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Post by Fiera Ferella on Sept 14, 2023 21:09:37 GMT -6
The stalks collapsed to the ground, and Fiera yanked a cob or two off of them for the road. She figured she might as well, given that they were perfectly ripe. Most things your brought off of the mansion’s grounds tended to continue to exist, so she figured she could safely eat these with dinner tonight. She brought the corn cobs and the rope back to her backpack, where Peninnah was now nowhere to be seen. A brief flash of panic stabbed through Fiera’s belly. Had she not tied the leash well enough? Did she slip through it and escape? No… there it was, still tied to the backpack. She followed its length up, around, and… found Peninnah inside the backpack itself, where she had foolishly left it unzipped. The vespa looked up at her sheepishly, Fiera’s half unwrapped- and by this point half eaten- sandwich clutched between her pincers.
Fiera 19 Peninnah 9.4/11.4 49
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Sept 14, 2023 21:10:04 GMT -6
“...Just couldn’t wait until we got home, huh?” Fiera said dryly, plucking the moonstone vespa off of her sandwich and setting her down beside the bag. She examined it carefully. It was already missing some huge chunks from the bread, and the ham had almost entirely been yanked out of the middle. Butter was everywhere. A huge mess. “And you just ate! You ate that whole apple on our way in! Yeesh.” The sandwich was inedible by her standards now (who wanted to eat vespa spit?), and she wasn’t about to give the rest of it to Peninnah. Who knew what havoc it would wreak on her digestive system if she let her have the rest. Instead, Fiera stood up carefully and tossed the remainder of the sandwich into the corn field, watching as the slices of bread came apart tumbled end over end before crashing down with a small sound among the stalks somewhere.
Fiera 20 Peninnah 10.0/12.0 50
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Sept 14, 2023 21:10:39 GMT -6
It could be food for the crows now. Or for the mansion itself, if it ate. Whatever found it first. Regardless, the answer to that was irrelevant now. Peninnah hardly noticed that she had been scolded- she was too busy eating up the scraps of bread that had landed on the ground. “Oh come on, stop!” Fiera said, picking the unruly grub up. Peninnah squirmed uselessly against Fiera’s grip as the humanish finally untied her leash from the backpack and picked it up. “Oh no young lady, you’re staying close with me this time.” She said with a laugh. They were so close to the finish line- Fiera wasn’t going to mess it up now by letting her run off somewhere. “Just relax, ok?” She said, giving the moonstone vespa a little pat on the back. To Fiera’s surprise, it seemed to work, and Peninnah settled in, leaning into her shoulder.
Fiera 1 Peninnah 10.1/12.1 51
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Sept 14, 2023 21:10:53 GMT -6
Fiera couldn’t help but smile. They had done a lot today, but Fiera felt like she had become much closer with Peninnah as a result. It certainly felt like the vespa was a lot more comfortable with her now, even if she didn’t know any tricks that they could use to communicate with each other yet. She seemed to… trust Fiera more, to believe that the humanish would get her out of a tight scrape. Fiera couldn’t help but agree. Peninnah felt less like some animal that she was just babysitting and more like she was something that truly belonged to HER now- another addition to her little family. With that bond of trust established, Fiera was sure that she’d be much easier to train in the future, though such a venture was far from her mind at the moment. For now, Fiera just wanted to get off of the mansion grounds in one piece.
Fiera 2 Peninnah 10.2/12.2 52
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Sept 14, 2023 21:11:08 GMT -6
The dark, loamy soil of the patch of enormous squashes hardly made a noise under Fiera’s feet, but the crunch as she stepped onto the gravel path was distinctive and comforting- it meant that she was almost free. She looked down, marveling at the colors in the stone under her feet- all sorts of shades of grey and white. Anyone else would find them perfectly boring and not worth mentioning, but Fiera found herself noticing the smallest things now. This day hadn’t gone perfectly, but trips to the mansion rarely did- it always had something new to throw at her. At the very least, Fiera would have a good story to tell to… well, her harachiu, as she couldn’t think of many other people. She didn’t have a huge number of friends after all. But now that she and Peninnah had bonded some… she could count the vespa among them.
Fiera 3 Peninnah 10.3/12.3 53
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Sept 14, 2023 21:11:22 GMT -6
Leaves fluttered down past Fiera’s head as she walked, as if trying to beckon her back towards the mansion, to behold its wonders just a little bit longer. “Don’t worry,” Fiera said, addressing them, or perhaps the mansion itself. “I’ll be back- I can’t ever seem to stay away for long.” Perhaps, the mansion was just as lonely as she was sometimes. But there was always something to be gained from coming here, so even the worst experiences could be forgiven. Sure enough, the leaves soon calmed, skittering along her heels with the breeze as she walked instead. Peninnah hardly noticed them anymore despite playing with them excitedly earlier- the vespa was just plain tuckered out by this point, and even though her eyes couldn’t close, Fiera assumed she was asleep by the sensation of her rhythmic breathing, tucked up legs, and lack of movement. Fiera could go for a nap too, honestly.
Fiera 4 Peninnah 10.4/12.4 54
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Sept 14, 2023 21:11:36 GMT -6
But first, she had to get home. She finally stepped up to the wrought iron gate again. It looked different from this time- instead of plain bars, the iron was twisted into the form of serpents wrapping around a cornucopia’s worth of fruits, vegetables, and other harvest icons- one last beautiful surprise for the road. Without anything left to keep her here though, Fiera finally pushed open the gate, feeling the breeze pushing her towards that exit. It was as if the mansion was giving her one last parting pat on the back, one that Fiera was happy to accept as she stepped back into a world that made sense to her. Peninnah shifted a bit in her sleep, as if recognizing the change, but Fiera was simply happy to be out. She glanced back, and sure enough, the gate was just a gate again. She smiled slight and turned to walk home… and realized that Peninnah had been chewing on her shirt this whole time.
Great.
Fiera 5 Peninnah 11.0/13.0 55
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Post by Jack on Sept 15, 2023 17:22:18 GMT -6
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Oct 15, 2023 19:25:36 GMT -6
October was in full swing, and Fiera was determined to poke around the mansion for a bit. She didn't want to go much further than the front gate though, for a couple of reasons. The first was that she didn't trust the mansion to not throw something weird at her, especially this time of year. The second was that she didn't want to stay long- this was just going to be the equivalent of a brisk walk in the park for her, albeit while trying to find neat creatures or objects to take home with her. And the third was that she didn't think Arethusa was really... going to FIT in many of the chambers of the mansion. She normally came here with Victor this time of year as she knew they worked well together, and he fit well enough in most of the rooms they went through, but Arethusa... Fiera 6 Arethusa 8.1/8.1 1
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Oct 15, 2023 19:40:29 GMT -6
Arethusa was quite a bit bigger, and quite a bit ganglier as well. She didn't have the strong gripping claws and flexibility of a rakai sarane- even though she DID appear to be part dragon like he was. Still, she wouldn't do well if the floor became slick or if the ceiling got low, and with that in mind Fiera was going to keep her outside on the grounds. The minute she stepped onto the mansion's grounds, her legs were surrounded by fog. Arethusa sniffed at it, interested. "Pretty spooky, eh Arethusa?" Fiera said, leading her forward with a lead. It would be nice to learn how to ride on her back someday, but that wouldn't be today. Trying to teach Arethusa to let her sit on her back while walking around in this place where she was VERY likely to get spooked was a good way for Fiera to become one of the ghosts here.
Fiera 7 Arethusa 8.2/8.2 2
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Oct 15, 2023 19:52:11 GMT -6
For now though, Arethusa seemed perfectly calm. That made sense to Fiera- normally equillion were pretty skittish, but Arethusa had always been of particularly hardy- not to mention carnivorous- stock. That was part of why Fiera brought her- she was more likely to react with aggression towards any creatures that chose to pick a fight with her, rather than fleeing in fear and making Fiera go after her. During the other months that might be a bad idea, but during Vai Min Mur? Fiera needed all the help she could get. Sure enough, the equillion picked her way carefully across the grounds, watching her step carefully and scanning her surroundings. Fiera didn't need to worry about her- so she could get to work examining the surroundings herself. Even though it had been broad daylight when she walked in, the sky was now dark and gloomy, with clouds skidding across a starless sky.
Fiera 8 Arethusa 8.3/8.3 3
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Oct 15, 2023 19:55:44 GMT -6
The sky was starless except for, of course, a massive glaring moon. It was so big, bright, and staring that Fiera was sure it would blink at some point. She wouldn't put it past the mansion's sense of humor, that was for sure. At that moment, she tripped at something sitting on the ground. She hissed out a few stares as Arethusa turned to look at her with a withering stare, apparently disappointed in Fiera for not having nearly as much composure as her. "Please, you don't have any room to talk." Fiera muttered at the equillion. "Your feet are made of rocks. Or... chitin or... whatever hooves are made of. You get the idea." She said, waving her hand dismissively as she turned to look at whatever it was that made her stub her toe, while rubbing her foot against her other leg to try and get it to stop hurting.
Fiera 9 Arethus 8.4/8.4 4
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Oct 15, 2023 19:58:17 GMT -6
Upon closer inspection- it was a gravestone. "Oh, well of course." Fiera said, nodding acceptingly. Seemed about right for this time of month. But the writing on it, she couldn't quite make it out. Would the mansion come up with real names somehow? What would a magic building even think a "real name" was anyway? A mash of letters? An approximation of human writing but in no actual written language, just scribbles that looked like letters? As she crouched down, she got to see exactly what the tombstone said- "YOU" written in big, bold letter. "Oh, I get it." Fiera said, rolling her eyes. "God, you think you're so clever, don't you." She stood up and cupped her hands around her mouth. "That's not even scary!" She said, shouting as loud as she could. She heard a few crows caw and some creaking from the mansion in response, but nothing out of the ordinary.
Fiera 10 Arethusa 9.0/9.0 5
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Oct 15, 2023 20:29:59 GMT -6
"C'mon, let's-" Fiera said as she stepped away from the tombstone, only to feel gravity shift around her as the earth beneath her feet grew soft and unstable. "...Son of a-" She hissed to herself as she fell backwards into the grave. Fiera braced for impact but thankfully didn't fall too far. As far as she could tell looking up- about six feet. And ah good, here was Arethusa to quietly mock her- or perhaps simply stare in disdain. Her face didn't exactly have the emotional range needed for the more nuanced takes. "Yes yes, I realize I set myself up for that." Fiera said, waving her away with one hand (it didn't work). She checked beneath her- thankfully, no skeletons. Or worse. But no decent loot either- just scraps of wood and cobwebs. She got off easy, all things considered- perhaps because she wasn't very far into the mansion grounds yet.
Fiera 11 Arethusa 9.1/9.1 6
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Oct 15, 2023 20:32:11 GMT -6
Well, good. She hardly needed more surprises- this was meant to be a quick jaunt around the grounds to get Arethusa a bit of exercise before going home again. No need to open up a grand adventure like she did with Peninnah the previous month. Fiera shivered at the thought. She never wanted to see another corn maze for as long as she lived- hopefully the mansion didn't have anything like that in store this time. Or at the very least, no more corn. With a bit of effort (and Fiera trying to grab Arethusa's horn, which was NOT appreciated, and Fiera made a note not to repeat), the humanish was finally able to wriggle her way out of the unfortunately not shallow enough grave, flopping onto the ground. Arethusa snuffled in her hair, and Fiera finally dragged herself upright again to avoid the equillion trying to "graze" on her.
Fiera 12 Arethusa 9.2/9.2 7
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