-Analyzed by Dr. Ilo Vandal
"Hello, Martin."
"Hey, Ruby."
The meeting of two owls is hardly coincidental. They have met to talk. Most owls meet to fly, eat, or mate. Talking is to owls as flying is to humans. It can be done, but is not in their nature. But these two owls aren't worrying about that. They talk for deeper reasons.
"I don't know what happened. We were all right before."
"But not recently?"
Though they are speaking of the same subject, both owls are simultaneously thinking of other matters. For instance, Ruby here is actually worried about her relationship with Kello, a short-eared owl whom she is madly and irrevocably in love with. Martin, on the other hand, is absorbing Ruby's scent as fast as his small nostrils could sniff, without her noticing. He's also, at the moment, hating Kello for his abruptness and Ruby's blindness to him.
"Yes. Kello doesn't hate me, does he?"
"Of course not. He merely doesn't like you. He…"
Even the trailing off of a sentence is a psychological wonder. Martin wants to say more about Kello (or himself), and yet is too afraid to. Or, perhaps, he is just raising the level of suspense so Ruby would listen to him. Of course, Ruby is too preoccupied to notice, but does want to know what Martin is getting at.
"He what?"
"He, uh, he's, um…in love with, uh, someone else…"
"WHAT?"
Obviously, Martin is lying. The sentence itself would never pass in a room of politics or debate (though evidently they are not in such a situation). But Martin will do anything to win his self-importance. He doesn't mention that he talked with Kello about Ruby loathing him, nor about introducing Kello to Luna. He just happens to "let slip" that Kello is obviously not fit for Ruby, that Ruby should get over him, and that she should notice Martin, who is standing in front of her, for Glaux's sake.
"Calm down, Ruby."
"Why, that little…#$&!"
"And I heard that he's chatting up to Luna too…"
"…"
Martin appears to be sincere and calm, though his gizzard is absolutely dancing the Glauc-glauc-glauc. He calms his secret lover to see the outcome of his doing. Ruby, evidently being a rough owl of sorts, is not taken well to this fact. She doesn't calm down, but instead gives birth to a string of curses addressed to Kello, too vile to put down into words; meaning that the relationship between Kello and her will only ever appear in a maniac owl's mind. Martin adds more straw to the fire with another sentence, and out of his beak another piece of gossip is borne. Ruby is too overcome by this revelation for words. You can imagine her opening and closing her beak, searching for curses and desperately hoping that what was revealed to her isn't true.
"It's okay, Ruby."
"What do you mean, it's okay?"
"I mean, you've always got me…"
"For what? What good will a friend do in this situation?"
Ruby obviously doesn't get the hints Martin was passing on. Right now, the thought "What a thick owl!" is passing through Martin's head. But what good will those words do? He's already gotten this far. He introduces himself into the present situation, and is flabbergasted by Ruby's reaction. Nevertheless, he presses on…
"For, well, um, a…"
"A what? A mate?"
"…uh…precisely…"
"Oh my Glaux!"
"Ruby! Are you okay?"
"……"
"Ruby?"
"……"
"Are you okay?"
"…NO! What were you thinking?"
"Oh, just…never mind…sorry, I wasn't thinking…"
"It's okay."
"Okay, then, uh, 'bye. It's time for tweener."
"'Bye."
- ©2007 ConnieWorks Ltd. Inspired by Dim Aldebaran's Tevatron