Crash Landing [Chrissy]

If it had been any other time, Maggie would have immediately noticed the falcon diving nearby. She never really had the opportunity to fly with real birds. Before today, she had primarily flown at night, and the owls were too preoccupied with hunting to be interested in what she was doing. However, with the weight of exhaustion riding heavy on her back, she only had the energy to focus on her flight. She just barely heard the creature crying out, a high-pitched shriek that should caused her ears to ring, but she didn’t have the strength to do more than just acknowledge the sound as not something she needed to be threatened by as she hit the sand.

For a moment, as she laid sprawled out on the damp sand, Maggie thought she had imagined hearing a bird’s call coming from right in front of her. In her exhausted stupor, it confused her. Why would there be a bird out at this hour? It made no sense to her. As the sun continued to rise slowly over the horizon and began shining on her face, she quickly remembered that it wasn’t nighttime, but in fact daytime, and that this was when birds were normally awake. Still slightly puzzled, Maggie lifted her head to find the source of the noise, wincing slightly as she did so. She couldn’t believe she was so sore. She had been born with wings, shouldn’t it feel more natural than this? Chocolate-colored eyes scanned her surroundings before landing on a bird standing but a few feet from her. It was staring intently at Maggie with an intelligent gaze that she had never seen on another bird before. She murmured softly to it, her voice hoarse from a desperate need for water, “What, never seen a girl fly before?” Maggie chuckled at her own words, knowing at how ridiculous they sounded. Probably about as ridiculous as talking to a bird and expecting an answer.

Tagged: Ostrich
Word count: 327
Notes: XD

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The bird seemed to respond to Maggie’s question, calling out to her once it was asked. Which was ridiculous because birds didn’t understand speech. And as far as Maggie knew, the only bird-like trait she had inherited from her father was her wings. Although, she had never tried to speak to a bird prior to this moment, so for all Maggie knew, she did have the ability to communicate with birds. She shook her head slightly, realizing how crazy her thoughts were, and muttered to herself, “Keep it together kid, you can’t lose it now, you’re finally safe.”

The bird was curiously persistent. It cooed again, but what took Maggie for surprise was when it actually made contact with her. She jumped a little when the bird began nibbling at her ear, getting ready to swat it away. Despite being half-avian, Maggie didn’t know all that much about birds. Maybe this one of those birds that ate dead things, and just figured it’d get a head start. However, it remained gentle, and after a moment, hopped away and spread its wings. Maggie waited for the bird to take flight, still in awe of what had just happened, but it didn’t. Instead, the bird turned back to look at where Maggie was still laying in the sand, almost expectedly. Maybe Maggie wasn’t safe after all, and this bird was trying to look after what it perceived to be a very large bird. Maggie felt her heart rate speed up and adrenaline began coursing through her veins. Slowly, she got on all fours before hefting herself up to a stand. She looked around, trying to spot any other beings, but the island seemed to be asleep except for herself and her new bird friend. Gingerly, she extended her brown and tawny wings. Her muscles began to shake with the weariness of her last flight, and she began to doubt that they’d actually be able to carry her. She had to at least give a try though, right? Maggie murmured softly to the bird, her voice heavy with fatigue, “I can’t make any promises buddy, but I’ll try.”



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Maggie only needed to extend her wings for a moment to realize that they weren’t going to hold her. It took way too much effort to even hold them out, there was no way they would ever hold her weight. Besides, the bird seemed to have a big problem with her wings, making such a racket that Maggie was sure that anyone nearby would hear and come investigate. Quickly, she folded them back to lie flat on her back, looking around as she did so. She was still paranoid that she was being followed. When she looked back at the bird, it was eyelevel, it’s wings beating to keep it steady. Maggie could have sworn that the bird no longer had bird eyes, but instead, human ones, but by the time she rubbed her eyes and tried to look again, the bird had already turned around and was flying away. Maggie hesitated for a moment, unsure if she should follow. What if this was a trap? She shook her head gently, as if to shake such thoughts out of her brain. She’d been on the island for no longer than 20 minutes, there was no reason to believe that her stepfather had found her already. It was more likely that this bird was a familiar, one of the few things her mother had been able to tell her about magic before she had overdosed and left Maggie to her stepfather. After a moment, Maggie walked in the direction that the bird had flown.

Maggie did her best to move quickly, but her body felt like lead. With every step her muscles screamed in agony, begging her to stop, but Maggie ignored them. If this bird was a familiar, it was leading her to safety. Hopefully there was a bed involved, and maybe some way to get a meal. Just thinking about food made her stomach growl. It felt like years since her last meal.

It wasn’t long before Maggie watched the bird land on the doorstep of a house. As Maggie walked up the driveway, she noticed a sign that read “Firefly Bed and Breakfast.” Maggie walked to the door much more cautiously. What was this bird thinking? She was in no shape to be at a bed and breakfast. Not only did she have absolutely no money to her name, she also was in a desperate need of a shower. A beautiful inn like this was not going to appreciate a guest like her. Still, as the bird opened the door and walked in, Maggie followed. Under normal circumstances, she would have run, but the temptation of an actual bed and perhaps a meal were too great to try and resist. As the bird called out to her, Maggie told it in hushed tones, “Shh, you’re gonna wake everyone up. I’m coming, I’m coming.” To her surprise, the bird stopped at the front desk and picked up a key. Maggie began to get suspicious at this point. She knew that familiars were supposed to assist witches, but were they that smart to know to get a key? And besides, Maggie wasn’t even a witch. Could familiars sense magical blood? She could feel her heart rate beginning to increase again, her fight or flight instinct beginning to kick in, as she followed the bird down a hallway, being sure that her sneakers didn’t make a sound with a single step.

When Maggie got to the end of the hallway, she saw the bird walk into a room, and Maggie hurried to follow. Once inside, she quickly closed the door, turning the knob as she did so to prevent it from clicking. Maggie then turned back to the bird, who was now sitting on the bed, and whispered, “Buddy, what are we doing here? We’re going to get caught and I’m going to be in so much trouble.” She could feel her stomach sink just thinking about what would happen if she got caught.



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As Maggie was looking at the bird, it gave a little shake, and then suddenly, it began to change. Maggie watched in awe, her jaw slightly slack, as the bird transformed into a human right before her eyes. Maggie’s heart began hammering in her chest, so loudly that she was sure the woman could hear it. She knew it had been too good to be true. How stupid could she have been? Of course this was a trap, birds don’t randomly appear out of nowhere to lend assistance. Somehow, someway, her stepfather had been able to track her every movement, it was the only explanation. She blamed the misjudgment on her exhaustion, but she knew it wasn’t an excuse. This mistake was potentially one that could cost her life. Maggie kept her back to the door, one hand on the knob, as she called out, her voice hard, “How did he find me? Did he install a tracker on me somewhere?” Her words sounded harsh, but they came from a place of fear. It took every ounce of strength she had left to keep her voice from shaking.

As she waited for the woman to reply, Maggie tried to figure out an exit strategy. She was too weak to try and fight, and even if she was at full energy, she’d never had any kind of formal training, just some stuff she had learned from living on the streets. Her best bet was going to run, but Maggie wasn’t even sure she’d be able to do that. Not without some kind of distraction. Although at this point, what did it really matter? If her stepfather was tracking her, it didn’t matter how far or fast she ran, he would always find right. Right now, her best plan of action was to learn as much information as she could. Maggie’s muscles were tense, though, ready to spring into action at a moment’s notice if need be.


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Maggie’s eyes never deviated from the woman, even if her naked flesh made her a little uncomfortable. Quite frankly, besides wanting answers, the fact that the woman was in such a vulnerable position was the only reason she hadn’t moved yet. Even after all she had gone through, Maggie couldn’t help but hope that this woman was actually trying to help. Although she wouldn’t let her guard down until she knew for sure.

Maggie didn’t move from where she was standing when the woman gestured for her to sit down, still not trusting her. Instead, she clenched her jaw and remained as the woman introduced herself and explained what had happened. When she was finished, Maggie gazed at Chrissy suspiciously, but couldn’t detect any sort of deceit in the young woman’s features. Her story seemed to make sense. It at least explained why Maggie was currently standing in the beautiful bed and breakfast. Still, it didn’t really explain how Maggie just happened to run into another magical being. Was Maggie to believe that it was all just a coincidence?

However, before Maggie had a chance to ask, Chrissy asked her a question. Immediately, memories flashed in Maggie’s head of the pain and psychological torture that her stepfather put her through, each time hoping that he would finally just kill her. Her eyes widened in fear and her whole body quivered ever so slightly, only perceptible if you were looking for it, at the memories. Too quickly, Maggie defiantly said, “No!” She wasn’t even sure why she lied, the word sort of just fell out of her mouth before she could catch it. Maggie caught Chrissy’s gaze, which only showed kindness, and almost immediately averted her eyes. She didn’t know why she was so ashamed, she was just doing what she needed to do to survive.


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Maggie saw Chrissy’s lips move as she quietly said something under her breath, but Maggie couldn’t hear what she said over the sound of her own heartbeat, and at this point, she really didn’t care. Whatever Chrissy had said couldn’t have been that important, nor was it directed at her, because she hadn’t looked at Maggie expectedly, waiting for a reply.

Maggie flinched as the woman stood up out of habit, even though Chrissy hadn’t made any quick, sudden movements. She was just saw used to movement meaning pain that it happened subconsciously. She moved three steps to the right so that she was no longer standing in front of the door, allowing Chrissy to leave to make breakfast for the inn. Despite Chrissy telling Maggie her intentions first, she couldn’t help but cower slightly as Chrissy walked by, almost as if she was waiting for another beating. However, none came. Chrissy exited the bedroom and gently closed the door. There were no extra sounds except for the slight thud as wood hit wood, indicating to Maggie that there was lock. Once she was finally alone, the weight of her exhaustion came back tenfold, and her knees began to buckle. Maggie hadn’t planned on staying; her initial thought when Chrissy announcing she would be exiting was that she was going to sneak out. But the bed seemed so much more appealing, and quite frankly, she wasn’t going to make it far in this state.

Hesitantly, Maggie started making her way towards the bed. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw movement out of the window and immediately lifted her head in time to see a three-legged dog sprinting outside. Maggie could feel some of her fears being soothed. How bad could Chrissy be if she cared for a three-legged dog. Of course, she had the fleeting thought that maybe Chrissy had removed the leg herself, but logic then took over again. The dog appeared happy and healthy as it galloped after seagulls. An abused dog wouldn’t be so joyful. She would know. With eyelids heavy, Maggie made her way over to the bed. She didn’t bother taking off her sneakers as she laid down on her stomach, nor did she bother putting the covers on, just in case she needed to make a quick getaway. Almost the minute Maggie’s head reached the pillow, she fell asleep. Her long, matted brown hair fell to one side, just barely revealing some of the scars on her shoulders made by cigarettes.


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Maggie’s sleep was dreamless. She was so exhausted, both mentally and physically, she didn’t even have the energy to create images in her head as she slept. She didn’t move, either. If it weren’t for the steady rise and fall of her chest as she breathed, it wouldn’t be wrong to assume that she was dead. As she slept, her body began to heal itself from her long flight. The physical injuries would heal much faster than the mental ones, but it was at least a start.

Maggie was in such a deep sleep, she didn’t hear the knocks on the door or the door opening. It wasn’t until she heard a voice call out to her that she was finally roused from her slumber. In her sleepy haze, her first instinct was panic. She jumped to her feet, confused to where she was but ready to fight anyone who came through that door. However, the door just clicked shut and she heard footsteps retreating.

Looking around, the details to where she was and how she got there came back to Maggie, and she finally processed what the voice had told her. She vaguely remembered Chrissy saying something about getting breakfast ready. Maggie searched for a clock, trying to figure out how long she had slept. Although she was still tired, she felt a little more like herself. Maggie didn’t find a clock, but her eyes landed on a mirror. Her own reflection startled her. It was more than just the physical stuff, although the layer of grime that sat on her face and her tangled brown hair didn’t help. It was the haunted look in her chocolate eyes that made her face almost unrecognizable to herself. Taking a deep breath, she did her best to work out the worst of the tangles with her fingers and wiped her face with the inside of her shirt before walking to the door and exiting the bedroom.

Cautiously, Maggie made her way down the hallway, heading in the direction of the smell of breakfast. Her petite frame didn’t make a sound as she walked. Maggie was hyperaware of her surroundings, looking for any sign of a trap, but there were none to be found in the quaint bed and breakfast. It wasn’t long before Maggie reached the kitchen, and she found she wasn’t sure what to do next. Knock on the door frame? Say hello? Instead, Maggie stood their awkwardly, waiting for someone to notice her presence.


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