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Post by Flare on May 3, 2020 17:32:06 GMT -6
This time, the snake turned her attention to the rakai at his side. The maw split apart and curled away from not only two but many white root fangs, hissing in irritation before snapping the maw shut. 'SILENCE, BEAST. YOU ARE AN INTRUDER IN MY GROVE-' {Shabh, no.} The humanish's voice comes through the sound, stern. Shabh stops howling, but his hackles are still raised, and his teeth bared. Growling. My alpha. Not yours. {Stay put. Watch the puppy.} He nods to the plopped houlou at their feet, who is surprisingly unafraid of the giant snake, but growling cutely at her too. I can do that too! His attention turns back to the snake. {Shabh is my companion, he is still young} 'I'M NOT A SAPLING, HUMAN-ANIMAL. THE BEASTS PACK INSTINCTS WILL DRIVE HIM TO PROTECT THE PACK, BEING YOU.' Well that made a lot of sense. 'BUT ONLY YOU, AND PERHAPS THE BEAST CHILD. HE WILL NEVER PROTECT ONE WHO IS NOT OF THE PACK.' Such great words of wisdom, he thinks belatedly. {We are wasting each others time with words, Mother Tree. Please stop destroying the goat-animal's garden.} he finally gets out. {Desceitful she might be, but my own instinct tells me she won't stop asking for others to help stop you or your kin.} 28 x.20
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Post by Flare on May 3, 2020 17:44:04 GMT -6
{I will not stand in the middle of a territory war between your kin and the goat-animal.} Flare tells the great snake. {I am not willing to stand by and watch you two destroy the city in a... silly turf scuff.} The orange eyes blink, blink again, then the snake's face is right in his own. The maw is slightly open and he can see the lines on the white fangs. 'ARE YOU MOCKING ME, CHILD OF SAND AND EARTH.' she sneers, the smell of earth wafting over him. Earth and fertilizer smell, like decayed fish. Its enough to make the ends of his stringy mane curl slightly. 'BE CAREFUL OF WHAT YOU SPEAK; BLESSED BY THE EARTH YOU MAY BE, BUT I AM NOT SO BENEVOLENT AS TO LET A SMART MOUTH HUMAN-ANIMAL ESCAPE MY GROVE WITH THEIR HEAD.' {If I was mocking you, Mother Tree, I would not be still standing here.} he says to her, completely impassive. {You would have eaten me the first time I stepped into your forest, and proceeded to eat the goat-animal for her mockery of all tree kin with those bonsai.} He was right. {Your turf scuff is meaningless and a very humanoid thing to do. A great and powerful tree such as yourself would be above such a trivial thing?} He has to keep talking. His command is reluctantly keeping Shabh sitting there, trapping the houlou between his legs, who isn't happy about it at all. 29 x.20
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Post by Flare on May 3, 2020 18:05:35 GMT -6
{Before you say that she started it, great Mother Tree, would you have reacted this way if she had not stolen from you previously?} Its hard to gauge the emotional state of a snake, much less a giant tree snake. Where nostrils would be, the knots seem to expand as another powerfully earthy waft exhales over him again. The eyes narrow and the head withdraws, just a bit. Farther away now. 'AS THAT DID NOT HAPPEN, I DO NOT HAVE AN ANSWER FOR THAT QUESTION, HUMAN-ANIMAL.' the snake finally responded. 'BUT YOUR POINT OF THIS ...TURF WAR... IS TRUE. IT IS BENEATH "ME". I DO NOT CONTROL THE WILL OF MY KIN THOUGH. THE OAKS GO INTO SEED THIS TIME OF YEAR AND BECOME INNUMERABLY MORE VIOLENT.' {That sounds very much like an excuse.} 'WE ARE UNABLE TO LIE, YOU EMOTIONALLY STUNTED HUMAN-ANIMAL. HAVEN'T YOU GLEANED THAT THROUGH YOUR PAPERBARK THIN SKULL.' the snake spat angrily at him. 'IT IS TRUTH THAT THE OAKS ARE MORE VIOLENT IN THIS TIME OF SEASON.' He must've hit a nerve of calling the tree snake a liar. 'IT IS THE GOAT-ANIMAL WHO WILL DECIDE IF THE KIN ARE STILL VIOLENT ENOUGH TO ACT IN MY PRESENCE OR NOT ON HER. NOW LEAVE.' Before they could move, the forest darkens further then any nightvision can pierce, even Shabh can't see. The puppy cries in his grip, and... 30 x.20 6/13 38/46 -fin-
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