they smiled warmly at the praise, fluffing their wings out.

"thank you, Arwen. as are you." they hummed. they stretched their arms with a great yawn as arwen did her thing, mouth snapping shut with a loud click.

they watched Arwen wander off to seemingly dissect the remainder of the rabbit in wonder. they looked a what spilt out and crouched down.

"i would assume... that we do"" they chirped. "we are living, as it once was.... perhaps we are different, though.."

Blue had a thought, chuckling darkly. "morbid, is it not?... if i had been this rabbit, i'd hope to be deliciousss... to die only to be disgusting would be... unfortunate..."

they surprised themselves at how many words they could string together, already, but Arwen brought out a need to explain themselves better than simple 1 or 2 word replies. so much to say, so much to do, only the best would suffice. especially when describing the darker joys of being a bird of prey.

@Arwen

"I suppose we're lucky to be born superior to them," she said, "They are meant to be eaten, and we are meat to eat them."

Arwen looked up at Blue, her perpetual smile still there, unwavering, "But I would want to be delicious too."

She pulled her hands away and hummed, "Are you finished, Blue? I want to get cleaned up, but if you aren't done then I can wait."

"But a rabbit has bones," she said, "If I had bones, I wouldn't be able to do this."

She bent her forearm, right where a bone should have been, revealing that she did not, in fact, have bones. Now that was freaky.

@Redwood

they grinned. "certainly. quite lucky."

they hummed, thinking for a moment, before nodding. they were satisfied. "yes. i am finished. we should wash up, definitely. dried blood is not... the easiest, to get out of feathers." they chirped. they had scraped and cut themselves on accident before, stumbling through eridanus was a gamble, the feeling was uncomfortable and itchy.

they looked to arwen, letting out a shocked but amused warble. "why, how marvelous! a talent, indeed. lucky" they hummed. "nothing to break."

they stood up, stretching once more. they offered a hand down for Arwen to crawl onto, so they could find a puddle of sorts to wash in.

@Arwen

Arwen smiled and put a hand on her cheek, "Thank you! I hope you become unbreakable too, Blue."

She crawled up their arm and pressed against their chest, humming, "You know... I can make things die with teeny tiny little creatures. So small you can't see. Isn't that amazing? I can so much more, though! I could make my little creatures heal instead of hurt, so if you are injured, I can clean your wounds and help heal them!"

She cupped her cheeks and crooned, ever-so pleased with herself.

"Isn't it amazing?", she asked.

@Redwood

they nodded. being unbreakable would be nice. their bones were meant for flying.

not for breaking.

they listened with a smile, never leaving their face, drenched as it was. as they walked. Blue wondered how Arwen managed to kill the rabbit, but now they could see how. it was truly an amazing feat. but, what about Arwen wasn't?

" everything about you is, Arwen..." they began. "truly. magic like that... stronger..? it could take down even the biggest creatures.... even great beasts are not immune to the faults of their own bodies. but... healing, too, can be great... help each other both... perhaps my magic could do the same? in a different way?"

they hummed. they crouched near a river, moving their arm down so Arwen could reach. they would wash themselves in due time. they looked at it with a soft shiver, however.

"try not.. to drown."

@Arwen

"I know you can do great things too," she said softly, "Things that can help or hurt others, depending on who they are and what they've done to us. But I assure you..."

Arwen put a hand on Blue's cheek, "If anyone decides that they want to hurt you, I'll infect them with an illness that makes them suffer before they perish."

She bumped them with the lips of her mask before crawling down their arm, perching on it as she methodically cleaned herself off, her antennae wavering gently as she washed off all the blood and juices from herself.

"I won't drown," she said, "Look, the water against the shore is shallow, it's only out there that is deep."

She looked back at them and cocked her head, giving the impression that she was truly smiling at them.

@Redwood

Blue chirped in surprise at Arwen's change in tone, but warbled affectionately at her words, apparently finding the murder of their enemies as a reasonable, honorable act of friendship. they bumped her back, ever so gently.

"aww..." they twittered, their double toned voice nearly buzzing with delight. "thank you... i'll find creative ways to pay that kindness in... in turn.." they chirped.

they watched Arwen with light worry. Arwen was small, but they were huge compared to her. should something happen to her they could catch her. they nodded slowly, considering whether or not to get in. they lightly stepped into the water next to her, dipping their hands into the water, face pointed down, red stained water pooling around them, the smell of copper simply mixing with the smell of the pond.

"my feathers are going to be soaked for another4 hours, watch.." they groaned, with a slight chuckle.

@Arwen

Arwen returned to Blue's shoulder to rest there, still doing the movements of washing her face despite there being no more blood. She finally stopped and smiled at them, trilling.

"Being my friend is more than enough," she said softly, "It's all I could ask for, really."

She watched him clean himself off, clutching his feathers to keep from falling forward. She giggled at his statement and pat his cheek sympathetically.

"We can take a nap in the light," she said, "Perhaps we can climb up the trees to get closer to them and nap there!"

@Redwood

they hummed as they continued to wash themselves off. "ah, as for you, Arwen. as for you.."

they considered this option, their feathers slowly regaining their shimmering blue complexion.
"yes... that sounds satisfactory. they agreed with a smile.

they got up, shaking the water away once they were finished, or, as well as they could without completely jostling Arwen around.

they gave a small, honestly quite adorable sneeze as leftover water remained in their nose, chuckling. water could be nice. they just werent about to go for a swim. that would suffice.

they looked around. "tree... lets find a tree."

they walked around, using their wings to help them jump from surface to surface. they couldn't fly yet but certainly they were still useful. they looked around. most of the trees in eridanus seemed to be overshadowed by the ferns. however, they were able to find one that looked well enough. branches not big but able to support their weight for atleast a nap.

they turned to arwen for opinion. "well?... should we try this one?"

@Arwen

"That looks fine," she said, "Plenty strong enough to hold us."

Arwen reached up and grabbed a branch with her hands, pulling herself up onto it before climbing up the trunk herself so she didn't get jostled by Blue flapping his wings to get himself up.

"This is so high...", she said, reaching a suitable branch high above the forest floor.

She settled herself down and crossed her arms on the branch, laying herself down.

"I wonder what it's like to fly," she said softly, "When you can fly, can you take me with you, please?"

@Redwood