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 Posted: Fri Aug 12, 2011 6:59 pm
 The doe gave her head a jerk, signaling to her hound to keep an eye on the others -- although by the sounds of it the red eaglehound was helping with that already. Still it wouldn't hurt to have two sets of eyes on Re-wind. It would give her ample time to seek out a spot. One without rushing hooves ready to stamp all over them but hopefully near enough others that if (when) she got terribly bored she could vanish without it mattering. It seemed the red doe really would be better off with someone to keep an eye on her.  She stopped after a time. It was a small free space in the gathering. Near enough a variety of others to take a step forward and introduce oneself and yet far enough not to intrude without meaning to. Lull imagined it would do until she could herald another creature to entertain the doe. Even as she waited for hounds and doe to catch up, her eyes roamed for a potential friend. And if worst came to worse, she'd have to nudge her to Travels. He got along with near about everyone -- anything, too. Funny that not all got along so well with him.
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Posted: Fri Aug 12, 2011 7:08 pm
 The red buck continued at a tranquil pace to the starting line, head dipping each time he spotted a wilting flower that seemed quite pretty in his eyes. He had no reason for the action and no thought had occurred with what he might do with the bouquet that was being gathered in his mouth. Another kimeti might have been bothered by it but he was far too used to partaking in any old whim that caught his attention. It was why he always became lost -- all right so his talent of twisting up names and words helped with that, too. Regardless, he found himself standing a good distance away from the grandfather cypress so as not to become an acquaintance of the ground. His eyes scanned the stampede for the green doe as Guide was quite easy to find. And he seemed to be doing rather well, too. 
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Posted: Fri Aug 12, 2011 10:10 pm
Forgotten Feathers had followed Albatross to to the nearby pond. At first she she looked down into the pond's surface, looking at her face. It was covered in some remaining dirt, and still quite flushed with embarrassment. She sighed lightly, leaning down to enjoy the cool water. It was relieving, cooling her body down and her nerves. There she stayed until shortly after the announcement for the race beginning had been announced. Oh no! Oh no! Her ears twitched and her face pulled away from the pond.
"The race!" She yelped. "It started without us!"
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Posted: Sat Aug 13, 2011 3:47 am
"So kind of you to ask, miss! In a perfect world we would be happy to provide such a service for nothing in return - but unfortunately our business refuses to run itself. However, our payment methods are extremely flexible! Whatever you might be able to spare: whether meat, or fruit, or flavouring herbs," that was something they could really use right now, the new experiments with adding additional ingredients during the preserving process were coming along nicely, "anything that we could use to continue the production of our delicious items - even just your time, we could always use a helping hand. And, of course, we hardly mind if our dearest customers put their purchases on their tab from time to time!" This last point was something that Fell always held in contention, but Rise was so very...indulgent towards deadbeats, and what the boss says goes, goes, however Fell felt about it.
"And certainly, we are very happy to do regular deliveries to just about anywhere in the swamp, even stretching up to the shore - just say the word! And for swans..." he paused for a moment and blinked. They were rather more in the habit of pickling pets than feeding them, but...hmm! It was true that many kimeti loved their pets just as much as they loved each other...pet food...now that sounded like a promising avenue...he would have to talk to Rise about it. In the meantime...what did swans eat...what - ah, yes: "our sun-dried fruit seems to be a hit with many herbivorous pets!" With Fade's Turtle Soup, at least, who accounted for not a small amount of their written-off losses each month by making off (albeit slowly) with mouthfuls of sunning berries whenever he thought no one was looking. "And none of our products are harmful to any creatures in any way, so a morsel or two from your own favourites would be a fine treat for your favourite pet."
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Posted: Sat Aug 13, 2011 12:50 pm
The race seemed to be taking forever -- Stormbreaker hadn't thought the field was that big, but he found himself slowing. He'd already come more than halfway around the field -- a quick glance to the left showed him the grandfather tree they'd started from -- but he was already beginning to slow down. Another burst of energy took him a few hundred feet further up, but he was no longer leading -- just keeping apace with his siblings and some of the fastest and most fleet-footed kimeti and kiokote. Dropping his head for just a split second to toss his hair out of his face, he called back, hoping that Squirrel or Flare were about. A kimeti raced past him, barely more than a blur of color, and Stormbreaker felt his eyes widen. No. No. A kimeti couldn't win! "--Squirrel! Flare! Let's GO!" -*- Walks Without Rhythm, seeing Meets-the-Sea's heroic actions trying to save the life of a mongoose, stood in the middle of the clearing, eyes wide. She would -- have done that for that small creature? Without stopping of think of what might've happened to herself? Amid all of the running kimeti and kiokote? He was transfixed. He just hoped Meets didn't see what was likely an odd expression on his craggy face -- something approaching fondness. Amazement. -*- Awakened by all the noise, Beetleshell was making her staggering, weaving way onto the field, eyes still bleary from sleep, wincing at the sunlight. Amid her brilliantly-green coat still crawled a few insects, beetles from her garden. She had been sleeping, peacefully, when the thundering of hooves had become audible through the ground. Unused to such a noise, it had woken her up out of her habitual daytime sleep, and she was now coming to investigate. Making her way out onto the field, amid the throng of gathered kimeti and kiokote, it did not at all register that there were more kiokote here than she'd ever seen -- or that there were new creatures, thin and dainty ones with long horns and prancing steps. All Beetleshell wanted was to figure out just what in the hell was going on so she could go back to sleep. To be fair, this activity would likely cause an influx of insects into her garden, but that ... wasn't enough. She nudged the kimeti next to her and spoke in her hoarse, broken voice, not even making eye contact. "What is going on?"
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Posted: Sat Aug 13, 2011 2:12 pm
Poison Mushroom had stumbled into something. He did not really like this something, he surmised. It was loud, rowdy, and full of kimeti. A lot of kimeti running around and being wild. He grimaced as he stared on at the scene.
How could anyone even tell what was going on? It was a mess! The buck's ears went flat against his head. He needed to leave before someone spotted him; Poison was not one for talking. A step back seemed like a good idea. And another one, and another.
Poison Mushroom spun around and galloped off quickly. He had escaped!
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Posted: Sat Aug 13, 2011 5:19 pm
 Afternoon slumber had fallen away quick and fast from the buck. He'd raised his head in query, glanced at the crane hiding its head beneath a wing, and with a slow grace stood. "Stay here," he'd murmured to the bird and then turned to find out what all that noise was. He moved at a sedate pace -- only the dead moved slower than him. It was mere chance that he was so close to the clearing and even at his slow pace he managed to step out in time to see the rush of kimeti and kiokote and acha pass as they raced. He gave a languid blink at the myriad of colors, turning his head at Beetleshell's question more than the nudge. His lips pulled into an amused smile and after a moment taken to carefully consider his words, "It looks rather like a race, my dear," Breathing Spell replied.
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Posted: Sat Aug 13, 2011 8:01 pm
" I see," Mead said slowly. If that was all they required in exchange for such marvelous things, she would most assuredly be wandering their way before too long, both for a sample and to acquire some of their goods. Time she had quite a bit of, and recently she'd discovered a lovely patch of aromatic plants that tasted wonderful, and an odd root that was quite spicy. Likely she'd take a few and use them as a trade for their wonderful goodies. " I do believe, sir, that you and your partners shall be seeing quite a bit of me in the coming days. I find myself craving a taste of the salamander you claim is not just edible, but delightful. I hope it stands up to your claim."
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Posted: Sun Aug 14, 2011 12:52 am
A guaranteed customer! Fell had to smile. "I have every confidence that our salamander will surprise you - it was our first product, and has been finely tuned. In fact, it is one of our bestsellers. We look forward to your visit, miss!" Ah, he may hate being out in the field like this, but as long as he had to be, he would revel in the satisfaction of a new name on their growing roster.
It was almost enough to make him forget that the Venus flytrap alligator still loomed...almost.
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Posted: Sun Aug 14, 2011 1:45 am
Fish Bones picked his way toward the gathering. He'd heard about it for days, but only just decided to go have a look. He arrives just as a race is about to finish, and hopes it is only the first event. "I shouldn't have waited so long before coming." He says, to no one in particular. Sitting on his haunches Fish Bones decides to finish watching the race.Sorrel (the doe) and Mugwort (the buck) reach the group just to see there is an event close to ending. A race by the looks of it. Sorrel sets down her package, a medium turtleshell cradled in two large leaves to make carrying easy. Mugwort sets down a similar package, and they both uncover them. One contains herbs to flavor food, the other - the one Sorrel brought - has plants that do various other things. Anything from make you sleepy and complacent to make you see what's not there. Mostly Sorrel brought them for her own use, much to Mugwort's annoyance, but if asked she'd be more then willing to share. "What are we gonna put with the food herbs?" Sorrel asks.Mugwort shrugs and replies. "What ever we feel like gathering or hunting."Sorrel rolls her eyes and starts nosing through her shell. "You mean what you hunt and gather. I'm here to have fun, not work.""Ugh, I should have known.. I'll be back then." Mugwort says as he turns to go. "Save those until I get back, though.""Okay." Sorrel says, then whispers "Only if you hurry, though."
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Posted: Sun Aug 14, 2011 8:12 am
  Never Grow Up was practically on the verge of tears. Windfurl had been causing mischief the whole day and now she had made him miss the race! The kiokote had found the cheetah a few days ago and decided to take it in but the stupid thing wouldn’t listen, often running off without notice or chasing Silkstep around in circles. The mongoose didn’t help the situation, retaliating by attacking the cheetah’s tail when she wasn’t looking. This, unfortunately, was one of those moments, and had Baby weaving through the crowd, chasing after his quarrelling pets. "Excuse me, sorry, excuse me. I just need to get to... OUCH. Excuse me... WINDFURL! COME BAAACK!" he yelled, just as he saw the duo barrel into a pair of does. Oh... crap. The kiokote pushed through his way through the rest of the spectators, words of apology pouring out as he neared. 
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Posted: Sun Aug 14, 2011 8:21 am
Well la de da.
Doom committed the exchange of information to memory. Salt marshes. More food. Business. Payment. As she was not Gloom, she didn't focus on the small details. It was just too hard for her, and she had Gloom and Look-See. It was best to work with what she had. Mentally doing the math, she made the executive decision to stop terrorizing the buck. After all, if the three of them ventured to the shop, that meant they could bring back three times as much. As useful as Gloom's snake and swan were, they lacked the ability to be successful food handlers. But together, their little family was undeniably goodlooking and victorious at hunting large game.
Doom cocked her head at the announcement. The race had started. Elongating her form with forelegs stretched forward,she inhaled deeply and pulled her body taught. Shaking her neck and wiggling the stiffness out of her joints, she lopped forward in the direction of the tree. It was time to burn off the food she just ate. Looking back, she instructed to the two kimeti, "Relax a little, you'll get wrinkles from worrying too much. And you, Provider of Salt-pickled Duck, thanks for the food. I'll be coming for you. I am Doom." The laugh that followed was too bright to be full of anything more than well wishes, right?
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Posted: Sun Aug 14, 2011 8:41 am
Stealjaw was decidedly less than impressed, snarling and barking at the clumsy newcomers indignantly - if the mongoose hadn't so obviously belonged to a certain someone reeling apologies through the crowd, he would already have made it a timely snack, but Stealjaw was the best of hounds, and regretfully knew better than that. And as for the cat...
Re-wind was very impressed with the cat, so impressed that she hardly noticed it was a hundred pounds worth of muscle and fur right on top of her. "An actual cheetah!" she exclaimed, "how fascinating! Did you know? Cheetahs are said to possess by far the fastest land speed of all animals. In fact, I have heard they run so fast, a hard sprint raises their body temperature by so much that they must pause, or risk death. Oh - oh, is it true?" She asked of its kiokote owner, blue eyes bright as he came into their little spot.
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Posted: Sun Aug 14, 2011 9:07 am
Relief had started to creep into his frame as the distance between himself and the Venus flytrap alligator increased - until, of course, she dropped her name. Outwardly, he might have flinched, inwardly, he was straight out panicking: Doom?! What kind of kimeti would have a naming dream that called her Doom?! Wait - was that really her name? Was it a metaphor? Was it a prophecy? Was it her function?! Was it - was she - was she even a real kimeti?!! He'd used to roll his eyes when Rise sighed soppily about the doe he'd met in the moonlight, never knowing for years if she were real or a beautiful dream, but now he thought he might know something of that eldritch feeling, as if between sleeping and waking - except instead of a dream HE WAS CAUGHT IN A BLIMMIN' NIGHTMARE. Of course, Rise's dream doe had turned out to be very real and was now their (unreasonably cranky) lady boss, but what if this one, all pointed teeth and flashing colours, was actually a vengeful goddess come to cast his soul into the darkest depths of a hell unimaginable aaaaahhhh aaaaaaaaaahhhhh holy Swampmother aaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh
"Free samples?" he offered mechanically to a passing buck, no life left in his eyes.
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Posted: Sun Aug 14, 2011 9:29 am
Rock Squirrel was near the front, and enjoying himself immensely. This really was fun! (Although he still held up hope that the next game would be about jumping or leaping or tag!) Halfway through the race it seemed as though no one was pushing themselves overly much, waiting for that last stretch where you pushed all your energy to the max.
He could see the tell-tale glow of his siblings around him but was unable to move next to either of them, surrounded by other racers. Bounce was just getting into the zone when he heard the end of Stormbreaker's cry. He let out a jubilant whoop and pushed himself. Looks like this was that last stretch. Stormy-boy was going to get teased for his bossiness later though (once Bounce found where all his air had gone)!
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