All the Little Songbirds, All the Silent Trees

Ljungtroll · 2022-10-06T02:24:55Z

https://i.postimg.cc/76vD96DW/town.jpg @Shady Beck the Thrush had always preferred autumn to any of the other seasons. It was the season when the entire world let out a collective sigh, and the trees finally shook themselves free of their old leaves. Animals slowed their foraging, people celebrated the harvest, and Beck could finally use the fireplace in their room. Provided they were in their room, that is. Beck much preferred to be out in the crunch and crackle of the dead leaves, to smell the crispness in the air that they associated so vividly with the sweet apple cider their mother used to make for them and their siblings. They especially loved crouching beside the tree trunks, rooting about in the leaves looking for new species of fungi to add to their field journal. Insects were dying by the dozen, too, and their shadow boxes always filled up quickly this time of year. The higher-ups had, of course, elected to send Beck out to convert the stone-worshippers this time of year. Usually Beck wouldn't mind--they delighted in enlightening the minds of the peasants in the countryside--but this year there was supposed to be a bioluminescent moss appearing on the trees for the first time in centuries. They wanted to be around for that. There was no arguing with their betters, though, and so Beck shrugged off the disappointment and set out with modest provisions and a crate full of illuminated scripts of the Twin Truths, pulled along in a cart by a pony Beck knew to be horribly addicted to fermented apples. Their journey took them west from Utherland, and they ended up in the tiny village of Willowfast. They'd had to hunt for it on the map, and when they arrived they found the residents to be steeped in pagan beliefs. Totems hung above every doorway and iron shavings were scattered underfoot. Even the tavern was named after some legend about a troll king. This tavern was where Beck made their temporary home, and it was there they sat every night, nursing an ale and slowly but surely making conversation with bar patrons and the bartender himself. It was hard work--these people were suspicious of newcomers and even more suspicious of the Nesting Order, as Beck explained. But it helped that they had a friendly face and a softspoken manner.

Shady

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Mon Oct 10, 2022 2:47 am

Shady says... · Mon Oct 10, 2022 2:47 am

Aeron smirked, pleased with himself. "Right, right... are they all named?"

"u and rina are systematically watering down the grammar of yws" - Atticus
"From the fish mother to the fish death god." - lehmanf
"A fish stole my identity. I blame shady" - Omni
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Ljungtroll

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Mon Oct 10, 2022 2:48 am

Ljungtroll says... · Mon Oct 10, 2022 2:48 am

"Of course they're all named." She patted the one on her shoulders again. "I'm not a brute."

"The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that." -Karis Nemik

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Shady

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Mon Oct 10, 2022 2:49 am

Shady says... · Mon Oct 10, 2022 2:49 am

Aeron smiled a little and nodded. "Of course."

"u and rina are systematically watering down the grammar of yws" - Atticus
"From the fish mother to the fish death god." - lehmanf
"A fish stole my identity. I blame shady" - Omni
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Ljungtroll

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Mon Oct 10, 2022 2:50 am

Ljungtroll says... · Mon Oct 10, 2022 2:50 am

"This here is Oleander."

"The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that." -Karis Nemik

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Shady

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Mon Oct 10, 2022 2:52 am

Shady says... · Mon Oct 10, 2022 2:52 am

Aeron looked over at him. "He's cute."

"u and rina are systematically watering down the grammar of yws" - Atticus
"From the fish mother to the fish death god." - lehmanf
"A fish stole my identity. I blame shady" - Omni
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Ljungtroll

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Mon Oct 10, 2022 2:53 am

Ljungtroll says... · Mon Oct 10, 2022 2:53 am

"He is," she agreed. "But very stubborn. I had to fight a stablehand about getting him into the tavern and then I had to convince him not to go in with me."

"The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that." -Karis Nemik

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Shady

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Mon Oct 10, 2022 2:55 am

Shady says... · Mon Oct 10, 2022 2:55 am

"Heh... I guess that's how cats are sometimes... most of the times."

"u and rina are systematically watering down the grammar of yws" - Atticus
"From the fish mother to the fish death god." - lehmanf
"A fish stole my identity. I blame shady" - Omni
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Ljungtroll

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Mon Oct 10, 2022 2:57 am

Ljungtroll says... · Mon Oct 10, 2022 2:57 am

"He'll claw me if I try to take him off."

"The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that." -Karis Nemik

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Shady

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Mon Oct 10, 2022 2:59 am

Shady says... · Mon Oct 10, 2022 2:59 am

"Best not do that, then," Aeron said with a chuckle. "...Until we're going for the Cù-sìth. Then probably should."

"u and rina are systematically watering down the grammar of yws" - Atticus
"From the fish mother to the fish death god." - lehmanf
"A fish stole my identity. I blame shady" - Omni
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Ljungtroll

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Mon Oct 10, 2022 3:03 am

Ljungtroll says... · Mon Oct 10, 2022 3:03 am

"He'll slide off at the cottage, I'm sure." They were pretty deep in the woods now. "We're close."

"The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that." -Karis Nemik

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Shady

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Mon Oct 10, 2022 3:04 am

Shady says... · Mon Oct 10, 2022 3:04 am

"Nice." He glanced around. "How long have you been living out here?"

"u and rina are systematically watering down the grammar of yws" - Atticus
"From the fish mother to the fish death god." - lehmanf
"A fish stole my identity. I blame shady" - Omni
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Ljungtroll

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Mon Oct 10, 2022 3:10 am

Ljungtroll says... · Mon Oct 10, 2022 3:10 am

"Decades," she replied. "Close to a century. It's a good spot, comfortable, secluded. You?"

"The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that." -Karis Nemik

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Shady

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Mon Oct 10, 2022 3:12 am

Shady says... · Mon Oct 10, 2022 3:12 am

Aeron blinked and muttered, "Gods, I really need to get better at guessing ages..."

"u and rina are systematically watering down the grammar of yws" - Atticus
"From the fish mother to the fish death god." - lehmanf
"A fish stole my identity. I blame shady" - Omni
[they/he]

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Ljungtroll

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Mon Oct 10, 2022 3:16 am

Ljungtroll says... · Mon Oct 10, 2022 3:16 am

"I don't look that old," she noted. "And the Thrush talked young. You're not that bad."

"The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that." -Karis Nemik

she/her

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Shady

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Points 3330

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Mon Oct 10, 2022 3:18 am

Shady says... · Mon Oct 10, 2022 3:18 am

Aeron smiled a little. "Thanks."

"u and rina are systematically watering down the grammar of yws" - Atticus
"From the fish mother to the fish death god." - lehmanf
"A fish stole my identity. I blame shady" - Omni
[they/he]

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