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Lucky Charm was frustrated, a little tired, and more than a little homicidal-feeling when it came to the vicious antics of the creature that was leading her through the swamp. "Damn you!" she cried at the creature she was beginning to loathe. "Give it back right now! Do you hear me! RIGHT NOW!!" The last was all but bellowed at the tree-colored owlcat slipping through the branches ahead of her, a circle of liana vine and poppy blooms hanging from its beak. She was racing after it, crashing loudly through the scrub and sending waves of mud in her wake as she chased after her talisman-thieving pet. "Owlcat, I will--aaaack!!" Her tirade was cut off as she misjudged a leap and ended up nearly on top of a brilliant red buck.

Charm spit out a mouthful of hair and turned her baleful stare at the buck she had nearly landed on. "If I wanted a hug, I'd go to my brother. He gives the best." She sniffed, and then whipped her head around at the sound of a snickering owlcat.

"As to why I was 'distressed,' as you call it, it is because that thieving Talisman stole the talisman I was working on and is shredding it for no good reason!" Her voice got continually louder as she shifted to remove herself to a standing position. At the end, she lunged away from him and at the owlcat, missing the vine by a mere tail flick before Talisman shot up into the trees again.

"What exactly are you implying, buddy?" the irritated doe questioned.

"And do you know how hard it is to find poppy blooms this season? Everyone wants them, so they're almost all gone! How else am I supposed to give someone a talisman for pleasant mushroom dreams when there are no poppies in it?" she concluded with a huff, watching Talisman as he hopped from branch to branch, dragging her work. She sighed. The blasted owlcat wouldn't come down until he was ready, so she took a deep breath and turned again to her almost-victim.

"I'm sorry. It's just that I've been chasing him for a really long time now. I'm Lucky Charm, by the way. Sorry for nearly squishing you."

"He is a damn stubborn creature, is what he is. And well he knows it," she informed Hero.

"I make all sorts of talismans and charms and such. Forgetting, pleasant dreams, happy life, cheering up, mind clearing, so on and so on. Did you need one? Usually I keep a store of them with me but I ran out and was making that one"--she gestured upwards--"for a friend." She sighed. "I normally wouldn't have gone chasing after him, I know it's a bad idea, but he already shredded the charm I keep for level-headedness."

Talisman was miffed that his play time with Charm had been cut short by the bigger male. Dark eyes narrowed, the owlcat watched the interaction, tail flicking slowly.

"Some days, this is true. Today, however, he is more vexing that adorable."

She studied him closely, eyeing him up and down, then circled him, not unlike a carrion bird. "Hmm," she said. "I could make a protection charm with little problem." His offer of trade--what was with this fellow and hugs?--made her pause and consider. "I suppose that would be acceptable," Charm informed Hero, and set about looking for the necessary bits to make a protective charm for him. "What sort of grand adventure will you be starting then?" It always helped to know if certain things are needed--bits like crocodile teeth were sometimes hard to come by, if one wanted to avoid the vicious creatures.

He was a rather fidgety buck, wasn't he? Hmm. Oh, well, making a charm for him wouldn't take long, and she set about in widening circles collecting bits she would need. A sturdy vine to hold everything and keep his determination strong. The tail feather of a songbird to keep his spirits high, and the teeth of a lynx as protection from danger.

And now she was stuck, because teeth and hooves could only do so much. This was where she needed the deft paws of her pet. She cast a glance at Talisman, still in the tree, her poppy vine slowly drooping as his beak sliced through the vine. "Talisman," she crooned, "won't you come down and help me, love? I can't do it without you."

The owlcat blinked, his sharp beak slicing cleanly through the last fiber of the vine, sending brilliant poppy blossoms cascading to the ground around his mistress and the red buck.

Charm looked over at his question, a red poppy caught between her horn and ear, and smiled sweetly. "There is nothing I need assistance with, but for retrieving Talisman and gathering the items I need for my charms. And," she added, "you will be helping greatly with the first if you stay where you are and flick your tail across your rump to clear the flowers."

Talisman had been eyeing his lost flowers with a greedy eye, especially the three that sat, perfectly balanced and almost blending with his coat, on the back of the red buck taking his doe's time and making her give him a charm. The graceful tail that had been flicking slowly had begun to twitch in earnest now as Talisman lowered his head and shoulders and prepared to pounce.