#i imitated a mourning dove

[existencebringsonlypain]

just found out I'm pitch-perfect but only for bird calls

[pumpkinpot]

Late night: Astarion

.

There was something about nighttime now. It was a peace Astarion wasn't familiar with. Chatter fell with the sun and the worries of the day seemed to press between the pages of an unfinished chapter, idle until morning.

The adjustment was violent to say the least. Astarion battled with himself for weeks upon integration into the party. Ink took to the sky and his mind broke into verse.

Should he loot everyone's bags for valuables? Now would be a perfect time to travel, find other camps and loot their bags or take a little bite of heavy sleepers.

Other people's willingness to trust the darkness was his best defense against their better judgement.

Here was annoyingly different. Trust was currency and you all delt generously. That didn't mean he wasn't himself, or rather the self that he had been molded into.

So he lie there on a stolen bedroll looking up at stars he'd become intimately familiar with and waited for exhaustion to take him. It would eventually take him, right?

The fire was in embers and soft breathing echoed through the shifting trees. He almost wished for someone to charge the camp. Torch in one hand, sword in the other. then at least his alertness would feel warranted.

Some time ago he memorized everyone's breathing patterns to scout who was a heavy enough sleeper to potentially drink from.

Shadowheart whimpered in her sleep and rolled around often. Halsin was an incredibly heavy sleeper, but Astarion wasn't willing to risk those bear arms catching him. Gale ground his teeth in his sleep and woke if the fire stayed out too long.

Karlach slept away from everyone and kept herself well guarded with boobytraps.

Wyll was his second choice behind Tav. He was a deep sleeper and didn't move much. Astarion intended to give him a try until seeing the knife under Wylls pillow.

It had been months since you had been generously feeding him, but Astation still kept the sleeping catalog in his mind. even now, he could locate everyone by their breaths.

Gale to the right. Shadowheart across the way, Tav-

An emptiness pressed in from the darkness. when had they gotten up, where the fuck did you go?

He squinted at your empty bedroll and then looked around. No movement caught his eye. He rolled onto his knees, throwing a bit of spirits and wood into the fire to keep Gale in his slumber.

This night was cooler than most. A welcomed surprise amongst a heatwave. Every night his week he's woken to a slab of sweat sticking his shirt to his back. Tonight it blew blissfully in the wind.

Tav was in none of the standing tents, nor the lake side, nor the storage trunks. He brought his hands up to his lips and blew between cupped fingers.

A perfect mourning dove call spread through the night. He doesn't know how or when he learned to do the imitation, but, he knew when he heard the song, it was time to venture back to the palace before sunrise.

It echoed in soft bouts of three with a break between to listen.

Ironically he'd never actually seen the bird.

That was then, now he used the song to find you when you wondered off. which was more often than he liked.

From somewhere in the thick of the trees he heard it. Soft and not as refined as his imitation, but still it was you. Wherever you'd ventured was beyond the reach of the fires light and he sighed frustrated lying before continuing.

He stepped into the sheet of increasing darkness until he was right beneath the call.

"up here," Tav whispered.

He looked around then up and to his dismay there the fuck you were, on a branch. In a tree.

"Why?" He sighed.

Tavs response must have been inaudible because none came. It was probably that insolent shrug. Astarion clamored up the lowest branch inching his way towards his squirrely companion.

"I'm too old to be climbing trees," He complained.

"I'm older than you," you retorted.

His eyes rolled. "only in human years."

"I think that should count for more where agility is concerned."

He didn't humor a response. His agility was fine. It was tested vigorously and consistently. Except not in tree climbing, which seemed to be oddly important to this particular adventurer.

A quiet disposition fell between the two. It could have been comfortable if the thin branch between Astarions legs was.

"Why aren't you asleep?" He asked, though his tone was harsher than intended.

"You've already fed on me tonight-"

"-Yes and this extra excursion could reopen your neck wound."

"did it?"

If it had, he would be able to smell it and it hadn't. "That's not the point."

"Is your drive to argue and criticize compulsive or some sick hobby?"

His mouth opened then closed. There you go again asking crypically deep questions he would think about later but needed to be witty about now. "A hobby, and I am rather good at it, so it seems or you wouldn't be deflecting-"

"Fuck Astarion I couldn't sleep."

Silence.

"Me either."

Silence. This one fell into one of those categories that could be argued wasn't silent at all. there was adjusting sighs and loud unspoken thoughts and a deafening need to not be silent.

"what was the city like at night?"

It wasn't a simple answer. He couldn't say there were nights he didn't even see the sky or that he scorned the warm pavement when he was out, because it got to be kissed by the sun. He couldn't say that for a few years into his spawn life he relished taking souls off the street because how dare they slink into his territory. into his hell when they had mornings.

It was different now, but only slightly. Night pressed you for answers to questions you didn't want to think about. There was nowhere to hide because it, itself was what you would hide in.

That's why people congregated under lamp posts and kept candles forward. Night wasn't cruel. She was- "Honest. After a certain hour the only ones left were the ones who were hurt enough to not look at the hour."

A break, a breath and a hushed smile. "Do you have the time?"

The corners of his lip tipped up. "No."

Now the night was as it should be. Now the silence could take hold of those who belonged in it. This was his peace.

[todaysbird]

if i hear a bird call in my yard and i copy it will it upset the bird. i don't want to stress them out :( i did this before and then thought about it and now im like ohno. what have i wrought

thankyou for birdposting, may your bird experiences be abundant and joyous

it’s pretty unlikely you would unless you’re doing it for really long intervals of time. this caused an absolute war with my neighbor growing up though because i imitated mourning dove wings (which don’t attract mourning doves) and she said it was going to cause the baby birds to jump to their deaths. so there’s that

[another-corpo-rat]

WiP Whenever

tagged by @streetkid-named-desire tyy darling <3 you have no idea how much im resisting tagging you back to keep you in this hell of round-robin tagging (with no pressure!) @theviridianbunny, @pozerjacket, @noxbunni, @jax-acer

I have several things going in rotation rn - gonna share lil snippets of each cos they're not likely to see the light of day anytime soon.

i. untitled River/V potentially gonna be used for a kiss prompt sitting in my ask box, but idk if its going that way so it might become its own thing

He’s nervous. It’s an odd thing to see; even throughout the hunt for Randy V would never have pinned the word to him. Determined and restless, yes, but nervous? No. It’s too flimsy for a man like River Ward and yet—

He’s nervous. Doing an excellent job of hiding it right enough, with his soft laughs and gentle smiles as she sits with Monique on her knee, listening to his niece recount her day of thrilling adventure in their trailer park. But there’s an odd look to his eye, a cycle to his thoughts; that first glint always hopeful before its shortly taken over by uncertainty that makes that easy smile waver

ii. Snake and Dove; Victoria & Michiko Victoria reconsidering all she knows on the young heir

Naïve and foolish, Victoria had decided mere moments within their official introduction decades ago; when the youngest Arasaka was still soft and warm with nary a shard of chrome on her body, looking at her with what she read as pity—

It had vanished promptly at what was admittedly too sharp of a voice. A delicate jaw worked and then clamped tight against any comments about the cybernetic arms she adorned now. A tight nod, a brief word.

She had never been within the girl’s space again after that, and couldn’t bring herself to mourn the loss of opportunity. There had been more important things at the time, too many missions to keep on top of, too many threats, terrorists, a nuke – she had left Night City’s radiated soil where the princess stayed.

iii. Peg Smasher gets pegged. That's it, that's the summary god this has been a wip for so long

It’s a shame the Dragoon doesn’t have the…specifications for this endeavour. She’d much prefer that sight, but still the naked planes of his wide back and the pull of synthetic muscle under faux-flesh is worth admiring.

Victoria hums as she plants a steadying hand on his ass, her thumb working in idle circles against the tender skin. The thin, shallow scrapes left by her claws blooming healthy pink where it rises in imitation of flesh. Her other ventures across the muscled planes, ghosting along scars added in a lab – heaven forbid he seemed untouched by the world’s violence, even in a body not intended to meet it. It’s his newest one, but like all the others its marred; burns, bullets, and lacerations adorn the skin. Another lie upon the innate deception of a gemini.

She knows them well, their placement and patterns familiar and horribly uninteresting for it. She should applaud him, for making something about himself so dourly boring, but her attention is elsewhere. She eyes the tension to his shoulder blades, the too-deep and unnecessary breaths he tries to quiet through the teeth of a vice-locked jaw. His fingers flex, knuckles whitening as she moves a hand between reddened cheeks.

A pause. He audibly catches a breath and holds it, his shoulders rising with the motion – how terribly human – and releases it when her hand returns to his rump instead.

iv. Tend A self-indulgent warhammer wip but im inflicting it upon thee

He tries not to think of that little boy often. The gangly gaunt frame of skin and bone, the itch of mite-ridden rags that hung poorly on a body that grew too large too quick, an ever present ache in his neck and limbs as he tucked himself to fit a world content to ignore him. The boy may share his name but he is a stranger in all but memory, so long buried and yet…

Dirae’s thumb brushes across the fine hair of his brow, her own furrowed as she watches the layers of skin knit together. There won’t be a trace of the injury in a minute. She knows that but still the veneer of fascination is thin as concern glimmers in her eyes, in the twist of painted lips, and he knows the boy in those tunnels would’ve clung to her. Desperate and clever enough to know she had what he wanted, needed, even if he could not put a word to it precisely.

And he is too merciful to deny the boy her affections. Too selfish to say ‘enough’ as her eyes seek his and her hands, soft and unmarred, cradle his face, fingers curling against the line of his jaw. Even with him seated and leaning down to meet her she still has to rock up onto the balls of her feet to close the space between them. Her body presses tight to his, warm and sweet-scented, more enticing than the steaming bath drawn in the other room.

“Horus—”

“I’m alright, heart.” Her eyes flick to the cut, already healed judging from the familiar itch. He strokes a hand up the curve of her waist and lets his lips pull into an easy smile. “In truth the blow to my pride is much worse. Slower to heal, you see.”

[moltengoldveins]

bought an ocarina. It’s got exactly the level of low-end needed to perfectly imitate a mourning dove. I’m not sure what emotions this is creating but they’re certainly emotions and I certainly have them.

[lainpsx]

one of my greatest personal life skills is the ability to perfectly imitate the call of a mourning dove using my ocarina but for some reason nobbody hires me when i put it on my swaggy resume

[sempiternal-peculiarity]

I spent the last 10 minutes watching a crow and a black squirrel "playing" together, and that made my week. Every time the squirrel missed the bird (he never won), he'd start attacking and climbing our gazebo's curtains, and the crow quickly learned how to chill on top of that gazebo. I had such a great time, and both big bird and tiny-bully rodent ate plenty of peanuts and sunflower seeds.

Problem is: at least three mourning doves were watching too, and they'll probably try and fail to imitate the crow for an hour tomorrow 😅 They used to hang out on the gazebo's bare metal frame last winter, and they never really figured out just why they couldn't anymore.

[the-golden-ghost]

I can imitate a mourning dove call however I know that it's their mating call so I don't do it because it would just be awkward if one actually showed up

[jedi-bird]

Beautiful morons out for a strut

[andromerot]

Top 5 Mabel moments?

i tried answering this and i decided i will absolutely disregard the top five prompt and just say all of them. sorry.

episode four: the whole treasure hunt is amazing it really got me invested the first time i listened

episode seven: mabel's customer service voice moment. her going off at the king...amazing incredible i love her it was such a good introduction to her

episode eight point five: sometimes i think i would eat you if i could there was a witch in a story who ate a girl she loved and always there afterwards flowers fell from her open mouth i would swallow you up and you would be lobelia on my t

episode thirteen: when we and anna slowly realize who thomas is...ohhhh my god. heartbreaking

episode fourteen: don't you see? how cruel it is to be god?

episode sixteen: the answer is me. anna.

episode seventeen: the fig tree...ohhh my

episode twenty: i thought this is the girl who will eat my heart this is the girl who will come ruin me like fire

episode twenty two: literally EVERYTHING but particularly the "you cannot love me anna i am thorns and mist" monologue, the "all earth fears the purity of fire" "what" "I BROUGHT MY MATCHES WITH ME YOU STUPID USELESS BRANCH", and the moment where she chokes her

episode twenty three: ALL OF IT. ALL OF IT. ITS THE DEFINITION OF LOVE

episode twenty four: everything about ittttt ohhhh my. i've come to barter. one of us has to be the knife. youre the only one that doesnt bore me.we have different ideas of villainy im having a great time. anna and mabel fighting angstily. anna and mabel fighting playfully. and of course. a long time ago you said to me i will love you like a fire loves a forest i said you cannot keep me here and neither of them were true monolgue, one of the first insights into the king and mabels relationship. and ohhh the girls...this is the first time we see them actually together and its literally the middle of the podcast. they are so in love with each other!!! whhjfhj.

episode twenty five: VERATRINE MY BEST FRIEND!!! i love the anna mabel vera dynamic so so much i love themmm i love them. I AM A CREATURE OF MY OWN CREATION AND THAT MAKES ME GOD!!!

episode twenty six: LUNA THORNE. the man sees the girl this is the end of the world. also JACK MADRIGAL!!!

episode twenty seven: the HEARTBREAK the DISTRESS in annas voice when she finds out the extent of sallys cruelty + "it was not your fault, mabel martin" "right, not this time" "nor any other"

episode twenty eight: the whole luna and vera monologue back and forth but especially remember your own birth and is this what its like to be a mother is this what its like to be in love ALSO THE MORSE CODE <33

episode twenty nine: mabel going off at vera and anna being like whoagh i love my wife.

episode thirty: OOUGH. anna limon conquistador of my estate anna limon with the hand of god...and well. the spell anna did...ill never see her ill never know her not in this world. OH AND LUNA AND VERA RUNNING OFF TOGETHER...what then veratrine you i think...

episode thirty one: UAUAUAUAGH underrated fav. this is a nation haunted by its fictions for what do we eat if not history!!! what feeds our engines if not fairy tales!!! owning miss silver...

episode thirty two: UM EVERYTHING. the whole confrontation..."i name mabel martin my right hand my revolutionary my queen" "king"...the Acorn Of The World...brandon...and of course. this is you undiminished look at you.

infinity mirror: i love all of it but my highlights are the yew berries story, the phone call (heheh evil mabelanna moment) (farewell small girl), the way tressas isolation and dissociation starts to mirror late s1 anna and the way her tangents seem to imitate mabels, i sit with hares all unaware...the mourning dove story is heartbreaking...and then the bleeding doll house ohhhh...AND THE FINAL MONOLOGUE!! i unstitch myself from both of you...does the snake eat her own tail she does she does!!! ughh i just love im so so much

ok im gonna reblog this w s6 and s7 favs. because im getting close to the character limit. what am i doinggg

[duckmumbo]

ok bird hermit expert. come to you for advice. uhhhh what birds do you think pearl and welsnight would be?

I will gladly accept this title <3

For Pearl, my immediate thought was a bin chicken, or an Australian White Ibis, mainly because they featured so heavily in her hermitcraft season 9 episode 10, especially because how they’re described (“The birds have also come to be regarded as a problem species in Victoria as a result of their scavenging activities, scattering rubbish from tips and bins in the process. They are even known to snatch sandwiches from picnickers. Such behaviour, together with their propensity to build nests in "inappropriate" places, and competition with captive animals, led to surplus birds being relocated from Healesville Sanctuary to Sale. However, the birds returned in a few days.”) almost perfectly matches up with the shenanigans she gets into. But I kind of wanted a more colorful bird for Pearl, so I did some more research and I think I’ve found a good second option: a Steller’s Jay. They’re described as “bold, inquisitive, intelligent, and noisy” and “often will imitate the calls from birds of prey […] as a warning of danger to others or territorial behavior, causing other birds to seek cover and flee feeding areas.” which really just gives me Pearl vibes ngl. So honestly either of those are really good options for bird Pearl in my opinion! Pics of the birds:

Wels was a bit harder for me, my first thought was a seagull of some sort because of the color scheme, but seagulls just don’t really give me Wels vibes, I’d probably assign those to Iskall or even Grian instead tbh. So I did some thinking and thought of a Dove, specifically a Mourning Dove, mostly because my main experience with them has been on tree lines streets early in the morning when everything is silent and all you can hear is the cooing call of a Mourning Dove in the trees, and that’s the kind of vibe I associate with Wels tbh. Then I remembered that one time I saw someone draw him with eagle wings, which I still find absolutely amazing but I feel like the Eagle fits False better (for obvious reasons lol) and I try to not assign the same bird to multiple hermits, so I settled on a Aplomado Falcon as a second option. They’re hunting birds, and “spend most of the year on their territory” “often stoop, or dive at the intruders, who are usually much bigger than they are,” which I honestly think fits well with Wels’ whole knight thing! Pics of birds:

[autistic-stedebonnet]

“I would not think to touch the sky with two arms” -Sappho

@yuekiweek day 3: goodbyes / reunions | bodyguards

Summary: The damage to Kyoshi Island was more than it was in canon. Many of the citizens fled to different corners of the Earth Kingdom while it was being repaired. Suki left with the gaang for the North Pole, certain that she was leaving the Kyoshi warriors in good hands. They’ve arrived at the North Pole and Suki’s fallen head over heels for the princess, but she might have to say goodbye sooner than expected. 

I’ve lengthened the time the gaang was in the north pole to make Suki and Yue’s relationship a bit more realistic

---

“I can’t believe how many waterbenders live up here.”

Suki nodded at Katara despite being too distracted to have heard what she said. The waterbending display was like nothing she’d ever seen before. She sat beside Sokka, staring up at the walls of ice in awe. She was vaguely aware of Aang saying something about finding a master for him and Katara -which of course, that was the whole reason they were here- but couldn’t find it in her to acknowledge him. “It’s incredible,” She breathed.

Appa continued to be guided through the canals, revealing dozens of more intricately built ice structures. Everything was made of ice, it was fascinating! “How do they even do that!” She cried, turning to Sokka in astonishment.

“Waterbending,” Katara responded, her voice just as full of wonder as Suki’s.

They passed a large fountain and came upon a sleek, wonderfully decorated canoe. Sitting at the front was a young girl, probably about her age and utterly stunning. She had hair white as snow that shone like silver and a smile that twinkled like starlight. Suki leaned over the edge of Appa’s saddle, smiling dopily, already planning out her future with said girl.

“Hey Suki, what’re you looking at?”

Suki slapped a hand over Sokka’s mouth. “Shut up,” she hissed over Sokka’s snickering.

“Oooh someone’s got a crush,” Sokka teased nudging Suki in the ribs. He seemed to have gotten over their agreement not to go into a relationship quickly.

“I do not- I don’t even know her!”

Sokka shrugged. “She is pretty.”

“I know!”

---

Dinner was… odd to say the least. Suki assumed this was routine for the Northern Water tribe, but everything was so sophisticated, it was a little uncomfortable. In spite of Aang’s complaining about the sea prunes, however, the food was wonderful, but Suki had never been terribly picky. And apparently, the gorgeous girl from earlier was the princess! So much for a future together. She resisted smiling at Yue when it was announced that she was “of marrying age.”

Yue walked with grace over to their table, almost as if she was gliding, and sat down beside Suki, who definitely didn’t choke on her food for a moment.

“Hi! I’m Suki!” She chirped, a bit overly cheerful.

Yue turned to her and smiled politely. “It’s very nice to meet you, Suki,” she replied. “Where are you from?”

“Oh uh, Kyoshi Island,” Suki answered.

“Really?”

“Yea, I… I’m the leader of the Kyoshi warriors but we had to go our separate ways for a bit after our village got kind of… burnt down.”

“Oh no, I’m so sorry!” Yue rested her hand on Suki’s in a gesture of comfort, causing Suki to flush bright red. Sokka giggled beside them, and Suki vowed to murder him for that later.

“No need to apologize, it’s not your fault.” Suki smiled warmly, allowing a beat of silence to pass before she dove in. “Hey, uh, would you maybe want to do something together later?”

Yue’s eyes widened briefly and she grinned, her cheeks gleaming a slight pink. “Yes, of course, that would be lovely.”

Suki didn’t notice the way Yue’s face contorted anxiously when she turned away. ---

The air was frigid as Suki trudged to the bridge Yue had told her to meet on. She pulled her coat tighter around herself, her teeth chattering against the frosty atmosphere. The sun had set a couple hours ago, and stars were twinkling in the sky but from what Suki knew, there were so many more stars yet to appear. The moon was about nearly full and provided a cool, dim light to guide her to her destination.

Suki could see Yue’s figure in the distance, hunched over the edge of the bridge, her face turned to the sky with a wistful expression. The moonlight brushed her face and brought out highlights in her eyes and hair, which were both a fascinating color that reminded Suki of the moon itself. Taking a deep breath, Suki made her way over to Yue and raised her hand in a small wave.

“Yue, hi,” she whispered. She didn’t feel like it was right to talk at a normal volume and disturb the night still.

Yue plastered on a smile, and waved back. “Hello,” She replied; but her usually silvery soft voice was strained, anxious.

Suki joined her at the middle of the bridge, trying to push down the doubts that had begun to churn in her stomach. Yue was probably just nervous, that was all. “The moon is beautiful tonight,” Suki said, turning to imitate Yue’s position, gazing up at the dark sky.

“I-” Yue dropped her head, focusing on her hands gripping the icy bridge. “It is.”

“Are you alright?” Suki asked. She brought a hesitant hand to Yue’s shoulder and commended herself when Yue relaxed beneath her grip.

“Yes, I am, I’m sorry.” Yue took Suki’s hands in her own and Suki’s breath hitched slightly.

“You… you look lovely,” Suki said bravely.

Yue turned a handsome crimson and giggled awkwardly. “Oh, thank you! You, um, you do as well.” She bit her lip timidly, shifting her gaze to their interwoven hands. Yue pecked Suki on the cheek swiftly, pulling away with her face glowing redder than before.

Suki closed her mouth that had been gaping open and shook herself from her reverie. “Um. I-” She squeezed Yue’s hand and smiled. “Walk with me?”

1 month later

“Yue what are you doing?!” Suki grabbed Yue’s wrist and pulled her away from the pond, her heart beating out of her chest and her lip quivering anxiously

. Yue smiled mournfully. “It’s my duty,” she said, her tone calm, resigned to the fate that Suki could never accept, the fate that was bound to rupture what Suki had come to know as normal all too fast. It had only been a month, but Suki couldn’t imagine a life without Yue in it. 

“No!” Tears were streaming down Suki’s face now. “No it’s- there has to be another way… I can’t-” Her voice cracked as Yue brought her into a gentle embrace. Suki’s arms fell limp at her side, she wanted to wrap them around Yue, but it was like she’d been paralyzed. Everything ached. “I can’t lose you,” she choked, her voice wavering.

Yue pulled back and caressed Suki’s cheek. “This is what I was born to do, Suki, it’s fate.”

“No…” Suki whimpered. “No, you can’t just-” Her voice was cut off by a lump rising in her throat. It felt as if her entire world was caving in, like her chest was being ripped in two. “I can’t just stand here and… Yue please.” She held Yue’s hand in her own, trembling. “Please, I…” Suki felt cold when Yue’s hand left her. She craved the warmth, to protect Yue.

“Suki, this is the only way.”

“No, there- there has to be another way! This can’t be goodbye.” A sob ripped through her chest and Suki clambered to clutch Yue. She held her flush to herself, tears soaking the fabric on Yue’s shoulder. She cried until she could hardly breathe, her fingers digging into Yue’s shoulders as if that would somehow keep her there forever.

It was like a shadow hung over them, closing in, baring it’s teeth, until Yue pulled away, her cheeks wet with tears. Her hands lingered on Suki’s shoulders and she pressed their foreheads together, their breath mingling. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered.

Suki watched hopelessly as Yue laid her palms on the injured fish. She tried to reach out but felt pinned to the ground. Then Yue fell. Sokka and Katara gasped and Suki dove forward, catching Yue in her arms. “No, no, no. Yue, please.” Her entire body was burning, crumbling to ash, but she was numb. The shadow held Yue in it’s grasp, and Suki couldn’t save her. Suki couldn’t save her. “This is all my fault,” she weeped, holding Yue’s lifeless body like it was the last thing on Earth, and for a moment that’s how it felt.

“No it’s not.” Sokka knelt beside her and grabbed her hand. “There’s nothing you could do.” He brushed Yue’s hair from her face and squeezed Suki’s hand reassuringly. “It’s gonna be okay.”

Suki nodded and when Yue’s body faded from her grasp, she didn’t cry out. She crawled over to the edge of the pond and watched the fish glowing fish light up the entire pond. Yue rose from the water, her hair and clothing billowing about her, her body almost transparent. Suki gasped as Yue brushed her cheek. “Good-bye Suki,” she said, her voice echoing.

“Yue…”

“I love you,” Yue whispered; and Suki felt that she was the only one to hear it.

Their last kiss was warm and mournful and over too soon.

Suki dug her palms into the grass and bit back tears. “I love you too, Yue. I am so, so sorry.” It was said to emptiness, and Suki wondered if Yue even heard her. There was a pit in her stomach and she felt as if she’d lost a part of herself. “I’m so sorry.”

[sleepynegress]

So, I woke up having to pee at a little after 5:30 and could not get back to sleep. One of the mourning (aka turtle) dove pair we have living in the yard, have been cooing since around 6:30 am.... And it just stopped. ...But I just now realized that in the movies when the stealth team make that sort of light warbling almost owl sound with their hands to their mouth, to signal one another in the woods w/o alerting the enemy?  It’s mourning doves they are imitating. And that makes sense because they only coo in the early morning and late evening.

[ettawritesnstudies]

none of my sts asks went through yesterday so here they are again! what's Weswin's favorite animal and why?

Happy STS Katie!

Weswin’s favorite animal is Eep tbh - not his species of animal, just Eep. Most animals have a way of realizing that his magic is malfunctioning and give him a pretty wide berth. That doesn’t stop him from calling to the birds, though. He’s really great at whistling, and can perfectly imitate a mourning dove by making essentially a bottle instrument by cupping his hands and blowing over his thumbs. (idk if you’ve ever seen that trick but my dad taught me and I haven’t quite perfected it yet)

Thanks for the ask!

[grouptalekindnesssoulstories]

Old to new

I guess you could call me weird. My name is Animal but everyone calls me Ani. I have brown hair and green eyes. I’m 3 feet 6 inches. So you could also called me tiny. The problem is, that’s  my full height. My doctor says I’m done growing. But that’s not even the weirdest thing. The weirdest is: I hear voices no one else hears. If you ever see me really wild I’m probably hearing one crying for help. Those are the worst for me. I’m very peaceful. It makes me want to scream for help myself. I never do that, because I’m a really quiet person. Unlike my dear parents. They’re tall, loud, and forceful.Which is the exact opposite of me. They’re both almost 7 feet. So I’m not hard to deal with,being almost half their size. At school everyone thinks I’m in kindergarten, not 6th grade. I’m called shrimp and other names. The only place where no one can affect me is outside. I wish I could always be outside. Little did I know my wish would come true. Now where it began to become true was my room. I go to bed when I want. But I’m responsible and go to bed pretty early. I picked my sheets, so they have animals and plants as the design. I love them very much. The day before my 12th birthday. My birthday is the last official day of spring. So it’s the most beautiful.. Not sick or anything just… off. I tried reading think maybe I was just really excited. That didn’t work so I just went to bed. I actually was kind of excited for the next day. Strangely I didn’t dream that night. I normally dream. Now I know why but then… I didn’t. When I opened my eyes I was trapped. At first I thought I was finally dreaming but then I heard my alarm. I wake up to the songs of birds. Today was a chorus day. So it was a bit louder then normal. So I was awake, and curled up in the middle of my blanket. But when I stretched, I barely moved. When I looked at myself I realized… I was only ½ an inch tall! I had been shrunk, which is why I was feeling off yesterday. I wanted to call for help, but first, I had to get out of my blanket. 

“Look at the tiny ones struggles!” a voice rang out...laughing. 

“So funny now she’s smaller than us,” another voice rang out- also laughing.

“Be nice to her. She was always so nice to us. Greeting us by name,” A third voice rang out. But this one was scolding. By that time I had found the edge of the blanket and climbed out. I recognized Berry (a Blue Jay), Rosy (a Cardinal), and Owl (a Mourning Dove). Owl was glaring at the others. 

“We’re sorry, we didn’t mean any offense. It was just funny to us,” they chorused 

“No offense taken” I told them. Berry flew over then.

“Climb on little one,” she told me and i obeyed. As soon as I was settled she spread her wings and flyed. Rosy and Owl imitated her. But Owl soon parted company with us. I was too happy to notice. Flying was amazing! When I did Owl was soaring back but, someone was on her back. Someone who looked exactly like me except... more comfortable flying. But as we neared each other I felt like something had been reawakened in me. Owl pulled up alongside Berry. The girl stared at me and I stared at her. We might have started talking if both birds hadn’t curved downward all of a sudden. I fell off surprised at the sudden move. If my instincts hadn’t taken over this story would already be over. I grabbed a near by leaf. I made it into a parachute, and when I reached the ground I let go of it and rolled. As I got to my feet my “friend” dropped beside me. 

“Explain. now,” she commanded me

“My name’s Animal and I was shrunk last night. I don’t know why or how. Then Berry took me here.” I told her all I knew. 

“How old are you?” She sounded curious now. 

“Today’s my 12th birthday.” She looked confused at me

“That’s the same as me. My name’s Flower by the way. But everyone calls me Flow.” she told me sounding...hesitant 

“Well everyone calls me Ani, it just sounds more normal they say.” I told her cheerfully.  

“I had a twin sister with that name. If that name, if you’re her then that would explain the feeling-” she started

“That some part of you were woken at the sight of me?”I interrupted. She nodded. “I had the same one” her eyes widened at that. 

“So it could be…. Ani?” she asked quietly. “Maybe that’s why we’re so alike. Maybe that explains the feeling. I’ll take her to Mom.” I didn’t see Flow’s mouth move, yet I heard her clearly in my head. Was I hearing her…. Thoughts? She started walking away before realizing I wasn’t following, not understanding what she was doing. Or so she thought. She beckoned for me to follow. I did still confused. “Ani can you hear me? I’m just testing if we really are twins.” once again I heard her thoughts but this time they were aimed towards me

“Loud and clear.” I told her by thought.

“Thought so. But you’re not like me. You were big.” She informed me speaking out loud this time.

“Key word is 

in that sentence,” I told her. She just snorted and sped up. I rolled my eyes and grabbed a low branch. I swung after her. She didn’t tell me I couldn’t act like a monkey. Besides it was fun. She followed the path to the mushroom patch that could never be removed. But they weren’t just mushrooms. They were mushroom houses. When we were close enough that I had to stop, I swung down. As I walked behind Flow, people stopped and stared at me. That happened all the way to a blue-green mushroom house. Which was Flow’s house. She approached and knocked on the door calling out:

“Mom you home?” As she finished a woman poked her head out. She beamed, opening the door to amite us. As soon as Flow stepped inside, the woman swept her into an embrace. Both had a brief conversation that I didn’t catch. They turned to me curiosity in their gazes. But then they noticed I was still in my PJ’s. Flow slipped off, she returned and tossed me some clothes. I was shown the bathroom, where I changed. They fit perfectly. Of course, they were probably some of Flow’s clothes. I reemerged now dressed and very awkward. While I had been changing Flow and her mom had gotten busy. Flow’s Mom was cooking a meal. Flow herself was cleaning and repairing the place. I realized that just like me she had a power. But hers was plant powers, mine animal. Hence our names. That suddenly made a lot of sense to me. Named after our powers but how everyone calls Flow something different as if they are trying to cover her powers up. As if something had happened to her at a young age. Like the disappearance of her twin sister. My thoughts would have wandered farther if Flow hadn’t butted in. 

“Yep. You are very much correct. But now that my twin has returned I’m not sure I’m happy about it,” she sent me the message telepathically. Which was very rude, listening to my private thoughts. I would have started on her if an alarm hadn’t started blaring just then. I vaguely recognized it, remembering it warned of danger. Flow and her mom ran out the door as soon as they heard it. I knew I should do the same, but I didn’t. I was very confused. How did I recognize it, if I had never heard it before? Then I remembered.The night I was stolen. I was only 1.  The same alarm started and my parents grabbed us and ran. My father was too slow. He and I were caught. I never saw him again. but before I could remember more, a foot caved the entrance. That jutted me crudely out of my thoughts. I scrambled back, not sure if the other foot was coming. I heard a bellow and the foot lifted. Someone must have hit it. I crawled to the window. By the time I looked the two people had reached the door and entered. But not before I saw they were carrying jars. I needed to know more about my past. I don’t remember much before my 8th birthday. But I could remember more. I just had to find out how. But first I needed to stop the Rufins. I don’t know why I remembered that now of all times but it helped to have something to call them. Other than big people. I know they aren’t my parents. They never were. But my real parents don’t really know me. I didn’t know where I belonged anymore. I decided to figure that after the Rufins were contained. So I started on my journey. I moved the rubble that had been the door. Then when I was able to crawl outside, I called for Berry. She didn’t respond, so I started walking. Flow must have noticed, because soon after she caught up and tossed me a pack. In it were clothes, a sword, food, and other survival necessities. She had an identical pack. I realized she was there to help. Plus, she didn’t leave once she gave me the pack. I probably could use the help though. So I didn’t mind she tagged along. Besides she was really stubborn so she would have stayed even if I told her to go. So really I had no choice in the matter. Besides she was useful. She apparently spied on the Rufins often. We camped in a well used spot. That was about half way. When we started out again in the morning a rumbling noise began. It was an earthquake. An earthquake that forced us into a small crack in the ground. The crack wasn’t too deep. But it was deep enough that we couldn’t get back out again. We tried going the same way we had been heading. But we got lost. So we just sat down where we were. To pass the time, I asked how there came to be little and big people. So she told the story.

“Once there was only big people. Some had powers like you and me. They would become that small people. The powerless people got jealous. One day, one of them found a chance to get rid of the powers. The powerless squashed one young child . He died. But to prevent others from suffering the same fate, he turned them small. The now big people were thrilled! We were easier to catch. But we became hard to find. That’s because we all had nature powers. So we hid with nature. For a while no Rufin could find us. But in the end, they found us. But by then we were like ants. There were a lot of us.” She finished with a flourish. But that’s when the cat turned up. The cat’s name was Swipe, and he technically belonged to the Rufins. But he’s a wild cat. He hunts for himself. But he thought we would make good prey. 

“Swipe stop” I told him before he could leap at us. He froze when he heard me speak cat. I grabbed Flow’s hand to drag her to him. “It’s okay. He‘s our ride to the Rufins!”I whisper to her. She nods and climbs on. I climb on behind her. “Alright Swipe take us to the house,” I instructed him. He shot off to the destination set for him. Both Flow and I were clinging on for dear life. When we reached the basement of the house we slipped off and started climbing the stairs. When we reached the top we have to climb the cabinets. We find the jars that contain the others and free them. They run down the stairs to be carried away by Swipe. Flow and I hide, getting ready for the Rufins to return home. Both of us draw our swords as we hear the front door open. It was slightly comical. The sword was basically a very sharp thorn on a handle. But it was still dangerous. The kitchen door opened. I tensed, ready to strike when Flow gave the signal. His hand reached for the cabinet above me. That’s when Flow gave the signal. We struck in harmony. He tried to swipe us off, but we just leaped to a new place each time. We stopped and surveyed our work. It was…. Amazing. He had many cuts. He wouldn’t forget our message in a hurry. 

“So will you stop terrorizing us?” Flow demanded.

“Yes! I will” He bellowed in pain. 

“And will your wife do the same?” I inquire

“Most likely. Once she sees the damage you did.” he whimpered. We smiled pleased and leaped off the counter. 

“So what now? How will we get out?” Flow murmured to me. 

“The bedroom I was forced to use? Last I knew the window was open,” I suggest. She nods and heads for the stairs. When we reached the room, I called out for a little help.

“Owl, Berry we need a little assistance.” They flew in the open window. We mount on them and take off. When we flew out the open window a cheer went up. Everyone from the village and all the animals were cheering for 

 When we reached the village, the mayor came to have a chat with Flow. I wasn’t to be included. Everyone moved after Flow and the mayor. I went to my welcome back and congratulations party. All the animals were proud of me. Well I knew I was welcome 

 If no one in the village wanted me I could live with any of the animals. Even Swipe. Soon Flow turned up and had me come back to the village. Apparently the mayor thought I slowed Flow down and was only a little help. She shut that down right away. She had told him half of it was thanks to me. 

“You didn’t have to do that Flow!” I told her

“Did too little Ani!” She told me telepathically. I smiled at that. Nowadays you couldn’t tell us apart, if we weren’t using our powers. But I was happy. I was where I belonged. With my twin Flow, and our mom. 

    I’m Home.