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Post by Ezra Windward on Feb 15, 2024 23:24:20 GMT -5
Ezra walked at a slow pace between the shutes of bamboo in the forest. He enjoyed walking through the bamboo forest. The bamboo reached up high enough into the sky that there was a near constant shade cast across the entire forest floor. The forest was quiet, peaceful, and dark. It was a perfect place to come and think or reflect on past actions. Ezra was familiar with the forest and went there to do just that on many occasions.
This was another such occasion. Ezra wandered into the forest seeking only to clear his mind in its shady maze of bamboo shutes. Adventuring was much harder than he had thought it would be when he set out on his quest to Knighthood. He was coming from a visit to his parents house where he had explained to them some of the challenges he had encountered so far. This put all of those challenges at the forefront of his mind.
And so he walked.
The bamboo made wooden scraping sounds as it brushed against Ezra’s steel armor. He was wearing his full set in an effort to become more accustomed to moving in it. He still was not quite comfortable and his movements were somewhat awkward and clunky. The weight of the set was heavy on his legs and torso. The longsword held at his side by his leather belt brushed up against the bamboo shutes as he walked past them. He continued pushing past the shutes until he reached a clearing.
Once in the clearing, Ezra paused and looked upward. The clearing allowed the sunlight to pour in from above and he felt the warmth of it on his face. He removed his backpack and set it on the ground in front of him, removing a waterskin from it. He leaned his head back as he took a long drink from it and then smiled as he returned it to his backpack. This was the exact place he thought of when entering the forest. A place to relax and let the stress and responsibility of adventure wash away from him. He ran a hand through his messy brown hair, attempting to sloppily fix it into a part to the right.
Ezra then closed his eyes and took a deep breath of the forest air.
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Post by Rena Brighteyes on Feb 16, 2024 1:05:07 GMT -5
Rena hums softly to herself as she stalks through the forest surrounding her and her family’s burrow, bayonets blunted with ice blackened by the Permafrost spell and held out to the sides as her silver eyes shine through the shadows cast by bamboo chutes and towering trees. She’s playing a game of hide and seek with her children, Distant Whistle and Buzzing Locusts, with her husband Tolling Bell watching from above as a referee. It’s a form of stealth training, meant to safely teach the chicks how to hide, how to be silent and unseen…and it’s…not going terribly? She's got eyes on her son, who's probably putting in the bare minimum so he can get back to his books, and her daughter has taken to hiding up in the heights of the forest around their home...
A flick of the mother crow’s wrist sends a blunted bayonet arcing through the air, lancing between the bamboo stalks and tree branches. The blunted blade darts across the clearing, slamming into the ground mere inches away from a small pile of bones near Ezra. The pile of bones in question…lets out a yelp, abruptly pulling together into what appears to be the skeleton of a small aviankin, motes of emerald light dancing in the undead creature’s eye sockets as they scramble away into the forest.
Ruby eyes gaze down at Ezra from high in the forest, a black-feathered head tilting curiously as little Distant Whistle considers the stranger standing in the clearing that holds her family’s home. A new friend, perhaps? Or someone they’ll have to…deal with. Whatever the case, she’ll stand with her family, regardless of what happens…
…Tolling Bell watches all this from high above, appearing as little more than a smoke trailing crow high in the sky, the slow beating of his wings irrelevant to the ghost’s hovering. He considers the tableau beneath him, the embers in his feathers pulsing with gentle orange and amber light as he circles.
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Post by Ezra Windward on Feb 17, 2024 11:57:46 GMT -5
Focusing on his breathing, Ezra stood still with his eyes remaining closed. He was relaxed and his mind was empty…
Suddenly, out of the darkness of his mind he heard a sound… a whistle. Faint at first, but the sound became louder and closer quickly. Was it an arrow?
Ezra’s dark brown eyes snapped open in time to see the bayonet strike the ground near a small pile of bones. Was that always there? He surely hadn’t noticed it when he first entered the clearing. Even more to his surprise, the pile of bones let out a sound before forming themselves into a small aviankin. Ezra’s expression became one of shock and awe as he stepped backward away from the small skeleton. He caught a flash of the emerald green light that made up its eyes as it ran into the bamboo forest.
A shiver ran down Ezra’s back and the hairs began to stand up on his arms. He felt as though he was being watched. He widened his stance to ready himself for whatever may come, but he left his sword in its sheath. His body looked athletic and ready to react, like that of an experienced warrior knight, but his face betrayed him and revealed a look of nervous fear.
His eyes began to scan the ground of the clearing, looking for more piles of bones like the one that had just revealed itself. There was none. His scan began to rise higher and higher along the treeline until he finally spotted a pair of ruby red lights. They looked similar to the emerald ones he had seen in the first skeleton: eyes.
Unable to keep his composure, Ezra leapt backwards at the sight, but kept the eyes within his vision. They were very high up; higher than he could climb. Momentarily, Ezra’s right hand motioned toward the longsword affixed to his left hip, but he stopped before his hand could get there. He thought for a moment. The skeleton he had seen before didn’t attack him, it ran away… Whatever had launched the bayonet at him did not strike him, even though his eyes were closed. They easily could have. Whatever it was that was watching him now, was most certainly watching him prior to his notice of them, and yet they did not attack either. Is it possible that these creatures did not mean him harm?
Ezra called out to the set of ruby red eyes looking down at him, “H-hello!” His voice was shaky and revealed the nerves he felt in his gut. In an effort to conceal his fear he loudly cleared his throat and shouted in a pointedly more confident tone, “Hey! I… Uh. I don’t mean to hurt you! Come down from there!”
Ezra’s lower body stayed in an athletic stance, ready to leap into action, but he raised his hands up to each side of his head with his palms out toward the eyes, showing that they were empty.
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Post by Rena Brighteyes on Feb 18, 2024 18:04:47 GMT -5
Those shining ruby eyes seem to tip to one side, as though their owner was tilting their head. Finally, there’s a sound. A bird call, maybe a crow from the sound of it? And then there’s another, from a different direction. And another. Chirps and trills and caws from all around and then the ruby eyes in the trees are just…gone.
Distant Whistle has to stifle her giggles as she slides down the bamboo shoot she’d been clinging to, ruby eyes dancing with mirth behind closed eyelids as she rapidly approaches the ground. Seems like the newcomer has no…immediate desire to harm her family, though that may change when he meets Loci properly…lots of people change gears like that when they meet Loci, and Whistle isn’t really sure why…she ruffles her feathers, shaking off the thought even as she reaches the ground and begins to creep through the brush toward the clearing.
Loci is…nervous. There’s a stranger practically in his home, and sure the newcomer didn’t seem to know what to think when he saw the skeletal crow pull himself back together, but that didn’t really mean anything. For all he knows this is going to be yet another incident of having to defend his home and family against a bigot with more ego than brains. Still, he moves through the forest back toward the clearing on silent feet, his bones quivering but not rattling as he makes the mental effort to douse his eyelights.
Tolling Bell circles lower, ghostly feathers trailing smoke that quickly dissipates as he watches from above, considering the situation below him. Those calls his family had done…’intruder, intent uncertain, claims friendly.’ he’ll keep an eye on things from above, maybe spook the stranger by floating down behind them…later, later. For now…just watch. His aura isn’t yet strong enough to more than buff his allies spellcasting, and his wife doesn’t yet have any spells that would be affected…
Rena Brighteyes tilts her head, silver eyes shining in the dark of the forest as she approaches, a quick flex of the icy power within her heart teleporting1 the blade she’d thrown earlier back to her hand, another flex of that power replacing the blunt coating of black ice with sharper, deadlier layers of the same2. Even as she does this, she’s stepping through the brush and into the clearing of her family’s home. Her shining silver eyes are flecked with bone white, seeming to pierce into Ezra’s soul. She doesn't speak, instead tilting her head and watching silently as her daughter steps from the brush behind Ezra and her son takes up position just in front of his mother, those emerald rings of light in his dark eye sockets fuzzed with anxiety.
…there are stories circulating in the nearby towns. Stories of a crow aviankin with silver eyes, a necromancer wielding blades of black ice, accompanied by an amber-eyed ghost, an emerald-eyed skeleton, and a ruby-eyed child. Going by the stories, only the ghost is unwilling to kill, though that may be more a matter of ability than will…going by the stories, the necromancer believes that the skeleton is animated by the spirit of her dead son, the brother of the ruby-eyed chick. People tell of those who’ve lost their lives trying to destroy the undead creature and its conjurer, of the sheer brutality exhibited by the necromancer, her daughter, and her skeletal minion, of the ghost’s willingness and ability to deflect blows for the woman he refers to as his wife…
1 - Summon:Possession 2 - Cold Touch and Permafrost
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Post by Ezra Windward on Feb 20, 2024 0:33:44 GMT -5
A shiver ran down Ezra’s spine as he began to hear caws and chirps from somewhere in the bamboo forest. The calls seemed to be all around him and; although he tried to keep focus on the glowing red eyes, he shifted his focus for a moment to try and find their source. When he regained his focus, the eyes were gone… Then all at once, so where the sounds.
Ezra lowered his hands again into a readied position. He began to feel a knot in his stomach. Was the clearing this dark a moment ago? Or was this Ezra’s mind playing tricks on him? A cold bead of sweat rolled down the side of his face and dripped off his jaw to the forest floor. His eyes darted from one side of the clearing to the other, scanning for danger, or for any evidence that what he had just seen wasn’t a trick of the light, or really anything…
Just as he was beginning to convince himself that he had not seen the small skeleton and that he had not seen the glowing eyes in the treetops, Ezra spotted a set of silver-white eyes beyond the treeline of the clearing. Ezra froze in place. He could only watch as an aviankin, standing about four foot tall with black feathers and a resemblance to a crow, stepped into the clearing. She tilted her head at Ezra and he felt another pang of nervous anxiety in his gut. He was paralyzed by fear…
He was too taken aback by the silvery eyes in front of him to notice Rena’s daughter behind him, but he did see the emerald green lights from before in front of the crow. Suddenly, Ezra thought to his earlier childhood. Growing up nearby he had heard the stories recently of a crow aviankin with silver eyes. The amber-eyed ghost, the emerald-eyed skeleton, and the ruby-eyed child… There were varying versions of the story each time it’s told. Each story-teller has to put their own flare on things, of course. But the stories always ended the same way: these creatures and the crow-necromancer that commanded them ended the lives of those who came to challenge them.
Realizing now that he was standing face to face with this local legend, Ezra gathered all his composure and reached across to draw his longsword. Although still wracked with fear, his movement was quick and he drew the blade with ease. He set himself in an athletic stance and held the longsword out in front of him defensively. He wanted to speak, but no words came to him.
His stance was ready and he appeared prepared to strike, but his face betrayed him and revealed the fear that he felt. He pondered what the right course of action was in this situation. If he truly faced the necromancer that had slain brave adventurers, should he simply run? If he did, would he be dooming the next passer-by to the same fate? Would it not be better for him to face the dark aviankin now and save future travelers the trouble? Could he even defeat such a creature with its many allies? So many questions and no answers. Ezra could only stand at the ready and wait for the crow’s next move.
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Post by Rena Brighteyes on Feb 20, 2024 2:58:52 GMT -5
Rena tilts her head, her silver eyes taking in the sight of him, feathers ruffling in the manner of a small smile as she trills softly, letting her bayonets sink into the earth just enough to stay standing. She steps closer then, laying a hand on her son’s skull and gently rubbing the smooth bone before moving forward toward the stranger. Those silver eyes dance with amusement as she steps up to within a few feet of Ezra’s position, her facial feathers ruffling in the manner of an aviankin smile, “...well now. What brings a stranger such as yourself to my family’s home? You can’t have come with intent to harm me and mine…you’d be far better equipped, more angry than scared…” her voice - and she’s definitely a woman by the way her voice sounds, as though the dress and the curves it contains hadn’t been enough of a clue - is soft, almost soothing, a far cry from the scratchy, gravelly thing that might have been expected, “...mmm…more fear than I would expect from someone who wasn’t at least familiar with the area and its stories…” the crow tilts her head the other way, then snaps her fingers, “ah! I knew you looked familiar! Ezra Windward, yes? You’ve been spending time in town! The local maidens have taken quite the liking to you from what I’ve gathered.”
While Rena speaks her daughter comes around Ezra’s side, those shimmering ruby eyes glancing at the stranger before she moves to her brother, letting out soft chirps, trills and calls as the two of them head to the low hill at the edge of the clearing. Ruby eyes glance back to the stranger her mother is busy dealing with before the twins push aside a curtain that had appeared to be a cliff on the side of the hill to reveal a porch set into the earth, complete with a round door and a rocking chair. The siblings head into the house disguised as a hill, Whistle moving to make herself a quick snack from the dried and seasoned spider meat in the icebox while her brother grabs the book he’d been working through before heading back out to settle into the rocking chair, occasionally glancing up with narrowed eyelights at the stranger.
Tolling Bell chirps softly, tipping into a dive that sends him hurtling to the ground like a meteor, smoke pouring off his feathers and trailing behind him as he darts downward. He slams into the ground with a soft thud, smoke billowing out in all directions before dissipating as he sets a hand on his wife’s shoulder, “...please stop antagonizing the newcomer with cryptic words, ka’to’bi1…” those burning amber eyes flick up to meet Ezra’s own orbs as his facial feathers ruffle in a soft avian smile, “...sorry ‘bout that. We’re all a bit…on edge after the last group that tried to kill us for existing…seems like things got worse after that…man tried to kill Loci for being a skeleton when we visited Moonglade…”
1 - Ravenstongue - me/my/mine love/dear/heart
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Post by Ezra Windward on Feb 23, 2024 18:10:34 GMT -5
As Rena walked past her son and toward Ezra, his heart sank. He did not know what her intentions were and his muscles flexed with anticipation of an attack of some sort. Yet as she got to within a few feet of him he noticed something. Is that… a smile? The smile, the unexpected softness of Rena’s voice combined with the content of her words made Ezra relax and he lowered his longsword. Ezra continued to watch in awe as the two children met one another and pulled the curtain offering camouflage to what he assumed was their home.
As Tolling Bell then crashed to the ground and spoke, Ezra felt even more relaxed and he sheathed his longsword.
Ezra still couldn’t help the creeping feeling in his back, but he felt much more relaxed with the aviankin in front of him. In fact, hearing the brief parts of their story made him feel sympathetic toward them and he wondered if these even were the vicious necromancer and her horde from the stories. Perhaps these crows were simply mistaken for the murderous killers he had heard. As he looked over to the porch of the house that had been revealed, he saw the skeleton-boy sitting in the rocking chair reading; his eyes still glowing emerald as he followed the words on the pages. No… these most certainly were the creatures from the stories; but maybe there was more to this than most people know.
Ezra shifted his eyes to meet with Tolling Bell’s. “There’s uh… No need to apologize for protecting your family. I’m sure most folks would do the same.” Ezra stated simply in an unsure tone, but managing a grin. He shifted his gaze to meet with the silver lights of Rena’s eyes before continuing, “I am Ezra Winward, that’s correct. I’m from Starlight City, not too far away from this place.” Ezra paused and looked toward the ground for a moment. A brief thought that maybe he shouldn’t have revealed his home town to these strangers so quickly entered his mind, but quickly left.
“I only came into the forest to clear my mind. I didn’t mean anyone harm. And yes… I am familiar with the stories of the area.” Ezra gulped and hoped to himself that this was not all a trap in order to force him into lowering his guard. If it was, it was far too late anyway. He had already sheathed his sword and relaxed his stance. Even though the thought of a trap was still present in his mind, he did not feel as though he was in imminent danger. Tolling Bell’s smile, Rena’s soft voice, and the children returning to what was likely normal for them gave evidence that they did not mean to start a fight with him.
If this family had met every adventurer as they had him, then the real vicious monsters were likely the adventurers that came to slay them. Thinking back to what Tolling Bell had said about people trying to kill them for existing, Ezra turned back to look at him.
“How often do strangers wander into the forest to try and harm you and your family?”
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Post by Rena Brighteyes on Feb 28, 2024 20:57:18 GMT -5
Rena chuckles softly, feathers ruffling in amusement as she trills, “...oh, every once in a while. The Dial Fractum have taken a liking to sending adventurers our way with blades sharpened and spells charged…” her eyes change, then, previously silver irises burning away to a pale, cold white that reminds Ezra of nothing quite so much as frost coated bones, matching the sharp, hard ice of her voice as she next speaks, “...’s made good practice for the wee ones. Loci ‘specially, though ‘e still needs to get a hang on staying aware when ‘e goes into a frenzy,” she sighs, taking a slow breath and closing her eyes. When those eyes open once more, they’ve returned to the familiar, friendly silver, “...anyhoo, could we tempt ye for some tea? P’raps a bit o’ venison for the trip back?” She…seems nice enough. Actually rather motherly, if you ignore the ominous bits…
The feathers around Bell’s beak ruffle a little in what can only be an avian smirk, “...I’d say yes, if’n I were ye, lad. Ka’to’bi really likes ‘avin’ guests o’er. The vamp ‘n the drake ‘re really the only ones t’ come by regularly. Well, Elvie too, but adopted kids dinnae count,” he chuckles a little at that, his amber eyes dancing with amusement. The ghost seems to have seen this song and dance before, knowing well enough how it’s likely to end, what lines the players are likely to say…and for all that, he’s still amused, still interested, though perhaps that’s more due to who is involved, rather than what all is going on.
Whistle heads back out, pecking and nibbling at the handful of spider jerky she’d retrieved, ruby eyes shining with curiosity as she watches her parents interact with the stranger. She chats a little with her brother, idly speculating about why Ezra came to their home, though Loci seems more interested in his book. She munches on the spider jerky all the while, savoring the taste of the dried, smoked, seasoned meat just as much as she enjoys the texture, occasionally swallowing a small bit of fine gravel to help her gizzard work the meat.
Loci trills softly, idly clicking his beak as he reads. The book is pretty interesting so far, involving a lost prince and a necromancer charged with finding him to prevent her own execution. He particularly enjoys the bits where the necromancer has to conceal her skeletal familiar - a crow, which is another reason for him to like the story - to prevent herself from being run out of various towns or burned at the stake…
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Post by Ezra Windward on Mar 3, 2024 18:43:21 GMT -5
Ezra watched as Rena’s eyes changed from a silvery light into a pale white as she spoke. He almost lost track of what she was saying as the change into the pale white color left him feeling on edge and uneasy. As he looked into the pale, bone-white colored eyes, he felt a pang of cold. As if he had just stepped into the cold cellar of his parents basement from the warmth of the fireplace in the living room. Then all at once Rena blinked and they shifted back into the warmer, silvery color they had been. What was that? Ezra couldn’t help but think to himself as she continued the conversation and offered up some tea and meat.
Ezra managed a weak smile as Tolling Bell then spoke to him and advised him to accept the offer. He still felt uneasy at the bone-white eyes he had seen. It was too strange to ignore, and combined with the already unusual status of this family, it put Ezra back on edge.
“I uh.. Sure, I’d love some tea.” Ezra managed to get out. The uneasy feeling in his gut was begging him to leave. To run away back into the bamboo forest and just get out. It urged him to leave and not look back. To just return to the warm comfort of his parents house and to let the family dog, Jax, sit in his lap as he sat by the fireplace and had a mug of his mother’s hot coco. The thought passed him by as quick as a blink. He shook his head, attempting to shake the uneasy feeling from his thoughts, but it failed. Yet even as his mind and his fear sought to make him flee, he steeled himself and resolved to stay. Perhaps he was about to make the biggest mistake of his adventuring career, but to step into the unknown was the point of adventure wasn’t it? How many adventures begin in the comfort of their family home, drinking hot coco by the fireplace? No, all adventures begin with a chance encounter. One just like this one. And maybe; just maybe, there was someone he could help in all of this...
Ezra slowly nodded his head and reaffirmed even though no one had asked, “Yes, I’d like some tea very much.” He hoped by doubling down on his acceptance, it would somehow ward off these bad feelings and make the encounter less dangerous and more pleasant. Only time would tell if that would come to be true.
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Post by Rena Brighteyes on Mar 3, 2024 22:09:39 GMT -5
Rena chirps happily, the feathers around her beak ruffling in an avian smile as she pulls away, trilling to herself as she walks over to her family’s burrow. The chicks file into the burrow after their mother, chirping at each other and - and that’s the skeleton taking a smack to the back of the skull without anything more than a laugh.
Bell chuckles, trilling his amusement and moving to follow his family indoors, trailing wisps of smoke and embers as he moves. Rena is already putting the kettle on the stovetop, humming softly to herself as she prepares a selection of mugs for tea. One mug gets set aside for Ezra to select his own preferred blend, while the other two have scoops of ground leaves, herbs, and a dollop of honey placed at the bottom, each a different blend.
Whistle trills softly to herself, still nibbling at her jerky as she settles into one of the chairs in the central room of the burrow. She watches the door, ruby eyes glinting in the light of the fireplace as she savors the warmth soaking into her feathers. It’s moments like this that she really understands her brother’s need for physical contact, his need to touch and feel and soak in the warmth of those around him.
Loci settles into a different chair, opening up his book once again. He’s particularly interested in what comes next; there’s been allusions to potential romance between the prince and the necromancer, and he’s curious to see if it goes anywhere. He glances up from his book every now and then, the rings of emerald light in his sockets shining with curiosity as he alternates between brief glimpses of the door and burying himself in his current story.
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Post by Ezra Windward on Mar 6, 2024 0:32:18 GMT -5
Ezra slowly follows Rena and the others toward the entrance to the burrow. After all the others enter, Ezra found himself standing at the doorway looking inside. A flash of memories ran through his mind of the stories he had heard of the necromancer and her undead followers and of the many who had perished because of them. Just as soon as the thought entered his mind he shook it out with a violent shake of his head. His messy brown hair shook left and right upon his head as he did so. He took a deep breath in and slowly let it out as he crossed the threshold into the burrow.
Ezra’s mouth opened slightly and remained so as he took in the scene of inside of the burrow. Rena tended to the kettle and prepared mugs of tea. The young crow ate a snack while sitting near the fireplace. The young skeleton read a book while calmly sitting in a chair nearby his sister….
As Ezra looked around he couldn’t help but think how… normal… everything looked. A mother putting tea on while the children sit patiently and wait. The ghost watching all as he stood nearby.. It again reminded him of his parents home and of his own mother preparing hot beverages and cookies for him and his father to enjoy. Slowly the feeling of worry and uneasiness faded away and his open, awestruck mouth reformed into a smile.
Slowly walking toward Rena and the mugs for tea, Ezra pointed toward the empty one that was set aside for him and asked, “Do you have anything with citrus? A friend of mine shared a citrus tea with me not long ago and it was very good.” He smiled down at the crow woman, only just noticing their height difference. Ezra stood about two feet taller than the aviankin. He maintained the smile on his face and looked at the silvery light of her eyes. They somehow seemed less daunting and intimidating. The fear and chill down his back that he had felt from looking into them only moments earlier was beginning to fade away and he found himself feeling more and more comfortable around her.
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Post by Rena Brighteyes on Mar 8, 2024 11:06:55 GMT -5
Rena tilts her head, chirping softly as she considers her guest’s request before nodding and stepping over to pluck an orange and a lemon from the icebox before preparing the mix for Ezra’s tea as the kettle slowly comes to a boil. She shaves the surface of each fruit, collecting the shavings in the bottom of the guests’ mug before going over each jar of ground plant matter, trilling quietly to herself as she considers the scent of each…finally, she nods, taking a scoop from three particular jars and laying each atop the citrus shavings. She considers the honey jar for a moment, then sets it aside, ”...I think it’d be best if’n ye did the sweetenin’ yourself.”
Bell trills softly, his amber eyes shimmering with affection and joy as he leans back against the wall, ghostly feathers ruffling a little and the embers peppering them gently pulsing with light as his gaze shifts in turn from his children, to his wife, to their unexpected guest. He’s wary, of course, but…when is any member of their little murder ever truly comfortable around strangers? That’s not to say they were as isolationist as the Clans of the Valley of Crows had been, but, well, when a stranger coming into your ancestral home once resulted in half your family dying, it becomes incredibly easy for the survivors to become closed off and guarded, and of course those who’d not been hatched yet had picked up on that…
Whistle glances up, her ruby eyes scrutinizing Ezra, seeming to drink in every little detail of the stranger’s appearance and mannerisms, much like her mother’s piercing gaze had done. She nibbles on her jerky, chirping softly to herself and settling a little deeper into her chair. This stranger seems like fun so far. More fun to mess with than anything else, but also…just…having someone new come by without murderous intent feels like such a breath of fresh air. She knows that Ezra could just be better at hiding his intentions, but every would-be crusader that came after them had…well, none of them had been particularly subtle about such things, seemingly more inclined toward cleansing the monsters than anything else…
At this point Loci has given up on keeping an eye light on the stranger. It’s easier to just spare a little focus on the link between him and his mom, so he can spring into motion the moment she feels the slightest trace of alarm or fear…
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Post by Ezra Windward on Mar 18, 2024 22:10:36 GMT -5
Ezra watched happily, an excited smile on his face, as Rena scraped the fruits and the citrus shavings fell into the bottom of the cup that was set aside for him. He stepped closer to the cup and picked up the honey jar that Rena had set aside. He scooped a hefty dollop of honey into the bottom of his cup before looking up to Rena with a sheepish grin. “I do like it a little sweet.” Ezra let out an embarrassed chuckle as he looked away from Rena for a moment before continuing, “The sweetness of the honey goes well with the citrus of the orange…” Ezra shook his head. He felt embarrassed, fearing that he was overexplaining a simple tea flavoring.
After sweetening his tea cup, Ezra suddenly felt as though he was being watched. He turned in time to see a set of ruby red eyes staring up at him. This young one seemed more… put together, than the other. Instead of the skeleton of a aviankin the green eyed one was, or the smokey and ghostly frame of what Ezra assumed was their father, this one appeared much more similar to Rena’s look; whole and full of feathers. He may even think they were completely normal if it were not for the glowing red eyes.
Suddenly Ezra realized he too had been staring at Distant Whistle for maybe a bit too long. He let out an awkward laugh and smiled wide as he glanced away and back over to Rena.
“So…. I, Uh. You know who I am, but I don’t think I caught everyone’s name.” Still smiling Ezra looked from Rena over to Tolling Bell, then back around to glancing at each of the young ones before returning to meet Rena’s silvery gaze. “How did you all come to be in the bamboo forest of all places?”
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ring ring ring ring ring ring ring, BABY CROWS
334 POSTS & 0 LIKES
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Post by Rena Brighteyes on Mar 22, 2024 23:44:30 GMT -5
Whistle holds Ezra’s gaze for as long as he’s willing to give it, unblinking and unflinching in her examination of the supposedly friendly stranger who’s come into her family’s home…
The mother crow tilts her head, the feathers around her beak ruffling in a small, avian smile as she chirps softly and gestures first to herself, then her husband, then the undead and living chick in turn, “...Rena Brighteyes of the Brighteyes Clan, Tolling Bell of the Blackfeather Clan, Buzzing Locusts and Distant Whistle of both and yet neither, as there’s none left to either initiate or bar them from the Clans,” and with introductions done, Rena puts away the jars of herbs and sets about cleaning up the mess from making the mixes before almost gliding over to retrieve the now-whistling kettle so she can pour the boiling water to just below the rim of each mug. Once that’s done, she retrieves three small wooden spoons and what looks like three flat, cloth-rimmed sieves, each with a handle at ninety degrees from the sieve itself…each sized perfectly to have the cloth around the edge brushing against the wall of the mug. Rena considers Ezra's question for a moment before letting out a soft chirp as she answers, "...the one whom I've claimed as sister lives in a castle a mere half hour's flight from here. she...she's helped us many times, and we wish to be nearby should she require our aid in the future"
Loci turns another page of his book. It’s not one of the ones he really likes, but those are reserved for when there aren’t new guests over. No sense in losing himself in a truly captivating book if he’s going to be yanked out of it every five minutes by some noise or motion…
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Renown
Crescent Isles
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Post by Ezra Windward on Mar 26, 2024 22:53:41 GMT -5
Listening intently, Ezra listened as Rena explained their reasoning for choosing their home within the bamboo forest. He nodded along giving affirmation that he was listening and invested in the answer. “That’s a good reason.” He stated simply as he continued to think of what more he should say. “It’s good to have friends. Especially ones close by.” A smile slowly crept across his face as looked more into the distance than actually at Rena; in the same manner one does to recall a pleasant memory.
A memory slowly floated into his mind. A young, ten year old Ezra, was wandering alone in the woods nearby his parent’s home in Starlight City. He held his trusty toy wooden sword in his hand and wore his favorite tabard over his plain clothing. You know; the blue one with the red dragon on the front of it. He kept through the woods, with a serious look in his eye; keeping a lookout for ruffians and monsters all the while. Then suddenly, he saw it! Ferocious and mean, the sharp ivory fangs of the creature were what Ezra spotted first. Just above the saliva-soaked fangs was a pink nose with flared nostrils and a set of pure black, beady eyes. The large, furry ears on the creature gave evidence that it had an especially good sense of hearing, and as they twitched Ezra knew it had heard him approaching. Brown, needley hair that almost seemed to come to a sharp point covered the creature’s head, torso, and limbs and the creature stood up on hit’s hind legs to make itself large. This menace of a creature had sharp, pointed claws at the end of each finger and toe and Ezra could tell that the thing was built for agile climbing and devastating slashes at it’s potential prey. Finally, Ezra noticed it’s tail. The monster’s tail extended from it and curled outward away from it’s back. It too was covered in the needly, brown fur and Ezra thought that perhaps if the creature wanted, it could swing it’s tail around in a similar manner as a morning-star and strike out at its enemies. Taking in the visage in its entirety was truly a vicious and terrifying sight and young Ezra prepared himself for a difficult fight.
Ezra; of course, was playing his favorite childhood game: Knights. And the vicious creature he was face to face with, was a squirrel he stumbled upon in the woods. As Ezra chased and slashed at imaginary enemies, the sun slowly began to set beyond the horizon. Lost in a young boy’s imagination, Ezra had lost track of the time and daylight was quickly fading away. As he wandered through the, now dark, woods, Ezra struggled to find his way back. Was it this way? Or… maybe that way? Was that the old broken tree trunk he always passed? Now in the pitch black of the forest, every sound and every shadow seemed as though it really was a giant monster to him. He gripped his little wooden sword tightly, fearful that he may need it to protect himself. As he continued to wander thoughts that he may never make it home began to overtake him. He became upset and fearful tears began to well up in his eyes. He began to run. Running in the blackness of the night though was dangerous in itself and it wasn’t long before Ezra ran headlong straight into a tree, which knocked him on his back. Still in a panic, Ezra tried to scramble to his feet, but before he could do so he heard a voice, “Oi! Are you okay?”
Managing to lift himself to his feet, Ezra held his wooden sword out in front of him toward the voice; the blade end of the sword shaking nervously as he failed to steady his hands. Fear filled Ezra and tears began to roll down his cheeks, until he finally caught sight of who it was that had called out to him. He recognized the icy blue eyes of his friend in the darkness. And in the light from the torch he carried, he saw the familiar dirty-blonde hair and thick freckles that covered his face above the bridge of his nose. It was Connor! The two often played Knights together in the woods and Ezra considered him his closest friend. Ezra melted in relief, dropping to his knees and breaking down into tears. Conner stepped forward and placed a hand on Ezra’s shoulders, stating calmly, “It’s going to be alright friend. Let’s get you home.”
As Ezra came back to reality and to the inside of Rena’s home he realized he was smiling widely at the memory. He nodded, more to himself than to Rena or her family and repeated again, “Yea, it’s good to have friends nearby…”
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