#Blue-breasted Quail | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

cypriathus · 2 months

Text

Here is the first deity that I'll be sharing who's based off of real life mythology!

Hekanotius Trivazolenus is a faithful protector and a lover of solitude that expects people to act independently. There are rare, yet random instances where she comes off as insufferable, showing unbearable arrogance and conceit. She shows slightly noticeable sadistic tendencies, acting merciless and domineering towards those who mistreat virgins and children and have hubris. She’s relatively amoral, making little distinction between helping good and cruel mages. She’s highly respected amongst Æylphitus, but tends to be misunderstood by humans and most Ufrajozlens. She possesses a mysterious aura, impressive intelligence, general benevolence, and extreme cunningness. Hekanotius strongly values her independence and her natural problem-solving skills, making sense of things from a rational perspective. She personally believes that people are purely motivated by self-interest and learning how to endure hardship without showing emotion is the key to calmness. She enjoys indulging herself on an intellectual level with people who pique her curiosity, and she’s prudently watchful for anything that might go wrong. In response to unfortunate situations and people who are suffering, she feels genuine concern and an understandable motivation to help them.

She’s a 13 ft (396.24 cm) three-headed woman that has a pear-shaped ectomorphic body type with four small breasts, upper arms that carry some of her weight, and prominent thighs. She possesses deathly pale skin, partially pointed ears, rose of ultramarine eyes with blue and gold tapetum lucidum, and soft blossom lips. Her glossy black hair reaches a bit over the middle of her lower back and it has slight curls halfway through. Hekanotius has golden freckles on her two right and left faces, neck, hands, lower legs, and feet, and black claws and talons. Her front head wears a pristine ivory mask that has two black eyes, a forehead vivid violet eye with a milano red vertical pupil, emotionless blood red lips, and a gilt-brass halo disc that has a crescent on top. There are two straight, forward-facing horns that protrude from each side of the forehead and two curved horns that face upwards and are above where the ears should be placed. Her mask has saffron markings that consist of inwards-facing, slightly curving spikes underneath her black eyes. In the middle of her mask is a cross that resembles a sword with the arm being in the shape of a fleur-de-lis and a semi-circular hilt. She wears bright red sandals with a cork sole, consisting of a strap between the big toe and second toe and another around the ankle. She wears a luxurious, rippling bossanova peplos with the width gathered at the side that are used as sleeves and a starry himation of duke blue with golden constellations. These constellations include Centaurus, Delphinus, Ophiuchus, Virgo, Libra, Canis Major, Lyra, Draco, and Cygnus. There is a golden girdle encircling Hekanotius’ waist with a red Dalmatian jasper triple moon buckle. She’s surrounded by a glowing mantis green aura, and she carries two reed torches tipped with blue flames, an obsidian key, and a serpentine dagger.

She can manipulate nocturnal animals, magic, spiritual boundaries, time, Pnemazokhus, cemeteries, birth, sexual reproduction, crossroads, gates to cities, domestic doorways, tunnels, the moon, darkness, shadows, dusk, the night sky, falling stars, and destructive energy. She’s able to shapeshift into dogs, polecats, lions, snakes, frogs, horses, quails, and any nocturnal animal, and telepathically communicate with sentient beings. As a result of her dimensional travelling, she’s metaphysically allowed to traverse to Nifjazroghetus on an annual basis. She can create double gates made from shadows and spiritual essence with the strophalos of shimmering moon dust in the centre, allowing her to access her dedicated grooves and temples. Due to the connection to Hekanotius’ biological parents, she has inherited their lordship over the skies, earth, and sea. In order to perceive the future, she’s able to conduct nighttime divinations through oneiromancy, astrology, and necromancy. She can turn herself and other individuals invisible from potential threats, renew her virginity, and use the mist to create illusions. She’s capable of creating servants who are flaming-haired women with two mismatched legs, one of copper and the other is that of a donkey. These servants or “Empousai” can take on different forms to frighten people and lure men to their beds in order to feast on their flesh and blood. She’s eternally youthful and immune to coldness, overheating, tiredness, diseases, viruses, parasites, disorders, and illnesses.

FAMILY:

Unnamed destruction god or “Perses” (father)

Unnamed star and dream goddess or “Asteria” (mother)

Hepnazomus (lover)

Älkechirnobus Vlewjaktzobius Z’Gloktjebhuxisa (husband)

Iajorszhun Blemafronus (son)

Unnamed granddaughter

Woskejurda (descendent)

Æbrithomus Teracholdius (descendent)

Penamozkithus (descendent)

Hrasvelgzon (descendent)

Kethanomius (descendent)

Zaghetrokius Hrimagoltzen Rimebzolah (descendent)

Gulvakombe (descendent)

ALIASES/NICKNAMES:

Hecate

The Gracious-Minded

The Rejoicing In Deer

The Blood-Drinker

The Heart-Eater

The Radiant-Haired

Devourer of the Prematurely Dead

She Who Meets

Spinner of Webs

The Star-Walker

She of Immortal Fame

Torch-bearer

She Without Borders

The Dominating Force

The Ferocious-Aspected

Horse-speaker

Tomb-disturber

Grave-robber

Bender of Proud Necks

Saffron-cloaked

Leader of Howling Dogs

Child’s Nurse

The Hater of Vice

The Shrill-Screamer

The She-Monster

The Night-Wanderer

The Mountain-Roamer

Smiter of the Light

The Many-Named

She Who Goes Down Before All

She Who Bursts Forth From The Earth

Door-breaker

She Who Roars Like A Beast

She Who Is Encircled By Serpents

She of Fiery Counsel

Labourer of the Moon

Spreader of Madness

Mistress of Corpses

The Wolf-Formed

Nourisher of Life

Ruin-bringer

Ruddy-footed

FUN FACTS/EXTRA INFORMATION:

She’s polyamorous and heteroflexible

She’s often accompanied by a friendly-looking female black dog who was originally a queen, and a deceitful and lascivious polecat that used to be a sorceress. She’s also followed by two male African lions, three horned vipers, four female white-tailed deers, five horses, Pnemazokhus, and torch-bearing nymphs.

In her artistic depictions, she’s often shown as having four heads and holding a pair of torches.

Her closest friends are Hadeszloni, Perszuthomina, Demathonszur, Kirczeloba, Medajzon, Tirchelomanus, and Phuntemosza.

As an Æylphitus, the different parts of her name have special meanings: Hekanotius means “worker from afar” and Trivazolenus means “three ways”.

Her sacred animals are the dog, lion, polecat, snake, frog, horse, and quail.

Her sacred plants are the henna, wolfsbane, and willow tree.

Her sacred stones are Dalmatian jasper, spessartite garnet, blue alexandrite, smoky topaz, anorthosite, larvikite, and indicolite.

Ghosts, grimoires, objects of magic, paired flaming torches, triple moon, a key, a dagger, and the crossroads are her sacred symbols.

1 note · View note

sheepwithspecs · 1 year

Text

March CarvRhos Ficlet: Almost Kiss

|| FFXIV || Rated T ||(1/??)

Prompts Found Here!

The first of (hopefully) many CarvRhos ficlets! I hope to release as many as I can during the month of March. Each will be under 1000 words, and I’ll post them to Ao3 when the month is over. Enjoy!

“Stop it.”

“Stop what?” His voice is rough, with an edge she’s never heard before… from him, at least. He laughed low in his throat, the sound settling deep in the cradle of her thighs. “What exactly do you think this is?”

“I… I don’t—” She can’t look him in the eye, too afraid of being trapped somewhere between her rationality and the subtle way his lips are parted, a clear invitation if there ever was. It’s easier to focus on his chest, lean muscle disappearing between the folds of his shirt. Her mouth watered at the thought of leaning forward and tasting him there, one finger tugging at the neatly laced front until she could kiss the salt from his skin. The breath caught in her lungs as she imagined it, fighting to break free lest she suffocate where she stood.

“Come now, my dear.” The smooth plaster of the wall met her spine, one hand bracing her hip as he loomed ever closer. “We both know you could stop this, if that’s what you truly wanted.” His hand rose to trace her ribcage, never straying too far and yet mere ilms from cupping her breast through the thin fabric of her blouse. The desperate need to arch into his touch practically burned in her veins, and yet she would rather die than give him the satisfaction of a genuine response. She fought to remain perfectly still, hands clenched into fists behind her back.

“S-Shut up.”

“Am I wrong? Call for reinforcements,” he practically whispered, leaning down until they were eye to eye. “Struggle against me, or—better yet—draw your weapon.” The holster seemed to burn at hole at her hip. “Nothing is stopping you from fighting back. Or could this perhaps be something you secretly desire?” Pale blue eyes swept from nose to chin to collarbone, teasing her silently as they mapped the fierce blush setting her skin alight.

“Who’s talking o’ desires!? I ain’t the one wastin’ time by—by—” Her insult sputtered into silence as rough knuckles caressed her cheekbone, trailing down to cup her jaw with a leather-clad palm. She shivered despite herself, worrying her lower lip between her teeth before trying to nudge him aside with an unruly jerk of her shoulder. “Y-Ye must have a death wish,” she scoffed… or tried to, in any case.

To her immense embarrassment, her voice quivered with the timid mewl of a maiden in the first blush of youth. Her, a woman grown! A merciless corsair! Reduced to this, and by what? A tight-laced, swiving whoreson of a fop with more baubles than brains! Could ye be any more pathetic?!

“Look at me.” Unwilling to concede any further, she purposefully averted her eyes with a scowl. “Damnit, Rhoswen—” For all his mockery, his tone could have easily been mistaken as pleading. “For once in your life, can you not be so godsdamned stubborn?” The calloused pad of his thumb tugged at her skin, tracing the outermost edge of the white tattoo at her brow. She lifted her hand, fully intending to push him away, but ended up grasping his wrist in a sort of halfhearted stalemate.

“Look at me,” he insisted, and she found herself obeying without thought. His eyes fell to her lips, lingering there a moment before rising to meet her wary gaze. Gods, she swore, heart pounding in her ears, the bastard’s going to kiss me. Carvallain, known hater of the unrefined, the unpolished, the imperfect, was about to kiss her.

And worse, she was about to let him.

Her eyes fluttered shut as he leaned in, rooted in place like one of the broken pillars littering the cliffside ruins of Nym. Fingers tipped her chin higher and she quailed inwardly, torn between thoughts of escape and surrender. There’s no going back from this—

Warm breath tickled her skin—not on her cheeks, as she expected, but on the exposed column of her throat. She froze, lips parting in silent query, only to gasp aloud as his teeth found the sensitive skin above her jugular. He bit down gently, just enough to worry the skin without bruising, and she couldn’t help but melt against the wall with a smothered sigh of pleasure. His answering smile was triumphant, victorious in the face of a hard won battle.

“Delicious,” he purred, nibbling his way up to her ear. “I wonder if you’d taste even sweeter elsewhere.”

“Oh, fuck off.”

#ffxiv #Final Fantasy 14 #Final Fantasy XIV #CarvRhos #Carvallain de Gorgagne #Rhoswen Leach #my writing #I hope to keep these short and sweet #it's mostly practice but i did have a lot of ideas when I saw the prompt list last month so....#MarchoftheTropes

10 notes · View notes

gils-grillins · 9 months

Text

Sacramento Waterboy Review

WHAT WE ATE:

Drinks:

A glass of some kind of Pinot Noir

a "Tequila Honeybee" (??)

a "Hemmingway's Daiquiri" (??)

I'm not 100% certain on the names because I cannot find the cocktail menu we had online.

First course:

Bruschetta: Toasted Focaccia, Burrata, Roasted Local Stone Fruit (We Had Peaches and Cherries), Watercress, Basil, Balsamico

Cheese Plate: Selection of Four Cheeses with Toasted Bread, Crostini & Olives

Seasonal Vegetables (Heirloom tomato)

Main course:

Sonoma Liberty Duck Breast “Panzanella”: Toasted Focaccia, Local Cherries & Grilled Peaches, Arugula, Glazed Spring Onions, Balsamico

Mixed Grill of Lamb Chop, Quail & Bacon: Tomato-Eggplant-Zucchini Gratin, Crispy Fresh Corn Polenta, Rosemary-Shallot Jus

Dessert:

Summer Fruit (Strawberry) Crostata with Housemade Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

Affogato: Warm Pachamama Espresso Served Over Housemade Vanilla Ice Cream

I had the Duck and the Affogato, so I can not give a proper review of the "Mixed Grill" or the Crostata, though I did have a nibble here and there.

THE COCKTAILS

We were seated outside on the patio and although it was the early evening and still hot, it was quite nice because they had misters (??) spraying mist essentially directly on us, at least until some troublesome trout WASP women came in during the main course and had it turned off. We started off with the cocktails. Let me be frank, and do not let this tarnish your view of the establishment as a whole: they were mid. Despite, nay, because of the many ingredients that went into each one, they were extremely one-note and surprisingly acidic. The creator of these drinks clearly believed in cocktails being boozy, and boozy they were, but they were so at the cost of taste; my Honeybee did not taste of honey at all, but luckily I am a fan of raw tequila, so I wasn't too mad. My heartburn, however...

FIRST COURSE

Soon (the service here was very timely and friendly, a small but crucial sticking point when it comes to Finer Dining) we were served the First Course. We had ordered the bruschetta because the last time we had it, at the same seemingly ridiculous price point, it was Life Changing. Who knew that bread, tomatoes, and balsamic could be so damn good?

To my horror, the bruschetta had no tomatoes whatsoever. It was all peach hunks and cherry halves, sat atop a healthy serving of burrata (a good sign) along with some kind of herbs, many of which were entire leaves (I Do Not Like this, I wish restaurants and spring rolls would give up Entire Leaf as the means by which to give an herbaceaus flavour to the dish, it is too firm and fibrous compared to everything else in any given dish and therefore I am still stuck chewing it when all else has already been masticated and swallowed. It's disgusting. Stop.). The crostini was soaked with oil (butter?) and was delightfully crisp and greasy.

I'm on team Fruity Bruschetta now. It works. It's great. The sweetness and acidity of the fruit contrasts with the salty creaminess of the burrata, and then the crisp oiliness of the crostini brings it all together by giving you that delightful and drawn out crunch.

I'd be damned if I could remember exactly what the cheeses were supposed to be on the Cheese Platter, but they were some kind of Brie, some kind of French cheese that was aged in ashes (to be referred to as Ash Cheese), a Blue cheese that, we were told, had been aged in fig leaves soaked in whiskey, and a semi-firm that tasted very mild.

My personal favorites, in order from best to worst, were Brie, Ash Cheese, Semi-Firm, and the Blue. I have nothing to say about the semi-firm nor the blue, they were very generic for their kind and frankly, I have never been a fan of Blue Cheese or stinkies as a whole.

The brie was also fairly generic for a brie, but it was somehow extra Fine in its taste, perhaps because it was served at room temperature, as brie is supposed to be served, and not directly out of the fridge, as I tend to consume it.

The ash cheese had a strong, cheesey flavor, somewhat akin to a gouda, and was very appallingly gummy? It stuck to the roof of my mouth like it had decided it wanted to be peanutbutter, and a single bite of it took me several minutes to really swallow down. Tasted good though.

The platter itself did not have enough bread, so we resorted to eating cheese, particularly the non-offensive semi-firm, on the heirlooms. This was a delightful combo; always feel free to get creative with your meals, do not feel constrained by a chef's intents. Sometimes they don't know the correct cheese-to-crostini ratio. The almonds and olives in the centre were a nice touch, and the apricot (?) jam helped the blue cheese become something genuinely delicious rather than a painful, smelly chore. Strong cheeses are best when contrasted with something else. They did not give me enough of the jam, which is a shame.

The heirlooms were essentially a caprese salad without the mozzarella, and would've been only improved by the simple chopping of the herbs.

MAIN COURSE

I came out of the first course feeling extremely enthusiastic about the main course. After all, if all of the appetizers were stunning and lovely, how could the main course not be? But lord, have mercy...

My dinner was simple. Seared duck breast, sliced thinly and sat atop a simple arugula salad, accented with toasted focattia, slices of grilled peach, and cherry halves (a requiem of the bruschetta; these fruits are what's in season). Wonderful, except for one fatal flaw; the duck was rare. The skin was crisp, yes, and I know duck is a red meat, but...it was rare enough to be quacking. I am not bothered by this psychologically, but texture-wise...eugh. Chewy, gross, and because the inside is essentially uncooked, cold. Additionally, only the skin was seasoned, and in a very limited fashion, at that, so what would happen with each bite was much like the problem with using herb leaves as seasoning; I'd finish and swallow all the good stuff first (skin), then be left with the worst part last. This is where the wine comes in; I know that red wine and red meat are best buddies (if you don't know why, why are you even reading this?), so in a moment of brilliance I simply requested that the waiter give me whatever red wine suits the duck best. He gave me Pinot Noir. This, along with cutting the duck extra small and seasoning it further, saved the meal more or less, though I will not be ordering it again.

My dining partner's meal, the grill mix, was done much better in every conceivable way. I'm really, truly confounded as to how they can cook a lamb rib right but not duck breast. I tried every aspect of the meal except for the bacon, and the only complaint I had was that they oversalted the quail.

DESSERT

I ordered the affogato because none of the other desserts appealed to me (I was under the impression they'd have key lime pie, they did not) and the caffeine sounded nice. If you've never had this, simply make some espresso and pour it over a scoop of vanilla (ideally French vanilla) ice cream or gelato while it's still hot. Eventually, the whole thing melts into a tasty slurry of coffee and vanilla. You can also do what my mother used to do, and put a scoop of the same into a cup of regular coffee.

My only complaint is that the coffee was too sour; I really don't like sour coffee.

CONCLUSION

In my experience, a lot of restaurants do an amazing job with appetizers, but fumble when it comes to the main course. Black Angus and Lazy Dog both come to mind. I am not sure why this happens, but I will eventually return to Waterboy and give them another chance. After all, the apps were mind-blowing, and the only major issue (unrelated to my personal preferences) was the duck, which may very well have been an issue due to my muscle weakness making it difficult for me to chew. I often struggle with meats others don't consider to be tough, and this may have been the case. Also, their scallop and pork belly platter is calling my name.

#gil goes out to eat #food blog #restaurant review #sacramento #sacramento waterboy

2 notes · View notes

zoologytopics · 1 year

Text

California Quail

Appearance Male California Quails have a black chin and cheeks which are edged with white, and have separate white ‘eyebrows’. They have blue-grey breasts with cream to rust-brown lower bellies. They have distinct black scalloping, which merges into strong, pale streaks on the dark brown flanks.

Females are slightly smaller, duller and more brown. They have a bit of streaking on their neck and more subdued scalloping on the belly and equal bold streaking on the flanks.

Immature birds are just a shade lighter than the female.

Habitat and Range California Quills range from the western USA to Oregon and then finally to the Baja Peninsula. They have been introduced to numerous continents as game birds.

They reside in uncultivated, open shrubland.

Mating Males are aggressive when courting and tend to fight with each other.

Courtship displays include head dips, puffing up of contour feathers, and spreading of the tail feathers.

Their nests are settled in flattened grassy areas concealed among the dense vegetation. The nest is nestled among either a log or rock. The female lays 10-16 eggs which she then incubates for about 3 weeks.

Young are capable of walking and feeding themselves after hatching, however the parents continue to tend and care for them.

The female broods her children at night and during cold weather, while the male acts as a sentry. They start to fly at around 10 days old.

They will take on a single mate for the entirity of the breeding season, however when it comes around again, they typically choose a new mate.

Outside of the breeding season, they occur in large groups of about 20 quails.

Diet California Quails consume seeds, fruit, leaves, insects, and caterpillars. They typically feed in the early mornings and late afternoons.

They are preyed on by bobcats, coyotes, squirrels, great horned owls, skunks, snakes, and sometimes domestic cats.

Miscellaneous California Quails have a lifespan of 1-4 years old. They weigh an average of 150-190 grams and measure 24-27 cm long. They have a wingspan of 32-37 cm.

California Quails are capable of reaching speeds of 64 km/h.

They have a population estimate of 1-3.8 million birds.

#California Quail #zoology #species profile

4 notes · View notes

bioticplaneswalker · 2 years

Text

Pizzicato

Wrote a small piece about Encore and Otyl from our DnD campaign. Something with mischief and romance.

“I’ve been sent on behalf of the Brass Wardens, ma’am.”, he lied.

The half-elven library-monk, Farila, regarded this response to her question with a look which said as much as her silence. It was a look which said the information held within that answer she had already surmised to the point of it bordering on being superfluous, but it had indeed been an answer so she couldn’t completely fault it.

Inside, so not on his face, he grinned.

“I gathered that.”, the monk said, though she didn’t really need to. “I was more asking as to why you, a Brass Warden, were here at the temple of Ioun? Gull’s Perch isn’t exactly Nyx.”

A fair question. “I’ve been sent to assist Lieutenant Drascurin, who should already be down in the archives.” A pause. “I was given orders, ma’am.”

An eyebrow quirked. “Indeed? We weren’t told to expect another warden. Only the lieutenant.”

He gave her an easy yet apologetic smile yet remained standing at parade rest, as would be expected of someone of his rank. “I wasn’t expecting to be here either, ma’am, it was rather short-notice. I do have my orders, however.”

He produced the letter, broken seal of the palace of Nyx and all, and handed it to Farila for her to inspect. Like he claimed it ordered, in a precise and specific hand, for him to do what he had told her he was doing, and then signed with a precise and specific signature.

Forged, naturally.

But she wasn’t to know that.

He gave her two moments. “Would you be able to inform the lieutenant of my arrival? His research is most important.” To emphasise, he tapped the bronze dragon insignia on his left breast.

Up from the letter Farila dragged her eyes and locked them to his until, with a definite slam, she entombed her quill in her ledger and stalked off to find Otyl. Minutes passed in which he imagined the conversation that would pass between them, the way Otyl’s brow would furrow in suspicion though not enough to raise alarm just yet, and then how duty and curiosity would compel him to see for himself. Soon the sound of Faril’s sandals whispering across the mosaiced floor along with the heavier trod of armoured boots came to his ears and through the door came both of them, with Otyl looking exactly as he expected him to look. His eyes narrowed, the set of his mouth displeased and his red tail curled just enough at the tip to indicate irritation. Otyl’s lips parted to begin to say something but he was preempted.

“Sir.” The click of his heels as he stood at attention echoed just enough around the entrance hall and he saluted, properly, to his superior.

Otyl didn’t stumble but it was clear the protocol had been momentarily forgotten. He saluted perfunctorily back and stopped close enough to inspect his visitor to his satisfaction yet outside the range of the rapier which hung on his belt. His golden eyes flicked down and up to regard the lanky lizardfolk in front of him, his scales blue with a black undertone and his medium-weight warden uniform perfectly maintained if tailored to an unorthodox sleeveless style.

“You’re here to assist.”, Otyl’s draconic voice was flat, indicating what he said wasn’t a question but he was asking one anyway, one he expected an answer to.

“Yes sir. Corporal Woodwind, Bravo Woodwind, at your command sir.”

“Yes, I know who the letter says you are.”, said Otyl, holding up the letter between his fingers. “I don’t recognise you.”

“No sir. We haven’t met. I’ve only recently come back from assignment, and you were on assignment when I was promoted last year.” Bravo remained at attention as he hadn’t been given leave to stand at ease. “I was previously stationed in the north gate precinct.”

Otyl remained silent and Bravo, to prevent himself from quailing under that gaze, imagined the thoughts going through Otyl’s head. Bravo hadn’t told him anything unreasonable but also nothing that could be either proven or disproven right away; while his presence was plausible Bravo knew there were things Otyl wouldn’t be satisfied with unless given time to question them himself, but to do so in public could cause a scene and might put the staff of the library in danger.

Internally, Bravo thrilled.

“Alright, come on then.”, Otyl said as he apparently made up his mind. “If you’re here to help then you can’t stand there all day. I’ll take him from here, Farila; thank you for your cooperation.”

Farila had the expression on her face of all bureaucrats who knew the paperwork wasn’t right but couldn’t say anything about it and Bravo had to stop himself from curdling the grateful smile he gifted her to one tainted by smugness as he followed Otyl away from the entrance hall and down to the reading rooms. It was hard not to be impressed by the scores of shelves and reams of books and scrolls they passed but Bravo really only had eyes for Otyl, who barely glanced back at Bravo as they walked but Bravo knew that didn’t mean he wasn’t being watched.

Otyl led him to a private room overlooking one of the archive levels, the blinds open over the windows that covered one wall to give a clear view of the bookcases below, with the others reserved for more shelving and more books. A number of tables sat in the middle of the room, already weighed under by ordered piles of cascading tomes and multiple pieces of parchment with notes written in Otyl’s functional yet neat handwriting. Bravo didn’t look at them as he was indicated to sit by Otyl in one of the comfortable chairs opposite him, and they looked at each other as Otyl locked the door, cleared his side of the table of papers and subtly turned over the ones he had already been working on.

“So, you’re here to assist.” Otyl began his interrogation by echoing his first question. “Well you certainly turn out well; your armour’s a bit odd though, I’ve not seen that style before.”

Bravo knew this was also a probe. “I prefer the extra manoeuvrability, sir.”

“Well it suits you, I’ll say that.”

Not a blush was permitted. “Thank you sir. So I’ve been told, sir.”

“Mm. You’ve been sent by the Grandmaster to help in my research.”

Enough lulling. “Yes sir.” Bravo had to fight down the beginnings of excited nerves.

“And when were you given this assignment, Corporal?”

“The same day I was given the letter, sir. It’s dated.”

“I saw.”, Otyl’s tone was calm but bordered on sharp. He knew when he was being bullshitted. “And you headed straight here after receiving your orders, correct?”

“Yes sir.”

“Which are all in this letter?”

“Yes sir.”

“And which Grandmaster Lhoril gave to you?”

“Yes sir.”

“It’s a shame, then, that the only solid evidence I have of your identity is in this letter, isn’t it?”

Bravo’s heart fluttered. “Sir?”

Otyl sighed and put the open letter on the table between them and turned it so Bravo could read it. “This is the signature of Lady Lhoril.” He tapped it with his index finger.

Bravo looked down at it and then back up. Otyl’s eyes hadn’t moved from him. Rumbled. “Yes sir.”

“Only Lady Lhoril didn’t write it, did she?”

Bravo swallowed and had to fight to keep his face neutral. “No sir.”

“And the seal on the letter, though official, has been used before, and then repaired, and then broken like it would on any letter that’s been opened. It’s not fresh.”

As a lizardfolk Bravo was glad he couldn’t sweat. “No sir.”

Otyl leaned back in his chair away from the table, his hand resting on the wood but well within distance of leaping to his sword if he needed to. “You’re not a Brass Warden.”

The breath in Bravo’s chest almost hitched. “No sir.”

“There’s only a few people who knew that I was here in this temple,” said Otyl. “And who would know to ask for me specifically.”

Bravo tilted his head to the side but didn’t smile just yet as his heart threatened to swell to double its size behind his ribs. “So who am I, Lieutenant Drascurin?”

Bravo watched Otyl as his eyes almost imperceptibly flickered over him one last time and the stern features of his face softened in the way only someone used to holding themselves at the ready could have them be softened. “You’re my boyfriend: Encore.”

Now, Encore permitted himself to smile. “Hello Otyl.”

Otyl allowed himself the same. “Hello Encore.”

They both released the collective breath they were holding and settled for reaching their arms across the table and holding hands instead. “You had me concerned for a while there, you know. You were so very near to being on the money. It was the letter which properly told me you weren’t a warden.”

Encore joined him in chuckling. “I didn’t want to make it too difficult, but I had to get through the door somehow. Last time they only let a couple of us in, and only as a favour, so I thought a bit of harmless mischief wouldn’t hurt too much.”

“You played it well, with the disguise and the outfit and the demeanour. Do we really all walk like that?”

“I’ve had a lot of opportunities to study how you walk, love.”

That earned him a roll of Otyl’s eyes. “Of course you’d say that. The sleeveless getup is also a bit of a giveaway, once I thought about who you could be. I can see the chain of your Uthermis amulet around your neck, too. That explains the uh…” He gestured his hand to Encore’s current reptilian form and then his snout wrinkled in amused derision. “Also Bravo? Really?”

“I have an aesthetic to keep!”, Encore declared in mock defensiveness, a hand pressing to his breastbone. He stood and walked around the table to give Otyl a kiss and shivered at the unfamiliar sensation of kissing someone while having a pair of lips covered in scales instead of skin. It was nice, and they both took their time over it, to fully explore the new experience of course. Encore also took the opportunity of having a flexible tail to entwine it round Otyl’s own.

“You’re not really here to give me a hand with all this reading, are you?”, Otyl asked afterwards, sounding only half-heartedly disappointed as he looked at the trove of books remaining on the table.

“Afraid not. I’m not here to try and steal state secrets or anything. I’m just here to be a pleasant distraction. Only for a night, so not too much of a distraction.” Encore winked at him. “Still a distraction though.”

“I’m fine with that”, Otyl admitted, his voice quieter and belying the length of time he’d been stuck in this room. “I could use a break.” A pause. “And I was worried about you. After no word from you for a while.”

“I know. I’m sorry. It’s why I wanted to see you.” Encore feathered his fingers down the back of Otyl’s head to the base of his skull and felt the tension in his neck. “And it’s why I had your room upgraded in the Harpy’s Nest to a bigger suite. And there’s a nice dinner waiting for us when we eventually head back, with the most expensive bottle of wine they had to go with it.”

An appreciative rumble escaped from Otyl’s throat and he closed his eyes. “When you plan subterfuge you really think of everything, don’t you?” He opened them again as Encore drifted away from him and over to the window.

“I do. Unrepentantly.”, said Encore. “Now, I still have about half an hour left before I have to recast this spell. So,” he glanced back over his shoulder at his boyfriend, cheekily and shamelessly “about me being a distraction…” and he swept the blinds closed.

#long post #Encore #Otyl #Siren #Dragonborn #Dungeons and Dragons #original character #original fiction

4 notes · View notes

allwaysfull · 1 year

Photo

Harvest to Heat | Darryl Estrine and Kelly Kochendorfer

Starters

Blue Cheese Tartine

Herb Gougères

Crab-Stuffed Zucchini Flowers w/Black Truffles

Flint Corn Polenta Cakes w/Heirloom Tomato Salad

Carrot Cannelloni w/Soft Cheese and Pine Nuts

Sautéed Chicken Livers with Smoked Bacon and Roasted Grapes

Dandelion Tart w/Sheep’s Milk Ricotta, Grappa-Soaked Golden Raisins

Maine Sea Scallop Ceviche

Crawfish-Stuffed Deviled Eggs

Salads

Stuffed Cherry Tomatoes w/Zucchini Pistou, Yellow Tomato Vinaigrette

Baby Romaine Salad w/Edamame, Jalapeño Dressing, Yellow Bell Pepper Pipérade

Warm Vegetable Salad

Burrata w/Speck, Peas, and Mint

Chopped Salad w/Corn Vinaigrette and Frico Cheese Crisps

Mesclun w/Shrimp, Avocado, and Creamy Champagne Dressing

Salted Cod Salad w.Preserved Lemons and Arugula Pesto

Crispy Smelts w/Sun Gold Tomatoes and Arugula | Garlic Aioli

Asparagus-Country Ham Bundles w/Toasted Pecans, Citrus Vinaigrette

Soups

Chilled Tomato Soup w/Aged Feta and Olives

Chilled Cucumber-Yogurt Soup w/Candied Fennel, Lemon Gelée

Pumpkin Soup w/Crème Fraiche and Hazelnut Gremolata

Oyster Chowder

Heirloom Bean Soup w/Lobster and Minestrone Vegetables

Crawfish and Corn Stew

Smoky Pork and Apple Soup w/Mustard

Clam and Steuben Bean Soup w/Fennel and Lemon

Main Courses: Meat

Pan-Roasted Beef Rib-Eye w/Fresh Red Currant Pan Sauce

Grilled Skirt Steak and Beef Marrow Bones w/Radish-Herb Salad and Pepper Purée

Braised Short Ribs w/Red Wine

Creole Beef Grillades and Cheese Grits

Roasted Pork Loin w/Roasted Vegetables and Spicy Tomato Sauce

Pork Osso Buco w/Wild Mushrooms and Almond Piccata

Slow-Cooked Pork w/Spanish Paprika and Sweet Spices

Maple-Glazed Pork Belly, Sunny-Side Up Egg, Pickled Chanterelles

Lamb Saddle w/Caramelized Fennel and Wild Mushrooms

Paella w/Lamb Ribs

Roasted Lamb Loin w/Yogurt Eggplant Purée and Merguez Sausage

Herb-Roasted Lamb Rib-Eye w/Wild Preserved Mushrooms, Aromatic Oil

Bison Pastrami “Hash” w/Fingerling Potatoes, Fried Eggs, Grilled Bread

Chicken, Duck and Other Fowl

Roasted Duck Breast w/Farro “Risotto” and Caramelized Figs

Roasted Chicken w/Lemon Thyme and Summer Truffles

Chicken Pot Pie

Poached Chicken w/Morels and Asparagus

Duck Meatballs w/Pomegranate-Orange Glaze, Puréed Parsnips

Apricot-Orange-Glazed Quail

Chicken-Fried Squash with Stuffed Peppers | Cornbread

Fish and Shellfish

Halibut Poached in Pepper Butter w/Roasted Corn Salad

Roasted Trout w/Herb-Champagne Vinaigrette

Fish In Mango Curry Sauce

Lobster Shortcakes w/Vanilla Rum Sauce and Spicy Shallots

Sautéed Shrimp and Hazelnut Romesco

Shrimp w/Tomatoes, Strawberries and Lemon Vinegar

Stir-Fried Fava Shoots w/Shrimp and Caramelized Shallots

Soy Butter-Poached Oysters w/Radishes and Kimchi Juice

Tarts

Crème Fraiche Galette w/Heirloom Tomatoes

Cremini-Filled Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Lobster Mac and Cheese

Gratin of Bay Scallops w/Jerusalem Artichoke Purée, Crisp Country Ham

Pasta, Grains and Rice

Sweet Potato Gnocchi w/Braised Plums and Crumbly Blue Cheese

Angel Hair Pasta w.Oyster Butter Cream Sauce and Caviar

Ramp Ravioli w/Lemon Zest

Risotto w/Fresh Peas and Pancetta

Tacos w/Greens and Seared Onions | Chipotle Tomatillo Verde Salsa

Sides

Vegetable Succotash w/Spicy Yellow Tomato Coulis

Pearl Onions and Fiddlehead Ferns w/Vanilla Jelly and Onion Sorbet

Roasted Fairytale Eggplant in Chèvre Cream

Curried English Peas and Pickled Swiss Chard

Roasted Beets with Mint

Grilled Broccoli Rabe/Radicchio w/Pancetta Dressing, Soft-Cooked Egg

Sweet Corn Sformato

Butter Bean and Corn Succotash w/Candied Bacon

Brussels Sprouts w/Brown Butter, Bacon, and Sage

Roasted Stuffed Tomatoes w/Farro

Savory Bread Pudding w/Bacon and Farmstead Cheese w/Tomato Jam

Crostini w/Burrata, Marinated Escarole, and Caramelized Shallots

Sweet Potatoes w/Corn, Swiss Chard, and Caramelized Onions

Braised New Potatoes w/Mustard and Leeks

Goat Cheese and Chive Hash Browns

Savory Oats w/Fig Chutney

Forest Mushroom and Naked Barley Pilaf

Carolina Gold Rice with Ramps, Asparagus, and Morels

Desserts

Strawberry Cheesecake w/Balsamic-Roasted Strawberries

Milk Chocolate Semifreddo w/Star Anise Carrot Cake

Honey Mango Upside-Down Cake

Poppy Seed Cake w/Apple Vodka

Individual Chocolate Ganache Cakes

Fromage Blanc Bavarian Cream Cake w/Poached Plums

Goat Cheese Panna Cotta w/Caramelized Figs

Caciotta Cheese Fritters w/Honey

Chocolate Pots de Crème

Snow Eggs w/Green Tea Crème Anglaise

Strawberry-Tomato Gazpacho

Nectarines, Peaches, and Blueberries w/Sabayon

Hudson Manhattan Rye Whiskey Chocolate Truffles

#harvest to heat #darryl estrine #kelly kichendorfer #alice waters #farmers #farm to table #chefs #artisans #TOC

0 notes

culturalsafaritours · 1 year

Text

Top 10 Wildlife Sanctuaries and National Parks in Rajasthan

Top 10 National Parks in Rajasthan | Wildlife Sanctuaries in Rajasthan

Rajasthan is a state of the royals, and its rich heritage and civilization are filled with various examples of the royal culture. Rajasthan offers a lot of cultural diversity and beautiful fauna as well. Ranthambore National Park, Sariska Tiger Reserve, Kumbhalgarh Sanctuary, Sitamata Sanctuary, Mount Abu Sanctuary, Desert National Sanctuary, Darrah Sanctuary, and Sajjangarh Wildlife Sanctuary are a few well-known wildlife sanctuaries & national parks in Rajasthan. Ranthambore National Park, and Sariska Tiger Reserve, are significant national parks and Tigers and bird sanctuaries.

Wildlife in Rajasthan is characterised by tigers and includes Ranthambore National Park. In addition, you can see animals including Owlets, the Common Langur, Leopards, Caracals, Wild Boars, Bears, and many types of Deer.

The Maharaja of Kota used the Darrah Wildlife Sanctuary as a royal game hunting reserve. Visitors can witness spotted deer, wild boars, bears, sambhar, leopards, panthers, and antelopes in this area. The magnificent Indian Bustard can be seen in the Desert National Park. Chinkara, Wolf, Hare, and Desert Cat are a few more stunning creatures. You can locate grey partridge among the birds. Additionally, you can see birds like Indian rollers, common and bush quail, blue-tailed and green bee-eaters, and drongos.

If you head to the well-known Kumbalgarh Wildlife Sanctuary, you'll see Sloth Bear, Wolf, Leopards, Jackals, Hyenas, Jungle Cats, Sambhar, Nilgai, Chinkara, Chaisingh, and Hare. Additionally, there are a variety of species that you can observe, including Grey Jungle Fowls, Peacocks, Doves, Red Spur Owls, Parakeets, Golden Orioles, Grey Pigeons, Bulbul, and White Breasted Kingfishers. It is possible to explore Rajasthan's other wildlife sanctuaries and their unique collections of natural beauties by taking a lengthy trip there.

Here are 10 of the best wildlife sanctuaries and national parks in Rajasthan

Suggested Tours: Jaipur Ranthambore Tour, Rajasthan Wildlife Tour Safari Booking: Ranthambore Safari, Sariska Safari, Must Read: Top 8 Wildlife Sanctuaries in India

Ranthambore National Park

Ranthambore National Park is Northern India's forty-first-largest national park. The wildlife sanctuary is one of the tiger reserves that are under protection and is well-known for its Bengal Tiger population. It is among India's top locations for viewing animals in their natural settings. Even during the day, tigers can be easily observed prowling around. November and May are the ideal times to explore the wildlife refuge. The fauna of the park also includes Southern Plains Grey Langurs, Indian Leopards, Wild Boars, Striped Hyenas, and Mugger Crocodiles. The sanctuary also supports the greatest number of banyan trees in India as well as a diversity of plants and birds.

Sariska National Park

The park, which is in Rajasthan's Alwar district, was declared a tiger reserve in 1978. The Royal Bengal Tigers, which later vanished, were successfully treated and moved for the first time in history to Sariska National Park

It is a protected area made up of rocky terrain, grasslands, cliffs with hills, and dry forests. There are also striped hyenas, chinkaras, nilgais, jungle cats, leopards, golden jackals, etc. that can be spotted in the park. Here, you may hear the chirping of some lovely birds.

Must Read: Complete Travel Guide to Ranthambore National Park

Desert National Park, Jaisalmer

One of India's most well-known and expansive national parks is the desert. It is located close to Jaisalmer. The park's distinctive terrain is what draws a great number of visitors from all over the world. Sand dunes occupy 20% of the park's surface area. The park's birds is also a draw, in addition to the stunning scenery. Both native and migratory birds call this area home. Falcons, vultures, tawny eagles, spotted eagles, sand grouse, and other species are frequently seen. The park's main draw is the threatened Great Indian Bustard, which is present in decent numbers. The best time to visit Park is from November to January.

Mount Abu Wildlife Sanctuary

The Aravalli range, one of India's oldest mountain ranges, is where the sanctuary is situated. There are 112 plant families, 449 genera, and 820 species of plants in the park, which is exceptionally wealthy and diverse in its floral richness. A variety of orchids are only found in Mount Abu Sanctuary in Rajasthan. The park is home to several different animal species, including the Indian Fox, Common Langur, Wild Boar Sloth Bear, Pangolin, Common Mongoose, Indian Hare Porcupine, Hedgehog, and more. This region is also frequently home to the rare Green Adavat. There are also about 250 different bird species in this area. From April to June and November to February are the ideal times to explore the park.

Kumbhalgarh Wildlife Sanctuary

The Kumbhalgarh Wildlife Sanctuary includes the Kumbhalgarh Fort and the Aravalli Mountain range. The sanctuary is home to a wide range of wildlife, including some critically endangered species. Hares, Chinkaras, Jungle Cats, Leopards, and Wolves, among other animals, constitute part of the sanctuary's wildlife. The area is also home to a variety of bird species, including the wary and evasive Grey Jungle Fowl, Peacocks, Doves, Parakeets, Grey Pigeons, Bulbuls, and White-Breasted Kingfishers. The sanctuary is accessible to visitors via horseback safaris and foot tracking. The optimum time to visit the safari is from October to March.

Sita Mata Wildlife Sanctuary

The sanctuary, which is the main draw of the region, is located in Rajasthan's Pratapgarh district. It was designated a protected area in 1979 and is now one of Rajasthan's most well-known wildlife sanctuaries. The convergence of the Aravalli mountains, the Vindhyachal Hills, and the Malwa Plateau has caused the terrain of the sanctuary to ripple. The sanctuary, which has a wide variety of plants, trees, and other species, is frequently referred to be a birders' paradise. The cattle egret, tiny egret, tawny eagle, Indian darter, grey heron, little grebe, little cormorant, white-eyed buzzard, black winged stilt, and several other birds are the most frequently observed birds. The park's main draw is the Vegetarian Mammal Flying Squirrel. The commonly spotted animal species are Neelgai, Wild Bear, Spotted Deer, Jungle Cat, Fox, etc.

National Chambal Sanctuary

The wildlife sanctuary is located on the banks of the Chambal River, where the boundaries of the three states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh converge. The sanctuary is dedicated to the preservation of the critically endangered species of Ganges River dolphins, Gharials, and Red-crowned Roof Turtles. Indian wolves, striped hyenas, smooth-coated otters, mugger crocodiles, and other species can be found in the sanctuary. Gharials, crocodiles, freshwater dolphins, and endangered turtles are the sanctuary's principal draws. Visitors can rent boats to explore the river Chambray in search of and capture images of crocodiles, dolphins, and turtles.

Kailadevi Wildlife Sanctuary

The Ranthambore National Park contains the sanctuary. It is one of Rajasthan's most well-known wildlife sanctuaries and is home to a vast array of different bird and animal species. The Keladevi Temple, which is located inside the sanctuary's boundaries, inspired the naming of the sanctuary. Here, it's common to see sambhar, wolves, hyenas, sloth bears, leopards, tigers, jackals, wild boars, chinkara, and other species. In the sanctuary, tourists can enjoy themselves by going on jeep safaris and bird-watching excursions. The sanctuary is most visited from September to March.

Darrah National Park

One of Rajasthan's most visited national parks is the Darrah National Park. The Darrah Wildlife Sanctuary, the Chambal Wildlife Sanctuary, and the Jaswant Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary are among the three wildlife sanctuaries that make up the organisation, which was founded in 2004.

Large tracts of forest that were originally the Maharaja of Kota's hunting grounds may be found in the national park. The wildlife sanctuary, which has a surface area of 250 sq km, is located 50 kilometres from Kota. In 1955, the sanctuary was formally designated as a protected area. Numerous animals live there, including wolves, wild boars, deer, nilgai, and cheetahs. The sanctuary is most visited from July to September.

Sajjangarh Wildlife Sanctuary

The renowned Sajjangarh palace is barely 5 km away from this sanctuary, which is located in Sajjangarh. Along with many other species including blue bulls, hares, and jackals, you will witness reptiles like crocodiles and alligators. This location boasts captivating panoramic vistas and sceneries, including a lake, which adds to its allure. The entry fee to this location is INR 300, and it is open from 10 am to 6 pm. In addition, safaris are possible here. Prices could change.

So much to see! Will the heat be worth it in the end? Therefore, you must include at least a few of the places on this list when you plan your vacation to Rajasthan in the future. You won't be let down!

#Top 10 Wildlife Sanctuaries and National Parks in Rajasthan #National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries in Rajasthan #10 Best Wildlife Sanctuaries in Rajasthan #National Parks in Rajasthan #Top 10 Wildlife Sanctuaries in Rajasthan

0 notes

nonbinary-nature-lover-jeri · 2 years

Photo

Scenes From My Walk - Scaled Quail (sometimes called Blue Quail) - Set 3 (Last Set) More on this interesting bird: “The scaled quail (Callipepla squamata), also commonly called blue quail or cottontop, is a species of the New World quail family. It is a bluish gray bird found in the arid regions of the Southwestern United States to Central Mexico. This species is an early offshoot of the genus Callipepla, diverging in the Pliocene. This bird is named for the scaly appearance of its breast and back feathers. Along with its scaly markings, the bird is easily identified by its white crest that resembles a tuft of cotton.” - Wikipedia #ScenesFromMyWalk #ScaledQuail #BlueQuail #Quail #QuailOfInstagram #Birds #Bird #BirdPhotography #Birding #BirdingPhotography #PhotoByJeriRae #Naturalist (at Agua Fria, New Mexico) https://www.instagram.com/p/ChdY500rO3m/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

#scenesfrommywalk #scaledquail #bluequail #quail #quailofinstagram #birds #bird #birdphotography #birding #birdingphotography #photobyjerirae #naturalist

0 notes

raptorsandpoultry · 3 years

Text

Blue-breasted quail (AKA button quail) care sheet

Excalfactoria chinensis, AKA Chinese painted quail, king quail, etc., (not to be confused with hemipode buttonquail, which are actually a group of strange and tiny shorebirds!) These little guys are the smallest species of true quail, which are part of the pheasant family, and can live a little over 4 years under proper human care. Full-sized adults are no larger than a standard day-old chicken:

(Photo: mine)

Diet:

Two thirds of a daily adult blue-breasted quail ration should be fresh game bird pellet (they can learn to eat whole pellets, but ideally these should be ground/broken up into smaller pieces) or chick starter crumble. The remaining third should consist of fresh, bird-safe fruits and vegetables (mine personally prefer Romaine lettuce and grapes), supplemented with extra sources of protein such as live mealworms and boiled egg during periods of heavy molting or egg-laying. Any uneaten food items should be removed well before they get a chance to spoil/rot - quail are messy eaters and will scatter food about and kick bedding/waste material all over it, even if it is given in an elevated food bowl. Grit must be supplemented as well, in addition to calcium for laying hens. Most hens actually do well with a cuttlebone to peck at (it sounds like they’re playing a tiny xylophone and it’s probably one of my favorite things ever). As with any other bird, fresh water should be provided and changed daily. It can be offered in a shallow bowl with marbles/pebbles at the bottom to prevent drowning; alternatively, quail can be trained to drink from hamster-style water bottles.

Housing:

To minimize physiological and psychological stress, a quail enclosure should be placed away from anywhere it could be exposed to extreme or fluctuating temperatures, high-traffic areas, or perceived predators such as dogs and cats. The more space, the better - I would personally recommend at least 3 square meters or 10 cubic feet for a pair or trio. Their behaviour will indicate whether they’ve got enough space AND hiding places. If they spend the majority of their time repetitively walking/running along the edges of the enclosure, something needs to change, and if abnormal feather-pecking behaviour develops (more on that below), then they definitely do not have enough space. Blue-breasted quail will burst into flight when frightened (or do a shorter sort of flutter when they simply want to exercise their wings), and while they can reach impressive heights, they are pretty terrible at controlling which direction they go. They will be able to overshoot the walls of any enclosure you try to put them in, so a lid/cover is a must, and it needs to be soft enough or lined with soft material underneath to prevent head trauma when they inevitably hit their heads on it. Cleaning and disinfection of the entire enclosure with bird-safe agents needs to be done regularly, how frequently depends on many factors such as stocking density and the type of litter/bedding being used. Wood shavings/pellets, shredded paper, chopped straw, newspaper/paper towel (with small areas of substrate they can dig and forage around in) all work well, but the best enclosures will offer a variety of substrates to provide the quail with lots of choice as to where they can perform specific behaviours. Which leads nicely into the next segment...

(Photo: floridabuttonquail.wordpress.com)

Enrichment:

Quail *love* to dust-bathe. Chinchilla dust or sand are ideal for helping them get excess oil off their feathers, but they will bathe in other substrates as well, such as wood shavings, dried moss, etc. Small toys, when introduced carefully and with some treats scattered on or around them, will also stimulate these curious little birds. I give mine tiny whiffle balls stuffed with dried mealworms to encourage foraging behaviour. Furniture for the enclosure can include things like natural or artificial branches/twigs, leaves, and lots of small rock caves and plant pots for hiding places as well. Like any other pet, quail can be trained using positive reinforcement! Here are a couple videos of mine being target-trained. This can easily be extended to teach them to spin on cue, run obstacle courses, and much more! Lack of mental stimulation in quail can lead to abnormal feather-pecking behaviour, in which one or more quail begin to focus their activities on actively chasing their flockmates, then pulling out and eating their feathers. This can easily be prevented by providing plenty of environmental enrichment as described above, as well as appropriate social enrichment - quail absolutely should not be kept alone, and blue-breasted quail in particular do best in male-female pairs or one-male-two-female trios.

General Health:

A healthy blue-breasted quail will spend most of its day foraging and eating, as well as dust-bathing, napping, and gently preening itself and its mate. A quail with healthy plumage who is not molting should basically just be an orb when its feathers are smooth and fluffed out comfortably. Its eyes, nares, and cloaca should be free of discharge, and its beak and toenails kept at a proper length with the help of an appropriate foraging substrate and accessories such as cuttlebones. When they do grow too long, they should be trimmed by a veterinary professional or someone with extensive experience caring for quail (beaks especially should not be trimmed by someone other than an avian veterinarian as there is huge potential for error leading to beak deformities). Despite their small size and often cheap price, quail need and deserve proper veterinary care just as much as any parrot or other pet bird. Please take your quail to a licensed avian veterinarian if you notice any of the following signs: abnormal lumps on face/feet, plucked or consistently soiled feathers, lethargy, difficulty breathing, abnormal feces/urate, lameness, any discharge or swelling, excessive preening or scratching, and loss of appetite, among others.

(Photo: mine)

This care sheet was requested by @eclectus-mom! It just occurred to me that this is the first care sheet I’ve ever written, and I just know I missed a ton of points so please feel free to add them on if you are experienced with quail care! And my ask box if always open for other requests and questions :)

#quail #buttonquail #bird #pets #pet bird #birds #husbandry #veterinary medicine #animal welfare #animal behavior #animal training #vet #Blue-breasted Quail #king quail #original post

97 notes · View notes

frankenchio · 2 years

Photo

Me and my pareidolia

#blue-breasted quail #quail #rageface #kingquail

4 notes · View notes

furryfeathersfriends · 5 years

Video

youtube

Adorable king quail chicks! And they’re beautiful parents towards the end.

#king quail #button quail #chinese painted quail #blue breasted quail #not my video #furry feathers friends #i'm really down today so i am watching cute videos to cheer me up #pretty bird

2 notes · View notes

bjekkergauken · 3 years

Photo

Some more birds cause I cannot stop. South american birds this time.

P1: Humboldt penguin, red-legged cormorant, king vulture, hooded grebe, chilean flamingo, plumbeous kite

P2: Inca tern, scarlet macaw, hoatzin, sapphire quail dove, golden-plumed parrot, buff-fronted owl

P3: Crested owl, colourful puffleg, emerald toucanet, dot-eared coquette, horned sungem, cream-coloured woodpecker

P4: Black crested tit tyrant, Banded cotinga, Pin-tailed manakin, Royal flycatcher, Guianan cock-of-the-rock, white-tailed jay

P5: White-capped tanager, Green oropendola, Green-headed tanager, blue-and-yellow tanager, scarlet-breasted dacnis, Many-coloured thrush tyrant

430 notes · View notes

robininthelabyrinth · 3 years

Text

Same River Twice (aka Time Travel Nie Bros) - part 4 - see ao3 or tumblr part 1, part 2, part 3

“You know what,” Nie Mingjue said, several shichen into the most awkward conversation he’d ever been forced to overhear in his life, “I think Wei Wuxian needs more friends.”

His father stopped contemplating the window with an expression that suggested he was considering throwing himself out of it and looked at him. “So you’ve mentioned before.”

“Yes, I know,” Nie Mingjue said, because he had in fact brought it up after Nie Huaisang’s no doubt unintentionally apt suggestion. “But on second thought, he needs them urgently. As does Huaisang. You don’t want them growing up barbaric and unsocialized, do you?”

His father mouthed the words ‘barbaric and unsocialized’ to himself, looking delighted. “By which you mean that you’d like to take them to visit the Lan sect, I assume?” he asked, not bothering to hide his amusement. “To learn good habits from them there?”

“To avoid learning bad habits here,” Nie Mingjue said. “Alternatively, you could always kick all of them out so that all of us can stop getting the loud and dramatic rendition of all the different types of bad decisions adults can make, courtesy of our friends in the Jiang sect and our new guest disciples.”

“…take Zonghui with you,” his father said. “Have a nice trip. Enjoy the quiet.”

There was a better than decent chance that he was being sarcastic, but Nie Mingjue wasn’t going to wait around long enough to find out – he saluted and turned to run away at once.

“Don’t get into too much trouble!” his father shouted after him.

That was ridiculous. What sort of trouble could Nie Mingjue get into in Gusu, of all places?

“Nie-gongzi, has anyone ever told you that you have really weird taste in rewards?” Nie Zonghui said, looking long-suffering as always.

Wei Wuxian, who was riding on his shoulders, craned his head down to look at him. “Rewards? What is Nie-da-ge getting rewarded for?”

“He performed especially well on his first ever night hunt,” Nie Zonghui told him, while Nie Mingjue flushed red and Nie Huaisang, who was riding on his shoulders, giggled. “His father wanted to reward him, and determined to do so by granting the first request he made.”

“He didn’t tell me he was planning on doing that,” Nie Mingjue hissed. If he had, he might’ve asked to visit Yunping City to collect Meng Yao – finding a reason to go there was much harder to achieve than arranging a simple visit to the Lan sect, which would’ve happened sooner or later anyway.

His thoughts hadn’t been focused on reward at all. He’d only really, truly desperately wanted to get away from any further discussion of Sect Leader Jiang’s sex life.

(Cangse Sanren was blunt and straightforward in her speech, something Nie Mingjue greatly appreciated right up until she was shouting things about size and shape and performance and also her husband…it was absolutely mortifying, even just as a spectator, except possibly Jiang Fengmian was into things like that because he just kept on arguing. In his past-future life, Nie Mingjue had had to sit across the table from Jiang Fengmian for years, and might yet have to do so again if he was not successful in adverting his father’s death, which was something he wouldn’t be able to if he kept hearing things like this! He didn’t want to know things like this!)

No, Nie Mingjue hadn’t thought about rewards at all – had already put away all thoughts of that particular night-hunt in favor of showing of his improvement with Baxia, who practically purred in his hands when he wielded her, so that he could win his independence sooner rather than later.

Even picking Gusu as their destination had been primarily motivated by seizing on the last place anyone had mentioned to him as a plausible destination that could be sold to his father.

Nie Huaisang had asked him, all big and wide-eyed and adorable, why they were going to somewhere as far away from the Unclean Realm as the Cloud Recesses, and Nie Mingjue had blamed Nie Huaisang’s suggestion of introducing Wei Wuxian to the Lan sect.

Nie Huaisang had also asked why they were going now and Nie Mingjue had explained in a rush of tangled words that sometimes grown-ups liked to talk about private things very loudly and maybe it would be better to leave them to it.

Nie Huaisang had found that dreadfully funny for some reason, giggling until both he and Wei Wuxian were rolling around on the ground laughing their heads off at the idea of going to Gusu –

Nie Mingjue didn’t care. As long as they went, and with them his excuse to go as well!

(Besides, it would be nice to see Lan Xichen.)

“Of course he didn’t tell you about it, Nie-gongzi,” Nie Zonghui said patiently. “It was meant to be a surprise. Wouldn’t have been much of a surprise if you knew about it, would it?”

Nie Mingjue sighed. Nie Zonghui was a half-generation above him – older than him by over a decade, entitling him (if only technically) to be called uncle rather than cousin, but young enough that he sometimes felt more like a peer. Certainly once Nie Mingjue himself had become sect leader, having someone like him to help figure out how to communicate with the elders had been priceless.

That didn’t mean he didn’t want to punch the man in the face on a regular basis.

Stupid sense of humor.

“Wouldn’t da-ge be happier if he could pick what he got?” Nie Huaisang asked. “What if he’d asked for something stupid, like a map?”

Nie Mingjue reached up to one of the legs currently dangling next to his ear and pinched him lightly, making his little brother squeak and then giggle again. He wasn’t sure why Nie Huaisang was still so worried about his offer to buy him a map – he hadn’t even known that the under-five age group could have a sense of financial economy, much less guilt over it, but then again he didn’t know much about kids that age anyway – but no matter what he wasn’t having any of it.

In this life, his brother would be happy for as long as Nie Mingjue could give him.

Of course, making Nie Huaisang happy would be easier if he wasn’t so picky.

“Didi, didi, it’s all right,” he said, trying to be soothing and not really remembering how. “You don’t need to be afraid - Lan Xichen is a friend…I’m sorry, Xichen, I really don’t know what’s gotten into him.”

“It’s no problem,” Lan Xichen said, looking exactly as one would expect a nine-year-old being addressed as a peer by a twelve-year-old that his guardian routinely praised as a role model would be – which was to say, a little pleased, a little uncertain, and mostly confused. The shrieking four-year-old wasn’t helping matters, either. “I don’t think I’ve done anything to offend him...?”

“You’re blind,” Nie Huaisang hissed at him, tears still streaming down his face. “Blind, blind, blind!”

“No, Huaisang,” Nie Mingjue said helplessly. He had no idea where Nie Huaisang got these ideas into his head, was it a feature of early childhood or something? “He’s not – look, the bandage is around his forehead, right? Not his eyes. And since when do you have something against blind people anyway?”

Nie Huaisang buried his face into his side. “Stupid da-ge.”

Nie Mingjue patted him on the back. “Sorry,” he said to Lan Xichen again. “This isn’t exactly the first impression I was hoping for.”

Lan Xichen abruptly grinned, looking for a moment like a regular child rather than the polite and reserved young man Nie Mingjue had known for so many years – it reminded him a little of the boy from the future timeline that he’d only seen brief glimpses of through the pieces of his soul that were attached to the pieces of his body, the loud and irreverent one called Lan Jingyi.

Back then he'd wondered abstractly how exactly such a boy could be related to the Lan clan, stately and elegant even when they acted radically, and now all of a sudden he saw that boy staring out of him from Lan Xichen’s immature face.

“Bet you thought you’d look a lot more dashing, didn’t you?” Lan Xichen asked merrily. “Flying in on your swords, jumping down for a perfect landing, and then – waaaaaaah!”

Nie Mingjue laughed, because it really had happened a bit like that.

“Don’t forget the domino effect,” he said wryly, glancing over at where Wei Wuxian was being plied with treats from a bag pulled from Nie Zonghui’s sleeve – he’d started sympathy crying when Nie Huaisang had inexplicably started wailing, and was having trouble stopping even though he admitted that nothing was actually wrong with him other than having feelings. “They’re probably just over-tired from the trip.”

“Did you really fly all the way from Qinghe?” Lan Xichen asked eagerly. “All by yourself?”

“We made a lot of stops –”

“But you were on your own sword, right? Just you?”

“It’s a saber and I was carrying Huaisang, but yes, in terms of who was in charge of propulsion, it was just me.”

Lan Xichen heaved a sigh full of obvious envy, and Nie Mingjue smiled. “If you want, I can petition your uncle that you act as my guide to the surrounding environs as well as the Cloud Recesses itself? He’d have to let you fly by yourself if that was the case.”

“Oh, would you?” Lan Xichen enthused. “That would be great! I’m not that good yet, but I’m not going to get good if I don’t have a chance to practice, except Uncle is always saying that – oh, wait, I’m not supposed to say –”

“Speaking of others behind their back is prohibited,” Nie Mingjue said solemnly, then cracked up at the dumbfounded expression on Lan Xichen’s face. “No, I’m sorry, I won’t quote your sect rules at you, I promise, it was just a joke…”

“You’d better!”

He rather liked this enthusiastic version of Lan Xichen, Nie Mingjue thought.

Even Nie Huaisang seemed to have gotten over his initial fright to start begrudgingly enjoying all of Lan Xichen’s chattering and bustling around – Nie Mingjue thought he might, given that Lan Xichen currently reminded him immensely of an extremely chatty blue-breasted quail and Nie Huaisang had always liked those. There was so much life in Lan Xichen, good humor and cheer filling him up until he was practically bursting with it; he hadn’t yet had to learn how to hold back his feelings and hide them, hadn’t yet learned that the only acceptable way to interact with others was through a carefully practiced smile.

Perhaps what was why Lan Xichen had been so drawn to Meng Yao, Nie Mingjue reflected – Meng Yao had hidden himself underneath a smile, too. Where he himself had admired Meng Yao for what he had thought was his strength of character, his ability to ignore the jibes and the slights he faced in favor of carrying on and doing what must be done, just as Nie Mingjue longed to be able to do, perhaps Lan Xichen had from the very first moment seen Meng Yao as someone in need of sympathy and affection. Perhaps it had been his own suffering projected onto Meng Yao’s open, facile face that had so tugged on his heartstrings.

It was a little odd, though.

It was a long time ago, but Nie Mingjue recalled meeting Lan Xichen when they were both quite young, and if he put his mind to thinking about it, he was pretty sure they would have met in about two years’ time – his fourteen to Lan Xichen’s eleven, with Nie Huaisang nearly six and Lan Wangji nearly seven. And yet the Lan Xichen he had met had been so very different from this, far more serious and reserved, quiet more often than not, that practiced smile already on his face and only with great reluctance melting into something real…

He wondered why there had been such a great change.

In the meantime, Nie Mingjue relieved Nie Zonghui of his duties on account of their safety – the older man had been to Gusu before for discussion conferences, and looked extremely bored – and took Nie Huaisang’s hand in one hand and Wei Wuxian’s in the other, and the three of them followed Lan Xichen around as he pointed out all the things he liked best.

Wei Wuxian broke away at one point and sped into the brush, shrieking something about a rabbit, and when they gave chase and found him again, he’d somehow bumped into Lan Wangji, who with his white clothing and solemn expression resembled nothing so much a bunny himself.

“Nie-da-ge, this is my friend!” Wei Wuxian hollered, even though they couldn’t have been talking for more than a few minutes before the rest of them caught up. “His name’s Lan Zhan! I’m keeping him forever!”

Nie Huaisang sniggered, and Nie Mingjue poked him – it was rude to laugh at other people’s earnestness.

“That’s nice, Wuxian,” he said, and formally saluted Lan Wangji, knowing how much the other boy liked rules and things being done right. “I’m pleased to meet you, Wangji. I hope we can be friends as well.”

Lan Wangji stared at him mutely for a long moment, and then his entire face slowly turned bright red as if he were boiling.

Nie Mingjue blinked, unsure about the reason for such an extreme reaction, but standing beside him Lan Xichen cackled. “Oh, oh, this is great,” he crowed. “Wait till I tell Mom!”

Lan Wangji attempted to bite him, which naturally made Wei Wuxian leap to his friend’s assistance, and somehow Nie Huaisang ended up wading into the fray with a stick that he waved around like a war-fan, seeking inexplicably to defend Lan Xichen despite having previously displayed no fondness for him at all.

Nie Mingjue waded in as well, of course, trying to separate them and somehow ending up as everyone’s target when they realized that he was strong enough to pick them all up and toss them (lightly) into the piles of soft grass that covered the meadow, even Lan Xichen, and at that point they all threw themselves at him eagerly in order to be throw back.

Nie Mingjue wasn’t really thinking about that, though. He was thinking about what Lan Xichen had said.

He was thinking about – Mom.

Not Nie Mingjue’s own, naturally. She’d been gone since he was younger than Nie Huaisang was now. Perhaps it was because Nie Mingjue had his father and his aunts and his uncles, but he had never really felt the lack of her all that much, except maybe when he needed to learn some etiquette he didn’t know or when his peers spoke fondly of their own mothers. Nor was he thinking of Nie Huaisang’s mother, who had been very nice and whose untimely death had upset him immensely; he honestly hadn’t thought of either of them in years and years by the time he’d died.

But rather, he thought about Lan Xichen’s mother – Lan Wangji’s mother –

Nie Mingjue hadn’t learned the story of her fate until much, much later in life, when he was very nearly an adult. The Lan sect had always kept their secrets very well, and he might never have learned the details if it hadn’t been for Lan Xichen willingly divulging them. He’d told him the whole awful story of how his mother had not loved his father even though he loved her, how she had killed someone dear to him, how he had married her to save her and gone into seclusion to punish himself, how the Lan sect, ever concerned with its face, had covered it all up by forcing her into permanent seclusion…

The story had never really sat right with him. A punishment was one thing, entirely justifiable; murder was murder, and life imprisonment was a valid sentence, a valid commutation of the death sentence that she probably ought to have received. It was not Nie Mingjue’s place to question how the Lan sect selected and imposed punishments…

And yet, something about it had always felt rotten.

Maybe it was only that the Nie sect didn’t believe in solitary imprisonment. Or, well, really solitary anything, with even seclusion being done in a relatively well-traveled area so that those inside could, if they wished, open a one-sided window to hear the noise and know that their family was around them. Even their tombs, their saber halls, were joined together into what was practically a necropolis – even in death, the Nie sect would rather be together than apart.

If he recalled correctly, Lan Xichen and Lan Wangji’s mother would soon be taken away from them for good. She’d died when Lan Xichen was – ten? Ten to Lan Wangji’s six, yes, that sounded right.

A year from now, then. Less, maybe.

“– xiongzhang is da-ge, not er-ge!”

“No, you don’t understand, my da-ge is older – and bigger – so he’s da-ge, and your xiongzhang is er-ge, and that means you’d be san-ge, and Wei-gege is – wait, which one of you is older?”

“Huaisang, it doesn’t work that way, we’re not the same family –”

“What are you even talking about?” Nie Mingjue asked, abruptly coming out of his thoughts. They’d continued playing while he daydreamed, and now Lan Xichen was perched on his back like a monkey, with Nie Huaisang on one of Nie Mingjue’s shoulder while Wei Wuxian hung off the other arm’s bicep and Lan Wangi clung to his neck in front like a sloth on a branch, as Nie Mingjue demonstrated that he could, in fact, keep walking with all of them attached. Every single one of them seemed to think this was the absolute height of entertainment. “Who’s related to what now? Huaisang, can’t you just call Xichen Xichen-ge or something?”

“Oh, fine. Xichen-gege! Xichen-gege!”

“Nie-didi! Nie-didi!”

“Too loud,” Lan Wangji sniffed.

“Didn’t you hear Lan Zhan?!” Wei Wuxian promptly hollered at the top of his lungs. “You’re all being too loud!”

“I’m going to throw each and every one of you into a pond,” Nie Mingjue said. “One by one, if I have to.”

“Do you promise?” Lan Xichen giggled in his ear. “That sounds like fun!”

“Actually,” Nie Mingjue said, “I had a different thought. How about we play hide-and-seek?”

The advantage of future knowledge, Nie Mingjue thought, was that he knew exactly where Madame Lan’s home was and how to get there within the time period he’d suggested for the initial hiding.

The disadvantage was that he was so focused on achieving his goal that he forgot that what implications might be taken from a twelve-year-old boy breaking into a woman’s home, especially at a time when she wasn’t expecting visitors.

“I’m so sorry!” he all but shrieked, covering his eyes even though he had already turned his back. “Please put on clothing!”

“Oh, your face –” Madame Lan was guffawing. “You’re so red – boy, you don’t have to throw yourself out the window in penance or anything. I’m still wearing my inner robe, you can’t even see anything.”

“It’s still inappropriate!”

“Could be worse. I could’ve been –”

“Please don’t finish that sentence,” he begged. “I swear I’m not actually doing this because I have a crush on you, so please, please, please don’t give me any details about what you do in the privacy of your own home, okay? And stop offering me your under-things! I don’t want them!”

“I was only doing laundry,” she said, almost crying with laughter. “I didn’t mean to throw my underwear at your face, it was really just the closest thing to hand…who are you, anyway? Shouldn’t you be introducing yourself to me?”

“I’ll introduce myself when you’re dressed and not a moment earlier.”

“Oh, all right, have it your way. Give me a moment.” There was some rustling. “All right, turn around.”

He peeked and sighed with relief: Madame Lan was, in fact, appropriately dressed in a lovely white silk dress, adorned with the typical Lan sect cloud embroidery and everything. The style was a little freer and less conservative than he might have expected to see the mistress of a Great Sect wearing, but then again he supposed she’d never actually had to do the work associated with it. It was hard to host a society party from seclusion…

“Qinghe Nie’s Nie Mingjue greets He Kexin, Madame Lan,” he said, saluting properly. “I’m a visitor to your sect.”

“I hadn’t realized that we were anticipating visitors from another Great Sect,” she remarked. “Normally there’s a great deal more hustle and bustle involved with preparing to receive a visit.”

“It’s an informal one,” Nie Mingjue explained. “Somewhat, uh, abrupt. We didn’t send word in advance. You see, we recently accepted Cangse Sanren and her husband as guest disciples, and shortly thereafter the Jiang sect paid us an unexpected visit…”

Madame Lan had clearly heard about that disaster, if the way she put her hand over her mouth in a futile attempt to stifle her chortling was any indication.

“I think I see the issue, being as I happen to remember Cangse Sanren very well,” she said, her eyes dancing. “What a troublemaker. She even shaved off Qiren-xiaoshuzi’s beard one time! I’m guessing based on the way you turned into a boiled crayfish that she scared you out of your own home?”

Nie Mingjue opened his mouth to protest, except, well, that wasn’t entirely inaccurate…

“What a charming little egg you are! You’re such a rotten liar that you can’t even do it to save face.”

“Being dishonest isn’t saving face,” Nie Mingjue said, even though his face felt like it was burning and he was probably just as red as she said he was. “The truth is what the truth is, that’s all. You’re not wrong, that’s more or less what happened – I brought Huaisang and Wuxian here so that we could get away from all the yelling.”

“You picked a good place for that,” Madame Lan said, and there was a dull look in her eye all of a sudden. Nothing like the liveliness from a few moments before. “There’s nowhere like the Cloud Recesses for quiet.”

Nie Mingjue bit his lip, not quite sure how to say what he wanted to say. Right up until that moment, she hadn’t seemed at all sick, the way he’d thought she’d be – less than a year before she died, from what he remembered of Lan Xichen’s stories. He’d assumed she’d already be ill with the early stages whatever it was that had eventually taken her from her sons.

But now, he didn’t think she was sick, not really, only…bored.

Dreadfully, horribly bored. The sort of bored that drained your life away bit by bit.

Formal training in swordsmanship and scholarship began at six at the Cloud Recesses, Nie Mingjue abruptly remembered. There were plenty of lessons prior to that, of course, but at age six they would become formalized, the children shifting over from the realm of babies to proper young-adults-to-be. Once Lan Wangji turned six, Madame Lan would have had nothing to look forward to in life.

Nothing, except for her children starting to drift further and further away from her: nothing to do, no purpose, no friends…

Just boredom.

“The Unclean Realm has a communal prison,” he blurted out, and then smacked his hands into his face to hide his shame for being such an inconsiderate ass. Why had he thought he could do this by himself?

He wasn’t even sure what he’d originally come here to accomplish, other than to let Madame Lan know that she ought to see a doctor sooner rather than later in the hopes that they would be able to catch and stymie whatever disease it had been that had killed her, except now of course Nie Mingjue understood that it was no disease at all.

“…what?” she said blankly.

It was too late to retreat, so Nie Mingjue gathered up every bit of courage he’d ever had and barreled onwards.

“I just mean,” he said, tripping over his words, “if you’d like to be – a bit less quiet. Even if your sentence is life imprisonment, surely you don’t have to necessarily serve it here, right?”

Madame Lan stared at him. His shoulders started creeping up to his ears.

“Actually,” she said abruptly, “I was never sentenced.”

He gaped at her. “You – what?”

“Qiren-xiaoshuzi pushed for it, said it was only fair that I knew the exact contours of my punishment, but the sect elders refused,” she explained. “They didn’t want to lose face by having a trial at all, not even privately.”

“But – but if you haven’t been sentenced, you can’t be imprisoned!”

“Is that so?” she asked, looking amused.

“You can’t,” Nie Mingjue insisted, horrified. “The laws of war say that someone can be executed on the spot for committing a crime, but in peacetime they have to be sentenced first even if you catch them red-handed. What if your accuser recants his accusation, whether because he was wrong or because he decided not to press charges? If they recant, you can’t be tried; if you can’t be tried, even if everyone knows you’ve done wrong, you still must be released. No trial, no sentence, no imprisonment!”

“Tell that to the Lan sect,” she said dryly. “Not even my husband could do more than he did to forestall my punishment, and he’s sect leader. Nominally, anyway.”

This did seem to be a problem of the Lan sect. Of all sects, really – he had his own share of old men causing issues and sticking their noses into things – but he’d never had anywhere near the problem with the sect elders as Lan Xichen had had with his Lan sect.

“Why should I?” Nie Mingjue asked, crossing his arms over his chest. “I don’t see why we have to tell them anything at all.”

“Why are we doing this?” Nie Huaisang asked, tugging on Nie Mingjue’s sleeve.

“I already explained,” Nie Mingjue said, which he had. He’d also explained that he’d run in there by accident while looking for a place to hide, and he’d tried to look as much like a stupid twelve-year-old as possible when he said it. “About the lack of a trial –”

Nie Huaisang tugged again. “Not that. Why are we rescuing her?”

“Because she might die if we don’t,” Nie Mingjue said. “She’s very bored in there all by herself.”

“So?”

“What do you mean, so? It’d make Xichen and Wangji sad if she died.”

“So?”

“So they shouldn’t be sad if they don’t have to be! I don’t want them to be sad because they lost a parent…don’t you remember being sad about your mom having died, Huaisang?”

“No,” Nie Huaisang said. “I had da-ge.”

Nie Mingjue sighed. He’d keep this conversation in mind for later when Nie Huaisang was old enough to actually understand the concept of death, and then he’d use it to torment him forever.

“Wouldn’t you be sad if da-ge died, then?” he asked, and felt Nie Huaisang’s hands abruptly clutch tight on his arms. “There you go. That’s why we’re doing this.”

Nie Huaisang nodded, but he was still scowling a little in his adorable childhood way, and Nie Mingjue thought for a second that he heard him murmuring something about inviting unnecessary trouble under his voice, but…whatever, it wasn’t important.

What was more important was that Lan Xichen had arrived with what Nie Mingjue had asked him to fetch for him, his cheeks bright pink with excitement. “Nie-da-ge,” he hissed even though there wasn’t anyone in the area, thrusting the package into Nie Mingjue’s arms. “I got it!”

“Good,” Nie Mingjue said, then paused. “Er, you don’t mind, do you?”

“Mind? Mind what?”

“That I’m kind of, uh, well – I mean, I’m kidnapping your mother. You won’t be able to see her as often as you do now if this works…”

“She’ll be free,” Lan Wangji, trailing behind Lan Xichen as always, said solemnly. Then he stuck his thumb in his mouth, which somewhat ruined the effect.

Wei Wuxian, who’d rushed over to stand next to him as soon as he’d seen him, hugged him tightly. “You’ll come over all the time,” he assured him. “My mom will like your mom, and we’ll all go outside and play all the time. We’ll be really happy!”

Lan Wangji sniffed and buried his face into Wei Wuxian’s shoulder.

“It’s like Wangji said,” Lan Xichen said. His eyes were intense. “She’s not happy here, she’s not free here, and we only see her once a month anyway – less, in the future, once we’re both busy with lessons all the time. If she can be free somewhere else…you will let us come visit, right?”

“As often as you’re allowed,” Nie Mingjue promised, as it was about all he could do. “I’ll talk to my father about it…”

His father would probably have a fit.

Still, this was an injustice. Even if his father disagreed, it was something he had to do. He’d justify it with reference to their sect principles, and take any punishment duty his father chose to impose.

“It doesn’t matter, he’ll agree,” he said firmly. “You’ll definitely be able to visit.”

“Can I raise an objection?” Nie Zonghui said mournfully from where he was hovering by the side of the clearing. “Possibly two – no, three objections.”

Nie Mingjue looked at him and tilted his head to the side in silent question.

“One, your father said not to get into trouble, if you’ll trouble yourself to remember back that far,” he said, raising a finger. “Two, how exactly do you plan to break the array keeping Madame Lan imprisoned? And three, even if you do break it, how do you plan to get her out?”

The first was irrelevant. The other two…

“We’re going to walk out the front gate,” Nie Mingjue said, and opened up the package Lan Xichen had gotten him – as he’d suspected, there had been spare robes for Qinghe Nie disciples left behind from the previous discussion conference, and sure enough the Lan sect had kept hold of them as a courtesy to the owners. “The Lan sect has never affirmatively stated that Madame Lan wasn’t allowed to leave; they just said she was too sickly to do so. Therefore, if we leave with a Nie sect disciple who is clearly capable of walking out, there’s nothing they can do to stop us without admitting that it’s her and that she’s a prisoner – which they won’t do, because then they’d lose face.”

“That barely counts as a plan,” Nie Zonghui said, and for some reason Nie Huaisang nodded in agreement. “But sadly I think it might actually work.”

Nie Huaisang looked betrayed.

“It will work,” Lan Xichen said. “Especially if you insist that she’s one of yours. They won’t be able to call you out without calling you a liar, and they wouldn’t want to do that. Not publicly, not about this.”

“Won’t there be a problem that she’s a girl wearing boy’s clothing?” Wei Wuxian asked, patting Lan Wangji’s head.

“No, that’s not a problem in Qinghe,” Nie Huaisang told him. “You’re new, so you’re not used to it, but it really isn’t. I mean, she could be misaligned or something, it’s not our business.”

“And we won’t be lying about her being one of ours,” Nie Mingjue said. “Since I’ve offered her sanctuary in our sect, it’s even technically true.”

Nie Zonghui sighed. “And if they ask Lan-gongzi and Lan-er-gongzi if she’s their mother?”

“Wangji won’t say anything,” Lan Xichen said at once. “And I’ll – I’ll lie if I have to.”

He was truly unbearably cute at this age.

Nie Zonghui appeared to be suffering from a similar problem, reaching over and patting him lightly on the head in helpless amusement. “Okay, okay. Let’s hope they don’t ask,” he said. “But – Nie-gongzi, we still have the second problem. How do you intend to get Madame Lan out of the imprisonment array?”

Nie Mingjue patted his cousin – who he knew from his future experience was one of the finest array breakers in their sect, a charming side-effect courtesy of his dual-wielded saber cultivation style – on the shoulder. “I intend to delegate.”

Nie Zonghui blinked, then glared. “I walked myself into that one, didn’t I?”

“You did,” Nie Mingjue said peaceably. “Can you break it? I can use Baxia, if it’ll help.”

“Hmph. Yes, it would help a great deal, but will she agree to consume an array for you? That’s fairly high-grade work, and talent or no talent, you’re still fairly new to mastering the saber.”

Nie Mingjue put his hand on Baxia’s blade, which felt warm and pleased. Practically purring. At some point he would need to investigate why she was so happy all the time – she’d never been this compliant in his first life, and he’d expected her to be more vicious, not less. “Yes, she’ll be happy to help.”

“Fine. Let’s go.” Nie Zonghui paused briefly. “Also, if your father asks, you held Baxia to my throat and made me do it. It was definitely not me being curious about whether or not I could break such a complicated array.”

“Of course it wasn’t,” Nie Mingjue said understandingly, and drew Baxia. “All right. Let’s go get ourselves banned from the Cloud Recesses.”

#mdzs #nie mingjue #nie huaisang #lan xichen #wei wuxian #lan wangji #nie zonghui #madame lan #my fic #my fics #time travel nie bros

314 notes · View notes