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Post by Fiera Ferella on May 27, 2020 20:53:16 GMT -6
Sometimes the lack of front legs seemed to bother Orpheus, and this was one of those times. He quickly found himself having to hop over rocks with nothing but two legs and no front claws, which lead to more than a couple awkward incidents of the baby alurook tumbling backward off of the slope he was trying to climb. Fiera tried to help him with this, but that mostly led to indignant screeches and a few scraped fingers for her trouble. If Orpheus was one thing, it was proud, that was for sure. He would handle these slopes, on his own. He wasn't particularly successful, but at least Fiera got a good show out of it, watching his little puffy body roll back down the slope over and over. She wouldn't laugh as much if he was actually hurt, but his downy feathers acted as a cushion to keep him from getting injured.
Fiera 5 Orpheus 8.0/8.0 10
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Post by Jack on May 28, 2020 9:24:26 GMT -6
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Post by Fiera Ferella on May 29, 2020 6:57:59 GMT -6
After a few minutes of this, Fiera decided to just take the brunt of his fury and push him up the rest of the way. It was starting to get a little silly, after all. Orpheus nipped at her furiously, but she did her best to ignore it as she set him at the top of the next slope. He fluffed out his feathers with anger but continued marching, resolute. Fiere glanced back at the doorway they had come in through. The walls had disappeared by now, with only more yawning cave where the pleasant wallpaper should have been. Even the door looked transparent and ethereal. Fiera had the feeling that if they kept going, they wouldn't be able to come back out this way. That was fine by her, though. She had gone on long mansion treks before and she knew by now that once you wanted to leave, the mansion usually put an exit in front of you.
Fiera 6 Orpheus 8.1/8.1 11
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Post by Fiera Ferella on May 29, 2020 7:23:56 GMT -6
She noticed now that in addition to the nebulas flowing above her and the deep, starry expanses reflected in the pools, even the rocks and stalactites themselves had a faint shimmer to them. If this was the mines, Fiera would have taken that as an indicator that they were rich in gemstones and that she should try cracking them open to see what she got. Alas though, she wasn't in the mines today and thus hadn't brought her pickaxe. A shame. Besides, she couldn't guarantee that whatever stones she tried to prise out of here and take with her wouldn't disappear from her bag when the mansion decided she shouldn't have them. So she left the stone pillars alone for now, but still kept a sharp eye out for any crystalline goodies she could take with her. After all, stuff just lying around was usually fair game for people to take.
Fiera 7 Orpheus 8.2/8.2 12
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Post by Fiera Ferella on May 29, 2020 9:48:57 GMT -6
Out in the distance, Fiera could see the environment of the cavern start to change, to segue into a different environment. The stalactites appeared to get more regular, and then with some carvings, and then paling until they resembled marble pillars. Similarly, the pools seemed to get more and more regularly shaped until they were carved artificial ponds set into the floor, but still filled with that same starry liquid. As Fiera and Orpheus walked though, the sky got lighter, going from the deep nebula of the cavern of the night to a lighter shade made up of pink, purple and orange. It was almost like they were walking from night into dawn. Orpheus blinked slightly, his large eyes trying to adjust to the change in light. Fiera wasn't quite so affected, but made sure to keep an eye on her alurook in case he stumbled one way or the other.
Fiera 8 Oprheus 8.3/8.3 13
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Post by Fiera Ferella on May 29, 2020 9:54:19 GMT -6
Sure enough, even though the floor was more even the sudden change in light caused the fluffy alurook hatchling to stumble over to one side, falling toward a pool. Fiera managed to catch him just in time and picked him up again. "Okay, I think you've lost your walking privileges for the time being." She said, a hint of amusement in her voice as opposed to irritation. The alurook just shoved his face into the crook of her shoulder, opting to ignore the bright light for the time being. Fiera rolled her eyes. "Alrighty then, whatever you want." Still, at least it was still pleasant in here. The air had that cool humidity to it that you got around waterfalls, despite all the water here being still. It was fresh and pleasant against her skin, and her breaths came easily too her as she scented the fresh air around her.
Fiera 9 Orpheus 8.4/8.4 14
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Post by Fiera Ferella on May 29, 2020 10:00:47 GMT -6
Her shoes clacked loudly on the marble floors, the sound of her footsteps the only one she could hear. She couldn't see any other exits or areas either. It looked like she and Orpheus were just in an endless grid of marble pillars and starry pools, as far as the eye could see. Occasionally her path would be blocked by a potted plant in an elegant vase- some massive, frondy species- but it was easy enough to side step it and keep going. She had the feeling the mansion would warp and change to something else soon though, so she wasn't concerned about the seemingly infinite expanse of marble and water. Perhaps in different circumstances it would be an issue. For example, if the pools were made of bugs and not starry water. But for the time being, this was a beautiful and pleasant place to walk around. She might as well make the best of it.
Fiera 10 Orpheus 9.0/9.0 15
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Post by Fiera Ferella on May 30, 2020 9:41:49 GMT -6
As she walked, Orpheus grew increasingly agitated again. Fiera sighed- he really was a hot tempered little bird. She wouldn't mind it so much were it not for the fact that he showed this displeasure by biting her, however. He was a little angel sitting in her arms, up until he decided that he'd like to get down. While most pets would remain civil about it, maybe wiggling around a bit or sticking some legs out, Orpheus jumped straight to biting. She'd definitely have to train that out of him she thought grimly as she lowered him down before he took an ear off. He screeched happily- or perhaps victoriously- and put his feet firmly on the ground before taking off running down the pathway. Fiera was surprised- she had never seen him move that fast before, and didn't think he even could on those stubby little legs he had.
Fiera 11 Orpheus 9.1/9.1 16
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Post by Fiera Ferella on May 30, 2020 9:49:46 GMT -6
She took off after him as he raced down the marble paths. Occasionally he would trip and come dangerously closing to tipping over into one of the pools of starry water, causing Fiera to hiss with alarm. She didn't know what those pools were really made of, but she DEFINITELY knew that alurook couldn't swim- especially not tiny puffy baby ones. "Orpheus! Come here!" She called loudly, using one of the few commands she had actually taught him. The alurook chick disregarded her completely though, continuing to enjoy his newfound freedom and the realization that he didn't actually HAVE to stay right next to Fiera, no matter how much she would prefer otherwise. She was frankly amazed with his speed and stamina right now, realizing that she had underestimate his athletic abilities... but didn't really have it in her to be proud of him right now, considering that he was being a VERY naughty boy.
Fiera 12 Orpheus 9.2/9.2 17
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Post by Fiera Ferella on May 30, 2020 9:53:55 GMT -6
The pair of them zipped through the starry marble area, looking for all the world like a pair of idiots on a cartoon goosechase. Or alurook chase, as it were. The landscape didn't change no matter how far they seemed to run, even after changing directions and vaulting over at least half a dozen potted plants. She was sure the mansion was loving this, all things considered. "Come on Orpheus, just! Just slow down for Fiera, at least! Please!" She said, panting. She was getting too darn old for this, to tell the truth. She was out of breath, her knees hurt. And the chick was showing no signs of slowing down or even paying attention to Fiera's request. No matter what she did, he always seemed to stay just a half step ahead. Fiera groaned loudly and decided on a last ditch decision to catch Orpheus- throwing herself at him.
Fiera 13 Orpheus 9.3/9.3 18
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Post by Fiera Ferella on May 30, 2020 9:57:16 GMT -6
She knew her joints were going to hate her for this in the morning, especially with how hard the floors were here, but she figured she didn't have any other choice. She wasn't catching up with him, and it didn't seem like he was going to slow down any time soon. "Okay Orpheus..." She said, getting herself ready. "You asked for this!" She yowled, and bunched up her legs before launching herself at him. Her feline grace gave her a slightly longer jumping length, but her age brought it back down to around normal. Still, she usually wasn't half bad at pouncing... but today didn't seem to be her day. She noticed before she even hit the ground that her aim was a little off. The alurook chick turned his head around to look at her, and his eyes widened in surprise. His little feet scrabbled against the marble floors, trying to change course.
Fiera 14 Orpheus 9.4/9.4 19
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Post by Fiera Ferella on May 30, 2020 9:59:37 GMT -6
It only sort of worked, and he tipped over entirely as Fiera crash landed on his left. "...Ow." Fiera said eloquently, resembling a pile of twiglike limbs on the ground. Not her best day altogether. She turned her head and began disentangling her arms from each other while she looked for Orpheus. She thought she'd have to catch up to him again, but it turned out that he had fallen over in his attempt to veer away from her. He was now rolling around on the floor... directly toward one of the starry pools. "Oh no, no!" Fiera said, trying to get up faster, but her aching body only went as fast as it wanted to. The alurook chick bounced faster and faster down the steps leading to the pool, unable to right himself now that gravity and inertia had taken over his course of movement, his stubby wings flailing wildly.
Fiera 15 Orpheus 10.0/10.0 20
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Post by Fiera Ferella on May 30, 2020 15:10:06 GMT -6
Fiera yowled and lunged toward her pet, but her limbs just weren't cooperating fast enough. She resembled an octopus more than a person with her arms and legs flying around like that, whipping out in an attempt to grab Orpheus, but she was too late. It was surprisingly anti-climatic. He rolled down the steps, tipped over the edge, and plopped into the fluid with a single small splash. Fiera scrambled to the edge, but the water was still again. There was no sign of thrashing or any other clues that her alurook was trying to get to the surface. Despite that though, Fiera didn't really take the time to figure out if he was trying to swim or not- she was going to rescue him. It wasn't even a conscious though, she didn't consider if the starry water was dangerous, she just threw herself into the still water after him.
Fiera 16 Orpheus 10.1/10.1 21
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Post by Fiera Ferella on May 30, 2020 15:47:48 GMT -6
Her own descent into the pool was just as uneventful, a brief splash and then nothing. When Fiera opened her eyes, she saw Orpheus's eyes staring back at her, wide and scared. She immediately lashed out and grabbed him, hugging him tight to her breast. For once, he didn't struggle and was clearly still scared, enough to willingly stick by his owner. She kicked her legs desperately but didn't seem to be rising any higher in the water. In fact when she looked up, she didn't see the surface of the water anywhere. In fact, looking around, she was suddenly entirely enveloped in the starry fluid... though it didn't feel like fluid at all. She opened her mouth and sure enough, there was air around her. Fiera breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh thank goodness. Not drowning, just more weird mansion stuff." She said, exhausted and relieved that that wasn't a problem she had to worry about.
Fiera 17 Orpheus 10.2/10.2 22
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Post by Fiera Ferella on May 30, 2020 17:20:01 GMT -6
Looking around though, it really did look like Fiera was drifting through a starry sky, with spatters of sparkles off in the distance. She reached out but found that none of those pinpricks of light were actually anywhere near her. It really was like she was floating in space. However, she wasn't weightless. Indeed, it looked to Fiera like she was slowly drifting downward, with her hair and tail streaming behind her as she sank, undulating in the air around her. The stars drifted by her slowly, blinking cheerily as she passed them by. Fiera looked out into the distance and saw whole constellations out in the distance, as touchable as the stars in the sky. Which was to say, untouchable. She might as well be looking at them on a TV screen with how close they were, but she at least appreciated the 360 degree view, as pretty as it was.
Fiera 18 Orpheus 10.3/10.3 23
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