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Spoof's teepee | Nyx QoD's teepee

Jessamine nudged the basket forward a few more feet with her front leg. The day was hot and humid, her breath came in short pants and sweat trickled down her nose. Her knife hung from a string around her neck, a recent addition. It was more practical, but it swung back and forth with every step and bashed against her chest. There were no cuts yet, but then the knife was not very sharp and she was careful to keep one eye on it every time it swung towards her.

The basket twitched every now and then, Jessamine wondered if this meant it would pop soon. She'd never actually witnessed her children emerging, despite have five of them now. It was just...better, for all concerned, if she gave them to those better suited to raising children. Jess knew that any child raised by her would be like her...and that wasn't something that she wanted, despite a desperate need to know her offspring. She stayed away to protect them all...for a moment she wondered how the two had faired that she left with that Angeni. Her brow furrowed in worry for a moment but she relaxed quickly; angeni couldn't be evil. Not like her...

The basket twitched again and she remembered her purpose. Sooner or later she would stumble upon someone to give this little gift to, who would undoubtedly be better for it than she ever could. Expelling a breath quickly, she began pushing/dragging it through the woods once more.

She came upon a small creek and debated taking a break. The basket twitched again and she was almost tempted not to, for what if it popped while she was resting? But the water looked so refreshing and surely nothing would happen if she only rested for a few minutes.

Mind made up, she dipped her muzzle in the water and immediately relished the coolness as it spread down her throat. She felt it drop into her stomach and the sweat clinging to her coat began to do its job and cool her off instead of just making her feel sticky. Jessamine tried to ignore the urge to jump into the water to clean herself off a bit, it was barely big enough to be called a stream and probably would not look nearly as nice all muddy from disturbed sediment and sweat.

A stab of anger hit her out of no where, why was she in this situation again?! And so soon after the last time, the children she tried not to think about were probably barely passed foalhood. What was wrong with her that she could not stay away from the flimsy promise of love?

She ground her teeth together angrily, however just as soon as the anger was there it was gone. Maybe...this time she could make things work...

A sharp jerk from the basket brought her back to reality and she shook her head violently to dispel the foolish thoughts from her mind. Time to get back to her search.

Jessamine lingered over the stream for a moment more. Something nagged at the back of her mind, she briefly wondered if she was being watched. Almost as if thinking it had made it true, she became aware of a huge dark shape to the left of her and a few paces away yet. She stiffened, hyper-aware suddenly of the line of her knife pressing against her side, tucked daintily between her body and the lace covering her back.

At the quiet words, she jumped slightly. She hadn't expected the creature to speak, but to attack. Despite not believing herself worthy to care for her own children, she would fight to the bloody death to protect this basket (at least before she found it a suitable home, then she would be content to imagine a happy life away from herself for her offspring). At present, the big black beast did not appear to be threatening her, but she turned to put herself between him and her child none-the-less, distrustful.

"I am fine. What business is it of yours?" she hissed between clenched teeth, ears laid back and blood red eyes narrowed suspiciously.

Jessamine continued to put herself between the huge stallion in front of her and her child. Despite her intent to foist it upon whoever met her approval first, she would protect it until then. Her intent was to give it away to give it a happy life, not to abandon it to fate's whims.

"I am neither, and I do not care what you thought. Remain where you are if you value your health." she threatened when he stepped forward.

Cleaver, her owl familiar was off hunting or she would have warned her of the strange soquili approaching. Jessamine would have then observed him silently, hopefully without his being aware of it, and then after a time would have approached him. Going in blind to a confrontation was not her style...however often it seemed to be happening of late.

"I don't need your help." she added disdainfully.

Despite her hostility, she calmed a bit simply because if he had wanted to harm her or her basket; he could have. The hulking soquili in front of her was nearly two feet taller than her, probably with twice her weight in muscle alone. Though he seemed to be kind as well, she didn't doubt that he could be dangerous when the situation called for it. The fact was, she knew he could have overpowered her in a second, even if she would leave marks of her own.

Jessamine stiffened, unsure as to what the stallion was referring to. He could not possibly know the pain of pulling yourself in two directions. She craved blood, needed it to stay sane. She didn't know why, just that whenever she felt close to being able to end the cravings forever, something happened to throw her tumbling headfirst back into the darkness.

"You don't know what you are talking about. Even if I wasn't fine, I don't need assistance from a great hulking brute like yourself." she scoffed, trying to drive him away with rudeness.

They all left her in the end. The children were the only ones innocent of the transgression, she had left them. For their own good, she reassured herself, but a voice in her head (one of many, it would seem) poked and prodded at her. What would it be like to try to raise one of them herself? Would it really be so bad? Of course it would, another part scoffed, look at you, you're a mess mentally and emotionally. Looks only get you so far in life, she shook her head. Talking to herself was really not something she needed to start doing at this point in her life; she shoved the two voices back into the blackness of her mind and refocused her attention on the stallion in front of her.

Jessamine scowled in dark anger. Who was this stallion to presume to know her, who was he to think he knew what she needed. With a feral growl she lashed out with her teeth, nicking him hard enough to draw blood. The color of it on his black hide made her smirk and her eyes glint unknown to her. Locked onto that line of blood slowly trailing down his neck from the wound he had stood and let her inflict, she approached him again, slowly.

"Help me?" she purred, her mind slowly slipping into that place that she tried so hard to deny.

Though the stallion was at least a foot taller than her, she easily arched her neck to lick at the trail of blood that was now congealing. It hadn't been a deep wound by any means, more of a small cut than anything. She locked her eyes with his and asked, "What would you know of thirst?"

The basket she had been trying so hard to protect was now forgotten in her craving for blood. It lay abandoned behind her, twitching occasionally from the negative energy rolling off its mother.

Jessamine considered the stallion before her, somewhat shocked by his calm demeanor in the face of her violent and threatening actions. No one had ever said it was okay before...it made her angry all over again.

"No." she growled. Honest finally, with herself more so than to him.

This was not okay, she was not okay. Anyone could see that, everyone who really got to know her said as such. (That was not true, a voice whispered, Relic hadn't seemed to mind...she ignored the thought with the ease of extended practice.) She was a normal soquili that craved blood against her nature. If there was some other breed in her lineage then it would be understandable but Jessamine had no idea where she'd come from. Not a single sign of anything but Regular in her features, so she could only assume she was a freak.

"Why...why don't you run from me? Why don't you fear me?" she whispered, having backed off slightly but still staring straight and unblinkingly into his eyes.