight on a narrow shelf high above everyone else, above even Queen Penelope. Elsa never gave a reason for this, and Sadie never asked, but she secretly suspected that the time the two of them had spent in convalescence in that tiny cage had more of an effect on Elsa than she would admit. Apart from that one quirk, they stayed close. Even in the absence of Penelope the two stayed close. But that absence of leadership had strained their friendship, as it had strained all of the relationships in the Flock.
So when Elsa approached to grab Sadie's watermelon, Sadie wasn't entirely surprised. Elsa probably felt entitled, after all she had done for Sadie. But Sadie was finished with feeling inferior. Sadie had been picked on enough, injured enough, bullied and shoved aside and robbed and left for last enough. Sadie had had it. And not even Elsa was going to push her even one inch more.
As Elsa lunged in to grab the melon, Sadie dropped it on the ground and turned to face her friend. In a flash she reared up and flared her wings out, all of the feathers on her neck standing on end. She shrieked and squawked and beat the air around Elsa's head, making as much noise and dust and chaos as she could manage. Elsa, completely shocked by this display, didn't have time to consider returning the challenge. She turned tail and fled, making her own noise and chaos as she went. Once a few feet apart, the two stopped and stared at each other, still as statues and waiting. After a moment of this, Sadie calmly turned her attention back to her prize. For the first time in a long time, she felt capable and whole. She was pleased with herself, and enjoyed the melon all the more for having earned it.
Elsa, on the other hand, was stunned. She couldn't believe Sadie had turned on her, after everything they had been through together! But as she considered, and watched Sadie go back to her hard-won fruit, the truth dawned on her. She realized that it had nothing to do with her, and everything to do with Sadie standing up for herself. Far from being offended, she was proud. Sadie was smaller than everyone else in the Flock now, and struggled with her limited vision. Elsa had often worried to herself that Sadie might never be able to stand on her own, and that she would always need to be cared for and watched over. Now she could see that this was not the case. Elsa would always be Sadie's close friend, but she wouldn't always have to be her mother.
Still, she was concerned. Elsa was clever and wise beyond the span of her few months of life. She knew that the Order in the Flock was breaking down, without Penelope to hold the top position and provide the necessary leadership. Someone had to act fast to fill that role, or there would be a lot of unnecessary fighting, possibly injury, as the Flock readjusted the hierarchy. She considered the possibilities for a new leader. Cathrine could do it, but she lacked ambition. She was big enough that no one threatened her resources, so she had nothing to fight for. Poor feather-brained Anne wouldn't do at all. Ariel was young and flighty. She might grow into a leader one day, but she wasn't ready yet. Sadie would be capable if she were a little bigger, and if she could see. That left... it left only herself. She was wise enough, strong enough, and she wanted to preserve order as much as she wanted anything. Elsa knew she was the only possible replacement for Queen Penelope.
And in that moment, in one instant, she went from thinking that she should be the leader, to knowing that she was the leader. In the world of the Flock it works that way. There would be no debate, no vote, no ceremony. Elsa simply became the leader because it was right, and it must be so. There was no question in her mind. Elsa was Queen now. All that remained was to inform the rest of the rabble.
The details of the battles that followed are less important than the outcomes. Elsa went after Ariel first. Ariel only put up a brief, cursory resistance before yielding and recognizing Elsa's authority. It was more of a salute than an actual fight. Cathrine put up a little more resistance. She didn't want another greedy despot like Penelope had been. In the fight with Elsa, she could see that this would be a different sort of reign. Elsa fought fiercely to proclaim her dominance, but she was not cruel. She flapped and squawked, but she did not peck. Cathrine felt a refreshing change of pace was happening, and since she didn't really want to be the leader anyway, she let Elsa have it. Elsa didn't bother with Anne, who predictably agreed with Cathrine.
Sadie was a bit more of a challenge. When Elsa confronted her, she was confused at first. She was still in no mood to take abuse from anyone, so she fought back, and returned flapping for flapping and squawking for squawking. She thought perhaps Elsa was seeking revenge for being driven from the watermelon, but that would have been out of Elsa's character. She thought perhaps Elsa was angry about some other offense, but she couldn't think what she might have done. She even considered the possibility that Elsa was pushing her down because she couldn't push up against Penny... And that's when she realized the truth. There was no Penny. There was no one at the top. There had to be someone at the top, and in just the way that Elsa knew, all at once, that there was only one right candidate, Sadie knew it too. And she graciously, gratefully turned and ran from the fight, confirming her submission to the new Queen.
And so began the reign of Queen Elsa the Wise.
What no one in the Flock knew that day was that Penelope was not dead or gone forever. Penelope was alive and well, barely as far away as the Yard was long. And soon, Penelope the Great and Terrible would return to the Flock.
ETA I don't have time to edit this as much as it probably needs to be, so forgive my typos. I'll probably get obsessive and do it later tonight or in the morning.
Surprisingly, it was Sadie, lowest of the Flock, who let loose first. Or perhaps not so surprising, after all. Sadie had been the victim of another bully in a previous flock, and had most of the feathers pulled out of her back and tail. They were only half grown back. Sadie had made the mistake of not getting out of Queen Penelope's way in the first few days of this new Flock, and had nearly lost an eye for the transgression. She only just had a little blurry vision on that side, and no way to know if it would ever improve. Sadie was always on edge these days, always dodging away from every sound, always following behind the others, barely able to see the few scraps they might have left her.
As the Flock spread out into the world on this hot afternoon, Sadie saw with her good left eye a chunk of watermelon rind, with a large portion of red fruit still clinging to it, that no one else had seen. She paused for a moment to see if Penelope would grab it first, not wanting to risk the anger of her superior - then remembered that there was no Penelope, not any more. No one had perched upon her vacant throne. Suddenly Sadie threw caution to the wind and charged for the rind. She reached it in three quick strides and began to feast.
Sadie was in heaven as she pecked and swallowed the cold, delicious melon. Then she saw someone moving toward her, someone who would surely try to take the fruit from her, and she wasn't wrong about that. What surprised her a little was that it was Elsa.
Sadie and Elsa had been friends from the first day of the Flock. Elsa would often turn to Sadie for comfort, and they had leaned on each other for strength and protection. They ate together and roosted side by side. Elsa would often try to tuck her head under Sadie's wing, even though she was really too big for such things. After Sadie's injury, the Man had taken her from the Flock and put her in her own tiny cage in another place. She was glad, because she was weak and hurt and couldn't have defended herself from much more attack. But she was also lonely. She spent two days alone in that cage before the Man brought someone to keep her company, and it was Elsa that he brought. Elsa patiently tolerated the close quarters and frequent visits by the Man, and the extra handling that came with it, and Sadie was very much comforted by the presence of her friend. Once the two of them rejoined the Flock, they remained inseparable. Elsa would often guard and defend Sadie, who had only half of her field of vision, and was vulnerable from her entire left side. The only exception was at night. Sadie would climb the ladder and roost next to Ariel, but Elsa would launch herself to the top of the coop, and alight on a narrow shelf high above everyone else, above even Queen Penelope. Elsa never gave a reason for this, and Sadie never asked, but she secretly suspected that the time the two of them had spent in convalescence in that tiny cage had more of an effect on Elsa than she would admit. Apart from that one quirk, they stayed close. Even in the absence of Penelope the two stayed close. But that absence of leadership had strained their friendship, as it had strained all of the relationships in the Flock.
So when Elsa approached to grab Sadie's watermelon, Sadie wasn't entirely surprised. Elsa probably felt entitled, after all she had done for Sadie. But Sadie was finished with feeling inferior. Sadie had been picked on enough, injured enough, bullied and shoved aside and robbed and left for last enough. Sadie had had it. And not even Elsa was going to push her even one inch more.
As Elsa lunged in to grab the melon, Sadie dropped it on the ground and turned to face her friend. In a flash she reared up and flared her wings out, all of the feathers on her neck standing on end. She shrieked and squawked and beat the air around Elsa's head, making as much noise and dust and chaos as she could manage. Elsa, completely shocked by this display, didn't have time to consider returning the challenge. She turned tail and fled, making her own noise and chaos as she went. Once a few feet apart, the two stopped and stared at each other, still as statues and waiting. After a moment of this, Sadie calmly turned her attention back to her prize. For the first time in a long time, she felt capable and whole. She was pleased with herself, and enjoyed the melon all the more for having earned it.
Elsa, on the other hand, was stunned. She couldn't believe Sadie had turned on her, after everything they had been through together! But as she considered, and watched Sadie go back to her hard-won fruit, the truth dawned on her. She realized that it had nothing to do with her, and everything to do with Sadie standing up for herself. Far from being offended, she was proud. Sadie was smaller than everyone else in the Flock now, and struggled with her limited vision. Elsa had often worried to herself that Sadie might never be able to stand on her own, and that she would always need to be cared for and watched over. Now she could see that this was not the case. Elsa would always be Sadie's close friend, but she wouldn't always have to be her mother.
Still, she was concerned. Elsa was clever and wise beyond the span of her few months of life. She knew that the Order in the Flock was breaking down, without Penelope to hold the top position and provide the necessary leadership. Someone had to act fast to fill that role, or there would be a lot of unnecessary fighting, possibly injury, as the Flock readjusted the hierarchy. She considered the possibilities for a new leader. Cathrine could do it, but she lacked ambition. She was big enough that no one threatened her resources, so she had nothing to fight for. Poor feather-brained Anne wouldn't do at all. Ariel was young and flighty. She might grow into a leader one day, but she wasn't ready yet. Sadie would be capable if she were a little bigger, and if she could see. That left... it left only herself. She was wise enough, strong enough, and she wanted to preserve order as much as she wanted anything. Elsa knew she was the only possible replacement for Queen Penelope.
And in that moment, in one instant, she went from thinking that she should be the leader, to knowing that she was the leader. In the world of the Flock it works that way. There would be no debate, no vote, no ceremony. Elsa simply became the leader because it was right, and it must be so. There was no question in her mind. Elsa was Queen now. All that remained was to inform the rest of the rabble.
The details of the battles that followed are less important than the outcomes. Elsa went after Ariel first. Ariel only put up a brief, cursory resistance before yielding and recognizing Elsa's authority. It was more of a salute than an actual fight. Cathrine put up a little more resistance. She didn't want another greedy despot like Penelope had been. In the fight with Elsa, she could see that this would be a different sort of reign. Elsa fought fiercely to proclaim her dominance, but she was not cruel. She flapped and squawked, but she did not peck. Cathrine felt a refreshing change of pace was happening, and since she didn't really want to be the leader anyway, she let Elsa have it. Elsa didn't bother with Anne, who predictably agreed with Cathrine.
Sadie was a bit more of a challenge. When Elsa confronted her, she was confused at first. She was still in no mood to take abuse from anyone, so she fought back, and returned flapping for flapping and squawking for squawking. She thought perhaps Elsa was seeking revenge for being driven from the watermelon, but that would have been out of Elsa's character. She thought perhaps Elsa was angry about some other offense, but she couldn't think what she might have done. She even considered the possibility that Elsa was pushing her down because she couldn't push up against Penny... And that's when she realized the truth. There was no Penny. There was no one at the top. There had to be someone at the top, and in just the way that Elsa knew, all at once, that there was only one right candidate, Sadie knew it too. And she graciously, gratefully turned and ran from the fight, confirming her submission to the new Queen.
And so began the reign of Queen Elsa the Wise.
What no one in the Flock knew that day was that Penelope was not dead or gone forever. Penelope was alive and well, barely as far away as the Yard was long. And soon, Penelope the Great and Terrible would return to the Flock.
ETA I don't have time to edit this as much as it probably needs to be, so forgive my typos. I'll probably get obsessive and do it later tonight or in the morning.
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