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 Posted: Fri Jan 09, 2009 6:05 pm
 A small parus hopped hectically back and forth for the hundredth time with his tiny beady black eyes darting in every direction, head turning to face every sound and every sign of movement. Looking unconvinced, the dim-looking creature abandoned his extensive surveillance and looked around the enclave. Threats… so many of them. Kids playing ruefully everywhere and huge birds watching them with intense eyes. And that hatchling in the distance… oh, Dork didn’t like the way the small creature was looking at his master.
“Seriously, Dork…” the deep voice wouldn’t have been so unusual had it not come from a small barely fledged Deep Woods who was sitting comfortably on the platform, contently watching the moon and night birds “It’s safe. You’re not gonna last long if you tire yourself like this.” The companion eyed the small fledgling as if Darkwood was his whole world… as if only he could see the light of divinity that surrounded his master. Frantically beating his dark wings, the companion approached the fledgling and landed gently on his favorite look-out post: Darkwood’s head.
The fledgling smiled and resumed his quiet contemplation.
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Posted: Sat Jan 10, 2009 4:22 am
Silverbirch weaved lazily through the densely packed trees. The scout was in Deep Woods for her bi-weekly report, and instead of heading out again immediately, she decided to take a short break. And what better way to do that than to visit her favourite place in the region: the Minder's Enclave.
"Almost there?"
"Mm. Almost."
Silverbirch smiled. It was always fun to be with fledglings. Around adults (combatants, especially), there were always so much... formalities. Rank. Solemness. This that this that. With the little ones she could relax, and feel a fledgling again. ... Ah, there's the ever familiar platform. The mist sentinel let out a hoot to notify the Minders of her presence and glided towards the platform, her landing a bit more careful than usual.
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Posted: Sat Jan 10, 2009 4:57 pm
“Don’t…” it was all Darkwood managed to say after Silverbirch’s hoot resonated through the enclave.
But the parus had already taken flight and was now circling the fledgling’s head, determined to point out the obvious in a rather alarmist way.
“Stanger! Stranger! Stranger! Danger! Danger! Danger!! Hide! Hide! DANGER!” It was an appalling sound that seemed designed to injure the ears of anyone close enough and already there were heads pointing in Darkwood’s direction, angry heads, annoyed heads…
As if he wasn’t getting enough attention, the small companion shot out in Silverbirch’s direction and hovered over her head (a safe distance away which showed not all his brain cells were dormant) and kept the bothersome racket.
“ALARM! STRANGER! DANGER!”
Darkwood sighed, looking only slightly exasperated as he stepped closer to the visitor, obviously used to this routine.
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Posted: Sat Jan 10, 2009 7:44 pm
Luckily for the parus, Silverbirch's reaction to the sudden outburst was one of complete bewilderment. The scout practically froze at her spot, every feather of her sticking out in alarm while eartufts flattened and rose at the sudden flurry of colorful feathers before her. And what was that horrible noise! Surely... surely that was not a parus, was it? For the moment, the mist sentinel had no idea how to react, though the sharp crack from her paw a few seconds later certainly did not indicate anything good...
"Oh dear, please forgive the commotion." A wildtype Minder appeared just then, having hopped over to check out the 'alarm'. She shot a murderously look at the parus, then a stern one to Darkwood, before turning her gaze to the visitor. "You must be Silverbirch? I was told you would be coming to drop off some supplies."
"Hmph? Oh yes yes, that I am," Shaken out of her initial shock, the scout smiled and handed over her catch- two mice, two small birds and a very limp squirrel. A few friendly words were exchanged before the Minder retreated, leaving the scout, fledgling and parus to each other. The white and olive sentinel turned towards the (still frantic) parus, then whom she assumed was his owner.
"You have a very... interesting companion there, friend."
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Posted: Sat Jan 10, 2009 8:04 pm
Darkwood was many things but stupid wasn’t one of them. As the minder reached Silverbirch and the silly parus quieted down a little, he ordered his companion to return and tucked him safely under his wing, staring back at the minder with the closest thing to calm defiance as he could muster. He only spoke when he was left alone with the mist adult.
“Sorry.” His next words were sent down the companion. “She’s fine, see? The minders know her.”
“But, but… Thing on back!”
Darkwood eyed the female with a little more interest before continuing.
“It’s a mus.” He said plainly as if he was used to explaining things to the small bird.
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Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2009 12:00 am
"Oh no, nothing to be sorry about!" Silverbirch chuckled lightly, fluffing out a little. "I should be the one apologising, for spooking your companion there. Sorry." The mist gave a mock bow, before picking a black mus off her shoulder and settling him before her on the platform. It was interesting to note that the young adult placed him closer to her than the fledgling.
"This is Feathers, and I am, from what you've probably heard earlier, Silverbirch."
"And you are..?"
Feathers glanced up at Darkwood, then managed a very friendly "Hi!" at the little deep woods. There was a brief pause, before he added thoughtfully (and pointing to himself), "Not food!"
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Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2009 9:55 am
“If you owe me an apology, then half of Noctua owes one as well. He’s… easily spooked.” He sighed as a small relaxed smile grew on his [removed](probably encouraged by the Mist’s light tone).
“My parents think he’s hilarious and he’s probably the only reason they feel it’s so safe to leave me here. If he hadn’t warned us of a marten once, I’m sure someone would’ve eaten him by now while I slept…” his tone was now casual and jokingly but a keen eye would be able to see how the fledgling held the parus closer against his body as he spoke.
“Darkwood, ma’am.” The fledgling said pleasantly before letting out a gruff laughter at the mus suddenly looking serious. “Good. I’m not food either. That’s something we have in common.”
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Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2009 10:47 pm
"Oh is he?" Birch was curious now.
The scout positively beamed next. What good manners the young one has! However, the title bothered her; she was not used to being addressed with such... such.. feminine titles. Besides, not only did it make her sound... old-er, Silverbirch doubted she was even qualified to be considered such. To her, "ma'ams" were for more respectable (and important) sentinels, and she simply did not feel herself so.
"Birch would do," she stated casually, letting her gaze slide to the parus. Being a scout she noticed the small action, and nodded at the little companion. But a marten, at the Enclave? Which irresponsible individual would even think of bringing such a dangerous creature near children? Silverbirch could not help but worry, though she kept her expression as jolly as before.
"Did it belong to anyone, do you know? The marten, I mean."
Feathers, meanwhile, seemed content at the good-natured reply, and relaxed considerably. The mus peered curiously at the tucked-away parus before disappearing from view for a brief second or two. When he reappeared, he had in his tiny little paws some berries and nuts. As Silverbirch watched in amusement, the companion laid them before the deep woods, as if coaxing the other companion out.
"Hav'sm. Find. All." The silly thing puffed up with pride, again pointing a paw at himself.
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Posted: Wed Jan 14, 2009 4:30 pm
“A marten, a marten, not a martes. A wild one!” Darkwood let out a string of childish giggles that contrasted with his deep voice, apparently finding the small misunderstanding deliciously funny as he even dropped on his tailfeathers, clumsy making himself more comfortable. “It was a mess! Everyone was flying around, everything went crazy!” He seemed to be enjoying the little re-telling of the event but quickly deflated. “A minder killed it, tough… you know… because of all the eggs we have here.”
And because the Mist looked nice and interested enough in him, the little fledgling seemed to relax considerably and when his beak parted again, he was beaming.
“Bir… I can’t do that!” it crossed his mind that he might’ve offended the adult for she neither looked nor sounded old and Darkwood knew some sentinels were rather finicky about such things. “I can call you Silverbirch… erm… miss Silverbirch.”
The parus eyed the other companion suspiciously for a moment until the mus laid down the berries and nuts.
“Thing has things!” he shouted at Darkwood, eyes darting between his master and the “threat”.
“I told you before… it’s just a mus.”
“Mus has things!!”
“It’s food.”
“Food has things!!!”
At the companion’s last words, Darkwood eyed the small animal for what seemed like a very long time, his brow dropping slightly in a closed expression. It could mean anything from “Are you joking?” to “Can you really be this stupid?”
“Mus has food. Go see it.” The young sentinel said plainly eyeing the adult with a neutral expression as if he was expecting a comment, a joke or a critic.
Dork heard the command but seemed to find it too much of a risk so he merely took a small hop forward, looked back at Darkwood and hopped again, comically stretching his neck forward as if tasting the air.
(Lol, sorry. It looks bigger than it is...? xD)
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Posted: Thu Jan 15, 2009 6:13 am
[ ooc: heh, no worries wink ]
For a moment, Silverbirch looked bewildered at the fledgling's outburst. Eh? Marten... martes? As the realisation hit her, the mist sleeked in embarassment. However, she was not one to sulk or take offence, and an instant later joined in Darkwood's giggles with a hearty, good-natured laugh. Seeing the younger one relax, she felt herself relaxing as well and made herself comfortable.
"Miss?" Silverbirch paused, taking on a faraway look as she struggled within herself. It wasn't the matter of age. To be honest, she had never been the 'miss' type, and to addressed so... so femininely made her feel rather awkward. But then again, it pleases the little one.. "Mmhmm. That sounds good."
"Though... eh. You can just call me Silverbirch, y'know?" Her voice heavily hinting at this, the mist gave her chestfeathers a quick preen before turning her attention to the two companions. She eyed the parus with great interest, and burst out laughing at his words. "Does he always say such funny things?" she asked, chuckling. Food has things! Whatever will he say next!
"Well, the mus is not the only one that has food," Silverbirch added mysteriously, a playful glint in her icy blue eyes.
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Posted: Thu Jan 15, 2009 9:16 am
“Mmm…” The fledglings said as he considered the adult’s words. “What if I call you Silverbirch if we’re alone but Miss if someone else comes…?” And just a moment later the young deep woods was joining the Mist in laughter, obviously pleased with her reaction at the parus’ words.
“He always says silly things! I don’t get it, really… but he talks better than he thinks. I don’t know what goes on inside his head!”
At that precise moment, Dork was rather close to the mus. He eyed the food with what looked like surprise before narrowing his eyes, looking back at Darkwood.
“Serpe…”
“Dork, that’s rude.” And there was an icy tone to the fledgling now as he fluffed up uncomfortably but his eartufts seemed to perk up a little at the possibility of “more food”.
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Posted: Sun Jan 18, 2009 4:13 pm
"Sounds good."
Eartufts perked, the mist watched the exchange between fledgling and companion curiously. Did the both of them just called each other names? The older sentinel gave Darkwood a look that read "what happened?", before bringing out two small mice and a lizard which she had purposely withheld from the minder.
"Not much, I'm afraid, but they're all yours. You can have the berries Feathers picked as well," she ignored the indignant look said mus threw at her, "if your... parus isn't having any." She still had no idea the bird's name was actually Dork.
Feathers pouted, whiskers twitching. The mus narrowed her eyes, picked out the juiciest berry of the lot and clutched it possesively. "Mine." Looking to Dork he mentioned to the companion to take some quick, before they're all gone!
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Posted: Mon Jan 19, 2009 4:59 pm
Not much, she said… Darkwood wobbled forward without hesitation, eyes gleaming with a somewhat excessive joy.
“You’re really nice!” he said with a mouse tail hanging from his beak. “Do you come here often?”
In a matter of seconds the small fledgling gobbled down a mouse, a lizard and a few berries. He then eyed the last mouse with a rather guilty look that clearly said “I really want that but maybe it’s a little too greedy”.
“We can take that one to some of the other kids. Oh, and…” he seemed a bit apprehensive as he spoke to the dark mus. ”Feathers, isn’t it…? My parus won’t eat anything until you eat something first.”
The companion in question was eyeing the mus suspiciously but seemed somewhat taken by the (positive!) attention he was getting from the furry companion and moved a bit closer until he was standing right next to the mus.
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Posted: Wed Jan 21, 2009 7:11 am
Silverbirch watched the young one's eagerness and chuckled lightly to herself.
"Why thank you, Darkwood. And mmm... not really. I try to, whenever I'm in Deep Woods," came the answer to the fledgling's question. This was usually when she dropped by for her biweekly report, unless she was called back to duty immediately. Silverbirch nodded approvingly as Darkwood took care of the food before him. His next words endeared him to her even more.
"That's very kind of you, to think of others," she said, reaching over to give preen quickly at his tufts. "You do just that. I'll bring more next time." More, yes, if the weather permits. Frowning, Silverbirch leaned back and squinted at the canopy as a gust of cold wind blew right through the Enclave. She could feel something coming up. What, the scout had no idea; not yet.
Meanwhile, Feathers listened hard to Darkwood, ears perked. The mus looked at Dork, who by then was right beside him, then at the berry in his paws. His nose twitched and a moment later there was a missing chunk in the berry.
"Good! Nice food. All nice," he explained, holding his berry out to the parus.
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Posted: Fri Jan 23, 2009 9:13 am
“Why, I’ll be waiting then, Silverbirch.” Darkwood answered mirroring the adult’s words in a serious tone before giggling softly as he pronounced the Scout’s name with some effort.
It was the second time the Scout mentioned “more food” and the fledgling eyed the adult with a somewhat excessive fascination. Dork also seemed willing to accept the mus’ offer and took the berry with a sudden movement that looked very much like stealing.
“He’s… suspicious.” Darkwood offered quickly as an explanation. “He’s noisy even during the day. Some of the kids said they’d give him food with serpe poison if he didn’t shut up once and now he doesn’t eat unless I tell him to. He always learns the bad things…” the parus was eating the juicy berry under his chest feathers but looked up for a second as his young master mentioned the poisonous companion but quickly ignored him to finish eating.
“More?” he asked then, eyes darting between Darkwood and the furry companion.
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