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Post by Silver on Oct 31, 2021 6:30:26 GMT -6
She reached up and put her paws up on their knee. She wanted to be petted now, and she wasn’t about to take no for an answer. She nearly knocked them over, even though she was so small, because they weren’t expecting it. They shifted their weight and grabbed her so that they could guide her into a comfortable place.
“Ah, hey, there’s nowhere to, ah, sit,” they looked around, realizing that if they sat there, they would squish even more lovely flowers. So much for their lesson on the circle of life and the never ending cycle of nature.
They quickly scooped Fee up by tucking their hands under her belly, and in one swift motion managed to stand up and hop away from the flowers before they fell over. They breathed a sigh of relief that everything worked out and looked down at Fee to see that she was still alright.
52 - 12 [133.5; 5.4]
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Post by Silver on Oct 31, 2021 6:31:25 GMT -6
She was clearly startled, and her claws dug into their skin. Again. They winced, but accepted their fate. It was kind of their own fault, after all. They knew kittens had more claws than they knew what to do with. That’s fine, though, they were used to being grabbed and poked by claws, teeth, and horns. It was all just part of the weird, weird world that they now lived in.
“It’s alright, it’s alright,” they said. They gently stroked her fur so that she could relax and (hopefully) retract her claws. She looked around in a panic for a moment, but finally realized that she was fine and she settled in. She gently rubbed her face on their arm, as if to tell them that she was sorry for clawing them. She probably wasn’t actually sorry, though. As far as she was concerned, she hadn't done anything 'wrong'.
53 - 13 [133.55; 5.6]
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Post by Silver on Oct 31, 2021 6:31:53 GMT -6
“Good, good,” they said. Why did they always say everything twice, anyway? They suddenly noticed that they were doing it and felt a bit self conscious. It seemed weird now that they knew they were doing it. They shook their head, trying to shake the doubt out along with it. That was a silly thing to worry about, especially with nobody nearby to hear them.
Silver quietly stroked Fee’s fur and thought about what they would want to do next. They couldn’t help but to stare at her shimmery fur as it rippled under their touch. What an unusual creature she was. They couldn’t wait for her to grow and to learn more about her. That’s right! Before the Koguma showed up, they had begun to sketch some of their ideas.
Silver went back to their sitting rock where their bag and sketch book were resting. They picked up the sketchbook in their spare hand and looked over their sketches.
54 - 14 [133.6; 5.8]
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Post by Silver on Oct 31, 2021 6:32:20 GMT -6
Even with a little bit of blood on the page, they liked what they had come up with. They would have to save the page and see if it worked out like they were expecting.
Back when they met their first creatures here at the labs, they would never have thought they’d turn out the way they did. Well, of course kittens grew into big cats and winged lizards grew into wyverns, but it was more than that. Just as a fuzzy baby chick hardly looked like an adult eagle, some of the creatures around here came with great surprises. In fact, one of their closest companions, a Malii, made a drastic change as they grew into their powers.
Would Fee here be more like a Malii, growing more and more strange features as she grew? Or would she be more like a Mosca with her features growing into a new graceful form? It was hard to tell at this stage, but so far Silver was leaning toward the latter. It was simply more common, though less exciting to think about.
55 - 15 [133.65; 6]
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Post by Silver on Oct 31, 2021 6:33:13 GMT -6
Fee was comfortable and happy for a while, snuggled against the crook of their arms with her eyes closed. It was when they stopped petting her that she finally lifted her head and pointed all three eyes at them. What’s the big idea? She licked her nose pointedly and watched their hand fiddle about with something that was in no way involved in petting her. Rude!
Silver felt her eyes drilling into them and sighed lightly. They stuffed the sketchbook back into their bag and picked it up by the strap. They awkwardly slid it onto their shoulder and finally returned their hand to her back. They rubbed her fur again, smoothing it down after it had been messed up from her brushing against their free arm.
“You really want to snuggle, don’t you?” Silver said. They would never call a creature needy right to its face, but she was demanding a lot of attention.
56 - 1 [133.7; 6.2]
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Post by Silver on Oct 31, 2021 6:34:06 GMT -6
And food. It made them wonder why that might be. Did she not feel well? Was she just, well… like this? They weren’t sure yet, but they were sure that if they stuck together, they’d eventually figure it out.
Quin was still watching from above, occasionally glancing down at Silver to make sure that they were still safe. It was funny, in a way, that he was always looking out for them like that. After all, it was Quin who was the tiny little dragon who needed rescuing from the wilds. He did a good job of keeping his master safe, though. Even if they didn’t always appreciate it.
“Alright then, if you’re gonna stay stuck to me like this, then the least I could do is show you around the garden,” Silver said. Did they really think that's what she wanted, or did were they just feeling antsy? Only time would tell.
57 - 2 [133.75; 6.4]
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Post by Silver on Oct 31, 2021 6:34:34 GMT -6
It was the only thing they could think of to do which also allowed them to keep one (or both) of their hands on her. It would be very hard to pull weeds and water plants with her always grabbing at them like she had been. Perhaps it was a bit ambitious of them to think they’d get anything done while she was around. That’s okay, though, they weren’t mad. There was plenty of time to garden on another day.
Just as they said that, a friend of theirs came into view. A huge Dragon Oak known as Kenru. He had heard them talking and lazily wandered over to see what was happening. The autumn air made him sleepy, so he wasn’t particularly energetic at that moment.
“Ah, perfect,” they said. “Fee, meet Kenru. Kenru is a Dragon Oak. Normally, they’re about this tall,” Silver indicated a height near their midsection.
58 - 3 [133.8; 6.6]
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Post by Silver on Oct 31, 2021 6:34:57 GMT -6
“Kenru, though, he’s really big. As you can see. I’m not sure why he’s that way, actually. Must be a secret.”
Silver often had unusual creatures around. They no longer spent time trying to figure out why things like that happened. It was like they were a magnet for weirdness. By now, they had chosen to embrace it. All manner of weird things were welcome as far as they were concerned. Even if they did breathe fire and sometimes burn down trees that they really liked!
Despite his size, Kenru was a gentle creature. In a way, he was like a protector of all the other creatures in the garden. He chased off weird monsters, though sometimes he didn’t do a very good job when it came to wandering Koguma and such. Perhaps he just didn’t see them as that much of a threat. Surely if anything truly dangerous came around, he’d change his mind.
59 - 4 [133.85; 6.8]
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Post by Silver on Oct 31, 2021 6:35:56 GMT -6
“Kenru, this is my new friend, Fee,” Silver held up Fee so that Kenru could get a better look at her. Fee did not like this at all, and immediately the fur on her back puffed up. She sunk her claws into Silver’s arm again, causing them to flinch and pull her away from Kenru’s line of sight. Kenru simply titled his head, wondering why Silver had such a strange reaction to seeing him.
“Sorry, Fee, I know he’s scary, but I don’t think he wants to hurt you,” they said. They rubbed their arm where her claws dug in, using a tiny bit of sparkling healing magic to stop the pinholes from bleeding.
Fee still looked pretty uncomfortable, so Silver turned away to shield her from the ‘threat’. “Sorry Kenru,” Silver said softly. “I think we’ll have to keep going, but... you keep doing… whatever it is you’re doing.”
60 - 5 [133.9; 7]
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Post by Silver on Oct 31, 2021 6:36:31 GMT -6
Silver touched Kenru gently, then turned to walk away from him. He was a pretty passive creature, so he didn’t seem to mind much. It wasn’t time to play, he understood. Why? Well that was a mystery, but honestly all things that people did were a mystery to him. He tended not to dwell on it. Instead, he went back on patrol, making sure everyone was in the right place and looked safe.
“Do you want to meet someone smaller, maybe? Less intimidating?” Silver mused aloud. They knew that Fee wouldn’t have anything to say on the matter, but they wanted to make the offer anyway. There had to be something worth showing her around there.
There were more Dragon Oaks, of course, and they could see one of Cepe’s footprints in the dirt. If she was afraid of Kenru, well she’d definitely not get along with Cepe. Someone smaller, maybe? Like Strix or Friska, maybe? Oh! They had a great idea.
61 - 6 [133.95; 7.2]
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Post by Silver on Oct 31, 2021 6:36:51 GMT -6
They would find Conifer. She was so sweet, and surely her big innocent eyes were enough to charm any heart. As Silver went looking for Conifer, their King of the Evergreen, they instead came across a sweet little creature known as Kigo. Well, it wasn’t who they had in mind, but it actually worked out. Kigo was so tiny and cute, there’s no way that Fee would think he was a threat. Right?
“Kigo, c’mere Kigo,” Silver cooed. Kigo yawned widely and looked up at them. What did they want? He swished his tail idly behind him, happy to see someone he knew and liked. “Kigo, this is my new friend, Fee. Fee, this is Kigo. Kigo is a Spriteling Sapling. I got him from my other friend, Alura. Isn’t he cute?”
“In the autumn, his fur turns from green to brown and gold, just like the trees. Isn’t that cute? In the springtime, he will grow little flowers, and if you’re very nice to him, he might just give you one.”
62 - 7 [134; 7.4]
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Post by Silver on Oct 31, 2021 6:38:19 GMT -6
“And no, before you ask, I don’t think they taste very good,” they said. They went on like that for a few minutes, telling the two of them facts about one another. It was both a way for them to get a better understanding of Fee, by talking about her aloud (though nobody was listening), and a way for the two of them to bond with her.
Even creatures that would never be able to understand them still liked to be talked to. Either that, or they only made friends with creatures who were willing to tolerate it. They figured that they might as well keep at it, since it had worked so well so far. It was the way that people usually communicated, and they did think that creatures understood that, even if they were only listening for the right tone. Come to think of it, creatures usually made noise at them in return. That had to mean they understood, right?
63 - 8 [134.05; 7.6]
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Post by Silver on Oct 31, 2021 6:39:25 GMT -6
It took them entirely too long to notice that Fee had fallen asleep in their arms. By the time they looked down again to gauge her reaction, they could see that her eyes were closed and her slow, steady breaths gave her away. She had actually fallen asleep! They would be insulted, but they knew that she wasn’t listening anyway. They were just glad that she felt safe enough to attempt a nap while they were around. As weird as it was, that was actually a good sign.
“Alright then, nap time it is,” they said. They yawned even thinking about it. Perhaps they were more tired than they thought they were. Silver wandered over to one of their favorite places to sit and plonked themselves down into the grass with their back against an old log for support. It felt nice to rest, even if what they had been doing wasn't that strenuous.
64 - 9 [134.1; 7.8]
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Post by Silver on Oct 31, 2021 6:39:46 GMT -6
“It’s been nice getting to know you, Fee,” Silver said. Though she was still quite a mystery, they did think they had learned something today. Or perhaps she had learned something about them, which was just as important. More than anything, they just wanted her to feel safe, and they took her silent little snores as evidence that they did just that.
Very carefully and deliberately, Silver shifted their weight so that they could rest Fee on a mossy patch on the stump in front of them. She shifted her weight a few times, looking like she might just wake up, but she didn’t. They breathed a sigh of relief and shook out their arm. It had started to feel funny from being bent up holding her still for so long.
Once again, Silver pulled out their sketchbook and some charcoal. They made a few more sketches, inspired by things they had seen since they started wandering the garden. On one, they drew little insect-like wings on the ‘adult’ Tailypo. No, that didn’t feel right. Next, they tried a mane, inspired by Kigo’s. Well that didn’t look so bad, but they also didn’t really think it fit. In the end, they supposed they would just have to wait and see.
65 - 10 [134.15; 8]
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Post by Nadia on Oct 31, 2021 8:30:44 GMT -6
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