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 Posted: Wed Jun 03, 2015 2:44 pm
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Posted: Sat Jun 06, 2015 4:40 am
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Lutrin had parked herself on a bench facing the railroad tracks. Swinging her legs, she stared down at where the tracks disappeared behind the trees. Any minute now... any minute now that train would pull in from around the corner. She clutched tight the paper sack that was sitting in her lap. The edges were wrinkled and tattered from her excessively strong grip, but that could hardly be helped. She was excited. Nervous too—very nervous—but mostly excited. Besides, no matter how hard she gripped the bag, its contents were safe.
“Sugardad? Can you see the clock? What's the time say?” She asked, glancing up at her sparing a glance from the tracks to look up at her lusus. He was currently dangling from the bottom of a cluster of balloons that had been tied to the bench. Adjusting the brim of his hat with a tiny paw, he squinted at the distant station clock.
“What if something happened?” Lutrin chittered. “What if Stompbeasts attacked? Or bandits? What if she took the wrong train? What if she forgot it was supposed to be tonight? Or what if she didn't forget but worse didn't want to come at all?!” Tearful and hyper-ventilating, Lutrin looked to her lusus for guidance.
Sliding down the balloon strings, Sugardad hopped from the back of the bench onto his charge's shoulder. He patted the side of her cheek. They still had five minutes before the estimated arrival time. She needed to be patient. Nodding, Lutrin swallowed the rest of her outburst. She wiped at her eyes. Aerona would not let her down. That was just the type of person Aerona was. Lutrin could feel it. In turn then, she could not let Aerona down. There was no way she was going to greet the redblood with such a despondent expression.
“Maybe I can summon the train!” Lutrin said suddenly, jumping to her feet. Momentarily setting aside her bag, she ran to the edge of the tracks. Stance wide, she thrust one arm forward. “Shiny hissbeast with a coat of steel! I command thee from thine icy home! To me! To meeeeeee!!”
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Posted: Sun Jun 07, 2015 10:11 pm
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As it typically did and without any other incident, the train arrived on time. It was heralded by the familiar Alternian tootshouter from within its mechanical coach, and chugged to an efficient stop in the station. The crowd began to hurry to make their way to the doors as they opened, revealing first the highbloods who had priority seating.
Meanwhile, Aerona swung her legs back and forth, looking out the window with hardly contained enthusiasm. Train rides were always a pleasure, and even though she had to sit in the crappy lowblood section Aerona had snagged the window seat. The window had fogged from her pressing her head up to it, and she wiped it clean to take a better look outside. Her eyes scanned the crowd. Trolls of high caste poured out to go to their luxurious hives, mid-bloods puttered around waiting for familiar faces to emerge from the train, and finally the lowblood trains had begun to disembark. It was then that Aerona spotted a tiny orangeblood hopping up and down like an excitable ookbeast.
Aerona gasped. "HEEEY!!" She slammed her hands on the windows over and over, waving with excitement at her friend. "LUUUTRIN!" The car was beginning to empty, and Sophitia (who was, of course, accompanying her) tugged on her sleeve to usher her into the aisle. Aerona gestured to the exit as though to let her pal know where she was going, and hustled towards the exit. Everyone was going way too slow. Aerona looked around and hopped over the seats of the train, to the dismay of her lusus. "Haha!"
Breathing quickly and beleaguered by her hurt arm, Aerona finally slipped in front of an overweight yellowblood and skipped from the train onto the platform.
Where was she where was she where was she -- "Lutrin!" Aerona ran towards the orangeblood at full speed, ready for a high-impact collision. "Secret handshake, go!"
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Posted: Tue Jun 09, 2015 3:33 am
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With a little more cajoling the train finally appeared from around the bend. Lutrin became a whirlwind of activity: flapping her arms, hopping in place, turning cartwheels, and all the while emitting a shrill, bubbling noise that is not possible to replicate via text. She failed to notice all the looks other trolls gave her. If she did notice, she didn't care—her thoughts were on finding Aerona and nothing could distract her. Sure enough, when she saw the redblood waving at her through the window, she very nearly flung herself at the train and scampered inside. Instead she settled for bounding over the heads of the waiting passengers and making star jumps.
By the time Aerona reached the platform, Lutrin had gathered up her paper sack and plunged through the crowds towards the redblood, only to drop it again as soon as she collided with her friend. She had applied the brakes enough that she did not completely bowl the redblood over. Not that she needed to have worried. Aerona it seemed had braced for impact anyway.
“Okay!” Lutrin whistled back. She was not one to slow down or ask questions. Without hesitation she gave Aerona's hand a hearty slap, tickled her palm, extended her index finger, and brought her hand up to touch her own nose. “Beep!” she said, leaving Aerona's hand on her face. Then, before the redblood could retaliate, Lutrin had slipped a mask over her head. The elastic band caught around the pompom on her hat, and her horns got stuck in the eye holes. Lutrin decided to leave it.
“Welcome to the Four Fronds!” she proclaimed, making a sweeping gesture. “A land of adventure and...” Her voice dipped and she continued, “... danger!!” |
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Posted: Tue Jun 09, 2015 2:04 pm
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FWAP! Aerona knocked into Lutrin and bounded back, catching the slap of her hand with a deft motion. She followed along with Lutrin’s silliness as the handshake completed and allowed her hand to touch Lutrin’s face. The girl was a tornado of energy. She didn’t have much time to see what Lutrin had put on her head. Removing her hand from Lutrin’s general area, she poked around to see what the strange hat she now wore could be. It was a mask! Lutrin had managed to rig it through her horns, which Aerona thought was hilarious. “OOhhh my gosh!”
She could have died laughing. Aerona repositioned the string to be under her pompom and took a low, prepared stance. Four Fronds. Adventure and danger. Well, danger was a given, considering the hunting forest… But even then, the way that Lutrin presented it made it sound like a lot of fun! Even if she was safety conscious, Aerona would have been immediately taken by the orangeblood’s dramatic display.
“Adventure and danger is what I live for!” roared Aerona. “What are we gonna do first, Lute-boots? Lead the way!!” She hopped up and down and jogged in place to emphasize her readiness to dive into adventure. In the meantime, Sophitia finally caught up. Her soft shell was covered by a large headscarf and matronly coat. She gave Sugardad a pleasant wave and crossed her hands, waiting patiently for the children to make their plans.
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Posted: Tue Jun 23, 2015 4:59 pm
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Lutrin was more than happy to oblige. She was eager to get going as well. Picking up her sack, she set out at a brisk pace and began to dole out supplies: a weathered-looking grappling hook, a hand shovel, a water bottle, and a bag of trail-mix. Over her shoulder, Sugardad doffed his hat at Sophitia, with a bass squeak. It was a pleasure.
“First off, the base of operations!” Lutrin said, guiding the redblood and her lusus from the platform. She manoeuvred easily through the rest of the disembarking passengers. The train station was not especially busy and no one was in a hurry. No one except for Lutrin anyway.
As they exited the station and stepped out into the central hub of the Four Fronds, Lutrin chatted about the various points of interest. “This is the main part of town and about as busy as it gets. Nothing like Civisect or New Hemisect, right? I guess people like their space. Still, the quiet is nice. Oh! You can't see it from here with all the hives in the way, but the lake's over there. I wanted to go fishing there, but apparently that's where some seadwellers live and dad tells me they can be pretty grouchy. Pffbbbt! Can you believe it though? They're called seadwellers, not lakedwellers! What are they doing living in a lake?”
They were getting farther and farther from civilisation. The dirt path they were walking on was overgrown with weeds. It disappeared into the forest fringe, looming ahead. “Aaaaand, here's the best part!” Lutrin spun so that she faced Aerona. “Our destination lies beyond!” She twirled an imaginary moustache thoughtfully. Then, with a sudden realisation, she pulled a fake but less imaginary moustache out of her pocket and stuck it to her face. “One should always be prepared,” she said sagely.
In the meantime, Sugardad complimented Sophitia on her ensemble. She looked very handsome.
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Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2015 12:07 pm
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Aerona skipped along before settling in a pace to match Lutrin, building off of her friend’s energy. She watched with awe as the orangeblood produced a grappling hook, among other things, and didn’t have time to comment before her focus was split between following Lutrin’s quick steps and dodging trolls every which way. The nimble trolls made their way out of the station in no time, with Aerona’s attention fully engrossed in Lutrin’s spritely personality and the adventures to come.
Aerona flinched at the mention of seadwellers. “Yeah, stay away from seadwellers,” muttered Aerona. Her mood was dampened momentarily. “Whatever they’re doin’, they should stay in the sea where they belong and leave us alone!”
Sophitia chittered in soft warning, and Aerona hushed momentarily. The lusus resumed her pleasant batting of the eyes with Sugardad, who was quite the gentleman. She made her way quietly behind the two children.
It was a relief to get away from the main hub of Four Fronds, however – away from the dark waters of the lake and into the forest. The dirt and leaves crunched under her feet. Diffused pink light glittered through the canopy, and the cool overgrowth below made the darkened environment a thickly atmospheric sight. It became difficult to tell which direction was which, save for the road, and much like the clutter of New Hemisect and Civisect Aerona found herself missing the wide open space of her home. It was like none other.
Pulled out of her thoughts, Aerona blinked to watch Lutrin with a discerning gaze. She flinched when her friend whipped out a moustache, constantly tickled by the whimsy of the orangeblood, and gave her a comical bow for her wisdom. “Take me to theeeere!” She demanded. Aerona jumped up and down, landing with a wide pose.
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Posted: Wed Jul 22, 2015 1:46 am
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“As you wish!” Lutrin replied. Without waiting a second more, she grabbed Aerona's hand and darted into the underbrush, yanking the eager redblood after her.
Lutrin zipped through the forest like it was a well-practised obstacle course, which in a way it was. Though she occasionally followed to the rough paths that wound through the woods, more often than not she kept to the undergrowth. Even so, it was a gentler way to get to her hive than normal. While she was certain that Aerona would happily throw herself at any challenge that presented itself, she would rather the two of them got there relatively unblemished. With that goal in mind, she skirted around the blackberry grove and gave wide berth to the rocky outcrop where the Happy Badger family lived. Despite their name, they could be a little ornery, especially to strangers.
At last, they arrived at a glade carpeted with clovers. Releasing Aerona's hand, Lutrin slowed to a walk. “Here we are!” she proclaimed, only slightly out of breath. She made a grand sweeping gesture towards the canopy. Her home of course was not on the ground but in the trees. Concealed between the branches was a network of rope bridges, connecting the various blocks of her hive. Brightly coloured ornaments dangled from the windows, glowing in the violet tinted moonlight. A wooden set of wind chimes tinkled gently in a breeze.
“Ta-dah! Adventure Grand Central Station!” She beamed. “This is where the magic all happens! I'll show you up!” Turning, she went to where a long string of ivy dangled off the deck. With a hop, she managed to grab hold of it and gave it a yank. A rope ladder tumbled down.
“Normally I lock up better, but tonight I knew I'd only be gone for a little while.” Lutrin explained. “But if ever wanna come and visit you can use the grappling hook!” Standing aside, Lutrin gestured for Aerona to go first. Sugardad let out a remindful chirp. Lutrin jumped.“Oooh! Wait, I'll go get the pulley for your mom!”
She was up the ladder in a flash, the bottom rungs swaying dangerously as she made her ascent. A moment later, a platform descended nearby.
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Posted: Thu Jul 23, 2015 4:13 pm
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"Yipe!" In no time at all, Aerona was rushed through the woods. It was more fun than she could have ever expected. Four Fronds was beautiful. She would concede that, even with the open spaces of Busthind, the flora of the woods was breathtaking. It smelled fresh - like the rain that fell through the spaces in the flora sweetened on each cherry-colored leaf. The ground was loamy and covered in soft ferns that tickled her legs as she ran past. Even Lutrin's stories (rushed, nonsensical, and possibly even completely imagined) added to the effect. Aerona tried to soak all of it in, but her attention was also split between not falling and breaking her face.
She was nearly out of breath from laughing and breathing hard - hopping over logs with Lutrin in hand and slipping under and around sharp brambles of whatever-kind-of-ivy Sophitia squeaked about from a good radius behind the two. Her lusus was excellent at traversing terrain, but she was less keen on her daughter taking few safety precautions as she did so. Aerona was caught in Lutrin's tornado, though, and it was hardly any use getting through to her. They stepped upon the glade and the truly magical sight in front of her took her breath away.
But, of course, before Aerona could say anything Lutrin was off again. She pulled some kind of mechanism and before she realized what was happening a rope ladder rolled out for her like the red carpet of her dreams. It was like the kind of scrappy, put together home that she could only dream of! And perfectly Lutrin in every way. As soon as she said the words "grappling hook", Sophitia visibly deflated while her daughter's eyes brightened.
"Oh my GOSH, Lutrin, this is so cool!" Aerona did a little dance in place and watched her scamper up her rope ladder. Sophitia looked a bit skeptical at the platform that she was to ride. "She can climb stuff, you know -- mom's like a person shaped spider," she commented. Sophitia huffed at the remark and twiddled her claws together. She made for the platform in protest and gingerly stepped onto it while Aerona laughed and raced up the rope ladder. "You're my best friend EVERRR!"
Lutrin was amazing, and had way cooler stuff than Sascha.
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Posted: Wed Nov 04, 2015 10:55 pm
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Huffing and puffing, Lutrin hoisted the platform up. Even with several pulleys in place to help lighten the load, Aerona's lusus was easily the heaviest thing she ever had to lift. She looked so stately and cute in her scarf and coat though that Lutrin did not mind; it would have been a shame for her to get dirty. When at last Sophitia's head appeared over the patio, Lutrin beamed. She pulled the platform up the rest of the way, and then hit the brake.
“All passengers may now disembark,” she said, slightly out of breath to the lusus. “Thank you for using Lutrin's Super Duper Giga Scooper Vertical Raft Shaft 3000, and have a wonderful evening!” Turning so that Sophitia could not see how exhausted she was, Lutrin leaned against the tree trunk and blew out a stream of air. That had been a lot of work!
“So,” she said, speaking now to Aerona once she had recovered. She knocked against the wood. “This is the nutrition block. If you're hungry or thirsty we can get something out of the thermal hull. My respite block is right up above. Otherwise...” She sucked in a large breath. “To the RUMPALUMPUS BLOCK!”
Lutrin lunged forward, as though to sprint over one of the bridges. She froze mid-step though, one leg up in the air and arms bent. Looking back at Aerona, she wiggled her eyebrows.
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Posted: Thu Nov 05, 2015 4:20 pm
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Posted: Tue Nov 17, 2015 3:07 am
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“Ooooo!” At Aerona's outburst, Lutrin's eyes widened and her mouth formed a little oval. She applauded enthusiastically. The redblood did not give her much time to appreciate the energetic declaration however. No sooner had she finished speaking than she started towards Lutrin with fingers that looked eager to torment.
“I got all the rumpus!!” Lutrin countered boldly, puffing up her chest. Then with a laugh, she bounded across the bridge. There were several gaps where the planks had fallen away, but nothing so much as impassable. Certainly they provided no challenge for her or her rough and tumble friend. Reaching the tree of the rumpus block, she stopped to hold the door open. As soon as Aerona had gone in, Lutrin followed.
The rumpus block was a small space (as were most the rooms of Lutrin's hive) but cosy, and given depth through its many windows. There was no carpet, but in many places rugs covered the floor: rugs of all colours, shapes, and textures. Shelves, chests, and drawer surrounded the tree trunk in the centre of the room, many of which were half-open and spilling their contents over the floor, while the outer walls were lined with Lutrin's projects. A small table stood off to one side, covered with what looked like paints and peanut shells. Behind it was a cluster of beanbags, piled haphazardly on top of one another. A closer inspection revealed them to have printed animal faces. Other strange novelties littered the floor, as well as more peanut shells. Lutrin hastily grabbed a broom from behind the door and swept them away from Aerona's immediate vicinity.
“I invited some nutbeasts inside to play jacks,” she explained. “We could play, but I think they took most the pieces. But anyway...” She huffed and tossed the broom back behind the door. “What do you wanna do?”
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Posted: Tue Apr 26, 2016 1:44 am
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“Of course!” Lutrin replied with feigned injury. “Who do you think I am?” She rolled her eyes before giving Aerona a mischievous wink. As soon as Aerona turned her back, Lutrin scuttled over to the shelves in the centre of the room. She yanked open a drawer and began to dig through its contents. A bag of marbles, some old candy wrappers, and several door knobs flew over her shoulder before she came out with a rough stack of paper and some wax tubes. She bounded back over to Aerona just as the redblood whirled to face her with secret words.
Fireworks lit up in Lutrin's eyes. She clapped a hand over her pump biscuit and swayed. “A... hit list?!” she echoed, in the same hushed tone. “That... that sounds... amazing!!” Unable to restrain herself, she threw the papers and tubes up in the air in a jubilant gesture. As they clattered around her, she let out a chuckle and poked her tongue out. “Oops...”
Dropping to her knees, she set about picking up the scattered materials and handed them off to Aerona. All the while, she babbled in excitement. “Oh my gosh! That's such a great idea! I know some great places in New Hemisect! There are some trolls there with really crazy hives. Ooo! Or we could try Civisect City! I've heard there's still some construction going on down there. We could use the scrapfolding like ookbeast bars! Or... OH MY GOD.”
Lutrin let out a short shriek. She stopped everything and clapped her hands together in front of her face. After casting a shifty glance from side to side, her gaze settled on Aerona in a serious expression.
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