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 Posted: Wed Aug 27, 2008 1:39 pm
Sharifu had a plan. It was a bit ridiculous, but that wasn't what mattered. The result was what mattered, he had to best Auri for one- but having something to talk about, to keep their meetings interested.. keeping her interested.. well, that was his main goal. He was still in denial about why, though.
It'd taken a bit of doing but he had found out where Auri lived. It wasn't too hard, followed her scent a bit and watched for lions who resembled her. It was a decently busy spot, considering she didn't live alone. He was off nearer his own den, though, sitting quietly and patiently.
Funny sharp rock, that's what he had to find. Supposedly on a ledge in the den. And if he ran into any trouble, drop the flower and fly away- that was the plan. It was hard to see in the den, and he almost flew head first into the ledge. With a panicked chirp, and a gasp when he realized how loud it had been, he landed on the ledge and dropped the flower and carefully poked around for the sharp arrow.
His beak hit something oddly soft, the leather attached to the arrowhead. With a triumphant squeak, the chick grabbed hold of it and fluttered up to make his escape and get back to Sharifu.
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Posted: Wed Aug 27, 2008 1:58 pm
From her den.
Ears perked with curiosity, she slowly padded her way back to the rocky home and peeked inside. The bird sitting on her shelf of knick-knacks startled her. Her head tilted to one side comically and she jumped when he suddenly flew out, something clasped in his beak. She didn't waste time to see what it was, or where he was going; instead, she trotted to her shelf and peered up on it.
There was another flower on her shelf, next to the red rose she had gotten from Sharifu the other day. It was a pink one, oddly shaped but nonetheless pretty. What was strange about it was the fact that her arrow rock--the very one she had used in a contest and beat Sharifu with--was gone.
That must have been what the bird had snatched! Frowning she went outside to the entrance of the den and searched for the animal, wondering why he would do such a thing and where he could possibly take such a sharp object. Actually, it wasn't all that sharp anymore. She had asked her father to dull it for her and he had, although with a look of puzzlement on his face.
Auri had been meaning to make it into a necklace for Sharifu, and now it was gone.
However...
She glanced back inside at the flower. It was such a dark shade of pink that it almost matched the rose exactly. And while it wasn't a rose, per se, it was certainly close to it. And still a flower. A slow smile worked its way up on her mouth as she padded out of the den in search of the lion who had sneakily switched the objects on her shelf.
Via a bird.
He was sneaky, this one. Certainly kept her on her toes.
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Posted: Wed Aug 27, 2008 4:12 pm
Erevu knew he was spotted, but all he could do was fly as fast as he could. He was pleased with himself when he managed to get away. Unnoticed was not the most important thing, he was successful. Still thinking it to be a game, he didn't worry about the fact that he was actually stealing.
He flew along, chirping awkwardly through the leather strap as he went and keeping his eyes out for the lion who had initiated the game. Sharifu was easy to spot, and with a chirp that almost had him drop the arrowhead he swooped down.
"Go' i'!" he said through the string and dropped the loot.
Sharifu was doing best to act natural, though sitting quietly and calmly and just staring off into the distance might seem suspicious enough to anyone who knew him. He squinted when he thought he saw the colorful little bird returning, and grinned when he realized it was him.
"Good!" he praised the chick, but jumped when he dropped the arrow at him- not realizing it had been dulled already, "Careful! It's sharp." The words barely left his mouth when the arrow hit his paw and he realized it wasn't sharp at all, and he tilted his head looking down at it. It had some recent marks on it, she must have done something to make it safe.
"Oh, well," he hesitated again before looking up at Erevu, "Good work, buddy."
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Posted: Wed Aug 27, 2008 4:32 pm
Auri quickly tried to trail the bird, but the baby just flew too fast for her paws to follow. Disappointed as he zoomed out of sight, she tried to guess where he was going.
And where Sharifu would be.
Somewhere close, probably.
She set off in the direction she had last seen the switch-thief heading towards and adopted a slow, leisurely pace. One, because she didn't feel like running blindly into the area, and two, because if she could sneak up on Sharifu and eavesdrop a little, she would totally take advantage of the opportunity.
A rustle to her right, a chirp from up ahead. Her ears twitched again and she crept down closer to the ground, tail swishing in anticipating. It turned out that her second hope/option had come true. She heard voices, one very familiar.
Peeking through the tall grasses and blending in rather well, she spotted the offender of a friend and crouched low, waiting for the perfect moment...
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Posted: Wed Aug 27, 2008 7:29 pm
(( Erevu is small xD He's not a big bird, he's in the baby stage- I meant he was big for a chick but he'd be a small/medium bird n_n He'd be pretty quick, though. ))
Erevu chirped indignantly when he was yelled at for dropping the arrow, not realizing that it might be sharp. He was quickly reassured, though, when he was praised for his good work. With a cheery peep, he fluttered down and landed on the ground by Sharifu's feet and the dull trinket he'd taken.
"I was thiiiiiiiis close to getting caught," he said, demonstrating by holding his wings close together, "But I got out just in time- and I don't think they followed me. What is this funny thing anyway?" As a volunteer, Erevu had had part of the 'mission' explained to him so he knew a bit of why this was done (though why you'd want to impress a girl or whatever this was was beyond him!) but he didn't really know what it was.
"You were almost caught?" he asked, looking down at the chick and shaking his head thoughtfully. That meant either Auri already knew or he'd been spotted by a family member and would find out quick. He looked around to see if he could spot her coming immediately, but didn't see her so he turned back.
"Something made my the two-legs, we think," Sharifu explained, "She won a game with it. Let's go find somewhere to put this before she shows up. Come on." He leaned down to pick it up and head off to find a place.
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Posted: Wed Aug 27, 2008 7:46 pm
Auri ducked down even closer to the ground to increase her odds of not getting caught, though she was pretty sure she was going to sooner or later. Oh well.
She followed their conversation, almost laughing when Sharifu half-panicked at the knowledge that she had almost caught his feathered-friend. It had been close, but the bird had managed to outfly her.
When Sharifu picked up the arrow rock, she was torn between showing herself now or waiting to see what happened, and then taking it from there. She had to make the decision quick; they were leaving now.
Auri bit her lip and followed silently, bright eyes watching. Many times she thought she had stepped on blades of grass that had cracked awfully loudly, but neither seemed to hear, so she continued on, giving the two a wide berth just in case something went wrong.
They were going to put the arrow rock somewhere? Where? And why?
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Posted: Wed Aug 27, 2008 8:17 pm
Feeling he had earned that right, Erevu jumped into the air and flapped up to perch on Sharifu's mane. It was very soft and quite comfortable up there. Looking like a colorful hair clip, Erevu sat happily for a little while and decided that if they were being careful- and still playing the game in his mind- he decided to play look-out.
He looked around every once in a while, and finally turned himself all the way around to watch out behind them. He squinted at the rustling grass behind them- noticing that it was swaying for an unusually long time considering how far away they were. Then he spotted white fur in the grass and realized what was going on.
"Eep!" he squeaked and ducked down into the mane more, turning to try to face Sharifu, "Someone is there."
Sharifu was jogging along happily, triumphantly. He had to find a place to put the arrowhead before being confronted so he could act like he didn't know what she was talking about. At least at first, she'd know he did it and know he was lying but that was the fun of it. Keeping it interesting was the point, after all.
Erevu wandering around his mane was rather itchy, but he wasn't going to bother his accomplice- especially when he realized he was facing the opposite direction now. He slid to a stop when the chick suddenly went into panic-mode, though, glancing back as best he could without showing the arrowhead.
Maybe they were out of time. Turning around the long way, he tossed the arrowhead off tot he side a bit and turned around- shaking his mane to get the chick out of it and to go hide or he would have no chance.
"Who's there?" he called.
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Posted: Wed Aug 27, 2008 8:31 pm
Auri grinned, adopted a teasing tone, and stood up gracefully in the tall grasses. She slowly approached the two, but then stopped a few feet away for good measure. She didn't see Sharifu fling the arrowhead off to the side, or else she would have commented on it.
"Just me," she stated innocently. "Out hunting. I heard voices and decided to follow. Ah, if it isn't your little friend. The thief." She gave the little bird a friendly wink to let the poor thing know she was only teasing, trying to get under Sharifu's skin so he would 'fess up to stealing her arrow rock. It wasn't like she was planning on keeping it forever.
She was going to give it to him.
Today, actually. She had just gone to the stream to get a drink, then she had planned on taking the arrow rock and scouting him out.
But noooo, he had to go and ruin everything.
She kept the smile on her face and decided to turn the tables on him, like she was entitled to do. After all, he had been the one to start everything. It was his fault.
"What are you doing out here?"
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Posted: Wed Aug 27, 2008 8:53 pm
Erevu wasn't quick enough to escape, and with a peep of panic when Auri stood up he ducked his head into the golden mane in an effort to stay hidden anyway. He puffed up indignantly when he was called a thief and peeked out from the mane.
"Humph," he mumbled, and chose not to speak up yet and see where Sharifu would go with this.
"Oh, just you Auri," he said calmly, sighing with relief a bit too dramatically to be believable. And when his little friend was called a thief, he did his best to look confused and surprised. He turned his head to look at the chick but quickly looked back since he couldn't really see his own mane.
"Him? A theif? Nah," he said confidently, shaking his head, "That's just Erevu, I found him earlier- poor little bird doesn't have a family or anything around. We were just out for a walk, right Erevu?" Sharifu glanced over to where Erevu was tucked into his mane to see the bird nodding to confirm the comment.
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Posted: Wed Aug 27, 2008 8:57 pm
She raised and eyebrow, giving the two one of those looks female have a knack for perfecting. This one was the "Do-you-really-think-I'm-that-stupid-to-believe-your-story?" look. And Auri had it nailed.
"Oh, for a walk, then? Would you mind if I joined you on such a walk?"
She invited herself along, curious as to know where he had hidden the arrowhead and wanting to know why he did such a thing. She was half-tempted to go ahead and tell him that she had caught him and his partner-in-crime, little Erevu.
But two could play this game.
"So where are we going on our walk?" she pranced forward to stand next to him, tail flicking and a smile on her face to divert him from her real thoughts.
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Posted: Wed Aug 27, 2008 9:18 pm
Erevu was no easier to fool than Sharifu, but he was much worse at understanding why she was acting like that. He was almost sure it had been her that caught him, now that he looked at her properly, and she'd called him a thief. Why was she just going on the walk with them if they were caught?
He inhaled sharply and glanced around, unable to keep his gaze from going to where he had dropped the arrow. He didn't want to lose the loot just because someone had showed up, that wouldn't be much fun. He'd have to be sneaky enough to keep from losing it.
Sharifu stood his ground despite the perfect disbelieving look he got from Auri, and the bad acting from his newly acquired (and likely soon-to-be fired) partner-in-crime. He shrugged, fighting the urge to look in the direction the arrow had gone himself- he knew where they were, he would be able to find it again when it came down to it.
"Sure," he agreed, nodding his head in the direction he'd been walking (partly to stop Erevu from looking suspicious, partly to indicate where they were going), "Let's go. We weren't really going anywhere in particular, just walking."
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Posted: Thu Aug 28, 2008 11:19 am
"Okay. Let's go."
And off they went, though Auri waited for Sharifu to start walking again before she followed. She thought about what else to talk about, since it looked like it was going to be a pretty awkward walk if nothing was said. She wished he could just make it easier and go ahead and give her the arrowhead back so she could give it to him officially.
Boys.
"So, funny story I have to tell you," she began instead. "I have this thing. Now, it's not a really big thing, or very important, but it's still kind of special. Anyway, I found it with a friend, and I wanted to give it to him later today--now, here's where it gets funny. I go outside to clean my face and take a drink before taking this item to him, and when I get back to the den, it's gone. I had made it very special and had done a couple of things to it to make it just right. And I have no idea where it is." She shrugged a little, keeping her eyes on the ground or ahead of them.
"I mean, I feel bad, of course, because now I don't have a present to give my friend. And I was pretty sure he was going to like it, too. But now I'll never know." Auri looked up at him with a smile. "So, yeah. I'm not sure what I'm going to do about that, now. Any advice?"
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Posted: Thu Aug 28, 2008 9:08 pm
Erevu didn't know what was really going on from this point, he'd not meant to be around when confronted about the switch- make it seem less suspicious and all. And he didn't really understand why Sharifu was doing any of this so all of it was a bit funny to watch from this point on. Unable to do anything, he kept an eye out for where they were going and hummed quietly to himself.
"Ok," he agreed, and led the way. He wasn't sure where they were going to go, but walking around at random was what he said they intended to do so that much did not matter.
"Oh? Do tell," he said curiously, looking over at Auri as she told her story. He was already sure he'd been caught, so he knew that's whys he was saying it. He just wasn't sure if he was the friend she was referring to- though he hoped so and was surprised to hear it. But of course, he had started a tricky little game so he couldn't believe her.
"Well, that is a bad situation," he said thoughtfully, looking over with a small smile, "I suppose I could help you look, how far could it have gone? Didn't have legs did it?"
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Posted: Thu Aug 28, 2008 9:12 pm
She followed him softly, hardened paws not making a sound on the grass and dirt of their unmarked path.
"Yes, it rather is a bad situation," she agreed. "I'm not really sure where it went, exactly. Oh, the thing didn't have legs, no. It's just a little trinket, is all." She shrugged again. "And not even that shiny. It's rather dull actually. It's n the shape of an arrow, with a bit of leather around it. But the leather is now loosened enough for a necklace, because that's what I was going to give it to my friend as.
"So he would always remember me. And our fun times, in a way." She couldn't help but smiling to herself as she avoided his gaze, watching the tall grasses and pretending to look through them for the arrowhead she was missing.
"Ha, I even guess you could say that I...like him."
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Posted: Thu Aug 28, 2008 9:26 pm
"Mhm-mm, mm-mmm," Erevu hummed, cooing quietly on occasion and listening to the conversation between the two. He was doing his best not to get overexcited when he realized bits and pieces of the conversation, knowing she was talking about the arrow he'd stolen immediately- though it was quite obvious. The only indication he knew was that he stopped singing when she brought it up. He leaned down, snuggling into Sharifu's mane and watching.
"Ahh," Sharifu said, and finding it much easier to act oblivious when she confirmed that it was the arrowhead. She knew very well that he knew what that was, he'd been there when she found it. The fact that neither of them were acknowledging this fact made it more fun- until she said she liked him, this recipient of the gift.
He paused for just a split second, still unsure what to take as a trick and what to take seriously- though the idea seemed surprisingly happy.
"Oh, well," he said, "Guess we better find it, that sounds pretty important. Which way should we go?"
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