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Post by Ashe on Mar 6, 2020 4:28:40 GMT -6
Was that her face darkening, changing color? He wasn't sure at first why that was happening, usually when people were upset or scared or in shock, they paled... Then he realized this was a blush coloring her face, blood rushing to make it red. He could just see the tinge of pink. The poor girl, she must have been so scared she grabbed him without realizing who she was grabbing, and reality was starting to set in... Hey, he had been good, though! He hadn't even grabbed her butt or anything untoward like that. It must just be his presence, or her shyness, or her intimate feelings for him that weren't quite obvious yet but were always bound to happen.
"I don't believe in proper," Ashe murmured, teasing, his voice soft as velvet in the darkness. If he could distract her in this way, get her squirming and blushing rather than crying and shuddering, then he would count it as a win.
Ashe waited, not catching what was wrong with breathing fire. She was scared of the water, not the fire, right? Or was she scared of both? He got the idea Tainteds might be a little too violent in appearance for her, though. She didn't seem as opposed to his other, fluffier, suggestions, so maybe she would think about it.
"You're right... Want to meet her? She's not big enough to eat you. Yet." He couldn't resist! But she did look kind of lonely, swimming around and watching them, in an anthropomorphic kind of way. Ashe knew, from a voice in his head through a ribbon, how little they cared about interaction.
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Post by Nadia on Mar 6, 2020 17:05:22 GMT -6
Nadia couldn't possibly get any redder, but her face was giving it a solid attempt. She'd never had anyone speak to her in that tone before; her confusion and embarrassment were obvious, but she didn't exactly leap out of his grip. Instead, she wiggled a bit and averted her eyes once more, doing her best to regain her dignity.
"Yes, well... I was raised with decorum," She attempted a light tease in return, but it was clear how out of her depth she was. Darn it all! Moments later, Ashe got a pointed look and a jab in the chest with a finger for his jibe. "Very funny indeed, sir. With a bit of luck, she may eat you first."
Her confidence was returning, albeit slowly. At last, she found herself sure enough of her feet to release Ashe and step to the edge of the docks, sitting down on its edge. Hawaii wasn't so big... she had the potential to grow into a terrifying monster, but as it stood, she was a baby. What harm could a baby do to her? Ha, even the friendly Ashe could do more damage, she imagined!
"How many others do you have? I imagine you have your hands full..." The only aquatic creatures she owned were Seryn, and they were easygoing.
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Post by Ashe on Mar 15, 2020 16:53:50 GMT -6
Ah, yes. There it was. The squirm, the attempt to look away, without being truly able to. Shyness was weird like that, the glances away, the glances back. People could only avert their eyes for so long before turning to see if the scary thing was still there. In this case, it was Ashe, and he wasn't going anywhere any time soon.
"Oh, it's quite possible," Ashe replied with a slight shrug. "Kind of surprised I haven't been eaten yet, actually. " With the amount of crazy stunts he did, and the crazy monsters he kept under his wing. "Are you feeling lucky, Miss?" Another tease, and a raise of the eyebrows - though the tone of his voice said it all, if it was too dark to see his expression.
He did let her go when she went to pull away. She must be feeling better (yep, he patted himself on the back for this, no matter how much or how little he had to do with it) for her to go sit down near the Pliathor! Ashe remained standing, deciding to let her interact a little with the baby before he stepped in or anything. He watched the young golden Pliathor swim up to her and stick her head out of the water to investigate. She was small, but her teeth were still sharp - like needles, rather than steak knives. But she made no move to use them on the girl.
"How many other Pliathor? Let's see... Alaska, Charlie, Charlie's kids: Zane, Cezar- oh wait, he's dead. I'm actually reviving him at the temple... Haven and Muck... I also have Acheron, but he's a Ghost Pliathor so he's a bit smaller and way more delicate. That's it for the grown ones, I have a couple adults. A couple Hawaii's size, and a couple even smaller. The babies are in the petting section at the Aquarium." He tallied the count for her and added, "Seven fully grown, if we count Cezar. Two adults. Four younger ones - Five, with Hawaii."
Hawaii: 1 4/5 Ashe: 0 9/10
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Post by Nadia on Mar 16, 2020 16:31:12 GMT -6
Nadia laughed softly to herself, and wiped her cheeks with her sleeve, though most of her tears had dried up already. It felt good, to be able to appreciate a joke. Ashe had done a good job at making her feel grounded, and she at least felt capable of holding a conversation with him now - there wasn't a chance of her running off into the night like she'd been planning.
"Hello, Hawaii," She said to the golden-scaled Pliathor. Was it appropriate to pet her? Would she even appreciate it, being the species that she was? She didn't know, but she leaned down to offer the back of her hand for a sniff anyway. "We got off on the wrong foot. It's a pleasure to meet you."
Maybe she was stretching the truth, to say that meeting a potential sea monster was a pleasure, but she was nothing if not polite, and Hawaii had done nothing to harm her. Yes... there was something quite cute about her, even. All young creatures had that effect on her. It was a blessing and her greatest downfall in one package.
"You definitely should have been eaten already," She responded, looking over her shoulder at Ashe with a grin. "That many... you must have the Devil's own luck. Such a pity."
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Post by Ashe on Mar 26, 2020 16:10:02 GMT -6
By nature, Hawaii didn't have the same investigative curiosity a Vulticus might, that was scent motivated. Instead, Hawaii was more physical. Taking things in her mouth, rubbing her body against something - and perhaps one day, wrapping her body around something. As such, when the hand was offered to her, she bumped it with her nose, exhaled, spraying it with the faint mist of her breath and expelled water, then opened her little jaws to nibble at a finger. Nothing hard, not enough to bleed, and perhaps she could even feel the tiny pink tongue as it licked. A body in the water would be a different story, not much biting space, but a tiny wriggling worm of a finger so close... she had to. Then she ducked down under the water, swam around in a tight circle, and came back up again for more.
Ashe sat next to her, watching the display as they slowly became friends. He reached over and handed Nadia a small piece of meat, letting her offer it to Hawaii if she wanted, to keep her interest and get on her good side.
"Or I'm just that good. Or maybe... I'm the Devil himself. A Pliathor would never dare attack the Devil, after all." He gave a dramatic sigh. "Guess you're just stuck with me for a little while longer."
Hawaii: 2 0/5 Ashe: 1 0/10
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Post by Nadia on Mar 29, 2020 18:43:22 GMT -6
Nadia hadn't really thought about what Ashe had previously said - it took her mind a moment to catch up. One of them was dead? Unfortunate, to be sure... being revived at the temple? She resisted the urge to mutter a prayer. That was a kind of magic, or ritual, that she had never witnessed, though needless to say it must've existed within the boundaries of the region. Her curiosity was fighting to outweigh her sensibility. Did she really want to know?
"You mention a temple," She settled on saying, against her better judgement. "This is a service that can be performed there? Resurrection?"
Hawaii felt different to any of her own pets, and that was a novelty. Nadia smiled and even laughed at the nibbling; how could she have been frightened by the sweet thing? The cuteness of a baby was enough to get her to forget that Pliathor were destined to be enormous sea monsters. The piece of meat was gratefully accepted from Ashe, and she offered it to Hawaii with newfound confidence, placated by what seemed to be an understanding between them.
"Ah, you shouldn't say such a thing," She shook her head, though she was still in a good humour. "I could never believe it. Should you not have attempted to claim my soul by now?"
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Post by Ashe on Jun 28, 2020 16:18:29 GMT -6
"Oh, yes." The words were on the tip of his tongue, ready to tumble out one after the other, about how you take the corpse there, and an undead Izer is obsessed with eyeballs, and the - was he a priest, technically? - talks to you a bit, finds out your goals, and then you get KICKED OUT BEFORE THE FUN STARTS, and when you come back, the beast is alive again. Ashe was dying to know the mechanics, to know if it was magic, a spell, a potion - what was it! But alas, he doubted Nadia wanted to hear any of that, so Ashe just gave a nod. "The priest there can bring things back from the dead. I mean, they look like zombies after, but they're alive. Your pet can be returned to you, whole, even once parted by...death."
It took Hawaii just a moment or two to realize that the girl had actual food in her hands! After that, it was an excited flurry of splashing and tail slapping as Hawaii righted herself and turned to face the girl, waiting for the count of one second, before making an eager lunge for the piece of meat. She may accidentally nip a finger, but she was excited for the treat!
"All things come, to those who wait..." Ashe murmured, quirking an eyebrow and smirking over at her in the moonlight.
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Post by Nadia on Jul 5, 2020 19:05:22 GMT -6
Nadia was quietened by this revelation. Necromancy? She had lived most of her life believing that magic was a thing in storybooks, either extinct or never having existed - there was no true belief in the arcane in her culture. The City was constantly opening her eyes to different walks of life. Though she had not seen any individual exerting their powers, she was more inclined to at least believe in them.
"I... have never heard the like. How very peculiar. I imagine-- ack!" Hawaii's teeth had grazed her fingers and given her a fright, but she smiled and relinquished the piece of meat to her, with no harm done. "Pardon me. I imagine that it takes a great deal of skill, to perform a feat as monumental as resurrection."
She couldn't imagine what it would be like, to see a creature you once loved mutated in death. Living, but frozen in that state of decay - was it really better than saying goodbye to them? Sometimes, death was preferable.
"Now, Ashe. You are a perfectly decent gentleman. It would be improper of you."
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Post by Ashe on Aug 10, 2020 17:16:32 GMT -6
It often slipped Ashe's mind that he was abnormal compared to most people, even in a place like here. He didn't mind the creature's appearance, as long as it was alive. Now, take that back, he would care if it was something closest to him, like Inyala or Dracula. But... He also liked to think, if something happened to Drac, he would be happy enough having his Drac back even if the body looked different. It was tough to call unless you were in this situation, and he had to admit, not being bonded with Cezar had made it more exciting than sad.
He was alarmed at her shout, though he quickly put two and two together. Hawaii must have gotten a little enthusiastic in her quest for food, which Nadia fixed. Hawaii splashed happily, submerging to eat her prize before peeking her head out once more."I bet it does. Spirit, I'd love to be able to do that myself some day... Learn the secrets... Be able to bring peoples' pets back for them like that." And why stop at pets? Why not people? And then... Oh, the possibilities!
"You'd be surprised what proper gentlemen were capable of doing... In the dark... In private..." He let his words hang between them, his tone hinting at things of a more suggestive nature rather than dangerous or threatening. "It's the gentlemen you have to look out for. The openly improper, you know what to expect."
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Post by Nadia on Aug 10, 2020 20:06:40 GMT -6
Nadia found that rather admirable. She, personally, wanted absolutely nothing to do with corpses, or the emotional drain of viewing a person's loved one in death, but was not one to question the desires of others. The world could do as it willed, so long as she could stay a safe distance away from it.
"It would be very admirable. Even more so if you could find a way to do so without... um, the unwanted side effects," She said, grimacing at the thought. At least, zombie features were unwanted in her book. It was hard to imagine anyone who would be unperturbed by such a thing! "I imagine you would need dedication to study it in depth."
The way Ashe spoke to her made her feel... unusual. It was a funny thing - she felt the heat rising in her cheeks again, but could not label the sensation as pure embarrassment or shame. It was more subtle, more persistent, fizzling out at the base of her spine with a tingle.
"Being alone with a gentleman is quite improper, where I'm from--" A pregnant pause. Were they not alone at that moment? No, no. Hawaii counted. Still, she felt foolish. "I... I mean to say. Thank you. For... for spending time with me. I'm sure you're busy."
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