a battery of guilt | weekly task

[Ivan]

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pixel by tricky

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[div style="width: 300px; max-height: 100px; height: overflow; overflow: scroll; padding-bottom: 5px; margin-top: -5px; font-family: georgia; font-size: 8pt; color: #152232; letter-spacing: 0px; text-align: justify;"]He kept fancying that Ivan was absorbed in something — something inward and important — that he was striving toward some goal, perhaps very hard to attain.

— Бра́тья Карама́зовы

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At this age, the double-headed eagle was nearly the same size of Ivan. This should have been a cause for concern, especially this creature being an apex predator, but the the golden eagle fledgling had shown nothing but mischievousness toward her accidental imprint. She grew relatively fast and could make quite a lot of ground walking despite being a young bird that would should never leave the nest at this point. The mutations proved to be working in mysterious ways. She should have fledged by now and Ivan was starting to worry that she thought she was more of a cat than a bird. He didn't want to rob her of an eagle's life, so that was why he decided not to teach her a trick, per say, but to teach her how to fly.

Ivan himself was just beginning his adolescence and his hunting skills were starting to become more defined. He began by associating her with live prey. It was difficult for him to do this. She didn't know how to hunt so Ivan often had to act like a mother cheetah — however much he hated the idea — by catching prey and not killing it, releasing it for the eagle to catch it. This actually proved to be a terrific benefit, since now she was receiving stimulation and it resulted in less mischievous deviances. But it didn't really teach her to truly fly. She sort of hopped and flapped, but ultimately didn't get a meter over the ground.

Winston's disappearance left a damper in Ivan's persistence. They backslided in their progress, but whenever Ivan saw his father, he felt determined to try to make him proud. He refused failure. A perfect perfectionist.

Today Ivan gently dragged the dual-headed eaglet to the branch of a tree in the town and then promptly scratched his way back down. Ivan blinked up at her calmly and twitched his tail, trying to stimulate movement to get her attention. It took another minute or two, but finally the left head — which he was beginning to notice was the most astute and work-hardy of the two — began to raise their wings, and after some coaxing to the left head, she hopped down with beating wings, coming to a landing beside Ivan.

It was surreal to see that she actually seemed surprised and proud of herself. Ivan felt his chest warm for the first time. He always had a frosty relationship with the bird but to see her accomplish something that he thought would have been impossible since she was imprinting on a cat, well, it made him feel good.

"I'm proud of you," He smiled, a rarity in itself, as the double-headed eagle attempted another take-off, clumsily, but getting the hang of it.

[wormwood.]

☆ HUNG PICTURES OF PATRON SAINTS UP ON MY WALL TO REMIND ME THAT I AM A FOOL. TELL ME WHERE I CAME FROM, WHAT I WILL ALWAYS BE: JUST A SPOILED LITTLE KID WHO WENT TO CATHOLIC SCHOOL —

To be quite honest, Aurum knew very little about Ivan's pet bird. He had been there when the eagle had imprinted upon the boy, and although he had been horrified by what it had done to its fellow hatchlings, he had also encouraged Ivan to take responsibility, just as Selby had. It was definitely odd, seeing such an unusual mutated creature following Ivan around on his way from day to day activities, but it eventually just became part of the norm, fading into the background noise for Aurum. After all, he knew a thing or two about mutations, and it didn't seem as though the dual headed avian was hurting. Or at least, if it was hurting, it wasn't alerting Ivan or anyone else to its pain. The proxy wasn't quite sure of how much Ivan actually enjoyed having the eagle around him, but at least he wasn't as unsettled and upset as he had been when the thing had first emerged. If he had still been in such a state, then Aurum probably would've taken it upon himself to go and talk to either Selby or Moth about relieving their son of the creature. Part of the lion had even thought that Winston's disappearance might lead to Ivan shoving the creature away, potentially leading to its death. It wouldn't have surprised him, considering the genuine anguish that had been on the faces of both Ivan and Selby after what had happened.

Thankfully, Ivan had a habit of surprising Aurum quite handily in various, positive ways. Today, it seemed as though he would be surprising his uncle by teaching his eagle companion a "trick," so to speak. The angel had been out for a walk when he spotted the eagle up in the trees, staring downwards quite intently with one of its heads. Curiosity piqued, Aurum had found himself slipping through the trunks of the trees before he eventually came to where Ivan was sitting, with his tail twitching to and fro. The lion opened his muzzle, intent on asking just what was going on, when the bird came soaring down, coming to a landing beside Ivan. Startled, Aurum actually took a moment to step back, seemingly processing what had just happened. After a couple of seconds, he regained his composure, a warm chuckle leaving him. Slipping by so that he would be in front of Ivan, instead of just observing, the large feline said proudly, "Nice job, Ivan. I always did think it was a little awkward for that thing to be following you around everywhere on foot... it's pretty impressive that you managed to teach it how to do that." The proxy never would've expected a feline to be able to teach an eagle to learn how to fly. At least, a feline that wasn't like he or Goldie, with their large wings similar to a bird's.

[div style="text-align: right; text-transform: uppercase; text-shadow: 0px 0px 2px #1B1B2F; font-size: 24px;"][color=#44437F]— AURUM

#psychosocial.

[VIGENERE CIPHER.]

[selby roux !]

[align=center][div style="width: 51%; text-align: justify; font-size: 10pt; letter-spacing: -1px; font-family: georgia;"]Every time he saw Ivan with the eaglet he had found, Selby grew a little prouder of his son. He knew that Ivan had not wanted to take care of the bird, but he also knew that the raptor surely would have died without his help. All he could do was encourage his child to take responsibility, though he didn’t want to pressure or coerce him into doing so. It was a difficult balance to strike, and Selby was still unsure if he had found it. Ivan was caring for the bird, which had been the desired result, though he was uncertain if it was for the right reasons. Did that really matter, though? In this situation, did the end justify the means? Do the means ever justify the ends. It seemed the questions never stopped. Parenthood was surprisingly full of them.

He watched from a distance as Ivan coaxed the bird from her wooden perch, a fond smile tugging at his lips as he did so. Eventually, the bird flapped down, and he couldn’t contain the ‘whoop!’ of pride that exited his body. Slightly embarrassed by his involuntary display, he came out of his hiding spot and came to congratulate Ivan.

“Good job, Ivan,” he said warmly, brushing the tip of his tail along his side as a greeting. “I’m so proud of you and...” he trailed off, realizing that he wasn’t aware of any name given to the mutated predator. Had he simply not been paying attention? He was certain that he had been. Slowly, he asked, “Have you given her a name yet?”

[alaric g.]

    Ivan's pet eagle had proved to be quite the character in Alaric's eyes. The thing appeared to be mischievous on some level, predisposed to curiosity and attracted to shiny things as most birds happened to be. Its two-headedness did not seem to lend itself to intelligence, though, given the way with which it was easily entertained and the fact that he could not recall ever seeing the eagle lagging farther than ten paces behind the child.

    In fact, Alaric was fairly certain that the only time that the eaglet had not been present was when the tyke "welcomed" him to Tanglewood. Since then, it had done little to learn to, well, be an eagle. He had never once seen the thing glide, much less fly, and whether or not it could hunt for its own food was another matter. Alaric had chosen not to give it any real mind, though, until he came upon the sight of the bird paragliding from its perch atop a tree.

    Alaric had recoiled in surprise for a moment, momentarily stunned by the sight. So the thing was finally beginning to leave its nonexistent and thoroughly metaphorical nest, eh? It seemed that he was not the only one mesmerized by this, as Aurum, Vigenere, and Selby had all appeared to congratulate Ivan on the accomplishment. Seeing this, Alaric would choose to join the three in coming out of the woodwork.

    "Congratulations," he stated as he closed the distance between himself and the group. He looked to those gathered before his eyes came to rest upon the eaglet as it continued to attempt to achieve flight once more. "I'd also like to hear what you have in mind for its name," the tabby continued, piggybacking off of Selby's statement for the same.

♔ don't do love, don't do friends

[Ivan]

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pixel by tricky

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[div style="width: 300px; max-height: 100px; height: overflow; overflow: scroll; padding-bottom: 5px; margin-top: -5px; font-family: georgia; font-size: 8pt; color: #152232; letter-spacing: 0px; text-align: justify;"]He kept fancying that Ivan was absorbed in something — something inward and important — that he was striving toward some goal, perhaps very hard to attain.

— Бра́тья Карама́зовы

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Ivan did not think of the eagle as a pet, much less a friend or a companion. He was strictly a caretaker by a freak accident. The dominoes had fallen into place, the die was cast, and now Ivan was given responsibility of a mutant. At her birth, the eaglet had committed a crime against Ivan's morality, the killing of her siblings. But, prompted by his uncle and father, he reluctantly decided to take the responsibility of her after learning that she imprinted on him. It was his own fault, and he couldn't kill something else for something he did. There was also that nagging to live up to his father, but Ivan tried to explain his motives based on logic and rationality, not emotions.

He was reminded of this when Aurum approached, recognizing how far he'd gone. He flicked his tail in a friendly greeting. "I didn't really teach her anything, I just tried to draw out her instinct." Though he wondered just how much of that had been damaged. Vingere sort of voiced those concerns. Ivan's circular ears went flat against his head, feeling that he was being lectured.

"You have no idea how much I wanted her to live with her own kind." He let out a deep exhale, reminding himself that Vingere, though a veteran, was new to the current Tanglewood society and news. "But it's not reasonable. She thinks she's a feline — it's why I had to teach her to fly. She imprinted on me, accidentally. Her parents are nowhere to be found and she killed her siblings. There's also the issue of her double-headedness. They're not doing it now, but they fight and argue. A lot." The bird never responded to golden eagle caws and her own vocalizations strangely resembled purring. Ivan felt bad about it occasionally, and he wasn't well-versed in birds, but he understood this bird particularly well. She was an anomaly and he tried to not compare her to regular birds. She might never be able to be on her own. He hoped that one day her mind would develop as fast as her body did. Perhaps she was rational, but instinct guided her so far.

He noticeably brightened up when his father arrived, the warmth returning to his chest as he was praised. He averted his eyes slightly. It was a bittersweet feeling, one that made him want to run away, but he willed his paws to anchor to the ground. He purred at the touch, but faltered at the idea of her name.

Alaric tagged on to it, there was no way for him to avoid it. "She doesn't have one." Don't want to get attached. He remembered Beck speaking about his own little friend. He had named it. Why couldn't Ivan? The young cat started, feeling awkward. He quickly added, without thinking, "I just haven't come up with anything good yet. She's not a pet." Of course, they'd think that he was weird in refusing to name her. Maybe someday he could fully accept her. This bonding was a baby step. He tipped his head to watch her glide in the air above him. She could never reach space, but she was closer to it than he would ever be.

[VIGENERE CIPHER.]

[wormwood.]

☆ HUNG PICTURES OF PATRON SAINTS UP ON MY WALL TO REMIND ME THAT I AM A FOOL. TELL ME WHERE I CAME FROM, WHAT I WILL ALWAYS BE: JUST A SPOILED LITTLE KID WHO WENT TO CATHOLIC SCHOOL —

I didn't teach her anything, I just tried to draw out her instinct. Although Ivan's statement made sense, Aurum still couldn't help but feel fairly impressed. After all, the boy didn't have the same instincts that a young eaglet might have, and it Tom research and time to figure out the best way to approach such a problem. The lion had never doubted that Ivan would take such time to do things right. After all, his nephew was exceedingly smart, and although he could sometimes come off as a bit snooty, Aurum was sure he would go on to do great things, just as his father and mother had. Curling his tail around his paws, Aurum eyed the avian gliding lazy circles in the sky before he spoke again, smiling, "Still... you did a good job. Most wouldn't expect the thing to last more than a week under the care of someone your age, especially with her mutations." Although he knew mutations were far from a death sentence – after all, he wasn't dead – he knew that they could be difficult to cope with, and it wasn't as if he knew what it was like to have a second head. It made sense to him that the heads bickered and fought, although that did cause the proxy to wonder – did both heads have separate brains? Did they think and act differently? Ivan seemed to imply so, and that was even more impressive.

When the discussion of naming came up, Aurum looked between both Ivan and Vignere, nodding a bit as he listened. Although he could definitely see both their points, the male felt the need to speak up, mumbling, "I realize she isn't a pet, but... naming her could still be useful. Ideally you want her to continue to learn how to live on her own, right? A name, once she's acquainted with it, could be an easy way to get her to come to you. In case of danger, or you needing her for something. Although I understand if you haven't come up with anything good yet. Naming can be difficult." When he'd been forced to name his children on his own, the entire process had been somewhat saved by him having Draekon's siblings to think of and name his cubs after. However, not all of them had been named after Draekon's siblings, and thus he had to think of some names on his own. While he was quite happy with all of the names he had picked now, he could still remember the long nights spent pacing around trying to think of names before the children came. Naming the little two headed bird probably wasn't quite as major as naming a litter of cubs, but he could definitely understand the worry in choosing the wrong name, or feeling that a name was wrong.

[div style="text-align: right; text-transform: uppercase; text-shadow: 0px 0px 2px #1B1B2F; font-size: 24px;"][color=#44437F]— AURUM

#psychosocial.

[selby roux !]

[align=center][div style="width: 51%; text-align: justify; font-size: 10pt; letter-spacing: -1px; font-family: georgia;"]Selby listened calmly as Ivan explained his reasoning as to why his raptor had yet to receive a name. Truly, he could see his son’s point of view in the matter. It’d taken him and Moth a little while to come up with good names for their children. In most cases, one’s name was permanent. Something not overly common, but not something that stuck out too much. Moth and Selby were both unique names, so perhaps it seemed odd that their children all had fairly normal names. The love of reading hadn’t failed him yet.

“Take your time,” he advised gently, not wanting to pressure him too much. “If you decide to have her, the right one will come to you.”