Completed [Kelvic Research Institute]Let the Bidding Begin

[Yonega]

Cosmo would have no such luck, this time. The raven hadn't 'expired' as he seemed almost to hope for, but she was beginning to stir finally. The whole thing took less than fifteen minutes, from collapse, to purchase, to arrival on the vessel; and the replay of how she'd obtained such a panicked state that ran through her mind finally did end.

As the fisherman layed her upon blanket and started to touch her chest in search of life from that warm bodied flyer, those black feet twitched again. First, one toe stretched, and then the other, and then both feet; her beak opened a little wider and chest-movements were more easily depicted as the bird began to pant. Her shut eyes soon followed, opening slowly to blink before instinct kicked in and both wings were used to adjust herself and get her feet properly beneath her. She let out a few uncertain clucks as she did this, dark brown eyes spotting the figure and the dimmer surroundings she had been relocated to.

-How did I get in here...?- She thought, head canting back towards the hume once more and ruffling up the ebony and shimmering plumes of her head. Both wings were soon opened and flexed quickly, a series of hard flaps and rubs of the wrist joint against her chest before settling back into their natural places along her sides. This was definitely not the auction ring, and was definitely not the stage. There were no other Kelvics here, that she could see; no cages; no guards or handlers; no crowds...No crowds.

No crowds.

No. Crowds.

The very thought seemed absurd! And yet, simultaneously filled the bird with absolute joy. With only a slight bend of the leg and thrust of the wings as they opened once more, the corvid leapt into the air, letting loose a series of low churring sounds that were almost like purrs and almost like hums. She flapped her way around the room, tiny that it was, using feet to push off of various surfaces (including Cosmo's head on occasion) as she released her delight of, well, freedom. It had yet to occurr to Yonega that she truly was free thanks to this man, but what did it matter? There were no crowds!

The avian continued this excited display for a full minute before she could take it no more and landed on the cot not occupied by the fisherman, panting and churring still, all her feathers fluffed out comically. She waddle-walked across the bed for a few moments more then turned and hopped to the edge, deftly balancing upon one foot and extending the one with the metal id band upon it towards Cos. She held it there for a moment, lucid brown eyes fixed on him, then lowered both her foot and her head to lightly peck at the band. This was finished with a raise of head back to him and clack of that sleek bill at him, trying to communicate her desires. The band had to be taken off.

[Cosmo Diaz]

His renewed touch to her breast seemed to awaken some internal response, for a toe twitched and then another. Under his fingertips, he felt the still beating heart, and he felt some relief, his momentary consideration of not having to figure out some way to deal with her forgotten. Instinctively, though it probably didn’t make any difference at all in her recovery, he stroked the silky, dark feathers as he bent over her, peering down anxiously, looking for more signs that she was possibly coming to. Her chest was moving up and down more visibly now, and her beak opened slightly, then her eyes finally fluttered back open. He backed off then, not wishing to trigger another spate of panicked squawking, and trying to give her a little space. Cos had no idea what had set off the near hysterical outburst back on the sales platform, so he watched Yonega carefully, almost holding his breath. But all she did was flop herself upright, and make a few low sound in her throat. At least it was not that horrible raucous screeching of before. In the enclosed space of the cabin that would have been deafening. She finally fixed her dark eye on him, and he kept his face neutral and reassuring – or so he hoped it appeared. “It’s alright,” he crooned, unsure if a Kelvic in its bird form actually understood human speech. But, as with any upset animal, or a baby even, his brain told him instinctively to keep his voice low in volume and slightly higher in pitch. “It’s alright,” he repeated, keeping his body still. “You’re safe, for now. You’re on my friend’s boat. A fishing boat.” Again, he had no idea if she understood any of this. But he simply spoke for the sake of trying to sound comforting. Yonega had stretched and seemed to gather herself back together, when suddenly she seemed to explode into the air. Cosmo jerked back, half afraid she meant to fly at him in a show of aggression – born of fear. But she didn’t, much to his relief. She simply was taking the opportunity to fly and hop about, at one point actually landing on his head, which was momentarily alarming and a bit unpleasant, as her claws scraped over his scalp. He had raised his arms in defense but already she was away, and he had to chuckle at her antics – which now seemed playful more than anything else. The raven seemed to be enjoying herself. Finally she landed, and appeared to settle a bit, marching up and down the other cot, but then perching on the edge. It was then that she stuck her foot out to him. Yes, she really was sticking it right out there for him to see – but why? Cosmo leaned forward a bit, looking not first at the foot but into her dark eyes, clearly puzzled. His eyes then dropped to her foot, and he did see the band but he didn’t realize that the display had to do with that. He almost thought she might be trying to get him to shake hands, as it were, something like a dog. But then the leg dropped back down and she bent to peck at the bit of metal. Then one more very pointed look at him and a little click of her beak. OK, OK, he finally got the message. “Oh, you want that off!” Of course. How does one keep a Kelvic in whichever form you want them to be in? You put a metal or leather strap about some part of them. For cats and canids and those types of mammals, around the neck was typical – a collar, if you will. But for a bird – of course – the ankle. It made sense. Cos reached out and gently touched the foot and if she made no objection he would raise it a bit to closer study the band. It was light and thin and made of tin – not a problem at all. “Alright, my darling. I see. Wait here – I have to fetch some wire cutters.” He fixed her with a look, and paused, then extended his forearm. She had seemed so delighted to fly around in the confines of the cabin. What harm would it do to take her above deck – just for a moment? “Hop on, if you like. You can come with, while I look for them.”

[Yonega]

The absolute joy she felt at being free of the cage and the crowds was receding into something more closely related to peaceful acceptance. It was nice to be out and about again, but one had to moderate their emotions a little more. And yet, how could she be expected to do that? It was just so thrilling! Couldn't the hume see that? The raven ruffled up her feathers once more and clicked her beak expectantly at him, picking at the leg band impatiently; how could she be expected to communicate when in this state? But the man seemed to be catching on finally and spoke of fetching some wire-cutters.

However, when he told her to wait here, her head tilted in absolute disdain. Wait?! Was he insane! That was boring! It was the first chance she had to really get a look at the world that didn't involve peering at it through a cage or glass. He couldn't possibly expect her to wait while he got to see it by himself. Her protestations were about to begin (bill already open and feathers already ruffled) when he stopped and turned back to her, extending his arm in a gesture she was acutely familiar with. The not-so-small raven rawk'd delightedly and fly-hopped up onto his arm.

She settled near his elbow, weight shifting easily as she balanced on the muscled appendage. Her head resumed its curious tilting and observations during this moment, lowering on occasion to wipe her beak across his bicep or to pick at a feather along her dark underside. Mostly it was looking around the little room again and looking up to Cos, fully expecting him to get a move on as he'd claimed! There'd be no Shifting so long as that metal band was on her leg, and those no more communication in the way that was needed.

Yone wondered what to expect. Where had he taken her exactly? She had a vague impression of water, given the moist-woody aroma permeating the air, but what more? That scent in itself was common around the Institute because of its proximity to the lake. Hm.

[Verilian]

. . Thread Award . . Yonega +1 Miming +1 Persuasion Lores: Near-Death Experience, Taste of Freedom Cosmo Diaz Your portion of this thread may not be graded at this time due to your character sheet needing updating. Please pay your seasonal expenses, and update your thread list, along with anything else that needs to be updated. Once that is done, feel free to resubmit this thread for grading. You Question My Logic? : Not much I could give here, but if you have any questions or concerns, feel free to PM me. Notes: I am a fan of your kelvic, after only two threads, lol. You do a great job portraying her animal nature. Too bad the thread couldn't finish officially, but it's safe to assume that he would have cut the band and Yonega could escape. Anyway, good work, and keep writing! Notice As per the request of the Founders, threads cannot be graded unless your CS is up to date. This means you need to add threads to your thread list when you make new threads, keep your skills up to date, ledger, living expenses, ect. If you aren't up to date, you'll get a PM from me before i grade your thread. If you are up to date, disregard this notice.