To The Wild

1 - who am i?
I don't remember where I came from very well. It's really hard to see in the dark when you have such weak eyes. You see, I had a bad past of being captured and sent around Jamaa for shows... All those blinding flashes of bright white lights and the loud booing of the crowds. I was used as propaganda for their hate. Who am I?

Well, I'm not a normal animal. I'm considered to be a "toucan," some sort of big-beaked creature with wings and claws... talons... hooks? I'll call them talons. I'm pitch black with a fading gray beak, white underbelly, and pure white legs. My eyes are round and white... just empty orbs, like a glowing abyss. That's what I'm told I look like.

The catch is that I'm blind. My senses and my mind are my eyes. The animals of Jamaa have ruined me. In all of my years of being shipped back and forth to various locations, I felt awful when I realized it. I didn't have eyes anymore. I was a mistake. How was I supposed to fight for the Phantom King? How would I protect anyone? Would I die?

I have to distract myself all the time. I sat in a cell for ages after the phantoms took me back. I thought I was free, but I soon learned that phantoms like me were called "Virhe." Mistakes. Nobody should be like my kind, so I was locked away in a cell. They blamed it on Jamaa because I was hatched there. I was depressed for a long time.

I want to make a difference for us phantoms. It's not their fault they had to treat me and others like this. I just want to get my word out. Firstly, I would like to tell you my story so you can see what I go through. Don't worry, I'm not going to peck you. Just sit down and listen...

2 - the birth of a failure
I didn't know where I was, but the only thing I felt was the cold air. It stung my body through the thin shell of my egg. There were so many loud, buzzing noises that constantly echoed through the rounded walls I was trapped in. I didn't want to hatch, but it was time. It would happen at some point, so I went ahead and got it over with.

With one big push with my frail "egg tooth," it easily broke and out came my naked, wet body covered in yolk and slime. It was colder than cold itself. Bright lights and some big, blocky things were pointing at me. I would soon learn that a camera team had broadcasted this hatching to all of Jamaa. They soon realized I was getting on the edge of freezing and I was placed in some sort of heating pod on a "blanket nest." Well, that's what I am told.

As I grew in my "no-feather stage," some weirdo in a coat would come and feed me some sort of... I don't know... a molded paste that clung to tongs. It didn't taste that good, but it was my only food source. Too squishy and... dead.

Once my eyes began to open, I didn't know where I even was. It was all black, even darker than what it was in my shell. I had no idea that the pod was kept warm by heaters and I constantly tried to find someone to snuggle up to. I would roll and kick around in my blankets out of stress. Well, the researchers didn't know I was mad. Maybe they guessed it was how phantoms were; even before this, they believed that they were naturally destructive.

When my little... bumps, I think, began to pop up, I was confused. These little bumps would show where my feathers would grow. I wasn't sure what they were for. This is a time I really don't remember well, and I'd prefer to not really talk about it. I'm sorry, but I was an ugly little thing. It's very embarrassing!

3 - best friend?
When I got to the stage of growing feathers, I was called adorable, even if I was a phantom. Even with this, some viewed me as vile and said, "He'll grow up and destroy us all!" out of suspicion. The pod I was in felt bigger. The air bounced back in a wider range. I was still stressed out from not seeing anything until I learned "echolocation" on my own and using my hearing to my advantage. After a few days, I could clearly picture the outlines of animals with only my mind. I was like a little psychic!

When the researchers thought I was ready to meet someone else, they put me in a warm room, I think. I remember seeing- well, visioning some sort of big "bean bags," a counter, a stand with a long piece of round wood, and a door. Someone came in and put someone else in there with me. Beneath our feet was a big, thin blanket of something flat and fuzzy.

I could feel the fear in the air. In the corner was a big ball of fluffy feathers, hiding its face with its wings. It was a young falcon that was about my age. I told him I was not going to hurt him, and he introduced himself.

"M-My name is... uh..." the falcon stuttered in a light voice. "I'm... uhm.... uh... Webb."

"Hi, Webb, I'm Dirk!" I said, approaching the falcon. He screeched at me and pushed me away from him. "Don't hurt me!" he cried out in fear. Must've known I was a phantom.

"I'm not going to hurt you..." I said and he lightened up. We talked for about an hour until the researchers took him out. I would stay in that room, sleeping in a nest of some sort of soft, fluffy material. Every day me and Webb would visit each other, play games, talk, and cuddle. We were the best of friends. We grew up together.

By God, I loved him. But we didn't see each other for some time. They didn't want me and him to get too close. All of that happiness was thrown out of the window and I was moved. I began to realize what I was.

4 - why?
WIP