feathers

My friends like my feathers. [[...->second]]

I have a lot of friends. They always compliment my feathers first. It's what everyone notices first. [[...->third]]

My feathers are shiny. Shinier than any of my siblings. At least, I think so. I haven't seen them in years. [[...->fourth]]

It's been a long time since I saw any of them. (click: "them")[I miss my 2 brothers and 3 sisters.] [[...->fifth]]

Where did they go? [[...->sixth]]

My friends won't tell me where they went. (click: "friends")[They tell me they moved away. My siblings wouldn't move away.] I wanted one of each of their feathers to remember them by. I couldn't find any at their nests. (click: "feathers")[My friends really liked their feathers. But they say mine are even better.] [[...->seventh]]

Sometimes my friends take my feathers. (click: "take")[I don't like it when they do that.] (click: "when they do that")[It hurts to pluck feathers out.] [[Sometimes I try to take them back.->takeback]] [[Sometimes I give some to them.->givesome]] [[Sometimes I let them take them.->takethem]]

Sometimes I try to take my feathers back. My friends start waving scary things at me. (click: "scary things")[Sometimes they have fire. Sometimes they have weapons that create fire.] I don't usually get my feathers back. [[...->eigth]]

Sometimes I give some of my feathers to my friends. They're always really happy when I do that. I like seeing them happy. [[...->eigth]]

Sometimes I let my friends take my feathers. They always look happy when they get them. I like seeing my friends happy. [[...->eigth]]

My friends visit me often. They don't stay very long, though. They always look around to see if I dropped any feathers. They bring me good food. They have nice fruit and cooked meat. (click: "visit")[Some of my friends have been coming more frequently. Sometimes they tell me they visit other harpies, too.] [[...->ninth]]

Recently, I've made a new friend. (click: "friend")[He's a lot younger than my other friends. He says he's a teenager in human years.] (click: "He's")[He doesn't have feathers, like the other humans. He has soft brown hair.] (click: "human years")[Human years are complicated for me. I wish everyone used harpy years.] (click: "harpy years")[According to him, I'm about 14 in human years.] [[...->tenth]]

My new friend likes my feathers like the rest of my friends. But he doesn't ask for my feathers. He just admires them. (click: "admires them")[I wanted to know why he didn't want any of my feathers. Everyone else wants them.] [[...->eleventh]]

He looked at me with a funny kind of confusion. "I like your feathers. But they're yours, not mine." I gave him a feather once. (click: "feather")[He just smiled. He has a nice smile. A lot of my other friends don't smile.] (click: "once")[He still has the feather. He keeps it around his neck on a necklace.] [[...->twelve]]

He brings me food like my other friends, but not as much as the others. He brings enough for the two of us to eat a meal together. Unlike my other friends, he brings me stuff that isn't food. (click: "stuff")[I don't understand a lot of human things, but he teaches me about them. He lets me keep some of the things.] (click: "teaches me")[I like listening to him.] [[...->thirteen]]

Sometimes he can't stay long. (click: "stay")[I wish he could stay longer.] He usually only stops by during the day. He says he works at night. (click: "works")[Sometimes he comes by in his work clothes. He says he works for a carnival and is a jester.] (click: "carnival")[He points at the bright lights on the horizon and says that's where he stays. He says the carnival is a wonderous nighttime festival.] (click: "wonderous")[He looks sad when he says that.] (click: "that")[Is it wonderful? Why does his smile look sad?] [[...->fourteen]]

I don't leave my nest much. My friends bring me all the food I could want. (click: "friends")[Other humans don't like harpies much.] I want to go to the carnival, though. I want to see why he's sad. (click: "carnival")[I told him to take me one day. He looked shocked.] "I can't take you." [[...->fifteen]]

I was sad. I asked him why. He looked even sadder. "I just can't." That day, he left quicker than usual. [[...->sixteen]]

I follow him. [[...->seventeen]]

I keep to the trees to avoid him seeing me. I want to surprise him by showing up. (click: "showing up")[I'll wait around the tents until night time before I come out. He said that the carnival is only open at night.] There's a lot of tents here. It's more confusing than the forest. But I see the tent he went in. (click: " tent ")[There's a lot of people in costumes like his that are coming in and out of the tent.] The sun is setting. It's getting close to night time. [[...->eighteen]]

More lights are turned on, making the place look almost like day light. A crowd of people gathers by the entrance. There's a lot of people here. More people in his outfit are piling out of the tents. Some have a lot of jewelry on. (click: "jewelry")[They're gold and silver, decorated with a lot of gems. He told me he's never been able to have fancy jewelry, but I see some of my other friends wear some.] Some of the people look like harpies. They have a lot of feathers on them, but they have human feet and human hands. (click: "human feet and human hands")[They're not harpies.] I finally see him coming out of the tent. [[...->ninteen]]

I start following him. It's hard to stay unnoticed. Some humans don't like harpies. I have to stay behind the tents. He's headed towards the biggest tent. There's a lot of glowing signs and lights coming from it. This place is pretty. [[...->twenty]]

There's an opening in the top of the tent. I'm able to climb up to it and peak inside. [[...->twentyone]]

It's horrific. [[...->twentytwo]]

The stadium is packed with people, all crowded around a dirt circle in the middle. There, a man in a loud outfit with lots of jewelry is talking. Feathers are everywhere. A couple nervous looking harpies are in the corner. Animals are in the other corner. (click: "middle")[Around the man are a series of platforms, kind of like the limbs of trees. They look dangerous. Some have rings covered in fire on them, others don't make sense.] [[...->twentythree]]

He's there. He's standing off to the side by the big man. [[...->twentyfour]]

I'm getting scared. (click: "scared")[The harpies aren't happy. The animals aren't happy. I'm not happy.] I want to leave. (click: "leave")[I hurry down the tent and scamper off towards the forest.] [[...->twentyfive]]

It's dark. (click: "dark")[I don't like to leave my nest often. I never left it alone at night when I was little.] (click: "night")[The forest is dark. My oldest brother used to tell me about monsters that come out at night. They like harpy feathers.] (click: "monsters")[He would say the animals in the forest aren't the scariest things out there.] (mouseover: "scariest")[Did the monsters take him?] [[...->twentysix]]

I hear rustling up ahead. My nest is up ahead. Something is in my nest. (click:"something")[They're loud. They're not light like harpies.] (click: "harpies")[It's not my siblings.] (mouseover: "siblings")[It wouldn't be them anyway.] (mouseover: "them")[They're gone.] I'm scared. (click: "scared")[I wish he were here.] (click: " he ")[He was with that man hurting the harpies.] (click: "hurting")[He might hurt me.] (click: "hurt ")[He's never hurt me though.] (click:" me ")[Not like my other friends.] [[...->twentyseven]]

I don't know where to go. They're in my nest. [[Go left.]] [[Go right.]]

I go left. The trees are unfamiliar this way. I can barely see the moon through the leaves. A squirrel catches me off guard and I almost panic. I can still hear the monsters in my nest. [[Sit on a branch.]] [[Hide in the bushes.]]

I go right. There are less trees over here. I can see a bit better. An owl is above me, glaring at me. Please don't call for the monsters. They're still in my nest. Please get out of it. I can't go back just yet. [[Hide in the bushes.]] [[Sit on a branch.]]

I'll hide in the bushes. They'll leave eventually. That's my nest, not theirs. [[...->twentyeight]]

I'll sit on a branch. I'll wait until they leave. [[...->twentyeight]]

I fell asleep. It's morning. I don't hear the monsters. (click: "hear")[I can't hear them anymore. All I can hear are leaves falling and birds singing.] (click: "singing")[They sound nice. It's a nice day. But someone was in my nest.] [[...->twentynine]]

My nest is a mess. (click: "mess")[He says my nest is always a mess, but I like my mess.] (click:"my")[This isn't my mess. This is someone else's mess, the mess they made while tossing my things aside.] All my feathers are gone. My friends would had liked them. (mouseover: "friends")[I don't know if I have any friends now.] But now the monsters have them. My nest isn't safe anymore. [[...->thirty]]

There's more rustling. (click: "rustling")[Are the monsters coming back for me?] (click: "me")[No. These steps are lighter.] [[...->thirtyone]]

[[Start Game->Opening]] [[Credits]]

This game was made in about 5 hours for Ludum Dare #40 and Maximum Monsters Month. Story, Development: Mikomi Kisomi http://mikomikisomi.weebly.com/ Background: https://unsplash.com/photos/WbfvGBPDXfA Engine: Twine 2 [[Return->Start]]

It's him. [[...->thirtytwo]]

He's out of breath, still in his costume. Without saying anything, he grabs my hand and starts running. [[...->thirtythree]]

After we run until the city is barely visible, we come to a stop. He collapses beside a tree. (click: "He")[The backpack on his shoulder slides off and onto the ground.] (click: "backpack")[I can see the feather necklace inside along with some clothes and food.] (mouseover: "feather")[I tell him about my feathers. He nods.] [[...->thirtyfour]]

"Those trappers were going to make their move. I didn't overhear them until after the show. I'm glad you weren't hurt." He's smiling again. [[Where are we going?]]

"Away. You can't go back to your nest again- you know that, right?" I nod. A sad sort of smile creeps up on his face. "I can't go back to the carnival either." (click: "carnival")["I wasn't going to leave without doing anything."] (click: "anything")["Some of your siblings- well, other harpies, I don't know if they're your siblings- are free now. And so am I."] [[...->thirtyfive]]

"I was caged, like those harpies. I could only roam when I slipped out." "When I was little, they took me from my village. I don't know where my home is now." (click: "home")["For the longest, my home was with the carnival."] "But, now... now our home will be together." (click: "together")[Together. I like that word. My younger sister used it a lot. She liked being together with her family. Then together meant being with her siblings. Now, together means... the two of us.] "Your feathers are really valuable to the trappers. You weren't captured as quickly because they wanted your feathers to grow out." (click: "feathers")["I've never seen feathers that grow back so quickly. You've got so many. They wanted them all."] [[...->thirtysix]]

"They won't be able to get them, though. They won't be able to get either of us." Because we're together. Because we're leaving. [[Do you have a plan?]] [[Do you know where we're going?->Do you have a plan?]]

He grins at me. It's a lovely smile. "Ha, not a bit!" [[...->thirtyseven]]

[[Together.->together]]

"You're right. We're together. So we'll make it. And if we run into anything, well, I've got a mean juggeling trick!" We can make a new nest, whereever we're headed. My feathers won't cause trouble anymore. Cause we're together. [[End.]]

Thank you for playing Feathers, Mikomi Kisomi's Ludum Dare entry. This was made in about 5 hours on Twine. [[Credits]]

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