<em>"No birdbaths or bird feeders sorry, the neighbours don't like birds.." he said lightly "...and by the way I don't think that this would be safe for the birds since Jean told me that a... certain calico catgirl has a thing for feathers.”</em><br/><br/>Skuld’s ears and excitement visibly drooped; her disappointment was near palatable as she fought a pout on those small lips.  She would never hurt another living being (outside of insects)!  She loved birds (seeing as they were attached to those feathers she enjoyed so) and would never cause one harm!<br/><br/>Well… not on purpose. ….<br/>There was that one time she managed to catch a bird and she was really gentle, honest! Skuld was simply attracted to it’s subtle blue plumage but then it started to freak out, flapping and fluttering, and that excitement called to some dormant, primal part of her and she just had to…<br/>well, needless to say, it was an accident and the calico felt absolutely wretched about it afterwards.  Skuld cried for days and she even gave the poor thing its own little funeral out in the garden and never told a soul (well, except for Maleena who had to deal with and consol he inconsolable Skuld).<br/>But, just as she was starting to feel sad about the whole situation…<br/><br/><em> Have you ever seen a peacock's tail feather, Skuld? It is a multi-coloured feather... this big..." Akira made a gesture with his hands as if holding something very long "...what do you think... instead of having a birdbath, maybe I can find one of those for you?"</em><br/><br/>Those drooping ears picked right back up and her heterochromiatic eyes shone with excitement, momentarily forgetting her disappointment a mere heartbeat before. “Oh, yes! I’ve seen them on TV… and in books, and at the zoo!”  Yes, when she was still a kitten her then owner (who owned her mother) took her to the zoo and she was simply amazed by the peacocks!  So much so that she tried to chase one and was subsequently kicked out for the day.  “You really mean it??  Cross your heart and hope to die?”  She looked straight into Akira’s eyes.  Screw prints, fabrics and sheets - she was going to get a feather!!<br/>