Snow bird [attn; Alianora]

[Avyra]

Avyra smiled. "She is, isn't she? Gyrfalcons are beautiful, honestly. And smart. All falcons are. They have to be to survive." Tempest fluffed her feathers, standing up on one leg to watch them both, now comfortable with the entire situation. "She lives in what is called a mew. Its a cage, basically, but with room enough for her to fly around and stay protected from the wind and other predators. I have a golden eagle as well, along with a kestrel." She paused beside Tempest, reattaching her to her glove before making her step up. Tempest bobbed her head. "Do you want to go find something to eat, my dear? Its cold. We should fill that crop up." She looked to the novice. "We'll go back to the mew and get you a glove. You can help me hunt her, if you wish."

[Alianora]

Calira

The bird puffed up its feathers, and Calira thought it might just like her. She smiled at it while she listened to the Accepted explain where it lived. "You have more birds? How do you find time for them all?" She knew Accepted had more free time, but hadn't thought it would be enough time for taking care of that many birds. The Accepted moved the bird to her glove, suggesting that it was time for the bird to eat. The novice womdered how she could possibly know the bird was hungry. To her eyes, the bird's behavior hadn't changed at all. She expected Avyra to leave to go hunting with her bird, but instead the Accepted suggested that Calira could help if she wanted. The idea of holding such a large bird on her arm made Calira a little nervous, but not nervous enough to say no. "Do you think she'd let me?" Calira asked, not certain the bird would like being held by someone it didn't know. "I'd like to, but I don't want her to be scared." She paused before adding, "How can you tell that she's hungry right now? She doesn't look any different to me."

[Avyra]

Avyra gave the novice a smile. "The key, my dear, is not to let the hawk decide what to do. When you hold these jesses, you are in charge." She began to walk, then motioned for Calira to follow her lead. "This bird is an opportunist, with hunting and with everything else. If you make a move to touch her, you touch her, regardless of how hard she is footing and biting you. No matter how much blood is down your arm. If you pull away, you will have given her the advantage." The gyrfalcon watched the novice with dark eyes, spreading her wings slightly. They seemed to be near the mews. Once there, Avyra smiled at the girl. "Take a glove that you think fits. Make sure it does. Then I'll direct you on how to hold her. We'll fly her just out here. Keep an eye out for rabbits."

[Alianora]

Calira

Calira followed Avyra, wondering if hunting with the bird would be as simple for her as the Accepted made it sound. She wasn't afraid of it, but Avyra's talk about biting and blood made her a bit nervous. When they reached the mews, Calira wasn't sure what to do despite being instructed to find herself a glove. It took the novice a minute to notice they were piled on a table right inside the door, making her feel rather foolish. She pawed through the pile, trying a few gloves until she found one that she thought fit the best, slipping it on to her right hand.

Her task complete, she turned around to face Avyra and the hungry bird. "I think I've found one," she announced, "what do I need to do next?" She thought the bird was looking at her, and hoped it wasn't considering her arm as part of its upcoming meal. Calira poked her head out the door, looking for the rabbits Avyra had mentioned, but didn't see any rabbits. There were a few mice, but from the size of the bird, Calira didn't think she'd be satisfied with a few mice as a meal. " I don't see any rabbits out there." she said. "Is that the only animal she'll hunt? What will she do if we can't find anything for her?"

[Avyra]

Avyra looked over to her. "You're left handed? If not, take the glove for the left hand. You want your dominant hand free to do things." Once that was sorted, Avyra stepped over to the novice. "I'm releasing my hold on the bird. Take the jesses first, wrap part of them around your middle finger, then present your glove to her in front of her, held above mine, and say 'Step up.' Once she's on your fist, hold your hand up slighty angled up." The bird gave a few strange clicks but stepped up well, watching the new novice with some confusion, almost, as to why she was being held by her and not Avyra. However, she wasn't aggressive. "Now, when we go out there, let your grip on her fall. Only balance her on your fist. She'll dart off when she sees something, and will follow us. If you see game, chase it slightly and yell, loudly." Avyra opened the door, letting her go first. "Let's go find some bunnies."

[Do what you like, Tempest is now in your control. Have them catch game if you like]

[Alianora]

Calira

Feeling stupid, Calira removed the glove from her right hand and replaced it with one that fit her left hand. Once that was done, she followed the directions Avyra gave her, not sure if the bird would actually be willing to sit on her hand. To her surprise, it did, only making a few strange noises, almost as if she weren't quite sure that sitting on Calira's fist was such a great idea. Calira held tightly to the jesses as they went outside, worried that she'd somehow manage to lose the bird, but Tempest didn't budge. Instead, the bird sat there quietly until Calira moved her hand away from her body, holding the bird out directly in front of her. Searching the area, Calira couldn't see any rabbits, but she guessed Tempest must have because the bird took off, forcing her to a near run just to keep up.

The novice panted as she tried to follow the bird, who flew far faster than she could run although she didn't stray very far from them. As she ran, Calira spotted a rabbit off to her left side and changed direction, yelling loudly although she thought she would scare the bird away. Instead, the bird drew closer, swooping down in front of her to close in on the rabbit. As the bird chased her target, Calira turned to look at Avyra. "Do I need to do something else, or will she be able to catch it for herself now she's found it?"

[Avyra]

The chase was on. Avyra watched as Tempest took off, intent on pursuing something. That was what gyrfalcons were best at. Calira ran after the bird despite not seeing quarry, but when she did she yelled loudly, following and alerting the three pound mass of feathers and talons. "Do I need to do something else, or will she be able to catch it for herself now she's found it?" The Novice looked back at her curiously. Avyra laughed, stopping as well. "You already missed it." Tempest was on the ground, rabbit in talons, tearing off fur and skin from the quarry. "Stay back a bit; we don't want her to think you're going to take her food." Avyra crept forward, taking out her leash and securing the jesses on it after attaching leash to glove. Then she made her way back, careful not to pull on the bird. "She'll eat until she's full; I'll let her when its cold like this."

[Alianora]

Calira

Avyra laughed as Calira turned her head to follow the bird, who appeared to be quite happily clawing apart the rabbit. She hadn't seen the bird catch it, but apparently it had in just the time it took her to ask a question. How did she catch it so fast? She'd expected the hungry bid to catch the rabbit quickly, but Calira hadn't expected it to be quite that fast. The novice found herself slightly disappointed that she hadn't managed to see the moment when the bird caught the rabbit, although she was certainly seeing enough of it enjoying its meal.

She backed up a few steps when Avyra told her to, but kept her eyes on the bird. It was making quite a mess, and was really quite a disgusting sight, but Calira felt rather proud watching the bird eat, knowing she had helped it find its prey. A smile even crossed her face as she watched. "What do you do when she's finished?" she asked the Accepted. "Does she just stay in the mews until you're ready to hunt with her again?" Looking at the bird again, the pile of meat, blood and fur in front of it appeared to have shrunk quite rapidly, suggesting to Calira that the bird was as quick with its eating as it was with catching its food.

[Avyra]

Avyra nodded. "Exactly. She is not a pet. Although I have gotten myself quite attached, she feels nothing of the sort for me. I'm just an easier source of food." Tempest forced the remains of the rabbit into her crop, looking around for a moment as Avyra stood and held out her glove. The falcon hopped up, and instantly bent down to clean her beak on the leather. "Well, Calira, I think the next bell is about to toll. You best be off, if you want to make your next class on time. I'll see you around; I'm actually working on a falconry class now. Maybe I'll see you there."