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 Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2022 11:01 am
Achashverosh was roaming about the jungle, gathering flowers and herbs that he could dry for the nursery back home. Now that he was expecting blooms the hybrid was antsy about preparations. Did they have enough of this or enough of that? Verosh's lips pressed together into a tight line as he studied the area, both satchels hanging from him almost halfway full of the things he had gathered. "Maybe some berries to make into jams?" Something soft and sweet that they could store without worrying? It could be a good snack for a youngling, right?
"I can't even think about what I liked." He grumped towards his aldabuck, Tae, who was also carrying some supplies in a saddlebag. The familiar just snorted towards him before going on to nose about in some more brush, his little tail flicking behind him as if to dismiss the hybrid's endless supply of questions.
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Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2022 11:26 am
(1/10) There was absolutely no reason for a youngling to be wandering around in the jungle on her own, one would think. Jauhar was full of dangers great and small; there was no shortage of creatures, and plants even, that would happily scoop a little thing up to turn into bones. But Ydalin had no proper sense of self preservation, and that had taken her... perhaps a bit further than she was used to. The youngling had scuffed knees, her feet dark with mud and sap, and there were leaves and other forest debris caught in her twisted dreads that she didn't mind in the slightest.
She had a stick in one hand that she'd been whacking things with, when she heard the murmur of what sounded like a voice - which drew her attention, because of course it did! Yda ducked down and scuttled closer, the stick forgotten - because she saw something -
And that was how she came nose to nose with an aldabuck.
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scarlett arbuckle Vice Captain
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Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2022 11:31 am
Tae let out a snort of hot breath towards the youngling, his pupils dilating from the surprise appearance of a child. "Beeerk?" The aldabuck called out before trying to move backwards, the flailing resulting in its horns getting caught up in a tangle of vines. His hooves moved against the ground in almost a dance as Tae avoided hitting the child while also trying to break free of the sudden vines.
"Tae?" Verosh frowned as he finally caught sight of his aldabuck dancing about the brushes. Had something attacked him? Verosh frowned and grabbed his spear, his steps turning into a dash towards the brush. Tae was not going to be something's dinner, not on his watch! Verosh prepared to attack the brush before a pair of bright green eyes caused him to pull back at the last moment, his actions causing him to stumble towards the side. "Ugh."
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Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2022 11:37 am
(2/10) Yda's little hand had moved out to try and touch the creature's nose, captivated by the strange thing - she'd never seen an aldabuck before! But it moved away, and she pouted instead, not seeming to sense the danger of its stomping hooves, nor the man who rushed to its rescue, spear at hand.
When he pulled up short, she peered at him with evident curiosity, standing - although even then she was tiny enough that only her antennae and the top of her head, from the nose up, broke from the brush.
"Hi! What happened to your eyes?" She asked loudly, pointing a pink tipped finger up at him.
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scarlett arbuckle Vice Captain
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Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2022 11:46 am
Another strange Aishan hybrid.
Verosh would have been more startled if he hadn't already encountered another girl like the one standing before him. It was like the strange younglings were just popping out of the jungle everywhere almost like someone had just planted seeds all over the place for these new flowers. "My eyes are fine." He huffed before moving to help free Tae from the vines, the aldabuck calming down as he made some reassuring noises while untangling the vines from the horns.
"I'm just a hybrid, like you." Verosh added as he glanced towards the girl. "If anything I should be asking what happened to you, strange little one that you are. Why are you here and where are your mothers?"
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Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2022 12:04 pm
(3/10) "Oh." Yda scooted out of the bush, peering at the weird Aishan as 'she' untangled the vines from the creature. The answer didn't do much in the way of helping, because yes she was a hybrid, that was one thing she was very much aware of thank you very much, but not Like this. 'Her' eyes were off, 'her' hair not dark or red or even green - and the voice was so different from any other she'd heard.
"I dunno." She said innocently with feigned ignorance. She was supposed to be at her classes, but had escaped - not that the Alkidike teaching them was bound to notice, there were so many younglings these days...
"But what are you doing? Why do you have so much stuff?"
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scarlett arbuckle Vice Captain
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Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2022 12:14 pm
"You...dunno." Verosh blinked at the youngling before letting out a frustrated sigh. "We'll have to remedy that soon enough." The last thing he wanted to do was to leave a youngling just wandering around the jungle alone! He was not going to have someone's death on his conscious, not when he was expecting some younglings of his own.
"I am preparing for blooms." Verosh finally answered as he freed Tae and the aldabuck snorted before scooting towards the side, his rump bumping into the youngling as he started to munch on some nearby brush. "Actually..." Verosh glanced towards the girl and found himself suppressing yet another sigh. Would it be such a horrible idea to find out more about younglings from a youngling?
"You have an Elaria mother and a Alkidike mother, right?" He managed to try and show interest in the child. "I have an Alkidike mother and an earthling father. So we're both hybrids but in different ways. I'm having children soon and would like to know what they would be interested in. Do you have certain things that your mothers gave you that you like a lot?"
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Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2022 12:26 pm
(4/10) Ughh. It sounded like 'she' was gonna take Yda back. The little girl pouted and crossed her arms, already regretting coming out of the brush to look at the animal. But... instead, the Aishan began to talk about blooms, and Yda felt her eyes go wide, listening curiously - jolting just a bit with a giggle when the beast bumped into her.
She snuck a pat, marveling at the coarse fur, glancing back at the Aishan. What was 'she' talking about? "Uh-huh..." She started, angling her head. Was a 'father' what it was called when you had an earthling parent? "Oh...! I like my spear!" She said, brightly, bouncing a bit in place, still patting at Tae's hip. "And I have some beads, but I can't wear 'em until my dreads get longer... I wanna have a knife, but mama said I have to wait until I'm done with this year's training first."
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scarlett arbuckle Vice Captain
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Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2022 12:35 pm
The aldabuck huffed but made no move to distance himself from the youngling. Instead Tae slowly started to turn around as she spoke to sniff at the youngling and try to see if she had anything interesting to snack on, hisnose moving across her arms and clothing while he investigated.
"A spear..." That would be easy enough, Verosh frowned though at the thought. Did he want his younglings to have spears right away? That seemed dangerous though the girl was obviously older now so maybe it was something for later. "Beads and a knife." Verosh repeated before shaking his head. Beads he could do but the knife would also be a later gift. "I think your mama had a good point with that. You should always train and prepare before receiving any type of weapon since they can be dangerous. What about foods or things for your room? Do you have a home here or do you travel?" He sounded like some reserved parent and it honestly made him flinch. He had wanted all of the weapons while growing up and showed no hesitation to jump into danger. So why did it bother him if his children felt that way? I'd prefer not to have them get into too much trouble.
Tae nudged closer to the youngling and Verosh finally noticed. "Tae, stop." The aldabuck would knock her over at this rate! The hybrid shook his head, though his lips did threaten to curl upwards with some amusement as the familiar snorted and continued to try his investigation of the strange child.
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Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2022 12:52 pm
(5/10) The aldabuck's snuffling made her giggle again, biting her lip to keep from letting out an amused shriek at the wet of its nibbling. The beast was heavy, knocking into her side hard enough to make her stumble, but she was amused enough not to complain, and just kept patting him. "Of course you have to say that, you're an adult." She groused, huffing.
"...I looove berries." She said, brightly. "The big ones! That you can pop - those are sooo good. And um..." She hesitated, because she didn't want the Aishan to make her think she was a baby still, but - 'she'd' specifically asked, and if they were blooms then those were like - the little ones that she'd seen wrapped up and carried sometimes-- "And I have-- had!!-- a doll. I had a blanket, but my grandma is making me a new one because I'm big now. And..." Yda made to continue, but then the aldabuck bumped her again, which finally did elicit a yell of laughter from her as she turned, burying both hands into the short fur of the creature's side, rubbing like she was petting.
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scarlett arbuckle Vice Captain
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Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2022 1:09 pm
"I'm an adult because I was wise enough to survive past my youngling years." Quipped Verosh even though his expression was far less grouchy, especially with the scene before him as the aldabuck continued to nibble at the girl. One would think he never fed the poor thing!
Verosh could only shake his head at the aldabuck but thankfully it seemed the youngling wasn't upset at him for his antics. "So berries and a doll." He mused before finally moving to try and nudge Tae's face away from the youngling. "Here if you'd like to give him treats. I don't know why he's being so nosey today." Verosh moved to take out a stick of rolled up oats and dried berries from his satchel. It was one of the few things to truly motivate the aldabuck when he was being especially stubborn.
He gestured the stick towards the youngling, offering it to her as thanks for her willingness to share information. "If I wanted berries could we try to gather some around here?" It would be a way to keep an eye on the youngling while continuing to work on his own project.
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Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2022 1:15 pm
(6/10) This was probably the most an adult, other than her family, had talked to her and actually asked her things. She found she liked having the attention on her, especially because the Aishan asked her things instead of telling her. It made it hard to notice that she was being instructed to do things, regardless - instead, it felt like it was her idea.
She'd grinned, guilelessly, at the quip, then accepted the stick of treats with wide, curious eyes. She was hit with the urge to chew on it, just to see what it tasted like, but instead she held it up for the aldabuck, her eyes lighting up when it began to nibble at the treats.
"She says, 'I like being the big one for once!" Yda joked, affecting a high pitched, playful tone as she pretended to speak for the aldabuck. Of course, she said 'she' because the concept of he and her just wasn't something she had ever been taught - her mothers tended to call most familiars 'it', and were more likely to hunt and eat one than to keep one in the house.
"Can I have some berries too? Or are these the special ones that make your tummy hurt?"
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scarlett arbuckle Vice Captain
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Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2022 1:25 pm
"Pfft." Verosh crossed his arms as he watched the youngling feeding Tae. "His name is Tae and my name is Verosh." He finally offered as he stood by and allowed the youngling to to interact with his familiar. It was rare for an aldabuck to ever be in Jahaur since they came from Sauti and so Verosh was more than willing to allow the youngling to play with the gentle animal.
"Special ones?" Verosh frowned before shaking his head. "I have another bar and they're good for the aldabuck and for me if I ever needed emergency rations." He held out the bar. "As for the berries I'm currently wanting? You can eat as many as you like as long as we can get a basket full, deal?"
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Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2022 1:35 pm
(7/10) Tae and... Verosh. But Verosh had also said that weird word again, and it was enough to make Yda look at 'her', thinking. "So you can eat it!" She crowed, beaming at the confirmation. Not that she WOULD - she much preferred to eat the juicier berries than the dry ones, and once Verosh confirmed she could have some of those, she bobbed her head happily in agreement. "Deal!"
With the familiar having chomped on quite a bit of the stick, she shoved it back towards Verosh, clearly expecting it to be taken away from her.
"Why are you saying that? 'His'? Is that what you call al...da..bucks?" She sounded the new word out slowly, enunciating each syllable.
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scarlett arbuckle Vice Captain
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Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2022 1:47 pm
"Good. Let's try to get as many as possible." Verosh chuckled before taking the treat and bringing out one of the baskets that he had tucked away in his satchel. The next question had him pausing and he glanced towards the younglings. "His? Oh." Verosh blinked at the child as realization slowly sank in. He had moved to Jahaur as a teen so he didn't usually worry as much about gender confusion, but some of his younger cousins had been strange about meeting a male.
"Earthlings have different genders. All of you and your sisters are female whereas earthlings can have different...bodies." Verosh gestured towards his chest now that Tae had stolen the rest of the treat from him. "You'll learn more as you experience more of the world when you get older, I'm sure." He added, eager to not have to go into the details about what made a him a him and a her a her. "So just keep that in mind that earthlings are a bit more divided that the Aishan sisters."
He gestured towards some nearby bushes, hopeful to change the topic a little bit. "That bush looks good for berries. Race you?"
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