Bearclaw Valley some words with a mummy
899 Posts
Ooc — mercury
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#1
All Welcome 
backdated to Saturday, 07/04

the fledgling chickadee had died. she finds it in a thicket, where it had presumably spent its last hours hidden away from predators. without food and its parents, it was a goner. Avicus prods it gently, and upon finding no movement from the fragile thing, takes it into her mouth. it's still slightly warm.

the girl carries it to the den, where she will likely find @Astara and @Aventus. she wants to show them her newest discovery. god knows she is already annoying enough with showing off what she has found,

but this! the sticks and stones and abandoned bones pale in comparison.

she deposits the bird at her mother's paws, looking at the dark woman with a toothy grin. dead, she announces, chin raised in triumph. she glances at Aventus (if he is there) and repeats herself: dead. what would they make of it?
but see, amid the mimic rout,
a crawling shape intrude —
a blood-red thing that writhes from out
the scenic solitude
6 / 2 THREADS
506 Posts
Ooc — Chelsie
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#2
Aventus flicked one long, black ear in his sister's direction when she proudly announced her return to the den, but his eyes remained trained on the little spider spinning a web in the corner of the den. He assumed she was only there to tell Astara about her latest boring rock or stick, a daily occurrence, but then she repeated herself with purpose and he turned his head to look.

Not a rock or a stick, then. Something much more interesting. He glanced back to mark the location of the orb-weaver, then hoisted himself to his paws and helped himself to his sister's discovery by darting over, seizing it by its misshapen wing, and trying to run away with it.
899 Posts
Ooc — mercury
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#3
not a minute after she triumphantly presents the bird, Aventus has snatched it and is making his escape, the rest of the bird flopping from the wing caught in his mouth. growling, Avicus surges after him—

mine! mine! mine!

she dips a scrawny shoulder and presses the weight of her body into his side, all while twisting her neck, jaws snapping, trying to grasp her prize. Astara hadn't even gotten to see what she had found! it was hers! what did Aventus know about dead things, anyway?

the girl hopes to grasp the chickadee without tearing it asunder, as she had the worm. she wants it whole for at least a little while longer.

you can decide whether she grabs it or not!
but see, amid the mimic rout,
a crawling shape intrude —
a blood-red thing that writhes from out
the scenic solitude
6 / 2 THREADS
506 Posts
Ooc — Chelsie
Tactician
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#4
Aventus yelped when his sister's bony shoulder found purchase between his ribs. The sensation hovered somewhere between pain and tickling and made him yawn his jaws wide, relinquishing the carcass. Avicus was able to take it from him intact, but Aventus wasn't so easily deterred!

He veered clumsily, swinging his tender side away from his sister, only to lunge again. His aim was for the side of her neck rather than the chickadee, as she might expect. If he met his mark, he would clamp down as hard as possible with sharp teeth. He lacked the strength and the conviction to do any serious harm, but bite inhibition was a concept that still escaped him.

Besides, she hit first!
899 Posts
Ooc — mercury
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#5
so focused on her prize, Avicus, indeed, does not expect him to go for her flesh rather than the bird's. she lets out an outraged yelp, the chickadee falling as her jaw drops. it is on the ground again, dirtied by the scuffle of their paws.

well, two could—and would—play at this game. she will not seize the prey again, not until her new target has been vanquished. she twisted, trying to loose herself from her brother's grip. she couldn't remember him ever biting this hard. is her fledgling so appealing?

Avicus bends and then bucks, wriggling mid-air and landing in a mess of legs and too-big paws. if she's successful, she will land alone. if not. . .she is dragging Aventus down with her.
but see, amid the mimic rout,
a crawling shape intrude —
a blood-red thing that writhes from out
the scenic solitude
6 / 2 THREADS
506 Posts
Ooc — Chelsie
Tactician
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#6
Avicus was smart. They were both still learning how to best one another in this game of ranks. More often than not, she emerged victorious, but occasionally Aventus wanted something, or wanted to prove himself, badly enough that he played harder. This was one of those times.

He locked his jaws as best he could, convinced that this was the way to win. Avicus flailed and thrashed in his grasp, but he believed if he just kept holding on, she would eventually relent. She had to. His teeth were in her flesh, and the more she moved, the more it must hurt. But Aventus learned a valuable lesson when she bucked: sometimes, you had to let go to win.

His head was wrenched forward and down and he yelped when his chin hit the earth and forced his jaws open in a wheeze.
899 Posts
Ooc — mercury
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#7
two pups, locked in combat, land in a thud. it's a painful collision of her ribs against the ground, and she sucks in a breath, only to find she has none for the moment. wheezing, she glances toward Aventus, the whites of her eyes showing prominently. the bird is still abandoned.

finally, Avicus is able to inhale and she does so gratefully, taking in a fair amount of dirt with her. her chest burns, and she coughs explosively, shaking her head to clear the sensation.

they both have lost this game.

giving her brother a jaundiced look, she rises slowly to her paws and steps toward the fledgling, bending to take it once more. if he does not launch a counterstrike, she will shimmy up and out of the den and take her prize to a more private location. if he does, well. . .

round two. ding ding.
but see, amid the mimic rout,
a crawling shape intrude —
a blood-red thing that writhes from out
the scenic solitude
6 / 2 THREADS
506 Posts
Ooc — Chelsie
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Offline
#8
Winded, Aventus struggled for a moment to command his lungs to breathe. When he did, he lifted his head to watch with baleful eyes the way his sister righted herself, shot him a resentful look. It was the perfect time to stick out his tongue, if he was a more playful rascal, but instead he lay still as she grabbed her dumb bird and left.

Those inscrutable eyes remained locked on the place she disappeared for a long time after she went. Had he bit so hard because he wanted the bird, or because he wanted to hurt her and prove himself superior? Not even Aventus knew, and he didn't bother to dwell on it. He licked his lips and curled up for a nap.