ORIGIN

Giggle smirked, peering up and around.

"I was hungry. Tried eating all these bones--they're hollow. Dry. Don't bother trying. So--what were you afraid of?"

She trotted up the hill just a bit more--her tone not mocking, but curious. She couldn't imagine what there was to be frightened of here, unless something had been attacking him?

The hyena nosed about, pushing bones here and there with her nose, before looking to Ambrus.

"Here, then? I can leave you here to build your own home, unless you feel you'll need help," she added. She looked around, again, and then at Ambrus once more. "You've seen my bone pit; you can come and find me any time. Just don't take any bones from it--they are special. They are the ones that speak to me, and they're mine. Anything else, come find me, I will help. Oh--and if you see a winged stag, avoid him. He's bloodthirsty and mad, and he'll eat you. If you find his head, bring it to me, and I'll be in your debt.

She flicked her tail, her memories dark. Rafael still figured prominently in her nightmares, and she'd love nothing more than to burn his bones and add them to her pit.

If, indeed, he even deserved that.

Yes--I think it would be good... I could take his wisdom for my own. Ahh--... but I've forgotten the eagle. I hope I haven't scared him. Can't imagine I have. He seems a tough little bird.

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@Ambrus

he listened to her as she spoke, filing away the information about the winged stag. he cocked his head to the side.
"what's a stag?"
then, his thoughts came rushing back. back to when the large stag deer which attempted to tell clover ambrus would attack and eat her one day when he's old enough. he sneered now.
"oh, wait, i think i know. i met one. a vazi."
he spat the words with sheer disgust, unwilling to give the stag any sort of forgiveness. he'd definitely stay far away from them.

"i don't remember why i was so scared, honestly. not long after, azazel found me and showed me his magic. i showed him mine. it was fun."
he smiled now, the sneer dissipating without hesitation at the thought of azazel. the larger bird whom he hasn't seen in a very long time.
"you can stay with me, unless you don't want to,"
he then turned his eyes upon the larger creature, wondering if maybe his company wasn't to her liking - or if she was just busy. he didn't want to keep her from anything, but the company that wasn't vicktor or clover was rather nice. not because his mother and brother weren't lovable and fun, but he did like diversity.

he then took a small look around, attempting to search for a couple of stray bones. how would he make the tower sturdy? wouldn't it just crumble beneath his weight? he grimaced, but was going to try and do it anyway. he scrounged around for stray bones, finding a few long ones which he then picked up with his taloned limbs, struggling to bring them over to a specified corner of the area. hard work, the little bird was already huffing and puffing. he so wished he could fly.

@giggle

The hyena shrugged internally and flopped down on her side, at first, with a little poof of bone dust. She intended to lay there and watch while he explored, to provide some company, maybe get some more, and more idle, conversation. But it quickly became apparent that the eagle needed help, so after a few minutes she stood again, ambling over to lift a long bone and carry it to the pile he was creating.

"Aza'zel found you, huh? He found me, too. He offered me food, but flew away when I licked him. He hates it, so I do it all the time now," the hyena chuckled, tone dark.

"Have you met many others of the Bonebound? I don't think I've met them all; Aza'zel doesn't introduce me to everyone. I think he just sort of adopts anyone fitting who turns up, says 'you're one of us now' and leaves them to make their own introductions," she added, with obvious wry humor and another dry chuckle.

She worked as she talked, at an idle pace but a helpful one nonetheless. Where the eagle was puffing and struggling to carry the bones, the hyena would simply lift them and carry them in her jaws, with little effort required.

Hopefully it would be a little bit of a relief for the bird.

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ROLL THE BONES

(( @Ambrus ))

The eaglet was grateful for giggle's help, and he chuckled at her words.
"No, I don't think I have. Only you, and Azazel. I'm not even sure how many are part of the Bonebound."
He spoke matter-of-factly, before finding another larger bone and struggling to drag it to his pile, where he was attempting to thoughtfully place them.
"Thank you for helping me, by the way."
He spoke aloud, before continuing to work at a glacial pace.

"If I may ask, Giggle, what are you?"
Ambrus wondered if that was rude or not. He somewhat regretted it, but also really wanted to know. So when he'd pulled another long bone to the pile, he put the long ones together in correspondence of length and width, creating a base for his new perch.
"I'm not even sure what I am."
He admitted, chuckling at his misfortune for not even know what he was.

@giggle

Giggle blinked at Ambrus's question, then let out a raucous peal of laughter, shaking her head.

"You 'may ask' me anything, bird; at any time. I'm a hyena, I think. A seer, a bonecaster, a reader-of-futures. I am a female, and a furred thing; an animal, and a mother to some. As for you," and here she paused to drag another bone between her teeth, a larger one. She dropped it into the pile with a clatter, and looked at Ambrus with amusement in her dark eyes. "You are a young one, a bird, an eagle perhaps, or a hawk; you are a skilled thing with your magic, and you are a Bonebound. Speaking of--I have no idea how many of us there are, either. I wonder if even Aza'zel knows," she added wryly.

"It might be worth asking him, just to see him squirm. 'Err, um.' Or maybe he'd just make a number up." Another of her cackles ran out, echoing through the fortresses.

She paced about, finding another bone, carrying this one over to join the rest. Something about what the youngster had said resonated with her, clanging against her memories and ringing, until one rose to the surface of her consciousness.

"...Vazi, you said? I think I remember him. I think he came here, once, with a lamb, and they had their fortunes told. Why did you say his name like that?" she asked, glancing over curiously. She didn't seem to hold a tone that might imply that she'd taken offense; in fact it was clear by her offhand tone and absent demeanor that she hardly knew the stag.

She just wanted to know, that was all.

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@Ambrus

he wanted to smile, but instead he just hung his head for a moment. staring down at the bones he'd constructed with giggle's help. his wings unfurled ever slightly just to furl again.
"something's off about him. he was nice to clover, but would cast terrible looks to both vicktor and i."
he sneered now, remembering the looks and snarks he'd given the trio.
"but vicktor and i hadn't even met him before our meeting."
he shrugged, hopping back toward a bones slightly smaller than the base bones, carrying them back over with his talons before neatly placing them.
"was he nice to you?"
he asked giggle, giving her a small glance before absentmindedly nudging the bones he'd already acquired.

@giggle

Giggle listened, then wandered over to briefly nuzzle Ambrus's head.

"Don't take it personally. And perhaps avoid him, for awhile," she added, pacing back away to sit, looking over the bones thus far gathered.

"I foresaw a failure in his future, and a wish to withdraw, so if that has happened, he may not want company. He may be bitter or lash out." Of course, Giggle had no idea just how bad it had gone. Just what horrors had befallen Vazi, and how far he himself had fallen in turn.

The hyena shook her head, absently.

"So your... Clover, was it? Stayed with him?" She still hadn't put together that Clover was the "creature of light," so her question was idle and friendly, half-absent, rather than filled with interest.

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@Ambrus

he embraced her gesture with open arms - err, wings - and gave a small smile.
"he seemed to think vicktor and i would hurt mom. vicktor is a leopard, you see."
he summed up, looking back to giggle as she mentioned staying away from vazi.
"yes, clover - the creature of light - seemed to really trust vazi. she's too pure to be corrupted, and i feel like i saw sheer darkness in him. or hate."
as he was still young yet, he couldn't read others perfectly.
"i know mom is a deer. i know she's technically prey for the likes of myself and vicktor. but we couldn't ever hurt her - at least i couldn't."
ambrus knew he was a mean little prick, but when it came to his mom, not a soul could make him harm her.

he wanted to lighten the mood a bit, so he straightened his posture into a prideful stance, grinning a rather cunning half grin.
"so, i am an eagle. i suppose these things have some sort of use, then?"
he fluttered his useless wings, browned feathers overgrowing the floof of cream feathers, evolving into feathers that would carry his weight soon.

@giggle

The hyena leaned closer as she listened, sniffing over the eagle's feathers, bemused.

"Yes--you're an eagle, you're right, I think. Your feathers? ...You've never--didn't Aza'zel show you? Or are you joking?" She wasn't sure; it was a little hard to read facial cues when your speaking partner didn't have a, well, face. Or rather, had a beak.

"You'll fly, once you're a little older. Soar around and reach places us ground-dwellers can't imagine," she chuckled.

She lifted another bone in her teeth and carried it over, as she thought.

The eagle makes it pretty clear that the stag thinks other meat-eaters will harm this... Clover. So she is the being of light, hm? I wonder... if his little lamb wasn't with him, what became of him?

Giggle found that she felt a sudden twinge of sadness at the lamb's potential demise. "I wonder--do you know if the lamb has died, or something? Win-something, I think his name was. Wynr... y?" She wasn't sure if that had been it. Winrah? Winry? Winnr-something.

"Where is Vazi now? And--do you want help making this tower?" she added, nodding to the pile the bird was slooooowly making.

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@Ambrus

giggle then asked the eaglet of someone named wynry, a lamb of some sort. ambrus shrugged his wings as he continued to make the tower, taking bones in size accordance.
"no i haven't flown at all. i've been unable to so far."
but when giggle mentioned him reaching heights and places the land dwellers couldn't, he smiled.
"thanks, if i am ever big enough to carry you, maybe i can give you rides!"
just as he'd promised vicktor. but in all honesty, he hand't a clue how big he would get.

"i'm sorry to say, i've never met a wynry. and there wasn't anyone else with vazi. he mentioned going to orion for some reason."
by this time, the bone tower ambrus and giggle were working on had reached about half way it's height.
"you've helped me more than you know."
he gave a chirpy chortle.
"thank you, by the way."
he offered his gratitude, which he wasn't sure if he'd forgotten to do or not.

@giggle