Lost and Betrayed [Nako]

[Spiderfly]

Dafina perked when she saw Aleah coming back. Her ears lifted as much as they could at his presence and she was about to rise when Aleah told her to not get up on his account. She smiled and nodded and settled back in. Her eyes followed the strange leveret curiously and she glanced at it, curious where it had come from.

She was honestly the happiest she'd ever been in her entire life the last little while, and the idea of the Warren growing made her overjoyed. Aleah's success was her own, after all. Then again. . she hadn't had to compete with another Doe for attention yet. Nevertheless, she greeted the newcomer with a nod as well.

When Layla arrived with the tea she wiggled a little, getting even more comfortable.

"I think that would be wonderful." She smiled at him and carefully brushed her ears out of her way before running a soft paw over her cup, waiting until Aleah took a sip before she took one.

[Kitty]

The atmosphere around this little group of rabbits was so.... light. She didn't feel the weight of tension between warring does, or the absolutely agitating whine of her sister insisting she wasn't going down the right path, nothing. All she felt was sunshine and a sort of almost surreal calmness. It was as fascinating at it was almost unnerving. Almost.. Hadn't this been precisely what she was aiming for when she'd run off? She keep an optimistic view about things, but she'd give it a little more thought.

When she was given permission to eat, she managed the first bite in the dainty manner she'd been shown, but then it took every fiber of self control not to wolf down the entire salad, maybe even the plate too.... she was hungry enough to consider that for a moment. Plates, however, were not food.

The tea was just as good as the food too, and she took a sip while she waited for the Jack to be done whispering sweet nothing into her ear. She averted her gaze so as not to intrude, only to turn it back when she was spoken to again.

Damali. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance sir, madame.

She dipped her head to each of them in turn. He liked manners, eh? Well then, it was manners he would receive.

[Nako]

"Here I am talking about manners.. and I've forgotten mine. Ah.. I just didn't want to overwhelm you. But here is my Doe, Dafina. I am Aleah. And… well. You'll get acquainted with our chef yourself, I'm sure."

The obvious lapse in remembering her name didn't seem to affect Layla at all, whose tail wiggled behind her. She was being called a chef! Such an official sounding title seemed far better than being a leveret with nothing to them but a name.

"It really is fortuitous that I stumbled upon you, Damali. Our warren is small, but rapidly growing. I will be heading to my father's warren to receive my second Doe from him and I'll be needing the extra help. For this reason, I would like to extend my home to you for safety, warmth, and to hone any skills you may have as a leveret."

Aleah looked now to Layla, gesturing for her to speak. The Leveret bowed graciously. "My specialty is cooking, and sewing. What is it that you are good at, Damali?"

[Kitty]

When the salad was finished she started to clean her whiskers a bit, the rest of her body might have been rocking a coat of dust and burrs ..... but at least they would be clean. It was something, right?

I take that back then, it's good to meet you Aleah, Dafina.

She had a little smile on her face when she turned her attention to the other leveret briefly before turning back to Aleah. Her nose and whiskers twitched for a moment in thought before giving him a little nod. Aleah was an interesting fellow. He seemed about as nice as Remmington, but with more control. His doe seemed complacent and relaxed, and not running the show. That was .... comforting. Does could be terrifying.

I think... that would be.... a wonderful opportunity. Thank you.

Her pleasant expression disappeared abruptly when Layla asked what sorts of skills she had. Her ears instantly dropped, and her gaze went straight to her paws as she nervously twiddled her little brown toes together. In all their competition... Magnolia and Zafirah had failed rather spectacularly in ensuring she knew anything useful. She hardly thought balancing books on her head perfectly before getting to read them counted as a viable skill.

Well I... I've always been told that I'm... pretty smart. I could .... learn some?

Damn, and things had been going so well, too.

[Nako]

Layla looked expectantly at Aleah again, who acknowledged her with a nod. "That is certainly a good trait to have! Not to sound boastful but I consider myself to be quite the good teacher."

Things were settled, and now Aleah felt so much more relaxed to know that this little leveret wasn't going to bolt at his next sneeze. The hand that had been playing with his Does' hair had now begun to trail down, running down the length of those delightful decorative wings. Hm.. distracting, definitely. And a good distraction, at that.

Layla stood there for a few moments before sidling a bit closer to the new leveret. "Ah… hmm. We should probably leave these two alone. Help me with the dishes?"

Aleah seemed to have caught something about 'dishes' and gave a flick of his ear. "Yes, Cookie… You two just… get to know each other in the warren for.. oh I don't know. A half hour? Probably no longer; don't want to do anything too strenuous on a full stomach, isn't that right, Dafina?"

((lollerskates))

[Kitty]

Damali's ears perked back up when she wasn't berated for not having any actual skills at the present time. Well, maybe being here wouldn't be so bad after all? Maybe this other leveret could teach her some tricks to? She wouldn't mind being an entertaining leveret as well, it seemed a lot more fun then being stiff and boring.

At Layla's suggestion, one of her ears flicked to the side in an awkward little angle before she nodded. Well, time to start being useful she supposed. Carefully she stacked the plates and slid them atop her head, adjusting her ears to help balance them, before looking to Layla and following her when she moved back inside the warren. Well, maybe having to balance her books on her head was actually teaching her something she could use after all. It didn't require much effort on her part to keep them balanced, even as she walked and maintained a little bit of conversation. Finally, she might be able to get some answers to some questions!

So, is there anyone else to meet?

Her tone was purely inquisitive, no negative undertones. She wouldn't be judging based on size, she figured this was everyone anyhow, just simply trying to get her footing, so to speak.

And ... what's your real name?

Cookie wasn't really her name, was it? That would be kind of... funny actually.

[Nako]

Layla had wanted to giggle at the two, but she knew that such actions would not befit her status as a leveret at all. Laughing at Jacks and Does, no matter how adorable and besotted with each other they were, just wouldn't be proper at all. She collected what plates she could and retreated into the warren, assuming Damali would follow.

"Oh, no… I'm afraid not. He's been a Jack no longer than a few days so far, but he assures us that we will have new members very soon." Instead of seeming worried about this, Layla was borderline ecstatic, dumping the dishes she carried into a basin of water. There was no running water in the warren yet

She quickly moved in, paws out to help Damali with her own load of dishes. Helpful, that's what she wanted to be. This leveret looked tired and a little.. scruffy, and Layla didn't mean playing 'host' until the other leveret got her footing in the warren. "Oh! It's Layla. I suppose it would be rather silly if you called my 'Cooky' too! Haha.. "

She paused though, when she managed a glance at Damali's paws. "Have you been…. on the run? Your paws look swollen..."

(sorry, took some liberties on assuming Damali's paws look a little rough XD <3 Curb stomp me if it's an issue.)