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 Posted: Tue Jun 10, 2008 8:11 pm
 Silk's eyes fluttered opened as the sounds of the evening met his ears. Stretching his wings he slowly stepped out on to the sturdy branch at the entrance to his home. Hooting happily, he rustled his feathers and let out a content sigh. The air was crisp but that did not bother him in the slightest.
Carefully preening his elaborate feathers he admired how nicely they shown in the moon light. "Like gold my lovely feathers they are." He twittered to himself.
With his preparation for the night finished, he flew to his favorite singing branch. As he settled he took a deep breath and began to sing. The horrible sound that came from Silk's beak made the crickets stop their chirping and the forest seemed to go deadly quiet. Only slightly abashed Silk took another deep breath (he had to practice after all) and continued, the horrible broken tune carrying through the chill night air once more.
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Posted: Wed Jun 11, 2008 5:27 pm
 Typhoon turned his wings slightly to rise above a branch, heaved a sigh and glided on, pressing further into the Cold Woods. He was trying to escape the memories that usually gave him comfort, but now, they only haunted him. His beautiful mate..
He let out a cry of sadness, trying to bury those old memories under the wind and chilly air. He paused, hearing a sound close to the sound that just came out of his own beak. This didn't carry the same hint of sadness, though. It sounded happy...just awfully sung.
His haunted memories faded as he came upon the maker of the horrible sound, though it looked like the Mist Sentinel was really trying. Typhoon landed on a branch a few trees away, and hooed a greeting.
"Good evening, fellow Sentinel." Ty called. If the gold feathered singer could hear him over his squawking.
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Posted: Wed Jun 11, 2008 7:37 pm
Hooting with surprise, Silk fluttered and immediately shut his beak. He hadn't realized there had been someone near by. Looking over at the handsome sentinel that had perched nearby, he thought how lovely his feathers were.
"Good evening, kind sir. Pardon my singing if it disturbed you," he lowered his head slightly and a smile spread on his face, looking almost hopeful, "unless you liked the tune and would like to hear more?"
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Posted: Thu Jun 12, 2008 7:48 pm
Ty hid his wince rather deftly, and gave a little smile to the copper dyed Sentinel. "Not at all. Practice makes perfect, I say. Though...I believe you need a great deal more practice than maybe a lifetime could offer." Then he winced very obviously, and laughed.. He definitely didn't want to embarrass the other Sentinel, and his tone of voice was light and joking.
"Don't give up, though. I am Typhoon, Minder of fledglings in the Deep Woods. What's your name, Sentinel?" Ty shifted from one foot to the other, and flew to a nearer tree so he wouldn't have to raise his voice. He preened his feathers lightly while waiting for the other Sentinel to respond.
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Posted: Fri Jun 13, 2008 9:32 pm
Laughing heartily Silk friendly gestured to Typhoon with his wing "Yes I quite agree, two lifetimes it could take to get the tune just right." Chuckling he continued. "I thought maybe today I'd be lucky."
Spreading his wings he flew to the perch that Typhoon was standing on. "Silk is my name," he said, "I'm a watcher but as you probably could tell, a bard I wish to be." His eyes looked up as if thinking. "Alas, I refuse to be one till I sing the ancient songs perfectly." He let out a small wistful sigh, and then began to smile again. '"Practice, practice, practice, as my minders used to say. What brings you so far from the deep woods?" Silk asked curiously.
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Posted: Sat Jun 14, 2008 3:53 pm
Typhoon glanced down at his claws as Dune peeks over the edge of his wing, nearly buried in his Sentinel's feathers. "My..my mate and I used to live in a tree at the edge of the Cold Forest, and she is gone now. I come back now and then to see if it's still here."
It's obviously a painful subject for the Ghost Minder, and he shakes his feathers as if a physical movement can get rid of the memories clouding his mind.
Ty slid his beak along his primaries, and said, "You have quite gorgeous feathers, Silk. As a bard you would definitely entertain. Have you ever looked into other ways to make noise? Like instruments, perhaps. Or whistling?" He could tell the copper dyed Sentinel was very dedicated to his dream, and Ty was always encouraging.
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Posted: Sat Jun 14, 2008 11:19 pm
Silk's smile faded from his face, "Sorry I am for the loss of your mate, I didn't realize..." He closed his eyes in a moment of silence for the passed sentinel.
At the comment on his feathers Silk puffed himself up proudly. "Why thank you, take extra care of them I do!" Stretching a wing out he admired the sheen on them in the evening light. "Whistling? Hmmmm...I never thought of that. Give it a try I will!" Folding his wing he adjusted his feet lightly on the perch and took a deep breath.
The whistle if it could be called that, grated through the air. In the distance a roosting murder of crows startled and took flight; annoyed with the rude awakening. Silk felt disgusted with himself that the sound had come out of his own beak.
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Posted: Mon Jun 16, 2008 7:00 pm
Ty gave a gracious nod at his silence. It had been a long time since he had spoken more than a few words about Milkweed, and even longer since he'd said her name out loud.
He chuckled as Silk puffed up, the Ghost Sentinel could have only assumed Silk would have that sort of reaction. Typhoon didn't mind giving out compliments, and the vividly dyed Mist Sentinel definitely enjoyed it.
The Minder pulled his feathers close to his body, wincing at the sound that came out of Silk's beak. That was worse than a hatchling's screams! Poor Sentinel, he wanted so badly to sing and was so bad at it.
"Well, at least you scared off those nasty crows," Typhoon said, letting out a soft guffaw. "What about storytelling? Bards aren't all about making music, you know. Maybe you could write songs instead of singing them?"
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Posted: Mon Jun 16, 2008 8:09 pm
Silk shook his head, "Unfortunately distracted too easily I get, never have I completed a story." Watching Typhoon's little mus curiously, he let out a small sigh, "I can remember any tale or song I hear, but..."his voice trailed off as his thoughts wondered.
How he wished he could sing, he knew the notes, he could hear the inflections and melodies but no matter how hard he tried his voice would just not obey. He rustled his feathers as he shook the negative thoughts from his head.
"Never give up I will! Someday my voice will sore higher then the trees!" Smiling a thought came to him, "and those crows better watch out before that day comes." Silk laughed happily. "The moon is high shall we talk some more as we hunt?"
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Posted: Thu Jun 19, 2008 7:30 pm
Typhoon hooted at the idea of a hunt, fluffing up his feathers and preening them quickly. "A hunt sounds lovely! I am just in the mood for a good snack."
Dune peeked over his Sentinel's feathers, clinging to Ty's back as he was used to. He eyed the unfamiliar Sentinel, decided he was safe enough, and climbed down onto the branch. The mus didn't like to go hunting..he was much more comfortable gathering his own, not-bleeding food.
"Would you mind Dune staying in your tree until we return? He dislikes hunting." Ty grinned a little at this. The Mist Sentinel knew his mus didn't like watching mice be caught...Dune wasn't so different from his brother and sister mice, and liked to keep that line clear.
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Posted: Thu Jun 19, 2008 9:13 pm
Silk smiled warmly, "Of course he may, plenty of room my nook does have. The little one will be safe." He gave a small welcoming gesture towards his tree.
Grateful that he would have company during the hunt, he hoped they would be lucky and find his favorite, squirrel. Clicking his beak happily he thought of the tantalizing flavor. Spreading his wings he glided into the cool air. Not being able to contain his good mood Silk began to hum a tune. He looked back to check to see if Typhoon was following him.
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Posted: Tue Jun 24, 2008 3:53 pm
Dune squeaked a thank you to Silk, and scurried closer to the tree trunk, settling down under a cluster of leaves. He looked like little more than a light colored shadow, no surprise since he had to hide often from predators when Typhoon wasn't around.
Typhoon chuckled as Silk hummed a tune, not as bothered by his humming as he was with his singing. He took off after Silk, basking in the feeling of cool air under his wings. Flying up next to Silk, he kept his eyes on the ground, looking for any signs of small movement. His stomach was gurgling in anticipation, and his pale gold eyes glittered as the hunter in the old Minder was revealed. The grey Sentinel definitely wasn't an old coot when it came to getting a meal, his beak was still as sharp as it had been when he was a young fledgling.
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Posted: Thu Jun 26, 2008 7:48 pm
Silk scanned the ground his young sharp eyes picking up any slight motion, his ears listening for the tall tale rustle of leaves. His stomach rumbled. He scowled, darn it he was hungry!
He quited his humming so that he wouldn't miss any chance. The forest seemed so quiet tonight. Was the weather changing? Silk hoped not, he hated storms. They mess up his beautiful tree and worst of all they mess up his feathers. He shuddered slightly as he remembered the last horrific storm that had hit the forest. What a horrible night that had been. Looking towards the night sky he saw that it was clear, however Silk's unease did not dissipate.
Turning to Typhoon, Silk asked the older sentinel, "Quiet the forest feels, does it not?"
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Posted: Sun Jul 13, 2008 8:58 pm
Typhoon didn't have quite the keen eyesight of a hunter or a young Sentinel by any means, but he did have a number of hunts under his wing, and knew what places food was likely to be hiding. He kept his golden eyes on the ground, especially searching for what looked like good hiding places.
When Silk mentioned the quiet of the forest, Typhoon nodded a bit, thinking. "Perhaps most everyone is still recovering from that last awful storm, including the prey. Hopefully the mice and squirrels will boom again soon, because we'll have quite a few fluffs and fledglings to feed in the coming days."
Ty's eyes were drawn to a wiggling piece of moss and he grinned at Silk, motioning his grey head towards the moving moss and a moment later swooping in for the kill. Nothing better than a fat juicy mouse to stave off hunger.
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Posted: Sat Jul 19, 2008 2:29 pm
Silk sighed with relief when the older sentinel reassured him that the quiet was most likely normal. He had been so nervous lately since the storm.
Nodding with agreement he said, "Little ones do need a lot of nourishment."
Following Ty's gesture towards the ground, he too saw the motion in the moss. Of course he wanted to swoop instantly down and feast on the possible careless mouse but it had been Typhoon who had spotted the creature first. He reluctantly held back, allowing the other sentinel to make the first move. He hoped that his luck would be with him tonight and that the creature below perhaps had a tasty friend with it.
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