enna . ratchet . calypso . anan
sweet and soft . bright and cheery . critical and melodic . childlike and loud

you can become blind by seeing each day as a similar one. each day is a different one, each day brings a miracle of its own. it's just a matter of paying attention to this miracle


Bones and fire and ash. It's weird having Caly be so friendly, huh? A great sacrifice. No motherly instinct, haha. Fighting. Bloodshed. He couldn't shake the thought from his mind, even cracking jokes the memories clung to him. A cold unchanging that had to be uprooted and worked against. "We should have listened to you," a murmur, soft and deep, rumbled from the bird's beak-- just for a moment, and then it was gone. The bird shook her onyx capped face, clearing her mind. All this attention, vying for control, was disorienting.

"... You seem capable of handling yourself, sight or not," Calypso's reply came shortly, though she stayed quiet to listen to the great horned owl's words. There was a perfect position for him... One that surprised the tiny pitohui bird. She had expected that he would suit a guardian role best, but his initiative and determination brought forth a new path.

She was envious of the blind owl, who in the end, would be more free than she ever could be. "Please, show me," she replied shortly, calmly. This was the type of magic that Makyna had, and it was useful certainly. She herself wasn't too familiar with it, but she trusted it well. Arcane was a strong element, the ability to see the past, hear the present, and foretell the future... All useful.

In the meanwhile, she thought she might as well explain. "Leon and Eeya, the bear and the dolphin-- hot, deep voice, and shrill and wet singsong. They're both Scouts. Its a position that requires one to go out and keep tabs on everything in the caves. It would give you the freedom you want, and I'm sure Leon would be happy to tell you about it." She tilted her head, peering up at his sightless green eyes. "Everyone has a different role so that they can best help the group. You've already shown you're brave and tough enough to be a Scout, you know."

.Enna vs .Calypso

@Dark

The images that came to him, as Bevy spoke, were as clear as if he were not blind--had never been blind.

He saw a rush of water flowing over sand, and a figure, a gembound, standing darkly-silhouetted beyond.

Watching.

The owl turned the magic, focusing it, drawing it back into himself with a flash of green stone eyes and doing his best to obey Bevy, to "show her" as he'd intended to do. It wasn't much of a vision, as far as visions went, but what he sent were not simple words, not the thoughts of a blind creature. No--he sent flickering images reflecting what he'd seen--he thought he'd shown this to her once before, but now he was making it clear.

"I can use my magic to see... and to show you," he said softly, as the visions of glittering water flickered into Bevy's mind (or so he hoped). Then he shifted place a bit, talons clicking on the rock, considering her other words as the images faded. Again his demeanor seemed more aloof, more in control than it had been--not the fearful creature of before, but almost... distant. He loved Bevy, but this wasn't the same Bevy as she had been, and this put steel into him that hadn't been there before--braced him against the sudden terror that had come. It would take getting used to, but until then he was on his own in a way he'd never been, and somehow, it made him calmer.

"If you want me to do this for your water guardians, then I will," he hooted softly. "If you want to introduce me to them, maybe I will become one. But I would warn you of danger anyway, Bevy. I would look for trouble and warn you anyway. If you want to call me 'scout' when I do it, and make it something I have to do, instead, then go ahead; it won't change anything."

Dark said this with surprising calm. It clearly wasn't meant as an insult--he was only saying that he was already doing precisely what she was asking of him. Perhaps it was such a perfect fit that nothing would change. Or perhaps he was somehow--maybe subconsciously--making the point that he was what he was, doing what he would do, regardless of titles and restrictions.

He would watch out for Bevy, whatever she wanted to call him.

________________

@Bevy

enna . ratchet . calypso . anan
sweet and soft . bright and cheery . critical and melodic . childlike and loud

you can become blind by seeing each day as a similar one. each day is a different one, each day brings a miracle of its own. it's just a matter of paying attention to this miracle


The vision fluttered through her mind, a picture of the shore, sand and water, and a strange gembound standing there. It seemed out of place, the history of Pisces, but it was such a fitting image. One that couldn't have come from Dark's blind memories. He had calmed down by the time she came out of the vision, speaking in soft hoots that were relaxing to listen to.

If a bird could smile, Calypso probably would have. Her eyes crinkled, a slow blink of amusement trickling across her feathered features. Dark was a precious owl, for all it was worth. For a moment, the cold-hearted side of Bevy could almost understand why Enna loved him so much.

"Yes, well, it'll be good to make it official. The others will understand you better that way, even when we get new members. You'll be able to just say, 'Hello, I'm Dark the Scout,' and they'll understand what you do without having to explain it all," she put as simply as she could manage, hoping that it made sense to his rather simple mind. "The best role is the one you come by naturally." He had a good heart, and he was willing to do what the group needed him to do, so she supposed she could let missing the meeting slide... This time.

"I guess I better introduce you to everyone... Makyna should be over by the waterfall," she cheeped, spreading her wings. There was a mumble to her thoughts, a suggestion that miss puffy leader came down off her branch for a bit, and she gave a soft chuff. "Actually, I'm going to leave this up to Enna-Bevy. I'll talk to you later, Dark. Do us proud, alright?"

And with that, there was the shift, and a bright, motherly coo picked up, "That wasn't so bad, huh! I think she likes you, dear. Oh, I knew she would. Well, come on, Dark. Shall we go introduce you to the others properly?"

.Enna vs .Calypso

@Dark @Makyna maybe? :D

Dark scooted slightly closer, spreading his own wings and hunching down, turning his head toward the waterfall. Suddenly he looked alert, every part an avian predator, unseeing eyes wide as he shifted to listen toward the water.

The moment Bevy was airborne, so was he; he beat his wings once, twice, softly, soaring along just behind his mother-bird. He flew so silently that he was able to use her own flight-sounds to navigate, riding her tailwind so to speak, until as she landed he overshot (somewhat deliberately so as not to slam into her) and stumble-rolled onto the rock at the edge of the falls.

Here he pulled himself back upright, ruffling his feathers out and peering around. The roar of the falls was much, much louder here, and he turned to peer at Bevy.

"Okay. I'm here. Can't hear where you are. Can't hear much," he added, admitting the weakness with a touch of wistfulness. He relied wholly on his sense of sound for navigation, and with the roar of a waterfall, even a relatively quiet one, he was blind in more ways than one.

I wonder who it is she wants me to meet--and why, exactly, this person? I guess I'll see soon enough.

________________

@Bevy

MAKYNA
"let's sing a song for the heart"

As it so happened Ky happened to be lion around the Pisces waterfall. She was on her side, with her legs rear legs stretched out to the side and her fore curled under her chest. Her blue eyes which were normally so kind were closed. Like her species was known for she was resting with the gentle sound of the falls at her back and the light spray against her pelt. It was quite relaxing to say the least.

It was when she heard the sound of approach that her ears perked and she was aroused from her dreams by the soft voice of birds. Her eyes opened and she spied first Dark and then Bevy. "Hello there, how can I--" A yawn cut off her words as she opened her mouth wide, exposing every single fang in her maw. "Oops, sorry." She gave a giggle and a shake off her head. "Now, how may I help you two?"

______________________________________

"This is how I talk!"
"This is how I sing!"
This is how I think!

59
@Bevy @Dark
---
5/10

enna . ratchet . calypso . anan
sweet and soft . bright and cheery . critical and melodic . childlike and loud

you can become blind by seeing each day as a similar one. each day is a different one, each day brings a miracle of its own. it's just a matter of paying attention to this miracle


Enna fluttered down by Makyna, her eyes following Dark as he fluttered a bit over, nearly making a splash- though he probably wouldn't know it. "Over here, dear!" She called, her loud chirp piercing the noise of the waterfall. "Hello Makyna," she chirped, keeping up her noisy chatter for the blind owl's sake, and dipped her head in a polite greeting to her friend. The lioness had grown so big-- hopefully she was done growing... Her and Leon both towered over her, even when they were laying down.

"It occurred to me that Cancer never properly introduced Dark to everyone, so I thought better late than never. You remember the little chickadee I brought home?" Not that the huge feathered owl was much of a tiny song bird at all. "He's blind, but he has the same type of magic as you, I thought it might be good to start with you."

That all said, she turned her gaze back to Dark, raising a wing-- not that he could see, but sometimes she had a hard time working with that. "Dark, this is Makyna, our resident Coordinator. Her job is to help sort out problems that Maji Walezi is having and come up with solutions to fix 'em."

.Enna

@Dark

Dark stared vaguely in Makyna's direction as he hopped after Bevy's voice. His gaze was utterly empty; it was hard enough for an owl to express emotion through his face, unless he was irritated or frightened--and then his feathers did all sorts of poofing and flattening down. But right now, he may as well have been a statue, or a shell.

All he could hear was a voice, so he couldn't form any idea of what Makyna was like; there was no way to get a first impression, a preconception. Instead he heard her vague greeting and he stared with a blank vacancy toward her, remaining silent.

It could hardly be said that Dark was particularly good with social etiquette on the best of days (and perhaps some of that could be blamed on his blindness; he'd never learned proper body language in the slightest), but now, half-deafened by the falls and waiting to learn more of Makyna, he seemed downright useless.

Finally, sensing that it was he who was meant to fill the now perhaps slightly awkward silence, he spoke--one brief, chirping hoot, soft and indifferent.

"Hello."

________________

@Makyna

MAKYNA
"let's sing a song for the heart"

Tsk. Typical Cancer. Try to get everyone into the group and never properly introduce their duties. She always tried to give coordinators like Quix ideas with their rolls but the leader was supposed to do even more. It was a good thing that idiot was no longer in Maji Walezi. The lioness' head dipped at her initial question. She remembered Dark quite well. He had helped to testify in the court case and he'd talked about that awful dragon. "Oh, yes, of course! I remember him."

She waited a few moments for Dark to speak and finally his voice piped up. Small, breaking the silence. Ky smiled and though she knew that he couldn't see it felt right to do. A fellow Arcane user was always nice to meet. Hello, it's nice to meet you! Sorry we haven't had the proper time to get acquainted but well... This is me. She sent a picture to him then of herself as she had seen in a pool of water. Her golden fur, her blue eyes with the gem sitting right in between and the flowers she liked to set in her ear. Just like that the image stopped and she sat up, smiling down at Bevy. "I'm glad you're taking him around to meet everyone just as it was supposed to be done... Just another task that was neglected until you came to power." She was so glad that Bevy was their new leader.

______________________________________

"This is how I talk!"
"This is how I sing!"
This is how I think!

---
@Bevy @Dark
---
5/10

enna . ratchet . calypso . anan
sweet and soft . bright and cheery . critical and melodic . childlike and loud

you can become blind by seeing each day as a similar one. each day is a different one, each day brings a miracle of its own. it's just a matter of paying attention to this miracle

"Oh, um, I'm just doing my best. It's a lot of responsibility."

Enna nodded, her feathers ruffling as she looked between her big, grown up baby and her childhood friend. It seemed she was still holding ill will towards Cancer, something that unsettled the pitohui. She supposed the lioness had her reasons, but Enna herself could never bring herself to hate the leopard, even if he wasn't theb best leader. He had done all that he could-- they were just kids, after all.

The pitohui bird wondered how Ky would feel once Cancer's banishment was over... If he wanted to return. She shivered, sadness swelling in her heart-- their family would never be the same after their leader's betrayal. She would do her best to make amends, to fix things.

"Is Leon around, or did he leave on one of his missions?" She peeped softly, glancing around. Things had quieted down a little bit, but there was so much chaos just outside their home that it was hard not to keep up her defenses. She was still a guardian at heart, even as their new leader. Truth be told, Calypso was the real leader-- she.. Enna was just a momma bird. She didn't really feel compelled to lead anyone, guide them maybe, protect them, but not... Boss them around.

Still, she would help Caly do her job, anyway. Best she could do, honestly.

.Enna

@Dark

Dark listened, and as he pondered Makyna's literal mental image--considering and setting them to memory, remembering the tans, the flower, the blues, the gem--and the strange shape of her, of the large cat, the lion--he heard Bevy speak. Strangely, he was the one, for once, to answer.

"He's waiting for me. I'll go there after. I'm going to show him a thing."

He was vague, distant, trying to form a mental image to send back to Makyna. It was automatic, and the owl forgot that Makyna wasn't, well, blind. The "picture" that he sent of himself was an image, sure, but it was filled with sound, too, and based off of it. He'd seen himself once, using magic, but it wasn't how he saw himself.

The image that he sent back to Makyna was whispering, a shiver of echo through a dim cave tunnel--lit, but not very brightly. A soft rustling of feathers was coming from the center, constantly shifting and hissing until suddenly, as he drew closer in this image, it went silent. The rest of the cave kept whispering and echoing, but the dark point at the center went silent, a void of sound--how Dark imagined the silence of an owl.

Then he was visible, as they drew closer: a dark owl-shape, indistinct and shifting, difficult to pinpoint.

Dark realized that he was hard to see; in sound-scapes, he was invisible, after all, his feathers making no sound. And so in this image he cast a light, bright and harsh and blinding--as he saw light, when viewed in his magic. And suddenly the owl was a small shape, but they were looking at the shadow he cast: and it was monstrous, vast and black with glowing green eyes, swelling over the tunnel. As he became visible, or rather as the shadow did, the scene filled with the sound of loudly-beating wings, like those of a hawk or an eagle.

The vision cut out suddenly; Dark was satisfied. He was a dark thing, with green eyes, owl-shaped--he thought he had done well, and was unaware that he had essentially shown Makyna a monster.

He chirped again, soft and cheery.

"It is. Nice to meet you--Makyna. I remember your sounds from before." Then he looked to Bevy, blinking large gem eyes.

"Should I meet more now or--or go to Leon?"

________________

@Bevy