Welcome to Gaia! ::

((Eep! Midterms! Was NOT expecting this! By the way, I'm going to be gone this weekend. I'm leaving Friday at three and will be back Sunday evening. Sorry for holdin' you up!))

Still hunched and tiny, Magnolia began to straighten up a bit as the realization that her students would never know of their teacher's disgrace slowly came over her "P...promise you're not angry?" Her eyes were still confused... after all, with her strict-mannered upbringing, this sort of accident was akin to eating somebody's own mother or something. She knew that her family members would exile her for something like this, but this male seemed to be different... so long as that wasn't just her hope talking.

At least his wing was clean now. Slowly, Magnolia's feathers began to return to their normal, non-pulled in state. Her underfeathers remained slicked to her body, though, for she was still mortally mortified by this whole experience. She straightened a little and nodded vigorously at his warning. "Yessir, won't happen again, I promise!"

"Start over, yes!" Magnolia says, a bit of happiness coming into her voice. Her feathers were all normally placed again, though her breathing is still a bit ragged. She bobs her head winningly, hoping that the male is sincere about starting off on a new talon. "Hello, Rowan," she says. "I'm Magnolia." She feels a bit silly, but it's better than feeling embarassed.

"Th-thank you," Magnolia stutters. She's not used to compliments about her name; it's just a flower. "Yours is a nice name, too. Rowan trees are lovely, especially in fall. I'm a Teacher; I tend to teach older fledglings who are getting ready to finalize a task. Watching's an important task- I've had lots of fledglings who go into that because they like doing a bit of lots of things." Blinking a few times, she looks down at the little Mus who'd just touched her talon. "It's nice to meet you too, Berr," she said, a teensy smile playing around the edges of her beak. "I've got two Mus myself, Steele and Dahlia, but they're not with me today. They're back at my nest."

"Well, Dahlia's a bit of an old lady- I've had her for longer than I can remember, and she doesn't like traveling when she doesn't have to. I'm pretty sentimental about her, and kinda want to keep her around for as long as I can. And Steele's really new; I don't take him as many places because I'm always afraid he'll do something to get himself eaten." Magnolia's feathers rise a bit in embarrassment as she talks about her Companions. "I'd thought about being a Keeper for a very long time; I really like Musses. It's hard to choose a task, but it's more important to end up in one you like than just pick one in a hurry and be stuck with it."

"You're doing a good job helping just by wanting to help. That's the kind of attitude the clan needs," Magnolia says, a bit of a chirp in her voice. It makes her proud when her students put the good of the clan before their own personal preferences. It does her good to see what a considerate Sentinel Rowan is. "Keepers do an important task- if our Companions weren't well-bred and trained, they'd be of no use, and some Companions do very important jobs."

Magnolia smiles at the Mus's antics. "You've got him trained well. I think they work so well in pairs- it gives them somebody to relate to. Y'know, I wouldn't mind talking to some of the Keepers, particularly the one who bred Dahlia... Just taking a look at stock, getting some training tips and such. Maybe we could go together?" She doesn't know why she asked or offered, but something compelled her to. Although the encounter has been rather embarassing, Rowan seems very nice and has put her quite at ease. Perhaps they could be friends after this little incident is over. And maybe doing something together other than cleaning a wing will make this acquaintanceship seem less awkward.