mind over matter. (Fox!)

[Cy]

[Fox]

Lea was almost ridiculously overjoyed at the prospect of the stitches in her legs being removed. They itched crazily, made bathing difficult since she couldn't make use of those lovely heated pools (because she wasn't supposed to soak the stitches for fear of infection), and although the scars wouldn't be any prettier, having the silk thread weaving in and out of her legs holding the wounds shut made even rolling up her pants legs to put on her boots something she had to think twice about. They would be out in four days. Lea vowed; the first thing she would do when the medics removed them was make a beeline straight for that lovely rocky pool she had seen just a few minutes walk from the barracks. It would be absolutely heavenly to soak all the deep-seated grime and dust from her skin, and the tawny-rider of some ten days happily lost herself to dreams of hot water and time enough to soak until her fingers went pruny.

As she paced slowly along the garden paths beside her bonded, Eoreph couldn't help the quiet amusement she felt at Lea's unwittingly projected images of water and fragrant herbs and cleanness. The little simourv (who wasn't so little, really) never could quite understand her bonded's obsession with cleanliness; she bathed twice every day already and still it wasn't enough? Yes, Eoreph liked the feel of clean feathers, but too much water soaked into her downy feathers and made her feel heavy and waterlogged, and took a long time to dry. But then again, humans didn't have that problem; they didn't have fur or feathers, and hair dried faster. Eoreph would be glad for her bonded when the sutures that closed her healing wounds came out, but it was more in a way sympathetic to Lea's frustration than anything else. Either way, until they were removed, the tawny wasn't straying far from the girl's side. Who knew what her rider would do without Eoreph to remind her to be careful; she'd probably try and climb a tree or something equally as stupid- or so the simourv thought. Lea, in reality, knew better than to rip a stitch. She'd never hear the end of it if she did.

Comfortable silence existed between the tawny pair, with Lea musing idly on anything and everything, and Eoreph simply enjoying the quiet and the gentle press of her bonded's thoughts. A walking stick still accompanied the girl wherever she went, half to assist in movement and half to shut the medics up. Her left arm was still in a brace; that wouldn't come off for another two weeks, but it was better than the stitches. Neither were really paying attention to anyone outside of their little bubble of solitude until they were almost at the pond on the northern end of the gardens. It was only then that Eoreph, ever the more observant of the two, noticed another presence, a clutchmate and his bonded in the place where they were headed. She sent L'nan a gentle, mental push to make her surface from her thoughts. Mine. There is someone already here.[/color] Lea gave a small, distracted 'hmm' before registering her hatchling's words properly. Then she blinked. Well, it seemed like she was destined never to be able to grab some time alone in this spot. Maybe it was time to find another one. Thank you Eoreph. Maybe we should go say hello?[/b]

Agreement reached, Lea strode forward carefully and turned the corner hiding her fellow winglet- whoever it was- from view, the shyer Eoreph following a little behind her. Deja vu made the tawny-rider smile slightly, though she tried to smooth the amusement from her face, as her brown eyes fell on the man and his red. She had almost expected it to be Ri'ley, but no, this person she had not met. Or, at least, she had not met formally. "Hello." She greeted softly, a pleasant smile creeping across her face. The other winglet had not looked like he wanted company, but Lea was nothing if not stubborn. And she hadn't made the walk all the way up here just to turn around because someone else got here first. "I hope we're not disturbing you." It was polite. And Lea liked to be polite. Better, Eoreph liked her to be polite, even though the hatchling herself was only poking her head shyly out from behind Lea's skirts. A nod and a soft chirrup of greeting was all that came out of her as she viewed her red brother and his rider with brown eyes that skittered away after a first, shy glance. [/size]

[Cy]

[/I][/color] he acknowledged, chirping in return as he moved to stand, considerably larger than his tiny sibling. He moved around His to stand down in front of him instead, so that his future rider would not be forced to sit between him and these newcomers. ‘Please, have you and yours join us. Tell me how you are.’ His voice was kind, welcoming, and there was a confidence in his tone that did not encourage the idea of denying him. Shifting around once more, he moved to lie down, head still up and turned towards their company, but he was at Ze’el’s side once more, putting himself in between his beloved and his sibling with her own beloved.[/size][/ul]

[Fox]

The man wasn't bad-looking, if one were to just consider his features, Lea mused calmly as she met his blue eyes with her own brown ones. He was rugged and distinctly mussed, but not at all hard on the eyes. The only thing that threw a stick into the works was the wary, flat look that lurked behind his gaze. It was odd, L'nan thought, to see such an old, jaded expression on such a young face; he couldn't have been a great deal older than herself. She found it intriguing, as the woman was hardly one to be able to resist a puzzle, and she felt an answering tendril of curiousity rise from Eoreph as the simourv took in her brother's bonded. Slowly, almost reluctantly, the tawny emerged from her position pressed up against Lea's side, to acknowledge her red brother's words. Thank you, Dareph.[/color] She said quietly, dipping her head slightly in the direction of the red. I am fine. And you?[/color] As if those few short sentences had used up her store of words, Eoreph turned again briefly to her bonded-- who had been watching the exchange in mingled amusement and delight-- before returning to the young woman's side. Silently, she curled herself around her bonded's legs, resting the tip of her tail lightly on one thigh. A questioning thought slipped into Lea's mind and the former midwife, well-used to her hatchling's method of silent communication by now, nodded in response.

"Thank you, love," She murmured softly to Eoreph as she slowly, carefully, lowered herself into a sitting position. The man had indicated, with a skilled facial shrug that had made Lea's eyebrows go up, that he did not mind their company all that much, and that meant that L'nan could sit herself down with cheerful disregard for any further discomfort she was causing him. Not a care was given to what the state of her dress would be like after this little jaunt; instead the young woman buried a hand in Eoreph's downy pale brown feathers, her eyes drifting once calmly over the lovely view before they returned again to settle on the man and his red. Dareph and his Ze'el[/color] Eoreph supplied helpfully, receiving a wordless thanks in response. L'nan smiled at the large red hatchling, not really remembering him from the day of the sands, but already predisposed towards liking him by the way he had greeted Eoreph. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Dareph," she offered briefly, before her attention shifted towards the red hatchling's bonded. Beside her, Eoreph settled herself down, her brown eyes following the conversation attentively, but her face tilted slightly away. Absently, her tail curled around Lea's back to rest in her lap.

The winglet hesitated a moment before greeting Ze'el, curious but unwilling to intrude. She also wasn't sure about the best way to go about acquainting herself with this man, since so far he hadn't spoken a word and didn't seem inclined towards small talk. Lea, though, was determined to go through the paces, and set about introducing herself, though with considerably more reserve than she would have with anyone else. "I don't think we've met." She had seen him, of course, in Candidate lessons and at the hatching, but had never spoken with him. He didn't really seem like he liked to talke, anyway. "My name is L'nan. Lea is easier to say, though." The approach she decided to take was one of cheerful politeness. Her brown eyes gleamed with an invitation to smile, laugh, be merry, even as her mouth quirked into a more subdued smile, unable to escape being affected by the apparently dour personality of this Ze'el. Beyond that simple introduction, Lea resigned herself to wait, eyes amused and expectant, to see whether the man would offer his own name or if she would have to drop that Eoreph had already told it to her. Partly, she wanted to make sure that he wasn't actually mute.[/size]

[Cy]

[/I][/color] Knowing that Dareph was the one responsible for their newfound company didn’t comfort the socially inept male in the slightest, though it did encourage him to continue biting his tongue against calling her out on sitting with him without he, personally, inviting her to do so.

With a tilt of his head, Dareph clicked a greeting in the return to the warm welcome presented to him by Eoreph’s L’nan, dipping his head respectfully, as a warrior should when in the presence of a maiden. His warm gaze remained focused on her, the illusion of a smile upon his muzzle-like beak. However, as her eyes turned to Ze’el, he promptly looked away, dropping his gaze and then turning his head to look back to the lake where its contents touched the shore. He was the picture of guarded, his nerves carefully hidden behind a familiar wall.

’Because we haven’t met,’ he wanted to reply, tone condescending and sarcastic, but a sharp whip of Dar’s tail against his legs stopped the retort before it could leap from his tongue. His eyes lowered down to look in the lower corner of his vision, in the direction of where the woman sat without actually looking upon her at all. He urged himself to look over to her as she introduced herself, her own voice feminine and cheery as she continued to address him. He stared at her for a moment, as if expecting more, before he was looking away once more with a single nod of his head. He acknowledged her name, stored it away as one of many useless things that he didn’t really need or want to know, and he remained silent with little intention of replying. Weeks ago, he might have been able to get away with it, but not now that he had Dareph at his side. ‘Give her your name. If we are to be warriors, we must have those we protect at ease with us.’ Blessed with a heightened sense of morality and kindness, Dar could be such a pain in his neck.

For a moment, Ze’el continued to sit in silence, now stewing in confusion. He had several names upon his head now, and he felt like a little kid with a handful of precious stones and no idea of which was good enough to give to someone else. Eventually, he swallowed down his anxiety and looked back into the lower corner of his peripheral, again in her direction without actually having to look at her. “Zeke.” A simple word, nothing more, gruff and quick, but a name nonetheless.

‘I apologize for my bonded’s rudeness,’ Dareph chirped to his sister. ‘he is nervous. I am still working to help him.’[/ul][/size]

[Fox]

L'nan was beginning to think that this man made her former roommate, I'dou, look positively chatty. She had guessed, when she'd observed him, that he would be a tough nut to crack, but all those words from her and all she got in return was 'Zeke'? Whatever happened to a fair exchange? By her side, Eoreph sensed that her bonded was becoming somewhat annoyed, though it would be awhile yet before she let the annoyance slip into her words. She was still making an effort to be nice, even though the effort was becoming more concerted with every word that went ignored. Still, the beginnings of impatience were beginning to form, and Eoreph felt the need to head it off before it grew any worse. Mine, Dareph's is shy. Don't be angry.[/color] She said softly, chirping aloud in an encouraging manner as she nudged her head gently against her bonded's good arm. A shy glance of her own slid over to her red brother, and she nodded her head in acknowledgement. No offense taken, Dareph... I apologise also if Mine says something... Regrettable.[/color] Better to apologise in advance; with the way things were headed Eoreph was sure that L'nan would say something catty eventually, and her brown eyes once again dropped from Dareph's in a simourv equivalent of an embarrassed blush.

Shy, huh?[/i] Lea returned snidely, eyebrows creeping upwards as she caught a sideways glance from the man that she returned unabashedly. I don't see why he needs to be rude, even if he doesn't like to make small talk. I'll try not to lose my temper, though.[/i] She added hastily, at the swell of worry and horror from Eoreph. Lea didn't want to embarrass her bonded by insulting another winglet; but Zeke was treading a very fine line here. Turning her head fully to face him in as pointed a manner as she could muster, the young woman again flashed a polite, friendly smile, neatly ignoring his taciturn demeanour. "Nice to meet you, Zeke. How's winglet life treating you?" Alright, so she had promised Eoreph that she wouldn't lose her temper, but she had said nothing about not deliberately pushing his buttons. Lea had always found it a bit of an amusing pastime to needle and poke and prod a person until they lost their temper, and so far the best reactions had always come from people like Zeke; the strong, silent types.

Normally, Eoreph was a gentle creature who tended to prefer silence to speech. She had come out of the egg knowing what was what and that some things needn't be questioned. The tawny was rapidly learning that her bonded, as much as she loved her, could be both mischievous and somewhat impatient, and more often than not nowadays she ended up playing peacemaker. It was a role that the hatchling was uniquely suited to, of course, with her gentle good nature but generally no-nonsense personality. But it could still be tiresome, especially when it required her talking to others. Eoreph didn't really like talking, after all. Even so, when her brown eyes caught on Dareph's still damp feathers, the tawny's expression turned almost comically aghast. My brother, you were swimming?[/color] She asked urgently, actually standing up and moving over to Dareph's side, concern evident in every line of her body. You could get sick... Remember the Wingletmaster and Canph said not to get our feathers too wet?[/color] The reminder was gently chastising, and Eoreph pressed her beak into the red feathers for a moment as if to be sure that her clutchbrother was not too warm or feverish before backing away a few steps to fix her worried eyes on Dareph and Dareph's bonded. [/size]

[Cy]

[/I][/color] he finally consented, forgiveness in the warmth of his tone.

His eyes narrowed upon her overly friendly question, shooting a sidelong glance in her direction once again, suspicious and uncertain. There was absolutely nothing wrong with her tone, nothing cruel or sarcastic. Lea seemed genuinely polite, immensely sociable in a way that he simply couldn’t imagine being capable of, but she was pointed. Her forwardness would have been splendid if he were anyone else, but he wasn’t and it took him off his guard as he looked away. Shrugged. “Fine.” He muttered, hardly encouraging. He was unable to leave the silence dangling for long before Dareph was once more smacking his legs with the light whip of his tail. ‘Ask her too, Mine.’ The simourv advised, his warm brown eyes focused still on his clutchmate. The pause continued and the man did not move, but, soon enough, he took in a breath as if bracing himself for something. “And you?”

Dareph, meanwhile, perked up as his tawny sibling suddenly stood to come over to him, head tilting curiously once more as he clicked his own concern in response to hers. However, if he could have, he’d have smiled at her chastising. Instead, feelings of warmth filled him as he ducked his head over to hover near her own as she pressed her beak against his damp feathers. He felt fine! She needn’t worry about him, that was his job to do. ‘Do not worry yourself, Eoreph, I was hardly swimming. I discovered mud!’ He exclaimed with an enthusiasm so unlike his usual silence, thrusting a foot between them, his talons digging into the dirt as he lowered his head so he could gesture to the drying mud that still managed to cling to his claws. ‘I like the feel of it,’ he crooned, glancing back up to her. Ze’el, though refusing to move any more than was absolutely necessary, quietly observed the two interacting, perhaps even envious of just how naturally it seemed to come for them.[/ul][/size]

[Fox]

Eoreph nodded resignedly to Dareph's concession, eyes slipping over to rest on Ze'el as she did so. Her brother's bonded seemed so cold and stoic, but in the defensive hunch of his back and the guarded in his otherwise pretty blue eyes bespoke of a wariness that made the little tawny's big heart ache for him, just a bit. It made her wonder what had happened to him that he seemed to view the world with suspicion. She was very, very glad that he had Dareph; Dareph would help his Ze'el in ways that Eoreph and her L'nan could not, no matter how much the chick might wish to. She had been born to be a mother, a confidant, a nurturer, but in this her brother was the best suited to bring Ze'el out of his shell.

In the long silence that followed his response to her bright question, Lea's eyebrows were beginning to draw downwards into a frown. Yes, this man definitely made I'dou seem chatty in comparison, and the young woman hadn't thought that she would find anybody worse than the grayrider had been. Taciturn did not even begin to scratch the surface of this man. But, luckily, Zeke's short question came just as Lea was deciding that the other winglet was just plain rude, and, with a raised eyebrow, the woman revised that opinion. He was trying, at least. "Splendid." She said in response, raising a wry eyebrow at him and making an ambiguous gesture with her good hand that encompassed her three other injured limbs. "Would be better if I could get around faster, of course. Takes ages for me to just get from the barrack to the kitchens in the mornings. Eoreph's been an enormous help, though." Not realising that she was chattering to fill the silence, L'nan shot her simourv an affectionate smile, and the return wave of love that washed over her from the tawny brought a tinge of pink to her cheeks. Vocalising her feelings was not a strong suit of Lea's, though, and she shook her head lightly before turning her attention back to the man beside her. "So where were you from, before you were searched?" She asked curiously, hiding a flash of amusement at this prolonging of a conversation that was plainly uncomfortable for him. In an attempt to make it easier, the young woman averted her eyes from her unflinching scrutiny of him, instead focusing on the gleam of sunlight off of the pond's surface because it was rapidly becoming clear that Ze'el, rude or not, was socially very awkward.

Mud?[/color] Eoreph asked curiously, bending her head also to inspect Dareph's claws. From the pond?[/color] Her curiousity gave way to an almost childlike fascination, so different from her usual shy silences, but very suited to her current age. It was easy to forget that the simourvs had only hatched less than two weeks ago. Lea's amusement at the two chicks was an addition to the pleasure she felt at watching her shy bonded interact with her sibling. So many of the others, Shovaph, for example, had made the tawny shrink away from their forceful personalities; it was nice to see Eoreph let go of her usual reserve for a little while. "I'm sure mud would be very good for your skin." She teased gently, brown eyes sparkling with mirth. "Human females use it as a beauty treatment sometimes; smear it all over their faces." Lea herself had never tried such things, but plenty of the women she had treated extolled the virtues of a good mud mask every now and again. The young woman was simply a bit iffy about placing simple dirt mixed with water anywhere near her face. But she couldn't deny that the wave of disgust and horror that came from Eoreph was almost enough to make her try it, just for kicks.[/size]

[Cy]

[/b] he answered simply, his mind scattering for anything else that he might be able to say and coming up blank. How she was able to continue to speak on mundane answers was beyond him. ‘And ask her too, Mine.’ Dareph advised with another flick of his tail. “And you?” He returned, clearing his throat.

As Eoreph inspected his claws, Dareph stretched them out, from pride and so she could see the mud that stained them better. As L’nan spoke, bringing light to her simourv on the fashionable habits of human women, Ze’el lifted his gaze up from Dareph to look to her face, taking in the features as if attempting to imagine her going through the silly process of applying a mud mask over them. “Do you?” For once, a question delivered entirely of his own accord.

The deep red giant tilted his head with curiosity at this little piece of information fed to them, filled with interest at this concept rather than with the disgust that his sister expressed. He liked the feel of mud on his feet, so maybe human females liked the feel of it on their faces. Though it seemed peculiar that anyone should think they’d look beautiful with mud covering them up. With a wondering croon, he looked down to his claws, picking his foot up so he could stretch his toes out and look for any wet bit that remained. It was mostly dry, but he found some lingering in the spaces between his toes and he moved to scrape it off with his beak, dropping his foot back down as he turned his warm brown eyes over to his already lovely sister. And then he stretched his neck out to touch his beak against hers, playfully smearing the minimal gob. His lighthearted chuckle filled their heads as he softly whistled to her.[/ul][/size]

[Fox]

It wasn't entirely a surprise when Lea found herself carrying the majority of the conversation. She wasn't usually the type to persist in a one-sided conversation; in fact, she tended to find the people who did so annoying, but something about Ze'el made her curious. And curiousity was something that Lea found hard not to indulge in. So she'd poke and prod and generally make a nuisance of herself (or so she saw it as) until either he lost his temper- which would be an achievement in and of itself- or actually said something beyond parroting her own inquiries back at her. But so far he hadn't given her a reason to believe him entirely rude. Perhaps a little inept at socialising, though. "Itnala." She replied with a shrug of her shoulders. "Born there, raised there, never seen anywhere else before Eyrie." Sayaie and the stories of the first human settlement on Pohono had been a wonderful story as Lea was growing up, and she hoped to one day visit the place. Eoreph, aware of her bonded's thoughts in a slightly distracted way, assured her gently. Wait for me to grow, Mine. Then we'll go together.[/color] Travel was no longer such an unattainable concept because L'nan had Eoreph now.

The winglet had been so distracted by her amusement at the two chicks that Ze'el's question surprised her. She hadn't really been expecting any sort of reaction to her words from him; thus far, Lea could probably count the number of words he'd said to her on both hands. But, well, she had walked into that one. Mouth starting to twitch into an involuntary grin, Lea bit her lip ineffectually to prevent the laugh that was bubbling up at the idea of using a mud mask. "No." She admitted, her voice strangled with suppressed hilarity, "I never really believed that putting dirt and water on my face would improve my complexion." Brown eyes narrowed at Zeke in mock suspicion, the effect somewhat spoiled by the smile that a raised hand didn't manage to hide completely. "Why? Have you ever tried it?"

Eoreph could not understand the compulsion of human females to apply things on their faces. The tawny did not see the point in spending time and effort in order to project a false image or improve self-esteem. Surely it was the person's heart that mattered, wasn't it? L'nan could sense her simourv's confusion, and just smiled, shaking her head and mentally promising that she would explain later. Females sometimes did silly things to get others to notice them; human nature was just like that. Thus, the little tawny had almost forgotten about Dareph in her musing, until suddenly her vision was filled with red and something cold smeared onto her beak. Her reaction was to freeze, surprised by the sudden cold, smooth sensation of mud against her beak. Her eyes widened as she tried to see the strange substance, the effect coming off somewhat cross-eyed, making her bonded giggle. Then, her wide brown eyes rose to fix Dareph with a slightly petulant look before, quick as a flash, the tawny snaked her head forwards to return the favour, smearing a short brown streak of mud onto the feathers right beneath Dareph's eye. When she moved back calmly, there was no mistaking the air of smugness she radiated. By this time, Lea had already burst out laughing. [/size]

[Cy]

[/I][/color] ”No.” He bit out, conceding to his Dareph and engaging her still further.

Dareph was in a strangely lighthearted mood despite the dark cloud that continued to linger over his perpetually broody bonded. With spirits still lifted by his splash among the lake shallows, he looked fondly upon his sister with the streak of mud sitting discreetly upon her already earthy coloured face. He tilted his head, whistling and kind laughter moved through him. He was caught by surprise when she lashed back out to smear the mud upon her beak across his own face, his eyes wide and blinking dumbly for a moment before ducking his head down to try to scrub the streak off with his leg. As he lifted his head back up to look to her, it was clear that he’d failed in the effort, but that was hardly worth his attention as he fluidly moved to his feet, snaking out to nose his beak against her side, exhaling sharp breaths as if in the attempt to tickle his sibling! As Eoreph’s laughed, a sweet and bright sound, Ze’el finally turned his head to look back to the antics of the chicks that were clearly acting their age. Briefly glancing up to the other woman and then out to the lake, stretching his arms out even straighter in front of him, hand sliding down from holding his rest to hold the back of his other hand, before he was turning his head to look back to the chicks, his jaw no longer tense.[/ul][/size]

[Fox]

L'nan immediately knew she'd said something wrong when Ze'el's face went from blandly neutral to tense and suspicious. It was such a sudden change, following on the heels of what, to her, had been a completely innocuous attempt at teasing, that the young woman was left quite at a loss. Her confusion played clearly over her face; Lea tended to be the type of person who wore her heart on her sleeve for the most part, only resorting to a bland mask of cheerfulness when the emotions reached a dangerously low stage. Ze'el's brooding temperament was something that she could somewhat understand; she didn't know his history and therefore could not judge. But it was frankly amazing that this man managed to keep it up all the time.

His blunt negation of what had meant to be a joke stung, just a bit. Despite that, Lea leaned forward slightly, trying to catch a glimpse of a face that was turned slightly away from her. Her own brows were furrowed, all traces of mirth gone, and she was, quite frankly, perplexed. "I'm sorry, did I say something wrong?" She asked, her voice almost uncharacteristically hesitant. Thin-skinned had been added to the rapidly growing list of characteristics that she was compiling about Ze'el, and so far it was one of the most potentially dangerous. L'nan didn't really know what to do if she couldn't tease a person. It was the easiest way to diffuse a tense or uneasy situation, and that was exactly what she would have labeled this as. Tense and uneasy, despite the amusing antics of their simourvs. "I didn't mean anything by that; it was just a joke. Funny. Ya know?" The smile that she shot him this time was laced with a slightly awkward undercurrent, and Lea shrugged her shoulders lightly before shifting her gaze to the hatchlings. If he really didn't get it, there was nothing to be done, but honestly, she didn't even know why she was still trying.

Dareph![/color] Eoreph squawked, twisting sideways to escape his reaching beak. Her voice squeaked a bit on his name as her laughter filled their minds like brightly-coloured bubbles. Playfully, she swatted at him with her tail as she darted around him, using her smaller size to her advantage. The little tawny had well and truly let go of her shyness and apparent maturity for once, as she caught Dareph's red feathers gently in her beak. She tugged lightly, before darting away, slipping around Dareph's like a very brown blur to hide behind L'nan. The woman raised bemused eyebrows at her tawny, before raising her hands as if to say 'I'm not getting involved in this', though a smile lurked at the corners of her mouth. The look that Eoreph shot from behind her bonded was one of cheerful mischief, as if she dared her larger red brother to come and catch her, if he could.[/size]

[Cy]

[/b] He offered quietly, his rough voice barely above a whisper as he looked back to the lake. Silence settled for a moment, no convenient words of advice slipped into his head, and a refreshed sense of awkwardness curled up in his guts. ”I just ain’t… real good… with…” He stumbled through, holding his palms facing upwards for a moment as he sat at a loss for the right way to phrase just what he wasn’t good with. He wasn’t good with a lot of things. Self-conscious, he tensed his jaw once more and refused to continue with the effort.

Eoreph moved out of the red’s immediate reach, but he didn’t allow this to discourage him as he stretched out further with the hope of continuing his version of tickling. The way she squawked and said his name was nice and funny. The swat of her tail caught him square on the muzzle though, stunning him into a momentary pause and, before he knew it, she was clear on the other side of him. She was considerably smaller than him and, as such, she was much quicker. Now it was his turn to squawk in surprise as his soft downy feathers received a tug, his head whipping around as he pulled away from her. She was retreating from him! Before he could think twice, he pursued her, racing around His before he was suddenly blocked by the woman as his tawny clutchmate hid behind her. Tilting his head, warm brown eyes watching the midwife gesture with a laugh, he ducked his head down as he searched for the best route of pursuit – and then he lunged forward, moving to dart around the injured woman from the left before feinting to go to the right in the hope of cutting his sister off.[/size][/ul]

[Fox]

A whole variety of responses flashed through L’nan’s mind in response to what had to be the longest sentence she’d yet heard Ze’el speak. She bit her tongue on letting any of them escape; some were humorous, others were gently mocking, all were sarcastic. Somehow, the young woman didn’t think that the man would appreciate an attempt at humour, if his reaction to her jest about the mud mask was any indication. Even so, having to censor her words like this could get tiresome very, very fast. It was so strange and inconceivable to her how this man seemed to constantly jump at things that were not there. He took offense where none was meant and generally seemed to think that everything she said had a double meaning. Couldn’t a girl make a joke now and again?

A frown creased the skin between her brows as brown eyes lingered curiously over the human puzzle seated in front of her. ”I understand…” She offered slowly in response to his unfinished justification, forcefully clapping a lid down on all the impulsive retorts that bubbled up. Wasn’t good with what? Words? People? A little thing called teasing? For a long moment Lea was silent, letting the different options present themselves before her eyes as to how she would deal with this unusual situation. In all her eighteen years, she had not yet met a person who was as touchy as Ze’el. She wondered what had shaped him to become the man that he was; distant and brooding and dark. People weren’t born that way; life made them so. ”I… say things without thinking sometimes.” She admitted, a sheepish smile flitting across her lips before resuming her serious look. In the back of her mind, Eoreph’s calm reassurance and encouragement pushed her onwards to take a deep breath and try again.

”Let’s try this again, hmm?” Lea offered, folding forward so that she was almost ling along her braced knees, arms wrapped loosely around them. The smile she shot him this time was more tentative than previously, but her brown eyes were merry. ”My name is L’nan, bonded of Eoreph and I was a midwife in Itnala. You are Ze’el of Red Dareph, and you did I-don’t-know-what and are from Sayaie. I do not subscribe to the belief of mud masks in improving the skin and neither do you because it is a silly notion invented by women with too much time on their hands and we both generally know better than that.” The grin that crossed her face as she spoke had slowly become far more natural as she progressed. It invited him to smile, laugh, and maybe throw off the dark cloud that seemed to hang perpetually over his head. ”We’re clear on this, yes?”

Eoreph leaped backwards as her red brother seemed to rush at her, her enjoyment of this game rolling off her in waves as she dashed around Hers to the right. Thus far, Dareph was the only sibling that she found did not make her shy or awkward. He was gentlemanly, kind, and patient enough that her lack of speaking didn’t seem to bother him. But, well, considering his bonded, Eoreph was fairly sure that Dareph was used to it. Chirping excitedly, the tawny did not expect to find her vision filled with dark red feathers as, a second later, her headlong dash was brought to a sudden stop as she barreled straight into her clutchmate.

[Cy]

[/b] he muttered, glancing down to his hands as he offered the first bit of personal information that had not been actively requested. He shrunk against the sensation of pride offered from Dareph, but it felt good all the same.

Eoreph was a pretty thing as she laughed and hopped about, enjoying herself so fully rather than tucking away shyly behind her bonded. Warmth filled him as he played with her, tickling and chasing, deep laughter coming from him as he feinted to the left before moving to cut her off at the right. Surprise brought him to the ground as she barreled into him, though part of him had honestly expected her to do just that. Somehow, the force of the collision caught him off his guard and knocked him over easily, making him stumble and fall. Still down on the ground, his good will was instantly replaced with strong concern as he snaked his head out towards her with a series of curious clicks. She’d run into him with such force that guilt promptly bubbled as he took responsibility for his actions, whuffling against her feathers as if he might attempt to tickle her again if she turned out okay.[/ul][/size]