Reserved for solo where Mark joins the Lab! This one is gonna be a long one. x.x
Posted: Tue Aug 15, 2017 8:56 pm
SOLO ╔══════════════╗ Little Jars of Joy Letter Response Set: August 16th, 2017 ╚══════════════╝
It wasn’t everyday that you were chosen to be a father.
When Mark had sent in his application to Lab 305 as a candidate for Guardianship, he had been feeling pretty confident that he would be accepted eventually. He hadn’t expected a package to pop up on his doorstep only a week later, however. Yet here it was. Sitting on his kitchen counter as Chittery poked at the as of yet unopened packaging with the large words ‘LAB 305’ stamped across them like a blaring neon sign reading ‘HERE'S YOUR FEL ESSENCE. YOU’RE GOING TO BE A DAD SOON.’
It was like seeing the little plus sign on a pregnancy test. Only without the partner. Or the high pitched screams of excitement and calls to her parents. Not that Mark would know anything about that outside of television dramas, but he had a pretty confident guess that’s how people finding out they were pregnant would react.
Pressing the first number on his speed-dial, Mark hung the phone between his chin and shoulder as he shuffled around the kitchen for a scissor to unseal the packaging. It rang twice before the gruff voice of Chester Mourly reached his ear.
“Mark, I know you’re home. I see your car out front. What is it that you want that you couldn’t walk the couple of feet to my door to tell me?”
“I got a package. Want you to be here to open it.”
“A package? Is that some kind of double entendre for…”
“No! Come on old man! Quit goofin’ around. It’s a package from that Lab 305 place I told you about the other day.”
“Huh. No kidding? Alright, I’ll be over there in a bit.”
The line went dead and Mark dropped the phone onto the counter as he pulled out a pair of scissors from the drawer underneath. He wanted Chester to be there when he saw his Fel Essence for the first time, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t first open up the package.
The material of the packaging tape parted quickly under the sharp edge of the scissor, revealing a metallic briefcase that Mark idly ran his fingers over. The temptation to open it up to take a peek at the contents was nearly overwhelming, but Chester’s presence was a necessity. The man was practically going to be the grandparent of his Raevan, so denying him the chance to witness this momentous occasion felt wrong. Like denying one's mother the chance to hold your newly born baby.
“You couldn’t wait for me could you?” Chuckled Chester, causing Mark and Chittery to both jump an inch in the air before turning to look at the older man.
Chester Mourly, 56, was the closest thing to a father that Mark had. He looked more like a guy hired to play a cab driver in the first season of Law and Order than a successful business owner, but despite his rather lack luster appearance there was intelligence in those grey eyes of his. The man wasted no time in sitting himself down at the kitchen counter, hand pressed against his stubbled chin as he gestured for Mark to carry on with the task he seemed so eager to carry on with. “So, what’s in the briefcase?”
“Well, it looks like a briefcase. I don’t know though. My eyesight’s not what it used to be.”
“Mark…”
“Relax, old man. It was just a joke. I think it’s the stuff needed to make myself a Raevan but…”
“...but?”
“I dunno. Seems a bit strange that it took so little time for it to get to me, you know? I only applied a little while ago.” “Maybe you just seemed like the perfect fit?”
“You know, it’s hard to take you seriously when you’re smirking at me like that.”
Chester let out a hearty chuckle, but Mark could tell the man meant well. Their banter usually consisted of more than a few jabs at one another’s character done in good fun, so the older man holding back now just because the occasion was an important one wouldn’t have felt right. In a way, it was a comfort really. A bit of normalcy in the presence of something potentially life altering.
Mark didn’t feel the need to announce his opening of the briefcase. He just did it, unlatching the hatches and carefully lifting the top up to reveal the Mabinogi Branch and empty soul jar nestled carefully within their foam slots. Briefly, there was a tightness in his chest and the urge to cry stung at the corner of his eyes. They really did send him a Fel Essence. This was real.
“Kid? You okay there?”
Blinking out of his moment of reverie, the younger of the two men flashed the elder the largest grin he could muster. “I’m good. Just a little emotional.” He couldn’t handle looking at the Fel Essence and soul jar just yet. Not when his emotions were running so high. So instead, he centered on the task of carefully pulling out the collection of paperwork and the handwritten letter.
Foregoing the paperwork, he examined the letter:
Quote:
Greetings, Mark!
Let me be the first to congratulate you on becoming a Guardian! My name is Zeke, and I am one of the staff members here at Lab 305. Out of numerous applications to our program, we felt that you were best fitted to become the newest addition to our family! So welcome and congratulations!
In this briefcase you will find your Soul Glass, Fel Essence, and a couple of documents - one of which needs your signature and must be returned to the Lab with your Glass and Essence upon your capture of a soul. The other is a list of contact information of every Guardian and Raevan pairing in the Lab. I've taken the liberty of highlighting the names of staff for you, but you will find us at the top of the first sheet!
I know this must be rather surprising for you, so before I go any further let me just state that if you have any questions at any time, please feel free to call, text, or email me and I will be more than happy to provide answers or guidance in general. That being said, let's get on with the show!
As I wrote above, you will find your Soul Glass and Fel Essence inside the briefcase. You are the Guardian to the Mabinogi Branch Essence, which has already been written down on the legal documents you will have to date and sign. Your Soul Glass is that big glass and metal contraption to the left of your Essence Jar, and will be the thing you need to use in order to help us make your future Raevan. Please take note of the cloth between the metal and glass parts as it is important. Souls have colors and the cloth acts as a limiter and something of a fail-safe so that the bottle will not suck up just anything around it. As yours is brown and white, it will only activate around things (be they animal, plant, mineral, metal, etc) that fit one or both of those colors.
When you capture a soul, the glass bulb will appear to have a smoke-like gas inside of it. When this happens simply return the filled Glass, the Essence, your signed documents, and the case to the Lab. There is a business card tucked in alongside this note for our carrier service. Contact them when you are ready to return your items and they will pick them up from your home. As soon as we get them back we will begin the process of making them into your Raevan!
Whew! I hope I covered everything well enough in this note as far as what you need to do now that you are a Guardian! If not, and as before, please do not hesitate to get in contact with me. My phone is always on and I'm always happy to talk with members of the Lab family!
Hope to hear from you soon and congratulations again!
Sincerely,
Zeke Farris
“So… what are they?” Chester asked, drawing Mark’s gaze away from the letter and towards the pair of glass containers.
“A Fel Essence. The Mabinogi Branch?” A quick glance back down at the letter confirmed it. “Yeah, Mabinogi Branch. And a soul jar. For capturing a soul. For my Raevan.” The last part of the sentence came out of his mouth with a strange weight to it. His Raevan. His own Shoshana. His own little floating ball of questions and magic.
Reaching in, he picked up the empty soul bottle to briefly look it over. It was an intricate piece of machinery, decorated only by the strap of brown and white stripes that Zeke had mentioned. Apparently it was capable of capturing a soul. Cool! But…
...not nearly as cool as the other thing.
Handing the bottle off to Chester to examine, Mark reached inside to pick up the Branch. Immediately upon contact, there was a small rush as the sound of far off voices singing a song in a tongue Mark didn’t recognize hit his ear. Something told him that if he opened the jar, he’d probably be able to hear it better, not that he would be doing that just yet. He wanted to make sure what exactly it was first before he went about opening it up. Last thing he needed was to break it and release some horrible disease into the air. He wasn’t an idiot.
“You gonna share your branch with this old man or am I just going to sit here watching you stare at it for an hour?” Chester’s playful voice cut into his thoughts and drew him back to reality, Mark’s lips pressing into another smile as he exchanged the jar for the bottle that was carefully returned to the briefcase. “I think Chittery’s a bit unsettled by that thing.” The old man remarked, in reference to the way the monkey had retreated to his perch above the living room.
“Really? That’s odd. He’s usually all about shoving his fingers into things that he-”
“You aren’t allowed to put my monkey into this bottle. You hear me Mark? If I find out you did-”
“I know, old man. I know. Wasn’t planning to.”
“Good.” A short pause, before Chester slid the branch back into its place within the briefcase. “...I’m proud of you, boy. You’ll make a good dad.”
“Wha-”
“Anyway! Wheel of Fortune is on in ten minutes! I gotta get going! Good luck on this little project Mark. Can’t wait to meet whatever it is this stuff makes.”
Before Mark had a chance to stop him, Chester was already through the door. Stunned but amused, Mark let out a breathy laugh before turning his attention back to the briefcase. “...guess I should start clearing out that space upstairs.”
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Posted: Tue Aug 15, 2017 8:57 pm
SOLO ╔══════════════╗ Just a Little Question Set: August 16th, 2017 ╚══════════════╝
It had been about two hours since Chester had left the apartment, leaving Mark alone to start the long process of moving the stored boxes upstairs in the loft to the sitting area in his own bedroom. Not an easy process by any means, but made all the more difficult due to the fact that the Mabinogi Branch kept calling out to him in voices too soft to hear.
If only he could just crack the jar open a little bit. Just so that he could hear the singing voices a bit more clearly. Maybe then it wouldn’t keep distracting him from the work he was trying to get done.
Didn’t Zeke say he included contact information for the staff and other guardians? It couldn’t hurt to send him an email really quick. Just to ask if it was okay. Right? Right.
Opening his laptop and ignoring Chittery’s weight as he settled down on his shoulder, he skimmed through the list of contacts -- conveniently set down next to his computer for later perusing and potential emailing.
A lot of unfamiliar names. Rueben and Ryder. Lorenzo and Vesna. Nell and Dair. Oh! There was Phoenix and Shoshana! He should stop by at the restaurant to tell them the good news…
Zeke and Anastacia. There it was. Highlighted just like Zeke said it would be.
Mark wasn’t much for formal emails or letters. Working the way he did, they had never really been a necessity. Would that be held against him when he sent in information to the Lab? Only way to find out was to see first hand, he supposed.
Quote:
“Hey Zeke!
It’s Mark! Just wanted to let you know I got the package in safe and ask you a quick question. Would it be alright if I opened the jar up to take a better listen to what the Branch is saying? Or would you and the other Lab 305 staff prefer if I kept it under tight seal?”
Chittery’s tail whapped at his chest as he watched the computer process his email and send it off, Mark’s breath holding for just the briefest of moments before he pushed the computer back and he stood from his seat at the counter. “Alright. Back to work.”
Two more hours and the last of the boxes were safely stored in his bedroom until they could be moved to the office space next door. Another hour of browsing furniture websites and ordering the basic necessities for his Raevan’s room. Finally, thirty minutes of looking up baby names.
Zeke’s response was a lot less formal than he expected it to be, which was a great relief to Mark, seeing as how his own email hadn’t exactly been up to the professional standards one would expect from a person taking part in a big experiment like this.
Quote:
"Hey! Typically we strongly advise against that for most Essences due to their unpredictable or potentially dangerous nature, but the Branch seems to be rather tame! I would highly stress on not removing it from the jar itself if you do open it so as to avoid any harm coming to it. And if you do end up feeling bad or something bad happens with the jar open, definitely close it back up right away!"
So it was alright! Great! So long as he didn’t try pull the Branch out, it didn’t seem like there would be any problems.
Quote:
Gotcha! Thanks. I’ll be careful to do as instructed and I’ll send you a message if something seems off.
Glancing in the direction of the briefcase and the two jars currently residing within, Mark smiled. Tonight, he’ll have a lullaby for the first time in eighteen years.
Zeke's response was written by Ravina Loki on Discord.
Posted: Tue Aug 15, 2017 8:59 pm
SOLO ╔════════════════════════╗ A Little Research Goes A Long Way Set: August 17th, 2017 ╚════════════════════════╝
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Posted: Tue Aug 15, 2017 9:02 pm
SOLO ╔══════════════╗ This is the one! Soul Capture Part 1 Set: August 19th, 2017 ╚══════════════╝
Click.
Bear? No.
Click.
Wild onion? Nah.
The Mabinogi Branch sat innocently beside his computer, the jar open so that the Mark could hear the mysterious Celtic voices singing their stories as he worked. The soul bottle sat beside it, the brown and white colored strap the only hint towards what Mark should be searching for.
It had been three days since the arrival of the package containing the objects that would one day go into making his Raevan -- his CHILD -- and he still had no idea what kind of soul would compliment the Fel Essence that Zeke had sent him. Research into the local fauna and flora only served to frustrate him further when nothing seemed to connect. Each animal and plant he looked into felt wrong, the Branch’s voices singing out their disapproval of each prospective soul faster than Mark could suggest them.
Click.
Turkey? Absolutely not, he valued his fingers far too much.
Click.
Chipmunk? Wrong kind of brown, but maybe he’s on the right track.
“Kid, that food is going to go cold if you don’t eat it. Whatever you’re going to shove in that thing can wait.”
Chester’s voice snapped him out of his thoughts and drew his gaze away from the computer screen. The plate sporting two bologna and cheese sandwiches -- extra mayo and a pickle on the side, just the way he liked it -- was hardly a meal that could go cold, but that was besides the point. He hadn’t eaten since this morning, and the little clock in the corner of his computer was nearing nine.
A low sigh and his hand raised to slip under his glasses, rubbing his eyes in slow circles to alleviate the strain that had begun to form there after hours of web searching. “Yeah, yeah. I know. I just-”
“Want to make it perfect?”
“Yeah.”
“Those Lab guys aren’t going to hold it against you if you don’t send them back a soul within the month, you know? You can take your time.”
“I don’t want to take my time. I want to get this done properly and quickly. It’s important. It’s my-”
“Chance to make your own family? Like the one you never got to have?”
Mark fell silent, his expression a mixture of exhaustion and frustration. Chester wasn’t technically wrong, his desire for a family certainly playing strongly into why his name had been on the list as a potential guardian, but it was more than just that. There was more to this whole thing than just Mark’s own selfish desire to fill in the gaps in his own life. This was about the Raevan child, the little boy or girl whose entire existence would be influenced by the decision that Mark made before they were even born. The soul was just as important as the Fel Essence, and the Lab had entrusted him with the responsibility of choosing and capturing it.
Idly, he thought back to Shoshana. How bright eyed and innocent she had been. Would she have turned out differently had Phoenix chosen a different soul? How much of her did her Guardian really influence during that initial decision? The answer was impossible to reach, but Mark didn’t want to leave anything to chance. Not for his Raevan. His child.
Chester seemed to pick up on the younger man’s inner turmoil and redirected the conversation back to souls. “Right, so you got a branch that talks and sings to you in a weird language. Celtic, you said it was? And the soul has to be either brown or white.” Rubbing at his heavily stubbled chin, the older man stepped over to examine the empty bottle, turning it this way and that as he considered their options.
Instinctively, Mark reached out to cap the Mabinogi Branch back up. He didn’t mind the voices, but it could be unsettling for those who weren’t used to listening to it by their bedside every night. What he did mind was the idea of anybody handling the soul bottle other than him. He trusted Chester, but who knew what might happen. Especially with Chittery climbing about over head.
Speak of the devil.
The capuchin landed with a plop on the shoulder of the older gentleman, little eyes watching the soul bottle curiously but with an equal amount of unease. Ever since its arrival, Chittery had stayed clear of the device as if he instinctively knew that it meant trouble for him if opened. Which was good, considering Mark had his hands full keeping him away from the Branch. “How about some kind of weasel? I think there are a couple of stoats hanging out in that park you play your guitar in.”
“Stoat?”
“Yeah, it’s like… this tiny ferret like creature. Think they’re also called Ermines. During the winter, its fur changes colors to this most beautiful white I’ve ever seen. I think royalty used to use ‘em for their capes or something… ”
“Isn’t that the creature with that one meme?”
“What’s a meme?”
“...nevermind. Hold on, I’m going to look it up.”
It was indeed exactly what Mark had thought it to be. The stoat, also known as an ermine during the winter seasons, was possibly one of the cutest things he had ever laid eyes on. Not to mention shockingly badass. Chester hadn’t been wrong about its usage by the monarchy either. It was an interesting little animal, and the more he read the more he liked.
This was the one. Ermine, stoat, short-tailed weasel, whatever you wanted to name it. This was the soul for his Raevan.
“...Chester?”
“Hm?” “Thanks.”
“Any time, kid. Any time.”
Posted: Sat Aug 19, 2017 4:46 pm
SOLO ╔══════════════╗ My a$$ or a hole in the ground Soul Capture Part 2 Set: August 20th, 2017 ╚══════════════╝
The day had finally arrived. The day he filled his soul bottle. The day he took his next step into creating his Raevan.
After his conversation with Chester and subsequent decision that the soul of an ermine was the right way to go, Mark had been filled with a new burst of determination. It was all he could think about during work today, painting little ermines and branches across the faces of more than one confused child while his eyes sparkled with excitement. He felt a small pang of regret that he didn’t put his all into his performances, but the kids had seemed happy enough, and there had been no complaining parents, so when the time came for him to vamoose he did just that, packing his things into the company van and driving home to drop Chittery off with Chester and collect the soul bottle from the briefcase.
Then off he had gone. No bug spray or sunscreen. No map. Just the ambitions of a man on a mission.
In hindsight, he probably should have at least taken the bug spray.
Durem wasn’t exactly known for an abundance of forestry, so when Mark needed a bit of nature he usually tended to head out in the direction of Barton, but there was one park right on the outskirts of town that had a fair bit of forest bordering it. It was here that Chester had said that there had been stoat sightings, and it was here where Mark would venture out in search of the soul that would compose one half of his Raevan charge.
Assuming, of course, he even managed to find the creature in question in the first place. According to the wiki page, the animals tended to have pretty large territories and several dens, so there was a pretty decent chance he would be spending a majority of the day just finding one of its inhabited dens. The internet was on his side, however, and it wasn’t hard to find websites describing how to track stoat, given how popular they were for their fur. Speaking of which, what exactly was he going to do with the body once he had caught the soul? He couldn’t just sell it… could he? Feh, he’ll figure it out when the deed was done.
Phone in one hand, bottle in the other, he stepped out of his car at the edge of the forested part of the park and set out in search of his stoat.
SEPARATION BANNER HERE
Two hours of searching, fourteen bug bites, and more than his fair share of run ins with what seemed to be some kind of horned forest spirit right out of a Ghibli film later, Mark found himself standing face to face with a stoat. Or, well, more specifically, he was laying on his belly and the stoat was standing there staring at him like he was some kind of idiot. Which, in its defense, he kind of was, because who the hell thinks trying to push a bottle into a hole that was only half its size was a good idea? Him, apparently.
“You! No no no! Don’t go! I only want your soul-” the creature darted off and Mark’s sentence hung in the air. “And you’re gone. Great.”
Pulling his arm and the bottle out of the hole, Mark had the foresight to cap it again before falling back to sit on the soft ground and just think. The good news was that he had found the ermine, and by extension had a decent idea of where its territory was. The bad news was that the animal would probably not be returning to this particular den anytime soon. He could go looking for other dens. Ones that were easier to access, like rotted tree stumps or in between some rocks, but that would require more work and his entire body already ached from pushing through the foliage all day and this den was right here.
Tired, cranky, and above all frustrated, Mark struggled between the decision for a few minutes before finally his shoulders drooped and he was forced to face the facts that today’s hunt was a bust. Mr. Stoat was not going to be coming home with him today, but that didn’t mean Mark couldn’t set up a trap and come back later. The animal would return to this den in a few hours to collect whatever it had left there and it would have to go through the entry to do it. Right? Right.
The trap was pretty simple. Collecting a large clump of moss from a nearby tree, he rolled the bottle up in it to disguise the human scent, then covered it all up with a couple of fern leaves. The soul bottle’s preference towards white and brown souls was his saving grace, giving him the confidence that the plants would remain unharmed while the bottle lie in wait for its desired occupant. It was a little risky, sure. A rabbit or a chipmunk could run by and end up getting caught instead. Or heaven forbid a grizzly walk by. Nothing worth having was without risk, however.
With his trap set, Mark stood up and proceeded to dust the soil from his rump. It would be okay. He just had to have a little bit of faith and patience. Grinning as his earlier enthusiasm returned, Mark’s gaze looked out in the direction of where the stoat had run off to. “You’ll be mine, buddy! I’ll catch you yet!” The proclamation was bold and perhaps a bit stupid due to the animal probably not understanding a word of it, but it felt good to say, which was more than enough reason to do so. It cemented the fact that this was going to happen in his mind.
Now if only he had cemented the way back to the car in his mind too. Turning around and beginning his long trek back to the car, Mark didn’t notice the small indent of earth that had mysteriously appeared during the course of his trap setting before it was too late and his foot was slipping into it, sending him sprawling face first into the trunk of a tree.
The pained yelp carried for miles, and somewhere out there, the stoat ‘smirked’ as it lugged its newest kill into one of its spare dens.
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Posted: Sat Aug 19, 2017 4:49 pm
SOLO ╔══════════════╗ I've negated your trap card! Soul Capture Part 3 Set: August 23th, 2017 ╚══════════════╝
Three days passed by before Mark had decided to return to the ermine den for what he hoped to be a filled soul bottle. While his initial journey into the forest had been done completely without the proper equipment, this time he had prepared himself a backpack filled with the necessary tools for traversing the unpathed terrain. Not to mention a few other goodies like a flashlight, bug repellent, itch cream, and a variety of bandages and tapes. The broken pair of glasses now sitting in his dresser drawer had made the trip home the last time damn near impossible.
The only drawback was that Chester couldn’t take Chittery today. Apparently, the old man was meeting a couple of his poker buddies in Gambino and wouldn’t be back until well past midnight. Which meant Mark had to bring the curious monkey along with him through his nature hike. A difficult task, made only slightly easier by the harness and leash he had strapped to him. A harness Mark was 80% certain Chittery could figure out how to open if he didn’t keep constant vigil. Peanuts could only get him so far this time.
What had taken him several hours the other day turned out to merely be a thirty minute trek, now that he actually had an idea of where he was headed and the foresight to bring bright red string to tie to the branches as path markers would make the trip back even faster. Bread crumbs were the things storybook children used when they were begging to get lost, and the non-toxic string was far safer for the environment than drawing scribbles on the wood of trees. Probably.
Either way, it would be a nice bit of fun for the birds to play around with.
Additionally, Chittery didn’t seem to be fighting him much, which meant the capuchin either was content merely going for a walk or was planning his escape. Mark hoped for the former, but knew the odds fell in favor with the latter. For the time being, things seemed to be going his way though, which only meant that soon that good luck would run out.
Which it did the moment he reached the den.
The first thing he noticed was the fact the hole of the den looked completely untouched. No new dirt or tracks surrounded the area. This could only mean that the soul bottle had captured its target, right? Wrong. Popping into a squat by the entry in order to examine the bottle, Mark let out a fierce curse into the air when he realized the bottle was still empty. “Oh, come on!” Groaning, he turned his attention back towards the hole. It was hard to make out but it appeared almost like the stoat had marked it somehow. As if the creature was warning itself not to use this entry and exit. Which meant…
“He has another way inside. Son of a b***h, I’m being outsmarted by a vermin.” Were weasels considered vermin? Mark knew from the wikipedia page that the stoat was certainly consider a pest, so that was close enough by his standards. “I feel like Elmer Fudd.” He chuckled at the thought.
It was at that moment that something Chittery was doing caught his eye. The capuchin head was directed towards something about five feet away, hidden in a small indent of a nearby tree trunk. The brown, furry head of his adversary was peeking out and watching them, as if challenging the two of them to try and catch it.
Chittery, of course, was oblivious to the challenge, far more interested in the stoat’s mere existence to consider the fact the animal was outright mocking them. Before Mark even knew what was happening, the monkey was pulling full force on the leash in his hand, toppling him into the dirt while Chittery used the momentum to spring after his newly discovered ‘friend’ in possibly the biggest ******** of a disaster Mark had ever seen.
The stoat retreated into the hole faster than lighting as Chittery attempted to give chase, only for the monkey’s large body to be unable to follow after it. Blocked from access, the capuchin proceeded to attempt to pull the weasel out using his paw, only for a shriek to erupt when, predictably, the stoat bit him in response. Wrenching the paw out with the other animal still clamped down upon it, Chittery continued to howl out painfully as Mark’s senses finally returned to him.
Now was his chance! Chittery’s stupidity had ended up working in his favor! The stoat was out of its hole and distracted by the monkey. So long as he played his cards right, he’d be walking home with its soul today after all!
Posted: Sat Aug 19, 2017 9:44 pm
SOLO ╔══════════════╗ Chittery Vs Ermine Soul Capture Part 4 Set: August 23th, 2017 ╚══════════════╝
The fight between monkey and stoat was not something you would see every day. In fact, Mark was pretty sure this was a first for the two species, which meant it was hard to really predict what was going to happen. On one hand, he wanted to protect Chittery, but on the other he knew he wasn’t going to have another chance like this for a while. If he wanted to go home with that ermine soul today, he needed to catch it while the little beast was distracted.
He’d take Chittery straight to the vet afterwards. Not to mention give him the whole bag of peanuts if they managed to pull this off.
Snatching the bottle out of its mossy cocoon and brushing any dirt off the surface, the man took a moment to slip onto all fours before beginning the slow process of inching closer to the pair of fighting animals. The moment he was as close as he was comfortable getting to the pair, he turned the soul bottle in their direction and let out a silent prayer to whatever might be listening that this stupid little make-shift plan of his worked.
The two fuzzy bodies were a blur of white, black, and brown. Claws and teeth. Screeching monkey cries and… whatever noise it was that the weasel kept hissing out. It was hard to keep the bottle aimed at either of them when nothing seemed to stay still for longer than a few seconds, and with each moment Mark grew more and more nervous.
It was beginning to dawn on him that Chittery’s safety wasn’t worth the capture of the soul, and just as he was about to set the bottle down and go in to separate the pair, the ermine was sent rolling in his direction. It all seemed to happen in slow motion. As if some vacuum was suddenly flipped on, the bottle began to suck in a misty brown fog that grew thicker the closer the animal rolled, until finally, with a burst of brown smoke, the animal fell completely still.
The stopper slid into place. Inside the bottle, the brown soul swirled in its container as if the animal it had once belonged to was still trying to continue the fight, even now that it was dead.
There was a lot more blood than he initially thought would be involved. Chittery’s. The stoat’s. It took Mark a moment to realize that the skull of the ermine seemed to have been indented. In Chittery’s hand there was a bloody stone that the monkey had used to bash into the skull of the other animal. It wasn’t the bottle that killed the stoat, but the monkey.
Mark wasn’t sure how he felt about that, but what was done was done. Chittery’s well being was the most important thing right now.
“Buddy… hey, buddy. Come on now, Chittery, it’s okay now. The big, bad weasel isn’t going to hurt you anymore.” Breathing out, Mark’s tone was gentle as he slid in close to the still very startled and injured monkey. The animal’s eyes were wild with a mixture of anger and pain, but somewhere in the back of his mind, the tone of Mark’s voice was soothing.
The moment passed in a standstill. Mark didn’t draw closer, and Chittery stood there, eyes darting from the dead stoat to Mark. Tiny chest heaving with each breath, the capuchin let out one final pitiful noise before falling to the forest floor, unconscious.
((Soul Capture leads straight into the Soul Capture Reflection, so if this feels a bit stunted towards the end that is why.))
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Posted: Sat Aug 26, 2017 8:34 pm
SOLO ╔══════════════╗ Always Moving Forward, Never Looking Back Soul Capture Reflection Set: August 23/24th, 2017 ╚══════════════╝
Finding an animal hospital that treated monkeys wasn’t easy, but Durem was a massive place with plenty going on, and Mark’s determination wasn’t something to be trifled with. The little bloody body of his animal assistant sat wrapped in Mark’s shirt in the passenger seat while the ermine soul had been carefully returned to the briefcase the bottle had arrived in alongside the Mabinogi Branch and the necessary paperwork. All of it filled him with a sense of guilt that he honestly didn’t have the strength to deal with right now.
Chittery was going to be fine. He had to be. What the hell was Mark going to do if he wasn’t? Pushing the fact that he was technically Chester’s pet aside, the monkey was one of the closest things to family Mark had. If he lost him… If he lost another family...
Breathing out a wet breath as he choked down the tears, Mark pulled into the animal hospital, bypassing the main entrance in order to head straight towards the emergency entrance in the back. He didn’t bother properly parking the car. Didn’t even think that it might cause him problems later. He needed to get Chittery in there now.
“Sir, you can’t park your car-” The woman at the entry gate’s words cut off the moment he revealed the bundled package in his arms, understanding passing through her features as she pressed a button on the panel in front of her. “Someone will be here in just a moment.”
It took less than a minute for a vet to show up, and what followed was a rush of questions and answers that left Mark feeling like he was floating. Small fibs helped keep the strangeness of Lab 305’s soul collection necessity under wraps. They didn’t need to know the details on why he was in the woods. Only that Chittery had gotten free of his leash and had fought with a stoat. After that they slipped into a room Mark wasn’t allowed to follow them into, leaving him with nothing but paperwork to fill out and a car to move.
Both were handled pretty quickly. Chittery was already on the system there, apparently. Chester had taken him in a year ago for shots or something. Which meant that Mark was alone with his thoughts and the now filled soul bottle/fel essence combination.
There was nothing else left for him to do right now other than prepare them both to be shipped out to the Lab. Well, besides call Chester. That was a headache that Mark really didn’t want to deal with when his emotions were running so wild, however. He didn’t need a lecture telling him how stupid he had been. He already knew.
The nurse had given him a weird look when he had asked to borrow some paper and a clip-board, but had handed them both to him without much in the ways of complaint. Maybe she was curious about the briefcase that he had brought in with him after re-parking his car, and what his letter had to do with it. He wouldn’t blame her. The whole situation was just one big, surreal mess.
The pen the animal hospital offered him had little dog prints on it. Idly, he doodled a mirroring image on the corner of the paper as he thought about what he was going to write. The truth? No. They’d hand his Raevan away to another guardian for sure if they found out how he caught the soul. It wasn’t like he hadn’t realized his mistake. He wouldn’t be making it again. Especially with his kid.
Before he knew it the page was being filled up with pictures of little Chittery’s, his hand having instinctively moved into doodling mode. Even when his mind was on other things, he still somehow kept coming back to that fight between Chittery and the ermine. How many of the monkey’s injuries were his fault, and how many of them were inevitable due to the capuchin’s own stubbornness? He didn’t know the answer, but the idea that this could have been avoided had he not tried to take advantage of their fight to capture the ermine’s soul weighed heavily at his mind.
The letter could wait. Right now… he needed to call Chester.
SEPARATION BAR
“Go home, kid.” “But I…”
“I know. You're worried. But there isn’t much you can do now. They’re keeping him overnight, but he’s alright.”
“I know, but I…” “Mark, go home. We’ll talk about this tomorrow.”
There was no room to argue. Chester didn’t want to hear anymore ‘buts’ about this issue, and Mark wasn’t strong enough emotionally to fight him on it right now. So with a solemn nod and a soft whisper of ‘call me if you need me,’ he left the older man to deal with Chittery as he headed home with the suitcase filled with soul bottle and fel essence.
The drive was tense. His legs were still sore from spending the past three hours waiting in the emergency room. His mind was scattered in ways it hadn’t been since the day he arrived at Durem. The idea of being alone in his home for the first time since Chittery had been brought into his home left his stomach in knots.
What was he doing? Why was he dwelling on this? Chittery was fine. The soul was captured and everything was going to be okay. There was nothing to gain by dwelling on what he could have done differently when what was happening in the now was far more important.
The ermine soul was in the bottle. The second half of his Raevan was ready to go. Tomorrow, Chittery would come home and things would be back to status quo in a week or so. Nothing was wrong. The past was in the past, and all he could do now was look towards and prepare for the future.
SEPARATION BAR
When Chittery came home the next morning, there was a massive bag of peanuts waiting for him on the kitchen table and several boxes with furniture sitting in wait by the door. Next day delivery was a wonder, and judging from Chester’s quirked eyebrow the man knew exactly what it meant.
“So, I take it Chittery’s injuries had something to do with that empty bottle of yours? Mind explaining how my monkey ended up in such a bad state?” Setting the animal down, Chester lifted the old grey and brown truckers cap from his head in order to scratch at the mess of dark brown curls resting under it. Chittery was quick to get into the peanuts, his tiny bandaged hands working to shovel the pre-cracked legumes into his mouth in rapid fire succession.
It had looked worse than it actually had been. A few stitches and a rabies shot was all that had been needed to ensure the capuchin would make a full recovery. Mark knew this, but still offered Chester a look that screamed ‘guilty’.
“Well, as you know,I had to take him with me to get the bottle. Turns out that stoat had a separate entrance the whole time.” Scratching at the back of his neck, Mark looked down at the briefcase sitting at the base of the kitchen island. “He popped up to say hello and Chittery went chasing after him. Ended up getting his hand bitten and pulling the damn thing right out of its hole and, well…”
He paused, the guilt on his face growing stronger. “They started to fight and I thought that I would…”
“Take advantage of their brawl in order to get its soul.”
“I thought I was the one who was telling the story.” “You don’t have to. I can see it written plain as day across your face.”
Shaking his head, Chester stepped past Mark to take a seat upon the worn reddish brown sofa in the living room, hands falling to rest on his knees. “I don’t blame you. In a way, it’s kinda my fault for forcing him on you all the time, and you seemed to have been pretty badly stirred up over the incident anyway. I’m not going to lecture you.”
That was… new. Chester wasn’t going to lecture him? Great! Awesome! Wonderful! What was the catch?
“Of course, you’ll be working double the parties to make up for the bill.”
There it was.
“Fair enough.” Mark smiled, the first relaxed smile he had given since this whole incident had begun. Chester smiled back and the noise of Chittery munching away at his treat told him everything was indeed okay. They were moving forward, never looking back. “The furniture for the… Raevan?”
“Yup.”
“Guess you’d like my help with that?”
“It would be appreciated.”
Cracking his shoulder, Chester stood with a nod. “Let's get to it then. The sooner you get this place set up, the sooner you can send that stuff in for your kid.”
Always moving forward.
The world was filled with far too many things to ever bother looking back.
SOLO ╔══════════════╗ The Start of Something New Bottle Send Off Set: September 3rd, 2017 ╚══════════════╝
Life went back to normal pretty quickly. Chittery proved to be shockingly resilient for a little guy, and Mark wasn’t the type to dwell on past mistakes if they didn’t have long-lasting effects. The additional workload brought on by the necessity of paying Chester back for Chittery’s hospital bills also helped ease his mind, but it also made it difficult to find time to schedule a pick-up or drop off of the briefcase. The little card sat in his wallet, waiting, just like the fel essence and soul bottle.
Today was different. It took him a week and a half, but he finally had enough time in the day to see to sending off the components of his Raevan. Which meant that the party season was toning down or Chester had decided to cut him some slack. Considering how it was still the last few days of summer vacation, and therefore the ideal time to throw outdoor parties, he was willing to bet that it was the latter.
The paperwork had been set to go from nearly day one, and the only thing left to do was add in a personal letter to whoever received the case, which didn’t have to be a big deal. Zeke had been pretty informal about his response to Mark’s question about the Fel Essence, so clearly they weren’t going for super professional. So with that in mind, he set about the task of writing the letter that he had failed to write a week and a half ago.
Quote:
Dear Lab 305 staff,
Or Zeke. I don’t know who gets this exactly.
I’m not really very good at writing formal letters like this, so I apologize if it doesn’t come out particularly ‘labbie’ like.
The soul I’ve captured is that of a stoat, or ermine as some people like to call them. He was a clever little guy and gave me a run for my money. Hopefully he’ll make a real good Raevan. After doing a bit of web research about what kind of language the voices the Branch is speaking (Pretty sure it’s some kind of Celtic. Not the Scotland kind but the kind from Wales or Britain. Just super old. Thought since you were studying the stuff, you might wanna know that. You might even already know that. Ignore this if you do. ), I decided to name them Emyr if they are a boy or Guinevere (Gwen for short) if it’s a girl. Not sure if that’s really relevant, but I thought you might want to know. Probably wrote it down on the paperwork too, so if it’s redundant sorry.
Things are pretty much good to go around here. Bedroom is done up and I have money set aside for picking them up clothing, so whenever they’re ready, I’m ready.
I really cannot properly express how thankful I am for all of this, or how excited I am to be bringing a Raevan into my home. I’m looking forward to your call and can’t wait to meet my kiddo!
Sincerely, Mark Howitzer.
PS. Also… again, super sorry about how informal this letter is. The paperwork is done perfectly, though. Trust me. I checked like six times.
PSS. If Zeke is the one getting this, there weren’t any issues, but it did seem to really like Dair’s company. I guess they are just kind of kin essences or something? Might be because Dair is a tree. I don’t know. Again, just thought I’d let you know for the science or something.
Not the type to scan things over and second guess himself, Mark folded up the piece of paper into a somewhat squarish shape and slipped it in among the filled pieces of paperwork before snapping it closed. Hopefully, the briefcase would end up in Zeke’s hands, but if not than they were in for a pleasantly informal surprise.
Brushing his hand over the metallic case, emotions welled within his chest that left him standing there feeling breathless and weightless. The thought ‘This was actually happening’ had crossed his mind on several occasions throughout this whole experience, but somehow that reality was never felt as strongly as in that moment. This was his future family in the making. The kid that Mark had decided he would give everything he as a child had never gotten to. In a few minutes, somebody was going to knock on his front door and take it to Lab 305 to grow into a Raevan. His Raevan.
It could take days. It could take weeks. Or months. Maybe even a year. But a Raevan was going to be born from the combination of an Ermine Soul and the Mabinogi Branch, and Mark was the one who had been chosen to take care of them.
As if sensing his stirring emotions, Chittery swooped down from the colorful ropes overhead to settle down on his shoulder. With the soul bottle filled and the danger gone, the capuchin no longer displayed any hesitation in approaching either bottle, which wasn’t necessarily a good thing but it was a ‘normal’ thing. The monkey’s curiosity was still there.
The doorbell rang.
“You ready to be an uncle?” Mark teased, finger reaching up to rub at the fuzzy head of his animal accessory, earning him a bat in the nose in response. “I’ll take that as a yes.”
Taking hold of the briefcase, he took in a deep breath to cease the fluttering within his belly and carried himself, the briefcase, and the monkey over the door to greet the carrier. The exchange was brief. Whoever they were, they weren’t much in the way of small talk, and Chittery didn’t seem interested enough in them to warrant any interesting interaction between them, either. It was so mundane that an onlooker never would have expected that the contents of the briefcase were so monumentally life changing.
He watched the man leave, watching his form disappear behind the wall blocking the steps up to the residential floor from view before releasing the breath he didn’t even know he had been holding. It was done. It was in Lab 305’s hands now. “...what do you say we go get some air at the park?”
The monkey on his shoulder perked up in interest and Mark smiled. Back to status quo. Just for a little while more, at least.
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