User:Jetfire/School Daze Day 3
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Author's note This story is basically R rated, but future chapters may have adult scenes for sexuality between adults. Reader descretion is advised
Monday September 25
Etzikom
Brian's body spasmed, shaking the cot he was sleeping on. He jolted awake, his mind confused, wings and limbs flailing. A few moments later, he managed to stop his movements and froze, realizing he'd almost bounced off the cot.
He reached down to the floor and pushed himself more fully onto the cot while he tried to sort out what was going on. He remembered he had been having a vivid dream, probably a falling dream, but the details were escaping even as he mentally scrambled to hold on to them. Finally he gave up and focused on the present.
He was panting a bit, partly from the fear implied by the dreams, partly from the sudden awakening. He shook his wings a little and pulled them back into a relaxed position without thinking of it. He lifted his tail and flared the feathers out before squeezing them back together and lowering them back against his legs. His chest ached a bit from sleeping on his breasts; it wasn't painful but it was a sensation he still wasn't used to. The fabric of the shirt he'd slept in felt a bit rough on his nipples. Similarly, he could tell he was having a very male reaction in his shorts. While he couldn't see it, he could certainly feel it rubbing with his movements.
The coach groaned softly and tried to ignore the feelings, mentally willing things to calm down. His ears twitched, listening to the gym. He could hear the steady breathing of dozens of people still deeply asleep. Tuning those out, he picked up more noises. Whispered conversations going on, the occasional curse or grunt as someone tripped while moving among the sleepers, the hum of the ventilation fans, the almost constant beeps, chirps and buzzes coming from a room full of phones.
Brian groaned and finally opened his eyes. He blinked rapidly, trying to sort out what he was seeing. The room was still dark, aside from the dim glow of the night lights. It took him a few moments of blinking and squinting before the dimly lit wall came into focus. He was looking at the bottom of a painted wolf; the mascot of Etzikom's school teams.
It took a little bit of fumbling, before he found his phone. He squeezed it enough to activate the screen. It was just after 7. He groaned and dropped the phone again, debating trying to fall back asleep, but not feeling tired enough. Instead, he pushed himself off the cot and stood up. He spread his wings and stretched, working out the morning muscle stiffness, while the other stiffness finally relaxed.
Awake and properly able to focus, he scanned the gym. A few others were awake, but everyone else was fast asleep. He nodded to a few who looked his way, waving his wing. He counted the occupied cots and figured he was the first of his group to wake up. No one else was stirring.
He retrieved his phone and pocketed it, then checked to make sure there was nothing else left around his cot. He carefully made his way towards the exit, stepping around wings, tails and other limbs that had fallen off the cot while their owners slept.
Outside the gym, it was a lot more active. Dozens of people, mostly human, were already up, moving supplies through the halls and otherwise getting ready for the mov that was about to awaken.
"Good morning, did you sleep well?" a woman asked him.
"Slept great. Strange dreams, but I'm feeling good," Brian confirmed. "I could really use a coffee though."
She chuckled, "You must be an adult. Are you a teacher or a parent? Coffee and breakfast are available in the cafeteria."
"A teacher. And thanks."
"No problem. Before you go though, you said you had dreams? Anything in particular you remember about them? They want us to gather information and make note of anything that might be interesting."
He nodded, "I don't really remember anything to be honest. They disappeared as fast as I had them. But..." he paused to collect his thoughts. "The dreams actually seemed to wake me up. I had a, well a falling dream I guess, and woke up suddenly from it."
"A falling dream? In mid air or from a building or?" she probed.
He shrugged his wings, "I can't recall. I just remember the feeling of tensing up like I was about to crash or land or something. You know, the full body spasm you might get sometimes?"
"Could it be related to your wings maybe?" she asked.
"Possibly. I don't know. It was strange but not too strange."
"Well, I won't keep you any longer. Have a good breakfast."
The cafeteria was still pretty quiet when Brian arrived. Most of the food stations were unmanned, though he could hear a lot of activity going on in the kitchen nearby. The coffee machines were all fully stocked up, along with a selection of muffins, bagels, bread and cold cereals that could be self served. He grabbed a tray and filled it up.
He found an empty table near a TV and watched the news while waiting for his coffee to cool a bit. As he expected, the griffons were still the main news story. Mostly it was just recapping what they had discovered the day before. The anchors were based in Toronto and could do little more than express sympathy for what everyone had gone through between reports on who was affected and how they were handling it. Brian began tuning it out before his coffee was cold enough to drink.
"Anything new?" Scott asked. The O'Brians set their trays on the table and took a seat around Brian.
"Nothing of note. Just everything they were saying yesterday. I guess most of us konked out early, so there wasn't much they could learn through the night."
"Yeah, I slept like a log," Beth noted. "Strange dreams. Wish I could remember them more."
"Did you have a falling dream?" Brian asked.
"I don't think so. I may have had a flying one."
"I think I had a school dream," Chris grumbled. "It's bad enough sleeping here, I don't want to be in school in my sleep too."
"Well, we've got a lot of time to kill. We'll head out for a walk around town later, get away from the school, and stretch my legs," Scott's ears twitched in amusement and glee at the idea of being able to walk around again.
Brian started reloading his tray, his own breakfast done. "Sounds like an idea. I think many of us will be eager to roam a bit before too long. Don't feel like you need to check in with us or anything if and when you go."
"We probably will regardless. It's only polite," Beth said.
"And I appreciate it. In any case, I'm going to go find a quiet corner and check in with Paul. See you around."
Spruce Coulee Camp
Nicole slept deep through the night. She and Andrew had intended to just doze a bit until midnight, and then help Nikki and Shaun do a cabin check, but as soon as they'd gone to their room, the day seemed to catch up to them. They'd barely been able to undress before fatigue overwhelmed them and they collapsed on the bed.
She woke slowly the next morning, opening her eyes but not really being awake yet. The room was lit by the early morning light. Andrew was still deep in sleep facing her, beak partly open, tongue hanging out. She laid there, looking at him while her mind clicked into gear. Like the morning before, she remembered having vivid dreams, but the details were long gone.
She sighed softly and refocused on her husband. It was obvious he was still dreaming, his eyes twitching beneath his lids. She propped herself up with a wing, trying not to shake the bed too much. By how much his wings and tail twitched, she doubted he would have noticed. What she couldn't help but notice was his morning wood, standing fully erect from his furry sheath in its barbed glory. It was hard to tell, but she thought his nipples seemed stiffer, more noticeable on his breasts. Her gaze shifted back to his groin, looking below his sheath. His vagina was hidden with the fur and his thighs, but she thought it seemed a bit more visible than usual.
She shook her head and tried to sort out her thoughts. She could feel her own body was aroused, her nipples hard and tingling, and her own vagina moist. The look of Andrew's cock was still scary, but appealing in an exotic way. She also felt a different feeling, a sensitive bit of flesh being tickled by fur. She focused downward, and realized her own new addition was reacting; her shaft partly erect in its pink glory, the nubs of the bards lining its length.
"Fuck!" she said, a little louder than she intended to. She glanced at Andrew who grunted but didn't wake up. "Fuck," she repeated, much quieter. She carefully slid off the bed and stood up, taking a few deep breaths to try and calm her body. She would normally have either given in to the urges, maybe waking up Andrew to join in the fun, or she would have gone for a shower to try and cool the feelings; but neither were really feasible at the camp, so she tried to will the feelings away. Slowly she felt her body settle down, her cock softening and shrinking back into its sheath.
Fully awake, she listened to the lodge to see if anyone else was awake. She couldn't hear anyone moving so she suspected she was the first. She peeked out into the hall and saw the lights were off, and decided to sprint to the washroom.
When she returned, her husband was waking up. His eyes were open but unfocused. One hand was rubbing his breasts apparently without him realizing it. She closed the door and watched him, feeling her own feelings stirring again. She quickly shook her head and looked away.
"Are you awake?" she asked needlessly, hoping to focus his attention.
He grunted and blinked, his hand stilling. He turned his head and focused on her. "Morning," he grunted.
She turned away from him and grabbed her shorts, pulling them on. The echo of her arousal made them feel weird but she pushed it out of mind. "Did you sleep well?"
"I think so." He yawned and got up. He stretched his wings wide, touching the walls with them. "Damn, I'm horny as hell, and in ways I can't really understand."
"So am I. I suspect we all are. We're stuck in puberty hell again," Nicole said. She picked up her top and checked the cut edges, deciding she could get a second day out of it. "Those poor, poor kids."
"Maybe it's not so bad for them? They've been dealing with it already, so it's just more of the same, just different right?" He flicked his tail up so his feathers were across the bed and sat down. He looked down and touched his swollen shaft, shivering a little before moving his hands away.
"It's gonna be a long week, figuring out ways to keep them busy. We'll also need to figure out how to get them home. A school bus won't do."
"We've got a few days before we need to worry about that. Maybe Paul will have some ideas. You ready to head out?"
"Yeah, let's get this day started."
Nicole headed out to the kitchen area while Andrew did his morning cleanup. She started brewing some coffee and started feeding the toaster so they would have a good supply as the kids woke up. She poured a glass of juice and looked out the window, It was going to be another beautiful day, with clear skies and a bright sun. The grass was wet with dew. Out over the coulee, an osprey was on the hunt. She focused on him, easily following him as he dove to the water and came up with a fish in his claws. His plumage was very similar to Andrew's.
When the coffee was done, she poured two mugs and prepared them as she and Andrew were used to. She set them to one side to cool to a drinkable temperature and started pulling out more breakfast supplies. While they had eggs and bacon, the night before they'd decided today would be a simpler breakfast; toast, cereal, instant oatmeal and fruit.
"Good morning," Shaun greeted her as he came in. He was dressed, but he obviously still had 'bed head'.
"Morning. Help yourself," she said, waving a wing towards the coffee pot. "Sorry about last night."
"Last night?" He poured a mug and looked puzzled. "Oh! The midnight bed check. No worries. Nikki and I waited to see if you'd show up. When you didn't we figured you were too tired. We checked, and everyone was fast asleep, even Rick and Emir."
"It was an exhausting day. First of many I'm sure. But I admit, the sleep has been good. Not sure if it's fully natural, but I've never slept as deeply as I have over the past few nights."
"Need a hand with anything?"
"If you want, start taking stuff out to the dining hall. It'll be 'serve yourself' this morning, as the kids wake up and come in."
The camp slowly woke up from that point on. The adults prepared breakfast as the first few kids wandered in. They had to send some of the boys and one of the girls back to put shirts on. Shaun and Nikki helped a bit at first, but soon excused themselves to check in with their superiors. Most of the kids were eager to get back online, but the adults refused to give access until after breakfast.
Andrew came back out towards the end of the meal. He gathered the adults in the kitchen for a quick chat. Once everyone was present, he sipped his cold coffee and sighed.
"I've been talking to Paul, and he's been working with the parents. For the most part, things are going well. I get the feeling he's got more hassle dealing with the two teams than us, but that's on his head.
"He wants to arrange a staff zoom meeting as soon as reasonable, but probably not until this afternoon, after classes. Our school is open today, partly to try and tell just how bad we were hit. He's scrambling to find subs as you can expect. He's confirmed twelve teachers were changed, and there are four more he hasn't heard from yet."
"Wow, that's a lot of us," Judy said. "The grade 12 classes are decimated I'm sure."
Andrew nodded, "They are. The 12s are expected to show up for attendance, but he's expecting to have to squish them together, and let the counselors handle them. MHHS is the bigger school, but because of us, we're by far the most affected school not in the region."
He paused and popped a grape into his beak. "So that's the home situation, or the school one at least. Paul wants us to get the kids back online as soon as we can to let them reach home. It would help us, and take some pressure off him. There is one wrinkle though.
"Dan Bradley and Jennifer Greer; their families have ghosted us. Paul and others have reached out to their families, and gotten no response. Maybe the kids will have better luck, but Paul is doubtful."
"I noticed the same thing," Nikki said. "Some of the parents let me know; those families seemed to be in mourning, talking about the loss of their kids.
"They're in my class; I can be with them and be ready to support them if needed," Judy suggested.
"I'll help you. They're in my classes too," Sam said.
"Thank you. Shaun, are we ready to unleash them on the net?"
The soldier nodded and swallowed the wedge of orange he'd just eaten. "Yes, I've got a second account set up that they can use. That way we could cut them off while leaving the rest of us online, if we decide we need to."
"Hopefully we won't need to, but it's good to have options. Thank you. Has anyone come across any new information that they feel worthwhile sharing?" Andrew asked.
"Nothing I've heard so far, neither on public channels nor on any other channels I may have access to," Nikki confirmed. "The Americans have got a base set up in Fort Parker, near the border and will be using that to study Griffons in general, but there's been no news yet."
"Are we doing anything?" Caleb asked.
"Just support. We're letting the Americans take the lead because they have the most invested in these events so far. Two events on their land and no indication of how or why it is happening. They're really fired up to get to the bottom of it. So our main duty is to share information and provide support."
"There are pics on what they're doing. It's quite the setup. Tents, trailers, labs, anything you could think of seems to have shown up there overnight. I'm a bit surprised they are setting up in Parker though. For the Titans, their main base is outside the affected area," Danielle said.
"It is a bit strange. Maybe it's a sign they feel more confident of when the change will or will not happen. Or they just want a more central location to try and catch it if it fires again. Who knows?" Nicole said.
"In any case, we better get back to the kids and let them get online, before we have a mutiny," Andrew said, heading for the door.
In the dining hall, Shaun shared the wifi information, and soon enough the air was filled with various chirps and beeps as three dozen modern teens got connected. Sam and Judy moved through the hall and made sure they were near the ghosted students as they got online. Sam watched Dan, seeing the young griffon looking puzzled as he awkwardly used his smartphone.
"Dan, could you come with me please," Sam said quietly, guiding the student outside for a bit of privacy.
"Sure, Mr Arnold. What's up?" he asked. Sam glanced over and saw Judy leading Jennifer to the kitchen.
Once they were outside, they sat on the log bench around the campfire. Dan glanced at his phone which was strangely silent.
"Is something wrong?" Sam asked, trying to figure out the situation.
"Yeah, my Facebook account isn't working. Same with my Google account. I think I've been logged out."
Sam winced a little and nodded. "Tell me, before all this happened, what did your family think of the Titans?"
"The Titans? They didn't say much... well not recently." Dan tilted his head and closed his eyes, bringing up memories. "But last March when the news broke, they did say a lot. Or rather my grandmother was. She was going on a lot about Sodom and Gomorrah and punishment of the unfaithful and stuff."
Sam nodded, trying to keep his actions neutral even as his own internal feelings boiled. "Would you say your grandmother had a lot of power in your family?"
"Without a doubt."
Sam nodded again, and tried to think of a better angle to approach this subject. Dan beat him to the punch. "Do you think she did something? Reacted to this event?"
"It's... possible," Sam said diplomatically. "Maybe not directly, but based on her reaction last time may have led to your parents taking some actions to maintain the family peace."
"What sort of actions?"
"Actions like closing down your accounts," Sam sighed and looked away, then forced himself to look back. "As you know, we've been in contact with the school, and the school has reached out to all your parents. We've heard back from almost everyone, but your parents. From what we've been able to tell, they are ghosting you, and distancing themselves from other families."
"Oh..." he said softly. "Oh...." Sam waited, then reached out and took the boy's taloned hand, squeezing it for reassurance. "What... what should I do?"
"You're seventeen right? Almost old enough to go on your own. Just remember, you are not alone. For now, make some new accounts and link up with your friends. We'll help you out with anything you need."
"But what will happen when I get home? Where will I go? What will I do?"
"Mr Clendenning is going to bat for you. He's already notified protective services, and we'll do everything we can to make sure you aren't abandoned. That said, you might want to start thinking of some things. Items you own that you want to keep and or relatives who you can reach out to. He's really busy dealing with all this, but he'll probably want to talk to you later. You are certainly one of his top priorities."
He sighed sadly and looked at the phone. He let go of Sam and tapped the phone forlornly. "I'll... I have to think on it."
"Of course. We're here for you. We aren't freaks, we aren't being punished. We're just caught up in something no one understands. All we can do is pull ourselves together and make the best of it. You've got a lot of people on your side. We won't let you fall."
"Thank you, Mr Arnold."
Etzikom
Some of the Leo Mayes students gathered outside after breakfast, reclaiming their spot at the basketball court. Ryan and Crystal sat on their usual concrete barrier while their friends stood or sat nearby. One had a basketball but no one was playing.
"So, what do you think these are for?" Eric asked, shaking his wings.
"It's obvious isn't it? You use wings to fly," Aaron replied.
"That's also impossible. I checked with dad, and he's been asking around. We're too big to be able to fly. It's literally physically impossible. As in physics don't allow it," Ryan countered.
"Physics seems to be taking a vacation. I mean how else could you explain what happened to us? And to the Titans," Eric said.
"Maybe, but other than the change, Titans are mostly explainable I think. These wings, they are probably vestigial, like ostrich wings, left over from some evolutionary line we don't know," Ryan said.
Eric shook his wings, "They seem pretty big to just be leftovers. Surely they are useful for something right?"
"Maybe not flying but maybe gliding? We could try jumping off something," Crystal suggested.
The group looked around, pondering the possibilities.
"Jumping off a roof would be the best way, but I don't want to be wrong," Aaron said. "Not even the roof of the shed over there."
"We could climb on a bus and jump off there maybe," Eric suggested.
"What about the soccer field?" Ryan suggested, getting into the spirit of their discussion. "It's on a slight hill above the rest of the school. We could get a running start and not worry about slipping on metal or anything. And if we can't glide, we'd just roll down the side of the hill."
"Sounds like an idea. Let's go," Crystal hopped off the concrete barrier and started towards the field. The three boys trailed behind her, shaking their wings out in anticipation.
There were not many people outside yet. Most people were in the school, or were busy with tasks on the other side of the building. There were a few people wandering around their area, griffon and human alike, but no one gave the group a second glance.
The group climbed the short hill to the field and looked around. They walked along the edge, trying to pick a good spot.
"This looks good," Eric suggested. "There's a bit more grass down there since the pavement curves away. I think it's steeper too."
"Sure, Who wants to go first?" Ryan asked.
The quartet stood side by side, looking down the hill towards the school. It wasn't a steep drop, barely a couple of meters, but it suddenly felt like a huge cliff. Their new wings and tails twitched nervously.
"I'll go," Crystal said suddenly, breaking the silence. She backed away from the edge so she could get a running start. The boys spread out a little, clearing the way.
"Are you sure?" Ryan asked, nervously.
"Not really but it will either work or it won't," she said. She spread her wings and tail feathers a little, shaking them out until they felt right. She had no idea what exactly she was about to do,
Finally she focused ahead and set her wings in a position that felt right, ready to swing down when she wanted to. She took a few deep breaths that did little to calm the pounding of her heart. Before anyone could say another word, she started running, her toes tearing up the grass a little as she gained speed. She leaned forward a bit and adjusted her wings, feeling the air rush past her face and hit the edge of her outstretched wings.
The edge of the field came up surprisingly fast. Part of her mind balked at the thought of what she was about to do, but she pushed on. As the ground was about to drop away, she leaped forward and her wings snapped down reflexively. She felt them catch the air and suddenly she was being pushed upwards. She lifted her wings again and snapped them down, lifting her higher up.
"Holy shit!" she heard someone behind her shout, but she didn't know who it was.
She felt the wind blowing through the feathers of her face and over her body. The bulk of the school was to her left and after a few more flaps, it was below her; she could clearly see the air exchangers and other rooftop equipment. She shifted her gaze forward, seeing nothing but clear skies ahead. It was exhilarating; for the first time in days, she felt right she was somewhere she was meant to be. She let out a joyous screech that echoed all around.
Flapping was already second nature, keeping her up and lifting her higher into the sky. She twitched her tail and felt her direction change. She tried to control her wings more directly and had a moment of panic as the rhythm was interrupted and she started dropping. It took her a few moments and a lot of height before she could regain her rhythm and climb back up.
Once she was settled again, she looked around and discovered she was well past the school grounds. She carefully did a turn, mainly using her tail to control, and soon she was going back the way she had come. She could clearly see the boys still standing on the field, shocked at what they were seeing. She looked around and saw others were looking up at her as well.
"Okay, wow," she mused to herself. "This is something... This is very much something. But now you're up here. How do you get down?" she asked herself. She pushed the thought to one side and focused on herself, becoming more aware of how she was flying.
Her inner eyelids blinked, helping protect her eyes from the air she was flying through while not impeding her vision much. She was holding her arms to her sides, close to her body, but out of the way of her flapping wings. Her legs were stretched out in line with her tail. She could feel the wind blowing through the fur on them as they helped her tail stabilize her flight.
She was now well past the boys, past the soccer fields and over the elementary school. She did another careful turn and started heading back while trying to drop down in a more controlled manner. The boys were watching her closely. She could see others running into the school or running out of it, scanning the skies before narrowing in on her. A few were running across the parking lot towards the soccer field.
This time, she knew she had to figure out how to land. She was only a few meters above the field, close enough she worried her wing tips would touch the ground, and she was rapidly running out of grass. She had no idea how to slow down enough to land properly and it was worrying. She half debated climbing up and coming around again, but she wasn't sure what difference it would make.
Finally, about ten meters from the boys, she made her decision. She pulled her wings in and reached downwards with both her hands and her feet. She immediately could tell that was a mistake; the air that had flowed over her and lifted her suddenly caught her instead. Still moving forward too quickly, she fell from the sky. She dropped the last couple of meters to the ground and her talons and claws hit the grass. Momentum took over, sending her into a head over tail tumble. She instinctively pulled her wings in and finished the roll, stopping face down on the grass. She laid there, stunned, panting hard.
"Crystal!" Ryan shouted as the boys ran the rest of the way to her; her tumble had almost ended at their feet. "Are you ok?"
She groaned softly, not responding yet as her mind caught up with what she had done. She had a few aches, but nothing hurt that she could tell. Ryan stopped near her head and crouched down, obviously checking her over. She felt him gently tug her wings.
"I'm... I'm okay," she finally mumbled. She flexed her fingers and toes and finally did a mental assessment. As far as she could tell, nothing was screaming for attention, so she figured nothing was broken. She slowly pushed herself up from the ground and looked at the trio of boys around her. "I'm fine. Nothing broken," she assured them.
Ryan looked doubtful, but offered his hand. She took it and together they got her back onto her paws. She shook her wings and brushed her front. Her t-shirt had grass stains and tufts of grass over it. Suddenly she realized what she had just done.
"I flew... I fuckin' flew!" she exclaimed.
"You really did," Aaron confirmed.
"Yeah you did. I have no idea how, but damn!" Ryan added.
"What was it like?" Eric asked.
"Incredible... It was... I don't know, but it felt right. That's where we belong." Crystal finished composing herself and looked around. Others were running to the soccer field as word spread. A crowd was beginning to gather and she heard people asking what was going on.
"Crystal Jacobs! What the hell did you do?" Coach Boyd shouted. The crowd parted to let the griffon through. Griffon expressions were hard to read, but his body language was a mix of anger and worry.
She turned to face him, and she dropped her wings submissively. The trio fell in line beside her, Ryan squeezing her hand in support.
"It was all of us, sir," Eric said. "We were just talking out on the basketball court, and we were wondering what our wings were for."
"We figured they were just for gliding, so we wanted to try them out. I figured we'd just glide down to the parking lot from the field," Aaron added. "I guess, we do more than that."
Bryan stared at the quartet, obviously trying to decide what to do. Instead of deciding a punishment, he focused on Crystal. "Are you okay? Did you hurt yourself?"
"No, I'm fine," she said quickly. She turned her head and stretched her wings out, doing a visual check to verify what she was saying. "Nothing's hurting. Landings... are tricky."
Before Brian could react more, there was a commotion from the edge of the crowd. Word was spreading, and a few more griffons were trying out their wings. Many of them couldn't figure it out and ended up tumbling down the side of the hill. A few managed to get up briefly, before falling down, skidding on the pavement. Others rushed over to check for injuries. The lucky ones figured it out and were soon climbing into the sky, often letting out screeches of joy. The genie was obviously out of the bottle.
Brian let out a weary sigh and refocused on the quartet. "Let's go back inside, just for now. We need to spread the word to your friends. No flying, yet. Give me a chance to find the other adults and figure out what we're going to do. It won't be long, we just want to make sure no one gets hurt... or too hurt at least."
The boys' wings drooped a bit but they nodded. Crystal agreed with their feelings; she dearly wanted to get back into the sky. Instead, they followed Bryan back towards the school, ignoring the attempts to get their attention. They paused at the edge of the crowd, looking up as the first griffons came back in to attempt their landings. It was quickly obvious that landing was something they would have to practice. The first few griffons to come back down all stumbled and rolled across the field, not quite figuring out the knack to land cleanly.
"Don't worry, you'll have plenty of time to practice soon enough," Brian assured them, finally shooing them off the field and back to the school.
Spruce Coulee Camp
The campers were given a good hour to catch up with their online lives before the adults made them face reality. At a bit of a loss for other ideas to do, Andrew decided that it was cleaning day. The students were tasked to scrub their cabins from top to bottom, along with cleaning up the dining hall and other open areas. It was mainly busy work, but it was something for them to do.
Nikki and Shaun were the first to receive the news, a simple three word update sent across their military channels to let them know the latest wrinkle in griffon abilities.
Griffons Can Fly
She got the message while in her room. Jim and Emily had volunteered to bunk up with Judy and Sam to free up beds for the human guests. She read the message three times before the implications sunk in. It both excited her, and scared her. Shaun knocked on her open door and held up his phone.
"What does it mean?" he asked.
"Probably exactly what it says. Their wings aren't just for show," Nikki said. "We better tell the others. This isn't going to stay quiet for long."
"Should I kill the kids' access for now?" Shaun asked.
"Let that be Andrew's call. They're all busy on cleaning duty so they probably won't hear it right away."
The pair left the room and sought out the teacher. They found him in the kitchen, with the other teachers, preparing lunch; cold cuts and salads. They made sure there were no kids in earshot, especially not griffon earshot.
"Guys, I think the afternoon plans just changed," Nikki said.
The adults looked up curiously, waiting for her to explain. "Flying lessons are now on the table. Apparently, you guys can fly."
"What?" "How?" "Impossible!" the teachers said, talking over each other.
Shaun had been tapping on his phone and found what he was looking for. "Very possible it seems. First flight was a few hours ago."
He flipped his phone around and held it up. The video played, showing a golden eagle-lioness griffon leaping into the air. The initial jump sent her high into the air. Her wings then snapped down, lifting her higher into the air. Almost faster than the camera could see, the wings pulled in and lifted up before snapping out and down again, lifting her higher into the air. She was already well above the roof of the house next to her. She let out a happy screech and crossed her arms over her chest. She seemed to flatten out in midair, her tailfeathers spreading wide, her legs stretching out, slightly spread as well. Her wings stayed outstretched, twitching a little as she started gliding, the camera having a hard time following her.
"Damn... we can fly," Sam said. All four griffons had spread their wings a bit without realizing it while they watched.
"Right.... How do we want to play this? We can't keep it quiet. Any guides yet?" Andrew asked.
They all went to their phones to start checking. News was spreading fast as their friends were already asking how the view was, or if they had tried yet.
"No guides yet. Most are saying to trust your instincts and don't worry about the falls. Not sure what that means," Nikki said.
Andrew looked out the window and sighed. "The best area we have to practice is the field going down to the coulee. But that's in plain sight of the cabins. No chance to learn before they realize what we're doing."
"Right, so we figure out the rules now. What are the basics? Stay in sight of the camp. Human sight, not eagle sight?" Judy suggested.
"And no night flying. Our night vision sucks, we don't want anyone going down in the forest at night," Sam said.
"Finally, if you feel tired or whatever, land right away and call for help or something. That should be enough until we figure out what our capabilities are," Nicole finished.
"So that leaves the big question remaining. Who wants to take off first?" Andrew looked among the griffons.
"I might as well. It shouldn't be too difficult right? We just have to break all known laws of physics and aerodynamics with just our new bodies," Judy said after no one spoke. She headed for the dining room.
"If you see any of the parents, see if you can get some volunteers back here to get lunch ready. And try to keep everyone grounded until after lunch," Nicole said as they left.
Outside, Judy made her way to the far side of the fire pit. The others gave her room while she spread her wings wide. She lifted her tail and spread the tail feathers. She looked at her wide spread wings pensively.
"Figure it out?" Sam asked.
"The only guide says to not think about it, just do it," Nikki suggested. She and Shaun were recording while watching. A few of the teens were looking over curiously. Some approached, but kept their distance. It was obvious they knew something was up.
Judy crouched and flicked her wings again, twisting the ends of them. "I think I can sort've sense the wind. It's blowing up from the water," she mused. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Here goes nothing...."
The griffon lifted her wings higher and jumped, powerful legs lifting her a couple of meters into the air. She snapped her wings down, creating a blast of air below her that lifted her even higher. She let out a happy screech and started to lift her wings back up for another flap. Her screech turned into a scared squawk; everyone watching could tell her wings were moving the wrong way. She lost altitude fast and face planted into the grass, sliding a few meters, wings lifted.
"Are you okay?" Andrew said, rushing over to her with Sam.
Judy pushed herself up slowly with a groan. She shook her head, clumps of grass and dirt falling from her beak. Her shirt was grass stained. "Ugh.... grass still tastes gross. And it's worse when you can't spit," she groaned.
"Are you hurt?" Andrew asked again. He offered a hand to help her up.
She waited a moment, then took the hand. She brushed the grass from her furry belly and adjusted her top and her shorts. "Just my pride.
"Looks like you almost had it," Nikki said. "How did it feel?"
"Exhilarating... It felt... right somehow. But then I sort've thought about what I was doing and the next thing I knew, I was eating grass."
"Well, ready for round two or should we give it a shot? We're attracting attention," Sam noted. He flicked a wing towards the girl cabins where more griffons were looking out curiously. Caleb and Danielle were walking towards the group.
"I'll give it one more, then we'll see," Judy said. They went back to the launch point.
"What's going on?" Caleb asked.
"Just watch," Andrew said, motioning for them to give Judy some room.
Judy spread her wings again and shook them, checking her feathers. She brushed her front again and wiped her beak. She crouched and flexed her toes, extending her claws and digging into the ground a little. Without another word, she jumped again, kicking out little divots of grass as she took to the air. Her wings snapped down again, lifting her higher. This time, she managed to lift her wings in a mostly correct way. She lost a bit of height but stayed airborne. She flapped again and climbed higher. A few more flaps and she was above the trees and over the water. She let out a happy screech again and dipped a wing to turn.
"Wow, am I seeing that?" Catherine asked. She and Angela had come out with Angela's parents.
"Apparently so," Sam said, shaking his head. "Of course, she got up there, now let's see if she can get down."
Judy had managed to turn around and she was coming back towards the lodge. Her tail twitched and flexed as she tried to better control her flight, wings still stretched out wide to support her glide. She was coming in fast while steadily dropping closer to the ground.
"Too fast," Andrew mumbled. He started to move, trying to anticipate where she was going to land.
The falcon-jaguar griffon seemed a bit confused about how to land. She tried to aim for a section of the lawn while beginning to twist her wings. She lost a lot of speed, but also began to drop from the sky. She was still going fast when her paws hit the ground, making her stumble and fall forward.
Andrew reached her first. She was already pushing herself up from the ground.
"I'm good... I'm good," she said. "Damn, I'm good."
"If I didn't see it, I'm not sure I'd believe it myself. I take it, it felt good?" Andrew asked, helping her back to her paws.
"Yeah, it felt great. Almost org-" she paused and glanced around, cutting off the word in mid syllable. "The feel of the wind against my ears and over the feathers... wow. It was easier than I expected."
The pair walked back to the firepit. Word was spreading fast and the cabins were emptying out. Andrew wiggled his wings, but looked to Sam. "You want to go next?"
He hesitated then shrugged. "I'll give it a shot. You want to say anything first?"
"I better." Andrew looked at the crowd of griffons gathering around them. He hopped up onto the log bench to be seen better.
"As you may have heard, or just seen, apparently we actually can fly. This was a surprise to all of us and how we can do it, well, it's a mystery. Part of me wants to say no one will fly until more is known, but that seems cruel. So, for now, I'll just say, let the adults have a bit of time to sort things out, but I promise you, you can try to learn after lunch. It won't be a long wait, and maybe you can learn from our mistakes. Deal?"
The teens grumbled their agreement, not necessarily happy to wait, but mostly curious. Andrew gave the crowd a final look and nodded to Sam. "Go ahead, give it a try."
Sam looked around and was obviously nervous. He spread his wings out and crouched, wiggling his tail.
"Just relax. Pretend we aren't here if it helps. Try not to think about what you're doing and just do it. Somehow our bodies seem to know, as long as you keep your mind out of the way," Judy suggested.
Sam nodded and took a few deep breaths. He fluttered his wings again and leapt upwards. He stumbled a bit in mid air but managed to recover, climbing above the trees and over the water, following Judy's path in the sky.
Below there were many surprised gasps and murmurs of amazement. Many of the watchers began to flex their own wings.
"Remember, no attempts until after lunch. Most of you missed Ms Davidson's first attempt; it's not as easy as Mr Arnold made it look," Andrew said.
"And the landings are even trickier," Judy said. "And harder to practice."
As if he was waiting for that cue, Sam managed to circle around and started to come in for his own landing. He lowered his feet in anticipation and started fluttering his wings, turning his glide into a barely controlled fall. He landed hard, stumbling and falling onto his hands, talons and claws digging into the sod, wings flapping wildly. He stayed where he landed for a few minutes, panting hard, wings and tail twitching.
"Yeah, landings are tricky," he called out.
"Right, my turn I guess," Andrew said.
Over the next hour, the adults practiced flying, rarely staying in the air for long, but improving their takeoffs and especially their landings. By the time Nicole called everyone in for lunch, they weren't crashing as often.
Lunch was a rushed affair. The teens clearly wanted to try their wings out, alternating eating and checking videos from other flying griffons. Andrew tried to lay out the flight rules, but he barely made a dent on their expectations.
After lunch, there was practically a stampede out the door. Ricky and Emir stayed back. Nikki noted that and nudged Shaun, pointing towards them. He went to the human boys.
"Hey guys. Looks like things will be busy here. They're going to bring out a portable cell tower for the area this afternoon. Want to go watch them set it up? Not much to see but..."
"Thank you, I would love to go," Ricky said quickly. He looked out the window longingly.
"I know what you're feeling. What they went through is scary as hell, and I wouldn't wish that on anyone. But seeing that they can fly now, that does change things. Let's let them have their moment now."
He led the boys out the backdoor to the driveway. He caught Nikki's eye and saw her mouth 'Thank you' to him.
Pakowki
Mike Griffith flew over the high school, keeping an eye on what was going on. He'd had a few hours to practice flying now, so it was becoming more natural and reflexive now. It meant he could spend more time pondering how they were flying, and coming up blank. As far as he could tell, what he was doing should be impossible. Reality clearly said otherwise.
He flapped his wings a few times to climb higher and studied the ground below. Pakowki was a small town, little more than a main street with a few local businesses and the school and arena complex. While there were a lot of parked vehicles, the amount of traffic on the road was nonexistent. The traffic in the air on the other hand, was incredible. He could see dozens of griffons in the air, most practicing and just getting used to flying. Most were like him, flying solo, lost in their thoughts. Others were in pairs or larger groups, shouting to their friends and daring to try some stunts.
He flicked his wing hand and twitched his tail, turning northward. He knew he was going north, but he couldn't tell if he had some new compass sense, or he was just going off of landmarks. The lake stretched out ahead of him, Pakowki behind him. In the distance, he could see a hint of Etzikom, so close yet so far. His chest tightened a little, really missing his family, knowing Ryan was so close. An idea began to form, but he dismissed it as unreasonable right away.
Instead he flipped around and started heading back to town. In his pocket, his phone buzzed. Out of habit, he started to reach for it, then stopped himself, realizing handling the phone while in midair with talons wasn't the wisest of ideas. Instead he kept going to the school and landed on the soccer field. Due to the grass and the wide open area, it had become the default landing zone for the school.
He walked back towards the school while pulling the phone from his pocket. He found a voicemail from his wife. Instead of listening to it, he called her right back.
"Hey dear, sorry I missed your call. I was over the lake," he greeted her.
"I wondered. I just wanted to check in. How's the flying?" Susan asked.
"It's incredible. It's so easy. I don't know how we do it, but it works and it feels so nice."
"That's good to hear. It means you two won't be housebound when you get home," she said.
He laughed and nodded, "True, true. It's a good point. I'm not sure how we're going to get home, but there are more possibilities."
"Have you heard from Ryan lately? I know we talked this morning, but I haven't heard since... well you know."
He nodded and rested against the side of the school, watching the griffons fly overhead. He could identify a number of his students and some of his parents. "We haven't talked lately, but I heard a few things. Apparently Crystal was the first of our bunch to take to the air. Brian promptly grounded them all, but I'm sure they're all flying now."
"Do you think, maybe you could fly over and check on him at some point? I mean, it's one thing to see them on Facebook, but I'd feel a bit better if I knew you saw him personally. I wish I could see you both."
"I know, I know. It's probably too soon to tell, but it feels possible. I'll talk it over with Brian and the other teachers, and we'll figure out what we might want to do. It may be another day or two, just to get a better feel of our endurance before we try crossing the lake."
"Right, good point. I'm glad you're thinking of it though. So what's the plan for the rest of the day?"
"Just flying I suspect. We still need a lot of practice to fine tune how this works. Paul's got a staff meeting for us at the end of the school day, and we'll discuss a few more things then."
"Sounds like you're keeping busy. That's good. I should let you go then and get back to work. If you hear from Ryan, tell him we'll group call tonight after dinner, okay?"
"Of course. Love you."
"Love you too. Bye now."
Mike hung up the phone and carefully pocketed it again. He looked back up to the skies and took a closer look at the flyers. He noticed a number of them actually had their phones out, recording the views from above or calling friends. At the far end of the field, he saw a dot dropping. He zoomed in on it and winced, realizing it was a phone taking a fall from a few hundred feet up. The owner looked distressed as she dove after it. She couldn't catch up to it in time and ended up doing an abrupt landing next to it. When she picked up the device, her wings drooped, showing it was a lost cause.
Spruce Coulee Camp
By the end of the afternoon, the skies over the camp were crowded with over three dozen griffons. Many were taking turns practicing landing and take offs. The rest were gliding, getting used to moving in the air. Nicole and Andrew flew high up in the air. They didn't know how high they were, but they found they could easily see Elkwater Lake a few kilometers away, including the dots representing hundreds of griffons practicing their flying over the town.
The couple were carving a wide circle over the coulee, flying side by side as close as they dared. "How are you feeling?" Nicole asked, her words somewhat muffled by the winds.
"Feeling great," Andrew called back, their hearing able to pick up the conversation. "Feels like I could stay up here forever."
"I know what you mean.... But we can't. We've got a staff meeting soon."
"Don't remind me." Andrew sighed and looked down. He stretched his arms down and flexed his talons. "Everything looks so tiny from up here. But we can see so clearly too."
Nicole flapped a bit harder, pulling ahead. She pulled her wings in and twisted her tail, sending her into a quick spin so she faced Andrew for a moment. She passed underneath him, giving him a good view of the feathers on her back rustling in the wind along with the strong wings flapping. It was a strange creature, but he found her exotic, and beautiful.
"Funny. I had a fear of heights for years. I couldn't even go up the Calgary Tower," Nicole said, twisting around so they were side by side again. "And now, look at me!" she laughed and pulled her wings in, doing a spiral down towards the water before she snapped her wings out and began climbing.
They finished another lap around the water and Andrew scanned over the flyers. Some were climbing up to their level; most seemed content to stay lower down. "We've been up for a while. Do you feel tired or anything?"
"Not really. A little winded maybe but not tired."
"Same. I wonder if this might be our solution to getting home."
She tilted her head and stared at him. "But that's over an hour away. Almost a hundred klicks!"
"By road. As the griffon flies it's much more direct. Would you rather go home riding in the back of a truck or crammed in a bus or something?"
"Assuming we don't get lost."
"There's lots of roads. Worst comes to worst, we land and check the GPS. And speaking about landing, I think it's time we went down. Nikki's flagging us down and pointing at her watch."
They were at the south end of the coulee over the evergreen forest, but the camp was still in clear sight. Andrew could easily see Nikki standing near the firepit, pointing to her watch. She wasn't looking directly at them, but was scanning the skies to see the various clumps of fliers. He did his own scan, and saw Sam wave to Jim before starting to drop back down to the ground. Judy had already landed and was heading to Nikki.
The pair landed on the grass, fluttering their wings and running off the last of their flight momentum.
"Thanks for the reminder," Nicole said as they neared Nikki.
"No problem. You've got about fifteen minutes before your staff meeting. We'll keep an eye on the kids up there."
In the lodge, Judy was coming out of the kitchen with a few bottles of water. Sam was running his talons through his feathers, watching his reflection in a window.
"We all ready?" Andrew asked. Nicole went to a table where they'd set up a couple of tablets earlier.
"I hope so," Judy said, cracking the bottle open and gulping down some water.
"Well, the calls are set to go live," Nicole said once the tablets were activated.
They took a few minutes to finish the water and to smooth their feathers. Once done, they stood in front of the tablets, paired up. Nicole activated the call, and soon they were in the meeting. They weren't the first. Principal Clendenning's screen was active, though he wasn't present. Helen Potter, one of the vice principals, was also present and chatting with the three griffons showing in other windows. The feathers and beaks were still strange, but the names under them were familiar.
"Ah, the Elkwater crew has joined in. Welcome guys, welcome," Helen greeted them. "Paul is down in the staff room getting them set up, but he'll be here shortly. Sorry I missed you yesterday. Who's who?"
Andrew started introducing them, when a new window popped up. It showed a room with rows of chairs filled with people. There were a number of gasps and other reactions as they saw the griffons. Paul was in the middle of the room, talking to a tech. He had already seen most of the changed teachers, so he didn't bat an eye at their appearance.
"Hi guys, just working out a few last minute hiccups here. Let me get back to my office and we can begin," he said, looking at the camera. He turned away and finished his conversation before waving and jogging out of the room.
"Hi everyone," Mike greeted everyone, waving to his camera.
"Hi Mike, Nicole and Judy said you guys caught," Sam said. "It's Sam Arnold."
"Hey Sam, you're looking good. And yeah, we got caught."
"The cameras don't do him justice," Judy said. "Judy here. Just wait until you see him in the real."
"Yeah, I can see on the screen, I look blacker than I actually am. We think it's something to do with ultraviolet wavelengths or something," Sam said.
Mike nodded, "That makes sense. They've confirmed we see deeper into the purples than we used to. And some of us have plumage within those wavelengths. Our phone cameras and screens don't have that much pickup or display range, so it blacks you out."
The staff in the main view were obviously chattering amongst themselves, but they didn't address the griffons. In the window showing Paul's office, he ran in and took his seat. Before he could start, another griffon excused herself and returned after a minute with a second griffon.
"Hey everyone, Brian Boyd here. I had our first flying casualty. I dropped my phone on top of the school and it's DOA. So I'm sharing Jacob's now," he explained.
"On the roof? How high up were you?" Mike asked.
"Not sure, how tall is the school? Two stories? I'd say at least two maybe three times that," Brian chatted back.
The rest of the griffons just nodded in understanding; each group had already had a few phone casualties and understood the pain. In the staff room, the human teachers were obviously surprised, hearing the words but not really understanding what was going on.
"No problem, Brian. Glad you could make it. It's good to see all of you," Paul said, trying to wrangle the meeting back on topic. "I'm seeing three from Etzikom, two of you from Pakowki and four in Spruce Coulee. Who's missing?"
"Stephanie and John give their regrets, but they're out helping some of the other teams," Mike reported.
"Danny also sends his regards but he's also busy elsewhere," Brian confirmed.
Paul nodded, "Thanks. Thank you all for coming tonight, especially for those of you in quarantine. While Medicine Hat wasn't directly affected, our school was majorly impacted, both with our staff and our senior class. I'll cover some numbers in a moment, but first, I believe introductions are in order. Andrew, could you and the camp group start? Then Mike and the Soccer groups can go."
The griffons introduced themselves quickly, then let the principal take control again.
"So, as I said, our school has been majorly impacted by Saturday's event. Today was the first day back, and the first day we could really begin to appreciate how impacted we were. Numbers wise, we have three main groups in quarantine at the moment.
"First, we have Andrew Karnes camping out in Spruce Coulee with thirty-eight students, including four exchange students, four teachers and four parents. Two students, including one of the exchange students, did not change.
"Second and third, we have our boys and girls soccer teams who were attending the invitational soccer tournament in Etzikom and Pakowki. That comes out to forty soccer players, eight teachers and coaches, and another dozen parents we know of so far. Twelve of their students didn't change due to puberty reasons, not pregnancy reasons."
"All told I've got about fifty four griffon students here with me or with Brian. Most were on the boys and girls teams, but we have about a dozen others like Crystal Jacobs; team supporters that came down to watch," Mike spoke up.
Paul nodded, "Right.After cross referencing the lists Mike, Brian and Andrew gathered with the attendance taken today, there are an additional dozen students missing in Grades Eleven and Twelve that we suspect may have been in the affected region, but we haven't been able to confirm it. Another dozen students are out in the earlier grades; their families may be in the region but they are not likely to have changed. We also have two more staff members who got word to me, but were unable to join us today. They were caught south of the border and are stuck in Havre."
Nicole winced as she added the numbers up. That was a large chunk of the school staff, and a big chunk of the senior class.
Paul checked his notes and continued. "For those like me who can't add under pressure, that comes out to fourteen staff, out of seventy-four, and over eighty students, all but fifteen of them from our Grade Twelve class. "
This caused a stir among the staff watching in the staff room. The teachers at the camp exchanged looks; they'd had a feel that the school was hit hard, but having the numbers laid out like that showed just how hard they were impacted.
Paul continued, mainly addressing the staff room now. "So, we have a lot to do to figure out how we're going forward. We basically have a week before they come home, and we want to make them feel as welcome as possible. Their lives have been turned upside down, in ways that they won't realize for weeks or months to come. We're seeking guidance from the American scientists, and local experts to figure out how best to adapt our classes and buildings for the affected students and staff. It probably won't be done in time, but we'll do our best.
"Due to how hard the senior class has been hit, as well as the number of teachers affected, we're going to condense the grade twelve classes down to two classes for this week, mainly to cover basic subjects. Counselors are available for any students, or staff, that feel they need it. If you notice anyone who may need help, please urge them to seek that help. It doesn't matter if they were directly or indirectly affected; even if a kid doesn't know anyone who was changed, they may have concerns about a change happening so close.
"In the longer term, we have a lot more to work out, and to work out fast. Six of our exchange students were changed, three in each group, coming from South and Central America, Europe and Asia. What they will do going forward is still unknown, but their families have been informed, along with Emir's family in Turkey and Jose's family in Mexico. Neither Emir nor Jose changed, but they were in the affected region, and both have said they want to stay for now.
"We also need to figure out what these seniors are going to do. We've been doing our best to prepare them for the rest of their lives; to set out on their own. Many have university plans. Plans that have been completely uprooted. Local Universities in the province should be fine; but if any want to go to BC or any Ontario or Eastern campuses, that will be a challenge."
Paul sighed and shook his head. "But that's something we'll handle later. For now, we need to support the kids, and support our comrades in the quarantine zone. So for our newly feathered friends, if there is anything you need, just ask. We're here for you."
"Thank you Paul. Here at the camp, I think we're in good shape. Especially in light of our new abilities.The kids are in good spirits considering. We were beginning to worry about keeping them busy, but now we have more options. I think we'll do a trip into town tomorrow, just to stretch our wings out and expose them to more griffons," Andrew said.
"Good, good. Do you need anything? Do you have enough supplies?"
"Nikki Gibson showed up yesterday with a companion. They got us online as you can see. And Nicole and Jim, one of the parents, did a run into town yesterday with Ricky and Emir and got food, so we're good there."
"Excellent. Mike, how about you guys out in Pakowki?"
"We're camping out at the high school here. The first night was rough, but they managed to get a lot of people home yesterday, so last night wasn't as bad, even after they brought over the other stuck teams from the elementary school. They're using the high school for all the teams and anyone associated with the teams, leaving the elementary school as a shelter for other random people. A place to stick people caught on the roads but not otherwise associated with the schools or the teams basically."
Brian nodded, "We're in a similar boat up here in Etzikom. Hopefully we can keep everyone busy. Now that we're more mobile, we'll probably try a few things, but it's going to be a long week."
"Right, I think we're all facing similar struggles. Of course the big question is going to be what do we do next week. How the hell are we going to get home?" Mike said.
"Understandable. You guys don't really fit in a school bus any more. Give us a few more days, and we'll work out some way to get you all home, even if we have to make lots of trips," Paul said.
"Nicole and I were just talking about that while we were stretching our wings. I'm not sure about your guys, Mike, but for our group, I'm thinking we might just fly home," Andrew said. This caused a reaction both in the staff room and from the other griffons.
"Are you sure? You're an hour away. That's what? 80 klicks?" Paul said.
"Something like that. We need to test our endurance and speed, but it's feeling doable. You don't know what it's like up there when you're flying. You can almost see Hat when you're high enough. It feels doable," Andrew explained.
"That said, don't count on us flying home yet. If you're arranging a lift, keep us pencilled in, for a few more days at least," Nicole added.
Mike looked thoughtful. "Still, our bodies seem to share a lot with birds of prey. The hawks and eagles, they stay forever up there in the sky, covering great distances. If we're similar at all, you could probably get home within a few hours. And we aren't that much further away than you guys. We could probably make it if you can."
"Well, if you want to split the difference, we have some extra space out here," Andrew said. "We moved everyone off the top bunks and spread them out as best we could, so technically we could literally double up here."
"We would still need someone to drive out here anyways," Tammy said. "There's no way we'd be able to fly back with all our gear, so someone will have to come out to get it. And probably get people's cars too."
"Good point," Paul said. "I assume you'll need a few drivers as well, Andrew?"
"You're right, we could use some legal drivers. We bent the rules to let Ricky drive for us yesterday, and we have Shaun and Nikki here now, but someone will need to take our truck and the school van back, along with the army jeep Shaun's driving."
"Right, we'll put a call out for volunteers for Sunday to get vehicles and gear and anyone who may not want to fly. Can you let us know how many drivers you think you'll need?"
"Will do," Mike confirmed.
"We're easy enough, we should just need two drivers," Nicole said.
Paul nodded and jotted down a few notes. "Right, those are the main topics I wanted to touch on for today. Let's plan another meeting Friday after school to make sure we're all ready to get you guys home. And start thinking of when you want to come back to the classrooms. I won't lie, we'll want you back as soon as you can; but if you need a few extra days to adjust, we can probably swing that."
The griffon teachers seemed a little surprised at that. They'd been so busy figuring out what they were now and how to just live, that going back to work hadn't occurred to most of them. Paul pushed on, unaware of the stir he'd caused.
"So, on those notes, I'll open things up to all of you. If there are any questions or comments you want to make, ask them now."
"I'd like to speak first," Judy said before anyone else could react. She partly lifted the jagged cut edge of her t-shirt as an example. "If we're going back to work, our wardrobes will need a lot of work. We've literally hacked some things together for now, but using scissors and doing basic sewing is almost impossible. Not to mention we don't have any sewing machines at the camp here to make things easier. So, Mary, do you think you could start doing some things with the home ec classes?"
The teacher looked startled to be directly addressed. She hesitated before responding, clearly thinking over the subject. "That could be doable," she started cautiously. "Both as part of a class, and maybe an impromptu sewing club after school with volunteers. The challenge would be patterns so we know what to make. Along with sizing."
"I think the Americans have released some patterns. Apparently they've got a bunch of designers down at the camp in Fort Paker, and they're putting out various ideas they think will work," Judy said.
"I'll check it out tonight and get back to you," Mary said. "If they're simple enough, we can try to have some available for you by Sunday."
"That would be great. Thank you Mary."
"So can you guys really fly?" Peter asked. He was one of the science teachers.
"We can," Sam said. "Hell, most of our kids are still up in the skies somewhere."
"Ours too," Brian laughed. "We're hoping they'll tire themselves out so they sleep well tonight."
"I'll neither confirm nor deny that we're doing the same. Not much else to do at camp otherwise," Andrew said, the edge of his beak twitching with a hint of a smirk.
"So what's it like? I mean, it should be impossible right?" Peter asked.
"Should be impossible, but we're doing it," Mike confirmed. "And it's incredible."
The meeting continued for another hour with questions for the changed teachers. Finally, Paul had to step in.
"Thank you everyone. It's getting late, and I'm sure our colleagues have a bunch of mouths to feed. So we'll let you go now. Thank you for joining us, and we're eager to see you return."
"Thanks Paul. We're eager to head home. Going to be a long week, but we'll make the best of it. And yeah, in case you missed it, Danielle and Caleb Stevens snuck in behind us to get our own dinner started. We should wrap up and lend a hand."
"Call me if you need anything. Bye everyone."
In the staffroom, the remaining teachers began to stand up before someone disconnected. The other views all clicked off until they turned their own tablets off.
"Going to be interesting, going back," Judy noted, reclaiming her tablet.
"Yeah. Frankly, I'm not sure what I'm going to do. You three, you're classroom teachers. I'm phys-ed. What am I going to do?" Andrew noted.
Nicole hugged him, her arms around his wings. "You'll be fine. Sure you can't blow the whistle any more, but you can screech. And we don't have enough subs to replace you. Not with most of the coaches Changed now too."
He sighed and nuzzled her, rubbing his beak among the feathers along her neck. "I suppose. It's just a bit scary considering what's ahead of us."
"We'll be fine. Just one day at a time, like we've been doing. Why don't you and Sam start herding the catbirds home while we see how dinner's going?" Nicole said. She let him go and snagged their tablet from the table.
By bedtime, the cost of their new abilities had caught up with most of them. Every griffon was feeling some degree of physical exhaustion, and many retired to their cabins before the adults chased them away from the campfire. When Sam and Judy did the rounds to kill the lights, most of them were already deep asleep; they only had to tell a handful to turn off their phones.
"Another day bites the dust," Nicole said after a jaw popping yawn. The rest of the adults were finishing cleaning up the dining hall and kitchen while Sam and Judy were out.
"Is it scary that I'm starting to feel normal?" Emily noted as she dried the cutting boards.
"A little, but it's probably a good thing. Like it or not, this is who we are now," Caleb said.
"It's a bit funny too, this is the first night I'm not feeling tired. I mean, I'm exhausted, and muscles I didn't know existed are aching, but I don't quite feel asleep on my paws, not like the last two nights," Danielle said.
"It probably means we're finally done baking or something. The Titans noted something similar with their event. The body was done first, but it took a couple of deep sleeps before they started feeling natural in those bodies. The first few nights they all basically slept early and slept deep, but after that, their sleep patterns started to slip," Nicole explained.
"Which means we'll probably start noticing the night owls are still up when we do a midnight check," Nikki said.
"Well, it also means we'll probably still be up to join you on the checks this time," Andrew said.
"All clear," Judy announced as she and Sam walked in. "We had to chase a few to their beds, but most were out already."
"So, that just leaves a big question. What are we going to do tomorrow?" Sam asked. He grabbed a bottle of water and looked around. "And for the rest of the week for that matter?"
"Good question. I'm not sure yet to be honest. But tomorrow, since we have some mobility now, I figured a run into town would be good. Just introduce the kids to more griffons and other people. Help show they aren't alone, and see how others are handling this," Andrew said. "Beyond that, I'm open to suggestions."
"Thanks for taking Ricky and Emir out today, Shaun," Nicole said. "I don't want to ignore them, but some things we're doing are so griffon focused...."
"No problem, I'm happy to help. If you need me to keep them busy, I'm sure Nikki and I can find some other things. Emir's expressed interest in learning to drive, so I may give him some lessons."
Emily closed the cupboard and did a final look around the kitchen. Everything was neat and tidy, aside from the glasses and bottles they were currently using. "Right then. I may not be mentally exhausted, but I'm physically tired. I think it's time for this bird to hit the nest."
"Go ahead guys. Nicole and I will do the midnight check," Andrew said. "I think we can stay awake that long at least."
"We'll keep you company," Nikki offered. "Have a good night guys."
Pakowki
"What a day," Tammy groaned as she dropped into a chair in the cafeteria. Mike and some other teachers were already there, unwinding a bit before heading to the gym for bed.
"What a day indeed," Mike agreed, sipping from a bottle of water. "Everyone doing okay?"
The other teachers nodded, but it was obvious they were showing signs of weariness.
"I still can't believe Crystal Jacobs was the first to fly," John noted.
Mike laughed. "I'm not. She's always been a bit headstrong. It didn't surprise me to hear she was the first to take to the skies. I'm more surprised Ryan wasn't up there next to her."
"Only because they were too shocked to see her up there, I'm sure," Tammy said. "It does give us some new options to consider for the week ahead at least."
"Yeah, we've learned to fly, but there's so much more to figure out..." Stephanie mused.
"We can only take it a day at a time. Hopefully by being among so many other griffons, we'll figure things out faster. I think that's the point of the quarantine," Mike said.
"Yeah but a week? I don't know about you, but I just want to go home," Tammy said.
John nodded, "It's a tough balancing-"
He fell silent as the PA system crackled to life. Their ears twitched towards the nearest speaker.
"Good evening everyone. It is now 10PM. The main gym lights will be turned off at 11 and turned back on at 7. Escorts will be available to guide you in the gym after the lights are off, but we suggest people settle down early to avoid disrupting your neighbours. Thank you, and good night."
"And that's another day for the history books." Stephanie stood up and stretched. "I'll head to the gym and check on the kids."
"Thanks," Mike said. "I'll be along shortly, I want to call Ryan and Susan before turning in. Before everyone goes, I do have one seed to plant."
The teachers paused and looked to him expectantly.
"Andrew mentioned how they're thinking of flying home at the end of the week, and I got to thinking of our options. Etzikom and Elkwater are both about the same distance from Hat, so I'm sure Brian's thinking the same thing now. We're further away now, but we do have a week and although we can't leave the quarantine zone, we don't have to stay here. Maybe we should start thinking of heading up to Etzikom in a day or two, and join up with the boys team. Then we can decide what to do from there."
"What?!" "You can't be serious!" "How far is it?"
Mike nodded to Tammy who had asked the last question. "It's about 30 klicks or so, straight up the road. It shouldn't be too hard a trip, especially if we actually have the endurance people are thinking we have. The Campers will be almost doing that distance tomorrow if they actually go into town and back."
"That's a mighty big if," John noted.
"I'm not saying we'll leave tomorrow. But maybe Wednesday or Thursday we could leave. It would help Paul a bit too, since it would be one less location to track."
"Not entirely. Our gear is still here, and there are a few families here, including families with human kids," Stephanie said.
"We can see if we can arrange for the gear to be moved. The families, we'll let them decide what they want to do. If they want to join us, I'm sure transport could be arranged. Otherwise, well they'd be working their own way home regardless."
"Be honest, Mike. You just want to see Ryan, in person, don't you?" Tammy asked.
The coach sighed and nodded slowly. "Yeah, I'll admit, that's a big thing. But not the only reason. There are other good reasons for us to consolidate the groups."
Tammy patted his arm and stood up, "No one blames you for wanting that. I think we're all having similar feelings, wanting to be near our loved ones again. It's a good idea. Let's let it cook overnight and start figuring it out tomorrow. We can probably hook up with Brian's crew by Wednesday."
Mike looked at his teachers and nodded, "Thanks guys. I appreciate the support."
"We'll leave you to make your calls and see you in the gym shortly," John said, standing up. The three teachers waved their wings and headed out, leaving Mike to place his calls.
| Preceded by: School Daze: Day 2 |
Paradigm Shift: Griffons{{#if:| (First: {{{first}}})}} |
Succeeded by: School Daze: Day 4 |