Post by Shinku on May 13, 2015 12:42:33 GMT -5
The adversary was over there by the railing, not knowing he was observed by watchful eyes. Feeling safe and calm and completely unaware of the danger he was in, relaxing in the sunshine as if he had no worries, despite being an intruder on the ship. There was the sound of the waves and the wind was blowing softly around the hull of the La Colmena, but otherwise it was quite, very quiet. A silence that might make you believe that the ship was deserted and unprotected.
It wasn’t.
And it would never be. Not as long as Itty was around and Itty would be around as long as the ship was around.
Quiet, as quiet as only a Klabautermann could move on his ship, Laco approached the foe. Slowly and carefully as to not alert him before the time was right. It was important to get it right or you were unlikely to get another chance. But there was nothing to worry about, for sneaking up was a much trained specialty of the Klabautermann. Grinning widely under the cover of its hood now, the little imp crouched down and got ready to jump. The opponent hadn’t moved from the railing yet.
Wait… wait… it would be time any minute now… but not quite yet… the right time was important…
NOW!!
The little raincoat wearing figure jumped at the intruder and there was a storm of flying feathers and panic-fueled flapping of wings. The captured seagull did its best to escape the slender arms that held on to it, moving violently and pecking at the little head with a sharp beak until it was finally free again. As soon as it was released, the bird flew off with the very firm intend to never land on this ship again, ever!
La Colmena rubbed its hurting head with little hands, messing up the black hair even more than it already was, before it threw up the hood once more. In the heat of the fight it had slid down from Itty’s head to reveal a black mop of unkempt hair and some intense eyes with sparks of determination. But other than the seagull, there had been no one there to see, the captain still missing and the other crew members out to train or shop.
The poultry had escaped, but Laco had never intended to keep it. Itty’s aim had a very different purpose. Humming softly to a melody that the loud musician Louisa had played just the other day, the Klabautermann picked up the scattered feathers. Mr. Seagull wasn’t the first bird to cross ways with the imp and by now La Colmena had a big collection of different colored plumes.
After each hunt the birds would keep away from the ship for a while. But sooner or later new birds flew past and while some flew over the cuckoo’s nest, some actually stayed on it to rest. It took some time because most birds were properly scared after watching some fellow being assaulted, but the Klabautermann could be surprisingly patient if it had to.
With its loot in hand Itty made its way down to the ship’s belly where the rest of the feathers were stored. Most of them had already been wrought into something that due to the lack of a better description should be called a head ornament. The monstrous thing was a feather headdress you’d expected to see on a native witch doctor or in a nightmare possibly.
Most feathers had belonged to seagulls, but there were some black raven feathers and even one from a hawk. The raptor had inflicted quite a serious looking cut on Laco’s forearm with its claws, but the little person wasn’t worried. It would heal in time and the gain was totally worth it. Or so Itty hoped.
The Klabautermann had spent quite some time in this handicraft and was very pleased with the result. What others might have called a nightmare, Laco called a crown. It was a gift for Melosa and Laco was certain it was fit for a Queen, it had to be… with all those feathers it had packed on it and all it was very majestic. Queeny would just HAVE to love it! And how could the captain say no to coming back when there was such a nice present waiting for her? La Colmena was sure that it would work.
Next to the “crown” of feathers, a simpler accessory laid. It was a bracelet made out of little shells. In an attempt to be creative and clever Laco had used dried algae to make a thread for the bracelet. Well… half dried algae so far, but it would be dry sooner or later. The clever point behind it was that shells came from the sea and algae came from the sea as well, which made the bracelet a present completely made of sea-stuff! Wasn’t that great?!
The jewelry was intended for the musician and Laco hoped that she would like it. Surely she would? Women liked ornamenting things, right? And this one was very special too. Especially with that big sharp shell Itty had added to make the ornament functional as a weapon as well. Wasn’t that handy?
Now Laco only needed something nice for the shipwright. What might he like? Hmm….