quiet evenings. [open~]

[Fox]

It was decided that the gardens were no longer a suitable place for L'nan to go to be alone. For all that they were supposed to be a peaceful place, it seemed that whenever the young woman ventured to take the long walk up to the pond, there was always someone already there. It wasn't that she disliked the company, exactly; it was just that there were times when she just wanted to enjoy silence. Every day, there was noise and chaos and people; even for sociable Lea, there was a limit to the amount of human interaction she could take all at one go, and so far that limit had been reached and surpassed. Two weeks of not being able to move fast enough to avoid people had resulted in Lea becoming distinctly cranky, and now that the stitches had finally (finally, finally) come out of her calves, she was using her newly regained mobility to the max. Of course, the first thing that the girl had done was go and jump into a heated bathing pool to soak for about an hour or so. That had been in the morning; now, evening had streaked the blue sky with orange and red, and the winglet was enjoying her first free day with full mobility restored. And how was she doing so, you might ask? By doing absolutely nothing.

The tawny-pair were lounging in comfortable silence by the edge of the canyon's rock pond, viewed this time from a position pressed nearly against the canyon wall. Not far from where L'nan's head rested on Eoreph's tawny flank, water trickled from cracks in the stone to pour into the natural recess in the canyon bed, the soft trickling sound proving almost musical and infinitely soothing. Eoreph had already been lulled into a light doze by the sound and the fading light, encouraged by the satiated sensation of a full belly. The tawny had grown, in the two weeks since the hatching, and her head was already level with Lea's own. Still, she remained small enough that positions like what they displayed now were still possible; Eoreph curled in a soft U-shape around Lea, her head resting by the woman's hand and Lea's head propped on her flank. The tawnyrider herself was gazing dreamily up at the red-streaked sky, Eoreph's sleepiness affecting her own. After the bath, she had left her sodden hair unbound, uncaring of whether she would catch a chill because of it, and the riot of wavy brown hair had dried madly, curling this way and that. She didn't care, though. It was enough that she had had the first proper bath in weeks, and that she had the choice of whether or not to jump or skip or run at full tilt from one end of the canyon to another if she so wished.

Absently, she dropped one hand to trail in the cool water. The pair were perched so close to the rim of the pool that Lea didn't even have to stretch. The book that rested open on her chest, proof of the existence of an actual goal when they had come out to the pond that afternoon, was ignored now; she had gotten through a few chapters before Eoreph's sleepiness had nearly drawn her own eyelids shut. Now, she hummed softly to her simourv, both the picture of absolute contentment and in her doze Eoreph shifted to press her beak into Lea's arm, snuffling sleepily. But the young woman had had her fill of silence; she wasn't going to go actively searching for someone to chat with but, she mused, she wouldn't take it amiss if someone she knew were to arrive. Goodness knows she'd always had trouble finding some time away from the other winglets. Only when she was idly looking forward to some company, though preferably of the peaceful sort, did they all decide to disappear. It figured.

[crow]

The end of the day found the new green pair taking a leisurely stroll through the grounds of the Eyrie. Well, R’ths was walking. Caidiph, as usual, was running a few paces ahead of Hers, happily chasing a large blue butterfly that was her current subject of interest. Dashing after the insect down the pathway, the green paid next to no heed to her surroundings, having had tripped over several times already. “Watch where you’re going, Caidiph. You’re going to fall again.” The second half of her sentence had been more of a statement than a warning. The girl only sighed as she kept a wary eye on her young simourv, after spending almost two weeks with Caidiph, R’ths was now used to the energetic creature and her playful antics. Over that period of time, she had learned that the best way to put up with green was to simply wait for her to tire out. Sure it would take a long time before Caidiph even begins to tire out, but at least that method isn’t as draining as it would be if she had opted to scold the simourv into behaving herself. Whenever that happened, Caidiph would start to sulk and in order to fix that situation R’ths would have to promise to play a game. The final outcome? A happy and contented little simourv and a weary and exasperated blonde. And so, it is proven once again that patience is the best.

Lost in her own thoughts, R’ths did not notice when Caidiph – who was still pursuing the butterfly – barreled through a cluster of bushes. The young woman only finally snapped back to reality at the sound of a loud crash of something hitting the gound along with the distinct sound of branches snapping and leaves being crushed. “Hey, Caidiph!” Obviously concerned for the well being of the little simourv, she ran towards the source of which the crash had sounded from. As R’ths rushed to find her simourv, she had feared the worse. As powerful a creature that the small green will someday grow to be, she was still just a baby. A small, idiotically energetic, fragile little baby who is not in the least prone to injury from a fall. That fear only intensified as she felt a jolt of pain coursing through her, seeing as R’ths herself was free of any injuries, she could only conclude that she was feeling the pain that Caidiph was feeling at the time. “Caidiph where are you?” She hissed as she frantically searched for her simourv, and thankfully it didn’t take long before she found her near the canyon’s pond.

“There you are! Are you okay? Where does it-” Her words were cut short, the relieved expression on her face turned dark and her mouth twitched in an angry smile at what she found. There, sitting before her, completely safe and uninjured was Caidiph. Sad and mourning after the crushed blue insect. The simourv’s chocolate coloured eyes looked teary as she stared up at her bonded, her ears drooping in a forlorn manner. Mine, it’s not playing anymore. Why did it stop playing with Caidiph? At her simourv’s words, R’ths left eye twitched and the young woman had to remind herself to breathe and calm down. When she next spoke, the blonde was smiling, but her voice was dripping with acid that could be heard even as she let out a low chuckle. “I see. So, my dearest little Cai. Are you trying to tell me that I ran all the way here, frightened out of my mind for your well being, only to find that the pain you felt was that for a butterfly that died?”

More than just a little bit unnerved with the way Hers was acting, and the fact that she called her Cai, something she did only when she was especially upset, Caidiph did the first thing that came to mind. She ran. Desperate to escape the wrath of her rider, the small green sprinted along the pond in search of a place to shelter. It wasn’t long before she spotted a familiar pair lounging near the edge of the pond, Caidiph recognized them instantly as Eoreph and her rider. Eoreph! Making a beeline for the two, the smaller green all but dove behind her clutch sister and her bonded, using them as a shield from her own. With a brief glance at the tawny pair, Caidiph childishly and pleadingly broadcasted, Hide me.

[Kilnarak]

The air was deliciously cool and the sunset vibrantly beautiful, painting the sky fiery hues near the horizon. Soaring lazy, clipped circles about the Eyrie's canyons, Muraaph watched it with interest - she had seen the sun set before many times, but it hadn't ceased to intrigue her. The green was happy enough to watch the sun sink, time and time again, although perhaps she was a bit less-happy now, as Hers was not there to watch with her. A're was away, doing his own things for the early evening - and while she occasionally sent questioning tendrils of thought out to him, Muraaph didn't interfere. It was rare enough that the greenpair had a night off - although truthfully, tonight they didn't; they had drawn the later watch shift for the night - and Muraaph couldn't begrudge her rider for wanting to enjoy it. She could, however, begrudge the gambling den which he had gone off to for not being large enough to accommodate a simourv.

She made another lazy circuit about the Eyrie, craning her head back and to the side to watch the sky as she drifted lower - she shared her memories and visions of the sunset with Hers absently, only half aware as she did so, and warbled softly to herself as she felt her A're's muted reply: a mix of affection and a hint of annoyance (it was hard to concentrate on cards when his head was being filled with pretty pictures!) Muraaph was distracted from her observations, however, as something below caught her interest. Initially it was just a feeling, picking up a brief empathic cry of sorrow, but that drew her sharp gaze downward and she ceased her circling, bringing herself to a hover above. The green watched as a small darting shadow jetted along the edge of the pond and into another pair of shadows near the canyon wall. They were hatchlings?

Oh! she warbled again, projecting a brief excited surge of thought out to her (by now somewhat confused) rider. Muraaph folded her wings into a gentle glide, slowly making her way downward to land at the edge of the pond. She cawed a greeting with her descent, as well as projected brightly: Hello! Hello little ones! The green chirped brightly as she landed, her ears pricked forward with excitement as she lowered her head to their level. She had only been able to see them so close at the hatching, at the feast! She hadn't actually been able to speak to any of them! And they were so small! So much smaller now that she saw them up close! She warbled softly as she spied at least one of their humans - and while she did not see the other, she heard her approaching. And hello Theirs! It is very pretty tonight, isn't it?

Muraaph sniffed delicately at the tawnypair and the little green hiding behind them - trying her best not to alarm any of them. Her tail twitched excitedly behind her, splashing now and then in the pond itself. After a moment of holding her awkward pose, standing with her head lowered, Muraaph decided that it was uncomfortable and instead lowered herself to her belly, still holding her head near to the ground. If simourvs could smile, she would have been - as it was her eyes were wide and glinted happily in the fading light. You are very small, aren't you? Do you want to play? I have a ball! Mine made it! But oh... I think it is up in our Eyling,[/color] her ears drooped slightly as she realized this, although they didn't stay that way for long. There were other ways to play! Like rustling leaves and pouncing! Or chasing things!

[Fox]

Eoreph's dreaming mind lay just beyond L'nan's consciousness; a faint flickering reel of bright, fuzzy colours coupled with a general feeling of comfort and contentment that lingered in the back of her mind. It was partly the source of the sleepiness that coaxed her eyelids shut against the orange- and red- streaked sky. The pair had been occupying this little nook for almost an entire afternoon; at one point the sun had been directly overhead, warming the tawny's feathers and shining harshly down on Lea's skin. There was no doubt that come tomorrow she would wake with a blazing red sunburn, but the discomfort of stinging, peeling skin was worth the day just spent outdoors. It always was, in her book. The young woman had just given into the temptation of shutting her eyes, just for a moment, when suddenly a loud, excited cry tore through her mind and Eoreph's. In tandem, they both jolted into wakefulness, their sleep-befuddled minds automatically reaching to each other for answers that neither had. The source of the cry was apparent soon enough, though, as a bright green and yellow blur streaked past L'nan to huddle behind the much larger tawny. Hide her. Hide who? Twin sets of brown eyes turned on the little green simourv and, belatedly, the former midwife recognised R'ths' bonded, green Caidiph.

Her simourv, who had shot instantly to alertness, was not as slow to recognise her clutchsister and Eoreph turned first to shield the green from the perceived danger before looking around herself. From what, Caidiph?[/color] The tawny asked, as Hers blinked at the green in mild confusion. Their thoughts echoed along the same path; where was R'ths? Surely she wouldn't leave her simourv alone... Especially not since Caidiph had a tendency to be rather enthusiastic in her play. "Caidiph, where is R'ths? Did you leave her behind?" L'nan asked curiously, pushing herself into a sitting position, one hand rubbing tiredness from her eyes as the other tried to smooth her rat's nest of hair into some semblance of order. The tawnyrider didn't know the other girl very well, but she had seemed nice enough when they'd met at the hatching. And, well, she had been looking forward to some company. It could have been a lot worse.

It was then that a large shadow seemed to pass overhead and both Lea and Eoreph looked up in time to see an adult simourv, a green, come in to a neat landing a little ways away. The young woman's eyes widened slightly, nervous, as the adult green's voice echoed in her head. She did not know this simourv, or at least she didn't think she did. There were quite a few greens in Eyrie. Muraaph, Mine.[/color] Eoreph provided as she stretched and stood, much to Lea's relief. The tawny, for all that she spoke little and was very shy, was quite aware of the people and simourvs around her. It wasn't the first time that a name had been provided where one wasn't known. "It is very lovely indeed, green Muraaph. What brings you out at this time of evening?" She returned amicably, standing to greet the elder simourv along with Eoreph. The green towered over them all, and it was strange for Lea to think that eventually her bonded would far surpass Muraaph in size. Eoreph was a tawny, after all. The young woman could hardly imagine her (comparatively) little simourv ever growing that big, much less bigger. As she spoke, Eoreph dipped her head and chirped a shy greeting towards Muraaph. Hello.[/color] The chick did not respond to the queries about wanting to play, partly because she was not sure how to. Instead, she simply sat back on her haunches silently, tail snaking around to wrap around her bonded's legs.[/size]