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Post by Lucca on Aug 7, 2010 11:52:08 GMT -5
Mirriam agreed that the alley would be a good spot, though she also helpfully suggested that a tree -- or something that resembled one, since there was such a depressing lack of greenery in the darker part of the city -- would be its preferred roost. But in a pinch, the Bat thought anything high and dark would do for the birds. Of course, she was basing this entirely off of where she'd found the Jubjub before...which had been roosting in a tree. And the fact that in the wild, they lived in the Tulgey, where there was almost nothing but trees...and fellow dangerous creatures.
But first, they had to be properly protected! "Ah, of course!" Ducking in with little to no concern for what most may term 'personal space', Mirriam lowered her head to see under the Skunk's neck and fiddled with the strap with her wing claws until she got it to click closed securely. It was far easier to manipulate when you could actually see what you were doing, she decided!
"There you go, Nephy!" she chirped with a smile, sitting back up and pushing herself into the air with a flutter of wings and a scrabble of claws on the cobblestones. Now, to catch a Jubjub! Aware of Nephy and his wagon, she began to fly towards the spot he'd pointed out, where she could see a place where the buildings were close together, and there were even a few...sad-looking little dead trees. Mirriam doubted the dried branches would hold a sparrow, much less a Jubjub, but perhaps it would seem homey anyway to a creature of the Wood?
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Post by Bee on Sept 3, 2010 15:55:14 GMT -5
Trees, he thought, would also be excellent; though in this environment they were not the first thing that occurred to him. It was good that he had a partner with field experience, then! A good scientific team maintained a balance between book learning and practical know-how. He had read that somewhere. It always seemed appropriate.
He wished there was something bigger and more suitable for birds in the immediate area, though.
"Thanks, Mirriam!" he said, not much ruffled by the personal space invasion and feeling much more secure about their mission now that their brains would be mostly protected from assault. He followed the girl as she flew off to their destination, dragging the wagon behind him.
"Brains, trees, dark spaces..." he mused. It seemed like a reasonable enough combination to catch a Jubjub. "We should set the trap! If it doesn't catch anything, we can always find a new spot."
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Post by Lucca on Sept 4, 2010 8:00:01 GMT -5
Mirriam bobbed her head a bit at Nephy's muttered musings. That almost had some sort of a musical beat to it, she thought, and was about to repeat it under her breath a little faster and see for herself if she was right when she realized the Skunk had gone on to say something else. She paused, fluttering to perch on a crate in the alley, and turned curiously toward him.
"Yeah, yeah let's just set it up right here!" She waved a wing around them, not seeming deterred by the dinginess of the alley. After all...as Nephy had said, it was a dark space. And getting darker now that it was fully night. Mirriam fluttered down to where the wagon with their supplies in it was, to assist in setting up. She was actually a bit conflicted about this. Part of her didn't want to admit there was a chance that Jubjubs freely roamed the city at night. On the other claw, it would certainly be cool to catch one, and to prove to herself that the birds could be bested.
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Post by Bee on Nov 5, 2010 22:18:11 GMT -5
They set up the trap and they waited. As it turned out there was a lot of waiting. Nephy considered himself a patient person. He could read for hours and hours and never get bored, and he was the only one of his siblings--the only child he knew, really--who could sit through all of his classes all day long and not once long to be elsewhere, unless that elsewhere was the library. He calmly and tirelessly did everyting his sister told him to with nary an explosion of temper to be seen.
But that sort of waiting had intellectual stimulation involved. Here they wanted to be quiet, so as not to scare off any potential prey. Here there was merely tense anticipation and excitement with no outlet. He sneaked excited glances at Mirriam. Soon, he hoped. Soon, one little birdie would wander into their trap, lured by delicious brains.
And soon enough, one was. He sprung the trap.
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Post by Lucca on Nov 6, 2010 14:31:09 GMT -5
Waiting was never Mirriam's strong suit. She was a rather energetic child, and she liked to explore, to fly, to do, not just sit and watch. But sometimes, she knew, it was necessary to be quiet, just for a short time, because apparently good things came to those who waited. But it was just so -hard-! She didn't know how long they had to wait, but it felt like forever. The first few moments were eager anticipation, the rest was boring and a lesson in trying to keep her mind on task.
Mirriam tried to be as motionless as she could, but ended up fidgeting quite a bit as darkness seeped in over the city until the sky was covered over in a blanket of black. She thought, at least, she could pass the time by counting the stars, but here in the city she could barely see them. It made her feel powerfully homesick in a way she hadn't felt for a long time. So she turned to study the alley wall. Then she turned to study her companion and his pale fur that almost seemed luminous in the pale light provided by a streetlight across the way.
Her nose itched. Her stomach growled and she glared at it firmly. Her feet tapped impatiently at the dirty ground. And then...there was a rushing sound, a snap, and a loud squawk. Mirriam peered over at the trap, and caught her breath. Despite herself, her heart quickened in fear at the sight of the large bird in the trap, mere feet away from her. "Nephy, we did it," she breathed, without taking her wide brown eyes off the feasting bird. Apparently it wasn't going to let the fact it was caged stop it from enjoying the meal...good thing, too, since it needed to ingest the sleeping draught for them to have a hope of getting it home.
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Post by Bee on Nov 6, 2010 22:03:09 GMT -5
"We did!" he said, pleased. Nephy's wee skunk body swelled with pride. They had indeed captured the ferocious beast. Their trap and their plan had been sound. He and Mirriam, he decided, were enormously clever and worthy of commendation. But perhaps he shouldn't count his intellectual chickens before they hatched. He waited for the sleepytime potion to take effect on their prize.
The bird had feasted on maybe half of the brain before it fell over, unconscious. He waited a moment and watched for twitching, any signs that his mom's brew hadn't taken full effect. The creature didn't move.
Nephy scooted closer to the cage, with the binds in paw, ready to wrap up all its dangerous bits. He blinked a little when he saw it up close. It was kind of a funny-looking bird. It looked like someone with questionable theories on animal grooming and ornamenting had gotten hold of it.
"All right, then," he said, when the bird was safely bound, "into the bag and into the wagon!"
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Post by Lucca on Nov 7, 2010 15:31:32 GMT -5
Even after Nephy had decided it was safe and moved closer to the bird, Mirriam hung back a bit...until she firmly reminded herself that she'd never be a good superhero if she let fear get in the way! Fear of a defeated enemy, even! Nodding decisively, the little Bat girl fluttered over to peer at their prize. She frowned. "You know...the last Jubjub I saw...didn't have so many funny colors on it." She wondered why it was like that. Had someone actually dyed its fur, like some Cards did their manes?
Shrugging, she helped Nephy load the bird into the wagon. "Now who did you say we're giving it to? Or are we just leaving it out in the woods?" Except...now that they actually had the creature in front of them, at their mercy, Mirriam almost felt sorry for it. Maybe someone could take it in as a pet. Maybe they could even train it not to be mean. Sure, the book had said it wasn't really possible to completely tame a Jubjub, but then the book had also said they could only find them in Tulgey and they'd found one here!
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Post by Bee on Nov 11, 2010 22:41:31 GMT -5
Nephy frowned. Now that they had it, he briefly considered keeping the Jubjub amongst them, as a sort of joint pet. Nephy just liked company, and the thought of being able to read in peace and quiet under threat of Jubjub attack. As for Mirriam, Mirriam wanted to be a superhero and all superheroes needed a mascot. Or, failing that, at least a sidekick. No one would dare mess with her if she flew around with this creature, no matter how kind of unfortunate its dye-job was. It could even be an emblem of how she conquered her fears!
But she might not like toting around something that mauled her. And Jubjubs were fierce under the best circumstances, according to the available literature. And speaking of available literature, what if the bird...
What if it...
What it mauled a book?
He shivered.
It might be best to go with Plan B.
"I have a cousin!" he said. He actually had...several, but this was the only cousin germane to their interests. "She wants to be a warrior princess. She would go absolutely insane with joy if we gave her a Jubjub bird, I think."
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Post by Lucca on Nov 12, 2010 8:27:23 GMT -5
A cousin? Mirriam tilted her head in thought, fluttering around their captive. Oh! She grinned and nodded. "A warrior princess? That's really cool! Does she have those ninja weapons that look like flowers? Or maybe those twin swords so she could slash at two bad guys at once!" Mirriam mimed swooping down at and slashing invisible enemies, grinning all the while. Nephy's cousin sounded awesome!
Mirriam had always wanted brothers and sisters, but having left Avington at such a young age...other than her parents (which was a whole separate issue) the little Bat couldn't really remember any other family. It must be nice, she thought reflectively, to have such a large one. And at least the Jubjub was going to be in good hands and put to good use. And unless she ever met this Nephy-cousin, she wasn't likely to ever see the bird again. She had no problem with that. Conquering one's fears can only go so far...though perhaps if she saw it often enough, she'd no longer be afraid? Maybe she should meet this cousin after all, and be friends with her.
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Post by Bee on Nov 12, 2010 21:04:30 GMT -5
"I don't think she's managed to get a weapon yet," Nephy said, thoughtfully. "My aunt and uncle are less lenient about sharp objects than, say, my mom."
It wasn't for lack of trying, though, from what he remembered. She was also still trying to net herself a scar. She would probably be incredibly envious of Mirriam's. Apparently his cousin's theory was that if she looked like a fighter, the fighting would come. He wasn't certain now that theory was going to work out. It was kind of like him claiming that he gained knowledge by wearing glasses.
He glanced at the bird. And fully recalled that they were likely in a dangerous location. "We should get this little guy back home," he said. Or that little gal. It was really hard to say. The acute unattractiveness of the Jubjub defied masculine or feminine categorization.
They had it bound well, and it was deeply unconscious, but he didn't want to take the risk of something...unexpected happening.
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