Softly Stepping In...

[Anonymous]

Far away from the cities of Ketra and Arca, in the lands of Eastern Le'raana, more north and perhaps more in the Realm of Serendipity than Adela, yes, far away, on the opposite side of the Draconi Forest, far northwest and near the edge of the Terrin Mountains (with Niahi Woods almost directly over the Mountains), two creatures stepped out of air, and stepped softly in onto a soil far removed from the world they called Home.  Very far, indeed.  From tip of snouts to tip of tails, on all fours, they hopped over Threshhold, and emerged into a breezy warm mid-afternoon day.  Followed paths through trees, heading southeast, as if they'd been walking in this forest for hours, rather than mere moments.

Two creatures?

At first glance, yes, only two.  Both, despite their alienness, identifiable as members of the same species.  One, a bit smaller and sleeker than the other, more metalic of fur and scales, tuft of fur on end of tail.  The other, a bit larger and more muscular, more colorful of fur and scales, more show-off, no tuft on end of tail, but the most magnificent shroudruff of blue-tipped, blood-red feathers, like a bird's tail, only based at nape of neck, tips stretched nearly to hips, the whole thing covering shoulders and back, except... it seemed a bit bulged, as if it wasn't, at this moment, held tight to body, but fanned up and out, just a bit more than looked "natural".  Ahhh, but what stood patently obvious?  Alien these creatures looked, but anyone seeing them together would know right away:  One was female, the other, male.  This could not be mistaken, even though their all fours posture presently hid any positive confirmation from sight.

Further?

Well, male... female.  The way they moved together... slowly, yet with grace.  Carefull with each step, quiet of voice.  The way they looked at each other, the tufted female nuzzling the shroudruffed male's cheek and neck, oh so softly.  Love... love in her eyes.  Him, returning that look and nuzzle, as they walked side by side, hip to hip, in no hurry.........

Then a small stream, one taking a drink while the other watched, male's eyes roving to female's hips and tail, a very appreciative grin on his face.  His turn, his mate openly sniffing his scent on the breeze, her eyes briefly closed, muzzle slightly raised to the blue open sky overhead.  Rustle of leaves.  Wet of the stream across their path.  Walk through forest, continued.  At times, the male falling back, to bat at the female's tuft.  Her, looking over shoulder and rolling her eyes.  Or shaking her head, ears atwitch...

Sun and afternoon slowly moving along, still warm and breezy.........

Female, suddenly slowed in her pace, and then still.  Male, following her lead, though his head almost bumped her behind in distraction.........

[Anonymous]

He had no feathertips to shudder in the breeze.

No talons to grip the branches thick beneath his posterior inferior.

No eyes to survey the wilderness, to take in the colorful prism of light and darkness.

No ears to register sound: chirruping birds, arguing squirrels.

Hardly a lung to inhale; Exhale.

Yet ...

How to say? He had nothing. Nothing a all. Yet all, within his grasp. But nobody had ever said anything about those organs, those sensories, being organic and real. Existence? Verified. But in such a sense that nobody could see nor hear nor smell nor touch them. No more fantasy than the rattle exhibited by those in their death throes: tangible; on the edge - a calling card between realism and the ether. Such was Leise - the peripheral line.

He roosted in the trees not too far from th walking couple. Black orbs watched them with a calm fortitude. Curiosity graced those long feahered lashes, for certainly he had rarely beheld the vision of love. There were stories spun to him by the Mimiteh Tribe's animals bowing out from their servitude as guidance offerers. Even his Bonded had her heart stolen: once in the centuries she lived in undeath. A fleeting romance, tighty-knit. The two were connected at the hip in more ways than one. But such a sealed bond ... It broke roughly, ending in tragedy. Once upon a time his Bonded dabbled in the pool of hearts. But as the lesson of her species' inevitable doom preached, such risks would only bleed the arteries. And thse arterial sprays, you know ... they were never easy to mend.

Six pints.

Needless to say, it had happened once, it had never happened again. Her Bonded: ice cold to the core; Devoting never again to leap into the wind with arms spread.

It was almost ... cute, watching these two plodding along now. The female stopped suddenly. The male bopped her in the back, accidentally. And it came to his abrupt attention that the fae of the duo watched the area intensely. Perhaps he had been sensed? Wings pressed tightly to the thick fluff of his bodice. He was invisible to the human senses: a ghost in every right. Would these two, by some manner, in some methodology ... find him?

[Anonymous]

The male had, quite literally, almost burried his nose in the female's butt.  Good thing her tail had brushed his cheek before that happened!  Ears back, he also looked about a bit, not sure what had triggered his mate's halt, but staying silent for now... both of them, in fact, silent and on all fours.  Female, not only not human in her senses, but highly trained in the use of them, to pick out the energies of living creatures.  And the other bits of ephemera tied to what lived.  Of course, the male had the same sensory abilities, only trained and focused on using the energies of life to explore what lay underground.  Not that he didn't also have other perceptual skills, just that his mate had a specialization more directly aimed towards the origins of chakra energy flow.  Even towards the echos left behind.  Some distortion in the chakra flow of the forest, just a small blip, had impinged on her senses, both alerting her and gaining her curiousity.  A persistant pattern echo....

Male moved close, lifted his left forelimb, and laid its hand on her shoulders.  Female's head turned, tilted.  Eyes, ears, expression... claws on right hand, trace of patterns in the dirt.  Male again, head down, eyes taken in by the patterns.  Then a nod from him, and two pairs of eyes looked towards this certain tree.........

Eight limbs moved them towards this tree, where the female touched several spots, laid her clawed fingers in a pattern on the bark.  Then... two pairs of eyes looked up, one pair saphire blue, the other, forest green...

...  "Well, what do you know... an owl!"

These words?  They came from the male, his voice strong and lightly accented... almost a Texas drawl, if you wiggled your ears hard enough.

The female still held her right hand to the tree, fingers pressed to specific points.  Using the tree's chakra to aid her and her mate's unique perceptions...

...  "Yes, My Love... a very handsome owl, indeed...."

This, from the female of the pair, soft and very elegant in tone.........

[Anonymous]

Now there was a predicament.

Leise had only been spotted a few times during his 'life' on Earth, in Deep Forest, and everywhere else. Always they were fleeting glances filled with an unlikely chance that had existed and went just as fast as it came to be. The only regulars who watched the bird with no strain to their orbits were Naira and the shaman Anubian, Sheikka ... the latter of which who'd met her demise in a terribly unfavorable fashion. A shame, too. Sheikka was an interesting Reaver. Donned with a skull helmet, fierce on the outside and tender soft with a childish, brash personality on the inside. Like the Nips candies Naira hoarded when the occasion arose. Hard caramel outside, with a soft cream filling.

Entirely missing the point, but nostalgic, nonetheless. Now with four pairs of eyes watching ... Leise was at a loss. There had been so few times when he'd been completely seen. And now was one of those rarities ... Perhaps they were Seers? Possessors of a strange, unidentifiable power? ESP? Or mayhaps their species carried this peculiar gene that enabled them to see what ought not to be spotted?

He toyed with curiosity. It was new and enjoyable to witness a phenomenon he could not provide the answer for.

Strange of you both to notice my presence. A calm voice. It was monotone, rising and falling here and there in subtle, almost unnoticeable mannerisms. A shimmer swiveled about black orbs. They blinked. How so? It is not usual for myself to be found by those beyond the bodies of my Bonded.

[Anonymous]

Male looked at female, female looked at male.  Both looked back towards the owl, and the male spoke...

...  "We're Nism," he said.

As if that explained everything.  Yet the female rolled her eyes, swept her tail's tuft up and lightly brushed the back of her mate's head...

...  "What My Love meant to say... our kind was long ago gifted by our Creators, one gift, the ability to see the unseen... the normally unseeable.  Your contact with this tree also helps."

She nodded towards her hand.  Then the male spoke again, as he placed his own hand in reflection over hers...

...  "My Sweetness also has other gifts......... *"

At that moment, his shroudruff moved of its own accord, a tiny snort and small sound of yawn, followed by a tiny, muffled voice...

...  "Dada!  Jus' five more min'ers, pleasy cheese?"

Apparently, all this talk had interrupted someone's nap...

...  "Pardon me for a moment..."

Male removed hand from female contact, stepped back from the tree, and sat carefully back on his haunches, head turned over his shoulder, ears slightly lowered...

...  "Sorry, Hun... didn't mean to wake you."

First one... and then another tiny arm slipped out from under his shroudruff, tiny little pawhands patting at his ribs.  Then a tiny muzzle poked out...

...  "I's a'not mind, Dada..."  Small yawn...  "I's a'wanna see...."

Male offered his hand.  Little claws... and little teeth... clamped one to hand and other to fingers.  A slight wince, and the male withdrew a ferret sized miniature of his mate.  No, not in coloration or markings or even eye color, but the tiny tufted tail, aswing as she dangled off the end of her father's outstretched arm, marked the very young small child as female.  Her father grinned...

...  "Fun to make... bit of a pain to raise...."

[Anonymous]

Leise was not one to withhold his queries. So it was natural when he perked at the mention of 'Nism'. He had heard that race before. In ... Deep Forest, was it not? The two young lovers? No wonder ... they had looked so familiar. Once upon a time he had spotted them whilst flying high above the treeline, scoping out campouts and dangers for his Bonded while she tended to other duties (at that point in time it had concerned making sure the White Wolf was in no danger ... though that idealization fell through, as Sheikka fell in need of aid at the same time, and Naira had to abandon one mission in favor for another, more dire, one).

Strange race, indeed, hooted the old Owl. Those black eyes - like the abyss - they stared right through the male and the female. How does the tree aid in you finding me? That was a good question. Did it pertain to chakra? Natural energies? How? What?

But the third voice broke the silence, and Leise suddenly found himself attracted to it because it was so young and raw and full of potential that could grow into ... anything. He was reminded vaguely of the little girl Naira claimed as her sister, though they had no match in blood at all. Nostalgic. those wide wings spread asunder and flapped. One mighty flap. That was all it took to send him airborne ... only to glide to ground level, just behind Deen ...

Landing; Graceful. Spun on those thick, lethal talons. Strange beak motioned, twitched. There was something gleeful in the way he looked at the child. She is adorable. And he meant it. How old?

[Anonymous]

Yes, the owl had asked a good question.  Unfortunately, "events" had delayed the answer.  Really, swept the need for an answer away, it seemed.  Male... father... sat back on haunches, daughter dangling and chewing, half grin, half wince on his face.  Female... mother... turning her head to follow the owl as he flew from the tree, her touch no longer necessary, now that her mate had touched her, giving both the frequency of preternatural energies they needed to see this particular spirit clearly, without the tree's help.  Their daughter?  Well, like most youngsters, she possessed this talent for seeing things that weren't there... really weren't there... so, seeing normally unseen spirits without effort wasn't all that unusual.  So...

... it wasn't all that unusual for her to respond, when this spirit owl flew off the tree and came closer, and landed just behind her father.

Male turned, looked over shoulder towards owl, tail swept out of way.  The little one?  Well, soon as the owl called her "adorable", she stopped chewing, pulled herself up onto her "dada's" arm, and wiggled as she tried to get a closer look at this "visitor".  Then, of course, his question.  Well, she couldn't stand it any more!  With a gleeful squeal of delight, she dropped from her father's arm, skittered around his feet, and sat up facing this new... person.  More wiggles...

...  "Birdy!  I's a'jussa turns'a onesies not a too longers ago's...."

She gave her father a grin, wiggled closer to the "birdy", cupped tiny pawhands to her muzzle, and whispered where his ear would be...

...  "I's a'gots cakers and icy creams an' ever'thing...."  A giggle...  "Ands Dada playered airyplanes riders withs me...."

Dada spoke up...

...  "Yes, I did, Hun... you even made it all the way without throwing up."

Mother by this time had slipped very close to her male, who had used his daughter's distraction to stand briefly, turn, and sit again, so he didn't have to twist his neck, just to watch.  So, two affectionate Nism, eyes on the child they'd made together.  Female, licking male on the cheek...

...  "Yeppers!  I's a'mades its alla ways!  Bits'a queasers in'a tummers, buts I's a'didn' spewsers th' party alla overs."  Little pawhands suddenly clasped in excitement...

...  "Birdy!  You's a'wanna... *"

The little one had swept her little tail's tuft around to pat her new friend on the back, but...

... her tail had passed right through!  Little pawhands cupped her muzzle in childish awkwardness...

...  "Oopsies!"

[Anonymous]

... not too longers ago's ...

How ... terrifyingly adorable. Leise stared on at the child, unable to shake the feeling he got when falling upon Naira when she was just an ickle thing barely able to speak, or the Ethernian girl who always seemed to be smiling unless the occasion was more dire than usual. So ... cute. The words were formed poorly, yes, with horrible mispronunciations. But this one was barely a year old. For a child that young ... creating any sentence that made sense was thought of as something as a miracle: human babies couldn't form coherent, understandably phrases until they were nearly two! A definite improvement in race. Whatever these beasts were ... Nism, were they not? Intelligence was their forté.

'Little One' gave her father a look and wiggled closer to Leise's feathery, incorporeal form. She was whispering to him. Or trying to. Even though there was no real 'ear' where the child's mouth made contact, the owl could hear her speech plainly ... and it made him smile on the inside.

You just turned one then. An odd pruum cooked its way into Leise's throat, warbling through a partially opened beak. Happy birthday, Little One. He was excited, don't get him wrong. But Leise was a very ... monotone character. It took great efforts to get him to laugh, or cry, or anything else. A display of emotion was unwarranted from the Spirit Guide, available only to those who could interpret meanings from the context of his words ... humor, anger, and so forth.

So he was happy for the kid.

But he had so little experience in actually displaying emotion through verbalization ... He scarcely knew how.

The kid made to mention something. Offer an event? Or ... what? She went to pat him on the feathered back and sounded a little awkward when the attempt failed miserably. Leise hopped to the left a little. He extended a wing and stared on at it with a look mirroring dismay. Ah. I'm not solid. Haven't quite figured out how to pull that off ... Physical one moment, holographic the next. Head bobbed. Feathers bristled in a teasing way. Sorry, Little One.

[Anonymous]

The Little One had indeed been about to offer something.  What?  Well, what do young children usually want to do?  Play, of course!  But... part of the fun was being able to touch each other, to interact... to chase, to tag, to toss things to and have them tossed back for catching, amongst other games.  How could Birdy play, if he couldn't touch or be touched?  This was the problem.  Indeed, this Little One... she'd had a very happy birthday, not too long ago.  And this being asked her age had brought out that happiness, a thing she'd wanted to share with her new friend, Birdy.  So...

... how to do that?

Meanwhile.........

Mother had not only licked her male's cheek, she'd slipped one clawed hand under his shroudruff, the other touched to her own belly.  Both the touch to her mate and the touch to herself were natural actions... so too the male Nism's reaction... that little flash of movement and color, down below.  Fortunately brief, since the season was past, yet not unnoticed.  At least by the female Nism.  Yes, hand under his shroudruff, hand to her own belly, she didn't have to look down from her affectionate grooming efforts, to know how they were affecting her male.  Perhaps her hand on belly would even draw attention to that part of her anatomy, to the slight yet evident bulge not in keeping with her sleek form.  Perhaps...

... but the happy birthday girl had a problem to solve, to help her friend.  So, her eyes turned up to her father, wiggle subdued and inquisitive, those bright eyes of hers puppydog wide after her new friend's appology...

...  "Dada... Birdy's broke.  Canna you's a'fix him...?"

Her father, for the briefest second distracted, suddenly looked down at his daughter, sheepish grin on face while one eyebrow raised...

...  "I don't know, Hun...."

Her mother's tail swept around, tuft enveloping daughter in warmth and comfort...

...  "My sweet little Honalee, Birdy is a Spirit person... he is what he is."  A smile, gentle and soft...  "I would not wish to risk hurting him."

Indeed, though this female Nism had the knowledge, her skills had been trained towards the living world... towards the medical field, the biological, not the spiritual aspects.  Even though she'd been able to sense and tune in to the spiritual realm, that was the extent of her skills in that area.........

[Anonymous]

Hurt?

Such a peculiar notion. Hurt ... Could the owl be harmed? At all? Even his spirit - was it capable of being touched in the slightest? Maybe tweaked, perhaps. But you could not destroy what was not there to begin with. Leise may be a spirit .. a ghost with wings of ethereal nature. But he did not originate from a biological form. He belonged to no god, no land, no realm. He was simply ... there like a sudden afternoon breeze or the gleam of the morning sun peaking over the horizon: a refreshing aura of something different.

But he really did need to get back into the motions. When he was with Naira, still in her childhood, they had played games ... The touch of 'parenting' and 'guiding' was lost to him after her 'death' and rebirth into a Soul Reaver - cold and calculating, loss of all innocence ... He couldn't blame her for what she had become, really. So many things had happened to inflict harm to the girl's personality, her views, her heart. But ...

Maybe now ... Naira was still out there. Maybe now Naira was learning. Maybe now Leise would begin his own path of 'education'.

And so his wings fluttered. The large bird lifted himself off the ground with a powerful thrust of both of them. He spun to face Thoee and Deen, head cocked on an angle so sharp that his cervical spine would snap if he were a pelican or sparrow. There isn't much to harm me, miss. Not here. Not now. Not ever. But the process of my learning to exist in corporeal form is going to be a slow one indeed. With time I will master it. Until then ...

Leise turned. Ghostly face watched: pallow feather shifted; obsidian eyes glowed ...

I have a game. This came suddenly, with a whoosh of nostalgia and effort. It took him a long while to pry the memory from his aged mind. I used to play it with my Bonded before she became older, undead, Soul Reaver, and half-dragon. Would you like to try?

[Anonymous]

Ghost of a once-living owl or not, even a sudden afternoon breeze or gleam of morning sun over the horizon could be spoiled by outside forces.  Breeze, blown away by a burning wind... morning sun, blotted out by a firey haze of scattered dust.  Something different, twisted out of shape.  Image in a mirror, opposite of the real thing.........

Yes, Thoee had reasons for concern, other than a lack of skill for such spiritual things.  And Deen had even more reason not to get involved in the notion of "repair" for such a being.  Let nature take its course.  Nature... yesss...

... one hand moved to join the one hand his mate held to her belly.  Thoee?  She nodded towards Birdy, in response to his words.  Honalee?  She simply stared in rapt attention, as Birdy flew up and twisted his head at what looked a painful angle... her little eyes, filled with facination, little mouth hanging open, as if ready to say something.  I have a game... those had been the words she'd heard!  But...

Mother and father... female and male... Thoee and Deen... glanced at each other, eyes a bit wide at Birdy's description of his Bonded... even Honalee remembered...

...  "I's a'member!  We's playered tags togethers, nots a'too longers ago!"  In fact, a few weeks, if even that, before her first birthday, that's all it had been.

Then....

A twitch from Thoee, eyes widened, sudden euphoric smile on her face.  Deen, a bit startled, big grin.  His hand lifted her hand aside, head dropped into her lap as he shifted from haunches to knees, ear to his mate's belly... listening.

Honalee...?

Well, she rolled her eyes, then piped up...

...  "They's a doose thats ever so's oftens...."  If not for her age, anyone hearing her might have thought they'd heard the implications... the smirk...

...  "You's a'haves a gamers in mind...?"

Ahhh, to be so young and precocious!

[Anonymous]

Tag?

Now that ... that roused something keen and oriented to his senses. Leise stood a little straighter. Any more erect and the etehereal spine would have snapped out fo discomfort (without ending the peculiar bird's life ... tha would be virtually impossible). Tag ... with his Bonded? How long ago had this been? Many years? A month? Before Ethernos, or after? Time held all the answers. It always did. So he appeared to hold his breath. Yes, excitement lingered in ever orifice, every crack ... Those hollowed eyes picked up a certain gleam. Feathers twittered. Talons clenched. He was happy - ecstatic ... Yet a dread-strong bile rose the ebony beak and curdled there.

One could be the other.
A funnily developed hume, thought to be another based on resemblance ...
A ghost, straggling on a faint breeze from a long-forgotten grave, only to vanish within a moment's notice.

Leise had seen it all. His share of ups were marred by downs. Hope was something to be treated with a grain of salt. It could be real but it could just as easily be false. And therein ... was unease.

Leise did not hesitate upon his conclusion while staring at the couple, now listening and feeling a slightly protruding female belly. The signs were obvious. A child was on the way. It would be their second ... And just as soon as Leise began to open his beak, a pressing question ready to burst forth ... the little child queried about the game, and the owl found himself distracted by the need to amuse a creature so little.

Yes, responded the avian, and his wings stretched momentarily so that he may regain his balance. A game of sight, and sound ... I will make a noise. Or cast a shadow. Can you guess what it could be? Creatures from the past and present, I hold no qualms over time, little one. Nameless indeed. He had no idea what names these beings had ...

And just like that, Leise lifted his head. It cocked at an angle. Beak opened. Deep breath ... then ...

Krrhrrr! It was deep, bellowing. A thick, trumpeting noise ... as if it had come from a very large animal. Mammal. With a trunk.

[Anonymous]

Little Honalee, for all her young age, had never in her life been sheltered from the facts of life.  Birth, growth, death... whatever she encountered, she learned from.  Either she discovered things in private or popped up in the wrong place at the wrong time, as children are wont to do... whether she asked questions of her parents, or not... well, she knew things most one-plus year olds usually didn't have the capacity to understand.  She knew where babies came from.  She knew what meat was.  She knew... well, she knew stuff.  But she'd never lost her innocence, her childish delight in games, her verve for life.  Never lost that sense of wonder, of all things new and bright.  No shadows could keep her from being a child, ever!  No lasting sadnesses, no fears, no worries for the future.  Or even the present.  Her spirit, innocent and pure.  Perhaps, someday, when she grew up, these things would leave their marks.  Perhaps not?

Her own parents, themselves free of spirit, though life and knowledge weighed on their minds...

... lightly.

Indeed, nothing could forever weigh down a Nism, child or adult.  Their Creators had seen to that!  All that Life gave, good or bad, a Nism accepted as part of life.  Yes... Life!  The greatest gift ever gifted upon the Universe, in all ways to be cherished.........

But little Honalee?

After her eyes rolled and her question came out, she turned still and quiet, little eyes wide with wonder and suspense at this game.  Birdie...

... he told her what the game was, and how to play it.  Her tail's tuft twitched back and forth.  And as he sounded out the game-noise, her little butt started to wiggle.  Little pawhands clapped to little muzzle...

...  "Ooooo!  Thas'a ello'phanters!"

Meanwhile.........

Honalee's parents?  Well, Deen had removed his head from Thoee's lap, brushed dirt off his knees, given his mate a hug and a cheek-lick, then settled back on his haunches by her side, to snuggle.  And to watch their daughter at play.  Thoee?  Yes, she also watched, euphoric smile still on her face.........

[Anonymous]

Ello'phanters.

That was one rather adorable way to go about saying it. It took a great deal for the owl not to laugh. And even if he'd wanted to ... Well, it wasn't impossible, but it was unusual for a being such as himself. Leise knew nothing of human emotion or compassion. He could understand it, yes. Recognize it, always. But to feel ... and express ... and partake ... Strange things to feel and exchange, for a ghost.

But the glee? That was not unusual. Back with his Bonded, Leise recognized a child's need for approval and love, and compromised with it. Little praises, childish games - it was all normal to him because it was desired, and he kind of melded into the routine without even realizing what was going on. Now stirred those familiar emotions. Caring for a child in his own way. Somewhat.

Seeing Honalee's success, Leise changed his pace. The shadow now elongated. A long, long neck stretched out with two tiny antennae at the top. An equally large body, but lean ... A strange noise emanated from Leise's throat. When he was done, the owl turned to Honalee, but maintained the shadow ...

This is a creature from Earth's old Africa. Leaf-eaters.

[Anonymous]

Unlike Birdie, little Honalee knew everything about emotions... well, nearly everything.  Best of all, she knew how to feel them and express them in wild abandon.  Sniffles, over a dead caterpillar or torn leaf.  Love for her parents.  Delight.  Happiness.  Wide-eyed, jaw-dropped facination aimed at things new and wonderous.  Pleasure, pain... the taste of warm milk, the prick of a thorn.  Oh... and curiousity.  Insatiable curiousity.........

Little pawhands reached out to pat the shadow, as little ears heard that odd sound.  She'd never heard that sound before, but the shadow looked familiar.  Of course, her efforts to touch the shadow didn't work.  She only touched ground, and got a bit of dirt on her fingers.  A wipe of fingers on belly fur, as she puzzled...

...  "You's a'sure its'a from Affica?  Lookers likes a... a Kib... a Kibble... Kibby...."  A turn to look over her shoulder, first at father, then at mother, then back to father...  "I's a canna rememberers... thats'a funner looker onna Pinga?"

Father looked to mother, mother back to father...

...  "Little One, I believe you mean the Kibatsi-toba...?"

Her mother's answer, though her mother's voice made it a return question...

...  "Yes yessum!  Thats'a whats I's a'thinkerings!"  Little grin, as she turned back to Birdie...  "But I's a'knowsers it's a'not."

Little tongue stuck firmly in little cheek, parents not telling, she puzzled and puzzled, for at least several seconds, tail clenched in little pawhands, ears twitchy...

...  "It's a'from Affica... Affica... ooo... issat a'raffer...?"

Not sure, little eyes aimed puppydog at Birdie, while she nibbled at her tuft.........

[Anonymous]

Kibatsi-toba? Pinger?

The owl looked back and forth from parent to daughter. Such funny words emitted from the young one's maw indicated species of some other sort ... things that Leise knew not of. Were they alien form, creatures from other worlds that were common to the Nisms but unpopular here on Earth? There was no way for him to know. Only guess. And throwing a glance towards Thoee and Deen, his eyes, black as coal, presented themselves in such an inquisitive way ... perhaps they would pick up on and answer what bothered him. Until then ...

"It's a'from Affica ... Affica ... ooo ... issat a'raffer ... ?"

Too adorable ... Leise could not help himself. Turning around so that his feathered back faced Honalee, the massive head did a 360, the infamous gesture of an owl's abilities. And to top it off, the cranium tilted ... somehow.

Perhaps. He was teasing her. Teasing! Maybe ... But I'll tell you the answer ... if you could tell me what a Kibatsi-toba is? Undead, spirit, or not, he was still curious.

[Anonymous]

Little Honalee stared at Birdie's little trick, tail's nibbled tuft let loose.  Fascination in her eyes.  Little pawhands cupped to muzzle.  Birdie's words tickling her mind's ears.  So she didn't exclaim or ask the question "How you do that?"... no, she simply considered his words very fast, little thoughts racing hither and yon...

...  "They's a..."  Little mouth hung open for a few seconds of pondering the right words...  "They's a'biiiiig funsie lookin' critterers, likes a'raffers, buts they's a'gots flat muzzlers..."  Here, she stood up on her hinds and pranced a bit...  "... ands they's a'walkers likes this...."

Honalee's father tilted his head and grinned towards Birdie...

...  "One thing about them...."

He gave his mate an affectionate nuzzle, then stood and posed in all his birthday-suited glory, polishing his claws against his chestfur...

...  "They don't dress as snazzy as I do."

His shroudruff... ruffled a bit in display.

Honalee giggled...

...  "Yessum, dada... and they's a'smells funny, they's a'do!"  She capped her nostrils with a pawhand and made a scrunchy-face in demonstration.

Honalee's mother?

A sigh, her still a bit high from her unborn's kick.  A roll of eyes, a wave of tuft towards her mate...

...  "My Love...?"

... a wave of tuft, and her hand gripped his tail... gave it a playful yank...

...  "Behave now... the Kibatsi-toba always treat their guests well, even if they come uninvited."

Father rubbed at his backside, tongue licking at his snout, ears back in a put-upon expression, but humor evident in his eyes...

...  "Yes, they do... even if they are a bit snooty about it, they do make very good wine........."