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 Posted: Sat Apr 12, 2008 2:12 pm
Mallow, who had fluffed out her chest feathers for some small fraction of warmth, deflated when Shadowstalker reemerged from the thick needles of the spruce. His definite decision of protecting them all touched the Medic's heart -- in a non-romantic sense -- and she gave a bob of her head and repositioned her wings closer to her body.
"Mmhmm, I believe you're right," she began and started to shuffle towards the trunk. There would be no argument from her. "As much as I love my job, I'd rather you all didn't catch cold and so forth."
With that, she gave a small chuckle and then started to make her way between the thick branches, trying her best to keep them from dislodging into her feathers.
"C'mon, now."
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Posted: Sat Apr 12, 2008 3:46 pm
Amethyst nodded to Catchfly, understanding completely his meaning. 'Had it been any other circumstance I would have demanded the carcass of a mus first.' She thought playfully to herself. She scooted in towards the tree more and motioned with her head for Catchfly to follow suit. The branches that the three sentinels, soon to be four, close enough to each other that if they just leaned in slightly they all could share their body warmth amongst the evergreen needles.
She shivered slightly when the great thunder bird clapped its wings, rumbling so much that the tree itself shook slightly. "I believe it would be safer for all of us if the Shadowstalker joined the rest of us here, in closer quarters." She suggested to the dark comical bird. 'at least I know I'd feel better about it' she thought.
Tad crawled around to her front and clung to the feathers of her breast. She didn't mind though, His body mass was much smaller and would need more heat to keep from going into hypothermia... She squatted as low as she could to the branch, tucking her head down almost into her shoulders to create less wind resistance from the strong breezes that liked to rip through the spruce.
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Posted: Sat Apr 12, 2008 4:07 pm
As the other pair moved toward the trunk, so did Catchfly, glad that the care that was required in the movements masked his own oddly slow reflexes. He was not, however, able to mask the fact that he was not as quickly flexible as the other Sentinels. The twig and needles that Mallow so deftly avoided bounced gently off his wings, showering him with tiny droplets of rain, so that when he finally arrived at the trunk with the other three, he was dappled all over with drops and almost twinkled in a flash of lightning.
Shaking himself off, he looked at the other three and gave a slight smile, stretching out his wings so they acted as a partial windblock for the females. Pulling his own head down, he fluffed feathers and settled down low on his feet, making himself as small a target as possible. He did, however glance up at the Shadowstalker, watching him with mild interest. The male was somewhat comical, but the seriousness with which he took his job was something Catchfly could easily respect. He imagined that whatever else he may be, the big male was probably a fine Scout.
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Posted: Sat Apr 12, 2008 4:13 pm
The Shadowstalker can find no immediate danger in the spruce, but he should be able to hear something moving inside the trunk. If he follows his ears he’ll find a hollow. Looks like a squirrel nest, and it’s inhabited too!
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Posted: Sat Apr 12, 2008 4:26 pm
Reunited with the others, Shadowstalker fell back in to his usual speaking patterns.
"The Shadowstalker believes with perseverance, we should be able to last the night, Noctus willing. Catchfly has the right idea ladies, The Shadowstalker will be with you in a moment."
A slight sound had alerted him, and he listened as hard as he could for a clue as to the direction. The needles and small branches made his sight moot, and the steady rain did not help either. Movement came from the right of him, close to the trunk.
Flapping his wings for balance, Shadowstalker turned and heard the noise again. There was something INSIDE the trunk of the tree.
"The Shadowstalker hears a noise coming from within the tree. Catchfly, will you stay and watch over the ladies? You shall be in charge of their well being if something happens to The Shadowstalker. The Shadowstalker does not believe what is in the tree is of a harmful nature, but The Shadowstalker is ever vigilant."
Moving slowly, Shadowstalker moved to another branch, quietly listening for the sound again. Movement, again, and closer to him. Shadowstalker leaned closer to the trunk of the tree.
There. A hollow.
"The Shadowstalker has found a nest of a squirrel. The Shadowstalker will investigate, as we shall all need food soon."
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Posted: Sat Apr 12, 2008 6:02 pm
All hunkered down, Mallow gave a nod to Catchfly for his wind-block before she tilted her head towards where Shadowstalker was investigating. At the mention of squirrel, she clicked her beak in an approving manner and her own stomach seemed to give a small rumble at the thought of it all. ...Which promptly caused the small, damp chirop attached to her back to give a startled 'meep' and crawl over the onto the Medic's puffed out chest.
"Ah, Glaz, I almost forgot you were there, dear," she stated innocently, her words directed more to herself than anyone else. The chirop only snorted and buried into her down. Mallow just gave a shrug before she began to preen herself, conversation coming on thin in her direction.
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Posted: Sat Apr 12, 2008 7:04 pm
She had nodded to Catchfly as an unspoken thanks for his wing wind barricade and then begun to watch Shadowstalker intrigued with his claim of there something actually living in the very tree they were in. If it truly were squirrels then they might have something to eat during this rough time. If it were something else though, like another sentinel then they'd have to fight off their hunger till the storm ended.
Hope still ran strong for her though. "I hope theres a whole family of them in that hollow." She said eagerly with a quick clack of her own beak, hunger surfacing its head. She placed her own ear against the trunk of the tree and listened as quietly as the storm would let her to hear, for herself, the scurrying, of whatever it was, inside.
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Posted: Sat Apr 12, 2008 7:14 pm
Mmmm...squirrel.
Catchfly would have loved something to fill his stomach, but he knew instinctively that not only would he be greedy to ask for any of it, it would be against both the males' instinctive moral compasses to eat anything until the females had eaten their fill. Which was a disappointment but understandable. Watching the Shadowstalker intently, Catchfly half-squinted in an attempt to sharpen his vision to the hole. He couldn't precisely tell, but a flick of motion suggested more than one inhabitant, and he liked that idea quite a lot. "Need help?" he asked, though he would have preferred not to leave the females alone. Awkward as it was, being close to the pair offered warmth and a sense of fulfillment. For once, he felt like he was doing good.
Besides, the Scout's reflexes were probably normal, possibly even better. Catchfly would not have been of much use anyways, with his stilted reaction time and jerky motions. Glancing at Amethyst, he martialled himself to conversation. "How's the sound?" he asked, then qualified it quickly.
"More than one, you think?
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Posted: Sat Apr 12, 2008 7:31 pm
Shadowstalker tried to peer in to the hollow, but it was dark and whatever it was inside was not letting itself be seen.
"The Shadowstalker is a failure, and cannot seem to see what is inside the hollow. The Shadowstalker implores you to wait and be quiet. The Shadowstalker hopes to lure whatever it is out of the nest. The Shadowstalker can wait all night long."
Sahdowstalker directed the last part to whomever or whatever was in the hollow. Settling himself down on the branch, his eyes locked on to the hollow, Shadowstalker prepared himself to wait.
"The Shadowstalker is unsure of the number of inhabitants. Its either several small things... or one larger thing. The Shadowstalker HATES surprises."
But he would never reveal that he was reveling in the situation, glad to show some of his peers that he wasn't a complete failure. Even though his social skills were firmly lacking, his abilities as a Scout were mostly untried, as he was still young. It irked him that he was constantly set aside by others because of the way he acted, and they didn't even pause to think that he might actually be good at what he did, beneath his social inadequacies.
He wished the Brigadier was here to see him.
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Posted: Sun Apr 13, 2008 3:54 pm
Unfortunately nothing stirs in the tiny hollow's opening, but if one were to glance in at the same time as the area is lit up by lightning, one would be able to see the two squirrels inside, curled up in their thick tails to keep out the cold.
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Posted: Mon Apr 14, 2008 2:12 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 night is turning into day by the flashes of lightning as the storm seems to unload the last of its fury over Deep Woods. 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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Posted: Mon Apr 14, 2008 8:00 pm
Becoming flustered or appearing nervous and untamed was something that just didn't happen to the Medic, but even so, she couldn't help but give a jump and stare wide-eyed out of the spruce as all the shadow around them turned to a pale blue. She shuffled her feet on her perch and held feathery ear-tufts erect despite the ground-shaking roars of the Thunderbird, beak held shut for some time.
"Well," she began suddenly,"I don't believe I've ever seen flashes and roars this intense." Her words were eaten by the noise almost as soon as they came out of her beak, but their calm and wondering tone managed to be heard a tad every few seconds. "Quite astonishing, really."
She glanced at the others, curious as to how they were reacting, when she suddenly turned her head back. A powerful tremor rattled her whole body and droplets fell like a waterfall from every pine needle as something shook the earth harder than ever before. "What on earth...?" Mallow asked the surrounding air as she inched away from the trunk of the tree, her body halfway out of the thick branches.
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