|
Post by Fiera Ferella on Sept 14, 2023 20:57:21 GMT -6
Fiera scrambled to get the gate open just as Peninnah took a bite out of whatever it was. Fiera hadn’t crossed the threshold yet, so she couldn’t see whatever magical construct Peninnah was feasting on. “No, don’t just! Eat things you found on the ground! I don’t even know what you have!” Fiera hissed, scrambling to open the gate. It looked like she was doing this regardless of what she found inside- if just to keep Peninnah from poisoning herself. The humanish was expecting the worst as she finally yanked open the gate however, dragging it inch by agonizing inch across the packed dirt path that led up to the mansion. Finally she got it open, and stepped across the boundary marking the edge of the mansion’s grounds. The hair on the back of Fiera’s neck stood up as magic crackled along the edges of the sixth sense she had for it.
Fiera 14 Peninnah 0.4/2.4 4
|
|
|
Post by Fiera Ferella on Sept 14, 2023 20:57:38 GMT -6
“Ugh. That’s never going to stop feeling weird.” She said, slapping the back of her neck to smooth the hairs back down. Being exposed to magic for long enough had given her the ability to sense it, but the mansion practically bled the stuff into the air. Stepping onto it’s grounds was like walking out into broad daylight after sitting in a movie theater- practically blinding until you got used to it. After a deep breath, Fiera picked up Peninnah, the little creature making a displeased squeak as the humanish roughly yanked her up into the air. “Let me see what you have.” She said, craning her head around. Still doggedly grasped between her single pair of limbs, Peninnah clutched… a bright red apple, a few chunks of it still stuck to her toothy maw. “...Oh.” Fiera said, her shoulders drooping with relief. “That’s not so bad. Pretty sure… pretty sure apples aren’t poisonous to vespa.”
Fiera 15 Peninnah 1.0/3.0 5
|
|
|
Post by Fiera Ferella on Sept 14, 2023 20:57:54 GMT -6
They WERE a form of wasp after all, and wasps always seemed to want a sip of the fruit juices Fiera brought outside to sip on. What was the harm in letting Peninnah have an apple? Frankly, Fiera was surprised she had a hankering for it, given that vespa usually had more… carnivorous tastes. Allegedly they were “dragon hunters”, though Fiera had yet to see any going after sarane or draconics in the arena. As Peninnah shoved her face into the apple again, Fiera had a hard time believing that… or finding her new pet very threatening at all, really. She supposed that she would grow though, like all young creatures did, and it was Fiera’s responsibility to train her up before she got to a point where she’d be too unruly to control. That was part of why they were here- so Peninnah could get to know her and build some loyalty.
Fiera 16 Peninnah 1.1/3.1 6
|
|
|
Post by Fiera Ferella on Sept 14, 2023 20:58:07 GMT -6
But where WAS here? Fiera looked around, just now realizing that it was odd that Peninnah found a perfectly normal apple lying around. Well, not perfectly normal- it was bright red with tiny, almost opalescent flecks, and crackled magnificently as Peninnah took bites out of it. It was a perfect apple- the kind you could only find in a dream as opposed to any mortal market. Fiera snorted. It was the exact sort of thing the mansion would come up with. As she looked around though, she realized that that apple wasn’t alone. Whereas before all she could see of the landscape around the mansion was empty, rolling fields, Fiera now found herself in a grove of apple trees that towered high above her head- taller than apple trees were normally, that was for sure. As she stared up at one, a branch above her quivered and dropped another apple. Her tail puffed as she dodged out of the way.
Fiera 17 Peninnah 1.2/3.2 7
|
|
|
Post by Fiera Ferella on Sept 14, 2023 20:58:22 GMT -6
It plopped to the ground just as she got out of the way, landing in a pile of perfectly crinkly leaves. It looked like this month of the mansion wasn’t ENTIRELY safe, but… definitely better than July. Or October with its Vai Min Mur accouterments, that was for sure. “I guess I can set you down now.” Fiera said, noting that Peninnah had just about finished her apple. She set the vespa grub down and sure enough she began scooting of again, pushing herself along with her long tail… or was it her abdomen? Fiera didn’t really know enough about bugs to say, but it certainly didn’t slow her down. It wasn’t too cold out, so the humanish figured they could take their sweet time with getting to the mansion proper, enjoying what the grounds around it had to offer. She had to admit, she was enjoying the crunch of the leaves underfoot.
Fiera 18 Peninnah 1.3/3.3 8
|
|
|
Post by Fiera Ferella on Sept 14, 2023 20:58:35 GMT -6
Peninnah seemed to be getting a bit lost in them though, struggling to keep her head above the red and orange structures. “Well, maybe if you walked in the MIDDLE of the path instead of off to the side.” Fiera muttered, gently tugging Peninnah over to her. The vespa struggled a moment, swatting a leaf off of her head with great effort, but soon joined Fiera towards the middle of the path. They walked in comfortable silence for a few minutes, simply enjoying the autumnal ambiance. Fiera had to admit it was pretty- her homeland had mostly pine forests and the Labs themselves didn’t have much in the way of greenery, so getting to enjoy this autumnal aesthetic was a rare treat for her. Every detail was perfect, from the texture of the wood on the trees to the crunch of the leaves underfoot. There was something she couldn’t quite place her finger on though…
Fiera 19 Peninnah 1.4/3.4 9
|
|
|
Post by Fiera Ferella on Sept 14, 2023 20:58:53 GMT -6
But Peninnah could apparently, as she wriggled off through the underbrush in a particular direction with great intent. “What? What is it?” Fiera said, only able to smell the musty scent of fallen leaves and hear the wind rustling gently through the trees, tugging off a few more leaves as it did so. Peninnah could clearly detect something she couldn’t though, as she took off off of the path and through the trees, despite having to struggle her way through the fallen leaves again. Fiera thought it was a tad odd, but didn’t argue- it wasn’t like they had much else to be doing, and if Peninnah wanted to have a spot of fun then Fiera wouldn’t protest, as odd as it all was. “Lead the way then, I suppose.” She said, stepping over a tree root as the moonstone vespa launched herself through another drift of leaves, popping back out the other side and continuing on her path.
Fiera 20 Peninnah 2.0/4.0 10
|
|
|
Post by Fiera Ferella on Sept 14, 2023 20:59:23 GMT -6
As they walked, (Or, well, Fiera walked and Peninnah wriggled and writhed) Fiera realized that she could hear… something. There was the wind of course- blowing right at her face and into her felid ears, making it difficult to hear anything else. But also, a sort of… humming? A vibration noise? Fiera hummed quietly to herself. That could be anything, really- a lot of things made weird noises when the wind passed through them consistently, and the mansion was weird to start with. She wouldn’t be surprised if it was something perfectly innocent that it was setting up just to upset her. As they got closer though Peninnah did something that DID surprise Fiera, launching herself directly at a tree and doing her level best to shimmy up it, grasping the bark with her pinchers before pulling herself up one step at a time. “Uh… are you good? Peninnah?” Fiera said as the vespa doggedly dragged herself higher.
Fiera 1 Peninnah 2.1/4.1 11
|
|
|
Post by Fiera Ferella on Sept 14, 2023 20:59:34 GMT -6
As Fiera walked around the tree, she realized what that humming noise was- a cloud of bees coming from a hollow in the trunk. She immediately flattened her ears back, hissing. “No, don’t touch those, Pen! Fuck, I-” She reached out to grab her vespa, only to pull her hands back as a few of the insects landed on her hands, curious. They didn’t seem to want to attack quite yet, but it was only a matter of time before they’d stop tolerating the pair being so close to their nest. “Pen! Peninnah! You get back here right now, young lady!” Fiera hissed under her breath, as if bees understood scolding whispers and knew not to get mad. Her words had zero effect on the infant vespa however, and she kept climbing the tree, moving surprisingly quickly up the bark for a creature that only had two limbs for the time being.
Fiera 2 Peninnah 2.2/4.2 12
|
|
|
Post by Fiera Ferella on Sept 14, 2023 20:59:48 GMT -6
Soon Peninnah was at the lip of the tree hollow, and to Fiera’s alarm she stuck her head right in, bees swarming around her… but as Fiera cringed, she realized that the vespa wasn’t actually being stung. The bees were landing on her, sure, and milling around on her back, but they didn’t actually seem upset by her presence, leaving again just as quickly after identifying her. Peninnah didn’t seem to be doing anything to upset them either, simply nosing around inside the hive and not eating any of the honey or wrecking the combs. As far as Fiera could tell, she was just curious. But the bees… did they think she was one of them? Fiera supposed it was possible- vespa were a species of wasp that had been manipulated heavily by the labs. While that meant she didn’t really count as a “bee”, she couldn’t imagine those insects seeing her as an enemy either.
Fiera 3 Peninnah 2.3/4.3 13
|
|
|
Post by Fiera Ferella on Sept 14, 2023 21:00:02 GMT -6
After all, she didn’t really smell like a human or a bear or a nest parasite or what have you, but she didn’t not-NOT smell like a bee. So it looked like at the end of the day, Peninnah just… got a pass from them? That wasn’t the result Fiera was expecting from all of this, but at least it meant that she didn’t have to rush Peninnah to the veterinarian with a million bee stings in her. Although extrictating her was going to be tricky. Fiera really didn’t want to get any closer to that hive than she already was, and the number of bees flying around her at that moment were already making her uncomfortable. “Peninnah… come here sweetheart…” She said in a voice as cloying as the honey that her vespa was sticking her face in. Unfortunately, she hadn’t taught Peninnah “come” yet… or, taught her anything yet, really.
Fiera 4 Peninnah 2.4/4.4 14
|
|
|
Post by Fiera Ferella on Sept 14, 2023 21:00:22 GMT -6
Given that Peninnah wasn’t cooperating however, Fiera felt the need to take slightly more dramatic measures. “Very well then…” She muttered to herself and started tugging on Peninnah’s lead and collar. The vespa reared back a bit, chittering with irritation at the sensation. “Well, I wouldn’t have to do this if you could just behave and leave your cousins alone!” Fiera said, continuing to tug. Peninnah thrashed every which way, perhaps attempting to dislodge the leash, only to lose her grip and topple to the ground below, landing safely in a pile of leaves. “There we go!” Fiera said with delight, rushing forward to snatch Peninnah out of the leaf pile before she could start scaling the tree again. She turned heel and walked away again as quickly as possible, making sure that there were no bees stuck to either of them that they might accidentally induce to sting them later.
Fiera 5 Peninnah 3.0/5.0 15
|
|
|
Post by Fiera Ferella on Sept 14, 2023 21:00:38 GMT -6
Fiera brushed a few bugs off of herself but for the most part was no worse for wear. Peninnah was similarly unharmed, though she had much more of a resistance to the rage of hive insects than Fiera did. “I’m not mad, just… trying to keep us safe.” Fiera said, tucking the writhing creature under one arm. She certainly wasn’t happy about getting dragged away so soon, but there was very little she could do about it from this vantage point. “Let’s find you something better to do, eh?” The humanish said, looking around for something interesting. Surely there had to be at least one spot around the mansion this month that wasn’t covered in bees. Sure enough, just as the thought crossed her mind, the mansion itself loomed into view through the trees as the brush cleared out. “Ah, trying to get my attention, eh?” Fiera said, batting her eyes at it.
Fiera 6 Peninnah 3.1/5.1 16
|
|
|
Post by Fiera Ferella on Sept 14, 2023 21:00:57 GMT -6
Perhaps that was a weird thing to say at a building. Actually, it really was a weird thing to say at a building. But the mansion had proven to her time and time again that there was more to it than met the eye, and Fiera was happy to play along- it helped raise her spirits a bit when she was nervous about how things might turn out. She hadn’t seen anything outright dangerous yet so far- sure there were bees, but they were regular bees and not, like… ravaging vampire bees or what have you. She stepped out of the treeline, passing through a large pumpkin patch on the way towards the mansion. Each one was massive and swollen, far bigger than normal gourds got. Some of them even came up as far as her shoulder, and Fiera would have to climb if she wanted to get on top of them for any reason.
Fiera 7 Peninnah 3.2/5.2 17
|
|
|
Post by Fiera Ferella on Sept 14, 2023 21:01:13 GMT -6
Still, nothing entirely out of the ordinary. She looked up at the mansion, flopping Peninnah over one arm while she walked to get the little creature to stop squirming quite so much. The mansion was tall and made of plain wood, but it had a fine finish on it and didn’t appear dilapidated for once. Red clay tiles lined the rooves, and despite the mansion being just as tall as usual, it had a sort of… cozy air to it. “Mmhm, like I’m going to trust you.” Fiera muttered to herself as she stepped out of the pumpkin patch and onto a gravel path. She glanced behind her, and saw that the gravel path led back to the gate they had entered through. A gate that entered into the apple grove when she first stepped through, not a gravel path. As always, this place didn’t seem to want to obey the usual laws of physics.
Fiera 8 Peninnah 3.3/5.3 18
|
|