|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Thu Aug 26, 2010 10:04 pm
With the new school year looming just over the horizon and the potential to be pent up in one's dorm room, one's eyes nearly bleeding from reading the same page 50 damn times, it seemed an unanimously good idea to explore the campus.
Belladonna was quick to scurry from her still unpacked dorm room to see what wildlife she could not only talk to, but coax into some semblance of friendship. She encountered a path that wound from behind her dorm to a sloping area that finished in a river before sloping back up along the other side. Knowing she could find a few Siren Vines (creeping vines that had the habit of howling on the new moon) she quickly advanced, humming to herself.
Her little black, ribboned cat followed close behind, but slowly began drifting further and further as she neared the river.
"You aren't going to... go in it, are you??" Binx asked, his ears working their way toward the back of his skull.
"Oh, definitely not." She paused. "Maybe. No, no. No!" She flashed him a smile and made her way to the river, which might have involved slipping on a few slick patches of dead grass and wishing she had her broom.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Aug 27, 2010 6:56 am
With time still left before classes started, Calder was going to make the best of it by perfecting the campus map. There were plenty of rivers winding through campus, and not limited to just ground and sidewalks, he wanted to know what places were the most secluded that would allow for small, private dips when he ever felt the urge. True, there was a large swamp behind the school and his dorm had been outfitted to accommodate his more aquatic needs, but it wasn't the same. For one, a white horse looked awkward and out of place in a monster-infested swamp. It also brought on a lot of unwanted attention, and he didn't like being the oddball this quickly.
To spare him, he started to follow the rivers, glad for everyone's sake that no one was around. Breathing in the smell of pungent algae and slime-covered stones, the kelpie swam in the murky water, enjoying the sensation of long grass in his mane and feeling like a 100 Pumpkin seeds. With a first poke of white, his ears emerged, followed by a head, and then the rest shortly after. Shaking his mane, he looked about and noticed two things. 1.) There was another student and 2.) She was very dry.
The white horse stood, blinking at the girl and her little companion, his eyes going to the girl, the cat, and the river nearby. It was almost too easy.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Aug 27, 2010 10:06 pm
Maybe if she had noticed her familiar had stopped a good distance from the river, Belladonna might have stopped too. But of course she was blinded by the Siren Vine she had spotted winding just a few feet from the river bank and was slipping her way toward it. For a moment she paused to curse her pointy shoes, but quickly retracted the curse since she loved them dearly and happened to spot something white in the murky waters.
Quickly, Belladonna snapped herself to attention and back, a reaction learned from living in a family of spell-casting witches. The next second had her brain processing the information and a soft smile replaced her surprised "oh".
"What a lovely horse! But what is it doing in the water..." She screwed her face up, mulling the idea over and noticing little bits of kelp stuck in its mane. It wasn't everyday that she saw a horse looking so healthy. Most of the horses she saw wandering around Halloween Town were rather... scrawny and dead looking. (Not that she minded. She found them rather cute.) But this one looked so well off! She was instantly intrigued by his unfamiliar look, shuffling a few steps closer to look at him a bit closer.
"Um... I'll just, you know, stay over here. He looks rather... Soggy." Binx was saying, nervously speaking to himself and reviewing the negative points of water, though Belladonna was totally and completely ignoring him.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Aug 28, 2010 7:12 am
It was very observant of Belladonna to know that a healthy horse in Halloween town was a rather strange animal to see, but his form was not meant to strike fear – yet. It was all to lure humans towards him, and while he disliked the idea of human hands touching him, he did like the sound of them screaming and splashing in the water. True, he hadn't had this experience yet, but his parents were more than happy to tell him about it. He imagined it was something like how a river rat sounded when it plopped in the water and got caught in the weeds, trashing about and terrified out of its mind.
On any other part of campus, he might have shied away and let her be, but near water, he felt a sense of duty and a indescribable thrill at the prospect of getting her wet. It was the perfect set up. A small girl lingering just a little bit always from the river's edge. Her compliment made his ears flatten back, but he smoothed this other with trying to look like a shy, gentle horse that was unused to others.
He blew some air through his nostrils, and slowly, as not to frighten her, lowered his head. He moved step by step, breathing in the air. She had a musty smell, like aged grimoires with a faint smell of cat, probably from the little feline behind her. He looked at Binx and ignored him, hoping he wouldn't meddle in his plans. He just needed to get close enough to n** the edge of her skirt, but it would be tricky. He didn't want to be touched. He tried to make his watery-green eyes large to catch her attention and bring her closer. Luring was part of what he had to get down. Just a little step. You think I'm pretty. Why don't you come closer?
It was the smell of water that grated against his patience.
OH! This was taking too long!!!!!! Water was there! THERE! He just had to shove her in!!!
He trotted over and with his teeth, bit a wad of her skirts into his mouth. Perfect! His eyes flashed to her's and then to the river. Fun time!!! He turned so that his rump was to the river and started to move backwards.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Aug 28, 2010 8:24 pm
As the horse advanced, Belladonna finally decided she much preferred the skinny, black horses she saw in her hometown over this too pretty animal. Behind Binx was letting out a low, feral sound that didn't quite help Belladonna's sudden decision.
It wasn't until the horse grabbed her skirts with its teeth that she finally screamed.
With faltering steps she tried to break away, but she wasn't sure how far she could get. Her mind was reeling with the idea of maybe melting in the water (well, she wouldn't melt but one never knew!) or possibly drowning if the horse pulled her under and while it wouldn't kill her off forever, it would be dreadfully inconvenient and definitely wouldn't allow her to start the school year and then she'd have to re-enroll and she wasn't even sure how solid her acceptance had been!!
She heard her skirt begin to rip, and what a horrible sound that was, mingled with the frenzied shrieks of Binx who still wasn't doing much. (He wouldn't have been able to anyways. Scratch the horse? Certainly no, he could get hurt that way!) Fearing her skirts wouldn't rip in time for her to get away, and muttering a frightened apology, Belladonna raised a hand and rather ineffectively smacked the horse on its head. The hit was ineffective simply because she didn't put the force behind it she should for fear of hurting the creature. She would never harm an animal, even if it meant her own doom as it might very well do today!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Aug 30, 2010 7:28 am
The dark, black horses that Belladonna preferred could quick possibly have been Calder's kin, but at the moment is would seem he was much too different to them. For now, he wasn't as impressive as those horses, with their matted fur, glassy eyes, and emaciated bodies. Oh, what beauties they were! He instead had to settle for shockingly white and, by human definitions, gorgeous. This image was somewhat ruined when said pretty horse was pulling you into a murky river, as Belladonna was soon finding out.
The tearing of her skirts alarmed him, and he knew that if he continued to take his time, he might rip her skirts and well – he didn't want either of them to be put into an awkward situation. He hoped he only had a top layer of skirt and wondered if he should readjust is bite. (Note to self: Bite things that can't easily tear off.) When she said a rather high-pitched 'I'm sorry', he paused, looked up, and was then smacked on the forehead. It was, as she knew, ineffective in stopping him, but it did surprise him.
"Oh come on. The water's nice. Let me show you." He said through gritted teeth. He wasn't willing to release the skirt. He had one task in mind and one only – put the girl in the water. If that didn't satisfy him, he might try the cat too. It was just a itch in his kelpie' nature that demanded to be scratched, and with that, he took a few more steps near the river, feeling one back hoof hit the bank and sink in the water. His eyes remained on the skirt, listening to it slowly tear. OH! NOT NOW!!!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Aug 30, 2010 1:08 pm
Just as the fabric of her skirt was gearing up for its final and most exquisite ripping sound, Belladonna paused. Of all the things she should have been doing at that moment (maybe finishing unpacking or giving Binx some love or even introducing herself to others) she flat out stopped pulling away.
"Oh. You talk."
It was a simple, yet very profound, observation. It was profound because a few creatures in Halloween Town talked, most of those that did worked very closely with the inhabitants of said town, but a great number of creatures that talked were creatures that weren't always creatures. They were very much in fact people quite like Belladonna! (Or, well, maybe not quite like, but close enough that it counted.)
"Are you... What are you? Why do you want me in the water?" She paused, motioning to her feet. "I'll get in, if you'd like, but can I take off my boots first? They don't dry dreadfully well..."
From behind her a loud shriek was heard as Binx began yelling instructions at her, while simultaneously jumping around in attempt to work up his courage of getting closer to the water. Most of his shouts consisted of demanding her to get away from that thing, she didn't know what it was, it obviously wanted to drown her and a series of cat-curses that were more shriek-meows that actual words.
As was her nature, Belladonna ignored them all.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Aug 31, 2010 8:00 pm
This was upsetting. Here he was TRYING to get to flail around again, make a rukus, scream out in a ear-drum splitting panic and she was not having a nice little convo instead. What part of massive horse dragging you into the murky depths did she not understand? He was TRYING to perform a proper drowning here!
"I'm a horrible, river beast pulling you to your watery grave and NO you can't take off your shoes first. Can't you see a drowning when it happening?" He huffed, puffing out a quick burst of air through his nostrils. This girl was being very uncooperative. At least the cat was making a racket and in his own furry-puffed-panic. Maybe he should have tried the cat first and then tried pulling her into the water when she tried getting her pet out. That would have worked out nicely. RAT SPIT! He should have done that instead of getting Little Miss Chit-Chat first. Wanting to know if she could take off her boots. The nerve!
Grumbling around the wad of soggy fabric in his mouth, Calder continued to move back, but much to his own aggravation and probably Binx's relief, the skirt was tearing so that there was just a small piece still connecting the mouthful of fabric to Belladonna's dress. He paused, looking at the little bit of fiber he had to work with and wondering just how he'd pull it off.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Aug 31, 2010 9:49 pm
"Obviously not!" She replied indignantly, and with a quick motion finished ripping her skirt and in the same motion, turned and ran back up to the top of the bank. Leave it to her to completely ruin any attempt at being kind to a fellow Halloweenie. Wasn't it always like her mother said? 'You're just too... Enthusiastic?'. Grumbling as she stooped down to pick up the still growling Binx, she paused and turned back to the bank, watching the horse with an intense curiosity she hoped was not evident on her face.
"Why did you want to drown me? And what are you exactly? I've never seen a horse quite like you... Most of them don't look so...So... Healthy, I guess."
For a brief moment she felt kind of bad for not pretending to drown as the creature so obviously wanted. Its not like she'd have really drowned... She could have just held her breath until she had gotten far enough away, but... That would have been cheating and surely this creature wouldn't want a fake performance. It obviously was very upset that she didn't do as it wanted, but why? Hhhmmm, what an interesting thing to behold!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Sep 01, 2010 6:55 am
Calder was left half in the water, a sign of just how close he had gone to getting his little mission done, but with a piece of cloth in his mouth to show that yes, it didn't exactly work the way he planned – not that it had been a stellar plan to begin with. Randomly taking people into the water was pretty much a wing-it sort of deal in the end, and for someone as inexperienced as he was, it was all a learning experience.
Frowning, he spat out the cloth, watching it float on the water before sinking. If only she had been that nice to do the same. Safely on the bank, he found that trying again (and failing again) was rather humiliating. It was also a sort of courtesy to allow those that escaped to have their day until a later date, so he sat in the water, looking upset – or as upset as a horse could look.
Her questions only flared him up and he shook his head, trying NOT to let it bother him. "I can look JUST like those other monsters, even worse, I'm just……not there yet." Far from it. His transformations to his kelpie half were disasters at best. It was hard to make his pretty horse form decay to black. It was a trick that, as his parents reassured him, came with practice, patience, and a lot of all that parental reassurance.
Picking himself out of the water, he stepped onto the bank, standing not too close or too far from her. "I'm a kelpie. Drowning - it's what I'm suppose to do." It was what he STILL wanted to do. The smell of the water was enticing, making his head swim and telling him that it would very much like it if there was a nice body thrashing in it. It also came with a delicious reward in the end if the person didn't know how to swim. "What are you?" She looked human, which didn't thrill him.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Sep 02, 2010 6:09 pm
Still standing a safe distance away from the horse, she couldn't help but feel a little sorry for him. While still trying to fully learn how to read animals' faces, he looked rather downtrodden. She hadn't meant to upset or make him angry. But she very well wasn't going to drown... Maybe if she managed to get to continue talking he'd feel better!
"A kelpie! I've heard of those... I've never seen one, but now I can say I have!!" She made a little curtsy in way of introducing herself. " I'm Belladonna, a witch!" At this moment Binx jumped up onto her shoulder, cuddling her now that she was what he deemed safe. "Oh, this is Binx. "
Now that he mentioned drowning, she did recall the stories she had heard of proud kelpie families that went to the human world and would drown whole groups of people. She had never been to the human world, nor had she seen a kelpie, so made a mental note to be a bit more careful in the future. It was odd though that here in Halloweentown someone might want to do her harm, however misconstrued the idea was... Hmm, she'd have to think on that one!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Sep 03, 2010 9:07 pm
His parents had always been sort of iffy when talking about witches. They said that while they were creatures of the dark, crafters of magic, they were still something to be wary of. It was a shame his parents spoke more about water creatures than others around the world. Witches were up there on main categories, and he found himself wondering if he should trot away or stay. The fact they were already talking caused him to follow proper etiquette and continue. She…didn't seem bad, and he really wanted to make friends. If she was bad to know, he'd simply stop seeing her. – Well, maybe. He did want a friend.
It was the idea of trying to impress someone that made him get a little more rigid, and he flicked his neck, causing the green scarf to twirl once more around his neck. "I've never met a witch before." He never met much of anything before in his life as he was a rather backwoods, smalls rivers, sort of kelpie. Witches never crossed his path, or at least none that he saw.
"I'm Calder." He continued, looking at the cat. He supposed it wouldn't be dumb enough to go into the water either. Ah, his parents would be so disappointed in him, but he guessed not drowning someone was a good thing after all. The school would kick him out and Fish Rot! – his parents would really be disappointed in him! Still, it would have been nice to just do it once.
Noticing her noticing him, he slowly took a hoof and traced a circle in the dirt, looking down. "Um…Hello. Sorry about your dress. I would have tried your arm if I could." As if that was better!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Sep 09, 2010 10:17 am
"You haven't?" Belladonna cooed to the creature, trying her very hardest to understand the faces he was making and the strange little vibrations of feelings emitting from him. While she did have an older sister who was quite adapt at reading the future, and an aunt who could see everything a person was thinking, Belladonna was not quite so skilled as yet. For now, she could only tell the kelpie was a bit confused, and she therefore decided she would do her best to ease that confusion... Or at least make friends!
"Well I'm sure you'll meet a few here at Amityville. And Calder, its lovely to meet you." She paused for a moment, inspecting the bottom of her dress where it had ripped, taking just a few seconds to pull the fabric taut between her hands and assessing the damage. "Its no worry about my dress... The rip actually looks very nice. I'd been meaning to rip one of my skirts up, but never gotten around to it. You've helped quite a lot! Thank you!"
With a deft style of ignoring the bit about her arm (for that wouldn't do, he was only trying to do his job!) she distracted herself a moment by petting Binx, but quickly turned her attention back to Calder.
"Do you happen to have a... hmm, smaller form for school? The halls might get a bit crowded with a horse in them!" She meant this as a joke and hoped her saw it as one, but quickly realized it could be interpreted in many ways, not all of them very good...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Sep 09, 2010 8:14 pm
He reminded himself that he looked like a horse. That was the purpose of his form, but it didn't help him any. He wished he clearly looked like a kelpie, but that wasn't obvious in the form he was now. Still… "I'm not a horse." He mumbled, and decided that taking a dip alone was out of the question and changing back was appropriate. The more she called him a horse, the more he wanted to look anything but one.
It was a quick change and the gleaming white horse changed into a rather wet, bean-pole sort of boy with torn clothes and sticks in his hair. The tail and ears still said horse, but the rest was, in some sense, human in appearance. It was odd to say the least to change in front of someone as he had only ever changed in front of other kelpies, namely his family, and he stood there feeling out of place. He hadn't been trying to help her rip her dress to make a fashion statement, but her delight said he was at least winning her over and that whisked away any thoughts of throwing a fit. "Um..so…I could rip your dress some more if you want." If witches liked that sort of thing, he could tear her clothes to shreds. The clothes he wore pretty much showed that, but those were general wear and tear than on purpose.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Sep 14, 2010 11:10 am
Having never seen a kelpie before, much less a kelpie that turned from horse to everyday form, Belladonna watched with intense purpose. Natural curiosity called for seeing all that she could and if it meant invading a monster's privacy by watching them shift, she sure wasn't going to argue in the favor of politeness. After the transformation, she mused for a moment on how lovely his hair looked... Though it did have a number of sticks in it...
"I hadn't planned on ripping this one, but I appreciate the offer. When I get around to making another one that I do intend to rip, you'll be the first person I talk to." She smiled as she said this, taking Binx from her shoulder and placing him on the ground. Once again, but with less fascination and more knowledge that she should be safe, she headed back down the bank. Once in reach of Calder she curtsied in way of further introduction and then proceeded to pull the sticks from his hair.
"You have lovely hair, by the way. So very soft. Is it all the swamp water, you think? I've heard it does wonderful things for the skin and nails..."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
