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 Posted: Wed Mar 26, 2008 5:06 am
Now you all know
The bards and their songs
When hours have gone by
I'll close my eyes
In a world far away
We may meet again
But now hear my song
About the dawn of the night
Let's sing the bards' song...
The night was soft and the glow of the moon glinted through the thick trees of Deep Woods, casting various shadows on the limbs and inhabitants of the forest.
Fjord had thought he picked an isolated and undesired spot in Deep Woods in which he could practice quietly. Of course, he did enjoy practicing at the theatre, but tonight he had anticipated some alone time in which his voice and his chosen words might not be critiqued to full extent. It was not his voice so much that he worried about as was the song itself. He wanted it perfected before he let Char hear it.
Tomorrow will take us away
Far from home
No one will ever know our names
But the bards' songs will remain
Tomorrow will take it away
The fear of today
It will be gone
Due to our magic songs...
As he sang softly, Crow sat at his talons, grooming and listening. She knew the words already and waited until she needed to cue him in some manner.
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Posted: Wed Mar 26, 2008 4:47 pm
Silent flight was not tonight marred by the jangling of bells—Brightling had been in a peculiar mood tonight, and had left all but one at home. That single bell around her neck made only the softest of chimes against her chest, an indicator of profession but nothing else.
She hadn’t been able to sleep recently, feeling extremely fidgety and a bit odd, and she didn’t like it. But she didn’t want to rely on the craft of Medics or Apothecaries for such a simple thing as restlessness, so she had wanted to wait it out. She had wanted to spend the evening working quietly in her home, but Flickerwing’s gentle twittering and preening had driven her half-mad, and she had thrown herself into restless, wandering action, flapping from tree to tree with no clear goal.
She had been gliding for a while, seeking a place to center herself, when she caught ear of something on the breeze. In spite of herself, she banked toward the sound, more curious than anything. When she realized it was song caught in the wind, she angled even more towards the source, already catching the melody, though not the words. In spite of herself, she began humming along, improvising a harmony to the song as she went.
She approached the other Sentinel slowly, aware that an intrusion like hers could easily be resented or misinterpreted and eager that it not be seen as such. Taking a perch a respectable distance away, she made her presence known nonetheless, singing a quiet, wordless counterpoint in response to Fjord. Her chosen specialty of bardic performance was not singing, or even songwriting, but no bard could be without a good ear for music, and her voice was good enough.
Letting her own sound fade, she inclined her head to Fjord and gave him a delicate, tentative smile. “It is lovely,” she said quietly, nodding sagely before looking away, fluffing up a little in embarrassment for interrupting so boldly. She had seen this bard before—she thought his name might begin with an F, but that was the extent of what she knew of him. She did not spend much of her time in the theatre; Brightling considered herself an ‘outside’ bard and didn’t perform with that particular troupe.
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Posted: Wed Mar 26, 2008 5:52 pm
The song was not finished, it still had quite a ways to go, but he had yet to decide what words went where. His plummage fluffed and he appeared to be somewhat embarassed, but quickly played the emotion off with a quick nod and grin.
"D'you think so? It's not complete... I've been working on it for a bit, now."
She had been very bold in approaching him as she did, but he took no offense. He was young and, despite his being an insecure aberrant, came off as one who was almost always cheery. Her name eluded him, as his did to her, but he recognized the bright spot around her eye and the mock elite marks on her wings. He could not help but to chuckle softly as his orange eyes drifted across them.
"I thought I had found solitude out here, but I see I am pleasantly wrong. How d'you do, miss?" His eyes seemed to glint with joy as he addressed the fellow bard and he gave her a cordial bow, his wings spread.
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Posted: Wed Mar 26, 2008 6:13 pm
As the other Sentinel fluffed, Brightling recognized similar emotions to her own and laughed a bit in spite of herself, immediately relaxing when she realized that he was just as awkward as she. Blinking sagely and clicking her beak in amusement at Fjord's response to the marks on her wings, flaring the limbs playfully before responding to his comments.
Bowing back as she took a moment to consider a response, she looked up and returned his joyous expression. "It would seem that this place finds wanderers," she answered lightly, before giving him a wicked grin. "Tonight, I would say I feel rather mad, sir," she answered. "But I hope this will not impair polite conversation. And you, yourself, flashy-feathers?” The gentle nickname was obviously playful; Brightling wouldn’t have immediately thrown herself into that sort of situation if Fjord had not been another bard, but she thought perhaps he would take her more lightly than many others did. "How are you faring on this fine night?"
Folding her wings back to herself, she tilted her head sideways and glanced coyly at the male, expression comical and not a little bit mischievous.
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Posted: Wed Mar 26, 2008 6:40 pm
"Ah, but you see, miss, we are all a bit mad. It shan't bother conversation whatsoever." He waved a wing as if to brush the comment off.
He lifted a bell covered paw and gave it a shake, causing the several metallic bells to jingle. "Tonight I feel and fare... Orange." He gave her yet another wink, as if it were some sort of joke. "Bright, attentive, and somewhat adventurous. Yourself?"
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Posted: Thu Mar 27, 2008 4:50 pm
Ah....this was a game that Brightling could most certainly play. Tilting her head first to one side, and then the other, she gave every impression of serious thought before answering, expression bright.
"I'd say that I'm feeling rather...yellow," she answered. "Fast and flashy and certainly painfully obvious. Intrusive but still pleasant," she laughed. Glancing at the silver bells on the other bard's feet, she suddenly found herself missing her typical regalia. But she had not intended to go out and had thus not worn the bells.
She hadn't realized how naked she felt without them. Blinking the thoughts away, she laughed at her own silliness and fluffed up as if to shake it off. "So, sir...it would appear that neither of us has had the bad taste to ask the other's name. In the interest of preserving your dignity, I will make the first introduction. I am Brightling." She hopped down her branch a little, cocking her head at Fjord. "And you, sir? What might your own dubbance be?"
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Posted: Thu Mar 27, 2008 7:21 pm
"Ah, my dear, Brightling is a lovely and suitable name for you, indeed!" He jestured towards her with a wing and shifted fluidly into yet another bow.
"My dubbance, you see, is Fjord." He stood erect once more and gave her a wink of his orange eye. His eyes traveled to the single bell that she had brought and knew well what it stood for.
"A bard, I see?"
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Posted: Fri Mar 28, 2008 4:29 pm
"Fjord, a pleasure," she said, giving another bow in response to Fjord's, then spreading her wings in amusement when Fjord managed to guess (for how hard could it truly be?) her Task. He, naturally, needed no guesses, for how many Sentinels could be found singing to themselves in the woods at night, especially singing well?
"A bard by profession, but a fool by birth," she answered with a laugh, giving a shrug of her wings. For a moment, she preened in easy silence, then looked up at the other bard again.
“So sir Fjord,” she said easily, “perhaps a bit of a chat would be in order, since we seem to be here together and I have no plans to leave.” A wry gleam in her eye, she hopped a bit, making herself look ridiculous, and twisted her head clownishly.
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Posted: Sat Mar 29, 2008 7:28 am
"A bit of chat would be in order, Miss Brighting, as I have no plans to move either." The aberrant chuckled lightly through the feathers he had been preening.
"My life is an open tale, just as the ones we sing in the theatre. That is where I perform, the Crown Leaf Theatre." He told her with a bit of pride and a hint of glee. He loved the theatre and performing on that stage, though he knew not all bards did.
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Posted: Sun Mar 30, 2008 9:38 am
"Ah...the theatre," she said with a smile, expression growing somewhat wistful, as far as a beak could ever look wistful. "I've always felt a bit of an odd one there," she confessed after a moment, laying her ear tufts flat. "After all, when one doesn't sing like the rest of the troupe..." she shook her wings out and twisted her head over her shoulder to peer at Fjord that way.
"I have not once been on time for anything in my life," she said cheerfully. "And I always told tales as to why I was late. And so a bard I became. Such is my life so far," she finished flippantly before tilting her head down so she could slip the bell off from around her neck. Idly tossing it with her Will, she gave Fjord a mischievous look.
"Care to share that lovely charm 'round your neck?" she asked wryly.
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Posted: Mon Mar 31, 2008 12:31 pm
"Come, now. While you may not find your voice worthy, others may find it pleasant. What is the saying? You are your toughest critic?" He did not intend to sound as though he were patronizing her and he hoped that his words did not come off that way. His cheerful disposition and expressive movements were meant to encourage.
"What? Oh? This silly thing, eh?" He dipped his head and lifted the charms in his curved beak, then dropped them with a bit of haste. "Feather charms. Decor that will mark my companions to me, you see." He bobbed his head downwards, towards the painted mus that curled across his talons.
"This is Crow, such a sweet little mus. There is a matching painted pica around these parts, somewhere. He does not stray far. In fact, I am surprised that he has not come to inspect you yet... You see, he simply adores such vibrant colours as your inks."
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Posted: Thu Apr 10, 2008 5:07 pm
Brightling laughed a little bit at Fjord's gentle encouragement, but she knew full-well that her talents lay in other realms than singing. Besides, her personality was more suited to working with fledglings. She debated saying as much, but then the explanation of the charm cut her off.
Feathers...she was no good with feathers. Almost sighing, she leant down to tilt her head and looked at the bright mus, concealing her motions as she slipped the bell under her wing. Idly manipulating it with her Will, she positioned it and then more or less forgot, looking back up to Fjord. "I have a parus in the same garb about, though she chose tonight to remain home in her roost." Looking back up at Fjord, she fluffed in pleased embarrassment and preened one of her wings.
"Ah, vibrancy," she said simply. "It is so much more enjoyable to be noticed, mm?" she asked, shuffling close to Fjord and then leaning in in the pretext of inspecting the other bard's primaries. Gently, she leaned in to preen one and drew back quick as a flash, bell in her beak once more.
Tossing it idly and snagging it in one foot, she gave Fjord a sly look. "Bells even in your feathers, then?" she asked, ever playful.
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Posted: Mon Apr 14, 2008 5:54 pm
"Bravo, bravo!" The bard praised cheerfully as his orange eyes followed the bell that Brightling had pulled from him. A smile tugged at the corners of his beak and he gave her a wink.
"Your trick is amusing, that is certain. You strike me as the sort of sentinel who does well with fledglings." He meant it as a complement. The bard loved fledglings just asmuch as the next sentinel. Perhaps, had music not been his calling, he would of looked into being a teacher or minder. However, being an aberrant would of made such things that much harder.
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Posted: Mon Apr 21, 2008 4:32 pm
She couldn't help but laugh at the other bard's applause. After all, sleight was a skill that many did not understand. Bards were not necessarily expected to be such as Brightling. "Thank you kindly, sir," she said with a bow and a flourish.
"And you are a perceptive one indeed!" she added, winking. "I work mostly with the younglings. My performance and manner indeed are very suited to the younger ones. They are so much more forgiving." She laughed again and rearranged the bell so it was back around her neck, picking at it and letting it fall in a more orderly fashion.
"And you I know are one of the troupe," she said. "A singer or a storyteller, yes?"
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Posted: Mon Apr 21, 2008 7:15 pm
"Oh, a bit of this and a smidge of that. I enjoy singing, but I'll tell a tale or two if the atmosphere calls for it. I daresay nothing is quite as entertaining as weaving a tale for the younglings." He replied lightly and with a hint of pride. His profession was his life and he was often heard telling fledglings that if songs and stories were skurri, he would be the plumpest sentinel in all of Noctua. They were food, but not in the physical sense, and he lived and breathed them.
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