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 Posted: Fri Sep 25, 2009 10:51 am
Her dark jaw spread wide to shake off her morning fatigue, the eye placed into her jaw squinted tightly, remaining visual though as she contemplated her next move.
And that was food.
With a shudder her mouth finally closed with a small white, her long lavender feathers poofing a little, before they smoothed back down.
‘morning in the dark forest might as well be night’ she thought to herself, not that she minded, her eyes were capable of seeing quite clearly in the darkness that she had grown up in. but the concept was an interesting idea to her. She had heard that the world of the Adahy was different, though that was a troubling subject to her, since she’s not sure where she stood on her opinion of those other creatures. She has only ever overhead of the opinions of others.
Putting this to the back of her mind, Marrowmourn set out, sniffing softly as she made her way through the forest, away from her nest to find something she could eat.
The collection of bone draped around her neck making soft clattering noises as they swayed and clicked together.
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Posted: Fri Sep 25, 2009 11:18 am
Usul made his home in a small cave. Cave was really a loose term as it could be considered more of an alcove. The nest he'd made for himself was cramped, stuffy and filled with stuff. STUFF was anything that he found laying in the forest or close to paths where humans roamed. Rusted and tarnished chains, tattered cloth, an occasional old shoe.. all of it was piled beneath the sleeping di'taki.
Something woke him. His ears twitched and his feathers bristled. He was jumpy, sneaky and slightly paranoid. He often woke up for no reason, thinking that another creature was invading his space when in fact there was nothing even breathing in his vicinity.
This morning perhaps would be different. Usul awoke for no reason and crawled through the small hole that served as the entrance to his hidden home. It was set into the side of a rocky mound and hidden behind some bushes. The spotted di'taki male shook his feathers gently, quietly, as he emerged from his home and with narrow eyes, glanced around the morning darkness.
Something was coming.
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Posted: Fri Sep 25, 2009 11:46 am
Marrowmourn was for the most part very cautious, mostly from what she didn't know.
she could smell something... she could feel that there was something suddenly not the same with the aria she had just wandered into.
she assumed it had to be another Di'taki, that didn't bother her of course, with her own kind she felt little threat, at least as of now...
but she didn't know what this was yet.
Slowing her pace as she glanced slowly around, head lowering below her shoulders as she scanned the aria carefully with wide eyes.
her steps cautious, and slow, but she continued to more forward.
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Posted: Fri Sep 25, 2009 12:23 pm
Whatever noise Usul heard (or thought he heard) seemed to be gone.. or at least quieted. He moved away from his hole in an effort to keep other creatures from discovering it. He was a very possessive sort of male. His eyes scanned the woods around him and after initially seeing nothing he let his guard down only slightly.
His natural colored markings helped to hide him in the shadowy forest and he tried to use this to his benefit. As his stomach growled, the thought of an intruder seemed to slip his mind. He fluffed up his pale tan feathers and lifted a foot to his mouth, nibbling an errant claw.
CRACK
Usul's body shot to the ground. He flattened to his stomach, feathers back but ears up. The spots on them looked like large eyes in the darkness, providing a distraction from his actual form.
He crept forward, slow and steady, but upon exiting a thick patch of brush he found himself bumping into and staring at a set of white feet. Usul let out a growl of surprise and leapt back, bumping into a tree trunk (and looking rather foolish) before skittering back to his feet.
The female in front of him was imposing, larger than him, and impressively marked. Usul couldn't find anything to say, instead he just stared at her and kept his body close to the ground as if she were about to leap upon him and kill him.
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Posted: Wed Sep 30, 2009 6:58 pm
She had lashed forward in her surprise, making no sound, though her eyes were wide in surprise and what could be taken as fear.
The fact that she knew something was off about the aria just made her more alert, her steps more cautious, and her gaze slow and fixed.
So when something bumped into her, unexpectedly, her reaction was not that pleasant.
She did not harm him though, she did not lie any of her claws or bared teeth at him. She had advanced, towering over the timid male before she realized that it was another Di’taki.
Her eyes blinked in sequence quickly a couple of times, her lips falling back over her teeth as she lowered her claw to the ground.
Still she did not speak, just stared at him, a soft perplexed frown forming over her lips as she watched him cower.
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Posted: Thu Oct 01, 2009 6:03 am
"I don't have it. Whatever you want.. I don't have it.." At least one pair of his eyes moved around his surroundings, looking for a possible exit. Another pair stared at the ground, partly in shame for cowering in such a way.
He backed up when her claw finally lowered and kept going until his back was pressed against what he could only assume was a rock. He forced himself to stop cowering, spine straightening until he was now only in a sitting position.
"I was just walking. Nothing else." Usul talked to her as if she were on some sort of patrol and he was a possible criminal, when in all honesty he'd done nothing wrong (at the moment) and had only just woken up.
There was another brief silence and Usul got slightly more uncomfortable. His tan feathers ruffled and his spotted ears remained upright. Unsure what else to do, and very uneasy, his scattered thoughts moved away from his self imposed guilt and cowardice and gave him only one more thing to say, "Uh.. Hi?"
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Posted: Fri Oct 02, 2009 6:02 pm
He Babbled, and she just stood there, listening to the strange words that he was panicking through. Still she said nothing, the only movement she made when he made an awkward greeting to her was a few quick blinks of her eyes, she didn't quite understand who he expected her to be, she got the idea what he was probably doing something, or did something he was feeling guilty about, but she didn't have that sense of Justice like others to really call him on it.
Dipping her head ever so slightly in a return gesture of good will.
“It was not my intention to startle you” she spoke, quiet, it was clear that she did not speak very often, her voice was not exactly comforting, her words were almost hollow, as if they were void of emotion.
She was hunkered fairly low, though her body was tense, as if she was ready to rise at any moment.
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Posted: Mon Oct 05, 2009 6:21 am
She didn't intend to. She hadn't been looking for him.
These assurances, though she didn't know it, helped Usul to relax. His posture looked less tense immediately and he managed to shake out his head feathers while simultaneously scratching his horns against the rock behind him. Males often sharpened their horns this way, he'd just found out that he could scratch his back on a rock at the same time.
Usul remained with his back against the rock but he looked less trapped and more like he was using it as a seat. The fact that he had just woken up seemed to catch up with him now that there was only a debateable level of danger.
"I just awoke. I apologize.." He bowed his head to her slightly. "I guess I was just jumpy." He wouldn't reveal that he lived in the area, not yet ready to divulge his secrets, but by his reaction it was obvious. The fact still remained that Usul almost never spoke or saw females and he had urges like every male did. Marrowmourn was many things that a male might want and so he began to feel slightly on edge once again, just not as obviously jumpy.
"What.. uh.. What brings you around this part of the forest?"
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Posted: Tue Oct 06, 2009 8:22 pm
Lifting her head up a bit, mostly staring at him from the eye place upon her lower jaw,
"hm" she hummed softly, finding this male very strange, he had reason to be jumpy, though she suspected that it was simply to do with the fact that he just woke up, like he was explaining.
"... I'm looking for something to eat" she said after a moment. "I suspect that mushroom grow on trees further to the east.
glancing up, toward the direction she was going before she was distracted by this male.
looking back over to him with a slight frown "you?"
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Posted: Thu Oct 15, 2009 6:15 am
"Just um.." Usul's mind had seemingly gone blank. Her mention of food made his stomach growl loudly. "Well.. now I am also looking for food."
He rose from the seated position and shook out his tan feathers. Small clouds of dirt puffed off of his body, not the cleanest guy around. His multiple eyes caught a gander at Marrowmourn's necklace and he tried to not so obviously stare at it. The collector and hoarder inside of him wanted it but he did not want to start a fight with this female. Maybe if the occasion came up later...
"That's a nice necklace. Food though. Food is important." As quickly as he brought it up he looked away, his words quick and his thoughts scattered. "The mushrooms on the trees are good, but I know of better ones."
Usul stretched only a moment more before he headed in the direction that the female had been going but he soon veered from the worn path and it was clear his goal was a sheer rock face not far away, jutting out of the forest. He wouldn't normally share this with another di'taki, but she was a female with a pretty necklace.
"It's a little bit of a secret, ya know.. uhh.." He looked back, hoping she was following and that he wasn't talking to himself. "I'm Usul. I mean, they call me Usul. That's my name, yeah."
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Posted: Thu Oct 15, 2009 11:02 am
Looking down to her necklaces as the passing mention of it, she tilted her head softly, shifting her head just slightly to glance up at him as he started to make his way into the forest to find some food as well.
she hadn't exactly desired company, but if this was his territory then he was being generous in sharing with her, so she said nothing.
walking slowly after him, the only noise she made was the clatter of the bones around her neck.
she hesitated, giving him a quizzical look when he went off the path, but chose to follow him still.
"Marrowmourn" she replied simply, introducing herself, inclining her head to stick her nose into the air and sniff softly, trying to get an idea of what sort of aria they were headed.
"you do not need to share your secret with me" she said, "I would understand if you would rather not."
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Posted: Thu Oct 15, 2009 11:19 am
As they walked a unique scent came through the normal forest air. It was the cool of stone and moisture with that soft, earthy aroma that only moss and fungus had. To the di'taki nostrils it was very enticing. When they reached the rock wall it seemed to be sheer and smooth, with no way to climb. But the scent was full in the air. The trees around them had fungi growing from the trunks, just the mushrooms she had been speaking about moments before, but when you bit one off it was obvious that it was not these mushrooms giving off the scent.
"It's not a secret.. uh so much. I mean, you can smell them, huh?" Usul sniffed the air, head bobbing his feathers. "You just have to search around."
If any creature were half as hungry and desperate as Usul usually was, the search for the elusive smell would end quickly. He walked to the sheer cliff, and like an optical illusion, an overhang revealed a narrow crack in the stone. From most angles the rock hung in such a way that the opening was invisible, but from the right angle there was a clear entryway. Usul clawed some stray rocks out of the way and slipped inside. It was slightly narrow but either of the di'taki would fit through comfortably.
Inside was a small, but roomy cavern. Moss and mushroom covered turf and rocks surrounded them and that intoxicating smell filled the air. The air was moist but only from a tiny trickle of water that seeped down through the back wall. Usul's stomach growled again and he immediately devoured the closest mushroom without a word. His manners were unpolished from living alone, but he didn't seem to notice.
"'njoy." His words muffled with his food.
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Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2009 3:03 pm
Black ears perking forward as she was lead through the crack in the wall, her eyes growing slightly wider as the cavern opened up to them. It was earthy, natural, and beautiful, while she was used to the darkness of the forest that they constantly live in, there was something very refreshing about seeing these colors, soft tones of the mushrooms that -littered- the calls and ground, and the bright greens on the moss, everything was given an extra sheen with all the moisture.
He spoke again, she didn't hear what he had said, but she turned her gaze toward him, her head inclining softly as she watched. He had started eating, and seeing the act only reminded her how hungry she was.
Without a word she shifted further inside, bowing her head to sniff at one of the luscious mushrooms, before plucking it up with her teeth.
The forest was not known for its generosity with food quality or quantity. She could honesty say she's never had a mushroom like this before. And the affect it had on her was... surprising. Her head jerked up sharply, staring at the other mushrooms as she ate.
“I've never had anything like this”
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Posted: Mon Nov 02, 2009 7:25 am
"I think.." he finished chewing his current mouthful, "I think maybe they are unique to this cave."
Usul only had a few more. He tried not to eat too much so that there would always be more food there later. He was someone that was accustomed to hoarding valuables and so when he came across food caches like this one, he did the same.
"Lots of small animals eat here but not many of us come around these parts.. I mean di'taki." He rarely got company. "Have.." it almost pained him but he was being polite to the fetching female in his company. "...have as much as you like."
Usul stepped to the back wall and licked the trickling water off the rocks just to wet his palette. A large, multi-eyed centipede skittered past his nose and with surprising quickness he snatched it in his jaws and crunched away. Eating large bugs was not unheard of, bugs just didn't fill the belly quite as well as meat or plants.
"I try not to eat here.. uhh.. too much." Usul glanced around, walked to the mouth of the cave and looked outside as if someone had followed them, and then came back in. "Saves more for next time. But I don't mind sharing.." he fluffed his feathers out in an attempt to look impressive, "..with you."
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Posted: Fri Nov 13, 2009 12:32 pm
The mention of small animals using this place for food certainly got her attention, losing interest in the mushrooms momentarily; she cast her gaze around the cavern quickly. She could really go for some meat, she even seemed to get excited when she heard something crunch, turning sharply, necklace clattering, just in time to see him devouring a bug.
She blinked a couple of times, listening to him assure her that she could use this room whenever she liked, bowing her head in a silent gesture of gratefulness she began sniffing around the cavern, ignoring the mushrooms for now in hopes of finding a critter hiding between the rocks, that she would hopefully be able to pry out.
Suddenly hissing softly when she found one and began digging at the rock eagerly
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