Houseguest, Revisited

[ladysprite]

Last night when I got home from work, I took a look inside our fireplace and didn't see anything alive inside it. The water and birdseed we left had been knocked over, but even contorting to look partway up the flue, I couldn't find anything out of the ordinary in there. I figured that whatever had found its way in had found its way out again, and didn't worry.

Until this morning, when I came downstairs to find my cats once again pressed face-first into the fireplace shield - and the screen inside swaying and rattling. I shooed them away, only to come face-to-face with something dark and feathery on the inside. The cats were rapidly shut in the guest room, and I grabbed a spare towel and flashlight and opened the fireplace doors, to find a starling (whom I choose to believe is an ice dragon in disguise) sitting on the lip of the flue staring back at me.

Thanks to some timely advice from felis_sidus, I left the fireplace open and headed to open the front door. Unfortunately, before I could get to the door, there was a rustle and a whoosh and suddenly there was a small, angry black bird sitting on top of our stereo. I tried to move past him slowly to get the front door open for his escape, but as soon as I moved he shot upstairs.

Luckily, from there I was able to herd him into the master bathroom, where we spent a good fifteen minutes playing a rousing game of keep-away, as he flew from the shower rod to the top of the cabinet to the doorsill to the light fixture, and I hopped from the edge of the bathtub to the top of the commode to the edge of the sink, and my husband stood outside and worried at the odd thumps and curses. Eventually, though, stubbornness and sentience won out over flight and panic, and I chased the poor thing in circles until he slipped and landed in the tub.

Within seconds I had him unceremoniously but gently bundled into a towel, and was wise enough to not open the door until umbran called to me that he had the front door open. I carried him to the front door and gently shook him loose, and watched until he was safely ensconced in the tree in our front yard.

Now I am bundled back up under my blankets, the fireplace is blessedly uninhabited, and our starling is long gone. The only unhappy ones are my cats, who are now alternating between staring unhappily at the now-silent fireplace and running around the house crying at the smell of bird and the sound of frozen rain like tiny claws tapping against all the windows.....

Comments

[gyzki.livejournal.com]

suddenly there was a small, angry black bird sitting on top of our stereo

What, you don't keep a bust of Pallas ready for black birds that drop in unexpectedly? (I used to once, but...nevermore.)

[alexx-kay.livejournal.com]

Ouch.

This sounds much like my adventure with a bat in Kestrell's room a while back. I didn't think of a towel though, so I captured it with a pair of shorts :)

[browngirl.livejournal.com]

I completely forget what my comment was going to be; it was never going to be within light years of this one.

[browngirl.livejournal.com]

I completely forget what my comment was going to be; it was never going to be within light years of this one.

[flaviarassen.livejournal.com]

Those are only for LARGE black birds....

[aries-walker.livejournal.com]

You are the second person, unrelated in every way except that you both know me, who has 'Magic' as their music this morning. Going by my standard interpretation, twice is just a coincidence, but if I get one more, I will have to think that there is some greater force at work, trying to tell me something - perhaps that Xanadu was, in fact, a documentary.

[starcat-jewel.livejournal.com]

Bird. Bird. Bird bird bird birdbirdbirdbird.

[felis-sidus.livejournal.com]

Yay, a happy ending!

Well, except for your cats.

[mbumby.livejournal.com]

Quite the happy ending. You're the hero(ine) of the birds.

(Next step get the whatsit on top of the chimney that is supposed to prevent this from happening fixed...)

[vettecat.livejournal.com]

Well done!