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 Posted: Thu Sep 25, 2008 10:33 am
"Well, you never know!" Holly quipped back. "Maybe all your brains got rattled up, all that speed training you do!" Laughing, he noticed the slowing of her pace and sped up, closing the distance between them energetically. He was still fresh for the evening, and now that Ossie was slowing, it wasn't too hard to come up close behind her and keep pace as she banked downstream. This was something they could never have done as fledglings, and Holly got a bit of a thrill as he swept out over the stream for a moment, into the clear sky.
Stupidity done with after a moment, he moved closer to the banks and their protective branches and grinned over at Ossie. It really was good to see her after their time apart. He had missed her more than he thought he would.
"Such a beautiful night," he remarked with a smile, though he noticed after a moment that he wasn't looking at the sky but rather at the cleverly-dyed Mist. Hmm...
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Posted: Thu Sep 25, 2008 3:26 pm
"Oh, fall off!" Ossie chuckled as she sped alongside Hollyhock. She was dismayed only at the fact that he had caught her tired, so she would not be able to go as fast as she would of had she been well rested.
Unlike Holly, she remained in the safety of the thick, hanging branches alongside the stream. She would of joined him, but made it a point not to fly in the open often. Despite how long ago it had been, she still remembered the tale of the High Flyers very well.
Once he returned to the dense collection of branches under which she flew, she broke into a laugh.
"Tempting the sky fiends, are we?" She teased as she let her gaze slide to her friend. She caught his gaze and for a moment felt another wave of embarrassment.
"It is... I can hardly wait for the come of winter. I bet the snow will be pretty."
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Posted: Mon Sep 29, 2008 10:57 am
Ossie's gentle teasing and Holly's own realization of the stupid thing he had just done (why on earth had he done it? It wasn't like Holly to be reckless) brought him quickly back to himself, and he moved in to ghost close enough to Ossie that the tips of their wings almost brushed on occasion. Smiling at her, he nodded.
"It's getting cooler, too...and the leaves will all be turning, soon." He grinned in a sudden burst of mischief. "Our first autumn!" He couldn't wait to see the trees set ablaze, and couldn't wait until the leaves first started to fall. It was going to be absolutely gorgeous...and maybe he'd be able to share it with Ossie. That was an idea that certainly appealed to him.
Casting his gaze out over the stream, he took a moment to compose his thoughts before glancing shyly back at his friend. "How long are you staying in the Deep Woods before heading out again?"
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Posted: Mon Sep 29, 2008 11:11 am
"It'll be wonderful!" She hooted in agreement, sharing his sentiments about their first, fast approaching autumn. Seeing the trees ablaze was a thought that she was enchanted by as a fledgling, sheerly for the fact that some minder said something about the leaves being on fire, so to speak.
As she began to age she found out what the minder really meant and was looking forward to it now just as much.
"Hmm? Oh, probably just another night... Maybe two, if I push it. Just a little break. I'll probably be doing some hunting in the meantime." She replied softly and sneaked another gaze at her friend. She felt a tingle trace down her spine and couldn't help but to grin.
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Posted: Wed Oct 01, 2008 8:44 am
"...Oh. Well, it's nice to see you even for a short amount of time!" Holly said brightly, blocking out the disappointment he felt that Ossie was going to be leaving again. Certainly, he had missed her since Graduation, but somehow seeing her again made him want her to never leave. And perhaps that was a bit awkward, but Holly just couldn't keep himself from thinking it. He was going to miss her when she left again...and what if she wasn't there to share the fiery autumn foliage with? That would be horribly disappointing...
"When will you be coming back?" he asked, and found himself somewhat breathless for reasons he couldn't quite fathom. Looking at her, he managed to catch the tail end of Ossie's gaze, and his feathers puffed slightly in something like embarrassment, or perhaps not embarrassment...but something. It made him shy and awkward like he hadn't felt since the time he finally stopped falling on his face every time he landed from flight.
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Posted: Wed Oct 01, 2008 7:07 pm
While he seemed cheerily enough, Osprey couldn't help but share in the dissapointment that her friend silently felt. Now that she was back, she never wanted to leave, which was a feeling she was having trouble putting a talon on. She couldn't remember really feeling this way before...
She wanted to find a nice spot here in Deep Woods, or maybe closer to the larger bodies of water. A nice, large tree or two. That would be enough space, for sure. It didn't have to be the most ideal territory and it didn't have to be in the center of night to night life. If anything, something a little further out...
She shoved these giddy thoughts aside and tried to keep her mind from straying to them.
"Five, six, maybe seven moonrises." She replied softly as she turned her golden eyes to the path ahead of them, between the trees.
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Posted: Fri Oct 03, 2008 8:17 am
Oh, that wasn't as bad as Holly had had been concerned it would be. Hooting softly, he shifted to the side, moving a bit further into the woods, and perched in an empty spruce, glancing around to make sure he was in one of the unoccupied passage zones. Turning to watch Ossie come in, he preened his wings idly and smiled warmly at her.
"That's not as long as I worried...thought," he said, a look of sudden alarm crossing his face. Why had he said that? Putting his eartufts back, he sleeked his feathers for a moment and then released them with a bit of a sigh. He didn't often put his foot so far into his mouth, and it was a bit embarassing, particularly since he wasn't at all sure why he was acting like a moonblinded Chirop.
"We'll have to meet again," he said with a smile, "and go look at the foliage. It should be turning by then, farther north, from what I hear. We could make an evening or two of it." He looked at her and smiled.
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Posted: Mon Oct 06, 2008 9:57 am
Worried...?
A soft smile played at her beak edges as she watched him preen. She took to preening and pacing her own feathers as she listened to his voice, one that she found most comforting. She couldn't exactly explain the feelings welling up inside of her chest. There was a sort of giddiness that had not once existed.
"We will... Y'know, maybe we could meet at the platform again, eight moonrises after I leave. That ought to work. Then we head north." She suggested cheerily. She was eager to go on this trip, to see the leaves on fire with the changing of seasons. Their first autumn. "It'll be a lot of fun! We could probably do a bit of hunting, too, while we're at it."
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Posted: Thu Oct 09, 2008 10:50 am
When she agreed with his sentiments, Holly almost whooped with joy. They'd be able to go on a real adventure, and then they'd see what there was to see farther north. It'd be so wonderful! "Oh of course!" he laughed in response to Ossie's comment about hunting. "The work for a Hunter and Scout is never done. And we're never off-duty, are we?" he asked idly, leaning in and preening one of Ossie's eartufts before nipping at the little charm she wore around her neck. It wasn't a typical one, like his claw or a Scout's traditional pendant. It was interesting.
"What's the emblem you wear?" he asked quietly. "Or is it just something you had a Crafter make you?" Putting his head to the side, he moved just a bit closer to Ossie and nudged the thing with his will. "Mind if I take a closer look?" he asked, and thrilled a little bit at his boldness.
Please say yes, Ossie, please say yes.
Somehow, being close to her was the most enthralling thing he could think of at the moment, and being this close was like a miracle. It was making him giddy on the inside.
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Posted: Thu Oct 09, 2008 2:55 pm
"Never, ever!" She echoed Hollyhock's sentiments concerning their tasks and their off time, or rather lack there of, with laughter. She loved every minute of what she did, even if she really never was fully taking a break. Being able to live what she dreamed of while growing in th Enclave was absolutely exhilirating... And now she and Holly were going to live the adventures they had always made up when they were fledglings.
As Holly leaned nearer to her and fiddled slightly with her carved bone charm, her feathers roused slightlightly and her eartufts lifted slowly in a mild yet pleasant surprise.
"Oh, that? Sure. Eh, I heard from some other folks that it's supposed to be good luck, so that is what I hope it'll bring." She hooted softly as she gave her friend permission to inspect it. Something about him even being close thrilled her.
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Posted: Wed Oct 15, 2008 9:13 am
This close, he couldn't help but notice that Ossie's feathers weren't laying as sleekly as they usually did. Then again, she was a Mist, and her feathers were thicker than his, so perhaps... He really hadn't noticed until just now how interesting her feathers were. Nibbling at the charm as he inspected it, he smiled and then drew back, smiling at Ossie. Shuffling in closer so his wing was pressed lightly against hers, he preened her shoulder gently and looked at the water through the trees.
"I hope it keeps you safe, then," he said quietly, then looked back at Ossie. She was so pretty now, with her fierce dye, and he wondered if some of the Oldsters were bothered by the fact that she had dyed herself as a hawk. He thought it was lovely.
"I've missed you," he said softly, fluffing slightly as he said it. Why was it so hard for him to make a statement like that without wanting to die? It wasn't like he hadn't seen Ossie nearly every day from their fledging to their Graduation.
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Posted: Wed Oct 15, 2008 4:59 pm
She couldn't help but feel flustered as Hollyhock inspected her charm and feathers. She followed his gaze to the gurgling water and, even through the trees before them, she could admire the moonlight that reflected from it's surface. It was all very beautiful and very calm. The night was scerene and things just felt right, although there was some awkwardness to it all.
As Holly spoke, she dipped her head to give him a daring preen just above his wing, then glanced up to his eyes. "I've missed you, too... Good thing I didn't decide I wanted to be a Ranger, eh?" She chuckled after finishing her sentance, but her sentiments were very real. If she was a Ranger, that would mean she had to spend more time away from Deep Woods... And Holly.
At least by being a Scout she could make more frequent trips back. Rangers usually lived in a great deal of seclusion. Ossie was a talkative and active thing, it would be hard for her to stay away for extended periods of time from the other sentinels and her dearest friend.
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Posted: Thu Oct 16, 2008 8:24 am
Holly laughed at the Ranger quip but was suddenly filled with the realization that he had, once upon a time, wanted to be a Ranger himself, back before he learned the stigma associated with such a thing. He had wanted to explore the farthest reaches of Noctua, and now...oh, thank Noctus he hadn't. He would never have seen Ossie again, most likely. And that would have been...horrible.
"Ossie," he said suddenly, looking her in the eyes and smiling, though his heart was beating fast as a frightened squirrel's and his mind was racing, "I...ah...I'm really glad I met you tonight," he got out, sleeking his feathers in consternation when he realized he hadn't quite made the impression he had wanted to make. He raced to make up for it, hoping to fill the silence with eloquence. "I mean...it's been so long and living alone is...well...lonely." Good job, Holly, good job. "But...it's so good to see you again."
He paused thoughtfully, then pressed on, glancing away as he did so. "Your dye job makes you absolutely stunning, by the way."
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Posted: Thu Oct 16, 2008 8:57 am
She wore a broad smile on the edges of her beak and her golden eyes seemed to dance with delight as she listened to Holly stumble over his words. Her own heart beat fast and that same, foreign feeling of shyness was returning. She had never been shy around him before...
"It's absolutely wonderful... As if Noctus, himself, wanted it." She hooted softly, though deep in her mind she wondered about that statement. What was it she was feeling, exactly? She could feel herself falling... For him. But if crossed type pairings were considered wrong, why did simply being around this particular male feel so right? And now she felt herself getting ahead of, well, herself. While their talking and their gestures...
Did he say stunning?
She suddenly found herself being pulled out of the thoughts she was having to peer into his eyes once again.
"You really think so? It was hard finding a artisan who felt comfortable enough to do it. I thought it would be interesting."
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Posted: Fri Oct 17, 2008 4:52 pm
Ossie's smile made Holly flatten his eartufts in slight abashment, but he wasn't unhappy about it. Giving her a shy smile, he listened to her words and the expression only grew, until Holly was almost grinning. "Noctus himself indeed," he said with a bit of a laugh. "A Mist dyed like an osprey and a Deep Woods...aw, Ossie," he went on, and then just shook his head. She was so sweet, and it made him laugh softly. He was beginning to suspect that his feelings for her had changed over the course of the past few months. And that...
Oh, Noctus, was he falling for her? Holly managed to keep his feathers from fluffing in absolute alarm when he finally connected what was in his head and in his heart, but he couldn't help but jump immediately on the idea of her dye job.
"It's daring, but it's lovely," he said, and then he glanced at the sky through the trees and gave a soft noise of alarm. "Moon's lower than I thought it was! It's getting late...."
He looked apologetically at Ossie. But she should understand. Her profession was just as demanding as his...
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