By Moonlight, Juniper

Maximum Ride Short By: Lyra Anna Ly

Disclaimer: Maximum Ride series, character, and affiliations are not owned by me. The book in its entirety is owned by James Patterson. This is a work of fiction, and the soul thing that is mine within this story is Juniper. She is an Original character of my own making catered to the world of Maximum Ride. This story was made entirely for fun,and is in no way linked to the creator or original source material. I hope that you all enjoy it.

Juniper was a curious soul, a trait that she should have been used to ignoring, but everything unexplored always left a painful needle in her heart. Max had warned her not to wander too far from the rest of the flock, but she just had to know why that beautiful bird was whistling such a terrified tune. Was it hurt? Trapped? Fallen from its nest?

Her curious eyes peaked over a nearby hedge to see the poor thing, a mother in her nest fretful over her missing child. Said child was lying asleep at the base of the tree, not knowing how frightened it's mother was. Juniper's heart went out to the mother, and she crept very quietly, very slowly, over to the baby. It didn't look hurt, but she could always be mistaken. It wouldn't do her any good to mess with the baby anyways.

She whistled, a small chirping whistle that caught the mother bird's attention and called her down to her child. Juniper stayed still as the bird looked at her as if it thought she were a dangerous thing that would hurt her baby. After a moment though, she smiled, motioning deftly to the smaller bird and turning to leave.

Dark hazel eyes with golden flecks closed as a small breeze blew through the clearing. Max had chosen a great place for them to settle, nice and warm with a small draft that would help them fly it they needed to. It tugged at her dark brown curls, pulling her back to the small cave they were staying in. She hated it there.

For everything the outside of the cave had, she hated being coped up in the small cave, unable to stretch her wings for too long, and not feeling exactly how perfect the area was. Juniper spread her arms out to embrace the wind, the soft caress of it, as if it knew how she felt and wanted only to reassure her.

Maybe the wind felt the same? Maybe it missed them all out there, riding the breeze and enjoying their freedom. The wind was a friend that she dared not forget. It spoke to her in hushed whispers, called her to take her place in the sky. Oh how she wished she could join it. To fly away and be free once more, the thought of it was so enticing. She was so curious, what would the wind think if it knew how much she wanted nothing else than to spread her wings and fly with it.

Would she be missed? Among these people she never really knew? The ones that hold her back from the sky and take away the wonderful gift of the wind blowing through her feathers? No, she had a feeling that those people wouldn't miss her very much. Max and the flock would be fine without her, so would Max's other family. Had the scientists given up on them already?

The idea of it was almost as wonderful as the pull the breeze had given her, tough it had stopped at this point. It did wonders to relieve her of stress. A soft sigh passed her lips as her eyes opened again, watery and stinging with un-shed tears. She missed the sky. Even the school had let them fly around for a bit each day. Here though, it was a toss of the dice if she'd have the chance.

Maybe she could leave? Just spread her wings and let the calm breeze carry her wherever it thought she should be. It would be that easy to leave everything behind, that easy. Another breeze blew through the clearing, and Juniper let her wings unfold from her back this time. Fourteen and a half feet across, dark rosewood in color, her primary feathers switching between that and a deep mahogany. It was the one thing about herself that she loved completely. Her wings were magnificent, majestic, and she knew it.