Quite the Welcome [attn; Cal]

[Avyra]

She watched the two of them with calculating eyes, eyes that had already taken the qualities of an Aes Sedai, even if they weren't practiced. Theta seemed to have warmed up rather nicely. "Do you think you could hold him on your own?" She paused, taking a leash, hooking one part to the bird's jesses and the other part to Zuin's glove. "We'll go sit out in the airlock. I have to feed Kyella, and he seems really content with you." Theta bobbed his head, looking up with sweet dark eyes. He was quite a quirky little bird; he even had a little beard of feathers that became more prominent when he lifted his head up.

(That was short. Kinda having a hard time working with no dialogue.)

[Cal]

Don't worry about it. I've put more dialogue in this post so that shoulder help. Last post was made during school so it was a bit rushed.

Zuin watched as she hooked the bird to the glove in his hand. He assumed it was to stop it from flying away from him and getting free. Even though he wasn't strong Zuin reckoned he could hold the bird back with the leash without much effort. It was small and even though it looked strong he was confident he could hold it, even if it was only due to the fact he was heavier than it by at least a full order of magnitude.

"How strong are these birds, like how much can they lift at a time?" He asked as they prepared to leave the cage. He did wonder about that even with his confidence in his ability to hold it. It would be good to know. Information was always good to known, you could never know where it might come in useful. Knowledge was power after all and power was everything in this world. The more power you had, be it physical or metaphorical the better off you were. Of course too much power was bad for you, it could corrupt you. Power was intoxicating to have and that feeling could destroy you. It was one of the risks with channelling. The more you held the Power the more accustomed to the power of it you became. And it was very powerful, you could kill easily with it. He knew that first hand.

"Why do you like birds?" He asked Avyra. He had been wondering it all along but had only just plucked up the courage to ask her. He didn't want to seem like he was critical questioning something which she held dear to her.

[Avyra]

"Here, let me help you a touch." She took the leash and wrapped it around Zuin's fingers, holding it easier. "If he decided to jump off, he'd he flapping around in midair and hard for you to get back on the glove the way you had him." She opened up the door, holding it open for him. "Lead with the bird." She paused. "The strength depends on the bird. This bird barely weighs as much as a small rock. It hunts mice and bugs. He isn't strong enough to carry much." She paused by another cage, motioning for him to hang back. "Get a seat; I'll be out shortly." She returned with a huge eagle perched on her own glove, the bird looking around with an intense orange stare. She sat a bit away from Zuin, keeping the golden eagle on the opposite side of where he was sitting. She had a mouse for her. "This is Kyella. She's a wonderful hunter." Avyra smiled, giving Kyella a rub on the stomach. "Sweet bird, too. This bird is extremely powerful, though. She could break this glove if she wanted to, and could snap a man's femur in half. Golden eagles are one of the biggest birds of prey." She paused. "And she'll eat him, no question about it." She pointed to Theta. "I love these birds because of how beautiful they are. I've always loved animals, and hunting with these birds gives me the opportunity to step into their world. They are all very smart, individual creatures. Its fun to learn about their personalities as you train them."

[Cal]

Zuin took a seat and waited on her to return. He was glad that this bird wasn't strong enough to carry much or get away from him if it tried to. He didn't think it would seeing as it seemed quite happy to sit where he was.

When Avyra returned she had a much larger bird on her glove. This one looked to be strong. When he heard her talking about it's strength he was glad he wasn't the one holding it. If it was strong enough to break the glove and to eat the little bird he had on his glove then he didn't want to be to near it, let alone holding it. And if it was strong enough to break a man's bones... He very nearly reached for the Power but stopped himself. He was safe, the Accepted wouldn't be handling the bird if it wasn't safe. "Why doesn't she just break the glove and fly away. Wouldn't it want to be free?" He asked her to take his minds away from breaking bones.

Somehow he could imagine this small Accepted hunting alongside these birds. Despite her size she seemed to fit with the birds. He could see why she loved them so much. They were all beautiful even if he was slightly afraid of them. He would probably never be comfortable around animals. He couldn't predict what they would do or how they would act, even ones he knew well and that put him off animals. He needed to be able to reason out things and predict them. Doing things on the wing was not his style.

[Avyra]

Zuin seemed to stiffen after her description, and she silently chastised herself. Of course some people would be nervous, not awed, by this bird! Be more careful! "Why doesn't she just break the glove and fly away. Wouldn't it want to be free?" Zuin asked. Avyra laughed and smiled, gently running a finger along Kyella's talons. "No, falconry is a bit more complex than that." She paused. "This bird is wild, there's no doubt about it. She will be released in the year so that she can help her species. However..." She smiled. "Falconry isn't about dominating nature. Its about becoming a part of it. When I fly these birds, I get to see what they do. In training them, I gain trust. Trust that overrides their instinct. They are simple; they only think about food and mating. All these birds are too young for mating, so food it is. I feed them. They know this, they trust they will be safe with me. "During a hunt, I let them off their leash to work. They are given the choice then, to leave or stay. Most birds chose to stay because of that simple fact."

i just realized
He scared of holding this

This bird the size of his fist
Help him

[Cal]

Zuin though he understood what she was talking about. If you fed the bird then it knew it would get food so it would return for the easy food. Yet at the same time they still hunted so they had the skills to survive in the wild when they were released back into it. It was a sensible way of doing things. He supposed he was looking at it in a cold logic way and that emotions and trust as such like played a part but to him the logic of it made sense.

He watched the big carefully, still not trusting it. The small thing on his hand was more the size he could handle. Not large enough to seem threatening or anything. He didn't trust it but if it flew at him he wouldn't run away screaming. Right now if he tried running from the little bird it would just follow him as it was still attached to him. The image of him trying to run away from a bird pecking at him while still attached to him brought a smile to his lips.

He suppressed it quickly and asked "Why are you going to release them? It is to let them live in the wild and mate? And how are you going to do it, won't they just fly back more food once more?" Questions were suddenly racing in his mind as his thirst for knowledge gained standing in his mind.

He gets better in later threads, don't worry.

[Avyra]

"Well, sure they will." Avyra smiled. "Most birds do. Some falconers take them back. Most, however, do not. If you refuse to give the bird food, the bird will leave and live the rest of its life in the wild." She tapped Kyella's talons. "It helps the wild population. I have just taken out three creatures that share the same role in the environment, not to mention share the same food with the others in their species. Taking one out means more food for the others and more chance of survival." The art of falconry was quite an interesting one; Avyra loved talking and educating people about it. "I'll be doing a class on all this soon, actually. I'm kinda doing it in my free time. Don't know when I'll actually launch it. Especially since the Mistress of Novices hates my guts."

[Cal]

In a way that made sense to Zuin although he reckoned it wouldn't be in the way it did to her. To her birds were living breathing creatures that were a part of her and her life. To him they were part of a system. He could follow part of the logic of that system. It made sense to try to support the wild birds because that kept the system going. That was something he could understand. He was aware it was a cold, detached way of looking at but it was the only way he could look at it easily.

"That all makes sense I suppose. I've only got one more question, why does the Mistress of Novices hate you so much?" Zuin asked. He couldn't quite understand why they would actively hate one Accepted. His best guess was the birds. It wasn't an Accepted like thing so he could understand that maybe they didn't approve of it but he would still have thought that they wouldn't hate it that much that they would take it out on the Accepted herself. That said he didn't know how the upper ranks though or operated so for all he knew that would be enough.

He did have to admit that there could be something else. He remembered the Novice he had spoken to in the gardens during his first month. She had been hated by the other Novices and Soldiers so perhaps it could be something similar although he couldn't see them thinking that this girl was a Darkfriend, she seemed to nice.

[Avyra]

Avyra laughed. "Elia Sedai and I go back pretty far. Back when I was still a Novice and she an Accepted. She tried to teach me how to heal, but decided to act like she was the Amyrlin Seat herself. It was downright irritating, and I wasn't directly rude to her, but I wasn't nice or submissive either. She's also an Indigo, and I set up an appointment to learn about the Ajah. She has no sense of humor, to put it bluntly, so we didn't mix well, as I happen to enjoy jokes." Because I'm not a lifeless rock. She put another mouse on her fist for Kyella, moving it around in her fingers for the bird to grab and tear open, spreading her wings a touch. "She just isn't like me, and we're so much unalike that we don't fit. Unlike her brother, who is super nice once you get under his shell. Ravak Gaidin was one of the first people I could actually call a friend here; we're different but not in a way that makes each other want to tear the other apart." She paused. "We actually met after I fell out of a tree. And he caught me. And I sassed him."