Posted at 2013-03-05 03:41:41 — Link
As the silent, curious crowd gathers by the main beach to peer into the wreckage of the boat, one comments, "Wow, that was a nice boat. All blue, like the sea."
A brave Islander approaches the boat. "Guys? There's nobody here, but it was occupied. There's some seed, clothes, an icebox - and ... what IS that??"
Someone else remarks, "That looks like a wrecked roost."
"For what?"
Before anyone else can make a guess, sounds from the cliffside draw their attention. They look up, up, and up. That cliff is tall.
On a small, jutting ledge stands a great brown Roc.
"Well, we know what that roost was for now. Never seen that Roc before. It's got a saddle, so it's not wild."
A head peers down between the feathers of the Roc. A human head. After a few moments of assessing the crowd, the head disappears, and then a human body appears on the saddle. A quick fluff of the feathers, and the Roc takes off, wheeling high in the sky before landing on the shore.
"Hello. I'm Altaira, and I'm afraid the wrecked ship is mine. She is the Azure Wind, and the storms of the islands decided they did not want Azure Wind sailing so freely. My Roc, Kirisia, and I were lucky to take flight before the rogue waves took her sails.
I come from the far western sea, where the sea cliffs meet the star winds. We ask sanctuary here on... where are we, anyway??"
.................
I hope that was a nice intro. :D I am Altaira, the latest new Beastkeeper to join your kingdom.
I plan to work with Rocs and Pumas mostly, given that I love birds and cats! My favorite color is - you probably already guessed - blue. Second favorite is purple.
In the real world, I am a Beastlord of a great Pride. The Pride numbers three cats now (though we once numbered four).
There is the Guardian of the Pride Home, Star. He is a mix, largely American Shorthair, with traces of Maine Coon, Norwegian Forest Cat, and Turkish Angora thrown in. He stalks the terrorities each day, his black tuxedo coat helping him sneak up on intruders. He is a friend of the birds, though. I think he's the only cat that ever left finches alone and teased the scrub-jay on a regular basis.
The Cache officer (in other words, the cat that takes everything of value and keeps it in one spot - including human things) is Rohan. He is a Snowshoe, and has all the traits of one. He even fetches his toys. Anytime a jewelry piece goes missing, it may be found with Rohan or somewhere nearby in a cache. We never figured out why he decided to stash my stepmother's jewelry in the trashcan. (Mind, that thing was taller than the cat. He dropped it from a height elsewhere.)
There is also the sweet lap cat of the Pride, who suffers a great fear of humans, but a great love for me. Thunder is her name, but she has earned the nickname Spook. She spooks at everything! Except the dog - my room is the one room off limits. Imagine this fluffball of grey, only 12 pounds, jumping at a 130 pound black labrador every time he approaches the doorway. It's the only time she lives up to her original name. Hah. She is a Russian Blue - purebred or a mix, we're not sure.
The dog - a black lab - is the family dog. He's elderly now, and is a well-behaved dog... most of the time. He is smart enough to recognize that the cats are sovereign and know that he is in the land of the cats. LOL.
Well, I've gone on long enough. Off to tend to my pets!
