[WP02] Watch Me, Red-Stained Blossom

[Ruriska]

If ever asked who his favourite troupe member was, Watch Me would first laugh and loudly announce that he did not take favourites. Then he would sidle closer, switch his voice to gossip mode and after spending half a day extolling the virtues of all of them, would conclude (provided Prize was not within earshot) that Red-Stained Blossom was obviously the top pick.

Not only was the pink Acha a Legendary, but she was also beautiful, talented, fun and the mother of his child… ren, yeah, he sometimes forgot there was more than one. He would then insist on finding Rouge, so that she could display her many skills and whoever had asked would probably be wishing they’d never said anything at all and that a herd of boars could come running through and end the torment.

So of course it made sense that Watch Me loved to steal Rouge away from her special Swamp duties, training and whatever else she did in her spare time. There were always fun activities a buck and a doe could get up to, but on this particular day they weren’t doing anything more interesting than walking and talking.

They were accompanied by the usual canine pack and Perfect Star was behaving like she always did whenever she was surrounded by the group; like a whiny baby. The over-excited Sand Dog was completely overwhelmed by the amount of licking and sniffing possibility and after a few minutes of exuberant bouncing, would walk onto Watch Me’s path and simply flop onto the ground. Watch Me would either step on the chubby creature or manage to dance sideways just in time.

Perfect Star had just repeated the manoeuvre for the fifth time that day. The Kiokote dance-stepped over her prone form and cried, "do stop doing that, Star darling!"

The dog rolled onto her back and waggled her tail in the dirt.

"I’ll have to give her another bath later."

If there was a bird somewhere, crying out in pain, neither Watch Me or his dog were going to be the one to find it.

Jun D

;D

 

[Jun D]

Red-stained Blossom and Watch Me got on like a den on fire (and sometimes at night the other Troupe members might throw things at said den and swear themselves on fire to get them to keep the noise down), and had a long, long association stretching back to before the days of the Royal Rainbow Troupe that had since become the largest part of their lives. But she also had a fine sense of awareness (notably not self-awareness), and not a minor bit of that association had been spent rolling her eyes at his dramatics, fuming at his specious demands, and plain screaming at how thick-headed he was. Beyond all that, however, the truth was that she loved him – as much as a completely self-absorbed (and dog-absorbed) creature could give of love – fiercely. He may not be top dog of her pack – that honour would probably have to go to Kisses (who's been with mommy through thick and thin far longer than any buck, haven't you, Kisses? Haven't you, my darling warling cuddly wuddy? Good boy, good boy!) – but he was pretty high up the ladder, and any Kin who dared raise a serious hoof against him would quickly find a highly skilled hunter tooth and razor-hoof at their throat.

And she hardly ever (never) missed.

What she did not love, however, was the ridiculous way in which he treated his pup. When she had first bestowed the beloved pet upon him, she was a fine, lithe, sweet specimen of a sand dog. Now, she was...well. She was thrice the dog she used to be, let's just say.

"You spoil her," she sighed, repeating her hourly observation with just as much dismay as the first time, "she's going to die of petting. Or kidney failure. Or blood sugar."

She wished she could say that her pack was providing a good example for the wayward pup, but they weren't. It was a fine day, their stroll was leisurely, their talk animated, and the dogs mostly gambol-y – due in no small part to Perfect Star's antics. Oh, sure, Kisses barked gravely from time to time, as if to admonish his granddaughter, but the effect was rather diminished by his furiously wagging tail. Sunshine was even less help, nosing anxiously at her pup every time she went down, her perennial confusion as to whether she was hurt only encouraging the displays. And Sweetheart and Silky? They were no use at all, just barking and romping like puppies - though at least they were well-trained enough to keep themselves out of the way. Only poor Ribcage kept vigilant, trailing as hindguard like a long-suffering babysitter...and, of course, So Soft, who appeared to go through life taking everything equally seriously - to wit, extremely.

And it was So Soft whose ears first pricked, looking up sharply as the soft, weak chirp of a poorly bird filtered through the trills of its hearty kin. Padding silently over to to Rouge, he nudged her flank. It took her a moment, distraught as she was over Star’s blood sugar, but then she heard it too.

“Oh, there’s a bird somewhere that’s not quite right,” she perked up, “let’s find it and see what to do with it.”

She was feeling a little peckish.

Ruriska

I LAUGHED. QAQ And eeee she's his favourite, yay! <3<3

 

[Ruriska]

“You can’t die of petting…and she’s a very good girl,” he responded, which was all beside the point, because chances were she would keel over one day from over-feeding and there was a big different between being good and knowing not to persist in attention-seeking behaviour.

Watch Me had tried to train his precious little puppy, but she’d always looked so sad when he was telling her what to do and always so happy when he shared that piece of roasted pheasant. Eventually he’d given up trying that stern-talking business and they’d settled into a ‘I spoil you rotten and you just do what you like, except maybe you could sometimes sit when I ask you to? For daddy? No, okay, have the chicken anyway’ kind of deal.

“Ah, a bird is it?” he said, attention still mostly on Star. “You hear that baby, a birdie is hurt and needs our help, come on now. Go get it, go, get it, that’s it!”

Perfect Star rolled to her paws and shot off in the wrong direction, only to return a few seconds with a stick clamped proudly in her jaws. She then proceeded to try bestowing a happy lick to her mother while still keeping her prize. It didn’t quite work.

“Gooooood girl!” Watch Me praised her anyway and then flashed Rouge a sheepish smile. “Shall we then?” He lifted his head, listening out for their bird-in-distress. Ah, there it was! “Never fear, sweet creature, we’re on our way!”

He’d always liked birds and of course didn’t take into account Rouge’s penchant for hunting.

Jun D

I love this. <3

 

[Jun D]

"If only you would just let me train her," she sighed, but she knew it was a battle she would never win. It wasn't even as if she were a tyrant - she was the premier dog trainer of the times, she did believe - but the slightest whimper and Watch Me would come running to beg relief for his poor poor puppy. And that poor puppy sure did know how to whimper over barely anything at all.

So she occupied herself by following the chirps instead, So Soft a few steps ahead.

When they finally came upon it, it wasn't hard to find, a little thing sitting right there in the open, feathers puffed and eyes dulled.

"Oh, it must be sick," she mused, peering down - it didn't try to escape, even as she nosed it lightly, "I guess it mightn't be safe to eat, then."

Ruriska

Ooooh what shall we do? I went to check out stuff that could be wrong with the bird, and it seems birds just either recover or don't from illness?! QAQ Should they decide to take it back and nurse it back to health? I noticed the prompt is coming down tomorrow, uh, uh, if Watch Me makes that decision, Rouge will dull the pain and they can take it home...

 

[Ruriska]

“Of course we won’t eat it,” Watch Me said as he shuffled in closer, also giving the little bird a gentle prod with his nose. It squawked in the most endearing sort of way.

“We should take it home, I’m sure somebody in the troupe must know something about healing things. Maybe we can train it? Have a fancy bird act to go with the dogs? That’ll be-no Star, stop licking it!”

Star, one feather stuck to her nose, backed away from her new friend with a whine.

"Can you carry it, Rouge? Let's try get it home in one piece."

Jun D

Okay? She can help the bird now and we'll be done... unless I manage one last post afterwards, we'll see. <3 minoredit: I'll also just go ahead and post this in the prompt thread too.

 

[Jun D]

"Somebody in the troupe must know something about healing things?" she sniffed - then swished an elaborate spin, "of course somebody does - and you're looking at her! I raise animals, you silly-billy, d'you think they fix themselves?"

Her desire for a snack thus transformed into a desire to demonstrate how good she was at healing things (though, in this case, with not a little help from the Motherfather...), she laid down on the ground, pushing as close to the bird as possible, crooning a soothing, wordless tune. Slowly, the dull eyes brightened a little, and the bird chirruped once, feebly lifting its wings.

"Don't you feel better with me, little birdie?" she cooed, "we're gonna take you home and make you all better, okay?"

A c**k of her head, and Ribcage padded over to pick the bird up in his careful jaws, depositing it gently on her back. It didn't protest, the slight easing of its pain reason enough to trust the strangers. Rouge gingerly arose without disturbing its repose - then flashed a triumphant smile at Watch Me.

"There. Let's go home."

Ruriska

There! I - I hope RP posts are okay after deadline, I'd love to see Watch Me's response. XD <3

 

[Ruriska]

Watch Me hovered just about the action, watching eagerly as Rouge got to work on the little bird. His darling Rouge was beyond talented, she was… she was… extra talented ! (He’d come up with a better adjective later when he made this moment into a song.) The Kiokote was grinning as the bird visibly improved.

"You’re a healer," he declared, somewhat pointlessly, "how wonderful!"

He moved to walk alongside her on the way home, in position to keep a close eye on their new charge.

It was only later, once they had nearly rejoined the rest of the troupe that he cried out indignantly, "wait a moment, I had a sore leg the other day and you did nothing! I complained about it all morning. Or what about that sore head a few mornings ago and-"

… and he didn’t shut up for the rest of the afternoon.

Jun D

sneaking in a last reply ;D