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 Posted: Thu Apr 02, 2015 12:20 pm
All right, so perhaps this new environment isn't so bad as of yet, at least. It's peculiar, really, the fact that Jessamine knows her lore and her studies from the Academy - Orderites and Oblivionites are all created and sculpted to be soldiers for the upcoming war, unlike the Dovaa who can often stand above it - but every Orderite she's run into thus far is much less...soldierly than expected. She still feels a bit out of sorts, what with her giant horns (compared to some of the other Dovaa she's used to, at least) and red eyes and the way that some people stare, but they're not cruel, at least. She can see why Master Ransock advised her to travel to Serenia first, but she also can't help but wonder...
Soudul was the first place she was warned against, of course. The Oblivionites are manipulative little things, she's heard, and she can't count the number of times that the old Dovaa baker hinted that her mother might've tripped into some foul play and got herself killed there. But he'd said a number of things about Orderites too - that they were holier-than-thou, believed themselves more ethereal than any other being, didn't interact with anyone but their own pure kind if possible - and they hadn't been true thus far either, so...what if he'd been wrong about all of them?
So many thoughts hurt her head. She touches her fingers to her temple with a wince, grinding her teeth together, before remembering that she hasn't eaten for some time. No, she's simply been wandering Serenia's countryside, studying the sights, drawing all inspiration she can from it for her own cakes and cookies later on.
Snack time, then. Jessa sits down under a tree and tugs a small pouch off her belt, opening it to pull out a handful of small snack cakes she baked in the last village she stayed in. She squeezes them a bit too hard, and two of the bite-sized cakes go flying through the air, and she makes a soft frustrated grunt. Waste not, want not, that's what she was told, and now look at the mess she made. She works her way through the cakes in her hand, staring accusingly at the two that dared to escape from her.
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Posted: Thu Apr 02, 2015 2:41 pm
Honoka had been out playing by herself. She had caught some some animals for breakfast, and then had taken to exploring more of the forest near her mother's home. Near being some miles off from the house. She was just thinking about catching something for lunch when a scent caught her nostrils and her nose gave a little twitch. She had smelled a Dovva. But what was more interesting, was this Dovva had something sweet with them. It was faint, but it was there. Not being one to waist an opportunity, she quickly went in search of the sweet scent. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ She was quiet as she approached the Dovva that was sitting under a tree, enjoying what was certanly the objects with sweet smells. She saw some down on the ground and eyed them with delight. She licked her maw with her tounge, wondering and ploting how to get one of them. The chance was taken from her when, as she leaned forward, the branches she was holding back snapped back into her face. She cursed and tummbled out of the bushes, falling onto her back. She laid like that for a moment, wondering if the cakes on the ground were still alright. She smiled as she saw the Dovva looking at her, so Honoka waved a hand at her. "Hello! I smell something sweet. Are those sweet cakes? I love sweet cakes. Do you think I can trade with you for one of them?" Her tail, laying on the ground as she lay on her back, swished from side to side, kicking up a small amount of dust, "I'm sure I have something back at the house you might want."
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Posted: Thu Apr 02, 2015 3:09 pm
Not her best work, she has to think. She chews them slowly, exploring the texture on her tongue, wondering exactly what the best route is to go about smoothing them a bit. Perhaps Serenia had a different kind of flour that she could use, or perhaps-
FWIT
Jessa whips her head around at the sound of a few branches snapping back into place, then gasps and jolts to her feet when an enormous creature tumbled from the bush. Was that...Abronaxus, but that was huge! The word came to her mind unbidden - Khehora - but...she'd never thought they'd be so enormous! It looks like it might be as tall as she is when it stands, if not taller!
She stares at it, shaking, as it lifts a clawed paw, and she wonders for a moment if this is it, if she's about to die, when she realizes it's not attacking, just waving. And then it speaks. A rush of air shoots from her lips and she leans back against the tree trunk. Never in her life did she think she'd see one of these when she was younger, not once. And then she processes that the creature actually asked something of her, right, so she drops back to sit, pulls the chalkboard out of her bag, scribbles as quickly as she can across it and hopes that it can read.
Jessamine holds the chalkboard to face the creature, looking up with wide, red eyes. "I have some extras, yes. I'm Jessamine, by the way."
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Posted: Thu Apr 02, 2015 3:44 pm
It was one thing to know how to read, but another thing to know how to read upside down. Why the other one couldn't just say something, Honoka didn't know. So all Honoka did was roll over, shake herself off, and then make a small hop over to the little Dovva and peer at the small handwriting on the bored. "Hi Jessamine!" Honoka said, grateful for her mother's lessons in reading Magesc. Her tail thumped in happiness at making a new friend and said, "I'm Honoka! I smelled your sweet cakes and was wondering if you were gonna eat those." she said pointing to the ones on the ground. She knew how picky two leggers could be about eating things off the ground. But then that meant more for her if she asked. "I'll gladly pay you some coin... er... that is if you don't mind traveling a bit back to Mama's house. I keep my money there... Can't trust other people ya know."
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Posted: Thu Apr 02, 2015 3:51 pm
When it hops closer Jessa presses back a little more against the tree behind her on instinct, licking her lips. Is she sweating? She swears she can taste the salt there. But as she waits, watching the creature's eyes sweep across the board, she stares at the immensity of it, taking in every dangerous slope and angle of its body. She's close enough that she can see the individual little flecks of color in its brown eyes. Gaili. She feels a sudden spike of warmth at that, thinking of her father, of the smiling brightness in his eyes when he looked down at her as he told her stories until she fell asleep.
She thinks for a moment that she sees that same smile in this creature's eyes.
Honoka. She lets the name play over in her head a few times, but the creature doesn't stop there, pressing on, and when the word Mama flies through the air Jessa blinks a few times. Okay, so it's...probably bonded to someone, then. That's good, right? She tries to remember her lessons. She flicks her eyes to the cakes that Honoka had referred to seconds before, and she nods quickly, scooting away from the tree to scoop up the cakes and tentatively offer them to it. She does a quick, messy scrawl on the board with her other hand and turns it to face the creature. "Sure, how far?" Money, at least, that would be useful.
As long as the creature didn't eat her. Huh. Would it do that? She tries to work through more lessons as she stares at it, briefly admiring how the sun brings out the green and brown of its scales.
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Posted: Fri Apr 03, 2015 12:16 pm
"Not far!" Honoka chirped. Then she thought about it and said, "Well, not far for me..." She eyed Jessamine and said, "Probably would be faster if I flew... Would you like a ride? Actually it would be better if we walked." She smiled and said happily, "You can ride on me and we can walk faster."Honoka didn't know if she could fly with a little Dovva. She had only flown with little Orderites, and they were said to be lighter than most two-leggers cause they were born to fly. Better if she just walked with her on her back. Papa wouldn't like it, but Honoka had always grown up giving two-legger children rides when with her mama in the fields. "I've done it a lot of times, so it would be easier!"She eyed the cakes. She would eat them before going back for the money. It wasn't fair, but she wanted those cakes!
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Posted: Sat Apr 04, 2015 12:48 pm
Jessa feels as if she pales slightly when she hears the creature offer to fly her over, though she doubts it shows. Yeah, that'd be lovely, trying to hold on tight and not drop any of her things while brushing the clouds...she can just imagine her chalkboard plummeting to shatter on the ground, and with it all her hopes of communicating effectively. But no, Honoka goes on immediately to say that it might be better if they walk.
That's a bit less scary. Far out of range of those scary teeth and claws. Huh. Maybe it really doesn't mean any harm at all. So Jessa smiles and nods, approaching it. She squats down to put the soiled cakes in front of Honoka, staring up at it with wide eyes as she does so, then approaches around the side of it, trying to figure what was the best way to mount. Was there a way that would insult it? Or that would make it so Jessa didn't fall immediately? She reaches out a hand tentatively, brushing it over Honoka's scales. She breathes a quiet laugh. They feel like her father's. She misses him far more than she wanted to.
She tilts her head to try to see Honoka's face again, quirking an eyebrow as if to ask how to get on.
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Posted: Sat Apr 04, 2015 5:08 pm
Honoka tried to contain the wiggle of her tail as the little Dovva girl slid the cakes that were on the ground in front of her. She lapped them up with one swipe of her tongue, and savored the sweetness of it. Remembering her promise to Jessamine, Honoka hunched down low to the ground and wrapped her tail gently around the little one's waist, and lifted her onto her back between her wings. "Grab onto my neck and keep down." Honoka said letting go of the girl. She felt her grab onto her neck, and move her head down. "All set with your belongings?" she felt the little Dovva nod her head that was buried in her neck and then said, "All right then! Here we go!"She then took off at a brisk walk into the forest. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Though it was a mile or two to her mother's house, the ground was easily traversed. Honoka took detours and avoided low branches, brushes, and dips in the land. The particular area that she had to create a wide burth around was the lake on her mother's property. But soon they had reached the other side with no problems. Honoka had to nudge the little one with her tail once or twice back into the middle of her back, but she seemed ok. Soon they were at her mother's huge house in the middle of the woods. As she stood before the house, Honoka gently wrapped her tail around the girl, and placed her down beside her. "And we are here!" She said sitting up and smiling, her tail having free reign again swished happily behind her, "This is where I live with Mama sometimes. Other times I go out as be by myself. Papa lives here too, but he's been with mama a lot lately, so he's not here as well." She took off the little pouch from around her neck and reached in for the special Khehora key are mother made for her, "Come on in and rest a bit while I get my coins."
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Posted: Sun Apr 05, 2015 9:56 am
Well, apparently Jessa doesn't have to do a single thing to get on the creature's back. It wraps its tail around her, which makes her gasp and grip it with a little fear, but the gasp is actually easy to make - she's not being strangled or held too tightly - and then it's over, her tucked between the creature's wings. Even though her heart is pounding so fast that she's almost sure Honoka can hear it she still buries her face into the scales there, trying to catch her breath. She nods at the question, making sure her bag is tucked against her and that her chalkboard is safely put away inside, and then they move.
She's used to the silence, so she loosens up a bit, actually enjoys the ride into the forest. It's a lovely area, and it's easy to notice landmarks that'll help her get home. Eventually she even makes a soft hum or two as they walk, just acknowledging a particularly pretty tree or collection of flowers. It's all so different from what she's used to. But she can't fault it even if she tries.
Soon there's an enormous house right smack dab in the middle of some trees, and as Honoka comes to a stop Jessa sits up a bit taller, staring at it with wide eyes as she lets out a soft breath. She rarely came across dwellings of that size back home. Must be successful. She doesn't flinch this time when the tail lifts her back down to the ground for safety. Instead she easily smiles up at Honoka when it speaks to her, and she nods to acknowledge its words, then follows to the house. She absently pulls out her chalkboard as they walk and scrawls, the words showing up light on the dusty board that she half-offers to the creature. "It's beautiful! Your mother must be really incredible!"
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Posted: Sun Apr 05, 2015 1:15 pm
"My Mama is incredible, but I tend to think so anyway." Honoka said showing off a toothy grin. Then she said, "She said she made this house for me, cause I would grow up to be huge... or at least bigger than her. So she made special rooms at the top." She pointed to the ceiling, "They have box beds that can be used for full grown khehora to make nests in when they visit." She smiled and said, "My room is up there." She pointed to the chairs and sofa in the living room, "Have a seat here and I'll go get my coins."Honoka waddled away, and up the wide staircase. The staircase was wide enough for her to use as well. She went to her room, pulled open the door, and went right to where she hid her coins. Not that anyone would take them, but she wanted to hide them in case someone broke in. Taking out the coin bag, she went back up stairs and found the Dovva waiting quietly for her. She smiled at Jessamine and went over to her. "Here you go!" Honoka said opening the bag, "Take out what I owe you!" Honoka looked at the girl and said, "I can take you to see my room if you want. It's not much, but it's big!"
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Posted: Tue Apr 21, 2015 11:46 am
Well, the Orakovan is certainly huge, there's no doubting that! Still, there's something a little less intimidating about its size now that Jessa's spent a bit of time with it. She might not know a whole lot about it besides its propensity for a sweet tooth or its sweet nature, but that's enough for her to know it's not gonna hurt her, at least. Besides, they have at least a little bit in common, don't they? Their scales, their horns...the Dovaa might still be superior - wasn't she encouraged to scoop up an egg for her own if needs be, even if it involved raiding their nests? - but that didn't mean they might not be kin in some sort of way.
Jessa nods in affirmation to everything that Honoka says, then sits carefully when she's invited to sit. She looks around and studies everything she can see from her seated place, eyes still a little wide, feeling far younger than she is. Her travels have already taken her farther from her comfort zone than she ever would have anticipated at the start. She absently writes something on her board, taking her time to do so while she waits.
She hears the creature when it returns and looks up with another small smile as it enters the room. As it approaches she stands up and prepares to show the chalkboard, but Honoka is already speaking again, and she takes the coin bag, blinking as she looks inside of it. Honestly? She doesn't quite know what to charge the Orakovan. She knows what Master Ransock used to charge back home, but he was a master at his task, and she's still so young. She decides to half what he would normally charge for the cakes, just enough gold for her to pay for some more supplies plus a tiny bit extra, and offers the bag back, nodding with a smile to the offer to see its room. Sure, why not learn even more about this strange creature's life?
She does offer the board, though, for it to see. "Do you know where the closest inn is? I'll need somewhere to stay tonight and I'm still not very familiar with the area here."
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Posted: Fri Apr 24, 2015 6:47 pm
Honoka smiled as she took back the bag of coins, and then read what was written on the chalkboard. "You can stay here!" Honoka said happily, very careful not to swish her tail inside the house. It may be roomy in here for a Khehora, but there were still things she could topple over, "I'm sure Mama would insist! You seem so small you couldn't harm a bug." Papa was another question, but he was out with grandpapa and the other men hunting for a few days, "I'm sure she would say yes!"She was so nice for a two-legger Honoka was sure Mama wouldn't mind! "Let me show you to a room!" She then went up the stairs and up to the second floor. There Mama had rooms for two-leggers. She couldn't fit down the hall, but said pointing down it, "Pick a room, it's made for two-leggers!" She pointed up, "My room is up one more floor." She then pointed to the double doors on the opposite side of the stairs and hall for two-leggers, "That's Mama and Papa's room, and that door at the end is where two-leggers can take baths."
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Posted: Thu Apr 30, 2015 4:05 pm
The sudden offer for her to stay there is enough to make Jessa's eyes widen and for the chalkboard to sag in her arms for a moment, and as Honoka continues speaking she immediately works at wiping the chalk from the board with her handkerchief, then shoving it back into its designated bag to avoid getting any dust anywhere else. She starts to scrawl more words across the black surface, but a glance up tells her that Honoka is on the move, and Jessamine quickly moves to try to catch up, her words going a little askew on the board as she also continues to write. The stairs take her a moment - she rather wants to run up them to catch up but the weight of her bag holds her back a little - but she finally reaches the top and finishes her sentence on the board.
She holds it up at the end of Honoka's last sentence, eyes wider still, gnawing on her bottom lip. "I don't want to impose! I'm just a stranger passing through. Won't that make your parents uncomfortable?" In that moment she suddenly feels a lot younger than she is, like she's nine years old and waving goodbye to her father as she goes to Ransock Academy, not sixteen years old and finally starting to feel comfortable in her skin for the first time since her mother died.
Honestly, how did she end up in situations like this, taking advantage of a stranger's kindness when she was supposed to be figuring her life and her trade out? At the least she'll pay for lodging, she decides, if it's insisted on. She'll just give this coins right back to the creature for the evening room and board, might whip up something sweet in the kitchen if she's able as a gift.
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Posted: Thu May 07, 2015 11:26 am
Honoka read the chalkboard, then tilted her head as she looked back at the little Dovva. She smiled and said, "No worries. Mama built this house so she could have friends over, and you are my friend, so it's ok." Honoka sat back on her haunches, as difficult as it was in the staircase, and patted her new friend on the head, avoiding her horns, "We've welcomed all kinds of people here. Mama didn't mind unless they started trouble." Honoka stood back up, more comfortable now, and sniffed the girl, "You don't smell bad. You smell like all kinds of sweets! No one who has that smell is bad!"Honoka smiled, "You can stay as long as you want! Mama is gone all day most of the time, and Papa is away with Grandpapa hunting so they will be a while!"Honoka's tail began to swish along the floor, but she quickly stopped that as she remembered she was bigger now and could damage things. Honoka then had a thought. She grinned slyly and said whispering, "Perhaps you can write down the recipe for those little cakes you had while you're here?"
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