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Post by The Jenn on Mar 5, 2009 0:42:57 GMT -5
"I was the only child in my litter, m'lady, though there were others a few years older," Valeny answered, and then proceeded to listen to Ashta describe her children, and her warren, and ramble on about other little things on her tangents. For a few minutes, the Leveret's eyes almost glazed over, but she remembered the woman's snappish behavior at the beginning of their little teatime and didn't let herself drift too far.
Sipping at the tea and nibbling the scone she'd been given, she continued to listen, making appropriate noises in the back of her throat when they seemed appropriate and answering questions when asked. None of them were terribly difficult or stressing, merely little things about her past that she could answer without having to worry about phrasing 'just right'. She'd lived it, after all, and it hadn't been particularly objectionable then.
What an odd thing. Hopefully Aleah's worries would remain unfounded now that she seemed content to ramble. Maybe she was just bored and lonely? Does had to be bored a lot of the time, didn't they, not doing anything resembling work?
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Post by Nako on Mar 25, 2009 19:40:50 GMT -5
"Mother, have you holed yourself up again? You really should stop this.. I-" With the authority that only a fellow Doe could have, only the briefest of knocks alerted them to her presence before Aisha burst into the room. She stopped short though, when she saw who was at the table.
Not phased in the least, Ashta looked up with a great smile. "Oh, dear Aisha, how good of you to join us. Come. Why don't you sit down and have a spot of tea?"
"I-"
"Sit down NOW Aisha!" A horrifying, contorted expression seemed to lash across her face like a horrid, sickly lightning strike before all was calm again, the rolling thunder of her light chuckle the only aftermath of her outburst. Speaking as if the outburst hadn't happened, she continued. "Please... -do- sit down, daughter."
Sitting in the seat across from the leveret, Aisha glowered at the leveret with a petulantly disdainful expression as her mother served her some tea. With the Doe mother settled rightly between the two, it seemed she had the reins of both her temperament and tongue.
"Don't do that with your face. It will stick that way" Ashta tutted softly, shaking her head before smiling at the two of them. "You and Valeny are closer to the same age, Aisha. This will be good for you. You need other girls to talk to closer to your age."
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Post by The Jenn on Mar 25, 2009 19:53:35 GMT -5
At the approaching voice and quick knock on the door, Valeny's head twitched to look in that direction, still trying to keep an eye on the Doe in case she did something unpredictable. Then trouble came watzing, or perhaps stomping, into the room. She felt a brief shudder run down her spine at the unpleasantness that was sure to follow if she couldn't get away in quick order.
Not her place to open her mouth, but she flinched away when the older woman lashed out, ears held in an entirely subservient position. Flatter the Doe and try not to make her angry, that was what she'd been told. Was Ashta angry now? But her face had returned back to an eerily calm expression.
She did her best not to make eye contact with the young Doe as soon as she began to glower, instead looking somewhere between her teacup and the Hisstor who held command over the room. Someone to talk to? That thought was terrifying. Someone to torment, perhaps. Did the young Doe need something to occupy her time? She kept her mouth shut.
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Post by Nako on Mar 25, 2009 20:09:43 GMT -5
Ashta seemed quite content to enjoy a scone, but the lingering silence made her pause mid-bite. Hm. Ears pinning back just a bit, she regarded both of the females. "I'd think with -that- gaping mouth of yours, Aisha, you'd have more to say. Valeny is just naturally timid. Very ladylike. Tell me, Valeny. Are you intending to be a leveret the rest of your life?" Her tone, as always, stayed very light and conversational, as if someone was asking if someone was picking a certain major in college.
Aisha quickly dropped her head. It was hard to decipher the exact emotion, but the rage had transferred into something akin to embarrassment. Still, Aisha made embarrassment look pretty damn angry. Then again, saying a neuter leveret was more a lady than a naturally born Doe... a low blow indeed. It looked like.. the Doe had a lot of things she could say right then and there.. a lot just right on the tip of her tongue. Still, it was not anger toward her mother... Ah.. there it was. Shame.
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Post by The Jenn on Mar 25, 2009 20:17:56 GMT -5
The tips of Valeny's ears began to burn in embarrassment as Ashta spoke, her eyes glued to that spot on the tablecloth that was just a slightly different shade from the rest of it and may have been a stain once upon a time before a Leveret scrubbed it away. What a way to speak to your daughter. It made her even more fervently grateful that she'd been born a Leveret instead of a Doe. Free property as opposed to caged property. It was much, much better in her mind.
Flattery. She should answer that question with flattery. "Yes, Lady Ashta. I wouldn't aspire to be as lovely as a Doe. I'm just not worthy of the status." Nor would she be happy, or even content, to serve a Jack in such an unbearably personal manner. She would sooner dunk her head in a chamber pot. A full one. Eugh.
Her head tucked a tiny bit lower, chin almost pressing against her fur as she avoided the gaze of either Doe. For the love of the White Rabbit, what was she doing at this table?
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Post by Nako on Mar 31, 2009 13:08:43 GMT -5
Ashta gave the lightest of giggles, quite obviously charmed by the poor creature. How meek! How humble! Though she certainly had the pride and good breeding of a naturally born Doe, there was something to be said for the ones that came from leverets. Perhaps the ones that could actually make it to Doe status were superior in their own right. Even though the girl denied ever having what it took to become a Doe, Ashta sighed happily and reached out to flick a bit of hair out of the girl's face. "To be humble is a -good- feature, dear.. especially for a Highland creature, leveret or not."
So sad suddenly, Ashta seemed to have suffered some sort of loss. Her lip trembled, and she set her cup down. The sudden change of emotion didn't seem to phase the younger Doe. Instead, she gave a soft, miserable sigh and looked away.
"Aisha.. you -must- learn to control your temper. No Jack will have you if you don't..."
"Yes... Yes.. Mother. Do not worry." The words were bitter, yet relenting as the Highland Doe quickly tried to reassure her mother and keep her from going into a fit. Oh, she was -so- well behaved when the Czar was around. Aisha didn't understand why she had to show her ass now. Was she really that lost without her Jack?
((Another post or two and Ashta will run them all out and we can move to other things XD))
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Post by The Jenn on Apr 6, 2009 8:35:44 GMT -5
A humble Highlander was a good Highlander? Not likely... but that wasn’t the sort of opinion that Valeny would be blurting out, especially in present company. ”You’re very kind, Lady Ashta,” she murmured after the woman’s statement, hoping that continuing to lightly flatter the Doe would leave her in good enough stead when she was finally dismissed.
Please, by the White Rabbit, let that moment come. She wanted to leave this verbal minefield and return to her duties.
Hearing the woman speak to her daughter made her keep her head down and hopefully out of firing range. She didn’t want to witness this, not at all. Aisha would probably hold it against her. Aleah would know better and be able to tell her how to avoid the young Doe, she was sure. Her ears twitched and she resisted the urge to itch her mane. The atmosphere was so tense and it left her fur prickling, a decidedly uncomfortable situation.
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Post by Nako on Apr 10, 2009 17:12:27 GMT -5
Oh, these two were just so awkward! Ashta sighed as she sipped her tea. They wouldn't speak unless it was forced out of them... the leveret was hardly touching her food. And Aisha.. petulant little girl. She'd have to shape up if she were ever to be traded. The leverets did little to teach her manners; no wonder she and the Czar had to step in on the Doe's schooling. Sometimes Ashta wondered if the Czar should invest in an older, less charming Doe to take care of such matters. Ashta loved being a part of the cultivating of the upbringing of the children.. but even then a lady of her status should do little more than etiquette lessons every so often, and teaching of the Hisstor ways of the family. With all these younger Does being traded into the warren she'd have to stay on top of her game.
A sigh never meant anything good, but Aisha couldn't help but just sit there and stare at the tea going cold. The stupid leveret seemed terrified. this was nowhere near as amusing as when Heike was harassed into wearing bows and a sunhat.
Finally, Ashta looked up at the wall and frowned. She always thought there should be a clock there. It felt like there would be one... If ever inquired she always declined to have one; the ticking made her feel absolutely crazy. Still.. it was a bother to have no way of telling time. "Go on then, the both of you. If you can't have a proper tea with me then I'd rather not have you here at all."
(feel free to do whatever time jump you wish XD)
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Post by The Jenn on Apr 12, 2009 19:18:23 GMT -5
Several weeks after the meeting with Lady Ashta and her Highland daughter, Valeny woke slowly and groggily to an odd sensation. She felt heavy somehow, her limbs foreign to her mind, which had yet to clear away the muzz of sleep. Pawing tiredly at her eyes, she felt the limb catch and tug painfully at her mane, a feeling that made her grunt in discomfort and roll to free the messy stuff. That only tugged on a different part of her head and she blinked in slightly more coherent confusion. Her mane wasn't that long. Catching it while sleeping was one thing, but having it falling all around her like this was something else entirely. What was going on? And why did it feel like she was half falling out of her little next of covers? She glanced around sleepily, taking note of the other snoozing forms around her and how suddenly... small they looked. What? Come to think of it, she felt different somehow. It wasn't something she could easily pinpoint. Her body just felt wrong, as though she wasn't wearing her own skin. It took her another five minutes of tired consideration before a thought hit her like a load of bricks and she sprang out of bed as though someone had lit her fur on fire. She stared down at herself, head twisting this way and that as she frantically stared, noting the placement of her familiar markings and the overall difference in size. She was undeniably bigger, from her paws to her frame, and her hair whipped around differently as she moved. Oh no. Please, for the love of all, no! Her pupils were tiny as she hopped over to Aleah, reaching out to shake at him frantically. Please let her just be dreaming. "Wake up!" she hissed, voice sounding panicked. |
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Post by Nako on Apr 12, 2009 19:34:36 GMT -5
It was rare that Aleah dreamed. Hell, it was rare that he sleeped at all, but at the cusp of his exhaustion when he came to the point his body could truly not function any longer with rest, he would often get a night of rest that was undeniably the best rest of the entire month. He hardly tossed that night, a smile plastered on his gaunt face as he dreamed of a great rose garden that was his, and his alone.
The flowers smelled so excellent, willing him to bury his face in the lush, untouched petals and inhale their lovely scent. There was something so familiar and alluring about this smell, but it wasn't like a flower at all. No, it was intoxicating and wonderful, definitely feminine. The scent was growing stronger...
And it made his.. body tingle.
He was shaken roughly, giving a soft peep of fright and instinctively tucked his feet in so as not to thrash. One good slash across a fellow leveret's face and a severe beating afterward taught him to be careful with the things, and instantly considerate of their placement immediately upon waking. Who was this person? They were too big to be a leveret, but with markings that made them obviously Highlander. For a delirious moment he thought it to be Aisha.. but where was her mask, had she lost it? No... no. Aisha wasn't there any more. She had been traded a while back. But the voice was familiar, albeit more feminine and sultry than it had ever been...
Aware of his prone state, and the leveret turned Doe hovering above him, Aleah made another startled squeak and shot up in his bed, struggling with his innate wish to pay respect to a Doe and to face the leveret he'd been working alongside all of these weeks. She turned into everything he'd wanted her to be.. but it was too soon, too soon! "Valeny..." he finally choked out, bloodshot eyes nearly bugging out past his heavy lids. "Y... you.."
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