Blackbird Singing in the Dead of Night [ OPEN ]

[just-daine.livejournal.com]

WHO: just_daine and Costumed Folks
WHERE: All over!
WHEN: All day and night
WARNINGS: Possible violence?
SUMMARY: DAINE STALKS SUPERHEROES IN BIRD FORM
FORMAT: Starting as prose, but switching to action is acceptable

Daine had always known that hunting was the best way to get food when one was in want of a job, as she was. She dared not spend the stipend given her for a position she had yet to fully understand, much less accept. In a city like this one, though, there wasn't much game to be found. Her best bet was to change and take whatever she could get in the way of seeds, scraps, and maybe even some bugs if she got really desperate.

That was how she found out about the 'capes'. The rats who had introduced her to the city hadn't told her about the costumed superheroes running around night and day. To them, all humans wore funny cloth that would serve them better as bedding or maybe as something shiny to add to their home. These costumes were entirely different, and they deserved an explanation.

Unfortunately for Daine, her clothes didn't change with her when she became a bird and took to the skies. She had left them in the little room given her by the people who brought her here. There was simply no choice. If she wanted an explanation, she would have to do as Numair had once suggested: observe.

[ooc | Start a thread with a time and place and I'll give you a type of fowl to be stalked by! If you aren't wearing a silly costume, feel free to improvise or use animal-related superpowers on her! ]

Comments

ONE DAY I HATE PICKING A DAY....... nighttime.

[onblackwings]

[ She's always at her laziest when she's just eaten. And Khisanth has most definitely just eaten. She suspects that the couple she'd picked had been a... what are they called here, "hookers"? Yes, that. A hooker and her customer. It had been a very nice car that she'd plucked the two of them out of, aided not a little by the fact that it'd been missing a roof. What a silly design to give a car. It's like these people had no reason at all to fear attacks from above.

Well, it was their loss and Khisanth's gain. She's currently looped lazily about the edge of one of the run down buildings in this sector of town, lazily eying the abandoned car. She could claim it for herself. She'd heard the keys jingling in the man's pocket as she'd plucked all that tasteless processed cotton from his body.

Mmm, but not yet. She's got a full stomach and a sleepy disposition. She'll think about the spoils of the victory... later. ]

THERE DOESN'T NEED TO BE A DAY IT'S ALRIGHT

[just-daine.livejournal.com]

[ Daine's immediately distracted by the sight of a dragon in the city. Surely it hadn't been brought here by force... maybe this was her ticket home! Certainly the immortal would be concerned about the young Kitten left home and the promise Daine had made the baby dragon's mother. She didn't need her clothes, not if she was going home! It would be so easy for a dragon to take a relatively small barn owl with it through the Divine Realm and back to her world.

She struggled in her excitement to find a perch appropriately within the dragon's range of view, but when she did she wasted no time. ]

< Excuse me? Hello! >

[ooc | < Words in brackets are in the language of animals, but also psychic. > ]

[onblackwings]

[ Her eyes snap open at the sound of a voice-- both in her head and in her ears. It takes bright orange eyes a second or two to locate the source, but they narrow suspiciously when they do. It's either a very foolish owl, or... well. It could be an Import, as she hasn't seen any natural sentient animals yet.

A very foolish Import, then. She lifts her head from her front feet, makes a show of a lazy, toothy yawn, and peers at the creature. ]

Your timing is good. Anyone that approaches me before dinner doesn't tend to survive.

[just-daine.livejournal.com]

[ Daine puffed up her feathers instinctively, her excitement tempered by fear. But now wasn't a time to be afraid, now was a time to be confident and bold. ]

< I'm sorry to interrupt your rest, but I was wondering if you might be able to help me find my way home. You see, I made a promise to another dragon before she died that I would take care of her baby, and now little Kitten is all alone, and I know it's terribly selfish of me when I'm sure you have a dozen other things to worry about but there it is. >

[ If owls could blush, she would be bright red. ]

[onblackwings]

[ Well, at least its tone is respectful enough. It may actually live through this encounter, then. Khisanth shifts to watch the owl a little more closely, the tip of her tail flicking thoughtfully. The whole other dragon and baby story isn't scoring any points with her (what does she care about some hatchling?), but... ]

Can I assume that you're an Import, and by "home" you mean your home plane?

[just-daine.livejournal.com]

[ And more ruffling, because she just realized how rude she was being. ]

< Oh, yes! I'm so sorry, I started gabbing away and forgot to introduce myself. My name is Daine. I need to get back to Tortall, if it isn't too much trouble. >

[onblackwings]

[ Daine. She recognizes that name. Suddenly her attention is a little sharper, because Daine had certainly not been an owl last time Khisanth had seen her. The only answer to that she can think of is that the girl is a shapechanger. And the only way Khisanth knows of to shapechange was taught to her by a now-dead species. Despite not recognizing the name of her desired destination, she can't help but feel a spark of hope. ]

Daine. [ A thoughtful noise, low and rumbling. ] Were you taught qhen, Daine?

[just-daine.livejournal.com]

[ She shakes her little owl head, a very human gesture for nocturnal fowl. ]

< I'm sorry, I don't know what that is. >

[onblackwings]

[ From what she's seen already, she doubts the girl is capable of lying. Or at least, of telling a convincing lie. So she'll believe that, even if it means disappointment.

It would have been too much to hope for, anyway. ]

But you are a shapechanger?

late night...around midnight?

[xuffasch]

Damian was, if nothing else, a creature of habit. He liked routine, so even after arriving in a new city a few months ago he had been quick to establish a pattern. And so, on nights when he patrolled on his own, he often found himself on a low-roofed building overlooking the city’s largest museum. That was where he was tonight, crouched over the edge, eyes trained on the main alleyways and entrances around it. It was pretty stupid, he surmised, for criminals to keep targeting a location that was constantly protected. But it mattered little to him; it gave him more of an opportunity for human punching-bags.

[just-daine.livejournal.com]

The barn owl simply watched, perched as she was on the roof of a nearby building. The boy was just sitting there, but he was wearing a mask and even a cloak, as though he were going to some strange party. And since when did humans wander around on rooftops anyway? It was hard to resist getting closer, but her owl instincts warned her away from the potential threat to her food source.

[xuffasch]

Damian doesn't tend to notice wildlife unless it's doing something out of the ordinary, so he continues his stakeout without much deviation. It's only when he notices a scuffle occurring on the street below that he makes a move. His jaw clenches, and he's on his feet and shooting out a jump line within a matter of moments, swooping down in between a ring of muggers and their intended victims.

[just-daine.livejournal.com]

She nearly jumped out of her skin when he leapt off the roof like that, and quickly darted after him. He was fast for a creature that wasn't made to fly through the air. And what was he doing jumping into the middle of a fight like that? Wasn't that what the Provost's Guard - or rather, the police, she corrected herself - were for?

She found a new perch on a nearby lamp post, but if he was planning on jumping around all night perhaps she would have been better off as a nighthawk.

[xuffasch]

The fight doesn't last long. Even three against one, the level of a common crook is nothing for a Robin. Damian ends up behind one, twists his arm behind his back, and then uses him as a bulldozer on the other. Within a few minutes, the three are tied up and sitting back-to-back in the alleyway, while Damian looks coldly at the people he's rescued.

"You were supposed to have run about three minutes ago." This sends them scurrying away, while Damian rolls his eyes in a manner so exaggerated its visible even beneath the mask.

[just-daine.livejournal.com]

Daine was in awe. Clearly this must be what they meant when they said the city called for heroes. She couldn't help herself, she wanted a closer look.

Gliding into an alley to change once more, inspiration hit Daine. He may have been jumping around on rooftops, but he was only human. That meant he was confined by gravity. Maybe she would be less conspicuous if she followed him around as a cat.

Not long later a young black cat slinked out of the alley, sniffing the air to catch the boy's scent through a different nose.

[xuffasch]

Damian was brushing off his hands, not even pausing for breath before pulling out a small device and examining it carefully. The screen told him there were at least four other crimes occurring in his near vicinity; the quickest was a robbery two streets away. He was just preparing to head that way when he caught the cat's motion out of the corner of his eye.

He looked down at it, and his lips twitched upwards in a smile for the briefest second. Then he was off, running out onto the main street and towards the robbery.

[just-daine.livejournal.com]

She was about to mewl at him in the hopes that he might pause and give her a chance to take a closer look at his clothes, but then he was off again. She gave chase, ignoring all of the interesting smells her sharp nose alerted her to. There were interesting sounds as well, despite the late hour. It seemed to Daine's keen ears that they were getting closer to the sounds. She wondered if this what was heroes normally did: look for fights in the middle of the night while everyone else was sleeping.

Late Afternoon

[ohnoyousquidnt.livejournal.com]

[Feferi can be wandering around Chinatown, peering anxiously at a few turtles in a case that looked like they were clawing to get out. It seems prodding at them thoughtfully with her culling fork wasn't very comforting-- to the turtles, or to the annoyed restaurant owners that stocked them.]

Hmm, there's got to be a better way...

[just-daine.livejournal.com]

[ Daine the sparrow stops on a nearby streetlamp to get a better look at the grey-skinned girl with horns and... were those gills? Maybe she was some sort of animal... ]

< Why are they keeping those turtles in that small glass box? >

[ooc | < We speak the tongue of the animals~ > ]

[ohnoyousquidnt.livejournal.com]

[ooc: Fef can only understand aquatic animals. She also looks human at the moment . ]

[just-daine.livejournal.com]

[ When she doesn't get a response, Daine tries the turtles, who inform her that they have no clue why they're in a glass box and they would really rather like to leave. She assures them that she'll come back for them soon and they stop pawing at the case.

In the mean time, she also learns that there are a lot of strange human-like things that come to poke at their cage, and they don't see what makes the horned-fish-human so special.

Daine determines to follow her. ]

Thanks! :D

[ohnoyousquidnt.livejournal.com]

[Feferi, who has just been talking to the shopkeeper, walks over, and takes a case of turtles, after the exchange of money]

I know they said it wasn't for a pet, but I'd like to be friends! It'll be EXCITING!

[She starts off towards the subway]

I can't wait for you to meet the others!

[just-daine.livejournal.com]

[ The turtles start panicking again, but Daine tries to calm them, reassuring them that surely this gilled human will free them.

Also a sparrow is following you into the subway, despite all dangers. What is fast moving vehicles :| ]

/latest ever.....

[ohnoyousquidnt.livejournal.com]

[Well, that's new! There seems to be a bird somewhere, if Feferi's auricular sponge clots are functioning correctly!]

Must be raining soon, huh? That's great weather to swim up to the surface, yknow!

eh, I'm on hiatus anyway <3

[just-daine.livejournal.com]

[ OH GOD THIS WAS A HORRIBLE PLAN THERE ARE PEOPLE EVERYWHERE AND NOT ENOUGH ROOM but she must follow those turtles. She promised them they'd be free. Although since the gilled girl mentioned swimming, perhaps she was planning to release them into a nearby pond? ]