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Post by Nadia on Sept 26, 2020 10:49:01 GMT -6
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Post by Kadin on Sept 26, 2020 15:40:44 GMT -6
“Alright girls.” Kadin said sternly, holding the treats right out of reach of the young hens and watching them beg for them with no small amount of amusement. “We’re going to be exploring around here. In order to do that, we all need to get along. That means no trying to kill each other.” As he spoke, the orange hen bumped into the blue hen and started hissing up a storm at her, tail lashing and eyes narrowed as if she were about to attack. Kadin reached out to put an arm between the two of them before that could happen.
“Yeah, thanks for the demonstration.” He said dryly. “None of that. We need to get alone. You two need to not try and kill each other and not gang up together to try and kill me.” Neither of them were even looking at the treats anymore. Instead, they were hissing and growling at each other from either side of Kadin’s arm. They looked like they were ready to tear through him to get at each other again. Kadin held off a sigh. This really was going to be a long adventure. He vaguely wondered if it was too late to pack up and try somewhere else.
96
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Post by Kadin on Sept 26, 2020 15:41:24 GMT -6
CAW
Three heads looked up, suddenly surprised at the loud noise when before it had been fairly peaceful. Kadin frowned at the crow sitting in the treat overhead. It was looking down at them, alternative between pecking at a corn cob it had in its talons and cawing laughter to their faces.
CAW CAW
Twin growled of displeasure rumbled next to him. With surprise, Kadin looked down at the little hens. They weren’t trying to kill each other anymore, which was surprising enough. What was even more surprising was that they seemed united in their hatred of the crow. The two of them stepped forward, almost as if they were in sync, and growled up fiercely at the crow, tails both lashing. Kadin honestly couldn’t tell if they just wanted to fight it because of the principal of the thing or if they wanted to hunt it an eat it. For now, he decided to just sit back and see what happened.
Most of which was that the hatchlings severely overestimated their own abilities to climb a tree. Kadin didn't think they really could and he was proved right. They dug their little claws in, growling and making a big show of the whole thing.
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Post by Kadin on Sept 26, 2020 15:42:14 GMT -6
But when one of them tried to get up there to actually get to the crow, all they really accomplished was scratching up the bark to hell and back. If Kadin didn’t do something about this they’d probably end up stripping all the bark around the tree and probably killing it. That was, if these trees could even die. He heard something about the mansion changing with each month? Would that mean that everything he saw here, living or otherwise, became suspended in time until next year or was it just that it all disappeared and reformed each year? More of life’s mysteries.
After watching and waiting for a while to see if the hens could actually accomplish something, Kadin decided to take matters into his own hands. He walked up to the tree himself and looked up at the crow. The crow looked back down at him.
CAW! CAW?
“Here, catch.” Kadin said, tossing up the treat he’d been teasing the hens with earlier. The crow scrambled to catch it, dropping its corn in the process, but its beak managed to snap around the treat before it made it to the ground, thus allowing the crow to continue to escape the questionable embrace of two little dragons with lots of sharp little teeth.
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Post by Kadin on Sept 26, 2020 16:39:30 GMT -6
What the crow wasn't able to escape was Kadin's damn grabbing hands with those grasping thumbs. He caught the bird and tucked it under one arm, stuffing some more treats in it's face before it could get too upset about being captures. "Don't worry, I've got more like you at home." Kadin assured it, apparently thinking that this was plenty reason for the crow to be happy about some human grabbing it out of the air. It pecked him just for the principal of the thing, but Kadin already wasn't paying anymore attention to it.
Instead, he was looking down at the two sarane who'd stopped trying to climb the tree and were now trying to climb him.
"Cut it out, girls." He said with a frown, not appreciating the way they were trying to shred up his clothes to get to the bird. "You aren't eating this one." He stowed the bird out of the sight so they'd stop being so damned tempted. Instead, it was time to try something else.
The sarane weren't happy, though. They didn't look like they were going to go along with whatever he tried, not after he took away what was supposed to be their play thing.
99
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Post by Kadin on Sept 26, 2020 16:44:21 GMT -6
Kadin just walked away from the hens. If they wanted to be huffy, they could do so on their own time. He was kinda over trying to keep them happy when all they did was try to kill each other. He couldn't blame them for this, don't misunderstand, but he was still allowed to be tired of dealing with it. So instead of dealing with it, he walked over to the tree the crow had been perched on and looked around. He could have sworn he'd seen something shiny around here somewhere while the hens were trying to scratch it all to shit. There must be- ah! The tree had a hollow and inside he could just glimpse something... shiny. Maybe glass? It was probably a bad idea to stick his hand into a tree hollow but he did it anyway, rooting around in there until he pulled out a glass jar of... something. He couldn't tell what it was and he didn't want to open it up in case it exploded in his face or something. So, with a shrug, he stowed it away in his backpack and tried to think of what to do next. Probably teach the sarane some manners.
100
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Post by Jack on Sept 27, 2020 9:29:36 GMT -6
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Post by Kadin on Sept 28, 2020 10:07:01 GMT -6
Kadin walked back over to the sarane and crouched down in front of them. He contemplated what he was going to do with them next. While he was considering, he noticed a purple flower growing not too far from where they were. He got up to go pick it, studying it curiously. It looked like another flower he had found not all that long ago, but on a different journey in the mansion. With a shrug, he tucked this one away, too, figuring that he'd eventually find a use for it.
Annona glared back at the human that seemed to be studying them. She did not trust him. She also did not trust the hen she was stuck here with. She stunk of strangers, she was not kin, although they shared a scent that came from the place the human kept them all. She hissed under her breath, displeased at being associated with such scents.
Keto was not much more pleased than she was. She also didn't trust the other hen, especially since she smelled so WEIRD. Keto knew her brother. She knew her half brothers and half sisters, she knew how they smelled, whether they shared a sire or a dam.
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Post by Kadin on Sept 28, 2020 10:07:42 GMT -6
This hen did not smell like any of them. Or. Well. Perhaps that was unfair of her. She did smell like some of her half siblings, but the scent she carried wasn't one of either of HER parents.
But right now, he needed to focus on the sarane. He looked down to the two hens with a frown. They needed training, that much was obvious. But right now they didn't listen to him at all. They didn't seem to like him, nor did they like each other. Before they could get any real training done, they'd probably have to work on their bonds. They wouldn't get anything done if they were constantly trying to kill him and each other. But how would he go about doing that?
Annona could scent Keto's distrust, which didn't make her situation any better. She felt defensive, the need to defend both herself and her lines rising within her. She hissed at the other hen again, flaring her wings. She was the get of champions! A lineage of champions this poorly hen could barely dream of! She knew that she had a strong father, but that was all she had or knew. She could not know where Annona came from!
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Post by Kadin on Sept 28, 2020 10:12:17 GMT -6
But Keto only hissed back, wings flaring, too. The other hen acted SO high and mighty. She acted as if she was stronger than her! As if she could not match her bite for bit, wingbeat for wingbeat. As if she would not put her in her place without the slightest thought! A low, rumbling growl rolled in her chest. It was weak now, but it would be stronger, and soon she would prove that SHE was the top hen, not this pretended with no family of her own.
Especially since they were listening to him to begin with? Kadin sighed and looked around, maybe hoping for inspiration. He found another flower instead. For a place that was so full of fruit, there was still a surprising amount of flowers around. He wasn't going to complain about it, but it was a bit off, Especially since right near the flower was some fruit. He wasn't sure what kind of fruit it was, but he grabbed it anyway. There wasn't much use in wasting anything that he found here.
Annona growled back, rearing back on her hind legs to show off her size and power. She would not be intimidated by another hen hatchling.
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Post by Kadin on Sept 28, 2020 10:12:49 GMT -6
They were both small now, only hatchlings, but Annona was slightly older. That slight age difference was enough to give her plenty of size on Keto, enough that the other hen would have to acknowledge that she was the one who was meant to be the top hen. The mothers and sisters in the kennels might be older and more experienced, but once she was grown she would oust them from their positions and take her rightful place on top of the hierarchy!
Keto lashed her tail, unimpressed and insulted with Annona's bravado. There was no way she would let this lie. She had brothers, bigger and stronger than them both, and they would back her up without question. They would fall to her side and defend her honor, she knew it! There was no way some unrelated hen would be able to come in here and take away her right, her birthright! She was meant to rule the hens, not this imposter, not this whelp!
Speaking of finding things, he could have sworn he saw fire not that far away. Another torch? He approached it cautiously, relaxing once he realized that, yes, it was another torch. And it was illuminating another of those strange marbles he kept finding.
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Post by Kadin on Sept 28, 2020 10:18:01 GMT -6
He scooped both of them up and stored them away, wondering where all this strange stuff came from. It was like a fucked up scavenger hunt every time he came here. Did it just appear? Did someone leave it out for it to be found?
Then again... Keto stopped growling to contemplate the other hen. Her brothers were still young and they still lacked dominance. When they did rise to their full power, like their fathers, they would want to breed. She would not clutch with them. But Annona, as an unrelated female, would quickly win their favor. She was young, strong, and sure to produce even stronger offspring. More drakes to full the ranks, ones that would only be her nieces and nephews. And if Annona clutched with her brothers, that would win her more and more favor. It would make her a threat. Perhaps it would be better to form an alliance. Annona had a brother, too. Just one, but he was also strong. He would have a better pick of females and she needed to be one of them.
Annona paused, confused by Keto suddenly no longer being aggressive towards her. She did not trust it. This was her rival.
105 *level up
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Post by Nadia on Sept 28, 2020 10:51:39 GMT -6
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Post by Kadin on Sept 29, 2020 18:02:11 GMT -6
As her rival, they should not act friendly with each other at all. If anything, they should be openly hostile. Aggressive. Rivals did not stop to consider the other's feelings. They acted and took and tried to one up each other. Keto was quiet now and seemed to be contemplating something. Annona hissed at her, flaring her wings to make herself seem bigger. If Keto thought she could plan something and take her by surprise, she was sorely mistaken.
Kadin decided it was probably a good idea to check in with the hens once he'd found the last odd item on his involuntary scavenger hunt. He looked over to them and watch them, a slight frown on his face. They didn't seem like they were actively killing each other or even rough housing just yet. Kadin shrugged to himself and decided to give them some space, for now. If they could learn to get along it'd make his life a whole lot easier.
Keto hissed back out of reflex, but she was still considering. She could use a strong ally, that was for certain. She did not need to like her ally in order to use her. She needed her to take this seriously.
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Post by Kadin on Sept 29, 2020 18:02:42 GMT -6
She lowered her wings and raised her head, rumbling softly at Annona in a gesture of no threat. She did not want to fight anymore, it was decided. Instead, she wanted to make a trust. And in order to do that, she'd need to get Annona to trust her.
Annona was not likely to trust her. She snarled back at Keto, throwing her gestures back into her face. She did not care what the other female thought she was playing at, she would not be made to look like a gullible fool! She did not trust that she wasn't just trying to lull her into a false sense of security so that she could strike and take dominance when it best suited her!
Instead of messing with them, he went to go see if he could find any more weird crap. He was especially on the look out for more flowers. They seemed like they'd sell ok. He figured that even if he couldn't find other people to sell them to, he might be able to sell them to one of the shops in the labs. Or, worst come to worse, he had some decorations for his kennel. It could always use some.
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