Birds of Prey- March Tracker

[Dragons of Nova Terra]

http://birdsofprey.freehostia.com/
Please be advised, the owners folders link needs to be update. The correct link is here:
http://s772.photobucket.com/albums/yy10/adoptablehaven/Birds%20of%20Prey/

Table of contents:
into (you are here)
story
events 1
events 2
pickups


Warning! these images are rather large, clicking on them may cause your moniter to grow!
and no, I dont have the other lines yet, Stalit is trying to work on them between school work. I only have the male and the chick at this time.

[Dragons of Nova Terra]

Fear. So strong you can taste it. You are on the verge of panic. You run, harder and harder, but the way out just keeps getting farther away. You feel something close behind you. You can't make it out in the shadows, just the glowing, glaring eyes baring down on you. It's so close, you can feel hot breath on the back of your neck. You try to scream, but no sound comes out. You scream as hard as you can, but it's dead quiet. You scream so hard you get dizzy, and the thing is reaching for you now....

You wake up with your covers twisted, covered in sweat, heart pounding.

Later that day, you walk down the sidewalk, and happen to pass by a petstore, specializing in birds. Just as you get close to the door, the light haze of rain you had been ignoring turns into a downpour, and you are forced inside. Bells jingle over the door as you come in. Birdsong from 100 different birds at once confuses your ears.

An old woman stands behind the counter. She cant be quite 5 feet tall. On her shoulder is the biggest raven you have ever seen. At least you think it is a raven, you have never seen one with green eyes before.

The old woman starts muttering as soon as you come in. Like some short, chubby vulture, she begins to walk in a circle around you. She holds up your arm, pokes your ribs, straightens your collar, and goes about generally poking and prodding you. You are on the verge of protesting, when she mutters, "They need to stop. Such terrible dreams."

Ok, so she definitely has your attention now.

She walks back behind the counter and hands you a small red bead, a tuft of sweet lavender grass, a twig, and a small scroll with some words on it. She tells you to follow the instructions, and believe it with all your heart.

Later that night, feeling silly, you read the scroll. You do as it says, burning the lavender grass to make a sweet smoke, setting the bead over the tip of the twig, and chanting some words. Nothing appears to happen, and after a time, you head to bed, feeling like you've just been tricked.

Around 3 AM, a car goes by your house, and honks it's horn for some reason. Maybe another driver cut him off, who knows. Grumbling, you look at the clock, then roll over to go back to sleep. You are so happy that, for the first time in 2 weeks, you haven't had a nightmare. Looking forward to more peaceful rest, you open your eyes and glance at the clock one last time.

Startled, you see a pair of glowing green eyes staring back into yours. Oh no! The nightmare has returned! You must be dreaming now! You leap out of bed and throw on the light.

Instead of hearing a useless click like you expected, the light actually turns on for you. You turn to see.. a giant raven with green eyes, just like the old lady had. Did it follow you? But no, you notice it has a splash of vivid yellow along its wings and tail. You stare at it for a while, watching. It regards you in kind, then begins to pick at something it is holding in it's talons. You cant tell what it is, but you get a sense of familiarity. Something about what its holding and tearing into you know. That limp shadow in the birds grasp, that was your fear. Your nightmare is being destroyed before your eyes.

The bird looks at you again, and his eyes seem to glow even in the light. You feel yourself falling back onto you bed, your thoughts slipping away as you slip back into slumber. You get the feeling that you are completely safe now, and your last waking thought this night is that you must remember to thank the old lady for your new friend...

**********************************

It all started with dreamcatchers. They were the ritual tool that first brought the Birds of Prey to our world.. well, the fringes of it anyway. Now, however, they have discovered that we humans have many sorts of rituals designed to protect ourselves from nightmares and evil spirits.

A ritual to summon a guardian bird spirit to be your personal guardian can take many forms, based on what you believe. Belief has power. You ritual can be a prayer, a circle of protection, an item graced with powers, or almost anything.

To be properly powerful, a ritual must contain at least 3 items, no more than 5. For the ritual to be compatable with a guardian bird, it must contain 1 roosting stick, no more no less. It also must be built with some sort of containment for evil spirits and bad dreams, for this is what the birds feed upon. Don't underestimate the power of words! Words are a capable container by themselves.

Each person must design his or her own ritual. It must be something personal, to attract the right bird for you. You may choose to tie bits of scented grass with a bit of string, hold a roosting perch, and speak a lyric you wrote. You may choose to craft a dreamcatcher and hang it near your bed. Maybe you'd prefur burning an insence stick while kneeling on a grass mat and chanting. Your ritual is between you and your bird.

In order for 2 birds to reproduce, there must be a proper nest for the chick. This nest must contain elements of the rituals from each of the parents summoning, as well as a roosting stick for the chick when it gets old enough.

[Dragons of Nova Terra]

This is our "bird of the month."
He will find a home randomly with someone who has participated in this thread during the month of March. Every month will have a bird of the month.

[Dragons of Nova Terra]

Design a Ritual

As described at the end of the story, each bird has a ritual that it can identify with. This is a quasi-RP game. You don't have to RP to any extreme, but you may go into as much detail as you wish.

Remember, the items need to fit the pattern- 1 roosting perch, 1 type of "nightmare trap" material, and between 1 and 3 more items.

Every now and then, based on the ritual you create, and the time I have, birds will find thier way to humans in this thread. You may only get 1 per week max (Bird of the Month does not count towards your limit)

[Dragons of Nova Terra]

reserved for pickups and growings- and you may post now while I set things up!

I will not remove your chicks from your owners album. This means you have them there to look at forever, but it also means links will not auto-grow.

Growings from RP thread chicks:
Conroy
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Coolduff
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Kadana
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Rosewood
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Ryuukokoro (your "brown' chick )
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Spixy
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[Spixy]

ooo my boy is very handsome <3
I'm really excited for this adoptable! 

[Sunchaser]

you doing customs by any chance? <.<

[Ryuukokoro]

Thanks for the growing! He still looks just brown to me lol.

[indigowulf]

@sunchaser, right now only USD customs, because I need to pay for my photobucket account- to remove ads and get protected from those sneaky *** that insert virus codes into the ads. Adoptable Haven fund raiser thread has detail.

@Ryuukokoro, have you looked at him full size? Hes one of the ones Im very proud of the markings on, no exaguration he took me 3 days of nothing but working on him to do! If you see him full size, he should be rusty red with banded feathers.

[Ryuukokoro]

Really??? Whoa! *squints* I think my monitor isn't high quality enough to see. Oh, but I can just make out barring on the wings now that I look very closely! Nice job!

[Tribe]

Design A Ritual

First i hang my dreamcatcher by my bed. It is made by an old indian friend of mine, binded with leather and decorated with beads. The beads are hollowed in the middle as a place to trap the bad dreams. From the circle hangs three pieces of leather, each leather strap has a small object tied to the end. The first strap has a small old gold ring, it is to bring me good fortune. The second strap has a stone shaped like a heart to bring love. The last string has a piece of jade, to bring good luck. As i search for a place to hang it where its perfect for catching the nightmares i remember to tie my roosting stick to it. Right in the middle of the woven circle.

[SplitX]

I take in a deep breath, slowly tying the thin veil that covers my nose and mouth tightly so it will not fall. It is much like a Gypsy's veil. I sit in the forest's clearing, a fire burning before me. To my left, there is a stone with indentions that each hold a bright paint. To my right, there is a wooden bowl filled to the top with many types of herbs and leaves, and a few pieces of meat, dried into jerky. On the other side of a fire is a perch, hopefully for a magnificent bird to rest upon. The veil is symbolic of keeping out 'bad things' that I could breathe in, therefore cleansing my spirit from any possible nightmare that could come. I reach over and grasp the wooden bowl in my warm palm. I take a few pinches of herbs and meat and throw it into the fire, letting a wonderous scent escape into the air. I set the bowl back down and dip one of my fingers into the purple paint that is in one of the rock's indentations. I smear two thin lines from the corners of my eyes out to my temples, barely touching my blonde hair. I dip another finger into the red paint and make 3 dots on my forehead. I dip another finger into the orange, putting two dots on my right cheek. I put a finger into the yellow, and make two dots on my left cheek. I take the green and the blue and make two dots, one of each color, beside each other on my chin. These colors symbolize the beauty and harmony of nature in all colors. I grasp the wooden cup again, the paint smearing from my fingers and onto the bowl. I begin shaking the contents out into the fire, releasing more scents into the air, hopefully welcoming a magnificent bird to my perch.

[/end lameness xD]

[YourLoveOnly]

Yes yes ryuu's is very gorgeous.

I shall join the design event once I have some more time x.x

[Echowing]

Ritual:

To prepare for night I begin by opening both the ornately carved wooden box and the glass jar on my nightstand. The box is an almost red wood with a dull glow and depicts images of western dragons, foo dogs, kirin, and many other unnameable but equally majestic creatures. The jar is empty and simple with a metal lid that now lays beside it. On my dresser is a length of dark green silk ribbon tied into a necklace with an antique and beautiful silver key hung on it. It matches the small latch on the lip of the wooden box. I take this with me and hang it on my bedpost. It serves to lock the box in the morning to save the good dreams in my memory so that I do not forget. The simple jar traps the nightmares and keeps them away. Finishing my preparations I lay down in bed and look at the empty roosting perch in the corner. Hopefully in the morning it won't be so empty anymore...

[SweetCaroline]

Items:
1 Oak Branch (Roosting Perch)
1 Baby's Breath Wreath
1 Bouquet of Buttercups
1 rose
1 Empty perfume jar with stopper painted silver.(Nightmare Trap)


I take the Bouquet of Buttercups & weave their stems into the top of the Baby's Breath Wreath.
I then take the Rose & weave it's stem into the bottom of the Baby's Breath Wreath directlly under the Buttercups.
Then I take the perfume jar & tie it to the bottom of the wreath under the rose with a piece of string wrapped around the neck of the jar leaving it to hang below the rose.
I hang the Wreath from the center of an Oak Branch that I got from the tree out in the woods.
I hang the Oak Branch with Wreath attached from the center of my curtain rod in my bedroom.
Then each night before going to bed I chant these words untill the day that my nightmares finally cease.

Babys Breath so white & pure
The birth of good dreams it bringeth here
Buttercups as yellow as the sun's bright light
No more fear of the coming of night
Sweet smelling is the rose
Out of my mind the demons go
No more will the shadows come
To haunt me in this darkened room

[Kadana Sorano]

Do you want us to name our birds now, or wait a bit?

Design a Ritual

Looking around the clearing by the river, I smile as I breathe in the fresh cool air.  It's nice up here on the mountain, quiet and peaceful..  Well worth the day long hike to get here.  I want to sit and relax, soak up the soothing balm the forested mountain offers; but the sun will be going down soon, and I've things to do before it goes.

Sighing softly I quickly set up "camp".  It's a fast and simple matter of laying out my sleeping bag and hanging my food in a tree to help deter scavengers.  Of course, it won't stop the really determined ones, but I'm not overly worried about it.

Looking around and making sure everything is in it's place, I grab my pack and head back into the woods.  As I wander around, I keep an eye out for fallen branches form the trees.  Checking several I return them where I found them for not being quite right.  This one started t rot, that one was too thin, this one too short..

As I search for just the right branch, I gather a few other things.  A bit of moss off the side of a tree, a small armful of pine needles from the ground beneath the trees. They are still a bit green and quite flexible, not to mention pleasantly fragrant.  A smooth slightly ovoid shaped stone from the bottom of the river.  It's a pale silvery gray in the fading light, and feels surprisingly warm in my hand and I'm simply unable to resist it.  From a thick pine tree, I carefully scrape off some sap where it had oozed out onto the outer layer of bark.. Well looks like that's everything, I just need a good branch.  Looking around a last time I head back to camp, taking a round about route.  Finally, almost there, I find what I've been looking for.  It's a piece of a branch off a pine tree, about two feet long, and as thick around as my forearm.  Perfect!

Once back at camp, I lay everything out.  Taking the branch I wedge it in the fork of the tree I'll be resting under, jiggling to make sure its in tight and won't fall out.  Sitting down on my sleeping back, I look at my "treasures".  Quietly, I take the pine needles, and begin braiding and weaving them.  Working quickly I make a small round "ball" about the size of my fist, with a small opening on top.  Setting this aside, I rummage in my pack and pull out a small metal tripod, then a little metal bowl.  It's meant for putting incense in, and lighting a candle underneath.. but it will prove far more usefull tonight.  Pulling a thick white candle seat it beneath the tripod, scraping dirt up around its base to keep it from toppling.  The metal bowl goes atop the tripod, and in it I place the sap from the pine tree.  Lighting the candle, I sit back and take a deep breath, inhaling the soothing scent of pine.

Reaching back in my pack, I dig out a baggie with red hair folded into it.  I'd snipped some that morning before putting my braid in.  It's thick, and soft having been freshly washed and rinsed, and ankle length.. which means I should have plenty without having to remove more.  Wincing at the possibility of having to cut more, I really hope it is enough..  Sighing softly I take it form the baggie and start braiding it.  Keeping an eye on the melting sap, I work until the entire length is done and I have a long "rope" of braided hair about half as thick as my pinky finger.  Thin, but strong.  Cutting a two inch length off I lay it aside, the rest gets wound around the upper rim of the pine needle ball, right around the opening.  Standing, I tie it quickly to the branch to hang just underneath it.  Pulling a small paint brush from my pack, I carefully take up the now liquidized pine sap.  Slowly I work, using the paint brush to spread the sap out over the inside of the little ball of pine needles.  If all goes according to plan, the pine needle ball will act as a symbolic container for my nightmares.  The small opening allowing them to enter, and the glue-like sap acting to bind them within so they cannot escape back out.

Picking up the smaller length of braided hair I'd lain aside, I carefully place it and the tree moss on top of the branch where it's wedged into the fork of the tree.  Taking the river stone, I rest it on top the moss and hair, to keep them from being blown away.  The stone is about two inches long, and somewhere around an inch, maybe a bit more, wide at its center.  That should, I think, be heavy enough to keep the night breeze from stealing my treasures, but still light enough for a strong bird to lift in it's talons.  At least, I hope so anyway..

Stepping back I eye the make shift perch thoughtfully.  it will do, I think.  I can remove it all down the mountain to my room tomorrow.  Having a quick cold dinner of granola, I pack my things back up and settle down for the night beneath the tree and look up at all my work.  Smiling faintly I fall asleep, thinking the effort spent will be more then worth while.

[indigowulf]

I dont have a set certing idea just yet, so you dont have to name them yet

This month's ritual birds are going to have to be super picky, simply because I didnt spare myself as much time as Id hoped, what with doc apt's and flat tires and breeding season for AH, and aquiring the ranch, and so on.

[bewilderness]

Ooooh, these are awesome!