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 Posted: Sat Jan 10, 2009 6:25 am
 Days upon days had passed on, and yet he couldn't get over his sulking. He thought he'd been rather witty, devising a plan against his lover and her new beau, but that plan had seemingly gone out the proverbial window when he'd fail to come up with a clever enough plot to carry out his devious idea.
So instead, he sat there, primping himself for the umpteenth time, ensuring that every bit of himself was in order. Sigh. Life just wasn't fair for him right now, when it'd always been fair to him before. What was going to get him out of this slump?
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Posted: Sat Jan 10, 2009 5:23 pm
'Spare time' is not something that this Sentinel is used to. She's been criticized more often than she can count for spending far too much time at her task. Even the few rare nights off that she allows herself are scheduled and planned, not a moment is wasted.
This evening finds the Medic en-route to Sunflare's territory, the third stop she's made so far this night (and each stop before this has been on schedule, just as this one is). A brief detour into the canopy offers her a glance at the stars - yep, precisely on time - and then she calls out at the border of the artisan's territory before continuing onwards.
It's time for her appointment!
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Posted: Sat Jan 10, 2009 9:02 pm
Turning back around, he made his way back into his abode, knowing full well his client was due at any moment for her appointment. While some of his other visitors had their own habits of being early or a tad late, Lichen, the dear, was always right on schedule. Which was neither good nor bad, as he had no other appointments for today, but the distraction was very much welcomed all the same.
He continued to mutter to himself about life's unfairness as he rummaged through his dye collection. Lichen was very specific about her coloring jobs, and he wasn't about to let his reputation go to waste over a bit of sulking and self pity. He was still an Artisan, and a notable one, at that!
One outstretched wing brings a Will-retrieved small clay bowl to a gentle rest by his side while the other cradles various fetched dyes. He preferred to do all the mixing in front of the client, just like his mother always had. Tradition, tradition.
Glancing up towards the branch outside of his tree, it was now simply a matter of her arrival, before they'd begin.
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Posted: Sat Jan 10, 2009 9:27 pm
It seems as though his upwards glance was a summons, for Lichen comes in for a gentle and silent landing as if on cue. She waits only long enough to preen her feathers briefly and make sure that he is ready, and then drops down to her usual perch so they may begin.
One thing that she has always liked about Sunflare is how he mixes everything right in front of her. It's impossible to resist the urge to watch intently, devouring the details of the procedure and committing them to memory. Oh, how she remembers the delight she used to feel when illicitly dyeing her first Parus, back before graduation... A slight sigh escapes her at the though, but then she shakes herself out of it and offers a slight bow to the artisan.
"Well met, Sunflare! I hope this fine night finds you well?" No mention is made of payment, as their arrangements have already been made and she assumes that the contract remains unchanged. Nope, she may as well get right into the smalltalk that comes along with a dye job.
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Posted: Sat Jan 10, 2009 10:17 pm
He nodded his head and took a moment to finalize one last preen of his tufts before stepping forward with his bowl and dye towards the timely female.
"Eventful, to say the least," he confessed, suppressing a frown as he attempted to put on his best cheerful expression towards his customer. It wasn't as if he didn't like Lichen, far from it. She was one of his most loyal customers, and he appreciated her fine tastes and respect for his trade. However, unlike his typical clientele, she'd never been one for much gossip and chatter, which was another of his favorite time occupiers. Ah, well. "And I hope you are fairing well, yourself?"
Spreading out the dyes, he used his Will to do the mixing, concentrating as he did so. Her shades were quite particular, and the last thing he'd want to do was botch up the coloring before he even began!
Once finished, however, he nodded his head and used a talon to dab a bit against the tree's branch, waiting for his customer's approval of the color before continuing further.
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Posted: Sun Jan 11, 2009 6:40 am
"Perfect, as always," she nods her head to the mixed colour, then extends her wing for his careful ministrations. "And I am doing as well as can be expected. I've had a few too many visits from the Elites recently, they're all a-flutter about this hatchling that was found dead. Asked me to examine the body." While Lichen is usually careful to remain perfectly still during her visits, she can't keep herself from clucking her beak and shaking her head a little. "A shame, really."
"And how are you?" she asks, having noticed his well-hidden discontent. Some might say that Lichen isn't much for her bedside manner, but it's not due to a lack of ability to understand the emotions of her patients - far from it. She simply feels that catering to weak emotional whims doesn't do much to help most patients recover, so why bother? But her artisan, well. That's another matter entirely! It wouldn't do to have him upset, his emotional state could be reflected in her dye job! "I hope this 'eventful' night has also been an enjoyable one?"
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Posted: Sun Jan 11, 2009 3:51 pm
He listened on in half interest to her story as he began to delicately apply the dye, that is, until she arrived upon the part of the dead hatchling. His attention immediately perked up, as a scandal such as this one was few and far between in this neck of the woods.
"You don't say," he tsked, pausing for a moment to shake his own head in agreement, before continuing his task. He wasn't a large fan of death and gore, but a good mystery always fascinated him. "And what conclusion had you come to, dear?"
He was happy to oblige his own day of woes, naturally, from the moment she first let the 'and how are' escape from her mouth. "Oh, it was simply dreadful darling, though nothing as ghastly as finding a dead youngling, of course." he conceded, before continuing to yammer on, "My mate, Fiercefire, you remember her? Gorgeous little thing with the most passionate red eyes. Well, I'm quite sure you've heard the news spread around by this point, but she's gone. Poor thing went loopy in the head and found herself stolen away by a wildtype, of all things."
Pausing to take a breath, he changed wings and continued to work as he chatted, "Not that there's anything wrong with wildtypes, of course. I mean, good gracious, if I had a problem with wildtypes a good lot of my clientele wouldn't exist! Anyhow, so this apparently dreadful wildtype by the name of Basil, of all things, has up and left his own mate to snatch away mine. I mean, surely I'm not supposed to fight the brute or anything, but it's a dreadful shame all the same that she was weak enough to fall for such a cad."
He clucked his own beak, examining the half finished job, before adding, "Have you ever heard of such a fellow, my dear Lichen?"
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Posted: Sun Jan 11, 2009 4:02 pm
"Definitely not natural causes," she begins, a slight frown on her face. "It was hard to tell for certain given the age of the body, I think it had been tumbled just before the snow hit and was preserved by the cold. But it seemed to be... healthy enough, nothing visible wrong with its body condition. So I could only conclude that the chick was not wanted for some other reason." What that reason might be, she does not elaborate on - instead the healer turns her full attention to Sunflare's woes, a situation that he certainly finds to be far more interesting.
The bulk of his opening tirade is met with careful nodding, a few commiserating clucks and hisses and mutterings, and a sigh when appropriate. "Goodness, stolen away? By a wildtype? Whatever could have come over her?!" Lichen shifts as he does, extending her other wing and leaving the finished one held open to dry undisturbed. She nods and emits a non-committal murmur of agreement to his rant about the evil male wildtype who stole his mate, while secretly wondering who in Noctua this mysterious mate of Sunflare's actually was. Fiercefire? Red eyes? Never seen her around when she's come to visit, but then mated pairs don't always share a territory... still, it seems odd. Chalking it up to artistic eccentricity, Lichen suppresses the urge to shrug in response.
"Basil? No, can't say that I have. Common enough name, of course, I know a fine old ghost gentleman by the name of Basil. No wildtypes, though, unfortunately. And from the sound of it I doubt I'd like to meet him!"
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