Questing

[Nibble]

Funny, how fast he’d become adjusted to this new life. Funny how quickly his days of walking the tightrope of survival, fighting for enough to eat each day and to keep himself alive, were fading. There was more to life, he’d realized quickly on becoming aware, and he’d gone at once to find out just how much more.

He’d felt an odd kind of beckoning sensation, somehow more compelling than the scents of food had ever been, and he’d followed it because he had hoped he might find an answer to his question. His question! What a concept! To know that there were questions to be asked and answers to be found! Nibble had never once reconsidered his choice to turn his back on his old, boring life.

The blackened forest had loomed ahead the day before, before darkness had settled in, and Nibble had hauled himself up a crooked tree to get a better look around. He’d spotted a boulder and had sheltered there, scratching a shallow hole beneath the great stone for protection before resting through the night: sleeping now and then in quick naps and spending the rest waiting for the next day to dawn and listening for anything that might prove a threat. Come morning, he’d eaten as he’d gone onward.

Now, ash mixed with soil beneath his feet and the lingering smell of burnt wood drowned out everything else. He’d kept to the edge, for the most part; there wasn’t likely to be anything to eat in the center of all of this and he knew he couldn’t travel that fast. He still needed to know why though- what had prompted him to come here?

Sitting beneath a bush that offered shade and protection, Nibble licked his paws clean and pondered his next move.

[Viti]

VITI

Upon reaching consciousness, Viti found himself standing at the edge of the most horrific sight he had seen. There was darkness and death as far as his eyes could see, a heavy silence hanging in the tainted air, weighing the bird down like a wet cloak and the stench- oh lord the stench!

“This is..." The crane gags out his first words, looking like he was having difficulties processing what he was seeing. “This is...this is-” More words, each clearer than the last. “This is outrageous!” Viti screams while flapping with his wings out of pure anger. Who dares to make this be the first thing he saw during such an important moment? The gall!

There he was, having his first thought ever, the ability to speak- and yet he couldn’t enjoy any of it, because of the damned mess in front of him! If the creators wanted to be humorous, then they had failed. Viti wasn’t laughing, quite the opposite. He felt angry and offended, if looks could kill, the crane’s cold glare would have caused the dark lands to fall apart this instant.

Another unholy sounding screech later, Viti had calmed down just enough to fold down his wings, but only just. He was on a foul mood and it wouldn’t improve, unless the scenery changed. “I need to get away from this place, before the stench sticks to my feathers- ugh!” He begins to casually trot...somewhere, Viti had no idea where, but anywhere else MUST have been better than here...wherever here was.

@Nibble

[Nibble]

Nibble’s grooming was interrupted by the shriek of outrage, and his little jump of instinctive fear triggered a bolt of annoyance. He whipped around and peered at the twig-legged bird from the shelter of his bush, a contemptuous sniff at the bird’s fury making it clear what he thought of it. What good was it, getting angry at the landscape? It wasn’t going to change just to please him.

“Making all that noise isn’t going to get you anywhere!” He screeched the words as loudly as he could, edging forward just enough to allow the bird a chance to spot him, if he looked carefully enough: a tiny spot of darkness extending just past the protective shadows of the sheltering branches. “So what good is it? Go away and make noise somewhere else if you want to that badly!” He was a bird; he could just put those wings to use and fly away rather than wasting time fussing.

[Viti]

VITI

A strange noise made the crane stop on his tracks, confused he looked around, trying to locate the source. It took ridiculously long for him to spot the rat and when he finally did, it almost caused his heart to stop.

Screeching Viti flaps his wings, giving him enough lift to hop backwards with ease, away from the black blob. The ground was speaking!!

…Wait, no? Squinting his eyes, the crane approaches the black blob and bends down his neck in order to take a better look at it. "A rat?" The longer he looked at it, the more rat like it seemed. It was a rat. Correction- He was a rat.

"Good grief…!" Viti groans and felt like an idiot for freaking out over nothing. But what was it that the rat said earlier? Something about his screaming, ah yes! "Screaming my lungs out might get me nowhere, but it sure made me feel slightly better about this situation." The crane replies dryly.

"I would absolutely love to leave this place, but quite frankly I have no idea where to. This god forsaken place is the first thing I got to see." Viti shot another deadly look at the black scenery, before his features softened. Oddly enough, he didn't seem to be too upset about the rat. "Ugh- this is SO not a place for someone like myself, what's the deal with it anyway? It looks so unwelcoming and hostile, I can't imagine anyone living here.

Pale golden eyes then move down to stare at the rat. "....Don't tell me you actually live here.

[Nibble]

More screaming- this time at him. Was he that scary, really? Part of him hoped so, but the side that was common sense told Nibble that he was probably just startled at the realization that there was another creature here. He didn’t move from his spot, still favoring the protection of his shelter, but he was no less curious as he stared up at the tall bird.

“Oh, yeah?” he asked, briefly considering the idea. “Screaming to make yourself feel better. Maybe I’ll have to try that sometime. I’m pretty sure my screaming isn’t nearly as impressive as yours, but if it does what we intend, that’s what counts, eh?”

He could understand being lost. It was a big world, especially to the newly awakened. “The hostility is it! Think about it!” he urged, and eased forward a half-inch, his gaze flickering away from the black-and-white crane. “If you can make it here, in this awful place, you can make it anywhere!”

Was- was that why? He hadn’t really thought it through with such clarity until he’d spoken, but the words had come so easily it was like they’d been in his mind the whole time, just waiting to be spoken. But that reason could have been what tugged his paws here. Still, he wasn’t all that sure about his own ability to survive here: there was nothing to eat, no good water to drink, and though there was shelter here and there, it just… wasn’t quite the home he envisioned.

“No. I’m just passing through. There must be better places to settle. The smell alone is vile enough to drive off anyone with a working nose. It was dark when I came here last night, and I sheltered until I could go on. What about you? What’s your idea of decent territory?”

[Viti]

VITI

Oh? What was this? Was the rat complimenting him? Aw, stop you! Flattery would get him nowhere. Truth to be told Viti would love to be flattered till he dropped dead, I mean- it would be odd not to do that after hearing his beautiful voice! Even if it was just an ugly scream…

Looking mighty pleased, Viti spent a moment with his delusional thoughts, until the rat spoke more with that small voice of his. The things he said caught the crane by surprise, never had he expected to be cheered up by a little critter like this. Was the rat doing it on purpose? Ah, no matter. "My, my, what inspiring words! I wonder if you could make me like this disgusting place."

"An ideal place to live? That would be a green valley with good places to fish, doesn't matter if the climate is more on the cold side, I deal with the cold better than the hot." Viti hums happily, sceneries of such places coming back to his mind. That was from his previous life though, did such places exist in this world as well?

With a small sigh, the tall bird bends down his neck in order to make eye contact with the rat. "I suppose that you are looking for a place with good covers then? Well, there are some here and indeed, the look of this area would keep most away..." If only there was means to survive here, then it would be a perfect place to lay low.

"...I wonder if the air would be easier to breath higher above." Viti was speaking out his thoughts now, pale yellow eyes locked at the skies above them. Was he seriously thinking about taking flight in order to see if he could find something good around this cursed place?

Shaking his head, the crane looks back down and snorts. "No, that can't be a good idea…" He mumbles, hoping that the rat didn't hear him.

[Nibble]

Nibble was sort of torn. It really wasn’t the best place to live, with the constant stench and the fact that there wasn’t a lot to eat and almost nothing to drink- he was pretty sure that stinking pool would kill him as surely as any predator if he tried to drink it- and yet the place had charm. A certain dark appeal. Who would settle here if they had a choice? Wouldn’t he be safer here than in a place others would flock to?

His tapered head tipped, ears flicking upright as the bird described his own ideal home, which sounded like what any sane creature would imagine: a place that had everything they could possibly need for food, water, security… was it so weird that Nibble wasn’t keen on such? He wanted a challenge, not an easy, peaceful existence. Though he hadn’t realized it so clearly before, it was what he had lived every day since his birth, and it was still what he wanted. Food and water, yes, but also the struggle that made him feel like such things were the reward he deserved for surviving.

“Cover would be good, yes. And lots of hiding places I could get to easily.” There had been plenty where he’d grown up, a place that had worked for generation upon generation of rats. After all, while he was ready for challenge, having no cover would quickly be the end of him; he simply didn’t have the speed to outrun those who would look on him as prey without them. “I wonder if I could settle close by? Not really here, I don’t think it’s good for anyone because there’s nothing to eat, but it has to be good for something, right?”

Still cautious, but willing to take a chance- after all, the bird knew he was here and the pitiful shelter of the bush wouldn’t save Nibble if he had any intentions about eating him- the rat edged further out from its cover, sitting back on his haunches and peering at the tall bird critically. “I’m Nibble. I think I’ve only been here- a day or two? Maybe three.” Time was still a strange thing to him, and he hadn’t bothered to keep track, not when other things were more important. “Who are you?”

[Viti]

VITI

What did he want for his life? Viti was still trying to figure that out. Before he had been content to just live now he started to wish for something more, otherwise he would surely go mad. Boredom was a fairly new concept, but after experiencing it Viti would come to hate it. Slowly the rat emerged from his hiding spot and Viti got to see their velvety black coat. It would be difficult to spot them in the dark, the crane thought to himself while listening to Nibbles speak. Once he had finished, the crane was left pondering his own name.

Never had he been called something specific before, it was quite difficult to come up with something on the spot. Luckily the scenery he had described to Nibbles earlier came back to his mind. The white of the snowy mountain peaks, the cold- Clearing his throat the crane seemed ready to properly introduce himself. "My name is Viti, it's a pleasure to meet you Nibbles." He seemed pleased with himself, it felt good to have something to identify himself with.

Viti felt like he wasn't the type to offer his help just like that, but Nibbles had been pleasant this whole time and even managed to cheer him up, so he would make an exception this time. Standing tall with his neck stretched out upwards the bird scanned their surroundings. A river was flowing not too far away and towards the opposite direction he could see some vegetation.

"Settling down next to a river sounds more fitting for a bird like myself, but heading towards the greener area over there might reveal more promising nest locations. Erm, to my shame I must admit, that I have no idea what kind of nests your kind prefer, perhaps you could educate me on that matter while we walk?"

[Viti]

As the crane was walking forward, he failed to realize that the rat hadn’t followed after him. When he did it was already too late, turning around Viti did his best to spot the black critter but couldn’t see anything resembling him. Where on earth had they gone?

It seemed like he had lost the rat for good and waiting around was pointless, or at least Viti didn’t see anything appealing in standing still doing nothing when he could be out there exploring these lands. Without further thought the tall bird opens his wings and uses the open area to take flight, flapping his wings at a steady pace as he gains altitude. Soon he would just ride the wind and allow them to carry him towards new adventures.

Whatever they might be.

~EXIT VITI~