|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Tue Nov 24, 2009 4:58 am
Did she know, he wondered? Was she aware of the connection between Meleager and his Master Tactician. She must guess that the crossbreed was important to him at the very least, given he'd just abandoned her to follow the skinny stallion on a wild Rit chase in Casa Tiner of all places. Poor mare, this really wasn't turning out to be her day... Or his. He had to babysit her, and bring her food. Frankly he'd rather be heading for Casa Tiner; foals were not his thing. Still, not a lot he could do about it he supposed.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Nov 27, 2009 3:17 pm
Drek.
Well, there wasn't much she could do about it now, and at least he hadn't left her alone completely. No, he'd left her with Castor's bodyguard. She hadn't ever really had much of a chance to speak with him, and she'd only seen him from a distance. Seeing him up close almost took away all the vindictive and negative feelings swirling around inside her. Almost. "Yes, just the two of us now. I apologize now and in advance for all you'll need to do for me until he gets back, if he gets back, and I haven't the slightest idea when these'll hatch, either," she said with a glance at the saplings. She didn't even have any idea how many there would be, come to think of it. Maybe there was some way to tell? If there was, she certainly didn't know, and Ignatius probably didn't either, so it didn't matter anyway. She hoped Meleager got back soon, but.. but part of her wished he wouldn't. She didn't know how mad she'd be at him if he returned. Of course he was the herdleader and she'd respect him as such, but after this, well... She didn't know.
The pelt-adorned mare peered up at the draconic stallion before her, studying him curiously with violet eyes. Unfortunately curiosity got the best of her, and she couldn't help a small smirk. "Sorry, I can't help but ask - do you really eat meat like others say you do?" His sharp teeth certainly seemed to hint that he did, and she was very glad he was a part of the herd. He was not someone she'd like to be on an opposing side.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Dec 02, 2009 2:49 pm
Ignatius showed his fangs in a grin. "Yes, I do. I can eat grass and fruit but it tastes rank if you ask me, and my teeth weren't really made for chewing anyway..." Frowning slightly, Ignatius turned his eyes back onto the saplings and sighed slightly. "I know nothing about fruit trees," he confessed, "I suppose I just keep fetching food for you until the foals hatch?" He hadn't imagined becoming the guardian of a tree when he'd signed on as Castor's bodyguard. Frankly he'd prefer to be the one off to Casa Tiner... but at least Jocasta seemed like an interesting mare; when he wasn't running around collecting food the time might pass quite pleasantly.
"So, anyway," he looked the tactician up and down with another grin, "tell me the story behind that pelt you have. I've never seen anything quite like it before." Morbid, but he liked that in a mare; he had no time for those who flinched from the idea of death. Besides, it was rather attractive, a nice contrast to her brown and white coat.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Dec 02, 2009 3:02 pm
The appaloosa mare sighed slightly as well, turning violet eyes towards the saplings to study them more closely. It was intriguing how they took on the colors of their own coats, and how they just.. intertwined. Would they grow and meld together later into one single being near the top? She thought so, but it'd be interesting to see it happen for herself. "I haven't the slightest idea on what to do, either. That was one reason I was glad Meleager would be here to help, considering he's had them before." Hopefully that wasn't too bold to say, but she certainly didn't think it was. It was true, after all. He'd had at least... Two, wasn't it? Yes, she thought so. "But yes, as far as I can tell that's all we're really supposed to do. I get to sit here and have my energy drained by this tree," and with that she shuddered a little, "while you go get food and the like for me from... Wherever it is stallions do. I remember some saying that the two-legs in Ryuten offer baskets of food to help couples and their trees."
At the mention of her pelt, Jocasta couldn't help the delighted grin that appeared on her muzzle. "Do you like it? It was very graciously donated by its owner, a stupid young Katilenuck assigned to long patrols." He could probably tell though, considering the brindles it possessed. "I was just going to mess with his head a bit, but he insulted a rather.. sensitive subject, so I charged at him. He was obviously stupid, because instead of running, he came to meet me head-on. You can probably guess what the end result was," she said with a smirk as she shuffled her leathery wings a bit. "And no, you don't see too many pelts around, I've noticed. Skinning isn't a popular trade, I suppose. My trie taught me how to skin things, you see, and they're really quite useful. For instance, this fellow helps keep me warm during the colder months. Plus, it could also be helpful for you.." Now that she thought about it.. It really could. "I'm assuming that, being a meat-eating Nequus, it isn't too pleasant to have mouthfuls of fur before you can get at the meat beneath it." She couldn't really imagine eating meat... Well, actually, now that she thought about it, she could.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Dec 02, 2009 3:11 pm
Ignatius grinned at her description of event; definitly a mare he liked. "Sounds like an interesting stallion, your father," he commented with a throaty chuckle, "as for fur... It's alright I suppose," he shrugged his wings, "a little of it seems to be good for me, but a lot is unpleasant; I generally work around as much of it as I can, sticks in my teeth." It was alright with small rodent-typed things, but those were usually flat by the time he ate them which wasn't all that nice. Larger, fluffier things tasted better, but all that fluff was a pain. Sometime he thought having a beak like Saune's might be better; no gaps for annoying fragments of this and that to get trapped in.
"I'm used to that by now though," he shrugged again and shifted slightly in an attempt to warm his body; mention of the pelt keeping her warm had reminded him that he didn't even have one coat to keep the chill off. It was alright when he was moving, but just standing around during cold weather was nasty. Sleeping was really quite nasty anywhere but D'ob. Perhaps he'd have to get himself a mate to snuggle up to or something.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Dec 02, 2009 3:20 pm
"Yes, he certainly is interesting," she said with a small smile. She was infinitely proud of her sire and dam, but figured it'd be best to refrain from talking about their current conditions. He hadn't asked, so why bother telling?
"Ick, I can see why it'd be unpleasant; I bet some of it gets stuck to your muzzle too, with how... messy I'm assuming eating meat is," the pelt-adorned mare said with a furrowed brow as she thought about it. "Although you can do a simple trick to peel some of it back, it isn't too hard. Just make an incision and scrape your horn along the inside, between the meat and the fur, and it comes off fairly easily. Next time you catch something furry, bring it to me and I'll show you, that way you don't have to deal with nearly as much fur stuck in your teeth." Even if a little was good, she couldn't imagine he only got a little with everything he ate.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Dec 02, 2009 4:09 pm
"I'll hold you to that," Ignatius grinned, "the next time I kill something bigger than my hoof, I'll bring it back along with your food so you can show me." Not having to tear the fur away in rough chunks and thus get a lot of it in his mouth all the time would be a very welcome change. "Meat is messey," he went on with a grin, not sure yet if he was hoping Jocasta would be squamish or unpurturbed. "The blood gets everywhere, and the guts are the worst when you burst them. Not so bad with smaller animals where you can just get your mouth around a large bit of it, but with bigger ones you need to put your face inside the bone structure to get everything out. Good job I don't have fur really," he snorted, "blood washes off my scales fairly easily."
When should he set off to start finding food for her? Soon probably, he'd need to go and see if the two-legs really would give him something. They were supposed to revere Nequus from what he'd been told, but what would they make of him? Just another Nequus, or a beast to be driven out? The former he hoped, any help he could get with feeding Jocasta and her tree would be welcome to say the least. He had a distinct feeling, however, that no matter how much the two-legs gave him, it was going to be a long hard time for the pair of them. Meleager was going to be in for it when he got back, and that was for sure.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Dec 02, 2009 4:30 pm
All the mare could do was laugh. She wasn't sure if he was trying to discern whether or not she was squeamish, but that's probably what he was up to with all the gory details. Good thing she had her own to throw in, too, and to his first statement she offered a grin. "Deal, then you can stop getting fur stuck in your teeth. Speaking of which.. With the bigger ones, where you have to stick your face inside them? I'm sure the blood gets all over your face and the fur sticks to it, that can't be any fun either." Maybe it was sort of like when she got mud or something on her face? Quite possibly, but she couldn't be sure.
"And ohh, that sounds horribly disgusting," she added with a broad grin, although her tone didn't hint at even a trace of disgust in that statement. "I'm sure I've burst or popped things while skinning before, because suddenly things get a lot more messy than they should be. You have to be really careful with skinning things, otherwise you'll cover them in blood and other body fluids and ruin them completely. Or if you're not careful, you could pierce a big, gaping hole right in the middle of it and ruin the whole thing that way, too, so you need to find just the right way of peeling the skin and fur off so they stick together and don't have too much meat or guts or anything on them." It really was rather challenging sometimes, but it was like a puzzle, and how she loved puzzles. "I can completely skin something for you sometime too, if you like. Of course, you'd need to take it to the two-legs straight away. They clean it up a bit and do something to it so it doesn't rot away or stink or anything." She wasn't quite sure what they did to them, but they were incredibly skilled at it with those.. strange appendages they had with separate... things. She didn't know what they were called, but the two-legs held things with those instead of their teeth. How useful!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Dec 03, 2009 5:43 am
Damn but she was good, he certainly wouldn't mind cuddling up to her on a cold night. Would the Herdleader object? Maybe. Did he care? Drek no, the b*****d had run off and left her to be with his boyfriend, he had no right to get cross if somebody else moved into the gap he'd left behind when he'd taken his dappled backside out of the picture. "It sounds difficult," he acknowledged the mare's skill with a grin and a chuckle, "I don't know if I'd have the patience for skillful skinning. I'd love to watch you do it though, almost all other Nequus would rather keep away from dead animals where they can, it's a nice change to meet someone different."
Oh, I've never met a girl like you before! This was silly, very silly, he couldn't go being infatuated with Jocasta just because she was smart, funny, brave, and unsqeamish of blood and guts. Drek. He really should go off and hunt for food before he got any more carried away in this direction.
"I'll go and start looking for food now," the scaled stallion said decicivly, "I'll be back as soon as I can. Hopefully I'll have a beastie of some kind with me for you to peel," he added with a sharp-toothed grin.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Dec 03, 2009 8:34 pm
She couldn't help but chuckle at that. "Half the time I'm the one that kills them. Since I don't eat them, I don't kill them for food. I hardly ever get my skins from ones I find dead somewhere because by then they're usually rotten and horribly smelly. I usually get my pelts from animals or familiars that are just about dead or really sick anyway, and put them out of their misery. Something my trie told me to do, so I follow his advice," she explained, stretching her muzzle over to n** at an itch on her foreleg. "Although, there are a few exceptions, like whenever something or someone," with a glance and a smirk to the pelt on her back, "decides to be stupid. Then it's also a mercy killing, but not the same sort." No, it was more of a mercy to the rest of Urin for ridding it of such an annoying nuisance. "And it does require a great deal of patience and control, because one slip of the horn and you'll ruin the entire thing. It really can get rather frustrating." She hadn't ever met anyone that she could really have a conversation about dead things and skinning before, apart from her father. Even her mother wasn't too interested in it, so the fact she'd found someone who was so intrigued was incredibly pleasing.
Before her thoughts could get too far though, her stomach grumbled a bit and a sheepish smile graced her features. "That sounds like a wonderful idea. And bring back two or more 'beasties' if you'd like; the first one I can show you a trick or two so you don't have to choke on so much fur, then while you're being a beast and eating it, I'll show you how to peel it all off," the violet-eyed mare said with a smirk. She meant nothing more than to tease him by saying that, of course, which she figured he'd catch since there wasn't a hint of malice in her voice. Hopefully he wouldn't spend all of his time going back and forth getting her food, she wanted to spend more time getting to know the meat-eating 'beast.'
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Dec 04, 2009 11:29 am
Ignatius showed his teeth, and growled in a suitably bestial fashion before chuckling to himself and stretching his legs ready for action. "I'll be back soon, with plenty for both of us to eat and dismember," he promised with a grin, "don't have too much fun without me!"
And then he was away. Ryuten was his first stop, if he could get an easy meal or three of Jocasta so much the better. At first the two-legged things were wary of him, but eventually a bold young colt came up and patted his shoulder. When he failed to eat the foal alive - no matter how tender and tasty it looked - more approached him and exclaimed to one another, presumably over his appearance. A short while after that one of them brought him a pile of fruit in a... well he didn't know what it was, but it looked like it was made out of meshes leaves, and there was a thin looped bit that he could get his teeth around.
With this part of his mission a success, he set off for Shrilal once more, keeping his eyes open for prey. When he finally spotted a small group of edible beasts of around the right size he managed to spill the fruit in his haste to catch them. He managed to kill three in the end, and piled the bodied into the basket on top of the reclaimed fruit. They smelled so good he wanted to tear into them right now while they were still hot with life... but he wanted to see this skinning thing, so he resisted the urge and hastened onward.
Eventually, the saplings were in sight once more. Was it him, or were they taller than when he'd left? Quite possibly, he knew the things did grow fast. Shrugging internally, he whinnied a greeting around the loop of dry grass as best he could before trotting to a halt and setting the fruit-and-meat-carrier down. "Here," he grinned, "fruit, and three beasties to skin, aren't you a lucky girl?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Dec 04, 2009 11:59 am
"How could I?" She laughed, almost unable to believe that he'd growled. He really was a beast, and she couldn't think of anyone she'd like more than he to help her with the saplings. For once, she was incredibly glad Meleager had left; now that she thought about it, it would've been rather awkward to spend so much time with the herdleader when obviously his attentions were caught by the opposite gender, plus she wouldn't have nearly this much fun with anyone else.
When Ignatius returned, the appaloosa mare was still curled up beside the tree and had dozed off for a little while. She awoke with a start at his whinnied greeting, and turned to look in his direction as a grin spread across her muzzle. "My, my, I am a lucky girl! Fruit and beasties to skin! Makes my day just that much better," she said with a chuckle as she got to her feet.
She half-turned and carefully grasped the fruit-and-meat-carrier with one muscular tail, and pulled the three small bodies out of it. Ignatius obviously didn't mind too much, but she didn't have any interest in getting the slightest bit of fur or blood in her mouth. Once on the ground, she spread them apart a bit, inspecting each one. Humm, three things, but which one? Aha. Separating the best one of the three to one side for a complete skinning later, she pushed one towards the draconic stallion with a hoof, and used the same hoof to pull the remaining one closer to her. "Since I bet you're just as hungry as I am, I'll show you how to do that trick first, so then you can dig in and start dismembering it to your scaly heart's content," she smirked.
"Instead of tearing it apart with your teeth, you could just as easily use your horn, or in your case, that menacing tail of yours," Jocasta said with a sly grin. She flipped the beastie onto its back, and carefully placed one forehoof onto one of the thing's legs, and placed the other one on another leg. "Its belly is, obviously, the most vulnerable part, and therefore the easiest part to open up, because all of your favorite goodies are in there," which he probably already knew, but she felt compelled to say anyway. "So you want to expose its stomach as best as you can, then use either your horn or your tail to cut it right down the middle. Not too deep, or you'll pop everything in there before you even get your mouth on it, but just enough to get under the skin and peel it off with the fur." All the while she was explaining this, she'd lowered her horn and carefully carved through the thing's belly, starting in its throat. "Once that part's done, to make it easier, you could put your horn or tail in the middle of that, get it in there a bit, then twist it and pull it up on either side, to split it into quarters instead of halves, so you just have to push the fur and skin out of the way," and demonstrated that, her horn already ripping through one side of the skin before she moved to the other. "And there, that's all there is to it," the violet-eyed mare said with a grin after raising her head. "You can try it on that one, so you can get the hang of it that way instead of simply watching and listening to me do it." She didn't know about him, but doing things for herself instead of listening or watching was the best way she learned how to do new things.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Dec 04, 2009 12:31 pm
A deep frown of concentration fixed itself on the stallion's face as he watched Jocasta work. "Right," he nodded and stepped forward as she moved out of the way, "let's see about this then..." He did his best to mimic her movements, but where she had many seasons of practice and patience, he had a few heartbeats of practice and a very pressing desire to devour the thing fur or no fur. All in all, the bit he had done wasn't even half as neat as what the tactician had done but the skin was off so he counted it as a win, albeit a slightly ragged one.
"Not bad for a first go," he said aloud with a smirk before pinning the carcass to the ground with a hoof and tearing a chunk of flesh off the bones. "By the way," he grinned as he gulped down the first delicious mouthful, "you have some blood running down your horn." Maybe he should lick it off for her once he'd taken the edge off hid appetite, that would be quite enjoyable. What would she think, though? It didn't seem to him as though she'd had any loyalty to Meleager, but that didn't automatically make her interested in him... If anyone would be though, it would be a mare like her. Well, or Salome, but that one was as daft as a Rit on n** and so she didn't really count.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Dec 04, 2009 12:50 pm
Jocasta grinned, chuckling a bit. "Right, not bad at all. It does take a lot of patience and practice to get skinning down perfectly, but I think you're more interested in eating it instead," she said with another chuckle. "But that part isn't too hard, the more you practice it the sooner you'll get it down, and then it'll take you no time at all to rip its stomach open without worrying about choking on the fur." Intrigued violet eyes watched the stallion as he ripped a piece off and proceeded to eat it. Well, now she'd seen everything. Just about, anyway.
"Oh, do I?" The mare replied as she attempted to look as far up as she could in a vain attempt to see it; she knew she couldn't, but it was habitual to try anyway. It wasn't as if she could feel it running down her horn, but she'd feel it when it made its way onto her forehead. "That isn't surprising, considering I just demonstrated a more delicate way of tearing something open," she chuckled as she turned her attention back onto the hungry stallion as he ate his bloody, messy meal. Before she could comment again though, her stomach grumbled in protest, so with a grin and a chuckle she pulled the basket closer with her teeth and settled herself down next to the pair of saplings. Was it just her, or did they look... a little bit bigger than they did before her nap? Huh, she must be more tired than she thought. Shrugging it off, the hungry mare pulled out the first fruit that her lips wrapped themselves around and took a large bite of it, chewing slowly. She didn't remember ever feeling so hungry, but she supposed it was due to the growing tree beside her. Studying it with curiosity, she tilted her head a bit after swallowing. "I wonder how long it'll take to grow, and how many fruit it'll have. Hopefully not too many; I've heard others say that the more a tree has, the more energy it drains." And another shudder ran down her spine. She'd never quite get used to the idea of something simply leeching energy from her, especially if it took a lot. Oh gods, now that was another thing to worry about, but hopefully it'd only sprout a couple. Three at most.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Dec 06, 2009 7:28 am
Ignatius gulped down another mouthful and glanced back at the saplings. “Damned if I know,” he muttered as he bent to tear free more flesh, “I assume Meleager does but now he’s buggered off I suppose we’ll just have to play this by ear.” Stupid Meleager for running off with his boyfriend, stupid Castor for picking now of all times to race off after a rumor. Still, he couldn’t complain too much, the rashness of his ‘superiors’ meant that he was getting to know a very, very interesting mare.
“Still,” he grinned over at said mare, “however many there are I’ll see you get enough to eat, even if I have to bully other Nequus out of the food they’ve so carefully gathered. Couldn’t have the mother of the herdleader’s children going hungry now could we? I’d probably be kicked off a cliff at dawn with my wings tied.” In truth the Hellenes didn’t go in for practices like that and they both knew it, but he felt that Jocasta could appreciate the rough jest rather than getting all snippy and saying they weren’t like that and he should know it, etc etc.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
