summer evenings (open, django)

[markab]

Darkness came upon Mossflower slowly, as summer's nights were wont to do, hastened only slightly by the heavy cloud cover blocking out the sun. The light, though -- or lack thereof, at this stage -- made little difference to the antlered herbalist sitting on the fringes of the Marshlands, his silhouette lit only by the steady flicker of a campfire tucked neatly under the overhang of a spreading willow tree, crackling merrily under the pot perched precariously atop the tangle of wood.

Varanus shook out a bundle of wild carrots from his pack, and turned them over gently in his overlong claws as he picked up his knife. They'd been washed in the river much earlier as he made his way down the River Moss, clean enough as he held two out over the bubbling stew-pot and shaved them both to the leaves in thin chips of orange that disappeared beneath the surface. He snipped the top off one of the others, sliced it neatly in two and popped half into his mouth.

Over the crunching, the barn owl behind him shook herself out in a rustle of feathers barely distinguishable from the howl of wind through the leaves, and muttered, "Disgusting."

"It'sss jussst a carrot." Varanus held one up in the tips of his claws, metal and vegetable alike illuminated faintly by the firelight, but didn't bother to turn as he swallowed. "They're not that bad. You're welcome to one, if you like." Had the owl been in front of him, she would have seen the faint hint of a smile on his face.

As it was, she must have heard it in his voice, because she clicked her beak irritably. "I thought it was supposed to be a monitor lizard. Or did I get it wrong under all those bones, and it's actually a newt?"

Varanus did laugh at that. Rusty and almost painful-sounding. He was in a good mood tonight, despite Dirge's snapping. Evening, clouds, no promise of later rain, it seemed, by the way he couldn't feel it ache in his joints. All for the best, as far as he was concerned. He tucked the remaining two carrots back into his bag. "Perhapsss. We can't all eat raw haremeat for every meal."

For a few minutes there was silence, broken only by the chorus of insects in the marshes all around them, picking up their songs in the half-dark. Varanus dusted several cubes of wild onion and half a clawful of chopped parsley into the liquid and stirred gentle circles into the half-finished stew, smelling the cooking meat in the air with a few quick flicks of his tongue, before Dirge started up again.

"I go to hunt," she said, with the rustle of feathers as she spread her wings into the air. "It can save me some of its...food."

The barn owl took off without waiting for a reply, leaving only gentle wingbeats that lingered and faded, and Varanus settled comfortably back into the renewed silence. Dried rosemary, potatoes -- he added them one by one into the mixture with the neat precision of a herbalist as the fire roared and the stew began to bubble into completion, one leg tucked close to his chest as he stirred and breathed and listened to the sounds of the gathering night around him.

[Django]

Bugs, bugs, bugs! Lots of mosquitoes. Sharp tasting, too long of legs. Wanted water. Squeak!

Oleander the bat careened through the gathering dusk, her finely-tuned ears catching her own echoes as she hunted. True flight for a mammal was a much clumsier-looking endeavor than for, say, that barn owl over there. Oleander couldn't close her wings in flight like birds. It made her look like a bad flier in comparison. Of course, this wasn't a big deal, really. She got where she needed to go. 

Her nose, for what it was worth, picked up the scent of smoke. Fire nearby. Food nearby? She'd become lots more social ever since meeting those otters. Perhaps friend at fire would give her food? She was getting tired of sharp mosquitoes, anyway.

She landed on a tree branch above the fire, making it sway. Weeping willow tree. Never very stable things. Headfirst, she climbed down a branch, keeping away from the smoke. There was a big... thing by the fire. Big cold thing. She squeaked at it, catching its attention. She was high enough that she was pretty sure it couldn't reach her yet, but she was so confused as to its shape that she couldn't be completely certain of that.

"You have food?" squeaked the bat, tilting her head to catch the echoes better. What a big thing. Big discolored thing. The edges of it refused to come into focus from her stream of clicks. She'd need to get closer, but it was best to wait for its response.

[markab]

Varanus' metal claws clicked on the edge of the pot as he swirled the ladle, drew it back to taste. His tongue was almost as good on its own as the tastebuds and he really could have gone without a lot of the scents he pulled in, but that was just the way it was. He waited half a minute for it to cool, because blowing on it as he'd seen others do was somewhat impractical sans lips, and spooned it carefully into his mouth. A predator such as he was could likely do without the vegetables and spices, and indeed he'd eaten his fair share of meat raw, as Dirge had pointed out; but cooking was another art he was determined to perfect.

But mostly, despite everything else layered on top of it, it tasted like meat. He'd put practically an entire hare in there, after all. What he and Dirge hadn't snacked on during the process of cutting it apart, anyways.

Good. His tongue flicked out a few more times as he gave the stew a final stir, head tilted downwards, listening to the thick bubbling of the liquid among the drone of the insects. The smoke had chased most of them away, but Varanus rarely spared any time to think about the things anyways; he'd yet to meet an insect that could bite through his scales, much as Dirge would have been loudly complaining about them about now and crowding close enough to smother them both in firesmoke.

And then, leaning over the pot, he heard the unmistakable beat of wings.

It didn't sound like Dirge's, either. Hers was softer, swallowed by the feathers; these seemed as though they belonged to no such beast. Varanus lifted his head, peering through the cloud-dim darkness as the beats came closer, the feathers and bones suspended from his skull-helmet's antlers clattering against themselves as they moved like a warning. It didn't seem to prove any deterrent to whoever it was who was coming closer, and one clawed hand moved downwards to rest atop the iron spear lying innocuously by his side. Always something, wasn't it.

The willow he was beneath suddenly trembled violently, and his head snapped upwards as quickly as an old lizard's could. It was still tough to see, but he thought he could make it out, through the flickers of firelight and thanks in part to the way it clicked and squeaked and twisted around on the branch it seemed to have attached itself to. 

Varanus squinted at it; the long fox-like ears, the pointed muzzle, the huge wide...wings, splaying themselves out across the tree as it crawled its way down the bark like a giant spider. He'd seen bats once or twice before, in the night, but he'd never known one to approach his campfire, and as far as he was aware not even Dirge had spoken with one before -- not that it meant anything when the one he was talking about was Dirge.

"You have food?"

Its ears flopped and fluttered as it tilted its head, still a ways up the tree. Varanus thought if he stood and got the spear he might be able to reach it, but frankly he was comfortable where he was. He opened his mouth, tasting at the air, as if there was anything to scent through the smoke and cooking meat.

Interesting. He let his breath out in a soft snake-like hiss. "Yesss."

[Django]

"Yesss."

Reptile. With horns? Oleander was definitely getting some kind of horns on its head. She took a chance and cautiously climbed down further. That smelled good. The mosquitoes in her belly were hardly filling compared to what that pot smelled like. 

"You share food?" the bat asked, craning her head closer to the smell. The cook was definitely some kind of horned lizard. She hadn't met a lot of reptiles in her time, maybe a small one that she'd eaten, but never one this big. It had to be twice her size! Or, twice her length? Was that its tail? Did lizards eat bats? Maybe she shouldn't be here.

But food! She was hungry. It was a lot of flying and a lot of hunting to fill her belly. Some free food would be nice. 

[markab]

For a few seconds, hearing his voice, the bat appeared not to move. Maybe Varanus looked too much like a snake for its comfort; maybe it was a little put off by the branching antlers and bleached skull perched atop his head. His tongue flicked out again, on instinct, and he hissed. He enjoyed a little of the smell of firesmoke on occasion; he did not like doing the equivalent of consuming the stuff, even if he was careful not to put any wood or plant that could be toxic into it.

After a bit, though, it clambered further down the tree. Still too high up for Varanus to reach without moving. Not sure he wanted to hurt it, even -- he didn't think he could use it, though, when he already had Dirge. Her reaction would, admittedly, probably be worth feeding the bat her portion of the stew. Oh, she liked to protest, but Varanus knew fully well that she liked the foods he made probably better than he did. The whole endeavor was just another form of herbalism to him; the enjoyment of someone eating it told him he'd done it well.

"You share food?"

The bat craned its head closer to him, head twitching as it sniffed at the air. Didn't seem to have much of a handle on speaking; he wondered just how old it was. Still unmoving, still watching, he was reminded of the fly-catching carnivorous plants along the swamp's edge as he lifted a paw, gleaming light catching the metal-braced edges of his overlong claws. 

He gave another raspy laugh. "Not one of the fruit eatersss, are you?" He eyed it, reaching down to rustle around his pack for one of the more banged-up of his wooden bowls. He had no idea how bats were supposed to hold anything, but he wasn't particularly interested in the idea of it sticking its entire nose directly into his dinner.

[Django]

"Not one of the fruit eatersss, are you?"

Oleander dropped from her branch as soon as she saw the bowl come out. Sharing! Food! She scurried up to the fire, finally getting a clear "look" at the cook. She stopped, lifting herself up on her forearms and sending one more stream of clicks, just to be sure. 

Before food was ladled into her bowl, she remembered that the otters had asked her name before they fed her. The lizard hadn't asked yet, but she figured that was the thing you had to do before food. Shakily, she got her tiny feet under her, raised her wings and said, "I am the great Oleander!"

Her wings fell back to the ground, and she huffed from the exertion. Her feet weren't meant for standing, just gripping. She got into a strange-looking crouch, where the first knuckles of her wings were supporting her weight, and her little thumbs were free for holding.

[markab]

The appearance of the bowl seemed to have been more than enough as a signal, as the bat promptly dropped to the ground -- a surprisingly hard landing, considering it had wings. It scuttled awkwardly up to him, closer, still clicking. Maybe it couldn't see that well -- they only hunted at night, didn't they? Though this one didn't seem so keen on the whole hunting thing. 

And then it stopped. Varanus met it in a staring contest for a half-second before it lifted itself up on its folded wings and clicked again, staring -- not quite at him, it felt like, but close enough to let him know that it could certainly see something in front of it. He tilted his head, let the antlers and their scattered decor rattle like his own introduction in turn. If this had been anything else -- crow, maybe, magpie, raven -- he would have had it gone by now. Dealt with them enough as it was. 

He was curious enough about this one not to try and spear it immediately. If it had any sense, though, it would be gone before Dirge showed back up -- or would leave before she could do anything to it. He was pretty sure the only reason Dirge hadn't spoken with one before was because she'd eaten it instead.

His claws did go briefly to his spear when the bat lifted itself shakily upright, spread its wide leathery wings. He tilted the weapon-point upright -- all he'd have to do would be to catch it in one of the wings, an easy target, and it wouldn't be flying off again --

"I am the great Oleander!"

Varanus cocked his head as it lowered itself back down and crouched in front of him. Imagined if it had a tail, it would be wagging. The spear was returned to the ground with a rasping laugh as the monitor handed it the bowl.

"Isss that my cue?" Tail shifting to curl around one half-exposed footpaw, Varanus slung an arm over his raised knee, brushed the points of his claws over the folds of his robe. The other hand still rested, casually, against the spearpole. "Varanusss." He wasn't entirely sure, considering the bat's speech up to this point, what it would even understand of his words. "You mussst have sssmelled the sssmoke. To come here. But not the owl?" 

If he had to take a wild guess, maybe it was still young. There wasn't much left of Dirge behind the smoke, but there was certainly something there on his tongue when it flicked out again, and to have gotten here so quickly after Dirge had left she'd likely seen it, and so it had probably at least heard her. Huh. He reminded himself to ask her if she was losing her edge in her old age. Even though she was certainly younger than he was.

[Django]

"Varanusss."

Oleander flicked her own tongue out at the big lizard. She could see him now, blurry as he was. He had so much stuff on his head, but it was all hollow and clinking. Reminded her of a big version of her necklace. Maybe she should ask him where he got his stuff so she could find more stuff.

"You mussst have sssmelled the sssmoke. To come here. But not the owl?"

Owl? Oh, right, that barn owl. The lizard must've seen her too. Did the lizard know her? Odd pairing, but Oleander guessed the lizard was simply too big and covered in things for the owl to eat. Hmm, Oleander should definitely consider covering herself in more things. It would probably deter other predators besides owls.

"Owl's hunting," Oleander said simply. "I get food from Ver--Van--Vanurus before owl comes back." She shuffled just a step closer. Words with more than two syllables were tricky on her inexperienced tongue, but she liked to give it a go.

[markab]

Close enough, apparently, to see him, the bat flicked her tongue out at him. Imitation? He doubted bats shared that particular ability, it seemed innate to lizards and snakes. And there might have been leathery wings but certainly no scales in evidence, now that she was practically close enough to touch. 

She looked more like someone had taken a rather overlarge mouse and grafted wings to the sides of it; certainly nothing like Dirge, no beak and not a single feather in evidence, and if he had to guess not possessed of her unnerving tendency to turn her head almost all the way back on her neck that still kind of made Varanus shudder when he saw it. Not that he'd ever let her know.

"Owl's hunting. I get food from Ver--Van--Vanurus before owl comes back."

Varanus' nostrils flared. Well, now it sounded certain that she'd seen Dirge on the way. "Sssmart." She seemed not to have noticed the bowl, perhaps in lieu of his antlers -- she seemed, this close, to have her own bone decor, something like a necklace threaded with a few miscellaneous trinkets. One of which he could at least tell was a birdskull. But he wasn't going to hold her proverbial hand towards it; it lay between them after all.

"Though I am sssurprised ssshe jussst let you passs." He blinked slowly. "Ssshe usssually noticesss sssuch thingsss. Then again. I don't claim to know how bat tastesss."

[Django]

"Though I am sssurprised ssshe jussst let you passs. Ssshe usssually noticesss sssuch thingsss. Then again. I don't claim to know how bat tastesss."

"Me either," said Oleander. "Want to know how the soup tastes." The tiny bat was getting impatient. If that owl was really a friend of this lizard's, she didn't know how much time she had to get out of its hunting range. And if she was out of time, she at least wanted to die with a full belly.

She pawed at the air with one wing, careful to keep the delicate leather clear of the flames. She was pretty sure he was still holding the bowl, but it had gotten a little lost in all the stuff he was wearing. Was there something else she had to do to get food? Hm. She'd once been taught a special group of words they called "manners," and apparently those sometimes applied to eating. She tried to remember those otters. They'd asked for her name, then given food. Some of the otters had said some other things to get food. What was it?

"Pliss?" she pawed again, edging around the fire. "Pliss give food?"

[markab]

"Me either. Want to know how the soup tastes."

Hmph. Varanus pointedly eyed the bowl in question, steaming lightly in the cooler air. She must have had some impressively bad eyesight not to notice it, but before he could just give up and tell her it was directly under her nose like he was shepherding a child into its seat she reached up and started pawing at the air, narrowly avoiding upsetting the bowl in question when the hooked claw of her wing came back down.

He scooped it back up into his grip, metal clicking against the rough wood of the bowl, as she started moving, edging around the fire as she searched for the food she'd completely overlooked.

"Pliss? Pliss give food?"

She seemed so confused that it probably would have been easy for Varanus to lead her straight into the fire in pursuit of the bowl. But he wasn't sadistic enough for that -- sure, he ate other beasts, but that was necessity talking, not his burning need to rip corpses apart.

Spear left on the ground, his wooden staff came up to her shoulder, moving to try and prod her none-too-gently away before she got too close to the pot. This bat was lucky he wasn't in a bad mood today, enough to call Dirge back with a whistle and just let her handle the whole thing. Then again, when she saw that he'd tried to feed the bat instead of killing it himself she'd probably just make him do the work instead.

"You're lucky," he said, slowly, "that you haven't already ssstepped in it." Waited for her to back off, if she'd do so, before he offered the stew as close as he could get it to her nose.

[Django]

Oleander showed her teeth when the staff poked her. She realized she was very close to the heat of the fire. Maybe the lizard was being nice. Speaking of nice, she finally noticed the bowl in front of her. Her clicks and words had totally missed it, since it was, literally, right under her nose.

"You're lucky that you haven't already ssstepped in it."

Well, that was true. Oleander gingerly took the bowl in both claws and slipped her pointed pink tongue into the broth. Lots of flavor! Softer than mosquitoes. Her white teeth flashed as she found a chunk of... something, she couldn't tell exactly what, and chewed it. Some kind of meat. She didn't often eat meat, but she liked the way it filled her up and tore at her teeth.

Now there was something she had to say after having been given the food. What was it? Longer than pliss. Thanoo. Thakoo. Hmm. She pondered the manners words with another big gulp of soup, and another chunk of something else. Vegetation of some sort. Her tongue flicked out with her chewing. She was a messy creature, but keeping clean was obviously not her priority. Grooming could come later.

"Thay coo," she said, finally deciding on the proper manner words. "Thay coo, Vanurus."

[markab]

The bat also seemed slightly too blind to try and get around the stick prodding her away. She bared her teeth as she shuffled back, but while that might have been vaguely intimidating from anything else, this was the equivalent of a flying mouse with no weapon but teeth and claws, two things Varanus also had plenty of, and such poor coordination on the ground Varanus felt no sense of threat whatsoever. Still, his muzzle wrinkled, baring teeth that the bat certainly wouldn't be able to see if she'd missed the bowl accompanied by a low hiss. Warning.

But she moved, and took the bowl with both claws this time instead of staring over it, so Varanus left it at that, resting the staff in his lap, watching.

The bat did seem content to stay where she was this time, absorbed in the food. She was...a little odd, though maybe that was a bat thing. Made for unpredictability, which Varanus did not generally like. But she seemed distracted enough that he felt safe turning and serving himself some of the stew, mostly picking around the vegetables in favor of the chunks of meat. Dirge might be mad but. Too bad for her. She should have caught the bat instead of letting her get to Varanus.

He took a few bites, letting the stew continue to bubble for now -- it'd be fine for a bit until he worked up the motivation to actually move the heavy iron vessel and the liquid inside it.

"Thay coo. Thay coo, Vanurus."

Varanus huffed. She was trying, he supposed. "Next time, here'sss a tip. Lizardsss aren't the firssst beasssts you ssshould ssseek out for food."

[Django]

"Next time, here'sss a tip. Lizardsss aren't the firssst beasssts you ssshould ssseek out for food."

Oleander slurped up the last of her soup. "Why would I eat a lizard?" she asked, a series of bubbly clicks escaping her mouth. Bat laughter. That was the kind of thing Oleander the fox might've said. The bat didn't have a lot of words, but she was getting a grasp of humor, however small. 

She set the bowl down and backed away, licking her chops and combing bits of broth out of her beard and chest fur. She could finish a proper groom later, but she hated flying while dripping. She licked drips off her bird skull and settled it against her chest once more. She looked up at the horned head shape on top of the lizard shape and gave a little wave with one wing.

"Food was good," she said. "I should leave?"

[markab]

"Why would I eat a lizard?"

Varanus grunted, swallowing a mouthful of the meat and broth before he could reply as Oleander clicked across from him. Sounded different than earlier, when she was trying to get to the fire -- laughter, perhaps. Great. "Ssso I get the funny bat," he hissed out, sounding profoundly unamused. Despite the fact that he certainly made his fair share of bad jokes from time to time.

But the bat set the bowl down and started grooming the broth out of her fur, which was more than he could say for Dirge's particular method of consuming food, He hooked the bowl back to him with the blunt end of his staff, still apparently uninterested in actually getting up and moving.

"Food was good. I should leave?"

Varanus tipped his head in the bat's direction. "If you don't want to chance the owl coming back, perhapsss."