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 Posted: Thu Jun 26, 2008 1:32 pm
Skurri. So plump, so juicy, so forbidden to eat. They are almost always someone’s companion after all, and if you eat a trained companion you better pay for a new one (or... you know... avoid getting caught).
This particular Skurri is brightly painted, with a blood red streak of dye down its back and tail. It’s also very dead and lying around on one of the outer platforms in the Minders' enclave in Deep Woods. It has not been spotted yet, but three different Sentinels will soon arrive at the scene.
Vinch, the Watcher, is in the enclave for business and pleasure. See, there’s this lovely Deep Woods Minder... By spending more time in the enclave he can do his job by looking out for talent in the younger generation and, as an added bonus, perhaps accidentally bump into the pretty lady every now and then.
Ossie has got permission from Breeze to visit Pa Twist in the Minders' enclave, and she is starting to be good enough at flying to travel the last bit on her own. As she approaches the enclave she spots something colourful on one of the outer platforms. Time to investigate?
Fiachra is practicing in the outskirts of the enclave. Far enough from everyone to be left alone, but near enough to the Minders to not get into trouble. As he flap-jumps from a branch to a nearby platform he notices the Skurri.
Specific details: The Skurri is plainly visible in the middle of the platform, and the dye can be mistaken for fresh blood at a quick glance. Vinch has only now noticed the dead skurri himself, and is observing from the sidelines. He is not immediately visible to the two fledglings, but he can make himself known at any point, simply by speaking or flying down from his perch to the platform. (He would probably also be able to deduce that the Skurri has died from old age and natural causes, rather than any sort of foul play - if he gets a closer look at it, that is. The fledglings haven't seen quite as many dead companions in their short lives, and will not be able to figure this out on their own.)
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Posted: Thu Jun 26, 2008 7:32 pm
The night was nice and the warmth of summer was setting in nicely, and the young fledgling was not used to this peculiar, yet comfortable weather. Little Osprey was growing quickly, but she was no where near as experienced as some of the older fledglings, although she would beg to differ... And soundly at that.
Breeze and Hollyhock had accompanied her the majority of the way to the Enclave, but she had been allowed to make the last stretch on her own and she was glad for that. Maybe Papa Twist would be out and would see her flying in! Oh, she longed to see him and hoped to show him how well she was doing! And he and Songbloom thought it might be too hard! HA!
As she made to land on one of the outer platform, something very bright, very out of place, and very dead was in her way. She puzzled over this as she landed over it.
"S-s-skurri?"She pondered aloud as she landed on it. Was that blood all over it? She was almost too intimidated to get any closer. Had anyone else seen it?
Skurri were almost ALWAYS companions and this one was dead and bleeding! Panic was about to ensue, as she did not want to be pinned for the death of this little creature!
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Posted: Thu Jun 26, 2008 9:42 pm
 Vinch sighed. His luck has been down, down, and more down recently. Insulted by the other males, rejected by the females, and now this. He comes to call on a new lady-friend that seemed like a great prospect and she's not even around! What happened to the Ol' Vinch Charm? Vinch had said his farewells to the Minders he has visited and was making his way out when he saw it. A...Skurri? He hopped a little closer, looking around for an owner when he realized the Skurri wasn't moving. And probably wasn't going to ever again. AW NO WAY!!! Vinch cried in his head, stopping completely in his tracks. He swung his head around frantically, looking for this thing's owner. Does that mean he's gonna be blamed for killing this companion? I don't even LIKE eating companions, Vinch thought, his picky food-habits coming out. Then Vinch noticed something small and white landing on the Skurri's platform. A mist Fledgling. Well, she couldn't possibly be the Skurri's owner, she's far too young. This was confirmed by her wondering cry. Vinch concluded that her surprise seemed genuine, so this little one must not have had anything to do with this Skurri or its death. Even so, Vinch decided to wait and see what she did before he approached. Little ones can be unpredictable, and he didn't want to start any trouble. Curse you, horrible luck!
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Posted: Sat Jun 28, 2008 1:39 pm
Osprey was practically dancing on her talons. Her feathers fluffed aggressively and her wings spread, but quickly sleeked in fear before fluffing and sleeking yet again. The usually sure little mist was completely unsure of what to do.
As far as she knew, no one had seen her yet. That was good... But if anyone was to happen upon her, they would surly think she did it, right? Maybe she should go find Papa Twist! Yeah, that would be a good idea! He would believe almost anything she would say, she was sure of that!
She was just now able to come back to the enclave for a visit. The last thing she wanted to do was to be in trouble with the minders and with Breeze, because Breeze would surely find out. She didn't do anything, after all! It wouldn't be fair to get into trouble for not doing anything!
She gulped soundly and took an antsy pawstep towards the dead thing. The dead... Skurri.
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Posted: Sat Jun 28, 2008 6:59 pm
Vinch watched as the little Fledgling got more and more nervous. He could read her conflicting emotions and wondered what she was thinking.
She was a brave one, though. She came here all by herself, even though she must be pretty young. She hasn't run away yet, either.
Then Vinch's eyes widened as she stepped closer to the Skurri. Wow! he thought very brave indeed! This little one seems like an ideal candidate for a combatant profession. She certainly has the bravery. Perhaps with more maturing she could become even more fearless.
Vinch smiled, excited by the thought, though it was very premature. He couldn't wait to see what she does next. She was a very interesting little one, no doubt about that.
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Posted: Sat Jun 28, 2008 7:28 pm
Fiachra ruffled his hind feathers, a small, nauseating feeling settling in the bottom of his gizzard. It was tiring, the practice, and it could have been the cold-humidity of the unsettling night or the way the sticky breeze hit his body in all the wrong ways, there was just something foreboding about the forest tonight.
The moon hung like a precarious argentine coin in the sky and it comforted him as he flitted carefully from branch to branch, careful not to lose his balance. The whole world just seemed so troubling as he focused hard on every bodily movement he made, remembering to repeat the dangerous mantra in his head: don't fall don't falldon'tfall...
As the wide, welcoming shape of a platform flew into his view up ahead, he let out a shaky, relieved breath, relaxing his talons on the sweet-smelling wood that he left small marks on as he passed, a reminder that he, as a Sentinel, was once there.
As he prepared to land, a mist fledgling's back came into view, almost sending him into a screeching halt mid-air, except he was nowhere near as adept as he would have needed to be. Her feathers lay starkingly bright against the dark background, and beside her lay a smaller, furry frame with one stripe of vibrant red running down its back. Another strike of nausea attacked the fledgling, his flaxen eyes wide open with alarm.
He landed soundless, his beak gaping at the motionless figure and the mist girl, putting two and two together.
Oh, no!
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Posted: Sat Jun 28, 2008 10:41 pm
Osprey's eartufts stood on end as the sound of a fumbling fledgling came towards her back. Had Fiachra been an experienced adult, she probably never would of heard him coming, but inexperienced wing beats and her heightened sense of fear made him obvious, yet startling all the same.
She turned almost immediately and her golden eyes were wide with fright. On seeing that it was another fledgling, she felt some ease. At least it wasn't an adult catching her like this. Maybe she could convince the youngster... Just maybe.
"H-hello?" She called as she shuffled to the edge of the platform, though she was sure to leave a good deal of room for the practicing fellow fledgling.
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Posted: Sun Jun 29, 2008 5:36 pm
Vinch turned quickly at the sound of approaching wings, scowling. Aw, no. This'll ruin things if someone stops her now! Vinch wanted to see how the little fledgling dealt with this situation.
As the Sentinel came into sight, however, his frown quickly became a huge grin. Another fledgling? This just keeps getting more and more exciting!
Vinch stared at the little Wildtype, then back to the Mist, then the Wildtype. He lightly wondered if maybe the two fledglings knew each other. Perhaps a rendezvous of young lovers? Ahhh, so lovely, he smiled dreamily, remembering his own childhood of female-filled debauchery.
As Vinch looked on, though, he noticed the lad's shock. Vinch snapped back to attention, realizing what the Wildtype must think of the little Mist. That she did this... Vinch was sure she did not, but the children probably do not have as much knowledge of Companions.
Vinch checked that he was well-hidden from both fledglings and wondered what they would do next.
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Posted: Mon Jul 07, 2008 9:39 am
Almost tripping over himself as his landing wasn't as smooth as he had hoped it to be, Fiachra let the fatigue pull himself closer into the platform, the scrabbling sound of his talons pulling at leverage echoing into the soft forest. A sudden rush of adrenaline sent a shiver through his body as the voice of the fledgling rose into the night, coaxing a yelp out of his small physique.
Stumbling backwards, his eyes avoided the more curious aurulent pupils, but had he looked into them, he may have been able to prove her innocence. Not sure how to act in the face of such a situation, he slinked backwards until he was as far away from both the dead Skurri and the ghostly white girl, hoping to recuperate his strength fast so he could just take off and run, he did not want to be a part of this.
Not sure how to escape, he risked a glance at the dead companion in the middle, its unmoving body reminiscent of corpses he had yet to find in his life... no. Now was not the time. Taking another trembling breath, he looked hopelessly skyward, catching a small glance at what seemed to be movement. Just a bird, he supposed, but the thought did nothing to calm his nerves.
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Posted: Mon Jul 07, 2008 10:18 am
"I-I-I'm visiting from my teacher's territory." The young mist tried the best she could to explain herself to the other fledgling, but understood from his body language that he thought this was her fault.
It wasn't and she wanted more than anything to prove it to him... Only she didn't know how. She had no blood on her beak or talons. That should be enough, right? Only even if she did, she could of cleaned it away. It felt almost hopeless. She did not want to get into any trouble!
"I just got 'ere. Found it... Like this..."
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Posted: Tue Jul 08, 2008 10:45 am
Vinch could plainly see the growing nervousness of the two fledglings. The Wildtype looked very skittish and the entrance of this fledgling definitely is making the Mist scared as well.
Vinch wondered how the Wildtype would respond to the Mist. She did not kill the Skurri, but would the Wildtype understand that? Or believe her?
Vinch decided that he wouldn't let this get out of hand between the two. He would not let either of them leave without explaining the situation to them, but he wanted to see a little more of what the fledglings would do. And he needed to investigate this Skurri as well.
Vinch nodded to himself. Just a little longer, then he'll stop his Watching.
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Posted: Wed Jul 09, 2008 7:26 pm
Fiachra narrowed his eyes in obvious defiance at Osprey's claims, wondering if he'd be able to fly away swiftly without smacking into a stray branch somewhere. What was the limit to his speed? Would the girl kill him in fear that he would tell? Oh, the drama.
Even if she had not done it, he would have refused to speak to her, as always, but today he was in a bad position and he knew it, and instead of standing there idly he kept a weary eye on the girl as he shuffled to the center of the platform, holding his breath against the smell that came with most dead animals.
Reaching out tentatively, he dragged the carcass by the tail to his eye level, and studying the stripe of crimson down its back, realized that it was probably too bright for blood, nor was it very likely that the blood would be placed so perfectly in the middle. Exhaling shakily, he stepped back, taking in the small, light-colored fledgling's obvious denial and let a small nod escape his body. It was the closest he would get to believing her.
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Posted: Wed Jul 09, 2008 8:10 pm
Osprey watched tentatively as the other fledgling tugged at the skurri's tail and inspected it. When he nodded, she let out a soft sigh of relief.
"I wonder who did? That is sure a weird thing to come home to. I wonder if Papa Twist knows who's it is?" For a moment, she shuddered. She knew of only one skurri in the Minder's Enclave, and that was Liam's little red marked companion. This wasn't Roth, was it?
Her feathers sleeked and she preened at her chest feathers nervously. Liam would be really upset to lose his little helper.
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Posted: Thu Jul 10, 2008 8:49 pm
Vinch smiled a little. That wildtype is a tough little one. Vinch's eyes widened when he touched the Skurri, And brave, too! I wonder what he will say at graduation...he certainly has the guts for whatever he would like.
Vinch then straightened out. It was about time to find out what happened here. If there was someone killing companions, he needs to tell the others.
Vinch hooted to try to soften the surprise of his arrival, and then flew down to the platform. He looked over the Skurri and the two fledglings and then back to the Skurri, as if for the first time. "Well...what happened here?"
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Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2008 4:22 am
Fiachra preened his feathers, looking up wordlessly every few seconds to assure the girl he was still listening. Papa Twist... the name didn't strike him as famiiar. Twist...? He doubted he'd met that man before. As she also bent down to fix her chest feathers, he stopped, raised his head indignantly, and watched her with a weary eye. She made a fast recovery from the earlier shock of being blamed. Perhaps she wasn't like the others, who would probably still be blubbering or shaking about it now.
Opening his mouth to speak, he was interrupted by a loud, deeper hoot that seemed to come from behind him, making him spin around and spring back, his talons digging into the wooden platform, eyes narrowing.
At the sight of the adult Sentinel, he bristled, taking two more steps back as a precaution. It was likely the murderer of the Skurri himself... would he show himself here to make an alibi out of the two of them? No matter, he wouldn't admit to anything. Clamping his beak shut, he looked to Osprey, conveying that it was her stage, now.
As far as the adult knew, he didn't even know how to talk.
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