Welcome to Gaia! ::

Liam hooted softly as the nest went dark, taking advantage of the moment to hop behind Hazel. Burying his face in her feathers, he hummed softly, sending vibrations down into her bones. He wanted her to be able to feel him just as acutely as he felt her. "Oh, dear heart. You'll turn me into a bard with all this love," he teased gently.

Liam chuckled a bit. "While I doubt one wouldn't leap at the opportunity, my calling is with chicks... however, I may need to see one about adding some space when our chicks come along. Wouldn't want this sleeping cavern to get too crowded, now would we? Maybe even a separate space for when they're fledglings..." He mused for a bit, wondering what it would be like having fledglings of his own that slept in his nest, not in the communal nest.

Liam grinned widely, playfully. "Lots! And we'll raise them all! You'll go plum raving mad with the fluffs!" He attack-groomed his mate, fluffleing her all over. "Y'know, when we were growing up, Da build us nests of our own in the same tree. Not big ones, just sleeping spaces, but still... in that big oak, remember? All up the sides, those holes. He'd call in a Crafter to peel back the bark and gouge the sides out... It was great, having a place of my own as a fledgling. I went back there a while ago... the holes are still there. But nobody lives there now, full-time. It's just part of the enclave. I guess they use them for storage now. I'm sure we could do that. Who knows? Maybe Thorn will be the one who does it." He winced a bit, sure of the pain that was to come with the thought of his one-time charge, but, to his surprise, it didn't come. He looked forward to seeing him, perhaps, but... with Hazel... he didn't mind that he was gone...

"This tree's certainly big enough. I'll keep this cavity around for work purposes, and I think I'll turn some of it into storage space, and then we'll put the fledge holes above it, maybe two directly above, then our cavity, and then a couple more above that... Yeah, that should do it!" It was kind of funny. Liam had always assumed that his future would be rewarding, seeing his little charges grow up and take jobs of their own, but he'd never put much thought into it. He'd never thought about changing his tree, or anything like that. It was almost like being a fledgling on the verge of graduation all over again. "Heh... first a bard, now an architect. What other sides of me are you going to unlock, love?"

"Mmm, I suppose you're right, dear heart." Liam nipped her eartuft once more. "I haven't stayed up this early in a long time."
From outside, a muffled, sleepy young call was heard. "Yeah, and I haven't either! And I wasn't planning on it tonight! Go to bed, Dad!"
Liam rolled his eyes at Thorn. "Y'know, the bark in here is so thin sometimes..." He shrugged, then suddenly flopped over on her as if dead. Turning on his best roguish grin, he asked "So what's better- the fluffs running over you, or me?"

"Yes," Liam happily agreed. "Tomorrow evening! Unless you want to stay up a little longer?" He blinked a few times, then mussed her headfeathers with his beak. "I could always request an evening off... there's other Minders in the enclave..." He hunched and stretched his wings, pulling himself off Hazel. He didn't want to crush her too much!

"Y'know, they're your family too now... all the fluffs, the fledgies, and the five of us big, strapping Wildtype males! Better not get us confused now!" Liam chuckled to himself at his little joke, but his smile faded. "I wish you could always stay here. Life seems so empty without you around. And I'm sure the fluffs are just going to love you!