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 Posted: Sat Aug 23, 2008 1:27 pm
(OOC: This RP takes place after the storm, but before the Fledgling Festival) Birch had slowly worked himself towards the part of the forest bordering the mountains. He had talked to enough people to know that Tousled had been seen during and after the storm and he figured she might be in her territory.
It turned out Birch was not the only one trying to get hold of Tousled. As he was finishing up a spontaneous performance that earned him a promise of a meal the next time he passed through, a big Ghost approached him.
"You're looking for that crafter with a feather problem," he stated.
"Uh, feath... Yes, I guess..." Birch said, eying the other male warily.
"And you know where to find her?" the male continued.
"I do know where her territory is at least," he said and shuffled his feet.
"Then I need a favour from you Bard," the Ghost said.
And that was why Birch was now closing in on Tousled's territory on cramping wings, holding a big hare in his talons. He certainly hoped that the Ghost was worth this favour, and he was extremely curious about what relation the male had to Tousled.
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Posted: Thu Sep 11, 2008 1:49 pm
Tousled landed heavily at the entrance into her willow and remained stock still for a moment, her eyes squeezed shut as she willed the pain to fade. Tuft landed lightly beside her and hopped around restlessly as he chirped anxious little sounds at her. After a moment, she opened her eyes again and gave the little bird an encouraging nod. "I'm all right, Tuft. Just a bit tired. Don't worry." "Need food?" the little bird chimed. "Yes-yes, get food, feel not-tired." Tousled merely nodded again, but when Tuft eagerly flitted off to inspect the food stash, she let a small sigh escape her. She knew there was not a whole lot left in there. After some very careful and rather invasive examinations, the medics had finally given Tousled clearance to fly, on the condition that she would remain careful at least until the pain went away... and probably for a while after that, too. The trip home had been both slow and arduous, but she had to her delight found almost everything the way she left it. A couple of branches missing and some jewellery scattered about, but nothing more than that, and the cleanup had been pretty swiftly accomplished, considering her circumstances. That was some time ago, tough. She still hadn't dared to try to pick up the scattered half-finished works that had somehow ended up on the forest floor, since her flying still didn't feel entirely reliable. Which unfortunately also affected her hunting. She had tried not to rely too heavily on her small stash of food, but it was wearing noticeably thin by now. Besides, she needed no medic to tell her that fresh food would be much more helpful to her recovery. But what could she do? Her aim slipped, sometimes, and if she tried too many times in one night... well... she ended up like this. She hadn't quite eaten like she was used to, lately. Trying to hide her discomfort from the worried glances of Tuft, Tousled carefully waddled over to where the little bird had perched. "Eat now," Tuft chirped in an almost motherly tone. "Get not-tired. Eat all." "Yes-yes," she sighed, unconciously mimicing one of Tuft's typical expressions, and started in on the last of her saved food with a heavy heart.
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Posted: Thu Oct 02, 2008 2:43 pm
Birch landed heavily in a tree not far from Tousled's willow, setting the hare down carefully. He let out a tired hoot, letting her know that he was there and asking if she was in. He was pretty sure she was alive since she had been spotted after the storm, but he was anxious to see for himself that she was unharmed. He had met many Sentinels with more or less serious injuries on his way here.
He was also very curious about how Tousled knew that Ghost... How could someone like Tousled have met such a boring Sentinel? He didn’t look like the type to shop around for pretty accessories. The male had to be a combatant, since every word that had left his beak had sounded more like a command than like normal conversation. Typical "meat for brains", boring combatant.
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Posted: Wed Oct 29, 2008 3:08 pm
Tousled almost choked on her food as the familiar hoot cut through the night, though at first she couldn't seem to place it. She remained still and silent for a moment, slowly straightening up from her crouched eating postion. She turned her head towards the sound, as if she could see the one who had called out through the heavy branches of her willow.
Really, though, she just hoped that he would call out again, so that she could be sure that she hadn't misheard.
Her ear tufts twitched nervously. Could it have been? He'd never come to her territory before. Why would he come here now? Perhaps she was mistaken. In fact, she rather hoped that she was. Birch was one of the last people she wanted to meet with, right now - she dreaded having to explain her wounds and lack of food to him.
On the other hand, she might have misheard. Yes. She'd just thought it was Birch's voice, because... well... because she felt rather lonely, lately, and... okay, she had been thinking about him a lot. Him and Moult. She'd finished the necklace she had meant to give to the old Ghost, but still hadn't dared to venture far enough from her own territory to go find him.
Yes, she must have misheard. What would Birch be doing all the way out here? It could be... a medic, come to check up on her. Or maybe a customer. And in that case, they probably brought some food.
Driven by hunger, and the prospect of fresh food, Tousled tentatively answered the call. She had almost completely convinced herself that her visitor could not be who she had thought it was. But she had no idea what she would do if it actually did turn out to be him.
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Posted: Sat Nov 08, 2008 2:59 pm
She answered! Birch let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding. Tousled was alive. If she could hoot she was definitely alive. Birch hated to admit it, but he had been a bit worried for a while. Fjord had stopped by the theatre, and some other bards and friends had checked in on it too, but Tousled hadn't showed up. Not that she had to, of course, but it had been nice to know that she was all right. But what did he know, she might have been busy? Busy cleaning up after the Storm, or busy spending time with military types who couldn't be bothered to carry their own hares?
Birch couldn't help feeling just a tiny bit used and now when he knew for a fact that Tousled was alive and well he suddenly felt more entitled to be annoyed by the whole situation. But why was he still sitting here? He had come to see her, and that was what he would do. Oh, and to drop off a package for that Ghost.
It took pure willpower to pick up the blasted hare again and fly to meet her. His wings ached even more from flying after the short break.
"Hello Tousled," he said as he landed on a comfortable branch in the Willow, and then he had to blurt out: "Looks like someone really likes you."
He had meant to ask her about the hare later, in a more civil manner, but there you go. Birch couldn't see Tousled yet, but this was the tree the hoot had come from.
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Posted: Tue Jan 06, 2009 2:43 pm
A sudden chill came over Tousled. It was Birch! He was here! But why? Caught between stunned surprise bordering on dread, and an overwhelming happiness that was so unexpected that it, too, was frightening, she found herself unable to move, unable to think.
So it took her a while to really hear WHAT the Bard had said. And then she had to deal with confusion, as well. She couldn't have heard that right... it made no sense... what was that supposed to mean?
Her beak opened and closed a few times as she tried to squeeze some kind - any kind - of sense out of the world. She failed.
"I... er... sorry?" she mumbled, sounding breathless even to her own ears. And then, as if she still actually needed proof, she dumbly asked a bit louder: "Birch?"
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Posted: Sun Feb 15, 2009 1:45 pm
Birch was tired and cranky and didn't feel very reasonable at the moment. But nevertheless he could see that what he had just said made little sense. He sleeked down and clacked his beak once, annoyed at his own stupidity. After a quick preen that did nothing to clear his head he spoke again.
"Yes, it's me," he said gently, "Can I come in?"
He left the stupid hare on the branch outside and ducked his head to enter the opening in the densely branched willow. Her voice must have come from there and by the many talon marks it looked as if it was used as an entrance of sorts. Hopefully she wouldn't mind his intrusion. Visiting her territory was one thing, but entering her home made him nervous. But if he should be greeted by Tousled's sharp talons he would at least know that she was unharmed.
"I was in the neighbourhood," he said casually, trying to keep his worry from his voice, "How are you? Tousled?"
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Posted: Sun Mar 01, 2009 2:05 pm
Her brain finally kickstarted again, when it was already all too late. A small gasp of panic and a half-formed whimper meant to be a "N-no, wait..." escaped the little Crafter, but she could already hear Birch's talons scraping against the entrance into her willow. Remembering only that she really didn't want him to see her in her current condition, Tousled wobblily backed up against the side of the entrance as fast as she possible could. Hoping that somehow, he wouldn't notice her against the thicker, darker branch.
The sheer idiocy of this struck her the moment that the bard's head peeked in through the opening.
Oh... Musdirt.
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Posted: Fri Apr 03, 2009 2:25 pm
Birch swivelled his head around in an almost comical fashion. He barely registered what her home looked like in his search for the Crafter. Half finished jewellery, something shiny, noisemaker in progress, Parus, more jewellery... No trace of Tousled until he had turned all the way round and found her standing stock still much closer to him than he had anticipated. A surprised hoot escaped him and he sleeked down completely from the fright.
"Aaaoh! Tousled..." he said faintly, slowly regaining some of his usual size as his feathers rose, "Oh... Of course... since it's your tree and all. Are you... were you hiding?"
Of course she wasn't. Why would she be? It was just that she looked a little bit like she usually did when she wasn't entirely comfortable and tried to stay out of sight. Oh. Oh...
"I should leave," he said, and then kept on talking just to say something, anything, "I should... leave... should I? Leave? And there's that stupid hare outside. And who is that Cranberry fellow anyway?"
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Posted: Mon Apr 13, 2009 6:31 am
What a fine mess she had made of everything now. Even while Birch's head was still swivelling around, searching for her, Tousled ransacked her brain for some way to untangle the situation. Then he noticed her, and the brain activity more or less froze up. She opened her beak to protest against having been trying to hide from him, but the lie caught in her throat, and she stood for a moment just opening and closing her beak like a feeding hatchling.
This is ridiculous. Look at how sleeked he is. This is NO way to welcome a visitor! She clamped her beak shut, let out a small huff of annoyance at herself and straightened up, taking a few careful steps out from the shadows. He's here now. Nothing to do about it. Maybe he won't notice. Maybe he won't ask.
"Oh, no, no, not at all. I just didn't expect any visitor, you see..." she begun explaining, almost interrupting him. Wait, what? "Cranbe... Craneberry? Hare?" Dumbfounded, she halted her tirade and blinked owlishly at him. Hopefully, soon, her mind would straighten out and the things that Birch had just said would begin to make sense.
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Posted: Fri Apr 17, 2009 1:23 pm
For a moment Birch got the feeling that something seemed off about Tousled when she walked, but he was so confused right now he decided he must be wrong. He wasn't sure if he should enter or leave, so he only took a hesitant step forward.
"The hare..." he took a deep breath, trying to gain control of the situation. It was just like telling a story, that's right. A story. He could do that. It was his task in life to tell stories and by Noctus he was good at it.
"It all started as I was flying around trying to figure out how bad the storm had hit Noctua," he said, straightening up, "The theatre was a mess when it finally calmed down afterwards, but a bard named Jester helped me clean up most of the debris on stage. You might have seen him perform sometime. He's a Wildtype but paler than me, and with a really nice dye job. So we were both stuck during the storm in that tiny backstage area, you now?"
This wasn't one of his better performances, that much was sure.
"Right... " he said, uncertain how to continue, "A few days after the storm I met Fjord so I knew he had been lucky too. But the business with the hare comes after that... I was minding my own business trying to find some more bards for this festival Fjord wants to hold, and that's when this Ghost comes up to me."
He paused, trying to decide if he should tell her more about the Fledgling festival Fjord and Brightling had come up with or not. Perhaps better to get on with it instead, if she still wanted him around after he had made his delivery he could tell her more.
"So... Rather large Ghost combatant, seemed to have about as much imagination as a pinecone," he hesitated, realising that he might have showed his foot into his beak if Tousled knew and liked the Ghost, "Err... Yes. So... A bit surprising that he needed the favour of a Bard, no?"
He fidgeted a little. Was he ever this nervous when he was on stage? Before maybe, but not during a performance.
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Posted: Wed Apr 22, 2009 2:23 am
Tousled watched in stern concentration as Birch begun to unwind his tale. At first, she was a little bit surprised at the "official" tone he took, more as if he was addressing an audience than explaining to a friend, but she put that aside for now. Besides, when had she ever refused a performance?
At the mention of the bard Jester, she involuntarily ruffled her feathers in discomfort. Yes. She knew about him. Yes, she had seen him perform. Personally, she felt him to be a far better storyteller than singer, but since he just wouldn't give up on trying to perform with that... hm... unique approach to music that he had, she felt that she had very few good things to say about him, so she remained quiet and waited for Birch to go on.
Hearing that Fjord was okay made her feathers sleek back down a bit, and she gave a small smile of relief. Then Birch veered onto the current subject of the hare, and concentration swallowed up the smile again. She filed the information about some sort of festival away under a pile of other "questions that ought to be asked at an appropriate time".
"Rather large Ghost combatant, seemed to have about as much imagination as a pinecone."
She let out a huff in surprise and amusement at that comment, and smiled, even though she still didn't really feel any less confused.
"A little bit, I suppose," she agreed when Birch seemed to be waiting for a response. "What... did he ask?"
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Posted: Tue May 26, 2009 1:21 pm
"What... did he ask?"
Birch's mood dipped again at the thought of the . The hare. The blasted hare. It sat outside taunting him, but it might soon start to attract unwanted attention so he better stop procrastinating and deal with it.
"I should probably..." he said, but trailed off before explaining to Tousled what he should do, "Just a moment."
With a lot more grunting and muffled rude words than strictly necessary he hauled the hare inside. His muscles protested after the long flight, but with a few strategic will shoves he managed to get it in, finally plopping it down in front of Tousled. All his desire to embellish the story further seemed to have evaporated.
"He wanted me..." he panted, "To deliver this. With regards from Cranberry. So I did. Who is this Cranberry fellow anyway?"
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Posted: Fri May 29, 2009 10:55 pm
Birch went out again, and Tousled sleeked down, but didn't dare to move from her spot. Her sense of discomfort deepened as she heard the Bard grumble and swear on his way in again, and would have offered to help if it hadn't been for the... yeah.
Her ear tufts rose in surprise, however, as the delicious-looking carcass of a whole hare landed in front of her. She looked up at Birch and tilted her head slightly to the side, at first not making any connection. Then it dawned on her.
"Ghost, you said?" she unsleeked and couldn't help but let her beak drop open in a happy smile. "Was it, by any chance, 'Craneberry' that he said it was from? Sounds funny, I know, but I'm pretty sure that's what it was... How delightful!"
Tuft, who had been watching the whole exchange up to now in confused silence finally found something that he was able to react to. With a cheerful chirp, he flitted over to the hare and bounced excitedly back and forth, seeking Tousled's attention.
"Look-look! Food-bit big! Good-good fun-bard bring yum-yum food-bit, Tousled eat lots-lots, be not-tired anymore!"
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Posted: Wed Jun 10, 2009 1:25 pm
Birch had spent most of the flight here wondering about how Tousled knew the Ghost male, but her obvious delight caught him off guard and caused a blurry of confused feelings that he did not need right now. For a fraction of a moment Birch's defences fell, but he preened to try to hide it, and when he looked at her again he was 100% smiling, pleasant bard. Not a crack to the facade. The show must go on... and so on. Yeah.
"Yes," he said, smiling but perhaps with a slightly strained voice, "Craneberry could be it. But I guess I should be flying... Mission accomplished!"
He winked as he said the last part, but he was far from fit for a long flight and it was impossible to hide that fact. But Birch told himself he shouldn't overstay his welcome. Exhausted and feeling slightly queasy he figured the best option was to get out of here and then figure out what to do next. Something about the little bird's chatter, and Tousled's body language nagged at the back of his mind, but he ignored it in favour of getting away as soon as possible. Preferably without being rude.
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