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Description
Spirited. Shrewd. Stalwart.

Selfless.

These are the words the flock would have used to describe their matriarch if they had the concepts of such language. As things were, they only knew that she was the one they looked to for guidance and assurance that their decisions were safe and best for the group. She knew the best plants for nest building and which creatures could be eaten during lean times. The leader knew which animals were safe to tolerate and which would harm the young, along with which areas held the predators of their kind and were to be avoided.

Their matriarch was just in her ruling of their family and administered punishment if one of them had gone astray, although it always pained her greatly to do so. She was much happier helping her flock find the best catch in their feeding spots, taking a flight with her mate and family, or gazing upon the beauty that was her groups territory. Her favorite activity though, was getting to entertain the young ones. Helping teach the fledglings to fly and playing with the hatchlings were watch she most loved. With them she didn't have to worry and could play and squawk and be silly, if only for a little while.

She wasn't the oldest among them, although she was definitely one of the older birds, at a healthy 12 years old. Their flock of 25 was made up mostly of her relatives, cousins, siblings, niblings, and children and their mates. With her to guide them, this family band thrived in the foothills of mountain that the Featherless called Fuji.

The birds didn't have need to identify their species or each other as those strange, cloth-wearing beings they termed "the Featherless". But the Featherless females that collected the plants from the birds feeding ground called them "tōki" and there was a particular group of Featherless that seemed to always be examining the world around the flock that used words like "crested" and "ibis" when near them. And there was the group of degenerates ("Senshi" they called themselves) that stumbled out from the building at the edge of the village at all hours of the day (more often into the night, when any sane animal would be roosting!) stinking of alcohol and unnatural substances. They had started to volley around words like "demon", "pest", and the dark haired one that seemed to lead the band had very recently started to use a new word, "Tengu."

One early Autumn morning the matriarch followed the newest group of fledglings on their first flight from nest tress to the feeding grounds. She was quite pleased with their progress in flight, their feathers were coming in nicely and they were gaining strength everyday. Her little niece was chief among them, always brave enough to take the lead spot in formation. The spunky fledgling was even gaining confidence in a leadership role - able to make adjustments to their flight paths without instruction in order to find the best wind patterns or to avoid some of the treacherous locations within their territory. The leader couldn't be prouder on the youngling and imagined with glee the day that she could take her on as one of her apprentices (again, another Featherless name for the position but accurate nonetheless). Maybe this time next year, the feisty little bird could help the matriarch take her own latest offspring on their maiden flight.

The group landed at the feeding ground after a smooth decent (mostly anyway, several of the fledglings still hadn't mastered getting their feet back under them after flying and tended to bounce on their bellies when the grounded, much to the amusement of their elders.). The matriarch, her mate, and several of the other adult birds started showing the young ones the best techniques for catching their food at the edge of the field. The Featherless females were already towards the middle of the patch and made a half-hearted attempt at shooing the birds away - waving their arms and making their odd squawks but not actually moving towards the flock. This had been the ritual between the family and the women Featherless for as long as the matriarch could remember. They seemed to have an acceptance for the birds as long as they stayed to the edges of the field (at least while they were present, the leader had learned over the years that the middle of the field was fair game when the Featherless were elsewhere).

The matriarch, stomach full of insects and shellfish, left the eating field and took roost on her favorite rock ledge to the side. She observed her family in satisfied contemplation and basked in the warmth of the late morning sun. She had almost fallen into a doze when she heard a rustling in the grasses to her right.

"Hello, Kaatori."

This had somehow become an unusual ritual of theirs. The matriarch would take her leave of the terraces to rest and watch and then the Featherless female would come. She had never gotten any closer than two wing lengths, was never brash or hurried in her movements, and didn't try to shoo the birds still eating away - so the leader stayed roosted. Sometimes she talked to the bird about her family and village, or about general wellbeing of the Featherless on someplace called Nippon. Sometimes they didn't make a sound - just two ladies resting together, watching their very different families coexist.

The female was nearing middle age for her kind but moved among her flock with wisdom and respect that belied her years. The matriarch heard the adult Featherless use the sound "Mitsuki" when addressing her and assumed that was how they identified her. The female had a small flock of her own fledglings - seven of varying ages if the bird had counted right. They often helped in the fields and continued working the plants even as the female came to sit. She had raised them well and they never bothered the matriarch's flock.

Sometime after the matriarch had learned that the Featherless meant her and her family no harm, she had started addressing the leader as "Kaatori." From what she could piece together of the Featherless's complicated language, the female was calling her some type of hybridized word for "Mama bird." Which, since she was, suited the matriarch just fine. She had begrudgingly become attached to these moments with the Featherless - her voice was a lovely calming sound and the matriarch felt a kinship with another mother that was just trying to do the best for her family.

Today the Featherless seemed more tired than usual and the pitch of her voice belied some worry and anger over conditions in her people's roosts. She kept making the sound "Shota" and gesturing with her arms. The matriarch had be forced to learn that "Shota" referred to the dark haired menace that was the leader of the gang of sots that loitered at the edge of town staggering about and filling their gullets with all manner of unnatural and stinking things. Apparently the feelings of dislike for the man crossed from one species to another.

The sun was just leaving its pinnacle when the matriarch arose from her rock. It was time to gather her family and head back to the nesting trees. Her Featherless, if past experiences held true, would need to be going and collecting her brood for their afternoon meal as well.

The leader shook and settled her feathers, letting out a squawk to tell her flock to head home. As her family took flight, the matriarch gave one last look at the Featherless beside her.

"Fair winds to you, Kaatori," the female Featherless said with a wry smile, "Thank you for allowing a woman to air her grievances without judgement."

Well the matriarch was all for someone, Featherless or not, that was smart enough to despise that imbecile Shota. She clacked her beak and walked over to the Featherless woman that she had claimed as her own. The leader took the red tip of her beak and tapped it to the center of the woman's forehead. To her kind, the gesture was one of respect, solidarity, and agreement, that their words were true and well said. The matriarch then retreated a few steps, spread her wings, and took to the air to follow her family home - leaving behind a surprised, yet smiling Featherless woman who had somehow won a spot in the old bird's heart.

Neither knew it yet, but their story had barely even begun. Their fates were to be intertwined throughout time, even throughout death. Together with their families - some as of yet unborn, these two unlikely friends were going to change their lands for the better. That is, if they could survive the pain and separation of those who went missing....

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Y'all this was my first full piece trying to work in a traditional Japanese sumi style = AND I LOVED IT!! The rice terraces drove me crazy for like 4 days straight but I finally got them to where I liked them. ^^

Thought of my Granny so much making this piece, she's the whole reason I love the Japanese style of art some much and I wish more than anything that she was here for me to show this to her - she'd have loved it I think.

BTW, the kanji on the side is translated as "Nipponia nippon" which is the scientific name for the crested ibis. The badge at the bottom is translated as "Tōki" - which is what the indigenous people call the birds and is the name of my girl! ^^ Setting up some reoccurring characters with the story this time, foreshadowing Tōki's next offsprings, the second mention of Shota, and you'll definitely be hearing more from Mitsuki in this canon if you follow me.

As always, Esks are a wonderful closed species belonging to witherlings

ART
Base Score: 10 AP (Shaded Illustration)
+20 AP (Full/Scenic Background)
+50 AP (Origin Prompt)
+5 AP (Personal Work Bonus)
Total AP per submission: 85

Base Score: 4 GP (Shaded Illustration)
+6 GP (Full/Scenic Background)
+10 GP (Origin Prompt)
Total GP per submission: 20

WRITING
Base Score: 29 AP (Writing: 1483 words)
+5 AP (Personal Work Bonus)
+8 AP (Storyteller Bonus: 8 AP * 1)
Total AP per submission: 42

Base Score: 14.5 GP (Writing: 1483 words)
+6 GP (Storyteller Bonus: 6 GP * 1)
Total GP per submission: 20.5

TOTAL AP: 127
TOTAL GP: 40.5

And thank you, thank you, thank you, to the talented artists of the fabulous resources I found for this piece:

Sumie-Misty lands and branches by Coreaux
www.deviantart.com/coreaux/art…

Sumi-e brushes by freak76
www.deviantart.com/freak76/art…

Beyond the Mist by midnightstouch
www.deviantart.com/midnightsto…

Brushes by crystallanxi
crystallanxi.deviantart.com/

Wing brushes by wabi-sabi-ways
www.deviantart.com/wabi-sabi-w…

Sumie-plants and birds by coreaux
www.deviantart.com/coreaux/art…

Description
Spirited. Shrewd. Stalwart.

Selfless.

These are the words the flock would have used to describe their matriarch if they had the concepts of such language. As things were, they only knew that she was the one they looked to for guidance and assurance that their decisions were safe and best for the group. She knew the best plants for nest building and which creatures could be eaten during lean times. The leader knew which animals were safe to tolerate and which would harm the young, along with which areas held the predators of their kind and were to be avoided.

Their matriarch was just in her ruling of their family and administered punishment if one of them had gone astray, although it always pained her greatly to do so. She was much happier helping her flock find the best catch in their feeding spots, taking a flight with her mate and family, or gazing upon the beauty that was her groups territory. Her favorite activity though, was getting to entertain the young ones. Helping teach the fledglings to fly and playing with the hatchlings were watch she most loved. With them she didn't have to worry and could play and squawk and be silly, if only for a little while.

She wasn't the oldest among them, although she was definitely one of the older birds, at a healthy 12 years old. Their flock of 25 was made up mostly of her relatives, cousins, siblings, niblings, and children and their mates. With her to guide them, this family band thrived in the foothills of mountain that the Featherless called Fuji.

The birds didn't have need to identify their species or each other as those strange, cloth-wearing beings they termed "the Featherless". But the Featherless females that collected the plants from the birds feeding ground called them "tōki" and there was a particular group of Featherless that seemed to always be examining the world around the flock that used words like "crested" and "ibis" when near them. And there was the group of degenerates ("Senshi" they called themselves) that stumbled out from the building at the edge of the village at all hours of the day (more often into the night, when any sane animal would be roosting!) stinking of alcohol and unnatural substances. They had started to volley around words like "demon", "pest", and the dark haired one that seemed to lead the band had very recently started to use a new word, "Tengu."

One early Autumn morning the matriarch followed the newest group of fledglings on their first flight from nest tress to the feeding grounds. She was quite pleased with their progress in flight, their feathers were coming in nicely and they were gaining strength everyday. Her little niece was chief among them, always brave enough to take the lead spot in formation. The spunky fledgling was even gaining confidence in a leadership role - able to make adjustments to their flight paths without instruction in order to find the best wind patterns or to avoid some of the treacherous locations within their territory. The leader couldn't be prouder on the youngling and imagined with glee the day that she could take her on as one of her apprentices (again, another Featherless name for the position but accurate nonetheless). Maybe this time next year, the feisty little bird could help the matriarch take her own latest offspring on their maiden flight.

The group landed at the feeding ground after a smooth decent (mostly anyway, several of the fledglings still hadn't mastered getting their feet back under them after flying and tended to bounce on their bellies when the grounded, much to the amusement of their elders.). The matriarch, her mate, and several of the other adult birds started showing the young ones the best techniques for catching their food at the edge of the field. The Featherless females were already towards the middle of the patch and made a half-hearted attempt at shooing the birds away - waving their arms and making their odd squawks but not actually moving towards the flock. This had been the ritual between the family and the women Featherless for as long as the matriarch could remember. They seemed to have an acceptance for the birds as long as they stayed to the edges of the field (at least while they were present, the leader had learned over the years that the middle of the field was fair game when the Featherless were elsewhere).

The matriarch, stomach full of insects and shellfish, left the eating field and took roost on her favorite rock ledge to the side. She observed her family in satisfied contemplation and basked in the warmth of the late morning sun. She had almost fallen into a doze when she heard a rustling in the grasses to her right.

"Hello, Kaatori."

This had somehow become an unusual ritual of theirs. The matriarch would take her leave of the terraces to rest and watch and then the Featherless female would come. She had never gotten any closer than two wing lengths, was never brash or hurried in her movements, and didn't try to shoo the birds still eating away - so the leader stayed roosted. Sometimes she talked to the bird about her family and village, or about general wellbeing of the Featherless on someplace called Nippon. Sometimes they didn't make a sound - just two ladies resting together, watching their very different families coexist.

The female was nearing middle age for her kind but moved among her flock with wisdom and respect that belied her years. The matriarch heard the adult Featherless use the sound "Mitsuki" when addressing her and assumed that was how they identified her. The female had a small flock of her own fledglings - seven of varying ages if the bird had counted right. They often helped in the fields and continued working the plants even as the female came to sit. She had raised them well and they never bothered the matriarch's flock.

Sometime after the matriarch had learned that the Featherless meant her and her family no harm, she had started addressing the leader as "Kaatori." From what she could piece together of the Featherless's complicated language, the female was calling her some type of hybridized word for "Mama bird." Which, since she was, suited the matriarch just fine. She had begrudgingly become attached to these moments with the Featherless - her voice was a lovely calming sound and the matriarch felt a kinship with another mother that was just trying to do the best for her family.

Today the Featherless seemed more tired than usual and the pitch of her voice belied some worry and anger over conditions in her people's roosts. She kept making the sound "Shota" and gesturing with her arms. The matriarch had be forced to learn that "Shota" referred to the dark haired menace that was the leader of the gang of sots that loitered at the edge of town staggering about and filling their gullets with all manner of unnatural and stinking things. Apparently the feelings of dislike for the man crossed from one species to another.

The sun was just leaving its pinnacle when the matriarch arose from her rock. It was time to gather her family and head back to the nesting trees. Her Featherless, if past experiences held true, would need to be going and collecting her brood for their afternoon meal as well.

The leader shook and settled her feathers, letting out a squawk to tell her flock to head home. As her family took flight, the matriarch gave one last look at the Featherless beside her.

"Fair winds to you, Kaatori," the female Featherless said with a wry smile, "Thank you for allowing a woman to air her grievances without judgement."

Well the matriarch was all for someone, Featherless or not, that was smart enough to despise that imbecile Shota. She clacked her beak and walked over to the Featherless woman that she had claimed as her own. The leader took the red tip of her beak and tapped it to the center of the woman's forehead. To her kind, the gesture was one of respect, solidarity, and agreement, that their words were true and well said. The matriarch then retreated a few steps, spread her wings, and took to the air to follow her family home - leaving behind a surprised, yet smiling Featherless woman who had somehow won a spot in the old bird's heart.

Neither knew it yet, but their story had barely even begun. Their fates were to be intertwined throughout time, even throughout death. Together with their families - some as of yet unborn, these two unlikely friends were going to change their lands for the better. That is, if they could survive the pain and separation of those who went missing....

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Y'all this was my first full piece trying to work in a traditional Japanese sumi style = AND I LOVED IT!! The rice terraces drove me crazy for like 4 days straight but I finally got them to where I liked them. ^^

Thought of my Granny so much making this piece, she's the whole reason I love the Japanese style of art some much and I wish more than anything that she was here for me to show this to her - she'd have loved it I think.

BTW, the kanji on the side is translated as "Nipponia nippon" which is the scientific name for the crested ibis. The badge at the bottom is translated as "Tōki" - which is what the indigenous people call the birds and is the name of my girl! ^^ Setting up some reoccurring characters with the story this time, foreshadowing Tōki's next offsprings, the second mention of Shota, and you'll definitely be hearing more from Mitsuki in this canon if you follow me.

As always, Esks are a wonderful closed species belonging to witherlings

ART
Base Score: 10 AP (Shaded Illustration)
+20 AP (Full/Scenic Background)
+50 AP (Origin Prompt)
+5 AP (Personal Work Bonus)
Total AP per submission: 85

Base Score: 4 GP (Shaded Illustration)
+6 GP (Full/Scenic Background)
+10 GP (Origin Prompt)
Total GP per submission: 20

WRITING
Base Score: 29 AP (Writing: 1483 words)
+5 AP (Personal Work Bonus)
+8 AP (Storyteller Bonus: 8 AP * 1)
Total AP per submission: 42

Base Score: 14.5 GP (Writing: 1483 words)
+6 GP (Storyteller Bonus: 6 GP * 1)
Total GP per submission: 20.5

TOTAL AP: 127
TOTAL GP: 40.5

And thank you, thank you, thank you, to the talented artists of the fabulous resources I found for this piece:

Sumie-Misty lands and branches by Coreaux
www.deviantart.com/coreaux/art…

Sumi-e brushes by freak76
www.deviantart.com/freak76/art…

Beyond the Mist by midnightstouch
www.deviantart.com/midnightsto…

Brushes by crystallanxi
crystallanxi.deviantart.com/

Wing brushes by wabi-sabi-ways
www.deviantart.com/wabi-sabi-w…

Sumie-plants and birds by coreaux
www.deviantart.com/coreaux/art…