Sierra Hills [BWP]The birds without the bees

Ayla, you happen to see two bald eagles engaging in a mating ritual. Open to 1-2 others

I saw you in the village playing mandolin

It wasn't often that Ayla left the safety of her mist shrouded forest, it was even rarer when she happened to leave on her own, but for some reason, today it had felt right. She had every expectation that @Corsair or @Mabel might find her trail and follow her out here, for surely it would seem odd to them that she had left without their goading but sometimes, it was nice to see the sky, without branches getting in the way and she wasn't that far from the borders at all. Besides, she was still a little upset about the stampede incident.

While the snow was slow to recede, the drizzling rain had bought a bit of warmth with it, and the earthy red stones seemed to set the red girls fur ablaze when compared to how it muted under the cover of trees. She paused for a moment to take in her reflection in a puddle, amazed at how different she thought she looked for a simple change in scenery. She didn't have Mabel's grace, of course, everything about the youngest Donata rounder by design, but she had grown into her ears and her paws. It was a relief to say the least.

It was then she caught sight of the shadow overhead, golden eyes looking up to spot the two eagles flying higher and higher into the sky. Her brows pinched as she tried to make sense of just what they were doing as they began to fly at each other, talons outstretched. A muffled shreik got trapped in her throat behind her tightly clenched jaw as they grabbed each other and plummeted to the earth. If they didn't let go they were going to crash!

Ayla Donata

(This post was last modified: Jun 21, 2018, 11:40 AM by Ayla.)

Corsair had every intention of minding his own business that day, or maybe trying to find @Chamomile to ask him for another lesson. But his energy level was high and every time he tried to settle down, he found himself up and walking around instead. When he smelled his youngest sister, he decided that he wasn’t in the mood to be alone after all and had set off after her, pausing for only a moment before crossing the pack borders. Odd that she would go by herself.

He followed her trail over the melting snow into the red, rocky hills that made up the pack’s eastern border. The rain made the path muddy, and soon enough his paws, legs, and parts of his cream underbelly were covered in dirt and grime. Mom would be annoyed, so he made a note to stop and clean himself in the creek before he returned home.

Ayla has just come into view when Corsair first heard the squawks and shrieks above him, cutting him off from yelling out at her. Craning his head upward, he watched the two birds grip each other tightly. Eyes wide, he realized that they were coming towards earth - towards him (at least in his mind). With a yelp, he darted forward to get out of the way of the birds’ plunge, still looking upwards and completely missing that he was about to run into his sister.

hope yall don't mind me tossing Chamomile in here!

He trailed after the kids with ease, his smaller form keeping up thanks to his speed and certainly not due to strides. The Bend second had no interest in scolding them for being out here (they were almost yearlings after all) but he did wish to see what they were doing. He was supposed to be their teacher, how would either of their parents forgive him if something happened to them? Aponi had seemed nice enough but he figured wolves didn't gain scars for being the nicest, did they? Well now that he thought about it...maybe they did.

His head shook the thought out as the sound of screeching caught his attention. A look upwards told him that it was the birds. What they were doing was something he had no interest in watching. Until they seemed to head towards the earth and a yelp caught his attention. The small male quickly scattered forward to try and catch up with the kids. "Watch out!" He shouted hopefully loud enough for them to hear.

Chamomile had no idea if the eagles actually intended to hit the earth but he didn't want any of the Bend wolves in their spiraling path if they wanted to get that close.

(This post was last modified: Apr 17, 2018, 04:49 PM by Chamomile.)

currently seeking teaching or advising threads
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I saw you in the village playing mandolin

With her eyes trained upwards toward the birds in the sky she had no time to brace for Corsair's impact, @Chamomile's warning falling on deaf ears. He collided with her flank, bowling the girl clean over. A snarl was ripped from her chest with the force of it, mind working faster than her nose as she snapped towards her assailant taking some of the strength out of the motion when she realised it was just @Corsair. "'Sair!" She grumbled, her ears folded against her skull, immediately apologetic despite the accusatory look in her eye. He had bought it on himself after all.

Her attention swung back to place on the ground where the birds should have landed, except there was nothing there. She quickly pushed herself back to her feet, prancing over to where she thought they would have landed, her nose scanning over the red earth. Nothing. It was then the eagles cry pulled her eyes back up, both birds circling overhead again. "Well that was strange, do you think they were fighting over something?"

Ayla Donata

Really sorry for the holdup. If you want, feel free to skip Corsair for the next couple of rounds and I'll respond again when I get back on May 19th. :)

Corsair had been too focused on the birds plunging to the ground to notice that he was barreling straight into his sister or to hear Chamomile's warning. He ran right into Ayla, knocking her to the ground and tripping over her himself. Falling, he fell onto his stomach, smacking his nose against the ground. Yelping in pain, he flattened his ears against his skull as Ayla snarled at him and snapped her teeth in his direction. It was entirely his fault, but he couldn't help but lift his lips and bare his fangs back at her, even as his tail began to wave behind him in play.

He followed Ayla's lead and looked behind him, for where the birds should have landed. But there was nothing there. Eyes wide in confusion, he looked between the spot and Ayla a few times before the cry of the eagles caused him to look up and then around them. Realizing as he was speaking that Chamomile was also with them, he could barely stop himself as he spoke. "What the f...oh hi Cham," he said, stopping himself short in case his teacher had any qualms about language and reported him to mom and dad. Hoisting himself to his feet, he belatedly shrugged his shoulders at his sister's question. "I dunno. They looked like they were falling though, dumb birds. Maybe Cham knows, though. Hey Cham! What's the deal with the eagles?"

He should have been expecting the questions to come towards him as he had branded himself as a teacher (in progress) after all. "Well, uh," He started off as his green eyes squinted, looking to try and find the eagles. They were nowhere to be seen at the moment though which left all of the attention on him. "I don't know if all birds do that but eagles do that weird thing we just saw when they really like each other." Would that be enough for the curious Donatas? Chamomile wasn't even really sure if it was his place to give this kind of talk. He supposed it was easier to explain it with birds rather than an actual talk.

"I'm not exactly sure why they pick that way to express their love but..." His words trailed off as his shoulders gave a shrug. Maybe birds weren't as smart as they always seemed to be.

currently seeking teaching or advising threads
interested in your wolf learning? pm me!

In the distance there is a large pack of coyotes howling.

I saw you in the village playing mandolin

Ayla Donata

Ayla was glad to see her brother's tail wave and almost might have been distracted from her pondering if he had brushed it off, but he seemed just as perplexed as she was. She waited expectantly for Cham to respond, certain that she didn't need to add to Corsair's question, it was straight forward enough. She had expected him to be as perplexed as the near-yearlings, but what he said actually took her by surprise... and grossed her out a little. Her eyes were as wide as saucers. "Y-mean thats where baby eagles come from?!" She threw a nervous glance back to the circling birds, feeling suddenly hot under the fur. How embarassing for them. "THAT'S GROSS!" Her voice had raised an octave, but before she could continue, an eerie howl drifted across the hills.

A coyote call on its own wasn't uncommon, but then it was joined by another voice, and another. Concern was clear on her face as firey eyes flitted from one pair of green eyes to the next. That was wierd, wasn't it?

Corsair's faced mirrored Ayla's with his eyes wide in shock. His mouth was gaping open too, moving as though he was trying to talk but couldn't quite find the words. That had not been the response that he had expected from Cham. He tilted his head upward to look for the birds, their cawing and clashing taking on a whole new meaning courtesy of Cham's knowledge. Did wolves fight like that too? The question popped into his head unbidden. Is THAT why his parents had been fighting all the time?! The voice in his head was screaming, but he was too dumbstruck to spit it out before they were interrupted by a chorus of howls.

Instinctively, the fur along his back stood up, making trail down the length of his spine. He stepped closer to Ayla, pressing his shoulder against her's, not entirely sure if he was doing it to reassure her or himself. He looked to Chamomile again for guidance. "I didn't know there were any 'yotes that lived around here," he said, eyes shifting to look around them as those the creatures would suddenly appear out of thin air. "Noisy buggers, aren't they?" he tried to joke, hoping that his humor masked his uncertainty and fear.