The Thing about Green [Attn: Avyra]

[Cat]

Johan

If anyone had ever told him that one day he would be faced with the prospect of playing fetch with an eagle, Johan would have laughed. The two images didn’t exactly go together, did they? But he wasn’t laughing right now. Laughter, he thought, could be counted as a sudden move, and right now he was too worried that if he really did make any sudden moves they would - just as suddenly - become his last. He was tempted to ask just what her definition of ‘stupid’ was, because, from where he was standing, getting any closer to the bird was the very definition of stupid, and he wasn’t stupid. Why would it go for a ball of moss when it had his nice, soft hand to rip into instead? That kind of beak wasn’t made for tossing around balls of bloody moss.

He held his hands behind his back, still making no move to sit. He’d never been very good with animals. Well, he had never really interacted with them. The only animals he had ever known had been pests or food; sometimes both. You didn’t stick your nose up at rat stew when the alternative was nothing at all.

“So,” he said, continuing to pretend that he hadn’t heard the offer, his eyes back on the eagle. He hadn’t liked how it had puffed up. “Did you bring them with you when you came to the Tower? I’ve never really heard of Aes Sedai keeping birds of prey. You’re the first.”

[Avyra]

"No. I read a book about them and I thought I'd enjoy it, seeing as the falconry side of things here is kinda... unused." She smiled at Kyella. "All my birds I have caught from the wild in their one year old plumage. We call it a passage bird. I assist them in their hunting, then I release them again." Kyella seemed to be completely uninterested in Johan now, moving her feet a bit on the glove before rousing again, shaking her feathers out before preening her wings. She clicked her beak and looked at Avyra, then began to preen Avyra's arm. "She's really quite sweet. She puts up with everything nicely; I have to file her beak and nails down sometimes. Doesn't complain at all." She could tell he was radiating nervousness. She couldn't blame him. Kyella was pretty intimidating, but she figured he'd still be nervous around a smaller bird like Tempest or Theta. He just wasn't used to animals, probably. "They are beautiful animals. You should see her soar; she's gorgeous."

[Cat]

Johan

The last thing a would-be Warder wanted to be seen as was weak and cowardly, but Johan still couldn’t help the slight widening of his eyes at the mention of filing down its beak and nails. Somehow, though, he managed not to take the step back that he very, very much wanted to. Maybe it was because he was already close to the wall. Its talons and beak looked wicked enough already. He couldn’t imagine them being any sharper. He didn’t want to imagine them being any sharper.

He drew in a deep breath, telling himself not to be so stupid; that if wanted to see his training through at the Tower he was going to see and deal with things a damn sight scarier, and he could therefore deal with this. And so he made himself move across the room and take a seat on the bench (making sure to be on the left).

“Can I see her fly, then?” he asked. “There’s still some of Free Time left...” He paused, stopped to smile. “You can’t just tell me that without showing me it.”

And the part he didn’t mention was that it would also mean that he could escape from the building. Being stuck in it with the birds wasn’t exactly what he could call comfortable.

[Avyra]

Avyra considered. "It depends on what she wants." She paused, then held Kyella out on her hand, removing her from her stable position. The eagle raised her wings and beat them slightly, making a chittering sound. "She'll probably do it." Avyra paused, standing, looking for something for the bird to perch on. She opted for using one of the chairs to the far side of the long airlock. "Just stay seated." She moved over, putting Kyella down, unleashing her. The eagle sat nicely, watching Avyra but not moving. Avyra moved to the other end of the airlock, then whistled. The bird took off, soaring right past Johan like he wasn't there and landing on Avyra's fist, making a few more chittering sounds, wings still spread. She was even bigger like that, wingspan longer than either Avyra or Johan was tall, wings themselves very broad. "Good girl." Kyella bobbed her head, crouching slightly, then straightened, giving Avyra another chitter. She did not make the sound a bird that powerful looking should have made.

[Cat]

Johan

Johan remained where he was, frozen, his eyes back on the bird. Yes, the bird was very beautiful, stunning, too, but he still felt like he would rather be anywhere than where he currently was. He thought at that moment that he would actually rather be facing a Trolloc or much rather be spending the day attempting to muck out and groom Soup, who, in his mind, with the way he pulled faces and attempted to bite him, was much, much worse than any Trolloc. Trust Johan to have a horse that hated him, but at least horses didn’t have sharp beaks or talons.

He smiled a little weakly, managing to tear his gaze away long enough to look at Avyra. “Very… nice. Don’t you ever take her outside into, like, a field or something? I’m sure she’d really fly, then.”

[Avyra]

Avyra laughed. "Of course. Let's see if she wants to fly the lure this evening. She's not the best lure bird; the falcons love it but she likes to soar, not dive." Avyra, bird still on one arm, and made her way to the supplies, collecting a long cord. She collected some unidentifiable meat as well. "Let's go find us a spot. You can walk beside me, just not the side with her on it." She opened the door outside, leading with Kyella in front, letting her see everything before carefully exiting. "You seem nervous."

[Cat]

Johan

‘Nervous’ was probably something of an understatement, but Johan didn’t immediately say anything in response. Instead, he walked ahead, slipping through the door and making sure, of course, to keep as far away from the bird as possible. He wasn’t comfortable enough to walk by her side, but then he was never one to drag his feet and stumble on behind. Coward he might seem, but he wasn’t that much of one.

He stopped, finally, and turned back, “I grew up in the Rahad,” he said, as if that explained everything. “The biggest thing there was a pigeon.”

The pigeons in the Rahad could actually grow rather big, but nowhere near as big as the eagle. He imagined the eagle could easily wipe any pigeon out in one fell swoop.

[Avyra]

"Ah." Avyra gave a small smile, touching her eagle's talons. "Well, she isn't a pigeon, that's for sure." The bird didn't react. If anything, she looked excited. Alert, head held high and posture relaxed but watchful. Not nervous, not hostile. Avyra led them to a field, where she stopped and unhooked Kyella from her leash. "If she makes a move to land on your arm, put it tight against you and turn away. You don't have a glove, and I do not want to deal with talon wounds." She paused. "Stand back, right here." Avyra released Kyella. The huge bird flew off into a nearby tree, watching her with intent eyes. Avyra made her way out into the field, taking out her lure, some rabbit on a string. Then she whistled, starting to swing it. Kyella spread her wings and flew down with a chitter, catching her quarry in sharp talons, starting to tear it apart. Avyra motioned for Johan to come closer, if he wished. "I'll let her have that, she's earned it. She comes back because she knows hunting with me is better than hunting alone."

[Cat]

Johan

It might have been better if the eagle had been a pigeon, Johan thought, because then he wouldn’t be feeling like he needed to bolt, and feeling like he was complete idiot for feeling the way he was. It still took all his strength not to run, although some of that was probably down to the fear that, if he did move, the eagle might turn its attention to him.

He managed a weak smile, even as his gaze remained on the eagle as it tore at its reward. Again, he had an image of sharp talons and beaks tearing at him. It seemed that he had escaped one uncomfortable situation only to land straight into another.

“You…” The first word came out something of a squeak, and he stopped, cleared his throat, and started again, ignoring the slight colour rising on his cheeks, “You learnt all this from a… a book??”

He recalled that she had mentioned something about a book. It made him wish all the more that he could read… not that he could ever see himself reading a book and deciding to wrangle an eagle out of the wild. He'd sooner date a Trolloc.

[Avyra]

Avyra let Kyella finish her meal, Kyella not seeming to care about them being so close. Her wings were folded comfortably, and she would occasionally sneak a glance at them before returning. "Yes." Avyra shurgged. "Its been a lot of trial and error with Kyella. But she's been a great bird. She lets you rub all over her talons and feathers and beak." She paused, sneaking behind the bird, clipping her jesses back to her leash before stepping back again. "Someday she'll leave me. She'll fly away and hunt elsewhere, and I will know I trained a fine hunter." Kyella finished her treat, rousing her feathers and rubbing her bloody beak on them. Avyra whistled, and Kyella looked over, flying up to her fist before continuing her cleaning.