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"Tcha, tcha, gotta go. Myturn, myturn, listen!" The pica shot off, leaving his spot beside Chase. Tousled had everything under control. She would help him if the martes scared him again. The pica was almost positive that they would be fine.

Besides, it was his turn. Fjord was waiting on him to do his job. Feather loved to work, for it was always interesting.

Oddly enough, he did not head towards the stage. Instead, he headed to the back of the theatre and positioned himself above the little gathering.

"SHRRRRRRRRRIEAHHHH! SHRRRRRRRRIEAHHHHH!" Fjord jumped in a flurry of feathers, reacting in fear to the frightening screeching that filled the theatre. The pica had a set of lungs on him when he put his heart into it.

"SHRRRRRRRRRIEAHHHH! SHRRRRRRIEAHHH!"

"The shrieks of their unknown assailantwere blood curling and made their feathers stand on end. Amost instantly, Itwas on them. Our brave wildtype felt every inch of courage leave her as she shot for the trees below, her friend followed, but the monster of the skies was far faster than either of them!" Fjord moved his wings quickly, as if desperately trying to flee.

From his position in the back, Feather belted out two more loud shrieks, immitating what they imagined It would sound like. It sounded foregin, yet surprisingly realistic. The bard was sure the pica must of heard it somewhere before. Perhaps it was before he and Sly had found the little creature.

Chase was consciously controlling his breathing, trying to remain calm as the companion drew even closer. He cringed when the martes eyed his chest markings but stubbornly refused to move. The furry creature seemed much more interested in Tousled which Chase greatly appreciated until the companion started poking at Tousled’s ruffled feathers and the shadow glanced at the female, utterly amazed by her patience. He wondered if should say something to it, perhaps a short reproachful comment on the companion’s manners but that would probably only draw more attention to Tousled’s plumage and the deep woods might get uncomfortable again… her low almost resigned sigh led him to believe that this was not the first time she attracted the curiosity of others. There might be even Sentinels (and he knew some quite capable of it) that would tease her because of her… condition. Besides, it was rather difficult to be angry with the furry creature as she realized by herself that poking a stranger might not be the most appropriate thing to do.

He stared intently at the brown martes features as if looking for something familiar. And he found it. The furry tail, the prickling ears, the curious glimmer on those dark eyes, it was all known to him, it all brought back memories he’d been repressing since his fledgling days. A white furry tail swirling next to him, a tiny white paw brusquely poking his beak, a pair of black eyes looking back at him, that mischievous grin…
As the flood of memories threatened to heave him into another daze, Chase didn’t even notice Feather’s departure and when the martes addressed him he spoke very slowly in a deep low tone he rarely used.

“You can call me Chase. And you are…“. And then some sort of creature started shrieking above them and upon hearing the disturbing sound, the furry companion started backing away and the shadow raised a protective wing over the martes. He found the pica hidden in the bushes and relaxed at once, realized what he had just done and stepped back, folding his wings neatly by his side with a rather embarrassed look adorning his features. Chase hopped on the branch turning from the martes to the bard with sudden dedicated attention and buried his face up to his eyes on his sleek chest feathers. He would ignore it. He wouldn’t look at her again. He refused to look at the companion anymore. His eartufts flattened with mix of annoyance and embarrassment and he forced himself to focus on Fjord’s story.

Tousled watched the change slowly come over Chase with some trepidation, blinking rapidly in surprise and confusion when he shot his wing out in a very protective gesture as Feather's impressively haunting shriek pierced the air. So... she must have been wrong. He couldn't be afraid of the martes if he would show such an instinctive urge to protect her, but then... Oh, this was quite confusing. The only thing that she was absolutely certain of was that his abrupt turning away from the companion meant that he didn't want to be near it anymore.

She glanced over at the martes' owner and noticed how closely the other Deep Woods was eyeing Chase's reaction, and was even more confused - but this time with a frown on her face. What was going on here, anyway? Was she upsetting Chase on purpose or something?

The only one who seemed perfectly innocent was the furry companion itself, Who was imitating the Shadow's rigid posture with playfully twitching whiskers.

"Say, Hazel." She leaned down a little, hiding her frown behind a gentle smile as she addressed the martes. "Who's your owner? Why isn't she coming over to say hello, like you?"

Looking around, Hazel put his paw to his mouth. "Shhh. Chasaknow, Hazel lose. No-Looki-Quiet-Game." He lowered his voice to a whisper. "Hazel's bird is Rae-Rae." He waved his paw at Raine, beckoning her over. "Rae-Rae no very good talkee."

Flustered, Raine ruffled her feathers. They seemed to be looking at her...Ah well, she'd have to go say hello. If she didn't somehow offend them, she should be alright...Would it be appropriate to ask Tousled about her feathers? She seemed to be rather self-concious about them...better not to take any chances. And Chase...Raine supposed he wouldn't reveal anything, but perhaps it would be acceptable to pry a bit. Or not.
Just shut your beak, Raine, and nothing bad might happen...The worst they might do is think you're a blithering idiot who can't behave...

Discreetly flapping over to land on the same branch, Raine dipped her head slightly in a silent greeting.
"Hullo. I'm Raine." She paused. Was she supposed to ask for their names?

Tousled also compared herself with the other Deep Woods female when she finally decided to come over, but it was something she always did automatically, and the main reason why she almost always found other sentinels to be so beautiful. This time, however, Tousled catalogued Raine's sleek feathers - the warm brown contrasting sharply against the almost Mist-white of her chest - rather quickly in the back of her mind. Even the obligatory pang of self-consciousness that always came when she encountered a sentinel that she hadn't met before felt distinctively subdued this time. Probably because she felt worried on someone else's behalf right now. Chase was very obviously not feeling comfortable at all in the presence of the martes, and this sentinel seemed just a little bit too interested in that fact, so Tousled found herself invested with a feeling of responsibility.

Now that she had accidentally found out about Chase's - for lack of a better word - "embarrassing secret", she felt duty-bound to help him keep it concealed, seeing that that was obviously what he wanted. She quite simply didn't have any time for self-consciousness at the moment, because it wasn't just about her.

She smiled, but kept her eyes warily on the other female.

"Hello, Raine." She hesitated for an instant, not sure how to proceed since she didn't want to introduce herself, at least not quite yet, and she wasn't sure if it was okay with Chase if she mentioned Hazel. What she really wanted was for Raine and her cute but awkward companion to go talk to someone else so that she could stop being worried about Chase and maybe start paying the performing bard the attention he deserved.

She was actually starting to feel a little bit peeved at that last part. That was probably why the next thing that popped out of her beak was: "Have you come to see the bards?"

She could have nipped herself. Of course Raine had come to see the bards, why else would she even be here?

"Hmphf," the old bird grumped. "Crafters and Artisans. Fine day when people care more about their walls and nests than their histories."

Char hunched his shoulders moodily, as if in preparation of lashing out. "No help for it, spoiled generation, no help at all. What do you think of that one, though, the new one? Any good?"

"Good idea, and thank you for volunteering. I'd have suggested it myself, but I'm far too old to be rumor-mongering." retorted Char, with typical waspish ingratitude.

"Besides, I started all this mess, I ought to at least tell a story," He sighed. "Any requests then, featherbrain?"

At first, Tousled froze in place, hurt and shocked, but as Raine went on her features changed ever so slightly. Her posture dropped a little, her feathers fluffed up a bit, and her pupils contracted noticeably with a cold and quite uncharacteristic anger. Still, her beak dropped open in a semblance of a smile, and it wasn't like she had dropped down into a truly hostile position - at least not yet.

"Oh," she said, the coldness softly seeping into her quiet little voice as well, "So you're saying that if I just stop fussing over my own feathers, everyone else will stop as well? If I 'stick my beak up' they won't call me names anymore? Or laugh at me behind my back? Or pull their little chicks away so they won't contract whatever disease I must be carrying? On what authority do you presume to make that assumption?" She snorted, her smile disappearing altogether as she unfolded her wings very slightly. "You do realise that you're basically saying I have only myself to blame for how others are treating me, don't you? Is that really your intention?"

Not giving the other any room to respond, Tousled tilted her head to the side without taking her eyes off of Raine for even an instant, still speaking in the same, cooly quiet way:
"And another thing, if you knew that Chase is uncomfortable around martes, why didn't you stop yours from coming over here?"