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 Posted: Mon Jan 07, 2008 4:04 am
Some days had passed since the terrible storm and the dramatic events that had followed closely in its wake. Moult had been safely installed under the care of the medic named Lichen, and his condition was improving steadily. Tousled had had some short debates with herself as to whether or not she should go and check up on the old bird - she was worried that she might come off as an overly fussy busy-body, considering that many sentinels usually preferred nursing their wounds in private - but somehow she had ended up stopping by, at least briefly, every single day anyway.
She couldn't help it. Her worry for the elderly sentinel was greater than her worry of what impression she might be making: She could still vividly remember the terrible state they had found him in.
Usually when she had stopped by, Moult had been sleeping. Lichen had assured her that there was nothing unusual about that, and that the sleeping was probably helping him to heal faster, so she had just taken a quick look at him and then gone on with the rest of her day. She really only wanted to make sure that he was doing better, after all.
This day, however, Lichen had been called away to another patient only moments before Tousled noiselessly landed outside the shelter. She had her pouch with her, since she was planning on continuing her work on her masterpiece later today, and it jingled softly as she stepped up to the opening of the hollow.
"Hello-o," she called quietly, as to not disturb Moult in case he was sleeping again. "Lichen?"
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Posted: Tue Jan 08, 2008 11:28 am
At Tousled's call, a head pops out of the shelter-- and it isn't Lichen. It's Moult, of course, and his name has become something of an understatement since the storm. Not only are his eartufts crooked and sparse, but it appears the medics have also plucked a number of his body feathers in order to better treat underlying cuts and contusions. The result? Moult is half bald, and a ragged shadow of the genially ruffled old bird he generally is. Clearly visible (in a way that is quite unnatural for Sentinels), his bare skin is miscoloured here and there by bruising and scratches. Where he does have feathers, they've not been tended to properly.
He looks half dead, but he's smiling.
"Sorry, my dear-- Lichen's out. You'll have to call on her later." He's gently joking with her; the old bird's eyes hold a glint of humour, even if his voice is still rough with pain. "But if you have a moment, I'd be glad for the company. I'd come out to greet you properly, but..." But one of his legs is splinted, and he can't leave the shelter.
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Jaeger Erdarastrix Vice Captain
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Posted: Tue Jan 08, 2008 12:53 pm
"Oh, Moult..." Tousled's ear tufts sleek back as she takes in the sad state of the old Ghost, but she gives him a smile, nonetheless. "You look... a lot better! But," she hastily adds as she makes her way into the shelter, "You probably shouldn't move around just yet - don't worry about it."
Once inside, she hesitates for a moment, unsure of how to continue.
"I... did come to see you," she finally mumbles. "To see how you were doing. I'd gladly stay and keep you company for a while, if you'd like that."
And since she has already been invited, Tousled settles in close to the old bird and gives him another little smile. "So, how are you feeling?"
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Posted: Wed Jan 09, 2008 8:20 am
"Oh... much like how I look, I imagine." He chuckles, re-settling himself once Tousled seems comfortable. "But really, I'm better. Much better. Lichen told me that you'd been to visit quite a few times." The old bird's eyes half-close, and Moult reaches out to give the Deep Woods female a brief, grateful (but polite) preening. "She also told me what you did to help when I was on the ground." A small tremor runs through the grey Sentinel's battered wings at the word 'ground', but it passes, and he bows to her as best he can. "Thank you."
Still bowing, he tilts his head and peers at her mischeviously. "But now what will you do? The others will think you've gone soft on 'the shaggy old featherduster'-- you'll ruin your reputation!" He seems oblivious to Tousled's own feather condition; Moult talks to her as though she's the equal of any of the Clan's sleek young females.
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Jaeger Erdarastrix Vice Captain
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Posted: Wed Jan 09, 2008 3:57 pm
Tousled submits to the brief preening, for once not feeling as though she is being mildly chastized - it is, after all, difficult to imagine Moult berating someone else's plumage even when he looks like his usual self. Instead, she feels strangely comforted. It is good to know that the genial old bird appreciates her worry-wart behaviour, and hasn't taken any offense.
She relaxes a little bit more, but her feathers urgently sleek back when he bows down to her. "Oh, oh no, I didn't really..."
His mischievous glance cuts off her self-effacing stammer. Her beak remains open as she blinks a few times at Moult.
"M-my... reputation?" His way of speaking to her has thrown her off a bit, and she instinctively preens herself a little as she gathers her wits about her again. "I-I hardly think..." The she suddenly looks up again and gives him quite a stern, direct look. Is he making fun of me?
"Now, why ever would my caring for the well being of a fellow sentinel make anyone think any less of me? Really." Then she adds, with a twinkle of mischievousness herself: "Besides, if it weren't for you, they'd only have me to laugh at, wouldn't they? It's in my best interest to take good care of you."
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Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2008 9:01 am
Moult's innocence holds up under that stern look, but Tousled's final statement prompts a laugh that even now is a deep and booming thing. "Oh-ho! The truth is revealed!" He rocks back a bit, taking a moment to preen himself fussily, and does a bit of a comical double-take when the patch of feathers he reaches for is... absent. "Well now, well now. There's some who say that ol' Moult isn't a Sentinel at all, you see, but rather a pile of dropped feathers that Noctus gave life for a wee bit of a practical joke." The old bird winks. "It's nice to know that you see different-- aren't many these days who do, sad to say." He doesn't actually seem that sad about it.
"And don't you worry about the clucking of that bunch of chickens. Those who laugh are just happy that their lot is not ours, and who can blame them? Laugh back, my dear, because I'm just as glad that our lot is not theirs. We don't have minds as closed as a walnut shell." He smiles. "And we know that the value of a friend is deeper than the colour-- or the set-- of their feathers."
Moult's ragged and mostly-missing eartufts twitch back, and he suddenly flusters, embarrassed. "Oh, dear me, I've been preaching. Just ignore me, youngster-- my mind may not be as closed as a walnut shell, but my skull may be as thick!"
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Jaeger Erdarastrix Vice Captain
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Posted: Sat Jan 12, 2008 3:48 am
"Oh, no, no!" Tousled hastily reassures him, having listened to his little speech with an increasingly warmer glow in her eyes - she had been right about Moult, all along! "I don't mind at all. And you are right. You are right, of course... about all of that. It's just..." She shifts a bit, and shyly looks away when she changes her mind and makes a very slight shift of subject: "I don't have that many friends, but those that I do have, I value all the more."
The image of Birch, the brigthly painted bard, flashes through her mind and she can't help but smile. She looks up at Moult, turning more serious as she takes in the sincerity and gentleness of the damaged old bird. After a brief moment she looks away again and returns to the subject that she previously skirted around, in a quiet mumble:
"It's just not always easy to not let them get to you... me." She glances up at the old Ghost. "I really envy your ability to just... laugh them off like that."
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Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2008 9:09 am
Moult's genial smile fades a bit-- it's still there, but it's not showing in his eyes any longer. "Oh, well... years of practice do one good, whether it be at hunting, singing, crafting, or learning to shake water off your back instead of letting it sink right into your feathers." The old bird shrugs as best he can, although the movement makes him wince slightly. "You've got the right of it, though. Keep valuing what friends you have, my dear, and keep making more with that smile of yours. Those that see past our fluffed feathers-- or that see past our type, or our parents, or that so-and-so has one talon that's shorter than all the others, or that what's-his-name whistles when he laughs, or can't fly as well as everyone else can, or whatever else everyone has decided is interesting to poke fun at-- are friends more true than any others you'd hope for."
Rambling again, but poor Moult can't really help it. He doesn't often get a chance to talk to someone who truly listens to what he says instead of spending the whole time staring at his feathers.
The smile returns. "It'll all turn out in the end, Tousled. Don't you worry. And I'll tell you what--" Here, the ragged old Ghost props himself up as best he can and tries to puff out his patchy feathers in an teasing effort to look 'tough'. "You just send anyone who teases you right to me, and old Moult will give 'em a whipping they won't soon forget!"
If Moult could whip a Mus right now, it would have to be a very, very old one.
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Jaeger Erdarastrix Vice Captain
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Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2008 9:42 am
Tousled tries her hardest to hold back, her feathers fluffing up into a right mess because of the effort, but the laughter soon escapes in little puffs through her nostrils, and from there on the battle is really already lost.
She giggles helplessly at the sight of Moult, more naked than a newly-hatched chick, trying to puff his pink, thin chest out while the few feathers that he has managed to keep stand out from his body like legs on a spider. Of course she knows that the old bird probably intended for her to laugh, but she still feels bad about doing so because it was really such a wonderfully kind thing to say, and by trying to make herself stop she only seems to fuel her own merriment, leading to a giggle fit so profound that it makes her weak.
"I-I-I'm sorry, Moult!" she manages to squeak when she catches a quick breath. "I'll do that! I-I'll make sure to... do that!"
When she is only a small nudge away from falling over, and her head is drooping almost to the floor, she finally manages to take a few, choked breaths. "Oh, Noctus... I can't breeeaaathe..." The last syllable becomes a long, drawn out whine that ends somewhere in the registers that only chirops can hear, and is followed by some more breathless giggles.
"Oh Moult," she says, finally looking up again, though her eyes are still tightly scrunched up with laughter. "I'm so sorry. I-I didn't mean to... You just looked so..." She takes a deep breath and collects herself enough to give him an almost-serious look. "...Heroic."
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Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2008 1:21 pm
"There, now..." The sight of the merry little female's laughter is a charming one-- as Moult's sporadic plumage settles and his posture relaxes, his beak parts slightly in a gaping grin. "That's much better, isn't it?" He's far from offended at Tousled's explosion of mirth-- that was his plan all along, of course, and he's thrilled that it worked so well. Shifting carefully, he gets himself comfortable again and chuckles deeply. "I knew you had a good belly-laugh in you somewhere-- it was just a matter of coaxing it out." Although he keeps to himself most of the time, Moult is a Watcher-- and he watches. He's watched Tousled on and off since she was a tiny thing, mostly out of curiosity, and those long-distance observations mixed with his more personal interactions with her recently have all lead him to the same conclusion: She doesn't laugh enough for the old bird's taste.
Pleased with himself, Moult squints contentedly. A feather loosens itself from his patchy chest and floats serenely around them. "Are you hungry?"
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Jaeger Erdarastrix Vice Captain
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Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2008 1:46 pm
"Oh you... you..." Tousled is still trying to catch her breath, but the old sentinel's admission and the pleased expression on his face can not be left un-commented. "You... bad old bird! You tricked me!" With her beak hanging open in an unconquerable grin, her eyes still glittering with laughter, and of course the rather cheerful tone of her little voice, she really doesn't come off as very offended, though.
As the mood settles a bit and her throat stops squeaking every time she tries to take a deep breath, the little Deep Woods habitually gives herself a little preen. She looks up just in time to see a wayward feather dislodge itself from Moult's body, and for some reason the sight of it floating through the air almost makes her giggle again.
"Um... a little, I guess," she replies to the old sentinel's question, tearing her eyes away from the feather before the sight of it could get her started again. If she were to laugh much more now, she feared that her chest might burst or implode or something. "Should... should I go and get us something?"
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Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2008 2:06 pm
For a brief moment, Moult almost looks insulted-- but the grin never fades. He's learned already to treat this youngster very gently when it comes to teasing, and so he doesn't launch himself into the wounded act his dramatic side is begging for. Instead, the ruffled Ghost chuckles again. "I may be a 'bad old bird', my dear, but I'm not so bad as to send a visitor off to hunt for me!" He bobbles his bruised head off towards a cache in the corner of the medic outpost, well covered with thick leaves to keep the insects out. Not to say he caught that food himself... "That said, I will have to ask you to serve us, unfortunately. I ate Lichen's entire store once too many times, so the cunning lady moved the whole thing out of my reach. Can you imagine?"
He's incorrigible. "The smell of Skurri mixed with cranberry and walnut has been driving me absolutely featherbrained all morning."
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Jaeger Erdarastrix Vice Captain
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Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2008 2:47 pm
Tousled looks to where Moult has indicated, and finally notices the hidden food. "Oh! Of course!" She gets up before Moult has even finished talking, eager to amend her silliness. Of course Lichen had left food for him. But she can hardly even begin to feel awkward before the old Ghost's comment about eating the entire stash gets her giggly again.
The laughter is still in her voice as she turnes her head around, just before diving into the foodstuffs, and sends Moult a mischievous grin. "Oh, good! Then we could pluck some of them out of there and get you properly fletched!"
Mentioning his currently acute lack of feathers calls up the image of his 'heroic' posture again, and she almost chokes on the skurri she holds in her beak as she carries it back to Moult. A few more rounds back and forth between the store and Moult's resting spot calms her down, and it is needed, for now her ribs are really starting to ache.
"Now, you'd better not gorge yourself," she says, in much the same tone as a minder would to a chick. "If the medic says you shouldn't, then it is probably best to listen to her."
By now, her little voice is not quite so little anymore, having risen to the 'comfort level' without her even noticing it. But it's only natural: after all that laughing, she has even started to feel different. Calmer, somehow, and less shy and self-conscious.
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Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2008 5:41 pm
"I would never dream of ignoring the good Medic-- as venomous as she can be!-- any more than I would dream of ignoring you." This is spoken, muffled, through a mouthful of Skurri. Sentinels aren't much on manners sometimes, but the speed at which Moult is devouring the food Tousled sets in front of him suggests that he's hungrier than he initially let on. "But-- mmg. Mm, ahem. But you know the old adage-- 'eat some Skurri to heal in a hurry'!"
He swallows another lump, and for a moment the passage of his food is painfully visible through the patchy feathers. "Besides-- if I don't eat quickly, my jailor will find an even more ingenious hiding place for this delicious food." With a bright eye on Tousled to make sure she eats something, the old Ghost focuses on stuffing his face as fast as he can. Who knows when Lichen will return?
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Jaeger Erdarastrix Vice Captain
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Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2008 6:03 pm
Tousled quite happily helps herself to some of the treats, but has to pause pensively as she watches Moult gobble down one food lump after another. Has he not been fed at all, lately?
She takes another beakfull of berries and tips her head back to swallow, then focuses a thoughtful frown on the old Ghost. What was it he just said? if I don't eat quickly...
"Say, Moult," she says hesitantly, following with her eyes yet another of his hefty bites on its path down his exposed throat. "Are... are we really supposed to be eating this, um... right now? Are you sure it's okay, I mean?" She then tilts her head to the side and frowns in a slightly more stern manner. "And I do believe you are gorging yourself after all. I think you want to try to breathe a little in between some of those bites, at least."
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