Post by ❅ Icy Dragon ✩ on May 31, 2019 19:31:26 GMT -7
Coreion
Tags: n/a | Timeline/Notes: 950 Words
Bonuses: 8,000 points - Hay, a New Friend
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Bonuses: 8,000 points - Hay, a New Friend
2,000 points - 500 Words
3,000 points - 800 Words
Spring arriving in the jungle had been a breath of fresh air, even if the rain forest hardly even got cold enough for snow. The morning mists were warm and a lot more bearable than the chill that seemed to never leave. Even the ocean had warmed up and no longer bit at the King’s legs painfully. The tides were slowly becoming welcoming and Coreion began to spend more time in them yet again. His usual patrols snaked along the outer boundaries of the land - along the forests and a good stretch of shore. Now on a pleasant morning in spring, he took his sweet time walking the stretch of shoreline.
The sand scattered and tumbled as his hooves pressed down into it. It clumped together, still damp from the morning tide going out. An orange haze hung over the beach as the sunrise threatened to break through. The air was thick with more than just the morning mist. The calls of hundreds of birds set the forest alive and most likely had woken up any of the newer members of the herd who weren’t used to the noisy mornings. The high pitched shrieks down to the lowest, raspy calls were a wonderfully calming song for Coreion. One of things he’d liked most about the rain forest was how lively the local animals were. He’d watch in amusement as the birds fluttered from branch to branch, far overhead. Then sometimes his attention would be caught by birds he saw much more infrequently. It was always a pleasure to see one of the rare ones, though it seemed to be his lucky day.
As the stag dawdled his way down the beach on his patrol, a strange little burst of feathers caught his eye. It appeared to be a bird sitting under some brush, at first glance. Coreion halted, his harks flicking towards the creature with interest. He raised a brow as it began to move again. Orange and brown wings flapped wildly as the poor thing attempted to righten itself. Fairly quickly, the King realized that the bird’s leg was stuck in the brush. “Oh dear,” he sighed, giving the bird another moment to attempt to free itself before he decided to go help it.
As he approached, it became obvious this bird was the sort of dumb, clumsy type that he didn’t usually see due to their perches in medium height branches. They tended to crash through the underbrush and weren’t the best flyers… nor the best singers. The orange bird was giving off a raspy, throaty alarm call that was no match for the beautiful songs from the other species flying above them.
Coreion approached with caution and the bird began to flap even more wildly in return. It didn’t seem to understand that each failed attempt at flight just bashed into the brush and knocked more of it down. He grimaced as he watched a branch finally snap off and land on top of the bird - which seemed to shock it enough to make it lay flat on the ground. This at least let Coreion get close enough to begin pulling away the brambles and twigs that held the bird’s legs captive. He snapped the thin branches easily with his teeth and soon had the bird’s legs completely clear. “Good as new,” he cooed and raised his head, looking down at the work he’d done with pride. However, the bird did not stand as he expected. He blinked, staring at the bird for a moment as it continued to flatten itself on the ground. It took a moment to realize that he’d set the larger branch aside and the shadow of it was still casting down over the poor bird. He hesitated for a moment, unsure if it really was that simple. With a sigh, he reached out with his maw and simply knocked the branch over, freeing the dumb bird from the shadowy cage.
The bird instantly perked up, ruffled its feathers, reached down to smooth them out, and then turned and attempted to fly through more brush to reach the trees.
“Ah, hey!” Coreion started, watching in disbelief as the colorful bird entangled itself yet again. He then stood for a moment, then sighed and went to work freeing the feathery critter yet again. This time, however, he put himself between the bird and the brush beneath the trees before removing the final stick. The bird seemed almost confused for a moment and regarded him with a large, crimson eye. It then flapped its wings and with a great struggle, flew about five feet up before plopping down on Coreion’s haunches. He whipped his head around to stare at the bird, which just nestled down and fluffed its feathers out before raising its head and giving the low, non-beautiful call it was known for. “I-, er… I don’t recall offering a ride, good bird sir?” he tilted his head, flicking an ear to the side. The bird merely tucked its head back against its side and seemed to attempt to sleep.
Coreion stood there for a moment. Then another moment. It was several moments later when he realized this bird was not leaving and he was probably stuck with it for now. With a great sigh, he lowered his head and began to walk out of the brush and back onto his path along the shore. “I suppose I could train you to be a guard-bird? That wouldn’t be so bad,” he mused, glancing back at the bird every so often that showed no affinity for being aware of anything in its life. Well, at least he had someone to talk to now?