|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Sun Nov 23, 2008 5:57 am
 ((Takes place before the Bushfire/Fiercefire encounter))
At the time, when the deed had been done, she hadn't really thought too much about it; it was something that had to be done. It was true that it had been a joint decision, but Bushfire had nestled herself into thinking that while she had been unable to pull the sin off, Basil had managed to do it. Surely that made her actions a tad less sinful? Surely, it meant it was Basil's fault then, right? He had not loved the chick enough for he had been able to kill it, while she had not.
Needless to say, it was an irrational thought, and in the situation, both were equally to blame, for it did not matter whom had done the deed. At the end of the day, it had been a joint idea to take action. This did not mean Bushfire could not take the time to find solace and innocence in her own actions of course, happy to stay in delusion. Despite this, the wildtype female had realised that she needed to confront Basil, the sooner the better. After all, SHE was still alone. SHE was still busy clinging to the past. SHE was still mourning the dead chick. He, on the other hand, had left her and gone off to court another; someone he would create aberrants with in due time. It was just not fair.
As she reached the section of the forest in which she was sure Basil would be lurking, she sent out a hooting call, her wings beating fiercely as she searched for the wood worker. While she knew she could not change the past... she had a shoot at changing the future.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Nov 24, 2008 5:59 pm
So far, the only visions that seem to have surfaced.... are those of a long forgotten friendly voice, a memory of the peaceful nights of youth, and the feeling of finally finding something long since thought lost... a shame the comfortable imagined isn't to last. Still with his eyes clamped shut, Basil winces as the (recently) unfriendly world hoots at him from nearby. What now?
Roused from his thoughts, but unwilling to respond just yet, Basil opens his eyes, blinking blearily in the thin light of his perch. He should be fairly visible to any approaching guest, whoever it is, but his posture will show him as feeling rather unwelcoming.
“Leave me be...” he quietly mumbles to himself.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Nov 24, 2008 6:12 pm
There was no answer, but oh, she knew he was there. Just had to be there. Rather than hoot out another call, the Forager took it upon herself to try and spot the other Sentinel, rather unsuccessful at first, "Basil!" having grown weary of hide-and-seek, she voice her irritation through his name, calling it out into the night, "Oh, Basil, you answer me this INSTANT!" she snapped into the dark, "You are so bloody RUDE!" it was only as she accentuated the last word that his form became visible in the near distance and Bushfire dived down to perch herself near the wood worker.
The expression was grim and her tufts were flattened against her head, "Just what do you think you're doing?" it was a drawled, cold question, enough to voice out her obvious anger (what she was angry about was left to the imagination however), "Who do you think you ARE, you lousy... good for nothing.... OWL!" she snapped as she clicked her beak, her feathers puffing out, "How DARE you leave me all alone! How DARE you! You left my side, and I was willing to allow it because I simply detested the idea of us being miserable due to pressure. But here you are! You came here; rushed here to court another female and RISK a repeat of what happened back home with me!" her wing fanned out to point at him as she rambled on, accusing him of everything she felt he'd wrong her with, "Not only that, but you're willing to fight it for her! You're willing to do for this... Mist, what you weren't willing to do for me! You lousy excuse for a male, how dare you!"
Needless to say, that was Bushfire's version of the story, which had doubtlessly been warped with time into fitting her own needs. Bits and pieces were true, but the interpretations were her own.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Nov 24, 2008 7:08 pm
Basil is terribly unprepared for the verbal barrage suddenly launched his way by the unwelcome guest. Even more so, because the guest in this case happens to be Bushfire. Reeling back against the thick trunk of the tree, Basil fluffs up in full alarm, believing at first that he's under attack. Only as he's quickly made aware that no pain is forthcoming (for the moment) does it really occur to him what's going on and who this is. Her.
Finding himself suddenly unable to interject amidst the onslaught of insults and accusations, the male remains wide-eyed and silent, ear-tufts firmly planted back against his skull... until she pauses long enough for him to shout back a reply of his own.
“W-what in blazes are you blathering on about?!” he spouts incredulously. “How dare YOU come after me like this! What did I ever do but what I was told I should?! You miserable, repugnant female!” Basil verbally jabs back, feeling his wounded sense of self-assurance and pride slowly stirring back to life inside. This woman is mad; she was blaming him for their failure?!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Nov 25, 2008 5:09 am
"Did I ever tell you to leave, you idiot?! Did I ever tell you I HATED you?? Did I EVER tell you to leave me alone while you fly over here to court a MIST and produce more ABERRANTS like the one you killed?!" oh, she wasn't blaming him for their 'failure' per say, but she was doubtlessly blaming him for aftermath of it all. Those had all been his decisions, not hers, "You bloody coward! I didn't even TELL you to do the deed! That was something we both decided together! TOGETHER! I wasn't able to pull it off and yet you were!" while this was true, what Bushfire failed to see was that it was as much her fault as it was his. Alas, she was merely seeing her side of the story, as she'd long warped it to help alleviate her pain.
It was hardly fair on Basil, but the Forager felt wronged by life and what had happened, "I'm the one that STILL defending out old territory! I'm the one that obviously couldn't let go! You're the one that hightailed it out of there as soon as a bit of trouble reared it's ugly little head!" her feathers fluffed out as she talked on, and no doubt, later on she'd feel quite ashamed by the fact she was practically shouting these things for all of Noctoa to hear. In Bushfire's defense (or maybe lack there of), she was past the point of caring what others thought; in fact, she'd gone past that point long, long ago, "Why did you agree to mate me in the first place if you were going to willingly hightail it out of there? WHY did you take me if you were not going to fight for me, for us, for our dead chick, when you're willing to fight for.... for... that MIST!" the anger was slowly boiling away to reveal the bitterness she'd held for a while now, "Why...?" was she simply not worth the fight?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Nov 29, 2008 1:53 am
Bushfire's continued stream of shouting is taking its toll on Basil's nerves. Though dwindling, what's left of his resolve sees him attempting to defend himself. “What, you think I had a choice?! You're saying we should have stayed together?! You'd have us go through that... what I did, again?!” This line of thought isn't making him feel any bolder. “What do you want me to do?... it was done and I still feel rotten, even without you around to make it worse!” Scowling in a way that he hopes makes him appear slightly braver then he feels, he continues on. “I won't go apologizing for my part in all this again! It's your problem if you want to go on defending a remnant of the past. As you somehow already seem to be aware... I've moved on. I... I've got my own family now, a new one.”
Mustering up what feels like his last store of grit, Basil tries to stare back a her, though it isn't long before he looks away again. “Go back to your family... at least yours will accept your return.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Nov 30, 2008 2:28 am
Her eyes narrowed down coldly as he spoke and for a moment, it looked like she'd been about ready to lash out forward. Instead, her talons twitched, gripping the branch harshly, her beak snapping in the air a couple of times as her temper flared, "A choice? Of course you had a choice you daft bird!" came the harsh reply, her wings spreading to make her look bigger than she really was; while Basil was the larger of the two, it seemed the smaller Forager had a bit more of a temper within her small frame, "I never asked you to risk a repeat of what happened! I wanted you to be there for me!" she proceeded as she gave her wings a flap, agitated by the conversation, "I wanted you to be there for us! I wanted us to fight for US! But instead, you turned and hightailed it away from there at the first sign of pressure from our peers! I'm not saying that what we did was right; I'm saying that we should have stayed back and FIXED it! Not moved on to court.... to court some MIST!"
His final words made the Forager snap; her eyes flashed with renewed anger as she drew her wings close to her body, "You," she mouthed slowly, drawling the words out, "Have an aberrant family," it was said softly, a whisper which she made sure Basil could hear, "You have a family just like the one we had... the one we decided to dispose of because of peer pressure.... the one you ran out on. You have the same family. New indeed," the words were cold, devoid of compassion, "You're good for nothing, Basil. What are you going to do to them when peer pressure comes back? Are you going to hightail it from them too? You're nothing but a coward..." her eyes finally closed, though her talons gripped the branch till it cracked significantly under the stress, "You're right though," when her eyes opened, something within her had changed, "You don't deserve me. You don't deserve a family. In fact, you don't deserve anyone; not me, and not the Mist. No one... because when I most needed you, you ran away like the coward you are."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Nov 30, 2008 9:59 pm
“There was nothing we COULD have fixed!” he tries to yell over her tirade. “I killed her!- she's dead! I can hardly even remember what she looked like anymore!” he wails aloud, shrinking away from his despised ex-mate, tufts slicked fully back. It felt like a lie. Even as he's forced to listen to Bushfire continue on, he can suddenly remember the images of the tiny, helpless, horribly bleached face. The wretched scene from that night seasons ago, him still standing over his child's pitiful slain form. The terrible wave of guilt and shame that struck him that night, is again pulled over anew.
... until Basil visibly flinches as the Forager's unwelcome perch cracks under the built up anger. Her final icy remarks hit him hard, and he hates himself for it. Not for flinching, but because he knows what she says to be true. He was... and is, a coward.
“Leave...” he states. It's a pathetic demand, well-nigh devoid of emotion.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Dec 01, 2008 6:24 am
"Our relationship," she told him coolly, "That could be salvaged, Basil. We could not bring our baby back, but we could have fixed our relationship, you fool," the words were icy, devoid of emotion, as if she'd decided that maybe all her pining and all her inner turmoil was not worth it. That he was simply not worth it and that indeed, she should have moved on, for there was no future in a one sided relationship. Especially not one that was not fueled by love; she didn't love him, at least not in the true sense of the word. It'd felt like she'd been deprived of her favorite thing, and that someone else was enjoying it, rather than her. That was no way to go about a relationship.
Her eyes flashed anger as he spoke again, narrowing visibly, and again her talons twitched, as if she were refraining from lashing out at him, "I remember how she looked like. I remember every feather on her little body. I see her every night.... I remember her every day," she decided to leave out the fact she'd also had a run-in with a sentinel that could have been their child, had it not been for the fact it was impossible. Even at his command, she did not move from her perch, but rather, lifted her head threateningly up to make eye contact as he refused to do so, "Make me," she drawled out, "Or you can do what you're so good at and leave yourself, because I'm not moving. And as soon as I'm done with you, I'll pay that Mist a visit too, if anything but to warn her of your true nature. Whether she believes me or not will be up to her," her body's feathers puffed out, her resolve visible, "Besides, all this is out in the open now that a Seeker knows about it. All of Noctua will know about it, and our punishment is imminent. The Mist will know to believe me then, won't she now?" her voice was still icy, aimed to hurt him the way she had felt she'd been hurt, and the last few hints of words unsaid were left hanging around them.
I guess that means your life is ruined, just like mine has been ever since that night. We can be ruined together now, with no happiness, and you can see how it feels to lose everything you cared for... everything you had.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Dec 05, 2008 3:16 pm
Basil doesn't manage to say anything for quite some time as he stares, dumbstruck, through his former mate. Bushfire's words would appear to have had their intended effect, even if they don't seem to be registering with their intended audience anymore. Even as she challenges his feeble demand that she leave, he makes no move as if to respond. She had him pegged.
... no, she didn't. She's a lier! He wasn't like that, Fi had to know that. She would never believe her. She trusted him- ... but... I've never told her about this... I've changed... I...
“... please...”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Dec 08, 2008 2:41 am
The female didn't seem appeased by his single word. Instead, she fluffed her plumage up again as she frowned, "Please?" she repeated after him, "Please what? Please, I'm sorry for leaving you? Please, I'm sorry for abandoning you? Or please, don't tell the mist what I really am?" her words held anger and sadness turned bitter by the long time that had passed, "Please doesn't cut it," she drawled, "I'm sorry doesn't cut it anymore... but then again, you're not sorry anyhow. You're just scared. A coward, like you've always been."
The Forager shook her head tiredly before looking away from him, choosing that moment to preen her wing, grooming the feathers ruffled from flight in an attempt to calm down. When Bushfire turned her gaze towards her ex-mate, her eyes narrowed, almost as if reading his mind, "She won't have to believe me. The truth is out in the open, Basil. A Seeker knows, and soon so will the others. She won't have to believe a word I say to know it's true," her wings spread, as if preparing to leave, no doubt to seek out the Mist, "Question is.... what are you going to do about it? Stop me? Fight this? Or run away, just like you always do?" she clacked her beak harshly, her voice bitter as she spoke, cold, "What will you do, Basil?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Dec 23, 2008 9:10 pm
“You didn't!...” Basil exclaims, suddenly jerked out of his brooding. Basil's dreadful expression leaves little doubt as to what is going through his mind. The pronounced involvement of a Seeker promises to only complicate their situation all the more. How could she have even considered resorting to such action? The answer to that question likely holds little comfort, so he refrains from putting words to it just yet. Instead, Basil scrambles the short distance across his branch towards Bushfire as she makes ready to leave, stopping just short of her. Staring wide-eyed and panicked, Basil struggles to think quickly before fumbling out his plea; something, anything to forestall the inevitable.
“Please! Why are you doing this!?” he begs. “... you don't need to do this!” Fi mustn't find out this way, not from her. Please, not from her!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Dec 30, 2008 5:08 am
The female finds herself puffing out of sheer indignation once more, "I did," she states as she fixes a deep, dark glare on Basil once more, "And if you don't believe I did, feel free to wait for the consequences to come catch you and bite you in the tail feathers," oh, she knew that she'd get punished too... of that she had little doubt, however, the fact that she'd told the truth had been a load right off her back. She would pay the price, and later, once she'd rid of all the guilt, she would reconstruct her life, free from the claws of this tragedy, Basil, and anything associated with it all.
Her feathers slowly settled back to their original position and Bushfire spreads her wings slightly once more, only to be stopped as her ex-mate hops in her way, "Move aside," her voice is frigid and holds a threat that seems to be dripping from the very words, "Why?" for a moment, the female looks torn between looking confused, looking bemused and looking horribly bitter and upset. She picked the later for her tufts lowered against her head, "Why, indeed. WHY ever do you think I DID this, Basil?" she drawls out horribly, making an emphasis on the word 'did', for her deed was done and now she could not take it back, "Why did YOU ever leave? Why did you think you had the right to abandon me? That's the question to be asked, Basil," that said, she tried to push her way past the male that was blocking her way, "Out of my way, Basil. I've nothing more to tell an Owl such as you," she turned her head and snapped her beak in the air again, "You always wanted to turn me into some horrible villain, didn't you? Well, by Noctus, you'd got your wish now. Enjoy," having said this, she glared at the horizon, "You reap what you sow."
She'd gotten what she wanted. Basil was now horrified and she was sure it would be the downfall of his union with the mist, if not from the mist's own wing, than by Basil's. Yet... curiously, that notion did not make her feel as good as she'd been sure it'd make her feel.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2009 1:53 am
The questions given in answer are not there to be answered, at least, what rational presence of mind he still retains tell him as much. Why indeed... Of course he knows why; he's told himself countless times before... but the old justifications no longer feel enough to shield him anymore, now that she's actually present, shoving her perspective of past events back into his life. She'd been desperate too. She'd lived through it with him, learned to figure him out... in spite of all he'd done to fight it, to run from it... she knew him. The one his parents had chosen for him, knew him, better then most anyone else.
As she shoves her way past him, Basil fumbles numbly out of her way, oblivious to the barbs of the parting insult. She is, in fact, correct about his judgment of her. Even if he hadn't admitted it until now, blaming her for all of their troubles had been what made living with himself in the aftermath possible. Even now, what's left of the old excuses struggle to return to life, seeking to protect him from the admission.
... but you're a fool. There IS no returning. You're finished. Fi will know, and everything will be undone.
Just as it was done to you... you fool.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
