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 Posted: Wed Jun 10, 2009 10:16 am
As predicted.
The tiny Parus was already starting to breathe easier, and one could see the spark of life returning to its black little eyes even as he watched, and yet Drywood just could not feel as giddy about his accomplishment as he should have. This was really above expectation, in the best of ways. He might actually have deviced an antidote for one of his own most effective poisons, and if everything progressed like this, then it might even be considered record time.
Still, his voice sounded more like a sigh when he bent down to look right into the little bird's eyes and asked: "So, how do you feel?"
The Parus seemed to consider its condition for a moment - or possibly gathering strength to speak. "Pain... stop. Air... get. Mh. Sleepy."
The Apothecary straightened up with a slight huff of breath. The Parus was being very cooperative and more eloquent than most of his test subject, but today he still found the creature's lack of conversation skills annoying.
He knew the reason for this restlessness, but he had been trying very, very hard not to think of it. In fact, he had buried himself in work since just before sunset. He hadn't really managed to sleep very well, anyhow. Peering at him from a safe distance, Longtail watched her Master work with unreadable, black reptile eyes. Only the slow, restless movements of her tail betrayed that she shared some of her Master's discomfort tonight.
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Posted: Wed Jun 24, 2009 8:32 am
((OOC: Sorry for the huge wait on my post - I was busy with end of term - I'll start posting regularly now that I'm almost done! Please excuse the horrible bad timing of my exams ;0; ))
It wasn't really her job to fly out here to meet her granddaughter's potential match, but Hazel had to admit, that for the first time in a very long time, she felt curious and almost giddy. Not for herself, but for Willow; she'd watched the chick hatch and had taken as much part in her upbringing as her own parents, if not more, seeing as how her daughter and her mate had been preoccupied with their own tasks, and Hazel had more time on her wings.
Still, none of that really warranted an excuse to seek out Drywood. At least no real excuse aside curiosity anyhow.
When it had been mentioned that Willow had a potential match, Hazel had found herself flying off to seek out the male, if only so that she could meet him. Thus so, upon nearing his territory, the old Teacher let out a hoot, settling down on a branch of a tree just outside the male's known territory, waiting to be invited in. After all, she was a lady, and manners always came first; rushing in, uninvited would simply not do!
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Posted: Thu Jun 25, 2009 3:42 pm
((OOC: No problem, glad to have you back!))
The unexpected hoot from a visitor startled the distracted Apothecary enough to cause an impressive ruffling of his feathers. For a brief instant, he remained perfectly still, listening to his own heart thundering in his head and severely berating himself for reacting so ridiculously strong. Then he pulled in a deep breath and held it for a moment before answering the call.
The Apothecary is in, I'm over here.
He flapped down to the lower level of his spacious hollow to receive his visitor, and it was with some sense of relief, perhaps even excitement, that he preened his feathers back into their proper place. The sound that he dreaded, after all, was the subtle flapping of little leathery wings, not the hoot of a fellow Sentinel - female, if he judged the sound correctly.
Perhaps it was a patient. What a nice distraction that would be.
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Posted: Fri Jun 26, 2009 5:30 pm
The was a long moment before her call was answered. The old teacher tilted her head first to one side, and then to the other, mild confused over the wait. The movement was one she practiced during her lessons, as if it were to give her some sort of insight on what her students did when they thought she wasn't looking or listening.
She had to remind herself that this male was not one of her students, and that it was wrong of her to judge him only from the fact he had taken a few seconds too long to respond for her liking. Thus, soon enough, the female spread her wings and dove elegantly into the night once more, swooping with grace around trees till she located the Apothecary. It was clear from her flight and landing that once, long ago, she had been an elegant beauty, but the years had paid their toll on her body, even if it still managed to retain some of it's former elegance, "Good evening," she started, her head bobbing slightly into a mild, welcoming bow, though short and stiff enough to show she was not used to performing such gestures, "My name is Hazel, and I hope you will pardon my intrusion, but I simply could not keep myself from coming here once I caught wind that you might, perhaps, be a possible match for my granddaughter, Willobreeze."
A pause followed the introduction as the teacher looked around, her head turning to take a glance around her, "I'm not imposing, I hope?"
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Posted: Sat Jun 27, 2009 1:06 pm
When the handsome Deep Woods lady swooped into view, the Apothecary straightened up a little extra and gave his chest another quick preen. It was obvious from her movements and the elegant way by which she alighted on his tree that this was one of those ladies who would be expecting a certain level of courtesy. He answered her greeting with a bob of his own - deeper than hers, of course.
"Good evening, my Lady."
He could not help but notice the slight stiffness in her otherwise so elegant movements, and was about to make an educated guess that she had come to him in search of something to alleviate it, when her next words hit him like a storm-tossed branch.
Match? Granddaughter?! He gave the elderly lady another quick once-over, and his talons dug into the hardened wood under his feet as the full realization of just what kind of Sentinel, and what kind of expectations, he had before him gradually dawned on him.
A slight gasp escaped him. Suddenly his stomach felt as though it had turned into a rock. What terrifically bad timing!
Doing his best to hide his unexpected cramps, the Apothecary dipped into a deep bow and came up again wearing his most amiable smile.
"Oh, absolutely not, Lady Hazel. I was just finishing up a little experiment of mine. You..." He stopped himself abruptly. He had been about to say 'you must be exhausted after your long flight' but the thought struck him that she might be offended if he alluded to her physical weakness. He faltered for only a second before picking up the thread again. "You must let me treat you to something. I don't get many casual visits all the way out here."
He meant to turn and enter his hollow to find her something suitable, but discovered when he tried to move that his talons had become slightly stuck in the wood. Not wanting to pull them out with a jerk, and thereby reveal his embarrassing predicament to the older sentinel, he disguised his surreptitous movements of un-wedging-talons-from-floor with another bow combined with an inviting gesture, carefully smiling all along.
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Posted: Sat Jun 27, 2009 2:16 pm
Her first thought was that he was awkward. Which in turn made him look adorable, really, but perhaps that was old age talking. He almost reminded her of the fledgling she taught; eager to please and with such good intentions to do so... that they often time tripped over themselves in an attempt to reach their goal.
The old teacher couldn't help the small twitch of a smirk that appeared over her features as the young male cut himself off and rephrased his words, no doubt to cover up for what he felt might have been some sort of slip, "Of course you may treat me to something, lad. After all, I AM imposing upon your time with my.... need to satisfy my curiosity."
Her head tilted to one side and then to the other when the male did not move; it took her a couple of seconds to realise his talons had got stuck in the wood of the branch (for notice she did indeed, though she kept her realisation mostly hidden). Only years of practiced self control kept Hazel from chuckling with mild mirth. Instead, the ghost of a smile haunted her features again, though this time for much longer than previously. Her brows arched up as the poor Apothecary 'bowed' himself free, and once more she had to keep herself from chuckling to herself, choosing instead to ruffle her feathers as she took a more comfortable place on the branch, "Shall I follow you, lad?" there was mild mirth in her voice, but it was good natured.
He hadn't really impressed her yet, but... she had already decided she actually liked him. After all, impressing someone with a false pretext is something anyone could do, however, acting as honestly as this young man was managing was not something Hazel had seen a lot of, and she respected that.
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Posted: Sat Jun 27, 2009 3:43 pm
Having finally nudged himself free, Drywood glanced over at the Lady. There was something in her way of asking if she should follow him that almost made him think that she had noticed... but no, probably not. She was smiling, after all, not laughing or huffing at his clumsiness, so he had most likely managed to evade detection.
Relieved, he sent her another smile and nodded. "Of course, my Lady, if you would be so kind..." He hopped before her into the hollow, and had to restrain himself not to flap his wings like a fledgling as he hurried over to the food stack. He did have some Skurri left, didn't he? Or maybe the hare would be fresher and better to offer...
Tails had felt the impact of the visitor as it landed in the tree, and also the much more subtle sounds of her Master's distress - the faint squeak as his talons had gripped the wood. She could tell by the sound of his voice that he had found himself in a difficult position, so she had hid herself. all the better to surprise the unwelcome visitor - and dispose of it, if need be.
Still, she needed to keep check on the situation, so she allowed her blunt nose to poke out, ever so slightly, from under the bedding in Drywood's sleeping-spot. As the guest entered the room, Longtail gingerly tasted the air to get a better picture.
"Ah, here you are!" Having decided that he simply could not decide, Drywood brough his guest both the skurri and the hare. And two mice, just to be on the safe side. "Please, do help yourself to whatever you'd like best."
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Posted: Tue Jul 14, 2009 5:19 pm
Well, if anything, he was interesting, that was for sure. That aside, he didn't seem to have a rotten bone in his body, if the way he was acting was any indication; rather than sporting a superior attitude, the young male was rather flustered. In fact, if anything, he seemed almost... shy.
As he indicated for her to follow, she gave him a few moments to gather himself before doing as told, entering the hollow after the male, "Don't worry yourself too much though, anything will do! After all, I came to see you. Anything else is merely a bonus, eh?" completely unaware of the Serpe, the old teacher settled herself comfortably to a side, giving the male enough room. Unfortunately for Hazel (and probably her immediate future) she chose a spot just beside Drywood's sleeping spot, where she figured she would be out of the way.
The feast presented before her made her tufts perk up, her eyes rolling over to glance at the young male, then back at the food before repeating the process. She was half temped to chuckle, and half tempted to tell him he was sweet as they came, but somehow... she couldn't see Drywood appreciating either of those choices, "My, my, it's been a while since I was treated to such wonderful treats. Usually, only the fledgelings that know they'd done something wrong care to bring me food, to see if they can outskirt my anger," her eyes narrowed, though merely in jest (sadly, there was little outward difference), Ï do so hope you have not been naughty."
She should be teasing him, but she couldn't help herself. He was rather a sight to behold, all shy, flustered and so obviously out of his league.
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Posted: Wed Jul 15, 2009 5:10 am
Tails was pleased. The visitor had placed itself most conveniently close, and her tongue had told her everything that her belly hadn't already understood. She now had a perfect image in her head of this guest, and knew exactly how much force she would have to use to break it (and, incidentally, exactly how much food there was on it as well, but since it was quite too big to swallow, the point was moot), and felt rather smug in her knowledge that it wouldn't really take a lot of what she was capable of.
She withdrew completely into hiding, and waited for the first sign of trouble.
Drywood froze at Hazel's unexpected frown, and he opened his beak twice without managing any sound. His ear tufts sank back as he scoured his memory for possible naughtiness, but finally he managed to reply:
"I... I don't think so. I certainly hope not."
His claws squeaked almost imperceptibly against the wood again, as his nervousness made him tense up. That was all the signal that Tails needed. For a moment, she pondered whether to try to set up a sneak attack, but decided against it. She knew full well how excellent hearing the Master and those like him had, and if she tried to stealth out from under the bedding, and then around to line up a clear shot, there was a great possibility that the visitor would notice her movements from this up close.
Besides, it wasn't as though this one posed any real threat to her. Or any real physical danger to the Master, as of yet. Maybe just some general intimidating would suffice, for now.
Having made up her mind, the large Serpe slid out from under the bedding, as silently as she possibly could, and slid up as uncomfortably close to the visitor as she possibly could without touching it, before making her presence known with a low, predatory hiss.
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Posted: Sat Jul 18, 2009 1:40 pm
Blissfully unaware of the reptile lurking behind, the teacher made herself comfortable, idly watching the younger male as he struggled to remember if he'd been naughty or not, "Don't worry lad. Don't get your feathers all in a knock; it was harmless teasing on my part, I assure you and-" it was right about then that Hazel's eyes caught the mild movement, just barely out of her sight.
Instinctively, the old sentinel turned her head to glance; mostly out of habit than anything. It was clear she hadn't really been expecting to find anything there. Specially not anything as threatening as the large Serpe that hissed menacingly at her. That much was clear from her startled reaction; Hazel spread her wings in the confined space of the hollow, her body trashing sideways and (hopefully!) out of reach before she even knew what she was doing. It was likely that Hazel would later frown mentally at her own display of fear and surprise (surely that was no display of bravery from an old huntress!), however, she'd also feel that in her defense, she'd been taken horribly by surprise.
Of course, this was no real excuse for the disaster the surprised sentinel might've caused within the poor Apothecary's home, "Good gracious!" came the horrified sound as Hazel got away from the 'beast', "Where did that thing come from?" she'd never liked Serpes, in all honesty... had never used one, even in her years as huntress. She'd felt that the horrible creatures were hard to read, but perhaps that was unfair of her. Still, Hazel was old, and as the saying went, you can't teach an old dog new tricks; she had never liked snakes, and was likely never going to like them!
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Posted: Sat Jul 18, 2009 3:23 pm
Drywood couldn't understand what was happening. A terrible chill started working its way in through his feathers as he watched the distinguished old Lady leap and flail, upsetting his bedding and his food store in the process. Not that he really cared about that, at this point.
Something had just gone terribly, horribly wrong. For the briefest of instants he thought that he had somehow managed to contaminate his own food store, in spite of his many meticulous safety routines. Then he, too, heard the hiss and spotted his massive reptile companion.
"Longtail, NO!" he shouted, and his voice broke on all the despair that filled it.
Longtail, on the other hand, was quite pleased. Intimidation had worked even better than she had hoped, and she closed her mouth and watched the visitor's panic with reptilian stillness, something almost amused about the way that she slowly raised her head.
But the sound that her Master made threw her. Turning towards him, she shrunk back, almost as if the sharpness of his tone had wounded her physically.
He had never spoken to her in that way before. Nervously, she tasted the air, keeping her black eyes firmly on her Master's form.
Drywood, however, were looking at Hazel. Wings half-way open, he almost instinctively moved to put himself between her and the Serpe, with small, jerky steps.
"I-I-I'm so sorry, my Lady, I'm so sorry... she didn't mean any harm, I assure you! She is just playful, that's all. Please, oh please..." his voice was small, dampened by the terrible chill that permeated his bones, and trembled most strangely. "...Don't be angry ma'am. Please don't be angry. Please don't be angry. She didn't mean any harm."
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Posted: Wed Jul 22, 2009 7:42 am
Needless to say, the old teacher was still horribly startled, visible in the way her plumage seemed to keep fluffing out, despite all efforts to keep it down, least she resemble a goofy sort of... poofball (which she did, mind you). Sadly, the presence of the serpe (not to mention the chaos that had ensued - which she had not only helped to cause, but had started) were not helping the old teacher regain her calm, "By Noctus!" she explained as she finally settled down once poor Drywood placed himself between them, almost as if instinctively shielding her away from the massive reptile (for which Hazel was silently thankful).
For a long, silent moment, it looked as if Hazel was trying to figure out some way to reprimand the poor Apothecary, her features pulled down into a nervous frown, her tufts flattening back. Was this how Drywood intended to welcome her granddaughter? Had all this been a trick? A prank that he had played on her?!
Anger vanished, however, when she heard the poor boy's pleading tone, not to mention the way he seemed to be trembling; it soon enough became clear that all had been but a mere accident and he had meant no harm. In fact, it was possible the blasted reptile had merely been defending it's territory (she WAS intruding, and she HAD been making it's master terribly nervous only moments ago).
Slowly, the teacher's plumage deflated as she calmed down and her anger dissipated into nothingness, "It's fine, lad, it's fine," she finally murmured, though her voice cracked (whether it was from reminiscent fear or embarrassment was uncertain), "Let us not make a mountain out of anthill," a pause followed before she motioned at the serpe, "Just... just... make sure you keep it... her, away when my granddaughter comes for a visit, hmmmm?"
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Posted: Thu Jul 23, 2009 7:28 am
Drywood waited, hunched beneath the weight of the older Sentinel's ominous glare, every feather flat against his form. His wings remained half-spread, hiding his dear Serpe from Hazel's sight. Not until she finally spoke to him, telling him it was fine, did he finally relax a little and allowed himself to fold his wings.
"It's all right," he murmured to Tails, who was still cowering in confusion behind him, following his every move with her black eyes. "It's all right, Longtail, my dear. No need to be frightened."
Hearing the welcome change in her Master's voice, Tails flicked her tongue and begun to unfold, reaching out to put the side of her neck against Drywood's feathery side. It was the sincerest gesture of apology that she was capable of, and she didn't care that the visitor was still watching. She needed reassurance that the Master was not still upset with her.
Drywood happily responded by opening his wing slightly, just enough to let Tails poke her head in under it. Then he looked up at Hazel, and a small frown formed on his face at her last comment. In truth, he felt quite conflicted in that moment. Even though he had been (and still were) very upset at the thought that Hazel might come to disapprove of him because of Tails' cheeky behaviour, he had been equally upset by the notion that Hazel might have hurt Tails, with all her flailing.
Also, he still dreaded the possibility that Hazel might be so angry with the Serpe that she would somehow find a way to take her from him.
Still, this was his Longtail that she was talking about. She lived with him, and had every right to be in her own home, no matter who came to visit.
In the end, though, he forced himself to remember all that was at stake right now, and his polite smile won over his pouty frown.
"Ah... yes... I shall be more careful." He gave the older sentinel a bow. "Thank you. Thank you very much." Feeling Tails' head move slightly under his wing, he couldn't fight back the urge to speak out in favor of his companion any longer. "She's... not a bad Serpe, once you get to know her. She's a little cheeky sometimes, I admit, but..." He faltered, finding a lack of words for expressing what he would have liked to say. He settled for being as honest as he could, even if the end result was a bit blunt. "She is invaluable to me."
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Posted: Sat Aug 01, 2009 10:06 am
Hazel sat back as Drywood apologized for his companion's actions, smoothing her plumage and calming herself as he calmed his companion and attempted to make amends. She liked this; it was very, very good that he was taking responsibility for the animal. If one was to have a dangerous companion in the home, one must at least be ready to at least apologize for any sensibilities it upsets. And the male had been so well-mannered already. She eyed the Serpe coldly, but did no more about it. It was an animal, and animals were territorial, just as Sentinels were. Perhaps, if he managed to control the reptile, it would be no threat to her granddaughter. But something about it nagged in the back of her mind. She didn't know Serpes well enough to know whether or not they had venom in their fangs, and really, what use to an Apothecary would a nonvenomous snake be?
"I see," she said, discomfort still tainting her voice, "and I understand. We wouldn't breed such companions if they weren't invaluable to the clan as a whole. Tell me," she added in a bit of a rush, not wanting to sound rude or accusatory, but also needing very badly to know, "what exactly do you use her for?" If he didn't really need the snake, then perhaps when the time came for children, he could be convinced to keep it elsewhere, or at least find a place for it to stay in his territory fairly far from his family's nest. But if the snake's presence was necessary for his apothecarial research, it was likely poisonous. And a poisonous Serpe around completely vulnerable eggs and hatchlings? That was an unthinkable situation.
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Posted: Sat Aug 01, 2009 3:21 pm
"Ah," Drywood's ear tufts perked up a little bit more as the subject turned to one of his favourite subjects. It also helped that Lady Hazel seemed to be recovering, and was expressing not only her understanding for, but even curiosity in his darling companion. The conflict seemed to have been averted, and things were clearly looking up.
"Why, not only is she an unparalleled nestwatcher - as I'm sure you can imagine. She is also of tremendous help to me in my research!" He paused for a moment, allowing himself to revel for a moment in the pride of what he and his trusty companion had developed together. His smile was as eager as a fledgling's as he leaned forward and revealed one of his most treasured accomplishments to Hazel:
"She measures!" He excitedly nodded in the direction behind Hazel, at what had recently been a very neat and well-organised stack of different-coloured, different-sized stones. Right now, however, the smaller ones were in quite some disarray, but one could still see the traces of their careful arrangement. "In my line of work, the right measurements are the eyes and claws - the most important thing of all! The slightest difference could mean the difference between effective remedy, or painful problem. And my measurements are always precise and accurate! Thanks to her."
He looked down at what he could see of Longtail, who still had her head tucked in under his wing, and smiled with both pride and fondness.
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