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Post by carcinoGeneticist on Dec 22, 2008 3:10:19 GMT -5
When the Tove latched himself to the ceiling, Sorcha let out a frustrated little growl, rump raised as she prepared to lunge at him. The coach was bouncing quite a lot and any attack she launched would likely result in personal injury. It just wasn't worth it to Sorcha, and so her posture relaxed as she returned to listening to her mother and sister speak. Her ear twitched. It seemed she'd picked a good moment to start listening, and she scrabbled across the seat to be closer to Heilyn, head resting on one of the woman's legs.
At her mother's laugh, one of Rhiannon's ears twitched, and she inclined her head ever so slightly to the side. She nodded as Heilyn further explained the situation, her tail waving slowly from side to side as she considered what had been said. "Then I'll do my best not to worry too much about what he thinks.[/b]" she finally said, giving her mother a smirk that she had clearly inherited from the woman. "If he likes the pair of us, then that's fantastic news. If not, I'll do my best not to worry about impressing him.[/b]"
Sorcha's face contorted slightly at her mother's next comment. "BANDER meat?" the girl said, sticking her tongue out as far as the mask would allow, ears flicking back. "Wouldn't... wouldn't that be nasty and tough?"
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Post by Satra on Dec 22, 2008 4:14:49 GMT -5
Always the playful one, his traumatizing experience was soon forgotten and he began wiggling on the ceiling at the girl's growling. But then she turned her attention away, so he was content to watch the three women and listen to their voices.
Heilyn nodded at Rhi. She couldn't help but notice the smirk. That girl looks more and more like you everyday, The Wire commented, amused. Heilyn turned to Sorcha, a little confused.
"I could've sworn I warned you two about the food there?" Then again, between the insects, blood soup, haggis, and other such strange things, perhaps she had managed to forget about the Banders.
"No, actually they're quite delicious," she told her youngest, "We breed them to be eaten, so I can assure you they're quite amazing."
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Post by carcinoGeneticist on Dec 23, 2008 1:52:36 GMT -5
Even as Sorcha looked distinctly horrified, Rhiannon licked at her chops with quite a bit of gusto. She'd spent the time she'd learned her home language exploring its cuisine as well, and she'd finally found that it was rather enjoyable. Perhaps she just had the right genes for it, but whatever the case she was very much looking forward to eating when they finally arrived. After all, a recipe was bound to be even more tasty in the land of its creation.
The younger girl was completely enthralled as she always had been when her mother had told her about the foods that would be readily avaliable in her homeland. She was more bat than coyote, and that had showed in her eating habits more than her build. The idea of eating some of the things described to her made her shiver and grin all at the same time. "You told me about some of it... But not that they ate banders."
The girl shifted where she sat, leaning her forarm/wings against Heilyn's leg to look up at the woman with sharp green eyes. Her tail twitched slightly, betraying her interest even as she tried to simply look grossed-out.
"So are they fat? Like the one that cook owns?" she asked, grinning to herself. She'd tortured the poor creature a time or two before, but that wasn't exactly a fact that she was eager to get out. "How do they cook 'em? Do they serve 'em with an apple in their mouths?"
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Post by Satra on Dec 25, 2008 2:06:25 GMT -5
"Oh, well I'm sorry about that," thought Heilyn couldn't help but feel confused still about the girl's revulsion. Heilyn wouldn't've even thought eating animals that were usually seen as pets in the Outside world would be a horrifying prospect to those raised in the Outside. Then again, she was never really able to see banders as things that made good pets anyway, so being able to understand why someone would not want to make use of their only other purpose in life was beyond her.
"They're pretty fat, yeah," she laughed, "But the fat is more evenly distributed and not just around the belly like that overfed kitchen pet. They are pretty pudgy, though, yes. You know, I'm so happy both of you inherited some of my breed. It'll make the eating so much more enjoyable on this trip. We serve them in all kinds of ways! Though around the palace where the meals are pretty big and communal, you'll be seeing a lot of meat with the faces still on it." Oh yeah, she'd forgotten about that. Would that freak the younger one out? Most of the food on the Outside was usually served with the head no longer there.
Seeing Sorcha distracted, the Tove felt he needed to take his revenge and let himself drop from the ceiling onto the girl's head.
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Post by carcinoGeneticist on Jan 5, 2009 18:06:11 GMT -5
Sorcha made up her mind right then and there. She would sample some of this Bander-meat for herself, and if it was any good, she would open a restaurant of her own as soon as she was back in the capital. Get a good breeding pair from the Bog, and make money. She grinned to herself at the idea. She was brilliant. People liked weird ethnic foods, didn't they?
It was around that moment when the Tove dropped onto her, and she let out a crazed squeal and began attacking him. Plotting could wait until wrestling was done.
~*~
A few hours later, Sorcha had fallen asleep. Her excitement over the trip and frenzied playing with her mother's Tove had left her feeling completely exhausted. The hours had passed in a haze between sleep and awake, green eyes opening to watch her mother and sister speak and then closing again. Now, they appeared to have come to a stop, and Sorcha stretched extravagantly with a wide yawn to match. She turned sleepy eyes to her mother and smiled, aware that Rhiannon was curled up beside her.
"We here?" she asked, ears perking forward slightly.
Rhiannon looked at Heilyn, a similar questioning expression evident on her face. She was wondering the same thing. Had they arrived, or was there some trouble on the road that had forced their driver to stop? Either way, she was prepared to help deal with it.
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Post by Satra on Jan 14, 2009 17:25:16 GMT -5
The Tove slept curled up on top of Sorcha, droned to sleep by the humming.
Heilyn peered out the window when the carriage stopped.
"We might be," she muttered. It seemed like the right amount of time. Then again, they were traveling on the border to Tulgey. Something could be off. "Let me check." She stepped outside and saw immediately why they were stopped. She smirked as she caught sight of the perplexed and worried driver. She walked right up to the small band of clean, masked individuals. She approached them.
"<Aha, I wasn't expecting this greeting!>" she looked at them, then behind them. Why were they so far away from the border, "<Is there something wrong?>"
"<Kinda. This is just an extra precaution,>" one of them answered then shrugged, "<We'll explain on the way. Get your things and send that squishy foreigner away. If he wets himself, he might attract predators.>" Heilyn smiled and nodded then turned back to the carriage. If the Fiannas were comfortable enough to talk on the way there, then the threat must not be too large.
"Sir, we'll be departing here. Please help us get our bags," she called up to the driver. She poked her head into the carriage, "Let's go, girls. We're almost there. We're just taking a bit of an unexpected walk," said in an almost uncharacteristically merry voice.
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Post by carcinoGeneticist on Jan 14, 2009 18:57:39 GMT -5
For the time, the pair of younger Bog-dwellers waiting in the coach. Rhiannon peered out the window and watched her mother speak to the people outside, her ears standing tall as she tried to hear what they were saying. She could catch only bits and pieces of the conversation, and found herself wishing that she'd been born with the large ears of her father.
Of course, it didn't help much that her understanding of the language wasn't perfect, but she didn't need to wait long for her mother to return and give the pair a small summary of what had been said.
"My legs could use stretching," Sorcha said, but she sounded a little unsure. She couldn't walk for a terribly long time, and who knew if her mother would be willing to carry her for however long it would take? She tried to ignore her worries as she hopped down, smiling slightly at the Fiannas that stood there. Her orbs glowed a little hazily, betraying her inner nerves. Why were they stopped here?
The girl's older sibling leapt down from the carriage in a fluid motion, her wings folded tight to her back as she looked the group over. They were all stunning examples of her home region, and she couldn't help the little wag at the sight. After all, her entire life had been spent knowing only her family, never seeing others of the place her blood was from. "<My greetings,[/b]>" she said with a small bow of her head. These must be... Fiannas, then?
The note of merriness in her mother's voice only made Sorcha more worried, however, and she glanced from the woman to the group and back again. "It's all okay, right mom?"
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Post by Satra on Jan 18, 2009 2:24:37 GMT -5
The driver rather disliked the group of rather intimidating-looking individuals just standing there, staring back with those expressionless masks. As he helped the ladies with their bags, he tried not let the creepy people bother him. He'd heard all kinds of rumors about these people who live right inbetween the worse regions known to Card society. He'd heard they were cannibals... that they made sport of hunting, raping, and killing foreigners; that under those mask were the most hideously deformed faces one could imagine, that they had multiple rows of shark-like teeth... He'd heard all kinds of awful things, most of which were only half true. The ladies he drove here seemed nice enough... The oldest had a sharpness about her that he rather disliked, but the other two made him smile, especially the little freakishly mutated one.
Heilyn got them situated and they headed off.
"You'll walk until we get to the border, Sorcha, but after we cross over The Wall I'll carry you. Don't worry, it's not too far away," Heilyn told the girl.
"<And greetings to you,>" replied the leader of the detail. Heilyn approached the group.
"<These are my daughters, Rhiannon and Sorcha,>" she introduced them. Only the leader's head snapped up from openly staring at Sorcha to Rhiannon.
"<Rhiannon,>" he repeated quietly. Heilyn only nodded her head and smiled. There was a moment of silence from the man as he looked back at her, then he turned to his troups, "<We're off now. On your alert,>" he hissed. He didn't expect his highly trained underlings to be distracted, but... well, with practically the ideal of beauty as their charge, he figured they could use a reminder. He turned back to them and nodded as the remaining of the group boxed the clock around the three females.
What a damned shame she was dubbed with a Foreigner name...
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Post by carcinoGeneticist on Jan 28, 2009 19:18:35 GMT -5
Sorcha and Rhiannon waited patiently while their mother spoke to the driver, then walked quietly behind the woman. Sorcha looked up at her mother with a greatful expression. It was almost like her mother had read her mind. She nodded softly, finding that the news helped her pick up the pace slightly. Then she froze. The people from the Bog... They were staring at her. She gave them a small smile, her ears folding back to lay flat against her neck. Her mother had told her once that she was considered extremely beautiful by the standards of her homeland. She'd do her best to get used to the feeling of staring.
"<Nice to meet you,>" she said softly, feeling the language roll off her tongue. She even managed to offer up a bright smile. She was used to having attention on her, just not attention of this variety. They weren't looking at her like she was a freak. She felt... desired.
She could already feel the initial awkwardness wear, quickly being replaced by a swelling of pride.
At the reaction when Rhiannon was introduced, the young woman blinked, her head inclining thoughtfully to the side. She knew that she was named for her grandmother, but she'd never thought this would be anything that would garner specific attention. She watched the man and her mother thoughtfully, wondering what they were thinking of. "Looks like they approve,[/i]" Pale commented to her, and she smiled. There was at least no... unhappiness in the look she'd seen exchanged.
When the men lead, Rhiannon and Sorcha followed closely, not wanting to get separated from the group.
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Post by Satra on Jan 29, 2009 1:29:57 GMT -5
Heilyn had to watch Sorcha during this trip. She had no idea how she would react to the very sudden change in treatment in the Bog as opposed to the outside. She was also a touch worried about pedophiles. Heilyn had consider waiting to bring Sorcha when she was legal, but decided she would be overwhelmed and overindulge.
She'd told the girls the etiquette of being escorted by Fianna: shut up unless they say it's okay other wise and don't slow down the group save for emergencies. Heilyn waited until one of the Fiannas spoke. A young woman (who was built like a tank) in thick leather armor spoke up at the approving nod of the leader's head.
"<You recall the news of a Joker being born, yes?>" Heilyn nodded at the woman's question. How could she not remember? It was such a rare thing. First one born since the last one died about 70 years ago or so. The letter from her father was practically dedicated to it. "<Well, recently there was an... event that caused him to run away. We're positive there were Raiders involved, and we think he may have lost it. Sounds grave, yes, but we are unconcerned in the big picture. He, at least in theory, should know we mean him no harm, and he has not proved himself to be a threat.>" It also went without saying he was too valuable. Heilyn stared back. A Joker? That most certainly did not sound casual to her, but she just nodded. Fianna Intelligence was usually very good at judging threats...
Now it was just watching the reaction of two Outside-raised children listing to respected citizens talk about Jokers in such a manner. Should prove interesting.
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