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Post by The Jenn on Mar 6, 2008 0:58:02 GMT -5
Thyme nodded, still feeling like there was a lump in her throat and absolutely refusing to cry anymore now that her aunt was awake again. She was just glad the woman didn't comment on the small trails of tears going through the very faint coating of dust down her cheeks. She might just melt through the floor in embarrassment if she did.
The study on the third floor was one room she'd never been in before. Without an invitation, she never went anywhere on the third floor besides the door of her aunt's bedroom. She treated the basement in the same manner. Those locations were off-limits for the most part unless her aunt was wiht her or had instructed her to go there. Rather like the attic had been, and for good reason, the girl now realized.
"They're feelers, I think," she said hesitantly, voice cracking before she cleared her throat self-consciously. "I think this happened because I brought down a small dead moth from the attic. I just thought it was a bug that died up there and it was beautiful so I wanted to see if I could do anything with it. The powder on it, though, I think it made me sleepy. The next thing I knew, I was waking up on the floor in the morning and had rolled over on the moth. And... I looked like this."
She reflexively glanced back at her tail, resting on the chair almost beneath her, blue fronds waving. "They let me... smell things. Like this chair. It smells as if a man sat here before me, someone who was sweating a lot. It's really unpleasant, actually... and I think it's more sensitive than even my nose." Being a wolf, that was no mean feat.
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Post by Kari Muffin on Mar 6, 2008 1:08:55 GMT -5
Josephine's facial expressions flickered with each passing word. This was amazing and horrifying at the same time. The last man who had sat in the chair... oh she needed to get off that chair before she smelled anything else. "Go over to the shelf and get the red bound book and bring it back to me."
Once Thyme got the book, the old woman opened it with a small key that she had pulled from her coat. She flipped to a blank page and picked up a pen to quickly scribble something down. Then she looked back to her niece.
"My... your Grandfather must have left that in the attic as a little gift for me. The bastard was into all sorts of things. Enchanting a bug isn't beyond me, and from what I gather it was a moth." Aunt Josephine wanted to bite her tongue off. Oh that stupid bastard. "Apparently... it affected your coloration, but I imagine you're still a pure Highlander. I would need to check some things out but... I don't think the pattern matches any region and I doubt a dead bug could change your region."
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Post by The Jenn on Mar 6, 2008 1:15:17 GMT -5
Thyme obediently went to get the book and brought it back to her aunt, tail picking up on all sorts of odd scents along the way. A lot of it was dust and age - this had been a study for a long, long time and the age was tangible in the form of the room's smell. There was just a certain quality to the wood...
She sat down on the floor once Aunt Josephine started talking, red eyes looking up at the woman and listening avidly. If she could shed light on what had happened them maybe the girl's stomach would stop trying to eat itself from fear and worry. That would be awfully nice.
So the bug probably hadn't changed her region? She might very well still be a pure Highlander? She let out a long, low sigh of relief and sagged a little bit from her tense, upright sitting posture. "Oh, that's... that's really good news, Aunt. I was so worried that I might not be a Highlander anymore..." Unspoken was the thought that she might not be worth the woman's time or attentions anymore.
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Post by Kiki on Mar 6, 2008 10:31:40 GMT -5
Jenn and Kari receive 1 token each, to be redeemed in Ashwin's Shoppe.
This will automatically be added to your recorded totals in the shoppe.
Congratulations, and keep up the good RP!
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Post by Kari Muffin on Mar 6, 2008 11:06:06 GMT -5
Josephine sighed as she took a seat on a nearby chair that she used while working. Her head very much wanted to fall off and roll away from all of this trouble. She really was too old for this. "Next time you find something pretty in the attic, don't touch it. Call me and have me deal with it. For the love of the Highlands, why you insist on getting into things when I tell you not to I will never understand."
First the swords, now a moth, what else would the girl come across to give Josephine a small heart attack? Oh no... oh no no no she had to tell Kazifel about all of this. Josephine's eyes widened in horror at the thought. What was she going to do? Go up to him and say "I'm sorry, I screwed up your daughter while she was under my care."
Josephine bit her lip and shook her head. She needed to focus on the testing... and maybe she should test some of that powder to see what properties it hand.
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Post by The Jenn on Mar 6, 2008 11:41:50 GMT -5
Thyme's ears went back in embarrassment and she nodded her head, not quite sure what to say to that. There really wasn't anything she could say without sounding like an idiot or a child. She was just... curious. This time she didn't have the excuse of Rosemary to give for her behavior, though.
Oh gods, Rosemary... what would she think of all this? She and her King sister had been the only two 'normal' ones in their family and had reveled in that fact, for all that they'd been of different regions. Now what would she say? Would they still be as close now that she was a freak? That was a paranoid thought that she really didn't need to be thinking.
And what about the rest of her family? She knew her Mom probably wouldn't care, she'd just think it was pretty... it was Mom, after all... but what about Dad? What about Parsley? The other two, she could care less, unless they rubbed it in her face or something. It never occurred to her that they might find it interesting or attractive. To her, this was just far too horrible for words.
Her aunt's testing would reveal that she was, in fact, still a pure Highlander. She was so relieved at that she had to hold back tears again. The powder lightly coating her fur had mild properties that left anyone who inhaled it sleepy and disoriented, but the effects would wear off quickly.
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Post by Kari Muffin on Mar 6, 2008 20:06:22 GMT -5
The tests were a relief, though she couldn't imagine this was going to go over well with Kazifel. She bit her lip as she scribbled all the proper notes in her books. Going to the Wood with Thyme was going to be a pain, but she should do it. It would be better than having Rosemary show up at random and telling everyone the news.
Dreadful girl, honestly. That wasn't here or there, she needed to get back to Thyme and her new found abilities. "So, Thyme... in two days we're leaving for the Wood," she said turning back to the girl. "I can't Rosemary magically appearing and... doing what she does best and verbally destroying any form privacy I have."
She brushed her fingers through her hair. The very thought of seeing Rosemary in her natural habitat was enough to make the older woman fidget. Of all the children she was the worst.
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Post by The Jenn on Mar 6, 2008 20:13:35 GMT -5
Thyme watched her aunt write, sitting as still as she could and trying not to draw even more attention to herself than she'd already done today. She couldn't even imagine how much she might have messed up her aunt's plans for the near future, whether Josephine had to reschedule anything to accommodate for a trip to the Wood.
The very fact that she was going home for the first time in four years was enough to make her slightly nervous. Would all of her siblings be there? Would any of them? Her parents certainly would... and she had no idea at all what her grandparents would think about all this. She was even less visually acceptable in the Wood than she had been before. Alphonse would probably be there... nasty little vampire.
"Rose might well be out traveling, so we might not see her when we go home," she offered in a subdued voice. It wasn't something that made her happy, but it might make her aunt less jittery about it all.
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Post by Kari Muffin on Mar 6, 2008 21:09:58 GMT -5
"Little comfort," Josephine muttered as she ushered the girl out of her study. "Obviously we're not going to have lessons today. Dinner, however, is still going to be the usual time."That was that. Now to prepare and fix all of her plans for the next two days. -- The trip was taxing to say the least. She found herself standing outside of Kazifel's house, her hand ready to knock. What was he going to do when he found out one of his children were now... part moth really. She wanted to cry at the very thought. Her stupid brother couldn't have planned it any better if he was alive. Right. She just needed to knock on the door. This was stupid. Josephine rearranged her coat before knocking firmly on the door. Then she waited for it to open. Kazifel was going to kill her. He was going to kill her as soon as he opened the door. The door swung open to reveal the biped wolf. He was about to open his mouth when Josephine cut him off.
"I'm sorry I screwed up your daughter!"
"What...?"
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Post by The Jenn on Mar 6, 2008 21:23:06 GMT -5
Thyme stood slightly behind her aunt in front of the door to the house she hadn't seen in years and years. It was afternoon and they'd only just arrived, their guide having left them a few minutes ago to mingle with some of his acquaintances in the little village. She refrained from fidgeting or letting her mane hide her face, instead watching the door with just as much worry as her aunt. She didn't want her to knock on that door, and yet she did. But she didn't. It was so confusing. Her dad answered the door and she swallowed hard, feeling tears prick at the back of her eyes and telling herself she was stupid for feeling that way. No more crying, especially not in front of her parents. That was just horribly embarrassing.  Femi was right behind her husband, having been chatting with him in the kitchen while he started thinking about what to make for dinner. Neither of them had expected a knock on the door and she was quite curious to see who was bothering them. She caught sight of Josephine and refrained from sighing, but then in the next second she realized that seeing the old woman probably meant seeing her daughter and she gasped in delight, out the door almost immediately and brushing past the two part-Highlanders. Her eyes widened in shock when she first caught sight of the young wolf. "Thyme?" she squeaked, one hand going up to her cheek in surprise. "What did you do to your fur?"The girl opened her mouth to reply, interpreting her mother's expression as shock and dismay, but in the next instant the squirrel had run forward and leaned down to wrap her arms around her daughter's neck. "It's just beautiful, darling!" she exclaimed, petting the soft green fur and sneezing at the sudden cloud of dust that rose from her hug. "What...?" |
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