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Nocturnal got up groggily. What time was it? She blinked the sleep away and got out of her nest, stretching her wings. By the looks of the sun, which was out of sight, it was still extremely early in the morning. She turned her head and spotted OTR. She didn't recognize her apprentice at first, for it was dark and the shawl was new, but soon she saw the pidge under the cowl.

"Oh, Rocks!" she said tiredly. "Come in, dear, come in... I'll make some tea... Mint leaf, right? My, you've grown up so quickly... Takes me by surprise every time I see you." Nocturnal continued this babble while she expertly made a capful of mint tea.

"Now..." she said, offering the cap to OTR. "What was it that you wanted to say?"

Nocturnal gave a jolt of surprise that was most unlike her normally mysterious self. "K-killer?" she murmured. "Here... In our flock... Oh my..." Nocturnal suddenly turned her back on OTR and bustled to make more tea. This time she spilled the tea twice before there was enough to be drunk. With this in talon, she returned to her apprentice.

"A brown feather, you say? My, this is serious! We must go at once to Happy Hour." Nocturnal took a nervous sip of tea, which was made of blackberry leaves. "Do you feel strong enough, my dear? I'm sure that Happy Hour will want to hear your account of things. She may ask... about what you saw." Nocturnal looked like she was about to wrap poor OTR in her wings, and never mind the tea. But she restrained herself, knowing that Rocks was grown up now.

"We must go at once," Nocturnal said, her creaky voice making the matters worse. She looked out the entrance of her lair again, her milky blind eye wide open, the other squinting into the darkness. There was nothing to see. "Come along, then," she said as lightly as she could, then walked to the hole, her head bobbing pigeon-style.

While most pidge feared the dark, Nocturnal did not. She did not much like flying at night, since you couldn't see very well, but as long as there was nothing to fly into, you were fine. Nocturnal had been in the flock for a long time and knew where Happy Hour's roost was. It wouldn't be far to get there. "Don't go too far away from me, now," Nocturnal told OTR. "We don't want to get lost! I'll tell you which direction to go and when to stop."

The old Lahore shook her ragged tail feathers and tightened the pouches strapped onto her legs. Ready to go, she opened her large, crooked wings.

It was difficult, but soon they both landed in Happy Hour's entrance burrow. The guard that was supposed to be on duty at all times was sound asleep. Nocturnal poked the young pidge with a gnarled foot until he awoke. He seemed terribly frightened of Nocturnal. "Go and tell Happy Hour that we're here. Tell her it is of most urgent business."

"B-but the time--" began the young pidge.
"Never mind! This is a matter that cannot wait!" Nocturnal was a terrifying sight when she was agitated. Instead of slicking down her feathers in fear or puffing them up in anger, her feathers seemed to expand and lift as if charged with electricity.
"R-right away, ma'am!" squeaked the guard, scurrying off and deeper into the burrow.

"You sure you're all right?" Nocturnal whispered, her feathers returning to normal.

Happy hour could hear a whispering, but all she did was turn over and mumble, and even though she slept her goggles were still firmly fastened to her head, she had been up late tinkering with somthing again, a wristwatch to be precise but all she had done was completely empty out all the components all around her nesting area.
The whispering grew more harsh and eventually she was shaken awake by a very nervous and embarrassed guard.

'Sorry Happy, theres the creepy witch and the little witch here to see you...they do say it's urgent'

Happy groaned and sat up and quickly grabbed her scarf from a nail and wrapped in round quickly, she might be up quite a while by the sounds of it, when Nocturnal showed up it was serious buisness

'I've told you before not to call Noct that, go sit inside where you can't eavesdrop and get back to napping, thats all you do anyway, that and flirt with those two seamstress' that keep popping by, we'll have words about THOSE two tarts later'


She winked and grinned impishly,

'I like to know the gossip after all'

she shuffled outside and could see it was somthing pretty urgent, Rocks was huddled under Nocts wing, The older witch had a very grim expression, Noct was always quite serious, but even she looked a little flustered about somthing.

'Nocturnal... Rocks'

Happy turned to the two witches and nodded politely, ....got to get the formailties right and out of the way first.

'What's troubled you both so much to come visit at this hour?'

'Oh dear me....'

Happy looked quite stunned, but she needed to start making plans right away,She turned behind her and yelled inside

'Off-Licence You're to go and fetch both guards, Signal and River Calder, oh and Sainsbury of Patrol too, tell them there required here right now, as for yourself once they have been told you are dismissed for tonight.'
The gaurd quickly bustled out slightly ruffled and started to make to take off.

'Oh and another thing Licence, tell them they are to hurry right here, I'm sure they will, but please make sure they know its ugent'

Once Licence had flown away Happy turned and said.


'If Im going to have a gaurd here at the moment, I may as well have a good one, River will be escorting you two home when we are done here for tonight. Sainsbury is Head of Patrol, so He should sit in on this too.'

She looked at the trembling OTR


'Right lets get inside for now, its no good standing around in the cold, I think we'll be up a while yet.'

Rocks lifted her head from under Nocturnal's wing and looked up at her with a chattering beak. "No....I can't go back to sleep....i can't. The blood might come again!" she squeaked. "besides...i think Mrs. Happy Hour should know all of what I saw..." she said, tucking her feathers in tightly.

She did not refuse the request to go inside, though, and slipped into the comfortable home of their leader, being mindful of all the little metal bits around.