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✩Author's pov✩

"My talons are upon you! Your days of terrorizing the owl kingdoms are over!" a young male owlet chuckled as he and his sister played. " Not so fast! You're no match for my army of Evil Ones. Ha, ha!" the little one answers, laughing as her brother raised, spreading his wings out, looking marvelous. " Well, perhaps. But I am Lyze of Kiel," he says, and the little owlet's smile falls as she starts to protest. "Soren, but..." Eglantine tries, but her brother doesn't hear her. "And I have assembled my army, the Guardians of Ga'Hoole!" the little gray tried again, only to be ignored by her bigger brother. Their parents and second brother watched. "We've sworn an oath to make strong the weak, mend the broken, and vanquish evil!--" the male barn owl stops as he hears his little sister finally. "Eglantine, what is it?" he says, folding his wings and gaining down at the little owlet. " Soren, this time you said I would be Lyze of Kiel." his sister answers, big eyes showing disapotoment. Soren sighs and offers her that she can go next time. "Well, I hope you're not lying... ...to Metal Beak! Got you!" she exclaims but stops as Soren acutely cuts her leaf beak. teh little owl turns to her father, complaining. "My beak. Da." her father, Noctus, chuckled and used his paw to take off the leaf beak of his daughter's beak.

"Okay. Enough, young owlets. Time for bed." he smiles then the second brother, Kludd, speaks up, annoyed that his two younger siblings believe in "fairytales." "Yes, please. Enough stories about the Guardians." he sneers, rolling his eyes. " Now, Kludd, stories are part of our culture and history. We learn from them." his father starts, and his son looks at him blankly. " Even after the 700th time we hear them?" he says. His father shakes his head fondly as a chuckle pursed out of his beak. "Yes, even then. Unless, son, you already know all of our histories," he says, and Soren chimes in, looking excited. "I know the Guardians win." his brother rolls his eyes and hiss softly, "Soren, it's just a story." his brother gets annoyed and snaps back, "It is not!" Kludd walks a little away from his excited brother and says in a monotone, "I mean, Da, have you ever seen a Guardian?" Soren answers that he hasn't. their father then speaks up, getting all his owlet's attention. "Kludd, just because you can't see something doesn't mean it isn't real. It's like feeling something with your gizzard. Through our gizzards... ...the voices of the ages whisper to us and tell us what's right." he says.

"Now, That's enough for one night, dear. Tomorrow's a big day. It's first branching. Now, off to bed." Noctus's mate, Marella, speaks up softly. The owlets go to bed, and teh little sister of the family speaks up to her brother. " Soren, do you think Metal Beak is real?" Soren smiled at his sister and tilted his head to his mask of wood slides off, and then he started to tell the story. " You remember, it was the. The Guardians were outnumbered. Things looked dark. But then Lyze of Kiel struck down the leader of the evil owls. The Guardians were victorious. The owl kingdoms were free once more. And then they returned home to the Great Tree of Ga'Hoole. Wow. But some say the evil king still lives and wears a metal mask to hide his missing beak." their brother cuts them off, hissing softly. "Stop! You're going to give her daymares." his little sister pouts and whines. "But this is my favorite part." Kludd sighs, not turning to face his siblings.

" I know. We've heard it a thousand times. You have a soft head, Soren. I think Da has filled it with stories and dreams." he then turns to face his little brother, staring into his eyes. "There's nothing wrong with dreams." Soren says and kludd sighs. "That's the difference between us, brother. I have mine when I'm asleep. Now would you go to sleep?" and he dozed off. Eglantine sighs and cuddles up against Soren's stomach, making him nuzzle her. " Soren... ...Da says our dreams are who we are," she mutters. Soren says nothing but goes off to sleep.

To be correct, the little family is oblivious to the two blue eyes of another owl, a white owl. Instead, she watches them with fondness in her eyes. so these little owlets will with me change the future, she thinks and smiles one last time before flying off to her hallow.

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