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Post by Lucca on Jul 12, 2010 14:47:58 GMT -5
Panic shot through Ark like a knife, but he tried to keep it off his young face, for his sister's sake. She was scared enough without him flying off the handle. He leaned close to her, trying to give her a sense of comfort even though they were (he had to admit it, even if only to himself) securely trapped by the wicked thorns. He wished he could give her another little lick, as that had seemed to help, but he feared moving his head around too much. His mane...he didn't want anything to happen to his mane!
His ears flicked as his sister seemed to see someone, and though he didn't dare move his head to look, his eyes darted back and forth to try and get a glimpse of whoever it was that he could just barely hear, paw steps light on the grass. A Feline, surely, to be so very quiet? He tensed, willing to risk ripping himself free (even at the cost of his hair) if this unknown Card proved to be dangerous...
But that was unnecessary, as the familiar little meowing noise told him who it was even before Laika's gasp of recognition. "Please, Fluffy," he spoke up, quietly, but calmly. "We need help. We're stuck!" After a pause, he added, in case she didn't recognize them, "It's Laika and Arkady." Ohhh, thank goodness there had been someone there! How had he let this happen? Ark whimpered quietly at the new wave of guilt.
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Post by The Jenn on Oct 4, 2010 21:56:05 GMT -5
As soon as she heard the pair of voices, Fluffy knew the two children. She tended to keep tabs on all the young things running around the Court, especially the ones related to her mistress, but also those belonging to people close to them. Heilyn and her brood counted.
"Mrrrrph. Wait. Okay. Back soon. Help," she purred at them, trying to make sure the sounds were distinct above their distressed panting. She didn't like talking - in fact, most people in the Court didn't know that she could - but sometimes she just needed to. Turning, she began an easy run for the palace proper.
In due order, the children would hear voices approaching them. Laika whined hopefully, her trapped tail wiggling in its confines. There were adults coming. They would get them out! And they hadn't hurt the bush. Just... gotten stuck. Would they get in too much trouble for that? She hoped not...
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Post by Lucca on Oct 4, 2010 22:07:46 GMT -5
Arkady had been hoping that Fluffy herself would be able to help them get free...mostly because, the fewer others that knew of this, the less likely they were to get in trouble. Also, he hated feeling so vulnerable, knowing he couldn't help his sister get out of this mess...it made him feel weak and useless and other horrible, heavy feelings that a proper Solandrian shouldn't have, he was sure. Daddy had probably never felt helpless at all.
He whimpered quietly, ears pressing flat to his head. It was itchy and sticky and uncomfortable under the bush, and he was starting to feel hot under his fur from the continued closeness to his sister and the stuffiness in that semi-confined state. At least...at least they'd get out of this. And if they wanted to get Laika in trouble, he'd just tell them it was his fault. That would be the good brotherly thing to do, after all.
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Post by The Jenn on Oct 4, 2010 22:21:16 GMT -5
All of these thorns weren't good for Laika. They were giving her... flashbacks. Weird dream flashbacks. All the thorns writhing in front of her when they twitched.
All the heads... writhing in front of her when it twitched.
She whimpered, starting to get scared. The adults weren't getting here fast enough! She heard their voices start what seemed like ages ago. Like forever. She started to shake and whimper. Now she was way more scared of the thorns than of getting in trouble.
For her part, Fluffy led a group of staff to the bush in question, where soft noises and rustling and whimpers could be heard. "Mrrph mreh. Meeeer. Mrph."
With a muttered oath, one of the gardeners peered underneath at the children. "Oy. Either of you hurt?" He couldn't quite bring himself to be polite to the children who were about to make him spend a very unpleasant ten minutes tangled in thorns, but he tried to keep it out of his voice as best he could. Nobles' children, after all. Part of the job.
"N-n-n-noooooo," Laika half-whimpered and half-whined, her shaking making the leaves rustle.
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Post by Lucca on Oct 4, 2010 22:32:35 GMT -5
Arkady's eyes widened as his sister suddenly started shaking and whimpering and...and other things that were Not Good. Forgetting about his stupid mane, the puppy leaned close to nuzzle his sister in both comfort and a silent question. What was wrong? He tried to think of when he'd seen her look that...scared before. The only times he could remember was when she woke up from those bad dreams she had. But she wasn't sleeping, she was awake! So what was wrong?
He began to wish the adults would really hurry up. When he finally heard the voice, his nerves were nearly shot and he was trying to comfort Laika with frantic licks and nuzzles. His eyes glinted at the unpleasant tone of the man, and he nearly growled, but managed to keep himself in check. "Hurry up!...please!" he said in a voice that was louder and far more demanding his usual meekness. But Laika was clearly upset and he couldn't properly help her tangled up like this. And the gardeners were just wasting time instead of getting them out.
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Post by The Jenn on Oct 4, 2010 22:42:11 GMT -5
A couple of scared kids. Great. The feline man refrained from sighing and stood, closing his eyes as he dug around in his skull for his ability. After a moment, he began to try and coax the vines towards him. He made a much more appealing friend than those boring little children, after all. Didn't they want to curl up and give him a cuddle?
They rustled uncertainly, and not just because of Laika's movement.
Yes, that was right... come to Daddy. Daddy loved you. Daddy knew what you wanted.
As they always did, his coworkers wore masks of stone as they held in their laughter. No one had ever told him that he talked when he did this. They hoped that no one ever would.
After maybe seven or eight minutes, the tangles were coaxed up and away enough that two sets of hands could work the children free. They covered the gardener, who began to coax them back, a far more difficult process.
Laika didn't want to sit still while they worked thorns out of her fur. No! No no no! She gave a sharp, whining yip and ran for the palace. Away from all that mess! "Ark! she barked behind her, calling him to come after.
The gardeners felt no need to stop her. They'd just tell her mother later and let the woman hash it out. Nobody punished a noble's kid but another noble without permission. They valued their jobs.
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Post by Lucca on Oct 4, 2010 22:49:46 GMT -5
Arkady DID feel a little growl bubble up as the gardener started...TALKING to the vines. What was he even doing? Even the Coyote was old enough to know that if you talked to a plant, it didn't answer you. Except...apparently the vines were answering. Arkady stared, eyes widened and confused, as the rose bush began to move on its own, away from them...vines coming out of their fur and away, letting in more and more light that wasn't filtered through the leaves and thorns...
Wow. If -he- had an ability like that, he could definitely protect Laika better. He barely even noticed as foreign hands grabbed him and pulled him safely out of the range of the bush. He DID notice his sister's shout. Arkady's head whipped around, and then his paws hit the ground and he fairly flew after her. She still seemed edgy and he needed to be there for her. He also needed a bath...he suppressed a shudder thinking about how dirty and matted his fur was now...
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Post by The Jenn on Oct 4, 2010 22:57:41 GMT -5
Laika failed to notice as she tracked mud through the halls upon reentry, bursting past a few people and dodging around others. She scrambled upstairs, heading for her room at full tilt. Or at least, as fast as she could go without slipping on all the marble. The carpets helped. They let her run better.
When she made it to the door, she scratched frantically at the handle until it unlatched and sent her tumbling into the room. Then she flopped on the rug and lay there panting, waiting for her brother to return.
She felt... silly. Kind of stupid, for overreacting like that, when clearly the thorns were not the thing in her dream. But she couldn't stop the mild trembling that still ran through her limbs, partly from the run and partly from... well... that had been scary!
Ark would understand. He always understood. He was the best brother in the litter.
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Post by Lucca on Oct 5, 2010 5:50:32 GMT -5
Arkady ran down the halls as fast as his paws could carry him, just knowing he -had- to get to Laika as soon as he possibly could. His eyes were widened with worry and his blood was pumping with adrenaline...and his sister had left an easy trail to follow, even assuming he didn't know exactly where she had gone, which he did.
He mumbled an apology to the courtiers he pushed past on his way to the room, dodging around some and running right between the legs of others, and when he finally got back to their room, he panted heavily for a moment and then nosed the door carefully open. His tail wagged a tiny bit upon seeing Laika, but she just looked so...upset, still. She was shaking and it wasn't just from the running.
Wordlessly, Ark went to curl up beside her, around her, as best he could, licking at her face to calm her down, remind her he was there. After a moment, he gave her a concerned, questioning look. "What's wrong?" he asked softly, nosing at her ears.
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Post by The Jenn on Oct 5, 2010 8:20:58 GMT -5
The pair of them made a very convincing puppy pile as Laika accepted her brother's comfort completely. Mom wasn't there to hold her, so Ark would be perfect. She leaned into the attention and let it slowly calm her down. Her breathing changed from a quick beat to a slower, more natural rhythm. Finally she sighed.
"All those thorns reminded me of The Thing," she muttered, nosing back at him. "So many... just like the heads... and it... it had us. We couldn't get away. Until, um, we did. It was just... I didn't like it." Understatement of the century, what with all the howling and the shaking and the carrying on. She felt more than a little foolish.
After another minute of soaking up his silent comfort, she tilted her head to look at him. "No more hiding in roses," she announced solemnly. Her tail thumped once to emphasize her point.
((One more from you and we can probably conclude this thread? :3))
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