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Post by Fiera Ferella on Dec 2, 2021 12:50:49 GMT -6
It was clear that even though Marley was young, she had plenty of spirit to her. Fiera decided that she could do a with a bit more though. Getting through this snow was a miserable task, and she found herself hiking Marley further and further up her chest as the snow rose higher and higher. Eventually however, she found the front step of the porch leading up to the front door of the mansion… by stubbing her foot on it. She hissed out a swear word that she was glad Marley was too young to remember later, and threw a hand out so she would fall over and mash the little bundle she was holding into the drift. To her relief, the icy crust on top of the pile of snow held, and she was able to lean back on her heels again and regain her balance. She huffed a brief sigh of relief through her nose.
Fiera 16 Marley 1.1/3.1 6
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Dec 2, 2021 14:58:50 GMT -6
With stability regained, Fiera made her way up the steps, shuffling her feet around to make sure she was in the right spot each time. Marley hardly seemed to notice the fact that they nearly fell over, and instead kept making small, fussy noises. “I know, I know. We’ll be out of the cold soon.” Fiera reassured, bouncing the tiny bundle in her arm. Marley hardly seemed convinced, but soon Fiera was at the top of the porch and mere feet from the door. She stomped off the snow as well as she could and made her way over to the front door, turning the knob and pushing it open in one fell swoop. It was solid and heavy, nothing like the rotted husk the last time she was here. Instead, it swung open to a room that smelled absolutely delicious, though she couldn’t quite place what kind of food it was.
Fiera 17 Marley 1.2/3.2 7
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Dec 2, 2021 15:27:01 GMT -6
She wasn’t about to stick around to find out though. Fiera quickly shut the door behind her, stepping into the warmth. The air still didn’t feel quite right though. It was warm, sure, but it was moving. That kind of feeling where you know there’s a draft, so the moment the fire goes out the room would be plunged back into freezing cold again. Somewhere, she heard a window crackle ominously, expanding and contracting with the opposing forces of hot and cold. It was as if the mansion was trying to say something. Perhaps “Come on in, get comfortable… but not TOO comfortable.” A veiled threat. Marley didn’t seem to notice though, as she instantly stopped fussing when the air warmed up, her face no longer stinging from the cold. Despite her misgivings, Fiera had to admit it felt pretty nice as well. Finally, she gave her surroundings a proper scan.
Fiera 18 Marley 1.3/3.3 3
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Dec 2, 2021 15:45:37 GMT -6
The floor was wooden, though Fiera wasn’t clever enough to know what type. It freaked softly underfoot but didn’t feel weak or rotten. The grand majority of the floor was taken up by a large rug however, with red and yellow designs woven into the base. It was nearing threadbare but it didn’t feel degraded- more like well loved, perfectly in place with the rest of the room. A massive fireplace took up the far wall, which was made of brick in contrast to the dulled wallpaper over wood stylings of the rest of the room. It burned brightly with perfectly placed logs, a bright eye of the mansion gazing upon those who had just entered. Blue after images of it flickered across the humanish’s vision as she looked at the rest of the room. Thick, frosted windows were up against the wall she had just entered through, with nothing but darkness and the occasional flicker of snow visible through them.
Fiera 19 Marley 1.4/3.4 4
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Dec 2, 2021 16:08:28 GMT -6
It looked almost impossible to open the windows however; they were frosted shut thickly, with barely even a hint of wetness despite the heat coming from the fireplace. If Fiera wanted to escape through one, apparently she was going to have to break it. The rest of the room looked inviting enough though. Placed on the carpet were a large loveseat and a sofa with thin blankets draped over the back of them, seaso patterns of holly and snowflakes woven into the thread work. Above the fireplace’s mantle was a massive wreath made of holly, at least two feet across. Framed paintings hung on the wall, but none of them displayed a scene THATS as fully whole. They were all pictures of nature during the winter: snowy forests and frozen lakes, but all were smeared or smudged, as if someone had briefly tried to scrub them off before being yanked away.
Fiera 20 Marley 2.0/4.0 10
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Post by Nadia on Dec 6, 2021 15:24:41 GMT -6
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Dec 22, 2021 15:12:59 GMT -6
Her attention however, was quickly drawn away by a clinking noise underneath one of the couches. She approached it carefully, half expecting some sort of horrible beast to leap out at her. When none came however, she crouched down and carefully looked under it, with Marley tucked into the crook of her arm. All she saw was a small jingle bell, rolling aimlessly across the floor. She picked it up gingerly, examining it. It was made of plain brass and a silken ribbon as far as she could tell as she turned it over. It clinked happily as she moved it, and the humanish tapped a sharp nail against it thoughtfully. It did indeed appear to be just a normal bell, but it had to have moved SOMEHOW. The mansion did seem to magically summon items into a room from time to time, but it was only rarely that Fiera actually saw it in action.
Fiera 1 Marley 2.1/4.1 11
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Dec 22, 2021 15:16:27 GMT -6
Her attention was drawn away from the bell by Marley's giggling, tiny and sweet. "Oh, you like that, huh?" She said, jingling the bell at her. As she watched however, she noticed that Marley's eyes were not on the bell at all. Instead, her attentions seemed to be directed across the room, at one of the far corners. She followed the baby harachiu's gaze and sure enough there was movement along the wall, albeit not from very large creatures. She kneeled on the nearest couch, draping her arm over the back of it to entice the critters closer. She didn't want to scare them, after all. "Hey there sweeties... how about you come over here where I can see you properly?" She said, squinting into the gloom. As she watched, two fuzzy shapes emerged from the shadows, most likely the source of the jingling bell that had just been kicked under the seat.
Fiera 2 Marley 2.2/4.2 12
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Dec 22, 2021 15:22:51 GMT -6
The first one to draw closer, sniffing at Fiera's fingers curiously, was a creature that resembled a particularly large lemming. Most would likely mistake it for a hamster, but this was at least one creature that Fiera recognized from her homeland. A vague smile crossed her face at the sense of familiarity she got from it. It was nice to see something that actually looked like an animal she knew, for once. The other one, a bit slower to approach was... well. It was certainly a mammal, if she was asked at gunpoint. It had an odd, front heavy shape, more like a beast of burden than a tiny little creature, and while it no doubt had FUR, that fur flowed and drifted as if the creature was underwater, occasionally coming off in larger tufts and just... evaporating into thin air. With it standing right next to a more mundane creature, Fiera felt like she was going insane.
Fiera 3 Marley 2.3/4.3 13
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Dec 22, 2021 15:24:53 GMT -6
She knew better than to get her knickers in a twist over weird mansion critters however, and Marley certainly seemed happy about them. The baby squealed and giggled as the creatures approached, waving her tiny hands in their direction now that she had managed to free them from the blanket burrito. "Ah, I guess I should let you out of that, hm?" She said, leaning forward on the seat. She gently set that baby on the ground, unwrapping her from the blankets until she was in the center of a large "mat" (made out of those same blankets) on the floor. So long as Fiera kept her in that area, she would be safe from any splinters... though she immediately rolled over and began trying to crawl her way toward the couch and the creatures on the other side of it. "Ah, no." Fiera said, quickly scooting the blankets away from the base of the couch.
Fiera 4 Marley 2.4/4.4 14
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Dec 22, 2021 15:27:10 GMT -6
Marley fussed loudly as the humanish scooted her back toward the center of the blankets, far from any heavy pieces of furniture that she could get herself lost or stuck under. To her delight however, the little creatures came to her, bouncing their way toward the center of the room to meet this strange, giggly beast. Mansion critters were odd like that. Most small animals Fiera knew would bolt at the sight of a strange creature, not come closer, but the mansion's odd magic made most of these little animals that lived in it oddly gregarious, though not always entirely friendly. Still, if any of them got it in their head to try and hurt Marley, Fiera was more than capable of kicking an animal that size clear across the room. So she saw no harm in letting the baby and the pocketpets play with each other... for now, at least.
Fiera 5 Marley 3.0/5.0 15
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Post by Nadia on Dec 23, 2021 16:44:48 GMT -6
That wreath will spruce up any door!
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Dec 29, 2021 15:09:00 GMT -6
The little mammals were more than happy to investigate the baby harachiu, bouncing around and dancing just under her fingers. Fiera on the other hand, could not figure out why she couldn't get comfortable on this couch. After shifting around for a moment, she searched beneath her for any sort of indicator, finally feeling something between the cushions. She pulled it out to find... an entire wreath, made of holly and spikey pine needles. "...Yeah, that'd do it." Fiera said, deciding that this was probably the reason for her discomfort. Without further ado, she shoved it into her bag, along with another bell that was tied to it for some reason. Sometimes she wasn't even sure if this stuff was intended for people to be able to take with them, but when it came to the mansion Fiera pretty much tended to take anything that wasn't nailed to the ground.
Fiera 6 Marley 3.1/3.1 16
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Dec 29, 2021 15:11:08 GMT -6
Marley meanwhile was having the time of her life. Everything around her was so much bigger and so much scarier than she was. While she was a brave little baby, it was nice to have something that was her size to play with for once. She couldn't follow them very well, though. By the time she had managed to crawl to the edge of the blanket that Fiera had set up, they had usually turned around, leapt back over her, and started speeding toward the other side. Every once in a while though, they would stop close enough for the young yang harachiu to dig her fingers into soft fur, gripping on and trying to pull herself up. The little animals didn't much enjoy that however, so they scampered off after putting up with her grabby fingers for a few minutes. Fiera watched them play calmly, keeping a close eye on the group.
Fiera 7 Marley 3.2/3.2 17
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Dec 29, 2021 15:13:48 GMT -6
After several minutes, both the pocketpets and Marley seemed to be growing tired. Marley had gone from actively crawling after them to simply laying in one spot, making a brief squeak of approval when they came by and lazily swiping at them with a chubby hand in an attempt to touch their fur. The pocketpets seemed to have calmed down too, stopping to groom their fur and sniff at each other instead of running around wildly. Fiera was relieved- perhaps that meant that they could all move on from this instead of more frenetic playing. In fact... she should probably get going. While this was fun for Marley, there was still quite a long trip before they would be home, and the last thing Fiera wanted was for her to get tired to the point of crying on the way home. Despite her size, it turned out that harachiu babies were quite loud when they wanted to be.
Fiera 8 Marley 3.3/3.3 18
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