Completed Feathers and Salt [Job]

Tailyn spends time with her parrots and shows them new things

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Syka is a new settlement of primarily humans on the east coast of Falyndar opposite of Riverfall on The Suvan Sea. [Syka Codex]

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Feathers and Salt [Job]

Postby Tailyn on February 5th, 2018, 6:20 pm

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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)
Last edited by Tailyn on March 1st, 2018, 5:12 pm, edited 4 times in total.
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Tailyn
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Feathers and Salt

Postby Tailyn on February 6th, 2018, 2:52 am

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Exposing the birds to new things and playing around with them was all well and good, but Tai had more plans than just that today. She picked up a piece of coconut flesh from the broken coconut that she’d hidden underneath her pile of clothing just out of reach of the tethered birds, and presented it to them. Nobody and Sisi perked up. Blue, who was still busy grooming the water off of her feathers, paused in her endeavor and glanced Tai’s way. She croaked a wordless comment.

“Okay Blue you know this trick already. You first.” Tai picked up the falconers’ glove resting beside her shed clothes and put it on, careful not to get any water from the pool on it. She put the slice of coconut in her hand, looked at Blue, and whistled as she raised the glove. The bird launched into the air immediately and landed on the woman’s gloved fist.

“Good girl Blue!” Tai said and offered the bird the piece of coconut. Happily, Blue took it into her mouth and chewed it. Tai glanced over towards Sisi and Nobody who were both staring at her curiously.

Tai gathered a few more pieces of coconut and moved through the water until she was just out of reach of the pair of birds.

“Let’s start with an easy one, alright?” Tai told them. She put a piece of coconut in her hand and lifted the glove towards the birds.

“Step up now.” Sisi whistled and bobbed her head. She pecked at the piece of coconut, but it was concealed inside of Tai’s fist. Nobody, far more uncertain, lingered behind his girlfriend.

“Come on,” Tai coaxed. “This one isn’t all that hard.” She opened her fist to show the piece of coconut, then quickly closed it again.

“Hard. Pretty bird,” Sisi whistled. The bird tilted her head, looking at the fist contraption and wondering how she could possibly magic the tasty food out of it.

“Step up,” Tai told her again, and patiently lifted her fist towards her. Sisi put her claw on the glove, perhaps hoping she could somehow strongarm the food out of it and Tai seized the opportunity. The birdkeeper lifted up the glove quickly so Sisi was forced to grab onto the glove or else fall off.

“Good girl, Sisi!” Tai told her and opened her fist to give the bird her treat. “Good girl, good girl!” Sisi said happily as she crunched into her snack.

Tai turned next to Nobody. Nobody was a cautious parrot. Tai had slowly gained trust from him before her arrival to Syka, but he was still exceedingly careful about what he did for her. He preferred to think things through before acting, and Tai had found patience was the best way to get results from him.

“Want a treat, Nobody?” she asked the green parrot. He dipped his beak.

“Nobody,” the parrot mumbled. “Good boy, good bird,” Tai crooned at him. She showed the piece of coconut to the bird. In a sudden rare burst of inspiration, Nobody lunged at her hand. Before he could snatch the coconut out of it Tai jerked her hand away.

“Nuh uh,” she told him. “We do tricks, then we get a treat. Got it?” Nobody mumbled unhappily, and stared at her fist where the treat still lay hidden.

(554 Words, 1144 Total)
Last edited by Tailyn on February 12th, 2018, 8:49 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Tailyn
Crazy Parrot Lady
 
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Joined roleplay: January 22nd, 2018, 10:28 pm
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Feathers and Salt

Postby Tailyn on February 11th, 2018, 4:50 am

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“Let’s try that again,” Tai told him. She extended the glove towards Nobody, fist still concealing the treat.

“You gotta work if you want the treat mister,” Tai told him. Dubiously, he stared at her fist. He moved his head forward cautiously and scraped his beak across the falconry glove. If Tai’s hands had been bare, it probably would have been painful. As it was, Tai could only feel a slight pressure from the bird’s curious beak. Tai moved her glove closer to the bird’s feet as his attention remained focused on the hidden treat. Then, gently she pushed against Nobody’s back. Startled, he hopped onto Tai’s hand.

“Step up!” Tai said, raising up the glove. “Good boy Nobody! Good bird!” Keeping him still on the glove, Tai opened her fist and fed him the tidbit. Puzzled but willing, the bird took the treat in his mouth. Smiling, Tai set the bird back onto the ground and turned to look for Blue. When her eyes found her companion bird, Blue was face-deep in the bag of coconut.

“Hey!” Tai snapped, causing Nobody to let out a squawk of dismay.

“What do you think you’re doing?!” Blue, of course, knew exactly what she was doing. The second her master snapped, the bird grabbed the piece of coconut and launched herself into a nearby tree.

“Blue!” Tai growled. She dragged herself out of the pool and stood underneath the tree where the bird gorged herself. Tai extended her hand and whistled. Blue put the piece of coconut in her claw, and gave Tai a slow, deliberate look. Then, with a croak suspiciously resembling a laugh the bird returned the coconut to her mouth and turned her back on Tai.

Tai was steaming. It almost wasn’t worth going after Blue for the piece of coconut, but at this point it was a matter of pride. Tai stared at the tree Blue roosted in critically. Palm trees weren’t much for climbing. At least back in Wind Reach, trees had proper branches in which the clamber up. Tai did have some climbing equipment, but she’d left it back in her tent and she didn’t fancy leaving the parrots alone while she made the trek back. She wouldn’t make that mistake again. Tai did, however, have a useful piece of equipment that she never went anywhere without. Perhaps she could make do.

Tai pulled the coil of rope out of her backpack, dusting the coconut pieces off of it. Sisi and Nobody watched with interest and provided a running commentary as Tai tested the rope’s strength then set to tying a loop around her waist. It quickly became apparent that her first idea wasn’t going to work. A simple loop would just strangle her waist, and Tai still needed use of her legs. She took a little more time and instead managed a sort of makeshift harness that looped around her legs. It wasn’t exactly professional but...it could work, right?

Bravado fading, Tai looked up at the tree. Blue was still happily crunching away. Tai gave the rope a few tosses upwards, until it finally looped itself on one of the branches. She caught hold of the end of the rope and tugged on it a few times to make sure it was secure. Tai steeled herself with a steadying breath, braced herself against the tree, and under the background chatter of parrots began to climb.

(564 Words, 1708 Total)
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Tailyn
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Joined roleplay: January 22nd, 2018, 10:28 pm
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Feathers and Salt

Postby Tailyn on February 18th, 2018, 9:10 pm

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It was a stupid idea. Really very honestly stupid. The rope tensed around her legs and made it difficult for her to move them and when she tried to brace herself against the tree she didn’t have enough maneuverability to really go very far. In addition, as a few slides back down the tree confirmed, her weight against the rope was far too heavy to handle.

As she grabbed hold of the rope as she started to slide, she felt her shoulders jostle painfully in their sockets. Irritated, Tai allowed herself to slide back down the side of the tree and glare up into the branches as she rubbed her hands together. The slide back down the tree had not been pleasant, and her hands burned from the harsh texture of the rope.

Blue was watching her with great interest. The bird held the piece of coconut in one claw and casually took a bite out of it.

“You’re a brat, Blue!” Tai called up into the tree. Blue chuckled. “Brat,” the parrot agreed, mouth still full of coconut. She thoughtfully tore a chunk of husk and tossed it down below the tree then clipped her beak together cheerfully.

“Pretty bird!” Sisi whistled from beside the pool. Tai turned to look at her second pair of parrots, watching the scene with great interest. Their intent eyes focused on Tai. Despite Sisi’s cheerful voice, their eyes were silently judging. If anyone ever said that animals couldn’t make you embarrassed, Tai would call them a damn liar.

Furiously, Tai took apart the ridiculous contraption she had made, untying every single stupid knot until she had an entire length of rope again. Tai swallowed her temper then surveyed the tree with a critical eye as she massaged her sore arms.

Did she really need the rope? She’d always heard of the people of Wind Reach climbing with ropes when they weren’t doing daredevil free-climbs, but she never really had learned how they went about it. The tree wasn’t that terribly high up after all. It didn’t have branches, but it did have grooves. Tai ran her hand gently against the tree’s trunk. It was a rough texture. Maybe rough enough for her to find foot and hand holds on the surface?

Thoughtfully, Tai stashed the rope back in her bag, went to go pet Nobody and Sisi so they didn’t think they’d been forgotten, then returned to the tree. Tai made sure her boots were tied tightly, then moved forward against the tree, braced her feet against it and tried once more to climb.

She looked stupid. Tai knew she looked stupid. She was basically scrambling up the side of the tree panting and heaving like she was running a marathon, arms tangled around the trunk as if giving it an extremely aggressive bear hug. Her feet were able to find small grooves within the trunk, but only sometimes. Far more often, she’d slide back a step for every three she’d make. But she was now making progress, slowly but surely.

(508 Words, 2216 Total)
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Tailyn
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Feathers and Salt

Postby Tailyn on February 21st, 2018, 5:57 pm

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Blue peered over the top of the palm tree and let out a curious croak with a tilted head. Under any other circumstance, Tai would have found it adorable. But as she was now, panting and heaving and covered in sweaty palms that made her ascension that much more difficult Tailyn felt like she was halfway to an aneurysm.

“You are in big trouble missy!” Tai panted, arching her head to stare at the bird in the tree. Blue was nearly finished eating the coconut. The bird had scraped most of the succulent meat from out of the interior of the coconut and was now scraping her beak against the sides, trying to pull up the last few bits.

Tai was about halfway up the side of the tree now. For a moment she fantasized about sliding back down and giving up. After all, once Blue had finished eating she would come back down readily enough. Tai could soak her sweat covered body in the pool while she waited and play with Sisi and Nobody for a bit. It would be perfect.

But...Tai was also more than halfway up the tree now. Pride pushed her forward. If she gave up now, what would that make her? A giver-upper, that’s what. And that was one thing that Tai refused to be. She had spent all those years preparing to be right here and now, and she would no doubt face trials far worse than these. So as silly as it was, Tai resolved herself to persevere. And with a few more steps she was nearly to the top of the tree.

“Young lady,” Tai muttered through her teeth. “Get down here this instant!” Blue peered down the top of the tree, her beak now directly in Tai’s face. “Tairyn,” the bird chuckled. Then, before Tai could make a grab for the bird, she launched herself from the top of the tree. The remains of coconut were dropped directly in Tai’s face.

Understandably, Tai lost her balance. The woman made a frantic grab for something, anything, and found her hands full of palm leaves. The leaves held for a moment, then fell apart in her hand and Tai fell backwards.

Although the tree was not very far from the ground the fall felt like it took a very long time. Tai fell square on her ass and let out a yelp of pain from the jolt in her spine. A moment later, a brand new, fresh coconut slammed into the ground next to her, just barely missing the woman’s head. Tai groaned and fell onto her back. For several long moments Tai lay on her back panting.

“Tairynn?” Tai opened one eye to see Blue next to her prone form, looking at her with an expression that might resemble sympathy.

“You. are. in. trouble,” Tai managed haltingly. But for the moment she couldn’t bring herself to do anything but lie there.

Finally after what felt like hours, Tai staggered to her feet. Her ass and lower back stabbed with every step. With a wry smile, Tai glanced first at the discarded remains of coconut, then at the full undamaged one that had fallen from above.

“Guess that solves that,” Tai sighed, and picked up the object from the ground. Still limping, Tai made her way back to Sisi and Nobody. The next thing she taught them would be how to crack open a coconut. And preferably how not to injure their owner.

(Words 581, Total 2797)
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Tailyn
Crazy Parrot Lady
 
Posts: 95
Words: 87326
Joined roleplay: January 22nd, 2018, 10:28 pm
Race: Human, Inarta
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Feathers and Salt [Job]

Postby Avela on March 24th, 2018, 4:25 am

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Tailyn

XP Award:
  • Birdkeeping - 3
  • Observation - 5
  • Climbing - 2
  • Planning - 1
  • Endurance - 1

Lore:
  • Location: The Community Pool
  • Working Birds are Happy Birds
  • Birdkeeping: Using treats as encouragement
  • Birdkeeping: Training birds to come to one's fist
  • Nobody: A cautious parrot
  • Blue: Tailyn's loyal companion
  • Blue: A brat
  • Sisi and Nobody: Mates
  • Climbing: Palm trees
  • Tailyn: Refuses to give up


Notes:

I really enjoyed this thread! Tailyn is such a fun character, and the way she interacts with her birds is adorable. Blue is a mischievous little rascal. I can't wait to read more about Tailyn in Syka. Unfortunately, I couldn't give you any swimming because Tai was not actively floating or treading water, but I tried to cover everything I saw. Please let me know if I made any mistakes or if you have any comments, and don't forget to edit or delete your grade request.

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(•̀o•́)ง

~Avela~
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