[The Bronze Wood] Do Fur And Feathers Flock Together? [Nya]

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Stretching northward along the coastline of the Suvan Sea, the Cobalt Mountains are the home of the Bronze Wood, numerous ruins, and creatures both strange and fantastical.

[The Bronze Wood] Do Fur And Feathers Flock Together? [Nya]

Postby Avi on October 22nd, 2009, 9:21 pm

TS: The 65th of Fall, 509 AV
Location: The Bronze Wood
Closed. Nya Winters, please!



Travel through Mizahar was difficult and treacherous at best, and impossible at worst. But if you had the means and the courage, there wasn't anywhere in Mizahar you couldn't visit. And fortunately for Avi, she had both. Spurred on by a childlike curiosity and the east-bound wind, the young Kelvic had gone much further than she had planned, soaring high in the sky, mindful of just how close to the ground she actually was. That was something that she took care to keep in mind, even when she wasn't actively hunting. On one occasion, she had nearly been shot down back at home by a young hunter who didn't know that it was her. It had scared her silly for all of fifteen minutes, but it had taught her a valuable lesson: even the skies had their dangers. But if you paid attention, and you were careful, it was still much safer than traveling on the ground.

She found the Bronze Wood to be decidedly warmer than home. But, truly told, most places were. But this, she decided, was pretty, particularly in this light. It looked simply magical. Sharp gold eyes brightened to a luminescent hue as she took in her surroundings, looking for any other birds of prey who may have called this place home... or any threats at all. Seeing nothing and satisfying herself for the moment, she managed to alight on a tall tree, on a jutting branch. The movement trapped the enormous fish that she had caught on the way between her talons and perch, holding it steady. She had a look about, her black head tilting to the side as she listened to the sounds for several minutes more, thinking she had heard something as she stood still, prepared to take off with her prize and snack. Eventually, though, her golden eyes flashed, and she happily dug in to the silvery-blue fish, her hooked beak sinking into its side, wings partly spread for balance and to help protect her food.

As the massive bird ate, pieces of the fish, from scales and skin and fins, and at last the head, eventually made their way down to the mossy forest floor, becoming a pile that Avi would probably consider coming back down to eat. But if something got there first, well, that was that.
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Re: [The Bronze Wood] Do Fur And Feathers Flock Together? [Nya]

Postby Nya Winters on October 25th, 2009, 2:36 am

Nya was prowling again. She loved too, even when the pair were in the city for long periods of time. It was almost instinctual that she'd jog back to her territory and patrol it quickly. Though it was more than thirty miles square, Nya could if she moved quickly traverse the entirety of it and only use up a quarter of the night. On those evenings that she did so, she'd take the next day to nap, usually when Abashai was busy with whatever it was he was up too. He preferred sleeping at night, which was fine with Nya. Sometimes she'd stay with him, especially if there was some sort of festivity in the city or a lot of people moving around that were above average. Other times she'd slip out in the darkness and prowl to satisfy her feline nature.

This was one of those nights.

And interestingly enough, it was raining fish. Now normally Nya didn't mind seeing a free snack laying on the ground, but when it hit her, niceties ended. A few scales, bits of flesh, even entrails one could ignore. But a beady-eyed fish head bouncing off her nose was just a bit more than she could take. The Talderian Forest Cat squalled, spit, and backed up then looked up. Of course, there wasn't much use of arguing with a very large very predatory looking bird. In fact, the bird looked a lot like it could take on Nya on equal footing. The forest cat flattened her ears, and roared up at the bird, infusing her indignity in the alto of her scream.

Nya didn't climb the tree. She didn't trust even large trees in the bronze wood usually to hold her weight. In Taldera it was a different story, but here, with two large creatures in the tree, it would never hold. So instead, she shifted, picked up the dead fish head, and hurled it upwards as fast as she could attempting to bounce it off the birds beak. "Take that... how do you like getting hit on the head with something that vile?" Then she shifted back, backed up, and yowled again, willing to pick a fight if necessary to get the creature to move on.
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Re: [The Bronze Wood] Do Fur And Feathers Flock Together? [Nya]

Postby Avi on October 25th, 2009, 4:17 am

Avi was busy packing the succulent meat of the fish down her gullet. Every so often she had a look around, but the fish was taking a lot of her attention as she ripped pieces off and seemed to choke them down. She could fly while she ate, but that opened her up more than she liked, especially in unfamiliar territory. So it was better to land and eat. Something that was very near and dear to Avi's heart was food, especially when she was eating it. Her enormous feet clutched branch and fish alike, though she shifted once or twice, adjusting her weight and the fish to keep eating. She was ripping out the fish's intestine, gulping the bloody, twisted organ down when sound and movement caught her attention down below. She used her sharp beak to cut off the guts where she was, and held onto the end with her beak has she cast a look below.

She eyed the big cat, golden eyes peering downwards, and considered the tree before deciding she was safe for the moment. She sized the cat up. Definitely not something she wanted to get in range of. She would bet if that cat's claws caught her, she wasn't going to be flying again for a good long while. She was content to go back to eating as she lowered her head, keeping her eye on the angry Forest Cat on the ground. The great hooked beak ripped at the guts and she swallowed another slimy chunk. The enormous bird stared as Nya went from cat to human, picking up the head and hurled it at her. Things clicked, then, and Avi let out a piercing shriek, as if for the joy of merely making the sound, apparently pleased, as the large, glassy-eyed fish head came within range of her beak. She snatched it out of the air, and as Nya went back to cat form, a naked girl with long black hair and glowing eyes, now a burnt-amber was crouched on the branch where the bird had been, balanced easily on the wood, the remainder of the fish under a foot as she squatted, looking down at her from the tree.

"Hello! Thankyabigbig!" Avi called down to her, holding the fish head in two hands, grinning broadly, utterly unashamed of her exposed state in front of what must have been another Kelvic. She was sure of it! She'd seen others in Avanthal! Her teeth ripped into the fish head as she clutched it, ripping off the chewy cheek meat and making her own cheeks bulge as she chowed down, her luminous eyes watching the angry cat below. But she clearly wasn't leaving that tree just yet, despite Nya's efforts to order her out of her territory.
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Re: [The Bronze Wood] Do Fur And Feathers Flock Together? [Nya]

Postby Nya Winters on October 27th, 2009, 5:00 pm

Kelvic. Go figure. Nya stopped, peered up at the girl, and shifted herself. That was the only drawback of being a forest cat full time, there was no voice and no hands. Nya, who never in her life wanted to be human or enjoyed anything remotely human before she'd bonded with Abashai, was starting to really depend on both her hands and her voice to get through the day. "What are you doing up in a tree eating a fish? And where did you come from? I haven't seen another feral kelvic out here for a long time, especially one as big as you are." Nya called up, still wondering if the girl was simple for thanking her for throwing the fish head back at her. Who ate the head anyhow? Sure, the eyes were good, and sometimes the brains were sweet, but the little stone nuggets in each fish ear sometimes stuck in her teeth, and the skull was never that appetizing anyhow. Cartilage wasn't Nya's favorite.

"This is my territory. You have to ask to be here, else we have to fight."
It seemed a simple enough thing to Nya, but she wasn't sure if birds understood such things or if they even cared. "And you could use some manners in eating. Don't you chew your food? Wolves wolf down meat like that, but that doesn't mean the rest of the world has to eat like dogs." The feline called up, obviously taunting the bird in the tree.

Nya paced the circumference of the tree, staring up at it, but also being wary for other scents. The owleagle or whatever it was might very well have a bondmate somewhere on the ground, or there might be more of them and being as big as they were, and as obviously hungry, they might enjoy Talderian Forest Cat just as much as salmon.
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Re: [The Bronze Wood] Do Fur And Feathers Flock Together? [Nya]

Postby Avi on October 27th, 2009, 10:04 pm

Well, Avi reasoned, what else would she be doing in a tree eating a fish? Eating, of course! She was going to respond before Nya continued, so contented herself with using one of her fingers to hook out the fish's brains, and popped them in her mouth, munching away like it was some sort of delicacy, instead of what it was. Raw, slimy, mucous-covered brains. Avi's family liked food cooked, but Avi was perfectly happy either way. Food was food was food, and she was not picky. It wasn't like they were gathered around in the evening telling stories and people preferred their meat cooked... But waste not, want not.

Perhaps the other Kelvic wasn't entirely lacking manners, if only because she remembered to swallow her mouthful of raw fish instead of issuing some sort of mumbled proclamation in that cheerful voice of hers. She didn't interrupt, either, though once or twice she looked like she was going to, only to just keep eating, her bright eyes following Nya when she paced along the tree. She didn't try turning on the branch, but just watched her as she stuck her fingers in her mouth, cleaning them. Territory was a concept she well understood. Owls and eagles were incredibly territorial, but they hardly chased a cat or wolf out of their area for trespassing. At least, Avi never had. But she supposed it was different with Kelvics. She'd never been threatened by the enormous polar bear Kelvics in Avanthal, and she'd certainly never though of trying it, big as she may have been. But Avi wasn't going to argue. Territory was territory, and that was that. She popped another morsel of meat in her mouth and used her tongue to peel it apart into thick flakes. These flakes allowed her to work the chunk down her throat in pieces, and gather her thoughts.

Only once she finished swallowing that piece did she answer what parts she thought needed to be answered. "I come from Avanthal, the great goddess Morwen's city of ice and snow, in the north," she pointed in the general direction from which she'd come as she adjusted her position on the branch. Clearly, she wanted more of her fish. "I wanted to see the southern area of Taldera, but with Zulrav's winds, I came further," she paused. Her eyes had seemed to go back down to gold. " I caught a fish, and decided to find somewhere to stop and eat it. I found this, these woods with the glowing trees, and decided to stop here. When I'm done, I'll go. I know territory," she grinned down at Nya. "But my name is Avi. What is your name?"
Last edited by Avi on November 6th, 2009, 12:23 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: [The Bronze Wood] Do Fur And Feathers Flock Together? [Nya]

Postby Nya Winters on October 30th, 2009, 6:02 pm

"Oh... I have heard of that place. I did not know it was real. Are the stories true? Of the ice palace and the deer that pull sleighs across the frozen plains and sometimes let people ride them?" Nya asked expectantly, completely distracted out of her annoyance by the fact Avi claimed she was from a place Nya thought had been made up. She said something else too that distracted Nya immediately. "If Zulrav blew you here, it was for a reason. I am one of his children." Nya said boldly, calling up at the kelvic and finding it slightly annoying that she was so high up in the tree and so... big. Nya wondered for a moment if others had the same thoughts about her.

"No no.. it is okay. You can stay. So long as you know its mine and do not try to take it. I do not really claim the treetops... just the ground. And there is more than enough fish for both of us if you want to stay a while. Though I have not seen that big of a salmon in the streams around here. You must have gotten it somewhere further north."
She wasn't really hinting for a location, but she wouldn't mind having one... that much was for sure.

"Nya Winters is my name. When you are done eating, can you come down so we can talk? I would like to hear about Avanthal. I will not bother you, I promise, since I do not much like birds - well, I like chickens, but I do not count them as birds."
She said, referring to food now, not friendship. "I do not meet very many other kelvics out here. Only those passing through." She said gently, then paced the clearing. "Besides, there are pieces of your fish all over down here." She pointed out.
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Re: [The Bronze Wood] Do Fur And Feathers Flock Together? [Nya]

Postby Avi on November 6th, 2009, 12:59 am

When Nya showed interest in Avanthal, Avi's manners, quite frankly, simply flew off. She brightened, her eyes going from gold to a brilliant amber-orange, and grinned hugely. "Avanthal is the goddess Morwen's city of ice and snow and cold. Nowhere in creation can you find such a place as there, no matter where you go. From the north to the south, from the east to the west, Avanthal is the best," the young Kelvic wasn't trying to put down Nya's home, of course - she spoke with innocent enthusiasm and love of her frozen home. "With the ice statues and icicles as long as my wings," she gestured, spreading her arms out wide, "it's so so so so so pretty! So cold! But with your fur, you wouldn't mind at all!" She loved making friends, and she was clearly already thinking Nya amongst their number. "The wind carried me so far, and wouldn't let me go another way," she explained. She seemed to have no problem balancing on the branch, half-perched on her meal and looking down, but she wasn't the one craning her neck all the time.

"I understand territory," Avi assured her. "We birds are very territorial, and we don't like to share that much with other birds, not to worry. I won't try to take it. It's too warm down here for me." It was almost funny, considering the lateness in the season, and the fact that the girl was contentedly undressed up above. But when you considered it, really, the fact that she wasn't cold said something about the temperatures she was used to. "And I did, some time back," she patted the silvery fish. "If you go through the mountains, there are some more areas so hidden, so hard to get by foot. But by wing, not so hard, to fly down and snatch. And this one was small!" she was delighted by that fact. "Prey is easier, and very plentiful." It was hard to know what to make of her. At times she spoke perfectly normally, and at other times, her excitement seemed to get the best of her, and sentence structure was lost as words were skipped or forgotten. "I can take you!"

At the invitation to come down, though, Avi decided to come down right then - she was all for meeting Nya face to face, especially since it was now okay for her to be here. She stretched her arms out, and the arms became so much longer and feathered as she shifted to once more. She grabbed the monster of a salmon with her talons, and down she came, trimming her wings, and then flaring them suddenly to alight carefully on the forest floor. Then a young woman was crouching there, and she lifted the fish, picking bits of foliage off of it, and offered the slab of raw meat to Nya. "Would you like some?" Besides, she had all sorts of pieces that she'd missed, and hey, there was plenty for two. Now that she was down here, Nya could see some loose leather straps peeking out from underneath that massive of gleaming black hair. A backpack, maybe?
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Re: [The Bronze Wood] Do Fur And Feathers Flock Together? [Nya]

Postby Nya Winters on December 28th, 2009, 5:14 am

Nya loved hearing about far off places and things exotic to her. Not only was Avi someone she was curious about, but that she was from someplace so far away might mean that she had knowledge that Nya did not have - and more importantly knowledge Nya might need - for she was a cat driven by a purpose, one bound by promises to a God who remembered a time before people walked the world.

"I've heard it is a world of snow and ice. It sounds rich in food, for here when the snows come I eat best of all, for all that winter meat can be tough and stringy."
Nya confessed, smiling slightly. "I think it would be beautiful to see the icicles and statues as well. I don't mind the cold at all. I really like the snow, truth be told." Nya admitted while the girl paced back and forth on the branch so high up. "The wind thought it was probably helping you. I would listen to it if I were you... and if you disagree with it so much, sometimes it can be talked into changing its course if there's a good enough reason." Nya said, saying nothing about being a Stormwarden, though she did understand how stubborn the wind could be.

"Territory is hard to come by sometimes. There are so many things out there larger than we are or meaner. Once you get it, you fight to defend it with all you have. But granted, I thought you were someone aggressive. I do not mind friends overlapping. Birds aren't like cats. We can share space easily enough." It was a good thing too, because if Avi was going to stick around Syliras, it wasn't like Nya had a choice but to share. The bird was more than a match for her feline form, which was unnerving for Nya who was used to being the biggest and strongest.

"But I can't go find prey with you in the mountains. I have a bondmate, Avi, one I need to take care of. He would not do so well in Taldera. And yes I'd really like some..."
Nya said as the other Kelvic offered to share her bounty with the forest cat.

Nya didn't mind that they both didn't have a stitch of clothing on or were talking about their personal lives even though they were complete strangers. In fact, it was rather nice seeing another kelvic, even a feral one that looked older. "Are you bonded? If you traveled so far alone, I would suspect you are not. You should look for one in Syliras, for there are a great many good men and women here. Ones that will need help. Even if you are really big... and a bird." Nya said, wrinkling her nose and grinning at her new friend, already giving her a hard time.

"I found mine in the woods, out in the middle of nowhere. Well, truthfully he found me, but it was purely by accident. Well, at least I thought it was, but now I am not so sure."
Nya said, taking the offered meat and biting down into the raw flesh. It was delicious, and still chilled from whatever waters Avi had caught the fish in... or even from the flight. Nya chewed carefully and looked thoughtful. "Do you have a place to stay? I can show you the city if you'd like." The forest cat offered.
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Re: [The Bronze Wood] Do Fur And Feathers Flock Together? [Nya]

Postby Avi on January 4th, 2010, 2:32 am

Avi settled on the forest floor, having settled the fish between them, and reached for the large head of the salmon, working her fingers in towards the eye socket and deftly popped it out, offering it to Nya before turning the head over, exposing the side she had already bitten into, and removing the second eye for herself as she listened to Nya's explanations. She didn't blame her for being cautious. "It did help," she reassured the other, "even though I went further than I intended to. But I would have come this way eventually, any road, and the wind decided that eventually was now. Birds have to listen to the wind. We're dependent on it for where we want to go if we want to fly. If it's fighting us, sometimes it's best to just take a break until it feels less strongly about carrying us in the opposite direction and just stay out of its way," she grinned at Nya. Besides, the wind had more or less guided her here - and she had already made a new friend. That suited Avi just fine.

"I'm not bonded, no," she shook her head before turning the fish head over and working on getting the rest of the cheek meat out, digging with her fingers and teeth, gnawing on it, turning the head this way and that. "Not yet," she jerked her head back, finally getting the meat she wanted out, and chewing on a mouthful of it. "But I understand. Taldera isn't so safe... well, until you get to Avanthal, and into the stretches around there. But the mountains are a challenge of its own... but such good prey," she sighed, checking over the rest of the salmon head for any goodies she might have missed before chucking it under a bush. Something, she knew, would come to eat it. "Our Icewatch, at home, has a lot of Kelvics there... but they're bonded, well, most of them, and they stay close to their bond mate. Of course, they have their duties, too, but it means they don't really want to explore and travel," she grinned a little. "My being so big is probably part of it," she considered. "Sometimes it makes people nervous. Are people like that with you?" she wanted to know. "Was your bond mate scared at first?"

"I would like to see Syliras. I hear it's very big, with lots and lots and lots of people there, sometimes from all over. Avanthal is too far north to get a lot of visitors. But some do come to see Queen Morwen," Avi considered. "I'm not too worried about finding somewhere to stay," she grinned as she started peeling a section of flesh off of the side of the fish. "Sometimes I stay in a tree while traveling, sometimes in an inn. But if you'd like to show me around, I would love it," she beamed. "And you can tell me all about here, and I can tell you about Avanthal. I have clothes some in my bag," she showed Nya one of the very loose leather straps. "And my leather kit. Where do you normally stay? Do you have a den?"
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Re: [The Bronze Wood] Do Fur And Feathers Flock Together? [Nya]

Postby Nya Winters on January 21st, 2010, 9:02 pm

Nya shook her head. "I'm not really all that hungry though it looks delicious. You go ahead and eat it... you caught it." She leaned back against the trunk of the tree, smiling slightly at Avi.

"I've never met another kelvic as big as I am... no, you're definitely bigger. And you are even more friendly. Did you come from other kelvics or are you a throwback too? My parents were a kelvic human mating, and I was something of a surprise."
She offered the information as the other woman began to nibble.

But when Avi started talking about the wind, Nya chuckled. "He has a name, you know... the wind. Zulrav. I follow him. We aren't that much different, you know, Avi. You follow him too, though perhaps not as much by choice as I do. He likes all birds, a lot. I've seen him play with them, at least his breezes, and though hes not always gentle, he never truthfully hurts them that I've seen. It is like they are related - the birds and the wind - do you feel that way too?" Nya asked, leaning a hip against the tree as she shifted her weight.

There was just something there... Nya could feel it. And when Avi's words tumbled from her lips, Nya smiled. "Yes.. being big is probably it. My parents cast me out because of it, I think... though I came here and bonded. I met a man who didn't care about my size. But I know exactly what you mean, Avi... exactly." Nya practically danced with excitement. Here was someone she'd always wanted to know. Someone with the same problems, and someone with the same worries. Did Avi feel that way? Did she? Nya wanted to demand immediately for Avi to answer her, but the bond Nya had formed with Abashai had taught her restraint... so she waited, incredibly pleased that she'd met Avi here. Like this.

"Indeed. A cave.. you can stay there if you like or in the trees outside. There's even a nice cliff you could sun on. I'll tell you what, Avi. If you let me show you Syliras - give you the grand tour - you can promise to show me Avanthal one of these days. I've always wanted to go there, but even though I know I'm Talderian, I'm not too sure about traveling through Taldera myself alone. But if I can get my bondmate... oh I'm bonded... to go, I think we could have a really good time." She said, enthusiastic. Besides, maybe one of the artifacts they were looking for was up that direction. One never knew.
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