Soon after the war erupted, a certain adventurous Polly ventured too far from her home. She lived in the rainforest surrounding the Nu'san Temple, in a lofty tree that appeared to touch the clouds. One day, she was perched above the entrance to the temple, enjoying the soothing sounds of the wind through the trees. However, the wind suddenly got the better of her and she was shoved into the temple. She never came out again. However, she did not die before her time. She did, in fact, live to a ripe old age. She wandered the corridors for the rest of her days.
But, one day, she laid an egg. This little egg was completely unexpected; the mother had never even met a male. The egg was a cobalt blue, with a strange figure ingrained into the shell. It looked like a round mark with three tail-marks underneath it. It looked almost like a curse-mark. The mother was mystified by the egg. How could she have laid an egg without a father? It remains a mystery to this day...
However, the egg hatched without difficulty. The hatchling was of the same shade as the egg; however, the mother was snow-white. The hatchling also had the marking that was on the egg, only it was placed on its back. The mother was puzzled by the marking. The hatchling would always wonder what its mother was staring at, for it knew not of the scar that graced its back. As time passed, the chick grew older, and he learned to fly. Nightshade was still unaware of the Mark. As he grew, the Mark did as well. When he finally left his mother's nest, he was alone in the Temple. The yawning darkness did not intimidate him, however. He was comforted by the darkness, for he had lived his entire life within this darkness; it was not foreign to him. After the moon had both waned and waxed, he found a light. Light was unfamiliar to him, he was anxious around this new entity. It encroached into his peaceful darkness; it consumed the comfort. After a few days of caution, Nightshade gathered enough courage to approach this monster.
When he first left the Temple, Nightshade was daunted by the overwhelming size of this new world. He gaped at the trees, the light, and the sky. The forest attracted him; he dove immediately for the cover of shadows. He carefully observed his new environment. He was scared, yet he was drawn to this new world. He had always been adventurous; maybe this was why he didn't want to hide again. After an hour of ducking in the foliage, Nightshade took one precautious step into the light. It was warm, a feeling Nightshade had never felt before. He took another step; then another. Soon, he was swamped by the light. This light was comforting to him, yet it was foreign. He wondered why he suddenly felt he was safe, and why the light now took the comforting place of the dark. In his infantile glee, he leaped into the sky, flying with the wind.
In some part of Nightshade's unconscious mind, he was scared of flying. Yet, he loved the feeling he felt; the feeling of being above the world. He flew higher and faster, the wind soaring through his feathers. Suddenly, he felt a jolt of power down his spine. Then it came again. He couldn't control his wings; he felt too much pain. He fell from the sky, being whipped by each branch as he fell. He fell, making a cloud of leaves fly up into the air. He saw the sky, and then he was covered by darkness.
When Nightshade awoke, he saw a human looking down at him. They looked worried; worried for him. He drowned in darkness. When he woke a second time, the same human was there. They were talking to him soothingly. They were telling him how he was safe now, how he must be scared. Nightshade sat up, observing his new surroundings. Yes, he would be safe here.
A few weeks later, the trainer asked Nightshade about his birthmark. They wondered how he got it, and what it was. He didn't know. He is still on an endless search to find its meaning, and still is to this day.
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This took me two days! I hope you like it. It's 723 words. Sorry about the last two paragraphs; I didn't know if you wanted it to be gender-specific (about the trainer).
