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(( This takes place before Bracken has met up with Basil, but after he's met with Wildcraft. ))

A dead hatchling.
The truths he'd learned from digging around were not what he'd been expecting. Especially not about the things he was accustomed to- Bracken was young and eager and as green as a new fern. But Wildcraft had said it himself, and nearly confirmed all of the Seeker's suspicions with one swift visit.
The Elite could not be lying.

Out of options, Bracken decided to visit one of the only people he could assume were attached to the whole incident. Someone he'd visited before- that Gatherer- No, Forager, he corrected. Her name was Bushfire, wasn't it?

He paused on his perch, and gave a loud hoot from the fringes of Bushfire's territory, hoping to catch her at home. There was quite a bit to talk about, and Bracken intended on getting a full story.

Bracken found her quickly this time, remembering the lush, familiar territory with all its oddities. If such a place had been closer to Deep Woods, he probably would have challenged her for it.

He perched a ways from her, a little out of breath from flying so hard.
"Bushfire," he greeted, trying to smooth down his feathers and relax. The second his yellow eyes landed on her, he was struck again by how... "pure" she looked- there wasn't a tinge of dye anywhere on those feathers, and he knew only Sentinels who were truly proud of how they looked kept themselves that way.

Curious, that Basil was much the same, and they were separated for an indiscernible reason.
"How are you this evening?"

He watched her curiously, surprised- never in all his time had he encountered someone like this, who would simply give him information and talk to him as if he were a friend. He'd always had to dig for it, wheedle his way into a Sentinel's good graces, or outright use scare tactics to get what he wanted.
"Is... is that so," Bracken said, at a loss for words at first. He took a moment to regain his composure, thinking of why he came.

"The same problems that happened 'back here'?" he repeated- and he could only hope it meant what he thought, a clutch of abberants! But between two pure individuals like themselves, what could that possibly mean? His pale eyes lit up.
"Ah, well, there has been an investigation of a dead chick. I'm looking into the situation, and..."

He paused for dramatic effect, "You wouldn't know anything about that, would you?"

He couldn't believe it. Or, perhaps he could.
So this was what it was all about. That dead chick... that dead chick had lead him back to here, to the final piece of the story, and his Seeker intuition had not been wrong. He felt incredibly proud of himself.

And really, Bracken felt that he could understand, or at least sympathize with her. He knew there had been something more to the heritage between them- and with pressure like that, having an abberant clutch of all things? This is why he was not a parent. He didn't see much wrong in Bushfire's decision, because truly, getting rid of abberants was just for the good of the Clan. He was only sorry that it was a crime.

"I see..." he muttered, taking it all in. That last bit struck a cord in him, and he looked back towards her, frowning.

"So... it's Basil's fault, is it?" Bracken said slowly.
He was not surprised. In fact, his heart swelled with savage joy. He just needed another reason to hate Basil, and Bushfire was giving him a perfect route. That male was the source of all the problems- he was the source of everyone's problems- even Fiercefire, that daft Mist...

"You only did what you could," he continued, gaining speed, "You were only doing what was good for the Clan! And even then, your love for your chick stopped you."

The more he spun the tale, the angrier he got.
"And it was Basil who betrayed you, killing that poor-" he nearly gagged, "... aberrant... chick. Killing it without so much as a second glance, and then flying off to court that Mist, obviously just to spite you! But it was not your fault- it was his."

"Indeed..." Bracken said, but he was far past listening to her. He'd convinced himself that Bushfire only had a small part to play- Basil was the one that did it, Basil was the one that created all the problems with his foolish actions, and that was the end of it. The Seeker was less interested in Bushfire's personal drama than he was the drama of the chick- it could build a good case against the Woodworker, something strong enough to ruin his courtship and get him out of the territory. And possibly, stop any hatchings of future abberants.

"Indeed, what he did was very wrong, though I do not blame you for the hatchling," Bracken tried to choose his words carefully, "However, I believe you should continue your duties here..."

He needed Bushfire in the same place. He needed to keep her as a witness, or at least a reference, and having her move around would hurt more than help him. The Seeker preened a spot on his wing, thinking. When he eventually turned back to her, he looked crafty- he had an idea to keep here there, perhaps, for a price.

"Your line would be shamed," he repeated, "Ah, perhaps we can come to an... arrangement, about that?"

"Ah? That's good," he seemed surprised- but really, Bracken was just glad she wasn't going to do anything foolish. She was an important piece to this whole story, and if she was thinking of moving... it would all go to Noctus in a basket with trying to keep tabs on her.
This way, he could report to the Elites without having to fish for excuses.

"Right, well..." Bracken seemed to pause. Was there any real need now, to go through the trouble of an arrangement? It was going to be tough, and there was no guarantee. He mentally cursed and blamed the Forager for being such a good listener- if only she had glossed it over...

"I might be able to get you out of such blame," he said grudgingly, "For a price. Unless you would rather take the shame."

"Tsk," he clucked to himself, and ruffled his feathers irritably before smoothing them down. True, he was a Seeker, but he was far from being a saint, and he knew as well as anyone that sometimes you needed to lie in order to get what you needed. Or, really, what you wanted.

"Indeed, no lies," but that in itself was a lie. He blinked, and continued on, "I believe information would be a fair trade, since that is all I really want by coming here. I'm interested in any information you can give me about Basil and his background..."

He paused, and then inspected one of his talons.
"And... maybe one of those nuts you gave me before."

He had the sneaking suspicion that he should feel embarrassed, but he was too busy trying to act nonchalant to show it, and the way Bushfire relaxed put him at ease as well. Bracken listened to the Forager intently, trying to tie up any information he might have and put the pieces into place- the 'who' of Basil was rapidly coming into focus, as if he'd been looking in a unfocused lens the whole time, and only now someone saw fit to take away the blur.

"Ah, thank you," he said quickly, taking the nuts with his own Will. Again the thanks lacked sincerity, but Bracken tried to move past it before it sounded too obvious.

He tucked a few of the nuts under talon- his Will had never been better than average, and holding things for too long became very tiring.
"I see..." he nodded to her, "That is quite interesting. Do you know where I can find the family?"

The Seeker was almost too eager- while there was little that Basil's family might be able to do now, they were still worth visiting and still worth spiting. His yellow eyes lit up in curiosity.