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Topic: ><A Clutchful of Trouble>< (Duckling Folk) (Read 357 times) |
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Mefem and Ragdoll
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><A Clutchful of Trouble>< (Duckling Folk)
« Thread started on: Jun 10th, 2006, 9:38pm » |
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:The days of laying eggs, the disappointment of the abnormally small clutch size, the following monotonous days of boredom spiced only with the excitement of encountering the pileated woodpecker that had originally carved out the hollow Mefem chose as her nest (an encounter in which the woodpecker said ‘ooh, sorry’, and then flew off looking vaguely confused), all had worn down Mefem’s patience for the whole matter of reproduction. Only the images of ducklings floating in her mind kept her sitting the eggs (which, she found, didn’t do much). Until recently, of course- now, she could sometimes sense the slightest of movement within the shells, and finally, after so long, it seemed one might be hatching.
:Sitting her brood with the regality of a queen, testily thinking that if the world was the place it should be, Oceanborn should have been somewhere near, ready to lead his clutch to the water with her, Mefem was rather torn between her natural wool-gathering thoughts and the excitement of the pending chicks, added to by the rabblerousing of maternal instincts within her brain. She shifted in the feather-lined nest, gently touched one of the eggs with her bill, eyeing them all with an inexperienced but alert eye. Her first brood. It seemed odd yet lovely, still, when one ignored the boredom of actually sitting the eggs. She touched each egg in turn, as she had a billion times before, but this time, something was different.
:A crack had appeared, a tiny explosion of the shell, and something peeped from within. Something that made her instincts break-dance in excitement and protectiveness, something that made Mefem want to jump for joy. Restraining herself, the female nuzzled the egg briefly before backing off, unsure as to what to do, flapping and scrabbling to the entrance of the hollow and staring down at the nest. Were those other cracks, lining the eggs? Was that the peeping of youngsters that she heard? The time was right, and the signs were there. The woodduck shifted her weight on her perch, and watched with wide and joyful eyes as the first of her young began flailing its way from its egg.
:In what seemed like too much and too little time, the chick had broken free from her egg, and lay panting on the cavity floor. She glanced around in a mildly disapproving manner, as if thinking that it Should Not Be This Bright and that There Was Too Much of an Air Current, before looking up to see her jubilant mother perched above, a dark silhouette against the light of day. Well, better follow her from now on, sure looks like someone who knows what they’re doing, I suppose. Have to learn how to know better at some point. The thought, incoherent and not completely solid, nonetheless communicated the severity of and overbearing narcissism of the duckling’s future personality.:
((Duck people, UNITE!))
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Kaimi
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Re: ><A Clutchful of Trouble>< (Duckli
« Reply #1 on: Jun 10th, 2006, 10:30pm » |
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// One of the eggs wobbles and totters a bit, the chick inside squirming and pecking away. Gosh this is hard work! Soon, one of the thin cracks spreads and the shell cracks, revealing a little wet chick who rolls out of the remnants of her shell. She lands on her bum, legs spread out awkwardly. What a graceful way to enter the world. The duckling shifts awkwardly and lifts her small head to peer up at the silhouette of her mother. She shakes her head and peeps, complaining at the forgein brightness. Who's that watching us? I guess she's okay.... she says in her mind. Kaimi wasn't quite sure of the dark figure yet. It seemed that her naturally abnormal nature and way of thinking was already present, even minutes after hatching. \\
ooc - Warning.. I've never played ducks before. If I do something wrong or unnatural just give me a nudge.. x_x
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Oceanborn and Ducklings
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Re: ><A Clutchful of Trouble>< (Duckli
« Reply #2 on: Jun 12th, 2006, 8:44pm » |
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With two of the eggs shaking and cracking, another one apparently decided that it must follow suit. Though, these were not the thoughts that went through the yet unhatched duckling's head. In fact, she wasn't thinking anything. A few instincts in her head clicked "ON", and soon the egg began to shake. With a bit of effort, the egg finally broke open, and a small female chick toppled out.
Tihana laid on the ground for a few minutes, staring blankly ahead and panting only slightly. Then she slowly lifted her head, and took her first glimpse at her mother. However, no fascinating thoughts floated through her head. She didn't contemplate on her mother's posture, whether she passed any tests on how good she was, or anything of the sort. On the other hand, she merely thought Hello mother. At that moment, she found no reason to think anything else.
Another egg was rolling around, rather aggressively. Within the confines of the shell, a male duckling was determined to get himself out and hopefully to something a lot more exciting than darkness and dull comforts. Finally he got his wish, and Leopold soon came out into the nest along with other siblings. He laid stupidly for a few moments before looking around critically. When he spotted his mother, he stared intently, though he couldn't see much more than a dark shadow-like figure.
Well, okay, hopefully she's more interesting than she looks. The thought was critical and accepting at the same time, clear yet confusing. The male laid his head down dully, finding the rest of the confines to be uninteresting and certainly not what he was expecting. It was similar to the egg, really, except colder, brighter, and with more air. Yet somehow it was still completely the same in his mind.
Farther away from the nesting site, Oceanborn was contently floating in the water, seeing little reason to join Mefem in watching the eggs hatch. It seemed a rather pointless thing for him to do; surely one parent was enough to make sure all went smoothly and if it didn't, to do something about it. He would just make things crowded and awkward. However, the male was nearby, preening contently as he kept a look out for predators and also Mefem, who he expected would lead the brood out to meet the flock once they were ready.
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Ling
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Re: ><A Clutchful of Trouble>< (Duckli
« Reply #3 on: Jun 12th, 2006, 9:02pm » |
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<Ling's eye opened to a world of murky liquid, a sack restraining her body tightly and a hard shell cramping her legs, which were pressed to her chest. Outside of her prison, she could hear movement all around, a muffled cheeping noise that was strangely comforting, and a warmth that she waned to be closer to. But no matter how she squirmed, she couldn't seem to get out. Frustrated, she let out a few high pitched chirps, her egg wriggling from side to side as she struggled. Then, she had an idea. The shell surrounding her was hard, but so was her beak; it clacked whenever it hit against the surface. She could move her head just enough to get some momentum and... crack!
A ray of light!
A breath of air!
Fluid began to leak through the shell, and Ling could feel the sack tightening around her body. Her movements became quicker and more frantic, and she smashed against the shell with abandon now, he beak chipping away more and more of the prison, her new lungs gulping more and more glorious air. She thought she could faintly see the outline of small, fluffy creatures and other large, rounded eggs nearby. The more she looked, the more she wanted out, and soon she was sticking her head out through a sizeable hole. Proud, she paddled her little legs, until one forced hard against the shell until it caved further.
Now, of course, her ample rump and one comically large foot was still stuck in the eggshell, causing her to pitch foward beak-first into the neck, the sticky fluid leaking out over the back of her head in a hot, wet rush. Chirping loudly in protest, she wriggled frantically until finally - finally - the egg relinquished its bitter hold, and she tumbled out in a messy, sopping-wet, miserable ball in the middle of the nest. Shiverring a little, young Ling swivelled her large head to and fro. Eggs, other baby ducks, and then - ah! Large and towering, a mass of feathers and warmth, was a beautiful animal she didn't have a name for. But one name did float into her mind the second she saw her, for reasons sheerly biological and inexplicable: Mom.>
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Sonje
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Re: ><A Clutchful of Trouble>< (Duckli
« Reply #4 on: Jun 13th, 2006, 8:38pm » |
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Little did the duckling in the egg know her siblings had come, and that now it should be her turn. Four other little ones awaited outside the shell that had held her since her beggining, but once again little did she know. Slowly her safe haven had become thinner in its hard outer layer that protected her, she could almost see faint black movements. It could be quite inquisitive, but to her it was scary. So far everything in her 'world' had been provided, now it seemed something new was supposed to happen and she was supposed to do it. Another of the scary things that had betrayed her in this protective shell was sight, for so long she had been blind, yet one day nature had slowly pried them open, it took her awhile to even adjust to that, it was so frightening indeed, sight.
Instinct was slowly taking impact on the little duckling however and she realized that she must get out of her home, why, well she didn't know, this thing was home and safe, and warm, why leave? Something in her told her though and she slowly lifted a beak to poke at the shell. Her home wiggled a little and she heard a soft thud, her head shooting back in fear, had she made that? Daring for another dry she wiggled herself into a more suitable position and tried again, letting her little beak hit the ivon colored egg. This time not only could she hear the crack, but the outside world could too, again the duck drew back in fear. A sliver of light intrigued her though, how fascinating, nothing she had seen had been so pretty, and... well light.
The egg rolled again and she let her bill poke at the light, liking it and wanting more. She poked with a bit more pride and boldness now, letting the first part of shell fall away, it was small but a start. Some of the fluid seeped out of this hole and she felt herself tingle as a small breath of air was inhaled, it was nothing like anything she had experienced before, so fresh and vivid. At this point the duckling just had to get more. Thrusting hard and felt the crack widening, and again she would thrust her bill to it, liking the sound of the crack. At last after minutes of hard labor the shell gave way to a wet and inquisitive creature. She stared about with curiosity, orbities wide with amazement.
Looking about she saw all kinds of things, color, light, the smell of air. Then at last she spotted objects, one large the rest small. Immediately she associated the large one as mother, instinct again. So confused was she that as she stepped on a piece of her own shell she let out a soft cry for help. She sprang forward with new awareness of how dangerous this big house was, her feet felt many different things against them and her little beady orbs couldn't see all at once, and the noises, they where so bold and loud. She had to get to mother, it was safer there surely. She found however that mother was on a perch, and she could not reach her, and that many other little things crawled about, they seemed very dangerous and so another squeak was released, puffing herself up to try and threaten these things away.
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Ragdoll and Mefem
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Re: ><A Clutchful of Trouble>< (Duckli
« Reply #5 on: Jun 22nd, 2006, 1:18pm » |
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:Mefem gazed down at her now-hatched clutch with eyes wide with adoration, mothering instincts, and surprise- she couldn’t believe the ferocity with which many of the chicks had hatched. Of course, she didn’t remember her own hatching, but she had a feeling it hadn’t been so explosive. Nor had she ever regarded her dame with the same suspicious, slightly condescending looks she could swear she had seen some of the chicks use. No matter, however- one, at least, was peeping as if in fear, and a handful seemed simply accepting, instinct telling them who their mother was. The woodduck hen reached her neck downwards, uttering tentative little calls to her young- not yet drawing them from the nest, instinct telling her that this would come the following day, but wanting to make sure that they all knew her presence.
:Not that they could have missed her, brooding in the entrance of the cavity as she had been. Carefully, seeing all the eggs likely to hatch had done so, Mefem made her way back into the nest cavity, settling herself so that none of the chicks were touched- after all, she wasn’t so sure how fragile they were. Surely they looked indecently frail, still covered in egg-fluids, comically large feet sprawled uselessly, proportions sharing little in common with an adult duck. Sitting surrounded by her six young, a foot into a cavity and lofted six feet above the ground, it suddenly occurred to Mefem that the little chicks couldn’t fly down, but must fall. She had been perfectly sure of the nesting site when she first chose it, thinking it close to the ground and relatively shallow. Considering her chicks, now... it seemed foolish. Easily accessible to HER, but how were they going to get down?
:Feathers puffing out with her worry, head swiveling as she considered each duckling one after another, making sure none were ill, Mefem cursed herself a fool. Of course, her instincts were unlikely to be wrong on such an important point, but it seemed so unlikely that the little (getting fuzzier by the instant) creatures could make the fall. The first hatched was looking stronger, however, being the precocial creature it was, already appeared alert, largely dried out and now considering the world around it with squinted, critical eyes. Seeing its mother having joined it, the hatchling slumped its way over, feet and head going hither and wither as it attempted to walk a straight line, for all the world appearing drunk.
:As the duckling settled closer to Mefem, the mother duck sighed softly, worried momentarily erased as she contemplated the little one.:
((Now, into the future, where interesting things happen! *Zooms away in Delorian*))
:Of course, all of these worries came right back about twenty-four hours later, when Mefem perched once more on the lip of the cavity, staring down at her young with an expression of mixed anxiety and adoration, shifting from one clawed and webbed foot to the other. Finally, she gave a soft, unsure call: kuk-kuk-kuk-kuk. She paused, uncertain, glanced down at the ground, then at the just-visible water. More forcefully, then, because she was lonely and hungry, and wanted the ducklings to the relative safety of the water as soon as possible: kuk-kuk-kuk-kuk. Her wings flapped in agitation, and she looked upon the gathered chicks once more, eyes expectant as she called softly: kuk-kuk-kuk-kuk.
:Her instincts told her this was normal. Her head told her the whole matter was overly dangerous and a cause for concern.:
:Ragdoll, being of a rather enterprising personality, and besides feeling obliged to follow ‘orders’ the quickest as the first to hatch, tumbled to the barky slope just below the opening into her nest, gave a superior glance to her siblings, and clawed a few inches up. The call was relentless, unstoppable: kuk-kuk-kuk-kuk. Of course, the call could not end young clumsiness: with a horrified squeak, Ragdoll skidded down to where she had started, having not been paying attention to where she went in favor of glancing up at her mother, down to her sibs, then back up, all the time she climbed. Having learned the foolishness of this method, she now climbed single-mindedly.
:She was sure that this was the Right Thing to Do, after all. And that was very important, doing this that needed doing. It took her only a moment to get up the gentle slope, and then it was an inch of vertical wall to thump over. With eyes wide and staring, the little chick stood precariously perched beside her mother, staring down at the world, eyes wide as she took in the cloud-shrouded sky, the green grass, the rustle of trees, and seemingly far away, the inviting sparkle of water. She was completely oblivious to her fussing dame, or any other sibs that might have made the climb with her.:
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Random Wiktor
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Re: ><A Clutchful of Trouble>< (Duckli
« Reply #6 on: Jul 18th, 2006, 10:40pm » |
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Are we posting in order here, or no?
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Breezey
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Re: ><A Clutchful of Trouble>< (Duckli
« Reply #7 on: Jul 18th, 2006, 11:30pm » |
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I thought we were going in order, but I suppose it doesn't really matter.
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Ling
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Re: ><A Clutchful of Trouble>< (Duckli
« Reply #8 on: Aug 14th, 2006, 5:08pm » |
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((Welll no one else seems to be posting, so for the sake of your plot line, I'm going to and see if I can lure anyone back to the thread. hehe))
<Ling awoke to the sound of a persist clucking call, a repetitive, mechanical clacking that hardly sounded like it ought to come from an animal. For a moment, groggy from sleep and her new eyes not yet adjusted to the light flooding into the nest through the hole in the tree's trunk, she wondered if some terrible beast was trying to break its way into their nest, much like she heard woodpeckers slowly boring holes into the trees yesterday. Rattled by this concern, she rose to her feet clumsily, spreading her tiny, downy wings and flapping them for balance, their only usefulness at this young age.
It was then, looking around the nest, that she saw her mother perched in the entrance, light flooding from between her impossibly huge legs, like some kind of great duck-god. She stood facing out of the nest, and at her feet perched one of Ling's siblings, an enterprising young chick and the first to make her way to the exit. Not to be left out, the little duckling let out a rapid-fire series of chirps and waddled up the sloping wood.
It was not as easy as it looked, even with her sharp young claws. Scrabbling against the steep, smooth incline, she continally fell fowards onto her little chest, ducks not being a particularly graceful beast out of the water at any stage, but particularly as hatchlings. Frustrated and bruised, she sunk back down into the nest among her siblings and let out many long, alarmed calls, hoping to lure her mother back inside to assist her. However, climbing to the mouth of the nest was all part of the test to see which chicks would be strong enough to survive, so her mother of course would not come.
Frustrated but now further determined - damn her mother if she wouldn't help, after all - the duckling started once more up the incline, flapping frenetically and calling out to build more momentum. Finally, after many botched attempts, she stood at the mouth of the tree-hollow, looking out over a strange new world of dead, pointed trees sticking up from the earth like spyres, small purple flowers and fat, bushy cattails swaying in the wind, and thick duckweed clotting the surface of the water far, far below.
It was then that she realized how high she was. Ling let out a startled little peep, backpedaling just one pace before realizing she would fall back into the nest. Swaying clumsily for many long moments, she managed to regain her grip, where she promptly hunched down flat against the worn-out wood, as if sitting instead of standing made her that much closer to the ground...>
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Leopold and Tihana
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Re: ><A Clutchful of Trouble>< (Duckli
« Reply #9 on: Aug 14th, 2006, 6:33pm » |
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Leopold awoke the very second his mother began to call, as if he had been waiting for exactly that moment. With a startled peep he bounced to his feet -- Or, he tried to, anyway. Day-old ducklings can't really move very gracefully, and so he ended up falling over with a little plop. With an angry cheep, he whobbled to his feet, flapping his wings almost with disgust, as if he couldn't stand having to use them. Looking around as the call bored into his brain, he noticed that his mother was standing in the entrance of the hole, and that some of his siblings were scrambling toward her.
He let out an indignant peep, then waddled forward. How dare his siblings be ahead of him! He should get there first, not them. When they slipped and fell trying to climb, he felt some strange satisfaction, because it meant that he was stronger and thus so much better, and their struggles would give him a chance to get up there and prove it. However, apparently this little male's ego was a lot bigger than it should be, because he wouldn't get a chance to prove himself.
Instead, he only got to prove that he was the clumiest of them all. Leopold tottered over to the wall and began to climb up too quickly, as if he had already done it thousands of times. As a result, he couldn't get a good grip, and slipped right back down with a plop. He got to his feet again, puffed up, and tried again, but this time much more quickly and with more frustration. He only fell much earlier. He again tried, and again slipped. Looking up, he was stunned to see the other two already up there.
At this point Leopold let out a series of angry cheeps, a duckling's version of a temper tantrum. No fair! He was better than them -- How come he couldn't get up there and they could? Very upset, Leopold was about to try again when someone caught his eye. Turning bitterly, he found Tihana quietly sizing up the wall, eyes round as saucers. He cheeped at her with disgust, then tried to climb up. No luck; he flopped over.
He looked over at his other sibling, just in time to watch with complete horror as Tihana made it up. This was not her first try -- While Leopold was flopping around, she was also slipping and sliding. However, she didn't waste time mourning her bad luck, and just kept trying, without a sound. Thus, she had fallen many more times than Leopold when he finally saw her go up. To him, however, she had gotten up first try, and he expressed his distaste with a loud cheep. Tihana didn't hear him -- She was too busy admiring the big world she was faced with.
Chagrined and with a horribly bruised ego, Leopold tried once more, and by some twist of luck, just managed to make it. He shoved Tihana gracelessly aside, and with a surprised cheep she fell off the edge and back into the nest. Leopold didn't notice; he was too busy surveying the world as if he owned it. He also, thankfully, didn't notice when Tihana climbed back up, shooting him a hurtful look before looking back over the landscape. Otherwise, he may have pushed her back off again, just for the hell of it.
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Sonje
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Re: ><A Clutchful of Trouble>< (Duckli
« Reply #10 on: Aug 18th, 2006, 5:24pm » |
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Sonje was interrupted from her slumber by the calls from her mother but she merely shrugged them off, tucking her beak back into her soft 'feathers'. It was only when a sibling stepped on her and aroused her up that she started to see what was going on. Watching as one by one the others climbed up the wall to the opening in which moment earlier there mother had been. The little duck didn't feel inclined to do so, she found it much more amusing to watch everyone in countless attempts until they all finally made it. Looking around to see she was alone she let out a soft call. She hadn't thought of this. Curiosity and instinct to follow her siblings got the best of her however and she waddled towards her destination.
The first few times trying to climb up ended with her dropping back down to the nest as her siblings had done. The duckling had thought after watching them all it should be much easier but it proved to be a task in which it was much harder than thought. Falling a few more times to the point that she had attempted at least 10 times the little wood duck started getting frustrated and more to the point of giving up. Some little spark in her wanted to know what the fuss was about up there however and she made a persistent last attempt. Little needled nails gripped at the woods surface as her wings flapped slightly to help her regain her balance. She let her beak slide against the wood as she pushed up, awaiting the moment where she could rest on the ledge with the others. At last she scrambled up tiredly, a content peep leaving her beak, as she sat atop the ledge. Her gaze took in the view and her little beady orbs danced and widened with the view. She had though her nest to be so mighty and big but this was beyond what she knew. Tucking her neck in as to try and make it smaller she looked about admiring how mighty it looked and staring dubiously at the height in which they where at.
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Ling
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Re: ><A Clutchful of Trouble>< (Duckli
« Reply #11 on: Jan 31st, 2007, 12:56pm » |
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<The hollowed opening of the tree was getting mightily crowded. The relentless kuk-kuk of their encouraging mother had done well; all were determined to be the first to the top, though none the first to jump. As each duckling ambled up the rotting wood interior, flopping backwards and chirping their frustration, each sucessive attempt brought them closer to their goal, until most of the brood was huddled up with Ling at the tiny window to the great, vast beyond.
Ling trembled as a strong breeze howled through the tiny opening, her small feet clawing at the flaking bark of the followed tree as she fought to maintain balance among the milling, shoving forms of her siblings. Reticent to be the first to leap to the waters below, she was finding herself to have little choice in the matter. Tired by now from balancing precariously on the edge, and feeling more and more pressure with each sucessive chick, she was losing the fight with gravity and indeed with mother nature. Chirping frantically and piteously, she scrabbled as her aquadynamic form proved incompetant on dry land, her awkwardly heavy front flopping fowards and her rear helpless to save her. Pitching out of the nest with her small, useless wings flapping frenetically, the duckling finally splashed into the marshy waters below.
For a moment, Ling was still. She thought she surely must have died, the seconds of wind rushing against her face as she tumbled weightless seeming like an eternity. Yet here she was, her well-designed body propelling water as she bobbed back to the surface, floating effortlessly despite having never even touched anything but the shell and the nest before. Blinking and looking up at the tall shaft of the tree above, she tried to see her siblings, but could not recognize the shapeless mass of milling toes and fluffy chests from this angle. Being away from them frightened her, and she swam in a tight circle, kicking her tiny legs, and called out frantically for her mother>
((Sorry for jumping the gun, but no one's been posting here for a bit.))
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Mefem and Ragdoll
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Re: ><A Clutchful of Trouble>< (Duckli
« Reply #12 on: Feb 1st, 2007, 7:03pm » |
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((Thank goodness you posted- I was a bit lost as to what to do.))
:Mefem watched, startled and fearful, as Ling toppled out of the hollow. Her neck straightened out and she tilted forward, calling after her chick with worry- whatever her instincts were saying, this seemed a very silly place to put her eggs. Plunk! Mefem watched anxiously, called again... but there was the chick, bobbing at the surface, perfectly suited for swimming. Of course, Mefem knew that ducklings could swim, and that they did it perfectly well from the moment their downy bodies hit water, but the anxiety of watching her own babies first entering the swamp...! Well. All was well, if they all went as easily as the first. With one more glance 'round at her chicks, Mefem thrust forward and flapped her way heavily down to float beside Ling, quacking wordless comforts at the chick.
:Presently, though, she wanted all of her chicks with her; she stared up at them crossly and let loose a series of very demanding, insistent calls: come down right this instant! they said.:
:Ragdoll watched Ling fall with horror, letting loose a little gasp as her sister hit the water; surely, she had just seen her first death. She gaped when the other chick bobbed back to the surface, seeming unharmed- she had been reanimated! Healed! Amazed, Ragdoll leaned out with little bill open in wonder at the sight of her sister having been reborn. Ragdoll was struck from her amazement when her mother flapped down to join Ling, and her regard for the other chick diminished- how dare she steal their mother! It was obvious that Ragdoll was the best; she was obviously the most obedient and intelligent chick, as she had not only hatched first but been the first to climb up the slope to the nest entrance. Their mother should therefore stay with her at all times.
:Their mother was cackling up to them again, calling them down to the water so far, far below. Ragdoll's first frantic thought was that their mother was trying to kill them all, but that was ridiculous- if Ling could do it, she could, too. Even if it involved suicide and being magically healed; she was sure it was all in the water. When she tried to fling herself from her perch, Ragdoll was greatly unamused to find some part of her mind protesting this- feh! With a heave against the Survival Instinct and with help from the Get Outta The Nest Instinct, Ragdoll was flopping through the air.
:She regretted it immediately- all good and well for her mother and sibling to do this, but she was not insane, and this was obviously death she was looking in the face, and it was not at all looking pretty. Fweep! she protested- she took it back, she didn't actually want to jump, the nest was quite lovely when you got used to it, really! The air did not respond by lifting her up and putting her back onto her perch. Instead, she hit the water: plunk! It took her only a moment to bob to the surface, at which point she started cheeping furiously and swimming in aggravated little circles, scolding world, mother, and sibling for getting her into such a mess, death was no fun, she preferred life!
:She realized she was still alive, stopped her twirling, and glanced around to see if anyone had been watching. Her mother, at least, had noticed- she had stopped calling to look at her chick with a raised eyebrow and an amused expression. Clearing her throat, Ragdoll swam smoothly over to Ling, where she gazed (with added dignity) at her surroundings, as if she had always been so cool-headed.:
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Leopold and Tihana
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Re: ><A Clutchful of Trouble>< (Duckli
« Reply #13 on: Feb 1st, 2007, 8:25pm » |
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((Please excuse the lunacy of this post))
~Leopold was enraged, absolutely positively enraged. For how dare two of his sisters -- not just one, two! -- jump into the water before him. And how dare his mother abandon him for them! He let out an angry cheep. He was smarter, stronger, and much better than any of them. Surely he should be the first one to get into the water. Ruffling up his fur-like feathers, the male peered over into the water... And immediately froze, staring with horror.
That was a long drop. That didn't look fun. Judging by the cheeps and cries of his siblings, it wasn't fun. Okay, on second thought, it was much better for him to stay up in the nest. Obviously those two siblings were total idiots who liked the idea of being in cold, unknown water rather than in a warm nest. Yes, that was it. He wasn't a coward, they were just completely idiots. Leopold let out a proud chirp to prove it to himself, not seeming to notice how uncertain he sounded.
Tihana didn't notice Leopold; she was too busy looking down at the water below. It was a far drop, yes, but it didn't seem that bad. Two of her siblings had survived it, after all, and their mother was down there with no trouble at all. Granted, Ling sounded a little frightened, but then, it looked pretty frightening out there. It may be best to stay where she was. It was crowded in the nest, though, and their mother was demanding their presence. Uncertain, Tihana looked about warily, and made the mistake of making eye contact with Leopold.
The male duck was looking for a way to prove himself to his siblings. He needed to prove he wasn't a coward, and that there was no reason for him to join his mother. He decided that giving Tihana a head start would do the trick. He pushed gently at her, not wanting to seem overly obvious, but it was enough to push the smaller duckling straight off the nest. The duckling only had time for a startled peep before she was too busy being frightened by the sudden fall. Leopold watched, and felt sudden horror when she splashed into the water. Did he just murder his own sister? He had only meant to help her!
Then Tihana bobbed up to the surface, and he let out a sigh of relief. Tihana looked around, confused, then back up at the nest. She let out an angry cheep at Leopold, then immediately swam over to her mother, snuggling up close to her as she shot death glares at her brother. Leopold, indignant at this barrage of insults, stepped forward and straight off the nest. He let out a terrified cry as he pitched forward and clumsily landed in the water.
Once he was certain he wasn't dead, the male glared angrily at Tihana. She glowered at him and snuggled closer to Mefem in reply. Leopold snorted at her, then looked around regally, as if he owned the place that he was terrified to enter in the first place.
They were interesting; that much was certain.~
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Ling
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Re: ><A Clutchful of Trouble>< (Duckli
« Reply #14 on: Oct 24th, 2007, 8:18pm » |
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___Ling watched as her siblings followed one by one, flailing in mid-air, squeaking in terror, flopping gracelessly into the water... gosh, did she look so silly when she'd jumped? Again and again she was splashed by the little bodies hitting the water. She blinked and shook her beak, not liking the cold, wet sensation of the water on her face. In fact, she didn't like the water much at all. It was dark and cold and she could feel thing in it touching her. It was frightening! It wasn't like insects or plants out in air; that made sense. Water seemed to thick for things to be dwelling in.
___ Ling decided she didn't want to be in this mired in this miserable liquid any more. She tried walking over to her mom, but there was nothing to plant her feet upon. Kicking her legs, she suddenly found herself gliding fowards through the water. Surprised by the efficiency and speed of her movement, she kicked a few more times, more forcefully, and zipped past her brother. Oh, well this was sortof fun. Picking up speed, she hustled through the water, leaving small disturbances in her wake. Looking over her shoulder, she called to her mother,
___ "Look at me!"
___ Perhaps she should have been the one looking. Within moments, she'd crashed headlong into the reeds surrounding the shore. Letting out a frightened cheep, she struggled in the brittle tangle of tall grasses, thrashing the the much that was too thick to swim in and too soft to walk in. And she thought water was bad.
((Sorry for the crappiness of this. I am a little uninspired and out of practice.))
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