Alma Peregrine X OFC

Bluebird

Cold wind whipped through Cassie's hair as she stood on the bow of a boat headed towards Cairnholm. The little island was barely visible through the fog but she was already excited for her stay.

Cassidy was on her way for a two month research assignment about the bird life on the previously undocumented island, being so small and out of the way there was little research on the place and her ecological data company had sent her to get some. Besides her love of birds, there was something else pulling her to Cairnholm, something she couldn't explain. Since the moment she read the name of it she was antsy to get there, almost like it was calling her.

The temperature finally got to her, and she pulled out a receipt from her pocket and ran her fingers over it, concentrating for a second until it turned into a windbreaker. Looking around to make sure no one saw her, she shrugged it on and made her way inside the boat.

Oh yes that. Cassidy had a talent, a secret one, with which she could turn any object into another and any creature into a different one. She'd known this since the day she accidentally turned her broccoli into candy when she was 6 and since then she'd honed it in secret, practicing in her bedroom until she mastered it. It sure came in handy when one was as disorganized as Cassie and managed to forget a windbreaker when going to a stormy island in Wales.

Speaking of said island, the boat had arrived and she made her way to the only hotel in town, a small pub called 'The Priest Hole'. Her job had paid for 2 months of rooming there and a round trip ticket from New York to Cairnholm.

The bell on the door chimed as she walked in, coming up to the bar.

"Hi there, my name is Cassidy Evans. I have a room booked here, do you know where I can find the owner?" She asked the man behind the counter.

"Aye lass that would be me. The name's Kev, your room is up the stairs, third on the right." He replied and handed over a key to her with a smile.

Thanking him, she headed up and unlocked the door, throwing her suitcase down on the couch and flopping down on the bed with a huff. No amount of excitement could beat how damn tired she was from the journey and she quickly transformed her clothes into a nightgown before climbing under the covers and falling asleep.

The next morning brought considerably better weather and Cassie set out to begin her work. She walked down the beach first, snapping photos of the birds she saw and noting the amount and their preferred nesting places. After a quick stop at the pub for lunch she moved on to the woods.

A few hours in, she saw a beautiful blue bird flying and followed after it, hoping that it would sit down and she could get a good photo of it. It led her all the way through a bog and into a clearing where she saw it fly into a big abandoned house. Curious, she went in after it.

The house was destroyed but from what she saw she could tell it was once gorgeous. As she reached the dining room she noticed the bird was sitting on the table looking at her with its neck tilted as though it was analyzing her.

"Well hello pretty, I just want to take a picture, please don't be scared." She said kindly and took a few steps into the room, hoping not to spook it.

After a few clicks of her camera the bird flew up but instead of leaving it fluttered down next to her on the drawers by the doorway.

She looked at it with surprise and grabbed a rock out of her pocket, turning it into a handful of seeds.

"Here, you want some food?" Cassie said as she stuck her hand out slowly at the falcon. The bird hesitated a second before deeming her trustworthy and pecking lightly at her outstretched palm.