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Post by Jewel on Jul 23, 2019 14:21:01 GMT -6
Shaun & Dido
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Post by Jewel on Jul 23, 2019 14:36:08 GMT -6
Jewel hadn't the faintest idea what he was meant to be doing with these creatures.
They were not his. Certainly not his - the first time he'd met Shaun and Dido was his first encounter with the pachee species. Their owner had been pleasant enough, and kind enough to let him borrow them for the purpose of breeding, so there were no complaints. Still, now he was in the situation in which he was meant to coax them into getting jiggy, and that was a foreign concept.
The coaxing, rather than the getting jiggy, he meant.
The breeding centre looked ten times more terrifying when you were new to it, and Jewel was feeling the pressure. He was keeping the pair in separate carriers; if he was lucky, they'd warm up to each other fast and skip any awkwardness. What he didn't anticipate was having to wait for a room to free up. Gee, he had heard there was a hype around it, but he never expected to have to sit around. The receptionist got a nervous smile from him as he plopped himself down - he angled the carriers to face one another so the pachee could see each other through the bars.
Now to wait.
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Post by Jewel on Sept 21, 2019 18:02:04 GMT -6
Jewel’s gaze turned to a pile of magazines dumped in a haphazard pile on the end table next to his chair. The literature of the Labs piqued his interest; he had no idea what passed as journalism in the city, and had assumed that it would be different to what he was used to. The cover of the first one had been dog eared and announced itself as ‘Orbaru Weekly’ in blocky text. Another weird creature?
“Sir,” The voice of the receptionist startled him, and his head snapped back around to face front. “We need you to fill in some paperwork, if that’s okay.”
“Sure,” He smiled. “Thanks.”
The sheet was simple, asking for his details and laying down ground rules. What he wasn’t anticipating was having to sign a disclaimer. He hadn’t thought that pachee were killing machines, but having to agree to absolve the breeding centre of blame should he suffer an untimely death had him furrowing his brow at the two he’d brought along. What were they going to do? Suffocate him with fuzz? They looked as nonthreatening as they came. He was sure he could see creatures ten times as dangerous bumbling down the street with their owners.
With a sound of amusement, he scribbled his signature.
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Post by Jewel on Sept 22, 2019 12:04:47 GMT -6
Once all boxes were ticked and disclaimers were read, Jewel set the paperwork aside, on the vacant seat to his right. Would he have to sign these documents every time he came back, if he did decide to? It wasn't a hassle, but he imagined it would get tiresome if he became a regular patron. Maybe there was a shortened version for those whose details had been collected once.
Who knew? It was all foreign to him, including the creatures in the carriers.
One was staring up at him with wide, inquisitive eyes. It was the one with the pretty green wings... Dido, the female? He hadn't known how to tell them apart other than that. Surely there was some form of gender differentiation he hadn't noticed yet. He'd confess to not having read a manual on how any of this was going to work, so every step would be a surprise.
He had made the basic assumption that it would be... noticeable if they accepted each other to breed, though.
The most curious thing was their lack of mouths. How did they communicate? Eye contact? Sign language? Interpretive dance? It would become apparent soon enough, but it was entertaining to imagine them shaking their little butts in a courting flurry.
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Post by Jewel on Sept 22, 2019 12:44:12 GMT -6
It took around five or ten minutes after the completion of the paperwork for the receptionist to return. With a smile, she took up his forms and gestured for him to stand; once he gathered up the carriers, she nodded towards the doors leading back into the centre.
"Head through, sir," She said. "There'll be a member of staff on hand to show you your room."
Fancy! The pachee got the luxury of privacy in which to feel the love. Jewel nudged one of the double doors open with his foot and stepped into a hallway - another woman, with the appearance of a mammalian, waved her fingers to grab his attention.
"Jewel?" She asked, and when he answered in the positive, she turned to unlock the room she was standing adjacent to. "Wonderful. This is your space. When you're all done, or if you need any assistance, come and let us know, okay?"
"Sure thing. Thanks, sweet," Jewel replied. The unsuspecting lady shyly lowered her eyes.
"Just doing my job, sir."
The room was nicer than he expected. Furnished in neutral colours, but pleasing to the eye nonetheless. There were more magazines for his perusal, as well as a bookshelf and a small couch. It would suit him fine.
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Post by Jewel on Sept 22, 2019 13:09:53 GMT -6
"Guess it's just you and me now, guys."
Jewel crouched down. The two pachee were looking at him; they weren't sure of him, by the looks of it, and who could blame them? He barely knew what species they were. Their owner was extremely generous to let him take them if they had garnered any idea of how clueless he was, but he thought he'd managed to fool them with false confidence.
He unlatched the doors of the carriers and opened the doors. Should he wait for them to come out themselves? He didn't want to frighten them or make them close up towards one another... alright, he'd back off. Jewel half crawled, half stumbled over to the couch and clambered up onto it. Maybe he should make himself look busy - it took a very specific kind of person to enjoy being watched while courting, and he doubted pachee had the capacity to have that interest.
Books, books, books. Nothing was grabbing his fancy, but he snatched a volume from the shelf nonetheless and flipped it open. If he held it just so, he could peer over the top of it and no one would be any the wiser!
At least, that was his theory. When he looked the first time and found Shaun staring at him like he'd grown two heads, he was proven wrong.
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Post by Jewel on Sept 22, 2019 13:54:25 GMT -6
Shaun had been the first to emerge from his carrier, and was switching between looking at Jewel, and looking at Dido. The female was still enjoying her privacy. How long did it usually take, for the two of them to get comfortable and in the mood? Jewel probably should have prepared for a long stay just in case, but it was too late to lament that. He'd have to make do. If worst came to worst, he supposed he could always summon one of the staff and have a chat with them, even if it was under the guise of needing assistance.
At last, one paw emerged from the occupied carrier. Dido's head followed, and eventually, the rest of her body, albeit hesitantly. Jewel flipped a page and feigned interest in the book, which turned out to be a stuffy classic novel with pages and pages of pointless exposition. No wonder he'd never gotten into reading if this was what was considered the cream of the crop. Get to the point, already...
Dido was a pretty girl. Shaun would be silly not to take an interest in her. Those wings, and her lovely dark fur? Jewel was sure that if he were a pachee, he'd be all over her.
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Post by Jewel on Sept 22, 2019 15:42:04 GMT -6
Jewel took the opportunity of the two being still to examine them from a distance. They looked alike, as far as anatomy went; there were differences, like the wings and the mane, but otherwise, they seemed the exact same. It took him a few minutes of squinting and running his gaze extensively over their bodies to work out that Shaun had little bobbles on his tail, and Dido didn't.
What were they? Seeds? Were these guys like plants? As far as he knew, plants didn't breed in the same way as people. He'd certainly never seen a flower pull their roots from the ground and shuffle over to something to chat it up. It continued to be a mystery. He couldn't distinguish any... sexed parts, but he didn't think their owner would have given Jewel a sterile couple, because he would have to return them and call them out on their trick.
Man, he should have read something about it.
Admittedly, he had been more interested in the prospect of it being profitable - it wasn't meant to be a passion project. Still, it wouldn't have hurt him to ask some questions about the process. Was it too late to call the lady? Would she think he was an idiot for being there and not knowing what he was doing?
Probably.
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Post by Jewel on Sept 22, 2019 15:52:52 GMT -6
Jewel was so absorbed in himself that he was startled when Dido took off like a rocket, zooming to the other side of the room. Crap. That had to be a bad sign. Fluttering her wings, she perched in the corner, staring over to Shaun with her big eyes. Shaun was still loitering by the carriers, his gaze on her, too. Like a competition. Like they were about to fight.
Should I be separating them? No, I don't want to interrupt in case this is part of it, but... oh my god, their owner will kill me if they get hurt. I need to go get that lady. Let her think I'm stupid, that's better than-- ... hold on, what?
Shaun had darted over to join her, and as soon as he had reached her, Dido set off again, with him hot on her heels. She hadn't tried to hit him, or tackle him, or anything bad at all. There were no malicious sounds, although Jewel didn't know how they'd make them with no mouths. They were playing! Shaun was following the bob of Dido's tail, and Jewel was suddenly sure that if they had been capable of it, they would have been smiling. A surge of relief washed over him.
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Post by Jewel on Sept 22, 2019 16:01:09 GMT -6
Sure, they could do that. Jewel leaned back and sighed, letting the book fall limply into his lap. As long as they weren't tearing one another apart, he'd consider it a success.
They were faster than he thought they'd be. The pair were totally immersed in their game, not paying any attention to the fae watching them any more; they sprang around the place without hesitation, unbothered by their environment. Had they been here before? Perhaps, if their owner was known for breeding pachee. They may even have had litters before, separately if not together. It was an interesting notion. They looked so young to Jewel that it seemed strange.
Still, here he was trying to get them to breed, so he had no right to say anything.
He wasn't sure how long they ended up playing for. It was cute, so he wasn't watching the clock - he was enjoying it. He hadn't seen many creatures playing in his time at the labs, and that struck him as a bit of a shame. What was work without a touch of play? He hoped that the other residents weren't uptight about having fun, because they would not like him at all if that was the case.
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Post by Jewel on Sept 22, 2019 16:08:25 GMT -6
It happened quickly, and Jewel wasn't sure what to make of it.
They came to a stop. He was fascinated, wondering if the moment had finally come - the way they were looking at one another seemed intense - and he was expecting to have to turn his gaze away at any second to give them some privacy. No such thing was necessary. The fae blinked when Shaun began to thump his tail against the ground, observing the pollen that rose from it with confusion, until--
Oh, the slit on Dido's forehead had escaped Jewel's notice until that moment. Was she... collecting the pollen? Was that what would make her pregnant? The bizarre display left him with more questions than answers, but he was almost certain that it was a good thing. They looked content, at least.
Careful not to disturb them, he tiptoed over to the door and stuck his head out into the hall. The lady he'd met earlier was still there, and gave him a smile.
"Uh... the girl's forehead... it's meant to do that opening thing, right?" He asked. She at least was nice enough to giggle rather than ridicule him.
"That's exactly what you're looking for, sir."
Jewel could have passed out with relief.
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Post by Renathan on Sept 22, 2019 16:13:29 GMT -6
A fluffy female, and a winged male, both quite dark!
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