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Post by Flare on Oct 1, 2019 11:04:18 GMT -6
"Oh I think he'd be a perfect fit for your needs sir. Spends all day and night under the stars anyhow." The Warden chattered to his guest as he led the way with slight bouncing on his toes to the ssashirk's garden plot. Sure enough, he was home. Dozing in the half shadows of the old oak of his property, with a book on his chest. "Ey, its the dragon man with the plan!" the mammalian called out jovially. One gray eye cracked open in his direction. Squinted with sleep, it roved over the Warden, then the well groomed guest with a fist of paper alongside him. Although he'd been dozing, the ssashirk didn't appear like he'd gotten much sleep at all. A long exhaling sigh as he shifted into a sitting position to look at them. When he thought of well groomed as a phrase, it usually brought an animal to mind. A fox. he'd seen foxes before. In books. But there was a fox before him now. 1 7.20
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Post by Flare on Oct 1, 2019 11:11:12 GMT -6
To the well groomed individual, now identified as a fox mammalian, he looked the waking ssashirk up and down. His keen journalist's eye glanced at the ruffled and worn appearance of the ssashirk; the working condition of his hands and his feet... oh. He had a shorter leg then the other. "How good is his Common?" the fox asked the monkey-lemur thing mammalian with a no nonsense tone. "Not great, but he can read if thats what you're getting about asking." The fox looks back at him, eyes narrowed. He's no spring chicken fox himself; there's a healing scar on his cheek and there's no visible fluffy tail. Could've just been a very hairy human with the head of a fox. The ssashirk's eyes meet his; there's a spark of indignation over what he could hear, of great wariness. "Warden told me that he knew of a quester who wasn't afraid of being outside at night; Do you mind taking a look at my flyer?" He offers one to the ssashirk. Slowly, the ssashirk is very tall in comparison, he eases to his feet using a cane, and hobbles over to him, to take the paper and read it over. 2 8.20
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Post by Flare on Oct 1, 2019 15:52:13 GMT -6
"My name is Mr. Fox, I'm a newspaperman. You might have read my article on- is he listening to me?" the well groomed fox began introducing himself but pauses, asking the Warden if the drake was even paying attention. His attention seemed to be all on the paper, firmly attempting to read one word at a time. There were a few words he didn't know yet. What was a ffoocketffet? The rest seemed to be relatively readable. Flare finally looks up, releasing the paper. "EEes, I heard. I leestened. Want helff find thief?" he points at the flyer, then at the fox. "Noot sffeak Coommoon good." Gesturing to the paper, and the word that confused him. "ffoocketffet? What?" The fox pauses, a bit stunned into silence. The tall winged lizard did talk, did read, why did he believe it couldn't? "Pocketpet. Give a small creature to your own pet as, I don't know, company or something." He waves his paw around as he talks, being quite a gesturey fellow. Never turns around either, standing upright on very small paws. "Look, I'm a busy fox, so if you want to do the job, just follow the flyer's instructions. My mate's already aware that others will be camping out on our estate, so she won't come eat you in your sleep or something. Good day to you. Warden." he nods and finally turns away to leave. The ssashirk's ear flaps stiffen from the impatient tone of his voice. He didn't like this fox much. But it did mean something different. Perhaps a good night sleep. 3 9.20
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Post by Flare on Oct 2, 2019 6:39:31 GMT -6
When Flare ended up arriving on the premises of the estate, it surprised him at the amount of green sprawling grasses there were. It was too neat, too trimmed to be plains. But the home was a beautiful old oak. Tall and majestic over the land as a crown for the hill beneath it. Tumbling in the grass were a few...things? On closer inspection they were cubs. Longer limbs and more humanoid then what Flare'd seen in his book, and from the looks of it, play-fighting. The cubs broke apart when one gave a sharp yip of pain, nursing an ear. Giggling, the other sat back, grooming their fur back into place. Red foxes, he saw, with creamy undersides. Hard to tell on the one garbed in strange Pethian clothes. The other looks up and over, ears twitching; radarlike. Eyes widen at the sight of a ssashirk on their lands, but he puts up his hands in surrender, pointing at the flyer in his hand. 4 11.20
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Post by Flare on Oct 2, 2019 6:46:51 GMT -6
The other punches the fox in white, pointing and gabbling in Common rapidfire, but it sounded young; babyish. The garbed animal-human turns around, sharply defined eyes piercing and protective of the smaller fox beside them. "Who are you?! Where'd you come from?!" he shouted at him, the voice decidedly male, and in Common. The lizard with an odd sense of dress doesn't approach, but points at the flyer. He can hear the small fox beside him whimpering, hiding in his cape, his tail. Growling, the garbed fox showed his teeth in aggression, what little of his fur standing on end. "Ash, stand down!" The slam of a shed door, and a yellow and orange blur came crossing the not-plains. The newcomer was female, also red, garbed in a yellow Pethian dress, with paint stains on her paws and face and apron. She appears to be of some authority because the littler male doesn't stop growling, but the sound is less. 5 12.20
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Post by Flare on Oct 2, 2019 6:50:36 GMT -6
"I'm sorry, my husband just finished telling me he had put an article in the paper about looking for the thieves and the children weren't warned about strangers coming." she breathed out all at once. She approaches, being quite tall for a female in Flare's opinion but he knows next to nothing. "I'm Mrs. Fox, these are my cubs." she gestures to the cubs in the grass. "We'll let you get to work on finding the thieves. Whatever it is has been stealing my painting supplies at night. Anything shiny, they will take. Brushes are expensive, and I'd rather not lose this fresh set." He nods, giving her a polite bow and greeting. She nods, shepherding the cubs back into the tree. The garbed cub spits at him before charging after his mother. Who took after the rude male? That one. If he was going to find a thief, the drake needed a vantage point but not too close. 6 13.20
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Post by Flare on Oct 2, 2019 6:58:30 GMT -6
"You're looking for the thief of Auntie's shed, right?" the soft voice did not initially spook the drake, but he did briefly stiffen, his gaze dropping. Lounging in the grass, with no huge hurry of leaving, was a silvery fox mammalian. Think sunbather here, with sunglasses. The fox tilted his head forward, the specs sliding down his muzzle. "I'm no thief seeker, but perhaps the grove on the south side of the house has a clear view at night. Depends on your abilities to see at night." he remarks, quite placid and relaxed. "No sssscared of me?" Flare managed to ask him without eating his tongue. The fox exhales heavily, dropping their head back onto linked fingers. "Not with what I've been through. Besides, Uncle told me he was going to do something about it. The thieves I mean." Before the drake could interject, he continued. "My cousin had it under control; he's little but stubbornly protective of his new sibling. I saw no reason to show myself." The sunbathing not-cub simply stopped after that, eyes closed. "Grove by the south side." 7 14.20
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Post by Flare on Oct 2, 2019 7:04:02 GMT -6
There was evidence in the south grove of someone having camped there before. The weeds spread out and flattened like a sleeping bag had been put out here at least once. Perhaps the well groomed male fox had been out her personally, watching the shed with binoculars or something. The drake found a good portion of ground that didn't appear too rocky. They did leave a few rocks in his scales previously, sleeping on the ground. But despite his lack of sleep, the ssashirk found himself wide awake. What creature, or being, would be stealing paint supplies from a shed at night? Paints weren't shiny unless being reflected upon. Night fell. The not-cub was right, he could see the shed very clearly from here. Very clearly locked too. So whatever it was could be sneaking under, or just picking the locks? Thieves picked or broke locks or windows. 8 15.20
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Post by Flare on Oct 2, 2019 7:12:12 GMT -6
"Why didn't Pop just ask us to catch the thief? We could do it!" the small cub growled audibly, throwing a pillow up and down as he lay flat on his back. "Lookit what we've done. I've done!" He could hear the soft snufflings of the cub beneath him, but by the sound of his breath, was wide awake. "I don't know about you, but the last thing I want is to get caught up in another mess." came the soft reply. From the not-cub's vantage point on the floor, he could see outside the window right AT the south grove. The distinction of something large crouched in the treeline on the ground. Those big gray eyes watching. Waiting. "The big lizard thing is strong enough to find the creature. Maybe even drive it away." all he could hear was a pillow hitting the ceiling, and audible grumbles. "Just go to sleep." It was just after midnight, when something seems to go examine the shed door. Locked. 9 16.20
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Post by Renathan on Oct 2, 2019 7:21:09 GMT -6
Who knew what the thing was? Perhaps it was best to go check? Hopefully the cubs wouldn't want to come with you... Who knows what kind of dangers this thing could pose to such younglings?
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Post by Flare on Oct 2, 2019 7:24:13 GMT -6
Whatever it was, it was small. Flitting around the shed in the span of less then thirty heartbeats. Then simply disappearing. What? Cursing his short limb inwardly, Flare snuck up on the shed, trying his damnest to be quiet. However, he was big, and the grass did flatten and break beneath his feet. Carefully, he examines the lock, the door. Nothing seems to be tampered with. How did he know this? The core taught the boot camp on the basics of determining a break in; which were somewhat uncommon but happened in Tumai. However this was a considerably less sturdy setup then what would be in Tumai. Wood; such a weak thing to build out of, at least for a shed. Something was on the inside, flicking about like some sort of storybook fae. Examining. Looking, sometimes touching. There was nothing particularly shiny in here tonight. It poofed again, right outside. Something snapped right beside it. Looking... MONSTER! 10 17.20
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Post by Flare on Oct 2, 2019 7:29:40 GMT -6
It was the crunch of grass that woke the not-cub from a not so sound sleep. His big radarlike ears moving and twisting, trying to seek the sound. His cousin must be... no, no, he was still sleeping. Finally. The silvery not-cub sits up, stretching his spine out. It aches a bit from the position of sleeping, but he managed it. From his vantage point, the moon barely glimmered upon a reddish thing, large and hulking, examining the shed. The not-cub's breath catches in his chest; but he can see it moving slowly, as if injured. It was the big lizard. The breath he held released slowly, relaxing him. The lizard was just doing his job. Now he was a smart not-cub who didn't really believe that the desires to prove himself were really needed, but his red cousin might want to see this. He could hear his spine protesting as he eases to his feet, ascends the ladder and wakes his cousin in the quietest way possible. he should see this. 11 18.20
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Post by Flare on Oct 4, 2019 9:58:17 GMT -6
The sudden appearance of something small and quite at face level took the ssashirk by surprise, only briefly. His jaws clack together in a silenced amount of surprise. He didn't move, one hand curling on his staff-cane. If it came to anything, he could clumsily defend himself. Hell, his maw was full of sharp conical teeth! And he had a long tail. What he saw... looked like something out of a faerie story. (npc, not mine) A small draconianlike figure, with several beating little wings, with enough entrails well, trailing from it to look like whiskers. It had a gray-blue frill of feathers upon its head, flattened in fear. The only thing that caught his eye was the moon reflecting off a white band, potentially metal, around its foot. The creature squeaked in terror, and outright vanished before him with a pop. What... what was that thing. He didn't catch one set of ears visible from the windows inside the tree. They were not silver. 12 20.20 lv 49 Flare
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Post by Flare on Oct 4, 2019 11:07:20 GMT -6
It was nights like these that Mr. Fox found himself unable to sleep; towards the full moon, in which he could and did, he swore it, hear wolves howling out in the forests around the labs. It'd been a few fox-years since his family had sought sanctuary from those nasty humans who ruined their lives previous. Here, by law, both animal-people and people-people were equals and lived side by side, with much less likelyhood of being murdered for stealing... birds. Yes. He held firm to his promise to his mate, really trying his best to not steal any more birds. Besides, the last bird he had attempted to pacify and...eat had nearly burnt his face off with breathing fire. (yes, it turned out to be known as a chicken of doom, a fire breathing type) He stood at the window of his master den-suite, sipping a cup of tea with unease. Just who or what wanted his mate's painting supplies so badly. 13 1.20
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Post by Flare on Oct 7, 2019 12:02:32 GMT -6
From the vantage point, the two young foxes could see the big lizard freeze up partially. What could've been a firefly from the viewing distance from the tree to the shed seemed to flit about, the moonlight glancing off gossamer wings. "Do you see that?" Ash whispers to his cousin. He doesn't get a verbal reply but can see him nodding in the darkness. "Looks like a faerie. Bet that lizard hasn't seen a faerie before." "I don't believe thats a faerie Ash." his cousin mutters quietly. The hackle fur on his bare shoulders is slightly raised as the whatever it is literally poofs into thin air, and the lizard starts searching high and low for it. "It can teleport." "Faeries can teleport, right?" Oh the innocence of his stubborn littler cousin. "Go back to sleep Ash." he mutters finally after standing for a full two minutes in completive silence. "Its gone now." 14 10.20
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