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 Posted: Tue Apr 08, 2008 9:37 am
A despondent smile gaped Twist's beak, "Some, but I believe I am borrowing it from you."
Again stubbornness pervaded the Wildtype's being, so resolute was he to sit and watch the shelter's entrance with little care for what may happen to him. The cold of the outside was wheedling beneath the his layers of feather, though, and he could feel it draping over his body, rigid, staunch. There was a time to be silly and stupid and this was not one of those times. A rattle of pinions and Twist was again at his feet.
"Oh yes, oh yes, thank you." This time his smile reached his eyes, if only just a peek. Twist squeezed in next to Fox; there wasn't room or time enough to complain about the lack of space. He nestled himself next to the Deep Woods male.
"Cozier than an egg, then!" he said, taking a stab at his usual chipper.
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Posted: Tue Apr 08, 2008 7:42 pm
Fox gave a soft, slightly annoyed grunt at Twistumbler's comment. He could not say that he disliked the warmth his huddled companion gave off, but he did not like the close quarters at all. His eartufts slicked back and he returned to preening his chestfeathers.
"Indeed..." He muttered, before running his beak through his feathers. "Hopefully this won't last for too long."
If one were to take great pains in looking at the watcher's turned back, they might distinguish the huddled form of a chirop, who was exactly the same shade as his master. His little white streaked face was pressed into Foxfeather's rich, but slightly moist feathers and he was quaking with fear.
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Posted: Wed Apr 09, 2008 11:45 am
Twistumbler wasn't exactly sure if Foxfeather meant the storm or the arrangements thus far. Either way, the minder was not about to start harping about it. He shifted his wings and gave his chest-feathers a bit of a nibble.
"I don't think the storm will let up any time soon," he said with an aggravating amount of nonchalance. For one who had been more than willing to leap out into the heart of the gale, he sure was taking it lightly now; Twist halted his ministrations and glanced sidelong at the other Sentinel.
"Scared, are you? Keep shaking like that and you'll push me right out of the shelter!"
Of course, he didn't see the little Chirop clinging to his back.
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Posted: Wed Apr 09, 2008 12:20 pm
Foxfeather's sharp golden eyes cut across Twistumbler and he scowled. "Tick. Down."
Barely were these words muttered when the trembling companion hurried to obey. He scrambled unsteadily down the sentinel's back and stood at his talons, but continued to quake with fear. His wide eyes peered up at twist with worry.
"It's this little runt."
Tick only squeaked softly, almost inaudible to both sentinels. He held the ability to speak, but was too worried to do so and make any sense.
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Posted: Wed Apr 09, 2008 9:16 pm
Twist's tufts lifted. Tick?
And then the Chirop appeared, frightened and trembling. Those same upraised tufts fell midway and his head cocked thoughtfully. It was unlike him to be reminded of a fledgling when he looked upon the other's companion - after all, a Chirop is a Chirop is a Chirop... - but small and quaking as it was, he couldn't help the pity that alighted in his eyes.
"Poor dear," he said with an admonishing click of his beak after the word runt. He'd left his Parus at the Enclave in his stead, knowing that at least if he wasn't there, his helper was. He'd no idea what sort of comfort that was, but....
"Scared of the storm inside or outside?" he queried the Chirop, eyes crinkled with amusement.
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Posted: Thu Apr 10, 2008 5:13 am
The quaking chirop glanced up at Foxfeather, who gave him a sharp nod. It was alright for him to respond.
"Y-y-y-yah'. Big n-n-n-noise. Lots wet." The little matching chirop squeaked brokenly and regarded Twistumbler still with a bit of worry and fear. He did not like strangers much, though Twist was clearly friendly. On top of the storm, the little companion was mortified.
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Posted: Thu Apr 10, 2008 8:32 am
Well, this was certainly a change from his norm.
"Oh yes," he humored the Chirop good-naturedly. "I definitely hate the wet too. Have no fear, though, I'm sure Foxfeather will protect you!"
Catch would have been grooming the Chirop the moment of his appearance. If there was one companion you could expect to be straight-forward, it was his. He leaned towards Fox -
"Is he, ah, always like this?"
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Posted: Thu Apr 10, 2008 8:36 am
"H-h-he will. If good. Always good." The chirop muttered, then quickly retreated to Foxfeather's stomach, where he clung to the dark feathers.
"Only when a fierce storm is upon us. He does not do well in this sort of weather, though imagine few do." Fox replied, but his eyes were glued to the entrance to the shelter, instead of on Twistumbler, like they were before. He watched the sheets of rain and hail sweep past the entrance. It was a good thing he, Tick, and the minder were stuck in a dry safehaven.
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Posted: Fri Apr 11, 2008 9:20 am
"Ah," he intoned. "I can imagine what this weather has done to my Catch. I imagine he's crashing into walls at this point, or trying to correct the branches that the Thunderbird has unsettled."
Twist's feathers lifted with a sigh, beak lowering to nibble at his down, but burrowing in his chest instead. How long would this hell last? How long would he be kept from knowing the fate of poor Nica? How much longer would the rain and thunder keep him from his Ossie and Songbloom?
Unlike Fox, Twist shut his eyes against the storm.
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Posted: Fri Apr 11, 2008 10:48 am
After a few moments, Foxfeather tore his eyes from the shelter entrance and lifted one wing. He ran his beak through his still damp feathers and preened himself. Honestly, it was an attempt at hiding his concerns and worry over the storm. The shelter was uncomfortable, but strong. Still, he could not push away the gnawing feeling that any tree could give way at any time. He had feared such things since he was a fledgling, but his fears were not unfounded. If only he knew the position that his idolized sentinel was in.
Tick turned his little white face upwards and peered at his master, then at Twistumbler, and finally the entrance. The little chirop was worried, too, but moreso about being swept away by the winds.
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Posted: Fri Apr 11, 2008 8:33 pm
When he was younger and more indiscriminate in his words and actions, Wildcraft might have been heard to boast that he could out-fly anything - even the Thunderbird. His performance tonight has been nothing short of exemplary, naturally, and he's led his team through many a tight spot this night. Now, with his team deployed and his duty done, the Corporal is ready to find some shelter for himself until the storm has blown over and it's time to assess the damage.
The slightly smaller-than-average Wildtype makes his way through the stormy night with surprising ease, somehow managing to find the least-buffeted areas of the air to fly through. He's soaked to the skin, of course, and as a result his flight is not silent in the least (but the cries of the Thunderbird drown out the sodden flaps of his wings). The entrance to the shelter is suddenly filled with his minimal bulk as he comes to an abrupt halt, sharp talons gripping the wood.
It comes as a bit of a surprise to find that the Elite shelter he's chosen is occupied, and by non-Elites no less. Wildcraft stands politely in the opening as the storm rages behind him, however, gazing expectantly at the duo while he waits for them to introduce themselves.
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Posted: Sat Apr 12, 2008 7:35 pm
Mind too filled with warm fluff to think properly, if even at all, Twist had given in to the weariness lying heavy on his bones. It felt nice to doze, caught between waking and sleeping, hearing vaguely the going-ons on the outside, but remaining totally immobile otherwise. Even the damp couldn't get the Wildtype down; at least he wasn't as wet as when he had first stumbled upon the place. It did help that Foxfeather - no matter his odd company - was there as well. So, within seconds of tucking in, Twistumbler was well on his way to a nap.
However, there was a subtle change in the air around him. Though the Thunderbird could not be blocked out, he felt as though the sound around him had been disturbed. Unable to shake the feeling, the minder twitched and withdrew his beak from his feathers and lifted his sleep-glazed eyes. One blink and it was gone; he started suddenly.
"Aha-aha! We have company, Foxfeather, my boy!" Twist gaped his beak amicably at the newcomer, though never quite noticed the markings on his wings. In his excitement he stood, tufts lifting.
"Well, come in, come in! No use staying out there - how is out there, anyway? Any sign of letting up?"
Two seconds of sleep and already the Wildtype was wired for another go!
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Posted: Sat Apr 12, 2008 7:58 pm
Unlike his minder companion, Foxfeather's eyes fell across the marking chevrons quite quickly. Twistumbler's greeting chilled the deep woods, who quickly sought to make up for Twistumbler's informal greeting.
The deep woods sentinel shuffled back to make room for Wildcraft and bobbed his head sharply to his superior. He really should not find it a surprise to see an Elite here, as it is an Elite shelter, after all. "G'd eve, Sir... As my friend mentioned, my calling is Foxfeather."
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Posted: Sat Apr 12, 2008 8:13 pm
"Greetings," comes his surprisingly deep voice, rather oddly resonant considering the slight build of the Elite. He remains in the entrance for the moment, letting his gaze travel across the pair again now that his vision has accommodated for the darkness in the shelter. A Deep Woods, and.. a Wildtype? Yes, a Wildtype under all the dye. Couldn't be a combatant with that dye job, but at least the colours are somewhat sensible. "No signs as of yet, but I do believe that the worst of the storm is crossing over now. The end will come soon after the Thunderbird's eye is no longer above us."
"Foxfeather," he nods to the Deep Woods, and then turns his gaze to the Minder. "And you are?" While he waits for the reply the Elite gives himself a vigorous shake, trying to remove the worst of the surface moisture from his soaked plumage before he steps inside. It's awfully cramped with three Sentinels crammed into a shelter that was meant for one to fit comfortably (two in a pinch) but he sidles between the pair and unabashedly begins to leech off their warmth. And he sets to preening immediately, clearing the excess water-weight from his flight feathers.
"Wildcraft is fine, only my unit calls me sir."
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Posted: Sat Apr 12, 2008 9:03 pm
"Ah, good riddance to it, then!" he said, reaffirming his disdain with a nod. With a third compatriot nestling in for the long haul, Twist figured sleep would not be a thing he would be able to snap up now. Pity.
The chattering minder paid little or no heed to the chevrons that Foxfeather had noted. At least, not at first. Twist's tufts lifted in surprise.
"My! Nearly forget myself if I weren't reminded," he chuckled; it was beginning to sound strained again, "'Pologize for that, I do. I'm Twistumbler. The pleasure's mine!"
It was when Wildcraft squeezed himself in that Twist finally noticed the markings on his wings. A bit of shifting to-and-fro in the cramped space gave him a better look, the smaller Wildtype's words - Only my unit calls me sir - solidified it. Not that you could readily take up the Elite markings and get away with it. Twist gave a low whistle of surprise.
"Bet you didn't expect a Watcher and a Minder in these parts," he chirruped, perhaps more nervously than before; the corners of his eyes crinkled. Wordlessly, he reset himself upon his feet, if only to offer the high ranking Sentinel more room and more warmth.
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