Ment had not meant to have Chopoa tag along with him for so long and was beginning to feel as if this was becoming a permanent situation. It didn’t bother him as much as it would have bothered others considering she was good at spotting materials needed for his craft, but he talked an awful lot and wasn’t prepared for his ears to be constantly harassed by her musings.
“Chopoa, can you be a little quieter?” Ment suggested in the sweetest voice he could possibly muster without forfeiting his station as a man. He quickly felt a sharp peck on the top of his head where Chopoa had stationed herself for lookout when she wasn’t surveying for shiny stones or pristine shells for him. “Ow!”
“That’s what you get for suggesting something so preposterous,” Chopoa stated, giving off a peppy little trill and grooming the feathers upon her chest. She was not going to be quiet when she was singing! She was singing because she wanted to be heard after all, and the idea that she should quietly sing was positively silly. She felt the innocent peck to his head would be enough to remind him that his comments were simply laughable.
Ment grumbled lowly, regretting bringing the damn bird along with him or even inviting her to work with him in the first place. He was so used to being free and by himself, that her presence was irritating and made him feel very smothered like his mother used to. Granted, Chopoa wasn’t popping out more children than she could handle and allowing strange men to use her at their leisure, so it really wasn’t appropriate to compare her and his mother. She was much better, despite the singing.
“I have a headache, Chopoa. Your singing, however beautiful, is making it worse,” He pleaded, continuing to try and nicely charm Chopoa into not singing for even a few minutes, something to ease the pain in his head.
It was Chopoa who grumbled this time at Ment’s nerve to ask her to stop singing, but she deciding to be nice and grant the silly lion his wish. The last thing she wanted was to either become his meal (which was unlikely because she could fly) or end up alone and on her own again. Something she would not admit to the lion was that before he had come into her life she was a rather lonely soul. She didn’t have any friends that hadn’t already become a meal to someone else, and that most of the other birds she had run into were not thrilled by her strong personality. It was actually a relief that he had invited her along, and she didn’t want that to end…
“Fine Peremende,” She said quietly, referring to him by the first half of his name rather than the last half. She felt their friendship was something special, and because of this she did not wish to use the name most individuals had used to refer to the lion.
“Thank you,” Ment said with a sigh, the singing of his bird companion having ceased and a wash of relief coming over his mind, though it hadn’t completely vanished the throb of his headache. It was a start, though. He could feel his stomach quiver a bit, indicating to him that he was in need of some food and was pleased with that sentiment. He hadn’t been feeling hungry earlier, but for some reason he wanted to eat so badly, like he was bored or something. “Chopoa, I’m feeling hungry. Would you help me hunt?”
Chopoa made a face at this suggestion as well, but mostly because she didn’t think she’d feel right helping him take the life of someone who could potentially be a friend. She would agree though, understanding that everything on the planet needed to eat and since she ate the bugs from the earth, he ate its creatures.
“Certainly, Peremende. Stay here and I will be back shortly,” She said, popping up into the air from the top of Ment’s head and heading off into the direction she could hear the clamoring of animals from.
Ment watched as Chopoa flew off and sat himself down as he waited, his mind wandering to the lioness he had spent the night with only several days prior. Chopoa did not seem happy with that and expressed so after Jua’taka had left. He had had flings before, so it didn’t bother him as much as it probably should have. He wanted to see her again, actually. Something about that angry, prejudice woman was kind of appealing in its own twisted way, but it was probably better he didn’t. She may have had regrets about.
It didn’t take long for Ment to spot Chopoa on her way back. It was much quicker than he had expected, meaning food was only on the horizon. He had to admit, despite how annoying Chopoa could be, he was glad he had her around. She made hunting, crafting and keeping out of trouble much easier than he ever expected. He would have to make something nice for her in order to show is gratitude.
“Gazelle, just a mile out,” Chopoa said as she came to rest back down ontop of Ment’s head, preening herself once again. She did that a lot. Ment couldn’t help but wonder who and what she was preening for since he never spotted any males around attempting to court her.
“Small heard or large?” Ment asked, beginning his moderately paced trek towards the heard of gazelle Chopoa had found for him. He wasn’t in a hurry. From his experience hunting, he knew that gazelle were constant grazers and that they wouldn’t move unless they absolutely had to.
“It was a small herd, Peremende. You should speed up or you’ll end up losing them. I spotted a cheetah on the horizon, but I don’t think they noticed the gazelles yet,” Chopoa said, matter-of-factly.
Ment nodded his head to the bird, which was only rewarded with a swift peck to the top of his head for forgetting she was perched there. He winced momentarily and kept going, he’d have to keep in mind she liked being perched there.
Word Count: 1040
