I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings...

An exchange?

From bird to something more... human? Daneil only partially expected this, but the instant this transformation took place, her guard returned back into full swing. A well-practiced smile put on nonetheless as she approached close enough for a respectable distance.

There was a bit of a preen from the nightingale, its tail feathers wiggling in appreciation at the compliment. Trust a human to know what to say! It seemed to be saying, before it flew to another branch, chirping in response again.

Her run began to slow, but her breath did not heave as if she'd ran her whole life. The voice she heard, it did cause alarm briefly as the girl looked about in habit that it was not a stranger catching her unaware. But Dani turned towards the fleeting bird that looked at her so curiously, and in turn she gazed back just the same.

A bird call was heard from a little ways from the path that Dani had taken. At first, it was hard to hear where it was exactly, echoing a little around her before a golden nightingale perched on a tree branch above her head. The bird’s tail was a bit unusual for a normal nightingale, a little longer in the tailfeathers, curled some. It skittered across the branch, watching her with an usually keen gaze, as the bird whistled the next part of the song to her.

What a beautiful bird! She smiled, brighter so when its call echoed back the music continued. Rather quick if it only too this much to captivate them, but such had never been an issue in the past. But was this bird a fae themselves? Or a servant? Could the animals speak here? What else did it know?

Singing a hushed song for the snake, she scoops it up carefully. Through the foreign words, Dani smiles as the entranced reptile coils itself around her wrist. Unsure whether it was venomous or not, the pet upon its head yielded a content flick of forked tongue. Indeed cute.

As much as he didn't care to comment, he couldn't deny the skill of her performance. It was beautiful - each note flowing seamlessly from one to the next, each intonation sparked with emotion.

She'd heard it, too. A deep chill gripping her heart where panic took hold on command. It was the moment Daneil attempted fleeing in whatever direction was opposite of her pursuer. Torin had remained a support of sorts, but all reason abandons upon choked songs and a bolt.