Darky
Flea Market Artist
Veritas et Aequitas
Posts: 1,268
|
Post by Darky on Aug 27, 2021 17:50:36 GMT -6
Sure enough, as soon as the dangling pieces untangled themselves from one another, the object began to gently tink-tink-tink again in a soft breeze. More amazingly than that, despite it having been scraped across most of the stone surface, it hardly seemed scratched. Perhaps a little dusty, but nothing a quick dunk in the pool wouldn't fix. Looking to the gallor, the mammalian stressed again, "Alright, I'll let you go, but you gotta behave, alright?" before slowly putting him down. Behaving was a matter of perspective, however.. Ander certainly stuck close to her, but only so he could hop up and try to bat at the dangling pieces of the chime, even though there was little to no hope he could actually cross the distance.
The sphinx exchanged a look between him and the chime, before beginning to carefully wrap it up, "Perhaps it's best if we keep this one in the bag.." as the eventual decision.
A literal hop and a skip away, the harachiu was catching up, along the side of the pool, careful to avoid any stones which could risk him dunking in. Unlike the gallor, the hara hadn't learned how to swim yet, and would probably much rather never learn it at all. Water was heavy, wet and sticky, so the more he avoids it, the better.
(38) August Darky: 38 Noari: 7 (3/5) / 7 (3/5) Ander: 37 (3/5) / 39 (3/5)
|
|
Darky
Flea Market Artist
Veritas et Aequitas
Posts: 1,268
|
Post by Darky on Aug 27, 2021 17:56:11 GMT -6
Another thing to avoid was a few more obstacles in between. The hara was quick enough to jump a piece of green coral stuck between the rocks, and was nearly about to clear the yellow one when something else caught is attention. Skidding to a stop, Noari turned towards a gap in the stone, where something long and sharp was poking out. It wasn't a shell.. much too wide and broad, but the texture wasn't necessarily dissimilar.
The hara crouched down, creeping between the rocks to get a closer look. For all intents and purpose it seemed to be a tooth of some sort, though the size of it could have easily fit him as a breastplate. He grabbed the string that seemed to cut through it and tried to pull it out. While the string did indeed initially give, the necklace was quick to get stuck after that. Some piece of another more readily wedged between the stones. The hara pressed a foot against the rock and tried again, but only managed to strain his arms and stretch out the string a little.
With a groan and a huff, he let go, backed up, and hopped up onto a taller boulder. Both sphinx and gallor turned to the sudden tune of a teeth-clenched whistle.
(39) August Darky: 39 Noari: 7 (4/5) / 7 (4/5) Ander: 37 (4/5) / 39 (4/5)
|
|
Darky
Flea Market Artist
Veritas et Aequitas
Posts: 1,268
|
Post by Darky on Aug 27, 2021 18:02:32 GMT -6
The gallor was the first off the mark, seeming to mistake the whistle for an invitation to play. But the sphinx was more used to his antics now and didn't even need to look at him to reach down and hold him back, "Easy, Ander. At ease." That one the gallor knew. Obediently, the little hatchling plopped down on the ground, sitting and watching with quite large eyes, but enough trained restraint to wait out the command duration. "Good boy, Ander," the sphinx smiled to him, before moving over to where the hara was.
"What is it? Did you find something?" The questions remained somewhat rhetorical, since they were still working on the whole 'common language' situation, but the tone of the voice got across enough that the hara nodded, pointing down. Darky knelt and tried to peer to where he was indicating. At first she didn't assume to really see anything other than some pieces of the coral fans nearby. But when the harachiu climbed further into the crack between the rocks, he was able to pull on the string enough to bring it into her field of views.
"Oh! I see, there's something there," Darky leaned back, trying to look for a way to shift or lift the rock without damaging whatever was beneath, as Noari quickly scrambled back and out.
(40) August Darky: 40 - (added) Noari: 8 (0/5) / 8 (0/5) Ander: 38 (0/5) / 40 (0/5)
|
|
|
Post by Nadia on Aug 28, 2021 4:29:10 GMT -6
|
|
Darky
Flea Market Artist
Veritas et Aequitas
Posts: 1,268
|
Post by Darky on Sept 1, 2021 2:03:11 GMT -6
The sphinx leaned in and braced against the rocks, hands scoping out a proper hold under the rock's edge. Once she felt a good enough grip, she hoisted the rock up slowly with a good deal of strain. The hara, realizing the opportunity, quickly bounded back into the crack and grabbed the string. He backed up, pulling the necklace out, along with a tangle of other things - A scattering of another shell, and more string, caught in one of the teeth of the necklace. The second piece of string seemed attached to a dark jewelled box, which the hara quickly pulled out as well.
The sphinx continued holding up the rock, giving the occasional huff of effort, while the hara did a quick scope of the remaining space underneath. Something else caught his eye, something glinting but not quite as 'jewelled' as the box had been, wrapped up in more green. It was bigger, too, so he had to do some considerably hefting of his own to pull it out.
Ander watched all of this surprisingly patiently, or perhaps the unfolding scene was curios enough to keep him entertained in the command. The hatchling's head tilted to the side and he gave a questioning chirp, seeing all sorts of things suddenly show up on the flat rocks outside the crevice.
(1) September Darky: 41 Noari: 8 (1/5) / 8 (1/5) Ander: 38 (1/5) / 40 (1/5)
|
|
Darky
Flea Market Artist
Veritas et Aequitas
Posts: 1,268
|
Post by Darky on Sept 1, 2021 5:48:11 GMT -6
The hara dragged the bottle out into the open, seaweed trailing behind it. With the all clear and a thumbs up from him, the sphinx slowly lowered the rock back down, before letting out a sigh and stretching the arms. Well, certainly not something done every day. But more curious eyes turned to what they had found. She sat down on the rock and looked through the objects - There was a necklace of shark teeth, which was certainly interesting; The compass was familiar, as something similar had been found last time as well (Though a bit too big for the hara to really use or enjoy, even if it was shiny); And a strange-looking bottle.
The mammalian's head turned, picking it up and watched as something rattled within. A piece of paper of some sort, though the grime of algae and kelp didn't make it exactly clear. The cork seemed quite stuck as well, so she decided to leave it be for now. Perhaps some of the more spirit-bodied at home might be able to take a peek inside without breaking it, see what's up.
Standing, she began to clear up the objects, putting some in bag, while others were placed in a pile nearby, when a cool breeze blew on by. A welcome change for many, the fluffy gallor included, but it also brought a whole new scent on the air..
(2) September Darky: 42 Noari: 8 (2/5) / 8 (2/5) Ander: 38 (2/5) / 40 (2/5)
|
|
Darky
Flea Market Artist
Veritas et Aequitas
Posts: 1,268
|
Post by Darky on Sept 1, 2021 7:27:24 GMT -6
The sphinx knew the scent well, for it was one of those ones she had never experienced before until reaching the City. The hara and gallor had a vague recollection, since they're experiences autumn before, but not quite so rapidly as it happened to onset within the manor. Darky looked around, feeling the rustle of the jungle leaves intensify with the breeze as out of nowhere, a single golden leaf drifted down from the opening of the canopy above. The trio watched it float through the air (The sphinx having to make sure the gallor was physically restrained in the process) and drift to the middle of the pond.
Gently, it fell and sent ripples through the waves of the pond. And the surroundings rippled back.
The warm sun became colder, the shadows of the day longer. Stone path beneath became replaced with packed dirt, the crystal clear water of the pool with the murky-green waters of a pond. The jungle leaves around and behind them replaced with leaves neither jungle-like nor green - Golds, reds, oranges, yellows.. A few spots of green remained, out of stubborn spite, but most of the surroundings took on a distinctly different colouration to the before.
Fall had come, and so too nature followed. It was the season of the harvest.
(3) September Darky: 43 Noari: 8 (3/5) / 8 (3/5) Ander: 38 (3/5) / 40 (3/5)
|
|
Darky
Flea Market Artist
Veritas et Aequitas
Posts: 1,268
|
Post by Darky on Sept 1, 2021 8:09:08 GMT -6
The hara quickly scampered up her arm to rest on the shoulder, alarmed by the sudden change. She couldn't really blame him for it, after all her own reaction to the Mansion doing it for the first time had not been all too different. To Ander's credit, he barely seemed to recognize the change, short of there being new rustling sounds and funny things to chase, like bugs. The later realization, on hearing the new sound of more increased buzzing, had made the sphinx inwardly even more regretful they hadn't taken a leash along for him.
But.. what's done is done, so best handle anything that comes at them with a semblance of grace (even if with no small amount of panic).
Taking stock of the situation, the sphinx quickly realized they should probably vacate the general pond area. Going for a swim was all fine and dandy in the summer-time weather, but the slight chill in the air now meant anything getting wet was also likely to catch a cold. And Ander was no less enthusiastic about water then as he had been before.. So the mammalian looked to the hara, gave a decisive, "Time to go, see what else we find," and scoop up the little fuzzy hatchling into her arms.
(4) September Darky: 44 Noari: 8 (4/5) / 8 (4/5) Ander: 38 (4/5) / 40 (4/5)
|
|
Darky
Flea Market Artist
Veritas et Aequitas
Posts: 1,268
|
Post by Darky on Sept 1, 2021 8:16:01 GMT -6
The trio pushed onwards, largely on the backs (or shoulders and arms) of the mammalian and her chosen direction. A path had opened up between the greenery (now more yellow-reddery) that seemed to connect to a path among taller bushes. It wasn't exactly a hedge, for the bushes were wild and filled with berries, but it the path was none the less well maintained, even if just plain dirt. The sphinx couldn't see over them, but the hara eventually clambered up the side of her face to perch on top of her head, trying to get a better vantage.
And vantage he did get, for even the shortness of the hara was juuuust enough to peer over the edge of the thicket, seeing trees in the distance. Not forest trees, for they were too spaced out, but more like a garden. The fact each had an assortment of dotted colours denoting various fruits also helped the deduction process.
Noari peered down, tapping the forehead of the sphinx with his whole palm. Careful, the mammalian glanced up without turning the head too much, "What is it?"
The hara motioned towards their left, hand arcing to indicted beyond the bushes, and made an eating motion. Well.. It didn't exactly make it clear, but given they were already surrounded by berries, she was able to infer there was likely more of that somewhere else nearby.
(5) September Darky: 45 Noari: 9 (0/5) / 9 (0/5) Ander: 39 (0/5) / 41 (0/5)
|
|
|
Post by Nadia on Sept 1, 2021 13:44:14 GMT -6
The autumn flowers are blooming.
|
|
Darky
Flea Market Artist
Veritas et Aequitas
Posts: 1,268
|
Post by Darky on Sept 2, 2021 4:28:11 GMT -6
But it would also suggest that perhaps the hedge of bushes might have an end closer than they though. "They" being the sphinx and hara.. The gallor was quite glad to be carried like a chunky baby in the mammalian's arms, occasionally swatting a paw or snapping the beak at a passing insect in the air - Woe be to anything with wings should he eventually finally grow into his. For a group well within their ability to do some form of flying, they made quite the bunch in their shared reluctance of it. Noari still needed to learn the in's and out's of it, and while the tat-lung had offered, their form of flying wasn't quite what the hara did.
Ander was still much too young, his wings more stubs (And arguably not technically even wings, but some form of solid shadows.. but that was beside the point). And the mammalian, well.. Wind was at her fingertips, comforting and calling, and yet the sheer notion was absolutely terrifying. Even the agate's assurances that it wasn't nearly as bad once you got used to it didn't seem to do much to alleviate it. And yet, somewhere deep down, she knew it was something that needed to be tackled one way or another, eventually..
(6) September Darky: 46 Noari: 9 (1/5) / 9 (1/5) Ander: 39 (1/5) / 41 (1/5)
|
|
Darky
Flea Market Artist
Veritas et Aequitas
Posts: 1,268
|
Post by Darky on Sept 2, 2021 4:34:12 GMT -6
So yes, while the notion of flight would have made the lay of the land a lot easier to pick up, none of the three were particularly enthusiastic about it. Instead, they would have to go about it the old fashioned way - On foot, with the hara on her head acting as a lookout.
The hedge had a slight turns to it every now and again, as if the measurement for a straight line had gone rather poorly. It wasn't until some minutes later that an actual bend occurred, and the bushes beyond it took on new shapes and new produce. In place of the wild red berries of before, these ones seemed to be small and dark, clumped together, with a completely different style of leaf. She'd seen these before at the market, and knew them to be blackcurrants, though hadn't quite cared for the sourness of the taste. No doubt the Mansion would put much of her berry, fruit and vegetable knowledge to the proverbial test, seeing as the season of Harvest was rather filled with such.
She just hoped the manor would stick to showing them edible ones. There were a lot of black berries in the world and some did one's stomach no favours, while others could be just straight-up fatal.
(7) September Darky: 47 Noari: 9 (2/5) / 9 (2/5) Ander: 39 (2/5) / 41 (2/5)
|
|
Darky
Flea Market Artist
Veritas et Aequitas
Posts: 1,268
|
Post by Darky on Sept 2, 2021 4:45:14 GMT -6
As they passed through the row of berry bushes, there was another slap of a miniature hand against her forehead. The sphinx glanced up, seeing Noari peer down and very insistently pointing towards something in the distance. Following his indication, she scanned the road ahead, but wasn't really able to notice anything too different. There were bushes, there were fallen leaves, black berries.. Glancing up again, she gave a small confused shrug.
The hara's eyes looked tired, as if he was the one explaining something to the toddler, and not the other way around. One day he'd find the way to actually explain something.. One day. For now, he sighed, slid down the side of her face to her shoulder and jumped from there to the bush, before bounding off of the branch and lightly on the ground. Heights were rather bothersome when you were small, but the good thing about being small was that you hardly weighed anything, so the landing wasn't quite so bad.
With a lot of forced patience, he held up his hands and made a round motion, then a tucking motion, and pointed towards a very specific bush a little ways off. Both sphinx and gallor gave a slow blink, but it was the sphinx who asked "So.. you.. found something?"
(8) September Darky: 48 Noari: 9 (3/5) / 9 (3/5) Ander: 39 (3/5) / 41 (3/5)
|
|
Darky
Flea Market Artist
Veritas et Aequitas
Posts: 1,268
|
Post by Darky on Sept 2, 2021 4:56:57 GMT -6
The word 'found' Noari knew largely because it had been thrown around quite a bit leading up to the Mansion as well as during it. In fact, it seemed to be one of Fhèr's favourite words when it came to anything about the Mansion, and it didn't take him too long to figure out why. (Not shockingly, the reason was shinies). When the sphinx spoke it, there was an insistent nod and a look of relief like some herculean effort had been awarded. Again, pointing towards the location, he began taking steps backwards, hoping she would follow.
The mammalian did, of course, though between the communication puzzle and his reactions, it was looking to be quite the amusing situation. Not so long ago the sphinx had assumed herself to be in charge of wrangling the two, while now the hara was taking up that responsibility himself. At least when it came to her.. Darky rather doubted Noari would have the ability to wrangle Ander, size difference not withstanding. Even the sphinx had trouble wrangling the gallor, and she had actually trained him. Reaching the spot, the hara disappeared underneath the berry bush, while the sphinx knelt down, putting the gallor down, and leaning to peek under.
(9) September Darky: 49 Noari: 9 (4/5) / 9 (4/5) Ander: 39 (4/5) / 41 (4/5)
|
|
Darky
Flea Market Artist
Veritas et Aequitas
Posts: 1,268
|
Post by Darky on Sept 2, 2021 5:07:34 GMT -6
It was still daylight, despite the sun sitting lower than it had and the shadows being longer, so there was little difficulty in seeing what might be hidden under the leaves of the bush despite the dimness. But what did seem difficult was distinguishing one dark shape from another, as Noari pushed and rolled out a glass sphere. The sphinx recognized it instantly, having seen quite a few of them during visits past, but had the hara not had sharper eyes, they could have well missed it due to it's black-green glass blending into the rest of the surroundings.
"Good job," the sphinx smiled, picking up the glass eye and briefly inspecting it, before putting it into the bag. "If you see any more, let me know, yeah? I'll show you a trick with them later."
The hara walked out, dusting the hands in quietly smug contentment. The second part of the sentence was still a little difficult for him to grasp, but he had little trouble understanding praise when he heard it.
Meanwhile, the gallor had been figuratively set loose once more, so Ander was able to wander around the path and do some inspections of his own. A feathered ear twitched when a buzzing caught his attention, and immediately the eyes went full-saucers - Hunt mode time (or, also, doofy time, depending on the situation).
(10) September Darky: 50 - (added) Noari: 10 (0/5) / 10 (0/5) Ander: 40 (0/5) / 42 (0/5)
|
|