Duck Lake Not I!

This thread is very much all welcome, but I'm tagging a zillion people for visibility~ ^__^

Sun and moon and dim starlight, quick sunsets and slow sunrises, blankets of drizzle and full-blown gales — much had happened so far in the quest of Goldhawk and @Scimitar, but they had not yet reached their objective. It was an obscure one, for their quarry (a dangerous stranger named @Goober) was elusive. Neverwinter's high lord and his gold-coated bard had travelled far across the region, their first decisive stop being Phoenix Maplewood so that Scimitar might converse with his friend @Saena and warn her of the creature. Furthermore, though it had been Goldhawk himself that Scimitar, @Eshe and @Charon had sent to bring Goober back within punching distance, it was Scimitar who knew their quarry's scent. A bit here, a bit there... it was certainly in this area of the country, but no sniff had yet created a neon sign.

During the latest stretch of their hunt, Goldhawk walked off alone through the morning towards a large pond among the reeds. It was as good a place as any to continue his mission. Easily-accessable drinking water and ample fresh duck — an ideal place for any wolf to roam. If he didn't find Goober here, he would at least encounter some other wolf he could interrogate. But as he roamed along the bank, he took a moment to address the very noisy ducks instead. Quack, he replied. Then: Quack ♫ in a sing-song voice. And then the bard was singing:

There once was an ugly duckling,
With feathers all stubby and brown,
And the other birds said
In so many words:
Quack! Get out of town. ♫

Mind if I use this for scout trade?

Hush was enamored by the sudden burst of life that spread across the Rising Sun Valley to the south of the Dragon. While he should be attending to his duties at the borders as a guard, he couldn't resist the draw south to frolick in the sea of wildflowers and other plants while they were still bright with color. Taking a wide bearth around the Maplewood and following a familiar path south, Hush passed the Emberwood, instead opting to explore the lake that rattled with the raucous calls of waterfowl — ducks specifically.

The coywolfdog was amused to see not only ducks quacking amidst the reeds. A wolf with a strange accent quacked and then burst into song on the banks. Hush chortled in his strange, raspy way, wondering what the ducks thought of such a sight.

pls do. ^__^

Let's just say Goldhawk had never been a sombre wolf. He respected the seriousness of his mission, and certainly the thought of his quarry (a cruel attacker) did not make him jovial. This was just his way: light-hearted, good-natured, and full of japes and songs.

And off he went
With a waddle and a quack
In a flurry of eiderdown. ♫

He continued to sing across the duck pond, his really very pleasant voice added to by a cacophony of mallards. And then he spotted a male wolf further along the bank, and took a split second to decide this was not Goober. Too black, and with eyes so blue he could see them from here. And so he threw the chap a wink and continued his song —

That poor little ugly duckling
Went wandering far and near,
But at every place
They said to his face
Quack! Get out of here. ♫

The wolf continued his nonsense song, entertaining Hush and annoying the ducks from their intensified quacking. Hush walked along the opposite bank, then sat along its shore, his paws dabbing the water as he listened intently to the performance. It wasn't everyday you heard a wolf sing (howling did not count), and, lacking the ability himself, Hush was enraptured by the jovial tones the wolf produced, and wondered how many other songs he knew.

Goldhawk was enjoying the listener perhaps as much as the listener was enjoying his song. It was nice to have an audience. Let word of the golden bard's beautiful voice travel far and wide...

And so, obliging, he finished his song with a rise in cadence and his muzzle tilted majestically to the ducks.

And so off he went
With a waddle and a quack,
And a very unhappy tear.
Till a flock of swans spied him there and very soon agreed
You’re a very fine swan indeed!
A swan? Me a swan? Ah, go on!
And they said yes!
You’re a swan
Take a look at yourself in the lake and you’ll see
And he looked, and he saw, and he said
I am a swan! Wheeeeeeee!
I’m not such an ugly duckling
No feathers all stubby and brown
For in fact these birds in so many words said
The best in town, the best, the best
The best in town
Not a quack, not a quack, not a waddle or a quack
But a glide and a whistle and a snowy white back
And a head so noble and high
Say who’s an ugly duckling?
Not I!
Not I!

He listened to the words, quickly realizing that this was no mere nonsense song. It had a meaning, it had plot. An ugly duckling who was actually no duckling at all! How remarkable. With the conclusion of the song Hush tipped his head back and gave a short howl-yip in his way of applauding, drumming the ground with his paws and wagging his tail. What a performance! Bravo!

He let the final note linger magnificently, then turned his attention from the ducks, who he'd been playing up to for comic effect. Now he turned his eyes to the fellow over yonder, and was already smiling — the stranger was very good at applauding without sound! Hello there, chappy m'lad, he said brightly, trotting springily towards his new pal. I'm delighted to see you enjoyed my quacky little ditty.

Hush rose to his feet to greet the performer in person. His tail wagged slowly as the strange accent reached his ears. It was interesting how accents failed to translate to singing, but Hush didn't mind. He nodded, then lifted a paw to his throat and shook his head, reiterating once more that he could not speak. He wondered how the singer would react to the news that his audience member couldn't sing along with him. And how he wanted to!

It was really very nice to meet this skinny male who was DefinitelyNotGoober™, and for some reason he didn't feel like he had to say it was nice to meet him. Maybe it was because this chap expressed so much without words that language itself had become a little devalued. You make quite the endearing audience, he observed, smile lingering. Are you from around here old bean?

Hush was now close enough to smell the wolf and could tell that he was from a pack, but it wasn't a pack that he knew of. Granted, he only knew the scents of a few packs in Teekon, and suspected that there were many more, but he committed the scent to memory, just in case. Hush nodded, then cocked his head, inviting the wolf to explain his reasoning for being here in the Valley, if he had a good one besides singing to ducks.

Oh to be honest this fellow was awfully cute. He didn't mean that in a disrespectful way, but all those physical gestures were so pup-like to Goldhawk, who had never encountered a mute before. The situation was ever so cuddly.

Still, he had business to attend to, and progressed with ease. I'm keeping my peepers out for a chum of a chum — a wolf by the name of Goober. Any chance you've heard of him...?

He had met Goober nearly two months ago, but the exchange had been brief and no names were ever given. Even if he could speak, he wouldn't be able to help the bard in his quest to find the wolf in question. Hush shook his head in response, unable to help.

Ah never mind, he replied brightly after the slightest second of disappointment. Simply asking about Goober everywhere and anywhere was unlikely to get him far unless struck by a massive bout of luck. What he needed was a bit of focus and a trail to follow. Well, I'd best be on with my search, laddie buck. How about one last round of 'Ugly Ducking' as I canter off...? ♫

Hush smiled at the prospect of another song. While he could unfortunately not help the wolf in his search, he was glad to help the wolf strengthen his singing chops. His head nodded, not hiding the eagerness behind him. Ah, how he loved singing!

Thank you for the thread, it was so fun! ^__^

With a golden beam, the bard stood and was on his way, singing his farewell in the form of the ballad.

Aaaaand not a quack, not a quack, not a waddle or a quack
But a glide and a whistle and a snowy white back!
And a head so noble and high... ♫

He gave a great comical pause in his step...

Say who’s an ugly duckling? ♫

Then marched onwards,

Noooooooot I! ♫

No problem! :D

Hush felt his smile widen as the song lifted into the sky once more, the ballad ending with a great flourish, as he expected from this flamboyant and musical wolf. He watched as the wolf's song and his visage faded into the background, leaving him alone with the ducks who quacked quietly (and perhaps muttering some kind of sighs of relief?), filling the void of sound. Hush sighed, again regretting the fact that he could not speak. At least the ability to sing would be nice. But alas, it was not a gift to be bestowed on him. The hybrid rose and returned north to the Dragon, feeling a sense of emptiness where a song should be. If only he could ask someone to sing for him. What songs would they know?