carryon_crow | Thread with @partyhats

Thread with @partyhats

With Lissa willing to meet some of their friend, Henry wasted no time, only stopping by the kitchens to put some tidbits in a small sack. A few eggs, pieces of meat, a bottle of milk, peas, and grain went into the bag before Henry carefully made their way out of camp with Lissa in tow.

A few calls and the local flock settled around the nearby trees, only a few enterprising fowl strutting near in curiosity.

"Okay Lissa, these are my friends! Would you like to say hello?"

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"Not really, but if you want to say something I can translate."

Not just Howell wanted to see a human talk, now that Henry told them that's what human sounds were. Henry offered up the bag.

"There's some food inside if you want to offer them some."

"I don't even know what to say..." But she could take the bag and throw some food out in a gentle arc. Animals like food. She likes food too.

"Well, have you ever wished you could talk to birdies?"

The easiest to grain is some grain, and the crows flock around like pigeons after it, the susurrations of their wings filling the air as they croaked companionably over the snack.

"I've whistled really badly at song birds before," she admitted bluntly. Crows cawwing always seemed less pretty than that, but a lot of things were prettier than spoken language, right?

"Like a parrot repeating what they hear!"

Henry giggles at the image of Lissa garbling at a songbird, likely confusing the poor little thing! Or maybe the birdie found delight in the human making actual proper tweeting sounds instead of those barks most made.

Speaking of language, one of the crows boldly fluttered up onto Henry's shoulder, peering intently at Lissa and croaking. Henry nodded and cawed back before the bird opened her beak and said, quite clearly, in a voice very similar to Henry's:

"Hellow"

The songbirds were at least curious, hopefully they found her funny at worst. "I've never really gotten to, uh, experience a parrot."

Lissa looked at the crow in the eyes - and then jumped a step back, startled, when it spoke. "H-h-hi!"

"The one I met was a pet. He was super old too! Like eighty."

Henry chuckled at the memory, at the startling of the oldtimer when he realized Henry could talk sensibly. After that the two were fast friends and Henry often visited the tent of the owner, just to chat with them both. And now Lissa was finding another avian friend!

"Howar yyou!" she said, still with Henry's voice, with an upward inflection and a dropped sound. She was mighty proud of herself, being able to get such a reaction from a beast like a human. They were so clever!

"They live that long?" Wow. That's... actually really neat? You could have a parrot for your whole life.

Now that Lissa was over being startled, she was curious, stepping closer again, hands clasped together in front of her chest. "I'm... doing fine, thank you."

"Some can, yeah! Assuming they don't die of disease first. He told me about how they live in huge flocks atop the trees, and how it was always nice and damp and green."

Ah, Henry may not be a scholar or anything but tales of distant places was always a good way to while away the hours, and between the parrot and the soldier Henry learned a lot. To think of a place where it rained so much but never snowed... So different!

Meanwhile Howell was a bit stuck, having come to the end of her vocabulary on that line. But one phrase she did recognize she repeated in Lissa's tones.

"thank you."

In their homeland, they'd be vulnerable to predators too - maybe it was just when they were very smart and lucky. "That sounds really pretty. All that greenery and those colorful birds."

Lissa giggled at the reply, and curtsied. "You're quite welcome."

"Yeah! Maybe we could see it some day. First I'd like to spend winter in Regna Ferox, so I could play in the snow! I wonder how cold it'll feel."

Plegia could get cold at night, although first living by the coast and then in the northern forests saved Henry from the worst of it out on the desert. Still, snow was scanty there since there wasn't enough water in the air most of the time. What would it be like to be surrounded by the stuff?

Howell didn't know those sounds, and thought she might offer some of her other words for the human. Oh, how did it go..?

"Es Chuse me"

"Right, you wouldn't have seen much snow. Guess I'll have to have a snowball fight with you." She'll totally win right? Parts of Ylisse got plenty of snow.

There were a lot of words for a bird to try to learn, and she tilted her head when Howell spoke next. "Mm? Yes?"

"That sounds fun! What kind of an arm you got?" Lissa definitely had the upper hand, but maybe Henry's throwing would be more precise, what with the magic and all.

"Yes!" Howell cried out happily, knowing this word! Yes, Yes, Henry taught her that early on, she totally got this!

"I've got it pretty well practiced, and I've been putting on some muscle wielding axes too," she flexed unimpressively.

"Yes, huh? You're having fun."

"Wow, you are strong! Nothing like me, nyahaha! But I bet I could get a better lay of the land than you."

Henry gave appreciative oohs as they felt her bicep. Not as impressive as some powerhouses like Sully or Sumia, of course, but Lissa had a very respectable arm! They'd have to be quick on their feet and use the terrain to their advantage if they wanted to hit her.

Howell bobbed her head as she enjoyed herself. "Yes! Yes! Exchuse me! Hower yoooou!"

Muscles weren't cute but - well, no one had remarked on her being less cute for being able to fight, and protecting herself and her friends was important. It was worth it. "Don't worry, I'll just knock a few heads if they get too close to you." ...probably not strong enough to talk like that though, and she laughed a little.

"So, I'd say I'm feeling very good right now."

"Oh, oh, we should make teams! Together we can pelt everyone else with snow!"

Enchanting the snowballs to follow people would probably be cheating, but with Lissa's expertise Henry wouldn't need to resort to magic! Maybe they could convince the tactician to make a little detour if Henry and Lissa framed it as a mock battle?

Howell, having used up her words, croaked happily and fluttered by Lissa's side.

"We could take twice our number for sure." ...until everyone figured out their gimmick anyways.

Lissa held a hand out to Howell, curious.

"Yeah!! Then we'd win and get extra dessert for a week! ...Better have Gaius on our team."

Even with enchanted snowballs, Henry didn't think their strongest hex could get between the thief and his sweets.

Howell gently pecks at her fingers, seeing if there's any treats inside, before hopping up to sit on her forearm.

"He'd fight like ten men if that was the deal."

There are no treats - only arm.

"Exactly! I'd sacrifice my dessert to have him on our team! No big loss"

For now Howell is content on her perch, cozened up to the new human.

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sorry for the delay, everyone in my family got sick one after the other

sounds rough

Re: sounds rough