Winslow, Diver RP - Hamha Rescue - Eyes on the Sky

The sun was glaringly hot today, even as it filtered through the pink cherry blossoms of the treehouse. Diver herself lay sprawled across one of the thicker upper branches with her trusty scarf/parachute laid out beneath her like a blanket.

She wrinkled her nose at the humid air in distaste and rolled onto her back to air out her tangled belly-fuzz.
"Why... is it so... ho-" Diver's complaint was cut off when a great shadow flashed overhead, blocking out the sun for an instant. An instant later came the cry of.. a falcon

"Oh crumbs!" She squeaked, rolling swiftly back to her feet to watch what the bird of prey would do. Had it seen them? The pet-Hams here would be worse than useless if the beast decided to carry them off.

"Oh..."Diver began as she noticed the falcon swivel in the air and angle its wings to dive. Down below, in the shade of the tree, a grey-white Ham-ham was scavenging for Jewelweed. "...CRUMBS!"

Diver scrambled down the trunk at a break-neck pace, leaving her chute behind.

"Hey, you! Look out! *o*" She cried.

"Hng!" Winslow grunted as he pulled on the jewelweed. Winslow has had only one thing on his mind since he found the nurse's office, and that's how dirty it was when he found it. Nurse Ivy however kicked him out before he got a chance to finish cleaning the sad excuse for a sanitary environment. It was like an itch he couldn't scratch, so Winslow got some advice from a local field mouse to give the nurse some flowers to sweet talk her into letting him stay in there long enough to clean. The jewel weed seemed to be the most interesting flower he could find, but it's roots were deeply buried in the ground.

Winslow had set his folded umbrella down within reach and started to tug on the weed with both paws. It was working! He gritted his teeth as the weed was slowly giving up and--

"CAWW!!!"

Winslow's sensitive fur stood on end. He never heard a sound quite like it before. Still holding onto the weed Winslow looked around the field for the source of the sound.

"Hey, you! Look out!" Someone shouted.

Winslow quickly looked behind him to find a fuzzy hamster dashing down the club house tree. It was only for a second they made eye contact before Winslow heard the sound again "CAAAWW!" This time the sound was a loud shriek that nearly made his heart stop, but it was too late to turn and see the source of the noise. In that instant, giant claws quickly wrapped around his little body and pulled him into the air, but Winslow's grip was still held tight to the jewelweed, and for a short moment the thing trying to carry him away was jolted to a stop. The beast gurgled as it flapped harder, trying to gain lift again. Winslow's face was a toss up between shock and confusion as the weed's deeply embedded roots were surprisingly holding. The moment passed however and the roots burst from the ground. With an unexpected jolt forward the bird's claws loosened, letting Winslow fall back down to the ground with a smack.

The creature cawed in disgust and flew into the air again, not showing any sign of giving up. Meanwhile Winslow lay face planted in the ground, still griping the weed in one paw.

"Woah! You alright?" Diver asked as she skidded to a stop beside the pale Ham's prone form. She shook him gently while her eyes scanned the sky. The glaring sun hurt her eyes so she couldn't see properly.

"Screee!!" Came the falcon's cry again. It had been hiding in front of the sun and Diver felt more than saw it's broad wings as it closed the distance between them.

"Get up!" Diver commanded the white Ham, dragging him back to his feet and grabbing his umbrella.

Wth a snap she opened the umbrella in tr falcon's face, startling it at the last second and forcing it to turn its dive away. Now it was REALLY mad.

"Woah! You alright?" Said the hamster from before. Winslow, with his face still in the shady dirt responded, but not even he could understand his own muffling from the ground. He relaxed a bit and lifted himself slightly, just enough to shake his head and get his thoughts back together. He would have to clean the dirt off of himself later, but as the sound of the falcon screeching returned Winslow gave the sky his full attention as he stared at the shadow that was getting closer. "Get up!" Said the fuzzier hamster. Winslow found himself being dragged to his feet, but he was too confused to do anything about it.

"I don't understand!" He shouted in confusion, his expression never changing from before. Turns out you don't get moments like this living in a cage. The fuzzy hamster grabbed Winslow's umbrella and used it to scare off the falcon last second. Winslow himself was not one to talk much, so in an attempt to say something that resembled a thanks he mumbled, "Your...Uh......Something? I guess?" '........I don't think that's right....'

Diver muttered a quick 'thank you' as she pushed the umbrella back into the apparently-dazed Ham's paw.

"Quickly, let's get to the tree!" She insisted as the angry falcon screeched again and tilted back for another pass at them.

"Uh, oh okay.." Said Winslow as he took the umbrella back. It was at this point he looked around him and realized he was in the direct rays of the sun, panicking he flipped his umbrella open and dashed along with the other hamster. The wind brushing by his whiskers as he did good to keep up.

The falcon at this point was eyeing them closely, seeing their attempt of escape it gave a hard flap of it's wings and dived for the hams, gaining on them much faster than before.

The two had just about made it to the base of the tree again when the sound of flapping started to sound right at their backs. "Uh-U-- DROP!!" Shouted Winslow as he tossed his umbrella aside and dived for the ground. Not his best plan ever since the sun had moved just enough to cover the base of the tree. Worst of all was the feeling of a sunburn already starting.

After a gust of wind and a few flaps passed over Winslow's head he took a chance and peeked to see how the other hamham had fared.

Diver had been running towards the tree, checking back frantically every few seconds to make sure the grey-white Ham was keeping up with her. The surly-looking Ham was running as fast as he could with his umbrella open. She thought that was a tad strange but she did t have time to think on that.

When the pale Ham shouted for them to drop she did so unquestioningly, hitting the grass with an 'Up-pah!'

For a short moment she squirmed around to see the pale ham sprawled beside her, rolled away as if to protect himself from the sun. She had been about to ask if he was alright when she felt the talons close around her.

'Eep!' Was all she could manage as she was lifted up into the sky. This was it. She was done. She couldn't even manage to cry.

There was a squeak, a screech, and a gust of wind. In the smallest amount of time Winslow witnessed the fuzzy hamham being wrapped in claws and taken away. He reached out as if it would do something to help, but is was too late. Winslow knew that he was the original target for the falcon and it felt terrible knowing someone else would die in his place.

Winslow's gaze reconnected with the bird as it flew. He watched it take his rescuer through the open field, and... Wait it's landing? In a nearby tree? Winslow's expression flashed determination as he stood up, wincing a bit because of the sunburn.

As he started in the direction of his umbrella he noticed something twisting and turning in the air. "Huh?" Winslow stared at the object that was falling to the ground. 'A cloth?' he thought to himself as he picked it up. Looking back at his umbrella he pictured using this item to shield himself from the sun, which was enough to get him to wrap it around his burning ears.

With the sun no longer being a problem he dashed in the direction of his destination. Getting a closer look at what seemed to be a nest at the top of the tree. '...I hope i'm not too late...'

Diver tried squirming free but the hard, black talons proved immovable. Besides, she'd forgotten her chute back in the tree. Stupid! She cried internally, berating herself. Since when had she allowed herself to leave her guard down so entirely? These soft pet Hams were getting to her, she decided. If she ever got out of this there would be no more lazy days for her.

Down below the pale Ham seemed to be running after her. Lot of good it would do him, she thought.

However, Diver was knocked from that train of thought as the blasted bird changed direction abruptly and quick as thought, they were plummeting through the air. Diver yelped and tried desperately to break free so she was completely surprised when the falcon let go of her of his own accord. A few heart-stopping moments of Panic-Q terror followed as she fell through the open air, her paws grasping at nothing before she hit something, bounced once and rolled to a stop. It was all she could do to lay there shivering, hoping against hope that she'd be forgotten somehow.

Winslow dashed at beak-neck speed across the field. As he was reaching the tree with the nest a loud "CAWWW!!" was heard from overhead. Winslow gasped and hit the ground again while hiding under the umbrella, (not really thinking about how hidden he was in that open space.)  Peeking around the umbrella he saw the falcon flying in the opposite direction this time. "False alarm..." He sighed and continued to the base of the tree. He was lucky to find the shady spot of the tree so quickly.

Realizing he needed both paws to climb Winslow shifted the cloth till it was under one arm and over the other, then slipped the folded umbrella onto his back. Meanwhile in the distance a a faint cawing can be heard.

Winslow had to be fast. For what it was worth, Winslow was a great climber, and practically shot up the length of the tree. Still it took him much longer than he hoped to reach the branch with the nest on it. He scouted for the bird one last time, and to his disappointment it was already on it's way back. 'no way!' Winslow scurried to the nest and climbed the wall of it, there was not much time to escape.

To his surprise, the fuzzy hamster was still there! Only it wasn't moving. Winslow quickly tumbled into the nest and scuffled over to the non-moving figure.

"... Uhh, hey..... Are you......" Winslow touched the soft fur of the other hamster's arm. She was shaking.

Diver felt something nudge her and for a moment her brain froze. Was the falcon back? She hadn't heard it land... Then she heard as distant 'Caaaw!' And knew that this must be something else.

Summoning all her bravery she cracked open one eye slightly, still feigning immobility like her instincts told her to and saw...

The grey-white Ham! She gulped once to swallow a shout of joy and then rolled over to show him she wasn't hurt. In that one moment she found that they were up in a tree, in a nest. Still bleak circumstances, but not eaten, at least.

"Yeah... I'm alright. You followed me up here?" Diver asked the obvious, then realized it and added. "I'm Diver, by the way," and stuck out her paw to shake.

Winslow was awkward when it came to casual conversation. He hesitated when Diver reached out her hand. ".....Winslow...." He said as he said as he reached out for her paw. Without taking it he shook his head, 'Not enough time!' Instead of shaking her hand he grabbed it and scampered to the edge of the nest that overlooked the whole field. From here Winslow saw a strait shot for the club house.

Regrettably he was standing in the sun again. Letting go of Diver's hand he fumbled around with the cloth on his shoulder and let it drop to the ground, freeing his umbrella.

Turning to Diver with a dead serious look he said calmly, "....We need to jump...."

Quickly gathered up the dark spiral-patterned cloth (her chute!) as Winslow adjusted his umbrella hastily. She decided his paleness must somehow make him sensitive to sunlight and maybe that helped explain his strange social skills as well.

"I'm not so sure." Said Diver, in response to Winslow's suggestion that they jump. "I mean, we could try to glide tandem but... we might just end up in a worse spot." Diver thought back to when she'd tried gliding with Moe, the dwarf-Ham and even then the extra weight had thrown them of course and they'd almost gotten squashed by a car! Besides, that had been a windy day and today's thin, hot air would have made it difficult for her to get any lift even flying alone.

The pale Ham did have the right of it when he said they were running out of time, though. Diver quickly ran through a few plans of how they could make it back to the safety of the tree-house, all the while the falcon was getting closer and closer.

Crack came the noise that brought Diver's attention to her immediate surroundings with a snap. Around the nest lay three large, brown-speckled eggs. The closest one had begun to wobble vigourously. crick-crack! Lines had begun to form all across the egg and with one final push, a tiny beak burst through a weakened area and began squawking angrily. Above them, the circling falcon answered with a screech.

Winslow tried to warn her of the falcon that would be back at any moment, "Listen uhh... Diver, I don't see a way out of here fast enough where--" He stopped at the sound of wing flaps..... And something else...

*Crack, split* "CAAAAWWW!!" The mother bird had us in her sights as she hovered above their heads, and gurgled an intimidating sound. *crack crunch* Winslow shot a glance at the eggs surrounding the nest, they were moving. Hatching! One of them was far enough along where the head was starting to peek out.

Winslow glared back at the mother falcon, "Okay Diver! You choice, jump or fight?!" Winslow said in a slightly panicked tone, but he kept his serious composure. One thing was for sure, Diver went through the trouble saving him earlier, so he wasn't leaving without her now.

"Okay! Hold onto me and JUMP!" Diver shouted as she grabbed Winslow and angled him so he could get an easy grip on the tangled fur on her shoulders. The falcon reared up, its dark beak glinting in the sunlight as it prepared to strike.

"Now!" She cried and leaped off the edge of the nest. Diver hadn't had time to properly tie her chute around her paws so she was stuck carrying the full weight of the both of them. "AAAgh!" She cried against the strain.

The world seemed to tumble around them as the wind failed and they began to fall!

Diver dragged Winslow onto her back and took a leap of faith. Winslow clung to her with his umbrella between his teeth. The falcon charged, using it's wings to make it faster, which in turn made the two gain lift. The mother bird snarled as it shot at up with it's mouth wide open, ready to eat them right in the air.

The wind made it harder and harder to hold onto Winslow's umbrella until eventually the umbrella opened and shot right out from between his teeth. The umbrella itself flew right at the falcon, just barely missing as she dived downward to avoid the surprise attack.

Right as he lost his umbrella (which is completely expendable due to his owners having a jar full of ones exactly like it,) Winslow looked behind to see what happened. Big mistake. Not having the right grip, Winslow slipped from Diver's back. "WAA!"

All in a split moment of shock, Winslow screamed in his head 'STUPID, STUPID, STUPID, STUPID, STU--' "OOF!"

Winslow was squinting his eyes shut, but he felt himself gripping onto something with tremendous force. "HUH!?" Opening his eyes to see himself clutching two handfuls of brown feathers and his feet dangling in front of a big black eye. "UHH, UHH, UHH!!" Panicked Winslow as the bird stopped and threw it's head around midair. Winslow's grip was not going to let up so easily though. Winslow looked back up and sure enough there was Diver, still floating right above his head. "Diver!! This is a really bad idea but-- Trust me, this time, your really going to need to jump!!" Slight excitement in his voice.

Diver yelped as she felt Winslow's grip loosening but she couldn't let go of her chute or they'd both be lost.

The falcon screeched again and dove at them when Winslow's umbrella shot past it, just as the pale Ham's grip failed. Diver watched in amazement as he toppled end-over-end and managed to land miraculously on the falcon's head!

Of course, this only served to enrage the bird further.

'Screeee' it cried in fury and started pumping its wings harder to catch up with her as she fluttered on the windless air.

"Trust me! This time you're really gonna need to jump!" Winslow shouted, just as Diver narrowly avoided a nip at her heels. She'd asked him to trust her and jump earlier and she really didn't have time to think this through as the falcon prepared for another pass so...

"Up-Pah!" She cried and let go with one paw, sending her into and immediate plummet. Eeeeeeyaaah! She screamed, limbs flailing by instinct.

Winslow planted his feet on either side of the hawks eye, held tightly with one hand reached out with the other. SNATCH, Winslow had grabbed Driver's chute just in the nick of time, letting out a huge sigh of relief. Winslow's grip was still holding well to the birds scalp, but she at this point was just trying to steady herself with the extra weight on one side.

Diver was Jolted to a sudden stop after only a moment of falling and she knew her poor digits would be aching abominably the next day. However, for the time being she had bigger problems to attend to.

"Hold on tight! I'm coming up!" She called up to Winslow and with a grimace she pulled herself up the cloth inch by inch until she crested the falcon's shoulder ridge. The bird itself seemed desperately confused and was circling, as if trying to figure out where they'd gotten to. Diver suppressed a chuckle.

"Whew... thanks a bunch. Thought we were goners." Said Diver, just loudly enough so she could be heard over the whistling wind but not loud enough that the bird would hear her. It was then that she noticed the once ash-white fur on Winslow's forehead and back was now tinged a slight red, as if the skin beneath was irritated.

"Are you alright?" She asked, gesturing to his burnt skin.

"Whew... thanks a bunch. Thought we were goners." Diver commented. Winslow was opening and closing his paws since he did a lot of griping in this short amount of time and they were going stiff. He breathed in through his clinched teeth while giving them a final shake to get the blood flowing in them again.

"Uhu.... Close call...." he muttered.

"Are you alright?" She asked, gesturing to his burnt skin.

"Huh?" Winslow said looking to where she was pointing. "uh... OH!" 'Nuts, burned again...' His entire back half might as well have been glowing red at this point. "...Well I get sunburns very easily because I am albino... It's.... Nothing to worry about...." He gives her a slightly worried look "Are you hurt?"

Diver took in the information about albinos quickly and then did a quick mental check to see if she could feel pain anywhere other than her now-aching paws.

"No, I think I'm okay. Just a little jostled, I guess... Thanks again for coming after me, Winslow." She said, taking in the spectacular view. True to her name, Diver couldn't actually fly but if the wind was right she could glide for long distances. Still, she had never been quite this high up before and she was suddenly glad she wasn't scared of heights.

She took another look back at Winslow and then deftly tied her chute around and over his head and back, protecting him from the harsh sun. "There." She said, satisfied with her handiwork.

Winslow gave a calm smile at Diver after hearing she was alright. For the moment there were no worries, and an opportunity that not every hamster get's to experience. Winslow looked around at the world around them and realized just how big everything was. He never felt so small before, but it was a good feeling.

As Winslow was enjoying the view, mainly just trying to distract himself from the sunburn, he saw Diver fiddling with her piece of fabric. '...What is she doing?...' He thought to himself.

Next thing he knew she was wrapping him in it. "I-I uh... You don't... Need to-" He fussed, but she was gentle about it and it didn't irritate his burns.

"There."She said as she finished tying around him. It took Winslow a second to realize why she did it, she was helping him stay out of the sun. Once he realized he blushed slightly and snuggled in tighter into the chute.

"Thanks...... " He said nervously. After of moment of thinking he perked up again, "Diver your... A girl right? I mean... Not that I don't know that already but.... Can I ask you something?" He asked curiously. ".....What do girls like?...." Winslow felt a little bit more bold, "I mean, I heard giving flowers to girls make them happy but..... What makes you happy?"

At first Diver was a bit taken aback by Winslow's question. Her first thought was that she wasn't quite sure what a regular female hamster was supposed to like. She'd seen some dainty Hams in the treehouse with shiny baubles and sleek fur... But she knew she would just look rediculous with her nappy, tangled coat.

"Me?... I guess I like seeing new places and having adventures." She gestured to their obliging carrier-falcon with a grin.

"Ooh ooh look! There's where I live! Right between that red roof and the building with the tubes on top!" She announced, making sure she wasn't loud enough to alert the bird. Sure enough, barely visible between the two buildings was a narrow alleyway piled tight with the rusty remains of an old play-structure. It had taken Diver a long time to find it after leaving home but she'd never found any place safer. Unless you counted chasing away the occasional rat, she supposed.

Winslow saw the home Diver pointed out, the rusted playground. He gave a cool glace to Diver, "You... Your wild..." He smiled, "It's rather ironic though, a hamster free from a cage, still chooses to live surrounded by metal bars........And your alone?" Winslow gave a look of intrigue as the wind brushed at his whiskers.

Diver contemplated what Winslow said for a moment. Maybe she HAD picked out her playground because it reminded her of home.

"Well, metal bars are proven safe, I guess. And yeah, I'm wild... That's not... A problem, is it?" Diver asked, looking at the broad horizon uncertainly.

Winslow shook his head, smiling softly "Not at all, I admire your lifestyle. Being completely independent is a strong and honorable trait to have."

Winslow tugged on one side chute to keep himself out of the sun as they turned. "You should be proud of your freedom. The human in my life is less than desirable, and far to young to understand how to properly care for a pet. Still, I think of how heart broken he would be if I left.... I guess... that's the main thing that keeps me living there..... The boy has grown on me......"

Winslow gasped when the Falcon let out a loud "CAWWWW". However it seems that the still searching for them, they were safe for now.

Diver smiled at his kind words and spent a mention thinking about what she wanted to say while the falcon circled back towards the treehouse. It's wing beats had taken on a defeated tone, she thought.

"I know what you mean... I imagine my owner..." Diver began, but when she felt the familiar wash of frustrated and angry emotions she associated with her old life her mouth snapped closed. It was a real testament to the trust she had in this pale Ham after knowing him for so short a time that she continued at all.

"I imagine a lot if people were hurt when I left." She didn't feel like elaborating.

Winslow go a bit worried after seeing Diver's expression 'Uhh, nuts I didn't....Make her sad... Did I?......'

Thinking he said the wrong thing to make her sad he scooted closer, barely touching her as he gave her a couple soft pats on the shoulder. "Uhh... There, there....." He said with lack of confidence that he did it right. Sitting back down and staring off into the distance, he mumbled to her, "What did the mother hamster say to her children when they wanted a bedtime story?......She said, 'I don't have a tale...'" He said in a dry tone. It was one of the main jokes a field mouse would tell him, said that jokes are the best way to make someone smile. Winslow was just not meant to tell jokes.

Diver took Winslow's slightly awkward pat in stride, knowing it was well intended. It did seem, however, that he had taken her sudden silence the wrong way so she smiled cheerfully to show that he was in now way at fault for her seriousness.

As the pale Ham delivered his joke, it took a few Blank-O moments before Diver even realized that a joke had been made. Then, when she did realize it at last, coupled with Winslow's completely deadpan expression, she couldn't help but burst out into laughter!

"Ahahaha! I get it! No tail because hamsters don't really have long tails!" She managed between giggles. Of course, she had forgotten to modulate her voice in her excitement.

"Squaaaak?" Went the bird as it turned one eye backwards towards them. Diver's laughter died immediately and a long moment of confused silence stretched.

"SCREEEEHHH!"

Winslow looked at Diver in shock. He had never gotten anyone to laugh at the jokes he told. He smiled coyly at his own achievement.

The moment was interrupted, as the let out a loud screech and wailed about. She flapped her wings in ways to try to get them off her back, meanwhile Winslow griped on tightly to the feathers again. Out of pure frustration the bird dipped it's neck and aimed downward.

Winslow at this point felt as if it were that moment before a roller coaster right before the very first free fall. "........Oh nuts......." he said as he tightened his little fists in the feathers more.

"Yeeeeeeeaaaaaagggggggghhhhhh!" Screamed Diver as the falcon rolled into a sheer drop. Her already aching paws gripped for all they were worth in the soft down of the creature's neck.

Together she and Winslow were flung sideways, slantways and squareways as the mangy beast screeched and somersaulted in the air. Down below, the pink cherry-blossom tree was rapidly growing larger as they plunged from the heights!

As the two were being tossed and turned Winslow saw the clubhouse getting closer and closer within jumping range. With so little options left at this point, Winslow with his paws starting to cramp shouted to Diver, "Hey!....... You thinking what I am thinking!?" meanwhile the chute was threatening to make him go flying at any second.

Diver grinned devilishly at Winslow. She had indeed had the same idea. The whipping wind was pushing her tangled fur flat and making her crooked whiskers flail behind her, but with the skill of long practice in the air she quickly positioned herself on Winslow's back, her legs wrapped around his hips.

"Ready when you are!" She shouted over the whistling wind.

Little time left to think, with Diver holding on tight (Winslow trying to ignore the sunburn) and the eagle not letting up, Winslow squinted his eyes and joked, "Yup, no pressure!" and let go.

In the moment of letting go it was like being pulled back by a bungee cord. Winslow was trying for options and tugged at the chute to have that help them with the fall, but it was no use with it being pinched between him and Diver. He forced his eyes open and "WHOA!!" Winslow twisted in the air so he was facing down just in time for WHAM! Smacking a couple leaves right before the first branch at the top of the tree. Then the next one down. And the next one. Till finally Winslow was able to wrap his arms around something to finally stop his fall.

Gasping and full of bumps and bruises he couldn't really feel if Diver was still on him or not. "Di--Diver!" He called out.

When Winslow let go of the falcon, there was a short moment of weightlessness wherein Diver realized that in her current position, the chute wouldn't be able to open all the way. As it was, when it did snap open it was at a crazy angle that stopped their free-fall but dragged them off-course into the thick branches of the cherry tree.

"Yeeaagh!" Diver cried as she was torn off Winslow's back and buffeted by a series of branches and flowers before finally slamming a thicker branch, bouncing and falling straight into one of the many tunnels riddling the tree.

What followed was more-or-less Ham-Ham pinball as she crashed and clattered through several rooms, into several Ham-hams and then out another hollow knot in the tree where she finally came to rest on the soft grass, feeling definitely nauseous.

"Think I'm gonna Chuk-chuk...." She moaned queasily.

Winslow Miraculously pulled himself up onto the smallish branch and laid belly down for a bit to catch his breath. While looking down he kept an eye out for Diver. At first he only located the chute that landed just a couple branches down, but suddenly a little brown ball just tumbled out of one of the tunnels. Winslow was willing to bet it was Diver and gave a sigh of relief.

It took lot of energy to hop down from one branch to the next, but with grabbing the chute along the way he finally made it to a close branch just above hers. He grinned at her and threw the swirly cloth over the tiny gap between them and had it land on her head. "Not the most graceful of landings......." He joked, sitting down with his feet dangling.

Diver grinned and coughed as she sat up. Her rib cage felt creaky as she took a deep breath.

She twisted her chute back into scarf-shape and tied it up again around her neck.

"That was a close one." Diver grumbled, accepting Winslow's help to her feet. She cast a glance skyward but neither sight nor sound of the bird could be found and she allowed some if the tension in her body to relax.

The sun was lower in the sky now and the cherry tree was casting its hazy shadow on them, making the air cool although there still wasn't any breeze.

Winslow swung his feet a bit, happy that he can enjoy the last bit of sun for the day from the coziness of the shade. He soon felt the sting of his sunburn though and was reminded of the beating he took today. Looking to Diver, he showed slight concern, "...Will you be okay?......" He asked, jumping down to her branch. After all it was Diver that saved Winslow in the beginning. They might have just met but Winslow felt a little protective in a way.

"Yeah, I've taken worse. Said Diver as she got to her feet and twisted around to loosen the crick out of her spine.

She took one last look up at the sky to make sure they were really safe. The sun was on it's was down and already the sounds of evening had begun: Cicadas and traffic.

"Looks like it's about time for me to head home." She continued, giving Winslow a broad smile. "Call me if you ever need help again, alright? :3 "

Winslow grinned, "...Don't be so sure that I will end up in trouble again... But thanks...." Leaving Diver with a slight limp in his walk.

Winslow scurried across the fields and sidewalks until he found his way home, it was just barely nighttime when Winslow found his way through the whole in the window that led to his cage. For once he was happy to see that no one cleaned it today, meaning that no one noticed he was gone.

Settling into his bed of wood shavings, a bounding little blonde boy came walking in with his game boy and plopped down on his bed, shoes and all. Looking up from his game he smiled at Winslow, "Hi Winslow! You won't believe all things I did today!"

Winslow smiled to himself. 'Trust me Damian, it's a lot more believable than what I did today...'