the falcon (thia)

The morning of the inspection, I woke up early. I didn't dare go back to sleep in case I overslept, so instead I lay in bed and pulled up the hollo-minni on my phone and started looking for something to do. I had a feeling that if I started reading, I wouldn't want to stop, so I just played a few strategy arena matches until I decided it was late enough to get up. It was still only 7:00 but there were a few other early birds wandering around. I saw Jay sat in the control centre with James, looking like they were deep in conversation. Noaba and Sam stood out on one of the lower balconies like they were watching out for whoever it was, even though they didn't get here till 9:00. Thankfully, the cafeteria was still mostly empty. I'd had enough of playing games for the morning so I thought a fresh bowl of porridge for breakfast might help settle things.

I tried to put my hair in a ponytail but it was either too thick or still too short to all fit, so I settled for a pair of pigtails, then I went back to the balcony to see if Sam and Noaba were still there but they'd move to the control centre with Jay and James.

"All I know is that he was their superior back at S.P.H.Q, before they came here."

I didn't have to guess who they were talking about. "So, kinda like he's now your superior here." I said, walking into the room.

"In a way." James said with a smile.

Jay squeezed his eyes shut and stretched "Why do I have such a bad feeling about this?"

Noaba's eyes widened "Hhmmm, you wouldn't be the only one. Everyone feels so tense here all of a sudden."

"Yeah, you don't have to flex on us right now."

She shot him a look.

"Not helping." I whispered to Jay.

"Come on." James said, after a while. "We wanna all be lined up by the time he gets here."

I looked around. "But where's dad?"

"He'll meet us there."

So, we all stood lined up just inside the entrance. I could just about see my dad waiting outside. He seemed to be the only one who didn't appear all that stressed. Even though, if this went badly, it would mostly be on him but he still tried to appear calm and focused. I tried to copy his stance, holding my hands behind my back and lifting my head up.

It seemed like forever till they got here when it was really probably just a few minutes. I was expecting someone extra-terrestrial but I wasn't quite expecting someone that looked a bit like an eagle. I heard Jay whisper beside me "ya see now why they call him the falcon."

Right off the bat, I could tell there was bad blood between him and my dad. Even after hearing his words of welcome, the falcon only responded with a sullen "Hello, Crugga." His voice was slightly high-pitch but still official sounding.

He then started looking at each of us in the line but me and my friends were right at the end so I didn't actually hear what was said until he got to Cat.

"Miss Maggie." He sounded politely surprised. "You've done well for yourself here."

She lifted her head. "I do what I can."

And of course I had to choose that moment to sneeze.

"Bless you." Jay muttered, beside me.

"What do we have here?" and the Falcon was right in front of me.

"So…this must be the little princess I keep here so much about."

I bowed my head. "Good morning, sir."

He inclined his. "Wonderful manners. I hear you're somewhat of a smart one."

I tried not to look too pleased with myself but I could feel my ears peeking up at the complement. "I try my best."

"And how old are you?"

"Nine." I said. "And a half." I added, wandering if being as specific as I could would earn me more points.

He was so much taller than me, about the same height as my dad but with a lot less affection. In that moment however he seemed to somewhat soften. It almost seemed like he was smiling at me.

Later, in the lounge when that first part was done, we all decided to hang low here for the time being. The Falcon would be staying for a while but we could still go about doing what we did on a daily basis. At least for now. James was sitting on the sofa nearest the doorway.

I leaned towards him. "Did I pass?"

"Flying colours."

"So, is that it?"

He appeared to think about it. "For now."

I leaned back again and fist pumped. "Yes!"

"Good timing too." Brain said, from a sofa nearer the window. "You just missed wizard boys awakening." I noticed he was looking at a hollo-screen.

"Ooo, fun!" I leaned forward to get a better look.

Wizard boy turned out to be the boy that I thought had something to do with all those RWBY fairy tales, though I had to admit, 'wizard boy' was a better nick-name than 'fairy tale boy'. I mentioned this during a break but Brain seemed more distracted by a trailer that had just shown up. I looked back at the screen and gasped. "Wait, that looks like…"

"I know. McCormick." Brain finished for me, and when the character on the screen said the words "spitfires rise" we both freaked out. Brain raised both his hands in the air and sighed "Yeeees, finally!"

The others all seemed amused by his reaction. "Oh, you guys don't even know." He explained. "I've waited half my life for this."

"For what?" Jay asked, still confused as to what was happening.

"A movie of the underdogs of course." I explained, before trying to hide a little cough. "Ya know, like" I coughed again "how Harry Potter had books then movies made. I am coughing. Excuse me."

"Catching a cold?"

"I hope not."

As if to get back on topic, Sky asked "So, when did you start reading?"

"When did…" I started laughing "When did I start reading? Well, I've been reading for as long as I can remember."

Sky, who wasn't that fond of jokes, just rolled his eyes. "You knew what I meant."

"Did I? You weren't exactly very specific."

He raised an eyebrow.

"I started it just before summer."

But just then, Brain moaned "Aw. It doesn't come out till November."

I looked away. "My birthdays in November." I said, trying to be subtle.

Perfect timing indeed.

But as if to prove me wrong, the alarm sounded right then and all of that talk stopped. With the falcon here we had to prove we could fight this war. while all I could do was watch and wait. Jay was insistent he wanted to fight too but they never let him out on the battlefield. Not yet. If the first time was when the falcon was here it might give off a bad impression, especially if he screwed up.