I have questions...!

“Yay! Hehe, let’s go this way! Keep up with me ok!”

Hatty took the wing again before heading down another hallway. She led the crow downwards into the bowels of the ship. Once the door opened they could now see the Engine Room! This was the heart of the ship keeping it alive!

It was strange to see, both cold and hot at the same time. Hatty knew how it worked, but putting into words would be rather hard if she was asked about it.

“This is the Engine Room! The Time Energy comes through here, and it makes the ship move. Time Pieces power the ship all the way through space.”

    STRANGE INDEED... ONE could almost see the gears turning in the little crow’s head, trying hard to make sense of both the conflicting temperatures and the giant, unfamiliar machine. Time energy, Time Pieces... As was clearly stated, this was an engine of some sort, but...

    Well, he’s not actually sure how a normal engine works, much less a time engine. It’s as fascinating as it is confusing. Still tracing his eyes over the various pipes along the room, Parker speaks up quietly.

A few moments later, just a block down, a pair of large men share highly intelligent tales of their past triumphs.

“And that’s when Mafia tell him, ‘but actually, Mafia DO punch!’ And so Mafia did!”

CLONK!

“Whuh…?”

Hissss…SSSS….ssss…SSSS….! 

“GAH! TNT!? RUUUUUN!”

Like clockwork, Parker’s plan worked: With how much explosives their little syndicate loved to use, it is comical just how unsurprising it would be for a stray barrel to come rolling down an incline.

“KAHAHA!! NICE one Parky-Park!!”

With a hearty pat-on-the-back, Mu took him by the hand with her wing. Quick and adaptable! They knew they could rely on each other even during wild changes!

“C’mon, you ready!? Let’s go! You’re gonna have t’lift up the cover. Fair warning? Those are SUPER heavy, even for us.”

    HONESTLY, YOU’D THINK they would at least notice the lack of giant red letters that would typically be on one... Parker would laugh about it if the plan wasn’t time-sensitive. So then... manhole! Normally, he wouldn’t have any hope of being able to budge one of the covers, but this time around, he’s actually got some mass. And, while he still has no hope of lifting it empty-handed, he knew more than most how to make a tool out of anything. Tipping his hat to Mu, he moves to pick up a broken piece of pipe and a sizable enough rock.

❝Never been a quitter before! Why start?❞

    He doesn’t waste any time ( mostly because they had none to spare ), and sets up a makeshift lever to pry the cover off... It takes just about all his weight to manage it, and the pipe ends up bending some, but it does eventually lift...

Though Parker may have been worried, Mu found herself staring at her own feet for a good while, then raising her leg, then back down. Tip, tap, tap. It’s so light!?

“…Y’know? I kind of DON’T hate this?? I dunno about flying, but ah… I think this is great! And you ended up pretty cute, y’know? That could be a powerful weapon.”

Mu grins, somehow unaware of the implications of the last thing she said. With newfound gusto, the girl-turned-masked shrike got to thinking again… Her eyes fell on barrels against the end of the alleyway, and then to the inclining pathway. A couple of Mafia patrolled closeby, yet seemed blissfully unaware of Mu and Parker.

“…There. You see that manhole there? If we can get those two blokes out of there, we can make a break for it. If things go south, I’ll hit ‘em with a talonscratch. Meanwhile, since you’ve got the muscle now, you can, say, help an unfortunate accident happen!”

    PARKER’S NOT REALLY sure how to take the ‘cute’ comment, so he doesn’t think about it too hard ( though he can’t help his cheeks flushing a bit at it ). Instead, his gaze follows Mu’s hand out to the street. Empty barrels, an incline... The basic pieces are all together, but what sort of tactician was he if he can’t refine the idea some more?

    New body or not, Parker’s mind is as sharp as ever, and he carefully slides off the crates, taking a moment to balance himself before making his way to the barrels in question. A quick lift of the lids confirm them to be empty, and for the first time since this change, Parker sports a little smile.

❝... If we really want them to clear out, we’re going to have to scare them good. I have an idea!❞

    Parker moves to cup his hands and scoop a few handfuls of sand into each ( Luckily, there’s enough lying along the walls of the alley. Ah, the perks of living in a seaside town ) before patting the lids down securely and testing one by slowly rolling it without letting go. And sure enough...

✑  @xpotionxmasterx​ & @metroseamstress​ stand at:

4′6′’ and 4′2′’

✑ @fatalfemmefeline​ stands at:

6′11′

✑ @themustachemenace​ stands at:

4′5′’

✑ Anon explained:

oh it's because mammal red blood cells have no nucleus for reasons relating to the inefficient mammalian respiratory system and ancient mammals going through an "everyone burrows" phase so blood has to be made in the bones because it can't make more blood

“Maybe because humans and most other critters don’t fly, so they could use the extra weight - On top of that, bones with marrow and stuff and thicker walls are harder to break, and I heard bird bones break real easy sometimes. Maybe it’s because of their grounded lifestyle with a lot of strain on weight-bearing bones… I mean, like, if you hit a bird and a human with the same force, the bird’s bones are more likely to break than the human’s. But if thrown from a height, birds are more likely to survive the fall than a human because they weigh a lot less and thus don’t gain falling speed as quickly. Plus, they have feathers and -”

@curious-corvidae: Sometimes a squad can be two dead kids, two babies, and the final boss…

My brain: Parker is final boss????

EXPECTATION:

REALITY: