closed starter for @scoutsarcher ! !
" get your head out of your ass , nod . get your act together , nod . " the soldier scoffed bitterly under his breath from his position on the branch . lily , his faithful sparrow , sent him a sideways tilt of her head . she had heard his mutterings a million times before , forever the victim of hearing his mockings of ronin whenever they had an argument . nod shot her a glance , " . . . don't look at me like that ! "
if birds could shrug and remark that their riders were " hardasses " that could " stand to listen to their superiors more often " , nod was sure lily would . that , or say " seed ? seed ? food ? seed ? " one of the two .
but for this moment in time , it felt like the world was against him ( as it often did after nod picked a fight with his father figure ) . he heaved a sigh as he leaned against the trunk of the tree , lifting his fingers to measure the distance between the sun and the horizon . one and a half finger breadth . his shift would be done soon .
. . . shit , maybe ronin was right . maybe he could stand to listen more , be more accepting of criticism that was , even to his own admission , often well deserved and coming from a place of love . maybe even a smidge more humility would do him a world of go -
ripped from his thoughts , nod squinted against the setting sun to attempt to locate the glimmer that had passed his periphary . he straightened up . boggans didn't ' glitter ' , so it certainly wasn't that . hell , he could've swore he heard bells .
it wasn't even worth unsheathing his sword . he did , however , hop to the nearby tree branch just a few feet over to attempt to catch sight of the intruder . there again , a couple of branches up , stood a blonde fairy on high alert . he rolled his eyes . " hello ! yeah , hi , down here ! can i help you , or are you just trespassing for fun ? "