[PRP] A song of withered mimics [Withered Fungus x Mimicry x Hard Truths]

[WargazmMonkey]

It was late spring, and the bird songs woke Withered Fungus from a nap he was taking under an aromatic cedar tree. He recognized most of the songs, but through the leaves and trees came the song of a bird he was unfamiliar with. Rising with a yawn, he stretched across the grass before sauntering off after the siren-esque melody.

After several long minutes, and as the song was fairly near, he started to hear a different tone in the song. It sounded almost kin-like, but still not quite unlike a bird. As carefully and quietly as he could he crept through the woods until he happened upon a grove of cherry trees. Standing there in the middle of the grove was the origin of the beautiful song he had become enthralled by.

She stood there, reaching for the lower branches of a cherry tree, singing her song in between attempts to grab a branch above her. her maroon hair fading to the crispest white, caught the light from the sun in a way that stunned Withered where he stood. Every ripple making his heart race just a little faster.

Snapping out of his trance, he finally realized her struggle to gain a hold upon the tree branches. he looked around desperately, trying to see if he could find a branch himself. Above him, just inside his reach, was a limb laden with cherries. He reached up and grabbed it, breaking it off the higher branches. As he examined the branch and thought of how he would proceed, he noticed a single, late blooming cherry blossom still clinging to the branch.

With careful steps he walked towards the songbird kin and nudged her shoulder with his snout. As she startled from the surprise contact he laid the branch at her feet and backed away slowly, laying down in the grass several feet from her, watching her.

@Blinded By Silence

[Blinded By Silence]

[imgleft]http://matope.pixel-blueberry.com/image ... uncert.png[/imgleft]Panic radiated off the small doe in waves. Her eyes were wide and reeling, her fur bristled. Where was she? Chirp, her baby... Her ears pricked forward as she cried out a searching call for her little lost songbird. Tweet and Trill cried around her, also frantic as well.

The scent of cherries caught her attention and a soft exclamation escaped her lips. Maybe she could use these to lure Chrip back. They were her favorite, after all. She reared, balancing precariously on her hind legs grasping desperately. The snapping of teeth echoed crisply in the late spring air. So close... She gave a soft whine of distress as she fell back to the ground.

Suddenly, she was touched. Startled, she cried out and stumbled backward, her head whipping around to find her attacker.

Where her aggressor would be instead stood a darkly colored buck, offering her a bundle of cherries with a look of hesitation. She stood there, mouth agape. She couldn't exactly speak, so she offered a soft nod, lowering her head in a look of apology. Gingerly, and with much hesitation, she gently took the bundle from him. With a nod of thanks, she turned to leave, whistling for her bird through clamped teeth, looking over her shoulder at the mysterious buck.

@WargazmMonkey

[WargazmMonkey]

He sat there, in the grass, confusion on his face. Why did she leave? Why didn't she say thank you? This was a strange and beautiful doe and he felt a stirring in a part of him he had never felt before. He stood up, staring after where she disappeared into the treeline, wondering if he'd ever see her again.

After several minutes he finally regained his composure and turned to head home. with wind blowing and the trees rustling, his head began to clear. He was still confused, but remembered he still had to scavenge for mushroom spores. The day had grown old and he had accomplished nothing for the day. He scrambled through the woods, searching for any kind spore he could use.

Suddenly he stopped, ears perked high, at a shrill sound drifting over the wind. He walked toward the sound, basket of mushrooms dangling from his mouth. The squeaking was coming from a bush to his left. he set down the basket and started nuzzling through the bush. At the base of the the shrub was was a small white songbird. He nuzzled it as it chirped in distress, it seemed to calm a little as he got close to it. He picked it up gently and carried it to his basket.

He knew this bird had life left to live and that his sister could help it, but where would she be right now? He gathered up his basket and took off towards Hard Truths' den.

@Blinded By Silence

[Blinded By Silence]

[imgleft]http://matope.pixel-blueberry.com/image ... uncert.png[/imgleft]The bird's cries that tore from her lips tore too at her heart. Where was she? Where was Chirp, her sweet little bird. She had tried again and again, the call for food, the command to come, nothing. The forest echoed with many voices, but none belonged to the tiny white songbird who had been with her since she was small.

Tears stung her eyes as she called and cried, sniffling she blundered forward. Tweet and Trill fluttered above her, darting through the trees, helping her search. She could barely see at this point and was using their voices as her guide. What if she never found her? What if she had been eaten? Or lost... Her heart thudded in her chest, deafeningly loud. Then, suddenly, she heard it. Chirp's pained cry shot through her like a lightning strike, igniting her fear even further.

She bolted toward it, turned a corner past a large tree and ran head first into something tall, dark and mysterious with a gasp of pain and surprise.

@WargazmMonkey

[WargazmMonkey]

With an "oompf", Withered was jarred suddenly by a dark being. As he regained his balance and composure, he realized it was the kin from the clearing earlier. His basket had been slightly crushed by the impact, but the mushrooms and songbird inside were still ok. HE put the basket down and went to check on the kin that lay on the ground.

She had been crying and was obviously distraught with fear and anxiety. He nuzzled her and and was barely able to utter the question, "Are you okay?"

The song bird in Withered's basket had been chirping a painful song this whole time, yet upon hearing his voice, peeked out of the basket and saw the pile of Kin that was Mimicry. She started chirping a different song at this point and this caught Withered's attention. He looked down at this little bird and then back at the kin, a gentle look in his eyes.

@Blinded By Silence

[Blinded By Silence]

[imgleft]http://matope.pixel-blueberry.com/image ... uncert.png[/imgleft]She blinked the tears from her eyes and looked up at the young buck, once more with a deep look of apology. At his question, she parted her lips and let out a shaky, but reassuring coo as she pulled herself to her feet. She stared up at him a moment and simply nodded, lowering her head so that her scarlet hair fell over one eye shyly.

Her ears flicked suddenly at the sound of Chirp's voice. She straightened, her eyes flicking from him, the buck she kept meeting, and the basket he had set down. She scurried around him and peered inside, mimicking the little bird's panicked cries. She gave a huge sigh of relief, Chirp was alive. Shaken and injured, but alive. She sat down and offered gentle sounds of reassurance and calm. Slowly, the bird's panicked ceased and her voice simply teetered. Mimicry smiled and turned back to the buck, offering him a chirp of thanks.

@WargazmMonkey

[WargazmMonkey]

[imgleft]https://matope.pixel-blueberry.com/imag ... uncert.png[/imgleft]He watched as this unusual doe had gone from cooing at him, to chirping at the song bird he had found. When she chirped at him, he was confused, unsure why she spoke no words. But he had seen stranger things in the swamp and accepted the obvious thanks from her.

He laid next to her, keeping some distance but close enough he could smell the aroma of her fur wafting towards him. She kept consoling the song bird, worry upon her chirps. Was it a friend of hers? It must be, why else would she be so relieved at its presence?

He struggled with what to say, unsure of how to break the silence. He muttered softly, “i can fix her.” It was all he could manage to say. He had never talked to someone that made him feel this way. As He sat there staring at her, he felt the skin below his eyes start to get warm and he felt silly at what he had said. Of course he couldnt fix the bird, but he did know who could.

@Blinded By Silence

[Blinded By Silence]

[imgleft]http://matope.pixel-blueberry.com/image ... uncert.png[/imgleft]It didn't take long for the rest of her flock to appear. First came Tweet, brother of Chirp, almost exactly opposite in his coloration. The dark bird nestled into the basket with his sister with little hesitation, pulling another smile to Mimicry's lips. Trill, however, darted down in a flurry of feathers, beating his wings in anger at the dark stranger who was still far too close for this songbird's taste.

Mimicry rose and quickly hushed the protective bird with a sharp cry like that of a falcon, followed by a reprimanding chirup and a look that demanded apology. The purple songbird looked away, puffing up its fluffy chest before, eventually, letting out a small coo. She nodded, pleased and turned to the buck, once more lowering her head in gratitude and apology. She turned back to her injured bird and gave her a worried look, wondering what to do now.

'I can fix her' the buck said, and his words made her swell with hope. She beamed and nodded excitedly before gently lifting his basket, looking at him expectantly, waiting for him to lead the way.

@WargazmMonkey

[WargazmMonkey]

[imgleft]https://matope.pixel-blueberry.com/imag ... uncert.png[/imgleft]They walked for a little over an hour, Withered not making a sound. He was captivated, this mysterious Kin was stunning to him. So quiet and commanding was her presence. Every time he was caught staring, he'd look away as fast as he could, not fast to avoid notice though, and his face flush with heat again. What was this reaction? He had never experienced it before and was almost distraught at its presence.

They eventually came upon his sisters den, which was a lot deeper into the tribe lands than his. It was at this point he found a semblance of his voice, "Dear sister!", he squeaked out. It was all he could manage at that point. He looked at Mimicry, smiled awkwardly and went to lay down in the soft grass to wait for Hard Truths' arrival.

"Sister... will help... bird", the words passed his teeth like boulders, taking every piece of his spirit with them on their cascade across the wind.

@Blinded By Silence

[Blinded By Silence]

[imgleft]http://matope.pixel-blueberry.com/image ... uncert.png[/imgleft]With every step they took, she felt her stress and tension release from her, melting into the earth like mid-spring snow. She inhaled, held it, and exhaled. Everything would be fine. She had help. Her eyes, honey gold, kept flicking back to the dark buck ahead of her. Once in a while, she would catch him peeking back at her and she found herself smiling despite herself. It was quiet, he didn't speak, and that was fine. Nice even.

The walk was over before she realized it. She lowered her eyes and for a quick moment, she was a little sad. No, this is good, the faster they got to where ever this buck was taking her the sooner Chirp would be better. Which was the most important thing. Yes.

They came to a collection of large mangrove trees. The scent of fresh tilled earth and leaflitter filled her head. Where were they? She had never come to this side of the woods before. He lead her to a particularly large tree. She followed him in, ducking underneath a curtain of lichen. The room opened up into a wide space. Sunlight filtered down through a few holes in the ceiling and the thick scent of herbs. She watched as the buck call out for his sister and the collapse onto a bed of grass. She tilted her head, curious. It hadn't been a difficult walk, in fact, she had found it relaxing. She walked over to the nest in the center of the room and gently laid down the basket. Chirp cooed at her, picking at the feathers of her obviously broken wing. The other two fluttered in, nestled in close to keep her company.

Mimicry moved over to the buck and settled in next to him to wait, giving him space, but closer than she intended. She offered him coos of thanks and appreciation and settled in to wait.

@WargazmMonkey

[WargazmMonkey]

Inside his sisters den they waited. He was unsure of where Hard Truths may be but he delighted in the chance to linger in presence of such stunning company. The three song birds nestled together on top of his basket of mushrooms as their care-taker moved over towards him. She laid on the ground near him, closer than she had intentionally placed herself yet. She coo'd at him a few times in a tone resembling how he would thank someone. She had yet to say a single word to him.

He looked at her, in the off light of this den she had a mystical aura about her. He must find his tongue, he must know what to call her.

"What does one call you?", he managed to get out before his throat locked up again.

@Blinded By Silence

[Blinded By Silence]

[imgleft]http://matope.pixel-blueberry.com/image ... uncert.png[/imgleft]She found herself smiling at this buck, despite being alone with him, not knowing his name, or where they were. In any other situation, she would have been worried. She should be worried. But instead, she felt oddly calm. They sat in comfortable silence, waiting, secretly looking at the other until, at last, he asked her name.

This was always the hardest part, she found. Something that had come so easily to every other kin had taken her nearly a year to decipher, and even longer to get it to the point of others understanding her. Even now, after all these years, so few have asked, her name felt foreign on her lips.

Her name was quick and simple. Two short quips and a harsh eagle scree, when said in combination formed the name "Mimicry."

She tilted her head curiously and tweeted softly at him, inquiring.

@WargazmMonkey

[WargazmMonkey]

[imgleft]https://matope.pixel-blueberry.com/imag ... uncert.png[/imgleft]Again, she made the sounds of birds in place of what should have been words. This was bewildering to him, yet the bird sounds sounded almost decipherable into a single cohesive word. "Mimicry" was the word in which he ultimately broke the noises down to. It was an interesting name, almost as interesting as the kin that bore it. She had smiled at him after saying it and had conveyed, what could only be assumed as, a reciprocation of the question.

"Withered Fungus is what the MotherFather bore unto me as an eggling." he stated, a look of distress upon his face. "Can you speak only through sounds you have heard? That would be difficult to translate my name I feel." His face relaxed slightly as he smiled back at her. "It matters not though, your voice is as mesmerizing as the sound of the flower fields in spring, buzzing with bees. I would except any iteration you could come up with." Where these words came from, he knew not. He had never said so much in one sentence to a stranger in his life. He couldnt earlier, but she had responded to him, said words to him; and now the words flew out of his mouth as easy as water rushes over a cliff. He smiled again and nestled deeper and awaited the return of his sister, content in the presence of this strange and majestic kin.

@Blinded By Silence

[Blinded By Silence]

[imgleft]http://matope.pixel-blueberry.com/image ... uncert.png[/imgleft]The muted doe found herself nodding to his question. Yes, she wanted to say, she had been born unable to speak. She had no whale song of her own. She got by practicing the sounds of others. Unable to replicate the sounds of kin, Mimicry took to those who didn't mind her inability to converse. She felt her heart warm as the words tumbled from his mouth like a clumsy foal taking its first steps and soon a burst of beautiful, bell-like laughter bubbled up from her.

Mimicry agreed, his name was not one she could easily pronounce. But Chirp aside, she knew she would be here a while. Which gave her plenty of time to figure it out.

@WargazmMonkey