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Post by Kristofor on Sept 23, 2020 6:17:31 GMT -6
I was white and silver as a cub, but when my third winter coat started shedding out, all the white came out with it. When my fur grows out now, it turns blonde at the edges if its silver., I finally write, rubbing out the rest of the words I've written. I didn't erase Locus' explanation of the date of today. "I have heard of adolescent animals changing color drastically as they get their adult coats in, like birds almost. From down and fluffy to actual feathers. You're a looker, if thats anything to say." My ears burn a bit with embarrassment. "I'd brush out all that loose fur though; its a ride through Hell to get mats out when they establish, and loose fur is a common cause of mats." he points out. Holding up a hairbrush that looks like its been chewed once or twice on the edges. "Let me brush your arm, and show you?" +1
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Post by Kristofor on Sept 23, 2020 6:21:42 GMT -6
Its been a very long time since anyone has helped me brush out my fur... and I'm not so sure I want that to be this human who willingly rubbed poison ivy on me, even with permission. I shake my head, and he nods in understanding, handing over the brush. "Just run the brush lightly along your arm, shoulder to wrist. then rotate the arm, and keep going. Don't forget the underarm-" he stops talking with my flat expression. I know how to brush myself, thank you. I am not an invalid fox. Carefully, I use the hairbrush to brush out my right arm, from shoulder to wrist. A good deal of the blonde fur is loose, which doesn't surprise me much. Its a quiet moment of the sound of bristles running through fur, and Mira's quiet wheeking, staring at Locus, and Locus watching me. I'm not sure he's paying attention to my panilla or not.
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Post by Kristofor on Sept 23, 2020 6:26:28 GMT -6
Taking a grip on the muss of blonde and silver sticking every which way out of the bristles, I use my claws to slowly peel a lump of fur off the brush and set it aside. Taking on my left arm. For the shorter amounts of fur on me, this brush is adequate, but I'll need something a bit more robust for the thicker fur around my throat and beneath the bald ring. Do you have a thicker brush?, My fur is very thick in some places., I write on the chalkboard. "Mmm... let me ask. Raven! Do you have any thicker brushes laying about?" Locus turns away and shouts down the tree 'hall'? "Bah, needy needy. Yes, but don't go wrecking it, I have only one of these damn things laying about, and it might go for a good price soon-YOU'RE LETTING THIS KID BRUSH OUT WITH MY SUPPLIES?! ARE YOU MAD?!"
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Post by Kristofor on Sept 23, 2020 6:29:25 GMT -6
Raven clatters back into the room with a much thicker brush, looked like it was designed for brushing out skunks (they have VERY long fur, for the one time I encountered one), and starts being irate and squawky. "Raven, used grooming supplies is not going to pop up in the market of the traders hall, and you know it." Locus tells him with a straight expression, over being shouted at by the big black beaked bird. He even takes the brush away and hands it off to me. "Just make yourself comfortable." he tells me, and gets up to shepherd the bird out of the room. Raven is giving him a literal earful, more to "yes, yes, I get it, you're upset. Come on, you need to have that tail of yours examined-" "I do NOT NEED A TAIL EXAMINATION YOU-" Now I'm left alone, to myself and Mira, and a pair of hairbrushes.
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Post by Kristofor on Sept 23, 2020 6:35:27 GMT -6
Or so I thought until something drops out of the ceiling right in front of me. Its cloaked until throwing it back with a sigh. "Thought he'd never leave. I don't trust that doctor far as I can throw him." the stranger looks at me. With the black and white markings, I would've believed this to be a magpie, but it wasn't. Instead, what looked more like a human? with raccoonish features knelt in front of me, tiny pointed ears poking out of a mess of black hair. A mask of black or dark brown shielded bright purple eyes, and the fur had a brownish gray quality. "I'm really glad you woke up, scared me pretty badly to find someone in the gateway just left out like that." they have a Laiyan? animal-speak words sounding, but its different. Accented. And female. Thats okay. I take it you are Magpie?, I write, and show her. I can see her eyes roving over my words, twice, three times... was she not familiar with our writing?
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Post by Kristofor on Sept 23, 2020 6:40:08 GMT -6
"Its not my name, but yes, I am Magpie." she finally says, with a mocking pout." discarding the cloak, she sits down on the stool. I can't compare her to raccoons I've met, her limbs are much too long, and her tail too short and ...round? "Gramps must've had his wing twisted to let you use those brushes." Why do you think that?, I write in response. "Because they're mine." The brush slips from my paw in shock, and she catches it without issue, the other hand going to her face as she giggles. "Oh your face. Its priceless!" her voice goes up a few sounds louder as she giggles at just blowing my mind. "Gramps bought me some older brushes to help deal with my winter coat shed this previous spring. They're clean, so don't worry about pelt lice." My ears are burning to the point of me wondering if I'm on fire again. "And who's this little cutie?" she leans in to look at Mira. Mira shrinks back into my torso fur, shaking. +1
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Post by Kristofor on Sept 23, 2020 7:07:05 GMT -6
Her name is Mira. Shes afraid of you, so please don’t touch her, I write down. “ Can’t talk huh” she notes, rather obviously. “And your name is Mira? Cute...” If she were able, I believe Mira would try to disappear into my fur. But she stands out too much asianst the black and silver blonde. “She genuinely thought youwere going to die back t here; sreaming for help to anyone and anything who could help. I heard her, found you. You know the rest.” Magpie says, leaning back on ther backless stool with relaxed posture. She’s very long limbed, aomost liek myself. “And a bit picky on her growth of bamboo, so if she gets picky on you, buy the young bamboo stuff.” I blink in surprise. How do you know that?, I write down. Mira sneezes but doesn’t approach. She doesn’t like this raccoon-human female.
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Post by Kristofor on Sept 23, 2020 10:20:22 GMT -6
She extends out her hand, and the gleam of a metal ring with a green stone shows on her ring finger of her left hand. You're... mated?, I write, dumbly. She starts laughing, about as heartily as the human man. Giving her knee a slap. "Hell no, this was a mistake, really." she waves her hand in my face. "Its apparently a magical ring that lets me talk to animals; one species of choice, and by mistake, accident, stupid thoughts, whatever, I talked to your panilla first, so now I can fully understand panilla." she examines her hand, but I can see angry red marks around where the ring metal meets her finger. Was she allergic to metal? "Sadly, its also a bonded artifact, so unless I lop off my finger, I'm kinda stuck with this thing." Oh, that makes sense. "Most people haven't seen this kind of ring before, so maybe I could pass off being mated." she says, putting her index to her chin with a fanged smile.
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Post by Kristofor on Sept 23, 2020 10:26:47 GMT -6
I glance around her to see nobody in the doorway, and I can't hear Locus or Raven anymore. You said you don't trust the doctor. Why?, I write on my chalkboard and show her. Her expression flattens out a bit. "I... have bad experiences with doctors, is all. And unfortunately for me, he's fascinated by me, so I go scarce when he skulks around." Twining a long finger in her short hair, she smiles at me again. "You're a pretty fox, and you've got a cute pet panilla. All that long fur...Are you a girl?" NO, I am a male, thank you. I write hurriedly, my expression shocked. Couldn't she tell? She starts laughing again, and punches my good shoulder lightly. She must train with something, because the muscle behind that playful punch is not to sneeze at. "I'm joshing with you, fox boy. I'm not stupid, I have a wolf as a roommate after all at my own house." My eyes widen at this. A wolf, was she crazy?
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Post by Kristofor on Sept 23, 2020 10:32:32 GMT -6
Foxes don't get along with wolves, but I don't smell wolf on you..., I write on the chalkboard. She smirks, showing a few sharp teeth. "I never said I'd been to my house recently, did I..." I shake my head no. Was she pulling my tail. Getting up, she leans heavily over me, to the point that I have to abandon my chalkboard to catch myself from going backwards. "Take a good long smell. I'm not smelly, am I? of wolf?" I can feel my ears down the back of my head now, she's much too close for comfort. A croak escapes my throat, forcing me to turn my head away to cough, my paw at my throat again. Her expression changes to concern, then annoyance because as she almost reached chest to chest with me, Mira found purchase on the baggy clothes of Magpie, and clung on, making angry barking growly noises. and chewing through the fabric insistently.
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Post by Kristofor on Sept 23, 2020 10:37:58 GMT -6
"You're a pest, you know that? Possessive little rodent thing." Magpie exclaimed, working to pull Mira off her clothes. The barking and gnashing of rodent teeth didn't stop until she ripped the fabric and got dropped back onto my lap where she sat down, about the size of a small dog sitting down, and wrapped her patchy tail around herself protectively. Making chittery noises and pointing a hidden straw of bamboo at her. "I can't help wondering what she's like at home for you, she's terribly possessive around others of you." Possessive? On retrieval of my chalkboard, I look down at panilla in surprise. She's possessive of me? Why? She hardly knows me., I write down. "Fox, you protected her from a mad cat intent on eating her, at the expense of your own body and maybe your life. She can see from your action of that that you're not the shifty untrustworthy fox most see your kind as. Short part, she likes you." and pokes the last three words in my chest fur. +1
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Post by Kristofor on Sept 23, 2020 22:59:03 GMT -6
Clearly, she does not like you., I write out, with a bit of a smile. Mira's fur is standing up on her spine, and she's hunching up like an angry dog. Or rat. or whatever a panilla is. Magpie glowers back at her, but doesn't raise a paw or anything. She's actually a bit cautious. Unusual. "So, you got a name, or can I just call you fox boy." she asked, with almost a drawl to her tone. My name is Kristofor. With a "K"., I write out, offering her the board. She nods, sticking out her own hand...paw? to take my chalk. Offering it out, she takes it and scrawls something back in return, then hands back both board and chalk. "Thats how you write Magpie in Common." she points out. "mmm aaaa guh puh i eee." Hm. I try to clear my throat and it makes me cough again. Mmmaaaghhh., It sounded like I had a hairball caught in my throat..
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Post by Kristofor on Sept 24, 2020 6:19:23 GMT -6
Magpie briefly acts surprised at my inability to talk. Well, I did just wake up from putting my guts on the ground for who knew how long... minutes... hours, its a mystery to me. "Hey panilla. Why is your master unable to talk. All animals can talk, somehow." she turns her attention to Mira briefly. Massaging my abused throat, I look down. Her ears are doing the flat 'irritated' look as she chatters and wheeks at the furred female. She links clawed fingers together while resting her elbows on her knees, nodding occasionally. Making an 'ooooh' noise and mouth motion. Her snout is almost flat to her face. "I... I get that. Mmm, thanks panilla. Uh, Mira? Mira." Mira barks twice and doesn't seem to take thanks? I have no idea what she's saying. "Dang, how'd I forget; smelled awful. I didn't know that barfing that much can hurt your throat that badly." she tapped the side of her hair once with a light but coal stained fist.
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Post by Kristofor on Sept 24, 2020 6:25:16 GMT -6
She's a bit overwhelming, personality wise. But sharpens occasionally. Like now; she leans forward a bit, and inhales very deeply, taking in...my smell? Uh...? Magpie opens her eyes after a minute, and looks right into my eyes. My breath catches; what's with this female; this is a very different feeling then previously. The back of my neck prickles. Her sharp, calculating eyes roving over my sorry condition. Perhaps trying to make sense of why this poor fox couldn't say a word. "Hn." the coonish female mutters softly, then nods, and seems to jerk back slightly. Like having the back of your shirt or scruff seized. Blinking and she's looking about, then at me. "Uh... did you see that." she asked, suddenly sharp sounding. I nod. You looked very concentrated briefly, and smelled me. Whatever you smelled must have been good, because you made a noise then came back to yourself., I wrote down, pointing specifically at the 'back to yourself' part. Magpie doesn't look happy.
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Post by Kristofor on Sept 24, 2020 6:32:44 GMT -6
Running her clawed fingers through her hair a number of times, Magpie grumbles audibly to herself for soem reason or another. Something snaps, and her hair suddenly EXPANDS like being struck by lightning. POOF. She notices, and screeches in frustration. "I HATE MY HAIR" she howls angrily, clawing through it now to try and tame it back down but it refuses. "Should just chop it all off." And goes to find a pair of scissors. Human scissors, apparently. Not the dinky plastic kind that some animals procure. Whatever they couldn't bite or claw in half, usually uses a knife edge instead. From the look of her hair, it just needs a bit of a... thinning. For winter coat sheds; reaching out, I tap her bare arm as she comes back within range, scissors in paw-hand. "What." Magpie asks me sharply. Do you want me to do your hair? I can tame it down for you., I write and pass her the board. Mira just sits there, watching the exchange.
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