Red Feathers:
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It stormed that night in Spiral Mountain country, harder than the run-of-the-mill summer thundershower, so when morning came, the bear family wasn't surprised to see that the valley had taken a bit of a beating.
No, it was what came during the storm that changed them.
Little Banjo was both terrified and fascinated by the lightning that forked across the sky, and so he spent the evening running from the window to see it arc through the heavens to the safety beneath the dining room table when the thunder echoed off the mountains like a car rattles when its radio is too loud.
His parents just sat back and waited out the storm from the comfort of their armchairs by the fireplace (unlit, of course, because it was unnecessary in this heat), occasionally reassuring Banjo when the storm got too loud and he ran to them to protect him from it.
Into the midst of this cozy living room the tiny bird fell, through the chimney, soaking wet and covered in soot, and a general hubbub ensued, until they were realized she wasn't hurt but only disoriented.
They filled the sink with warm water and gave her a bath while Banjo watched intently; he was just tall enough to stand with his nose against the counter. When they were finished, her downy feathers had gone from black to red, and she cuddled down to sleep in the towel they'd wrapped her in.
The next day, they waited outside, looking up hopefully, waiting for her mother to come back for her.
Nobody came, and as the years passed, she became part of the family (When Tootie came, she had been just as excited as Banjo about meeting her new baby sister).
Somewhere along the line, she'd earned the nickname Kazooie (no one remembered why, but she had snored a bit when she was younger), and it stuck.
The folk of Spiral Mountain were never the sort of people to believe in destiny, but, when the witch came down from her lair and kidnapped Tootie and things looked their darkest and Banjo and Kazooie climbed her tower and gave her the boot, a few of them changed their minds.
That little bird was a heaven-sent blessing, because someone up there must have known what heroes she and Banjo would grow up to be.
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-notes 'n' stuff-
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No. 48 in a 100-word challenge.