Closed Bendi Exercise: Cleaning up Bird Poop [Phoenix]

[Aose]

Aose leaned back, still covering her naked being from prying eyes, “Not very modest I see.” the young girl snapped, completely taken aback by his intrusive manner Aose was getting irked by it. “She was indeed not very happy, but yet ya have never told me how ya heard of my day's story. Ya betta tell me else I'm gonna put one of those lovely plumed arrows in yer buttocks.” Shifting a hand in the direction of her arrows and bow the young yasi seemed determined to do no such thing though.

That is when the swirling steam enveloped the man and once it faded he was gone. “What the petch. Ya bloody bugger!” She rose her voice turning her gaze from left to right in front of her. Nothing! What the petch? It was apparent in her eyes that she was getting annoyed with this man's games of hide-and-seek. Hearing his cawing laughter Aose stood in the middle of the spring, turning slowly in a circle, her blue eyes scanning the swirling mist, trying to follow the cawing bugger.

The trill and sparkling fluttering wings that haunted her very being all day echoed and shimmered between pockets of the heavy steam. Yet every time Aose focused on them, hoping to see a glimpse of man or bird, the movement was no longer there. Now her look of seriousness faded to a look of frantic searching, she hated not having a good sighting of what was tormenting her. Yet finally when the fluttering and trilling ended she caught sight of a large black bird resting on her clothes

“Nesting on my clothes isn't very kind don't ya think?” Course he doesn't care, why should I then? He will do as he pleases. Nipping at her clothes she watched, the yasi knew she had no choice but to watch and wait. Couldn't catch him if I wanted to... Could I? She screwed her lips up in thought watching as he tossed her clothes into the water. She had no response but to huff outward loudly. I won't let this bugger's actions get my riled up. That won't do me any good.

Watching the bird take flight once again the girl watched as he disappeared into a thick part of the fog. She remained staring at her clothes, knowing she couldn't catch the bird in midflight and her brain puzzled over the words, mannerisms, and things he spoke of.

A man that crows like a bird... Takes the shape of my black-winged brethen...

When he spoke again Aose whipped her head around tightly, her red locks spraying water outward from her in a fan, he spoke of the shimmering bird once again, her eyes grew wide before settling into normalcy, “No one cares to believe in the stories of children told to the young durin' their time in the nurseries. Dey call 'em fables, fairy tales. Yet dey always ring true to the child's ears. I heard 'em growing up. Dey were the stories that forged my dreams and my aspirations...” She paused, Who is he? Why would he care of my dreams and aspirations? He is a foreigner at the very least...

Something about that list line of thoughts didn't fit right... This man didn't fit foreigner in any sense of the normalcy of the word.

Template Credit: Euthisa

[Harrier]

"Did you?" The man said, grinning anew as he hunkered near the water, propping his elbows on his knees so that his chin could rest upon knuckles. "You must have some mighty dreams to summon me." He wiggled his eyebrows at her and then, before her eyes, he transformed.

Gone was the man of glossy hair and strange clothes. Gone were the eyes of a curious and silly stranger. Before her hovered a transparent bird, the steam from chamber wafted behind it, making the light bounce and shine through the crystalline body. Rays of gold and ruby and emerald were refracted in all directions as it sung. But no sooner had the visage appeared than it was gone too, replaced by that of the man again. He stood tall and proud, his black hair flecked with feathers this time and his brilliant eyes enchanting. The mischief still shone in them, but his voice had taken on a more serious note as he stood there.

"Do you need another hint? Surely your curiosity can take no more." He did not wait to give her another hint before transforming once more into that of the crow, sleek black feathers iridescent in their green reflections. He was a beautiful bird, his beak opening to speak. His voice came out harsh as the cords of this form made it a challenge to speak. "In a land far from here where the mountains are made of sand, they call me Brother Crow. But I have another name by which you children of Ivak know me."

x

[Aose]

Aose listened as the man spoke, he first questioned her childhood ambitions, toying with her as if he was an actual god. With a wiggling of his brows the man morphed from man to bird. It was then that this man's foreign touch was most definitely beyond the norm of foreign, yet she still had her doubts of his divinity. Her jaw nearly dropped to the ground when she realized the form the man had taken.

It was the blasted shimmering bird that was giving her tricks of the eyes and stares of disapproval. “Ya! Ya were da one dat nearly had my face chewed off from by an eagle! It was ya...” Aose's eyes narrowed in anger. That petch! But her anger quickly shifted from anger to surprise as he shifted back to a human male form. His eyes still held there look of mischief and glinting humor, yet they also held a real serious look to them, the feathers gracing the waves of his hair only accented the fact that Aose's brain was trying to hit on, yet has thus far failed to connect the dots.

He could obviously see the confusion that laid within her staring blue eyes, the last shift dropped the bomb and Aose's jaw dropped. “By Eywa--” Aose had to clamp her mouth shut before she could finish the exclamation about the god's tailfeathers. He stood right before her! Oh petch. Regaining a sense of dignity she clamped her mouth shut and stared at the bird-god before.

“Ya mischief git! Ya are the reason I was given looks of delusion and told I was fit to be a Dek!” She stepped forward towards the god, “Ya had me second guess my sanity! My being! My DREAMS!” With each point the yasi's voice grew louder, until she was screaming at the black bird.

Then she fell silent, realizing her anger was boiling out towards a god.

“Ya find mischief funny and entertainin'. But ya favor ingenuity, how long have ya been watchin' me? How long have ya been gracin' the skies starin' down at me without makin' yer presence known until now?” Aose's eyelids slide shut for a few second before she opened them again, “What now eh? Ya gonna sqwuak and leave me hangin' with my jaw gabbin' away at thin air?”

Template Credit: Euthisa

[Harrier]

The bird cackled in delight as the girl nearly loosed his name in an expletive. "Well I do have such but whatever would they be by?" And then the crow winked at her, a youthful charm shining in that single show-off. As much as he loved mischief, he loved the ingenuity of humanity more and it was this child which had brought him to her, nothing else. It was her archery that had first summoned him. Eywaat spoke.

"I have a fondness for children, Aose. Not as much as another god, perhaps, but I enjoy them because they are so bright! A problem is simple to them and they find a way of solving it far beyond the obvious. Even the most challenging concept is simplified in the bright eyes of a chick." He flared his wings and rose off the ground, flapping the short distance to her to land upon her shoulder and lightly pick at a strand of her hair.

"They who taunted you so do not hold my favor, you see. Many of them seem to have forgotten and they will learn how it displeases me in time. Even the tiniest most mystical bird should not be chastised; the glinting swiftmist, he is but one of many who has faded into legend. But I know where he has gone." The bird alighted from her shoulder then and shifted back into that of a man, speech coming easily this time. "I want to see you grow, little sparrow. Cast aside your anger, and your hurt, forget about the taunts of those fools and think about what a blessed city you live in. Here, in Wind Reach!" The man threw his hands up, continuing to speak.

"A city of passion and spirit and spunk. You and yours have such an innovative way of surviving where no other thought. Truly, we were surprised when the Inarta chose to stay here..." But he did not go on. Such knowledge was not for her to know. "Like my friends in the desert, you are a people of the sky as much as you are Ivak's children. Your hearts, even those who have forgotten it, belong in the skies and many are always looking for ways to join your Wind Eagle brethren. Such imagination is not lost on me."

Eywaat bent towards Aose then, kneeling and reaching a hand to brush her hair behind one ear, his fingers lingering as he did so. "I have a mission for you, little sparrow. It will not be easy and many will think you have gone mad, but it is important and Meera cannot do it. Her bond with Irist is too deep and they are not comfortable leaving the mountain for long any furhter..."

He removed his fingers from her right ear and studied her, nodding and smiling singularly. "It is dangerous, my little sparrow, and will take some time to complete. Would you hear more?"

x

[Aose]

Aose touched her ear in response to the god’s lingering touch. Feeling the fleshy stiffness of cartilage Aose relaxed, yet her fingertips kept rising upwards, gracefully touching delicate flossy tips that were slightly harder than her ear. A bit of concern graced her facial expressions until the words of the god sunk into her brain and were able to be analyzed properly. It felt like a young bird’s downy feathers but far stiffer and not quite as soft. What the petch happened? Her blue eyes flicked at the god-bird, he was still rambling on about righting wrongs and the world seeing the wraith of Eywaat in essence.

“You speak of a mission-- a mission for me?” The yasi nearly jumped from the water in excitement but managed to only raise her upper body out of it, the look in her expression. “You are asking a child -- a yasi to embark on some insane quest for the good of her people?” He is asking ME?! Aose heard of the fear that some have when their age rises up and their bonds remain strong and powerful.

Landing back into the water with a hefty splash Aose lowered her hand finally from her right ear. “I will gladly take what you are offering me. I would graciously hear more.” The words echoed in the steamy room, Aose finally realized she was still chest deep in a warm spring. Her body has already long over-saturated itself with water. Walking slowly to the other side to gather her clothes, wet and otherwise, Aose climbed onto the embankment.

“Now don’t stare you.” She spoke seriously as she finished the motion of getting out of the water and dressing herself. Dripping hair quickly spotted her shoulders, her clothes clinging against her wet body; it was obvious the yasi didn’t bother to dry off. Steam wouldn’t have helped anyway.

Template Credit: Euthisa

[Harrier]

Giving the girl time to speak and think and dress, Eywaat waited hunkered on the other side, his hands hanging near his feet and the feathers dusting his hair giving him a slightly impish look. But he was patient as he watched her with little care to what she might think of him staring. Only once she was dressed would he speak again, rising and moving towards her.

Eywaat would stop behind the girl, a hand coming to rest on her shoulder to guide her to the exit of the pool. "Once, a great many lifetimes ago, there was a temple where my name was worshipped and praised with all the fervor of the mockingbird in full song and all the pomp of the birds of paradise..." He trailed off a little before continuing. "Find My temple, Aose and return here My altar so that your brothers and sisters may remember what many have forgotten. Seek the Queik for aid and beware that which walks the forest in disguise. You're a bright girl, Aose. Let your ingenious spirit shine. And here, a little present before I go."

Eywaat gave a musical trill, reaching for the girls right hand and holding it up. With his other hand he opened the door to the washroom where many were jumping out of the way of a large raven that came soaring through to land upon the arm which the god had lifted. It had an enormous beak and its eyes were a curious shade of green, not unlike Eywaat's. He had a saddle of white on his back and the large curved beak frowned at the girl as it looked between yasi and god. "His name is Siilark. He will help you when find your way. Take good care of him, little sparrow; I will be watching."

The god gave the raven a stroke over his head and then disappeared as the mists swirled and finally settled, leaving Aose alone, just as she thought she had been from the start....

NoteAlrighty, go ahead and reply one more time; once you have, I will give you your grade. I'm going to let you do one grandfathered thread as well since there's a lot of work you'll have to do to complete this quest, a lot of which is skill-grinding. I'll start it with a prompt for you and we'll go from there.

x

[Aose]

“Find yer temple...” She murmured. The words resonated loudly in her head, it was a huge undertaking, but Aose knew she could handle it. It was going to be tough for the child. “Return it...” She nodded, her words and mannerisms were a bit automatic, the shock of all that was going on had finally settled in around her and Aose was taking it fairly well. He said to find the Queik.

Aose paused and whipped her head towards him, “Da wat?!” But the god didn't respond, instead he just continued on speaking, something about being wary of that which walks in the forest. It didn't register the rest of what he was saying around those few things but he lifted her arm up and then unleashed a staccato of notes that formed a calling melody and the door to the spring swung wide. Aose turned, her arm still held in place by the god's grasp.

Once again Aose's eyes grew large and her mouth dropped open. Gaping at the large black bird that rocketed through the crowd and into the spring. When the bird landed at her arm Aose looked at it with a curious look of awe and a smile graced her lips.

“Eywaat, his beautiful.” She murmured, not realizing that the man was already gone with the steam that escaped through the open door. Raising a hand to gently stroke the bird's head Aose beamed, “Pretty bird. Yes ya 're Siilark. Pretty bird indeed.”

Turning towards the door with bird still on her arm, which was starting to ache slightly but she didn't care, yasi took the bird with her, destined and determined to spend as much free time with it as she could, take it on all her bendis and excitement in the world.

“Birds of a feather stick together, eh Siilark?”

Template Credit: Euthisa

[Harrier]

Skills	Amount
Observation	5
Birdkeeping	3
Singing	1
Investigation	5
Intimidation	1

Lore

The art of cleaning bird shyke

Scorned by the Wind eagles and laughed at by the citizens

Song of the Glinting Swiftmist

Chasing a myth into the wrong aerie

Teased by a myth

Tsikuma Baths: A strange, shape-shifting creature is stalking me

The Peeping Tom is a Eywaat!

Eywaat is the Glinting swiftmist?

Tatani: Eywaat's blessing

Siilark: A gift from a god

Eywaat: Also brother crow

Mission received: Find Eywaat's lost temple, retrieve his altar, bring it home.

Bonus: Tatani - Congratulations, you have received your first gnosis! With this first mark, you can do the following: At this level, a marked one can hear the basic language of nearby birds. The more one listens, the greater their vocabulary becomes. While a marked one can hear most the language, they are unable to respond effectively or give anything beyond gesture based commands. Birds will understand the marked one's clear body language and expression, but only words strongly felt will be transmitted.

Your tatani resembles the velvet down of a fledgling hummingbird. It will mature as you progress and learn about your new gnosis through threads.

You have also received Siilark: Siilark is a green-eyed raven of mysterious origin, given as a gift from Eywaat to use on your mission.

Additional Comments: You've got a lot of work cut out for you, Aose, I hope you're ready! Your next thread will be a grandfathered one for Summer which I will host for you. Some of the quest you will be able to do on your own, some of it you will not. Watch your PM's - I'll be sending you the next thread soon.

I gave you a point in intimidation for trying to scare off a god. Nice effort

(c) abstract