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 Posted: Tue Jul 22, 2008 4:17 am
Damn, a Teacher mind trick. Again. Ash pretended he wasn’t listening and preened further. His primaries were completely clean, and his other feathers had a better aspect. However, he really could not ignore the Mystic very long, no matter how hard he tried, and before preening his other wing, he whispered with a hardly convincing voice: “Yeah, it’s sad, but she can make new smelly stuff, and… huh… we didn’t get hurt, right?”
He almost felt her stare on him. Maybe she was right about the berries. He hadn’t thought about it, but maybe mommy will be even angrier if she doesn’t get everything that was wasted. Not to count there was honey-like substance and nut powder, and neither was made out of berries. Oops.
He didn’t dare spitting out the mess in front of her, and swallowed substances as he gulped. Hesitation made the fledgling flinch before he could say anything else: “I’m gonna work hard to find what mommy needs! I just gotta know where and how I can get honey and stuff, really…”
He felt like he was going to spend days fixing his mistake. Sure, he had to be a responsible big boy, although pretending to be a Gatherer didn’t sound amusing at all. Ashton silently told himself to shut up now, before he gives Runewing more reasons to drive him into guilt.
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Posted: Tue Jul 22, 2008 1:10 pm
[[I decided not to stretch it, so Rune doesn't know Ashton has no father around.]]
Rune's duty to the Mystics was to quietly observe the fledglings that may have developed an unexpectedly strong will. Because of this, Rune was well informed, meeting many parents as they escorted their little ones into her temporary care.
"Ah yes, I thought I smelt a little more than berries," Rune agreed, not nearly finished in her remarks. "Your parents must work very hard, raising more than one fledgling is a tough job." Another nod of approval, "You know, it's nearly time for fledglings like yourself to join in the experience of a classroom. All this year's hatchlings have grown up so quickly, and I suspect I might meet your family soon." She continued her flowing conversation to end with her point, "What was your brother's name again? I didn't catch it. Who knows maybe after this is all said and done we can have a good laugh, hmm?"
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Posted: Tue Jul 22, 2008 1:54 pm
[[No prob! Ash is not even aware yet, I have to decide with Amber's player when and how he is told of this.]]
Someone started to look embarrassed, and lowered his eartufts. “Y-yeah, I wanna grow up fast, so I can help Mom and Du… my little brother”, he justified. “And, I too, will work hard and protect them.”
Ashton blinked. So, what to do, now? With a forced smile, he said: “He’s a bit younger than me; I dun think he realizes what he’s done… he’s gonna learn, I swear! He may be scared if you mention accidents like that yet.”
He grew ashamed, and he had to react to Rune’s speech to restore everyone’s dignity. “As you said, Mom’s busy, and good luck finding my father. He hunts, and we’re even lucky if we see him.” He was not angry or sad, he just stated facts. None of these changed the other facts that he had an accident, that he decided to fix the damages, and that it would take a long time.
An other part of him prayed so that Rune would stop these mind tricks. He started getting the point across, after all, he felt guilty enough!
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Posted: Tue Jul 22, 2008 3:27 pm
"I see, I see." Rune was obviously having an effect on Ashton's conscious. Yet, he was sticking stubbornly to his story and Rune decided she'd put him under enough stress. Sighing, Runewing shifted her weight and ran her beak over a few feathers, her tone becoming softer as she spoke, "Well, I'll be sure not to bring it up then... Now, how about we find where my companion has run off to and gather some berries? After all, you should come back with something to give her, show her how responsible you are." Maybe he'd own up to it eventually, no use forcing it him to admit it now. Could he really sit by an watch his sibling take the blame for what he did? It was a choice he would have to make for himself.
So his mother really was raising fledglings on her own. Gazing down, Rune could see that Ashton wanted to take care of things, after all, it sounded as if his father wasn't around nearly enough. But if he couldn't learn to accept help when he needed it, or take it upon himself to claim his actions, he would find that task much harder to achieve. Rune grumbled, hating to admit that even with such poor social graces, her cranky exterior could be broken through. In fact, Syz did it on a near-daily basis.
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Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 1:13 pm
Ashton didn’t perceive Rune’s change in attitude. He thought the drive into guilt didn’t stop, and he eventually coughed his testimony. “Dust had nothing to do with this, please, dun say an’thing to anyone, I did it myself, and I hope ye’re happy!” His hopes she would get away as soon as she would get his version of the story were shattered anyway, and she was not likely to leave him alone. Even less likely not to meddle with his family’s problems.
The boy turned his back to the Mystic, pouting, and guilty. “Th’berries part’s still true”, he mumbled, and preened himself with rage. If only he was not dealing with an adult Sentinel, he would have fought for his tranquility, instead of pretending his brother was a walking and jumping hatchling.
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Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 2:17 pm
When the confession came tumbling out of Ashton, Rune gave a small hoot of laughter. Her merriment was rarely heard and it sounded somewhat out of place with her stern appearance; and though the look was strange, the sound resonated in a single clear note. It sounded worn and yet, warm. She stooped a bit to face Ashton, her eyes relaying the seriousness of her message, "Truth takes true courage, Ashton." Rune lifted herself back up and sighed contentedly, ruffling her feathers and slightly stretching her wings. "Now. Which way did my companion flit off to?" She inquired while peering around, Syz suddenly alighting with a muffled greeting by her side.
"Mmrries!" He gurgled before carefully setting his catch down in the nook of a branch. "Berries!" He repeated, this time with more clarity. "Not too far!" He indicated the direction with his wing before pausing. "This way!" He picked the berry up delicately in his beak and nodded his head, telling them to follow.
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Posted: Mon Aug 04, 2008 12:54 pm
Someone didn’t quite expect Rune’s reply nor her laughter. Ash slowly turned back to her direction, interrupting his activity, and opened his beak. At first, he wanted to say something to the effect of "what, you're mocking me 'gain?", however... the Mystic’s height struck him again, but he didn’t let himself be impressed again by the size factor. Her words seemed to have hit a deep part of his mind, and he spoke solemnly at last: “Thank you, I’ll do my best to keep that courage.” Oh boy, was he proud to have won (or lost with dignity, both were the same to him) the psychological battle.
He nodded. Then, he heard Syz and hopped happily in his direction. As he lifted his wings, he realized his feathers were still heavy and mostly covered of a gooey substance. A urge led him to preen one last time, superficially, so he would feel more comfortable flying, and waited for Runewing’s authorization before going down.
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Posted: Sat Aug 09, 2008 12:51 pm
Syz had already left in a flurry of wing beats and Rune was poised to follow. She glanced back at Ashton, "I hope your wings are ready for flying, because Syz isn't the easiest companion to follow." With that she spread her wings delicately at first, pushing off her perch before allowing them to fully extend.
The light shadows the moon cast made her slightly uneasy. Though it was still early in the evening, this task involving the berries was slowly pecking its way into her night. The dangers of crossing to the Enclave would be even worse if attempted too-close to dawn. Pushing these thoughts from her mind, she focused on where Syz had darted off to while listening to hear if Ashton was following.
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Posted: Sat Aug 09, 2008 3:05 pm
The young Sentinel glanced at his spreading wings. They could be in a better shape, but he had plenty more time to clean them afterwards. “Huh… yeah”, he said in a not quite convinced tone as he took off.
He didn’t expect to feel quite so heavy with the unneeded mess on his feathers. Ash was a bit on the clumsy side already, and his situation didn’t help any. The boy had to be very concentrated in order to keep his weak balance.
He managed to follow the Pica, although at a low speed, and with the complex and delicate structure of his very feathers disturbed, some unusual noise followed him. Flying in anything else but silence didn’t feel right, but who cared about that? Silence and speed were not his main problems as long as he was flying (or rather, gliding, hopping with the help of branches in the way, and shaking violently his wings).
With all of this, he almost forgot to look at Syz… or rather at Rune, now. Damn, this bird travels as fast as he talks.
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Posted: Sun Aug 10, 2008 2:32 pm
When Rune had focused on listening for Ashon, she found the task easier than expected. The usual silence that should accompany a Sentinel's flight was absent. The young fledgling was practically hopping from branch to branch and falling further and further behind. If time was an issue to Runewing, she'd have her hands full with this level of progress.
Perching on the next available branch, she waited patiently for Ashton to catch up, preening the beads in her feathers so that they wouldn't make noise as she flew. It was a delicate process, and the reason there were only three strings on each wing, the spacing allowing her to keep them from brushing against each-other. Satisfied with their placement she glanced to see if Ashton was close enough to resume flying, Syz having wheeled around back to their position.
"Ready? Almost there!" He piped up, the berry once again secured in a small nook of a branch.
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Posted: Tue Aug 12, 2008 11:58 am
Ashton took some more time to adjust his jumps and get closer of the two other birds. He reached Rune’s branch in a few well-placed hops, however staying at a reasonable distance. Her preening urged him to do the same, and felt lighter afterwards, though his cleaning was short and incomplete.
The boy looked at Runewing before making himself ready to fly more properly. He had never seen such beads and strings, and couldn’t figure their use. “What are these things for?” he asked, expecting esoteric explanations related to mysticism. She was a Mystic, after all, she must be doing magical stuff when she was not busy following her Pica.
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Posted: Sun Aug 17, 2008 11:38 am
Rune glanced back at her accessories and admired them, they were immensely rare and old, and glimmered softly in the moonlight. "These charms were passed to me by my teachers, many of which-" Her eyes softened as she reconsidered her words, "were like my family." It wasn't what she had started to say, but that knowledge wasn't for Ashton to hear. "They are mementos from them and they keep me close to my home, always." Runewing suddenly felt aged and shook her head, wanted to complete this detour with Ashton and continue on her journey. It had been so long since her last visit to the Enclave.
"Few hops left!" Syz promised, playfully teasing Ashton's flying technique before zipping behind an obscuring branch. Shaken from her reverie, Rune opened her wings and followed the Pica to where he had disappeared.
Her eyes were met by a large bush, positively bustling with berries. Peering down at it from her perch she surveyed the Ground. "Well Ashon, ready to find out what it feels like to be a Gatherer?"
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Posted: Sun Aug 17, 2008 1:28 pm
As though Runewing’s explanation was perfectly valid, Ashton felt like it was hollow. Did he expect something more practical? He shook his head but appeared satisfied. “Your teachers had fancy stuff! My mommy’s got stuff from her family too, I think. It’s transparent and it holds products inside.” How were they called again? The boy could only remember what it was made of: “It’s all glass, and I think it’s real old.” He really preferred practical tools over accessories, but he could understand such charms made her feel better. Anyway, who knows what power they really held… yes, Ash was still sure they were more than mere mementos.
He pouted when Syz spoke, but had to admit his current skills were bad, and quickly forgot this. At least, he arrived safely, and saw a bush full of nice, dark berries. He was very happy, but then, he realized that in order to gather berries, he had to get on the Ground. Oops.
He didn’t complain, because he has had enough trouble already and couldn’t afford annoying a teacher even further. Therefore, he stepped back, and hopped forward gently.
Ashton knew Rune kept an eye on the area, however, he knew he wasn’t quite safe, and hurried to the bush. Another realization hit him: he didn’t know the first thing about gathering. Picking the berries was one thing, but keeping a large amount with him? Maybe it was time to use his Will. Yeah, that must be the answer to everything.
He stared at a couple juicy berries, and concentrated very, very hard. Leaves slightly shook, and the only thing he managed with an awful effort was exploding a far too fragile berry near him, spreading more liquid and mess on him. Eww. No, he definitely was NOT ready for using his Will. He shook his head again, unsatisfied, and instead chose to pick them physically with his beak. Unsure of a place to put them, he brought a couple back, still holding to their stem, and left them near Syz and Rune. He really, really didn’t like how it was going.
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Posted: Mon Aug 18, 2008 10:27 am
Rune had indeed posted herself on a branch with a good view to supervise Ashton, sending Syz on an opposite perch to do likewise. Despite this commanding view, the young fledgling on the ground still made her wary and Runewing grew flustered by his bumbling efforts to hold the berries. His failure to pluck the berries with his Will made Rune sigh inwardly, the mere thought that she would have to teach an entire class full of fledglings causing her aggravation. When he finally arrived back in the trees, Rune was glaring at her companion and Ashton, of which she placed full responsibility. None present were equipped in any possible way for gathering berries, making the task at hand enormously difficult.
"Ashton, perhaps we should consider taking what we can to your mother? She could help us carry the berries, and I'm sure Syz will let you take credit for finding the bush." She hoped the young fledgling would see the reason in this, the amount of flying and time that was beginning to unveil itself looked daunting.
Hopping to the Ground with a wary look around, Rune merely blinked at the bush to retrieve three berries with her Will, finding no reason to exert herself. Twirling them around absently, she brought them back to the perch and set them down softly.
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Posted: Mon Aug 18, 2008 3:55 pm
Before answering, Ashton watched Rune with a bit of envy. Sure, he was still young, and his Will was not supposed to be reliable yet. The thought didn’t make it better. And while she was at it, why wouldn’t she just pick up a lot of berries and bring them all back at once, with them floating around them like satellites around a large planet?... oh, right, teachers don’t do that, and Mystics still had this vastly unknown status and dignity.
He didn’t want to look like a hatchling and ask his mom to fix his own mistakes. He was a responsible big boy, for Noctus’ sake!
Now, gathering IS boring as hell.
A compromise had to be made. Ash preened real fast the new layer of juice before speaking again.
He replied: “And I’m sure I can do it some more!”, and then he jumped down, back on the Ground, and tried this time to fit berries under an unfolded wing, which was five different kinds of difficult.
[Don't hit me for the astronomic reference, please! I just found the mental image funny, and Ashton didn't quite think it in those exact terms either. sweatdrop ]
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