Get them out of the way

I haven't fully decided yet who my favorite character is in Arrin's story. There are two potential candidates.
One of those characters is hard for me to portray (at least so far) since he can't actually speak during most of the story. That's why I haven't yet figured out how much I like him. I have a lot of things to fix on the next draft. One of them is bringing out this character, who can't speak aloud.

The other character I like is Huyana. She's one of the magical races that live around the world. She's one of the wind people, who have wings. She has the wings of a white-tailed kite. She can hover easily, and has orange eyes like a kite. I just drew a picture of her, so I'll put that up soon.
When I started, I didn't know Huyana would be so nice. She just wants to help. Her teacher said she should go, thinking it would be good experience. And by helping Arrin and her friends, Huyana is also protecting her home. But really, she's happy to help.
But I keep having to get rid of Huyana throughout the course of the book. I didn't realize it until I got to the end, and saw she wouldn't fit in one stage of the finale. So I had to send her off.
That means that I'll have to cook up an awesome entrance for her during the "final battle."

I have an excuse to put up a bunch more back-logged zoo photos: birds, in honor of the bird girl!

Amazon parrots


Hyacinth macaw




Magellenic penguin (if you zoom in, you can see the bristles on the inside of their mouth. They point down toward the throat to help them swallow wriggling fish.)


Magellenic penguin with the grayish coloring they have when they're less than a year old (when they get a year old, they molt out their kid feathers and grow in their adult tuxedos)


East African crowned crane




Hamerkop


Pink-backed pelican. What luxurious hair.




Brown pelican


Coscoroba swan - the smallest species of swan.






Bald eagle


Eurasian eagle owl. She's holding half a rat for lunch.


Blue-bellied roller. Usually they look brown. But when they spread their wings, you can see those beautiful blue feathers.


Greater rhea. He puffed up the feathers on his head, because he was showing off to the lady.