The woods beyond the Flock territory were vast. Not as grand as within Flock lands, but a good place for all sorts of wandering and seeking and finding.
Spring was already in full bloom and barreling quickly towards summer. It wasn't as hot here as if you went further south, but it was warm enough that the shade of the trees was welcome. And cool enough that a breeze made you wish the canopy wasn't quite as thick.
The trees were past their first bright green buds and most had flowers blooming in profusion. The pollen turned the top of a nearby stream yellow as it floated along down towards the rivers and oceans it would flow into. Birds chirpped hello or sang mating songs or busily built nests. Squirrels chittered and complained and ran wildly about. The whole forest was awake with renewed life.
Posted: Sun Apr 12, 2020 2:58 pm
Kora ruffled her wings, one pair at a time, readjusting them against her back as they walked. She glanced quickly over at her companion, Taipa, a rush of gratitude filling her chest. She'd felt lost for so long with the huge influx of her brothers and sisters, like there was no place she fit or would belong, like she'd always be overlooked. Kora had even tried visiting the fortune teller but it didn't give her as much guidance as she wanted - although she knew she shouldn't be surprised, futures are nebulous things, and learning too much about what's to come never turned out well. But finally she'd found Taipa willing to take her under her wing, and the mentorship and friendship was helping ground her and give her purpose. Kora felt so very fortunate every time she showed up for guidance or lessons or companionship and was genuinely welcomed.
This walk among the woods was a nice way to spend an afternoon, strolling and talking intermittently, the silences that formed comfortable and natural. Being out in the middle of the forest always made her feel peaceful. The background noise of all the life teeming around them was so soothing and energizing. She still didn't know what kind of craft or role she wanted to have in the herd, but she was finally starting to feel comfortable in her own skin. She couldn't help but notice many different herbs and flowers as they walked, and wondered idly if she should pursue herbalism or tea-making or gardening. She especially felt an affinity for the plants that are tiny and easy to miss, surrounded by so many other larger, flashier plants, growing underneath and between everything with a determination the other plants didn't need. She picked her path carefully to avoid crushing flowers or main stems, making mental notes of the location of some herbs in case she wanted to come back later to harvest or transplant anything to the ground in front of her home.
Kora tossed her head, clearing her thoughts, and looked over at Taipa again, her eyes full of question but her expression timid. She didn't think she'd actually be much good at it, but she wanted to try a lot of different things, so... she might as well ask. Besides, her companion would probably be secretly thrilled she had any interest at all. Ask, just ask! she told herself. She cleared her throat. "Hey, uh. I was wondering if you might want to run through some basic fighting exercises with me sometime. I still don't know what I want to do and I think it would be a good thing to try and you're a really good fighter and so I just thought that even though I probably won't be good at it or want to keep doing it you might want to help me find out?" Kora shuffled her wings anxiously and shyly dipped her head.
Garrick hadn't really noticed the day, beyond that it wasn't wet or frozen. The beautiful day was lost on him as he went around studying and tending the trees. At the moment he was up in a large old oak tree, one that was likely a hundred years old or more.
From the ground he had noticed one of the branches didn't have budding new leaves. That meant the limb was dead and needed to be removed before it fell on its own, possibly doing more damage to the tree or its neighbors on the way down.
Garrick was careful as he used his claws to grip, wings flairing to keep him steady even as his back feet tried not to slip, unable to get good purchase. After examining, he used is beak to pry at where the branch connected to the tree, his feathery fetlock helping keep detrius out of his eyes as he carefully worked to seperate the branch from the tree.
With one claw holding onto the tree, the other helped hold the weakened branch until it was loose enough that he could remove it. However, he was left with nothing to do by try and safely toss it away from where it would get tangled in the limbs of this or other nearby trees.
Garrick did remember, he'd been yelled at more than a dozen times when he forgot, to call down a warning. Not that he remembered to check and see if there was anyone around. "Ware the ground!" And with that, lofted the limb out into the air and let it fall, not even watching it. After all, there wasn't anything he could do about where it was going to fall now.
Hey! Logging the discord RP here for stats purposes, in case either of you want to know where this is <3
