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 Posted: Sat Mar 22, 2008 5:54 pm
 He saw. He swooped. He killed.
The swift and silent Hunter glided at an angle, as he adjusted his grip, to clutch at his most recent prize. It was not a particularly enviable accomplishment, but no matter; Merlin had others to boast of.
His catches were given away, dispatched to the Great Tree for Matron and her helpers to dole out to those in need...Indeed, he felt a warm, fuzzy feeling in puffing out his chest and being able to say that he did his share for Noctua.
...But to give, he had to take, and tonight, he had taken the lives of many...including one particularly foul-smelling skunk...Merlin still reeked of its stench, but that was besides the point.
It was the life of this Hunter, ever-taking, and ever-giving, that he most enjoyed. With that thought, Merlin banked left, towards the Great Tree...
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Posted: Sat Mar 22, 2008 7:40 pm
 Elu was a new mus keeper added to the growing practice of mus keeping. She had grown fond of the little creatures during her apprenticeship. Elu was often found at the Great Tree being a rather diligent activist against the killing of mus. Hoping that their colonies would flourish better if they weren't constantly attacked and slaughtered. Today she was just hanging around the great tree...her mus huddled between her feet with it's tail curled close to the body.
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Posted: Sun Mar 23, 2008 6:55 pm
Upon arriving at the drop-off point, Merlin was in quite a dandy mood, calm and content...until he saw her. It was a female Shadow perched on that branch that caught his attention; a female Sentinel. Being quite the lady-chaser, the Hunter quickly appraised her strikingly exotic features...The bright gold accents stood out so brilliantly against her dark plumage...but for once, Merlin was not paying beauty much attention. No, it was the perplexing puzzle that had arrested his bright blue eyes this time.
Automatically, Merlin had catagorized the Shadow as a Non-Hunter, Non-Gatherer, and Non-Combatative based on her plumage. But then...what was she doing here of all places? The Mus seemed to point to Gathering, but no Gatherer would ever get a dye-job like that...It was possible that the female was one of Matron's helpers, goodness knows how many there were, but just from her posture, Merlin was fairly certain that this was not so.
The curious male flapped his wings once more, and landed neatly on the occupied branch. He made a brief, but rather fancy bow, before tilting his head. "Hullo there! Merlin be m'name. And whooo might this lovely lady sitting beside me be?"
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Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2008 10:36 am
Elu was observing those who where bringing in their catches for the day. She was irritated by the sight of dead mus and other companion type creatures as well. She muttered in a low voice to the mus that was trembling between her taloned feet, "Can you believe it...they kill creatures that serve us...."
The little mus looked up at her Mistress and nodded before suddenly spooking and clinging onto Elu's leg.
Elu looked up and then puffed up slightly at Merlin's sudden entrance. She blinked her violet eyes several times before settling her feathers and answering,"I am Elu. It is lovely to meet you Merlin. May I ask your profession?"
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Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2008 1:22 pm
Puffing out his chest, as well as his rapidly-inflating ego, Merlin chuckled and boomed out in a dramatic tone,
"Ohoohoohoo! Ah, but 'tis a Hunter I am, at your service, madam. And If I might say so, your name is quite easy on the tongue, as your plumage is easy on the eyes. "
Fairly pleased with his play on words, Merlin tucked in a wing and preened a chest-feather. In a childish manner, Merlin, young at heart, felt the need to prove this; with a talon, he extended his catch for Elu to see.
It was a Mus.
It was the dead body of a Mus that thunked quite hollowly on the branch; or more likely, a cross-breed of Mus and mouse. Said Mus was not a particularly fat Mus, but a fair bit of prey in itself. Anyways, it would certainly help to stave off any unfortunate Sentinel's hunger.
Cheerfully, Merlin attempted to joke, hoping Elu would be impressed. "I know it's not much, but its certainly nicer-smelling than that skunk I had the misfortune of running into earlier."
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Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2008 5:41 pm
Elu's feathers began to fluff up and her eyes went wide with...horror...yes...it was horror. A dark look flashed rather quickly across her face and she turned her eyes away from the sad remains of what was probably a beautiful life at one point.
"I say...do you go around putting dead creatures into every female's face? Or am I just the lucky one today?" Elu sounded somewhere between astonished and horrified at this. Sure, she did eat other creatures and sure they deserved to live, but so did she....she was just more protective of mus.
Elu's mus suddenly squeaked in distress not being able to hold it in much longer.
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Posted: Tue Mar 25, 2008 7:14 pm
No matter how carefree he looked, Merlin was quite perceptive. He had not missed Elu’s fleeting expression as she looked on, nor could he possibly miss her companion’s shriek of terror. Tilting his head, the alarmed Hunter quickly snatched back his talon, withdrawing the Mus from the female’s sight as if burnt.
“Well,” Merlin replied in a genial tone, “I suppose a Mus should be eaten, not waved around.” He chortled softly. “Never play with your food, my dear...mum...did say!”
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Posted: Sat Mar 29, 2008 8:05 pm
(( Eeeep! Totaly spaced on this rp! ))
Elu blinked a couple times. "Yes, I do recall my surrogate mother Chenoa lecturing me on that. Although, I no longer eat mus. I raise them for companions."
Elu looked back up at the great tree and then back at Merlin. "I suppose you hunt them and eat them and don't mind. I wish we didn't have to eat mus...there are plenty of other creatures we can eat."
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Posted: Mon Mar 31, 2008 1:31 pm
Merlin also blinked, but for a different reason. The slight widening of his bright blue eyes betrayed his shock.
She was a Mus-Keeper! Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Oh-yes, waving a dead carcass, practically identical to her little charges would surely make a good impression. It was a wonder he hadn't been smacked about the whole of Noctua by now; it would surely have been her right, insulting as he had been, albeit accidentally and with no harmful intention.
"Oh. Then...I-I do offer my deepest apologies!" Merlin buried his head in his chest feathers, ashamed.
"My actions must be quite upsetting...quite understandably, flaunting that mus...behavior most inconsiderate...don't know what came over...I do hope you'll forgive..." He trailed off, mumbling nonsensical apologies.
"Though...I do hope that you will not hold...it against me...The fact that I'm a Hunter, that is." Merlin picked his words with care, hoping he wouldn't set the female off. "I am sure that Keeper-raised mice, such as yours are considerably smarter, quicker, and more valuable than interbred ones, anyhow...And I don't usually catch many wild Mus...mice...whatever strange hybrid they might be." He puffed up his chest with pride at this. Naturally, boasting seemed to help him settle more comfortably in any situation.
((Not a problem! ^_^ ))
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Posted: Fri Apr 04, 2008 3:37 pm
Elu turned her vivid eyes upon Merlin. "Ah yes, but you couldn't have known that I was a mus keeper. Therefore I'll accept you apologies....so long as you do refrain from flailing dead mus around...dead or alive."
She turned her head to once again watch the coming and goings of other for a moment. Then said, "Yes.....our mus are highly intelligent compared to those of the wild mus. With various personalities that are quite entertaining."
Her gaze turned back towards Merlin. "They'd make fine companions for their future masters."
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Posted: Sun Apr 06, 2008 3:13 pm
Merlin nodded, overly enthusiastic, as if he was seeking reassurance. "Yes-yes-yes. You are entirely right. I couldn't have known...Couldn't have known..." In spite of his guilt at having hurt the female, Merlin was hard-put to block the chuckle that bubbled up his throat. As a result, it came out as a rather odd gurgle, which only served to encourage his goodnatured laughter.
"Ohoo! Such a humorous situation! Did you know, m'dear, that it was curiosity about your profession that had compelled me to meet you? You see, the Hunters and Gatherers that normally skulk –and I do mean skulk, the place gets quite routine after the three hundred-nineteenth trip- around the area aren’t dyed as vibrantly as yourself. In fact,” Merlin let out another chuckle, “I had you marked down as one of the dear Matron’s helpers –not that that’s bad, mind-, but I just couldn’t envision you doing so. Noctus knows, I had never envisioned you as a keeper…”
The twinkle seemed to return to Merlin’s eyes, as he happily babbled on and on…until-
“Oho! And…But wait, what would a lovely Mus-Keeper such as yourself be doing around this here tree? The fruit-and-nut assortment be on the other side…”
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Posted: Mon May 26, 2008 11:07 pm
Elu clicked her beak with slight amusement at the elaborate and talkative Merlin.
"Ah well, my adoptive mother is an apothecary. And I had a tendency towards the more flashy growing up. So mother Chenoa acquired gold dye materials and made a special batch just for me and...." she flared out her wings and flaunted her dye job "...this is what you get. Her own dye job is rather plain but she loves it."
She glanced up at the tree and those around them. Indeed she was more flashy and her profession and appearance where rather....well vastly different. "Yeah, I don't know...maybe I like being more unique in how I look at my job," she shrugged her shoulders.
"What made you take the hunting profession?"
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