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Post by Lucca on Mar 25, 2010 21:50:04 GMT -5
Arkady beamed at them, a genuine, relieved smile as his tail started to beat an enthusiastic rhythm. He paused at the question,. briefly, but their play room was a safe place to sleep, he knew. There was nothing he -really- needed to protect her from, well, not unless one of their other siblings decided to sneak up on her and wake her up...but he'd seen personally that Laika could handle herself in such a situation. She could tussle like a true Solandrian if needed.
His ears twitched and he smiled, coming forward and softly shutting the door. He shook his head. "Nah, I'm not really tired...we can go now." It was only half true, as the little Coyote was a bit worn out from all that running around, but he didn't want to lose this chance, as a small part of him was worried he would. He moved forward to nose Castiel's hand, though keeping one eye trained on the Bander at her feet.
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Post by Kari Muffin on Mar 28, 2010 1:01:34 GMT -5
The Bander remained stationary as it stared at the boy's movements. Apparently she didn't consider him as a threat. Or she was lazy. It could have been either. Castiel couldn't help but smile at the fact that the boy was going to hang around. She didn't want this to end so soon. She didn't live in the palace all of the time, so she might not get a chance to see him for a while.
"Yay!" she said in a half whisper. She at least remembered she didn't want to yell when someone was asleep. She began to edge away from the door. "Let's go to the garden, that way I can teach you a few things... and maybe we'll be able to see Xander there. He can tell us the stuff I miss."
Conall paused for a few moments, completely unsure if he was actually invited. He wasn't fond of banders... but he did like Castiel and Arkady. They were nice to him, and they didn't actually seem to mind all of his strangeness. They hadn't said a word about it, and they were treating him like he was... well...
It wasn't until Castiel waved him to follow that the boy moved.
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Post by Lucca on Mar 28, 2010 8:20:02 GMT -5
Arkady's tail beat a steady wag as Castiel seemed enthusiastic about teaching him -- and quietly enthusiastic, at that! For being one of the first friends he'd ever made outside of his own family, the little Coyote didn't think he could have found someone better if he'd tried. And to think it was just all luck that he'd run into them! He'd have to introduce Laika to her later -- to -them- later, Conall should be included as well -- once she was awake. Then she could make new friends too!
Arkady nodded and began to lope along behind Castiel, with a final glance back at the door...but she'd be fine. Now that he knew where she was, he was far less worried and could enjoy the afternoon. He did feel slightly guilty for not inviting his twin, but he certainly didn't want to wake her up if she was enjoying her little nap.
It wasn't until Castiel stopped and waved back that Arkady realized Conall hadn't moved to follow them. Had he really forgotten the other boy so quickly? Sure, he had rather gross fur and weird scythes coming out of his back...but he didn't seem bad for all that. He turned to give the other boy an encouraging smile, and was tempted to say something, but his mind was completely empty of anything -to- say.
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Post by Kari Muffin on Mar 28, 2010 13:03:26 GMT -5
Castiel seemed to be the life of the party, so to speak. She always had some sort of cheerful energy about her, and absolutely adored people. There was a chance that when she got older she would calm down, but right now she was nothing more than an excitable puppy.
So she skipped down the hallway when she saw that Conall was going to follow them as well. The little girl was happy to make such good friends in such a short amount of time.
Conall was a little surprised that either of them had taken so well to him. They didn't ask weird questions. They just accepted things. It was like it was too good to be true. Perhaps things would fall apart any moment? They always seemed to. He trailed behind the pair. Would they notice if he left? Would they actually care? Was he willing to even take the chance.
Not really. He wanted to see if he could stick around a little longer. The boy picked up his pace so he was closer to the pair of them.
They arrived at the garden after a rather short amount of time. The bander stopping at the edge of the stairs to wait to be lead around by its master.
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Post by Lucca on Mar 28, 2010 18:40:43 GMT -5
Arkady didn't know Castiel was a Canine, but if he had, it might have explained some things. After all, he knew his siblings tended to be a bit excitable, including his twin, and he had heard that when his older brother Hadrian had been his age he was a 'little furball of terror'. He himself was a bit of an oddity: quiet and calm by nature, even now at such a young age. He had his moments, of course, but it was always just under his control enough to prevent any accidental mischief.
And if there was one thing that was important to Ark, it was controlling himself. Hence, when they arrived at the garden, it was a carefully controlled gesture when he stood to the side of Castiel, opposite the Bander but still within range of any attacks she might get it into her head to try. Not that he thought she would, by this point, since Cas seemed to have her trained pretty well.
The Coyote glanced to Castiel expectantly, but...he also flicked a glance back to Conall. "Conall, have you been around any Banders before?" he asked, deciding he might as well make sure the other boy felt included in this lesson. If he didn't know about Banders either, they could learn together! And if he did...then he could maybe help supplement Cas's teaching.
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Post by Kari Muffin on Mar 28, 2010 23:39:27 GMT -5
Conall blinked at suddenly being addressed. The bird on his shoulder twitched a bit as it settled its wings. "No, not really. I mean there was this one time, but the bander tried to bite me. It was Xander's actually.... Sprinkle?" It was large and pink with sharp pointy teeth. He had made the assumption that well tame banders like everyone. Of course it was completely wrong, and he had managed to take his hand away quickly enough to avoid being chomped on.
He didn't know how the little things could be so endearing.
"Sprinkle is a little nasty," Castiel said as she carefully hopped down the steps. Akane followed her after sending the boys both a glare. "Akane is more well tempered even if she is a female bander. She puts up with me more for whatever reason. She gave Xander a really hard time when she was younger."
She turned back to both of them. "Where do you want to sit?"
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Post by Lucca on Mar 29, 2010 17:08:06 GMT -5
Arkady's ears went back a bit. Sprinkle, hm? Well, he'd make sure to stay away from that Bander! It certainly sounded like a nasty creature. He half wanted to ask what this Sprinkle looked like, so he could be forewarned to what a Bander that might actually attack would look like, but before he got up the courage to ask, Castiel was adding to Conall's words. He nodded, making a mental note: Banders will like some Cards more than others. That made sense. After all, he liked some adults better than others, too.
Carefully, Arkady made his way down the steps, large paws pacing evenly. In lieu of verbally answering Cas, he moved over to sit right down beside a bench. (It was a bit awkward for him to get up onto benches, and besides, it tended to be cooler to just sit on the ground.) "Is over here good?" he asked, with a hopeful smile and several thumps of his tail against the grass.
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Post by Kari Muffin on Mar 29, 2010 21:24:43 GMT -5
The little girl nodded emphatically as she removed the leash on the Bander. She motioned for the little creature to sit besides the bench as she took a seat on it. She took a few moments to make herself comfortable, reaching down the pet the bander between the ears. Now where should she start?
Conall took a seat besides Castiel on the bench. He might as well put it to good use, right? Even if it was a little... strange sitting next to a Yarrow. He bit the inside of his cheek in thought. What if they accidentally touched or something? Maybe he should sit on the ground? It was a bit late now, he had made himself comfortable.
"So, do you know anything about Banders?" Castiel asked Arkady.
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Post by Lucca on Apr 3, 2010 16:42:42 GMT -5
Without even thinking about it, the little Coyote moved to sit at Castiel's feet...leaving him only inches away from the Bander. But that was good; he needed to get more comfortable with them, and so he might as well start with this one, who seemed fairly well behaved. His ears went back, and then tilted forward at the question as Arkady sat up a little straighter, trying not to go into 'teaching mode', like he did during lectures. Cas wasn't one of his tutors, just a friend who was offering to teach him something.
"The wild ones live in Tulgey Wood," Ark recited, voice lilting slightly despite his efforts to keep it from doing so. "Tame ones are kept as pets and bred for pretty fur or certain traits, like friendliness and stuff I guess. The guy in Capital City who sells them is named uh....uh...Ash..something..." He trailed off and then looked hopefully up at Cas, tail wagging. It was probably the most he'd talked at once all day. "That's about it," he added quietly.
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Post by Kari Muffin on Apr 3, 2010 21:33:36 GMT -5
Castiel watched the bander carefully when Arkady took his seat at her feet. When Akane went grooming herself she relaxed slightly. She didn't want her adorable bander to have a negative impact on her friend.
She nodded at the boy's reply. "Normally the reason for banders changes with region. Highlanders tend to breed banders for fighting. Yarrows breed a particular bander for shows. Most of the time if the bander isn't used for fighting it's bred for the colors and kind of coat it has. Akane was just an accident, since some banders tend to get out more than others, and Sprinkle managed to wiggle her way out of the palace somehow."
The girl reached down the scratch the bander between the ears. "There are some feral banders in every region, I think. And most of those banders are terribly violent. To fight is in their nature."
Conall sat back and relaxed, listening to the girl speak. He would make a note of it. And maybe this way he would get to... liking banders? The idea of liking something with so many teeth that tried to bite him just because he walked by. But if Castiel found something redeeming about them, then maybe he should give them a chance.
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