Standstill

We thought for sure the gang of falcons would attack Penny. That wasn't the case. They studied Penny circling over our heads, and we watched them watching her. Eventually Penny realized it was safe to descend. She landed between us and them. The falcons still didn't budge. "Why do you suppose they aren't moving?" I ask. "It isn't because of you. That's for sure." A voice calls out from the gang of falcons. "Who said that?" Olivia shouts. "I did." The falcons part revealing an elderly woman with long grey hair and carrying a wooden staff. The woman walks through the crowd and up to Penny. "Looks like we got the runt back." "Who are you?" Olivia asks. "I think I should be asking you that." The woman pauses and examines our bubble. "By the way, you can get rid of whatever that is."She continues. "How can we trust you?" Olivia questions. The woman presses her face against the bubble. "You're on my land. If I wanted to harm you, I would have do it already." Olivia removes our force field. The woman smiles. "That's better. Now we can talk like real people." "We're sorry. We didn't mean to trespass." I say. The woman eyes us for a moment. " I know.Why are you here?" "We need the falcons." I admit. She shakes her head. "No." "Why not?!" Olivia shouts. "These falcons are too important to me. I can not part with them." "They're important to us too. We need them to rescue people from a building that is falling into oblivion." I inform. I notice how strange the statement is once it leaves my lips. It seems odd to the old woman as well. She leans on her staff. "You speak the truth, don't you?" "We do!" Olivia blurts. "I would not like my people to view me as unjust." "So, you'll help us?" I ask. "Yes, you may take the runt." "Just her?" I ask, pointing to Penny. "Yes, we have been waiting for these falcons to come back for quite some time. This is a gift. You should be thankful." "The problem is she won't be enough." Olivia says. "Sorry, this is non negotiable." Olivia, completely feed up, fires pink hearts at the old woman. The old woman takes her staff and deflects the hearts. The hearts get absorbed into the staff. The staff then turns a bright pink. The old woman rests on the glowing pink staff as if nothing happened. "Like I said, this is non negotiable. If this is a dire situation as you have indicated, I suggest you leave now."