[SE] Flowersong Birdbirth

He wasn't the most pious man most of the time, but when he realized that the last time he'd made offerings to the seasonal deities had been before the War, Talyson figured he could make a small detour on his next courier run to Stormbreak.

The Peregrine was ground-anchored at the edge of the Oerwoud, out of reach of the grasping vines and potentially hungry trees. Wearing only trousers and a sleeveless shirt over his Vest, Tal had slipped into the jungle with Boreal immediately taking to the branches to trot along broad limbs or glide from branch-to-branch above him. He had a thick leather flask in one hand and the other was raised to ward off too-friendly vines as he poked around for a place to make his offering.

"Petunia?" he called out, looking for something else as well. "Petunia, are you here?"

Lena

Lena

hope is the thing with feathers
that perches in the soul

Talyson wasn’t the only one in this midst, and though Lena raised her head from her bowed position before the offering sanction, she wasn’t Petunia. Not answering, and shrugging her shoulders at her wayward snowball companion, she persisted in snagging the water from her bag. A nice canteen, not too fanciful, but enough to do the job, with the liquid inside snagged from one of the surrounding streams – enough to quench the thirst of any springtime deity, she hoped.

But Mittens had a hankering too, for mischief and devilry.

Before the Caretaker could even snag the little beast, it was off, hastening towards the voice. “Oh, don’t!” She whispered, fiendishly stalking after it, snagging her canteen and making sure it stayed in her grasp. In rapid time, it beelined for the stranger (though, not really) in the midst, hurtling and intending to make use of its tangible form to smack him with a ferocious force of snow.

and sings the tune without the words
and never stops at all

Boreal peered down at what she thought at first was a fat white bird winging towards her human. Except... it had no wings and it was by far the roundest little morsel she'd ever seen. She watched, intrigued, and gave no warning whatsoever to Talyson as he turned to the west just in time to take a snowball to the side of the head.

"Hey!" The courier's wounded scowl flashed around as he wiped snow from his face with confused dismay. "Who threw that?" And how???

From her perch high above the dragon spotted Lena through the vibrant foliage and Boreal hopped and padded across her branch-roads until she could drop down to investigate the familiar but half-forgotten woman. She stretched her blunt muzzle forward to sniff at Lena curiously, scaly tail wagging a friendly greeting that flattened a few plants behind her.

Lena

hope is the thing with feathers
that perches in the soul

The apologies were rampant the moment she heard the voice, pushing her way past branches and brambles, ducking beneath vines. “I’m so sorry, it just likes to -,” but by then Mittens had already triumphantly slammed into the side of the courier’s head, reforming into its cantankerous, frosty edges. The devilish little smile adorning its features (with little rocks and pebbles) was enough to warrant another string of sentiments as it maneuvered, floated, to stand in front of the Caretaker, protective and proud. “Sorry, its my companion, it –“

It took her a moment of recognition, blinking steadfast at Talyson, then the accompanying dragon. “Oh, Talyson! And hello again,” for her attention had already flickered back to the companion, the hand not holding her canteen immediately going for her pockets for treats.

and sings the tune without the words
and never stops at all

Okay, hearing apologies right off the bat did help tone down Tal's grumpiness at getting smacked with a snowball - in the jungle, of all places! A floating snowball was even weirder, and... was it smiling at him??

Waitaminute... that snowball looked familiar. There'd been that funky fort during during Deepfrost and--

"Lena!" He brightened as the Caretaker stepped into view, accompanied by a very polite and well-mannered Boreal (who knew that Good Dragons got treats) padding at her side. "Hi. So I guess that fox at th'snowball fight was you?" He shook his head ruefully, then shivered as a chunk of snow melted and ran into his ear. "Eeyurgh! Fuck, that's th'weirdest--! Uh, so, what're you doin' out here? Official Celestine stuff?" He tilted his head surreptitiously, trying to let the water run back out.

Lena

hope is the thing with feathers
that perches in the soul

Already granting Boreal treats, and none for Mittens, the youth’s head shot back upwards. “Oh, were you there too? It was hard to tell what was going on.” The snowball fight had been a mess in and of itself, and she’d been content to scurry out of harm’s way a multitude of times. “Mittens was the reward for making it through. I think.” The companion gave another gleeful, and slightly demonic, turn of its head, much like an owl, before floating to cast its sights on Boreal, though just…merely hovering. Levitating. In front of the dragon.

Lena grabbed hold of it before the notions went any further, a light grasp that insinuated better behavior, while she answered the rest of the questions. “I'm here to give an offering to Ghilio. You?”

and sings the tune without the words
and never stops at all

Boreal took the treats daintily from Lena's fingers, careful not to nip as she nibbled them into her broad muzzle and made happy bass rumbles of approval at renewing her acquaintance with the Caretaker. She leaned into the woman's hip while Tal just looked at her in exasperation and tried to surreptitiously get her to come back to his side.

"Yeah, I know what y'mean. It was crazy that day!" He shook his head ruefully, dark hair flopping into his eyes until he pushed it back with a grin. "I didn't recognize you, all foxy an' all. But I recognize, uh... them? I've never seen anythin' like Mittens before!" He was a little unclear as to the snowcreature's pronouns, but hoped something neutral would be alright for now.

He finally managed to get a hand on Boreal's horns and tug her back away from that very Mittens, which had a fascinated dragon staring at it, trying to decide if this was a friend or a toy or a snack or something else entirely. At the mention of Ghilio he almost let go, but managed to hook an arm around her shoulders as he knelt down beside her to get a better grip. "Oh! Hey, me too! An' I was lookin' for some... uh, one." He glanced down sheepishly and cleared his throat. "Um. I don't s'pose y'know where we're supposed to go this time? Last time there was that well in Hak Etme, but I wasn't sure where t'go now..."

Lena

hope is the thing with feathers
that perches in the soul

Out of habit, the Caretaker began scratching the top of the dragon’s head with her free hand, beginning another rich hum under her breath as the calm washed back over her. Mittens might have been her polar opposite, with ridiculous antics, but when it wanted, the young companion could simply mold back into the terrain. “It’s an abominable snowball. They’re not out very often.” She could imagine the rest of the world picked them off one by one, or they existed out of spite.

Her head tilted, releasing Boreal from the scritches, allowing her to slip another finger around Mittens and reaffirm the grasp before turning. “Back this way I believe,” and she sauntered along the path, tending to the branches and vines slung low, maneuvering them easily and efficiently. "Did you find whomever you were looking for?"

and sings the tune without the words
and never stops at all

Boreal rumbled happily and leaned into the scratches, thoroughly ignoring Tal while on the receiving end of attention. Tal's attempts to surreptitiously get her to behave were distracted by Lena's explanation of the mischievous little companion and he grinned in spite of the 'greeting' it had give him. "Bet it'd fit right in in Halo if y'ever come visit," he opined. "Hail, you'd be a ringer in any snowball fights with the little guy's help!"

He finally snagged the dragon back and freed Lena to corral her own mischief making companion, and let out a sigh of relief when she knew where to go. Standing up and keeping a cautionary hand on Boreal's shoulders, he followed in Lena's wake, glad he was behind her so she couldn't see his blush or he way he reached up to rub at the back of his neck. "Um. Y'heard that, huh? No... haven't had any luck. But she moves around a lot so she could be anywhere in... here." He waved a hand to encompass the whole of the Oerwoud with rueful resignation.

Lena

hope is the thing with feathers
that perches in the soul

If Lena was the snowball throwing, vehement type, then perhaps she’d test out those very notions. But she wasn’t – made of kindness and benedictions, compassion and tenderness, and to have a companion on the opposite sides of the spectrum was sometimes daunting, overwhelming, and led to more apologies than she’d ever uttered in her life.

So she bypassed those semblances, for she didn’t want any course of those thoughts to flicker across the bond, gently pushing aside another low branch, making sure it didn’t snap back behind her. “Oh. All right.” Given no other information, the Caretaker shrugged, ensuring her grip was still on Mittens, as they followed the wayward, scattered path.

Opening up to the shrine she’d been intending to honor and bestow, had the attempts not been interrupted or waylaid by a brazen snowball. “Here we are.”

and sings the tune without the words
and never stops at all

Tal heaved a quiet sigh of relief when Lena didn't press him further on his missing Petunia. Sometimes people could get a little... weird... when they found out that she was a Walking Palm. The first Walking Palm, in point of fact, that Frey had made - in Halo of all places, and then tasked Tal with transporting to the Oerwoud. He'd grown attached to the little sapling on the journey and he still tried to visit her now and then.

Except, on account of the walking, she was never where he'd left her last and finding her again could be next to impossible.

Companions firmly in hand (for much the same reasons), they made quite an odd little procession of their own back to the shrine, but Tal perked up when he saw it and released Boreal so he could reach for his flask. She shook her head dramatically and snorted at him in wounded innocence as he approached the shrine. "Hey, we were pretty close. Thanks, Lena!"

Uncorking the flask, he poured the liquid inside - a hard cider with a bright, sweet aroma - over the altar. "An' thank you, Ghilio, for bringin' Flowerbirth back t'Halo again." His murmured prayer was fervent and sincere, grateful for the new greenery that peeked through the snow in the Greenwing and the open water of the Bay.

Lena

hope is the thing with feathers
that perches in the soul

Reaching for her own flask of water again, she hummed lightly in regards to them not being far from its exterior – as Lena made it a point to know where the heralds and deities shrines were located, even the seasonal factions. Keeping one hand still resting firmly on Mittens, in case the creature opted to make itself a nuisance again (and gods forbid taunt the dragon), she poured the container over the altar; fresh, clean, remnants of a spring not far from this location.

While Talyson offered his prayers overtly, Lena gave hers in the vast silence of her mind, over Attuned proportions, across bonds and quiet. Head bowed, and a crouch extended, the Caretaker ensured they were heard, in one way or another. Thank you for everything you have done. May you be equally blessed, Ghilio.

Standing upright thereafter, she turned to the courier, brow arched slightly, the same genuine smile segmented along her face. “Are you up to anything else in the Oerwoud today?”

and sings the tune without the words
and never stops at all

Tal stepped back to give Lena room and knelt down to play with Boreal, gently tugging at her horns and booping her nose and chin while she pretended to 'bite' at him, mouthing his hands and arms with playful little growls - and being thoroughly distracted the fascinating mystery that was Mittens. It kept her mischief contained and out of the Caretaker's way while she made her prayers until she rose again, and Tal looked back over his shoulder at her.

Her smile tugged an answering one from the courier and he ducked his head a little as Boreal chortled her amusement at his slight embarrassment at the return to Petunia. "Um. I was gonna look for my friend a little longer, but after that I should probably get back on my route. I've got a delivery t'make in Stormbreak an'... say, d'you need a ride? The Peregrine seats two, if you're headed back that way." And the Caretaker was easy company to get along with.

Lena

hope is the thing with feathers
that perches in the soul

Years before, she would’ve likely said no to a sudden trip along skyboats and anything else that didn’t anchor her to Stormbreak’s ancient stones. But she’d grown in bravery and courage since then, through war, hardships, tragedy, and loss. Contemplating anything else to be done here in the Oerwoud (other than collecting plants, and she could always return later in the season for just that) and ensuring Mittens would behave itself, she segmented the offer back with a grin. “Sure. I’ll take you up on that.” Another exhilarating adventure to be had, on the return to an island in the clouds.

{FIN}

and sings the tune without the words
and never stops at all