Jury of Owls
Xiao Niao is a 17-year-old student at the Nest of Erudite, a school that adopts young orphans and trains and conditions them for assassination, subterfuge, and intelligence reconnaissance. Drop outs are sold as part of the organization's trafficking ring, or perhaps worse, end up working at the school as Drones. In order to gain some semblance of freedom, an Owlet has to excel and prove themselves by obtaining a mentor or professor. However these mentors are not always benevolent in their teaching, and Xiao Niao is not the only one to learn such.
This is a small thing that's been working in my mind for a while. At first, I wasn't going to post it, but I decided it'd be worth giving my watchers an update to let you all know I'm alive and kicking. Progress on my projects has been slow for various reasons, but I'll be posting a journal in the coming days to address the current state of things and to let you all know what's what. As always, I appreciate favorites, questions, comments, and feedback!
After nearly three hours, Xiao Niao still stands before the Jury of Owls in the same state of near-undress as he had been when they found him with the professor's body. For the first hour, he is interrogated nonstop. To his distinct surprise, the jury's tactics of questioning are explicitly verbal, with him standing before a podium in one of the Nest's amphitheater-style classrooms while they stared down at him. During the second hour, he is allowed to tell his own version of the events and what led to them. The Jury spends the last hour discussing what should be done with him. Professors come and go, assumedly to interrogate other students; those that stay speak in whispers as quiet as an owl's take-off.
The red panda is prepared to accept whatever punishment the Jury finds suitable for him. Despite the grueling struggles that comprise everyday life at the Nest of Erudite, for a student to kill someone without direct order is one of the highest taboos; for a student to kill a professor was unheard of. It had been self-defense, though, as Xiao Niao had explained at his first opportunity. It had even been a quick death, ironically delivered by one of the moves the tiger had taught Xiao Niao himself. When asked, however, the red panda insisted that it had not been an accident, and that he had no regrets.
Even now, standing on aching paws while watching a snowy owl perhaps a year or two older than himself enter the classroom, Xiao Niao couldn't restrain his smile at the satisfying crunch he replayed for the hundredth time as his palm shattered his professor's nasal bones and sent slivers into the tiger's brain and the strangled shout that had alerted others to the incident. The blood that spurted from the man's nostrils was still crusted against Xiao Niao's wrist and forearm.
Fifteen more minutes pass before the Jury of Owls reach their decision on whether Xiao Niao should be executed or made to serve the Nest of Erudite as a conditioned worker. It would be ironic if he were sold off to be some pervert's toy, and the red panda trembles as the tall eagle owl serving as headmaster slunk down the aisles of the seats to tower over him.
"The Jury of Owls acknowledges your former professor's lack of tact in pursuing you, Owlet." Headmaster Babo begins, turning his head to the usual forty-five-degree angle as he inspected Xiao Niao with golden, petrifying eyes. "We also acknowledge that your... reluctance to accept the late Professor Matrey's advances does account for the abrupt drop in your marks and performance."
The tall owl speaks in a rasping drawl, taking his time, and by the time the statement is complete, Xiao Niao's neck has begun to ache from craning it so as to hold the headmaster's gaze. At the same time, he grits his teeth, realizing that there were no apologies even though the owl had all but admitted to the Jury's, and perhaps the entire staff-body's knowledge of the situation he had subjected to over the last months.
"This is a school for assassins, Owlet, and you have proven that despite your marks, you are more than capable. You were underestimated and managed to kill at least a tiger a foot and a half taller than you, and weighing two hundred pounds more. You will be watched closely from here on, am I understood?"
"You are, Headmaster!" Xiao Niao shakes his head vigorously, hope flaring in his chest. To the headmaster's left, the young snowy owl has moved to stand alongside an older, nervous-looking hare that Xiao assumes to be his mentor. The young owl's stare is unnerving, but before he can formulate any questions, his attention is snatched back to the owl standing mere feet away from him.
"You owe your life to Professor Orik and his apprentice here, Owlet. They have taken interest in you. If you falter, Xiao Niao, we will know. Your new guardians take pride in the ever new and stronger poisons and toxins they create. Before I relinquish you to their custody, I warn you not to become their test subject."