Lesson 4 Charac Development Mannerisms

Lesson 4 Exercise: Read your lesson 2 and lesson 3 character traits and mark the duplicates.

Not applicable. My Lesson 2 was too weak. The only character trait was chewing the inside of her mouth when she wanted to scream. That trait did not show up in Lesson 3. Lesson 3’s most noticeable character trait was the instantaneous change in the color of her plumage when her emotions shift. That will repeat as new emotions are revealed because I like it. Other traits will show up to complement the emotion that is being broadcast.





Lesson 4: Writing: Use mannerisms to reveal the character's situation

The soft wetness filtered through, waking Sky from another fitful dream state. She winced as tears traced down her face. “Computer, send the biohazard team to my quarters to clean up the blood. Full gear requested.”

Sky dismounted her perch, careful not to touch any other surfaces. Sky had to relieve the pain in her hands and usually a saltwater soak helped. She developed a tedious routine of immersing her hands in the salted water and then elongating the tendons in her fingers to their full length, and then repeating for as long as it took for her joints to adjust to the new growth. The blood flow meant the channels in her bones for the retractable talons was complete and that the talons had matured enough to break through the skin on her digits. She was in mid-process of the water bath when she heard the familiar gentle chide, “Please state the nature of your medical emergency.”

“I have it handled, doctor.”

“Let me be the doctor.” His lips compressed into a straight line as he quickly ran the medical scanner over her wet hands. “Quit fidgeting. Let me examine your hands. When did the talon growth begin and why didn’t it show up on previous medical scans?”

The doctor let Sky consult Gaia, the name given to the avian species that fused with Sky. Sky’s head tilted down and to the side, and her feathers burst into brilliant yellow. He knew the next words would be a lie when she tipped her right foot on the side and her feathers sparked to fuscia. “I don’t know.”

“You can do better than that. Enter.”

The doctor locked eyes with Sky, in silent agreement to pause the conversation as the biohazard team quickly cleaned up the blue blood on the perch trunk and wood base.

The doctor waited a full minute after the biohazard team left before confronting Sky, “What did Gaia say?”

“Nothing.”

“You telegraph your conversations with Gaia. I know the outcome of the conversations before you open your mouth. Right now, I’d say you’re lying.”

The doctor waited patiently as Sky dipped her head again. He enjoyed watching the plumage colors rage from blue to green to pink. If Sky ever deemed to uncover her mirrors she would realize her chameleon abilities.

When Sky’s shoulders drooped and her feathers returned to white, he knew he would get the truth, “Gaia is forcing me to grow the talons. She is insisting that she needs them. I think they contain venom. I feel safer with them, but then again --”

“Give me a few drops of the venom. ”

“Why?”

“Maybe there is a way to inoculate the crew against accidental exposure.”

“I don’t know….”

“We can do this voluntarily, or I can put you in quarantine until I know what I’m dealing with. You will have to stay away from the rest of the crew until I run tests on potential hazards.”

“She won’t like that.”

“I understand.” He slapped his com badge, “Doctor to Security. Report to Ensign Sky Gaia’s quarters.” He caught Sky as her body went slack. “You’ll thank me later. Or not. It depends on how ornery Gaia will be when she awakens.”

“What did you do?” Gaia was not winning her effort to fight off the need for sleep.

“Anesthetic released when I hit my comm badge. You will be out of commission long enough for security to get you to quarantine. If forced, you will be put in stasis until the tests are complete. You would be wise to cooperate.”

The doctor rolled his eyes as Gaia’s hissed her displeasure as her eyes rolled back into submissive sleep. He had to wait another five minutes for the feathers to fade from black to white, assuring that Sky Gaia was fully asleep when transferring her from her quarters to the isolation unit in sick bay.