Achik struggled to keep up with his remaining chick as she fled from her nest. His wings were tiring, but he couldn't lose her. Not after he'd lost his other baby.
He chimed at her to slow down...
But Ath was having none of it. She wanted to go this way, and this way she would go. She didn't care what her bugmama said, she was going to go this way.
Initially, it was the aimless running and peeping of a chick. Now, though, it was something more. Ath let out a massive, loud sound and turned. She had smelled her sister, and she wanted to find her. Now.
Hijil didn't want to move. Just like those evenings long ago when she had rested her head on Bhima in their stargazing spot, she didn't want to move. She had awoken a few hours ago, when Bhima had moved closer to her in her sleep and hugged her close. Hijil had been surprised at the contact, a good kind of surprise that kept her from sleep. And she was happy to be awake – awake and to not have had Bhima fade into dreams, as she had feared. Things were as they should be, and Hijil didn't want to fall asleep and lose the moment again. Gently, she interlaced her fingers with Bhima's.
It was good to be awake.
Posted: Sun Feb 08, 2015 6:05 pm
Atipi was slowly getting used to her Alkidike companion's sleep patterns. At the very least she was able to keep herself entertained until Bhima woke. The woman was still asleep at the moment, her long arms wrapped around her girl's torso. That was what she was, wasn't it? 'Lover' didn't seem appropriate, but Hijil was her girl and Bhima was Hijil's. She was peaceful, her eyes closed and her lips closed and looking happy in their relaxed state. Al those years of frowning had been nothing compared to the joy of finding Hijil.
This peace was not to last.
Atipi, who had been fluffing herself beneath the table, suddenly perked at the sound of a beast's shout out in the jungle. Her eyes went wide and she toddled over to the window, tilting her head this way and that as if waiting for it to happen again. When it didn't she let out a terrible shriek of her own. Bhima startled awake and looked down at Hijil in confusion. What?
Atipi squawked again and the Alkidike woman sighed and pushed herself up on an elbow, blinking sleepily at the creature. "I'm sorry," she said to Hijil, and then called out to the kinfa. "Hey, you. What're you doing?"
Atipi was listening closely. Her sister was out there, she was sure of it! She'd gone wandering off and gotten lost, but she could hear her!
Hijil was not expecting a sound like that out of such a chubby, sweet little bird. She felt adrenaline, bitter and potent, race into her system as she sat up. She smiled weakly at Bhima, apologetic – as if the kinfa's shriek was somehow her fault. Which it certainly wasn't. ”Good morning.” she managed, giving Bhima an awkward kiss on the cheek before standing up gently and going to the window.
Just because the threat wasn't in the room, didn't mean that there wasn't something outside, or so said her wilderness-trained and adrenaline alerted nerves. She ducked out of the window and looked around at the jungle and road around them.
”Nothing.” she said, frowning at Atipi, before turning back to Bhima. Nothing that she could see anyway...
Ath leapt and fluttered a few feet forward before her feet met the ground again. She shrieked a reply, and ran. She shrieked again, as she found the roadway, and again as she found the inn...
Achik managed to catch up and grab her before she found her way to the inn. Achik knew that place – it was full of earthlings, and he wanted his birdy to have no part of their world. Earthlings weren't all bad, but he had reasons to be wary. He wasn't going to lose her.
It took all of Achik's strength to grab the kinfa and drag her away, and he had to land to do it...
But, thanks to her awkward, toddling balance, he eventually succeeded. The kinfa chick landed on her butt and blinked, startled. And then, to the sprite's great distress, she began to wail.
Posted: Thu Feb 12, 2015 5:08 pm
"Mm, good morning." Where Hijil seemed suddenly anxious, Bhima slowly rose to a sitting position and watched the Shifter go to the window and duck away. Hijil was nervey. Maybe it had just been too long since she'd known the safety of a settlement, and it wasn't like there were any nearby at the moment.
"No?" she asked, and as she approached Hijil she heard a loud shriek from outside. It seemed similar to the sound her own green little birdy was emitting, but was it close enough? She was far from a kinfa expert at this point. Atipi cried out again and began to toddle across the room toward the opposite wall. Her head tilted and she waited for another call, and returned it with gusto.
"Do you hear that?" Bhima asked, turning toward the front window. At that moment the shrieking became unbearable, constant and pained. The Alkidike rushed to get her blades and began out of the room and down the stairs. Atipi tried to follow, yelling her own great cacophony. Her sister, her sister! She was right out there! Stairs were hard when you were small, though, so she stood at the top and wailed. Bhima sighed, turned, tossed one blade inside the door and hefted the kinfa under one arm. After a few moments of silence, Atipi cried out again.
They were going to get kicked out with all this noise!
Had she heard it? How could she not?! She stared out the window again, perplexed. Where was it coming from?!
Realizing that Bhima had left to find out, Hijil followed suit. She could hear commotion in the other rooms, even catching a glimpse of Shandi's half awake face peering out at her from the doorway of her family's rooms, but she ignored them.
Hijil managed to catch up to Bhima, searching the brush for the source of the now-constant wailing. It didn't sound like a person, thank the stars, but... ”What is it?!” she exclaimed, more to herself than anything...
Noooo, baby... Achik cooed at his charge, trying to ply her with berries and roots and nuts he had picked up. The kinfa had to calm down, otherwise something big and bad and toothy might come along, and Achik couldn't do very much against a radaku or the worse things that lurked in this place.
Ath continued her wail, sirenlike, before suddenly pausing to listen. Yes! There! The chick fluttered her wings and stumbled back onto her stubby little feet before toddling awkwardly towards the sound. Yes! She had found her sister! She burst from the brush before Achik could catch her, her peeping increasing in volume as she saw, there in some two-leggers arms, her sister! She stood in front of Bhima, her baby crest raised and her wings fanned out around her, and peeped. Very threateningly.
”There!” Hijil said, tensing as the crackle of twigs sounded in the temporary lull. When the murky-colored kinfa chick came out, peeping, she blinked in surprise. ”A kinfa...” she murmured. There weren't wild ones in Jahuar, not that she knew of, so where did this one come from?
Though, she noticed, it looked strangely like the one Bhima held...
Posted: Mon Feb 16, 2015 4:53 pm
Atipi suddenly became a wild wriggling mass that Bhima was unable to control firmly. Her sister was here, right here! Put her down!
The Alkidike grimaced in annoyance and almost didn't notice the angry peeper at her feet. She lifted her foot as if to kick it away but saw how small it was and stepped back instead. Oh look. Another kinfa? She looked to Atipi, and then to the other little one, and back again. Hesitantly she placed her charge on the ground. Atipi hit the ground running and flapped uselessly to her sister, then stopping and abruptly becoming fluffy. Her feet were the only non-puffed bit of her as her feathers stood out with jot. Hello, sister! It was nice to see you again! She cooed softly, eyes squinting.
"Uh-huh," Bhima agreed, turning to Hijil. At least the shrieking had stopped. "Maybe they know each other?" Either that or she had just doomed Atipi to a serious pecking.
Wait! Achik shrieked and darted out of the woods towards his charge, his wings working doubletime as he tried to catch up with her.
And then... And then...
He saw it. A kinfa.
His chimes became insistent, disbelieving, adding to the commotion as he hovered above the two kinfa.
His babies! His babies were together again! He was so happy to see them both safe and sound! He landed nearby, crooning to them as he gave the twolegs a reproachful glare.
They had stolen his baby, and they would not steal either of them. And if they tried... The full force of his spritely might would be upon them.
Ath cooed and puffed up as well, flapping her wings happily. Sister! Sister! Sister! She was so happy, she couldn't stop peeping. She walked forward, awkwardly bumping into Atipi before nosing at her with her beak. Where had she been? Was she all right? It was cold without her, and foodmom was so annoying!
”Uh...” Hijil was a little overwhelmed by all the noise and by the sudden appearance of the very rare sprite. ”It... looks like it...” In fact it looked an awful lot like their meeting only... yesterday? She looked at Bhima. Had it only been yesterday? Their night together had felt far longer...
”I think this might be a reunion...” she murmured uncomfortably, watching the sprite uneasily...
Posted: Tue Feb 17, 2015 5:20 pm
She was not aware that it was happening, but an annoyed grimace crossed Bhima's face. Sprites! She'd never had good experienced with sprites! They were no better than intelligent insects mixed with some especially irritating younglings. They were fickle, they were rude-- she just didn't like them. Her maternal instincts kicked in when the fluttering creature headed toward the kinfa she had grown quote fond of and she straightened her back. It would be best if she didn't have to crush it in her hands like a mosquito, but she damn well would if she had to.
Atipi meanwhile returned her sister's affections, de-fluffing just a bit to reach out and gently groom the other kinfa's neck-feathers. She'd gotten lost and so very hungry! It was okay now, though, as long as she dealt with the handling!
"Maybe," Bhima agreed. She had also placed herself slightly ahead of Hijil as if the broad young woman would need protecting from a tiny sprite or a pair of happy hatchlings. Again it was more instinct than logic. This was definitely one of the more bizarre things to happen in her life.
The dislike was mutual. Achik met Bhima's glare and held it, despite being only about the size of her head, not including antennae. He could mess her up, he could, if she interfered with his babies. That was his thinking, anyway. He would certainly try though. He gave the kinfa a coo and backed up, trying to coax the pair back into the trees, where they would be safe from twolegs.
Ath ignored bugmomma. Bugmomma was annoying. Clearly, though, if Atipi ws hungry, then they should eat! Food was good. She chirped insistently at him, one, imperious. Food.
Then she returned her attentions to her sister. Phew! She smelled of twoleg. Twolegs were big and yucky. Ath tried her best to groom the scent out of Atipi's feathers, but clearly, a bath would have to happen.
She chirped Imperiously at Bugmomma again: Bath. He was good at giving baths, with his funny cup.
But why did Atipi smell of twolegs? Ath had looked for her everywhere with bugmomma, and hadn't found her. She crooned, nuzzling Atipi awkwardly enough to fall forward onto her chest. She'd missed her sister so...
Food? Bath? If that was what would get them to follow him... But... Achik fluttered, still grounded, staring at the twolegs. He was not leaving his babies alone with them. No way.
”Oops!” Hijil exclaimed, chuckling lightly as the slightly striped kinfa chick fell over onto its chest, its little wings flapping to try to get upright again. It was absolutely adorable. She thought they sounded hungry, poor darlings, with all that peeping, and it was not unreasonable to assume that baby creatures were always, eternally, hungry.
She laid a hand on Bhima's shoulder briefly. ”I'll be right back.” she said.
And with that, she turned and went into the store. Shandi and her brother and a man who Hijil recognized as Shandi's father turned from their window viewing area to look at her.
“What's going on out there?”
Shandi's father asked. His expression was unreadable as he looked Hijil over, but she had always been bad at reading faces.
”Baby kinfa.” Hijil said by way of explanation, ”I would like to buy...” she scooped out a bag full of nut, dried fruit, and seed mix from the barrel they were kept in with the bags sold next to it. ”This.” She paid with crystals she had found around the jungle and was soon outside again, showing the bag almost triumphantly to Bhima as the two youthful faces at the window watched the scene with increasing interest...
Posted: Sat Feb 21, 2015 11:37 am
Bhima's attention snapped from fluttering sprite to toppled kinfa in a second's time and she couldn't help but laugh. Aww, the poor thing. Atipi trundled to her sister and peeped reassurances, lacking the hands to help her up, and then turned to bugmama. The two-legs fed her good things! She wasn't ever cold! Two-legs weren't so bad!
When Hijil returned, the Alkidike smiled and gestured to the baby birds still peeping and fussing with one another. She had no intention to giving Atipi up to some little sprite, and the other one would be safer with them too, wouldn't it? She dipped her fingers into the bag Hijil held and crouched, offering the mix out to the kinfa. Atipi immediately turned, waddling over to the green two-leg and trustfully pecking at the seed. She was distracted by her tummy, though still deeply aware that her sister was finally finally back! She'd missed her a lot, yes she had.
Bhima reached out and stroked Atipi's head, eying the striped kinfa. It was safe, see? They were safe.
If Achik is stunned/incapacitated long enough for them to get Atipi and Ath super comfortable, he will give up and possibly go find Nyiim and incomprehensibly spill his sprightly sorrows to him XD
FOOD! Ath peeped happily and was promptly distracted. She may have been slightly wary of the twolegs before, but if they had food, they couldnd't be that bad. Mostly she just wanted the food – Atipi was not allowed to have it all! Soon she was preoccupied with stuffing her feathery face with seeds and nuts, chirping happily. This was good stuff!
Hijil stood over Bhima, beaming at the sight. ”I thought it would be a good idea.” she said, a little shyly, as the chicks devoured whatever Bhima gave to them. ”They... certainly eat a lot.” she murmured, mostly to herself. She was thinking things she would not have dared to think. Not a few months ago, she would not have even considered the possibility of a pet. They were difficult to care for, and Hijil had been alone. That had seemed right, at the time.
But Bhima changed everything, and it was clear that this new kinfa was fated – if such a thing existed – to be with hers. Look at how well they got along, how cute they were together? ”Bhima...” she began, a little haltingly, ”Should we... take that one in?”
This was not good! No! No!
Achik was freaking out, brandishing his currently empty cup like a thimble-sized weapon. No no no! This was wrong! He flew up into the air and did a frustrated twirl in the air before diving at the twoleg pair – mainly at Bhima, the one who dared to handle his babies.
No! He screamed at them, coming at her with his cup, Get away from them!
Hijil's hand moved fast as she snatched the sprite out of the air. ”That's enough.” she said sternly as the little creature struggled in her grasp. It had apparently been brandishing a little wooden thing, which had fallen to the ground, and Hijil crouched to inspect it briefly before putting it in one of the folded pockets of her robe. She focused on maintaining her grip – not so loose that the struggling, spitting, clawing sprite could get out, and not so tight that she crushed the life out of the thing.
Other than that... she was kind of at a loss of what to do with the apparently vicious beast.
”Bhima, what should I...” she indicated the sprite, a look of open uncertainty on her face. She really didn't know what to do with it.
Posted: Wed Feb 25, 2015 10:22 am
Bhima couldn't help but grin. They were a cute little pair, although where they'd come from was still in question. Kinfa weren't supposed to be in the jungle, and they weren't supposed to waddle around like toddlers. If they kept them, they'd have to find a clearing to teach them in. Maybe some day they'd fly away on their own into the wild, but things could be worse.
She'd barely noticed the sprite coming at her before Hijil snatched it out of the air. The Alkidike had only had enough time to move sideways to try and dodge the strike, but it was deemed unnecessary. What was it with that thing? It seemed very protective of the little birds.
"There's no way that thing can take care of two growing kinfa," she replied. It was a bold assumption, but all observations led there. "Let it complain, I bet we could get them inside without much trouble." The seed in her hand was dwindling anyway, so she brushed the remains onto the ground, let the kinfa peck at it a while, and then lifted Atipi into her arms.
No, her sister! For the first time, Atipi struggled violently against Bhima.
"Hey, hey! It's okay! Look." She lowered her again, bringing her to the other's height. "See, it's okay."
DraconicFeline
He followed them to battle, though, remember? xD But then of course he'd be welcome to complain to Nyiim after then as well.
No! No! Her sister wasn't going to go away. No! Ath shrieked and chirped, trying to climb up Hijil's leg to get back to her sister. No! Put her back, put her back, put her... Oh, there she was. She touched beaks with her sister, churring desperately. Don't go away.
Hijil still held the sprite as she looked down at the kinfa trying to scale her mountain of a body. ”... I've... never had a pet.” murmured Hijil, thoughtfully, adoring the feathered little demon already. She let go of the sprite then, having almost forgotten about the little beast anyway and, unafraid of pecks and scratches (she'd had worse), she picked up the kinfa. ”I guess that settles things.” she said, holding the struggling creature at eye level to Atipi. ”Its all right.” she cooed to it, ”Its all right.”
UGH. Achik's wings were scrunched up and sticky from the twoleg's hand. He fell to the ground and pulled himself into a fetal position, reeling from his time being held and glowering at the two twolegs who, it appeared, were very definitely taking his babies away. He wished he was bigger. He really, really did...
Posted: Mon Mar 23, 2015 9:23 am
Aww, look at that! The two kinfa seemed very deeply fond of each other. How could they separate them now? Atipi brushed beaks with her sister, and watched curiously as her sister was lifted as well. Were they going to go together, then? With the two two-legs?
"Neither have I," Bhima admitted. She had been friendly with a spitorog as a kid but he just visited the garden sometimes. This was more than that. This was real responsibility. She couldn't help but feel just a little bad for the sprite laying crumpled on the ground, though.
"Come on," she said, nudging it gently with a toe, "Come inside. We have food and water. They're going to be well taken care of, we'll show you." Certainly better than any half-pint sprite could manage!
Hijil thought that it was just the sweetest thing, how the Kinfa responded to each other.
She and Bhima. The two kinfa. Why did it all make so much sense? The cessation of struggling allowed her to, gingerly, touch Bhima's kinfa on the head, a light stroke. Then she stroked the one she held.
It made sense because they were connected or reunited... was that it? Was that why?
Achik almost took Bhima up on the offer. In fact, his wings still twisted and crushed out of shape, he began to crawl towards her, but the effort was too much for his body and he fell to the side, grieved. He chimed unhappily. Why bother? His babies were going away, and there was nothing he could do about it...
Hijil felt sorry for the small thing.She offered her own hand to the annoyance of her kinfa, and the sprite looked at her with exasperated misgiving: Her hand. Again. ”Come with us. she said gently.
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