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Post by Flare on Nov 4, 2019 19:45:53 GMT -6
The ssashirk wasn't allowed to have a pet when he was young. His extent of young creature interaction came from the random petting of a puppy in the street before being towed away to other places. Flare never specifically had a 'pet'. Well, he did now. But the puppy he'd gotten, left a blank spot on how to actually take care of a pet. Food, water, shelter, attention... he knew there was more. Atempting to train a leaf scatter to avoid the bonsai would be the extent of how crazy he thought about how to protect his potted plants. "There ye' go. All tied up and set for you to walk around with. Give em these to teach em to follow you around." the merchant said with a smile, retracting their hands from putting together a rudimentary rope harness on the puppy. This wasn't any sort of puppy that the ssashirk had seen before either. "Also doesn't hurt to socialize em." He passed over the coin, and the merchant told him this was a 'dragon dog', a rakai sarane. Looked like a puppy with a frill on its head to him... were those hands?! 1 11.20
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Post by Flare on Nov 4, 2019 19:55:25 GMT -6
A warm black fur covered the pup, lightening to brown on the muzzle and undersides of the belly and paws. But the 'squash' breed must come from the honey golden yellow fur that accented him from nose to tail, practically a dribble pattern. But the little frills extending from the pup's neck didn't surprise Flare most; it was the teeny little skeletal wings poking out of his shoulders. Like someone had skinned a chicken, and planted their wingbones on a puppy. "Sssick? Bones outside?" "Eh? Oh no no no. Squash pups are born this way. They're perfect for the All Hallows Eve of Vaiminmur, am I right?" The merchant seemed... very pleased over the squash puppy's looks. The pup tied into the harness wagged his tail, big cherry red eyes looking up at his new human...wait. No. New owner! Carefully, the ssashirk crouched to allow the pup to sniff the back of his scaled hand. A cold little black nose grazes over his knuckles before being licked. The little tail wags faster. Had to admit, this had to be one of the cutest animal things Flare'd encountered in his life. Standing up with the aid of his cane-staff, Flare politely thanked the merchant, and walks away, givign a little tug on the rope to coax the puppy along. He's so quiet when he walks, the bones on his back don't even rattle. A perfect name seemed to come up in his mind then. The name Shabh. 2 12.20
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Post by Flare on Nov 4, 2019 20:02:37 GMT -6
Shabh meant ghost. It felt quite fitting to the ssashirk. Now how to feed the little one, he wasn't entirely sure. No, not how, what. What to feed little Shabh. He rolled the word in his mind, speaking it once or twice. His jaw structure enhanced the 's' sound, so it would need to be quick sounding. The ssashirk would be learning quickly on how much he needed to learn about animals, and puppies in general. Shabh kept stopping as they walked, sniffing everything. Bushes on the edge of the road seemed especially interesting, for he'd stop for a few minutes at a time, and then raise his hind leg. The drake stares at the pup as he pees on the bush, in public. A cold sweat goes down his mind; would he be in trouble?! Would Shabh be in trouble for peeing in public? He knew humans were taken away by the warriors if caught doing that in public. Shabh finishes his stream, sniffs the bush, then trots away from it, ready to go again. Come on owner, lets walk! He looks at Flare who seems to be rooted to the spot briefly, giving a tug on the rope to coax him to go again. If he steered away from the middle of the road, would that keep Shabh closer? Flare decided to try it; but then the nightmare happened. The pup stops in the middle of the road, and squats. Anyone knows that particular little pose. 3 13.20
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Post by Flare on Nov 4, 2019 20:10:26 GMT -6
'No no no' too late. Now Flare felt positive he'd be in trouble. The pup doing his 'business' in the middle of the city street. Once finished, Shabh scuffs his hind paws towards the 'business' and trots away again, not a care in the world. "OI, pick up after yer pet!" someone calls as the drake stands there in the middle of the road, looking down at the business with Shabh testing the length of his lead. "Oh dear, is this your first pet sir?" Flare pauses and looks over. A rabbit mammalian is standing there, her ears done up in an elaborate fashion in her hair, wearing what could be considered monk's robes. "Here, you may need these." She stuffs a handful of thin plastic bags into his cane'd hand. "Just put your hand inside the bag, lean down and scoop up your pet's droppings, turn the bag inside out, tie it up, and put them in the nearest trash bin. Looks like silver cylinder with a hole punched in the top. Can't miss them. People dont' take well to leaving droppings in public like that, so I'd scoop it up before your pup decides its food." Nodding, Flare rotated the rope loop over his wrist to have use of the hand briefly. It took a minute to get down low enough to scoop up the poop. Although he did not physically show it, the squeamish ew moment ran tenfold through his mind. Life of puppy owners. 4 14.20
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Post by Flare on Nov 4, 2019 20:17:48 GMT -6
"There you go." the rabbit girl cheers a bit, bouncing on her large toes. Seriously, think Lopunny but with chinchilla silver fur and no fluffy wristlets in a monk's robe. "If you're looking to take your pup out for an outing, I would check the quest board. People are in a ruckus over it." Flare inclines his head, listening closely. "Some poor kid sent their letter to the goddess of light to the quest board by accident instead of the post. Or it got put there intentionally, nobody knows. Has a rakai sarane themself who isn't doing so well. Perhaps they just need some attention, or their pup is genuinely sick. But the quest board officials have asked people to look into the task anyhow." Another nod. "Here, you can have my tearoff of the sheet. I'm not the biggest fan of rakai sarane; they like to chase small creatures, as a heads up." Oh, now this he didn't know. Well, dogs were hunting animals; they caught their own food before being captured and 'tamed' by humans or ssa. He looks at the message. Ffoffffy, what an odd name for a dog. Granted, no other pup in the Pethian land would be called Shabh unless they were Tumai speaking. The rabbit monk bid him goodbye and walked away with a little hop to her step. Flare took the paper with him, and looked for an address. Shabh on the other hand, had learned the end of the rope wasn't far away, but instead of a tug around the neck, came from around the chest and belly. 5 1/9 15.20
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Post by Flare on Nov 7, 2019 7:12:26 GMT -6
It took Flare a number of tries to find the right street here in the city. How hard could it be, there were FOUR streets. Funnily enough, the kid's home was on the same street that he was forced to attach his own residency to; because you can't live in your garden per nightowl clerk at the city hall. Shabh found interest in everything as he slowly walked down the cobbled streets. Mostly smelling places, then peeing on them too. Did dogs have a never-ending tank inside to pee on everything? A brief fear for his own garden ran through his mind as Flare kept walking. Just... just keep going. Shabh's a good pup, he'll figure it out. Right? No. Shabh isn't a mind reading animal; he's a squashdog. Heck, why was the breed of rakai even called squash? Didn't know. The distraction to Flare's mindstate got him tugged rather hard to the side, nearly toppling over himself. Shabh tugging on the rope quite hard, straining to go towards this yard, this yard! It smelled like something he knew! Was this the address? Looking at where numbers were stamped on the home's uh... 'box' outside, the number appeared to be right. 6 16.20
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Post by Flare on Nov 7, 2019 7:21:24 GMT -6
Grrr! Bark bark! The little rakai pup strains at his rope, attempting to get at another rakai, this one much older, who was snoozing in the sunlight in a properly trimmed lawn. Bark! Bark! Who are you?! Flare had to reel in the pup as a large black head raises from the grass, looks right at them with eerie purple eyes and shrieks right back. Not bark, shriek. Its high pitched, and hurts the ssashirk's ears. Shabh's barks silence as he freezes up, only to jump and hide behind his new owner's large monster feet. Scary! "Petunia, stop scaring the mailman." someone says loudly, coming out of the home. Ffetunea? Must be the black animal's name as potentially a she rolls to her feet, shaking off fresh grass clippings and trotting up to a human with silver scores on her skull. Hair. Silver hair with black. The animal makes several dog noises at her, tossing her snout back at the frozen ssashirk and the cowering pup. Rude intuders. "Oh dear. I'm so sorry, Petunia isn't particularly dangerous, she just likes to spook those who walk past our house. THought you were the mailman." she bows in apology. "Poor pup, is he all right?" Her eyes seem to follow the rope around his wrist to the cowering pup behind him, who peeks cherry eyes around him, then hides again. Shy suddenly? 7 17.20
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Post by Flare on Nov 7, 2019 7:28:25 GMT -6
He didn't know why, but this silver haired woman with not full silver coaxed an explanation out of him quite easily. The first pet, his nammers in public, the kind rabbit who showed him how to use these flimsy plastic baggies to grab and carry poop, and the message about a Ffoffffy who was ill. She takes his message and reads it over. Understanding is all over her face, as well as concern. "Yes, I did get at least one notice in the mail that the questboard isn't a place to ask for Light to get Poppy well, but it looks like Siri's last letter to Light went there. I'm sorry." "Dog sssick?" he manages to ask quietly. She nods. "I don't know what's wrong with Poppy. The local vet won't see her anymore on account that "nothing was wrong", but still took our money and Poppy still isn't right." If the local vet was the same one who treated himself and the orbaru he'd gotten mauled alongside... the drake expells a soft hiss of dislike. "Sounds like you've been on the wrong side of that vet as well." nod. "If you want to see Poppy, you can... but your pup may get sick himself." 8 18.20
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Post by Flare on Nov 7, 2019 7:34:48 GMT -6
Shabh pokes around Flare's leg every now and again as he talks to the woman; she smells nice. Like flowers. Flowers were pretty to smell. Smells like flowers. Still scary smell of big black dog over there, with the eyes. With less warning, she crouches and offers a hand to him. An offer of 'come smell me'. The pup knows this by all the people who came to say hello to him and his littermates. All the hands to lick and the laughter and sometimes cries of being bitten of play a bit too hard. Adopting a sad face with big cherry eyes, the pup comes out from around his leg, dragging his tail and his wings dropped, like a bad puppy. She coos a bit as his cold nose sniffs her fingers. She smells like dirt. and flowers. Like the new owner? Lick lick. Her fingers move from the reach of his tongue to oooooh yes, get the eargetthe ear. His tail wags very hard as she scratches around his ears and his frills, almost toppling over himself from-nope, there he went, in sheer bliss. "Aww, you've got a cute little rakai pup. I haven't seen any babies born yet this year." she tells Flare. 9 19.20
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Post by Flare on Nov 7, 2019 7:46:21 GMT -6
"Ah, sssquaaashhh. Fffleassshoff ffuffffy." She makes a puzzled look with her face, sounding out his words slowly until an idea dawns on her physically. "Ffuffffy... OH. puppy!" A flat expression crosses the drake's maw in frustration. "Common isn't your first language is it dear." A headshake of no. "Tumai" he politely greets her in the traditional fashion. "Oh my, so far from home. I hear your homeland has lots of humans who are great warriors. Does your clan live in the city or roam like the ...oh I never was able to pronounce those names, the ssa clan who roamed through several years ago, peddling sarane eggs." Clan... did she mean... his jaw clamps shut on that question. It long unearthed something unpleasant for his memory. The black dog is up at her side again, making a soft chuffing sound that almost sounded disapproving. "Petunia, that's just rude to say. He's not a lone pup." She chides the larger animal, who is actually near her chest at full height. This is a ... big dog. Also a rakai sarane. Her scales and fur are deep black, with almost milky white eyes. She's not blind though, glowering at him but not acting outright aggressive. 10 2/10 20.20 lv 53 Flare
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Post by Flare on Nov 7, 2019 7:54:10 GMT -6
"Ffetunea talk?" he asks, curious. The woman looks startled briefly, then smiles. She pulls off a glove on one hand and shows him a strange ring of metal and vines, that has literally grown into her finger over the years. "Yes, Petunia is very opinionated. She says the mailman carries portable pepper to ward off any canid followers. That your puppy is not fixed and you have no idea what you're doing with him." Flare's gaze lingers on the milky eyes of Petunia. Her eye ridge raises in almost a 'am I wrong' fashion. Now that he sees her in clear fashion, the large animal has curly horns growing on her skull, behind the ears. "Ffetunia not wrong. New ffuffffy." He gestures at the lolling pup on the ground and to himself. "Ffetunia good knowse." The woman makes a similar noise that the adult rakai made, and the black furred animal's long tail thumps once. She seems pleased with his opinion, getting up and nosing his free hand. Wuffling and giving it an experimental lick. "She says you have kind hands. You're a gardener by how much she likes your hands." Carefully, he allows Petunia to lick his fingers, and offer a scratch if she turned her head the right way. The black dog turns to her owner and barks. Whines. "Alright, she says you should see Poppy. I swear, she's not her mother but might as well be." They finally enter the space where Poppy is kept. 11 1.20
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Post by Flare on Nov 10, 2019 13:40:25 GMT -6
The way homes were built here in the Ffethia differed a lot from how homes were built in Tumai. Much more use of wood and metal and stone vs clay and stone. Tumai's lumber wasn't prolific. Higher class homes were made with better materials; this home did not... seem high class at all. Flare allowed his eyes to roam over the home and the exterior and the interior as Petunia's owner guided him through an outside gate towards the back of her home. She introduced herself as Cortana, and the child who had sent the letter to "Light" was Siri, her youngest. Her nephews Bixby and Google lived with them, and her eldest was Alexa. He listens as she talked, being quiet and courteous to allow the woman to speak as much as she wished. He'd been taught to be polite to girls, after all. Shabh wanted to smell EVERYTHING, look at EVERYTHING. He couldn't venture far from his new owner; who walked and absently tugged him along. He tried to resist but the quiet footfalls of the much bigger black rakai with the eyes coming up behind him... nope, he'd stay right with his new owner. Yep. 12 2.20
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Post by Flare on Nov 10, 2019 13:46:58 GMT -6
"Ffetunia no like ffuffffies?" Flare wondered as he felt something small run into his good leg's achilles. Glancing back, he saw Petunia following them. There was no real way to interpret what he could see, for her black fur had a bit more contrast to his night-developed sight. There were scales mixed among the fur in patches, a row of spines roving along from her skull to her tail. "She's protective of Poppy and of Siri; those two are her puppies." Cortana mentions when she could hear a soft huff of indifference from behind. "I'm not very sure if rakai sarane even can have puppies at present, the labs have been awful quiet lately." she seems a bit less willing to talk about that; these labs... what did that mean, by being awful quwhyet. She stops in the enclosed hall opening, knocking on a closed door. Speaking words he didn't know; before it opened slowly. Shabh huddling against his heels. Petunia scared him. 13 3.20
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Post by Flare on Nov 10, 2019 13:57:15 GMT -6
When the door opened, Flare couldn't help closing his jaw to keep it from making any sort of noise. A blonde teenage boy with sharp green eyes answered the door, speaking a language he hadn't heard before. His expression looked morose. Sad. He's tall, and wears his layered short hair in a parted style around his head. Wearing shades of brown and white. "Bixby, this is... uh..." "Flare." he introduces himself to the child. The eyes stare right at him, a chill running down his spine. He gestures at his foot, where a black tail could be seen huddling. "Shabh." an aubible whimper. Between them, Petunia wiggles her way forth and through the door before turning around to be at the boy's side. "Flare got Siri's note to Light about Poppy, he would like to come visit and say hello. Brought his own rakai to say hello too. Isn't this little one the cutest?" Cortana audibly coos towards Shabh, who peeks out around. From his height of being small, the pup has to look up from the big feet of new owner to tall new human. Something swishes around the male's legs, fluffy and golden yellow. Uh, what? 14 4.20
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Post by Flare on Nov 10, 2019 14:20:45 GMT -6
The youth spoke in an elegant tone, but not a word of common that Flare could understand. It...had a lot more words to it then a normal sounding length of words spoke did. His eyes raked Flare's still kind of tattered appearance, although clothed in his toga. Of the pup peeking around and up at him. Something in his expression spooked the young pup a second time into hiding. Cortana replies to him in Common though. "Flare is not a random hobo off the street, that is a very rude thing to say to a guest." Hobo... homeless. The joint of his horns brush the ceiling as the ssashirk stands to his full height, not stooping at all. Muzzle tilting down, the drake fixes Bixby with a passive stare. Sizing each other up. Those green eyes have a catlike cleverness to them; beyond catlike. His posture shifts to lean into the doorway, one arm to rest his head against. The shift in posture allows the drake to see two golden yellow furred tails, about the length of the child's arm, twining back and forth. They are fluffy, more of a canid tail vs a cat. "Not hobo. Helff Ffoffffee, tree to helff." he answers the silent question asked. The twintailed youth's eyebrows raises but Flare stands firm. The standoff between males has palpable tension. Cortana looks irritated, the posturing male amused. Shabh's just confused. Human with tails? He peeks around again, but those sharp scary eyes look at him and he hides a third time. Such scary. 15 3/11 5.20
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