Completed The stubborn Owl

[Nemori]

3rd of Summer, 516

Orange fingers trailed their way across the snow as the sun started to dip towards the land. Nemori’s purple eyes watched it for a moment before turning back into her room. It was simple room, only a few items decorating the area. She moved towards the wood and metal cage in which sat an owl. The owl was white with strands of brown trailed through the feathers, getting more numerous one he back and head. Nemori opened the gate with a clang of metal and the owl ruffled her feathers in dismay. Orange eyes opened to glare at Nemori.
“Hey, Whisper” Nemori chirped happily. Whisper replied by huffing and fluttering to the furthest corner of her cage. Nemori frowned in response.
“Oh, come on. You are supposed to be active around now” Whisper merely stared up with bright orange eyes, her head ducked slightly into the feathers of her body. She was nearly pressed against the back of the cage in an attempt to not have to remain wake up. Nemori shook her head before turning away from the owl. It did not yet matter if Whisper was feeling helpful or not, there was still some stuff Nemori had to do before she required obedience from her companion. Her attention turned to a small chunk of red meat which rested on her table. She used her basic knife to divide the meat into smaller chunks, taking care not to cut herself in the process. It was slow work, carefully measuring out the sections into appropriate sizes before slicing off the sections. She wanted to get it right. The raw meat was leaking slightly as she cut into the fat, threatening to stain her table with blood. As she worked Nemori could occasionally hear fluttering behind her, creeping closer with each movement. She deliberately ignored it, not giving the Owl attention. Another flutter and bright orange eyes peered curiously from the edge of the table. Whisper was stubborn, Nemori was aware of this. She had known the bird long enough to become accustom to her behaviour.

[Nemori]

“Hungry?” Nemori lifted one of the chunks of meat, twisting it slightly between her fingers. Whisper tilted her head before hopping forwards a bit. She looked between the chunk of meat and Nemori. A moment later Nemori felt the wing tips pressing against her as Whisper collected the chunk of meat, grasping it in her talons. It took only a moment for the bird to consume the meat, tossing it up to catch in her hooked beak. Nemori felt a bubble of pride at having Whisper take food from her fingers. Training an owl was difficult and slow process, she had not lived with Whisper long enough to have truly gained her trust but each day that moment crept closer and closer. Whisper landed on the other side of the table, once more studying Nemori and the small slithers of meat between them. “The rest are for if you are a good girl, are you going to behave?” Whisper hopped forwards, ignoring her words. A moment passed as Nemori waiting for some sign of an answer. It came with the flutter of wings that darted forwards, snatching up another chunk of meat in a rush. “Hey, give that back” Nemori called, taking an involuntary step backwards to avoid being buffeted by Whispers’ wings. It was too late, the owl had already tossed the second piece into the air and swallowed it before twisting to land on the cage door. Nemori huffed as she turned around, placing her hands on her hips as she glared at the bird, shards of black flickered across her eyes. “I need you to behave and pay attention, okay? We need to do some training. Otherwise how are you ever going to progress?” Nemori pleaded. Whisper squawked in response. “Is that a yes?” Nemori’s eyes returned to dark blue. She nodded to herself, twisting back towards the table.

[Nemori]

Her bag was open besides the meat and she pulled from it some scraps of fabric that she had scrounged. They were rough, cheap fabric but they would serve her purpose. The biggest sheet she placed over the meat, protecting it from Whisper’s thievery. The rest of the fabric she carefully wrapped around her left arm, creating a place for Whisper to land that wouldn’t allow her claws to dig into flesh. Once she had completed this task she grabbed one of the slithers of meat, grasping it between the fingers of her left hand and turning to Whisper.
“This time you have to land on my hand, okay? That is the only way you are getting the treat” Nemori grasped the slither tighter, desperate to ensure that Whisper could not tear it from between her fingers. Purple eyes met orange once more. Whisper chittered, her small hooked beak barely moving with the noise. “Come on, I won’t drop you. It’s safe, I promise” Nemori attempted to comfort the bird. Whisper fluttered her wings and Nemori felt happy that she was finally listening. Then Whisper twisted her head into the wing, picking at the white feathers with her beak. “Whisper, you can clean yourself later, focus” Nemori muttered, the purple died from her eyes and dark green replaced it. Whisper cleaned a segment of her wings for a moment before looking at Nemori one more. Another few seconds of silence passed as they stared at each other, Nemori held her breath. Whisper took to the air, gliding past Nemori at first and then twisting around on the other side. Once more she glided past, the tips of her wings clipping softly against Nemori’s side. She landed on her perch, inside the cage and began to clean herself once more. “Fine” Nemori snapped, fighting to keep herself from shouting in annoyance. Black eyes turned to focus on unwrapping the scraps of fabric from her arm, the roughness as it moved was uncomfortable but she ignored it. She held onto the fabric but the meat chunk was returned to the pile under the fabric and she left the room, slamming the door as she went. The wood rattled against wood, sounding inside the room. Whisper jumped at the noise, but Nemori did not see it, already started to storm out into the snow. Her footsteps were heavier than normal.

[Nemori]

“Never listens…. ungrateful…. “ Nemori muttered as she moved through the hold towards the front of the building. Once outside the cold hit her, in her annoyance she had forgotten to grab her coat. Her arms wrapped around her body. Although she was marked by Morwen the cold still got to her, especially in the cold month of summer. With a sigh she forced herself to ignore the sensation of cold and started to gather some of the icicles that had formed on the wood of the building. She placed them into the strands of cheap fabric to protect her skin from the ice and prevent her own heat causing them to melt. Her next target was some of the snow, she took a moment to gather some of the untrampled snow from windowsills and gathered that into the fabric sheets also. The action caused her to calm down slowly, her eyes returning to dark blue from the piercing black they had been previously. When she had gathered enough she collected the fabric from its location on the floor. Some of the snow powder tumbled from her mount of frost but she ignored it. Once she returned to her door she pressed her back into it, causing it to swing inwards. Another flutter of wings sounded from Whispers cage but Nemori ignored it, placing the pile of snow and ice onto the table. She removed the fabric from on top of the meat and started to gather it up, transferring piece onto the snow. Once the pieces had been moved she rearranged the snow, piling it so that the meat sat in the middle. She then placed the piece of fabric over the top, protecting it from being searched by Whisper’s beak. One day I’ll be able to walk around with her Nemori sighed internally.

[Maro]

Nemori Skills +Observation: +2 +Animal Husbandry: +2 +Weapon: Knife: +1 +Falconry: +2 +Food Preservation: +1 Lores -Whisper is Stubborn -Whisper is a Pain -Hiding Food from Whisper -Creating a Makeshift Falconry Glove -Calming One’s Self with Mundane Tasks -Snow and Icicles: Meat Preservatives -Hope: One day I’ll be able to walk around with her. Notes : Excellent work, Nemori. This was a great beginning thread as you begin to explore falconry. I enjoyed the realism with the end result of a failure that Nemori can learn from. You did a great job this time with post lengths. Please make sure to edit your request to 'graded' in the queue. As before, feel free to PM me if you have any questions or concerns about your grade. I can only become a better grader with input from those I grade for.