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Post by Kitty on Jun 8, 2009 0:20:38 GMT -5
It was dark, the streets desolate and calm for the most part, the illusion intensified by the soft, silvery glow that the moon bathed the world with .... but he wasn't fooled. There was bound to be someone, or something, waiting to ambush him around one of these corners ... laying in wait in some alleyway or behind some debris. the triple breed just... knew it. Or maybe he was just being excessively paranoid again ... no, no ... that wasn't it. There WAS somethign htere this time.. .had to be. Feathered hackles rose as his steady trot slowed into a slow, creeping walk .... he really should have worn that coat mother made him ... it hid him better at this hour, hid the tell tale markings and blemishes of his heritage from potential onlookers. rounded rat ears swiveled and jumped as he paused to assess this clearing, bulky body held low to the ground, twitching whiskers just grazing the stones below his paws. Nothing, it was nothing. A nervous little laugh, which cracked somewhere toward it's end, bubbled up from his throat as he rocked back to sit on his haunches, head turning to give himself a quick groom to smooth his ruffled fur. Snow hued wings, which had previously been glued to his sides, relaxed with the rest of his body as he sat in the semi-hunched way his build demanded ... even if it looked uncomfortable... it was just how his bones were arranged. He flipped one wing open and started to preen the glossy feathers, channeling all of his nervous energy into grooming the feathery appendage.
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Post by carcinoGeneticist on Jun 8, 2009 0:35:44 GMT -5
She watched. From the rooftop, where the little white-winged Lowlander couldn't possibly see her, she watched him, following. He looked to be relatively well-fed and well-groomed for a Lowlander, but the idea of touching his fur made the fluff on her spine stand up slightly all the same. She wasn't really sure why she was following him anymore - it had been on a whim, initially, to see if she could. Most likely. Those wings of his, though... Those were fascinating. How could a Lowlander end up with such pristine and lovely appendages? In a way, it didn't seem entirely fair, especially when she took her own bare back into consideration. When he moved away from the buildings she leapt into the air, soundless, and floated above his head, making sure to stay out of sight. My, he was a twitchy thing, wasn't he? It almost made her chortle, but then he did it for her. She watched him preen for a minute or two and then dropped to the ground behind him, taking a step or two forward. " You're a twitchy thing, aren't you?[/b]" she said, voice light, a smile at her beak. " What's wrong, do you think someone would be out to... kidnap someone like you? It's true, no one would notice a missing Lowlander...[/b]" What would set this one off? It was always a game, in a way, pressing each button until you got a result.
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Post by Kitty on Jun 8, 2009 0:57:08 GMT -5
The simple action of grooming his feathers helped to clam his nerves and settle his fur. But this calm wouldn't last long, no... about the time his heart rate returned to it's normal rhythm was when she dropped down, one of those little, almost out of place looking ears twitching. just a little breeze rustling some trash ... just making something out of nothing again.
But he was wrong this time, which meant he'd been right all along.... which meant... suits, he'd been followed! He hadn't been up to any mischief really, just checking in with a somewhat seedy vendor about an illegal sort of mushroom that he'd like to add to his collection ...
He jumped and whirled around, talons clacking and scratching against the cobblestones as he did, every hair and feather on his body stood on end, instantly making him almost twice his own size ... almost impressive, almost. He tucked his bushy tail between his legs and backed up a bit, opening up his beak-muzzle to try and add to the effect, even if fear scent was rolling off him like a heavy mist.
His voice just.... didn't help either, especially when it cracked again.
w-well... Why were you... s-stalking... me then?
It had to be something in that spectrum that crossed both awful and torturous... just had to be. No one followed a lowlander around without some form of ill intent.
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Post by carcinoGeneticist on Jun 8, 2009 1:09:32 GMT -5
The reaction wasn't exactly what she was hoping for, she had to admit. In some ways, the physical signs of fear had a lot in common with those of anger - the puffing of fur, the nervous little movements, but something was missing from it. Whatever it was that set them apart was huge - after all, she'd been afraid of a few angry Cards before, but frightened ones just made her want to laugh.
And laugh she did, clacking her beak and wiping mirthful tears away with the back of a talon, burbling happily. Her ears panned forward, deciding that she'd work with the fear for now. He did inflate so nicely when he was on edge.
"Didn't I tell you already? Silly boy, no one would notice if a Lowlander vanished. I have no interest in you myself - My research doesn't require kidnapping of subjects - but I did wonder how someone could be so... unbelievably stupid.[/b]" she shifted slightly. He was big, for a teen, but she was still bigger. And fluffier. She felt confident. "Most Lowlanders... No, most children travel in packs when they're walking through the city in the middle of the night. Unless they're doing something they don't want others to know about. Is that why you're so twitchy?[/b]"
Her eyes sparkled with delight, and she took a step forward. In her mind, she activated her lie detection ability - she'd know the truth. This was far too interesting to simply... pass up, so to speak.
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Post by Kitty on Jun 10, 2009 17:41:27 GMT -5
Little rounded rat ears twitched upward for a moment when she laughed before settling themselves back against his skull once more. He started to twiddle the toes on his hind paws, talons scraping against the cobblestones. Her talons looked a little more useful ... but it couldn't hurt to advertise his own... right?
Her little speech of no one missing a lowlander and kidnapping made him grind the beak part of his muzzle and the few teeth he had ... he'd heard that before, but ... didn't anyone take in consideration that lowlanders had families to? Families that would miss them? At the very least he did ... so it was flawed logic, but aggravating still.
The muscles in hsi cheeks twitched, sending his whiskers forward and splaying them a bit as he took her question into consideration. Really he didn't see any reason to not travel at night, momma did it... and momma wasn't a bad person, but .... was what he was doing bad? He wasn't planning on using the mushrooms in any illegal manner ... he just wanted to study them and compare them to his specimens at home, see what made them different. That ... wasn't wrong, was it? Even if they came from a dealer?
The feathers along his spine rose before he gave his simple answer as he stood his ground for now. She'd made no threatening movements so he had no reason to run ... yet.
No, it's not.
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Post by carcinoGeneticist on Jul 7, 2009 21:43:53 GMT -5
The woman watched. That was the easiest way to figure out what emotions a person was feeling. They always gave it away in weird little ways - the twitch at the corner of the eye, for example, or an idle movement of a paw. In the case of this boy, she hadn't quite decided if the splaying of his whiskers or the twitching of those funny olive-colored feathers was more telling. As it was right now, she was leaning towards the feathers. Whisker-twitching could mean a number of things, including simple interest. The feathers felt more primal to her.
And, oooh, she might have touched on a nerve there... He seemed oddly jumpy about that answer, and it did take him quite a while to speak.
"You're an older teen... Perhaps 15 or 16? Lowlander, obviously, quite the curious-looking mix of breeds, so even if the fact that you're a disgusting and rotting creature wasn't enough the other kids probably could tease you with that... Travelling alone at night, jumpy,[/b]" Zenon hesitated, drawing back and lifting her impressively tufted ears, crimson eyes flashing delightedly even in the dark. "You certainly fit the profile of someone who's lurking around with the intent of either selling or purchasing illegal substances.[/b]"
The corvid mix reared back on her hind legs, folding the clawed fores in front of herself, tapping one claw against the hard, armor-like scales across the back. "Let's put it this way - if it's something that a cop would confiscate from you if you had it, even if you weren't even intending on using it for said illegal purpose, I'd say that classifies it as doing something you shouldn't be.[/b]" she blinked at him, tilting her head to the side. "Well? If I were a cop or a Yarrow, would you be afraid?[/b]"
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Post by Kitty on Mar 15, 2011 12:26:12 GMT -5
She was prying and trying to make him even more nervous, which wasn't really a hard task. He didn't have the strong personalities of his siblings with him either, he was alone. As much as he wanted to just start running and not stop til he got home, leading her through a few twisty turns along the way of course, he kept his paws planted and straightened himself up. He could stand on his own, right? He wasn't really that codependent, was he?
If you were a Yarrow, you wouldn't care either way, I'd be guilty. A cop? Eh, depends on them individually. I know how people feel about my realm.
He also knew how fond of kicking children from his realm a lot of people were as well.
There's no one to kick you as you walk past at night. I could just be avoiding cracked ribs and bruises, right?
There was actually a measure of truth to that, even if he did have a package of mushrooms on him. He'd try and talk her down a little more, but he was starting to think that just wasn't going to happen.
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