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Post by lonesoul on May 4, 2009 20:11:01 GMT -6
Redlock just laughed when the hawk got angry at his comment and watched it fly away. He was still smiling till he realised Darkscale was watching him and it quickly vanished. He was beginning to get more comfortable in the situation when the two birds flew off to hunt but he never relaxed fully. When Darkscale was telling him of his past, Redlock couldn't help but growl at the mention of humans. He had never met any himself, but the rumours he had heard were enough to make him hate them. After Darkscale was finished with his tale, Redlock felt uncomfortable, having never really learned how to show sympathy he just stood there and let out a small whine which turned into a barky cough at the end. Redlock felt stupid and uncomfortable, so he puffed his chest out and tensed and relaxed his muscles.
He was thankful that Darkscale moved on from the subject and Redlock wasn't about to bring it up again. At the mention of the hawk's behaviour, Redlock just smirked, "Yes, if she didn't have wings and I could be bothered, she wouldn't be alive." For once, he peeled his golden eyes from the snake and looked up to see the two birds high in the sky. In truth, Redlock would have loved to be able to fly, to soar above the clouds and leave all his troubles behind; but then again, he loved being a wolf, even a half wolf, and wouldn't trade it for the world.
Redlock broke from his thoughts when Darkscale offered him the mouse. He looked down to see Darkscale pointing at the entrance of the hole. Redlock just nodded and circled to the side and lay flat on the ground so the mouse wouldn't see him. He waited while the mouse was deliberating whether or not it was safe. Slowly the mouse crept out of its hiding place, Redlock waited patiently. The mouse sniffed the air tentatively and it could sense to two predator's presence nearby. Just as the mouse was about to turn back and hide again Redlock leapt up and battered the mouse with his left paw, sending the small figure flying across the ground a few meters away. Before the poor little creature could even stand, Redlock pounced again, this time cupping the mouse in his front paws. He chuckled as the mouse tried to squirm, but to end its misery Redlock swiftly bit down on its body and all movement from the mouse stopped instantly. Redlock angled his body so he could better see the snake and watched Darkscale while he devoured his meal.
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Post by Shadowcat on May 7, 2009 13:31:07 GMT -6
At Bright Eyes' first sentence, Alanjeh was about to make a sharp remark, but stopped herself. She realized he was trying to apologize. She had got most of the anger out of her system and was feeling calmer now. And with every word, this bird made her more curious. She had heard other young creatures become angry, and then straighten up and apologize, but something about the way the eagle did so was different. No, she couldn't get angry again, unless of course he presented her with an extremely good reason. She wanted to get to know him, to see what it was about him that was so interesting.
As she glided on the wind, Alanjeh returned her focus to the sky in front of her as she thought of the right words to say. Instead of her usual "apology accepted" remark, as a way of agreeing that the other was wrong and she was right, she chose nicer words.
Alanjeh looked over at Bright Eyes with her bright orange eyes. "A traveling companion, huh?" She asked casually. "That can be arranged." She gave what was supposed to be a casual smile, though it looked strangely like a smirk, only without the deadly look that had earlier flashed across her eyes. "After all, being alone for too long can be awfully boring," she said, returning her eyes to the sky in front of her, then down to the ground in search of prey. "I'm Alanjeh."
Having a fellow raptor to travel with did sound much more interesting than her usual boring life, even if he was quite childish. Perhaps it could be enjoyable to have a friend. Now let's not go that far... The sharpie corrected herself. But... maybe in the future.... As she thought about it though, she realized she had never really had a friend or companion to travel with. Ever since she left her parent's home, she'd been on her own. She tried to imagine how things would be different. Someone to talk to, someone to end her boredom, maybe someone to have fun with and enjoy the company of. It was all such a foreign concept, but sounded interesting, nonetheless.
"Perhaps if you take up resident here in Sky Valley our paths could cross much more often," Alanjeh said, trying to hint at a more constant traveling companion, rather than the "now and then" way she felt Bright Eyes had replied. But no way was she going to come right out and say it.
Movement beneath her caught the hawk's attention. A group of three sparrows flew near the ground below, chirping to each other happily. Alanjeh took everything into consideration. They seemed not to be aware of the predatory birds above them, and they didn't look that fast. If she could dive at the right angle, she might be able to catch one, but flying creatures were much harder to catch out in the open. Most sharp-shinned hawks preferred to surprise their prey, but with the wide open area here, that was a little difficult. Alanjeh had adapted to catching her prey from precise dives, but that tactic didn't always work, especially on birds. She much preferred the taste of non-venomous snakes anyway, and they were much easier to catch. However, with Bright Eyes' closest friend being a cobra, she didn't think that was a wise idea. She could either keep looking for easier to catch prey, or try the sparrows. She made her choice quickly.
Her eyes locked on one sparrow, that seemed identical to the others, Alanjeh flew forward a moment longer, then, she dipped into a dive. She rocketed down from the sky, straight for her prey. As she neared the songbirds, they spotted the hawk and fearfully tried to change course and fly to safety. But Alanjeh was much closer now. As she neared the feathered animal, she pulled up and extended her talons. The sparrow evaded her grasp, but with deep scratches to one of it's wings. Turning her head to the side, Alanjeh snapped out with her sharp beak, feeling satisfaction as her jaws closed around the sparrow's neck.
By now, it was too late for the hawk to pull up and fly away to a safer place to eat her prey. Alanjeh flapped her wings, coming to slightly awkward landing on the ground. It wasn't the most graceful, but it wasn't clumsy, either. As soon as she landed, she took off again, flapping over to a tall rock that sat on the top of near by hill. She landed on it and folded her wings as she dropped the limp body in front of her. She then turned her orange eyes back to the sky, curious as to whether or not Bright Eyes had tried to get a sparrow as well, or if he was waiting for larger, easier to catch prey.
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Post by Darkscale on May 8, 2009 15:22:14 GMT -6
Darkscale Redlock had snatched the mouse from his hiding place and had started eating it before Darkscale could recoil himself all the way. It was swift attacks like these that got his blood flowing, never before had any animal been snatched from its safe place and devoured in front of him in the time it took the great snake to wrap himself up in a ball of coils. The sight was interesting to say the least, and the repositioning of his body so that he faced the snake was not at all intimidating, if that was what Redlock had been going for. But Darkscale didn’t think that was the wolf’s intentions, instead, he was sure that the canine had made that move in order to watch Darkscale for any signs of deceit. It bothered him though, that Redlock was so cautious around him and Bright Eyes, and nether had made it clear through their actions that they wished any harm on the powerful canid. Though it was not the right treatment of the two in Darkscale’s mind, he let it slide in that he knew the wolf had a very good reason for his actions. “Good? I often find that mice taste better than birds or other snakes...Not sure why though” he said, his head resting now on the highest of his coils, his tail was stuck up through the middle of his body, and hung out much like the rattle on a Rattlesnake does. The sun was starting to set though the light was still coming off bright. Soon it would be dark and the serpent would grudgingly start his search for a hiding place, quite sure that his feathered comrade would have already found a good spot to roost in long before then. “So, where are you from? Do you have a pack that you go to?”. Darkscale hoped that Redlock would be more open now that his belly was full, but he didn’t count on it. Bright Eyes
Bright eyes smiled at the sharpie and gave her a curt nod that was muted by the fact he was flapping his wings. “Nice to officially meet you Alanjeh, as you know already, I’m Bright Eyes...I was named that way because my mother returned from a hunt and found me hatched, and all she could see of me in the dark were two bright and alert eyes. Or so I remember, not that one can trust my memory, seeing as it was so long ago.”. He flapped a few more times to gain more height and pulled himself back when Alanjeh dove toward a group of sparrows. The grace and speed at which she executed the maneuver made Bright Eyes breath catch in his throat. If I could fly like that, nothing could get away from me... He thought, as he positioned himself for an attempt at one or both of the sparrows that had survived. The two left formed up again and watched the hawk below them feed on their friend, completely oblivious to the large bird now level with them. Bright Eyes thought about how the hawk had grabbed her prey and figured that his approach would be stupid and fruitless, seeing as the birds were level with him and had the lead. He flared his wings to slow up a bit, then pulled up and returned to a much more satisfying height. The sparrows noticed his shadow and looked up, but didn’t try to avoid him. He was after all going away from them, and they were much more worried about the successful hunter below them. The eagle circled the two birds, and glanced down at Alanjeh, who was looking up at him with a curious air about her. This forced Bright Eyes to react, mostly because he was in the presence of a female, but secondly because he was hungry and the sight of a smaller bird of prey getting a meal and Bright Eyes, being a member of a species that is known for its hunting skills, not getting anything made him mad. He dipped his head toward one of the fleeing birds and angled his wings for a spiral dive. It was successful, and he was soon pelting in the direction of his prey at an alarming speed. Just as he thought he was going to past up the birds and end up empty taloned again, his instincts kicked in and forced his legs to shoot out as if they had been spring loaded. Both feet touched a bird, each having one in its grip, but only one could be captured and the other soon escaped and fell to the ground as fast as Bright Eyes. That bird hit the ground and bounced, the other stayed in his grasp and chirped in protest of his being held prisoner by the vicious eagle. Bright Eyes landed on the free foot and let the cupped one drag to slow him down. Then he walked on it like it was a peg leg until he found a log to hop onto. The bird in hand was still fussing, while the one who had crashed and burned, remained silent and unmoving a few feet away. Ducking down so that his beak brushed against the captive sparrow, Bright Eyes ended its noise with a swift bite to the head, then proceeded to pluck the tiny body of all its feathers....This meal was going to be enjoyed to the fullest, the other sparrow, if still there when Bright Eyes finished with this one, would soon meet the same fate. He kept a good lookout for trouble while he plucked the feathers in beakfuls, spitting them out on the ground with quick head jerks. Soon the sparrow was bare and bloodied, and Bright Eyes dug in.
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Post by lonesoul on May 8, 2009 23:58:23 GMT -6
Redlock was halfway through finishing the remains of the mouse when Darkscale spoke again. He gave a slight smile at the remark and added, “Mice are more of an appetizer, but they seem to be the only thing around here.” Once Redlock had finished with the mouse he stretched his muscles and lay on his stomach, letting his bloody tongue loll out the side of his mouth. After a meal Redlock always grew weary, although usually when he eats he doesn’t have company, so instead of casually resting he remained vigilant.
“So, where are you from? Do you have a pack that you go to?”
At this next remark his jaw snapped shut and muscles tensed slightly. He was visibly uncomfortable. Redlock’s paws shifted in the dirt and diverted his gaze to the sky, “I don’t really come from anywhere.” He glossed over his dark history with that remark and proceeded to do the same with the next, ”No, no. I don’t belong to a pack. I steer clear of other wolves and they do the same with me.” Redlock looked back at the serpent, ”But I do have a place where I usually spend the night.” Looking back up it was clear the sun was threatening to disappear again and the luminous moon preparing itself to claim the sky. He didn’t venture very far from his resting place today so it was only a short trek over the hill in the distance. ”I suppose your bird friend will be coming back and you will find a place together,” he inquired with faint curiosity, stretching his hind legs out the back the way puppies sometimes sleep. He was quite interested in where the two would spend the night, but his eyes never revealed his curiosity and his body language never gave anything away.
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Post by Shadowcat on May 9, 2009 14:20:54 GMT -6
Alanjeh watched Bright Eyes curiously as he started into a spiral dive in pursuit of the sparrows. She only watched a moment before an amused smirk crossed her face as she turned back to her food. She started plucking the feathers a few at a time while she kept an eye on the young eagle. Looks as if he's trying to show off, she thought. Such an odd way to catch prey, she thought, referring to the way he dived. She had half expected him to look for something else to eat. A sparrow didn't seem much for a bird that size.
When Bright Eyes started hoping about, a sparrow in his clutches, Alanjeh nearly choked on the feathers in her mouth as laughter erupted from her throat. She quickly spat to rid her mouth of the feathers, coughing and laughing as she did so. Unlike before, her laughter had a casual ring to it, unlike the cruel, mocking sound from before. Her normal laugh was actually kind of nice. She hadn't meant to laugh, after all, but the young eagle looked quite funny walking like that. "Quite a show," she giggled, trying not to sound rude, a sly grin upon her face. Normally, she would have just laughed and not said a word, but she hoped that saying this would show that she wasn't trying to be mean.
Once she had control of herself again, the hawk proceeded to pull the last few feathers from the tail. Then, she began to eat her meal in small bites, neatly and silently. Or at least, she ate silently for a few bites. Then a quiet giggle escaped her beak. She acted is if nothing happened and took another bite. Then another giggle came, followed by another before she could even take another bite. "What was that supposed to be? You were walking like some crippled creature," she said, her tone becoming rude again. She laughed again, this time with the usual mocking sound. In that short moment, the sharpie was acting much like she had only moments ago when she had put herself on everyone's bad side. Now she didn't really mean to be cruel, but she was without realizing it. Habits were hard to break.
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Post by Darkscale on May 9, 2009 19:21:26 GMT -6
Bright Eyes “That..” Bright Eyes said; now laughing a bit. “Was part of my act at the circus....I had to wear a horrible pirate getup for the amusement of the crowd, while the ventriloquist that I worked with, made me ‘talk’ all weird...” He jumped off the log and starting to walk around again as if he was a peg legged pirate. One eye closed and one wing dragging on the ground. “Aye, maties, This be Gold Feather, the meanest bird to ever sail the seven seas! Arg! Ye be not findin another like em if ye searched the ol world over!”. He then hopped back onto the log, tossed his head up in the air and swallowed a bit of sparrow, before bending over to grab another piece. He had been aware of the rudeness in her tone, but let it slide seeing as she had every right to make fun his antics. Now finished with the first sparrow, Bright Eyes hopped over to the second downed bird and started to pluck him as well. Taking this moment to glance back over at the wolf and Darkscale, who both seemed to be talking casually. “Looks like Darkscale has another friend to talk to now”. He picked up the half plucked bird in his beak and brought it over to the log he had devoured the other bird on earlier. Jumping up on it, he dropped the bird at his feet and proceeded to pull more feathers out by the beakfuls. “I never thought I would waste so much time trying to eat something with this small an amount of meat on it.” he shook his head and smirked at the fact that the sparrow might be enough for the hawk, but it would take about four or five of these little beasts to get him through the night. “I wonder, maybe there are bats out here. I don’t normally hunt at night, well, I don’t normally eat at night, but these little puffs of feathers with only a beakfull of meat on it won’t last me until morning”. Bright Eyes finished plucking the second bird and started to eat it. Darkscale “Oh, I don’t know where that boy will nest, he tends to like high places. I on the other hand, prefer to remain on the ground thank you.” Flicking his tongue out so that he could taste the leftover scent of the mouse, Darkscale felt his mouth twitch with a tinge of hunger, soon afterward his stomach moved. The laughter filled speech of the two birds drifted over to the pair from afar and made Darkscale do a once over the tail look. Both were eating and didn’t seem to be at each other’s throats like they had been before. As a matter of fact, it seemed that Bright Eyes had decided to show the hawk his pirate gig, which Darkscale had warned the bird about doing in the company of other animals...It just made him look so stupid to be doing it on his own without a human there threatening not to feed him if he didn’t do as asked. “I swear, some day that bird will embarrass me to the point of becoming a meal. I refuse to be in the presence of such an unnecessary idiocy...”. But he didn’t mean it...And his voice showed this; it was too full of humor. A soft chirp sounded from behind Darkscale and he whipped his head around to see where it was coming from. There, not twenty feet away from them, was a pheasant nest, and inside it were ten perfect eggs. There was his meal for the evening and perhaps for the whole week. The snake left the wolf where he was and slithered over to the nest where a hen was circling, trying to find a good position for her to roost for the night. But she stopped about halfway through her actions and froze in place. She had spotted Darkscale. He picked up speed, charging toward her, hissing loudly and puffing up his hood. The Pheasant didn’t move from her nest, but she did squat down, as if she thought that the snake would loose sight of her if she laid flat for awhile. It didn’t stop the black cobra from advancing. He kept coming, continuing to hiss while he circled around the back of the mother bird. She turned to match his movements, keeping him in her view the whole time. Suddenly, he stopped and lifted his head all the way off the ground, hood out and mouth open. He took a deep breath and flexed his jaw. A stream of clear liquid shot from his mouth and landed on the wing of the hen, who jumped straight up about a foot and then backed away. But she didn’t leave the nest, instead, she ran around the nest and came right for Darkscale, all puffed out and quite mad. Now the snake didn’t look so tough, indeed, he looked quite weak in the face of this mad bird. But he didn’t back down either. Again he raised up and hissed, spitting again at the bird; this time he hit his mark. She backed away quickly, shaking her head to rid her eyes of the venom. Darkscale struck, but not at her....He aimed for an egg and snatched it from the tangle of bushes that was its home. Slowly he pulled the egg away from the nest, while the mother bird scrambled to sit on it in her blindness, not aware that the snake had gotten what he wanted and was making his way back to a rock that had a hole under it big enough for him to hide under. Once there, he started the slow process of swallowing the egg whole. And like Redlock had done with him, Darkscale moved his head so that he could keep the wolf in his view at all times, mostly so that he had something other then a rock to watch while he ate.
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Post by Shadowcat on Jun 11, 2009 10:34:07 GMT -6
At Bright Eyes' demonstration, Alanjeh laughed coldly. "What a disgrace! Why would anyone with half a brain make such idiotic sounds?" She asked, mostly to herself. "Then again, humans are by far the stupidest creatures, or so I've heard." Having been born and raised in Amanija, Alanjeh had never seen a human first hand. She only knew that most animals said they were cruel, cold beings that did silly, stupid things and were, in general, a danger to animals. "If it were me, I would have given them a good bite," she finished. "But they probably looked stupid enough as is."
Alanjeh thought for a moment more about the humans. They sounded like such odd creatures. They aren't even worth my time thinking about! She thought, and so she was glad when a change of subject presented itself.
"Perhaps for your size it's a waste of time. But I consider sparrows a delicacy," Alanjeh said, matter-o-factly. She gulped up the last of her sparrow, then continued. "For me, they are the perfect size and much tastier than most other creature around here. Certainly much better than rodents." The hawk gave a "bleh!" sound and made a face at the thought. "Such filthy creatures."
((Sorry it's short and not very good....))
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Post by Darkscale on Jun 24, 2009 18:26:18 GMT -6
Bright eyes nodded in agreement and smirked at Alanjeh’s remarks. The hawk had her moments when anybody that was with her just wanted to kill her. Then she also had those moments where those who were with her wished that she would keep up the antics because they enjoyed them so much.
“True, they did look stupid enough already, but I was afraid of not getting fed or being shut up in the dark for long periods of time. That had happened before when I bit one of the handlers...swore I’d never do it again.”
The eagle then frowned at the small form under his nose and swallowed; the last bit of sparrow slid down his throat. “Well yes they are much better than a rodent, but if a rodent is all I can get...Then a rodent it will be.”.
The thought at having more meat in his belly made Bright Eyes stretch his wings in preparation for a takeoff. His talons let the limp bones of the eaten bird fall off the log and land on the hard dirt with sad puff of dust. It reminded Bright Eyes of the ridiculous stuff that cats did on the things humans called cartoonies. These were on the magic box called a telluwision or something like that, and the cats would finish eating a fish that hadn’t had much meat on it and drop the bones to the ground, watching the dust spring from it.
“Well, I guess I’ll get to flapping...need to find a good meal before dark or Darkscale will bite me for keeping him from his beauty sleep.”. The eagle laughed and then jumped off the log. The sun was getting so low in the sky now that Bright Eyes knew trouble would be out soon in the form of much bigger predators...
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