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 Posted: Tue Apr 08, 2008 4:44 pm
Thorn smiled out at the assembled group. "Evening," he said cheerfully. "Looks like I'm gonna go first, so I'll start with one I liked when I was your age." Absently, he pulled a longer block of wood from his collection and notched it deep, shaving the sides to taper it a bit. Staring at it, one could make out the emerging shape of a rabbit's face. "Have you ever heard the story of Scutfur, the Lepus who wanted to fly?"
Rika blinked at the toy. She'd seen Thorn carve such things before, but she didn't know they had names. "Um," she squeaked. "Dunno." She hadn't the grasp of such things. Better leave this to the Sentinel.
[Surr- since Timber's a minder, do you wanna play the hatchlings?]
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Posted: Tue Apr 08, 2008 5:35 pm
"Yes, Minder." Brindle replied respectfully, and then turned her attention back to the problem at hand, naming her new toy. Brin clicked her beak over the problem a little bit when Rika didn't know what to name him. She had decided it was a him, though. Mostly because she and Rika were already girls, so there had to be a boy to even the odds. Brindle moved over to Rika, and crouched down next to her. Like she'd seen a few of her Minders with their Companions, she opened a wing, and cupped it around Rika, to provide a little warmth. Feeling very responsible, and pleased with herself, she set her mind back to naming the toy.
"Hmmm, how about WoodMus? It's what he is, afterall." she said, sagely. "Now, what shall we do with WoodMus, Rika? Oh, wait, I know! Let's play hide and seekMus! We'll each take turns hiding WoodMus, and then give hints to the other one as to where it is! You wanna play that, Rika?"
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Posted: Wed Apr 09, 2008 3:50 pm
((Surr said to go on in the thread))
"WoodMus." She considered it. To Rika, it made sense. It was a Mus. Made out of wood. WoodMus. She combined words like that... MetalBirds, for Thorn's customers and the like. So WoodMus was a good name. She nodded, as sage as a Mus could be. "WoodMus," she repeated. And a game? Games were good. "You hide first."
As his audience peeped and chirped, Thorn took a deep breath before beginning...
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Posted: Wed Apr 09, 2008 4:27 pm
Timberdust found herself a good spot to settle upon that gave her the entire view of the Crib. This way, she could enjoy the new stories and wood carvings that Thorn would provide for the hatchlings and still keep an eye on everyone else, as well as how the weather faired.
Seems like it's still going strong, she thought to herself. It won't be long until the hatchlings become hungry again, and that would need more than stories to distract them with. She hoped the storm would let so that she may attempt at gathering a few things from the Ground...but even that was too dangerous, and she knew it.
The hatchlings all bobbed up and down and around Thorn, positively enthralled by his presence. "No's" echoed about the group in a swift reply to his question; nobody had ever heard the story, and each were excited to hear it.
Little wings flapped as they gathered into a circle, with the crafter in the middle of it all.
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Posted: Wed Apr 09, 2008 8:01 pm
Brindle was pleased that Rika approved of the name, puffing up her chest feathers a bit, and then pondered where she should hide WoodMus. The Crib was currently occupied by several Sentinels, and Brindle wanted to avoid having the hatchlings chew on her new toy, so she wanted to hide it where one of them wouldn't stumble upon it. She also realized it was probably a good idea to not distract the hatchlings from Thorn's stories by having Rika search among them. She leaned back down to the little Mus, and whispered conspiratorially to her.
"Let's try and stay over here, okay? We don't want to disturb Thorn or the hatchlings. Now, close your eyes, and keep them close until I say it's okay to open them. I'll go hide WoodMus."
Brindle had a good idea for a hiding spot, she just hoped the layers of down on the Crib floor was deep enough to accommodate a burrowing toy. Looking around, she realized the down was a bit fluffier towards the side of the hollow. So, once Rika had closed her eyes, and Brindle checked to make sure she wasn't peeking by waving a wing in front of her, she hopped over to a spot near the wall as quietly as she could, and buried the toy loosely beneath the down.
That done, she returned over to where Rika sat, and gave her permission to open her eyes. Brindle fluffed her feathers in anticipation. "Okay! Go look!"
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Posted: Fri Apr 11, 2008 5:26 pm
Rika scurried around, darting hither and yon. She checked corners and crevices, nooks and crannies. She flung feathers about, coming across bits of chitin and dead grasshopper, but no WoodMus. Towards the side of the hollow, she noticed that the downy carpet was thicker. Perhaps over there? She burrowed down into the feathers, like a snake, feeling with her whiskers for something ahead of her. She came across a block of something hard. WoodMus? Feeling it with her paws, she squeaked in triumph! "WoodMus!" She rolled the toy back to the little Sentinel.
Thorn smiled and began his story. "Long ago, Lepuses weren't as smart or as strong as they are today. In fact, some were downright silly. The was one Lepus in particular, Tikka Flamm, who never listened to his elders and certainly gave his Keeper trouble. See, Tikka wanted to fly. He wanted to be a parus, bright as the sun and pretty as the flowers. And while his mother kept a close watch on him, Tikka found ways to get away. One day, after squirming through the burrow he was born in, he found... a way out..."
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Posted: Sat Apr 12, 2008 7:48 am
The hatchlings cried out in peeps of excited unison. Running away was never a good idea! Wouldn't he get in trouble, or lost, or worse: eaten? The bundle of fluffs scooted closer to Thorn, yearning for more of the story.
Oh, it was so nice of that crafter to tell them his story. It felt amazing, not having to worry about the hatchlings doing anything for the next while, or however long the story would go. Yes, yes, it felt very nice, free, relaxing....A yawn emitted its way through her beak, and it was no wonder: the minder had been bustling about, making sure that everyone was safe and settled since before the storm started. When was the last time she had rested?
And so, without intention, the elderly sentinel slowly fell asleep as the story of the lepus continued.
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Posted: Sat Apr 12, 2008 10:24 am
Brindle watched the little Mus's progress around the Crib, delighted at how quick she was. Brin felt her heart beat faster when Rika tunneled into the feathers where she'd hidden WoodMus, and sure enough both real and wooden Mus came back out.
Brindle hopped in place, hooting appreciatively as Rika rolled WoodMus back over.
"You found him! You found him!" she cheered, then quieted down when she realized how much noise she was making. "Good job, Rika! You found WoodMus really quickly! Okay, would you like to hide him now, and let me search for him?"
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Posted: Mon Apr 14, 2008 4:50 am
Rika nodded, reaching up and placing a paw lightly on Brindle's eyelids. When the young Sentinel closed her eyes, she began looking for a place. Hmm... where to hide it? Aha! A small c***k in the wall seemed about WoodMus's color, and it was low and shadowy enough that the little thing would fit quite nicely. Rolling it to the hole in the wall, she wedged it in tightly and scurried back to the bird. "Hidden!" she cheeped.
Thorn nodded and continued his story. He noticed the venerable minder drifting off; good, poor lady looked tired. "There was a place in the burrow that had been used to store harvests of seasons past, y'see, and it was filled by dropping things in from the top. Tikka realized that if he burrowed through the dried berries and nuts as if they were dirt, he could escape! Of course, it would make a mess, and an unstable tunnel, but Tikka didn't care. His desire to escape was so great that he decided that the hard work of his Keeper wasn't important. After struggling through the food, he emerged, blinking, into the sun, his pale fur stained with the juice of not-quite-dried berries." After saying this, Thorn shaved a bit more of the wood away, angling the head of what would eventually be a Lepus.
((Since Timberdust is napping and hatchlings aren't terribly responsive, Zee Oddwyn can go ahead! -- The Herald))
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Posted: Mon Apr 14, 2008 11:09 am
Brindle shut her eyes at Rika's paw touch, and listened as the little Mus went scurrying off. Very soon, she was back, and at her cheep, Brindle blinked both eyes open, and looked about to see if she could spot any disturbed feathers. There were a few spots that looked promising, but upon further inspection, they yielded no WoodMus. Brindle was pretty impressed that Rika had managed to hide WoodMus so well. He was almost the same size as her, and Brindle wondered at just how far a Mus could roll something like that.
So, she hopped about the sides of the Crib, peering into nooks and crannies that were at Mus level, until a small carved nose caught her eye. "WoodMus!" she exclaimed, but was at a loss as to how to get him out of the small nook. She tried, fumbling at him with her Will, and WoodMus moved a little, just enough for her to delicately snag his ear in her beak. Brindle carried the toy back over to Rika triumphantly, and set him down beside her.
"You're a good hider, Rika!" she complimented the little Companion, bending down to nibble very gently at the fur on her head. Brindle was really enjoying playing this game with the little Mus. She found Rika's bright little eyes, and soft chirp very appealing, almost soothing, and Brin realized that she'd almost completely forgotten about the Storm outside. Brindle preened herself a little, just to show the Thunderbird how unafraid she was, then turned back to the little Mus.
"Would you like me to hide him again, Rika? Or would you like to do something else?" she asked.
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Posted: Mon Apr 14, 2008 2:13 pm
Bang! That was close, with both thunder and lightning nearly at the same time. Lightning must have struck somewhere in Deep Woods. Crash! An even louder crack of lightning. The crib is illuminated as if it was day outside, and the sound sets off all the hatchlings again. They are peeping and crying uncontrollably. When the mayhem finally stops the storm seems to have spent most of its energy. It doesn't rain quite as much anymore. Is it over? No... Not quite. An even louder noise fills the air.
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