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Post by Lethalia on Aug 31, 2021 22:00:06 GMT -6
 Before she even saw the white whip coming at her, Leth could feel the muscles in Juniper's back bunching and twisting to curl towards the side her owner touched. A slight warning to look where the hen was twisting, tucking a leg up to avoid the thorns flying at her underwater. Luckily June's tail was more encumbered by the water than she was used to, and came up quite short from landing the blow. "Hey!" Lethalia's low warning tone was enough to set June's ears flat against her neck. "Ain' havin' none'a that! Asshole."Actually. The more Leth got to thinking about it, it was a bit of Juniper's fault they were down here. "Thinkin' it's on you t'get us out," she voiced, smiling for the first time since they'd landed. Juniper hissed when she reached for the hen's back again, but this time there thankfully weren't any thorns to back up the threat this time.
August|28
accept rider|2
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Post by Lethalia on Aug 31, 2021 22:00:19 GMT -6
It wasn't like she wanted to deter Juniper from having an attitude - it was generally a good thing to keep that sort of 'fire' alive in creatures that were delving into the pits. An attitude with her wasn't so favorable. "Okay! Lessgo!" Lethalia urged, leaving her arm slung over the hen's shoulders and patting the opposite side, much to June's dismay. She squawked and bared her teeth, unsure what to do about this pest she knew better than to close her teeth on. Well - they were moving forward, so maybe that could dislodge her. Juniper cautiously began to steer with her tail, balking when she felt the resistance of the arm around her. "Hey - s'okay June," she attempted, but she was willing to wager just... holding on for this one. This wasn't some kind of panicked prey critter - Juniper could handle it. Once she knew her owner wasn't trying to drown her, Lethalia hauled herself further over the hen's back to garner herself more pissy nosies.
August|29
accept rider|3
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Post by Lethalia on Aug 31, 2021 22:00:31 GMT -6
Well, everything else with this hen had been a bit off in their timing. They'd spent so much time together thus far, Lethalia found she had quite little fear the hen would dream of harming her - and hopefully the same would be true in reverse as well. So. Lethalia hauled herself entirely onto Juniper's back, throwing one leg over her so she could slide into a decent stance to hold on with her thighs. There were sufficiently fewer fireworks than Leth would've expected - the hen squealed and bucked, dipping under the water and taking off with a flip of her tail. Arms locked around the hen's neck, the satyr could make a handily annoying parasite of herself, and Juniper wasn't about to give a fraction of the fight of breaking a drake. It wasn't even nessicary to stay on until she tired out - Juniper couldn't hold her breath much longer than Leth could. When they both popped back up several pools' lengths from where they began, Lethalia grinned stupidly and patted Juniper's shoulder. Maybe they'd even get out of here today!
Juniper lv|48 ly|48
August|30
accept rider|4
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Post by Nadia on Sept 1, 2021 13:42:10 GMT -6
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Post by Lethalia on Sept 9, 2021 21:27:39 GMT -6
Normally Lethalia didn't worry all that much about what time she went to the mansion. Their trips were generally so brief, it wouldn't even matter how late they remained. It couldn't possibly be long enough to get caught up in a transition. But. Always a but. Because she had managed to stay through to a new month, for the first time. Though the sensation of riding on a small hen buoyant in water was a strange feeling compared to other mounts, but it was something else that made the satyr's stomach churn. She didn't get motion sick - one wouldn't make it long on a caravan string if they did. Her hand instinctively went to Juniper's neck, stroking the scales for her own benefit more than the hen's. The world around them began to vibrate, tiny waves forming where the water met the cavern walls. A deep rumble they couldn't hear. Lethalia let out an involuntary yelp upon looking overhead, to another crumbling ceiling.
Juniper lv|48.1 ly|48.1
September|1
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Post by Lethalia on Sept 9, 2021 21:28:14 GMT -6
If there was one thing the mansion could stop doing, it was caving tonnes of imaginary rocks atop her. They sure looked real enough, showering them with tiny pebbles that rained down and pattered the creek with tiny splashes. They stung real enough too. Lethalia threw an arm over her head and Juniper's dipped below the waves, for all the help either tactic was. Especially when a sizeable boulder crumbled loose from it's overlook, bouncing between the cavern walls and flicking stone dust on it's way down. "June!" Lethalia scrambled to catch the hen's attention among the din, needing desperately a way to steer this thing. At a heel to the barrel, Juniper finally lifted her head up to let the woman know what-for, but quickly realized her energy was better spent getting a move on. Whether by magic or timing, the boulder crashed into the river where Juniper had just been. Undeniably by magic, an updwelling of water grew more than it ought to have fodder for, until it yawned hungrily above them.
September|2
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Post by Lethalia on Sept 9, 2021 21:28:28 GMT -6
Even a more suitable swimmer than June wouldn't have been able to outrun the titanic wave, but damn if she wasn't going to try turning tail - The tide swept them up like ragdolls, spinning rider and sarane with it's unyielding strength. Leth could only latch onto the hen's neck, and utter silently to the gods she often referenced but seldom believed that they weren't about to get bounced between rocky cavern walls. Rushing water against her eardrums suddenly faded with the sound of displaced water being dumped onto solid ground. Juniper grunted and jolted her rider off of her back upon landing herself, and Lethalia opened her eyes to the patter of random seashells and even a crab rained down after them. It wasn't the kindest way the mansion had provided it's trinkets. The crab flailed wildly to right itself, scurrying off into a row of cornstalks in it's panic.
September|3
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Post by Lethalia on Sept 9, 2021 21:28:57 GMT -6
Wait - corn? Watching the critter scrabble away began to rouse Lethalia from her daze, to try and begin to figure out what the hell and where the hell. (Gods, her head was going to hurt.) They'd been deposited in a place more familar to the satyr than not; the corn maze for the harvest season that the mansion so loved. She'd been here so many times - with Esti, with Meade, now with Juni. It seemed to be a theme with some of her hens. Smiling blearily to herself, the satyr wondered if the regularity meant she was seeking some kind of fertility boon for the ladies from the gods of harvest. Really, not the worst idea. The surrounding cornstalks had been flattened with the deluge of water displaced along with them, alongside a handful of tiny fish flopping on the dirt. No cavern walls, no water to be heard anywhere near or far. The relief was knowing exactly where they were.
September|4
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Post by Lethalia on Sept 9, 2021 21:29:22 GMT -6
Maybe exactly their location was an overstatement - every which way there was a different branch of a maze to take away from their safe clearing. They didn't even have the advantage of starting on the main path to know which way to start heading, but that handicap hardly mattered when the mansion didn't ever play fair with it's locations anyway. Who needs consistancy when you have magic and people to dick over? June had righted herself to shake the water free from her scales and wings, turning to her owner with a look searching for what was next. Leave it to June to be mostly unbothered by the aftenoon's events, though. She looked perky enough Lethalia decided to try something with her, instead of hoofing it through the maze. Lethalia procured a length of rope from her backpack, soaked through just like everything else, but still plenty servicable. When one's hands were still shaky and wrinkled wasn't the ideal time to attempt to tie knots, and Lethalia's lively cursing at it garnered June's curiousity.
Juniper lv|49 ly|49
September|5
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Post by Lethalia on Sept 9, 2021 21:35:58 GMT -6
Mere curiosity turned to horror when she got close enough to stick her nose into whatever her owner was doing, and the loop of rope was thrown over her head to rest at the base of her neck. And then - nothing happened, so Juniper got over it in quick order, even if she did look to be scowling at her owner when the woman hopped onto her back. (It was so easy to get on the back of a hen compared to a giant drake - whoever would've thought?) "Whatsay, June? Les' try'n find ou'way out," she mused to the hen, gently bumping Juni's ribs with her heels and getting a sucked-in gut and refusal to move an inch. Well - Lethalia could wait her out. She was soaked to the bone and tired and would've liked nothing more than to get home and peel wet clothes off. Doing things this way was only slowing the way to that goal, but Leth was fairly certain the hen would get bored of standing before long.
September|6
bridle knowledge|1
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Post by Lethalia on Sept 9, 2021 21:37:19 GMT -6
It was as if the woman thought herself a little cling-on like Utu; a tiny cliff-jumper this lady was not. If she was acting like Utu, that meant she was expecting to be ferried around like a pet, too. Ugh. Juniper shifted in place, weighing her grumbling stomach and weary eyes against being sat on. Eventually she made her choice once her stomach gave a demanding rumble. Maddeningly, the moment her feet moved, the woman squeezed her sides lightly accompanied with the barely-there lash of the rope around her neck. She did not. Juniper wasn't the most polite of hens; at least Lethalia had been expecting her retaliation this time around. Swinging rows of teeth were met with the satyr's large hoof, instead of the fleshy knee June had been expecting to give way to her. Instead her bite skidded across the hard keratin surface, squalling angrily when there was nothing to bear down on even when trying a second time. "Knock it," Lethalia growled back, shoving the hen's face away with the same hoof.
September|7
bridle knowledge|2
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Post by Lethalia on Sept 9, 2021 21:38:31 GMT -6
"Wanna' try tha' again?" Lethalia pressed, hoof still poised and pointing at the hen's muzzle. If she was going to be horrid about it, she wasn't going to get much respect in turn until she shaped back up. Best they got this kind of scuffle over power done before she trained June into any more of a problem. Their standoff lost it's charm fast, and Juniper snorted and turned away as if she personally had decided it was over. It took some time longer for the hen to take another step, but the moment she did Leth gave the rope a soft lash against June's shoulders. She was glowered at, but more steps forward were made even with her wuthering looks. "There'ygo! Good, June!" Lethalia chimed brightly, as though there hadn't just been a small argument between the two. Well, with or without the satyr on her back, Juniper was setting to find either a way out, or something more interesting than a flattened section of cornstalks.
September|8
bridle knowledge|3
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Post by Lethalia on Sept 9, 2021 21:39:18 GMT -6
Juniper took off down a seemingly random corridors, one that ended in no choice but a hard left. There was definitely an upset squawk when Lethalia pulled the rope to the left along with Juniper's turn, a thought given to nip at the rope before being firmly riprimanded for her peeled lip. She wasn't much looking where she was going now that it seemed the satyr was going to command all of her attention; a choice up ahead to go straight or veer right. June took a hard right, just a little intentionally scraping the woman into the bush as she was doing her stupid rope tugging around. So intent on scraping off the woman, June careened nose-first into a leafy dead end. At least it was soft. Even more annoyingly, the rope was tugged back when she stopped along with a 'woah' word she didn't recognize, and kept up the pressure when Juniper had to walk backwards to get out of the niche she'd placed herself in.
September|9
bridle knowledge|4
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Post by Lethalia on Sept 9, 2021 21:41:02 GMT -6
Lethalia watched the hen's frustration mounting as they 'navigated' the maze - or rather, she let Juniper run wherever she deemed fit and retroactively 'steered' as the turn was being completed. June wasn't the best at navigating, clear after letting her have a go at it for what felt like hours. When Juniper came to a junction, Leth tried to steer her left instead of the right the hen started on that would only lead them in another circle. Bedraggled and well past annoyed by now, Juniper stopped and gnashed her teeth.. and turned left. "Good, June!" The hen was too worn down to protest more turns dictated by the satyr, and followed her directions as if it were old hat. It was looking like she might be grateful for the direction. Leth ran the hen in a few circles and dead ends to stop and back up at, just to ensure June really did get a handle on her directions before navigating in earnest. By the time they came across the exit - a completely plain door floating a foot off the ground - Leth got the idea that the bone-tiredness that bogged her down wasn't hers alone.
Juniper lv|50 ly|50
September|10
bridle knowledge|5
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Post by Jack on Sept 11, 2021 22:33:20 GMT -6
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