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03-17-2015, 11:23 AM
Somebody has to go polish the stars
As the amulet exploded, the gale lulled around Kipling. It was much easier to think without forest detritus pelting him, but thinking did him no good. The raven quickly rebuked Kipling's request for a simple conversation. Kipling cocked his head curiously at this chaos-master, eyes widening excitedly at the request for a prize from the forest. A treasure hunt! Too bad the cryptic, vaguely sinister clue wasn't much help…
The others scampered away, and Kipling trotted off in the opposite direction. His mind was already churning away: the raven would not be interested in anything obvious or easily won, but what precious thing could he find in the woods besides the red gems in the pool or some branches or berries? Kipling's only prize had just shattered and been whisked away on the supernatural wind. Besides, the amulet wouldn't have satisfied the bird's request - it was from the Hidden Falls, not the Deep Forest.
Dark woods thickened around the unicorn, and the branches that clutched at his speckled sides slowed him to a walk. His bronze eyes flashed about, looking for anything shiny or interesting or different, but it was just woods and undergrowth all around. Finally, Kipling halted with a long sigh. He looked up into the arbor, watching a trio of robins - less-sinister cousins of the raven - warbling at each other in the branches. Two were dressed in juvenile plumage, dusky and unattractive and awkward in his movements; they must've fledged in the past month.
Finally, a flash of rich blue caught Kipling's attention a short ways above him. In a low crook where a branch stemmed off from the large trunk, the old nest sat, empty and unused. An egg for an egg…? Surely the friendlier birds wouldn't mind if he borrowed their old birthplace… And maybe the evidence of a successful hatching would make the raven more likely to trust Kipling with the secret of his own egg.
But how to get it down? It was just above Kipling's fully outstretched neck… The birds scarcely noticed him crow-hopping towards their abandoned birthplace; Kipling took their silence as passive permission to go ahead with his plan. He popped up awkwardly, angling his horn to nudge the woven nest out of place. He made contact, but it wasn't until the fourth or fifth blow that it finally fell to the ground.
Kipling inspected the nest's contents. As he had expected, two beautiful but cracked sky-blue eggshells winked up at him, nestled in old, downy white feathers. What he had not expected, however, was the third egg. It was fully, perfectly whole - unhatched and cold. The cerulean oval was decorated with thin brown veins. A pang of sadness - sorrow for the lost soul - overwhelmed him. The abandoned egg was long gone. He frowned and gently picked up one half of the nest loosely in his mouth, carefully avoiding crushing the fragile offering. "I hope your death will not be in vain," He gurgled incomprehensibly around his mouthful, carefully tracing his way back to the raven.
When he finally made it back to the raven's log, it looked like the other two had been there for some time already. Kipling's heart raced. I hope I'm not too late… Quietly - because he didn't have much choice but to be quiet, what with the nest he was holding in his mouth - he placed the treasure in front of the raven. "It's seen life and death…" Kipling offered in explanation, not entirely sure why he felt like that would matter to the raven. It had seemed like the right thing to say, so he had said it. He stepped back alongside the others, watching expectantly.
OOC: Kipling brings the raven an abandoned robin's nest with the remains of two hatched shells and one whole unhatched egg.
Wishlist - Cerndyr (Earth Spirit).
No prior refusals.
The others scampered away, and Kipling trotted off in the opposite direction. His mind was already churning away: the raven would not be interested in anything obvious or easily won, but what precious thing could he find in the woods besides the red gems in the pool or some branches or berries? Kipling's only prize had just shattered and been whisked away on the supernatural wind. Besides, the amulet wouldn't have satisfied the bird's request - it was from the Hidden Falls, not the Deep Forest.
Dark woods thickened around the unicorn, and the branches that clutched at his speckled sides slowed him to a walk. His bronze eyes flashed about, looking for anything shiny or interesting or different, but it was just woods and undergrowth all around. Finally, Kipling halted with a long sigh. He looked up into the arbor, watching a trio of robins - less-sinister cousins of the raven - warbling at each other in the branches. Two were dressed in juvenile plumage, dusky and unattractive and awkward in his movements; they must've fledged in the past month.
Finally, a flash of rich blue caught Kipling's attention a short ways above him. In a low crook where a branch stemmed off from the large trunk, the old nest sat, empty and unused. An egg for an egg…? Surely the friendlier birds wouldn't mind if he borrowed their old birthplace… And maybe the evidence of a successful hatching would make the raven more likely to trust Kipling with the secret of his own egg.
But how to get it down? It was just above Kipling's fully outstretched neck… The birds scarcely noticed him crow-hopping towards their abandoned birthplace; Kipling took their silence as passive permission to go ahead with his plan. He popped up awkwardly, angling his horn to nudge the woven nest out of place. He made contact, but it wasn't until the fourth or fifth blow that it finally fell to the ground.
Kipling inspected the nest's contents. As he had expected, two beautiful but cracked sky-blue eggshells winked up at him, nestled in old, downy white feathers. What he had not expected, however, was the third egg. It was fully, perfectly whole - unhatched and cold. The cerulean oval was decorated with thin brown veins. A pang of sadness - sorrow for the lost soul - overwhelmed him. The abandoned egg was long gone. He frowned and gently picked up one half of the nest loosely in his mouth, carefully avoiding crushing the fragile offering. "I hope your death will not be in vain," He gurgled incomprehensibly around his mouthful, carefully tracing his way back to the raven.
When he finally made it back to the raven's log, it looked like the other two had been there for some time already. Kipling's heart raced. I hope I'm not too late… Quietly - because he didn't have much choice but to be quiet, what with the nest he was holding in his mouth - he placed the treasure in front of the raven. "It's seen life and death…" Kipling offered in explanation, not entirely sure why he felt like that would matter to the raven. It had seemed like the right thing to say, so he had said it. He stepped back alongside the others, watching expectantly.
OOC: Kipling brings the raven an abandoned robin's nest with the remains of two hatched shells and one whole unhatched egg.
Wishlist - Cerndyr (Earth Spirit).
No prior refusals.
Kipling
