![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
[Closed] The Secret Garden...?
[It's early in the morning, gray and damp, with fog settled in among the rooftops and streets of Lhant. Asbel stands on the front porch, his hair disarrayed, and stifles a yawn.]
[Without a doubt, this is one of those mornings that invites sleep, but the study's a mess, and he's put off cleaning it for a while now. Turning to go back inside and get started on the inevitable, Asbel's stopped by a soft peeping noise coming from the direction of the gardens.]
[With a glance back at the doorway, Asbel steps off onto the pathway and peers around the gloom looking for the source.]
That's...kind of weird. I'm sure I heard something.
[Without a doubt, this is one of those mornings that invites sleep, but the study's a mess, and he's put off cleaning it for a while now. Turning to go back inside and get started on the inevitable, Asbel's stopped by a soft peeping noise coming from the direction of the gardens.]
[With a glance back at the doorway, Asbel steps off onto the pathway and peers around the gloom looking for the source.]
That's...kind of weird. I'm sure I heard something.
no subject
Asbel? Is everything okay?
no subject
Yeah, everything's fine. [Asbel raises a hand to rub the back of his head and turns his attention back to the garden with a light frown.] But I thought I heard something crying just now. It sounded like it was coming from the sopherias.
no subject
[Because. Crying means they are sad or hurt, right? Sophie looks a little worried as he explains, her initial smile at finding Asbel fading a little as she wants to go and check.]
no subject
It looks like the fog might make our search more difficult, though. Should we check this area first?
no subject
[It would be a start, at least. And that was where Asbel said he had heard the crying, so it is probably a good idea to start closer and then expand the search further away if they couldn't find the source of the crying.]
no subject
[Taking a few steps, the boy kneels near the garden border, peering down into the foliage. Sophie must've really dedicated a lot of time and effort to tending the flowers. There are so many purple blooms among the sea of green leaves that Asbel begins to wonder if this job might not be so different from looking for a needle in a haystack.]
...Wow, Sophie. There must be twice as many flowers here since the last time we planted seeds. I'll...let you know if I find something.
[After a deep breath, Asbel sets his jaw and begins shifting buds and greenery aside with his hands.]
no subject
[While Asbel checks one side of the garden, Sophie decides to search the other, quite intent on discovering the source as she brushes some of the sopherias aside carefully to check. Unlike Asbel she spends much more time out here with the garden, so the number of flowers is no real surprise to her given it is her that plants and tends to them. Her pigtails brush the ground as she kneels down, assuming if whatever it is is hiding in the garden that it probably wouldn't be too big.]
They're growing quite nicely! So be careful, okay, Asbel? We don't want to ruin the flowers before we get to see another blossomgale!
no subject
But, you're right; they really are. At this rate, we'll be seeing another blossomgale in no time!
[And there it is again. A soft peep-peep-peep coming from somewhere in the garden. It's not the sort of sound you'd expect from anything large or dangerous, but rather the call of a small, young animal. Asbel peers around his hands, but there's nothing there but stems and soil. Maybe Sophie can see it from where she is.]
Did you hear that?
no subject
[Sophie exclaims, hopeful that Asbel was right and they would get to see another blossomgale soon. She's distracted by the chirping, kneeling and trying to follow the sound, peering through the flowers as best she can before her eyes widen and she turns, pointing. at the ground in front of her to Asbel.]
Asbel! I think I found it! Look!
no subject
So, what is it? [He leans a little closer.] A baby bird?
no subject
Little baby birds. Or, they seem very little, I think they are babies. Are you sure they are okay on the ground? Aren't nests usually up high in trees?
no subject
[Asbel nods, looking worried himself, but also a little confused.] Yeah, that's what I've always thought. There really aren't any trees around that a nest could've fallen out of, though.
[He looks around. The roof? It still seems pretty far off... That's when his expression suddenly brightens. He turns to Sophie.]
Hey, I know! Hubert used to have a book on all different types of animals. It's probably still on the bookshelf somewhere. Maybe it could tell us something.
no subject
[They really are. Sophie understands that babies are tiny, and that birds were often pretty small to begin with, but these ones really reinforced that. She glances around, unable to see where the nest might have come from.]
Maybe their mother thought they might be safe here, hiding in the flowers in the garden? Would the book be in the study or in your room, Asbel? I can go look for it while you stay here and watch the birds.
Sorry for the slow.
[The least they can do is look after them until the mother comes looking for them, right? How hard could it be?]
In my room, I think. Hubert's still got old books above his desk. It'd probably be one of those. But are you sure you don't want me to go get it? [She always did like watching animals, after all.]
It's okay.
[After all, that might ruin the flowers. And the birds were so tiny. She considers the question for a moment. Perhaps it might be quicker if Asbel went to look for the book, on second thought. She did recall there being quite a few in his room, after all. But she didn't mind either way. Finding that book still wouldn't take all that long if she went to get it.]
I don't mind. Unless you wanted to. You probably have a better idea of which one it might be.
.
Why don't you stay here and look after them? It is your sopheria garden, after all.
I'll be right back with the book, Sophie. Then we'll figure out what we can do to keep them safe until their parents return.
[Unless stopped or delayed, Asbel will hurry inside, climbing the steps to his room. His brother's desk is just as neat as always, with the books arranged alphabetically and by volume number. Typical Hubert. It doesn't take long for Asbel to find the one in question and bring it back outside.]
no subject
It'll be okay. Asbel and I can help look after you. Are you hungry, is that it? Asbel, I think the baby birds might be hungry. Maybe the book can help, if we figure out what kind of birds they are what they might eat?
[At least, that would be her guess. But surely the book might help in knowing how to help the mother look after the babies.]
no subject
[Asbel looks for a place to settle down on the grass near Sophie, taking efforts not to flatten any of her precious flowers.]
All right. Let's see what we can find out.
[Without further ado, Asbel opens up the volume. It seems that animals are separated by type - mammals, reptiles, birds, and so on. Asbel quickly flips to the section on birds, where each page is dedicated to a different species, complete with name, states, and a paragraph at the bottom telling about their habits. And fortunately, each page has an illustration of the birds - both male and female, as well as juveniles.]
So all we need to do is figure out which picture looks most like them. What do you think Sophie? [He offers her the other half of the book so they can see the full spread between them.]
Do any of these match?
no subject
Maybe that one? I think it sort of looks like them.
/uses paid account.
Hmn. Let's see...
[He'll peer over her shoulder to read the words out loud.]
'The Baronan bobolink. Adults are 15 to 18 centimeters long with short beaks. Weigh one ounce. Males black with yellow crowns and white markings along the shoulders. Females brown in coloring. May migrate long distances.
'After mating, the female Baronan bobolink lays 3 to 5 eggs in a bowl-shaped nest on the ground, commonly hidden by thick vegetation. Both parents take turns feeding the chicks until they grow large enough to leave the nest and forage on their own. Eat mostly seeds, grains, and a variety of insects.'
That might explain why they're down here instead of in a tree somewhere.
yay paid.