A Clutchful of Trouble

[Stan]

The Story So Far...
A clutch of six wood ducks hatches on the border of the swamp, much to the delight of their mother, Mefem. After they pass a day in the nest, they are once more flung into unfamiliar terrain when they jump from the tree hollow and into the water below. Currently, only the duckling Sonje remains behind.
Original Thread

Last Three Posts:
:Mefem watched, startled and fearful, as Ling toppled out of the hollow. Her neck straightened out and she tilted forward, calling after her chick with worry- whatever her instincts were saying, this seemed a very silly place to put her eggs. Plunk! Mefem watched anxiously, called again... but there was the chick, bobbing at the surface, perfectly suited for swimming. Of course, Mefem knew that ducklings could swim, and that they did it perfectly well from the moment their downy bodies hit water, but the anxiety of watching her own babies first entering the swamp...! Well. All was well, if they all went as easily as the first. With one more glance 'round at her chicks, Mefem thrust forward and flapped her way heavily down to float beside Ling, quacking wordless comforts at the chick.
:Presently, though, she wanted all of her chicks with her; she stared up at them crossly and let loose a series of very demanding, insistent calls: come down right this instant! they said.:

:Ragdoll watched Ling fall with horror, letting loose a little gasp as her sister hit the water; surely, she had just seen her first death. She gaped when the other chick bobbed back to the surface, seeming unharmed- she had been reanimated! Healed! Amazed, Ragdoll leaned out with little bill open in wonder at the sight of her sister having been reborn. Ragdoll was struck from her amazement when her mother flapped down to join Ling, and her regard for the other chick diminished- how dare she steal their mother! It was obvious that Ragdoll was the best; she was obviously the most obedient and intelligent chick, as she had not only hatched first but been the first to climb up the slope to the nest entrance. Their mother should therefore stay with her at all times.
:Their mother was cackling up to them again, calling them down to the water so far, far below. Ragdoll's first frantic thought was that their mother was trying to kill them all, but that was ridiculous- if Ling could do it, she could, too. Even if it involved suicide and being magically healed; she was sure it was all in the water. When she tried to fling herself from her perch, Ragdoll was greatly unamused to find some part of her mind protesting this- feh! With a heave against the Survival Instinct and with help from the Get Outta The Nest Instinct, Ragdoll was flopping through the air.
:She regretted it immediately- all good and well for her mother and sibling to do this, but she was not insane, and this was obviously death she was looking in the face, and it was not at all looking pretty. Fweep! she protested- she took it back, she didn't actually want to jump, the nest was quite lovely when you got used to it, really! The air did not respond by lifting her up and putting her back onto her perch. Instead, she hit the water: plunk! It took her only a moment to bob to the surface, at which point she started cheeping furiously and swimming in aggravated little circles, scolding world, mother, and sibling for getting her into such a mess, death was no fun, she preferred life!
:She realized she was still alive, stopped her twirling, and glanced around to see if anyone had been watching. Her mother, at least, had noticed- she had stopped calling to look at her chick with a raised eyebrow and an amused expression. Clearing her throat, Ragdoll swam smoothly over to Ling, where she gazed (with added dignity) at her surroundings, as if she had always been so cool-headed.:

[Stan]

~Leopold was enraged, absolutely positively enraged. For how dare two of his sisters -- not just one, two! -- jump into the water before him. And how dare his mother abandon him for them! He let out an angry cheep. He was smarter, stronger, and much better than any of them. Surely he should be the first one to get into the water. Ruffling up his fur-like feathers, the male peered over into the water... And immediately froze, staring with horror.

That was a long drop. That didn't look fun. Judging by the cheeps and cries of his siblings, it wasn't fun. Okay, on second thought, it was much better for him to stay up in the nest. Obviously those two siblings were total idiots who liked the idea of being in cold, unknown water rather than in a warm nest. Yes, that was it. He wasn't a coward, they were just completely idiots. Leopold let out a proud chirp to prove it to himself, not seeming to notice how uncertain he sounded.

Tihana didn't notice Leopold; she was too busy looking down at the water below. It was a far drop, yes, but it didn't seem that bad. Two of her siblings had survived it, after all, and their mother was down there with no trouble at all. Granted, Ling sounded a little frightened, but then, it looked pretty frightening out there. It may be best to stay where she was. It was crowded in the nest, though, and their mother was demanding their presence. Uncertain, Tihana looked about warily, and made the mistake of making eye contact with Leopold.

The male duck was looking for a way to prove himself to his siblings. He needed to prove he wasn't a coward, and that there was no reason for him to join his mother. He decided that giving Tihana a head start would do the trick. He pushed gently at her, not wanting to seem overly obvious, but it was enough to push the smaller duckling straight off the nest. The duckling only had time for a startled peep before she was too busy being frightened by the sudden fall. Leopold watched, and felt sudden horror when she splashed into the water. Did he just murder his own sister? He had only meant to help her!

Then Tihana bobbed up to the surface, and he let out a sigh of relief. Tihana looked around, confused, then back up at the nest. She let out an angry cheep at Leopold, then immediately swam over to her mother, snuggling up close to her as she shot death glares at her brother. Leopold, indignant at this barrage of insults, stepped forward and straight off the nest. He let out a terrified cry as he pitched forward and clumsily landed in the water.

Once he was certain he wasn't dead, the male glared angrily at Tihana. She glowered at him and snuggled closer to Mefem in reply. Leopold snorted at her, then looked around regally, as if he owned the place that he was terrified to enter in the first place.

They were interesting; that much was certain.~

[Stan]

___Ling watched as her siblings followed one by one, flailing in mid-air, squeaking in terror, flopping gracelessly into the water... gosh, did she look so silly when she'd jumped? Again and again she was splashed by the little bodies hitting the water. She blinked and shook her beak, not liking the cold, wet sensation of the water on her face. In fact, she didn't like the water much at all. It was dark and cold and she could feel thing in it touching her. It was frightening! It wasn't like insects or plants out in air; that made sense. Water seemed to thick for things to be dwelling in.
___ Ling decided she didn't want to be in this mired in this miserable liquid any more. She tried walking over to her mom, but there was nothing to plant her feet upon. Kicking her legs, she suddenly found herself gliding forwards through the water. Surprised by the efficiency and speed of her movement, she kicked a few more times, more forcefully, and zipped past her brother. Oh, well this was sortof fun. Picking up speed, she hustled through the water, leaving small disturbances in her wake. Looking over her shoulder, she called to her mother,
___ "Look at me!"
___ Perhaps she should have been the one looking. Within moments, she'd crashed headlong into the reeds surrounding the shore. Letting out a frightened cheep, she struggled in the brittle tangle of tall grasses, thrashing the much that was too thick to swim in and too soft to walk in. And she thought water was bad.