Not Quite At Home [Closed]

[Travesty]

Darcy never thought it’d be possible, but for the moment he was thrilled to be back home. The Capital was lovely for a few hours, a full day at most, but any longer and the city ceased to be an amusing diversion and became nothing more than crowded streets and useless baubles. The people were, for the most part, crass and filthy, not the sort of company a Villa was supposed to keep. The only real gain of his visit was the uproar it had caused with his parents; they were under the belief that the best Villa was a recluse Villa.

He wasn’t exactly sure he could handle living here his whole life without at least some variation in stimuli, but he doubted there was a view more lovely than the one he was looking at now, from the balcony of his family’s estate. White cliffs and wildflowers as far as the eye could see, and then of course there were the lemon trees. His family had an orchard consisting mostly of the beautiful yellow crop, though there were a few large, spidery apple trees dotted here and there. No wonder his lavender eyes were spoiled.

“Darcy, did you take Mattea’s ribbon?” His mother screamed from somewhere inside the house. As if he, effeminate as he undoubtedly was, would steal a bit of ribbon for himself. Didn’t they realize that orange would clash with his coloring anyway?

“I WANT MY RIBBON BACK!” That would be Mattea, screeching like her life depended on finding that unremarkable piece of silk.

Well, it was time to get going. He knew better than to stick around when his sister was throwing a tantrum, it always managed to lead back to him. Plus, the weather was always nice in Villa; he’d go for a walk and let his female relations settle down.

He padded through room after ornately decorated room, careful to avoid being seen by either his family or the staff, before finally going out one of the side doors. The weather was gorgeous, like it most often was, with warm sunshine and the lightest breeze that echoed off the cliff walls. If only he could have all this without, well…that. He glanced back at the manor, looking as grand and unwelcoming as ever.

The mixed breed made his way down to the orchards, threading through the trees and avoiding being seen by the Cards harvesting the fruit. He wished there was else around besides the servants and his family? The grove was really more of a park that private property, sometimes there was someone else around…

[seraaches]

This was almost more home than even her region. Narcissus Ma'aharet Corialoske took a deep breath of the fresh, Ville en Miir air and felt some degree of peace. The Torquehelm canine played with the end of the hair wrapped around her right arm as she looked around. Now that they were further into the region, they had elected to get out and walk for a bit. There was a lovely lemon orchard stretching to one side and wildflowers abounding on the other side of the road.

"Granna!" a high, musical girl's voice floated on the breeze behind her and the canine turned to look back on the Highlander/Villa mix that was excitedly waving her two tails. "Granna, lookit all the butterflies! Oh, I want to play their movements!"

[Travesty]

Darcy could hear Truman, the family’s faithful butler, calling for him from the outskirts of the grove. He was positive the sparrow wouldn’t follow him; not only was he too old to be chasing after children, especially on this sloping terrain, but he and Darcy were also something like partners-in-crime. The mixed breed would keep his sisters from bothering him with their every whim, and at times like these Truman wouldn’t tell his mother his whereabouts. It was a symbiotic relationship that he had never regretted.

Still, it would be better to move deeper into the expanse of trees, if only to hide from the great bay windows of the manor. He moved at a very dignified trot, his eyes too concerned with looking at the fruit heavy on their branches and the lazy, fluffy clouds in the sky to pay attention to what – or who – was in front of him.

It was only the creature’s voice, similar to those of his sisters, only much less grating, that shook him from his appreciation of the scenery. He nearly bumped into her, but managed to change his stumble into a polite incline of his head, his gaze flicking over her. A Villa and Highlander mix? Not exactly uncommon, but not unflattering. She looked oddly familiar, though he couldn’t explain why…A daughter of a family friend, perhaps? It was so hard to keep track!

“Excuse me, I didn’t see you there,” he apologized lightly, flashing a charming smile. "I wasn't expecting to run into anyone out here." What a pleasant surprise.

[seraaches]

Kami's ears flicked backwards in surprise as someone who was certainly not her grandmother suddenly spoke to her. She stared at the Six of Spades imperiously for a long moment as the the judging the boy, but, finally, she flicked her two tails and tossed her head. Generally rank didn't matter to her except in the matter of Vespera, her middle sister, who was an arrogant little snot and totally deserved to be put down at every instant.

"Hullo," she answered dutifully. He seemed older than her and she wasn't certain what she thought of that.

Haret stepped up her pace a trifle when she saw that there was someone else here on the road. She didn't think there would be any trouble-- especially not here in the peaceful Villa-- but she would never knowingly put her eldest granddaughter into danger.

Kami, however, was entirely unconcerned by potential thread to her well-being. "So that means you rarely run into people here," the girl was pointing out as the canine drew closer. "Are you the only one who lives in the area? Are you homeless?"

Kamaria wasn't necessarily known for her tact.

[Travesty]

Ah, a child after his own heart. In reality they were probably about the same age, but being surrounded by immaturity had made him grown beyond his years. He skimmed over her rank as she did over his and shrugged inwardly. A Six, an Eight; it didn’t really make much difference here.

It was only then he noticed the newcomer’s unusual companion. He blinked in surprise, it was next to never a Torque wandered through Villa, and to be honest they always unnerved them. Case and point, this particular woman was bound by her hair. Her hair! How did she manage to get around?

He turned his attention back to the Eight in time to hear her say something completely ridiculous. Darcy shook his head, delighted at the thought. “Homeless? Far from it. My family owns the land you’re walking on,” he said through his laughter. “Oh, but where’s my head – I’m Darcy. It’s a pleasure to meet you…” He trailed off, looking at her inquisitively.

[seraaches]

"You can't own a highway," Kamaria pointed out authoritatively, head up in the air with the aura of a firstborn child. "And we were on the road."

"Kamaria," the canine said softly. There might have been the faintest hint of reproof in the woman's voice, but she didn't have the inclination nor the personality to be harsh at all to her granddaughter. Truth was, however, that Kami was not technically on the road anymore and was now playing fairly near the trees amongst the flowers.

The little fox glanced up at her grandmother and gave a small sigh that said pointedly that she thought the older woman was horribly wrong, but that she would try to do as the Torquehelm wanted.

"Where does your land end?" the young girl asked next. "Then we can get off of it for you." Though that certainly wasn't what the boy had said.

[Travesty]

Darcy found himself laughing again. What else was he supposed to do in the face of such flawed logic? He got the impression she and his two sisters would get along just fine, if they weren’t at each others throats first.

He civilly dipped his head to the Torque, who close up appeared quite old. A relative, perhaps? He didn't find it surprising the child needed a babysitter, with a mouth like hers she was bound to get into trouble. What had she said her ward’s name was? Kamaria?

“That wasn’t what I meant at all, Kamaria,” he answered smoothly. “The orchard is open to the public. That’s why there’s no fences,” Darcy added. “Please don’t feel it necessary to leave. We enjoy company.” He smiled at that last bit; it was only a small lie. His siblings hated to share anything, including the citrus, and his mother...liked to entertain, which was something else entirely.

[seraaches]

(( i don't think Haret really appears that old yet. . . xD; She's a young grandmother, and i think Cards tend to live quite long. xD; She is an adult, however, so it's not like she's a teenager or something. <3 ))

Haret clasped her hands in front of her, feeling that it was all right for her to stay on the sidelines, so to speak, since the boy didn't appear to be insulted by Kamaria's very frank manner of speaking. The little fox's mouth had gotten her in trouble a few times, but Haret thought that she'd end up mellowing out into something more like her mate, Aroha. The fox wasn't afraid to speak her mind, but she also certainly didn't purposefully alienate other Cards.

"Well, then we won't yet," Kami replied. "What did you say your name was? Dahcee? That's kind of strange. Are you named after something? My name means 'moon'. We were all named after sky things." So saying, she started to walk towards the lemon trees now quite as though she owned the place. "What do you grow here? Those look. . . weird."

[Travesty]

ooc: I'm sorry, I had no idea about Card lifespans! ._.; To Darcy though, she probably looks old anyway, haha. xD -pats Haret- He's just obnoxious like that.

bic:

“I'm overcome with happiness,” Darcy said drolly. Against his better judgment he was enjoying this outspoken canine, and he didn’t even find himself too disturbed by the Torque, although that might have been because she was content to mediate the children and not get too involved. It was a refreshing change from his own parents.

“Darcy,” he corrected nonchalantly, rolling the ‘r.’ Hilarious to think his name was out of the ordinary while hers was the norm. “…It means dark, I believe,” he said after some thought. “My sisters’ names have nicer meanings,” he smirked. He followed her, turning his head to the Torque. Would she come after them? He wanted to see how she moved…

“They’re lemons,” he said bluntly. “Nothing out of the ordinary, I’m afraid. We have apples too, and grape vines closer to the house.”

ooc: 'Dahcee'? She sounds like she's from NJ. xDD

[seraaches]

(( No worries at all! <3 And Kami just doesn't pay attention. xD;;; ))

Since this was Haret's bipedal form, she could walk quite easily on her hindlegs, though if she switched to her animal form-- something she never did-- it would be something of a show for the children. Because of her hair binding, however, it was not only incredibly uncomfortable, causing her to hunch unnaturally, but the position she was forced to hold in that form was very painful and impeded her movement horribly. Therefore, she had never gone back once she had been gifted with her bipedal form.

"Oh, Darcy," she repeated, but her tone conveyed it wasn't quite as interesting as it could be. She paused when he told her they grew lemons and she stared upwards to find the green and yellowing fruits in the tree above her. That was very cool and he even managed to forestall her next question which would have been about whether or not they grew anything other than lemons.

"Do you like lemons?" she asked, the conversation finally falling into something a bit more polite, perhaps, than her previous indications.