The day dawned clear and cool as the morning sun filtered into the moss-covered cave entrance. The light shone on the sleeping forms of about a dozen children, teens, and young adults. It also shone on the pitiful attempts at decoration, clusters of berries and shiny river rocks piled up with the ever-present moss in corners and strewn across rocky shelves.

Tucked into one of these niches was a tiny hummingbird. It fluttered its wings as it woke up and hopped off of its’ perch to land on the ground. The bird hopped into a secluded corner, re-emerging a minute later in a very different form. The sunlight fell on a little girl of about nine years, her pale skin offset by the rich red-brown of her hair and the dark gray-black of what used to be her uniform. Fluttering out from slits cut in the back of the tee-shirt were a set of wings, russet on the bottom and iridescent blue-green on the top. The girl smiled a little tentatively, the way she started every day, for if she could find a reason to smile, she wouldn’t be afraid.

Being one of the first ones awake like she always was, she went to rouse the other “littles.”  Stopping first by Squeaky’s nest of moss, she nudged the younger girl. “Squeaky, it’s time to wake up.” When the girl didn’t respond, Flutter knelt beside her and gently shook her. “Squeaky, wake up.”

The little girl’s eyes flashed open and, true to her name, she squeaked in fear, sitting bolt upright. But then she relaxed as she saw that it was just Flutter.
“It’s okay, Squeaky. Come on, it’s morning. Let’s get Ferris and go find breakfast for everyone."
Squeaky sighed. “Okay.” She whispered. That was as loud as she ever talked, in faint whispering. She stood up, brushing the bits of leaf and moss off of herself, and the two girls went to wake Ferris.

“Ferris, it’s time to wake up.” Flutter said, carefully kneeling down next to the boy. “We’re going to go find breakfast.” She said, carefully reaching out to shake his shoulder. She still didn’t fully trust the boy to know her well enough to not claw her for waking him. And he was half ferret. Those things had sharp teeth and claws.