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Post by Ashe on May 13, 2022 2:18:59 GMT -6
Magic made some people uneasy, and even others nervous or scared, but for Ashe it was like a call to home. He was amassing his own stash of magic as quickly as he could, but he just couldn't seem to find the time to bury himself in the mines to find more of those magical crystals. He was kicking himself for his laziness. It would be foolhardy to keep focusing on the past, though, so he could only continue forward. He thought that in more aspects than one, since the past was increasingly painful. He was slightly envious of the people who could sit back and daydream about the good old days. He didn't have those! The days he did have, even the happy ones, were clouded with a veil of pain - pain that he desperately sought to avoid. So here he was, with a being bonded to his soul, who wouldn't treat him that way. The constant presence of his Imp helped, too.
[Ashe: 0 2/20
Santiago: 0 2/5
May: 2]
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Post by Ashe on May 13, 2022 2:25:12 GMT -6
They made their way to the mansion, quietly taking in the normal looking surroundings outside. Ashe frowned slightly when he saw just how normal it was. Honestly, he mostly came to the mansion when something big was going on, either the water months or the vai min mur holiday, but this... Was just a normal spring day, with a perfectly manicured yard leading up to a boring looking mansion. The sun was starting to go down, which was still a few hours off yet of course, casting shadows that provided a cool shade for the heat of the day. They were at the door and Ashe finally spoke.
"Looks pretty quiet here today..." He said aloud. The sound of his deep voice cut through the light birdsong and bug noises that were the normal part of a plant filled yard, sounding odd to his ears. He had to pull himself out of his reverie, he realized.
[Ashe: 0 3/20
Santiago: 0 3/5
May: 3]
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Post by Ashe on May 13, 2022 2:34:11 GMT -6
"It does not look anything like the last time I was here," Santiago told him. Of course it didn't, since that was in the winter with snow on the ground - but the time before that had been vai min mur, with tombstones and ghosts and goblins. Definitely not like that time, either!
"I suppose this is what it looks like normally as well," Ashe told him. "I can't say I've been here before during the Dreaming celebration. Let's see what it looks like inside."
And with that, he grasped the door handle and opened it. Unlocked, as always. So strange that someone who owned this magical place just left the door unlocked for any old person to enter, and yet what else would one do with a magical mansion besides share it with the town? Ashe gave himself a shrug, finding that he was rather prone tonight to falling into strange and distracting thoughts! He shook his head and walked in.
[Ashe: 0 4/20
Santiago: 0 4/5
May: 4]
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Post by Ashe on May 13, 2022 2:43:15 GMT -6
The inside looked nothing short of spectacular. The furniture and walls of this rather large room were mystical blues and purples, the floor, which was a swirl of black and white marble, seeming to glitter and sparkle itself. One could get lost in the grandeur. But looking up - that was the real treasure. The lower to normal height, the first story so to speak, the lighting was soft and set to "mood", but the higher up, the darker it got. Ashe couldn't even see if it was a ceiling at all up there, or just blackness. But what he could see as he looked was pinpricks of light appearing, shifting, moving with a slightly faster speed than the normal sky might. Ashe saw constellations, bright shining planets - but the moon was missing. Perhaps it hadn't risen yet. Or maybe it was too bright for a day dream by starlight? Either way, Ashe shut the door behind them and walked into the room.
[Ashe: 0 5/20
Santiago: 1 0/5
May: 5
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Post by Jack on Jun 11, 2022 19:55:37 GMT -6
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Post by Ashe on Jan 31, 2023 0:54:20 GMT -6
 This was a new venture for them both! Ashe hadn't ever taken a houluh puppy out to play before, and Howl had never seen snow! The puppy had been hesitant at first, crossing onto the grounds of the Mansion. He was at the end of a leash, medium length though Ashe kept it wrapped around his fist to shorten it as needed, and torn between pulling toward the snow, and running around behind Ashe and nearly tripping the man. Ashe chuckled and unwound himself each time. He felt good to be back at the mansion, it had been too long. Life just got in the way. Didn't it always? He didn't think he'd visited this magical place since Vai Min Mur with Santiago. And here he was, about to enjoy some time with a pup ans some snow. Howl yippee once, darting forward again on the plowed trail that led to the house. Someone considerate must have shoveled the walkway - or perhaps they knew of Howl's lack of experience. [Ashe: 0 6/20 Howl: 0 1/5 January 1] *Inyala is present, but not immediately with Ashe |
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Post by Ashe on Jan 31, 2023 2:31:31 GMT -6
Though there was a light layer of snow all over the grounds on either side of the trail they walked along, there didn't seem to be any on the mansion itself. Ashe continued toward it, tilting his head back to take in the magnificence of it. He rarely came here during this time of year. A celebration of light didn't seem to pique his curiosity that much. And yet every time he came here in this month, he was blown away. He didn't know a building could look this pristine, this grand. And then, beyond it, in the twilight - twilight? Ashe was pretty sure he had left for the mansion during midday, and now here it was almost dark - there were stars and swirls of galaxies laid out.
Beside him, Howl gave a yip and sat down, his nose to the ground as he observed something. He followed the smell and it led him into the snow, where his face quickly became covered in snow.
[Ashe: 0 7/20
Howl: 0 2/5
January 2]
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Post by Ashe on Jan 31, 2023 2:37:12 GMT -6
As Ashe watched the sky above, he noticed that the stars weren't stationary like they were in real time outside of this plane. Well, not completely stationary, but moving so slowly that Ashe couldn't readily observe them in motion at a glance like he could here. His trained eye was picking out star cluster after star cluster, naming the constellations he knew. And he only stood still for about ten minutes! But those ten minutes were enough to bore Howl and the pup was tugging at the leash, having gotten over the startlement of his first snow. He wanted to explore and smell all of these strange new scents!
Ashe came back down from the sky and set back on track to reach his destination. As he went, he started to notice that the plant life around him wasnt just covered in a light pondering of snow, it was actually made out of another material... how strange. He paused to observe.
[Ashe: 0 8/20
Howl: 0 3/5
January 3]
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Post by Ashe on Jan 31, 2023 2:42:41 GMT -6
Howl had thought he'd finally got the human moving and they would be able to keep going - however, he only made it another few steps before the human stopped again. He heaved a puppy sigh, unable to believe that he had the grand misfortune of having to deal with this again. It was so tiring! He waited for Ashe to stop smelling the roses, so he could get exploring the scents!
Ashe, meanwhile, knelt to touch the branch of a small bush. It still felt rubbery, like a plant would, and it would bend at his will, but it felt extra smooth, slick, as if nothing would be able to stick to it. Was this... a fake decoration? How strange. What was its purpose?
Standing, he gave in to Howl's pleading and they continued on their way. The mansion rose up before them in its full glory, full of glass windows and Gothic spires. He approached the heavy yet beautiful door and reached for the handle.
[Ashe: 0 9/20
Howl: 0 4/5
January 4]
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Post by Ashe on Jan 31, 2023 16:36:55 GMT -6
The door creaked open as Ashe gave a gentle push, turning the knob at the same time. The room inside looked posh, with shining black and white tiles on the floor. Marble, it looked like. Expensive. This was a wide room, opening on one side to what appeared to be a living room, and on the other side into what seemed to be a study, or a den. There was a full set of black furniture, but the pillows on top were white with that same iridescent material intertwined.
Howl pulled toward the living room first, so that's where Ashe went. He let the pup lead him around as he sniffed out some clues. Ashe kept his eyes peeled because who knew what you could find at the mansion? He became aware of a ticking sound as they walked and he looked for the source. It turned out to be a giant clock in one corner. He looked at it closer, and each number on the face was a separate clock...
[Ashe: 0 10/20
Howl: 1 0/5
January 5]
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Post by Ashe on Jan 31, 2023 17:17:54 GMT -6
Howl pulled toward the couch first thing, and Ashe let him. The puppy put his head on the cushion and sniffed around, then he leaned back and raised up, placing his front paws on the cushion. Then he slowly climbed himself up onto the couch... Slick and sly, as if he'd been born sneaky. Ashe didn't realize what he was doing until he was already sitting on the couch, tail wagging when he saw he had been caught. It was as if he was saying, 'I'm already here, you wouldn't make a cute little thing like me move, would you?'
Ashe rolled his eyes at the pup, but he took a seat on the couch as well. He sighed softly and leaned back, using this break to sort of take in his surroundings. He wanted to observe the mansion as well, see what its deal was this time of the month. The clocks tick, tick, tocked in unison, including the tiny number clocks as well. It was almost enough to lull him into a trance.
[Ashe: 0 11/20
Howl: 1 1/5
January 6]
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Post by Ashe on Jan 31, 2023 17:44:12 GMT -6
Ashe was brought out of his stupor by something wet touching his hand. He looked over and saw his pup licking at his hand. He laughed and wiggled his fingers, startling Howl at first, but then the pup redoubled his attack and Ashe couldn't help but snort at the antics. He pulled his hand away and put it on the cushion, Howl staring at it expectantly. He held the hand still for a moment, then made it pretend to lunge at Howl. The pup leaped up onto all four feet and yipped at the hand, crouching down in a cautious, but curious, posture. Ashe moved the hand again, first one way and then the other. The pup jumped sideways, yipping again. He was starting to recognize what Ashe was doing was playing some sort of a game, and he too made lunges at the hand, acting like he was going to bite it before he dodged the other direction.
[Ashe: 0 12/20
Howl: 1 2/5
January 7]
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Post by Ashe on Jan 31, 2023 18:16:15 GMT -6
They entertained each other with this game of catch the hand for a few more minutes, until an especially energetic leap sent Howl rolling off the couch completely. Ashe gaped, torn between laughing over it and hurrying to scoop up the baby and check him over to make sure he didn't get hurt. Thankfully, he made it obvious there was no lasting damage, besides a little to Howl's pride. The pup shot back to his feet, looking a bit sheepish. His tail was wagging, though, and he immediately tried jumping up onto the couch once more.
Something caught Ashe's attention out of the corner of his eye. He leaned back on the couch and looked up, realizing the ceiling had constellations playing out across it, along with swirls of color that looked like the northern lights. He reached over to pet Howl, to keep him occupied, but Ashe's gaze was for the stars above. He marveled at the detail in the projections, even if it did move as fast as it did in the sky outside.
[Ashe: 0 13/20
Howl: 1 3/5
January 8]
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Post by Ashe on Jan 31, 2023 18:27:49 GMT -6
The colors swirled and mixed together, and Ashe's eyes started to cross as he stared at the constellations. When he felt his eyes start to close, he knew it was time to get up and get moving. He didn't want to be lulled into whatever time warp dream that would be the inevitable trap at the end of the trance. He shook his head and stood up off the couch. Howl gave a little yip, surprised at the sudden move, but come to think of it he was ready to go, too, if Ashe was! He stood, shook his body from ears to tail tip, then launched himself off the couch. He landed sloppily, front paws slipping, and crashed onto the floor. He clambered back up and bounced around with his puppy energy. Ashe stooped and grabbed the leash before he could dart too far away.
"You're a goofball, Howl. All ears and legs, aren't you?" He gave a tug on the leash to get his attention, then headed over to the other room adjacent.
[Ashe: 0 14/20
Howl: 1 4/5
January 9]
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Post by Ashe on Jan 31, 2023 18:46:59 GMT -6
The other room was more like a den or a study, with books on shelves along one wall, and a window even if it was smaller than the windows in the living room. A nice comfy chair, a fireplace, a dazzling rug. Cozy! Ashe decided to start snooping now, instead of just resting up. He went to investigate the books on the shelf, forcing Howl to come with him. It was pretty boring over there, but Howl made the best of it. He sniffed around on the ground, looking for anything of interest, but nothing stood out.
The light was dim, because even though it was twilight outside, the inside didn't have anything more than dim lighting. It was very nice for the mood lighting, but it was harder to read by. Ashe selected a book and squinted at the spine, then put it down and selected another one. He took this one over to a lamp on the table and, sitting in the chair provided, he started to flip some pages.
[Ashe: 0 15/20
Howl: 2 0/5
January 10]
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