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Post by 00 on Sept 1, 2017 23:51:52 GMT
A new shoreline.
Blue waves washed over pale sands.
The summer wind was notably chilly, and the cliffs beyond the coast were powdered with a light snow.
Amber eyes scanned the empty swath of beach, long tapering wings offering only the occasional listless flap as the fulmar glided effortlessly on the air currents.
Slowly, the avian fell closer to the water's surface, feathers just short of the lapping waves while a ray of orange spread through the blue, shadows stretched thin as the sun began to drop.
While she flew along the bird dipped her bill into the shallows, skimming in search of an evening meal.
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Post by Icara on Sept 2, 2017 8:24:54 GMT
'C'mon girls, where are you?' Othello thought as he observed the waters below him, flying just few meters above the surface. He has been searching for at least a tiny school of fish for several hours already, but with no luck. And it will get too dark to hunt soon, as the sun was slowly starting to set. Later he arrived to a nice sandy beach, which he hasn't visited yet. 'Maybe there I will finally find something.'This whas when he spotted a white shape close to the water. Folding his long wings closer to his body he slowly started to descend. When he was low enough, he sped up a little bit to fly side by side with the other bird, but kept few meters between them. "Hello there! I don't mean to disturb you from your flight, but haven't you seen any schools of fish somewhere around?" he called at the fulmar with friendly tone. 00Notes: I hope you don't mind me jumping in ^^
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Post by 00 on Sept 2, 2017 18:02:18 GMT
The fulmar was taken by surprise when another bird floated in beside her, her bill shooting up from the waves with such speed that a small spray of sea water was sent flying into the air, raining down on her feathers as she glided through it.
She even wobbled on her flight path, giving a few hearty flaps of her wings so that she wouldn't collide with the ocean itself.
Another bird!
She stared at the sea bird for a few moments with wide eyes, as though she'd never seen another avian in her life.
It felt ages since last she soared next to a fellow flier, and his words bounced right off her head as she gazed at him, dumbfounded.
Only latently catching his question, the fulmar quickly shook the stupefaction from her gaze.
"Uh, no--no," she stammered quickly in answer, fumbling over her own voice.
She averted her gaze, watching the waves beneath her once more; although hungry in her own right, she couldn't stop from glancing away to offer more astonished looks at the stranger, albeit a bit subdued now that she was aware of it.
He looked like an Antarctic tern, but she couldn't shake the feeling that something was off about that assumption.
She'd been flying north all this time, hadn't she?
Then again, if she was here, how unusual would it really be if another southern bird was, too?
Her eyes began to scan the shoreline's skies as she looked away from him again, wondering if perhaps there was some flock of terns hiding among the cliff faces.
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Post by Icara on Sept 2, 2017 20:29:24 GMT
"Oh, sorry! Did I scare you?" the tern apologisedm seeing how startled the other bird was by his sudden approach. She probably spent a lot of time alone. Just like him. He patiently waited for the fulmar to answer, although it was taking her quite longer than he expected. Finally the bird muttered a "no", and he flew a tiny bit closer to hear better if she sais something else. But she stayed quiet. "No? Well, nevermind then. I will search somewhere else later. And how are you? Oh, and what's your name? I'm Othello, I was born in the Ice Plains, we were migrating to Arctis earlier this year, but I got lost in a storm and ended up here." the black-headed bird introduced himself and quickly explained his situation, ignoring the fact that the fulmar wasn't even looking at him. 00
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Post by 00 on Sept 2, 2017 22:17:35 GMT
When questioned on whether she had been startled, the fulmar didn't answer.
If it wasn't obvious, then she didn't want to let the other know that she had been caught off-guard.
She gave him another glance as he responded to her answer, before peering down at the waves again, watching her passing shadow, and the lack of any fish.
Search somewhere else "later", he said?
What did he plan to--
Her gaze slowly returned to the stranger as he continued to speak, introducing himself and his life story; the tale of getting lost in a storm seemed a mite familiar.
The name of his birthplace reminded her of her own, but if he got here in only a year...either terns were exceptionally speedy, or she was much closer to home than she realized; however, the second name didn't ring a bell, which gave her some doubt in this conclusion.
It took a moment for her to realize that he might be trying to coax some directions out of her.
Heh, did the poor sod not revel in his newfound freedom?
"I just flew here," she told the tern.
According to her memory, he seemed a bit small for an Antarctic tern; was he malnourished or just young?
"I can't help you."
She didn't know anything about these seas, much less the land beyond.
She wouldn't mind finding these "ice plains" herself, however, so long as they weren't actually related to her own homeland.
After a beat she added, "My name is Jökulhlaup."
As she glided along, her shoulders gave a wriggling shrug.
She was a bit hesitant to offer more information on herself to a total stranger, but at the same time...it had just been so long since last she talked to another bird.
"I was born in the far south," she continued with a hint of uncertainty, before quickly adding in an offer of, "Why don't you ascend with me?
Maybe we'll be able to spot a cove or delta from a higher vantage."
She knew from her travels that such features often led to schools of fish hiding, even trapped in the enclosed shallows; if nothing else, she should hope there would at least be some washed up on shore.
How long had it been since she fished with another?
--Er, enough reminiscing.
Not allowing the tern much time to answer her, the fulmar began flapping her wings, turning away from the shoreline to seek taller skies.
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Post by Icara on Sept 3, 2017 14:18:36 GMT
"I can't help you.""Oh," Othello began, though the friendly smile still haven't disappeared from his bright red beak. "It's fine, I will eventually find them someday. The world can't be that big, right?" His voice was cheerful, but he knew that there wasn't a big chance of him reuniting with his former flock. Because the world was big. The fulmar's name quite surprised him though. How can anyone remember a name like this? "Jokelhblep.. No, don't worry, I will learn it. Jöku.."His voice went silent, but one could see his beak moving as he was practicing saying her name. No, but seriously, where did she get that name? After few wingbeats she continued, and the tern had to comment: "Yes, yes, that's the Ice Plains. They are the southernmost piece of land. The older birds in my flock say that they are much bigger than the whole Suodimi continent! Can you imagine that? So much land and filled only with ice, snow and rocks.." he would probably go on talking, but the fulmar's offer made him go quiet. Jökulhlaup probably had a plan, though why would they search for deltas when the largest schools of fish were on the open sea? "Um, sure, why not?" he quickly responded and tilted his wings to catch the air currents that would bring him upwards, and to catch up with the other bird he added few flaps of wings. "So, uh, do you see something?" he asked only few seconds after he leveled his speed with the fulmar's. 00Whoops, sorry, I forgot that he was born in Arctis and that this was his second migration (the first one was from Arctis to Ice Plains)
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Post by 00 on Sept 3, 2017 20:19:58 GMT
The fulmar hid a grin as the other tried to pronounce her name.
She didn't find it all that difficult herself, but, then again, she was the one living with it, and the others like her speaking their native tongue.
"Just Jöku is fine," she said.
She squinted a little as he explained what these ice plains were.
Oh...shit.
Well, maybe she'd be lucky and find that she was on the opposite end of the snow fields, at least.
Or just never travel south.
When asked whether she could imagine the lands of ice, she quietly mumbled that she could.
At least she managed to snatch the name of these new lands.
A whole continent, eh?
Not just one big island?
The bird cast another look to the shoreline as she rose higher into the air.
With the sun setting behind them, the land was half lit up in golden orange, and half concealed in shadow.
The ocean was a glowing mass of fiery oil as it washed across the sands.
The strip of coast seemed rather straight-edged, with not many notable features that she could spot.
"There."
Her gaze closed in on a small inlet, a narrow arm of water that cut through the beach.
She turned her bill to point at it.
She gave the tern another glance.
He seemed to be keeping up just fine....
As the fulmar angled her body and began to fold her wings in close, she said to the tern, "Race ya there!" then shot off into a dive.
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Post by Icara on Sept 4, 2017 13:02:27 GMT
The tern's still present smile brightened even more as he heard the other bird say that he can call her by the shortened version of her name, a hint of amusement in her voice could be heard. Finally she was opening up! "Okay, so Jöku."He noticed the slight change of expression as he talked about the Ice Plains. Though why? Did she imagine how the Plains looked and had to squint only at the picture of the endless sea of ice and ice only, with little to no food? Of course, the area where Othello with his flock spent the winter every year was close to the ocean, so there were always plenty of fish to eat. But the older birds in their flock, who have ventured to fly deeper inland, spoke of a harsh place with really nothing to see, to hear, to eat. They als said that the only animals that lived there were beasts like seals, elephant seals and Ancients-know-which seals, and penguins. Seriously, how could penguins willingly live there? When Jöku murmured that she could indeed imagine how the Plains look, she only confirmed Othello's thoughs. When the two birds stopped ascending and flew straight, Othello had time to properly look at the huge view he had now. The sun was setting, bathing the world in golden light, and the small shoreline they have been flying alongside of, was now stretched to unseeable distances. Of course he saw sceneries like this quite often, but it always made him think 'Man, this is nice'"There."The tern shook his head and started paying attention to Jöku again. He looked where she was pointing at, a small fjord-like shape in the shoreline. As the fulmar glanced at him, Othello returned the look, although confused. What was she planning? Then she folded her wings and dove down like an arrow. "Wha- Wait! I wasn't prepared!" the white-grey bird shouted and folding his wings with a silent 'clap' he dove after her. Jökulhlaup was almost twice as big and heavier than him, so even though his body was slim and aerodynamic, she was still falling faster than him. But soon he stopped caring about it. The speed amd the wind blowing in his face was blurring his vision so he had to narrow his eyes. Every few moments he spread the tip of one of his wings and with the help of his tail he controlled his fall, tilting to one side a bit, then the another, sometimes even rotating on his axis. Just before he could crash into the water, he spread out his wings and tail and changed his movement direction into a horizontal glide. With his wingtip cutting the water surface he made a turn to slow down. The thrill from the free fall was still in his head, so he haven't noticed if he won, or if Jöku was already somewhere here. 00I tried to write it so you can choose whether Jöku wins or not |
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Post by 00 on Sept 4, 2017 20:08:36 GMT
Jökulhlaup didn't chance a glance behind her as she dove.
Southern fulmars, like gannets, were built to dive-bomb their prey, and her focus was keen.
Granted, this was a bit high to be diving, but she didn't intend on losing, either!
Eyes, although squinting, remained open just enough so that she could see, and locked in on a particular spot of water in the inlet, where the water was dark and most likely deepest.
Wings were kept close and her tail feathers remained folded straight, the petrel speeding fast for the waves.
In a few moments water was rushing around her, her descent slowed practically to a stop, and her body reeling somewhat from the pressure with which her unusually high dive had forced the water to offer her.
Before buoyancy could fully kick in, she stared through her third eyelids, watching the foggy depths for signs of movement.
Nothing but underwater dust motes.
Perhaps all the fish were hiding among rocks and seagrass.
The points of land where sea met inlet might prove more promising.
She kicked out with her legs, popping out of the water with a flutter and a flurry as she tried to flap her way back into the air, the water washing off her feathers.
She hadn't given herself enough velocity to rise far enough above the waves, however; her wingtips kept dipping too far into the water, dragging her down, and in a few seconds she let her wings fall back to her side, body bobbing about among the inlet's calmer surface.
In the moments as she rested, the fulmar's head turned around in search of the tern, wondering where he'd leveled out himself, assuming he'd even reached the surface yet.
When her eyes managed to locate the other bird she ended up giving a noisy squawk, and hastily buried herself back underwater, turning her eyes upwards to watch as the water-shadowed tern soared past overhead.
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Post by Icara on Sept 5, 2017 17:28:25 GMT
Splash!Othello made a quick turn as he heard water splashing somewhere behind him. He saw Jöku who was seemingly in trouble with getting out of the water. 'Oh no, she probably didn't pull up early enough before falling into the water.' the tern thought and with a powerful beat of his wings he dashed after the fulmar. Then she let out a loud squawk and disappeared under the water. Othello spread his wings wide to halt, but he flew over the spot where Jöku immerged in the water, and before he turned around and got back, she was nowhere to be seen. The tern helplessly howered above the water for a while, and then after short thinking he dove after the fulmar. Everything around him went dark and blurry, but he didn't bother to view the beauties of the underwater world and instead searched for Jöku. There! A white spot just near him, obviously Jöku, seemed to be looking at him. The tern started kicking his legs and beating with his wings against the water to push himself down and towards the fulmar. He then grabbed her wing and tried to pull her up and out of the water. 00 Poor Othello things something attacked Jöku and dragged her underwater 
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Post by 00 on Sept 5, 2017 19:46:42 GMT
The tern turned and dove in the water.
Jökulhlaup moved her head in his direction.
Had he found a fish after all?
The fulmar parted her bill when she realized he was moving in her direction, eyes darting to watch the tern's immediate surroundings.
Was he chasing the fish towards her?
She couldn't spot any shadow but the other bird's.
Before she knew it, the tern's beak closed around a part of her wing.
Bubbles exploded from the fulmar's jaw as she emitted an underwater croak, kicking out with her legs to bring them both towards the surface.
What was he doing?
She was no fish!
As her back popped out of the water, she darted forward with her own hooked bill, aiming to smack the tern where he held her in an attempt to get him to let go of her wing.
"The hell!" she spluttered through a mouthful of water, flapping her free wing to toss yet more water in the offending bird's direction.
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Post by Icara on Sept 5, 2017 20:18:04 GMT
Before he knew it, they were both above the water. Othello let go off Jöku's wing, taking a deep breath, but a second later he also took a smack from the fulmar, who didn't seem to be in a great mood now. "Sorry," he began, but had to close his mouth and eyes at a shower of water thrown at him by the other bird. "I just- How you seemed to have trouble with getting out of the water, and how you croaked and disappeared underwater, I thought something dragged you down there! I simply panicked!" he apologised, swimming a bit away from the fulmar. Letting out a sigh, he looked around, and tried to change the topic. "So..You seen any fish down here?"00Sorry, quite a short one |
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Post by 00 on Sept 5, 2017 20:52:06 GMT
The fulmar stopped her flailing as the tern pulled back, paddling herself away from the other bird as well.
She sighed, "It's fine," while giving him a suspicious, if brief, glance.
Huh...thought something dragged her down -- panicked and yet dove after her?
Brave bird.
She turned her head away so that he couldn't see what she was thinking.
If she had been on the other end, she highly doubted that she would have done the same.
She folded in one wing while she checked over the other for any wounds.
A small scrape from his beak, probably caused at least in part by her own frantic wrigglings in his grip; nothing very worrisome.
"I didn't," she answered, eyes rising to check the surrounding area.
The inlet's shoreline was a mixture of smooth slopes and cliffs; her gaze fell on the one cliff that stuck out into the ocean, where the water seemed a bit rougher as it crashed against the soil.
Where the water seemed to swirl into the inlet, rushing past the contours of a small depression in the cliffs--she thought that might be as good a spot as any.
Looking at the cliffs, she glanced over at the sun's position.
The shadows were dimming as darkness began to fall.
There wasn't much time left to find food.
Extending her wings, the fulmar said, "Guess we'll have to look harder.
I'm going to search there.
Why don't you try somewhere else where you think the fish might be hidin'?"
She figured splitting up might be their best bet, although she wouldn't much protest even if the tern did decide to follow her instead.
Lifting off into the air, the sea bird coasted over towards the cliffs, keeping close to the water just in case any fish might be teasing the surface.
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Post by Icara on Sept 6, 2017 17:10:04 GMT
"Of course, sure!" Othello said as the fulmar suggested splitting up for better chances to find food. He took off from the water (which was a bit difficult, from how he was all wet from diving for Jöku, plus water take off was something he was never good at), and headed in the opposote direction from where Jöku flew, towards smoother and more sandy shores. Maybe there will be some small fish hiding there. Or crabs. Soon he reached the shore and landed. There he went on, padding along the water, looking in it and also everywhere around, for any signs of shiny fish scales or the claw-handed crustaceans. So far no luck. But then, finally! It wasn't a fish, as he hoped, but after the whole day he was grateful that he found at least this - a small green crab. He ran towards the crab, probably looking pretty dumb with his short legs, and with a quick strike of his beak he caught the crab. Then he flew few meters away from the water and before he broke the crab's shell, he looked if there were some more around. He spotted at least two of them. That will be enough, he thought and began digging under the crab's shell to get the soft meat. After few minutes, he has eaten the whole crab, only few pieces of the shell remaining, and again went closer to the water to hunt some more to share with Jöku in case she hasn't found any fish. 00
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Post by 00 on Sept 6, 2017 18:38:59 GMT
The fulmar soared close to the water, the salty sea spray splashing over her shoulders.
Darkness crested the currents, limiting her ability to spot any undersea goodies, until she swung around the cliff face, where the setting sun glinted off the waves, and shone through the misty blue to reveal part of the cliff's underwater structures.
Its subsurface face was pockmarked in rough waves from where the currents crashed constantly against it, sparse tufts of seagrass growing only in shaggy clusters where the water was regularly calmer.
Looking into the depression she had spotted, where one current rushed past and another swirled smoothly in, she could see the crooked, decaying branch of an old log, sunken in the shallows that sat within.
A bit awkwardly she alighted on the branch, webbed toes struggling to maintain a proper grip, and half-folded her wings as she peered into the depths, watching for the slightest flicker of shadow.
There, something slid out from behind the rotting wood, and in an instant she dove, erupting out of the water only moments later with a dark gray fish held between her mandibles.
An Arctic char, although young it was already a little big for the fulmar to keep a hold of, and she struggled to remain aloft as it wriggled, gasping, in her grasp.
Hurriedly, flapping heavily, she stole away to the closest strip of land she could find, a small hollow in the cliffs leading along the inlet's shoreline, its floor just short of the ocean's surface.
Feet skidding on the dirt and stone floor, the fulmar tossed the fish further into the shallow hole so that it wouldn't immediately flop its way over the ledge before she could grab her breath and steel her muscles.
Stepping forward, she expertly stabbed the fish through the face until only the faintest of death twitches remained, then stilled.
Though still panting, she gladly stripped away some meat for herself and swallowed it, before turning around to glance out through the hollow's gaping opening.
She could see the small form of the tern in the distance, bobbing along the inlet's sloping sands.
Was he having any luck?
She looked down at the fish she had caught.
It was more than big enough to share with the smaller bird.
She called out to grab his attention, "Over here!"
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Post by Icara on Sept 8, 2017 19:21:59 GMT
"And you go there, and.. Hey, where are you going?" the tern scolded the crab he tried to catch as it began to run away on it's tiny legs. With wings half unfolded he hopped after it, helping himself with few flaps of his wings to get to the crab quicker. But he still wasn't fast enough. Then he thought.. 'Why don't I fly?' With a short leap and few wingbeats he got in the air and sped after the greenish crustacean. It was just about to hide in a hole in the sand, but with a quick move of his red beak Othello sent it flying few centimeters away, enough to give him time to land and with a stout peck he cracked it's shell open. Before he could praise himself for the hunt, he could hear Jöku call him. "Coming!" he squawked a quick response, grabbed the crab and took off towards the shore near the cliffs where the fulmar hunted. "Hey, a nice catch," he complimented her, seeing that she really caught a fish. "I found only few of these crabs, though they aren't very bad."00 Sorry for the wait!
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Post by 00 on Sept 11, 2017 1:50:10 GMT
As she waited for the tern to arrive, the fulmar turned around and stabbed her bill into the fish.
A foot was placed on top of it, wings spreading halfway as she tried to rip it in half.
Her hooked bill, which was certainly not built for such a task, was able to do so with a great deal of difficulty, finding the most trouble when she reached the spinal column.
The fulmar hadn't finished the task yet when she heard flapping behind her, and turned around to see the tern flap his way in, something green and rigid between his mandibles.
"Thanks," she said, eyeing the crab, "you too."
She was almost disappointed that he managed to find something -- all that work on trying to rip up the fish...wasted.
After a moment, an idea came to her.
The fulmar suggested to the tern, "How about half the fish for half that crab?"
It was hardly a good trade on her end, but, eh, it was a big fish, and she wanted to try a taste of that crab, something she hadn't ate in a long time.
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Post by Icara on Sept 13, 2017 22:20:29 GMT
As the fulmar offered him a trade of giving him half of her fish for a half of his crab, Othello just smiled, and pushed the crab towards her. "And how about half a fish for a whole crab? I already had one before I came here, they are quite easy to catch."
And the fish," he continued, seeing that Jöku had trouble with splitting the fish in half, "Why struggle with it? It's already pretty much duvided to two parts. While you'll eat the crab, I'll just eat the fish right off the bones, and leave the rest to you, if you don't have anything against it."
00 |
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Post by 00 on Sept 14, 2017 1:04:05 GMT
The bird stared at the tern as he nosed the whole crab over to her, admitting that he'd already had one.
Her brow wrinkled when he continued on, saying she needn't have struggled with trying to divide it up.
He did have a point, but she couldn't help but mumble in defense of herself, although what exactly she said was lost in the rumble of the nearby ocean.
Stepping aside to give him room to reach the fish, letting that small action be her answer.
Then she pushed her bill forward, snapping up the crab to guzzle it down.
A few taps against the stone wall were made to try and crack the hard shell, which eventually started to fall apart.
Not all of the exoskeleton dropped to the floor, but the fulmar ripped off the one large claw anyways, then swallowed the rest of the crab whole.
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Post by Icara on Sept 19, 2017 7:12:57 GMT
Othello waited for his friend's answer, but she said nothing, only moved to a side. The tern took it as a yes, and hopped towards the fish. He started to tear off pieces of it's meat, eating it rather slowly to enjoy it's taste, and with one eye watched the fulmar as she struggled with the crab. She managed to open it's shell quite quickly, and soon there was no sign of the crab, except few pieces of it's exoskeleton on the ground. "Whoa, you must've been hungry." he commented on it, and moved his attention back to the fish again. He picked the last scraps of meat around it's spine on his half and pushed the remaining half towards the fulmar. "The rest is yours" he said and flew few meters away, settling on a rock. 00 |
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Post by 00 on Oct 2, 2017 19:21:23 GMT
"Heheh...," chortled the fulmar at the other's comment, still feeling a bit of an ache in her throat after such a stunt.
Soaring so long on the open ocean, one could go days without witnessing a single meal.
Still, being stark hungry wasn't an altogether unfamiliar feeling for the well-traveled bird, and she wouldn't let it break her manners on the first fellow avian that she'd seen in...whoa--how long had it been, truly?
The fulmar watched as the tern ate the last pieces from his side of the fish, before pushing the remains towards her.
She held back just a moment longer, watching as he flew out the alcove to settle on a rock some meters away, before diving in, picking apart the remains as best she could.
When she was done, she left the bones to the tiny cavern, and flew out to join the tern outside on the rocks, settling on one herself at a respectable distance.
Her eyes turned to the skyline past the cliffs and the shore, watching as the sun slowly began to disappear.
It would almost be time to take a nap until the morning came.
Briefly, she turned her bill towards the tern to say, "It was nice meeting you, Othello."
She didn't know whether he'd be there by sun's light, or, if he was, whether she'd wake early, and have the impulse to leave him behind.
She wasn't much used to the company, so she wasn't sure what she'd do when the time came.
At least the fishing trip had been a nice one.
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