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"Oh, please do. I'd be delighted to see you there." Willow's eyes closed slightly. Although the feeling of being preened by a Mus was a little unusual, it still brought on the same feelings of contented well-being as any preening.

She watched Honeysuckle work with interest, perking up a little as she heard the featherstyler's gossip. "I have heard of the Summer Strut." She replied, ear-tufts perking with interest, "But someone's bringing it back after all these years? What's that all about?"

"I must say I haven't heard of Strangedye before... I suppose hosting such an event would be a good way of reaching customers." She smiled at Honeysuckle, as if guessing as to the nature of her thoughts, "But really, word of beak is just as good a way of getting new clients. I will be sure to tell my friends about your superior work."

As the featherstyler attended to her talons, Willow cringed a bit inwardly. 'Pure Types' again. She wasn't sure if the words of the other female were meant as an awkward sort of compliment, or a veiled insult. She took a deep breath, then sighed. "Ah, thank you."

"I'm not sure how my future mate would feel about me parading my plumage before the whole forest. Something about it seems a little... shallow. Besides, I have my task, and other things to attend to."

After a thoughtful pause she added, "Although, it might be fun. Are you planning to enter? You are quite lovely yourself."

"Of course. I'm sure you would do well, and if you style your own feathers, it might be a bit of a chance to impress potential customers with your skills."

Willow sat quite still as Honeysuckle continued to work, only speaking up at the mention of tick powder, "Ticks can be such a nuisence. I don't usually have much of a problem, but I do come in contact with Sentinels of all tasks in my line of work. The powder sounds very nice... Ah, as long as the scent isn't... disagreeable."

The young female correctly assumed that use of one of the coventional remedies might be worse for business than the ticks themselves. Afterall, who would want to go see a smelly Bard? Or worse, mate with one?

"Ah, that is pleasing!" Willow smiled, happily surprised by the subtle herbal scent of the powder. She could detect something like wild mint in the fragrance, and possibly marigolds, but beyond that the odor wafting from the bag of powder was just a blend of herbal scents. "I think it smells quite nice, and I doubt Zephyr will be at all bothered. I have just the one Parus."

In truth, Willow was inordinately fond of her little winged friend, even though Zephyr would never win any prizes for his intellect. She found the Parus useful, and pleasant company, although his conversational skills left mush to be desired. In the early morning she often drifted off to sleep to the sound of his cheery little voice singing up the sun.

It did not escape the bard's notice that payment had not been discussed, but she didn't bring the matter up. After all, it was for Honeysuckle to set the price for her work, as compensation had not been arranged up front. She was obviously a skilled featherstyler, and Willowbreeze suspected that her services would be costly, but this was a special occaision. Besides, she never seemed to run short of food, or anything she really needed, so the worst that could happen was for her to due a few extra performances, or perhaps spend more time hunting in the following nights.

"Hm, makes sense, I suppose. I don't really know much about companions, to be honest."

Willow flapped as instructed, which not only shook the excess tick powder off her wings, but created enough of a breeze to lift the loose bits off the rest of her body, too.

"That's a good idea. He actually picks up more ticks than I do, crawling around the forest floor as he does." She shook her head. Like many Sentinels, Willow preferred to stay off the ground as much as possible. It was a dirty, dangerous place down there. "For whatever reason, Zephyr seems to love eating insects from the ground."

"Zephyr!" She called, and the little Parus fluttered over at once. It was not only good training that made him prompt, but also the fact that he had been bored, simply waiting around for something to happen. Zephyr had concluded some time earlier that featherstlyer visits were not as much fun as perfomances.

"Hold still, and let Honeysuckle put powder on you. It won't hurt." Willow assured her Companion as he took up a perch beside her.

"'Kay!" Chirped Zephyr as he looked at the powder with curious eyes. As he had seen Willow do, he stretched out his wings and stood still, so the powder could easily be applied.

"Good bird." Willow cooed approval of his actions. "He's a clever mimic, when he pays attention." She told Honeysuckle.

Zephyr fluttered his little wings, sending a small cloud of powder into the air. He peeped cheerfully at the two Sentinels, then started to preen himself. The bird appeared to be flattered that he was suddenly the subject of the featherstyler's ministrations.

Willow was undeniably attached to her musical companion. She found that his abilities to copy her sounds and actions made up for his lack of coherent speech.

As Honeysuckle spoke, Willow chuckled softly. "I will certainly keep that in mind." Some males could be lazy about their grooming, but she suspected the gentleman Hollysong had selected would at least attempt to make himself attractive for their first meeting.

"Thank you very much for your time, and without notice as well... I will surely tell my friends about you, and how pleased I am with your work." Willowbreeze was not merely flattering the other female-- she knew very well that word of mouth recommendations were a valued commodity.

As she examined the gleaming, almost reflective sheen Honeysuckle's talents had added to her plumage, Willow was very pleased. This looked to be the first of many visits to this particular featherstyler....

"Thank you so much, Honeysuckle. It was a pleasure to meet you." Willow was pleased to note that she did not even need to preen a single feather in preparation for flight-- each one was properly in place. "I hope I will have the honor again soon."