High Flying [Kendall]

[Vin]

14th Day of Winter, 511AV The forest was absolutely silent, save for the scurryings of a tiny mouse. Even though the ground was heavily carpeted with snow, this little animal was still running around. It was hunting for berries, most likely the last bit of food it would have before its long winter slumber. Little did it know, it was being watched. In the trees above, a single bird was studying the mouse. It was a kestrel, its sharp eyes following the creature’s movements even at such a distance. In a sudden movement the bird launched itself off its perch, wings flat against its sides, diving straight toward the mouse. At the last minute, surprisingly large wings extended and the bird turned upright, claws reaching out to snatch the mouse from where it scurried. A few wingbeats later, and the bird was back up in the trees, enjoying her morning meal. A short while later and she was finished, a shrill klee sound leaving her beak. Wings extended again, and the kestrel took off, flying back toward the city of Avanthal. She covered ground quickly, and as soon as she passed over the gates, she made a beeline for a particular tree. A cloak and dress hung over branches a little way up it, and it was next to these that the bird perched.

[Kendall Saarinen]

As always, it was freezing in Avanthal. That was to be expected though. Kendall dressed warmly, a thick coat, gloves, the works for a chilly day. Hadrian had instructed him to try meditating more. Well, more so he was keeping from being cozy with the blond at times to "persuade" him to focus on his studies. Hadrian was off elsewhere at the moment and now that there were no distractions, he would practice.

Kendall walked alone, quietly singing under his breath. He needed somewhere to sit. It was too hard to try and meditate while walking. After a bit of a stroll, he spotted a stone bench beneath a tree. It seemed a good of a place as any.

Sitting down, the blond closed his eyes and breathed in. He tried to clear his mind as he felt the cold winter air warming in his lungs. He listened to the wind blowing between the buildings and through the trees. He pushed his thoughts into the wind, letting them blow away into the Taldera skies.

Above Kendall, he heard a flapping and rustling in the tree. The blond had become a bit desensitized to the sounds of birds. Ethan was always flapping about and making noise with his wings. With another breath in, Kendall focused on the wind again. He tried to block out all sounds except the wind. He felt the breeze running through his hair and nipping at his cheeks. It was a bit different than how he normally meditated it he found it soothing.

[Vin]

Sharp eyes picked him out long before he would have seen her. The kestrel watched with interest as a blonde boy approached, wrapped up against the cold of the morning. As he neared, the sound of singing reached her, and the birds head tilted in curiosity. As he settled himself onto the bench underneath her, still the kestrel watched. She hadn’t been back in the city long. The kestrel had returned here only a few days ago, and after being out in the wilds for so long, the city felt alien to her. She had known this place before, though she had been a different bird back then. The ways of humans in particular drew her interest; she had almost forgotten what it was like to be around them. After a good number of chimes, the boy down on the bench still hadn’t moved. Keen eyes had been watching him carefully, and he was still as a statue. If birds could frown, the kestrel would have done. It was strange seeing a person so still. She extended her wings and dropped from the branch, landing as quietly as she could beside the boy on the bench. Her talons made clicking and scraping sounds, but that couldn’t be helped. Head tilted again, and she looked up at the blonde’s face. Was he sleeping?

[Kendall Saarinen]

There it was again. The flapping noise. Kendall scrunched up his nose slightly in an effort to try and focus harder on his meditation. The sounds seemed to keep coming though. Now there was a scratching and clicking. With a slight sigh, the blond opened his eyes to see a bird sitting beside him. Just as the bird had done, Kendall could not help but cock his head slightly as he looked at it. The last time a bird had decided to share a bench with him, it had been Ethan. This bird could not be like him though, could it?

It made Kendall a tad embarrassed that despite being such close friends with a bird Kelvic, he really did not know much about birds. He knew enough to know that this bird was not like Ethan. He was a lammergeiger. This bird was smaller than him and much more ruddy in color. He did not want to risk getting a finger pecked off because he tried to pet her. He assumed Ethan only let him pet him because they were so close and had shared so much.

Instead, Kendall tried a different approach. He spoke to the bird, much like he had done with Ethan. "Hello. I didn't know I was being accompanied here during my meditation." He could not help but wonder why the bird was being so social but perhaps his meditative state had caused him to look approachable, or better yet, not intimidating.