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Jaeger Erdarastrix Vice Captain
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 Posted: Sun Nov 25, 2007 5:03 pm
"--and increase the patrols around the south-western perimeter. I haven't been hearing much from that ward, but what I have heard hasn't been good."
"Yes, sir."
"Oh-- and Root?
"Yes, sir?"
"If you're ever so much as five minutes late reporting to me again, I'll have you pinioned. Is that clear?"
"...Yessir!"
"Dismissed!"
With a quick rush of wind through feathers, the reporting Elite hurled himself from the perch he'd settled on and moved briskly off into the trees. Two narrow golden eyes watched him go, monitoring the Elite's progress until the sleek form disappeared into the mist that had been slowly creeping up the trunks of Noctua's ancient trees since late afternoon. Then, a blink. Sleet shuffled his flight feathers, turning around on his branch and mentally preparing to head back towards the heart of the forest. There were an awful lot of things he still needed to attend to this evening, and every single one of the reports he'd received today had been overdue. Now, he was half a day behind on his own report to the Brigadier, who was probably wondering where the hell his lieutenant had gotten to.
Much more of this, Sleet knew, and he'd have stress-bars all over his feathers with the next moult. Then everyone would be able to see how poorly he was dealing with his authority. Feh. Clacking his beak irritably, Sleet roused his feathers again and prepared to launch from the branch. He had to make up for lost time.
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Posted: Sun Nov 25, 2007 6:37 pm
"Excuse me, sir, for just a moment," the small voice pipes up from below and behind, from the dark greybrown Mus clinging to the side of the tree (hopefully outside of talon's reach). So easy to miss, that Mus, with sleek fur the same colour as the tree. Much easier to miss than the greengold eyes and russet feathers Sleet will be confronted with when he turns about to look at the source of the voice. How long had she been there? Was she hiding? Did she just arrive? Or is the loony old Watcher just so easy to overlook that nobody cared to see her perched nearby?
"Sir, sir, here with a.. a situation report, sir. On the.. you-know-what. And and.." She turns her head suddenly, preening between her wings and knocking the poor little Mus perched there about, and then does a complete turnabout on the branch to face the Brigadier's second-in-command again. "And there's a bard. Singing. About you," she hisses conspiratorially, leaning closer as if to share a secret and then just as suddenly pulling away. Her beak clacks in sudden laughter, "He's actually pretty good!"
"Western, south, south-western.. where was it the egg was found again?" the Mus on her back reaches up to whisper near her ear, and she bobs her head. "Oh yes, yes. That's right. The how things are is what we need to talk about, yes. Questions?" And with that last word her gaze is suddenly pinned on the hapless Lieutenant, caught as he is between a crazy Watcher and his duties.
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Jaeger Erdarastrix Vice Captain
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Posted: Sun Nov 25, 2007 6:53 pm
...Oh, no. No, no, no. He doesn't have time for this. He doesn't have time for anything right now, especially not this overenthusiastic and completely insane Watcher that never fails to show up at the most inconvenient times. And the damn army of mus that follow her everywhere. The large male turns his head to stare at her expressionlessly, but it's not hard to guess what he's thinking-- his talons grip convulsively at the branch he was about to leave, and sink deeply into the wood. Slivers of bark rain down to the forest floor.
Sleet clears his throat and speaks, politely and flatly. "Ma'am, you'll have to excuse me." The Brigadier has told him-- repeatedly-- that Fletcher is a Sentinel that must be listened to, no matter what gibberish spills from her beak. But surely, this one time, the Clan leader will understand if he gives her a bit of a brush off. It's just that he's so late. "I'm in a hurry. I'll be sure to come back and take your report as soon as I can." Which will be tomorrow. ...Or maybe the next day. He doesn't want to talk about the egg right now, especially not with Fletcher.
He twists his head back around and again shifts his body to take off. So somebody's singing about him. Big deal.
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Posted: Sun Nov 25, 2007 7:10 pm
The little greybrown Mus squeaks in alarm at Sleet's impatient talons, skittering down the tree and away. Fletcher, on the other hand, seems completely unconcerned and oblivious to the Lieutenant's disdain. Her eyes flick away only once, to follow the slivers of bark on their path downwards, but once she determines that they are not feathers at all she recaptures Sleet's gaze.
"Fine, fine, yep, fine.. Just figured you'd want to talk about it, yes. What with it being your egg and all," and she bobs her head in an agreeable nod, leaning over as if she were trying to get a good look at his chest. "Didn't figger you for one of them dye jobs, but then the Brigadier has always had a soft spot for the ladies." And again her beak clacks in laughter, but she's also shifting her stance and readying herself for flight. To flee or follow? Who knows!
"Yew's been spending too much time in the canopy. Sent some catchers to go listen to'im, said he was talking to some big bird," she states casually, suddenly settling down again and picking at the bark with one talon.
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Jaeger Erdarastrix Vice Captain
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Posted: Sun Nov 25, 2007 7:25 pm
Sleet had actually begun to launch himself off the branch-- but at Fletcher's words, he folds his wings shut again with a snap. The effect is a strange and sudden hop, straight up and back down, that ends with the large male in exactly the same position he'd been in when he started, but with his head now twisted completely backwards. He glares at the Watcher and no longer attempts to hide his irritation.
"It is not 'my egg'. I rescued it, I didn't adopt it, and I do not have a dye job." To prove it, his body rotates while his head remains still-- he faces her, and indeed, he has only his natural single row of black spots. Sleet knows he should not let Fletcher's snarking get to him... but it's been a very long day. He's just about ready to ambush the nearest Minder and start shredding fledglings in frustration.
Her next words do little to calm Sleet, but they at least focus his attention. The Elite leader does flatten his ear-tufts in surprise. For the moment, Fletcher has a captive audience; he's not going anywhere. "What? What kind of bird?" Anything big is bad news, anything that talks (that isn't a Sentinel or a Companion) is bad news, and anything in the canopy is extremely bad news. A combination of the three has Sleet staring quite hard at the unstable Watcher.
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Posted: Sun Nov 25, 2007 7:39 pm
"Bard sings that you laid it. Yes, yes.. Bleach job then?" She leans closer, blinking slowly, and stares intently at his chest.. and then stares even more intently at the loose feather. Just about to fall out, that one, but she stares and stares as if she could pull it free with the power of her mind... and then his next words startle the Watcher back to attention, her ear-tufts flagging up and flattening back down as she jerks away and re-settles on the branch.
Fletcher seems to enjoy having Sleet's undivided attention, and she even dares to take her time, reaching up with one foot and lowering her head to give her throat a good scratching. Her luminous gaze dims in pleasure, her speech is lazy, calming. "Oh.. you know those Mus. Everything.. mm.. everything is big to them. Cracker, how big did Catcher say it was?" And she turns her head upside down, to scratch near her ear-tufts.
"Is Juniper, miss, Cracker gone for report. And Catcher said was bigger-Sentinel-big." She blinks slowly up at Sleet, turning her head back right-side up and adjusting her stance.
"Yes, yes. Big, talking to Yew. Not you-you, Yew. I've got more tails on him, but the Brigadier should know. Yes? Aren't you late for your report?"
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Jaeger Erdarastrix Vice Captain
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Posted: Sun Nov 25, 2007 7:51 pm
The feathers around Sleet's throat fan out, his pupils pin suddenly, and he hisses. It's a short hiss, but a hiss nonetheless, and it's the clearest warning sign he can give the batty old Watcher that he's running short on patience. He clacks his beak sharply, flattening all of his feathers until he may as well be a stone carving of himself. Calm... calm. The big male decides to ignore the comment about the egg and focus on more important matters.
"Can you give me any more information about the bird?" He blinks. "Did your Mus hear what they were saying? You may as well tell me everything." The only thing worse than bringing the Brigadier bad news is bringing him little pieces of bad news that lead to questions he can't answer. Sleet, holding himself perfectly still, watches Fletcher with more respect than he'd been showing previously. ...A very tiny bit more.
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Posted: Sun Nov 25, 2007 8:02 pm
"Can you give me any more information about the egg?" She counters, suddenly aggressive, her demeanour almost entirely changed as she leans forward intently. The shift in her behaviour is so sudden that she may as well be a different Sentinel entirely - this one is actually a little scary in her intensity. "Where did you find it? What sort of nest? Were there any marks nearby? Any other eggs, broken shells?" Her ranting questions end suddenly when the Mus on her back tugs at an erect ear-tuft, and she settles back down to the fussy Watcher Sleet knows and disregards.
Clearly agitated, she preens nervously at her chest. "Didn't get a full report, no, no. Mus was too nervous, scared of the Above, scared of being seen or heard. He was really far away but he said it looked at him, like it could hear him. Hnh, hnh.." And now Fletcher starts mumbling, shaking her head as she makes a half-hearted attempt to feign preening. "Looked soft, he said, but could have been the light, yes, yes. Twilight. Hard to see, you see, hard to see. Yes. Couldn't hear, not close enough."
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Jaeger Erdarastrix Vice Captain
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Posted: Sun Nov 25, 2007 8:18 pm
Although taken aback at her sudden intensity, Sleet remains motionless throughout Fletcher's tirade. Only his ear-tufts betray him; first they flatten, then they perk forward-- more and more-- until his interest in this sudden change is more than apparent.
"I am under orders not to speak about the egg further," Sleet finally says, more gently than perhaps he needs to. "If you want more information, you'll have to go to the Brigadier yourself." I can't help you, old bird, and I'm not sure I would even if I could.
Relaxing a little, Sleet's feathers fluff slightly. "I will pass on what you've told me. Come to me again as soon as you know more." It sounds like trouble, but it's no more worrisome than the other reports he's been getting-- strange sightings at every border, missing Sentinels, and inexplicable prey shortages in areas that are usually full of game.
The big male turns to go, and this time will not be stopped. Fletcher, if her hearing is keen, will hear a muted 'thank you' from the lieutenant, almost lost in the shuffle as talons scrabble on bark; he spreads his wings and soars silently away towards the core of the forest. In his wake, a single white feather is left swirling on the breeze left by Sleet's passing.
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Posted: Sun Nov 25, 2007 8:25 pm
"Don't worry, I will," she replies quietly, although precisely what she is agreeing to isn't clear. Lost in her own thoughts, muttering quietly to herself and the Mus on her back, Fletcher almost seems like a normal Sentinel, concerned for her clan. Almost being the operative term there, of course, as once the swirling feather drifts into her field of vision Fletcher snaps to, her body jerking and lurching seemingly of its own volition. She lunges off the branch, wings cutting noiselessly through the air.
And then she flies on, slipping silently between the trees towards her territory, the white feather gripped firmly in her beak.
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