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Post by Nadia on Nov 23, 2021 15:57:31 GMT -6
As blue as a summer sky!
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Darky
Flea Market Artist
Veritas et Aequitas
Posts: 1,268
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Post by Darky on Nov 25, 2021 6:10:22 GMT -6
The bush shook when the branchaeopter shifted, beginning to scramble back down. The perch had been precarious as is, so the descent was to the sound of much scraping and scratching, small twigs and branches pushed aside, while the remainder of the golden leaves still clinging to them were finally shook loose. The form of the plant-bird disappeared behind it for a moment, before the head eventually poked through between two of the thicket bushes, now much closer to his height standard. There was a blink and a curious tilt of the head, not quite understanding the question, but sensing something to be up.
Said 'something' not exactly being a farfetched assumption. The mammalian didn't frequent the garden all too much, and even those sparse few times she did, they were often to a purpose. Orchis wasn't perhaps the smartest of creatures, but he was observant, and knowing who came and went through his 'territory' was a valuable skill.
(11) Fall Darky: 11 Orchis: 5 (1/5) / 5 (1/5)
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Darky
Flea Market Artist
Veritas et Aequitas
Posts: 1,268
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Post by Darky on Nov 25, 2021 6:29:35 GMT -6
And because her visits were made quite infrequently, one can't blame the denizens of the garden from seeing her as more a visitor than the proprietor. While the lola didn't mind all too much (Spritely and chipper creatures like they were) the rest were a little more apprehensive.
So, while the mammalian shook the jar in her hand to show it contained some nice delicious bugs, the branchaeopter wasn't quick to jump on it. He knew here well enough to know she didn't pose a threat as such, but also enough to know that usually things weren't quite normal when she was around. And the disruption to routine could be either good entertainment, or annoying distraction. Thus it was clear that she'd need to put in a bit more effort to entice him to leave the thickets outright (And she didn't exactly want to let loose the worms within them either, lest some scuttle off and burrow new homes among the roots).
(12) Fall Darky: 12 Orchis: 5 (2/5) / 5 (2/5)
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Darky
Flea Market Artist
Veritas et Aequitas
Posts: 1,268
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Post by Darky on Nov 25, 2021 7:18:09 GMT -6
But at least she has his attention, even if the whole trust issue is still a work in progress. Rattling the jar, the sphinx began to slowly step back out of the thicket, trying to entice the branchaeopter to follow. His head did follow her movements, and perhaps it was the motion more than the understanding which cause him to follow after in gradual step. Enough so to still keep a very specific distance between them, or perhaps simply to he could keep her in eyesight. Curiosity and concern could often go hand-in-hand like that, after all.
"There we go," the sphinx smiled, continuing to step backwards and almost stumbling over a broken branch. The tail whipped around and restored the balance quick enough, but something else ended up underfoot, which felt a bit too solid to be mere leaves (and not solid enough to be a stone). Breaking off eye contact for a moment, she glanced down to the ground.
(13) Fall Darky: 13 Orchis: 5 (3/5) / 5 (3/5)
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Darky
Flea Market Artist
Veritas et Aequitas
Posts: 1,268
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Post by Darky on Nov 25, 2021 7:45:32 GMT -6
Where all of nature seemed to be in hue of yellow, red and brown, something quite different looked back from among the piles of fallen leaves. For one it was blue, and for another it looked to be a fruit of some kind. While the fall season also had its share of fruits, most of them were none the less seasonal to the warmer months. When she leaned down to pick it up, the shape of it was also revealed, prompting a curious head tilt for her instead. Huh.. If she didn't know any better, it almost looked like the fruit from before, though having none of the odd swirling.. Perhaps this was some edible form of the other?
Whichever the case, she tucked it into the pocket of her jacket for now, resolving to look into it later. For now, the coaxing of the branchaeopter continued, as she began backing up again.
(14) Fall Darky: 14 Orchis: 5 (4/5) / 5 (4/5)
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Darky
Flea Market Artist
Veritas et Aequitas
Posts: 1,268
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Post by Darky on Nov 25, 2021 7:50:22 GMT -6
The fruity find was perhaps an even bigger source of his curiosity than the jar of bugs, although he didn't seem to be turning down the latter either. It just took him a bit of time to recognize it, since normally his favour buggy prey wasn't found crawling around glass containers out in the 'wild' of the garden. Orchis slowly emerged from among the tickets, taking a quick short hop over the fallen branch and remaining standing just on the very edge of where the grass (or rather, piles of leaves in this case) ended up meeting the road.
That's where the hesitation crept in, as the mammalian backed up a few more steps, but paused when noticing his reluctance. "It's alright," she tried to encourage him, unscrewing the lid of the jar, taking one of the wiggling insects and placing it down on the paved stones, "Take your time." as she backed off again, to allow the branchaeopter space to approach his wiggly treat.
(15) Fall Darky: 15 Orchis: 6 (0/5) / 6 (0/5)
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Post by Nadia on Nov 25, 2021 7:56:25 GMT -6
You felt a little breeze blow past... sadly, nothing comes with it.
[Nothing happens.]
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Darky
Flea Market Artist
Veritas et Aequitas
Posts: 1,268
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Post by Darky on Nov 29, 2021 8:10:42 GMT -6
Now, Orchis was not that picky. He could be particular, but that was something entirely different. 'Particular' could mean he liked to walk about the garden in a certain fashion or a specific route. He could also choose to find it easier to hang out with some of the other denizens and not others. For example, he rather enjoyed the company of the lola, but the lotine was much too distant for his tastes. Being 'particular' also encompassed those who he thought felt 'safer' to be around from outside the garden, and those he very much like to avoid.
'Picky', ultimately, was a conscious choice. And the branchaeopter never made a conscious decision to let a free lunch simply wiggle on by.
And so, he hopped closer, barken beak suddenly flashing down to the ground and snatching up the wiggling treat, before eagerly gobbling it up. It was still a bug and it still tasted quite nice, despite having spent most of an afternoon inside a glass container.
(16) Fall Darky: 16 Orchis: 6 (1/5) / 6 (1/5)
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Darky
Flea Market Artist
Veritas et Aequitas
Posts: 1,268
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Post by Darky on Nov 29, 2021 8:47:31 GMT -6
"There we go," the sphinx smiled, removing the lid to take out another, "Do you want more of those?"
He very much did, though not in so many words. Rather instead, the head rose higher and turned to the side, to study her more closely with the one eye. The glass container was still something new, and so he'd need time to make any sort of decisions regarding it (Especially if he cant touch it. And to touch it meant getting closer to the mammalian, which wasn't bad in itself, but he just wasn't feeling up to that level of trust yet). But the feathers do ruffle, mixed in with the leafy plumage, and he takes that one inquisitive steps closer.
"Go on, it's all yours," the mammalian coaxed further, holding out the worm between finger and thumb. Far from it was this the first time she'd had to handle live form of bait, so any manner of discomfort had long been discarded.
(17) Fall Darky: 17 Orchis: 6 (2/5) / 6 (2/5)
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Darky
Flea Market Artist
Veritas et Aequitas
Posts: 1,268
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Post by Darky on Nov 29, 2021 9:11:25 GMT -6
She placed the worm down on the paved stones and backed up some steps, crouching down a ways away. Orchis' head remained trained on her, to watch her movements for any sign of threat or danger.. but generally finding none. It was also a lot easier to think of the mammalian as harmless when she was hunched down like that, being a lot more on his level of height. The branchaeopter wasn't exactly the sharpest of minds, but he had no trouble doing the math when it came to facing down things of equal size to him.
It wasn't necessarily the most accurate maths, but still.
So, he hopped a few steps closer, eyeing both mammalian and the slowly escaping worm, before the head quickly snapped towards the ground and snatched up the bug, gobbling it down in quick succession. The feathers ruffled, and the branchaeopter felt a kind of contentment - the worms weren't half bad, and if they kept showing up in front of him, all the better.
(18) Fall Darky: 18 Orchis: 6 (3/5) / 6 (3/5)
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Darky
Flea Market Artist
Veritas et Aequitas
Posts: 1,268
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Post by Darky on Nov 29, 2021 11:05:15 GMT -6
There was a curious cluck, as Orchis watched the mammalian remove the lid again. The repetition of the motion clicked something within his mind, connecting cause to (potential) reward. After all, he'd only seen the lid removed twice (In fact, he'd only seen the jar even exist just this one time) and each time the general chain of events lead to a yummy grub on the ground. By process of elimination, in that no other scenario had played itself out to offer contention, this meant lid removal = food. And he rather liked food, especially when it came for free.
Darky placed the next worm on the ground and scooted back again, smiling and calling for the branchaeopter to follow. It wasn't nearly as difficult as some moments ago, much less to when she had even attempted it those very first times forever ago. Orchis was quick to hop closer and investivate the grub for a split second.
(19) Fall Darky: 19 Orchis: 6 (4/5) / 6 (4/5)
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Darky
Flea Market Artist
Veritas et Aequitas
Posts: 1,268
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Post by Darky on Nov 29, 2021 11:09:42 GMT -6
Within the blink of an eye, it would be gone, snatched up the branchaeopter and gobbled down. The wooden beak clacked contently, and the ruffling of the leafy feathers signaled a much more relaxed posture than before. It was certainly easy enough to win favours, it seemed, when you had the appropriate food-related motivation on your side.
"What do you think? Up for one more?" the sphinx smirked, undoing the lid again and taking out another worm. This time the branchaeopter didn't really even resolve to waiting for her to put it on the ground, and was already tentatively hopping closer, beak lowered and to its side, as if trying to see whether he can snatch it up before the worm touched the stones. In the process, it means simultaneously getting closer to the mammalian and also trying to keep a safe distance. Much like magnets of the same alignment, it made for a bit of a uncertain hopping dance back and forth.
(20) Fall Darky: 20 - (added) Orchis: 7 (0/5) / 7 (0/5)
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Post by Nadia on Nov 29, 2021 14:48:04 GMT -6
Ooh, that pomme looks delicious!
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Darky
Flea Market Artist
Veritas et Aequitas
Posts: 1,268
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Post by Darky on Nov 30, 2021 2:40:14 GMT -6
As funny as it was to watch the battle of internal wills, one for eating and one for caution, the sphinx eventually let him be, putting the worm down and taking just a single step back this time. It was far from the distance she had retreated to in the previous feeding attempts, but it was also enough - The branchaeopter was quick to hop forward and snatch up the worm the moment the window of opportunity presented itself. He was also quick enough to hope several paces back afterwards, but it was still progress all the same.
If she kept this up, she might even be able to get him to snatch these off her palm, given enough time. Maybe not that day, necessarily, since a lot of different things could still happen to create setbacks (as they usually did), but overall it no longer seemed to be outside the realm of possibility.
(21) Fall Darky: 21 Orchis: 7 (1/5) / 7 (1/5)
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Darky
Flea Market Artist
Veritas et Aequitas
Posts: 1,268
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Post by Darky on Nov 30, 2021 2:44:41 GMT -6
Fortunately, even at his most irascible, Orchis wasn't a violent sort beyond the usual threat displays and demeanors. Sure, he made a huge show of appearing intimidating and dangerous, but at his heart wasn't quite ready to back up the bark to the bite, so to speak (Even if he was mostly made of bark, quite literally). While it didn't make for a great garden guardian, exactly, then it was still a benefit in other ways.
For example, a chance to feed him without getting one's fingers nipped off, or their face scratched up. In the wide range of things that might happen at the Labs, that was, at times, the very bare minimum one could hope for.
As the sphinx undid the lid of the jar and began to reach into it for another worm, the branchaeopter's back and forth fluttering had stirred up some leaves on the roadside, disturbing the otherwise fluffy piles.
(22) Fall Darky: 22 Orchis: 7 (2/5) / 7 (2/5)
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