In which Cuthbert is nearly brained by a bird.

[saikamai]

Even on the island, where the fair weather made the days and weeks run together and blend, marked only, it seemed to Bert, by the disappearance of friends or one of the island's magical anomalies, he found that this time of year made him thoughtful

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[morethentheend]

Some days, she hated this place. Others, Violet Baudelaire was thankful for sanctuary, for a place that her sister could grow up and learn how to ride a bike, what Christmas was, have a family. The problem was, Sunny had already had a family. Being without Klaus was very much like having her arm cut off, and just the same as it might be if Violet had only one arm, she found doing some things very difficult.

Add to that Violet's trip 'home' and resulting nightmares, and... well. These were the days that the barometer was definitely close to the 'hate' side of things. Still, she walked and tried to think through her troubles, which is what brought her to this stretch of path.

The island, apparently, is what brought him to this stretch of path. She'd not seen him since Midsummer - Cuthbert Allgood, Rosalind had told her, and she'd been placing every bit of her frustration for having been in this place before on his gawp-mouthed face before it had been hit with a tomato.

And there he was, running towards her and there was a hawk, and

[saikamai]

"David!" he called again, sharply. But the bird veered left and sought a high branch on the edge of the jungle. "Dav--augh." Bert turned to the girl-- oh gods, it was the new Violet-- and gave her a tight-lipped smile.

"Sorry if he frightened you, he's my bird, but he actually just arrived so maybe you can forgive both of us for being a bit startled..." Bert tore open the rough muslin package that had clocked him a minute prior and found two elbow-length leather falconry gloves, jesses and a leash. He crammed the fabric into the back pocket of his jeans, handed the leash to Violet and slipped on the gloves.

Bert whistled and made a funny clicking sound to call the bird down, but David gave no visible reaction beyond continually surveying the horizon with his alert, queerly absent gaze. "Davey!" Another whistle, this time higher-pitched and trilling. The hawk took off, looking as if it were going to leave the area altogether, but coasted down on a roundabout breeze to land with a flutter and thump on Bert's raised forearm. "Pretty,"

[morethentheend]

She'd just stood there - Like a log, she remembered her dad saying... god, it must have been when she was ten. She still had the leash, and blinked a couple of times as Cuthbert's words sort of tumbled around her.

"I'm fine," she said finally, guarded, eyes flicking from him to the hawk. "He's beautiful," she ventures, and honestly she doesn't know what to say, past how did you know me and a completely absurd where have you been.

"He's just arrived?" There's color in her cheeks now, a weird sort of blush that's spreading, even as she stares up at him.

[saikamai]

"He has," Bert said, as proudly as if he'd had something to do with it. For the moment, all of his feeling was concentrated on the fierce, lovely critter on his arm, who was regarding Violet with flashing eyes. "I know you, um, haven't been here long, but the island occasionally gives us, um, things from home." His heart clenched as he debated sharing the fact that Davey had actually been dearly departed when Bert had last seen him, but he decided against it. That wasn't important, really. There was only one person back home who Cuthbert felt deserved Tabula Rasa's second chance more than David did (the fact that he was a bird notwithstanding), and he wouldn't have wanted it.

"I haven't seen him since I was thirteen," Bert said, and gave a kidlike grin.

[loaded_wolf]

"Augh!" Angua ducked, as a giant bird swooped overhead.

She immediately felt foolish and, blushing, stood when she was sure it wasn't going to try to take her damn head off.

"Gods, Cuthbert, is that yours?" she asked, straightening her clothes as though it would help regain her dignity.

[saikamai]

"As much as any of the great Turtle's wild kingdom can belong to any one man, yes, yes, he is mine," Cuthbert proclaimed, dusting off his loquacious manner for Angua (unquestionably one of his favorites). "Davey!" He whistled and clicked, eyes following the bird as he settled up on a high branch to Angua's right.

"I'll be damned," he said, marveling at him from below. "Last time I saw you, sai, you were in a pinewood box and considerably less lively." Bert gave Angua a sideways smile. "Man Jesus, I can't even remember the last time I saw you. What've you been up to, other than reveling in your marital bliss?" He grinned cheekily at her.

[loaded_wolf]

Angua eyed the bird, wary at the size of it's claws. There were birds like this on the Disc, no doubt, but she was unfamiliar with them and hadn't seen one around here. "It's a majestic bird. I can't believe you could master such an animal, Bert," she murmured with a tiny smile.

His words made her blush and roll her eyes. "First your bird almost makes me fall over, now this? You enjoy teasing me far too much," she said. "But, since you brought it up, sai, I remain unmarried, though happy enough."

[saikamai]

"Ah, yes," he said sagely. "The fairy magic dissipates at dawn, doesn't it? Not that I would know anything about it," he added. "I missed the whole party. Fairy royalty, debauchery, drunkeness... isn't really my thing. But I hear it was quite an affair."

Yes, he did like teasing her.

"Anyway, married, unmarried, happy's what matters." Bert smiled at her. "'s too bad you're one of kind here, fella," he called up to David. "You'd make some pretty cute hatchlings yourself."

[turnthebadinme]

With a sound somewhere between a squawk of terror and a laugh, Serena ducked out of the way, hands flying up over her head. "Oh my god," she cried, pivoting on her heel to watch the bird for a few moments before turning her attention to the boy running after him. "Don't tell me you know that bird, Bert." Now that she had a look at him that wasn't head-on, he was beautiful, unlike any Serena had seen since coming to the island.

[saikamai]

"I do," he shouted, breezing past Serena to catch him up on his arm. David flapped his wings a few times, as if to remind both Bert and Serena that he was, indeed, a wild thing and only a passing fancy kept him from taking off at any moment. Bert turned around carefully and smiled at her as Davey inspected Bert's hair carefully for any spare field mice or grasshoppers.

"Sorry about that," he laughed, his voice lilting up. "I guess he realized just in time you were probably too large to be a contender for supper. He's nothing if not ambitious, this guy."

[turnthebadinme]

"Then no wonder he's a friend of yours," Serena teased, looking to the bird in awe. She had known people who kept such birds, for whom falconry was a hobby, but she wasn't particularly well acquainted with the practice firsthand. The colors of his plumage were outright entrancing. "He's so beautiful. You know, for someone who has a taste for your hair. Or for me."

She hadn't been injured so much as startled, so she couldn't bring herself to mind in the least.

[saikamai]

"Yeah," Cuthbert said, eyes rolling upward as if to check on David's progress. "I promise he's not actually finding any bugs in there..." The bird tugged particularly hard at that moment, startling a laugh out of Bert.

"And thanks, by the way. He is beautiful. Died before his time." Bert gave a demonstrative, sad little smile before shrugging. "Luckily the island's decided to provide me with my very own menagerie. Glue Boy last year, David this year. Think I've finally run out of animals, though." Speaking of animals, there was the matter of Caerbannog, the rather bossy white hare that Lloyd had gifted him with last spring. Somehow, Cuthbert wasn't certain that 'Nog and Davey were going to be the best of pals. Hm.

"What about you? Was the island half so kind to you in its selection of presents from home?" Bert smirked, then winced slightly as David gently tested out the tasty cartilage of Bert's ear.

[theonionknight]

Davos ducked automatically as the hawk swooped towards him, though in truth it was not needed. Few hawks are such fools as to mistake a fully grown man for a rabbit and as such the bird turned away rather than attacking him.

When he saw, and heard, Cuthbert running after the bird, he pulled himself back to his full height, though he was still somewhat wary.

"He yours, gunslinger?" he asked as calmly as he could. "He seems fierce enough, certes."

[saikamai]

"He is," Cuthbert said, fairly bugling in his enthusiasm. Ye gods! David! "And he ought to be, sai. He's coming back from the dead. Hai!" Bert whistled, and raised his arm. "Hai! David!"

The hawk wheeled and settled on his arm, but its gaze had snared on Davos, scrutinizing him with keen amber eyes. Cuthbert looked from the bird to man curiously. "You have a mouse in your pocket or something?" he asked, brow furrowed.

[theonionknight]

"If I do," Davos replied dryly, and he grasped the pouch around his neck in his right hand as he spoke to avoid the temptation of reaching for his sword, "then I did not know it."

[saikamai]

Cuthbert eyed Davos's hand, and clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth to divert David's attention. "Come now, cully. That's enough. What'd'ye want with him, anyways?"

Unlike Cuthbert's other familiar, Glue Boy the Friendly Gelding, David's temperament was quite opposite his master's. He did not answer with a friendly nip or anything other than that strange, alert-- yet somehow blank-- expression. Bert examined the leash he'd wrested from the parcel in his other hand. "He's from home, but he just got here. Well, as far as I know, anyway. He may've been here for weeks and just now decided to show. Bet you've been eating well anyway, you bastard," Bert said, roughly fond.

[lonewolflives]

Arya had her arm halfway up before the fact that said arm was completely bare and would get torn to shreds occurred for her, so she deferred the motion and leaned to the side enough to allow the bird to pass by.

And there was Cuthbert, chasing after it. Somehow, that figured. "Where's your glove?!" she shouted over to him.

[saikamai]

"I don't know," Cuthbert tossed back at her. "He just got here!" All at once he realized that was surely what the parcel was; he stopped and untied it, revealing two gloves, a hood, jesses and a leash. He dropped it all in the dirt, with the exception of the glove, which he slipped on. "Hai!" he called, finishing off with a sharp whistle.

David circled once, then twice before finally lighting on Bert's arm and blinking in the bright afternoon sun. He turned a little and stretched the length of one wing out, feathers fanning. "Look at this coxcomb, will ya?" Bert snorted.

[lonewolflives]

That was well, then; Arya had been trying to figure out an alternative, and it'd been between wrapping her shirt around her arm and trying to get the bird to land on an outstretched piece of wood, both of which had their own unique problems.

"He's gorgeous," she cooed, approaching to a short distance off but not reaching out; she didn't know his temperament or his training, and she liked her fingers. That didn't stop her addressing the bird, though. "Look at you, showing off. Just like your master, aren't you?"

[saikamai]

"Thanks," Cuthbert said, and suddenly his love for David-- who he hadn't even realized he'd missed-- made his heart roughly the consistency of melting toffee. "He is, isn't he?" He watched the hawk alternate wings then hold the stretch, preening, ready for admiration. Bert rolled his eyes, both at the bird and the girl. "Yeah, yeah. We're two of a kind. You wanna come over for dinner later? I was thinking field mice, side of caterpillars...?"