Happiness is not an ideal of reason but of imagination
The ningos were proving to be a stubborn lot, resistant to the attuned form their keeper held, and the larger predatory eagle too. He supposed it was to be expected from the barely-domesticated species, which spent all of its time in Citadel walls, exposed to various people and their attuned forms (or even magic of an Abandoned) at any given time. ‘They’re just being stubborn,’ he commented softly, sending a pulse of agreement to the suggestion of funnelling them in the desired direction.
‘We need them to turn right at this intersection, not left,’ he offered, stalking along, gesturing with the tilt of his head. ‘As they come near, swoop into them. I’ll jump down and try a good snarl to convince them we mean business.’ And with that, he got into position, crouching low along the rooftop, ears pricked at the sound of approaching clucks and chitters which suggested the small flock was nearing.
‘Go!’ The command came at the same time the leopard leapt from the rooftop, snarling and growling, swiping with unsheathed claws this time – though he was careful to aim his swipe so that it did not connect with a bird or feather. And their combined efforts would see success this time – so much so that the ningos turned in the desired direction and went quite a distance towards their nesting grounds at the farm. Triumph and elation filled him, as he followed keenly in their rushed footsteps and wingbeats, snarling and grumbling every now and then to ensure the birds kept on course.
It would not last the entire trip back – eventually the path they followed split four ways, and so being unable to block off enough exits to funnel them the correct way, the flock was split. ‘Ah,’ the leopard huffed softly. ‘Let’s knock the snow down from that roof and block off the western path,’ instructions came, as the leopard jumped to the designated rooftop to begin shifting snow so that it would fall into the path below, hopefully creatin enough of a barrier to deter the ningos should they want to venture this way when they were next herded.
‘We need them to turn right at this intersection, not left,’ he offered, stalking along, gesturing with the tilt of his head. ‘As they come near, swoop into them. I’ll jump down and try a good snarl to convince them we mean business.’ And with that, he got into position, crouching low along the rooftop, ears pricked at the sound of approaching clucks and chitters which suggested the small flock was nearing.
‘Go!’ The command came at the same time the leopard leapt from the rooftop, snarling and growling, swiping with unsheathed claws this time – though he was careful to aim his swipe so that it did not connect with a bird or feather. And their combined efforts would see success this time – so much so that the ningos turned in the desired direction and went quite a distance towards their nesting grounds at the farm. Triumph and elation filled him, as he followed keenly in their rushed footsteps and wingbeats, snarling and grumbling every now and then to ensure the birds kept on course.
It would not last the entire trip back – eventually the path they followed split four ways, and so being unable to block off enough exits to funnel them the correct way, the flock was split. ‘Ah,’ the leopard huffed softly. ‘Let’s knock the snow down from that roof and block off the western path,’ instructions came, as the leopard jumped to the designated rooftop to begin shifting snow so that it would fall into the path below, hopefully creatin enough of a barrier to deter the ningos should they want to venture this way when they were next herded.
CHULANE
