Winter 46, 517
Community Pool
A typical parrot didn’t usually have to be capable of doing very much. Most parrots, once bought by a fancy nobleman for their colors and voice, would find themselves stuck in a cage for the rest of their life. If they were lucky, they’d be treated well, given decent food and time out to explore their surroundings and cared by for someone who enjoyed their company and knew what they were doing. Parrots could live for a very long time, and some might live their entire long life inside a gleaming home without a single instance of sun on their feathers. Many had their wings clipped and would never even learn how to fly. They would just be pretty pets their entire lives, bored and living only half of a life. Tailyn, whose greatest enjoyments in life had come from work, strived to do better for her birds. If her time in Wind Reach taught her anything, it was that working birds are happy birds. And in order to work, they first had to be taught.
Tai stretched out her toes so they brushed the bottom of the pool, and quickly dunked her head under the water. She pulled her head back up out of the water with a sigh and felt her hair stick around her neck. Three brightly colored parrots watched Tai with interest. With the exception of Blue, who would remain with Tai come hell or high water, the parrots were tethered to a nearby outcropping of rock. They had a bit of room to hop around a bit and check things out, but they couldn’t fly and didn’t have too much freedom. The two new birds were a male and female bonded pair that Tai was hoping she could eventually mate and produce offspring with. They were both good natured and complete chatterboxes. They had lived their early lives indoors in Riverfall and were adjusting nicely to the open blue sky of Syka.
Tai wanted to expose them to as many things as possible, and Skya’s community pool seemed like a reasonable bet. Nobody was around when she arrived with the parrots, so she simply set up and sunk herself into the pool. Tai wasn’t quite brave enough to go naked like all the rest of the residents seemed to, so she was swimming in her underwear.
The lone male of the group, named Nobody from his favorite word, peered into the still water of the pool with interest. The parrot was mostly green, with a smattering of red feathers under his wings. Tai made a fist with both her hands and slapped her palms together, sending a squirt of water up at the bird. Nobody squawked in dismay and fluttered backwards while Tai laughed.
“Lesson number one,” she said with a grin. “Expect the unexpected!” Nobody mumbled unhappily and moved over to his mate and stuck his head underneath her wing. The female was bright red, and had small patterns of blue across her body. Her name was Sisi. She tilted her head and looked at Tai.
“Whachu doing? Pretty bird!”
“Come over here and I’ll show you!” Tai said, still grinning. She flung a few droplets of water at the birds. Sisi clipped her beak at the water droplets and whistled. Nobody grumbled and picked at the bright colored red band on his foot. Meanwhile, Blue had waddled over to the pool. Without hesitation, the bird dunked her entire head into the pool and yanked it out. Chuckling to herself, Blue began grooming the water off of her.
(590 Words, 590 Total)
Community Pool
A typical parrot didn’t usually have to be capable of doing very much. Most parrots, once bought by a fancy nobleman for their colors and voice, would find themselves stuck in a cage for the rest of their life. If they were lucky, they’d be treated well, given decent food and time out to explore their surroundings and cared by for someone who enjoyed their company and knew what they were doing. Parrots could live for a very long time, and some might live their entire long life inside a gleaming home without a single instance of sun on their feathers. Many had their wings clipped and would never even learn how to fly. They would just be pretty pets their entire lives, bored and living only half of a life. Tailyn, whose greatest enjoyments in life had come from work, strived to do better for her birds. If her time in Wind Reach taught her anything, it was that working birds are happy birds. And in order to work, they first had to be taught.
Tai stretched out her toes so they brushed the bottom of the pool, and quickly dunked her head under the water. She pulled her head back up out of the water with a sigh and felt her hair stick around her neck. Three brightly colored parrots watched Tai with interest. With the exception of Blue, who would remain with Tai come hell or high water, the parrots were tethered to a nearby outcropping of rock. They had a bit of room to hop around a bit and check things out, but they couldn’t fly and didn’t have too much freedom. The two new birds were a male and female bonded pair that Tai was hoping she could eventually mate and produce offspring with. They were both good natured and complete chatterboxes. They had lived their early lives indoors in Riverfall and were adjusting nicely to the open blue sky of Syka.
Tai wanted to expose them to as many things as possible, and Skya’s community pool seemed like a reasonable bet. Nobody was around when she arrived with the parrots, so she simply set up and sunk herself into the pool. Tai wasn’t quite brave enough to go naked like all the rest of the residents seemed to, so she was swimming in her underwear.
The lone male of the group, named Nobody from his favorite word, peered into the still water of the pool with interest. The parrot was mostly green, with a smattering of red feathers under his wings. Tai made a fist with both her hands and slapped her palms together, sending a squirt of water up at the bird. Nobody squawked in dismay and fluttered backwards while Tai laughed.
“Lesson number one,” she said with a grin. “Expect the unexpected!” Nobody mumbled unhappily and moved over to his mate and stuck his head underneath her wing. The female was bright red, and had small patterns of blue across her body. Her name was Sisi. She tilted her head and looked at Tai.
“Whachu doing? Pretty bird!”
“Come over here and I’ll show you!” Tai said, still grinning. She flung a few droplets of water at the birds. Sisi clipped her beak at the water droplets and whistled. Nobody grumbled and picked at the bright colored red band on his foot. Meanwhile, Blue had waddled over to the pool. Without hesitation, the bird dunked her entire head into the pool and yanked it out. Chuckling to herself, Blue began grooming the water off of her.
(590 Words, 590 Total)
