Moonlight Pickings - AR

Background

Seasonal Bonus

Scavenging

Biorhythm 

A gentle chirp sounded as the dark brown sparrow fluttered around Lyse's shoulder, wings gently flapping every few moments as it circled her. Lyse strolled proudly down the through the darkness around her, looking left and right as she strolled forward casually.

The large, hilly field which she was walking through held small patches of melting snow on their peaks, gentle running streams shimmering from the moonlight flowed through the valleys between the hills. Trees were scattered between the hills, at the bottom to hold the edges of those streams and occasionally small sprouting trees grew at the crest of the hills but they grew thicker further to the south. The moon shone boldly in the night sky, paired with gorgeous shimmering stars hung on the dark, navy skies. The pale white light they offered was bright enough to illuminate the strands of grass which gently swayed in the breeze. Newly budding flowers of the night were tempted to open, a soft blue glow coming from within as they reflected the large moons brightness.

A gentle chirp sounded again as the sparrow fluttered, landing on Lyse's shoulder and resting their wings, which made Lyse laugh, "A bit tired?" She asked, knowing she wouldn't get an answer, as she paused, seeing movement in the distance. Curiosity got the better of her as she made her way forward, her keen eyes picking up the faint colours, a pristine white gryph whose feathers seemed to be made of the moonlight itself, then a second who was mainly yellow with splashes of black and white, and a raptor having an orange head, which faded as the colour trailed down its body as green feathers gently flowed as it moved. The white seemed to be giving the other two instructions and, unable to help herself, Lyse made her way over as curiosity got the better of her.

Vyshemir gave a chirpy laugh, ruffling his white feathers as he watched their newly found friend move through the forest. Shivi's claws dug into the ground, pulling back the ground underneath her, black claws pulling back the different layers of leafage and sticks, her head tilting as she looked down onto the dirt. Unfortunately, there wasn't really anything interesting there as she shook her head, feathered head moving as she jumped forward, scratching the ground up a bit more. She chirped, digging a little deeper in a spot which had softer soil, her grey claws suddenly chinking against something hard. She grinned victoriously as the raptor moved backwards, her head moving down as she shifted the last of the dirt clear of her prize, before pulling it up! The raptor seemed incredibly excited as she held the tiny stone in her maw, "You were right!" She said in excitement, Vyshemir nodding his head slightly.

"Vyshemir is quite a good teacher - even if he gives a bit of a wake-up call with his searching at night." Eclipse answered from her position between a few bushes, to which Vyshemir shook his snowy head, "You're not going to forget that are you?" He asked, and Eclipse hummed softly.

"Nope." She said happily.

"Great..."

"Hey! You two lovebirds need to knock it off - look, I found something fun." Shivi declared, a frustrated expression on her face as she proudly attempted to show off her gorgeous stone. Both of the gryphs looked, Eclipse looking surprised. "That looks so pretty and shine - it's better than the... the rock I found the first time I went to scavenge." She mumbled quietly, unwilling to admit to her failure so readily. Shivi chuckled, before giving Eclipse a wink, "It's not always in someones nature to be successful~ But as the saying goes..."

"Practice makes perfect." Vyshemir interjected, stealing Shivi's thunder as the raptor squawked, taking a step back in surprise, before her eyes narrowed. "I was getting there!" She protested, as Eclipse gave a small chuckle, before turning her attention back to the bushes at hand.

These ones were strange, among them, a vast majority seemed inedible, but according to Vyshemir, there were some which could be found to be edible. She hummed softly, her claw raising as she took a branch, pulling it down slightly, peering curiously into the darkness of the branches before her. Unfortunately, her eyes weren't as keen in the darkness and unfamiliar with these fruits and she gave a soft crack of her beak, frustrated at the lack of obvious fruit for her to find. Instead, Eclipse flicked the branches shut again, chirping a little as she moved to another bush, beak prying the branches apart as her eyes looked through those twigs and leafage, unable to see anything worth taking. That was until a tiny little fruit, a small blue one, caught her eye, and she chirped in delight, moving her beak to pluck it in victory, something small, delicious and tangy, or at least that was what she was hoping for. 

Vyshemir nodded, approving of his two new students, his beak opening and about to speak, before a twig snapped and they paused, three heads turning in curiosity, only to see a harpia near them, looking startled down at the ground. She looked between the snapped twig, then back up to the three which stood just into the forests edge, a small, sheepish look on her face. "Uhh, sorry, hello, I'm Lyse...!" She said happily, laughing nervously as she moved closer, a bird chirping on her shoulder, "What are you doing out here?"

Vyshemir, seeing that she truly wasn't a threat to them, inclined his head towards her. "Pleasure to meet you, Lyse, I'm Vyshemir," He used a wing to indicate to himself, before stretching it out to the yellow canary that was sitting there surprised and startled near a few berry bushes, "That canary girl is Eclipse," and then moving his wing once more, "And this is Shivi, she's also someone who we've only just met."

Lyse nodded, upsetting the little bird which slept on her shoulder. It peeped once, before fluffing its feathers and flapping its wings, leaping up onto her head, chirping in delight, but also nervousness, as three new large things were around her, and Lyse chirped reassuringly. "Are you all scavenging?" Lyse asked, softly, as Vyshemir took a surprised look for a few moments, before nodding softly, "You know your way around it?"

Lyse gave a chirp, "Yes I do!" The small harpia declared, before Eclipse moved a wing to the bushes, "Go ahead, there should be some more things that you can find here."

With a grateful chirp, Lyse jumped over towards the bushes, the bird around her chirping in delight as they fluttered forward, jumping and darting into the bushes. The small bird jumped through the branches, landing on the twigs and investigating those bunches of fruit as Lyse looked through them as well, chirping softly to her small companion. It jumped away to a new bush, and Lyse followed her, before the duo begin to look through the new bush, investigating all of the different bunches of berries which were there, but at the same time, she spied something worth harvesting. With a chirp, she moved her beak to those bunches, snipping several dozen free from the bush, looking at it with happiness, before she moved out of the road, seeing the white gryph approaching those bushes. 

"I suppose I should get myself something too!" He declared, before beginning his own search through those berries. He only had a few quick glances at those bushes, seeing and identifying most of those berries for being completely under ripe and he tilted his head left and right, before shuffling away from them. Instead, he went towards the different trunks of the trees, his wings beating occasionally as he reached the bases of them, clearing those leafs away with a single beat of his wing. They scattered, revealing nothing but the tree trunk, and he grumbled softly, before moving forward a bit more, and beating it again. He couldn't be bothered ruining his pristine white feathers with dirt, but his wings did the trick for clearing those things that hid what he was after. With a victorious smirk, he moved his claw around the base of the mushroom, gently pulling it free from the ground, dirt falling away from the roots as he pulled a few more white mushrooms free which grew at the base of the tree. 

Lyse looked surprised, "I need to come back and have lessons from you...!"

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Stryx involved - Vyshemir, Eclipse, Shivi and Lyse

AR Payment 6/7 for Pimsri

AP Towards @raumkind

AP Towards  @Sulosointu

Final Word Count - 1416