Post by Greenie on May 2, 2010 0:36:24 GMT -5
You want fic, you got fic. XD Kari pointed out that this is supposed to have closed, so if that's the case, I apologize. I enjoyed writing it nonetheless. <3 It's always fun to delve into Giovanni's mind at length.
Warning for length!
Giovanni slipped through the trees silently, his voluminous cloak enfolding his body, protecting his obvious and memorable body markings. He crouched to the side of a large oak, watching the proceedings some distance ahead in the near-darkness. It was difficult to see exactly who was present, as they had only lit one lamp in an effort to hide identities and conceal their location, but once his vision settled into the inky blackness he thought he was able to make out at least two or three Leverets and one other large figure. The Leverets had crude, short capes on that concealed their regions from him at this distance (but surely would not up close), but they had thrown some sort of blanket over whatever.. or whomever.. they were selling. He would have to get closer.
The Jack slipped from tree to tree, straining to make out what was so special about their wares today. He’d almost missed them dropping by, the gathering was so clandestine, and he was anxious to see what was so important. Surely no Leveret was beautiful enough to warrant such extreme circumstances. At last he breached the ten meter mark, a scant tree away from the clearing they were occupying, and he couldn’t help but stare at the blanketed creature, his breath quickening in anticipation. Wings…. Surely, impossibly, those were wings being covered shamefully by the cloth. They had to be no ordinary wings for the roving thieves to go to such circumstances. The size, too, indicated it absolutely had to be a Doe – a Doe with wings, what a prize. Already his mind was flitting through the millions of possibilities – an Avington with beautiful antlers to match, an indigo Villa with an astounding voice – but through all of it, he was picturing this vague, unknown Doe next to Alohilohi, his pair of winged beauties. He could regain his rightful place in this world, collecting and showing off his unique winged Does…
First, though, he had to acquire her, and he had nothing of significance to offer to these pitiless, disgusting Leverets. She was much too big for him to carry for any real distance, the Leverets would catch up far too quickly; his chances of persuading her to run off with him weren’t large, as there was a high chance she was sedated, if not terrified and disoriented. No, he was going to have to find some mildly honorable way to obtain her.
Giovanni stood slowly from his crouch, pulling the cowl of his cloak down over his face to protect his identity further. These bandits had no need to know who he was – if at all possible, he wanted to remain anonymous. He slowly paced towards them and stopped as soon as one whipped it’s head toward him, sensing a presence beyond their own company.
“Who goes there? This is a private gathering! You have no right to interfere!” The Leveret called out in a squeaky, unsure voice. It shuffled it’s feet, it’s eyes going wide as it attempted to ascertain who or what was standing just beyond the limits of their camp.
Giovanni smirked at the Leveret’s obvious fear and uncertainty. “Just a lone traveler, interested in your wares,” He replied calmly, stepping forward once more, careful to keep as much of his body in shadow as possible.
A second Leveret stepped forward, its Selkie markings obvious in the dim lighting. Giovanni sensed that they were much more disorganized – hurried, even – than the usual dishonorable lots that came through, and he frowned at the display of identity. The last thing he needed was for them to be paranoid he’d be chasing after them.
“Oh?” The Selkie said forcefully, shoving his companion aside to stand in front of the Jack. “What makes you think we have anything you’d be interested in?”
Giovanni simply tilted his head in amusement. “So defensive. Clearly, you are warren thieves. Clearly, I am a Jack. Clearly, this equates to you selling something I’d be interested in. Do we understand each other?”
The Selkie scowled at his obvious sarcasm, but didn’t immediately shoot him down. It stared defiantly back at him while its Leveret companions shuffled nervously behind it, the trio simultaneously wary and impatient to be on the move. Giovanni simply quirked an eyebrow.
“Fine. We have but one Doe for sale, and she’s not cheap. We are, however, willing to consider any reasonable offers, as we are… in a time crunch.” The Leveret trailed off slowly, its eyes briefly flicking to the covered Doe, then back to Giovanni. It sat there, twitching undecidedly for a moment, then moved to her side and slowly uncovered one of her paws and the edge of her wings.
Giovanni’s breath caught. Purple.. beautiful, radiant purple against crisp white. And.. yellow? Yellow and purple? The only possibility was Yarrow, but the markings were so different, a mixture of spots and swirls and color blends. His head spun for a moment, trying to fathom her identity, when the Leveret finally spoke up once more. “She’s Yarrow and Selkie we’ve.. ah.. been told.” It paused to let Giovanni assimilate, then quickly shoved the blanket back down over her and stood in front of her as if to block the Jack’s view. “We have word of several offers coming in soon, so don’t waste our time if you can’t afford her.”
The Jack paused, his mind racing. He had nothing monetarily to offer them. What was better than one stunning, Winged Doe? Two stunning Winged Does? He mentally chastised himself to not be so ridiculous. He had but one Doe and a Leveret back home, neither of them comparable to this beauty, even if he wanted to offer them up, which he didn’t. His Warren was much too thin as it was to compromise his numbers.
Wait. Two Winged Does – that was it. She was a Doe, wasn’t she? Capable of reproducing in astounding numbers? His posture suddenly became confident and regal as the idea came to fruition in his mind. He wasn’t a Jack for nothing. He’d sired countless children in his time as a Jack, far more than he’d bothered to keep track of. He was perfectly able to sire children with her. What was the loss of one or two of those future children for her eternal beauty?
Giovanni shifted his cowl and leaned against the tree he was near to. “I have no monetary offer.” He began. Immediately all three Leverets scowled. The one nearest to the Doe rolled his eyes in disgust and began to turn away, until Giovanni cleared his throat loudly. “She is obviously of value. What could be more valuable than more of her? Tiny, pristine creatures just like her? If you allow her to come with me, I guarantee you the best offer you will ever get… pick from her first litter. Sell them right away, raise them and breed them further, do what you wish with them – multiple thems. Two is certainly better than one, is it not?”
He couldn’t help but smirk at their astounded, dumbfounded, even, gazes. Clearly it was a unique offer, and he rather doubted they’d ever come across it again. Most Jacks were ruthlessly possessive of their children, and he was usually no different, but desperate times called for desperate measures. Unknown quanitities of children were worthless in the face of a living, breathing Doe. “What do you say? As a measure of my faith, I will even write down the location of my Warren so you may pay me a visit in a year or so and ensure I keep to my bargain.” He stepped forward, his eyes glinting underneath the dark cloak. “The ball is in your court, my friends.”
Warning for length!
Giovanni slipped through the trees silently, his voluminous cloak enfolding his body, protecting his obvious and memorable body markings. He crouched to the side of a large oak, watching the proceedings some distance ahead in the near-darkness. It was difficult to see exactly who was present, as they had only lit one lamp in an effort to hide identities and conceal their location, but once his vision settled into the inky blackness he thought he was able to make out at least two or three Leverets and one other large figure. The Leverets had crude, short capes on that concealed their regions from him at this distance (but surely would not up close), but they had thrown some sort of blanket over whatever.. or whomever.. they were selling. He would have to get closer.
The Jack slipped from tree to tree, straining to make out what was so special about their wares today. He’d almost missed them dropping by, the gathering was so clandestine, and he was anxious to see what was so important. Surely no Leveret was beautiful enough to warrant such extreme circumstances. At last he breached the ten meter mark, a scant tree away from the clearing they were occupying, and he couldn’t help but stare at the blanketed creature, his breath quickening in anticipation. Wings…. Surely, impossibly, those were wings being covered shamefully by the cloth. They had to be no ordinary wings for the roving thieves to go to such circumstances. The size, too, indicated it absolutely had to be a Doe – a Doe with wings, what a prize. Already his mind was flitting through the millions of possibilities – an Avington with beautiful antlers to match, an indigo Villa with an astounding voice – but through all of it, he was picturing this vague, unknown Doe next to Alohilohi, his pair of winged beauties. He could regain his rightful place in this world, collecting and showing off his unique winged Does…
First, though, he had to acquire her, and he had nothing of significance to offer to these pitiless, disgusting Leverets. She was much too big for him to carry for any real distance, the Leverets would catch up far too quickly; his chances of persuading her to run off with him weren’t large, as there was a high chance she was sedated, if not terrified and disoriented. No, he was going to have to find some mildly honorable way to obtain her.
Giovanni stood slowly from his crouch, pulling the cowl of his cloak down over his face to protect his identity further. These bandits had no need to know who he was – if at all possible, he wanted to remain anonymous. He slowly paced towards them and stopped as soon as one whipped it’s head toward him, sensing a presence beyond their own company.
“Who goes there? This is a private gathering! You have no right to interfere!” The Leveret called out in a squeaky, unsure voice. It shuffled it’s feet, it’s eyes going wide as it attempted to ascertain who or what was standing just beyond the limits of their camp.
Giovanni smirked at the Leveret’s obvious fear and uncertainty. “Just a lone traveler, interested in your wares,” He replied calmly, stepping forward once more, careful to keep as much of his body in shadow as possible.
A second Leveret stepped forward, its Selkie markings obvious in the dim lighting. Giovanni sensed that they were much more disorganized – hurried, even – than the usual dishonorable lots that came through, and he frowned at the display of identity. The last thing he needed was for them to be paranoid he’d be chasing after them.
“Oh?” The Selkie said forcefully, shoving his companion aside to stand in front of the Jack. “What makes you think we have anything you’d be interested in?”
Giovanni simply tilted his head in amusement. “So defensive. Clearly, you are warren thieves. Clearly, I am a Jack. Clearly, this equates to you selling something I’d be interested in. Do we understand each other?”
The Selkie scowled at his obvious sarcasm, but didn’t immediately shoot him down. It stared defiantly back at him while its Leveret companions shuffled nervously behind it, the trio simultaneously wary and impatient to be on the move. Giovanni simply quirked an eyebrow.
“Fine. We have but one Doe for sale, and she’s not cheap. We are, however, willing to consider any reasonable offers, as we are… in a time crunch.” The Leveret trailed off slowly, its eyes briefly flicking to the covered Doe, then back to Giovanni. It sat there, twitching undecidedly for a moment, then moved to her side and slowly uncovered one of her paws and the edge of her wings.
Giovanni’s breath caught. Purple.. beautiful, radiant purple against crisp white. And.. yellow? Yellow and purple? The only possibility was Yarrow, but the markings were so different, a mixture of spots and swirls and color blends. His head spun for a moment, trying to fathom her identity, when the Leveret finally spoke up once more. “She’s Yarrow and Selkie we’ve.. ah.. been told.” It paused to let Giovanni assimilate, then quickly shoved the blanket back down over her and stood in front of her as if to block the Jack’s view. “We have word of several offers coming in soon, so don’t waste our time if you can’t afford her.”
The Jack paused, his mind racing. He had nothing monetarily to offer them. What was better than one stunning, Winged Doe? Two stunning Winged Does? He mentally chastised himself to not be so ridiculous. He had but one Doe and a Leveret back home, neither of them comparable to this beauty, even if he wanted to offer them up, which he didn’t. His Warren was much too thin as it was to compromise his numbers.
Wait. Two Winged Does – that was it. She was a Doe, wasn’t she? Capable of reproducing in astounding numbers? His posture suddenly became confident and regal as the idea came to fruition in his mind. He wasn’t a Jack for nothing. He’d sired countless children in his time as a Jack, far more than he’d bothered to keep track of. He was perfectly able to sire children with her. What was the loss of one or two of those future children for her eternal beauty?
Giovanni shifted his cowl and leaned against the tree he was near to. “I have no monetary offer.” He began. Immediately all three Leverets scowled. The one nearest to the Doe rolled his eyes in disgust and began to turn away, until Giovanni cleared his throat loudly. “She is obviously of value. What could be more valuable than more of her? Tiny, pristine creatures just like her? If you allow her to come with me, I guarantee you the best offer you will ever get… pick from her first litter. Sell them right away, raise them and breed them further, do what you wish with them – multiple thems. Two is certainly better than one, is it not?”
He couldn’t help but smirk at their astounded, dumbfounded, even, gazes. Clearly it was a unique offer, and he rather doubted they’d ever come across it again. Most Jacks were ruthlessly possessive of their children, and he was usually no different, but desperate times called for desperate measures. Unknown quanitities of children were worthless in the face of a living, breathing Doe. “What do you say? As a measure of my faith, I will even write down the location of my Warren so you may pay me a visit in a year or so and ensure I keep to my bargain.” He stepped forward, his eyes glinting underneath the dark cloak. “The ball is in your court, my friends.”
