text: The sun beat down on the Farne Islands, bringing a welcome heat for grey seals basking on the beach. Others sought to escape it: rabbits retreating into the shade of their warrens, Arctic terns diving in the beautifully cool ocean. Then there were the puffins, the most aristocratic of birds with their suit-like plumage and colourful crown of a beak; parents fished while pufflings sheltered in their burrows. One such puffling poked his head out of one such burrow. Pip stretched his wings as he stared up, watching the adults swoop and soar across the sky. His feathers brushed against the walls so he shuffled out a little further and, when no danger presented itself, a little further still. As the tip of his tail passed the threshold Pip clambered to his feet, revelling in the feeling of the sun on his back and the wind ruffling his feathers. His head swivelled as he hopped around, struggling to process all the new sensations. Just as he was becoming used to the world around him, a cacophony of cawing erupted around him. There was a momentary blip in the sun's warmth as a shadow passed overhead before looping back around, growing steadily larger. Pip made a frantic dash back to his burrow and dived inside just in time to escape the inquisitive beak that poked in after him. But something wasn't right. The tunnel was the wrong shape and was missing the grass lining. Pip considered the conundrum. Could he risk going back outside? He suppressed a shudder as an image of a long, sharp beak flashed through his mind, and started shuffling further in. "What are you doing here?" demanded a rabbit in the corner, harried by the many children that covered her. "Sorry, I think I came in the wrong burrow. "Is there another way out?" Her expression softened as she registered the quiver in his voice. "You can try that way," she said, shifting under the mass of young rabbits to point. "But it's a bit of a warren down here." "I'll show him," one of the young rabbits squeaked. "No Kit, you're not ready to go out alone." "But Muuuumm, I won't be alone. And he needs help." "Fine," she sighed. "But show him to the entrance and come right back. No going outside." Kit leapt up. "Okay Mum," he said, before turning towards Pip. "Come on, it's this way." They made their way through the maze of tunnels until they reached an opening. Pip paused to say thank you, but the words caught in their beak as Kit continued on. "I thought you were meant to stop here," he called after the young rabbit. "Pfft, if I always did what she said I'd never have any fun. Besides, I want to make sure you get home safely." "Well, thanks," Pip said, hopping after him. "I suppose --" A screech cut him off, accompanied by an approaching shadow. He was almost back at the burrow entrance when he noticed Kit wasn't with him - his new friend was cowering in the grass, a large gull circling overhead. Without stopping to think, Pip charged across the ground beating his wings as hard as he could and soon found himself climbing into the air. But there was no time to enjoy his first flight; he had to help Kit. He dived towards the gull, pulling away at the last second. On the next attempt his feet brushed the wings of the monstrous bird but still it ignored him. Despair was starting to creep in when two other puffins joined the fray. One of them flung their beakful of sandeels over the gull while the other flew underneath to block the view of the young rabbit. The rain of food proved enough of a distraction as the gull chased the falling fish, allowing the three puffins to glide down to the ground in relative safety. Pip landed next to Kit and gently nudged him with his beak. "It's safe. You should probably hurry home." Kit's eyes darted around as he nodded at Pip before racing away. Pip allowed himself a small chuckle, it would be a while before Kit ignored his mother again. As he turned his attention to his saviours, joy filled his heart. "Mama! Papa!" "You gave us quite a fright young man!" his father scolded, eyes boring into Pip. His mother hopped towards him, pushing her head gently into his. "Yes, but did you see that stupendous first flight?" "Yes, yes, very good. Even if it did lose us our dinner. Now what do you say we go home? I've had enough excitement for one day." "Me too," Pip agreed, feeling the truth of the words in his chest as they made their way to the *correct* burrow entrance. \*\*\* This story was written for the WP Hub's Secret Santa Story Exchange. The constraints were given to me by and were: \- Includes: A bird features in some way or another \- Words: 'inquisitive', 'harried', 'stupendous', 'aristocratic' or 'conundrum' are included \- Action: Someone gets a tad (or fairly, or extremely) lost.