Darky
Flea Market Artist
Veritas et Aequitas
Posts: 1,268
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Post by Darky on Nov 30, 2021 2:48:31 GMT -6
While normally she wouldn't have paid all too much attention to it, since the garden was well full of all sorts of plants, some of them long before she had even taken this little plot over, the colour that ended up flashing between the muddy browns and red was distinctly eye-catching. Even in the fall season, there weren't all that many things that came in the variation of purples, much less something as bright as that. "What's this?" the sphinx muttered to herself, and scooted closer to the bush to pick up the fruit.
Orchis watched with some interest, mixed with some concern, since this specific motion ended up breaking the patterns of expectation he had been experiencing so far. The line of action was jar, worm, ground, back away. This was approach, take, fruit and stay, so one can see how it might be a little confusing for the branchaeopter, especially when the jar was still in her hand as well.
(23) Fall Darky: 23 Orchis: 7 (3/5) / 7 (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 30, 2021 2:52:19 GMT -6
Darky turned the fruit around in her hand, brow furrowed in thoughtful scrutiny. This.. definitely didn't seem like something she was able to grow, and although most of the plants largely did their growings all on their own, she was sure she would have remembered a tree or a bush covered in such bright fruit, even in her sparse visits. It almost looked exotic in it's colouration and, strangely, its scent as well.. As if something vaguely recalled, but not quite.
The branchaeopter hopped a few steps closer, still trying to parse out this change in the pattern, as conflicting emotions vied for dominance. He could.. take the jar? If the glass thing was the source of the food, he could just take it to have his own. But that meant getting too close to the mammalian, and the jar was clutched close to her side. But this strange new fruit thing.. Well that was a bit further away, now wasn't it?
(24) Fall Darky: 24 Orchis: 7 (4/5) / 7 (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 30, 2021 2:56:45 GMT -6
Inching closer, Orchis did his best to appear unassuming, until he was well within striking distance. The mammalian was too engrossed in inspecting the fruit that she hadn't really noticed the not-quite-so-inobvious subterfuge, until a wooden beak suddenly flashed forwards and tried to grab the fruit from her hands.
It missed, by only a little, but enough to instead nip at her thumb, and the sphinx flinched back with a short "Ow!", dropping the fruit. While the motion was a surprise, the sphinx was quick to recover, first staring at the branchaopter before thoughts connected the actions, and she quickly grabbed the fruit again, holding it out of Orchis' reach "Ah-ah! No, Orchis.. Normally I wouldn't mind, but we don't even know if it's edible yet, so it's best you don't try it." The law of nature was that bright things generally came in two variations - very delicious and completely poisonous.
Sometimes both at the same time.
(25) Fall Darky: 25 Orchis: 8 (0/5) / 8 (0/5)
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Post by Nadia on Dec 1, 2021 14:51:16 GMT -6
Maybe these will be edible!
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Darky
Flea Market Artist
Veritas et Aequitas
Posts: 1,268
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Post by Darky on Dec 10, 2021 3:05:46 GMT -6
Orchis didn't really know the difference (and by extension, she supposed he might have not been in danger of being poisoned half as much as more flesh-based entities, although being plant-based didn't exactly make it a guarantee either), so the sphinx figured it safer to first figure out what it is before risking anything. The beak came at her hand again, though this time definitely in a more half-hearted attempt as the branchaeopter realized the jig was up. The sphinx fended with an elbow, pushing him back as she smirked despite it, "Nooo.. Not for you. Well.. Maybe, but we don't know that yet."
To avoid further temptations, she finally tucked the berry into the shoulder bag, while still fending the overly eager branchaeopter to keep his beak at a distance. Eventually he did back off again, once he looked to have understood that the bright delicious-looking thing had been hidden away, not that he seemed overly happy about it.
(26) Fall Darky: 26 Orchis: 8 (1/5) / 8 (1/5)
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Darky
Flea Market Artist
Veritas et Aequitas
Posts: 1,268
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Post by Darky on Dec 10, 2021 3:10:19 GMT -6
At least for his consolation, there were still the worms. The head perked as he heard the distinctive sound of a lid being removed, and sure as rain, the sphinx was already placing down the worm on the stone path not seconds after. With a quick swipe of the head, Orchis snatched up the worm and readily gobbled it down, as the sphinx backed up some steps again and placed down another. With eager practice, the branchaeopter followed along, eating up the strange breadcrumb trail of wigglies along the way.
In truth she didn't really have a plan beyond this point, although the path was sure to end eventually. The idea has been to locate the branchaeopter, ensure everything was alright and then see if she can spend some time to make contact with him, in large part due to the abandonment of garden duties up to that point. Now that contact had been made, though..
(27) Fall Darky: 27 Orchis: 8 (2/5) / 8 (2/5)
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Darky
Flea Market Artist
Veritas et Aequitas
Posts: 1,268
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Post by Darky on Dec 10, 2021 3:14:12 GMT -6
It was mostly working off of instinct from there. The key to a good bond was to ensure the creature could feel at ease in one's presence, and the brancaeopter certainly didn't seem to be suffering from any discomfort at the moment. Admittedly, it was largely due to the food being presented, so once the food ran out, things can still change quite fast. But in the meantime the sphinx hoped this small bit of contact could be enough to at least let him realize she isn't a thread and can actually be a positive presence.
Spirits knew the lotine wouldn't be willing to give her half as much attention, much less some of the mussimanders, but everyone had to start from somewhere, so it might as well be with the branchaeopter.
Along the way, as she kept backing up, her foot eventually hit something else.. As Orchis gobbled up the last placed worm, she turned and looked down to find.. another of those fruits?
(28) Fall Darky: 28 Orchis: 8 (3/5) / 8 (3/5)
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Darky
Flea Market Artist
Veritas et Aequitas
Posts: 1,268
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Post by Darky on Dec 10, 2021 3:17:44 GMT -6
The shape was very much the same, but the colour was drastically different.. Largely because it was just one single tone, as opposed to a mishmash of colours and complex patterns. How it got there was anyone's guess (although she had long since stopped wondering how some fruits and berries came to be in the garden to begin with. The garden seemed to almost have a mind of its own in what would grow there, sometimes. Either that or she was even worse at botany than she expected).
A clack of a wooden beak signaled that she wasn't the only one to make this discovery, as Orchis had finished with the worm and looked to her with some expectancy.. but seeing her crouch there with the fruit in hand, the head did a curious side-tilt, while the beak softly clacked together in curious consideration. It was mostly a courtesy. It didn't mean he wasn't gonna go for it.
(29) Fall Darky: 29 Orchis: 8 (4/5) / 8 (4/5)
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Darky
Flea Market Artist
Veritas et Aequitas
Posts: 1,268
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Post by Darky on Dec 10, 2021 3:21:32 GMT -6
As soon as the sphinx recognized that look in his eyes, not unlike the look some felines give when they have a mind to cause trouble and are only physically restraining from it because they're still making up their mind on the exact 'when' (the answer of which was generally "now"), her elbow came up in defense, "Oh no.. No, no, this one isn't for eating either!"
It helped, even if just a little, as the branchaeopter hopped closer and largely tried to disregard her hand or her elbow, instead trying to reach his beak towards the fruit, to snatch it up. Tenacious as he was, the sphinx's arm length was just that much longer, and she was able to keep the fruit at bay from him long enough to push him back a step and use the moment in between to quickly stash the fruit away in the bag. The hand then came up, palm open and she went "Empty! See?"
(30) Fall Darky: 30 - (added) Orchis: 9 (0/5) / 9 (0/5)
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Post by Nadia on Dec 17, 2021 5:17:16 GMT -6
Why does that fruit look like a murp?
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Darky
Flea Market Artist
Veritas et Aequitas
Posts: 1,268
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Post by Darky on Dec 20, 2021 6:29:25 GMT -6
Some other creatures might have been at least a little deterred by the open palm, but Orchis wasn't quite making the connection. He continued to try and climb over her for a little while longer, head and beak turning and arcing around and beyond her hand, as if assuming the fruit was somewhere hidden behind rather than within the bag. The sphinx continued to use the elbow and forearm of one hand to cover her head, while gently pushing him off. The branchaeopter wasn't intending to hurt her, but at the same time he was mostly made up of wood and bark, so it didn't take much to scratch on accident.
Eventually, he was pushed back enough to settle, perhaps even finally realizing the fanciful fruit was gone. A soft thrill sounded from deep within the throat as he scanned the sphinx and the surrounding area, seeming sad to have lost sight of the pretty thing. Even the jar didn't seem to quite hold his attention as much as before.
(31) Fall Darky: 31 Orchis: 9 (1/5) / 9 (1/5)
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Darky
Flea Market Artist
Veritas et Aequitas
Posts: 1,268
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Post by Darky on Dec 20, 2021 6:48:05 GMT -6
If one had to describe the expression, it could almost be said to be like a puppy that just discovered a toy, only for it to have been taken away. A puppy that was knee-high and covered in bark and feathery leaves for the most part, but still. Slowly Orchis' movements settled, the more he realized there really wasn't anything more to chase, giving the sphinx a chance to sit upright and dust herself off as she straightened her jacket and blouse. For all that she kept getting bitten and scratched by things, the tailors of the City really did their job well, for it wasn't often such little 'encounters' and incidents could loosen a thread or even cause a tear.
This time around she was spared from needing to do any patching, although if Orchis got really intent, he could still cause some damage if he actually wanted to. Dusting the last bit off, with a flick of a dried leaf that had got stuck in the hair, the sphinx rolled back onto her heels, "Okay, lets try this again."
(32) Fall Darky: 32 Orchis: 9 (2/5) / 9 (2/5)
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Darky
Flea Market Artist
Veritas et Aequitas
Posts: 1,268
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Post by Darky on Dec 20, 2021 8:08:11 GMT -6
She hadn't quite managed to even raise the jar and rattle it before the branchaeopter's head perked and he seemed to stand attentively. Not something unusual as such.. if the attention wasn't quite matching up with where she was holding the jar. The sphinx's head tilted a little, then leaned forwards to match Orchis' line of sight. His eyes looked to be locked to something small and red just beneath an array of bare bushes, mostly bereft of any remaining leaves.
A moment passed where she side-glanced back towards him, noticing that very same expression of trouble-to-ensue, and quickly moved towards just as the branchaeopter did. Of the two, Orchis was quicker overall, but she had the body size (and more importantly, arm length) to close the distance first. Diving towards the bush, the sphinx snatched up the red bundle and rolled to the side, as Orchis clacked his beak and quickly followed after.
(33) Fall Darky: 33 Orchis: 9 (3/5) / 9 (3/5)
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Darky
Flea Market Artist
Veritas et Aequitas
Posts: 1,268
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Post by Darky on Dec 20, 2021 8:11:50 GMT -6
Well, there were certainly stranger ways to provide creatures with enrichment, and the sphinx having to roll to her feet and run off carrying the bundle of red berries in her palm as the branchaeopter chased after was certainly a sight to behold, though not the strangest thing she'd ever done. It would have been easy enough to tuck the berries into the bag without too much incident, but she figured that the branchaeopter was likely lacking in most forms of entertainment around the garden at normal times, so might as well see what she can do about it while she was still here.
As such, the berries remained firmly in her grip, but were held a little outward, to ensure Orchis wouldn't mistake their locate to be anywhere else. For his part, the brancheopter certainly didn't seem to be confused by it either, and gladly ran after the mammalian as the bark-covered feet lightly clacked against the paved stones of the worn path.
(34) Fall Darky: 34 Orchis: 9 (4/5) / 9 (4/5)
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Darky
Flea Market Artist
Veritas et Aequitas
Posts: 1,268
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Post by Darky on Dec 20, 2021 8:16:07 GMT -6
Eventually the main path did run out, but fortunately there were plenty side little ways to go down, so the sphinx took the corner in a skid and kept running along the berry bush rows to the side. Behind her, she could still hear the branchaeopter's footfalls, although no sooner did they switch from paved stone to dirt path that the resonance (and tempo) seemed to change. Looks like the dirt path made for better traction, and she could hear the playful chirps growing closed.
The dirt path ended first, and the sphinx took the next corner much the same way as the first, still holding out the berries for him to follow, smiling, "Gotta do a bit better than that." before starting down the paved path again. It wasn't quite a loop, since they were some distance from where Orchis had initially come out from the thicket, but unless the branchaeopter caught her first, it wouldn't be difficult to turn it into one - thus a game and exercise in one.
(35) Fall Darky: 35 Orchis: 10 (0/5) / 10 (0/5)
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