|
Post by Noa on Apr 26, 2021 21:46:31 GMT -6
SMT In A Perfect World x GH Ignorance Is Bliss Breeding 1/4 for Patronne and Matronne
|
|
|
Post by Noa on Apr 26, 2021 21:51:14 GMT -6
"Oh, they breed naturally and give live birth too, do they? That's fascinating," Noa said. He was grinning and humming to himself as they made their way to the breeding center, Rhys sitting on his shoulder. Nana walked alongside the two of them, a leash clipped to the collar around her neck. The lot of them looked perfectly mundane... Well, maybe not Rhys, since he was pretty flashy, as far as Faeron went. But other than that, they looked like anyone you might see around town, walking their small and furry companion of choice. 'Small' was a relative term, of course. Noa wouldn't have wanted to, say, have to lift Nana. But she was certainly not big enough to carry him, and that tended to be the delineating factor for Noa these days when it came to measuring creature size. She stopped every so often to smell this or that, but if he tugged on the leash - not even particularly hard, mind you - she would stop, and resume walking alongside him. Surprisingly biddable, considering she didn't have anything near the intensive levels of training that Noa was used to looking for in a creature he intended to spend a lot of time with.
|
|
|
Post by Briar on Apr 26, 2021 21:53:59 GMT -6
Briar didn't want to be here. He didn't like Noa. This much had been established. Even Noa himself was aware of the fact, though the fact that Noa had managed to laugh it off and seem pleased about it only made him more unnerving to Briar. Honestly, Briar wished that Noa had been more put off by his dislike. If Noa had been, they most likely wouldn't be in the situation that he currently found himself in, which was en route to the breeding center... And for what? To breed their Houluh, because apparently the fact that the breeding happened via 'natural means' was such a novelty that Noa insisted on seeing it for himself. Briar really hoped Noa didn't mean the actual act, but knowing the man, anything was possible. If he wanted to play voyeur, however, Briar had resolved that Noa could accomplish that part on his own.
|
|
|
Post by Noa on Apr 26, 2021 21:58:18 GMT -6
That wasn't to say, of course, that Nana was untrained altogether - not that it was possible to raise the Houluh properly otherwise, or so he was told. They were apparently more strictly regulated than he had given them credit for, which was all the more curious to him considering the fact that they weren't actually especially dangerous. He had gotten Nana to bite him once, on his command, though it had taken a surprising amount of baiting and trickery to do it. It had hurt, but not in a particularly life-threatening way, since he had taken the bite on his arm.
One would think, given the how much more dangerous they were, that, say, Pliathor would be more strictly regulated... But then, if they were, maybe Noa and his family wouldn't have made their home here.
As they approached the part of the city where the breeding center was supposed to be, Noa asked Rhys to scout around for them. Rhys flew off at once, and returned soon after, guiding Noa to the appropriate building. Noa walked through the doors and took note of the facilities, inclining his head as he approached the reception desk. "What do I do? Is there a form to fill out?"
|
|
|
Post by Briar on Apr 26, 2021 22:01:06 GMT -6
Briar, for his part, had absolutely no desire to see a pair of animals doing... Well, it was a perfectly natural deed, and there wasn't anything wrong with it, and if he happened to see it while walking around town, he would simply ignore it and continue on his way. It held no horror for him, but he wouldn't go out of his way to observe the act. And somehow it felt more strange that it was two creatures he had raised himself, and spent so much time with... No, he had best not dwell on that.
Briar knew where the breeding center was, but the Faeron was already gone by the time he started signing this to Noa. Not that Noa was looking at him at that point, and in the interest of avoiding having a conversation with the man, Briar quietly let his hands fall, following with Doc in tow.
|
|
|
Post by Noa on Apr 26, 2021 22:04:35 GMT -6
The woman who was sitting at the reception desk greeted him with a smile, though that smile faltered slightly when she looked at the assembled party. Noa blinked, looking down at himself, to see if there was anything very obviously wrong. As far as he could tell, there wasn't. He was dressed, and not even particularly badly at that; and Rhys couldn't possibly have been threatening on first appearance... Not that Rhys couldn't be at least a little dangerous, but he didn't really look the type, was the thing. And they were accompanied by two Houluh, so the purpose of their visit ought to be abundantly obvious, he would have thought.
Only glancing behind him, and seeing the sour look on Briar's face, did Noa realize what the fuss must have been about. "Oh," he said, laughing. "Don't mind him. We're here to breed our Houluh. Do you have a form for me to fill out or anything?"
"Oh, er... Right," said the woman, remembering herself, or her job, or whatever it is she had managed to recover on his prompting. "If you could just fill out their names, and the number of times they've been bred to date here..."
|
|
|
Post by Briar on Apr 26, 2021 22:08:16 GMT -6
Doc looked up at Briar and whined a little, while Briar reached down to stroke his ears. Doc had always been more sensitive to Briar's mood than the other two pups Briar had raised alongside him, and that hadn't faded even as he had gotten older and more independent... Though maybe 'independent' was a strong word, considering Doc still wanted plenty of attention and affection. But suffice to say, Doc could almost certainly tell that Briar didn't want to be here, and it was probably going to upset him if Briar stayed that way for the entire trip. Maybe there wouldn't even be any breeding if Doc was too distracted by concern for his handler.
He had better get a handle on this sooner rather than later.
Noa paid it no mind though, the same way he paid it no mind when the woman at the reception desk hesitated at the sight of Briar.
|
|
|
Post by Noa on Apr 26, 2021 22:12:29 GMT -6
The woman handed Noa a set of forms and a pen. Noa read the forms over, but they weren't terribly complicated. They were almost laughably simple, actually, considering everything that went on here. He was half expecting a page of legalese and disclaimers, but he got none of that, and instead all he was responsible for, for the most part, was putting down names.
There was the question of how many breedings each Houluh had had, but he knew the answer for Nana. As for Doc... "You haven't had a chance to breed yours yet, have you?" Noa turned to his companion, inclining his head. He didn't think Briar had had the chance to do that yet, but it wasn't as if he knew the locations and goings-on of Briar and his dogs every minute of every day. That kind of surveillance was too costly and time-consuming to set up. Not to mention that reviewing that much content would probably get real boring, real fast, even if something interesting did occasionally turn up.
Nana waited patiently at his side, though she did seem interested in the smells in this place. Most likely she smelled the other Houluh that had passed through.
|
|
|
Post by Briar on Apr 26, 2021 22:15:17 GMT -6
If there was one good thing about going somewhere with Noa, it was that Briar never had to do the talking. Not that he could speak aloud even when he was on his own, but then he would have to sign, and... Well, besides the inconvenience of it - what with the fact that not everyone knew sign language - Briar just wasn't much of a conversationalist. He couldn't remember ever having been one, though maybe it was a result of the environment he had grown up in. The people around him hadn't exactly encouraged him to talk; more the opposite, if anything.
Still, he doubted he would have turned out as talkative as Noa, even without all that.
Having been asked a direct question, and one that pertained to their purpose here, Briar shook his head in answer to Noa's query. Doc, the Houluh in question, was currently occupied with licking Briar's hand.
|
|
|
Post by Noa on Apr 26, 2021 22:19:10 GMT -6
He wondered what she thought of the whole thing - what did her nose tell her, about who had come and what had transpired? Given that Rhys was present, the answer was only a question away. But it wasn't something he was dying to know, and the thoughts of a dog were probably not complex enough to warrant close examination.
At any rate, she wasn't acting out, so he had no need to pay her any close attention as of yet. And Briar was shaking his head in answer to Noa's question, so that was that matter settled, at least. He penned in a 'no' on the form, then handed it back to the receptionist with a smile. "Is that everything?" he asked. He didn't know whether or not he was hoping for more.
But if he was, then he would have to be disappointed. The woman looked over the form, then filed it away, likely for the facility's record keeping purposes. Rising out of her seat, she said, "Everything looks to be in order! Follow me." She led the way down a corridor, and Noa and Rhys drifted after her, with Nana following behind the two of them at an even pace.
|
|
|
Post by Briar on Apr 26, 2021 22:22:53 GMT -6
Maybe Doc wanted treats, though Briar didn't really think that was the case. More likely he was doing it in an attempt to either offer Briar comfort, or to get his attention. Either would have been fine if they were at home, or out on their own, but at the moment Briar didn't know if he could take his eyes off Noa.
Fortunately, Noa filled the forms out without incident, and the woman led them down the hall, presumably to a room that they would be assigned for the purpose of letting their Houluh have a space for themselves to get comfortable in. Briar had been through this process once - but only once. Back then it had been a different person, and he had come with a different Houluh - Joker, who had also been the friendliest of his cohort, now that Briar thought about it. Funny how these things worked out.
|
|
|
Post by Noa on Apr 26, 2021 22:44:53 GMT -6
The woman led them past a series of doors, all of which were opaque, though sometimes a small paneling of glass on the side offered a view to the room within. From the glimpses that Noa caught, the rooms were all fairly ordinary, and many of them boasted pillows and toys, probably for the comfort of the creatures who were using them. He never came here himself, since he didn't generally busy himself with the creatures that were bred here - if ever a creature could interest him less, it was Orbaru. Almost all of them were pacifistic by nature, and their only purpose in life seemed to be looking cute... and reproducing, he supposed. Evidently a lot of that happened too, given their sheer numbers.
The woman stopped about five doors down, and opened up a room for the two of them. "If you need anything, please let us know," she said, and Noa thought she had recovered remarkably well. If he hadn't known better, he would never have guessed that she had faltered at the sight of Briar.
Rhys darted into the room, and Nana started to follow, but stopped when Noa didn't move. "Oh, there is something, actually... Where is it," Noa muttered.
|
|
|
Post by Briar on Apr 26, 2021 22:45:03 GMT -6
But then, at the time, it was the other breeder who had approached Briar to ask to set up a breeding with Joker. Apparently his striking contrast had caught someone's eye. Joker was a pretty handsome Houluh as far as they went, though maybe Briar was a bit biased in his opinion.
On this occasion too, it had been someone else's choice with regards to who it was Briar had brought. Noa was the one who had asked for Doc, specifically. Seeing as he hadn't known very much about Houluh until recently, and arguably still didn't, Briar's best guess was that Noa had simply chosen the flashiest looking of the available options. And Doc's golden coat did have a metallic sheen to it, not in a dissimilar way to Nana's, actually. Both were sacred creatures of a sort.
Noa hadn't entered the room, and so Briar and Doc were both obliged to wait outside as well.
|
|
|
Post by Noa on Apr 26, 2021 22:45:15 GMT -6
With those words, Noa began to rummage around in his pockets, searching for something. Rhys glanced back at him, and even Nana began to sniff around, maybe thinking he had treats. When that turned up nothing, he began looking in the folds of his sleeves, all while the woman watching began to frown again in concern. "Just give me a second, I had it here somewhere... Ah, here we are!" In the depths of his sleeves, somewhere in there, he felt a hard lump. A little more searching, and he managed to produce a trinket dangling on a cord. "This! Do I present it to you?" he said, holding it out to her. "I was told it did something special with regards to the offspring produced."
The woman seemed... relieved, Noa thought, though maybe he hadn't read her expression correctly. He wasn't always the best at interpreting cues from others. Not that it mattered, usually; shopkeepers and the staff of other facilities generally weren't fussed enough about it to deny him service, and he couldn't really think of any other interaction that he particularly cared about.
Either way though, the woman examined the trinket, then said, "You're right! Please just hold onto it for now."
|
|
|
Post by Briar on Apr 26, 2021 22:45:25 GMT -6
It was inconvenient, but then it wasn't as if Briar was in a hurry to enter the room either, or to proceed with... anything that was about to happen. All questions of breeding activity aside, the prospect of being trapped in a small room with Noa and being forced to either listen to the man speak or to make whatever stilted small talk he could manage... Neither option held any appeal whatsoever for Briar. In fact, he was rather hoping that it would be over quickly, once it began.
He had some inkling of what it was that Noa was looking for, but not the slightest clue as to how to help with finding it, so he occupied himself with staying put, and keeping Doc from wandering around anywhere else while they waited. Noa managed to find the trinket in the end anyway, so all was well that ended well.
|
|