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Post by Greenie on Jul 25, 2008 22:45:36 GMT -5
Pascha felt as though his eyeballs might explode. That would be rather messy no doubt, with body tissue and red pigment splattered all over, not to mention he'd end up blind. His only suggestion to the Court would be to stop giving him so much bloody paperwork, but the last time he'd tried suggesting something to Anoushka she'd just thrown more paperwork at him and kicked him out. Clearly, passing his Jack quest hadn't improved her opinion of him much. He did his best to avoid bleeding and/or exploding eyes by taking breaks as often as he could get away, and on days like this when Malc was busy, he just came outside and latched onto a tree. The Tulgey was in his favorite position: above any passerbys but within easy sight, if anyone actually bothered to look up. Which they never did. It made it all the more fun if they were lost, and he happened to inquire if they needed any help. It wasn't his fault they were unobservant, afterall, and as long as they weren't unfortunate enough to be Corvies, no one ended up dead or convulsing. |
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Post by The Jenn on Jul 25, 2008 22:59:32 GMT -5
Thyme had finally gotten to the point where her curiosity about the Courts overrode her aunt's general distaste for them, enough to decide on visiting her suit's Court. Ironically enough, the Court of Clubs was her aunt's absolute least favorite and she assumed that it was because of bias. She didn't know the real reason behind it. She'd told Josephine that she would be gone for a week and was rather vague about her plans, but the woman had been distracted at the time and hadn't given her any resistance. She was old enough to go about her own business now, so long as she stayed respectable. It had been a longish ride and she felt tired, but she'd stopped for the night at a nice inn outside of the capital and was looking forward to finding herself a good dinner somewhere in a few hours. She'd arrived only twenty or so minutes before and had made little mental comparisons between what she'd seen of the palace of Hearts, living in the Highlands as she did, and what she saw now. She had to admit that the neutral color scheme was strangely appealing and had made her way as far as an outer courtyard before the feelers drifting along behind her tail suddenly tingled oddly and made her pause. She was getting plenty of weird looks for her appearance as people tried to figure out what exactly her region was. Highlander, obviously, but mixed with what? Avington? It just didn't sit right in their heads. She ignored them all, head held haughtily high, and tried to figure out why she was getting the strange sensation. It usually meant someone was watching her. Slowly she looked around, and then looked up. Red eyes met red and she stared in surprise, not expecting to find a Tulgey here of all places. "Well, you don't look very comfortable." |
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Post by Greenie on Jul 25, 2008 23:05:24 GMT -5
The owl was surprisingly relaxed, for having been in the tree for the better part of twenty minutes now. No one had bothered him nor even noticed him--but that all went back to the fact that no one ever looked down. He was enjoying people-watching, as there were plenty of people to watch; two maidservants were necking behind some bushes not but ten yards away, and an entire caravan full of traders had just pulled up and unloaded before scampering into the Court.
Have fun with that, Aderlass.
Pascha had nearly begun to fall asleep when a flash of green and red caught his eye. He looked down only to find himself staring into the eyes of a very odd looking canine--and he'd thought he was funny looking. Not that she wasn't pretty, because she was certainly that, but the things on her tail were just weird. "You'd be surprised." He said flatly, and briefly flexed a talon at her to make his point. The owl began a slow stretch, beginning with his wings, and slowly worked his head in nearly 360-degree circles along with it. After a few minutes he settled back down (after ruffling his feathers a few times) and went back to staring at her. "Can I help you?" He finally asked, as she hadn't left.
Hopefully he at least creeped her out a little bit. He was good at that, if nothing else.
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Post by The Jenn on Jul 26, 2008 12:24:40 GMT -5
From her aunt's extreme dislike of the Courts, she'd expected them to be a lot more... something. More than she saw, anyway. It was certainly one of the larger places she'd been, with the exception of the Capital. That had been quite a shock to her senses and nearly made her want to retch until the sensations she kept getting from her feelers were overwhelmed and absorbed and ignored. Too many stinking creatures in one place for her. The palace of Clubs was much cleaner, and there weren't nearly so many people jam-packed into one place. Those that were here seemed to be a little cleaner, anyhow.
Obviously this bird wasn't the friendly sort, but after living with Alphonse and his nastiness for fourteen years she was sort of used to it. That still didn't mean she appreciated it. With a snort, she sat down. Obviously he didn't feel like company. That just made the 'difficult' part of her head want to plant her butt down and talk to him some more, even if she didn't get much out of it. "I'm new to the area," she said mildly, tail swishing and setting her feelers to drifting oddly. "Seeing as I'm more used to the company of Highlanders and Tulgeys, and there aren't any Highlanders in sight, you seemed a good person to ask a few questions. Unless, of course, you don't know anything about the Court." She smiled, but it was barbed.
The head-turning trick was pretty nifty, though.
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Post by Greenie on Jul 26, 2008 19:47:34 GMT -5
Pascha resigned himself to conversation, though he was a bit amused when she firmly planted her but down and resolutely stared up at him. Her statement made him tilted his head at her and raise an eyebrow. Highlanders and Tulgeys? This woman was odd, if she thought the two mixed well in general (though he supposed the two of them made the exception) but he wasn't going to burst her bubble just yet. She could be delusional or something weird, and he wasn't ready to dip into that water.
"That would depend," He started slowly, "On whether you want to know about trade relations or maid relations." The owl smiled slowly, one side quirked, "I'll let you decide which I know most about." He then ruffled his feathers once more, gripped the branch tighter, then literally swung around and gently swayed back and forth before he came to a rest, completely upside down.
He then carefully maneuvered himself around on the branch until he was again facing her, then went back to staring at her. "What would you like to know?"
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Post by The Jenn on Jul 29, 2008 14:50:00 GMT -5
Thyme snorted at his wording, extremely amused. She was very glad that her aunt had been making her deal with wordplay for years, especially with the profession and mage-specialty she'd been cultivating. It would seem that the Courts required the same touch, even in such a casual setting. She wondered if this man was titled or just a courtier. Or, hell, maybe he was a visitor himself? She didn't get that impression from his confident attitude, though, especially not addressing someone a rank up. The upside-down trick was a nifty one, though, and so very Tulgey. It made her think of Alphonse again.
"Well, considering the fact that I can sense the pheromones of something up in the air right now, close by, maid relations sound a little more pertinent." She took the phrase to mean any Court intrigue and romance, but would have laughed if she'd known that actual maidservants were the ones currently responsible for the pheromones her feelers were picking up. "Before all that, though, I'd be interested in knowing who I'm talking to. My name is Thyme e'Devya." She'd only recently begun including the Highland family name that her aunt had granted her. It seemed to lend her more authority in the Highland circles, and in anyone familiar with their family structure, though most people outside didn't know anything about it.
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Post by Greenie on Jul 29, 2008 21:36:42 GMT -5
Pascha continued to gently rotate his head in unnatural manners, enjoying the ability to do so. It tended to creep the Nobles out to the point where he'd been gently requested to leave off until he was in private.. and by the time he was alone, he was asleep, and woke up with his muscles in knots. So the change was nice, being able to relax himself without freaking his company out - though he had to admit, shaking her up a little bit probably wouldn't hurt her.
"Pheromones are everywhere," He said vaguely. "So I suppose they are always pertinant." Once she introduced himself, he lazily rolled his head from side to side, debating on whether or not to give her his title. After a brief moment he decided against it; if she really wanted to know, she would ask. "Pascha. No surname."
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Post by The Jenn on Jul 30, 2008 7:53:09 GMT -5
"Pascha. Alright then." She wrapped her tongue around the name even as she continued to watch him twist his head this way and that. It was oddly mesmerizing. The spine shouldn't be able to move that way, should it? Was it a bird thing, or just a 'him' thing? It may have been his Tulgey weird, for all she knew. If Rose could stick her tongue out to obscene lengths, then who's to say the owl couldn't twist his head around like a man possessed? She didn't have any birds in her family and hadn't had the chance to see any owls perform the feat, the Card variety or the smaller avian variety.
She swished her tail around for a moment, considering. His response to her comment had been lackluster at best, so she obviously hadn't made the right choice. Unfortunate. Was it too late to take the other path? "From your general lack of interest, I take it you know more about trades than maids?" the wolf asked, continuing to watch his odd upside-down movements.
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Post by Greenie on Jul 30, 2008 22:27:18 GMT -5
"Mmhm," He replied lazily, still working his muscles out of the knots they routinely got into. The owl needed to get himself a regular relaxation schedule, but the idea was laughable considering his job. Maybe he needed a new job.. but then again, thinking of Aderlass, he liked his head where it was. A while into her considering silence he began absently pruning himself, heedless of his upside-down position. A feather or two gently floated down to the ground, one quite near to her paws.
It was too bad his feathers didn't make people sneeze or something equally as awkward, as it could be highly entertaining in this situation.
"On most days," He replied with a quirked smile. "Maids tend to avoid me. They have this odd notion that I'm going to simply collapse around them.. I have no idea where they got it, but regardless." He lightly mocked himself beyond her knowledge, a small smile on his face. "I repeat," The owl re-started, "What would you like to know?"
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Post by The Jenn on Aug 10, 2008 8:21:00 GMT -5
Thyme looked down at the feather by her paws, her eyes having absently tracked the movement. Did they lose feathers often? How strange. She supposed it was just their equivalent of shedding.
She'd picked a weird one to have a conversation with, the fact both irritating and oddly reassuring at the same time. Her sister liked word-games sometimes. They annoyed Thyme whenever she did them because usually Rose didn't make sense in those games. She'd gotten a little better in her time with her aunt, but when logic got thrown to the wind it made her testy. At least he didn't seem to be going that route altogether.
"I'd like to know about what it's like to live at Court," she told him with a small sigh, her ears flicking back and then forward again as she told herself not to get annoyed. He wasn't Alphonse or Sage to piss her off at a moment's notice and he wasn't Rose to piss her off on occasion, but he was a rather bizarre creature and interesting to watch. She didn't want to offend, but she also didn't like the thought of being mocked. At all. "I've heard nasty things about this place, and I've heard slightly better things, and I'm curious which hold the most weight. Obviously I've never been here before." Her last few words were laced with a touch of sarcasm.
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