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Post by Jaguara Katial on Sept 1, 2007 21:35:25 GMT -5
She had managed to sneak past the guards of the palace and into the gardens of red and yellow. The high white and gold walls loomed above her. Yes, this was where she wanted to be. The countryside held no appeal to her and Sebak was getting on her nerves. She needed more she wanted to see the man with the red hair again. She tried to stay out of sight as much as possible but her color scheme and the color of the grounds didn’t allow her much success. The roses called to her and she found herself gazing at the delicate flowers, a light mist had covered them from the mid morning dew that was slowly evaporating as the day grew longer. Why was she cast out of here? Why were others allowed to stay but not her? The problem confused her, all she wanted was a real home…a home that she hadn’t had since that day long ago…would she ever have that again? She sighed as she sat there taking in all of the flowers and their splendor. Not even aware of anything else around her. |
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Post by The Jenn on Sept 1, 2007 21:45:24 GMT -5
 A small creature sauntered through the gardens, its prodigious bulk making it quite apparent that a) it was in fact a she, and b) she was in fact quite pregnant. Stripes and dapples ran across her hide, the sunlight of late morning warming her fur quite nicely compared to the cool marble floors indoors. She would rest out here for a little while. Yes. Following the slowly-moving creature was a bipedal doe, her pastel sunset colors marking her quite clearly as a Morganberry native. The Ten of Hearts emblazoned on her chest also gave her some small amount of authority in the court, especially if one knew of her position as His Majesty's personal assistant. He trusted her with many responsibilities and listened to her as he might not otherwise pay attention to others of her rank. Someday in the future, she aspired towards the rank and prestige of a Jack. Moderately powerful, ambitious, attractive - and here she was following along behind the fat form of the Queen's favorite pet, trying to coax the creature back indoors. "Come on now, Sultana, don't you want to come inside? Serafino will have a fit if he finds you out here, as near to term as you are...please come back?" She made a few clicking noises with her tongue, but to no avail. She may as well have not existed in the bandersnatch's world, for all the attention she paid. The doe knew better than to touch her without the creature's express permission, having received several nasty scratches and a bite or two from those fangs as punishment. |
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Post by Jaguara Katial on Sept 1, 2007 21:54:53 GMT -5
Majida froze, she knew that voice...it was her…it was the voice of that doe that had given her to her original caretaker after he had cast them all away. She panicked and looked for a place to hide from her eyes. She snuffled under the roses as they clawed and tore at her blue feathers. She had to hide…she would take her back to that woman and then she would never be free. She suddenly missed Sebak and wished that he were there with her. Sniffles escaped her small beak and betrayed her poorly made hiding place. She twisted and tried to push herself backwards further into the brush. Thorns scratched her and holding her breath and gritting her beak together was all that she could do to keep from crying out when the sharp plant dug its way past her feathers into her flesh. Her talons were scratched and burned but soon she found that she couldn’t move. She was stuck. In panic, she thrashed about and became even more entwined as she threatened to pull up the delicate roses from their bed.
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Post by The Jenn on Sept 1, 2007 22:09:33 GMT -5
Dark-hued ears perked up in interest at the thrashing in the rosebush. Was that...prey?
Quickly diverted from her original aimless wandering, Sultana headed straight for the moving plant, both ears swiveled forward to catch any sound. Her predatory stalk was somewhat hampered by her overlarge girth, but she managed the hunting stance as best she could. Something was in distress. Perhaps she could eat it? Whatever it was, it would not be allowed within her territory without a thorough inspection.
Dymphna noticed the movement only a second after the bander and turned her attention towards the rosebush. What could possibly be causing all that noise? A raccoon? A trapped bird? The space seemed far too small to fit a person, and so she didn't even guess that a child might be caught in the thorns. What would a child be doing unattended in the gardens, anyway? Everyone knew that His Majesty abhorred children destroying his precious flowers and wouldn't risk his ire.
"Well?" she asked the pregnant bander archly as the creature circled the bush. "Are you going to do something or not? I really don't have all day."
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Post by Jaguara Katial on Sept 1, 2007 22:21:18 GMT -5
The sight of the bander only made her panic more. She had heard about them from Sebak, ferocious creatures that would rip your head off if given the chance. No…no this wasn’t how she was suppose to make her end in this world…no she needed to get away…she thrashed even more now and managed to stand up in the bushes as they pulled out her feathers. She closed her eyes and pushed with all of her might through the top of the flowers as they raked across her face. The thorns stung like little razors and small lines of blood appeared on what little flesh there was surrounding her eyes and beak. Small bits of dirt flew out of the flowerbeds as she tried to claw her way up out of the bush. Her wings ached but all she could think about was getting away from the creature that she had been told would only bring about her doom. The doe was forgotten, as was the mean woman that she had been entrusted to, escape was the only thing on her mind, no matter the cost.
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Post by The Jenn on Sept 1, 2007 22:34:54 GMT -5
Sultana's eyes narrowed at the smell of blood, her dark-tipped nose carefully scenting the air. Maybe not prey...no, it didn't smell right. Still, the blood enticed her into moving closer, and closer, until-
She let out a sharp, yipping shriek as the bush suddenly seemed to explode, scrambling backwards in surprise and nearly rolling as her bulk couldn't move as fast as her mind said she should be able to. Predator, prey, it certainly didn't matter anymore! Displaying one of the key differences between a feral bandersnatch and a domesticated one, she turned tail and hustled back towards the palace, ready to stand in the door and guard her home base against this unexpected intruder. She would retreat no further than that, hackles raised and mouth slightly open, ready to bite.
Dymphna stumbled back and let out a startled cry of her own, certainly not expecting the rosebush to suddenly explode with violent movement and action. She saw bits of feather and a flash of blue through the tangle of red and green. Angry with herself for showing such a lack of restraint in the face of whatever-it-was that had decided this bush needed to be punished, she stepped forward and shouted in an authoritative voice that could probably be heard throughout the gardens and on parts of the first floor.
"HEY! MIND the ROSES!"
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Post by Jaguara Katial on Sept 1, 2007 22:54:44 GMT -5
Her attention was drawn away from the bander as the loud strict female voice bounded through the grounds. She stopped thrashing and looked towards the doe embarrassed. She opened her beak to say anything to her about the mess as she looked around as best she could in her position but found no words to say. She knew she was trespassing and that she was now in even more trouble then she would have been for just being there. She just hung her head in silence and awaited her punishment. She knew that she would be placed back into Sigma’s care and that her nightmare would start all over again, but she was powerless to do anything else. She knew that without ripping out the roses, she wouldn’t be able to get out on her own and she needed the help of the doe regardless of anything that would come after wards.
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Post by The Jenn on Sept 1, 2007 23:09:05 GMT -5
As all the shaking and thrashing and tearing ceased all at once, Dymphna took a deep breath and glared at the thing caught in the rosebush. She couldn't properly see what it was yet, not with everything in the way, but she did see a few feathers drifting to the ground. The volume and suddenness of her voice, she assumed, had stopped its movement.
She took a step forward and finally got a good enough look at the plant to determine just what - or who, really - was entangled in the thorny vines. A child?! And not just any child, but one with plumage she would swear she had seen before. Caught like that, the girl had to be hurting.
...girl...yes. She had met this child before, briefly, before she had handed her off to a new caretaker, one who had obviously failed miserably at keeping an eye on her charge. Torn between her concern for the mangled bush and worry over the condition of the bleeding child, she gritted her teeth and moved closer, until she was right next to the tall plant. It nearly came up to her ribcage, and in her bipedal form, that height was nothing to scoff at. Even though she may have been a delicate female, she was a hoofed mammal, making her easily the equal of many others in height.
"Just...hold still, okay?" she told the child, wincing inside at how brusque the tone sounded. She hadn't meant for it to come out quite that callous. Furred hands tried to reach through the vines, pull some away from the feathered body, but she quickly realized how futile the attempt would be. This bird was well and truly stuck. Nothing short of cutting through the vines was likely to free her from the bloody nest she'd made for herself.
Hoping against hope that His Majesty had either not heard or ignored her shout, she looked around for the nearest gardener and signaled him over, telling him to fetch a large pair of hedge clippers.
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Post by Jaguara Katial on Sept 2, 2007 13:02:05 GMT -5
She looked the doe over with solemn eyes. She winced as her hands touched her body; flashes of memories came flooding of the heartless female of whose care she was placed. Sebak was working on his bipedal from; it had been only the caregiver she had escaped from whose hands she had been touched with last. It sent chills down her spine and she was embarrassed. Not to mention that closing her eyes was all that she could do to keep from crying out in pain as the open wounds were relieved of their tiny knives and then found their way back into different parts of her flesh where they had wormed their way through her protective feathers.
“Th…thank you...and…I...I’m sorry…” was all that she could muster as the gardener came to free her from her prison. She tried not to move even though her body burned with the tiny scratches she had received from her self-made prison. What kind of punishment was she going to get from this? Was Sebak going to have to come and get her? Would he come for her? Thoughts swirled around in her head and caused her to be dizzy with unwanted anticipation.
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Post by The Jenn on Sept 2, 2007 13:20:16 GMT -5
While Dymphna and the unlucky gardener were busy trying to free the avian's trapped body, Serafino swept through the halls of the palace towards the gardens, his course set to find the doe as soon as possible. Had she shouted about something else, he would probably have ignored the cry and gone on with his business untroubled. The roses, however, were not to be disturbed, his pride and joy as much as Sultana. He passed the red female and spared her a glance, noting the hackled back, the bared fangs, and the general impression of 'upset!' that practically radiated from her round body. So whatever disturbed his flowers had also upset his bandersnatch?! Oh no. This was not, in any way, acceptable.  Transforming mid-step, he took up his bipedal form and flared his wings, stalking towards the sounds of commotion where several other passerby had stopped to watch the spectacle. At the rustling of his feathers and a snake-like hiss, several of them looked up and quickly stumbled back. Not even a good show was worth being in the path of their angered Queen, especially in his more animalistic form. That simple change said more about his mood than any expression ever could. The axe had not yet appeared in his hand, but it was only a matter of time. "Would someone kindly tell me just who disturbed my roses, my bander, and my attendant?" he hissed at those involved, waiting for some sort of response. Dymphna was so startled at the sudden, far too familiar voice that she accidentally let go of the branch she was holding back and it whipped back in towards the young bird. |
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