|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Mon Oct 31, 2005 7:40 am
OOC Note: Murr... this's my 1st time starting a topic on my own accord on Gaia. @-@
This's a thread created for an open rp between baby_gwing and anyone who wishes to rp with Aura and/or her altamira oriole. Anyone who wishes to hop in may do so anytime. Thank you. 3nodding
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Oct 31, 2005 8:22 pm
The school bell rang almost as though on cue as soon as Aura had set foot upon the grounds that laid beyond the school gates. A shrill sound that marked the end of yet another school day. Today seemed like a relatively short day to the female adolescent, with most of the day's activities passing by in a blur such that her classes were all over even before she herself knew it.
With her bag slung over her right shoulder, Aura began to make her way home, a wry smile plastered on her face as she waved bye to the few who bothered to grace her with such a simple gesture. That was the problem when one lived in such a small town where everyone practically knew one another. There was no way for her to shake off the stigma that had been given to her by her peers. It was there. For good.
Aura didn't bear any hard feelings towards them for the way things had turned out though. She still had her grandparents' love and that was already more than what she thought she deserved. It was only a fortnight or so before that Aura realized that there was room in her heart for another. A little orange feathered friend who had come to her rescue when she had been so close to being devoured by the many wild birds that inhabited the roof of the petshop known as the Birdcage.
Sitting herself at the bench next to the fountain at the town square, Aura reached into her bag to retrieve the lunch that Granny had packed for her in the morning. A simple ham and cheese sandwich as well as an orange. The smile on Aura's face widened some at the spread. If she remembered correctly, her new companion loved oranges.
Speaking of which, where could he be now..? Aura wondered offhandedly as she took a bite out of her sandwich. Mmm... Granny's sandwiches were always delicious.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Nov 16, 2005 6:44 am
Taylor, as usual, had her nose buried in a book and wasn't looking where she was walking. A rather dangerous habit, but at least she didn't have to worry about being run over by the car. The town square was for pedestrians only, so she only had to be careful about walking into a pedestrian. Or a lamppost.
The book was labled Owls of North America and was proving very difficult to read on foot due to the small print. Taylor decided to find someplace to sit and read it more carefully. If she was going to be studying and caring for an owl, she was going to need to know how a lot more about it.
Where was that owl, anyway? Probably outside hunting. She left the window open so he could fly out when he needed to, and he'd proved to be very independnent in that aspect, taking his leave whenever he felt like it. But he did perch in the room a lot as well, watching her type or read or watch him back. It unnerved her a little. Owls weren't supposed to be that calm around people.
She found a seat on a bench next to the fountain. The square was fairly empty, except for a girl eating a sandwitch on another bench. Taylor settled herself on her own perch and reburied her nose in the book.
Several minutes later, a small sound dragged her back out again. A small, orange-and-black bird was winging its way through the air at an unusually high velocity. Its bright colors, vivid against the dull grey day, made her smile. Then she noticed a very large and silent absence of color intent on persuing the songbird.
Oh, wonderful.
"Hey!" she shouted without thinking, leaping towards the pair of birds. The orange one fluttered erratically away, panic gleaming in its small black eyes. The owl backwinged to a stop and landed, glaring at Taylor irritably. That was mine, it seemed to say to her, but it didn't move to attack. The bird seemed to have developed a marginal tolerance for her chronic bleeding heart disease. Emphasis on marginal.
So now she was in the middle of town square with her angry owl. People certainly couldn't think this was normal.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Nov 18, 2005 7:17 am
((Sorry for the wait..! Finally caught up with most of my rps more or less... sweatdrop ))
The sound that resonated through the sky, though soft, had also caught another person's attention. Still busy munching on her sandwich and savouring its flavour, Aura lowered her pre-packed meal slightly as she raised her head, only to find the cloudless sky devoid of any living creature. Hmm... strange. Where could that sound have come from then?
A quick survey of her surroundings provided the female adolescent with the answer she seeked soon enough. A snowy owl. A raptor. That would explain why the skies are so empty. No bird in its right mind would be foolish enough to cross his path and hope to survive.
Maybe her little companion would though. Aura thought fondly with a wistful smile slowly spreading across her face. He was no ordinary altamira oriole, as she had just learnt recently from her conversation with the manager of the Birdcage himself. He might seem outwardly harmless but he was certainly capable of something more deadly, if not for that insatiable curiosity of his that seemed to permeate every fiber of his being at every moment.
Coming back to this snow-white avian though, Aura mused inwardly to herself as she tilted her head a little so as to study the creature more closely. He was a magnificent beast, with features that had been perfected by evolution over many decades, maybe centuries, that made him the pristine hunter that he was today. And those white plumages... they spoke of death. Death that would be dealt out swiftly should the owl choose to set his mind upon it.
Speaking of which... could he be one of those 'special' birds that had come from the Birdcage? Aura pondered as she allowed her emerald gaze to linger upon Taylor's form far longer than what was necessary for a cursory glance on her part.
The raptor could very well be her companion even though Shanuh hadn't explicitly revealed that there were other birds seeking a companion of their own too. It could well be one of her hare-brained ideas as usual, but it still remained an undisputed possibility at this point. Well, there was only one way to find out.
Replacing her half-eaten sandwich into her bag. Aura slung said object over her right shoulder before going on to make her way steadily towards the other female's direction. It wasn't exactly within her nature to approach strangers on her own accord like this, but Aura felt compelled to know for certain. Just to be sure.
Hmm... maybe the little orange and black bird's nature was rubbing off on her a little...
"Hmm... such a handsome owl you have here. I believe that this's the first time that I'm seeing his kind around these parts. Is he yours..?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Nov 18, 2005 9:17 am
"What? Oh, um, hi?" Taylor said, shaking her head in her trademark bewildered fashion and blinking at the girl who had appeared before her. "Him?" She pointed towards the owl with a golved finger. "Uh, yeah, he's mine. Don't call the cops, I'm not sure he's legal. I got him at a pet store. Really wierd place. The Birdcage, or Bird-roost, or something like that. You ever been there? Trust me, don't go. She shuddered slightly. Where did a pet store like that get off selling raptors to random people? Free raptors, actually. She didn't remember paying anything for the bird... but most of that day was a blur of supressed memories.
The tiny orange-and-black blur that had only recently escaped from the owl's talons was now fluttering around the other girl's head, emmiting a series of small chirps. "The little bird. Does he know you?" Taylor asked, noticing him. "He's cute. But I think my owl tried to eat him. I'm sorry."
The owl flew to Taylor's arm with powerful wingbeats that sent her hair into dissaray. He hadn't been planning on eating the oriole. There was something about it that marked it as different from the other birds. And something that connected them, marked them as the same. Like brothers, though very odd intersepecies brothers.
I was just playing with him.
((arrgh, short post. Sorry.))
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Nov 21, 2005 8:49 am
((Heh... no worries about short posts so long as I don't end up getting a 1-liner... else I'll un... poke ya with a spork..? xd ))
"S... Sorry for scaring you like that. I usually don't approach people on the streets like this, but there was just something that I had to know..."
Aura offered sheepishly in explanation as she offered her right hand to Taylor at the same instant. Okie, maybe that hadn't gone too good since she had almost scared the other female off with her earlier question. Perhaps it's time she gave the future consequences of her actions and words further thinking so as to avoid similar incidents the next time round. That is, if there ever was a next time round for someone like her.
Upon learning of Taylor's concerns, the blond adolescent shook her head a few times, a good-natured smile beginning to slowly spread across her face as well.
"Don't worry. I'm not going to call anyone. I'm Aura by the way. What's your name..?"
Turning her head to the side a little so that she could give the chirping orange and black creature some attention, the smile on Aura's face next widened slightly in amusement at the other girl's comments about the Birdcage that she had gotten her owl from. So it seemed that she had been right. It was kinda interesting the way she had warned her against visiting the petshop although it was already too late in a way if she knew the truth with regards to herself and her companion.
Aura could empathize somehow if it was Shanuh that had made Taylor feel like this, but it made her wonder at the same time if there was something more. There would be no more questions from her end for the moment though. Aura had a feeling that all would be revealed in good time once she let Taylor in on the fact that she too was in the same boat as her.
"Yes. I do more than know him in fact and don't be sorry. He's perfectly capable of taking care of himself. You see... I got him from the same petshop that you've been to too. From this guy called Shanuh..."
The altamira oriole that had been fluttering around his companion's head the entire time finally chose this moment to settle upon her right shoulder, his head cocking to the side a little as small beady eyes studied the owl and his chosen companion beside him curiously. He too had recognized the owl as another of his kind the moment his eyes had set upon him mere minutes ago.
Not only were they the same entity in a way, they were also different from most of their breathren in that they had already picked companions of their own. This was the very first time that he had met another so much like him and to say that the little bird was intrigued could no more be an understatement in itself.
Of course it was perfectly understandable why Taylor had misunderstood the owl's intentions earlier on given the nature of the forms that they had undertaken, but what did humans really know? Part of the fun was always in uncovering the truth for themselves, but ya... that wasn't his job.
Correct me if I'm wrong but... why's she so scared of the Birdcage..? Did something happen?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Nov 21, 2005 9:23 am
[ Message temporarily off-line ]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Nov 30, 2005 4:25 am
((Lol... sure thing... I'm sure that Telarus won't mind... wink Sorry for the long wait between my posts by the way... sweatdrop ))
Not once did the smile on Aura's face falter as the adolescent listened to what Taylor had to say regarding Shanuh, the Birdcage and its birds with undisguised interest. It wasn't too long ago when she herself had been in the other female's shoes, having been shown glimpses of the truth behind the shop and the birds whom they had already been gifted with.
It made her wonder then if she should try to guide Taylor towards uncovering the truth for herself. It couldn't possibly be too hard, could it? Just a little nudge here and a healthy dose of curiosity there would probably do the trick.
That is unless her companion already had other plans with regards to revealing his true identity to her.
"You seem to know a lot about birds. Do you like them?"
A simple question to further break the ice between the both of them. It would be good if both Taylor and herself could become friends eventually. Aura thought to herself with a wistful smile on her face. She would like that a lot even if the concept of friendship was something foreign to her ever since her arrival to this town about a decade ago.
Perhaps that bond could also be extended to their respective feathered companions as well. Of course that would have to be subjected to whether they could get along in the first place. Aura might not have a friend in this town yet, but she certainly was no fool.
There was a slight pause between both the owl and the oriole. One that lasted little more than 10 seconds before the latter tossed his head to the air and broke out into a melodious chitter that seemed to echo his amusement at their little exchange.
Ooo... I wonder what she had to sacrifice...
The oriole mused softly before giving a little hop so that he was in closer proximity to his chosen companion, a glint of possessiveness reflected within his tiny eyes. He knew that he wasn't in any danger of losing her. Not when the owl had already marked Taylor as his. Still, he wasn't shy in letting the other guardian know that he enjoyed her presence.
Her name's Aura. She heard my song the other day and I subsequently saved her from the rest of them just as they were about to devour her whole. She's really nice. She takes care of all of my needs even when she's busy...
The orange and black avian shared, almost with a tinge of pride lacing his mental voice before going on to answer the owl's next question.
We met Shanuh the other day at the park. She knows what we are, but she's not afraid or anything... Are you planning to tell your companion who you are?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Dec 04, 2005 7:37 am
I'm not planning on telling anytime soon, the owl said lightly. I'll let her figure out herself... it should be fun to watch. Humans are so stupid, he snorted. The sacrifice.... it was nothing. But she went on about it for ages. One death. When she figures this thing out she'll go ballistic.
There was something about the oriole that irritated him, now that he'd watched the bird for a while. Like that undying devotion to his human companion. The owl had picked his human companion and therefore had to stick with her, but he didn't gush about her the way the little bird did.
But... Yours knows already? And she's not afraid? Maybe he wasn't giving these humans enough credit. Mine would probably freak out. What do you like about her so much, anyway? he asked, referring to Aura.
"Birds?" Taylor repeated, still slightly stunned. "Yeah, I love birds. I'm studying them in school right now, in fact, I'm-" she cut off mid-sentence, realizing that Aura probably didn't want the full technical explanation of her little scientific obsession. "Well, I think they're really intelligent. And just plain fascinating. What I'm trying to do is demonstrate their intelligence by using different experiments to see if they can understand tool use or -" ah, crap, there she went again. It was like she'd been waiting to talk to someone for a long time and now she was going overboard. She didn't want Aura to think she was weird... for some reason, she really wanted the other girl to like her. Aura seemed kind, and patient, and... just plain friendly. Not a lot of people were like that.
"Well, the point is, yes," she finished lamely, looking at her feet. "How about you? Why did you go to the... the birdstore? You like birds too?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Dec 13, 2005 3:54 am
The smile on Aura's face began to widen a little at Taylor's words as the other female went on to elaborate more about her interest in avians. This was the first time that someone had actually bothered to share his/her interests with her and Aura found that she rather liked the entire experience all in all.
It was interesting to learn more about another fellow human being in this manner. To have one's eyes opened towards the many other possibilities that were available in this world. It didn't strike the adolescent at any point in time that the content of the conversation was odd as Taylor had been concerned the entire while though.
In fact, on the contrary, learning about all this was a start. It made Aura want to know more.
"I see... studying about birds must be fun. I mean... it can't beat something as boring as art..."
Aura remarked lightly as she smiled sheepishly at Taylor, her head tilting to the side towards her feathered companion a little at the same instant.
"I was wandering about the town on my 14th birthday when I happened to chance upon the shop. I wasn't expecting to leave that place with a pet even though Granny had asked me to get something for myself..."
The blond mused softly as she turned to smile warmly at the oriole that was perched upon her shoulder before turning back to make eye contact with Taylor once again.
"... but I'm glad that I stopped by the Birdcage though. I wouldn't have met him otherwise..."
I see... That's good. Figuring things out on her own is part of the fun afterall...
The oriole chirruped as his tiny head began to bob up and down at the same time in agreement, choosing to let the owl's remark about the stupidity of humans slide for the moment.
Unlike the other guardian, he took a different stand with regards to this issue. To him, humans were... dense at times. They could figure things out for themselves if given ample time as well as a fair amount of prodding. On top of that, it was kinda amusing to learn about their various emotions and attachments to various things or fellow humans.
It made him wonder if it was part and parcel of being alive and if he would ever have the opportunity of experiencing it within his lifetime. That was of course, something that could only be answered with time.
Yes... she's not afraid. I don't understand. Is death really that scary for humans?
The oriole responded curiously, his attention temporarily shifting towards Aura's direction for the briefest of moments before he looked back at the owl once again. Maybe he was missing something here if most humans were supposed to be fearful of sacrifices and death. He had always thought that it was accepted as the natural outcome of all life and creation.
That was what death was about, wasn't it?
Aura accepts and cherishes me for who I am. Not what she expects me to be. That's why she could hear my song amidst the many others on that day...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Jan 04, 2006 2:14 pm
"Hey, art's cool. I can't draw to save my life, but I like to look at other people's stuff. It seems fun." Taylor was no art major, but she knew her primary colors and... uh... what a paintbrush looked like. And that was about the extent of it, but she did like to see what others could create. "Do you paint? Or draw, or what?"
"Happy birthday, by the way," she added as Aura continued. A little late, but whatever. "You're lucky you found such a friend." The oriole did seem like a true friend... the way he looked at his companion, perched so nicely on her shoulder... he just wanted to be with her. That seemed nice.
And Taylor kind of tolerates me and occasionally says I piss her off, the owl snorted (metaphorically). But if yours is so tolerant... that's got to be fun. He, too, thought of humans as dense and generally... wierd. They worried about things that weren't important at all and didn't care about the things that really mattered. And then they... well, everything about them was odd. Kind of amusing to watch sometimes.
I think they're really confused about death. From what I've seen, they've got about a hundred different churches and fancy books telling them what happens when you die and none of them agree with each other, so I'm not going to bet any of them have it right. That would confuse anybody. Not like he cared- it wasn't his business where they went, if they went anywhere. Some of their death ideas sound pretty scary to me. Being up in a bunch of clouds with winged dudes in dresses prancing everwhere playing trumpets? Not. cool.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jan 12, 2006 2:34 am
"Well... I guess you have a point."
Aura relented eventually with a little chuckle, not about to start a verbal sparring session with Taylor so as to prove who was right or wrong. Not even if it was going to be carried out in an amiable fashion. Nah, it didn't matter that much for her to have to resort to that.
"I... I like to sketch. Still life and then... you know... fill in the shades..."
The adolescent female stuttered nervously as she tried to answer Taylor's question as best as she could. Afterall, who could blame her for being this way since it was probably the first time anyone other than Granny or Grandpa had asked her about her interests. Nevermind that Taylor might find herself lost amidst the terms that she was using though. Aura would be more than happy to elaborate if given the chance.
Still, you do have to give Taylor credit that she does care about you a lot...
The oriole added, small beady eyes watching the other guardian with something almost akin to amusement before he grasped a golden lock of hair with his tiny beak and began tugging gently upon it.
There she went again. He totally didn't understand at times why meeting someone new was an unnerving experience for his companion. Now if Taylor was a 15 foot monster with razor sharp teeth as well as claws to boot, he would understand somewhat but he could see with his own eyes that Taylor was nowhere near that. She was just another ordinary human being.
"I... I'm not very good with colours yet. But I'm working on it..."
Aura finally finished off, this time with a little more confidence than what she had started out with. There. That hadn't been too bad, right? Her mind chatised her lightly as emerald orbs tossed a somewhat grateful look at her feathered companion for the briefest of moments. Somehow... the little fella always seemed to know what was best for her.
"Thanks... I'm glad that you've found someone special for yourself too..."
Mission accomplished. The orange and black bird concluded to himself with satisfaction before dropping the lock of hair that he had been tugging upon in surprise at what the other guardian had shared.
That's... weird. Is that supposed to be good or what..?
Hmm... maybe he should ask Aura about that someday. The oriole decided as he made a little mental note of it.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
