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 Posted: Mon Feb 20, 2006 12:27 pm
20th of February, 2006. A letter from Abbey.The late afternoon danced upon the clouds, spreading the muddy paw prints of her labour over the darkening horizon. The grey peeled through the air, lighting up each cloud, but not the next with the dusky drab of a monotone sky. In protest, the heavens opened up, sending a scattering of liquid hurtling down towards the ground. The rain splashed off the houses, spitting off the edge of one particular stone, before dribbling down to seep into the earth.
Like ink, the splashing shower seeped into the mid-afternoon heat, quenching its thirst - and in turn cooling the air around it. The shower offered a brief sanctuary from the sticky heat, a minuscule moment in time where the warm water could satiate the condensed air around it.
Raising her beak towards the sky, the young gryphon paused where she was. Head down in a mass of articles of cloathing, her large wings fluctuating into a flap. Golden orbs gazed out of the window, tilting her head over to one side. Unfortunately, all the movement had shifted the wicker basket, and it swayed from side to side - before finally toppling over.
Piles of clothing went with it, smothering the little gryphon's click of surprise. A mass moved underneath what appeared to be a t-shirt, one paw treading before the other to escape her prison. Finally, Blanche's beak poked out of the end, large golden orbs lifting towards the sky.
"Rain?" Ducking down beside her Aerandir, Emi pulled the lifeless t-shirt from Blanche's back. She flickered her large ears back towards her skull; the furry gathering the wicker baskets contents together once more. Pulling the garments back, Emi's huge tail curled around by her side, the tip swishing over the wooden floorboards from one side to the other.
"It'll bring the heat down at least," the guardian stated, offering her furry hand out to the young Aerandir. Blanche picked herself up, dainty white paws stepping onto the outstretched palm. One paw before the next, she scooted up (with little difficulty this time) Emiko's sleeve and onto her shoulder. Replacing her paws with her stomach, Blanche collapsed where she was, spine arched to the shape of Emi's shoulder-blades.
Thud.
A pair of ears twitched, dark chocolate tips swivelling around. Emiko's ears preened away from her locks of brown hair, the furry turning a full ninety degrees to face the door. A pair of smaller white ears twitched, head tilting to one side. Golden orbs gazed up towards her guardian, pressing her beak into Emi's furry neck to catch her attention.
"Must be the post," Emiko mused. Striding towards the door, much to appose her first meeting with the mail, the door creaked open. The oak door slid back, all its swirls and curves winding open to pull back into the wooden house.
Emi had been right. There on the doorstep sat a rather large pile of newspapers, and on top of it, a rustic yellow envelope.
The young Aerandir clicked, pressing one paw before the other. Loosing her footing, the gryphon slipped, hanging precariously off the edge of Emi's shoulder. Circular orbs widened, white paws scrambling in vain to uphold her footing. Fortunately, a furry hand rested underneath her bottom paws, peeling her front paws off.
Kneeling down to drag the parcel out of the shower, soon the brown string had been cut, and the pile of papers loosened.
Parking where she was, Emi's orbs widened ten fold. Pulling each paper passed, her furry fingers ran along the print- along the monotone pictures, and along the adverts written speckled across the page. One advert was for a new camera, another for a writer, and another requested help with a horde of insects. Anyone could have recognised the swirled print up top, the Barton logo, and the name branded upon the header. It was the Barton Gazette.
Tilting her head to one side, Blanche slid down Emi's jumper, landing on all fours upon one particular newspaper. Her white paw trailed across the picture of Gino opening the door to the Gambino mansion, pecking her black beak down towards the pages. The date rested underneath one furry paw, another strip of writing sitting underneath the opposite paw.
"Newspaper, it's called a newspaper little one." Exhaling a breath, Emi curled her fingers around to scratch gently behind the little one's ear. Blanche instantly tilted her head to one side, golden orbs closing for a brief moment in joy. Clicking in response, her beak opened just to close a second later.
"Apparently somebody out there wanted us to keep in touch. I'll read some articles to you later." Emi started, and feigned to finish. Pulling the paper open, she glanced at the date. No wonder she had sent it - this one had the very article she had wanted to frame inside it.
Plucking the letter out from the bottom of the pile, she flipped the brown envelope open, pulling the letter out.Abbey's Letter The letter is written on slightly yellow-brown paper with golden, glittering - and rather likely, enchanted - ink. It smells like magic - Abbey's common letter trademark - and rather faintly of Chrysanthemum tea. 1st of February 20th of February Dear Emi, Toby and Blanche, I'm glad that Blanche is doing well - False is spirited, himself. Thank you very much for the gift - it's appreciated, and False is enjoying it very much - I hope he won't break it. I shall have to do something in return for you. I enjoyed our first meeting, as much as it was brief and I feel inclined to make it up to you. I think a get-together would be great - False is rather active, and the house does not provide nearly enough room and interaction for him. If it's not a problem I'll drop in some time and we can go for a walk. Sincerely, Absinthium and False. P.S. I'm so sorry for the late reply! I had this written up priorly, but it had slipped my mind - I thought that I'd left it at your house.
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Posted: Tue Feb 21, 2006 4:02 am
21st of February, 2006. Blanche's first picnic.
Roleplay Session with Absinthium: X
Contents: Abbey arrives at Emi's house, and soon the pair of them sit down to talk - while Blanche and False play. Due to hot the weather, they all swiftly decide to go down to the beach for a picnic and a paddle.
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Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2006 11:47 am
Warning: Angsty entry. Also, as a note, if anyone didn't know - freezer's are vacuums with very little air.
7th of March, 2006. The freezer always burns even the warmest of ideas.
The late afternoon sun tore on, bearing the sky down with its many shades of ochre, red and yellow. The liquid ruby sun dipped, shadowing its road with the joy of nightfall. Stepping upon the clouds, the echo of twilight sang on the end of the sun's feet- dancing her way across the horizon in tune, the mass of burning gas following suit.
Darkness fell like a leaf, dwindling on the air until it finally fell to the ground, painting the Setone background for another night. Only a few stars twinkled on the backdrop, the odd correlation flickering up like a candle on the wind. Down upon the damp ground, a light faltered, shining brightly through a window. Rays of artificial light flew down towards the ground, consoled by the thin blind near the mast of the window.
Just inside, a tap dripped. Plop. The odd splatter of water slid down from the silver barrel, lingering on the end before letting gravity take hold - gradually falling back onto the metallic platter below. A pair of fuzzy brown ears twitched, swiftly updated as a hand twirled the plastic lid tightly. A few turns and everything fell quiet once more; the deathly silence circulating in the room like a fly would around a lamp.
A little way off, the freezer door stood open, a ball of fuzzy white mass seated on top of what appeared to be a rather vulgar packaged packet of frozen peas. Black beak pressed down on her pristine paws, the female Aerandir's eyes falling to a close, with paws lapsed easily at either side of the lime packaging. The cold circulated through her fur, dwindling under every white hair and every mottled feather it could get to. It was enough to send a shiver down a mortal's spine, yet - Blanche seemed content, at peace.
Pausing pen to paper, Emi's metallic blue orbs glanced kindly at her charge. A smile resting on her lips, she shuffled where she was perched, pulling herself up to lean back up against the cupboard. Legs dangling off either side of the cabinet, the anthro pulled back fountain pen to paper, scratching the next brief journal entry in. Journal Entry 007 Dear Emi, Long time no see. It seems so strange how one can pick up a journal, and then seem to misplace it for so long. I found it underneath the coffee table, tucked up with my copy of Birdsong (a very good book might I add). I have to say, I'm feeling rather guilty for not updating of late, but here's my meagre try. Well, for starters, Blanche met another Aerandir. Arianna and Rawiya (a rather lively macaw and zebra mix) if I remember rightly. It was only a brief meeting, but it was nice to see Blanche with other Aerandir contact - even if it was only to have her dash around my paws. Blanche really is monotone compared to the other gryphons that I've encountered. Not that it matters, she is a mixture of two pitch white creatures after all. She's still beautiful, even if she is pristine white. Not that she is pristine white these days, there's normally some form of packaging pattern on the back of her paws. Reminds me, she's upped a level. From fridge to (yes, you guessed it) freezer. Foenix mentioned it might be something to do with her animal attributes, and she does have a point there. Oh yes! We met Abbey and Fals... The 's' seems to drag on for a while, followed up by an ink splodge that could have only been created by the quick withdrawal of hand from pen.
The door swung to a close, flicking the light indoors to pitch black. Plastic wrapping slid against one another, forcing the freezer to shut. For a moment, Blanche didn't move. Golden orbs battered into the darkness, eyes adjusting to the light. She could feel the rustle of the packets over her fur; feel the icy cave floor above her brush against her white ears.
For a brief moment, it was bliss. The cold sung through her veins like an un-known dance, freezing red liquid blood over. Everything slowed down, the ice beating through her ears like a drum. Over, and over it filled her up, sending the element rushing from her paws to the tips of her tail.
Like the sun in the middle of April, the weather didn't last. The April showers brought a new complication, a new problem not seen until now.
The sounds of the freezer buzzed around her, freezing over the melted packet of frozen peas. The gryphon opened her beak, attempting to take in a breath. No oxygen was found. Panic took over, adrenaline pumping through her blood as the gryphon bounded at the side of the freezer. Paws scraped, scrambled, pushed and pulled at the plaster. Not used to the sudden excursion, her claws sanded back, a trickle of blood spinning from underneath one black claw - all the way up the edges of her fur.
She clicked, she screamed in noises alone, the gryphon putting everything she could into an escape. Golden orbs started to close, the world becoming a woozy place as every millimetre of oxygen sank into her muscles. Gradually, her leg's started to give way, normally pitch white paws stained crimson.
Thud.
The guardian turned from one side to the other, pausing from pen to paper. Glancing at the door, she outstretched her fingers- patting the area where Blanche should have been. Tawny fingers pattered the rim of the freezer, suddenly tapping rather vigorously. She turned, the freezer door was shut.
"Blanche?" Emi questioned, leaning over to look at the floor. Thoughts ticking over, the furry guardian glanced down to find her inquisitive charge, or, not to find Blanche as the case may have been.
Metallic blue orbs widened, panic rising as she glimpsed from one side to the other. She couldn't have flown far, could she?
A squeak, and blue eyes rested on the freezer. Uttering an un-repeatable phrase, Emi pushed herself off the cabinet, pulling the freezer lid open. Surely not?
Her worst fears were realised. Lying on top of the packet of frozen peas, and wedged in-between two cartoons of ice cream- Blanche lay. Her golden orbs were closed, a glazed expression of raw panic found in the scrunched up beak. The rounded edges of her paw's were bleeding, only a little, but the guardian didn't notice that at first. Rather, her gaze went to the motionless side.
"Blanche?..." Emi whispered, lifting her little one from her cold prison. Cradling the petite Aerandir to her chest, she pressed a fake smile - Blanche was playing with her, playing dead.
"Blanche, this isn't funny," Shaking the little gryphon, Emi bit down onto the edge of her lip with one milky white fang.
"Blanche, please?" Desperate, the guardian rubbed along the edge of the gryphon's neck, brushing her thumbs gently over what she could only assume to be her windpipe.
"Blanche, please, open your eyes." Retorting to frantic phrases, she slid the gryphon back down onto the cabinet, rolling the arctic mix onto her back. The Aerandir gryphon spluttered: an obvious inhale of breath through her tiny beak.
Slowly, her golden eyes opened, chest rising and falling like a machine, gulping in every possible air duct through her black beak. Emi could have cried, standing stark on the spot. She didn't even know what to do for a moment, tawny fingers curling around the tiny body.
Inhaling one last shaky breath, the little gryphon clicked - appearing no worse for wear after her ordeal. Wings fluttered behind her, her stained paws picking herself up onto four paws. Only then did she wince, stretching her bloody claws out. Standing strong, the Aerandir tilted her head to one side.
"You're, your ok." the furry stuttered, scooping up the Aerandir as quickly as anyone could have said go. Stroking over her white ears, Emi clung to Blanche- refusing to let her go.
A moment passed, both guardian and Aerandir staying completely silent, one clutching to the other for fear of letting go - the other preening her white head against her guardian's chest in pure confusion.
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Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2006 11:49 am
7th of March, 2006. Patching up the wounds.
The night air drank up the last seeds of panic, sang them away on the breeze like a melody; a melody hopefully never to recur. Travelling on the light breeze, the notes swirled around the clouds, pressing and pulling until each collapsed. The grey fluffy clouds fell underneath the weight, opening the heavens itself up.
Water pelted towards the earth, bouncing off each cloven stone and every jagged slate. The liquid ran down off the trees, pulling each vast leaf to gravity; depositing its pool of water at the base.
An old lantern faltered on the rain, the vibrant white light flickering. Swinging too and fro like a monkey on the bars, the metal frame clanked against the wood holding it up. Tugging on its supports, the light swung dangerously, wanting to be free from its constraints - to fly over the great space that is our sky.
It couldn't fly: it was needed where it was. The rain didn't deter the guardian from the porch, nor did it deter canine or Aerandir. Perched on the old rocking chair, Emi rocked too and fro, the old sleepers creaking up and down.
"Shush..." the furry whispered, dabbing a bloody paw with a cotton wool bud. Beside Blanche sat a small bowel, full of luke-warm water, and some un-known substance only sought out by smelling the pungent liquid. The white bud rapidly turned crimson ivy, the gryphon's blood meshing with water so easily. After all: blood was thicker than water.
Blanche squirmed, a click leaving her beak. Held paw's down, large yellow orbs watched her mother, trying to pull her paw back like a child about to get an injection. Red splattered paws were now pink, a strange resemblance to the colour of the soap in their bathroom.
Her claw's outstretched, leaking the last trail of precious red life from between pristine white paws. Visibly wincing, large golden orbs closed as her guardian dabbed carefully between her black claws, washing out the dried and fresh blood alike.
"All done," Emi whispered, offering a titbit of meat. Dropping the last of the cotton buds into a separate bowel, the furry finally pressed a smile. It wasn't a true smile, nor one of a happy guardian, more, one of a very tired but relieved Emiko Pallone. Wapping the raw meat before Blanche's black beak, she finally lapsed back into the rocking chair. Strange, she hadn't even noticed the rain before now.
Golden orbs flicking too and fro, Blanche's tail swinging into motion, swishing from one side of Emi's lap to the other. Temptation was an evil mistress, and soon Blanche had snapped up the titbit- swallowing the raw meat whole with a contented swallow. Her front paw's slid forwards, resting her head back in-between either leg.
"Bandages, and then bed, ok?" Trilling the child, Emi stretched out, plucking up the roll of thick white bandages. It was a quick job, and without much fuss, the small gryphon had her white paws back. One layer of bandage wrapped around each paw; holding her claws in position until such a time when they had healed altogether.
The rain dragged down from the thatch roof, small puddles forming in the so called 'garden'. Water pelted down from the sky, apparently relentless in returning any weary passengers outside soaked. Droplets fell from the sky before the three musketeers, sweeping them all off their feet again and again with each wooden rock.
---------------------------------
The moonlight shone through the window, the evident patter of rain still heard on the glass. The white rays reflected onto the bed, on which Toby lay - curled up on the end of the bed. Blanche lay beside him, her black beak tucked into her white feathers, both of her wings spreading out at her sides. She looked like a snow rabbit, but without the green antennas or the coal eyes.
Pulling the patchwork quilt cover further around her shoulders, Emi shuffled. One paw having pins and needles was one thing, but when it was both, it took a moment to settle. Both arms crossed over the bed, Emi rested her chin onto her arms, watching her family sleep.
"Don't ever scare me like that again." Whispering as silently as the breeze, Emi extended her fingers, running them over a sleepy gryphon's ears. Blanche cocked her head in her drowsy state, fluffy white ears twitching to the light caress.
"Thank you." Leaning over, Emi laid one hand on Blanche's back, the other pulling the heavy thickly bound journal over. Resting the thick hardback into her lap, Emi flicked through to find the respective page.Journal entry 007 A few centimetres down from the last writing, Emi appears to have scrawled a bloody line in-between - ending a little way before her writing.Blanche locked herself in the freezer. I can't believe it; she actually locked herself in the freezer. She could have frozen, or worse died in there. She's ok now (thank Gaia), back to her usual self actually. Well: apart from the odd tottering around getting used to an extra layer of bandages beneath her paws. Am I really becoming Maternal? I think I'm just going to forget that comment, and continue on as normal. Blanche is alright, I'm just peachy, and Toby's fine. The worst phased of it all happens to be me, funny how she seems to have almost forgotten the experience already. I'm sure she's not forgotten it - rather, getting happens to be a better word. Tomorrow we'll go for a nice long walk, and forget about it all. Not forget par sae, more put it behind us. See you tomorrow, Emiko
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Posted: Fri Mar 10, 2006 11:36 am
10th of March, 2006. Exploration, development, and more ice cream globes.
The sun shone brightly, piercing through the drifting array of sparse spots of clouds. Brilliant teal shone down on them all, clearing the darkened clouds of rain away, replacing them with another symbol of another warm day. Rays reflected off the waves as they ran into the shore, just to run back into the vast ocean like little girl's with their petticoats.
A family of swifts, nestled in the root of the tree, took to the air in a great hurl. Spiralling into a formation, the small birds drifted on the non-existent breeze, seeming to drift off into space all together. Dark midnight blue wings flipped, feathers turning on their sides as they swooped down - beaks pressed against the whipping air determined to catch them off course. Diving into the mass of trees, they were soon lost, smudged out on the landscape.
Large yellow orbs stared out of the upper window, shifting from one paw to the other. The tiny Aerandir lay on the wooden slants, bandaged paws flicked out at either side of her. Beak to the wind, her wings flapped against her sides, elongated feathers finding themselves wedged against either side of the window.
"Anything interesting out there?" Sitting cross-legged on the single bed, Emi paused from silver needle into the material. A spirited array of coloured patches laid out like a sheet before her, all of them connected to the next with a few neat black stitches.
The single room upstairs was starting to look more like a room. The floor was swept, the books all on their particular shelf, and even the screen between the two sections of the room looked as if it had a clean. A carefully selected grey rug sat on the floor, and beside it an identical bedside table. Even the bed had appeared to be cleared, the fluffy pillow moved up so the guardian could lean against it.
The owner of this room didn't even turn around, tilting her head to one side to click at her mother. Picking herself up onto her feet, she wobbled ungracefully to the edge of the windowsill, picking up each bandaged paw after the next. Despite hindering her movements, the little gryphon soon found herself taking a flying leap onto the bed. Wings outstretched, Blanche landing in a heap at the end of the bed.
"It'll be done soon, see?" Pushing the silver needle into the material, Emi hummed an un-known tune. It was just another typical day, another day of lazing around. Which apparently one gryphon didn't want. Not content to lie on the bed, she plucked herself up onto all fours. Her light paws made easy work of jumping onto the floor - wings flapping rapidly to little more than no extent.
Having lost more energy than she had meant to, the young gryphon puffed out on the wooden floorboards - landing flat on her stomach. Paws spread in all four directions, dark golden orbs finally rested in front of her.
Just before her sat a rather dusty underneath the bed, with wooden beams above her, and boxes to either side. A rather large printed cardboard box sat to one edge, bold red lettering printed on one side.
Nothing interesting here, or were there? Cocking her head to one side, one golden orb caught sight of a glass thing glinting near the wall. She paused, ears flicking right back to her head. It was dark..and who knows on gaia what might be down there. A dust bunny or anything could be hidden within those depths.
One paw slipped out before the other, tempting the others to follow. Glancing up at her guardian, the gryphon dived forwards, taking a few hushed steps into the wilderness. Picking her dainty white paws after herself, she preened her beak out into the dark, tail dragging a long dust length from where she had been.
It was strange down there, boxed in on either side, surrounded by a thin layer of dust and the ruminants of soot. Yet, the brave adventurer braved on.
Stepping out into the now looming darkness, the gryphon paused. Resting on her laurels, she turned tail, turning to flee out of this un-known space and into the safety of the light. Out of one eye, she saw it again, the circular globe with its strange markings. Taking in a deep breath, her white fuzzy chest puffed out in a moment of bravery, trotting back into the darkness. Black beak pressed forwards, she stayed low to the ground, white coat covering itself from head to toe in a layer of dust and black soot.
Like somebody from the army, she clicked as the edge of her beak met with the wall. Tail exerting a wag; she crawled on her furry stomach towards the globe. Furry white stomach brushed over the floor, dragging her paws along with her, swerving her body from one side to the other to reach her target. She'd made it.
Just before her in the murky darkness sat a snow globe. The outside was covered in a thin layer of soot, and just on the inside the gryphon could just make out a snowy theme. A jolly snowman sat beside a house, a child seemingly paused in motion threw her arms into the air- twirling on one foot, and a dog similar to Toby rushed around her feet. Blanche clicked, pressing her beak to the side of the glass.
Soot poofed out around her face, the gryphon reeling back a step. Turning, she brushed her fluffy white tail too and fro over the surface, yellow orbs closing tightly as the layer of ash flew into the air; just to deposit itself a moment later on the Arctic fox mixes back.
Cautiously, she turned, white paws pressed over the edge of her beak. Large yellow orbs widened at the sight, curiously tapping her black beak to the side of the glass. The dome shifted, a mass fluffy of white flicking up from the bottom of the jar - swirling around in the water before settling on the ground once more. How marvellous.
"Blanche? There you are." Tilting over the side of the bed, Emi's large ears flicked, a smile spreading across her face as she caught sight of her mucky charge. Leaning in, she wrapped both hands around the agile little gryphon and her find, pulling them out from the darkness and back into the light. So that was what she had found.
Eyes battering rapidly as the first rays of light hit her delicate eyes, the filthy gryphon clambered up onto Emi's shoulder. It was obvious where she had been; all up the sleeve of Emi's t-shirt housed tiny smudged black paw prints. It had been all worth it though as she got her first glimpse of the snow globe.
"It's a snow globe, see, you shake it?" Sitting back against the pillow, the older guardian gingerly shook the glass dome. Instantly, the white flakes flew around the glass, a flurry flying around the inside. A snowstorm, the white flakes refused to settle, clambering around the edge of the small child and the dog.
Transfixed, Blanche leant forwards, an excited click leaving her throat. She watched the tiny drifts of snow fall through the water, leaning forwards to press her black beak near. Pulling right back with a startled click at the tinkering sound, the gryphon sat back down onto her rump, golden orbs watching the orb with amazement.
"I think somebody needs a bath after this, eah?" Lapsing back, the final snowflake drifted down from the rim of the globe. Flying through the air, it landed on the snowman's head.
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Posted: Sun Mar 19, 2006 5:09 am
19th of March. Rub a dub dub, two creatures in a tub.
An old tree moved in the breeze, its soft green leaves riding the gentle gust. Rain spat through the pinpricks of the tree above, liquid pelting down towards the ground below. Higher branches swung like a snake, ensnaring the odd trickle of rain before throwing the same amount onto the branch below. Merciful, the ground soaked up the particles like a sponge. Not fully able to saturate the constant downpour, the odd puddle formed here and there - sitting on the surface of the well used tracks.
A brilliantly bright red firefly darted through the air. Spindly wings flapped in tune with one another, darting across the sky to avoid each tear shaped capsule. His tail lit up in the darkness, a red glow emitting from the back of this particular nimble insect. Swiftly swooping down, the little thing darted into the porch - to safety. Joining its fellow comrades, the insect nuzzled back to rapidly fading old-fashioned lantern.
Unfortunately, his effort may just have been in vain. Whether it was or not was his alone to decide, but as the sun rose above the horizon, the flickering strong nightlight faded back. Bright golden yellow beams steadily fell back to nothing, the natural light of up above taking its place. Like two children in a playground, the lantern flickered like a bickering child, before falling back upon the presence of the other taking hold.
Just inside, Emi rolled onto her side. Bleary blue orbs stared at the luminous clock in front of her. One large black hand twitched, flicking onto the next milestone of its one hundred and eighty degrees turn. It was half past eight after all.
Two golden orbs followed her gaze, white wings uncurling from either side of her rather lean body structure. Lifting her avian head to the sunshine coming through the thin blinds, Blanche pushed her front paws forewords. Grey dirt coven paws stretched along the bright mesh of the patchwork cover, bunching the blanket up beside her partner in crimes paws. Unlike Blanche, Toby didn't even bother to lift his head from the covers, liquid brown orbs staying firmly closed - for now at least.
Arms pulling back behind her, Emi pulled herself right up to sitting. Leaning back on her furry chocolate fingers, her large pair of ears twitched - the darker tips faltering back towards the bed-ridden mess of mousy brown locks of hair. Pulling her tail out from its position at her side, the foofy tip slid of the side of the bed, dragging down so the edges of her cream fur touched the wooden floorboards.
"Morning you two." Half asleep, Emi dragged her arm up to rub over her closed eyes. Wafting one hand out to close the slight gap between the two curtains, the half-asleep furry fell right back down onto the bed. Paws shifting forwards, she fell down onto her back.
Tilting her head to one side, Blanche cocked herself up onto four paws. Dragging the last of the beaten bandages behind her, she slowly pressed each delicate paw onto her guadian. Wading up the side of her body, Blanche sat right down before Emi's neck. Her own paws sliding forwards just as Emi's had gone backwards, golden eyes of the Aerandir came face to face with the closed eyes of the furrit furry before her.
"Yes yes." Opening one eye, and then the other, Emi blinked back into her charge's gaze. Connecting for the briefest of moments, Emi dragged her fingers up from beneath the warm cocoon that was the covers, on
and up towards the arctic fox's ears. Running her fingers behind a pair of darker grey ears, the guardian's orbs flicked open. Somebody certainly
needed a clean. The pair that had avidly avoided all means of soap and water that week were about to get it.
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The sounds of running water could be heard from afar. The rushing luke-warm water flushed into the silver bath tub, dripping off the sides. Met at the bottom with a fathoming pink thicker substance, the water flicked off the sharper soapy substance - bubbles of clear liquid floating off the surface just to get pulled back down by gravity a moment later; resting at one end of the bath in order to be popped.
"It's for your own good." Fingers locked in Toby's collar, Emi pulled him along towards the tub. The dog didn't want to go. Digging his heels into
the wooden flooring, a rather un-impressed border collie glowered at Emi between his chocolate fudge orbs. Knelt over to help pull the dog along, Emiko Pallone's tail jutted out behind her. The Aerandir gryphon sat on her shoulder, watching the dog with a look of confusion. What was so bad about a tub of water and bubbles?
Pulling the dog in the last of the way, Emi kicked the bathroom door shut. Out of the window went any means of escape for Toby. Deciding to accept his fate, finally, the dog (rather defiantly) trotted out of Emi's grasp- sliding his front paws down before him. He looked like a perfect angel, not one of a dog that had been a struggle to drag in all morning.
"It's just a bit of water, I'll treat you later, ok?" Turning to the glowering canine, Toby's tail whipped up into a frenzy. Maybe this getting wet business wouldn't be so bad if it meant he could have a treat afterwards.
Plucking one paw up, Blanche cocked her head to one side. Her own tail swished from one side of the other, preening her beak out to glance at the steady build up of bubbles. Golden orbs blinked, letting a click release itself from her throat. Her clicks had become more defined by the day, and instead of the higher pitched series of click from day one, Blanche now with-held a medium pitched soft click. It wasn't heard a lot outside, but when with company a repertoire of a few clicks joined together often were heard leaving the arctic Aerandir's throat.
"Oh, they're bubbles. I managed to get some form of gryphon bubble bath before I left. Thought you might like it, and apparently it should be fine on both fur and feathers," Emi spoke softly, untangling her now grey charge from her hair. Fingers held below her paws, the guardian carefully adjusted to move her furry elbow into the water. With a satisfied breath
that the water wasn't too hot, Blanche was lowered into the silver tub.
Keeping her head cocked to one side, Blanche almost slipped on the bottom of the bathtub. Grey paws spayed out at either direction. This was just like the beach and the sea she had bathed with False all those weeks ago! Tail continuing to wag, she extended one paw out to touch a bubble that passed along beside them. Just as the edge of one black claw extended, the gryphon clicked.
Pop.
The cylinder bubble popped, sending small sparks of clear bubble bath in all directions back into the tub. Reeling back, Blanche stood, paw held upright in the air. Golden orbs glancing back at her guardian, the little Aerandir shifting uncomfortably in the water. Was that supposed to happen?
"They're supposed to pop, see?" With reassuring smile, Emi brought her fingers around to press at the edge of another bubble. The bubble smoothed out, caving in at the side before it too gave away with yet another pop. Clicking aprehensively at first, Blanche jumped up. Water splashed out all the way around her paws, falling flat on another bubble. It too popped like the others, falling down into the apathy of nothing once
more.
Chuckling to herself, Emi sat back onto her heels. Leaning over cross-armed on the tub, Emi's tail swished behind her - de-dusting the floor. Large ears flicked, one arm trailing into the small amount of water. Bringing her fingers up to dust along the bottom, Emi flicked the residue at Blanche- splashing the back of the arctic fox's whiter legs.
Turning on her heel, Blanche spun around full circle as the water fell against her coat. Pulling her front paws up, her large wings flickered. Bounding towards the hand, she nuzzled her feathered cheek against a darker brown furry finger.
"Glad you like them." Leaning over, Emi gently stroked behind one white ear with one hand, the other reaching out to pull the bottle of orange liquid over. Tugging the cap open, she poured some into one hand. The thick orange liquid oozed out onto tawny fingers, rubbed against one hand to the other, and then rubbed into the darker grey coat. Spreading out over the Aerandir's furry body, the orange left form for a lather of white suds.
Turning on her tail as the gloopy liquid spread out over her paws and body, golden orbs watched the bubbling water below her. Cocking her head to one side, she stood static for the time being. Wriggling her large speckled black and white wings, she preened her black beak out towards the water - tapping the shiny surface with the edge of her black beak. Ripples spread out around the spot, circles timing off in all different directions.
"All done, just a rinse now." Lifting a jug full of warm water, the guardian poured the liquid over her white charges back. Pulling the suds out with both fingers, Blanche was once more formal to her name. Looking more like a drenched mole-rat than a gryphon by this point, the Aerandir sat back down, watching her guardian out of fur covered eyelids.
Water dribbled down her coat, a furry mass of fur hanging over her sides and cheeks. Long bangs of wet fur fell in her orange orbs, and likewise her feathers dripped - the waterproof coating seeming to gleam as each speck of sud fell through. Emi couldn't help but chuckle, extending her finger to adjust a slither of fur falling right before her left orb. Yet, it wasn't to be.
Before she could even swipe the fur away, Blanche held static. Shaking her head, the gryphon wriggled her body - sending water flying in all directions, and namely all over her guardian. Happy with herself, the fuzzball of poofed out white fur situated herself to park back into the layer of shallow water.
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Posted: Tue Mar 21, 2006 11:50 am
21st of March, 2006. The littlest star always shines the brightest.
The sky was devoid of all forms of life. Light ocean blues made way for midnight, the new sheet of night shaving the older reformed light of the day. Like a painter's hand, little pricks of light appeared, flicking into the sky like some tapestry of work hand worked by the sun to replace the clouds. Usually littered with specks of creamy white cloud, the night air fell fate to none that night. The sky was as clear as fresh water, and as unending as time itself.
Ocean waves lapped up against wooden posts, sloshing around the beams before falling back into the sea. A cove of fish spun around, bright sparkling fins reflecting the circular moon above; flashes of gold and silver span off their bodies, each tiny scale twisting the prism of colours back onto the surface. The true illusionists were at hand, the little things so small they could make grey turn to gold.
A pair of brown paws hung off the edge of the docks, joined alongside with a swishing tail. The long appendage swung from one side to the other, tempting the fish out from the water. Rummaging through the sticky air, the darker patch found itself falling limp. It was far too warm to be excreting that amount of energy.
Yet, as day turned to dusk, a fork reached into its opposable can. Forking out a mouthful of kidney beans, the same forkful was delivered swiftly underneath Emiko Pallone's nose.
Blanche lay on her lap. The moonlight reflected off her white fur, the white gryphon head up towards the clouds. Not as delved in her meal as her guardian, the charge snaffled up the next slither of meat, swallowing it whole. Weather she tasted it or not wasn't even a question, but her beak returned to the slurry of strips a moment later all the same.
Neither said a word, for a word wasn't needed. Each munching thoughtfully, the larger of the two creatures gazed out towards the horizon - looking out on the sea lapping over the edge of the world. Kicking her darker brown paws into motion, the woman pushed her fork back into the bottom of the can.
Clank. The fork hit the bottom of the can. Twirling the silver platter around, Emi prodded the aluminium. Only when the same sound returned to those sensitive ears did she glance down, note that the can was empty, and thus slip it back into the plastic container she had brought along.
"It'll be dark soon," the guardian commented, breaking the mundane silence. Trailing her furry fingers over the gryphon's ears, the guardian slid back to lie on the wooden docks. Muzzle up towards the sky, Emi crossed her arms just underneath Blanche, kicking her feet over the side of the docks like a child would on a swing.
Finishing the last strip from her rather crude meal, Blanche spun on her tail. White tail swishing from one side to the other, she crawled up on her stomach. White fur brushing over her guardian's t-shirt, she shuffled right up, landing flat on Emi's neck.
Rather used to Blanche's antics, Emi just paused to place the little one back in a more suitable position beside her. One large ear twitched, blue orbs positioned up on the sky above - and more importantly, on the stars littering the vast patchwork quilt before them.
The Aerandir crooned her head, sliding her paws as she was lifted. Tail swishing; she plopped down onto the floor - resting her head on the edge of Emi's furry ears. Affectionately she clucked her beak into the soft furry appendage, rubbing the black beak over the softer cartilage.
"Hm? Look up there." Pointing her fingers towards the sky, Blanche's head followed. Feathered cheeks lifted up, golden orbs twinkling as starlight reflected off them. Clicking, Blanche lifted her rump, pinning both paws into the air. Like a circus animal, she hopped up from one white paw to the other, her furry under paws finding themselves hard work at each jump. Finally, after a few leaps, the Aerandir gryphon fell back onto her back. The fall of death worked, and soon the gryphon copied her owner; front paws curled under on her furry stomach with her back paws flopping onto the wooden flooring.
"Stars, see?" A rhetorical question, but it allowed the guardian to flip over. Digging in her bag for her journal, she pulled it out. Paw taking it's final flick towards the water below, she dragged her pen over: flicking through the pages to find a blank. Journal Entry 008 Dear Emi, Another few boring days, eah? Blanche has been back up onto her feet, and not a mention of the 'word' has been said since. Except of course on our daily visits to said 'word'. Yep, it's daily now. Every night, well, of course apart from tonight; tonight's special. I've been meaning to send a letter to Killia. I'm sure she'll be ranting and raving at home about how she hasn't heard, and knowing her she'll be fuming. Makes me wonder at least. I riffled around in the cupboard the other day, and found the leaflet I was given before I arrived here. (And of course my briefing notes I made at that presentation all those weeks months ago). I don't think Blanche clicked on what they were, but they're now sitting on my bedside table. That's right! Speaking of tables - we've been re-making Blanche's room. Whether she'll want to sleep in it as a child is a completely different matter, but I've managed to re-haul upstairs. Swept the place out, finished the blankets, and I'm in the process of re-installing her beside table as we speak. I really ought to get the laptop charged one of these nights. It's been at a low power since Blanche arrived. Which has been, exactly two months and eleven days now. I've been a doting parent for almost three months now, yesh. Back to star gazing though. I did promise when she was in her jars, and even if tonight is just a watch them for a few hours it'll all be worth it. Mind you, watch and eat more beans? Somehow I don't think so. Time to drag the frying pan out again. Signing out for some well deserved star gazing, Emi
Littered within its distance, sat a single star. Shining brightest, the minute speck in the sky sparkled in the distance. A light to all travellers, and home to one gryphon's eyes.
"Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
Oh how I wonder what you are.
Up above the world so high,
Like a diamond in the sky.
Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are!
When the blazing sun is gone,
When he nothing shines upon,
Then you show your little light,
Twinkle, twinkle, all the night.
Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are!
Then the traveller in the dark
Thanks you for your tiny spark;
He could not see which way to go,
If you did not twinkle so.
Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are!"
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Posted: Fri Mar 24, 2006 11:51 am
24th of March, 2006. A new mousy friend.
A soft breeze rippled through the trees, welcoming itself home. Spinning around the bare branches like water around the rocks, the wooden branches swayed in response; recompensing the new dawn of a coming month. The breeze meant the end of March, and the coming of the dry season to follow. The end of the rain was upon them, and the dark clouds that scorned the sky knew it.
Determined to enjoy its last week, one singular cloud opened. It was like a domino effect, with another cloud, and then another, and another and another furling open a moment later. The ground fell taught, preparing itself for another battle of water hitting the surface. It didn't come.
Rather, the clouds mystified beneath them: scattering everything on ground with a light rainfall. Grateful plants let the smaller droplets stream off their leaves; and even the beetle didn't lift his head.
An old rocking chair creaked on its hinges, the slick wooden sleepers rolling back on themselves. A mass of black, brown and white fur lay on top. Toby held his head close to his paws, flicking one midnight ear as the shower fell onto the thatch roof; paddling down one wattle construction beam.
The light flickered in the early morning, swaying gently on the breeze. Running from one side of its metal spoon to the other, the rustic lantern swung in the rain, letting the water dry on the warmed panes.
On the porch sat a box, and beside it a furry and her charge. Blanche tilted her head forwards, bounding to the end of the porch. Teetering off the edge of the first step, the gryphon pushed her head out into the rain. A drizzle of water plopped down, landing neatly behind her right ear. Sliding down, the dribble rounded around one eye, landing on the next step.
"It's from Killia," Emi spoke, more to herself than to anybody else there. Cracking open the brown lid, Emi wiped off the layer of bubble wrap. Each layer moved past, pulling back and back to reveal what only could have been classified as tiny. Just in the alcove of safe wrapping sat a jar, and beside it a packet. The luminous yellow packet shone out first, the sickly sweet picture of a lemon filled with sherbet capturing one furry's eyes.
"Sherbet lemons..." Muttering the phrase as if they would disappear if she spoke the very words, Emi eagerly opened the packet. Pulling the very first out, she inspected it, glancing at every edge of the yellow lemon before (rather gleefully) popping the sweet into her mouth.
Taking a moment to lift his head from his paws, Toby nudged the back of Emi's shoulder. Wagging his tail, his auburn eyes settled on hers. It was just a packet of lemons? In his opinion his owner was quite mad, getting this ecstatic over a few ounces of sugar.
"Toby, you know full well I have an affinity for these," like a child scolded by her parents, Emi slid her fingers back behind her. Metallic blue orbs settled on the gryphon, not even bothering to glance at the other jar for the time being.
Not quite so blissful about the lemons, Blanche withdrew from her perch. Shaking her head, her tail ruffled, wet layers of fur lapsing up against one another. Treading over, she pushed both paws up, perching the set of white paws on the edge of the box. Tail waggling from one side to the next, Blanche closed one eye. Could she make it?
A moment of careful precision and she leapt up. Thud, and a crinkle a moment later.
Landing head first was never a wise procession, so tumbling over happened to be top priority at the moment. Pushing paws into paws, Blanche landed among the mass of bubble wrap, bouncing like a rubber ball as she fell back. By this time, she did look like a ball. Paws curled up, her wings shrouded her fall, peaking one eye open from her curled position.
"Come here silly." Chuckling fondly, Emi stretched her fingers out. As one white paw fell limp against the brown packaging, Emi tickled Blanche's furry stomach. Running her fingers too and fro over the white fur, her own ears flicked back from her head; tail spinning around to swish along the porch.
Writhing under her guardian's delicate tickle, Blanche's rather limp paws pushed out. Her right orb closed, the left staying open with a rather bemused shuffle. Wriggling her back from one side to the other along the bubble wrap, her tail wagged happily, thumping against one side of the box and then the other. If she had the capabilities, Blanche would have been giggling. Not to hinder or hind, the arctic gryphon clicked once or twice in turn.
Pulling the gryphon out from her cave, Emi held her up underneath her front paws. Metallic blue orbs met with golden, the latter of the two catching her breath back for a moment. Clicking, Blanche kicked her paws into thin air, tail wagging from one side to the other.
"I've got something to show you, come on." Lifting Blanche up to one shoulder, Emi pulled herself up. Without warning, she patted Toby on the top of his head, heading inside and right for the ladder. Pulling herself up one rung after another, Emi dragged herself up and onto the wooden flooring.
Everything had finally been set out. A fluffy rug sat on the floor, and just before that sat a small single bed. A patchwork blanket spun out across each end of the bed, and just above that sat a small plush. It wasn't small to Blanche, after all - it was about Blanche sized.
The young gryphon clicked, diving off Emi's shoulder. She had practiced this, she could do this. Bounding her paws as if to run in air, her large wings extended either side of her; pushing against the air. Ungracefully landing in a heap on the bed, Blanche crawled one paw before the other towards the brown plush. Black beak extending, she stood a little way back for now - stomach as close to the ground, ready to bolt at any moment if the need arose.
"He's for when you're a bit older. I just thought you'd like him." Following the few strides over, Emi perched on the edge of the bed. Blanche squinted from one eye, well it wasn't about to attack her?
Extending one paw nervously, the little gryphon touched the edge of one brown paw. The tan mouse only flew back, tripping over onto its side. Avoiding the creature for now, Blanche crawled back against her guardian, perching on the edge of her knee.
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Posted: Mon Apr 10, 2006 2:09 pm
10th of April, 2006. A very berry day.
The sunlight drifted through the windows, pouring down onto the porch like wine from a casket. The odd ray tinted off a glass jar, sending rays of amber, violet and green darting towards the opposite wooden wall. The painting lightened up the dark wall, green light sparing with the soft sunlight from above. Inside that very jar sat a sticky, yet very sweet concoctive of berries, sugar and water. Wrapped around the silver lid, twined with a rubber band, held fast a piece of tweed material. All in all, it was a jar of blackberry jam.
A friendly bird flew down, swooping onto the porch. Claws outstretched, he perched on the edge of the wooden slats. Bright wings fluffed, preening his black beak towards the parcel.
c***k.
Pulling right back, he hopped nimbly on his yellow feet, darting a little way from the glass. That thing was dangerous. Pluming his front feathers out like a boxer about to pounce from the other side of the ring, he faced the jar with new
vengeance.
Little did he notice the looming shadow from behind him, rather, he faced the jar. Trotting forwards, his magnificent wings flapped either side of him, tottering forwards like a toddler walking her first few steps. He didn't get very far.
A scattering fell from above, bread crumbs flaking from the shuffling of a plastic bag onto the ground. A crumb fell on his head, flaking off with a hollow indent sound. The male peered up, momentarily stunned from his brief encounter with the food. Chirping, he nipped for the next crumb, taking flight. With his beak pinned to the wind, he sprightly scurried after every piece he could catch. It didn't take him long to catch his fill, a few pounds heavier, he took back onto the breeze; drifting off back towards the woods on the other side of Setone.
"There." Clapping the last of the crumbs out onto the garden, Emi paused. It had been a good job too, for moments later a white gryphon padded out from house number one. Bright eyes surveyed the sun, tripping one paw after the other to catch up. Soft white fur brushed over the wooden flooring, the gryphon almost exclaiming a squeak at the sight of a present. Darting forwards, between her guardian's legs, Blanche slid on four paws towards the jar.
White fur pulled over the porch, the small amount of friction causing the moving Blanche to render motionless in the face of blackberry jam. Once there, she seemed almost apprehensive, golden yellow orbs watching the jar for any sign of movement.
"Hm? Oh," Bending down beside the bemused gryphon, the guardian plucked up the jar of conserve jam. Her ears almost jumped in excitement. Jam? Her favourite. Tail swishing madly over the porch, large metallic blue eyes met those of her charge.
"It's called jam. Blackberry or blueberry by the looks of things," Emi noted, extending her fingers to ruffle the female Aerandir's furry head. Yellow orbs blinked back at Emi's, the gryphon absent-mindly tilting her head towards the gentle tousle. Clicking silently, she reached her front paws up, resting both fore-paws onto Emi's dark chocolate brown paws.
"Come on up then." Sliding back into the old wooden rocking chair, Emi curled her tail around, large ears flicking back from her locks of brown hair. The wooden furniture creaked, pulling back on its sleepers to rock too and fro - the wooden constraints pulling back and forth from their hinges.
Bounding forwards, Blanche's white paws barely even touched the ground, taking three steps and a flying leap. Black and white speckled wings flapped in a daze, propelling herself through the air to land (rather un-gracefully) as a heap on Emi's lap. Large wings faltered back against her back, resting her head down onto her front paws. Her tail swished briefly, the white tip flicking over Emi's t-shirt.
The arctic mix fell silent for now, golden orbs pinned onto the glass and its contents as her mother read out the contents of the letter.Karma's Letter Hello Emiko, Toby and Blanche, My name is Karma, and my Aerandir is Faust. He has, like Blanche, become a gryphon only a few days ago. His artifacts are that of a Reindeer and a Ptarmigan. If my memory serves me right, I do believe that the only meeting we have had was at the sandbar. Though, with all that was going on at the time, I'm not too surprised that we didn't really have much time for introductions. Since then, I too have been pretty busy, what with fixing up the cabin and taking care of Faust. Who, by the way, is already shaping up to be a curious bundle of energy. A short while before we received your letter he managed to fling himself off the ladder that leads to the first floor of our cabin! I haven't the foggiest idea as to why he did this, but it seems that he is hesitant to do the same thing again, thank goodness. I sincerely hope that you do not come to find that Blanche has done the same thing. Anyway, congratulations on Blanche becoming a gryphon! I can only imagine that you were as happy as I was when Faust became one, and so I congratulate the both of you. The artifacts that make up your Aerandir sound like they would make a beautiful gryphon. Perhaps our young ones should have a playdate sometime? I'm sure all of us would have fun. As for the jar that has come with this letter, it is some blackberry jam. I do hope you, Blanche and Toby, will enjoy it, and that it is not too sweet or bitter for your liking. P.s. The star is perfectly alright! Faust had taken quite a liking to it as soon as he saw it, and it now used as his bed. ~Karma and Faust in cabin two
"Hm, come on, lets go reply. Though it seems funny to reply when she's only a two minute walk away." Leaning over, Emi pulled her journal out from its place beside the rocking chair. She had taken to finishing off any entries for the day before the stars, and it usually didn't halt productivity.
Fishing the fountain pen out from the spiralling binder, she put ink back onto paper.
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Posted: Tue Apr 11, 2006 12:46 pm
11th of April, 2006. Rainy day rainbow.
The rain danced in the clouds, scattering its lovingly placed drops onto the ground below. A painter, the clouds scurried across the sky, dashing the once brilliant teal with a new trace of grey. Monochrome took over, like an old faded television, the picture was gradually deteriorating. Nimble feet danced over the sun, trampling out any means of escape on the toes of each bell footed shoe. An eerie smile imprinted on his face, the clouds raised their great spines; ivy populating the flower bed until the gardener came to prune it back.
Yet, within its own little alcove, beneath the sanctuary of a thatch roof; two pairs of golden eyes stared out of the window. The whole world reflected off those orbs, soft golden eyes that saw everything, yet missed nothing. A pair of white paws found their way beneath Blanche's muzzle, sturdy little forepaws pushing with their every might.
Pulling and pushing, her wings flickered in frustration, muzzle pushed out towards the glass window. One paw before the other, her tail wiggled behind her; hoping any effort would help her. In vain, she continued to strain both paws, latching the end of her beak onto the edge of Emi's curtain. Her paws wriggled in thin air, the gryphon closing her left eye tightly as she continued to struggle. Luckily, help was on hand.
Devoid of anything else to do, Toby leant forwards. Great ears cocked back towards his head, nudging the little one up and onto the windowsill. What she wanted to see was anyone's guess. Pulling himself up onto all fours, Toby trotted around on the bed, pulling one white paw before the next. Around in a circle he went, eventually finding himself situated before the glass window. Without a glance towards his counterpart, he pressed his wet nose to the glass.
Steam billowed out around the area, condensation forming on the glass like an icicle in the dead of winter. Just like winter rolling into spring, the steam faded; pulling and twisting until it mimed off the glass, acting as if it had never been there in the first place.
Treading one paw before the other, Blanche trotted around in a circle. Her orbs found Emi's, black beak protruding forwards. A soft click escaped her throat, white fluffy tail swishing from one side to the other behind her. One white paw before the next, Blanche glanced to the window, and then back to her guardian.
Sat at the opposite end of the bed, Emi paused from her jam sandwich. A long breath escaped her lips, following her charges gaze to the window; watching the water drip down from the panes onto the floor.
"Blanche, it's throwing it down, sorry." Moving her glass of warm water and sandwich onto her bedside table, Emi crawled over towards the pair. Swishing her tail behind her, she promptly parked down onto her rump before the pair of them. An apologetic smile spread from one furry ear to the other, the furry shuffling around on the bed like a child about to be told off before a headmaster.
A gentle click left Blanche's black beak. Treading forwards, she found refuge within her guardian's arms, carefully falling against Emi's flat stomach. Curling her paws behind her, the gryphon settled back down, head lapsing against one darker brown furry wrist.
"I promise we'll go for a long walk once it's done. Trust me; I want to get out as much as you do." With as hushed a tone as she could manage, Emi leant over to drag both journal and pen over (and of course the precious jam sandwich). Taking the last bite from the blackberry jam sandwich, Emi started up her journal once more.Journal Entry 009 Dear Emi, Another few weeks have passed, and I'm not much further onto finding out what happened. Killia sent some mail with a packet of sherbet lemons (which were readily devoured), and a jar of some sort. Killia instructed to keep it on the windowsill, which it is now, and then wait. Wait for what, who knows. Knowing Killia, it'll just be an empty jar, but I may as well give it a go. There's no harm in keeping a jam jar on the windowsill after all. Oh! Karma, the lady from next door, replied to our letter. Appears she was the lady I met back when we first discovered the sandbar after all. Her Aerandir's a ptarmigan and reindeer mix, which; now that I think about it, is really not that un-like Blanche. All of those animals are from cold climates. Makes me wonder if I really ought to have added a question about the fridge on my reply. Ah well, that can be sorted out later. She sent some jam though. That's right, jam! Blackberry jam, and a delicious jar if I do say so myself. So I finally had a jam sandwich this morning, even Blanche tried a little bit: not that I'm sure whether she's so keen on it or not. Both her animal components are carnivores, but she didn't seem to mind it. Filled her beak on soggy bread and jam anyway. (Though not quite as readily as strips of meat would normally go down.) Bar that, life has not been up to much. I've been meaning to send Abbey a letter to ask about gardening, as our front garden is in a bit of a state. I really ought to at least try and clear some of it out. Well, it's a job for another day. Speaking of day, I'll leave it there before I find anymore jobs for myself. So, signing out for another day, Emi.
Yet, neither noticed the sun peak out behind the clouds. Neither saw the first rays of sunshine splinter through the clouds, nor the way the prism settled onto a very cloud. A rainbow waited outside; collaboration between both rain and sun. Both were there, neither were missing, nor did either outshine the other.
Scratching in the last word, Emi let the pen slide from her fingertips and back down onto the page. Stretching her writing (sore) furry fingers out, she found herself gently scraping her little finger behind a particular white gryphon's ornate white ears. Blanche perked, opening one eye. Sliding her head to one side, the gryphon suddenly blinked. What on earth was that?
Shuffling her wings almost in a panic, an aprehensive gryphon crept closer to her guardian's chest. Soft white paws dug into Emi's t-shirt material, black beak clicking shut.
"Hm?" Following the cause for concern, Emi wrapped her arm around the young gryphon. Large metallic blue eyes latched onto the rainbow, a frown from the rather dreary morning prier evolving into a smile.
"It's a rainbow, come on!" Ignoring Blanche's minor concerns, Emi darted to her feet like a child about to enter a theme park. Skidding on the edge of the floorboards, she ran out through the front door - despite the rain.
A pair of brown orbs followed her departure, Toby slowly pulling himself up to his feet. Not quite able to keep up the pace, the dog trotted along behind the pair of them, promptly collapsing out on the porch. It was just a rainbow after all.
"It's called a rainbow." it took a moment for the older guardian to catch her breath back, a sudden flush of darker brown wheedling its way onto her furry cheeks. Her arm lifted from its position, giving the jolted around gryphon her second glance.
A little perturbed from her rather bouncy overhaul outside of the building, Blanche gazed up towards the sky through rain clouded eyes. The shower pelted around all around her, soaking her ears to their very core. Flicking the white appendages back to either side of her head, the gryphon squinted up towards the sight.
Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet and indigo danced before them - each perfectly set in their own little arch like curve. The gryphon clicked, poking her head out further between the two arms to get a better view. Tail wagging; she barely even noticed the trickle of water down one side of her beak.
Then again, neither did Emi. Both guardian and Aerandir standing outside in the rain for the time being, simply watching the rainbow gleam and shine above the crags of the Setone scenery.
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Posted: Sat Apr 15, 2006 12:21 pm
15th of April, 2006. The two foxes collide.
Roleplay Session with Ieyasu: X
Contents: Toby, Emi and Blanche set out for a walk - and end up on the other side of the sandbar in Cetalu. After a brief moment of dragging Toby across to the other side, they bump into Ieyasu and his two Aerandir.
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Posted: Thu Apr 27, 2006 12:42 pm
27th of April, 2006. The apprentice ice mage is found out.
The sun slowly dipped behind the horizon, taking with it the vast array of oranges and daylight pinks that painted the tapestry that night. Barely a cloud set foot upon the sight; as if in this vast eternity of life they didn't dare for one night. A pattern that did however, sparkled: little white dots sprinting up like fireflies around a lamp. Each one sparkled in its own correlation, brightening up the darkened blue paintbrush.
Down below, the Ar 'Idil kitchen light flickered on. The wooden house, draped in darkness, started to shine. A new hero rising up, the kitchen light bathed itself in light, the rays bending to escape the discourse of the blinds. Illuminating the ground below, a lone scavenger beetle look up. Dazed, the insect scurried on its way- disappearing into the darkness.
"Alright then, let's open this." Perched on the edge of the cabinet adjacent the fridge, Emi kicked her darker brown paws too and fro underneath her. Opposite her, the fridge door sat adjacently open; a pair of beady bright yellow eyes watching from the second to bottom shelf. Letter Dear Emiko, Anthony forwarded your letter for Acia's attention several days ago. Unfortunately, Acia has left on a small trip and may not return for a few days yet. However, I feel I may be able to answer your queries based on what you have told me. My first thought, on looking at the evidence presented, is that this dedication to being in a cold spot is one which seems similar to the Aerandir gryphon's manifestations of job ability. Aerandir seem to be very closely linked, even when children, to the job they will later perform as adults and often begin to show it as early as Blanche has. If this is the case then a reasonable guess would be that Blanche is destined to become an ice based spellweaver as none of the other typical Aerandir jobs generally involve the cold! If this is the case then you need not worry at all as this is normal behavior. Acia, the Aerandir who was under my care, had a similar affinity for minerals at that stage, sneaking off with a lot of my fossils! That being said - keep an eye on her behavior. If it does seem abnormal at any point, or the heat of the Island does begin to bother her then please contact Anthony immediately. As for the fridges, I'm sure that there will be no great problems with her using the fridge the way she is as she may soon grow and begin to manifest her abilities differently. What I do reccomend, however, is that you move any food products in the fridge to a shelf above the one she is on and mark it as a Blanche-only area to stop any hairs getting into the supplies! Please feel free to send any more queries to myself or Anthony, Yours, Alexei A. Kalasnikov
"An ice spellweaver, eah?" Kicking her paws out, Emi etched back onto the ground. In her usual less than contradictory methods, she landed before the massive white machine. One ear twitched, sending the other into a similar falter; both ears removing themselves from the locks of brown curly hair that normally held them so taught.
Blanche tilted her head forwards, refusing to shift from her perch. Preening her beak forwards, she clicked. In these days, it came out as a silent croon, the series of high pitched clicks transferring into a continual croon-like sound.
Emiko Pallone positively beamed. Reaching her fingers into the compound of the fridge, she pulled Blanche right out (much to her dismay). The lithe gryphon clicked in question, tilting her head to one side. Except, there wasn't much time for confusion; Blanche was about to have her first ride on the merry go round that was Emi.
"An Ice mage? So that's why you like the fridge." Emi's tail twirled, swiftly followed by her body. With Blanche held a little way from her body, the pair of them span around a full one hundred and eighty degrees on the spot. The world spun past like a fair ground, everything from the fridge to the old fashioned stove dispersing into one massive blur.
"I should have guessed." It took a moment to catch everyone's breath back. Blanche's little ears perked, the gryphon's tail seeming to press itself into elated wagging neither the less. Emi's tail copied, the long almost lion-like tail seeming to sweep over the floor like a puppy's would when joyful.
"He does have a point about the fridge." In the midst of the moment, both guardian and charge glanced towards the middle shelf of the fridge.
Head swimming ninety degrees backwards, Blanche wriggled within the tight grasp. Wings outstretching, she shook her head from one side to the other; her pristine white ears flicking right back to her avian skull.
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The toaster popped on the other side of the room, the sweet scent of wheat floating mercilessly around in the air. The metal holders held up, one thick slice of brown bread housed within each. It pinged as it popped, sending both pieces of toast flying into the air; returning by gravity back into their metal grates.
Leaning over, a brown furry finger plucked up the slice of toast. Spreading a thick layer of blueberry jam onto it, that very same morsel of food was promptly deposited into Emi's mouth. With the slice held tightly between her teeth, Emi gently positioned a folded up piece of card on the second to last shelf.
The gryphon barely even moved as the card was placed down on the shelf, peering around from Emi's hair. Pushing her front paws forwards, the gryphon slid over onto her stomach, flopping back down where she was. For the time being at least.
Shifting back, Emi parked back down onto the cabinet (kicking the fridge door on her way). Toast in mouth, pen and paper in hand, she started her journal entry.Journal entry 010 Dear Emi, Another un-eventful few days. Apart from today. We sent a letter a week or so back asking Anthony about the fridge - apparently the same letter was passed onto the main researcher from the other Island (at least I'm guessing he was the main researcher). Guess what? Blanche is going to become an ice spellweaver! At least, that's what he believes to be the outcome of all of this. Why am I getting so excited? Who knows. I mean, it's a wonder I haven't thought about Blanche's job up until now: it was mentioned on the very first meeting that each individual Aerandir will have their own set job afterall. A mage? Thinking on it, I have no magical background at all. Whether this will fair us in good sted or not is another matter. Though, it has brought up a point. Normally we go skiing with once a year. Maybe, if I ask Anthony, I can take Blanche along to see the snow. After all, I'm not one hundred percent positive we'll ever see any form of ice or snow here. (It would be nice, but I can't see it happening in the middle of summer.) Decided to put in a sign like he suggested in the fridge. I don't know what the other Islanders will make of it, but it's there now. At least others will know not to put food on the second to bottom (mind you, best put another sign on the bottom layer too) of the fridge now. Saves us a little bit of moving about each time. It's getting late, and I really ought to go un-earth some photos from last years ski trip slope. Signing out to find a more icy climate in picture form, Emiko Pallone.
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Posted: Sun Apr 30, 2006 9:13 am
30th of October, 2006. The photos.
The early morning rays of sunlight flew in through the windows, bending and kicking their own path through the fine material. A light breeze encircled these very rays, floating in through the window like bubble bath on top of water. Swirling and crawling, they gently ruffled the curtains, tugging at the edge of the material.
The thin cotton material flickered on the breeze, thin edges going to play with the elements themselves. They faltered in the wind, tugging mercilessly at their counterparts above, except - they wouldn't budge. Stuck to the wooden rungs, which were consequently attached to the long wooden strip above, this gentle wind would barely even budge them.
Below, the whirring and buzzing of a machine spiked up. It was a rare sound, one not heard for a long time now, but distinct in its own dialect. The machine roared into action, tempt from its grave of a few weeks of miss-use. Cogs and metallic strips churned over, tripping over one another to create an electrical buzz. The same electrical buzz that was later used to throw pixels of green, blue and white at the black screen.
The softened keys easily indented in, the rounded finger prints molding back to their owners furry fingers. The first one clicked, followed by the next as nimble fingers dashed along the keyboard in such a flurry to type one single password in. It was like magic, the moment Emiko Pallone touched those keys; the laptop almost purring in admiration for its uses.
Blanche sat on Emi's shoulder. Her curious little face peered down at this strange new fangled piece of technology, watching it intently for any signs of ravaging her guardian's fingers. Her chest puffed out, white furry ears cocking right back to the spools of fur on her head.
"You're slower than normal," Emi commented, much to the machine's dismay. Tapping her darker brown fingers against the dotted plastic, the woman lapsed right back against the bed head.
All three of them sat on the edge of the bed. Emi, still clad in her pajamas, leant right up against the headboard. Her furry paws disappeared under masses of patchwork blankets, followed up by a rather huge mass of brown, white and black fur settled over her knees. On one shoulder, Emi housed a smaller monochromatic Gryphon.
Finally, a box appeared up on the screen. Blanche almost jumped back, paws slipping and sliding as she pressed her body as far as she could against the headboard. Without a sound, her wings flapped, shrouding each of her sides in; so all she needed to do was peek out from the edge of one wing.
"It's alright, see?" Emi's ears faltered back to her hair, had she failed? Blanche was so nervous about even smaller things Emi was starting to worry whether she had failed Anthony. Prizing the curled up gryphon from her hair and headboard, Emi ran her finger along the little gryphon's side.
It took a moment, but Blanche cooled for the moment, clicking her darker blackened beak against a chocolate brown finger. Monochrome wings fluffed up around her, bright searching yellow eyes watching the machine for any remote signs of movement. If anything did move, she would be the next one to know- that was for sure.
"Alright then, here we go." Scraping her finger along the sensitive keypad, Emi pulled up another box. The gryphon almost clicked, paws clicking rigidly into place. Like a statue, she froze to the spot, a moment lost in time. Her ears statically flew up from their usual lapsed position, perked up tail flicking around to delve in-between her legs.
"Shush..." Fingers curled around the quivering gryphon, Emi did her best to reprehend the situation. Suddenly, without warning, a montage of pictures flew up onto the screen.
Bright perpendicular eyes wide, Blanche stared at the image. White snow met her glare, clear white perfect snow. It dotted the landscape, covering the trees and undergrowth in a layer of play dough. It looked like a child's fantasy, as if someone had mystically placed a blanket of cotton white threads there the night before.
A few snowflakes danced in the backdrop, each unique in their own form; each frozen in the singular moment. Toby pranced around in the background, throwing the very perfect blanket into the air. Trickles of frozen water flew all around him, almost blending into the background all together.
"This is snow," Emi whispered, a smile evident on her face. She remembered that photo, standing from the back of the window, watching Toby frolic around in the snow like no man's business. His black coat white, and even his nose held pin pricks of the next morning's snowfall.
Slowly, bones slid against one another; unclicking. Cocking her head to one side, Blanche slowly preened towards the photo. Somewhere, it hit a numb nerve inside of her. A croon type click left her throat, reaching one paw out towards the screen. Dark black claws extended, landing right on the keyboard.
Bleep.
The next photo flicked through, and then following three - the gryphon's late reaction of flying back only forming by the tenth photo. Every white image flew by, merging into one another - the memories all dashing together bit by bit.
Finally, it stopped.
The next image was almost a polar opposite to the first. This time, the camera looked out on a group. Twelve characters grouped together, each holding onto a peculiar looking stick. Wooden planks of some description were strapped to their shoes, strapping them onto the slope. There stood Owyln, beside him his wife Jess (looking rather less pregnant at this point), the boss beside them, the secretary, and finally few other un-important people Emi could barely even remember.
"This is skiing." Gently assuring the apprehensive gryphon back from the keyboard, Emi curled Blanche up against her chest. She settled there, crooning her furry cheek towards her guardian's shirt; content to listen and watch the pretty pictures fly by.
"Skiing is something you do on snow. You have these large wooden slants that you fly down the slope on. We go every year, see?" Not that Blanche would quite understand the meaning of slopes, or skiing, but Emi was happy to divulge the information to wanting ears. Reaching her fingers out, she tapped the keyboard for the next photo.
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Posted: Thu Jun 01, 2006 12:37 pm
A Letter Dear Emiko, I'm not sure how much you know about how Aerandir grow but currently Blanche is at the phase where she should be almost ready to move onto her next level of growth. Usually with Aerandir this would involve them becoming a strange form called a wisp and then items would be brought to them which would help solidify their form. Recently, however, it was discovered that this might be a dangerous way for things to be and so we are sending this list of items for you to gather beforehand. Once you've found all the things listed please bring them to me at the Lodge. 1 long piece of fabric 7 long ribbons Some gemstones A small piece of metal 1 thin leather strip Some beads 1 feather Yours, Anthony Blakewell.
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Anthony Blakewell Vice Captain
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Posted: Fri Jun 02, 2006 3:47 pm
(( Reserved for Emi's reaction to growth questy.))
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