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 Posted: Thu Sep 29, 2016 11:37 pm
Aphelion had lost his salamander. He wasn't really sure how the creature had managed to get out of his tank, or how it had gotten out of the dorm... but he was definitely lost. One-hundred percent. The normally mellow mannered freshling was starting to grow very anxious at the thought that he might never see his beloved pet again- what would Murk do without him? Who would give him treats, or rub his belly...?
He'd been searching the Enoch dorms for ages with no luck. Somehow Murk had managed to leave that part of the school- and Aphelion was at a loss for what to do next. The campus was huge! One small salamander could end up anywhere if it really wanted to. Aphelion was fairly certain Murk wouldn't be able to find his way back to the dorm, either. Salamanders weren't like spectrefoxes, after all.
Deciding he may as well just head outside, Aphelion exited the building toward the herbalism greenhouses- maybe Murk had decided to go see the flowers? Mr. Datura did just put in a bunch of big plants that provided a lot of shade near the pond...
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Posted: Thu Sep 29, 2016 11:38 pm
Dmitry was checking in on his flower box when he noticed a flicker of light out of the corner of his eye. Normally this part of the garden was unoccupied- and it... still seemed to be, but there was that light again... The little fey looked around, searching for it once more before – ah, there it was. He blinked, honing in on the spot it had come from... Over by the grasses near the pond... No one was supposed to be over there yet, Mr. Datura said it wasn't ready yet!
Worried they might hurt the plants, Dmitry picked his way across the yard to the tall grasses. “Um-- hello? Y-You shouldn't be in there...” He called out, but no reply came back. Again he saw the flicker- though this time it looked more like fire than just a flash of light.
Worried, he reached out to carefully pry the grass apart and... spotted a little black and teal salamander, sprawled out on the ground with its tail lazily waving in the air. Was it hurt?? Dmitry didn't really know anything about salamanders...
“Uh-oh...” He squatted down, and reached out gently with one hand to pat the salamander on the head. Thankfully it didn't bite him or anything, it just stared up at him lazily. Maybe this was someone's pet? Surely a wild salamander wouldn't be this... relaxed.
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Posted: Thu Sep 29, 2016 11:39 pm
Aphelion eventually found his way over to the greenhouses, though look as he may he couldn't spot Murk anywhere. He even tried calling out for him, but some near by students that were trying to study gave him some rather nasty warning looks. Well then. He'd just have to search in silence. He hoofed his way around the yard, deciding that the front part was probably a loss... He may as well go check out the pond.
He knew from being in the herbalism class that they weren't supposed to be going too close to the pond, but if Murk was there surely Mr. Datura would understand? He carefully picked his way around the edge of it, stopping to gently pry apart bushes of tall grass to peer inside. So far, no Murk.
About halfway around the pond with still no signs, Aphelion let out a small sound of anguished frustration, and plopped down onto the ground to sit and think for a few minutes. Surely there had to be a better way to do this...?
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Posted: Thu Sep 29, 2016 11:39 pm
After a while of gently petting the salamanders head, the chubby little thing allowed Dmitry to pick it up. It really was pretty fat, whoever owned it must spoil it with treats. He examined it for any signs of harm, and upon finding none, decided to look for an adult... Surely they'd know how to return the little thing to its owner! Unless... the owner had purposely left it here? Dmitry frowned at the thought, but he supposed he'd gained a few crocobees that way. Well, not that they were really his, but they joined the hive and bore signs of having been socialized as pets...
He turned to head to the greenhouse, figuring that Mr. Datura would be there, but stopped when he heard a sound from across the pond. Curious, and a bit nervous, the fey scooted around the large grasses he'd found the salamander in and looked across the water's surface.
Another freshling was seated across the way looking all sorts of distressed. Or, well, Dmitry thought they looked distressed. It was hard to tell with so many eyes... He'd never really spoken to a Hallowed kid before, and, well... since he had the salamander to deal with, he wasn't exactly going to do it now even though the kid did seem kinda upset... He shifted the salamander in his arms, then started to edge his way back away from the grasses. He didn't get very far before the salamander started squirming though- as if desperate to get down to the ground.
“H-Hey, wait-- I'll drop you if you keep doing that..”
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Posted: Thu Sep 29, 2016 11:41 pm
Aphelion was having a very hard time coming up with new ways to keep looking that seemed effective... short of trying to organize a search party, he just couldn't see a way to find Murk any time soon. That thought alone was enough to make him feel like crying- and that was not an emotion he was very familiar with...which only seemed to add to his distress. He rubbed at his face, hoping that the stimulation might somehow help him think better...
He was just going to have to keep looking around places that salamanders liked. Cold, dark, and damp. The pond was the best choice and he'd only looked through half the grass so far- maybe if he kept looking... His train of thought was interrupted when a voice sounded out from across the pond. Blinking all four eyes, he stared across it, ears focused on the other person...
They were a fey, smaller than he was and holding-- Murk! Immediately he hopped to his feet, eyes widening with surprise. He had to get over there! What was that fey doing?? Aphelion moved back from the waters edge, then trotted around the pond to get nearer to the fey.
“Excuse me--!” He came to a stop a few feet away, too excited to have found Murk to bother closing his second set of eyes. “That is my salamander, he got out and got lost...!” He pointed to Murk who was still struggling to get out of the fey's grasp.
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Posted: Thu Sep 29, 2016 11:42 pm
Dmitry struggled to maintain his hold on the salamander without crushing or hurting it. It seemed to really, really want to go somewhere- but he wasn't really sure he should just... let that happen. His decision was made for him when he heard the same voice from before speak out- this time closer to him. He whipped his head around, blinking in surprise as he spotted the Hallowed kid pointing at the salamander in his arms.
Wait.
This was their salamander??
Dmitry blinked once more, then... carefully set the creature down. Immediately it bounded across the grass to crawl up he Hallowed freshling's leg, where it was scooped up into their arms and cradled affectionately. Well... that was convenient?
“Oh... I-I just f-found it... um... I was going to ta—take it to Mr. Datura...” Dmitry found himself suddenly getting rather nervous. What if the kid thought he was stealing it?? He wrung his hands together, eyes glancing everywhere but directly at the kid's face.
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Posted: Thu Sep 29, 2016 11:43 pm
Aphelion gently pet Murk's head as soon as he was secured- oh, he was so happy to have him back! It took all of his restraint not to just.. nuzzle the little creature right then and there. No, he needed to hold back. He was with another person at the moment! Another person who seemed a little nervous to have been caught holding his struggling familiar.
“Thank you. I was very worried that I would not ever see him again.” Aphelion did his best to smile, even if it was a little difficult for him to do without it being... creepy. He closed his bottom set of eyes, hoping that might make it easier for the fey to look at him.
“I am Aphelion, and this is Murk. What is your name?”
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Posted: Thu Sep 29, 2016 11:43 pm
He sure spoke in a very restrained manner... Dmitry stole another look at the hybrid and noticed he'd closed the bottom set of eyes... ah, that was... much nicer. He could look at him a little easier now, even though he felt a pang of guilt for not being able to earlier. Hallowed kids were just a little different on the outside, right...? That was all.
“M-Murk?” He looked at the fat salamander in Aphelion's arms... well, it did fit. “I-I'm Dmitry... I'm glad y-you found us, th-then.” He managed a small smile in return, starting to feel a little less awkward but still unsure of what to do now. He hadn't really... made friends here yet. Largely due to his inability to really talk to anyone for very long.
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Posted: Thu Sep 29, 2016 11:44 pm
Dmitry. That was a nice name. He'd remember that for certain. “Thank you again for finding him.” Aphelion nodded, then... noting that Dmitry seemed both slightly more comfortable and slightly more awkward, he decided it was probably time to go. The last thing he wanted to do was make Murk's savior uncomfortable!
“I should get him back into my room... He will need to bathe. If there is anything that I can do to repay you please let me know. I am in Enoch house.” Aphelion nodded his head slightly, then turned to trot off back towards his dorm. Hopefully if Dmitry ended up needing something, he'd come ask! For now he needed to get Murk taken care of.
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Posted: Thu Sep 29, 2016 11:46 pm
Dmitry listened as Aphelion spoke, and just... nodded slightly. Something to repay him...? Dmitry hadn't really done anything. Before he could open his mouth to state so, Aphelion was gone, trotting across the yard with his tail waving behind him. Dmitry watched him for a short while, then sighed and shrugged a little.
Well, that had been awkward and unexpected, but it didn't end poorly at least. That was all he could really ask for. He decided to finish checking in on his flower box, and so shuffled back across the yard to see how they – and the crocobees – were doing.
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