Look What I Can Do

@Scarlett

The coldness of snow and ice had never been something the young owl favored, but he couldn't deny the fact that it could sometimes be fun. If one was careful enough, they could use their talons to pick up clumps of snow to drop on others. He'd done that a lot back home, but it wasn't limited to snow alone. Snow, sometimes ice, clumps of mud and twigs, bundles of tiny sticks, pellets, and dead mice could all be picked up and dropped on another owl, causing quite the fright sometimes. The frivolous little bird hardly ever missed an opportunity to do something that would have gotten him chastised, but he hadn't had the opportunity to do anything like that since arriving in the new land. It was quite the distance from home, and he had yet to run into another owl worth messing with, leaving him to play with the wolves.

Even if Keyx did have a sense of smell, his lack of knowledge on how wolves worked would have done nothing to keep him from entering the territory of a pack. It seemed to have snow everywhere, as well as a giant block of ice. It was pretty, like a work of art, and he wanted to make a smaller version of it. After scouting out the area a bit to make sure no predators were around, he came in for a landing in the snow, the cold substance not at all comforting. Comfort wasn't what he was after, though. He was looking to create another wolf of art, so he when to work using his talons to dig some of the snow into a small pile. Once content with the size and shape of it, he flew off to collect any twigs he could find, then returned and shoved them into the ground around the mound of sow with his beak. Stepping back, he admired the piece, giving it a nod of approval. It was much more simple than what he usually did, but he still liked it all the same. Keyx realized it was missing his signature, though, so he started to pluck a few unneeded feathers from his breast, then used is beak to press them down into the snow. Wouldn't want for his signature to be swept away by the wind, after all.

*huggles*

Scarlett loved the sound of the snow crunching under her feet. It always gave her a good feeling for some reason. Today the female was feeling extra gleeful because she had gotten a love confession from the wolf she wanted one from. She trotted more avidly and actually felt a bit proud of herself. Her head was constantly with the copper eyed male. Oh how she longed to see him again. But for now, the female had to focus on finding food for Adlartok, and frankly, herself. The white female perfectly blended in with the white background. She stayed low to the ground as she watched a bird land.

Normally, Scarlett wouldn't go for a bird and that wouldn't change today. But the red eyed female was highly curious what the big bird was doing. She slowly frowned and got from her crawling stance. She walked up to the bird. "What are you doing?," she barked in question. Her red eyed staring at the winged creature. She had met a bird before but it wasn't completely deranged like this one. Scarlett knew he was an owl. They made pretty sounds during the night. They also hunted by night with begged the question why this one was awake.

Hopefully these two can manage to become friends. :D

The odd bird had been focused on finding and plucking feathers worth leaving as a signature, but even then his finely tuned ears could pick up the sound of movement. At first, he paid it no mind, figuring whatever it was would think he was mad and continue on passed him. This, however, was not the case. Instead of going passed him, the pale creature decided to come up to him and question what he was doing. Was it not obvious? He was making art! Had the creature not been considerably larger than himself, he'd have stayed where he was to answer her question, but given the circumstances he couldn't do that. Instead, his head swiveled about to glance at what he now realized was a wolf, but the eyes she possessed spooked him a bit. At first, Keyx simply raised up his wings and tried to make himself appear larger, but even then he could not compare to the lupine. Deciding to do the smart thing, he silently propelled himself into the air, his feathers ruffling and refusing to settle until he'd positioned himself up on a tree branch.

“I am making art, silly wolf,” he informed her, looking down from the branch he now rested on. His dark eyes often moved over to look at what he'd created, wanting to make sure the woman didn't ruin it by stepping on it. When his blackened eyes returned to her, he turned his head upside down, making it close to aligning with his body but not quite, and returned her question. “What are you doing, wolf?”

I hope so too! Scarlett could use more bird friends lol!

Scarlett watched the owl turn himself bigger by spreading his wings. The albino took a step back. She knew that owls had sharp claws and good beak to pick a wolf's eye out. Scarlet shuddered, her thoughts went to the mutilated head and the bloody eyes. She rather not have that. Not really. Scarlett looked at the 'sculpture' the owl made and frowned even more. Was such a think natural to do for owls? "An artsy owl, I see,' the female commented.

Kobe really honest she didn't see anything in it. She probably didn't have the vision the owl had art-wise. She was more into nature and weather patterns but it was good to know about all sorts of different wildlife. Scarlett popped her ears up. "Don't use that tone with me!," she sounded so motherly in that moment. "I was going to hunt for one of the injured wolves of my pack. I am the caretaker."

Her red eyes stayed on the bird. She was curious about his kind and if what the wolf considered normal was really normal for him after all.

The owl's head straightened up once more, only to then turn down in the other direction. He was inspecting the wolf carefully, unsure of what to make of her until she spoke. An artsy owl? He was sure she must not have ever met any other owls before. Lucky for her, the first one she had the privilege of meeting was none other than the oddball. “Many owls are what you call 'artsy',” he informed her. “We are crafty and knowledgeable, more so than you silly wolves.” In his parliament, stuff like art and reading where not uncommon. They would find small, tattered books lying around when the Scouts went out to examine the area surrounding them, and they would bring the books back then for the others to read. While creating crafts wasn't as common as reading, it was still talked about enough for him to have gotten interested at a young age.

Keyx's feathers ruffled further when the albino practically scolded him for the way he'd spoken. She was not his mother, so what was wrong with her? He's quickly drawn the conclusion that wolves, though they had pretty fur, were weird animals. And then she spoke of being a 'caretaker', which he assumed was the wolf-version of a nurse. “Do you wolfy nurses not stock up on supplies like owls?” he inquired, genuinely curious about how it worked with the four legged creatures. “Blueberries, they have nutrients. Give those to the injured and whatever else you creatures eat.” Keyx was not a nurse, he was not even close to being one, but he did know the basics as many Navigators needed to. There was no telling how long one might be out learning the way the winds moved and the placements of the stars and where they lead, so many would be told of what foods held the most nutrients to keep their strength up. It came in handy knowing of other things when rodents were unavailable, but he didn't actually know what wolves ate, so the same would probably not be the same for them. Still, it was worth a shot, and maybe playing nice would get the wolf to leave so he could finish his sculpture.

Uch sorry if my replies are short <3

Scarlett snorted softly as the owl was talking about how silly wolves are. The female highly disagreed. "Wolves are knowledgable too," she returned. "I know a lot about weather patterns and about the earth." The light wolf was a bit fed up with the bird already. Maybe it was because she was hungry. She hadn't eaten in awhile. "Well I didn't know. What is the purpose of being artsy then?" Scarlett didn't understand the use of his made art. The red eyed female turned to look at the artwork, not entirely impressed. She wanted to say it looked great but that would have been a lie. She didn't want to lie to this bird really. Her canine mind didn't understand the use of it.

"We do with medicine. But I am not a healer," she explained. "And with food we can't store it that long because it will rot. We eat meat." Plus she wanted only the best and fresh food for Adlartok. Scarlett frowned. Wolves didn't eat blueberries. "We don't eat berries," she explained. "I am pretty sure we can't even digest it."

It's fine. c:

Weather patterns and the earth? That must mean the wolf was a fellow Navigator, and someone he might be able to speak with over matters involving the lands and the skies. While it was quite obvious the lupine was wingless—as all where—he had no doubt in his mind that she would be worth conversing with if she was good at what she did. “We owls are the symbol of knowledge, though,” he informed her, reciting something he'd read in an older book. Keyx straightened himself up long enough to spread out his wings and fly back down to the cold ground, silently regretting it. “You are a Navigator then, yes? That is what we call them in parliaments, anyways.” He drew a bit closer to the crimson-eyed wolf (which he still thought was an odd color), his coal-like orbs boring into her own. “The purpose is to show what you can do, what you're capable of. It is an impressive feat, one that many find to be alluring.” Aaaand, there it was. One of the reasons he'd picked up crafts and such was to impress another owl who had been born around the same time as himself, but it was only after realizing she was unimpressed with his skills did he actually start to enjoy the work.

“Yes, that is right, you wolves eat much larger things than us,” Keyx noted, more to himself than the wolf. Then, his head cocked to the side again, a curious glint in the dark abysses that are his eyes. “Can't digest them? You are missing out!” he said, voice getting a bit shrill as the pitch decided to jump up an octave. “I love voles and mice, and even a baby rabbit sometimes, but certain berries and bugs are full of good nutrients, too.” He could not imagine never eating such things again, but secretly he knew he'd have no problem living off the rodents alone. Those had been his first real meal, after all, and had proceeded to feed him all the time. As his mind slipped out of his thoughts of food and he was brought back into the present, Keyx found his legs to be getting cold. With a look to the wolf, and the thick fur that clung to her, his beak parted to speak. “Can I rest on your back? The ground is cold.”

Scarlett licked his muzzle with her pink tongue. This owl was talking a lot. Somehow Scarlett decided that she liked it. Her tail wagged gently and studied the dark faced owl before her. Her red eyes had some curiosity in them. "I can't deny that," she admitted. "Although I still have to find out you fit that label," she teased him a bit. Her tone was obvious that she was just joking. She wouldn't want to offend the owl. "A.. navigator? Parliaments?," she questioned. The owl was probably more knowledgable than her. She didn't know these words. "We call it being a Naturalist," she returned. Slowly Scarlett understood why the male owl was doing this. He was finding a mate for himself. Awww super cute! Scarlett's tail wagged more. "Aw, you are looking for a female owl!," she hummed, grinning a bit.

The pale wolf looked at the creature before her and then nodded. "We eat rabbits too and voles like you do,' she pointed out. "But with a group we hunt deer, elk, boar, bighorn sheep and bison." Scarlett almost felt a bit proud for saying that. Not that their hunts succeed. Her ears flattened when the owl screeched. That was not a nice sound to hear. "We get our nutrients from meat." The light female frowned when the owl asked to sit on her back. Her red eyes fell onto him. "Well.. As long as your claws don't hurt me I guess I am okay with that," she eventually spoke. Maybe this bird could help her hunt. "But I am not a horse. Just so you know."

The way the woman spoke told him she was joking with her words, making him a bit more comfortable with her. If she could joke like that, then surely the thought of eating or harming him was out of her mind. She didn't seem like the type to play with her food, after all. He soon found that she was unsure what a Parliament was, and maybe not certain about the role of a Navigator. It couldn't be exactly like these 'Naturalists' she spoke of. “A Parliament is what you wolves would call a 'pack',” Keyx informed her, his chest puffing a bit with pride at the fact that he knew something the other didn't. He was usually the one denoted as 'having his head in the clouds' back home. “Are these 'Naturalists' good at navigating through areas?” The way wolves worked interested him, as they didn't seem to be too different from owls. It was odd, in a way, that two animals built so differently for different things cold be so similar in certain ways. The albino even seemed to react to a male looking for a female in the same manner as most older ladies in his old Parliament had. “I was,” he corrected her. “But not anymore. I am simply out to explore now and learn as much as I can before settling down. We owls form lifelong bonds, and I don't think I'm ready for that just yet.”

If wagging one's tail was something owls did, Keyx's probably wold have been moving a bit by now. The wolf hunted the same things as he did, making her much more helpful. “Which do you prefer?” he inquired, head turning slightly as he moved closer to the wolf. She had agreed to him resting on her just as long as his talons didn't really harm her, which he was thankful for. As he drew closer, his wings spread just enough to get him high enough into the air to land on her back. He made his way towards the scruff on the back of her neck, before using that part to keep him from falling. Keyx was sure it wouldn't hurt her, but kept his grip lighter than normal just in case. “Speaking of meat and nutrients, have you any good spots to catch voles around here?” The barn owl made himself comfortable against her pelt, his head bobbing as a late response to her telling him she wasn't a horse. Good thing she wasn't, too, since horses had short fur that couldn't do anything to warm him. “I appreciate you letting me rest on you. You are very warm!”

I don't know why our threads always turn into something so cute!? <3

Scarlett started liking this bird more and more. He was learning her many new things. How interesting! The female listened to the bird. "Ohhhhh," she let out in realization. Well now it made much more sense what the owl spoke about. "Yes! Well at least I am. I have a huge map in my head of the whole wilds," she explained. Scarlett aww'ed a bit when he male said he was looking for a female but didn't think he was ready yet. Well that could happen. It was very natural. Scarlett knew she was ready. She was really fancying Kove. "That happens. Wise decision, Owl. Or.. wait. What is your name?," she wondered.

The pale female felt the bird land. She realized that he was being more careful with his grip. Scarlett liked that. "I do know a place. In the Otatso Wetlands are quite a few. This high they don't have place to dig, so they are also more into the valley and Wapun meadow," she explained. She was on her way there. "I'm going to move," she warned and started walking towards the valley. A smile tugged on her lips when he thanked her. "You are very welcome. My fur makes me warm and soft," she explained. "I thank you for being gentle." Slowly a bond of trust was build between the two of them.

I don't know how either! :o It's like a pleasant curse.

The more the female spoke, the more comfortable he became around her. She was no longer a threat, but instead a fellow Navigator, even if that wasn't what she called it. “You would have made a very good Navigator at my home,” he commented, enjoying the way their conversation seemed to be going. It would be nice knowing there was someone around he could converse with about things like navigating, especially when they could share so much with one another. She could tell him what it was like to learn an area from the ground, and he could tell her of what it was like from the skies. In the end, they would both learn something new, but he didn't jump into that sort of talk just yet. He had a feeling he would want to speak with her more in the future, especially once they'd swapped names, and didn't want to use up all his conversation material just yet. “I am Keyx,” he told her. “What do they call you?”

The woman he would soon know as Scarlett was proving to be very helpful. She'd even pointed him towards a good hunting ground, which was all he would ever need. Knowing the exact location of his prey would come easy once he was close enough, as his sharp sense of hearing would make sure of that. “I'll be sure to remember that name and how to get there,” Keyx told her. “Sometimes I might want an easy meal.” In truth, any source of food could come easy to him just as long as he knew where to look for it. His hearing and talons would do the rest, and then he would be rewarded with the satisfaction of swallowing whatever rodent he'd catch whole. His thoughts of eating had distracting him a bit, but he'd managed to catch her say she was going to move, and his grip tightened a bit. It was still much lighter than it could be, but was tight enough so he wouldn't fall off. What a sight they must be, a wolf walking with an owl on her back, out during daylight hours.

“Our feathers are warm and soft, too,” the young owl informed her. “But your fur is much thicker than these feathers, making it much better. I like it very much.” He made it known as he nestled himself a bit more into her fur just how much he liked it. When it came to what he ate, the fur covering it's body was usually short and rough, but the wolf of a wolf was much different. He liked it, finding it reminded him a bit of his days as a young owlet, covered in his downy feathers and surrounding by those his mother had plucked from her breast for him and his siblings. “You are welcome for being gentle,” Keyx responded, a glint of joy apparent in his dark, round eyes. “I wouldn't want to harm someone nice enough to let me on them.”

It definitely is!

Scarlett wagged at owl. She liked being complimented. A grin came upon her lips. "Thank you," she hummed in response. It could be really useful to have an owl as a friend. He could scout bigger prey for her and their location. Maybe how the wind was affecting them. Scarlett was seeing more and more benefit in this friendship if friendships were allowed to have benefits. "I am Scarlett," she returned.

"Not to worry. I could walk you right to it. I might hunt there too for today. I need to full up the caches as a gamekeeper," she hummed. Scarlett wondered how the owl watched the weather. His flight was obviously affected by that. "Well you definitely get easy meals there. Lots of wildlife. Voles and Mice are abundant." The light female walked on in to the direction of the wetlands. A great biotope with all kinds of plants and nature. "I bet you look at the weather a lot too. Isn't rain or storms dangerous for you?"

Scarlett chuckled softly, then suddenly an idea popped into her head. She would start to shed her fluffy winter coat soon. "Tell you what. When I start shedding you can pluck the fur for in your nest," she offered. Scarlett wouldn't have much use to it but the owl might. Scarlett barely felt the owl on her back. It was nice to have someone to talk to while she walked. Maybe once she had little ones she might pluck a few of his feathers as toys. She chuckled oh how mean of her to think that!

The smaller creatures head bobbed in a steady nod as a friendly smile appeared across his beak—as much of a smile as he could physically make, anyways. “You're welcome,” he returned. To him, the friendship between an owl and a wolf could be beneficial for both sides. The wolves could keep foxes and such away from an area so the owl could feast whenever he wished, while the owl could fly ahead and find herds of larger prey for them. He could also scout the area for any signs of other wolves or predators, as well as help pick out an injured or sick-looking animal from the herd by flying over a few times. Though he would prefer to do so at night, he would have no problems doing it during the day as well to make sure the friendship was equally beneficial. This albino, who was literally the exact opposite of him color wise, could be just the wolf he needs in order to test out how he believes a friendship with a wolf would go. “It is nice to meet you, Scarlett!”

Keyx was glad to hear that the girl would walk him right to the area, as he was rather tired still, even if he did well not to show it. “Sounds like the perfect place for me,” the barn owl commented happily. Voles and mice would eventually get tiring, but he could cross that bridge and hunt for some other rodents when that time came. For now, though, he was just glad to have learned of a great hunting spot in such a small amount of time after his arrival. When a question was presented, he needed to veer his mind off the path that lead to his stomach so he could answer. “I do, and they are,” the boy said, giving a nod of his head as he spoke. “I need to monitor the changes in the wind and skies to detect storms and rain before they happen, because getting caught out in weather like that can be very dangerous.” Keyx didn't like to think about things like that. During his training to become a Navigator, he'd been told numerous horror stories of what became of owls who tried to test the limits and go out into storms. The stories were over exaggerated and many untrue, of course, but they had still been enough to strike fear into the hearts of many of the Novices. The melanistic boy hadn't been as frightened as many, and had even gone out in storms in the past to prove a point, but still found it best to take shelter during them. There were too many different variables that couldn't be accounted for, any of which could lead to the death of any winged creature.

At the offer given, he couldn't help but churr a bit, though the sound slowly faded. “I would like it very much if you allowed me to do that,” Keyx stated, happy as ever. “Then you won't have to deal with the itchy loose fur for long, and in return I can give you some feathers I don't need!” The boy was often preening himself to get rid of any misplaced, loose, or broken feathers, as such things could make his flight noisy and cause him to crash. He often left them just lying around if he didn't have a creation before him, so he had no problem giving them to the wolf is she wanted them. A fair trade, if he ever saw one.

Scarlett was pleased to meet this owl, they could learn a lot from each other. Especially Naturalist-wsie. The albino was certain that they would meet again. Her light paws carried her further with her slow paced walk. They would take a bit longer than if she would run and Keyx would fly but, she actually liked this slow walk and chat. Like they always say, it doesn't matter how quick you get there, as long as you get there. A hum came from the female wolf. Her ears were turned backwards to listen to the owl talk.

It was interesting to know about how the weather affected the bird more. Naturally it seemed only logical with the winged creature needing to fly through it. She never really thought about that! Interesting fact. If it was stormy weather there also weren't a lot of birds. The owl explained how dangerous it could be. "Oh yes. I can imagine," the red eyed female returned. Scarlett wouldn't want her owl friend to get hurt in the winter storm or any storm for that matter.

Scarlett's tail wagged when the owl took on her offer. "Well I shed a lot during spring, My fluffy coat will be gone into a slick one. It would be a blessing to have them all removed as quickly as possible!," Scarlet barked happily. "Oh I like that. Maybe... maybe I will have pups this summer and then they would be really handy as toys."

OMG! Uncle Owl Keyx xD

Uncle Owl Keyx and Uncle Bear Arthur. Those kids seem like they'll have no aunts and uncles that are wolves. xD

With his acute sense of hearing, the barn owl easily picked up on the humming coming from the female, and he sort of enjoyed it. It was relaxing and comforting in his mind, even though it wasn't much. Then again, he might simply be listening in too much due to his lack of sleep. Either or, he was enjoying it at the moment, and listened to the random tune. He could not hum, nor had he ever heard any other owl hum before, so perhaps that was what had piqued his interest. It was a new sound for him, and the softness of it was calming. It, combined with his being awake during the day, slowly worked at him to make the boy drowsy. As soon as the feeling set in, though, Keyx opened his eyes wide and pushed the feeling away. He didn't want to fall asleep in the middle of a conversation, and he didn't want to risk falling off of the wolf's back, either. So, for now, he forced his eyes to stay open, making his mind focus only on the female, and not the nagging call of sleep.

Keyx was liking the conversation more and more. It seemed the woman could understand the dangers he would face if he went out in a storm, even though she did not hold wings on her back as he did. Plus, she was willing to give him her fur, and he wouldn't even need to steal take it without asking as he'd done with the fox. "I can do that for you," he told her, happiness evident in his voice. "I will preen you as nicely as I do with my feathers, not leaving a single loose clump of fur on you!" It would be interesting to preen a wolf, and he was sure he would need to change how he did it a bit due to her fur. Fur was, of course, much different from feathers, so he would take that into account when the time came. "I am sure your pups will enjoy the feathers very much. Especially if I come across any soft ones that need removed." He didn't know exactly what a wolf's children liked, but he was confident they wouldenjoy playing with feathers, or at least like to look at them. Who wouldn't? The barn owl's feathers were rare in color, and with how good he took care of them, they were bound to attract any young ones.

OMG I love that. Haha. Last post from me <3

Scarlett had no idea that her humming with soothing the owl so much the winged creature was starting to fall asleep. She wasn't thinking. Scarlett forgot about the fact that owls are usually awake during the night. Her tail wagged when the bird was eager to pluck her fur for upcoming spring. Scarlett laughed. "Well be prepared Keyx. I shed a lot. I am pretty fluffy now but in spring my coat gets to the perfect thinness. You will have lots to build a nest from I am afraid." It would be so great to have all the fur gone within a day. Usually she subbed herself and all the itching loose hair against a tree or the ground.

The albino blushed a bit when Keyx was so easy with giving away his feathers. "Well I am not pregnant yet," she spoke softly. That reminded her that she should talk to Kove about that. She wished to have a litter badly. She always dreamed of being a mother, and a better mother than her own at that. Scarlett was close to the wetlands. "I think we must part here. The wetlands are up ahead. I might go hunting now and I don't think you can hold on with me stalking and sprinting," Scarlett chuckled because that would be interesting. "There are some good trees for nesting up ahead. Big oaks. I hope to see you again Keyx. It was a real pleasure. "

Thank you for another wonderful thread<3

The boy's beak parted slightly in an attempt to show off a wide smile, but it probably just looked as if he had forgotten what he was about to say. Thankfully the wolf wouldn't be able to see it, what with him being on her back and all. That would have been embarrassing. "I will be," he stated confidently, chest puffing out a bit to further show his assurance of his own words. "I'll make sure to find a use for all of your fur, so none goes to waste, too!" The owl, of course, did not plan to use it all for his nest. He hadn't even found a nice place to settle yet, so he really didn't have anywhere to put it for the time being. That reminded him that he would need to find a permanent place to settle, and soon. Maybe that would end his daylight adventures, and keep him coming out at night as he should be.

Keyx's head tilted, though he knew the woman would not be able to see the movement. "Then I will wait until you are, and then begin preparing for the children," he informed her, a churr mixing with his words. It was a light laugh, one that showed his excitement for finding another use for the feathers he valued so much. He was a bit disappointed that it was time for them to part ways, but he knew it needed to be done. She wished to hunt, and he needed to sleep. "Thank you for speaking with me, and not deciding to eat me," he said, the last part clearly a joke. "I appreciate you telling me about the wetlands, and of the trees. I think I will go sleep now, but I do hope to see you soon." There so no denying the weather was getting warmer, meaning Winter was coming to an end. The animals with fur would start shedding soon, which meant he could pluck Scarlett of her colorless coat.

"Farewell for now, Scarlett!" Keyx said, spreading his wings out as he did so. It took only a second for him to be up in the sky, his wings as silent as ever. They were taken care of much too often to ever be noisy, which would make them all the better for the little wolves when they were born. Soon after, the barn owl took off in the direction she had said the big trees were in, intent on finding a hole in one that was suitable for him. It was high time he went to bed.