Sky and Sea [AW to friendlies]

“That climb looked dangerous!” a blue jay called from above. She fluffed out her feathers—more to make herself easier to find—and hopped in place on her rocky perch amongst the cliff’s white stones. “I was afraid to speak up, for fear of startling you so badly you’d fall and break your neck! Why, I would never want to cause harm to anyone at all, but accidents do happen, and it’s not like you have wings to take you far from danger, unlike myself.”

Aster leaned over her perch for a better look, appraising the armored wolf with a critical eye. He looked taller than most canines she’d seen, and the armor on his back was new. Definitely a wolf from one of those packs. “You must not be from around here. Or beaches, for that matter. ‘Cause then you’d be smart enough to avoid that trail—oh, how I hate to call it that, it’s barely fit for water runoff—especially in that heavy armor of yours.”

She paused, almost as if to let him talk, but then continued. “Bet you’re tired. You look exhausted, if I do say so myself, and I sincerely hope that armor of yours doesn’t have any metal pieces, ‘cause otherwise you’re begging for rust. Sheesh, so many risks.” She chirped in a tut-tut manner. “But that’s okay! I’m good at fixing things. Small feet and precise beak, you know. Oh, and my name’s Aster? Who’re you?”