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Post by Jack on Jul 22, 2020 11:40:48 GMT -6
A single little shell on the ground.
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Apr 21, 2021 12:01:51 GMT -6
This... might have been a bad idea, she was coming to realize. Fiera rarely admitted such to other people, but she was finding her hands quite full with not one, not two, but three houluh pups splayed out in front of her, bouncing across the sidewalk with the enthusiasm their youth afforded them. One houluh was easy enough to manage. Two was alright. But three... well, it turned out that the combined force of three whole houluh was a little much for the humanish to handle, and it didn’t help that they didn’t seem to concur on what direction to apply that force in. They went to either side, barking up trees while the others continued to walk, and tried their best to get under Fiera’s feet while somehow managing to tangle up their leashes beyond repair, forcing Fiera to stop every few feet to hold one by the collar as she begrudgingly untangled them. It wasn’t that they were bad houluh, more like... they were just untrained. Which they were, of course, she hadn’t spent a moment in the public park with any of them. As a result the pups had zero manners and Fiera felt the need to steer them away from wherever there may be people, if just to save the general populace from their rampant shenanigans. Even now she struggled to stay upright as they ran her ragged, threatening to yank the humanish over at any second. It took all her concentration to avoid it.
Fiera 6 Dayo 0.1/2.1 Oasis 0.1/2.1 Twinkle 0.1/2.1
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Apr 21, 2021 12:15:37 GMT -6
It wasn’t really their fault. They were young and eager, and Fiera was hoping they would calm down the longer they walked for. That was the goal of this outing today, after all. She wanted to get to know these houluh a little more, to learn their personalities before she tried training them. It would also, with any luck, let them get to know her a little better too, so they’d be more willing to listen to the humanish once the time for training came. She couldn’t see it right now though- they were as rambunctious as... well, young houluh, and likely wouldn’t have even noticed the humanish were or not for the fact that they were literally tied to her. They had already reached the far limit of their extendable leashes and were trying to get Fiera to follow up as well. She stood fast however, digging in her heels and setting a more reasonable pace for the group. They’d need SOMETHING reasonable on this trip- they had come during the month of Tiken Tikal at the eccentric’s mansion, after all. Carried out through the month of April, Tiken Tikal was admittedly one of Fiera’s least favorite holidays so far, if just because it’s theme was... a lack of such. It was a holiday of chaos and illusions, of change and discord, which sounded a lot to Fiera like “we couldn’t come up with anything for this month so uhh, just do whatever, we guess.”
Fiera 7 Dayo 0.2/2.2 Oasis 0.2/2.2 Twinkle 0.2/2.2
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Apr 21, 2021 21:54:03 GMT -6
Frankly, Fiera was disappointed in it. It was nearly impossible to decorate for, that was for sure. Although... she wasn’t sure it was a fantastic idea to bring her pets here this month either, especially with how naive they were. The grounds of the mansion would no doubt be filled with chaotic sights, sounds, and colors, and she wasn’t sure how well her houluh would be able to handle all that. Not to mention if one of them got loose, it would likely take her forever to find it again. The mansion rarely killed anything but... well, the operative word there was “rarely”, wasn’t it? At the very least, the twisting and turning paths she would find would likely make it difficult to track down her pets again, though she was sure their yapping would help her out. She kept a tight grip on their leashes though, making sure all three of them were looped around her wrist securely. She’d much prefer a sprained wrist or a shoulder popped out of its socket to a lost or dead houluh, as much as the former hurt. And while her pets were oblivious now, she was pretty sure they’d prefer that too. In addition to secure leashes though, Fiera also had plenty of food, water, and treats with her to help them make the best of this trip, and to manipulate her houluh into obeying her, even if they didn’t know any tricks yet. Also, so she could have lunch while she was out here.
Fiera 8 Dayo 0.3/2.3 Oasis 0.3/2.3 Twinkle 0.3/2.3
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Apr 22, 2021 11:40:53 GMT -6
If she was lucky though, her pets would persevere. Who knew, maybe this would be a good experience for them. Yeah, she’d just go ahead and let herself believe that. What’s the worst that could happen? The gravel crunched under Fiera’s feet as she walked up to the front gate of the mansion. The iron bars making it up were normally tall, straight, and stately, but now they were twisted and interlocked, only barely looking like a gate at all. It was rare that the mansion’s magic spread this far, but it was, as Fiera had been told, a very special month. It opened just as easily as always when she pushed on it however, not even locked. It was rare for Fiera to see anyone else here, but they always left the gate unlatched for her or for anyone else who came in. Or perhaps that was the mansion’s doing. Regardless, the fact that people tended to stay spread apart in the mansion meant that Fiera didn’t have to worry about her pups finding someone to jump up on or be otherwise rude too. They’d have all the time and space they needed just to themselves. Which was good, because the humanish was pretty sure they’d bowl over anyone who even tried approaching them right now. The second Fiera got the gate open wide enough for them the houluh pups rushed in, yapping loudly and yanking Fiera along behind them unwittingly.
Fiera 9 Dayo 0.4/2.4 Oasis 0.3/2.4 Twinkle 0.4/2.4
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Apr 22, 2021 12:05:39 GMT -6
“Alright, I’m coming, yeesh!” Fiera hissed as she tried to both keep ahold of her houluh and keep the gate from crushing her at the same time. “Chill out!” She emphasized, finally slipping through it. The gate slammed shut behind her with an... odd honking noise instead of anything metallic. That was Tiken Tikal for you, she supposed. With a slight huff, the humanish looked around. The grass around them undulated like tentacles in an unseen wind, dyed a variety of psychedelic colors by some unseen force, with the occasional flower poking up. In the distance, she could see what was probably a hedge maze of some sort, along with dark, twisting trees. It probably wouldn’t be in her best interest to go that way. Far too much of a chance for getting lost. The mansion itself stood before her, deceptively straight ahead. She had the feeling that it wouldn’t be that simple to go straight toward it though. She could at least look at it from this distance though. It looked like someone had grabbed the mansion as it was “normally” (as that word hardly applied to this place) and had squeezed and stretched it up and up into the circling clouds that threatened to rain down at any moment, leaving Fiera unable to see what was up there. The eaves of the roof looked like it had already rained, however... if the rain was made of flesh melting acid, that is. They were practically dripping off of the walls.
Fiera 10 Dayo 1.0/4.0 Oasis 1.0/4.0 Twinkle 1.0/4.0
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Apr 22, 2021 12:13:16 GMT -6
The roof still protected the rooms within, but it certainly looked like they were about to slough off at any time. In fact, it looked like this whole place had been drenched in acid, albeit a different sort. The mansion looked like a candle that had been poorly made and lit aflame for a little too long. Not that she was going to say that out loud. If there was one thing Fiera had a feeling was true, it was that the mansion did not respond well to insults. The path of trampled grass before her was likely bait however- it was trying to convince her to come closer, to come inside, that it’d be cool and fun in there! Yeah, Fiera wasn’t buying it. She was staying outside where she could at least see the surrounding fence and where the grass was nice and soft. Her houluh seemed to like it too, rolling around in it and sniffing it carefully, pawing up clods to see if they could find any neat bugs in the dirt beneath. “...Don’t think that ones going to work out for you, love.” She said as Oasis pulled up another clump. She had never seen a living thing here that wasn’t either something the mansion put there on purpose and was actually an illusion, or some sort of horrible beast that had learned to adapt to the mansion’s odd environment. The idea of finding just a regular soil crawling beetle here was laughable.
Fiera 11 Dayo 1.1/4.1 Oasis 1.1;/4.1 Twinkle 1.1/4.1
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Apr 22, 2021 17:50:40 GMT -6
Perhaps that would only make the mansion summon beetles just to spite her though, so Fiera decided to switch that train of thought over to a different set of tracks and think of something else. In particular, she decided to focus on her houluh. For the most part, they were completely typical houluh juveniles. They loved to play, to interact with new things, and to explore new objects... with their teeth, mostly. Their gregariousness was charming, but Fiera was slowly picking out the differences in their personalities that would help her in training them for their debutante shows later on. After all, knowing more about them as individuals (even if she had brought them here as a group) would let her pick her battles carefully when training them, and would help her figure out what direction to take their training in. Agility, guarding, wits, loyalty, there were all sorts of shows and opportunities for houluh, and not just in their specific fields either. She could see them thriving in the regular contest circuits as well, if they proved to be easy to train. Even now, they were doing different things. Dayo was carefully exploring the grass, sniffing each individual spot in the hopes of finding something interesting. Oasis had dug up a patch of grass and dove over it protectively when the other houluh came close, not acting outright aggressive in defending her spot, but hardly inviting them in to play in her patch of fresh dirt with her either.
Fiera 12 Dayo 1.2/4.2 Oasis 1.2/4.2 Twinkle 1.2/4.2 7
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Apr 22, 2021 18:10:57 GMT -6
Twinkle on the other hand was running wild, ripping up every chunk of grass he could get his teeth around, growling playfully as he whipped them around. He’d toss them a few feet before running after them, his ears flopping behind him as he pounced on the chunks again. This was kind of par the course for Twinkle, as far as Fiera had noticed so far. He was an attractive puppy, that was for sure. He had a deep black pelt and fur that was thick but not long, so your hand would practically disappear into him as you pet his back and sides. On top of that black though was a smattering of off white spots evenly spread across his whole body. The longer Fiera looked at them, the more she thought that they looked like stars, inspiring his name. (And his show name- Twinkle Twinkle Little Bat, after a rhyme she had heard in her childhood). This effect was only heightened by the brown marking over his eye, which looked just like a shooting star to her. This made Twinkle quite the celestial looking young pup, though his personality wasn’t... quite as ethereal. Hence the “Bat” part, more “Bat Out of Hell”. He wasn’t aggressive so to speak- he’d never pass muster in the show ring if he was- but he certainly had a higher prey drive than his fellows, chasing everything he saw, and was always pushing peoples’ patience as diligently as he could.
Fiera 13 Dayo 1.3/4.3 Oasis 1.3/4.3 Twinkle 1.3/4.3 8
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Apr 22, 2021 20:19:58 GMT -6
Needless to say, Twinkle was a handful, though Fiera was sure that she could redirect that reckless, nigh violent energy in a more positive direction as time went on. How hard could it be, right? But there were two houluh she had brought with her other than Twinkle. Dayo, Fiera had to admit, was a lovely young houluh. He had a classic “black and tan” coat as it was called, a dark body with lighter colored points across the face, belly, and eyebrows. However, he was quite unique for a houluh with this coloration. Instead of the usual shades of black and brown he appeared washed out, dyeing his pelt a more sepia toned. Just looking at him was a blast to the past, to older methods of taking photos, or perhaps he looked like he had been left out to bleach in the sun for a little too long. This led Fiera to give him his full show name- Days of Yore. It was a suitably evocative name, one she was sure the judges would like, but she was pretty sure it fit him as an individual as well despite how poorly she knew him so far. Despite his young age, Dayo seemed to be... an old soul, if Fiera had to pick a way to describe him. He was very much a “look before you leap” sort of houluh, and always seemed to be checking out the perimeter when the other two were more single minded about their approaches and desires.
Fiera 14 Dayo 1.4/4.4 Oasis 1.4/4.4 Twinkle 1.4/4.4 9
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Apr 22, 2021 20:34:24 GMT -6
Dayo stood out from the other two in that way, still excited about the world but moving with a sense of deliberation that the other two didn’t usually bother with. Fiera was sure that she should try some intelligence training with him, to teach him something that he could really use to pick his brain along with exercise his muscles. He was at the perfect age for it too, where houluh were plenty energetic and coordinated, but still pliable in the mind such that they could pick up tricks as easily as they could treats. And boy howdy, did she know a lot of tricks that she could teach these guys. After this trip to the mansion, they were going to get the equivalent of canine boot camp from Fiera, trained within an inch of their puppy lives until she was satisfied. After all, the houluh kennel club wasn’t made up of a bunch of shmucks, and they didn’t hand out breeding licenses to just anyone. Fiera had a reputation to maintain, dammit. Breezy Daze Kennels didn’t have the highest output ever (in fact, Fiera couldn’t remember the last time she had bred one of her houluh. She really needed to fix that. What was Jack up to these days again...?), but Fiera liked to believe that what houluh it did have were of the highest quality on the market. She got into houluh breeding nice and early after all, with her dearest Pauline as her flagship.
Fiera 15 Dayo 2.0/6.0 Oasis 2.0/6.0 Twinkle 2.0/6.0
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Apr 22, 2021 20:43:54 GMT -6
Or would it be more accurate to call her the mothership? Regardless, Fiera believed that for what she lacked in output, she made up for in quality. Which led her to casting her eye over her last houluh, Oasis. Admittedly, the humanish had almost named her something along the lines of “Honey”, or something like that, on account of her fur color. She had a classic cream underbelly like many other houluh, but the rest of her body was a pale orange that darkened to a sunset gold as it crept up her back. It was a stunning effect, highlighted by the fact that she had deep blue eyes to go along with it. It reminded her of the blazing blue skies above rolling waves of orange sand that she had seen in so many photos and illustrations of deserts over the years. If she had wanted, she could have gone to see them herself on her way to the labs city, but... well. Let’s just say she wasn’t feeling up to adventure around that point in her life. She could already feel her mood souring as those not so old feelings bubbled up, so she decided to push them away and get back on topic. Like Dayo, Oasis seemed to have a lot more foresight than other pups her age, but her higher intelligence didn’t seem to be as much of a comfort to her as it was to Dayo. In fact, she seemed even more high strung than both of them.
Fiera 16 Dayo 2.1/6.1 Oasis 2.1/6.1 Twinkle 2.1/6.1
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Apr 22, 2021 21:34:55 GMT -6
This led to her being... rather protective of things that she considered “hers”, and being rather slow to trust. A lot like, Fiera supposed, someone who found an oasis in a desert, who would no doubt guard that water with their life. Fiera would have to be careful to not grind that instinct in further, as it could lead to quite a reactive animal as she got older. Still, Fiera could see her doing well as a guard dog, or perhaps a guide of some sort. It was an interesting idea at least. Still, if a houluh was sufficiently intelligent, Fiera was sure that she could teach her pretty much anything so long as her ears stayed stuck to her head to listen to her. Out of this trio of houluh, Fiera figured that Twinkle would be the hardest to train and Dayo the easiest. Dayo’s laid back nature and intelligent soul would make him an excellent learner, while Fiera had her concerns about how well Twinkle would listen and how violent he could get while training. Still, she had to admit (if just to herself) that this was all first impressions. Maybe they’d surprise her! She had been blown away by her houluh in the past, such as Bubbles, who was admittedly as dumb as a box of rocks. If she could figure out enough tricks to get through her debutante, then just about any houluh could. Not to mention Fiera hoped to have more of a bond with these guys by the time she started training them.
Fiera 17 Dayo 2.2/6.2 Oasis 2.2/6.2 Twinkle 2.2/6.2 12
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Apr 22, 2021 21:45:36 GMT -6
As Fiera thought these thoughts about her houluh however, she failed to notice that they were slowly dragging her away from the gate. Not too far, only about twenty feet, but it was enough to suddenly snap her out of her reverie. She couldn’t really afford to not pay attention- she was the one running this clown show after all. The grass around her was still swirling in a variety of different colors, waving as if underwater despite there being no breeze. That was probably the strangest part to her- anyone could just dye some grass, but the undulating movements made it feel... Alive somehow. The grass looked a lot taller now too, despite only being less than two dozen feet further into it. From where they were by the front gate it looked neatly trimmed all the way up to the mansion, but now that Fiera and her houluh were in the thick of it, it was already up to her knees. Had the ground beneath her sloped downward and the grass was all just cut off at the same height? Or was the even appearance of the grass another illusion meant solely to lure her in? If it was an illusion though, Fiera had to admit it was a pretty crappy one. So the grass was long now, big whoop. It wasn’t exactly scary, and her pups were having an absolute blast bounding through it, bouncing up just high enough to see each other from the tops of the blades before diving back down.
Fiera 18 Dayo 2.3/6.3 Oasis 2.3/6.3 Twinkle 2.3/6.3 13
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Apr 22, 2021 21:56:12 GMT -6
Twinkle especially seemed to enjoy it, taking the opportunity to ambush the other two pups. Fiera chuckled with amusement and made sure to give their leashes the maximum amount of slack so they could play to their little hearts’ desires. As they did, she found herself looking up at the sky. The mansion this month was especially tall- far taller than it usually was, in fact. As if to compensate for the fact that it likely couldn’t extend itself beyond its own magical radius however, it covered the sky in a roiling sea of angry looking clouds to make it look like the building went up forever when in actuality it likely stopped (though how, Fiera couldn’t say. Did it just get cut off in midair, leaving pipes spraying water and seasonally appropriate rainbow paints? Or did it just fade out like the Cheshire Cat? What happened if you were on one of thorn upper floors? What would it feel like?) just above the cloud cover. It made the clouds look especially intimidating to make up for it however, swirling counterclockwise around the building and occasionally flashing with hidden lightning. The electricity came in just about every neon color imaginable but opted to hide itself, usually only resembling a flash bang going off behind a cloud cover. Fiera certainly couldn’t hear it, at the very least. Still, she supposed she should be glad for the lack of lightning. It was one less thing she had to worry about down here.
Fiera 19 Dayo 2.4/6.4 Oasis 2.4/6.4 Twinkle 2.4/6.4 14
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