When Kay noticed that Ceroill was resting, she suddenly felt very, very guilty over how much of a disturbance she'd brought into his life. Just as her Ma had always told her, she was just naturally a trouble-magnet.
She knew that it had bothered him to have so many strangers wandering into his home, and that he had been far too polite to ask them to leave. For the sake of HIS privacy, perhaps she should go back to her own quarters.
"Och ... 'tis a man of peace he is, isn't he ? More so than one suited to fighting ...", Kay sighed sadly, looking over at Oberon. "Aye, 'twas his own choice tae to try to bond, but still do I feel meself responsible for his distress".
The owl paused offering the little hawk the last piece of meat, then turned to Kay. He was confused by what he was sensing from her. The tips of his sharp ears twitched, as if he doubted what he was hearing. Why did she want to leave this den ? Didn't she feel that she belonged here ? Where were such wrongful thoughts coming from ?
*Leave* *Why?* inquired the little hawk. Amadaine couldn't understand it either. Why was Mommy-human planning to leave? Wasn't THIS their nest? She stared uncomprehendingly and went totally still. Having been stolen from her birth-nest so early, Amadaine had never learned any other way of dealing with events that distressed her. She was only a baby afterall.
*DANGER out there*, Mairead pointed out, still shivering from the aftermath of her adventure, *Danger FOLLOWS* *Little ones not safe*. She had learned THAT from her experience with being a messenger. If there were humans who wanted to treat Mama and Brother-Uncle the same way that the big cat at the Castle had treated HER, then she did NOT want them to come HERE.
Kay shook her head. "Nay, me darling ones ... I shall leave in the morning wi' the two youngest of ye ... it'll be better that way .. at least THAT way Brother-Uncle will get some of his privacy back".
She then turned to Oberon and told him "Ye must remain here, my good brave bird, to watch over our fine fellow here ... he needs you and you need him". Underlying her words, a strong wave of emotions came to him: her fear and worry for the two of them, and her determination to play decoy to protect them.
*Unhappiness**disagreement*, the owl answered in reply. Oberon thought that HE should be the parent-figure in this family unit. Afterall, look at how well he had served the kitten and the hawkling - - under other cicumstances, they would have been his prey rather than his own nestlings. But then again, he hadn't been able to save his first human bond-mate.
"Och, dinna fuss a' me", Kay added in reassurance, "I'll still be able to speak to ye, even though I'll nae be within yer sight. And if Brother-Uncle must ever pretend to ken ye not, then 'tis greatest danger and ye must flee to where ye might watch over him secretly and report back to me".
Humans could be so stubborn sometimes, Oberon thought to himself. But he decided that it would do him no good to continue to argue. So he gave into to Kay's wishes.
That having been settled, Kay sat down with a pen and piece of paper and started writing the note that she planned to leave for Ceroill in the morning. Three sets of eyes continue to stare accusingly at her, but she didn't reply to THAT. Nor did she reply to their continued occassional expressions of disagreement.
[OOC: Does Ceroill wake up and interrupt Kay before she's finished writing the note ? Or does he see it BEFORE she leaves in the morning ? Or does he not find it until AFTER she's gone back to the Base ? --- There was an unchronicled gap here, so it was never specified what happened between Kay writing the note, and Kay returning to the Base with Amadaine and Mairead]
[OOC: There was an unchronicled gap here, so it has NOT been specified what happenned at Leaves after Ceroill woke up and discovered that everyone else (except for Oberon) had left.Bob, you could pick up the storyline HERE, or you could pick it up right after Oberon's exploring trip into the Overworld, which is currently an isolated bit that han't led anywhere yet. Or you could jump ahead to the present time.
During the unchronicled gap, I'm assumming that Oberon goes back and forth at night between Leaves and the Base (when he's much less likely to be noticed. I also assume that Oberon can use his claws to work the catch on a window, to let HIMSELF out without human assistance (and has taught this trick to the other two, so that THEY can let him in). At Leaves, he'd likely need to call Ceroill to come open the window, unless the window is already open).