why change the past

when you could own this day

Riff never did like Cetus very much. It was damp, dreary, and it would take ages to get the mud out of feathers. However, it had a variety of different tools she could use and this time, she was came here for a special type of grass. Riffi used it to weave nests before, but now, was using to make a bag. She had the idea in her head for awhile with all the scavenging she seemed to do, but could never get the design quite right.

Until now.

She had spent this cycle collecting grass and weaving, and now she was almost done. In and out, over and under, the pattern had to be just right or it would not work. With her beak she pulled and tugged as worked it with her claws. It was almost like making a nest, except it had to be flexible, and fit around her body while not hindering flight.

She plucked at the ends of the woven grass a few times before looking up and stretching her wings. Riffi sighed. It was a tedious task, but it had to be worth it in the end. Besides she was almost done.

"Listen to me."
Thoughts

TAG: @Winter // OOC:

Everything hurt. Her head, her neck, her back, her stomach, everywhere. Winter barely even noticed when she wandered in Cetus, she just knew she had to get away from wherever that bird had been. She'd never been to Cetus and, frankly, at this moment, she didn't care. She just needed to do something about the sharp rock that punctured the scales on her back. Thankfully, what blood had leaked out was drying and clogging the rest. However, she knew that that wouldn't be the case once she pulled out the rest.

She stopped next to a tree when her strength finally ran out. Huffing with the exertion of moving so fast after a taxing fight, she lay on the ground, barely moving and her breath shallow. She didn't know how much longer she would last on her own.

And then she heard a ruffling sound and looked up. There, in the trees, was a small bird weaving...something. Honestly, she didn't care at this point. All she knew is that there was another gembound, and an intelligent one at that, and it might be able to help her. Hope sparked in her chest and she called out, her voice croaking, "Please, help.

When I speak.

When I think.

@Riffi

why change the past

when you could own this day

"Please help..."

Riffi cocked her head. Did she hear something? It sounded like a voice, but perhaps it was the wind. Riffi went back to weaving, but curiosity started nagging at her.

Just a peek... make sure it's nothing.

She hopped down a couple of branches where she thought the voice came from and scanned the area. It was nothing but Cetus mud and muck. She shook her head, well aware of her own tricks she played on Gembounds, and decided she would not fall victim to her own game. As she turned to fly back to her perch, something caught her eye, something white, with a worm-like body. Riffi's crest rose on end as she recognized the shape and gasped.

"SNAKE!!!" Her screech echoed through the forest.

Without thinking, she immediately took off into the air, and crashed into a low-hanging branch. The blue jay let out an alarmed squawk as she fell to the muddy ground, in a flurry of panic. Thankfully, the fall was not very high and she came out muddied, but uninjured.

"Listen to me."
Thoughts

TAG: @Winter // OOC: "What's wrong? Snake? SNAAAAKE!!!"

When the blue jay fluttered down to a lower branch, Winter felt hope spark in her chest. Perhaps they were answering her call! But then she saw the crest rise and was momentarily confused before she flinched at the loud call. Right, of course, she thought, bitterly, I'm a snake. Nobody likes snakes.

But still, what was the point of living as a snake if she wasn't going to change minds? She didn't approach the bird, who had made a magnificent display of falling right in front of her, because she didn't want to freak it out anymore then it already was. Instead, she backed away a little slow, cringing at the pain that it caused her. "Hey, it's all right, I'm not going to hurt you. I just really need help."

As she spoke, another wave of pain shot through her body from the wound and she let out a small hiss, the tip of her tail thrashing a little. She retreated inwards, as if covering the wound would help at all.

When I speak.

When I think.

@Riffi

why change the past

when you could own this day

Winter's attempts to calm Riffi were lost in the blue jay's flailing fit in the mud. For a split second, Riffi came to the embarrassing realization that this scenario was very similar to her hatching. Great Spire, how she hated Cetus. It quickly left her however, as she was on the ground, and the cobra was on the ground, and being on the ground in general made her feel veerrry vulnerable.

Riffi did not seen the poor snake's plight, the rock shard that punctured her scales. Panic had clouded all rationality. She squawked in terror when Winter hissed, thinking it was at her. In a crazed panic she frantically pushed herself away from the snake screaming. "St-stay away!!"

She pulled herself further way with her wings. "You'll poison me with your fangs and gobble me up, you will!" She cried in terror.

Riffi tried to take to the air, but mud clung to her feathers like weights that dragged back to the ground

"Listen to me."
Thoughts

TAG: @Winter // OOC:

The jay's words hurt. A lot. Each sound it made felt like needles in Winter's heart. They really hated her, and they had only just met. It was painful to realize that she was untrusted, unliked, and unwanted, simply because of the species she was born. Every day it was more and more, ever since her hatch. Azar, Shade, Rift, the goose, and now this jay. How many more were there going to be? Would she have to face this for the rest of her life?

But she couldn't give up! If she didn't get help, she was going to die. She needed to somehow convince the bird that she was trustworthy. There was a large cloud of doubt in the back of her mind, but she did her best to push it away and ignore it. "On my life, I will do none of that. I doubt I'm big enough yet to eat you even if I wanted to. Please, I need help, I'm in a lot of pain and I have a wound that could kill me."

She cringed again as she shifted in a way that cause the stone to dig deeper. She uncoiled uncomfortably, trying to find a non-threatening position where the stone wouldn't be hurting her as much.

When I speak.

When I think.

@Riffi

why change the past

when you could own this day

The clutches of fear had twisted the blue jay's heart. Unfortunately , she did not hear the snakelet's plea for help over her own squawks of terror. Had she, and Riffi might have doubted in her judgement, but the jay's preylike instincts were driving her into irrationality.

"Get away! Get away you evil creature!!" She spat.

Riffi pulled herself to the base of a tree and began to climb up its trunk using the air from her frantic wing flapping to propel her. The mud on her feather weighed her down and she found it abnormally difficult, almost falling a few times but eventually she made it to the safety of the branches. Without looking back, she took off into the air, clumsily flapping the muck off her wings as she escaped into the misty tree tops.

-Exit Riffi-

"Listen to me."
Thoughts

TAG: // OOC: sorry to cut it short but Riffi likes bailing

Winter watched with anguish as the jay fled away, its last words cutting deep. Evil creature. She was an evil creature.

That word...it was so ugly. She didn't want to think of herself as evil. She hated that word. She didn't want to think about it at all. In fact, she didn't want to think. Everything hurt so much.

She needed to get out of here. It was a mistake coming to Cetus. Where would she go then? Surely not back through the cave? But what else could she do? She realized that she wanted to go to Polaris. The tunnel connected. Without really knowing why, but not caring, she turned and set off, her heart heavy with pain.

-exit

When I speak.

When I think.