Okay guys, this time for real... 
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Chapter 8: ThurselIn the hour to come, Ducky went through several what-ifs and on-the-one-hands but as the wind picked up, some ground sparkles beginning to fall, she had to admit that this was a decision she couldn't make all by herself.
"Littlefoot already gave me some helpful advice but I will need more secondary opinions before I can make up my mind, yes I do..." With that in mind, the increasing cold sending a chill down her spine, the swimmer slowly headed back to the Valley.
*
The flyer was just casually sailing across the skies some distance away from the mountains where the trees stood much tighter and population was generally thin. It was a quiet and lonely area without much airborne traffic to mind where Petrie could just fly without much of a thought, without anyone bothering him.
That day, though, he was flying rather low since it was a cold day and even colder higher up. The Cold Time that he had temporarily escaped when he left the Valley was eventually going to hit this place as well. Although he had heard that it typically didn’t last very long and some years even went by without White Ground Sparkles at all, he would still be prepared for it if it hit the area in a similar manner than the storm that had trapped him in a cave on the first day of his journey.
It was only because of the weather that he managed to catch a conversation from below the tops of the trees that caught his interest. Otherwise, he might have overheard it.
"Aphteron, how much further is it? I can't wait to slap your good-for-nothing sister into shape for this!"
"Quiet until we get there, no one must follow us, stupid idiot!"
"U-understood!"
"Just make sure the little brat doesn't try to break away before we get there!"Petrie's ears were wide open as he slowed down his flight, trying to figure out where exactly the voices were coming from.
"If that not be bully and his gang..." the flyer muttered to himself. Just this realization was any reason to get away as fast as he could but their secretive behavior awoke his curiosity like a bucket of icy water. Just what were they up to so far away from the mountains?
And what they going to do with the girl...
Silently, Petrie glided above the thick foliage as the group made their way further away from their home.
*
"We're here," Aphteron suddenly announced as a formation of basaltic rocks broke through the foliage. Petrie gently entered the forest himself, looking for a perch from which he could observe the group while remaining unseen. From a distance of about two longneck lengths he was able to hear and see what transpired in front of him.
The girl is here, what they gonna do to her?The tell-tale red coloured flyer had landed in the circle that quickly formed around her, her brother stepping forward, his face distorted in anger.
"Thursel, you know why we took you here?"
The girl's wings were shaking heavily and her gaze was wandering around in the circle hectically. She gave an impression of being hunted and Petrie was pretty certain that this was not the first time this was happening.
"How many times have I told you to stay out of my way?! How many times have I ordered you to stay at the nest when I'm engaged in courtship? You're on the best route to ruin my reputation here, and you know what that means?! If I don't find a mate, I'm expected to return home for another year to babysit those little bastards mom is trying to hatch and I'll be seeing your red ass for even longer!
*slap*Stay out of my way and fucking do as I say you little
*slap* rotten
*slap* hatchling!" With a powerful kick right to the stomach, the tall flyer sent his sister towards his followers who quickly jumped out of the way, the girl tumbling into one of the rocks with her back.
"I only promised mom to take you with me on the condition that I didn't have to help her raise these little beakbrains. You should start thanking me for taking care of the useless idiot you are." He suddenly gave his henchmen a gesture. "Make sure the lesson sticks..."
What followed after reminded Petrie more of a scene from his nightmares than what actually transpired in front of him. The assembled flyers assaulted the girl like a gang of sharpbeaks feasting on carrion, kicking, hitting and scratching her without mercy. It was only when their leader gave a signal that they finally let her go, the girl collapsing on the spot, her screams and wails fading as she silently wept in the dirt.
"Next time I'll take some inspiration from the meateaters... if you get the idea." Some laughter erupted in the crowd while Petrie clenched his fists in anger from his perch high up in the trees.
"Anyway... Thursel," he spat her name out like a bone from a carnivorous meal. "I have come to a decision. You are no longer welcome at the mountains. Your red ass stands out and I can't stand it! You are to survive on your own from now on and I want you to report back to me every third day at noon. That way I will keep my pact with mom while not having to endure you pathetic idiocy any longer. I'll expect your report in two days at noon... and remember that I'll have more painful things happen to you if you screw up another time!" His expression full of disgust, Aphteron kicked the smaller flyer away like a piece of stinkweed before he finally turned away from the bundle of misery. "Time to return home. Same rules apply; nobody may see us or they'll get suspicious."
You failed, me heard you, idiot.Taking a short moment to spread his large wings in a proud and graceful manner, the tall male took to the air with his gang on his tail. Petrie waited until they were well out of sight before he made his move...
*
As the brown flyer approached the red one, pictures from the scenes he had just witnessed were replaying in front of his inner eye. Petrie had seen death and violence before in his life but, time and again, it was terribly disturbing him.
His wings were shaking with rage, his heart was pounding with aggression. How much he hated to be in a position of weakness! Always being the odd one out and the primary target of his siblings' and friends' banter, he was so terribly sick being in such a position. However, having to observe someone who was in need of help and not having the strength, knowledge or tools to help them was truly the worst of it all! The young flyer didn't know the other flyer at all and, frankly, what happened to her shouldn't be his concern. But Petrie's mind and heart weren't like that of most of his kind. They were selfish and only living for their own sake but Petrie had never wanted to become someone like that. He was good at heart and all the injustice and unfairness in this world enraged him more than anything else.
That girl not have to suffer like that, me gonna make sure of that!Finally, Petrie landed with a soft thud on the soft grass on the ground after a flight that seemed to drag on for an eternity even if it was just a stone’s throw away. From his previous position, he had not been able to get a good picture of how badly the girl - Thursel as she was apparently called, was hurt but, judging by the beating she had received, Petrie expected her to look bad. What an understatement that was.
She bleeding from head injury badly and she full of bruises and scratches.
Petrie suddenly felt his muscles refuse to work, standing there petrified just like the rocks all around him. Despite seeing the red flyer suffer in front of him, the fact that she was a girl made things awkward.
Very awkward…
“How should me talk to her? Me no know how to talk to girl flyers even if me not looking at tail!” Petrie hated to admit it but his shyness was always making a big appearance right when it was least welcomed. Apparently, she hadn’t noticed him so far though, silently weeping on the floor in agony.
“It no use, me just need to do it now or me never be able to learn how to talk to girl flyers!” Having made up his mind at last, remembering his rage and anger at Aphteron, Petrie gathered all the little confidence he had to offer and slowly walked towards the red coloured flyer, whose blood was almost the colour as her body it was trickling from her forehead, until he stood a mere few steps in front of her.
“Um… h-hello?” Petrie immediately flinched at this own croaky words. It seemed as though his throat was suddenly sealed by an unknown force. “Me… help…. you?”
Great, me failed big time…As Petrie was cursing at his inability to speak, the younger flyer raised her head ever so slightly, allowed her to see who was talking to her. It didn’t take her long to remember the face that was awkwardly staring at her.
It’s that flyer who my brother bullied a while ago…Granted, Aphteron had spent a lot of newcomers to the mountain a visit and most encounters went terribly similar except for the fact that she had usually been hiding behind the crowd of his henchbacks. Still, she immediately remembered this fellow for some reason. He seemed to have understood her situation within a blink of an eye. Was it the reason why he was here despite her brother taking great care to remain unseen?
“T-t-take m-m-me t-to the s-stream… please,” Thursel stuttered with a pain-stricken voice, a begging undertone ringing in her words. Her injuries were far from fatal and the bleeding had already reduced a lot but the chance for the wounds to get infected was significant if she didn’t wash them as soon as she could… and she certainly wasn’t in any shape to walk, let alone fly to a nearby stream that was flowing on the other side of the rock formation.
“Stream be j-just over t-there, right?” Petrie replied nervously, having somewhat recovered from the initial shock now that the girl had replied. From his many flights over the area, he roughly knew most of the landmarks and water sources in the area by now. Taking her to the next water source wouldn’t be much of a trouble for him although he was wondering why that was her primary request in this situation. Well, that question could wait for now…
“Y-yes… would you… I n-n-need help…” the girl sobbed in pain.
“Can you… walk?” Petrie wondered as he closed the remaining distance between them.
“D-d-don’t know…” she cried.
“Hmm…” Petrie reached out his hand anyway - although he felt very embarrassed doing so, grabbing one of her wings and carefully lifting the girl to her feet. Albeit very wobbly on her legs, she didn’t collapse back onto the ground when he loosened his grip. “Okay, lean onto me, me going to support you so you not fall.”
“T-thanks…”
“You welcome…” As Petrie slowly led the girl to the stream, making sure to walk slow enough lest to cause her any additional pain, some of his self-confidence slowly returned to the boy. If she had noticed his awkwardness, then surely she didn’t care at this moment. Petrie decided to forget about things for now and focus on his task.
Once they had reached the stream, the girl broke off him and started to wash her wounds with slow movements, Petrie keeping silent watch in case she’d topple over from exhaustion. During this whole process, neither of them said a word… although the girl occasionally winced and cursed in pain. Both lacked the courage to speak up so they just awkwardly stood by each other. Once Thursel was done cleaning her injuries though, she finally turned towards the boy.
“Thank you. M-may I a-ask f-for y-your name?” she spoke shyly, feeling the need to express her gratitude to the stranger who had just helped her after being so brutally beaten down. Unlike most other flyers around the place, this fellow actually seemed to have a kind heart.
“My name Petrie,” Petrie replied neutrally. “Me meet you before if you remember…”
“Yes, I do… I-I apologize f-f-for m-my brother’s be-be-behavior b-back t-there…”
“He be big big bully, me notice how he treat you bad so when me overheard him earlier me decided to follow and then me see you…” Petrie explained, surprised that he was able to talk almost freely. The girl’s stuttering was a bit irritating though. “By the way, your name be Thursel? Me not sure me heard it right earlier…”
“T-t-thursel,” the red flyer stammered, confirming her name to the boy. “Hey, y-you have a sp-sp-speech thing too.”
She noticed…“Friends and family used to it but strangers always give Petrie funny looks. Me no can help me speech, it what it is me guess,” the brown flyer explained, his curiosity slowly growing while his nervousness was subsiding slowly.
“S-s-same h-here,” Thursel replied with a sad look. “It sure isn’t e-easy. M-my brother hates m-m-me…”
“Yeah, that sound vaguely familiar…” Petrie sighed as he looked at Thursel a bit closer. The girl seemed to be one or two seasons younger than him, Petrie being a whole head taller than her despite him being short as it was. She also seemed to have his scrawny, boney body type. Not striking him as particularly good- or bad-looking, the uncountable bruises and lacerations of her skin, however, made it really hard to tell. Petrie couldn’t help but admire the colouration of the girl’s skin though. It was very colourful and bright after all and Petrie really liked that… although his favourite colour had to be green…
“You be okay now?” Petrie eventually asked when he couldn’t think of anything else to speak about. “It might not bleed anymore but it still look awfully painful…”
“Well… I-I’m used to b-being treated b-b-badly,” Thursel responded hesitantly. “Y-you see, Petrie, I… “she suddenly looked down in a depressed manner. “I-I’m just f-f-failing at everything I d-d-do.” A sob escaped her mouth. “You h-h-heard him speak to m-m-me, right? Mother s-s-sent me away b-b-because… b-b-because I-I just f-fail at e-everything!”
Petrie dreadfully observed how the girl slowly broke down in front of him. What a terrible life she must have had so far. At least he had friends to make up for all the crap his family put him through… and they were like medicine for his less admirable character traits. Thursel, on the other hand, seemed to him like someone who had never even gotten any appreciation for anything she had done. Now, those were obviously just speculations but Petrie couldn’t help but feel that this could have been him as well, had things gone only a little different in the past…
“Thursel…” Petrie spoke up quietly, as the female flyer went through a terrible meltdown - reduced to a tiny heap of flesh and skin kneeling on the ground while covering her bruised face with her lacerated wings. “Me think me know what it like to be you…” He kept his distance but walked a few steps closer as if supporting her mutedly. “You know, me no learn how to fly for very long time because me afraid of heights. Me family was desperate and they very angry because me such a failure. Me learned it eventually when my life was on line but me still kinda fail Great Day of Flyers a while back. Me siblings bully me a lot and of course they mock me talking…”
As he said these words, the girl only cried harder and more desperately. It was hard to watch for Petrie but what could he do to make the poor soul feel at least a little better?
*
Minutes went by as Petrie stood awkwardly beside the weeping form of Thursel. Despite his best efforts, he simply didn’t know how to help the situation at all. He’d been comforting Ducky a few times in the past and the other way around as well but surely he couldn’t just… give a stranger - and a girl at that, a hug?
“T-thursel?” his croaky voice eventually echoed through the little clearing in the forest. “Me no know what to do to make you feel better b-but… if there something me can do… just tell Petrie?”
The girl didn’t respond in her misery but Petrie noticed that she had started to struggle against her tears. However, no matter how hard she tried, she didn’t even have the strength to pull herself back onto her feet, collapsing flat onto the ground, crying ever so desperately.
Thursel… me feel so sad about this…Petrie couldn’t bear to watch her any longer lest he’d probably start to uncover all the sadness that was lingering in his very own soul - he had to do something!
“Hold on me wings, me pull you up…” he eventually muttered, an awkward expression on his face as he offered the girl his own paws to hold on. The female was too weak to look up but stretched her arms from her for the boy to grab.
This so awkward...Their hands soon made contact and, without much hesitation, Petrie carefully pulled her back on her feet, her wobbly legs barely capable of holding her small weight. He was still thinking of something to say, something to do when, all of a sudden, Thursel’s legs gave way, falling right into Petrie’s arms who caught the falling body without hesitation. Thursel picked up where she had left off, weeping and wailing in a mixture of pain and self-loathing.
*
As the girl wept into his chest, arms clinging onto him, Petrie could only return the gesture as best as he could. Also, he would occasionally speak to her in a quiet tone, telling her not to worry and that things would be alright soon. As he had learned from his mother after failing to comfort Ducky long ago, those words were often helpful regardless of the truth they held. Petrie didn't quite dare to do any of the other techniques though. He hardly knew Thursel and her being a flyer girl made things so awkward for him in the first place. If the girl hadn't collapsed into his wings, he wouldn't be embracing her right now for sure.
“Me sure curious about that…” Petrie mused while gently patting her back, her cries becoming a little less desperate and sad.
”Why she trust stranger when everyone she know is jerk?” The flyer couldn't quite find a good answer but he'd ask her later.
Finally, after an extended, heartbreaking time, Petrie almost succumbing to his own heartaches, Thursel's wails and sobs slowly mitigated though, even after she had calmed down, she didn't quite seem too eager to leave her current position.
"You feel better now?" Petrie eventually asked, unsure what to do now. It had taken her a good amount of time to recover from her meltdown and she was still shaking a little.
"I... I really n-n-needed that..." Thursel replied after a short pause, appearing to be slightly embarrassed about what happened. "Big brother n-n-never allowed me to c-cry - he always b-b-beats m-me w-when I d-do..." Finally, she released her tight grip on the brown flyer, her legs still shaking but supporting her weight for the time being. "Thank you... you... you d-didn't need t-to stick around yet y-you did..."
"Me worried about you after all," Petrie defended his actions. "You hurt and you can't fly, how can me just leave?" Muttering, he added. "It not like me have anything better to do, me not really feel like fighting over girls with likes of Aphteron..."
"T-thank you," Thursel repeated, wiping the last tears from her beak. "I f-f-feel m-much better now!"
At least me not do bad job then..."That good to hear," Petrie spoke though he couldn't quite feel happy yet. Ever since coming to this place he hadn't been smiling at all. Loneliness truly made people change…and, in a way, part of his childhood was dying each day he spent here as he slowly matured.
“Though there one thing me curious about. Me surprised you trusting me so easily. Everyone me see here is distrusting of everyone..”
“You… you’re d-different…” Thursel replied uncertainly, looking away sadly. “Just like m-m-me…”
“Yeah, me guess so,” Petrie muttered, pleased with the answer though it wasn’t exactly a mood booster.
A longer pause occurred..
"So... what now?" Petrie puzzled, both looking at each other awkwardly..
"Well, I... " Thursel contemplated quickly. "I d-don't know..." The girl looked down again as she once again realized that she was without a home now.
"He so mean, that not how you treat family," Petrie ranted in deep understanding. "Me kinda hate siblings for how they act too but it never occur to me to hurt them or make them leave home. That just not right, no no no." Suddenly, something in his chest stung as he accidently replicated Ducky's catchphrase.
Ducky..."Well, what you gonna do now? He not let you back home, do he?" Petrie questioned, somewhat concerned for the girl. Even if he'd just met her, she was the closest to an acquaintance he had in these lands.
"I think he really m-m-means it..." the strawberry-coloured flyer lamented. "What do I do now? I can barely move r-right n-now and... and..."
"No panic," Petrie advised as he saw another meltdown in the bowel, Thursel raising her voice as despair was beginning to manifest itself in the girl. "We figure something out. For now me think you best stay here since you injured."
"I... I guess so," Thursel replied quietly as her nerves slowly calmed.
We? is he going to stick around me even longer to help me?
"B-but... I only really feel c-comfortable i-in a cavern. My brother s-sleeps in the o-o-open and I h-h-hate it!"
Well, me have cave... Petrie mused as he contemplated how to help Thursel out in the long-term.
"Oh how c-can he j-just leave me, I am... l am s-still a child!" she exclaimed in a mixture of anger and fear. "I-I can't live on my own yet!"
Petrie looked at her sadly. He knew too well how she was feeling - he was still homesick but he was old enough to manage it by now. Thursel on the other hand was indeed still a child in both appearance and nature as far as he could tell though she seemed to be close to the Time of Great Growing.
Me sure wonder how many cold times she already old... Petrie pondered as he tried to understand her behavior. Judging by her size compared to his, she shouldn't be too much of a child anymore since he had grown quite significantly yet only towering over her by a mere head even though males tended to be bigger. Admittedly, his growth spurt hadn't been nearly as significant as his friends' and, more importantly, he was now the smallest of his family since he started growing late. Still, he had a hard time believing that Thursel was as young as her behavior and thinking suggested. Although he was well aware of his own immaturity in certain aspects, it was still striking to the brown flyer.
Well, me just ask her later... Petrie decided but first he needed to reply.
"Me not quite adult either," he reasoned, a faraway glance onto the distant horizon confirming his very own struggles. "But you learn how to deal with certain things when you have to. It may not be pretty - and there no easy way, but it possible to adapt. Me miss home, me miss everyone there but me had to come here.” Adding to his point, Petrie then remembered a journey a had made long long ago. “What if you suddenly all alone, lose parents, family… anyone? What you do then? Give up?”
The girl fell into a contemplative state. “W-what do you mean, Petrie?”
Petrie sighed. “Well, me just want to point out that… world can be cruel but it up to you how to deal with it. Me know orphan who has no parents and still live happy life now. Me sure you can live on your own if you have to. It no pleasant as me just noticed coming here but it best me can do. “Hesitantly, he added. “Well, and it what probably best for you too. Or you wanna live with jerk of a brother who only looking at tail not giving damn about you?”
“I… I see…” Thursel spoke quietly as the message began to sink in. It was true that living with her brother was nothing short of hell and it wasn’t much better at home either. She’d never been appreciated for anything, labelled as a loser and good-for nothing not just by her brother but her whole family, in fact. Did she even want to return to such an environment that only caused her grief?
“So w-what you are t-trying to say is… that I should c-c-cut my ties to m-m-my family?” the girl wondered, her facial expression hard to read.
“Maybe,” came the boy’s short answer. “That not my decision. Me no know you enough so me can’t tell. What me notice though is that you not happy the way things are right now. So maybe change might make things better for you?”
Would that really change things? Thursel was naturally doubtful about this. Terrible or not, they were still talking about her family, the only social environment that she ever had, although far from a healthy one. Could she really cut ties with her family and start a new life even though she was barely old enough to care for herself? Even though she was the definition of pathetic and useless?
“I… am going to think a-about it, okay?” she answered after some thinking which seemed to please the boy. “It’s true… I-I’m not happy. Just… lonely and s-sad a-and p-pathetic a-a-and a c-c-crybaby!”
Petrie sent a contemplative gaze her way.
“W-what!? It is true i-i-isn’t it?” she puffed as she reflected on her own personality.
“Thursel, me learn lots of things during my journey so far. Me learn lots of things me thought me not able to do. Me still get nervous a lot and me weak and small compared to most other flyers here,” Petrie explained self-consciously. “Me used to be mental wreck easily and me still do but me slowly learn to accept me as me are. There be anything you like about yourself?”
Was there even a thing that she liked about herself? Thursel pondered about this for a long time yet she couldn’t find a single thing. Disheartened, she shook her head.
“If you wanna be happy, first you need to accept yourself, know your faults, try to accept them or try to change them.” Petrie was surprised by the things that escaped his own beak. This girl was so similar to him in many ways yet he acted as if he knew so much better when, in fact, he still was the scaredy egg who was afraid of the dark, smoking mountains and strangers, especially if they were girl flyers.
“Well, maybe you find different way too. There no guarantee it work. Me just in process of learning about myself too after all…”
“T-thank you f-for the advice,” Thursel spoke in a quiet, sad voice, clearly in low spirits, her head hanging. “Petrie… can I-I ask you s-something?”
“Sure,” the boy affirmed, looking at her red features with curiosity.
“Well…” There was one thing that the young girl was puzzling about for a while now. It may have been true that there seemed to be a striking similarity in their mutual struggles but Thursel still couldn’t quite tell why Petrie would even bother to hang around someone like her. Was she really worthy of his attention?
“Petrie, y-you have been so kind towards me b-but… you didn’t have to stay… I-I’m not saying I w-wouldn’t like you to but…” Embarrassed, she looked at her feet.
“Me get it,” Petrie sighed. “You think me wasting me time?”
“K-k-kind of…” the girl spoke, wincing, the way Petrie spoke scaring her.
“Ugh,” Petrie growled in sudden anger. “Me hate how you such idiot because your family full of idiots. They make you so pathetic and all, they make you the way you are, that what me trying to say earlier. You really need some self-esteem. Me know me no good example either but me see you actually believe your brother that you a piece of shit. You not, Thursel, you not what they say, okay?”
Thursel finally looked up at the boy after turning away in fear due to his rant. It took a while but it eventually dawned at her that he was actually not yelling at her.
“I-I’m n-n-not?”
“Just because everyone say you a loser, it not mean you are. Believing you are just make it worse and worse.” Petrie sighed. “Anyway, to answer your question, there be three reasons. Me already tell you one. There just nothing in particular me need to do. Me bored a lot. But that not important reason. Important reason is me pity you. Me knew when me see your eyes back then when we first meet that you going though lots of pain and me can’t stand to watch.”
“Then why d-d-do you watch?” Thursel interrupted with mild curiosity, her fear of being scolded almost gone now.
“Well, that good question. Me guess it because me know how it feels like that me want to help. Me know it suck and me hate to see others go through while me do nothing…” Petrie looked at her sadly. “Besides, you first flyer me meet here who not hostile and mean. It so lonely here and me no like that. Petrie would be happy just having someone to talk to every now and then....”
Thursel looked at Petrie in a mixture of awe and uncertainty, feeling uneasy and happy at the same time. Even if she didn’t want to admit it, her feelings were rather similar. Constantly being alone, without a friend to talk to… it was just the same for her. Just experiencing the generosity of the boy and his kind company and the comfort he offered her during a particularly low moment of her life made her put all reservations aside and overcome her nervousness.
“I-I-I f-feel the s-same! P-please let us t-talk every now and t-then!” the red flyer requested, even bowing slightly to underline the sincerity of her inquiry.
“Sure,” Petrie replied, a sheepish grin quickly flashing across his face. “Me do that! Though until your injuries better me be stuck with you anyway, heh.”
“Y-yeah, if y-you insist…” Thursel stuttered before a quiet chuckle slipped past her mouth.
“Well, yeah me do,” Petrie replied, a look up at the sky confirming that the night was getting closer, maybe another 30 minutes before sunset. “You hungry? Me gonna fly up and rip off some leaves for you to eat.”
“M-m-much appreciated…” Thursel stammered quietly, the reality of her temporary disability to fly making her feel uneasy. Depending so much on others had never resulted in bright memories after all. Even though Petrie was unlike most other flyers she had met in her life, the fear of being called out for her uselessness still remained and the girl would make sure to express her gratitude whenever it was due.
The two young flyers ate their fill and Petrie helped his new companion to tend to her injuries more, covering the deeper scratches with the goo of some curing herbs. It wasn’t long before the Bright Circle sank below the horizon, the two adolescent flyers laying down in their makeshift sleeping spot, falling asleep quickly after an exhausting and eventful day. But both flyers had an expression of peace and tranquil on their beaks, knowing they would wake up in the presence of a friend.
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A huge shoutout to the lovely zero-point for naming Thursel, well, Thursel 
I guess I have a little more to say about this particular chapter. First of all, I need to state that this was all written over a year ago already (and I think it slightly shows in my writing style even though I've reworked a few phrases just now). I only decided today that this would be the next installment of the series. Reading through what I had, it seemed convenient that both Ducky's and Petrie's storylines ended on a night scene with this chapter so instead of mixing the two perspectives as had been my original plan back then I combined all of this lengthy scene into one chapter for there was no good point to stop at for dramatic cliffhangers or something like that
I should probably make something very clear about Thursel here. So it seems that all of my major OCs end up being some depressed shits and I really have no idea why. Take Cho and Lizzie from SDP and now Thursel as well, they're all very similar yet for completely different reasons. Rest assured that Thursel won't be a cheap copy of Cho even if it might look like it right now. It just seems that I like working with such characters and I can hardly tell why such backstories give me inspiration. Anyway, Thursel will be a major character in this tale so I'd better do a good job developing her 
I guess I should also mention this while I have the opportunity. The story is officially back on track and is expected to receive slow but regular updates from now on. I added chapter titles to all previous chapters, however I did not make any structural changes to the earlier chapters even though I think that I could write them a little better at my current level. I simply want to revive this story and sincerely hope that it has not been forgotten yet. I've got a lot of material for Petrie's part written down from over a year ago and Ducky's part just received a good portion of planning so I'm good to advance in the story at last.
Let me know what you think, any review is much appreciated, yep yep yep 
