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Post by Xentus on Dec 12, 2020 8:50:04 GMT -6
Immediately as he entered, his senses were assaulted by various sights and scents. Firstly, though, was the distinct warmth within. A comforting, soothing warmth which he could bask in for some time to defrost his chilled bones. The golem next to him seemed more than ready to provide additional heat should its master call for it, elemental pores flexing on the creature's body. Next thing of note was the grand foyer, lavishly decorated with dazzling string lights. Not only that, but an enormous evergreen tree of sorts was erected (grown, even?) in the center, spiraled with lights, baubles, and ornaments. At its top was a brightly glowing star and at its bottom was a plush rug skirted with various decorations depicting galabex, candy canes, and snowmen. And finally, it smelled oh so delightful in here.. His nose picked up on warm apple cider.. Hot chocolate.. Freshly baked gingerbread.. Cinnamon spice.
Dec - 17
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Post by Xentus on Dec 12, 2020 8:54:38 GMT -6
It was almost too lavish. Despite being so cold still, it was incredibly homely within the manor. It was almost a sensory overload for the mammalian.. He needed a moment to soak it in and process. His sensitive nose especially. The man sauntered over to a plush looking lounge chair and seated himself atop it, soon followed by his golem companion. It waddled to his feet on three limbs, looking up at him with what seemed to be a mix of worry and concern. Did it remember what happened the last time his senses were overloaded like this, perhaps? The man quietly assured the creature, murmuring gently in an attempt to calm it. Then, he picked it up to set it on the seat beside him.
"This one is still chilled.. Produce flame", he said to it plainly, hoping it would understand what he wanted of it. Thankfully, the golem seemed to be prepared for this moment. It only needed the affirmation from the tone of his voice.
Dec - 18
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Post by Xentus on Dec 12, 2020 9:00:45 GMT -6
The elemental being spouted fire from one of its opened pores, gently leaking out warmth from its interior. Xentus rubbed his hands near his personal campfire, slowly warming up his frigid fingers. He didn't mind taking his exploration of this place slowly.. He knew he'd get lost within the chambers and spend time uncounted trying to find his way back out. So taking a short rest right at the entry was perfectly find. No rush. The leopard sighed as feeling returned to the tips of his fingers. Glancing around, he wasn't sure what to make of the decor of the mansion this visit. His culture had no such tradition of placing entire trees indoors. It was the strangest houseplant choice he's ever seen. Obviously a seasonal choice, but what exactly prompted one to place a tree within their home? And not only that, but to decorate it so lavishly? How odd.
Dec - 19
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Post by Xentus on Dec 12, 2020 9:06:04 GMT -6
The culture about this city was.. Odd a lot of the time. A couple months ago, there was that twisted celebration of the dead, Vai Min Mur, which somehow prompted others to dress up in strange costumes and there was something about candy.. And now there were trees indoors. Despite wanting to be immersed in the city's customs, it was difficult at times. Perhaps he thought too much about it. Carelessly, the leopard let his fingers stray too close to the golem's flames, lightly searing his hand on the licking fire. A wince and a lowly audible curse escaped him, prompting the golem to close its pore and nudge the man gently, as if to apologize. He looked gently down at the creature and pet its hardened shell-head.
"Lost in thought. Xentus apologizes, little one", he murmured to it, withdrawing his hand to rub the light burn. Nothing serious, just a show of carelessness.
Dec - 20
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Post by Xentus on Dec 12, 2020 9:10:50 GMT -6
After allowing himself a few minutes to warm up (and burn himself), the leopard stood up, feeling revitalized enough to begin quelling his wanderlust and exploring the place. The only question now was - where to? There was a grand staircase leading up to the second floor, and long halls flanking either side to the left and right. There wasn't anything in particular he was aiming to find or search for either, which didn't help his decision making. In the end, it wasn't like it mattered much. The layout of the mansion was even more fickle than his thoughts, changing on whatever whim it felt at that particular moment. The leopard's mullings were distracted by the chime of a bell sounding from the left. And being the curious feline that he was, he felt the urge to chase after it. He beckoned for the golem to follow close after him, not that it needed any such thing.
Dec - 21
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Post by Xentus on Dec 12, 2020 9:14:59 GMT -6
The golem stayed right beside its beloved bonded one, ready to serve him at a moment's notice. Even though it couldn't do much at this stage in its life, it would do whatever its one desired of it to the best of its ability. At the moment, Xentus only needed it to keep up. Its little tripod-stanced self plodded along quickly for its size, keeping in pace with the leopard's long strides. It cared not for the bell which summoned the man. As the leopard turned down an adjoining hallway following the sound, it did too. As long as nothing came to harm its master, it remained in this passive follow-mode. Suited Xentus just fine. He didn't need to check over his shoulder to make sure it was keeping up with him. Any other animal would most certainly would've found something of interest and skittered off on its own by now.
Dec - 22
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Post by Xentus on Dec 12, 2020 9:20:31 GMT -6
This reliability was one of the better charms of the golems, he had to admit. No fuss about whether or not it liked him. No needing to ponder upon what it needed or what it wanted at any particular time. No need to feed it treats to slowly worm his way into its heart. Just pure loyalty and obedience. Sometimes they struck him as robotic, yes, which was one of the trade-offs for having an utmost loyal companion, he supposed. And yes, they seemed to lack much personality of their own.. But such aspects bothered him little. Their quirks balanced out with the need to spend so much time bonding with them to have them grow strong enough to fuse. But at least he didn't need to clean up their poop, which was definitely one of the biggest wins. Out of habit, the leopard glanced down to his side to make sure the fire walker was keeping up with him just fine.
Dec - 23
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Post by Xentus on Dec 12, 2020 9:25:39 GMT -6
And there it was, trotting in its odd tri-legged fashion. Excellent. Now, where was he going.. The man's pointed ears flicked toward the direction he last heard the bell chime. Through one of these doors. He passed by an archway leading to a study, then there were a set of two doors just further down the hall. The chime ceased sounding now that he felt that he was getting close. The man's blue eyes flicked between his choices. There wasn't much to discern from the elegant looking wooden doors. They were identical, as aside from the mirrored knobs. After musing on it for another second, he decided to open the door on the left. The hinges creaked as he pushed into the room, revealing an interior that smelled absolutely wonderful. The scent of fresh baked gingerbread. But aside from the scent was the way this room looked. The wooden floor.. Wasn't quite what it seemed.
Dec - 24
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Post by Xentus on Dec 12, 2020 9:29:55 GMT -6
Was that.. Gingerbread? The leopard's brow raised as he tentatively stepped forward, feeling the texture beneath his padded foot. It most certainly wasn't lacquered wood anymore. Actually, looking at it now, anything that would normally be wooden in here seemed to be made of cookie instead. What was supposed to be (or so he though) a bedroom was a mix of cookie, frosting, and gumdrop decor. Mixed with seemingly real items like books upon the shelves. Perplexed, Xentus wandered further within, trying to make sense about this choice of interior design. And desperately fighting off the urge to take a bite out of the bedpost. Though.. Certainly nobody would notice if there were a bitemark or two left here and there. The golem wouldn't tell a soul of his deeds. And unless someone else happened to be watching.. A nervous glance was cast behind himself just to make sure he wasn't unwittingly tailed.
Dec -25
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Post by Xentus on Dec 12, 2020 10:01:47 GMT -6
The coast was clear. Feeling rather rambunctious, the leopard made his way to the bedpost and gave it a sniff. Smelled like gingerbread. Looked like gingerbread. His jaws opened only wide enough to let his canine teeth pierce the furniture fixture. And upon biting down, he did reveal that, yes, this was in face truly gingerbread. Now, if he had a greater appetite for sweets and baked goods, he might've indulged himself further. But, that was about as far as his curiosity took him. Satisfied, the man turned away from the bed to look about the other items in the room. There were string lights roped about the walls, which seemed to be liquorish and glowing gumdrops upon closer inspection. How magical. Deciding to indulge himself with more childish misbehavior, the leopard reached above the cookie dresser and pulled a gumdrop from its place on the wall. The golem looked on indifferently.
Dec - 26
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Post by Xentus on Dec 12, 2020 10:07:30 GMT -6
A sticky strand of slightly melted candy stretched between the plucked piece and the wall, and once broken, the gumdrop seemed to lose its internal glow. How curious. The leopard twirled the stringy bits up onto the wad and popped the entire affair into his maw. The sugary mass glued between his teeth. It was strawberry flavored. Tasty, though a little too sticky for the leopard's preference in sweets. Chocolates were where it was at. Unfortunately for him, there seemed to be a distinct lack of chocolate about this cookie-candy bedroom. And a distinct lack of chiming bells. That was the whole reason why he even wandered this way. A hum escaped the leopard's throat. He supposed his curiosity was sated for this area. It was almost a shame that the golem had no interest in normal foods, otherwise he'd spend a moment longer in this place trying to see what the creature might like in terms of sweets.
Dec - 27
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Post by Xentus on Dec 12, 2020 10:13:17 GMT -6
Perhaps whenever he visited this place with the little ling would he get such a chance. Such a creature seemed like it would be enthralled by sweets. But, with nothing of further interest here, the mammalian turned back and headed out the open door, elemental golem following closely after. Now, what was beyond the right door? While at first he was looking forward to seeing whatever oddity lurked beyond, the frosted doorknob wasn't very enticing. It chilled his recently warmed fingers, making him retract his hand for a moment. Did this one lead outside..? The man's brow furrowed as he tried to envision the floorplan. They were supposed to not only be encased by walls on any side, but there was also the second story to consider. Ah, he couldn't think about it too hard. The manor was unreasonable, and trying to fashion any kind of sense out of it was a recipe for headache.
Dec - 28
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Post by Xentus on Dec 12, 2020 10:20:13 GMT -6
With a sigh, the leopard prepared himself for a walk back into the frigid cold. The golem beside him seemed to ready itself to make a new flame for the man, sensing his distaste for the bite of winter. The cold knob was twisted and the door pushed forward to reveal.. A darkened path, lit with rings upon rings of dotted lights to make a tunnel. Stars twinkled impossibly where there should've been a ceiling. The leopard blinked and tried to remind himself to not think too hard about it. What was this anyway? Some kind of passageway? Shortcut, even? Tentatively, the man and walker wandered within, and the door closed itself behind them. An almost uttered 'hey!' nearly escaped the leopard, but as before he was able to turn to reach for the doorknob, the entire fixture was gone from sight. Vanished. Nothing was behind him aside from further tunneling light into the darkness.
Dec - 29
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Post by Xentus on Dec 12, 2020 10:24:50 GMT -6
It was cold. Dark(ish). And now he didn't even know how to escape this. An annoyed growl bubbled in the man's throat, sparking the golem beside him to fire up its internal flames in solidarity. There was no use in growing upset with the trickery of the mansion, but even the normally placid leopard had limits in his capacity for mind games such as this. The growl petered out into a defeated sigh. There was nowhere to go but forward. Or backward. Either direction would hopefully bring him somewhere that wasn't so cold. And then, the chime sounded again. He.. Would still follow it. It sounded in the direction he was faced upon entering, and so he began his walk toward it. The golem stayed near with its lit flames to help warm its master, careful to not singe him once again. The man was thankful to have brought a source of warmth with him at least.
Dec - 30
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Post by Xentus on Dec 12, 2020 13:33:54 GMT -6
Where he was going and what he was following was a mystery. At least the journey was an interesting sight for his eyes. The string light lit tunnel shifted its colors to an unheard beat, pulsating and changing hues in an almost magical manner. And within the darkness beyond the tunneled path, he could see other lights dancing about as well. Some were free floating, hovering in the air and flitting about as they pleased. Others were in the outlines of various festive shapes such as snowmen and gingerbread men. If not for the unbearable cold, he actually might've enjoyed his walk through the twisted path. But his exposed feet were chilled, his face was starting to sting, and he dared not remove his hands from his pockets. The fire golem tried its best to provide the man with some form of warmth, but its flames were muted so not to inadvertently cause its beloved bonded one harm.
Dec - 31
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