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Post by Xentus on Jul 31, 2020 12:38:11 GMT -6
The fate of the remaining two eggs would be left to his jurisdiction. And so he judged them, condemned to become part of his omelette. That was enough help by the golems for the time being. He would need to find an easier task that the might be asked to do. Something like move a rock from point A to point B. The simple creatures weren't designed for such mundane tasks though.. They were meant to be used as a way to control the elements. As an arcane 'pet'. A loyal, undying, life given element. He'd need to teach a golem how to use its elements, how to defend itself.. How to defend him.
Of course.. He looked over at the golem trio at their current state. Nearly immobile and helpless. They didn't even have any control over their respective elements yet. Any training in that regard wasn't an option for right now. And sure, he could them them the basic things like their names.. But their names weren't exactly creative at this point. Each seedling was tagged with a number and letter. They weren't the final form of what he wanted to create with them. Considering that, he wasn't feeling too guilty over not teaching them. He'd have to do it again, and again, and again.. No, he wasn't going to do that. He was patient, sure, but he wasn't insane.
The leopard finished whipping up his eggs and seasoned them with a simple pinch of salt and pepper. Now time to get cooking.
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Post by Xentus on Jul 31, 2020 12:49:46 GMT -6
The eggs came to life with soft bubbling as he poured them into the pan. The bacon was smelling delightful as well.. Breakfast would be ready soon! He hadn't realized how hungry he was until the last few aching minutes before he could finally eat. The seedling golems seemed to pick up on his mix of eagerness and hunger, tentatively clattering as if to cheer him on. He turned around and smiled warmly at them, which seemed to do the trick at hushing the creatures. He appreciated their concern, but he didn't need them to worry! He was just getting ahead of himself, nothing unusual.
The cheese was added to the omelette, then the whole affair was folded in half. It was coming together nicely. He'd let that go for a few more seconds while he prepared to pull the bacon. Ah but he needed a plate.. And a place to store the bacon fat. It would be a shame to let those drippings to go to waste. While he danced about the kitchen, the seedlings watched attentively. Their inner seeds tracked his movements. It might even be unnerving to the extent that they held their focus on him.. But he paid no mind to them. He was fairly used to it by now in any case. Their behavior was strange, be he likened it to robots, which made it a bit easier for him to wrap his head around.
A few more minutes passed, and finally, breakfast was served.
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Post by Xentus on Jul 31, 2020 12:59:36 GMT -6
After plating it all up, it really didn't look like much. But it made for a meal, one that he couldn't complain about. Except that maybe he wished that he stuffed the omelette with bacon.. But he'd make due, shoveling forkfuls of egg topped with crunchy bits of bacon into his mouth. The cheese oozed and the bacon snapped and it was all a very delightful mix of texture, saltiness, and flavor. And after getting a few bites in, he realized he'd completely forgotten tea! The leopard frowned a bit, slowly chewing another bite as his eyes perused the kitchen. Brewing tea now would make the drink completely off timing with the rest of his breakfast. And yes, he was going to be picky about that. What would be the point if he had his tea after he already finished?
Plain ol' water would do for now. As much as he didn't want to go with that option. His eyes hovered over the golem seedlings once more. Earth, wind.. And water.
"Xentus wouldn't suppose his dear blue seedling is able to quench his thirst, no?", he questioned with a pout, unwilling to move from his seat. The seedling stared back into his pleading blue eyes, seeming to be unsure of what to make of his words. It extended a tentacle toward him then flailed a little bit, trying to fulfill whatever it was its master desired of it. But it wasn't enough. The leopard sighed, an appreciative smile on his face. Still too young, yet very eager all the same.
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Post by Xentus on Jul 31, 2020 13:07:16 GMT -6
Unfortunately for him, he would have to abandon his post before his golems and food and brave the kitchen in search of drink to quench his thirst. Nothing else could be done about it. He sighed, and went off to get himself a glass. Now would be an excellent time for him to have one of those new droids. Some kind of butler to keep at home and manage chores. He wasn't sure how much different they were from TRODs, but he could only imagine that their functionality was much more limited. He only heard a few ads about them over the radio. They were certainly interesting in concept.. But he felt that Xio was enough for him for now. Moments like these certainly did fuel his latent desire though..
It wasn't long before the leopard was re-seated before his meal, taking small sips of water on the journey back. Breakfast could be such dramatic time of day. He smirked and resumed his meal. That is, it could be if one desired to make it so. It seemed to be the most susceptible to 'fun' little happenings. Blue eyes hovered over the golems as he finished his plate. They were little lumps of mystery and chaos. He loved that, truly. He lived for excitement, and even if these creatures weren't completely the most exciting yet, he had a good feeling that they would be. He wished to tame the elements. To become the mater of all which made the natural world.
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Post by Xentus on Jul 31, 2020 13:17:26 GMT -6
... Even if it was through primarily artificial means. It would accomplish the goal all the same. When he turned his attention toward the greatness he could accomplish by growing and nurturing these beings, he felt rather mixed about the whole idea. But the thrill and possibility was much too tantalizing to ignore. Ah, there he went convincing himself he was doing something that wouldn't bring his morals under question. The last few bites of omelette were slow and thoughtful. But as the last forkful vanished into his mouth, he solidified himself on a conclusion: life was much too short to doubt one's efforts. Even if morality was challenged, one could grow in unexpected ways. To become more humble and steady their grounds. Or to fall down a dark, slippery path, perhaps. Ah who knew?
He did not. Still, he would continue all the same, fueled by curiosity of the unknown. Dangerous curiosity. He would do his best to not be led astray.
Now that his first order of business was checked off the list for the morning, it was time to actually start his day. There were groceries to get and some other things.. Which he wrote down, because he knew he would forget. And he would worry about it later in any case. He put away the soiled dishes and gathered the seedlings into their travel bag. The trio seemed content enough, especially now that his belly was mostly full. With golems nested nicely and satchel slung over his shoulder, it was time to head out.
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Post by Xentus on Jul 31, 2020 15:17:10 GMT -6
Normally, it would be Xio's job to run errands and fetch whatever it was he needed. The droid had plenty of word to do in the menagerie hold, however. It seldom had a break where it could have some leisure time simply playing with the animals and keeping them entertained. Unless he himself decided to take some time to do some upkeep. Aeternum, as he called his collection, featured many a creature aside from the ones he kept at home.. Usually the ones that were too big to keep around in his little cottage. But also the ones that had special needs, like pools of water for the aquatics and space to roost for the avians. He was looking into owning some larger plot of land and keep some of his beasts a little closer by..
Such a thing meant truly settling down, however. He was fond of this place, but he mostly saw it as a stepping stone for whatever adventure awaited him beyond. At the same time.. He'd amassed such a collection of marvelous beasts that he couldn't really bring himself to part with any of them so that he might roam freely once more. Such a dilemma.
His eyes hovered over the open top of his travel bag, meeting the glistening seeds staring back. He did like it here though. He liked rearing animals and seeing what potential they might hold. Like these golem seedlings.. He was happy with his life as it currently stood. Perhaps settling down wouldn't be an awful idea.
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Post by Xentus on Jul 31, 2020 15:25:14 GMT -6
He was old enough to. There was plenty of reason to. And he liked the city. Its strange culture was one he felt he was well integrated into. The cravings of his wanderlust were sated whenever he found a new thing to explore or participate in. And.. If he really wanted to take up traveling again, there wasn't really anything that kept him from taking his beloved creatures with him. Maybe not all of them, but at least the few that he'd bonded the most with. And the ones that couldn't come could still be taken care of by Xio..
The leopard found himself lost in thought again. It was a terrible feeling to be torn by the impending urge to leave. He could never fight it for long. Family and friends were left far behind simply for the lust to know. To wander. To seek that which lay trapped beyond the boundaries set around him. He never found motivation that overtook wanderlust. But perhaps.. Just perhaps rearing these strange and wonderful creatures would finally allow him to overcome that. A clawed hand reached down into the bag, petting the rocky surface of one of the seedlings. For now, he couldn't picture himself abandoning his quest in growing these being. Much less abandoning any other of his creatures. He chuckled and smiled. At least for now.
--
The walk to the grocery store was a short one. Thinking about life passed the time well. He entered the building, eyes perusing the various papers posted on the windows advertising sales as he passed.
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Post by Xentus on Jul 31, 2020 15:33:45 GMT -6
One of the nice things about this strange city was that the denizens didn't mind the presence of small, well managed creatures in establishments such as this. His golems went completely unnoticed. Most people knew better than to take their giant winged lizards or oversized flaming horses into these kinds of places anyway, but that sure wouldn't prevent them from riding them here and leaving them posted outside. He passed by a giant vulticus that lazily eyed him just a few feet away from the entry. It wasn't intimidating, but it was on the verge of unnerving to know such a beast could likely kill a few men if it were angered.
Thankfully, most people tamed and trained their pets well enough that they didn't cause any trouble. Sometimes, it was odd considering what kind of terrifying beasts the average person was allowed to keep in their care. His own keep, if he trained them all, could probably overtake villages on a whim if he so desired. Law enforcement had to keep on their toes for any miscreants looking to stir up trouble. What would police have to subdue the baddies? Seekers? PHIL? Giant seekers and PHIL. That sounded right.
As the leopard wandered his mind, his feet took him through the aisles. His arms reached out for the handful of groceries he needed and didn't, and placed them in the cart he found himself in possession of. It wasn't until he slung the travel bag into the cart that he realized how much he'd been daydreaming. He blinked, snapping back to reality and losing his train of thought.
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Post by Xentus on Jul 31, 2020 15:43:16 GMT -6
Alright, so he knew he needed more breakfast food. Chicken liver and sausage especially. Maybe some potatoes.. Snacks too, he was low on murp jerky. The leopard's mind now shifted direction, perusing a mental shopping list of various goodies he wanted to keep at home. Most of his diet consisted of meat, but he wasn't opposed to veggies and the like. Being a wanderer, he couldn't afford to be picky in his tastes. Sure, he had favorites, but his palate accepted a wide variety of tastes.
"What do the seedlings think? Chips or nuts?", he asked as he perused snack options, holding a package of the two choices before the trio in the cart. Water and earth reached for the chips and nuts respectively, so it was up to wind in the middle to decide. It reached for the nuts. And so the choice was made.
"A healthy choice that Xentus definitely does not oppose", he chuckled and settled the bag in the cart. Part of him did want the snap of crispy chips to snack on.. But he played fair and let what fate decided to be the final word. Crunchy walnut and pecan mix. The mammalian passed by a few other things that caught his eye, including spiced sausage that reminded him of home.. He could ways make something of that ilk himself though. Ah, spices! He nearly forgot. By the end of the shopping trip, his cart was a bit more full than he anticipated. Getting this back home wouldn't be fun.
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Post by Xentus on Jul 31, 2020 16:17:36 GMT -6
He sighed, thinking about hiring a wagon to transport it all for him. It was cheap, sure, but a little added expense that he didn't really want to splurge on. Considering he had a couple more stops to make.. It was the choice he was going with. He made a mention of having a delivery made for him to the cashier, who rung it up accordingly. Most days he wouldn't grab more than what he needed for the rest of the week, but he was feeling rather snacky. The breakfast wasn't quite enough to prevent him from grabbing a few extras.
The ease of shopping for food made it so easy to spoil himself. It's what grocery stores like this wanted. He supposed he didn't mind too much. Just another step in him becoming more comfortable with settling down and living here. He paid for the items and delivery and left the attendant to the rest of the work. He was assured it would arrive to his cottage in about half an hour. Plenty of time to make a stop by the keep and check on Xio. He hadn't checked the rest of the supplies kept there in a few days. The seedlings seemed like that wouldn't mind anyway. He'd be able to put them down and let them squirm a bit.
Xentus left just in time to watch the owner of the large vulticus saddle up and ride away. Hm. He should train his own wolf-beast for that. Admittedly, he was a little jealous..
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Post by Xentus on Jul 31, 2020 18:28:30 GMT -6
Then again, his favored kind of mount were the flighted ones. Wiurn, alurook, vespa (eventually).. He even had a trio of wiurn half-bloods that would make excellent flighted companions. Unfortunately for him though, none of his choice mounts were seen as commonplace or 'friendly' for most trafficked environments. They were all big and cumbersome on land too, with the exception of Nazura and the half-bloods. The flaming wiurn wasn't exactly friendly, nor would it be seen as socially acceptable to ride around. His progeny, Faye, might be a suitable candidate. She had licks of flames about her wings, but was a lot less threatening than her father. But also still not the most friendly.
A giant fluffy vulticus though? Nobody would really bat an eye at a pup. He could also opt for taming his stallion, Kiev.. Common equillion were fairly mundane to see, easy enough to train, and friendly looking. The only drawback was the lack of thrill from riding atop such a boring mount. He could peruse his options at the kennel lot and solidify his choice. His wiurns still did need some work, which he would ideally start toward after this golem endeavor..
Before long, the mammalian man arrived at his designated creature hold. Aeternum. The sounds and smells of the lots were nothing to be proud of, but the creatures within certainly were. A clawed hand fished around inside the travel bag with the golems in search of the key. The oddly textured pseudopods of the trio groped his hand as he prodded about. It tickled.
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Post by Xentus on Jul 31, 2020 19:26:07 GMT -6
The key was in here somewhere.. And the golems did not make it any easier to find it. The man sighed and opted to remove the egg-like creatures from the travel bag. Not like they could manage to get themselves into any trouble. With the seedlings gone, he found the key and slotted it into the heavy metal door, which groaned as it slid open. The barn-like building was well ventilated, but that didn't keep the smell of zoo from wafting out. It bothered Xentus none. It only meant that he would need to take a longer shower back at home, else he'd smell as beastly as he looked.
The front area of the lot was dedicated to storage. Saddles, bags, training supplies, feed.. It was really all he needed to check. It seemed Xio wasn't around, or was probably off tending to the animals deeper within. He could opt to take control.. But he always felt weird doing so. One might think the ability to be in two places at once would be something a wanderer like himself would dream of. But the experience just wasn't the same as it would be completely in flesh. To him, the robot's purpose was tending to whatever he directed it to under the power of its own artificial will.
"Xio?", the leopard called out, just to check if the droid was in earshot. Then, he turned his attention back to his seedlings. They could play with the smaller creatures while he took inventory. He gathered the seedlings and brought them to the first room - a play pen for miniature animals.
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Post by Xentus on Jul 31, 2020 19:36:27 GMT -6
He housed a few tiny critters here. There were strange ones, such as a living, winged key, and more mundane ones like the strange big-eyed bug. He gave the turtle to Mizura, who was too anxious to interact with the other wiurns. She seemed happy to have a small friend who could swim in her watering hole. Honestly he was surprised the beast didn't just eat it.
The leopard stifled a laugh as he witnessed the snake-ferret-cat creature slinky over to the golem trio and made an attempt to escape the clutches of the writhing pseudopods.. To no avail.
"Gentle now, little seeds. These ones won't being harm, Xentus promises", the man cooed, willing for the seedlings to play nicely with the pocket-pets. He didn't want to come back to seeing his petting zoo dead. It was their first time being around animals smaller than themselves, and he knew the golems didn't care much for life other than his.. But being exposed to other little moving things might keep them entertained for a while.
The leopard made his exit and returned to find the droid standing dutifully outside the door, toting a wagon featuring piles of leftovers for composting. The brilliant white metal was tarnished with specks of dirt. Seems like he'd called the droid out in the middle of its duties. Not what he had intended, though he was sure the robot didn't mind.
"Ah there you are. What supplies are running low, hm?", he asked the TROD, "This one thinks it will be time to replenish the stocks soon."
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Post by Xentus on Jul 31, 2020 19:59:40 GMT -6
As if he were ready for such a question, Xio turned to the wagon and retrieved the emptied bag of herbivore feed mix.
"Herbivore feed is low.", the droid spoke quietly, "3 days remaining. Carnivore feed sufficient for one week. Specialty feed sufficient." Xio was always curt with its speech. He couldn't tell if it was out of 'shyness' or that it was simply reserved, but he found its personality oddly charming. Its voice and mannerisms were androgynous, making it difficult to ping a gender on it.. He liked to present robots with genders as it made it easier for him to think of them more personally, but Xio was a special case. He was fine with that. It was also rare to hear the TROD speak much, if at all. Hearing the report was a distinct difference from all the times he'd brought the robot out with him on a supply run only to have it silently accompany him.
"Very well. Xentus shall have more feed ordered promptly", he appreciatively replied, then looked back over to the seedlings in the play pen, "Ah, has Xio gotten to see the golems Xentus has taken to raising? Curious creatures they are. Take a look, he will handle composting."
He traded watching over the seedlings for compost duty. Usually not a preferable trade, but he wanted to get a little walk around his menagerie. He came nearly every day, sure, but he never opted to take on much of the dirty work.
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Post by Xentus on Jul 31, 2020 20:11:50 GMT -6
A simple nod was all he received in reply. The droid entered the play pen and observed the seedling trio, gathering information on the strange beings. They seemed to pay no mind to the robot in turn, occupied with trying to grab at any curious miniature animal that wandered too closely. Xentus smiled at them as he carted away the wagon. The droid was rather attentive to animals.. Which made sense, yes, but it was invested in certain animals a bit more. Usually the smaller, cuter ones. Orbaru, which he had nearly no interest in, were a favorite of the robot. It spent more time with those playful creatures more than any other. Perhaps it had an interest in husbandry? He couldn't tell. In any case, it made him happy to see Xio playing with whatever it was it took interest in.
Was that odd? The whole programmed personality thing of the robot was difficult for him to wrap his head around. He didn't want to see its actions as artificial, but he was ever mindful of it at the same time. The leopard shook his head and made the rounds to the various rooms and pens keeping his precious beasts, collecting scraps and craps.
By the time he was finished, he had to unload a full wagon and a half. Big beasts ate a lot. And pooped a lot. He was surprised to come back and find Xio sitting with the golems, the water seedling nestled in its metal lap.
"Perhaps Xio would like to watch over the seedlings a while longer? Xentus does not mind", he warmly offered. Maybe he was looking too much into it, but didn't it seem like the seedlings were receptive to the droid? Perhaps they could sense the link he had with it. In any case, he let them be and carried on the the duties of the menagerie keep.
> Exeunt Xentus and seedlings W3, E3, Wi3 (25)
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