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 Posted: Wed Jan 06, 2010 1:04 pm
This determined doe was having a very hard time trying to get to her goal. What was her goal, one may ask? Well, she was trying to get a hold of some feathers. She needed to gather some of these soft tools to cushion her nest at home, not to mention she used them for many other things, too. She used them to clean off her Treasures, and she used them to paint symbols around her territory, and sometimes she just used them as decorations and accessories.
At that moment in time, she had gathered three feathers, all of which were stuck into a dead piece of wood that was hanging around the doe's neck. This, she had found, was the most effective way to carry feathers around without fraying the soft edges. She would pluck them carefully off the ground, or out of a bird's nest and push the stalk end into the dead piece of wood, which would budge slightly to allow the feather to be wedged in securely. Once she got home, she would remove them just as gently and add them to her fluctuating collection.
But as it was then, she was standing up against a tree, with her front hooves on the trunk. Upright as she was, even with her neck stretched out she was just out of reach of the nest she was trying to get to. She didn't want the entire nest of course, the bird could keep that. She just wanted that feather that was sticking out of it and taunting her so. If only she were a little bit taller...
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Posted: Wed Jan 06, 2010 7:45 pm
Shadowed Moon smiled as he took in the scents, sounds and colors the swamp had to offer. He was ambling along slowly, occasionally stopping to curiously examine a bug or sniff a flower. He enjoyed walking around the swamp, it always held an adventure. Pushing a loose rock he watched the bugs run in a flurry of motion with a smile.
Continuing on his way after the bug stampede subsided he proceeded in his ambling until he found himself staring at a black and white doe, however she had a bright shade of green that accented her back. It was interesting seeing a Kimeti with horns and spines such a different color from the rest of their coat. Wondering what she was doing propped up against a tree he noticed something hanging off of neck, it looked like a log.
That was even more interesting, he hadn't seen something like that before. Glancing up to see what she was looking at he noticed a bird nest. Just out of her reach he could see some soft feathers. Tilting his head he leaned over to try and see what the log was for. His suspicion was correct, she was using it to store feathers.
Walking forward he approached the tree and placed his feet against it. He was tall enough to reach the nest when he stretched and gently grabbed several feathers. Pulling himself down he smiled at the doe through the feathers clenched in his teeth and set them on the ground, making sure not to ruffle them to much. Broken feathers weren't as useful as whole ones, nor as pretty. "Would you like me to get some more?" Shadowed Moon asked, smiling gently at the red-eyed doe.
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Posted: Fri Jan 08, 2010 1:42 pm
She was so focused on what she was doing, all the straining and careful extensions, that she did not notice the stranger until his hooves hit the trunk next to her own, at which time she jerked in surprise and her head turned to look at the newcomer.
Her red eyes found a pair of dark ones looking right back at her, hiding a smile, but she was caught staring, and was frozen for a few moments, just standing there dumbly. A hard blink caused her to realize that he had spoken to her and she should probably respond. She glanced down at the feathers at his feet and then back up to his face and slowly replied, "Uhmmm... thank you... I...." a quick glance up at the nest and then back to the light blue buck that had just helped her due to his height and kindness. She stuttered, "I... I mean, yes. I would like that... that long feather that's... s-stuck in the nest there... If you could... that is... please?" Her expression softened into something like a question mark as she requested the aid of this valiant buck.
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Posted: Fri Jan 08, 2010 6:17 pm
Smiling widely Shadowed Moon almost laughed, he hadn't intended to surprise the doe, that had just been a side effect of his quick approach. Nodding in responce to her question he glanced up at the tree to look for the feather she was talking about. Turning back to the doe he smiled again. "Of course. It's my pleasure."
Moving his front legs up again he leaned against the tree, examining the feather for a few moments. Contemplating the best way to get it out he tilted his head back and forth. Nodding to himself he stretched his neck and gently grabbed the long feather in his mouth. Pulling it up he then moved a bit to the left to dislodge it from it's place.
Pulling back from the tree once again he place the long feather gently with the others he had retreaved a few moments ago. Looking at the doe's red eyes he smiled sweetly. "I hope I didn't ruin it. I was a little worried it would break when I tried to pull it out." Glancing down he examined the feather for a moment before smiling again as he looked back up at the doe. "I think I got it out in one piece."
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Posted: Fri Jan 08, 2010 6:26 pm
She hadn't been expecting company today, not that she ever was. She was awkward and preferred to be alone, most times, but she wasn't about to say anything about it. When the buck accepted her request, she simply pushed off of the tree and brought the rest of her hooves back down to the ground. She took a step back and watched the blue buck gently remove the feather and place it among the others.
After having done so, she stepped forwards to inspect the feathers, picking through them. She made two piles, one next to her, and the other up against the tree. The pile closest to her consisted of only 2 feathers: the long one he had removed last, and a small grey one from the earlier batch. These were the only two left in-tact. She picked up the long feathers and slipped it carefully into her necklace for safekeeping, followed by the smaller grey one.
Her red eyes looked back up at the stranger and she said quietly, "Thank you. I... I couldn't reach them.... too... short..." A sheepish smile, as the doe tried to figure out what she was going to do now.
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Posted: Fri Jan 08, 2010 6:43 pm
Smiling Shadowed Moon watched as she sorted the feathers. He felt guilty because he had broken most of them, he wasn't used to handling delicate things. Unlike most other kimeti, he didn't have many hobbies that involved things like that. When she finished sorting he sighed, he hadn't broken the biggest feather. The others had been hard since he had grabbed more then one, but the last was the most colorful and probably most useful.
He laughed sheepishly as she thanked him for his help, bucks were normally taller then does so it wasn't surprising he could reach what she couldn't. "I'm sorry I broke so many of them. You didn't get very many." He glanced at the surrounding trees, wondering what to do. The situation seemed awkward and he noticed the doe looked unsure as well.
"What do you usually do with them? I know some kimeti use them for painting and such. Do you collect them?" He lightly nudged the broken pile with his foot before taking them in his mouth and placing them back in the nest. "I... didn't want them to go to waste..." He said softly. The baby birds probably would need them later. "Um... do you need to gather any more? Maybe I can help... in exchange for breaking so many feathers..."
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Posted: Fri Jan 08, 2010 6:59 pm
She shook her head when he apologized and stumbled, "No, no, it's ok. I wouldn't have been able to get them at all. Thank you." She was about to say more, but he bent down to pick up the remaining feathers and put them back up into the nest... which was exactly what she was just going to say they should do. After all, if she couldn't use them, then at least the birds could.
She nodded, "Y-yes, I collect them. I clean my Treasures with them, too. Not the pretty ones, of course. Or the crane feathers, no, no." A shake of the head. That was unthinkable. Crane feathers were a Treasure of their own, and they were revered throughout the swamp, not just by her. She would never use those feathers for anything degrading! "I keep the pretty ones in a collection, though. Have many of different colors...." she trailed off, forgetting the rest of her thought, but he filled in by asking if he could help her get some more.
She nodded eagerly, "I-I mean... that is... only if you'd like to help me, of course. I need some more, if you wouldn't mind."
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Posted: Fri Jan 08, 2010 7:06 pm
Shadowed Moon laughed. "I would love to help you get some more! I've never really done anything like this so I might mess up a bit..." He smiled sheepishly. "I'll try my best!" Looking back up at the nest he couldn't help but smile as his eyes traced the small fluffs of the feathers that still remained.
Turning back to the doe he realized he didn't know her name. That was pretty rude of him to not introduce himself! He smiled and shook his head. "I just realized I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Shadowed Moon. It's a pleasure to meet you." He smiled widely. "I will try my best to help you expand your collection."
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Posted: Fri Jan 08, 2010 7:29 pm
The doe caught herself smiling back at the buck before her, despite herself. Why was it that she could endure the company of males so much easier than that of females?
She figured it was because males were more accepting and did not judge as easily, or if they did, they kept it to themselves, where most females she had met would just blurt it out. Perhaps that was it, she didn't know.
"Shadowed Moon," she repeated to herself to help her remember, "My name is Last Whisper. It is nice to meet you, too." She began walking, slowly, so as not to seem in a rush, as she wasn't in one. "They're not too hard to find. Another nest or two would be enough, for sure."
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Posted: Fri Jan 08, 2010 7:38 pm
Shadowed Moon smiled back at the doe. "Last Whisper." What an interesting name. Following her as she began to walk she mentioned they would only need a few more nests. He laughed. "Unless I mess it up again." Following her slow pace he smiled, it was about as fast as he had been ambling about at earlier. Such a relazed pace was nice, it also gave one time to look around.
Watching the trees he tried to spot a bird's nest. Usually he didn't spend so much time looking up unless it was for the moon. He was usually looking up past the trees not in them. "What should we look for? Just any nest? Are there any particular colors you need or want?" His string of questions came out as his head moved back and forth and his eyes traced through the branches. He wanted to be as helpful as possible and knowing what to look for would make it easier.
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Posted: Fri Jan 08, 2010 7:46 pm
As she walked along, she too was looking up at the branches up above their heads. She found tons of things whenever she looked down, but when she was looking for feathers, often she would only find anything when she looked up. Well, anything still of use, anyway. Generally feathers found on the ground are already muddy and ruffled and broken. No good. None at all.
"Well, first we're looking for nests that are low enough to reach.... Can't imagine trying to climb these trees... much too spindly..." She could remember climbing trees like this when she was younger, with the help of other kimeti, but she was much too big to be trying that anymore.
"And we're looking for nests that don't have momma bird ready to attack from. They're no fun. Nope." She was almost rambling, and was almost talking to herself, but it was the information that was being asked, so she released it without much struggle. "I need feathers of any size though, and any color. Though I'd love to get a few black ones. I seem to lose those sometimes...."
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Posted: Fri Jan 08, 2010 8:04 pm
Shadowed Moon smiled, he listened to her quietly and with keen interest as she explained what was going on. He nodded even though she wasn't looking at him. He also examined the lower branches for any nests. He didn't like the idea of getting attacked by birds so he would be careful not to accidentally stick his face in one.
"Maybe we'll get lucky and find a lot! Then you won't have to worry if you lose some." He continued to look through the branches. The upside is that since there was one nest there should be more nearby. Birds did tend to flock after all. Seeing what looked like a pile of dirt on branch he tilted his head. "Is that a nest?" He continued to stare at it. It was the same shape but it didn't have much feathers in it.
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Posted: Fri Jan 08, 2010 8:17 pm
She looked up at what the buck was looking at and narrowed her eyes to examine it better. After a moment's thought, she replied, "I think so... but I don't see any feathers. It's probably one that was abandoned a long time ago. Birds like to take feathers from nests like that and add them to their own. Let's keep going."
She began walking again, looking up and about, skipping a nest that had a momma bird that was eying them warily. While looking up, though, her foot found a root, got caught and caused her to stumble. She caught herself at the last second and mumbled, "I-I'm ok... I'm alright." she said sheepishly and tried to continued on her way.
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Posted: Fri Jan 08, 2010 9:17 pm
Shadowed Moon nodded, she would know better then he would. Now he knew what that was and wouldn't have to ask about it again. As he walked along behind her suddenly she jerked out of view and he looked down to see her foot catch on a log. He almost ran forward but she caught herself. With a muttered replay to stave of his worry he looked at the ground. There were quite a large number of roots.
"Maybe if we move our feet slower we will feel the root before hitting it." He wanted to give a suggestion that would help the doe avoid tripping again. Shadowed Moon didn't want to see Last Whisper hurt. He tried it himself as he followed her and felt several roots go by his feet and he simply lifted his foot higher to avoid getting caught.
As he continued testing this so he thought he saw something floating to the ground. As the small white thing came down it landed on his nose. It tickled. Blowing out air it fluttered forward and he saw it was a feather. Watching it as it drifted to the ground he looked up to see a small nest above his head. It seemed to be covered in white downy fluffs. "I think I found one." He said, tilting his head to try and get a better look.
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Posted: Fri Jan 08, 2010 10:01 pm
She nodded at the male's advice and mimicked his actions, stepping high and walking along a little slower. She kept stealing glances down at the ground too, to feel a bit better, not trusting the ground not to throw up roots in her way in the moment when she wasn't being careful.
What was that? She whipped around to find the buck looking up. He was right! There was a nest up above them! It looked all fluffy and white even from down here, this was definitely a sure thing!
She put her hooves up against the trunk and stretched for this nest. She was still too short for it. To Shadowed Moon she said, "This looks like a good one! It's all fluffy with down. It should definitely have some feathers, too!"
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