[PRP] So... you come here often? (Masoal x Emiola) FIN

[Melancholies]

Where: The lovely forests of Four Fronds!

When: A little past midnight

What: One eccentric city girl meets one feral forest boy! Shenanigans ensue.

- - -

I don't know about this.

The chattering of older teens and children alike was almost enough to drown out the worried murmur. The young girl looked up at the tell-tale white body of her large woodpecker lusus as he glanced around, one tiny hand gently gripped on a furled wing. He never knew about 'this', and that' was just the problem! How was she going to experience life if every experience was dampened by her cautious lusus? He had a right in worrying about his charge, but...

"But you promised!"

The woodpecker shuffled his wings, a host of nervous energy. He had already agreed to bring his ward to the Fronds, if only because she seemed so persistent about it; think about all the cool classy bands!. Of course she hadn't known much about the lavished place that teemed with highbloods; Maccue was very careful in that regard, even though her teal blood left her the chance to exempt most of the social struggles that came with the hemospectrum— she was reckless, and while it was somewhat endearing to have such an energetic troll under his wing, it was also dangerous and he knew it and unfortunately Emiola didn't.

So of course, after having a taste of some high class orchestra that the Fronds was so gracious to provide, she wanted to explore the forest, Look at that Maccue! We don't have trees like that back home!. He chattered his beak, it was dangerous, but he did promise they could look. He did because he always promised and gave into her pleadings because he just couldn't say no to such ripe enthusiasm. Sometimes he worried if he was doing the wrong thing, but really he just wanted his charge to get the most experience, god forbid she grows up unprepared in such a savage world.

He leaned down to poke at one of her pig tails with his long beak. He had to make sure she looked exceptional in the presence of others! Fine, but only a quick look.

The tealblood could hardly contain herself. Whereas Maccue was imbued with nervous energy, Emiola was kept beating with energy of a different kind; a strange mix of curiosity and her childish demeanor that propelled her through day after day. Quickly forgetting about her hold on his wing, the little girl quickly started away, clean shoes quickly sullying from the soft earth, the sounds of brass and woodwinds and strings long forgotten.

...I still don't have a good feeling about this...

But the girl continues on blithely, dark eyes peeking from behind long messy bangs to stare at the enormous white-barked trees. Maccue is a faraway thought now; this is an adventure, an exploration! Somewhere deep down, Maccue knows this isn't just going to be a 'quick look' around at all...

be careful.  

[saedusk]

It was a good night to practice hunting. Things were quiet, there was little wind. Masoal thought that was too bad, since hardly a single bell he kept tied throughout the trees near his hive jingled. Fossamom knew it was an advantage, however. Less wind meant less likelihood the fauna they stalked would notice them by scent. Just a child yet, her charge knew quite a bit more about this than the average troll would, but there was still a lot to learn. He was impatient, that was the biggest thing she hoped to stamp out as quickly as possible in him.

For tonight, they wouldn't wander too far away from their treehive. Without the noise that often alerted the animals to stay away, they wouldn't have to. This was just a small test; catch the quickest little creature he could find, and do it barehanded.

Jumping across a narrow gap between the branches of two different trees, the tealblood gripped tightly with both hands and feet as he stretched his neck down below to look around for something to stalk. At some point his lusus had disappeared, to where he didn't know, but if there was one thing he was certain about, it was that she was watching. It was rather difficult to evade her completely, not that he meant to try. Simply put, she was often paws-off when it came to things like this, things he already had a bit of a handle on, things he would never excel at unless he learned to take care of it largely on his own. Masoal was fine with that. He was nothing if not self-reliant.

Unfortunately, it seemed like prey would wind up short stocked today, and the feral child began to grow agitated and restless as he moved along. Not a single thing caught his eye, so he started to climb lower when, without warning, a small flock of wingbeasts shot through the foliage from somewhere not far off, darting this way and that. Something had startled them, something big enough to be significant. The tealblood was curious.

When he found what he was looking for, it became apparent that there had been a solid basis for his curiosity. It was another troll and a lusus, but why, he wanted to know, were they here? A low, animalistic sound rumbled in his throat and with that his large mother appeared as if from thin air, perched up above him like she'd been there lounging the entire time. She returned his call with a trilled response of her own as he glanced up at her, and signaled with a toss of her muzzle that she wanted him to follow. And so he would.  

[Melancholies]

The hair obstructing her eyes might as well be a metaphor; it wasn't that she was necessarily dense, but Emiola wasn't very perceptive of her surroundings when it came to actually looking and viewing; her skills of observation were far more keen when sound was involved. Put her down in front of an I-Spy book and she'd take forever, but picking out things in music was a breeze; chord changes, specific rhythms... she was young and naive; what did it matter if she went blind tomorrow? Sometimes it was better to just stop and listen.

Speaking of (or more or less hearing of), it was fairly quiet in the forests. Emiola determined that she enjoyed it; even in all the silence, there seemed to be a sense of abstract rhythm here. Suddenly her steps slipped unconsciously into step, taking every chance to step on a stray leaf or rustle a patch of grass or kick at a rock. Simple sounds, but it proved music could be made with anything! Even the leaves rustling; she actually paused in her step to look up, brushing her overgrown bangs out of her eyes as she looked at the soft pink petals. They were pretty high up; maybe Maccue would fly her up there if she pestered him about it. She did want to get a better look, anyway.

Maccue, as if sensing her idiotic plans, gave his charge a very slow, concerned look.

Emiola was still relatively oblivious, thriving in the moment without any cause or care for the future. Maccue shuffles behind her, talons gripping the earth anxiously with the every increasing urge to go back, Have you had enough of a look yet?

She really hoped there would of been more; everything was an adventure on the expedition of life, so it was hard to accept disappointment sometimes. She turned to her large feathered lusus to make a reply when a sudden breeze blew, gentle enough to mover her hair like grass, sending a few sparse pink leaves loose as they loftily descended to the ground.

There was also, however, a very soft metallic sound that easily captured the attention of the intrepid child. Maccue probably would of groaned had birds been capable of such a sound, his tealblooded child charging further ahead as she made to find out what had caused the pleasant noise. The breeze had died down by then, leaving her peering around with an anxiousness not unlike Maccue's; perhaps father and daughter did share a little more than they thought.

"That sound, dad, the sound!" she seemed much too eager for such a silly thing, but what would cause a noise like that in a place of trees? "We have to find it, we gotta! I bet it's special."

Needless to say, the woodpecker opened his beak to chitter out a a line of half-hearted scolding, that no, we're done now, but it seemed that Maccue missed his cue; whereas, the wind did not. The little wind present let loose another pleasant whisper, causing the soft metal sound again, although it was a bit louder now and, as Emiola was beginning to deduce, was not coming from around her, but from above her.

Maccue ruffled his feathers, shifting impatiently when his charge spoke up again "Chimes, dad, doesn't it sound kind'a like that?" Maccue twittered, exhasperated that her interest was piqued yet again. Unnatural sounds in a natural space meant the activity of other trolls, and he didn't like that, he didn't like that at all.  

[saedusk]

While Masoal could certainly say he enjoyed music, especially the sound of gently ringing bells, he knew little of it beyond the general idea of what was obviously pleasant to listen to. His interpretation of her actions was quite different than the actual intent; the way she zagged one direction to step on a leaf or another to kick at a rock looked like nothing more than an animal trying to play tricky and avoid being caught. Of course, the hunter had no idea she was making her own impromptu song. It didn't sound that way to him.

Needless to say, one moment he started to think maybe she actually knew what she was doing here out in the middle of the forest, but the next, when she made more noise, he questioned it again.

Creeping along the branches, he was sure to keep enough distance between them that he could move from tree to tree without causing a disturbance so near that it would catch her attention. Despite his small size, some of the perches still wobbled and leaves still rustled under his weight. And yet somehow, he couldn't quite understand how just yet, mom moved as if she wasn't even there. The branches didn't even look like they bent under her. Maybe it was because he was simply a child entranced with his guardian's much higher level of skill, but it was impressive nonetheless. He meant to show her that he could display just as much cautious grace this night, but it seemed like nature had another idea.

The wind picked up, the first significant breeze since they'd left the hive earlier. Then he heard them, his bells jingling not far off, and he remembered with a sudden urgency that they were quite close to home and, he glanced down at the girl he'd been tracking, she was charging off in that direction.

Without much of the grace he'd wanted to show off, he jumped to the next tree and nearly missed, scrambling to pull himself up so he could keep going and, most importantly, keep up with the other tealblood that was getting closer and closer to the place he preferred most trolls just stay the hell away from. Not to mention he had a bird lusus with her of all things. The white beast wasn't much of a threat unless it somehow got into the hive, but... just like its charge, Masoal didn't want it anywhere near the treehouse, either. Just thinking of the possible consequences made him growl throatily and pick up his sloppy pace. Behind him, his lusus looked a little annoyed.

It didn't matter, though. All that mattered was stopping the girl before she got too close to their home. When she looked up, realizing the sound of bells was above her, he saw his chance.

Closing the gap between them, he dropped down from the trees without warning, landing with a noticeable thud between the other duo and the direction of his hive. On all fours, he slowly rose to just his feet, staring sharply, trying to deter them away. He didn't speak at first, only watched, lifting himself up to his tiptoes to seem taller and more threatening.  

[Melancholies]

Regardless of Maccue's incessant protests to turn around and leave, Emiola carried on with her journey. What did that bird know, anyway? Always chirping on about this feeling he had, something about his intuition whatever that was and how it was never wrong (even though, to Emi at least, it definitely was). Sometimes (often times) her lusus regretted introducing his charge to the realm of music, though in the same breath, it was very true that the two shared almost no common interests so it was something nice to bond over. He'd just keep telling himself that it wasn't meant to turn into something like this, or maybe that kids will be kids and there was just no helping it. Emi would grow out of her reckless curiosity, Maccue was sure.

But in the meantime, it was becoming difficult to keep at eye on the tealblood as she sped along, humming to herself oblivious as always. If the woodpecker could find any solace, it was in the extraordinarily high rising trees; at the very least (being a tall lusus himself) it was much easier to navigate around the area than he previous thought. Still, he was still paranoid that something could happen, that he still wouldn't see some catastrophe coming, and the feeling only worsened as they delve deeper and deeper into the area. He could only pray that the small girl would tucker herself out soon enough, so that he could take their leave without her being too terribly upset (or at least, more upset at her own exhaustion preventing her rather than him).

Though of course, Emiola was nothing short of rambunctious and had the energy to boot. She'd heard stories of people who'd solve secrets and uncover mysteries-- detectives, right?--and in this situation, she felt almost as if she was one. Of course, somewhere in the back of her head was the thought that maybe these just were some regular wind chimes, nothing strange or secret or mysterious about it, but another part of her felt that it was fairly peculiar that there were such sounds so deep in the woods regardless. Maybe they'd meet another troll! Maybe she'd make a new friend! Maccue might be wary at first, but he'd see! No matter how dull of a surprise it was, the suspense was still staggering to the little girl, which made it all the worthwhile! In fact—

She heard Maccue shriek before she saw the movement in front of her, courtesy of her hair. She was slightly surprised when Maccue didn't lunge forward, and on closer inspection, saw that the movement in front of her was caused by nothing more than another troll—and a kid to boot! It was hard to make much out through her hair, but she could see that teal symbol (maccue always insisted, after all, to pay close attention to blood colors), as well as the fact that he was maybe a little taller than her and also alone.

Ah, well that made sense. It was very uncommon for troll kids like herself to be roaming around unwatched! Maccue wasn't about to assault a smaller troll (which he could obviously best) when a lusus could potentially be lurking around in the canopy above them. Still, the shadow on the ground suggested that Maccue was directly behind her, puffed up, and probably ready to bolt or attack, if it came to it.

Emi had other plans.

Her stupified look transformed into something more of a wide smile as his displays of aggression sailed clear over her head. If not for her lusus, it would probably be a wonder as to how Emi was actually still around.

"Did you just—!!!" In fact, she seemed positively delighted! Quickly looking back up at the direction that the bell noises were coming from, she looked back to Masoal, "Did you just come from there? From up there? The trees? That's so cool—! I mean, whoa dude that was awesome"

Maccue made a very impatient, very annoyed sound behind her that she decided to brush off, as she was much too eager about interacting with the troll in front of her. She bounced where she stood, excited as an idea came to her! If he had come down from the treetops, then that means that he might know about the source of the sounds! Goddamn, she was a genius! Those detective guys surely didn't have awesome acrobatic sidekicks like this guy! As far as she was concerned, this case was as good as closed!

"So wait! Are you here because of the sounds too? Or, or, ohhhhh do you live here?" she grinned eagerly, "I just heard this bells and I was trying to figure out where they were I mean what kind of a forest has bells in them that's so cool! I mean, I guess I don't go to very many forests though..." she trailed off, completely oblivious to the situation as she put a hand to her face, wondering absentmindedly.  

[saedusk]

The suddenly winding and unpredictable path this confrontation was taking was nothing if not daunting. With each word that dribbled excitedly from the other child's mouth, Masoal only pushed himself higher onto his tip-toes until he could push no more. Those calloused toes gripped precariously against the mossy ground, and his expression was, quite unfortunately, now more strained than intimidating as he tried to keep himself balanced at such an unnatural height. Why wasn't she scared? Why wasn't she running or hiding, but instead talking, continuously, babbling in a way that made the tealblood zone out most everything besides the fact that she just wouldn't shut up and leave like he wanted her to.

From the branches above, a pair of analytical eyes pierced down through the leaves. Unlike her charge, Fossamom was more focused on the ruffled feathers and sharp looking beak of the other lusus. She could tell he was upset, it was likely he understood Masoal's body language much better than his troll seemed to. For now it looked as if he would stand his ground without attacking, but if he did choose to lash out, she would be on him in moments. Until then, if it came to that, she was content with watching and seeing how her own child reacted. This was as good a lesson as any, even if she was still a little peeved over his sloppy display from earlier.

Down below, it was becoming apparent with each passing second that Masoal's attempts to run her off this way alone were doing next to nothing. Perhaps her vision was bad, he didn't understand otherwise why she would keep her hair so in her own way, but with the way she addressed him, he was sure she must have known he was also a troll. Gritting his teeth, the tealblood finally let himself down, falling back on the balls of his feet and rocking for a moment before coming to a very stark standstill to continue glaring in hopes that maybe this time it would have some sort of effect.

'Do you live here,' he heard her ask a moment later, and it only served to set his grimace into a firmer line. An answer came only in the form of a throaty gurgle, the makings of a growl, and finally he moved again to take a step forward and prove he wasn't going to back down. She wasn't welcome here, not here, where he did in fact live only a short hop-step-and-jump away. Eyes narrowed and nose crinkled, he bared his fangs more obviously, and let out a low, unwelcoming hiss.

If that didn't scare her off, he was starting to wonder if nothing would.  

[Melancholies]

Unfortunately for Masoal, his silent glare was all but lost on Emiola as she blabbered, lips smashing into a thin little grin. Maccue was positively rattling with anxiety behind his charge at this point, feathers ruffling up and down and puffing up again as he tried (and failed) to keep his calm. He wasn't entirely keen on Emi's display either, and while he knew that the young troll perhaps needed certain socialization and needed to learn her lessons, yes, even the hard way, Maccue instead solemnly wished he could confine her to their hive where nothing evil nor dangerous could touch a single hair on her head.

More like in her face. Emi didn't need the hair in her face to be blind; she was dull and dense enough to have everything fly over her head anyway without it. She saw the other tealblood roll back onto his feet, copying the rocking motion with a small giggle. She was entirely too amused with the situation; she;d gone and finally made a friend! How cool was that?

Of course, when Masoal hissed she finally did jump, though it was less from fear and more from surprise. Her eyes were wide behind her curtain of hair, but of course she just devolved into another laugh even as Maccue tensely moved behind her. Was his charge truly so stupid? Evidently.

"W-Whoa there dude, whoa." Emi held her hands up, semi-submissive if not for the s**t eating grin on her face, "S'alright bro! Do I got somethin' on my face? You're lookin' kinda peeved." Couldn't be her, could it? Can't be. Looking behind her, Emi was greeted with one very ruffled very fluffy woodpeckerdad, and instantly a light bulb went off in her head.

"OH. Oh. Nah dude I get you. C'mon pops, you're freaking out my new friend." Emi said quietly to Maccue, much to his chagrin.

He'd had enough of this. A low, wheezy whistle escaped through a barely parted beak, high pitched and almost screeching if not for the softness of it. He honestly could not get any more fluffed up than he already was. It was taking every ounce of self control not to erupt into shrieking- squawking- screaming-; and Emiola just smiled, smiled.

He couldn't do it. Not a beat later did a piercing wail reverberate from his very inner being. Emi almost looked fretful, almost, "H-Hey dad, why're you freaking out?" She should be used to his outbursts, honestly, but this one seemed so 'out of nowhere'! Turning back to face the other tealblood, she readied herself to apologize for the behavior before she was cut off with another scream—and Maccue's beak—roughly grabbing the back of her shirt.  

[saedusk]

She was mocking him. Masoal had watched the way she'd mimicked his movements with a laugh and boy, it may have been the smallest of things, but it sure did internally rile him all over again. There were no thoughts that she might just be acting silly, no consideration for the idea that maybe she hadn't meant ill by it. The tealblood had assumed it a direct affront.

Add that to the list of many, many things that irked him about her. It was getting to be pretty damn long.

No, there was nothing on her face, except her ridiculous hair covering her eyes and it pissed him off that she so intentionally limited herself that way. Yes, he was peeved, no wait, make that near vehement. Another step forward, another low hiss, why didn't she understand, why wouldn't she just leave him alone?

Well, he wouldn't have to wait long for his wish to come true after all, though he hadn't been expecting it, and it actually caught him off guard. So distracted by Emiola herself, Masoal had failed to keep tabs on her lusus. When the first hints of that unfortunate sound slipped from his beak, the little hunter finally paid him mind again, and he sure was so much fluffier and rufflier than he remembered. Ah. The tealblood understood. This was the kind of reaction he could grasp, the kind of thing he didn't understand why the other troll seemed to let it fly right over her head.

Despite himself, Masoal took a small step back. He wanted to look up, to assure himself that his own lusus was still present in the trees, but he knew better than to take his eyes off the threat. Fossamom was there, of course, watching, waiting, ears perked forward. She was waiting for the woodpecker to try and pull something, as was her charge, but before either of them could attempt to gauge things any further, he was shrieking.

A string of hisses tore themselves from Masoal's throat in response to the awful sounds. Likewise, Fossamom's ears dipped back against her skull and her muscles tensed as she rose to her paws on the branch. The bird hadn't start to charge, but she leapt down to shield her child anyway, blocking him from Maccue's sight. Though... she found herself wondering if he even cared about that anymore, now that he'd snapped up his girl's scruff the same way she was usually forced to reign in Masoal. Perhaps this confrontation was coming to a close, her tense stance loosened somewhat.

Melancholies

 

[Melancholies]

Well, this was all shades of unfortunate. First her lusus' screaming, and now the appearance of the giant weasel-cat thing. Had Emi been gifted with any sort of trepidation, she probably could have avoided this encounter entirely, but alas; wrong troll. Maccue was practically convulsing with sheer anxiety at this point, beak digging into Emi's back as he yanked her off her feet. It was time to go, now.

"P-Pops! You're embarrassing me!" Emi was squeaking, not necessarily irritated, but definitely slightly irked. She had a troll to befriend here, and she didn't want her dumb lusus to get in the way of it! His (she assumed) lusus too, whatever it was doing. First the thing leapt down here, but now it was just kinda standing around. See dad? Totally harmless, he was just overreacting as per usual. But that was okay; she knew Maccue got like this, it was fine.

"Well—!" she was cut off as Maccue readied himself for flight, ducking down with a quick woosh that forced herself to talk quickly now, "I guess I'll be seeing you later-now-bye—!"

With a jump, the woodpecker took flight, carrying his charge away from the danger. He almost—almost—felt bad for it, but it was for Emiola's well being. She could make friends with normal trolls. He made the mental note to try and educate her about what was okay to play nice with and what wasn't.

"Okay buddy I guess I'm going to see you next time!!!"

saedusk

 

[saedusk]

Even past Fossamom's large form, Masoal could see the flash of white and black and teal as the two of them took to the sky with surprising strength and speed. The only thing he could think to compare it to was his own guardian's great skill as she moved through the trees. Dangerous as the lusus of other trolls could be, they, as a whole, were surely impressive.

He wasn't afforded much time to gawk, though. As suddenly as it had begun, their unfortunate encounter was ending. The tealblood was still considerably ruffled, hair near standing on end, but he could be grateful for the promise of peace, at least. There was no move made to wave farewell, no calls of solidarity. In what felt like an instant, she was gone, and Masoal was left staring up into the darkness of the trees.

Fossamom was already moving, her large head swinging around to shove him to attention. Time to return to the trees. There was still plenty of darkness left for training. She'd have him make up for his sloppiness from earlier. The little tealblood actually had to bite back a small sigh as he began to climb, only glancing up at where they'd disappeared one more time.

It had been difficult to hear the last of her call as she was carted beyond their reach, but it honestly didn't matter. You could be damn sure she was the only one who hoped a next time happened.

Melancholies