Did you guys read about or see this on TV?
We were right there when it happened! Who knew M&Ms were so unruly? They seem cool on the commercials. (Tasty, too.)
Maybe we should offer our services for next year's parade? We don't need accident liability and will work for turkey and cranberry sauce!
-Fang.
This cursor has been blinking in my face for the past half hour. It's Thanksgiving and I can't think of one darn thing I'm thankful for. Well, one that I'm willing to admit out loud at a table filled with candied yams, a turkey, and five of the people who know me best staring me down for the answer. (I've got a strong and silent reputation to uphold, man.)
I've never had a "proper" Thanksgiving before. All I know is some Pilgrims hit a rock back in the day, bumped into some Native Americans...they ate lots of maze together, all wore some crazy hats and then something about manifesting their destinies or whatever. (I'm pretty sure I conked out during that riveting History Channel episode.)
Am I supposed to be thankful for all the times I was viewed as a walking experiment by a sicko whitecoat, poking and prodding at me with instruments? Thankful for the time Angel was kidnapped from us? Thankful for Ari kicking me face-first in the sand and leaving me for dead?
Maybe I have the wrong attitude about this whole thing? I should be like those Pilgrims and be thankful that I made it off that boat in one piece. (Figuratively, I mean.) Be thankful that I'm here and have the flock with me. We're pretty amazing, if you think about it.
I'm thankful for being alive.
-Fang.
I want to go to the Thanksgiving Day Parade!!
Has anyone ever gone before? It looks like TONS of fun. Lots of people, lots of cool floats and balloons bigger than buildings - all that good stuff.
If I tied a string onto myself, I could be a mini-balloon in the parade! Hee, hee.
~NuDgE
Woah. Thanksgiving is this week, and already I feel like it's Christmas. (At least the context clues provided by Corporate America tells me so.) "Christmas Blend" coffees, pictures with Santa...I haven't even had a piece of pumpkin pie yet! Stop rushing the seasons, CEOs of America. Pretty soon it's going to be the 4th of July in January if "The Suits" get their way!
Honestly though, I'm still in denial about this whole holiday season thing. I'm trying to convince myself it's still the summertime by wearing t-shirts and shorts indoors. It's not so easy to fly around when you're dressed in 2 hooded sweaters, a scarf, gloves, and a poofy jacket. Take my word for it.
I just did a Google search for turkey, and found out that it contains this weird chemical that makes you sleepy. It's called "tryptophan." (Try saying that 3 times fast.) I wonder if we got a bunch of turkey sandwiches and fed them to Erasers, they'd snooze while we made our escape? Hmm. Sounds crazy, but it could work. I'll try it out on Gazzy.
-Fang.
Remember how EONS ago I wrote a letter to Ella that I never actually sent? Perhaps now is the time.
The holidays are rapidly approaching, and maybe this would be a good time for a reunion? Or just a hello.
-Max
Nudge is definitely the sharpest tool in the shed AND the brightest crayon in the box. She backed up all the files! (I knew we kept her around for a reason.)
Even I was starting to panic for a minute there. But, maybe I should still be a bit on guard. Sure, we recovered the files, but this situation begs the question, "Where did the lost ones go, and who or what is the culprit?" Things have been a little bit too quiet around here for us. Perhaps this is merely just the calm before the storm.
-Fang.
One thing about trick-or-treating is that you can never go out alone on your quest for candy. The flock stuck together (mostly because we come in a package deal), but when you don't have a flock to accompany you, you bring a mom or a dad. Seeing all those parents roaming around the streets with their kids really struck a chord with me, and it won't stop resonating. And it's weeks after the fact.
In one weird way or another, I am a mother-like figure to the flock. I'm the oldest, I take care of everyone - all the kind of things that go on a mom's resume. Even though I love being independent and have an admitted fondness for protecting my family, I miss having somebody do that sort of thing for me.
Jeb was that person back then. He read us stories, tucked us in at night, educated and enlightened us. And then that all just stopped. At first, I had so much on my plate, it distracted me. But, I first really acknowledged that it was a void in my life when I met Ella. Watching her interact with her mother, seeing the bond that they had...everything down to making chocolate chip cookies from scratch. It was all wonderful.
Rhetorical question of the day: If Jeb's relationship with us was all a farce, all smoke and mirrors, maybe I'm missing something I never really had to begin with.
-Max
I just had a rather bleek introspective moment. When Fang went missing, I did a lot of thinking about how important he was to the flock - how irreplacible his role was; how irreplacible he was.
I never really pictured a scenario where I placed myself in that same position. What if something happened to me? What if I suddenly, I don't know...dropped dead from a weird peanut allergy I never knew I had? I eat a whole jar of PB and BAM! Dead.
All kidding aside, who would take care of the flock in my absence, and what would happen without me around? Would the psychos after us give up on chasing the flock down, or would it just encourage them? One down, five to go?
After Fang's disappearing act, I may have to consider him a liability. Maybe he wouldn't be strong enough for the job. Perhaps he doesn't even want it.
No. What am I saying! Am I out of my gourd? He would stay. I've never seen Fang so "together" before. It's almost as if that flight to Virginia was like an emotional retreat for him. As awful of an experience as it was for him, you can tell he did some major soul searching on that trip back home.
This flock is a darn strong group, and continues to grow even stronger. A big cohesive force to be reckoned with! I don't mean to get all gushy, but look how far we've come already.
-Max
Our winged competition. (Yeah, right!)
The grub!
"El Sombrero Dude" kept yelling at Gazzy for eating all the candy corn out of the trail mix.
I think he was jealous that Angel beat him at bobbing for apples. (She never came up out of the water!)
Asking Fang where he got his great "costume."
(She'd freak if she knew they were REAL!)
The compliments keep coming, even from The Metro Cards who won "Funniest Costumes."
I think Fang took this shot. Party Faux Pas #21: Toilet Paper Stuck to the Shoe!
(We didn't break it to her until about an hour later. Whoops.)
More costumes!
"Unreal!"
"Amazing!"
"Holy cow!"
Those were the words that were used to describe us on Halloween. From the second we walked into the Halloween party until the moment we left (trophy, cash, and candy in hand), we were the life of the party.
Walking around out in the open trick-or-treating, and then trying to mingle in a social situation with a bunch of strangers with our wings exposed was a little bit weird, to say the least. We were taking a big risk if anyone there was smart enough to put two and two together.
Come to think of it, the only times we have done that before was to aid in escaping some Eraser that wanted to kill us or something. But, we did it - chatting with people, bobbing for apples, and getting 20 questions about where we all got our killer costumes from. Max told everyone we had "a very crafty mother" and "a bunch of down pillows at our disposal." ...And people bought it? Yup. Hook, line, and sinker.
In the most not-so-self-centered of ways I can articulate this, it was nice to be the center of attention and to be, well...respected. We weren't "freaks," we weren't "abnormal," we weren't genetic experiments gone awry. We were a family with some awesome Halloween costumes. Nothing more, nothing less.
Sometimes I think simple is better. And being yourself definitely qualifies.
-Fang.
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