//------------------------------// // Sweet Hooting Sounds // Story: Sweet Hooting Sounds // by Sinister Voice //------------------------------// Sweet Hooting Sounds by Sinister Voice Happy Birthday Lisali Slowly and with practiced grace her claws danced across the lyre’s strings, bringing forth a calm melody. With her eyes closed and her head tilted to the side, she listened to her own music. A sound, the flap of wings, and the unmistakeable smell of sugar wafting through the air announced the return of her love. Something like a smile began to form on her beak. The flapping stopped, followed by the silent click of claws on the bark of their tree home. She turned her head, her golden gaze falling on her lover’s feathers. It had been a long day for BonBon, flying around and searching for the ingredients she needed to create her love’s most favourite candy. A thought shot through her head, warming her cheeks – well, maybe her second most favourite candy. Now, however, she had found everything she needed and was on her way back home, her wings cutting through the summer’s breeze. Finally, their tree home appeared, and soon the familiar sounds of a lyre glided through the air, filling her heart with warmth and love. Her claws scraped along the tree’s bark as she landed, and she hopped inside, just as Lyra turned to her, her instrument in one claw and standing on just the other one. “Hey Bon,” Lyra hooted while her claws continued playing the melody. “Hey Lyra. How was your day?” the other owl asked, hopping closer to the lyrist. “Fine… I’ve composed a new song… but…,” and her smile grew a bit, as she slowly looked up, meeting the cerulean gaze of BonBon’s eyes, “now that you’re back it’s become even better.” “Oh you old charmer,” BonBon giggled. Her cream-coloured plumage fluffed slightly and her face burned from Lyra’s flirting. Then they put their heads together, their beaks touching as they embraced. “I missed you, Love” “As did I, Sweets.” “You know, I’ve planned a little surprise for you…” “A surprise?” Lyra asked, “You don’t mean something like rece-mmh,” her words were stopped by the soft down of BonBon’s wings, shutting her beak. “I thought about making your favourite candy you lecher,” she laughed and removed her wing. “Oh Bons, you know you are my favourite candy,” Lyra grinned, her brows rising suggestively. “OH STOP,” BonBon shouted. Well, she had called it before. “Anyhoo, I’m going to start on your batch, so just wait here and don’t ruffle your feathers too much,” she sang and nuzzled Lyra as she passed by her and then strode into their kitchen. Lyra turned back to her lyre and tried to concentrate on her play again. Her thoughts however returned to the owl in the kitchen and the bowl of heavenly delicious candy she was making at the moment, the clinking of pots and bowls drifting through the open doorway. Another moment of unconcentrated playing and hesitation, then she picked her lyre from under her wing and placed it safely into a corner of the room, before she turned and hopped towards the kitchen. “Hey Sweets. Can I help?” BonBon looked up from her pots and the different ingredients strewn about the kitchen towards the room’s entrance where Lyra stood, half hidden behind the wall, only a part of her head and her eyes peeking into the room. BonBon blinked, regarding Lyra for a moment. Should she let her help? Then she saw those great shimmering golden orbs looking at her. Pleading. Oh she never could really say no to that look. Not without feeling bad. Definitely not today. She sighed and waved with a wing. “Oh fine, come on in, but be careful and do only what I tell you.” “Great,” she chirped and hopped inside, “You’ll see Sweets, I’ll be the bestest helper you could image.” “The bestest? Well let’s hope so….” ... “Well, I don’t know about best–est but,” BonBon mused and leaned forward, picking something of the sweet white mass out of Lyra’s feathers, “but you are definitely the sweetest,” and then shared it with her, their beaks clacking together, before she continued cleaning her lover. Giggling Lyra then too started to pick the candy dough out of BonBon’s feathers. Both of their beaks sank into the others down, carefully picking out the remains of the accident thus slowly cleaning each other. With a slight smirk, Lyra then circled around BonBon and whispered: “Now just let me get to that.” She lowered her head to BonBon’s wing, extended it with gentle force before she began to slowly and carefully pluck at her pinions, tucking them in the right position after they were clean again and eliciting a small coo from BonBon’s beak. Just as Lyra was about to move from one wing to the other a thumping sound startled the two of them. Someone was knocking on their door. “Hey girls – BonBon, Lyra – you home?” A familiar voice sounded through the door. The heat in BonBon’s face grew even hotter as she quickly shuffled away from Lyra and towards the entrance. With a small pout on her features Lyra followed. When they opened the door a small grey owl waited for them, her amber eyes glittering with glee as she spotted them, each eye focusing on one of the two. “Hey Lyra, hey BonBon, I bring muffins,” she hooted happily and, with her beak, lifted a basket filled with treats. She tilted her head, the basket swinging dangerously. “By the way, why do you two have candy stuck in your feathers, all over your bodies…” Then her eyes shrunk, flitted between the two, the surroundings, nothing. Her gaze crossing and she shuffled her wings, her feathers standing on end when a thought sprung to her mind. “Am I.... interrupting? I can come back later…” Lyra began to laugh, while BonBon opted to bury her face in her wing, both of their faces hot. “No, no, it’s alright Derpy. Come on in,” sighed BonBon, her wing dropping again in resignation. The three entered together and Derpy hopped fluttering towards the kitchen – and stopped in the doorway. “I guess, that explains the mess you two are in…” “Really? We could’ve made that mess while getting… dirty and not the other way.” “Lyra!” BonBon shouted at her lover’s words. “She’ll get the wrong idea again.” Lyra, however, just winked at laughed at BonBon’s outburst. “Come Derpy, let’s eat in the living room. You comin’ Sweets?” “So Derpy, what brings you by?” “Ohh you know I,” she paused and looked at the basket of muffins, “I wanted to share,” and pointed with at her wing at the basket. “Well, I hope they taste as delicious as they look,” Lyra hooted happily and leaned over to pick one of the baked treats up. “So what happened?” Derpy looked at the two of them, one of her eyes swiveling between the two and one fixated on the muffin in front of her, before she too bowed forward and began to pick. “Well Lyra wanted to help me prepare a batch of drops… And unfortunately she was a bit … overexcited, which turned the kitchen into the disaster that you’ve seen. I really shouldn’t let her in the kitchen.” “Hey you never complain when I bring you breakfast to bed.” “No, because it’s not bad, and when I start cleaning later I can see how much work you put into the meal…. I mean you have to, or else I don’t know how you manage to make so much chaos each time. And today is something like your masterwork,” she almost purred and leaned over to Lyra, nuzzling her with her beak and picking some small remaining sweet drops. Then her gaze fell on Derpy who was still sitting across from them. She had even stopped eating her favourite food while she was watching them. BonBon’s cheeks heated up again and with a cough she turned back to her guest. “Maybe I really should leave,” Derpy mumbled, her eyes slightly averted. Well one slightly, the other one was looking in a completely different direction. She then began to flutter her wings and sprung up, slowly walking backwards, one of her eyes already spinning in the direction she wanted to fly. “See you girls later. I know the way out, just keep sitting,” she said bumping slightly against the wall. “Don’t worry, everything’s alright.” Then she was off, and they only heard the door close again before they could even move. They sprung up and bolted to the door, just in time to see Derpy ascend – and then vanish, a few remaining feathers wafting through the air – and in the next moment to reappear, a sheepish smile on her face. “Told you, everything alright.” Lyra and BonBon both blinked, then looked at each other, BonBon sighed, Lyra smirked and they both began to laugh. “She totally forgot why she actually came here, didn’t she?” BonBon giggled, shaking her head. “Totally,” Lyra grinned, “but it’s okay, I only care that you remember, … and that she brought gifts.” “You are impossible,” BonBon laughed, still shaking her head in disbelief. “Come on, let’s finally get cleaned up.” ... Content and clean again Lyra left their bathroom, BonBon had unfortunately left soon after they had finally freed each other of the sticky viscous fluid in their feathers, so she was left alone to enjoy her hot bath – steam still rising from her shoulders. BonBon was already performing her own magic in the kitchen again, humming a tone Lyra recognized as one of her own. She slowly stalked closer and stopped in the doorway. Already, the kitchen was clean again and even more, BonBon was standing in front of the counter, putting the finishing touches on the treat she had promised Lyra – A batch of sparkling little blue and yellow sweet drops each topped with a golden lyre. “Happy Birthday, my dear,” BonBon hummed and turned to her.