#they lay their eggs out on the bare ground and dont make a nest or anything

[sidetongue]

our little curlew family. they moved away a few months ago because harold accidentally squished their eggs, but they have since moved back with their new children. for 3 years they have raised their babies on our front lawn!

[graycement]

Bumblebee? Carpenterbee? Apparently ask a carpenter 🤣 last night I was sharing with Larry how nice it was on my deck as I was giving the Flower Boxs a little maintenance ... That as I worked butterfly’s and bumblebees where darting next to me as I we all worked. He said You sure they weren’t carpenter bees look very similar? ... as per He was right ! 🐝 the both don’t really sting But carpenter bees can be a little aggressive as they dart about “protecting there queen” DONT KILL THEM OR FREAK THE F OUT! 🙄 both are wonderful pollinators and we need everyone of them. The only down side is a aesthetic one. Carpenter bees will chew a small perfect hole in wood (like a deck) and then chew tunnels for the queen to lay her eggs. (No real structural damage) Depending on the location you may get woodpeckers Going for the queens eggs Making more small holes . Circle of life we are all connected stuff... . Leave them alone If the small holes bother you. Wait until fall . Fill with wood putty and give the area a nice new coat of paint... and look at that the bees have helped your home get a little face lift ✨🐝....ps , They can resemble bumble bees, but the upper surface of their abdomen is bare and shiny black, (see the little shiny spot in the photos) while bumble bees have a hairy abdomen with at least some yellow markings. Bumble bees don't nest in the wood, but rather on the ground. #bees #ilovebees https://www.instagram.com/p/BzlbbxlBzKy/?igshid=ejb103y3ta2a

[silvermp]

Flock Together - Part 7

-Read HERE on AO3-

(part 1) (part 2) (part 3) (part 4) (part 5) (part 6) (part7)

The next few days were terse, full of healing and quiet mourning for the crows who hadn’t made it back. Kuroko learned through observation that it was much easier to kill a halfblood, than a full demon.

The difference, Chiyobi explained, was that a Halfblood still had a crow’s physical body - still needed a physical body . Full blooded demons could heal from just about any injury, so long as their sense of ‘ self’ remained unharmed. Somewhere along the line, a demon had decided to give a part of itself up to a yet-unhatched crow egg, and the resulting hatchling walked the line between the two.

Some halfbloods just went on to live as normal, albeit uncannily intelligent, crows. They could use their demonic bloodline just fine, but wouldn’t be able to bud off a chunk of themselves in the same way - they’d have to mate, to have children.  The bloodline would then dilute again and again and again until the only sign the crow had any demonic ancestry was a fondness for shadows and above-average intelligence. Halfbloods could mate with each other, but so long as the children would never lose their need for a body, and they’d always be considered ‘half’.

Holy shit she thought to herself. That made so much sense .  

“Could a crow demon, then… just give a chunk of themselves to something that wasn’t a crow?”

Chiyobi had given her the strangest look. Somewhere between surprised and revolted at the idea. Her response was a sharp  “No.”  

No further explanation was given.

Tero and Kokoro had become absent again, but several of the other crows had become more friendly with her. They shared meals, and no longer left or paused conversations when she visited a group clustered together. Not exactly welcomed into the conversation, per se, but not outright pushed away either.

She was still an outsider - but not a threat.

In the process, Chiyobi had grown oddly distant.

Kokoro had begun sending her out on patrols, too. She found it difficult to keep up with the relentless wings of her peers, their conspicuous lack of a need to breathe becoming more obvious the more she lagged behind. There were assholes who forged on, of course, and she started to hate a particularly petty crow, but more often than not, they’d notice and slow down a bit. Sometimes they even stopped to ‘investigate’ some ‘suspicious activity’ that always turned out to be some leftover human trinket or a trick of the light. She still appreciated the breaks where she could get them.

“Normally your kind don’t get sent on border patrols.” A tall bird confided in her one  evening, staring out across the treetops from where they perched together.

“Area sweeps, sure, but it’s more efficient just to send us to circle the whole marsh. We didn’t expect much from you.”

“Did you change your mind?”

Himitsua tilted her head, blinking slowly at her.

“You’re a better than expected, but still slow, so- no.” Oof. Blunt.

She wilted a little, expecting something a bit more positive.

“But…” the crow continued, stretching her wings, “Your Listening range is impressive. My brother is alive, because of your quick orders.”

She almost brought up the fact that it was her mother issuing them, but thought better of it. She should just take the appreciation and let it lie. As the small patrol lifted off into the air again, Kuroko wondered how everyone just suddenly knew about the ‘half’ thing. Was it really that obvious?

Yes. She decided, landing back on the bit of nest she had claimed after night had truly fallen, sucking in air like her life depended on it. The rest of her patrol casually scattered across the grove, landing without a feather out of place. She absolutely was that obvious .

But… something was bothering her about the whole situation, despite the growing comfort around the others of her kind. It tickled the back of her memory, like a long-forgotten smell, or a feather just barely out of place. Distracting, but not quite prominent enough to pinpoint.

“Kuroko, please join me at the line Mangolia”

She perked up at the sound of her mother’s voice, shaking off the exhaustion with a few quick breaths and taking off again. Growing agility let her weave neatly between massive maze that was becoming familiar. Sharp talons snagged a certain piece of bark in just the right way that she could scoot neatly between two tightly spaced branches.

Even in the dead of night, when fog obscured the stars, she could still manage to maneuver around these trees. Of course, she still missed her nest, and the memory of Akahito’s friendly growl left a sad sort of ache in her chest, but… she could life here, probably.

It was… becoming home.

The group of crows perched around her mother was not so familiar.

“Now that everyone’s here, we can begin.” Oh, good, she hadn’t missed anything.

Kokoro took a long breath, the feathers in her neck maintaining a constant, irritated sort of fluff. Tero stood beside her, looking just as displeased.

“In return for their aid during last week’s battle, the Cranes have named their compensation.”  Black talons dug into her branch perhaps a bit harder than strictly required.

“We will help their contracted humans, in a dispute.”

Outraged sputters broke out across the tree, several objections voiced at once. Beside Kuroko, Himitsua just hissed softly, reminiscent of a quietly furious snake.

Faster than Kuroko could properly track, a shadow flickered across her mother’s feathers, and the noises silenced.

“We will not be participating in any skirmishes.” She rasped, looking around at them. “Our losses were quite enough, and they know this. We will be messengers only .” A few soft whispers broke out, and then quieted again.

“Kuroko,” She straightened. “This is where you come in. Tero will lead the group, but you’ll keep us all connected. Report back to me each night, and make sure messages get passed as they are meant to.”

Kuroko nodded sharply, taking a quick breath and steadying herself.

Himitsua was chosen for her speed. Tero as the leader, and three other birds she had only ever briefly met.

Kokoro told them to meet the Cranes at the river’s main bend, tomorrow morning. They’d escort the group and explain further, from there.

“Kuroko, please stay behind. Everyone else, good luck, and good night.”

Her mother watched the other crows fly up and out of the lone Mangolia, seeming to not even pay attention to her daughter for a long moment.

“Please let me know everything the Cranes tell you.” She murmured, still staring up at the departing wings. “Allies or not, I don’t trust them, and I certainly don’t trust their humans. If anything goes wrong, if- if anyone gets hurt, you are to tell me immediately, and I’ll get you out of there.”

Kuroko nodded, swallowing. That did, actually, make her feel a little better. But-

“There’s something I’ve been wanting to ask you.”

Kokoro turned her head, finally facing her head-on.

“Back when I was… just hatched, you said that you had eaten my siblings for not having enough Chakra, and...that laying eggs was hard. Why did you say that?”

Her mother watched her for a long moment, before looking away, beak moving like she wanted to say something, but remaining silent..

“You said I’m ‘half’, right? That means-” “I know what that means”

‘Kuroko blinked in surprise at the interruption, feeling apprehensive as her mother shifted and ruffled her feathers, re-positioning her wings and otherwise delaying. Kuroko sucked in a small breath as it occurred to her.

“I’m not, am I?”

Black eyes glanced at her soft murmur, and then closed with a soft nod.

“I’m not a halfblood. You-, I-” She snapped her beak shut, bristling as frustration and confusion built up into a strange sort of anger. “Why did you want them to think I was half ? More importantly, Why do I still need to breathe?! ”

Kokoro wouldn’t look at her.

“I don’t know.”

“You dont-” Kuroko cut herself off and hissed, shifting side to side and plucking up bits of bark to toss to the ground.She was more confused than angry, pouring over the details she had amassed about the differences.

Demons don’t need a physical body .

“Was that why the foxes were so bullheaded? They just assumed I could suddenly stop being a bird whenever I wanted?”

“Probably.”

Her temper flared back up.

“ Why didn’t you just tell me what was supposed to happen?!”

“ You should have known already.”

“How!? You never told me! As soon as I started talking, you flew off! Why do you keep just throwing me into situations without telling me anything?”

“Because I didn’t think you’d live this long.”

Ice plunged into her heart.

Kuroko froze, her breath catching.

“W-what?” Her voice came out tiny and choked.

Her mother continued to avoid making eye contact.

“That’s, not… that’s not what I meant.”

“You... were trying to kill me?”  Kuroko swayed a little, the ice spreading and cracking in her chest.

“No.” Black eyes pinned her in place, voice firm.

“No, I never tried to kill you. I never tried to push you further than I thought you could handle. You just… Kuroko,  you were born not knowing how to talk .”

She didn’t reply, breath trembling with every exhale.

“Your friend, Chiyobi, she’s younger than you by months . You couldn’t even feel your own life until I flooded it with mine. You couldn’t fly until you’d built a body that could fly for you. Calling you a halfblood is better than-” “-Better than calling me broken ?”

Kokoro reared back like she’d been pecked. Hesitated, then nodded once.

The ice had become a dark, heavy weight in her gut.

“If I couldn’t learn to Listen , would you have still brought me here?”

The long silence spoke more clearly than a voice would have.

“Please, Kuroko, I am trusting you with this.”

“You’re trusting Tero with this,” She corrected, watching a leaf hit the ground with dull eyes. “You’re trusting him to keep me safe.”

“And I’m trusting you to keep them all safe. Do you know how far Chiyobi can Listen ?”

Kuroko huffed a breath, not answering.

“From this Mangolia to the far side of the Roost. Do you know how far Himitsua can?”

Still no answer.

“From here to the Willow, if she’s trying. Tero can barely get to the River on a good day. You could hear the Roost from your first nest, and that’s so far away I can’t actually properly describe it. I’ve never flown that distance directly, because it’s too damn far ”

“I get it.”

Kuroko kept her wings hunched up, still staring down at the ground. “I’ll head out with everyone tomorrow morning, okay? I’m not-” Her talons dug a big further into the bark. “I”m not going to do something stupid or anything, I just…”  She didn’t know what she wanted. To know she wasn’t broken? That was markedly false. The cold, heavy feeling seemed to increase. To know she was wanted? Apparently her mother had only stuck around to wait for her to die. Had only spent time with her, with the thought that she’d eventually bite the dust.

Her feathers felt too heavy, heart pounding too fast in her chest.

“Kuroko, squirt, plea-” “-Goodnight.”

She turned tail and fled, flapping back to the tangled web of nests and tucking herself into a warm hollow close to one of the crows she’d be leaving with in the morning. He didn’t complain, just shifted his head a little so she could step past without bumping.

Her mother never tried to follow her.

Despite the warmth, despite the familiarity of the tangle of branches and starlight past them…

She felt alone.

----

The next morning, she rose when the other crow did, following him to Tero’s perch, quietly listening to the small group banter back and forth. She faked an interested expression when Tero explained what the Cranes had told him. Something about brothers and betrayal.

She couldn’t help the hopeless, empty feeling that had replaced last night’s cold weight.

They took off, flying briskly to the East, to the river and beyond.

Kuroko didn’t look back.

---

Past the river, they were joined by a single Crane, and Kuroko wished she could be more enthusiastic about this whole adventure. She’d never seen anyone with such a long neck and beak, and the bright crown of red upon their foreheads certainly drew the eye.

They flew deeper into the mist, keeping low and avoiding the patrols of shinobi everyone else appeared to be able to sense. Kuroko failed to keep the bitter feeling at bay, at yet another thing about her that was broken .

The bird led them to the outskirts of a sprawling village, flying them low and quiet over a pale wall and into thicker fog. They followed several twisting channels, before darting over a lower fence and landing on the edge of a wide pond. Kuroko noted a high-arched red bridge spanning the small river that fed into the pond, and an artfully but clearly man-made waterfall a bit further up. Red maple leaves stirred only with their wings, and she briefly wondered if the fog ever relented enough for the tree to get any sunlight.

She heard the sound of footsteps and twisted around to see a human walking slowly toward them, dark hair and eyes standing out against his pale skin.

He bowed low, a crown of pale dewdrops (ice?) glinting on his hair, in what little morning light could pierce the fog.

“Thank you for answering our call. I respectfully ask for your assistance in this matter.”

Tero stepped forward, dipping his head slightly. Their guide stood placidly to the side, neck tucked up in sweeping curves against her body.

“I wish for your help to spy on my brother, for I fear his mind is too far gone. He has been acting erratically these past months, and we fear for both his safety, and the safety of our clan and our village.”

Kuroko wondered if she’d ever be able to speak as smoothly as Tero did, when answering. He must have had training on dealing with humans.

“We hear your plea, and will assist you in this manner to the best of our combined abilities, so far as none of my Murder is harmed.”

The man bowed and thanked them again.

“I will provide food and lodging for you, and ask only for information - never for your lives to be put at risk.” Tero nodded.

“Allow me to introduce myself, as I welcome you into my home. My name is Yuki Hikaru, standing head of the Yuki clan. My brother is Yuki Isamu, the Third Mizukage.”