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Post by Lethalia on Oct 30, 2019 23:00:53 GMT -6
"C'mon baby girl," the satyr prompted, once Meade downed her snack and began to look for another. "Maybe bein' especially brave will get'cha some more. C'mon!" Once more, the hen couldn't decipher her words, but the happy chirping of her owner as beginning to become enough for Meade's spirits to lift a little. Maybe this place wouldn't be so bad after all, not if this bigger one was here and appeared okay with it. The satyr didn't look one bit like Mamma Esti did, but doted on her almost the same - with lots of food and loving on, and protecting her from scary things. Both had horns, so that must mean this one could protect her pretty well, considering her horns were bigger than Esti's! It took a little tug of the lead, but it soon found the hatchling trotting off after her. Distance from her protector was much, much worse than going somewhere new and scary. October|18
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Post by Lethalia on Oct 30, 2019 23:01:04 GMT -6
Veering off the path and into the decrepit orchard, the crackling of leaves underfoot gave Meade another pause. She startled back at the crunch beneath her owner's hooves, embers lit at the corners of her mouth as if instinctually feeling the need to defend herself with it. Not wishing to see the orchard set afire - or what the mansion might /respond/ to the destruction of it's ground with - Lethalia sighed quietly and looked over her shoulder at the hen. Better not take another step just yet, apparently. "Meade... it really is okay," was sing-songed to the baby. Shuffling around carefully to nudge leaves out of the way instead of crushing them, Lethalia lend a hand out to her hen, wanting to soothe the fit before it started. It wouldn't do her good to encourage it by attention in the long run - but just right now it felt priority to prevent /fire/ from coming out, more than anything else. October|19
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Post by Lethalia on Oct 30, 2019 23:01:14 GMT -6
Though unrelated to her other fire-breathing hen, it was no surprise it came as innately to her as it did Esti. This one was born with it from her mother's side, after all. Sparks might have started to die down, but the heat radiating from the hen didn't, the threat of being able to call her fire still looming while she decided whether or not the leaf-monster was going to threaten her or not. It hadn't eaten two-legged-Mum yet, which was a good sign, but a sarane hatchling could never be too sure. Not unlike other reptilian babies, there were quite a number of things out there that would like to have eat them as a morsel. That meant she was quite willing to stay as nearby a motherhen (or close enough surrogate) as she could. Still. Meade didn't know what to make of the scary crackly blanket of leaves, even if the satyr was unafraid of them. Meade lv|9 ly|9 October|20
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Post by Lethalia on Oct 30, 2019 23:01:33 GMT -6
"Well, at least y' kinda calming down," the satyr mused, considering that was quite a feat for this hen. Another glance at her surroundings to find not much of interest, though it might do her some good to show Meade a leaf to see it wasn't all that scary. Reaching down for one by her hooves, the satyr flinched away when her fingers encountered an unexpected stalk. Glowering between her hooves, the satyr found a fresh sprig of purple witchbane blooming there. That... hadn't been sprouting there moments before, had it? There was no way she managed to kneel down and not notice a flower front and center. Knowing it was 'from' the mansion made her suspicion instantly grow, but the flower seemed harmless enough, no matter how long she was staring at it. Glancing up to check on her hen, she found Meade's muzzle right there/. October|21
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Post by Lethalia on Oct 30, 2019 23:01:41 GMT -6
Turns out her own fixation on the bloom made Meade forget her fear for long enough to inspect it with her. Oddly the hen had been displaying a truly bizarre interest in flowers and plants, much more than one would expect from being a carnivore. She was already obsessed with the late wildflower blooms in the meadow, the growing-dormant berry bushes in her yard. Well, she'd take it over another bloodthirsty critter, the satyr supposed. Taking the kind gift from the mansion for what it was for now, Lethalia gently twisted the flower head between two fingers smiled up at the hen. "Y'like flowers, dontcha girl?" she asked, drawing the hen's attention back to it so she would remain calm. It was about the nicest thing the mansion had coincidentally 'done' for her, even if she was suspicious of it. Well, neither of them were witches, so it ought to be fine. October|22
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Post by Lethalia on Oct 30, 2019 23:01:49 GMT -6
"Do y'wanna take it home?" Lethalia prompted, keeping her voice light. Tracing the stem down to it's roots with a finger, she pulled it from the ground to show Meade a little closer. It would normally be a shame to pick a flower and simply condemn the plant to wilt in a matter of hours, but there was something odd about those found at the mansion. A small collection of them had been mounting up, purple asters and forget-me-nots, even a lovely morning glory. Meade took claim to the small collection of blooms funnily enough, and they had yet to fade in any way. Still vibrant hues of violet, petals as perky as the day she found or traded for them. It was one easy way to tend to flowers when she was as unskilled in botany as she was, and had quite little interest in attaining. October|23
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Post by Lethalia on Oct 30, 2019 23:01:56 GMT -6
Pulling the flower away from Meade's curious nose, Lethalia shuffled back a little bit, trying to nudge the crackling leaves out of the way instead of making them sound off again. Per usual, the dragon's snout followed her treasure as far as she could without coming closer to the threshold she was avoiding, neck extended comically far as her owner continued to back up. Her claws hit the edge of the path where dry grass met the cobblestone, making the hen flinch back and jerk her head back to safety. The dry grass and it's thick blanket of leaves was given a good snuffle; Meade definitely didn't care for the smell of this dead vegetation as much as she liked that which was flourishing obviously. But it appeared to smell harmless enough to be deemed okay to walk past. "There y'are! Good baby girl, Meade!" October|24
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Post by Lethalia on Oct 30, 2019 23:02:03 GMT -6
It couldn't be counted on that the mansion would always have flowers to provide for her hen, nor had Lethalia seen them very plentifully around before either. The hen was pretty darling, the way she picked her way carefully through the leaves in front of her, flinching at the first crackle they made underfoot. Reminded of the prize of her flower that Lia dangled in front of her, Meade seemed to find a little more strength to press on, though with no less caution than before. At least it got the hen going, and they could venture a little further than the gate before something else got a spook on her! Momentarily, in spite of her black thumb, the satyr thought again on how she ought to take up gardening just for this hen, because she would just adore living in a flowering garden. It certainly would have been an outing better suited to the hen than this. Meade lv|10 ly|10 October|25
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Post by Lethalia on Oct 30, 2019 23:02:10 GMT -6
Allowing Meade to suss out her surroundings on her own, Lethalia lingered nearby to see if there was anything else of interest. Between the dead barren trees, fallen leaves, the decrepit building in the background... everything was so close to the same monotone diseased brown color. Not even the rich browns of nature, like the tawny-brown of a drake or rabbit, or that withered brown which recently harvested crops took on once there was no reason to keep watering them, or the dark of dormant trees and bushes in the winter. Now that the woman looked more closely, she could see more reason for Meade's trepidation of this place; the hen probably knew of it first with her naturally keener senses. But this entire place was just... lifeless. That little witchesbane was the tiniest glint of color to be found in this place, which wasn't exactly promising. Unbidden a shudder rant though her spine, even if she tried to hide it from her impressionable young hen. October|26
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Post by Lethalia on Oct 30, 2019 23:02:20 GMT -6
As always this place could inspire the most dreadful feelings without even doing much - and outright terror when the magics /did/ come alive. Meade poked her nose in the various piles of deaden leaves, seeming to loosen up a bit when nothing else scary seemed to be happening for the time being. A slight breeze caught jagged branches, sending a shiver down their knotted boughs. Meade puffed up, her wings flaring out and a 'mighty' hiss coming from the back of her throat, quite bravely facing head-on what appeared to be reaching talons. "Lookit you, brave girl!" Lethalia couldn't let this one pass her by! Winds died down enough for Meade to take her well-earned treat, even if she did go hide behind her owner to munch it down when the breeze picked up again. This was all fine, it would take baby steps to see any progress from her at all! For now, she'd take whatever fortitude she could coax out. October|27
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Post by Lethalia on Oct 30, 2019 23:02:25 GMT -6
They might not have traveled far yet, but all of their shuffling around had disturbed the ground cover of leaves to reveal something more than the drab color of death. It was near impossible to miss that bright glowing red hiding just beneath the surface, as barely visible as the patch was. It drew the satyr's eye as soon as she scanned across it, the happenstance of finding some more color in this dreary place immediately catching her attention. Leaving Meade to her treat, Lethalia knelt down to scatter the leaves surrounding the deep red, unspokenly all too happy it was completely the wrong color to be blood of any sort. Not that she'd found the mansion to be quite that morbid thus far, this would be quite the season to draw such tendencies out of it. Strangely though, every time she pawed back a handful of leaves, it constantly felt like there was no progress to be made. October|28
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Post by Lethalia on Oct 30, 2019 23:02:37 GMT -6
Finding herself scowling a little, Lethalia wasn't entirely sure how much of the mansion's crap she was willing to put up with today. Maybe it knew just how easily it could mess with her. Once finished with her treat, Meade's nose found where her owner was digging, quite helpfully right in the center of where she was trying to see. "Hey baby girl," she greeted, patting the youngling on the neck. It wasn't like she could interrupt something where no progress was discernibly being made, after all. "Hey now - that innint' fair!" All it took was a single swipe of the sarane's claws, and suddenly the patch of leaves she had been staring at was scattered to the bare grass. Especially when the hint of color was nowhere to be seen, unless... Ah, a red stem sticking out of the pile of leaves pushed aside! October|29
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Post by Lethalia on Oct 30, 2019 23:02:49 GMT -6
Should have expected it was just going to be another leaf - would only make sense, right? Chuckling at herself, Lethalia reached for the plant stem, glowing for all it stood out among the grey around it. Fingers made contact - recoiled with an urgent flick of the wrist. Why was it near-slimy feeling? Steeling herself, and not wanting to scare Meade at all, she reached for it again. Pinching the stem, it didn't feel a lot different from a newly fallen leaf. It wasn't sap-sticky or even slimy like she'd originally thought, but almost waxy feeling. How strange. At risk of being harassed by the magics of this place again, she tugged the leaf free from the pile with Meade's curious nose not far behind. It was momentarily heartening with the sight of a bright red leaf that looked to be freshly fallen, quite a relief to see compared to their surroundings. Meade lv|11 ly|11 October|30
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Post by Lethalia on Oct 30, 2019 23:02:57 GMT -6
Any excitement previously found fell quite short when the satyr spun the leaf around between her fingers, inspecting the holes in it a little more closely. Though hard to do with Meade's curious little nose in the way, the satyr dodged her hen's inspections enough to try and get a good look at the oddity she'd found - and instantly dropped it again upon getting a good look. For just a moment, a horribly grinning face not unlike a jack o lantern grinned up at her, previously disguised as just tatters or insect bites in the leaf fiber. A face though... not what she'd expected to see on a leaf. Meade didn't appear to have the same conniptions as her owner did, snuffling the dropped leaf alongside a small pile of even more red leaves upon the ground. Since when... did there become more of them? October|31
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Post by Lethalia on Oct 30, 2019 23:03:03 GMT -6
Ugh. This mansion felt like it brought out the worst in her, the part that wanted to fret over the smallest of oddities in the surroundings. An instinct to stay out of trouble was fine and all, and her intuition had served her well over the years. The constant pleading of a the prey-brain inside of her trying to take forefront of her decision making... not a big fan. Though the leaves had faces, they were quite simply harmless. No magic set her skin itching when she grabbed them off the ground, fanning the three grinning red leaves for Meade to inspect. With a sigh, Lethalia calmed her fluttering heart best she could, especially to hide it from the sarane. This one didn't need to learn to fear more of nothing. Taking a soothing breath in to calm the irrational alarm bells going on inside, probably similar to those that Meade felt, Lethalia managed a bit of a smile at the hen. October|32
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