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 Posted: Wed Nov 16, 2011 5:27 pm
Another gorgeous morning in the swamp, and Grim Chuckle was loving every beam of sunshine and cool breeze that came his way. The creepy looking buck was making his way through a heavily wooded patch of swampland, and his pleasant smile and happy humming seemed at odds with his eerie coat. The edges of his mouth were particularly spooky, with the corners of his grin curling upwards into shocking green curls. He was harmless though, and oh-so-friendly, though it might be easy to dismiss his hopeful glances at his surroundings as an attempt to seek out babies to munch or perfectly good food to stomp upon or some other manner of evil nonsense. No no, he was just looking for someone to share a joke with. What better to do on a beautiful day such as this, than to laugh among the branches and marshgrass and have it mingle with the laugh of another?
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Posted: Wed Nov 16, 2011 5:51 pm
The light had gone up, and Silver settled underneath the willow as her eyes drifted shut. A long night of hunting had culminated in the loss of her quarry, as the fish she'd been stalking, and making curious with her luminous fur, had gotten away as soon as it had seen her legs. Mud-daubing and weed-tangling only did so much when shuffling about in a pond, and she sadly could not claim to be in her element like the fish was. So she had resigned herself to some plant roots and a couple insects, and fallen asleep below a willow.
She guessed she'd always liked the way they slowly, gently draped around their trunks, like their constant growth and many years of life had made them weary. Her own childhood had been tiring in it's play, and even the lazy days had her exhausted by their ends...
She didn't wake up when the sun rose; a product of a long night's work.
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Posted: Wed Nov 16, 2011 6:00 pm
It didn't take long for Chuckles to spot the resting doe - her fur reflected the morning sun in such a way that he swore she was covered in water or polished rock. It stunned him for a moment, but then he trotted happily over, his hooves kicking up bits of mud and swamp water as he made his way through a marshy patch of ground.
"Hello there!" He almost crooned the words, his joy evident in his sweet tone. He hadn't noticed the poor doe was asleep. Not that it would have changed his actions, he required company after all, and was not keen on leaving any others be until he had gotten a solid laugh from them.
But as he stepped closer, he realized that the lass was indeed resting. Perhaps a small prank was in order? He pranced around the base of the tree, digging up bits of rock and root as he went, and then placed them all in a giant pile in front of the doe's nose, as close as he dared put it.
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Posted: Wed Nov 16, 2011 6:12 pm
Silver was a relatively deep sleeper at the best of times, but now, she wasn't capable of noticing it as hooves squished through the grasses. She lay there, blissfully unaware of the buck's actions as a pile of plant detritus started to pile up in front of her nose. Her tail flicked in her sleep, and did so again as a small plant weed kept it from brushing across her hide as it normally would. She shook her head, snorted slightly, before returning to a deep, contented slumber.
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Posted: Wed Nov 16, 2011 6:46 pm
Success! Chuckles grinned to himself as the doe barely moved. He went off in search of more goodies, returning after a minute with a vine, another rock, and a marshflower. He admired them for a moment, then held his breath, leaning over to gently drape the vine across the doe's nose, like a ridiculous leafy mustache. The rock was placed between her eyes like a small nub of a horn, with the flower nestled under it, trapped by the weight.
Pleased with his handiwork, Chuckles began brainstorming a way to wake his new... 'playmate'... from her rest. After a bit of pondering and some internal debate, impatience won out, and he simply spoke loudly:
"Boo!"
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Posted: Wed Nov 16, 2011 6:59 pm
The reaction was instantaneous. The doe jolted up yelling, the rock on her forehead flying off with the vine as she kicked out at the large shape in front of her. Low to the ground; too squat and wide to be anything other than a crocodile! She lashed out with her front hooves and felt it give, heard something snap; and turned to kick again, and again, viciously lashing out at her imaginary assailant, until she realized the pile of plants in front of her for what they were. Not pebbled skin, but moss and pebbles... not flesh, but damp leaves. And the bones were merely plates of bark and wooden branches, strong enough to only break under her swift, hard kicks. It wasn't a crocodile at all.
She backed herself against the base of the willow as she looked about, catching the eye of the buck who stared at her with a fluorescent grin. She cleared her throat, looked at herself, and shook the pondweed off of her tail, before she spoke up. "Well... this is... sort of embarrassing..."
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Posted: Wed Nov 16, 2011 7:09 pm
The buck watched with wide eyes as the scene played out before him, his smile growing. When the doe spoke, he couldn't help himself - he burst out laughing, his entire body shaking with amusement. He wasn't laughing at her, oh no, that would be mean! But her reaction had been fantastic, and he was pleased with the results of his prank. The laughter was good-natured, and bubbled up from deep within his chest.
"Oh, oh! That..." He struggled to talk as his laughter died down, forcing himself to breathe between spurts. "That was fantastic!"
And once he had regained his composure, he trotted up close to her, personal boundaries be damned. A grin was still plastered on his face. "Don't be embarassed, Madam Coat-Of-Rocks! That was the hardest I have laughed all week!"
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Posted: Wed Nov 16, 2011 7:23 pm
The doe stared at the strange buck, unsure of whether or not to kick him for scaring her. It was a tempting thought, letting a hoof strike his shaking body as he shuddered with laughter to teach him not to mess with her. But she couldn't just... hit him when he wasn't expecting it. It would be uncivil of her, and he obviously hadn't meant any harm.
Her expression softened as he explained himself to her. "Silver," she said suddenly, in her rough, delicate voice. Not sleep-ragged, but rather, strained low with some sort of effort... it seemed almost strange that such a sound could come from such a light frame.
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Posted: Wed Nov 16, 2011 7:35 pm
Interesting. He perked his ears, tilting his head slightly at the sound of her voice. It definitely did not match her looks, but that only endeared her to him all the more. She had given him a proper laugh, and she was intriguing - she was now up towards the top of Chuckles' list of great acquaintances.
It took him a minute to actually realize what she had said. That name certainly matched her coat, though Madam Coat-Of-Rocks sounded far more grand. Not that he'd tell her so, names were important after all, and he had already gotten on her nerves enough for one day.
"Oh! I'm Grim Chuckle." He straightened himself up, proud of his own moniker. "Call me Chuckles though, I've never been one for grim moments. Quite the opposite in fact!"
And then a pause. A small worry creeped into his head. Would she keep him company, even though he had startled her?
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Posted: Wed Nov 16, 2011 7:45 pm
"Chuckles, is it?" she asked, pacing around him as she saw the strange, bone-like claws grasping around his body. They seemed wrong, alien... something not of the swamp. Nothing quite like it, not even the owlcats had elongated toes like those ones, and owls only had four, with one inverted. "That's an interesting name. I'd inquire, but..." she tilted her head. "Don't ask what you won't tell, right?" She had seen his eyes, watched them pull into almost confusion.
"If you want to call me, what was it... Coat-of-Rocks, I wouldn't mind it. I do resemble polished stone, at least somewhat. But..." she started, and started walking off, pausing as he stayed put, waiting for him to follow... "In return, I'll get to call you something else, too."
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Posted: Wed Nov 16, 2011 7:58 pm
"Won't tell? That sounds mysterious, miss Silver." The buck certainly wouldn't have minded relating his naming dream to this fascinating doe, but if she didn't want to talk about her own, he certainly wouldn't muddy the waters.
And then there it was - an invitation, subtle, but one he noticed and gladly accepted. Worries dashed, he trotted after her, utterly pleased. Some company at last, and by a doe with a good nature and sense of humor! Chuckles couldn't have asked for more.
"Alright then, Madam Coat-of-Rocks. What do you wish to call me?" His eyes twinkled, a small laugh bubbling up and out of him at the thought. So many possibilities!
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Posted: Wed Nov 16, 2011 8:09 pm
Silver paused. "Well. I'm not too entirely certain, at the moment. How about I just call you something different every time, until I find something I like?" she asked him. Her eyes were shining as she regarded him beside her, as she led him to the stream leading up to the fishpond, leaning over to take a drink of water.
"Are you any good with catching fish, Bone?" she asked him.
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Posted: Wed Nov 16, 2011 8:16 pm
"Sounds like a plan." He was quite amused. He kept up with her pace easily, and stooped to take a quick drink after she had taken her turn. Her question caught him a bit off guard.
"Fish? Hmm, somewhat. As long as nothing in the water tickles my feet." He chuckled. "Fish and laughter don't mix very well." Bone... It almost sounded like she had called him Fish Bone!
But why ask about fishing? It took a minute for the pieces to fit together in his head. Her coat, of course! Fishing must've been difficult for her. Chuckles decided there and then that he'd catch his new friend a fish, perhaps as an apology for the fright earlier on, and perhaps just to show off a bit to impress her.
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Posted: Wed Nov 16, 2011 8:27 pm
She smiled, noticing his slight shock as she called him Bone. Fishbone. Of course. "Your coat is dark, with green on it like weeds, Fishbone," she said teasingly. "You catch. I'll play the lure." She settled near the edge of the water, dipping her tail in and smoothing it into the mud until silt settled over her spine and left only the tuft there, moving softly in the water, and twitching occasionally, slightly. Perfect for attracting a fish.
She stayed still while the tiny bugs and shrimps nibbled curiously at her tail, knew what to ignore instead of flinching. She trusted him to watch for the edible things, as she waited silently for something to nibble. But the moment she felt something like a catfish, she knew she'd find herself out of that water, daybreakmeal or no daybreakmeal.
Because if there was any life lesson Silver could do without, it was the one she'd learned in her first forays into fishing. Catfish could bite.
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Posted: Wed Nov 16, 2011 8:55 pm
"Alrighty." Chuckles stepped back slowly from the water, then bent himself down to get as close to the water as he could without being uncomfortable. He stayed as still as he could manage, only his eyes darting across the surface to try and catch a glimpse of anything meal-worthy.
A few tiny fish, a watersnake passing by uninterested... He saw a bit of mud being disturbed a couple feet away, and narrowed his eyes at it.
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