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 Posted: Wed Feb 06, 2008 3:19 pm
((Set not long before the longest night. Let me know if you want Fern to come across one of your Sentinels before she reaches Birch's territory. It's quite some way to fly and I'll be hapy to play.))
Fernfeather sighed and watched the miserable creature squirm in her talons. She hadn't intended to eat it, something that should be obvious since it wasn't already half way down her throat. The high pitched squealing made her regret that decision, but it would be extremely rude to eat it. For all she knew the dye on its back could be toxic too, her mate had always threatened to ask an apothecary to mix a really foul tasting dye. Really, you eat one little Mus and you'll never hear the end of it...
"Oh, you're lucky you're so good at finding nuts," she said, and kept her firm grip on the little creature. "Now tell me where your master is, or I might forget my promise."
"Get eats! Eats!" the Mus said, and Fern winced. Why couldn't he use Parus, or at least something less talkative and better sounding as a companion? Her own companion Meep was trained to only speak when he needed to, and she had insisted on getting a chirop with a pleasantly pitched voice.
"Eats?" she asked patiently and loosened her grip. "Now, don't run away at once little one." She couldn't remember the name of it, but it wasn't really important. They all looked like snacks to her.
"Ground. Get eats." the Mus explained and wiggled out between her toes and scrambled out of her range. "I stay. Hide nuts."
"Where did he fly," she asked, and quickly added, "What way did he fly?"
"Down," the Mus said and stared blankly at her. "Down, ground."
Fern sighed. Why did she even bother taking directions from a Mus. Her mate was obviously not gathering in his territory since he didn't answer her calls. She suddenly found herself with some free time and nothing to occupy herself with. She could stay and wait, but there was no telling how long this trip could take. Might as well take a little trip instead.
She left her mates territory and flew west.
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Posted: Sat Feb 09, 2008 6:58 am
They worked hard and flying back only to sleep seemed like a waste of time, so Birch had been sleeping in the theatre. Meanwhile his territory was left abandoned and he was quite lucky there wasn't much competition in these parts.
An old tree had fallen near the edge of his territory, leaving a gaping wound in the canopy. The sun would reach further down and if he was lucky something tasty might start to grow there. Birch was fond of raspberries, but summer and fresh berries were far away. All he could hope for was that the gatherers had stashed up a lot of goodies for the longest night.
Some of the rodents in his territory seemed to be braver from the recent lack of hunting and Birch managed to catch a couple of mice close to his sleeping tree. Upon entering his home he realised he would have to fortify the braided parts of his shelter. This season had been unusually stormy, and while the rain stayed out there was a draft making his favourite perch uncomfortably chilly. Birch tried to weave in a stray branch with his beak but gave up and gulped down his mice instead.
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Posted: Wed Feb 20, 2008 12:19 pm
Fern enjoyed stretching her wings, but it occurred to her that her son might not be in his territory at all. Would it still be worth the trip just to find another empty territory? She scouted out a nice branch and landed.
"Meep!" she barked, "Go find Birch, see if he's home."
The Chirop landed beside her and nodded. "Find Birch."
"Find out and come back quickly, no chatting," she commanded. "Fly now, I'll follow."
The Chirop flew ahead but Fern didn't follow at once. Instead she took some time to preen her flight feathers thoroughly. She would have to make some tough decisions soon and she seemed to be able to think better when she was doing something else. When preening or flying she could let her thoughts wander and reach new conclusions.
She had recently heard that two of the members of her team would be joining the elites. They would get the official invite any day now and Fern might even get to deliver the good news. It wasn't surprising since they were both very capable Sentinels. She was happy for them and wished them everything good in their future assignments.
She wasn't nearly as happy about the mating pair on her team. Perhaps she should have seen it coming, since the two had eyed each other for a long time. A mated pair on the same team didn't have to be bad, but as the mating season approached they seemed more focused on each other and on future eggs than on assignments.
Fern shook her head and gave her tailfeathers one last preening before continuing her journey. She would have to let them go, at least until they cooled down a bit. That didn't leave much of a team, so it would probably be best to disband the whole team and let those interested apply again. Also, if the whole team was disbanded the two lovebirds might not feel that she kicked them out. They were good team mates, but love and mating could unfortunately make the most capable and intelligent bird daft as a rock.
A fresh start then. It will be interesting to assemble the new team and see her new gang learn to work together.
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Posted: Sun Feb 24, 2008 5:48 am
Satisfied, Birch started to plan out his performance for the longest night. They had decided to wait until after the festivities to open the first performance in the new theatre and Birch intended to try to get word out about the grand opening. Nothing fancy was planned, just a few songs and some music. His noisemakers were neatly stored in the most sheltered part of his tree and he started to rifle through them to try to decide which ones to bring.
The bard bells of course, no question of that, but what else?
"My newest toy perhaps," he said to himself and picked up the piece of carved wood. He dragged his beak across the carved design, smiling at the nice sound. Then he tried using one of his drumming sticks to produce noise instead. The pitch changed in an interesting way and using a stick would probably produce less of a headache when playing. It was a pity there weren’t woodpecker like companions that could help with drumming.
Still, it did not produce the effect he wanted. The thunderbird would probably be a better choice in such a huge crowd. It had a distinct sound and looked impressive too. He just had to find a less crowded place with enough room to swing it safely.
Birch picked out one if his storage bags and carefully packed down the Thunderbird. As an afterthought he added a few rattlers and a wind whistle, making sure they would not tangle the Thunderbird’s cord. When everything was prepared Birch turned his attention back to the carved wooden noisemaker to try it out some more.
“I should really try to give it a better name,” he mused as he played.
Neither Birch nor Echo noticed the quick Chirop entering the territory, flying a lap around Birch's trees and then leaving in the same direction it had came from.
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Posted: Sun Mar 02, 2008 2:41 pm
Meep was a speedy flyer and soon returned to his mistress, flying up alongside her to give his report.
"Noisy... Birch... home," the Chirop explained, sounding a bit winded.
"That's good Meep," Fern said and landed to allow the Chirop to catch its breath. "You can ride on my back now."
The companion obediently climbed up and positioned himself on her back between her wings. The creature had learned where to sit and how to hold on without hindering her flight, and Fernfeather didn’t even notice the extra weight. The elite Chirop keepers knew to breed skinny animals with speed and stamina as well as more robust ones for important messages. They were all intelligent enough to make sure all messangers would have a good chance to reach their destination without being intercepted or eaten.
She called out as she drew close to Birch’s territory, and waited patiently for her son to answer. The call didn’t come at once, but she knew that he was home.
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Posted: Thu Mar 06, 2008 2:58 pm
Birch had heard the call and also recognised the voice. Not many visited him and he was sure any Sentinel could recognise their parents' voices, even in a big gathering. For a short while he contemplated hiding in his tree and just not answering, but that wouldn't do at all. He hooted a greeting and stowed away his noisemakers, but remained in his tree instead of flying out to meet Fernfeather. She knew where his preferred perch was located.
"Hello mother," Birch said as Fern pushed aside a thick spruce branch with her will and entered the small shelter he called home.
"My son," Fern responded, smiling warmly. They preened each other in greeting, and Birch tensed up a bit as she reached his dyed feathers. 'Here it comes,' he thought, turning defensive even before she started speaking.
"Birch, Birch," Fern said, preening his ear tuft, "I wish you didn't have to obscure your fine plumage with dyes."
Birch opened his beak to protest, but his mother continued to speak. "Ah, but I guess it is the way of the bards," she said and met his gaze, smiling. "You're not as gaudy as some at least." Birch snapped his beak shut, not knowing how to respond. Coming from his mother it was nearly a compliment. Or should he regard it as an insult?
"It's my choice to make," he said weakly.
She tilted her head and looked at his chest for a moment
"Mmmm... Of course it is," she agreed amiably, "Say, did you plan to court someone this season?"
Birch's ear tufts flattened. Yes, it was nearly that season again, and she wouldn't let him forget it. He sighed.
"I don't know," he said, trying to dodge the subject, "I don't think so."
"Many young ones recently," she commented, "There is much less pressure towards productive couples than when I was young. Easier for those preferring unconventional pairings."
"Mmmm..." he said flatly, not daring to hope that she was willing to drop the subject so easily. "I suppose..."
There were lots of chicks and eggs around actually. Wait a minute? She wasn't trying to imply..? No, that would be silly.
"We are perfectly all right with that kind of thing, your father and I," Fern said, looking slightly uncomfortable, "Nothing wrong with it at all, especially with the clan growing so much. Only natural it should happen with so many Sentinels."
Oh, she was trying to... And... And she was looking funny at his chest. Oh, Noctus.
"I'm... not..." he spluttered, "I'm NOT holding back from mating because I'm pining over another male!"
Echo picked that moment to enter the shelter and land on Birch's head.
"Male! Male!" the Parus chirped excitedly.
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Posted: Fri Mar 07, 2008 3:16 pm
Fernfeather was secretly relieved but also slightly ashamed over those feelings, and she moved around restlessly on the branch she was perching on. It was true as the saying went, a chick will bring you a thousand worries, but you will have a laugh every day. And the worrying didn't stop as they left the nest. As a first chick Birch had been subjected to a fair bit of trial and error, but Fern hoped she had raised him to be a decent Sentinel. She just wished he wouldn't have to make matters so complicated for himself. More Sentinels than her might make the wrong assumption. Aside from attracting unwanted attention from males, females might overlook him and go for more conventional looking males.
The chattering companion gave her something else to focus on, and she frowned. Birch was a good musician, and Fern felt he should have a better suited companion to compliment his music. This was obviously not the brightest Parus in the flock.
"You shouldn't have picked the runt of the clutch," she said and eyed the Parus critically, "You have always been too nice for your own good."
"I like him," Birch said sullenly, probably still ruffled by her misunderstanding, "Echo is funny, and that’s why I got him."
"Funnyfunnyfunny. Echo!" the Parus agreed and started to preen Birch. It looked silly to see the small bird struggle with Birch's eartuft. It might not be completely daft, but singing would be far more suitable than mimicry and pointless words.
"Ah, but you could always get another one. Perhaps a nice singing Parus that could sing along to your music," Fern continued, "You don't have to eat this one if you like having it around."
Birch still looked sceptical so Fern dropped the subject. Apparently he was more like his father when it came to companions. Fernfeather had yet to have a companion that she was emotionally attached to. Her chirop was useful, and she valued his help, but he was little more than a tool to her.
"I'll start looking for a new team soon," she said, trying to find a new topic. She also realised that letting the news slip into bard circles would most likely get word out far more efficiently than if she should use messenger chirops. She did not intend to recruit bards, but their audience consisted of all kinds of Sentinels and it wouldn't hurt to make it known that she was looking.
"What's wrong with your old one," Birch asked sulkily, "misplaced them somewhere?"
The Parus playing tug-o-war with Birch's eartuft made it hard to take him seriously and Fern had to struggle to suppress her amusement. She knew better than to interrupt his sulk by laughing.
"Ah, no, " Fern said, stone faced, "They made fun of my useless bard of a son so I had to dispose of them."
He could try to hold on to his sullen act, she could see in his eyes that he was at least mildly amused.
"And now you'd like me to help lure new innocent recruits to you?" Birch asked, shaking his head to force the Parus to find another perch.
"Oh, no you dont," she boomed as the small bird seemed to aim for her head instead. The Parus startled and settled for landing on a protruding branch that looked as if it had come loose from the braided part of the shelter.
"You know me too well Birch," she said and smiled eying the sloppy braiding, "But it would be nice if you waited a couple of nights to give me some time to tell my team first."
Birch nodded gravely, and she knew she could trust his word that the news that she was disbanding her group wouldn't leak before she wanted it to.
"And you should really get a crafter here to fix up that wind shelter," she said, unable to hold her tongue any longer.
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Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2008 3:11 pm
Birch watched his mother fly, filled with conflicting emotions. He was relieved that the visit was over, felt guilty about being relieved, but also proud that she had asked him to help and deep down glad that she had visited. Shaking his head he settled down on a branch where he had a good view over the surrounding area but was still hidden from view by the thick branches.
"Might as well make myself useful and watch," he told Echo, not expecting any answer.
Somehow Fern had an uncanny talent to infuriate him by pointing out things he knew were true. It was just that the way she brought them up made him revert into a sulky fledgling that would not agree. Ever. Yes, Echo could be an annoying little bugger. And yes, he needed help fixing up the shelter. In fact, he already regretted refusing her offer to help. Sure, she was not much better than him at precision will work, but together they might have fixed the worst draft problem. He pondered asking Tousled if she wanted to trade some help for a private performance, and he had promised to show the first and only thing he had ever crafted. She would probably laugh at his pathetic attempt, but he had promised to show it.
Preening a wing, he finally relaxed after the surprise visit. It hadn't been too bad actually. But he would be very happy if he never, ever had to discuss mating with his mother again.
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