Post by Deleted on Feb 5, 2014 22:09:32 GMT -8
It’s a nice day to start again
Alistair settled back, a pleased grin spreading across his face. On the table in front of him sat a completed wooden dragon, working wings and moveable jaw and all. Most, if not all, of the pieces had little dents, as if they were placed by tweezers in a firm grip. Or a beak.
Beside the model sat Halcyon, inspecting her work with a critical yellow-rimmed eye. She bobbed her head, and clicked her beak before scuffling towards Alistair. Her wings bore the signs of neglect and nervous ruffling, not their usual sleek gloss.
Perfect, she told Zeus’ son, climbing on his wrist. Her weight always caught him by surprise. Birds were supposed to be light creatures, with their hollow bones and ability to fly and all. He’d always thought that birds would all weigh the same as Rosa’s parakeet.
No. As it turns out, no.
”What do you want to do with it, pretty lady?”
All parrots were smart, from the tiny budgies like his older sister Rosa’s childhood pet to the largest of macaw species. Large parrots and macaws were as much work as a small child, needing constant stimulation and companionship. Halcyon in particular was a needy individual of her species. Her particular species, the Hyacinthine Macaw, was the largest breed of macaw, and therefore incredibly expensive. For Halcyon, that had backfired.
She had been purchased by one of Doctor Fuentes’ colleagues - someone who wanted a status symbol instead of a companion. Neglected, heartbroken, and dying of loneliness, she had implored Alistair for help when he and his father were invited to dinner.
I want to give it to someone. She climbed up his arm, using her beak as a balancer, until she was able to settle herself on his shoulder. She ran her beak through the hair behind his ear, preening him affectionately.
The model thing was an honest fluke. There were no shortage of toys for large parrot species, and Cabin One was testament to that. Alistair bought her first model kit one clearance – one dollar for a long-shot. Birds were not known for their dexterity, but the mental stimulation of figuring out how the pieces fit together would be good for his charge, and anything she couldn’t physically do, that’s where he could step in. She spent three days studying the pieces, and figuring out where the wooden cut-outs went.
He still had that first airplane, from two years ago. It was splotched with a first avian attempt at painting, but both Alistair and Halcyon were proud of that.
”Who do you want to give it to?” He stood carefully, pushing his chair back from the table with his legs. She grabbed onto his ear with her beak, keeping her balance with her wings slightly spread.
The pretty redhead. This was the tricky part of talking with birds. Halcyon had a different standard of beauty than Alistair, and she couldn’t share images with him. She had to use her words, which her vocabulary didn’t always support.
”Smells like sunlight? Or curly hair?” Two redheads down, both previous recipients of Halcyon’s efforts. The Hyacinthine macaw had her own way of telling humans apart.
Smells like sunlight and dust.
The Oracle, then. Alistair fit his sunglasses over his nose, and opened the door to the Arts and Crafts building. Apollo’s Oracle was best searched starting in the Big House. Even if she wasn’t there, someone would be able to point him in an approximate direction. So, wooden dragon supported by one arm, Halcyon taking immediate flight, he headed for the Big House.
Ensemble
Word Count - 596
Tag : @rachel