gondolindrim | Parrots and intrigue

Yaban: *at the animal sanctuary trying to teach Ruby the scarlet macaw how to speak* 'Hello, pretty.'

Ruby: *parrot noises*

Lúthien: Any luck?

Yaban: Ruby seems intent on living a life of squawking.

Lúthien: *says something in Elvish to the parrot*

Yaban: 'Pretty bird' is such a vain thing for a bird to say.

Lúthien: She's beautiful. I don't see why she ought not to say so.

Yaban: *tries a wolf whistle*

Ruby: *scratches under her wing*

Yaban: I wish I knew if she's actually a she. Birds are weird.

Lúthien: Sometimes the males and females are different colors.

Yaban: Not the ones I'm used to. I mean, Eressil probably knows, but I haven't really asked.

Lúthien: Well, I'll ask her when I see her next.

Yaban: Or you could learn to talk, learn what it means to a human, how to communicate actual conversation, and tell us, Ruby.

Ruby: *nibbles on his ear*

Yaban: Well, it was a good try on my part.

Lúthien: Indeed, an admirable effort.

Yaban: How about you? *grins and leans forward, holding Ruby out to her* 'Pretty elf'?

Lúthien: *holds her arm out so Ruby can climb up and scratches under her beak* Shall I attempt to instruct her now?

Yaban: Go for it. I was trying to teach you.

Lúthien: People don't call me 'pretty' very much.

Lúthien: Usually they say glorious, magnificent, majestic… *grins*

Yaban: Cute as a button. Adorable.

Lúthien: *laughs and shakes her head. Ruby makes a laughing noise too.*

Yaban: That's a nice noise for her. *strokes Ruby's head*

Lúthien: So she can learn, after all.

Yaban: I like it. Say 'I'm a princess among parrots'.

Ruby: *happy noises*

Lúthien: *gives her a nut to eat*

Ruby: *gnawgnaw*

Yaban: Anything interesting happen? I've heard talk of murders beneath the streets and was wondering if you knew about that.

Lúthien: I have heard that the ones responsible for the recent murders have been dealt with.

Yaban: I'm asking for juicy details, milady.

Yaban: I'm a historian, I'm a professional gossip.

Lúthien: *lowering her voice slightly* I'm told it was very gruesome. The killers all fought to the death, rather than allowing themselves to be taken alive. Nasty business.

Yaban: We were told to do that. In the war.

Lúthien: I wonder if that's what they all truly wanted.

Yaban: Well, if we said no, we'd be killed on the retreat.

Yaban: So… maybe something like that? But never underestimate a fanatic.

Lúthien: I wouldn't. Someone with enough conviction to kidnap and murder would probably not lack the ability to take their own lives.

Yaban: Or take away the choice from anyone fighting them. Not my business. I'm still not sure what I would have done. Hide out in a barn and hope to wander away safely in the end.

Lúthien: One can only hope that there aren't any others that choose to follow in their footsteps.

Yaban: Yeah. The population here isn't that high.

Lúthien: It isn't. But I have to wonder if this is the end of our troubles.

Yaban: Where there's people, there's trouble. Now let's take the dogs for a walk.

Lúthien: *gets the leads for all the dogs and calls for them to come*