February 19th, 1891 — Bartonburg

When the cage in which she was confined had been ejected from the suitcase and dashed upon the stone cobbles, the small door had sprung it's latch and she was free! Her first thought was to return home.  To fly back to her mother and fathers home in the sure childish knowledge that her parents would make this right! Whatever this was. 

However getting home was a rather different matter and the business of flying was much more difficult than birds made it look! It felt like the effort of the wings and extent of the expected movement were not in line and that if she thought to move a little to the left she ended up very far removed from her course indeed.  Her legs provided quiet useless for walking and she was left to fight with her limited powers of flight to try and get home. 

What she had not accounted for was the interest of the cats of Hogsmeade! The low flying bird had not taken long to bring out every hungry alley cat and opportunistic lap cat in a square mile radius. Who leapt lazily in persuit of her, pawing and scratching the air as she managed to stay just out of reach through luck and not skill. 

Without assistance there was a very real chance that Honoria Rookwood was going to get eaten!

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Citrine was walking through Bartonburg when she saw a rather peculiar sight. Snidgets were rather an endangered species and they were not a sight one saw in the wild most days. Certainly not in the middle of Bartonburg. Noticing the hungry cats, Citrine surged forward to shoo them away. Last thing an endangered species needed was one of their number eaten!

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A person! Honoria could feel the human part of her brain attempt to cry, she didn't think Snidgets could and when she opened her mouth to sob a tremulous warbling squeak came out. As the cats dispersed before the red haired lady Honoria 'flew' to her shoulder - and by that she meant she crashed straight into the side of the woman's face and tangled in her hair the long beak and short useless legs grasping and clicking open and closed for purchase on the woman's shoulder accompanied by more frantic chirping

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Citrine was satisfied when the cats dispersed. She was thanked by the small snidget crashing into the side of her face. It seemed to get tangled in her hair enough that strands were being pulled out from her tied back bun. Not that she really cared about that, of course. "You poor thing. Where did you come from?" Snidgets being in the wilds were almost unheard of these days so it was either a pet or had escaped a menagerie. She helped the bird get situated on her shoulder as she wondered where she should take it.

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Human Honoria was fully wailing in childish misery, and the snidget version of her was making a squealing cry on her shoulder. She understood what the other was asking but had no idea how to express that she needed to be taken the ministry. The best she could do was tug on a strand of hair within distance of her beaks grasp, the way a child would pull on a parents hem or hand.

Her golden feathers sunk into the curve of her neck in an obvious display of pathetic desperation. She was relying on the rarity of her form or her obviously unknown animal like behaviour to alert the stranger that something was 'up' with the small golden bird

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"Well, first things first - let's get you something to eat," Citrine decided, taking the wrapped up bread roll she had been saving for a snack out of her pocket. She broke off a bit and fed the snidget some of it. Snidgets were rare, an endangered species, and Citrine figured they must be a protected species. So Ministry seemed to be her best bet. "Eat up and then we'll get you to the Ministry. They'll know what is to be done with you there," she said as she stroked the little bird gently.

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Honoria chirped in delight at the offer of the food, aside from it being human food, and she hadn't had that since she was taken - with the old man insisting on giving her bird seed, it was the exact sort of comforting action that a child, in desperate need to believe that someone was looking after her at last needed to begin to feel secure again. 

Honoria nestled against the woman's hand, trying, as best she could express her delight and gratitude.  Hopefully now she would get help and see her Mama and Papa again.

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Wrap?