salvage

@Stjörnuáti
You hear the cry of a young animal, curiously you approach. The young animal seems to be abandoned and no scents linger nearby.

---

The island breathed with life — and that was how Wake felt safe to come ashore. Somewhere she had walked before, where the trees seemed gloomy despite their radiant colors.

Last time there had been a woman injured here.

Now once more it seemed something was hurt, abandoned, she could not tell. The soft cries of an animal not canine. It intrigued her in a way and it was with that she prowled closer, closer. Until there was the thing.

A baby bird, black and dark. Not a nest in sight, not a motherbird who fussed and squawked loudly at the approach of the wolf. Not even the breeze directed her to where it had come from.

“Awe, fuck,” She hissed sourly as it stared at her.

the staff team luvs u

short post bc i'm about to hang out w my brother but I wanted to get him in here!

He ventured Northwest this day, Synin flying high above him as he loped across the lands, pleased to be able to stretch out his legs in such a manner. With @Rökkvi at his side leading the clan, Stjörnuáti had no qualms about venturing off for a day. Solpallur at his side had been a boon, a blessing, surely, but so was his littermate; they were simply different in what the provided and what they were capable of, and what Rökkvi provided now, was a well-fitted match to what Hrafnsvaktin and the stareater himself were in need of.

His pace slowed as he neared a curious area, the trees flowered and reaching down to the ground. The smell was sweet, almost so much that he could taste it upon his tongue. Ears forward, the man paused and sniffed again, parsing out the new smells, taking in the new sights. He would roam this forest at a pace that felt natural to him, sticking his nose in darker places, curious places. This would be a good place to gather and collect herbs for his growing cache.

Only one thing distracted him from his exploration, and that was the appearance of a woman, staring down at a hatchling. Synin crowed loudly as he settled into the boughs of a tree, looking down on him with those blue eyes, ruffling his pure white feathers before he fell quiet again. “Ver heil,” He greeted now that the raven had made their presence known. “A small snack, this one thinks.” He gestured to the baby bird with his muzzle. “Krassandi, — Crunchy, no?” All those tiny bones, after all...

the staff team luvs u

she is terrible i am so sorry

---

A bird crowed loudly.

For a moment she had thought she had found the things mother, come to scold angry and loud. Rightfully so.

Only the voice of a man rang out, clear even if his words clunked along. A foreign thing danced along his tongue. Not the language she was soothed by from her lover. A small snack. It was what she took away from this most of all.

Maybe, just maybe, she might have agreed herself if he had not shown up and said it. Now the idea struck her heart like a hammer. The first time something maternal writhed within her like a love.

“You're a fucking baby eater?” She did not hide any of the harsh drawings of her feature now. Prepared to wield each sword of accusation at him. The thing couldn't even fly off yet! It was alone, vulnerable and Wake found herself endeared to it maybe only out of spite. “You can't just eat it.”

She was not against the concept as a whole, mind you. No better than him in truth.

Only spite upheld this sudden stance. Only spite.

the staff team luvs u

SORRY FOR SHORT. Sometimes he's just... -gestures-LOL

---

“Why?”

It was a simple question, stoic and even. Her anger and insults did not offend or move him, did not spurn him into defensiveness. Instead, the golden-crested man looked at her evenly, an ear flickering at the chick's tiny titterings. His question hung in the air, tail neutral as he waited for an answer. Why couldn't she, or him for that matter, just eat it?

the staff team luvs u

it is perfect like U

---

Why?

Typical man to push back against her when she said he couldn't eat a baby.

“Are you always so quick to snuff out life?” Now she stood possessively over the bird as it cried out still. Herself flared to life like a porcupine enraged.

She had not yet considered what on earth she might do with the young life herself now that she wedged her way into this position. Take it home to Esme? Would it even survive the damned trip?

the staff team luvs u

NO U

---

“No, but what is saying? Survival of strongest, no?” His accent thick, Stjörnuáti looked on as she stood over the creature, making no move to harm her or the fledgling she protected. “This one is friend of fugla — birds,” He glanced up with maroon eyes towards his own feathered companion, then back down to the bristly and protective woman. Was she a mother, he wondered? “But this one also knows when... Mm.. náttúrunni...... Nature? should take course.” He was, of course, butchering the phrases, but he attempted to get his point across anyhow.

the staff team luvs u

“Nature doesn't mean you always fucking eat the weak.”

She could not soothe herself through her anger, yet she felt like she could. If she was sharp enough and angry enough. Like it might bring her back down from it all.

“Maybe, friend of fuhgluh, it means you save them sometimes.”

And still she had no clue if it would survive. If it would be better to end it all now as it chirped and peeped. Selfishly she feared that he was right — and she could not let him ever think such a thing now.

the staff team luvs u

Now, the man would frown. This woman was fiery, abrasive in a way that reminded him of the hot-headed woman @Hothieriel. It wasn't all together a bad thing but Stjörnuáti also didn't quite understand why she was so angry that nature had a way of doing things that wasn't always pleasant.

“It does not,” He would agree here, his tail lashing once behind him, a small sign that her dedication to being obstinate and ornery was beginning to aggravate him. “It is more cruel to leave elskan — baby in world alone. Different if kona is taking fugla in.” Birds were easy companions to have, as adults. Stjörnuáti did not know the first thing about raising a chick.

He also did not know the first thing women's brains and how they worked. Why be mad at him for acknowledging the way of the world? Pushing air out his nose in a quiet huff, the golden crested male would turn and begin to walk away from her, a shake of his head given to try and clear it.

---

This would be his exit if she lets him walk away!

the staff team luvs u