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 Posted: Sat May 05, 2007 12:23 pm
Day 1
*Works on strength
*Works on Willow's ghost speak
A long time ago, in a courtroom far, far away - several people gathered and decided that the dark ages were slowly comming to an end. That the age of shackles and whips, burning at the stake and iron maidens had closed - and a new law must rise to take its place. Thus, on that day, they banned the use of cruel and unusual punnishments to spare the innocent from unjust prosecution and to better instill a sense of wellbeing in those who lived and abided beneath this benevolent law. However - that law was about to be broken, not so much in cruelty, but Donna had had quite enough of her sons crap and decided upon the latter....hard, unusual punnishment.
"Here we are, your new home away from home for the next week - or until you learn something about treating others." Carl couldn't help but cringe, watching his mother as she gestured to the destination that, ever since last night, she'd planned to drop him. Willow's house...or...whatever she chose to call it. The sensation of the fabric strap against his bare flesh was uncomfortable, but he still shrugged it closer against him, as though the small bundle of clothes could somehow protect him from his fate.
Donna saw his discomfort but didn't budge. No - this time he was going to learn whether he wanted to or not. Again she kneeled down and nudged him forwards, sparing only a brief token of affection, a kiss on the head, before stepping away and turning off to leave her child at the mercy of his new hosts.
Within minutes she was gone, and Carl was on his own, slightly sulking as he stepped forwards towards the entrance and cast a glance around, hoping Willow was even about - if only so he wouldn't be alone.
LP LP peeked her head from around the tree and sniggered. "Willow you're charge is here." She whispered so Carl wouldn't hear and with that she dissapered into her cave sliding down a new entrance she'd made. Ah it wasn't Willow to first bring the tidings of punishment. The Dark Ages here still lingered. "For One so brave you shiver much." There was a chitter and jeering came from seemingly around Carl. "Such Will here won't help you!"
There bouncing from the bushes came a Kitten...... no a card... no both. She had the Death or Doom Card for a body and her hear, arms and tail was pure white, as her orbs glowed red."Thorn leave him be. He has work to do." Her arms crossed. "Come carl we have lots of work to do." Her tail flickered as did her ears in an irrated mannor. "You can leave you're bags there Sir Larwence will take care of them." She turned and motioned for him to follow her. "Rosey please fetch me some lemonaid." She asked as she walked towards the temple.
"Make sure to clean you're feet off before you enter." She said as she moved along.
What the? Ok - Carl was pretty sure that nomatter how weird it was to talk to ghosts, having a kitten fused with a card was WAY beyond his comfort level. He eyed her for a moment or so, but soon forgot her as Willow sauntered from her dwelling and began the typical dishing out of orders. Great - he could see where this was going - but he ALSO saw he was stranded in an unfamiliar area, at the mercy of the Tiger and her own guardian, so it was the grduging knowledge of the hard facts that kept his beak shut as he set down what little luggage he had and quickly made to catch up.
He did so soon enough and looked up at his peer, a non-existant brow arching as he silently questioned just what she planned to do with him, although...something in his stomach told him he'd find out much soner than he might like, regardless of whether she answered the intent look or not.
LP Willow paying no mind to the look that Carl gave her walked on towards the garden. Everything in the temple had a chinese or Japanese essence to it.
Willow wouldn't have tooken carl 'in' so to speak had there not been a kings ransom at hand for doing this. Donna had told her want was needed of her and after finding the worth of this she agreed.
It was one thing to handle ghosts, it was another to handle Velveteens like carl. "We'll start out here." She said as they finally reached the Japanese style Garden, stepping out slowly. Passing the small pond filled with minature Koi, pausing in the middle of the wooden walk way. Pointing to what looked like mini drums with handles she looked at carl brows furrowed.
"We shall start with sanding the floor." She said before taking the sanders in her hands and showing him how she wanted them done. "First you're left handed sander goes counter-clock wise and then the right hand goes clock wise."
Her tail flickered as she moved on to sit on the bench at one of the ends of the walk way. "Don't forget Left Counter Clock Wise, Right Clock Wise. The whole floor. Tomorrow you can do the inside." She caught the lemonaid that was floating to her.
Carl watched the delicate fish and enjoyed the peaceful hues and tints pertaining to the classical Japanese stye, appreciating the concept behind some foreign palace of far away that he may ver ywell dub worthy of being his own one day.
But he'd not expected to WORK in a place as serene as this! "You're making me do what now?" It was preposterous! Carl narrowed his gaze and crowssed his arms, head inclined slightly as though to further accent his point of 'you're joking'. "And what would I learn from that? Other than how to sand a floor...it's certainly not useful for more elegant lessons in a handsome mans manner..."
Not that he was a man, persay, nor was he as well kept as usual since the beginning of his molt.
LP Willow turned from her sun bathing to look at Carl. "How...." She started pausing before glaring at him. "Ohhhh are we too good to be doing work? Donna sent you here to learn something."
Her arms crossed.Time to cue the cat. Thorn hopped by, "Upset a cat loose some blood, upset a tiger loose you're head." She jeered at carl as she hopped through and stopped to watch the fishes her tail flickering.Willow looked at Thorn.... maybe this parasite wasn't as bad as she had thought. She grinned, "Look here Carl if you expect to become a great king.... so to speak.... you must learn humbleness first." She got up her lemonaid floating beside the chair. She stopped walking beside Carl and looked down at him fangs barred.
"If you expect the people to like you and your rule you don't try to over throw a tyrent you better listen." She shakes her and moves back to her chair. "Buttt if you don't want to learn to rule like a respectful nontryant I don't suppose I can make you." She shurged and walked back to her chair and sat down. "I'll just tell Donna that you want to be a mean and curl tyrent and dissapoint her."
This caught the bird's attention. To become a King! That's why he'd been sent here! Beforehand, he'd merely thought it punnishment, but a smile came to his features as the thought dawned to him as did the realization of how truly fortunate he was to have such loyal subjects as Willow.
Ah, denial, be it ever so sweet.
Carl nodded sagely, conciously making his movements elegant as he leaned down and flipped the left sander into his hand. "I'll do it...." The sapphire optics turned to Willow, and a pose of determined glory was taken to his muscular frame. "I'll do this, so that my subjects will know that their King has heard thier piteous cries from the depths of thier poor lack of grace!" The next sander was picked up, his head tossed proudly and forcefully shoved the sanders into the wooden grain, memory serving well to remind him the proper rhythm as he began his task with unbridled vigor.
LP Willow watched Carl, "And don't sand a hole in my floor!" She said. Her tail flickered as she watched him. Ah that did it, although had she known he thought of her as a subject she'd hit him upside the head.
Watching Carl she smirked. She could get all the work done her temple without having to lift a finger. Best of all LP and Donna both apporved of it. She'd teach Carl as the lessons went on. "Now remember you're nothing but a humble pesent sanding the floor." She said crossing her legs as she sat there basking in the sun sipping on her lemonaid.
He was forced to be more careful in his ministrations the further he sanded, not wanting to accidentally break through and be forced to rebuild it. Just because he COULD haul heavy lumber, tools, and probably knock a nail in with just his fist - that didn't mean he particularly wanted to.
Regardless of his attitude, he still didn't like being called a peasant, and decided it best to finally reveal his secret project to at least ONE person. Something not even his mom knew much about. "For your information, I've already begun forging my crown - with jewels and everything."
Well...not jewels - but broken glass counted, right? It was close enough for the purpose anyways...besides, jewels were much harder to find than he'd initially thought.
LP Willow looked at him brow lofted. "Oh? Well your not in you're kingdom right now my dear Carl." She stated softly and threateningly. "You are in my domain and while you are here your under my rule. Is that understood? You're no king untill you've learned the ropes. Being as myself knows these ropes like the back of my paw you will not speak of such petty things as a crown. Understood?"
She figured Toby also knew things about being a king, even if he was a soon to be knight and she'd watched enough movies to know what she needed to do to break Carl of his high and mightyness. Her tail flickered once again.
And...she had a point. He inwardly whimpered, but continued to sand as he'd been instructed, hoping that the tiger was being truthful in the fact that this would make him a better King. Crown or not - he still had his royal airs to uptain.
The going was slower than he liked, but eventually he managed to get a good solid sanding across the way, albeit an eventually that came after he'd lost a considerable amount of his remaining feathers to wind, scraping against the floor, and slipping - once.
Oh how his subjects would weep to see him like this now...The sanders were set asside for a moment as he checked his tail, counting the now sawdust colored feathers to assure himself that at least it remained. Or better still...Gener reverse roll time. He looked at Willow. "Does this make my feathers look thin?"
LP Willow looked at him. Her eyes narrowed. "For a second there I though you were going to ask does this make me look fat." She gave a malviolent grin.
"Oh yes you'll have to clean those up too." She pointed to the feathers that were still in her garden. "I can't have feathers inhere ruins the Zen."
Gruesome as the expression was, Carl eyed the sawdust and twitched his tail, watching the remaining feathers serve as a feather-duster to sweep up the remains. "I'll just kill two birds with one stone."
Backwards and forwards, he began walking, twitching his tail in timely fashion until a pile of dust and feathers had been gathered to the side of the work site, leaving it passibly clean. "Happy now?"
LP Willow yawned, "Trash can is just inside there's a broom and dust pan beside of it. I expect that mess to be put into the trash can and not left out here."
She looked at the time and smiled. "Great we have time for you to do some more work. After that!"
Carl left the mess in its place to go and seek said broom and pan, not returning until he'd established where it and the can was before moving back outside and sweeping it all into the proper carrier of filth. Both implements of cleanliness were then taken inside and disposed of, as needed, before he returned to where Willow lazed and plopped down beside her.
"So, now what?"
LP Her tail flickered, "Now young padawa we teach you the princpals of climbing to clear the dead leaves." She pointed up into the trees. "See all the dead limbs? With no life what so ever? You must climb the tree and rid the dead wood away from the place of zen. -she pointed to the other side of the tree which was on the other side of her privacy fence.
"May the Force be with you." Ah this may sound like a simple task but little did carl know that the ghosts where a part of this."What you're step or we may see you next fall." Thorn Chimed in again as if on Cue. Was she like the ompa lompa's of Willy Wonka's Factory, was all this pre-planned? Stay tuned to find out....
While he had no idea what in the name of Tamaki a padawa was, he shrugged and followed her to the base of the tree. "So..." Optics of sapphire cast themselves towards the canopy, a place he'd once been all too familiar with when wings had so gracefully adorned his back. "You want me to force the tree limbs off....got it."
For once, he wasn't overly confident. Carl had avoided terribly high places since the loss of his wings, and with good reason. He no longer had any means to catch himself! Besides claws of course - but that would mean falling haphzardously close to the tree, which probably wouldn't end well either way.
But...Willow wouldn't really let him get hurt, right?
It wasn't a certainty - but it was just a risk he'd have to take. He approached the tree and dug his claws in, slowly beginning to climb up the gnarled foliage and towards the first dead branch. Several scars were left, courteousy of his claws, but soon filled with the sticky sap of still living wood burried deep beneath the coarse bark. Carl ignored the nasty substance as he pulled himself up, up, and over - finally near enough that he could make his first attempt, and did so by kicking both feet hard against the branch as his front claws grasped the wood.
LP Willow gave a grin. Of crouse he wouldn't get hurt, only his pride. Her tail flickered as she watched him from her post on the bench.Suddenly a ice cold wind whipped by Carl. It wasn't like any normal Ice cold wind either, it was like the happiness was sucked right from the soul. It went around and around howling.Willow looked up and almost choked on the rest of her lemonaid. She was trying not to laugh as she watched Bud fly around causing a ruckus.
The feathers on the back of his neck pricked as the chilling sensation swept over him all at once. It was natural really, like any frightened creature, he backed up, pressing himself against the tree for support whilst feathrs rose in both anger and fear - the emotions to controted and tangled up to be distinguished as he tried to make sense.
Just what the hell was going on?!
His claws dug a little deeper into the wood as the sound persisted, driving him back against a dead end whie facing something he couldn't see. His beak parted, he hissed, but the sound soon turned its tone to an aggitated one.
"Willow, get it out of here!!!"
LP Willow coughed and shook her head still laughing. "Bud..... Ahaha BUD stop it." Her tail flickered as she watched him fly off. She couldn't help but laugh, tears welling up in her eyes.
"Ahaha, sorry Carl, you have to expect stuff like that around here." When she finally stopped laughing she shook her head and rubbed her eyes where the tears had been running down. Okay so maybe she should've have gotten so much joy from that. But it was nice to see even Carl was scare of somethings.
The bird bristled and smoothed his feathers down, trying to regain composure although he knew full well Willow had gotten his goat. "Well! See to it that it doesn't happen again...I can't expect to know how many ghosts you've got around here..." Or at all. Up until this point he'd never had contact with one of Willow's spirits, but it could safely be said that if he hadn't before - Carl now believed in ghosts.
Once he was assured that his feathers were in order, he began on the wood again, using his claws to steady himself as he pried the branch from the tree and threw it down on the opposite side.
"One down, only..." He looked up and felt a little sigh escape as he continued, "Only a whole bunch more to go."
LP Willow looked at him, "Now you know I can't tell them what to do. I can only ask them not to bother you. But that won't make any difference if they decide to cause trouble."
She said snapping her fingers twice as a book floated to her with a pen as she started scribbling down things to do and knocking off things from the list. She grinned, "Wellll enjoy this while you can. It might end up wrose than you think."
And now, he didn't doubt it. Carl cringed but continued up, working away the lifeless branches and hauling them over the fence. A pile formed itself from the abounding death plaguing the tree, soon crested as he ascended to the highest branch and deftly kicked it off.
Then the descent...this was much slower than the upwards climb, and the bird seemed hessitant to trust the wood as he thrust claws in new locations, lowering himself ever so carefully until his feet again met earth.
LP Willow looked up at the sky, hrmm it was starting to get late. Maybe supper time... Pondering over this she yawned. "Eh I suppose that's good for tonight."
She got up and streatched walking back to the temple. "Follow." She said to Carl without looking back. She was trying to think of where he could stay. That was one of the harder dicessions because her Temple wasn't really made for anyone else to stay in it at the moment. LP hadn't finished that section - pausing she looked at carl.
Stopping at the table, which had already been set, save for the food she sat down on the pillow that was there. When LP set out to do something she did it right, everything was as real as their larger counter parts found in China and Japan.
"Tomorrow you can sand the floors and we'll get you working on the garden."Rosey, had Carl been able to hear her, came in humming as she was placing several kinds of food on the table. Includeing Ribs, Turkey, several vegitables including corn and green beans, mac and cheese, and some sort of pie for dessert.
Carl brushed himself off and made sure all was in order, arranging himself as best he could while following behind his host. At this point, he didn't even bother asking. It was either chores or sleep anyways, right? Food besides that, and as he lifted his head a bit, the errant scent of a cooked meal confirmed his latter hopes.
Speeding up, he soon managed to aquaint himself within the general region of her tail's end, the fluffy appendage waving just beyond his beak as they stepped in and he began to look elsewhere. Well...he certainly couldn't say that he didn't enjoy the craftsmanship of the work done to Willow's chambers. "Very nice......"
And then the chore list for dawn, lovely.
Carl ignored that bit and plopped himself down on a seat, ravenous appetite surfacing as he eyes the food and very tentavily reached for a rib.
LP Willow on the other hand smacked carl's hand away from the ribs, staring at him. "Carl, you can't just go grabbing food." Her eyes rolled looking towards Rosey whom giggled from her postion inbtween the two.
Willow dipped her fingers into one of the bowls expecting carl to follow suit. She didn't only have the look but she made sure that the customs where as close as possible. Besides the little finger bowls were cute.
Willow's tail flickered as the hot tea was poured into her little cup, followed by cream and a pause offering to Carl the same. Willow took the cup and swirled around the liquid to mix it nicely before giving a soft puff of air and took a sip.
She waited on rose to finish her job. Which was also serving the food, Rosey never was told to do these things, nor asked, she offered and Willow didn't see any harm in it. As long as Rosey enjoyed her work she would be allowed to such.
"Carl there are things you don't do in this temple, grabbing food from the plates is one of them." She explained. "Rosey has everything set and does it how she likes, and as long as she's happy with what she's doing allow her to do it please."
Carl quickly withdrew and rubbed his claws, arching a brow as he watched her dip her fingers. "And that's supposed to serve what purpose?" Well, besides the obvious, but he really didn't see a need in such silly practice that would prolong the waiting time before he was fed.
However...he was hungry...and he already knew how women worked. It was her way - or no way, plus a bad sleeping place. He doubted she had a couch to throw him on, but he didn't like the idea of what she might have. Thus he had but one choice...
His claws met the water, if a little hessitantly, and slipped in just as Willow's had before he withdrew and took the cream as it was. He hadn't actually had it before - but how bad could it be, right? He simply mixed however much was left to him into his drink and took a swig, downing the liquid without regard to the temperature. He then pushed the cup back and eyed the food, waiting for one of those ribs to come just close enough for his beak to get around it.
LP Willow's eyes narrowed. Did she have to tell him anything. "You better read up on your cultures." She scoffed as she watched the food being placed on the two plates, each time offering to either the things of food.
Of crouse because Rosey knew what Carl wanted she made him wait for it. Offering those last. You never reach for what you want at this table and expect to get it first.
Willow nodded to Rosey once everything had been placed. "Thank you dear. That'll be all for now." She turned and picked up her chopsticks, okay so the meals weren't really cultural, but they were still good none the less. She picked up some of the mac and cheese and placed it into her mouth, fingers working nimbliy with the chop sticks.
"Hmmm?" She looked at Rosey her head tilted pondering what the ghost had asked. "Oh yes, you know where he'll be staying don't you? I suppose it'll be alright if you go tidey it up a bit." With that the presance of Rosey was gone, and Willow continued to eat. Watching carl every now and then to see what sort of table mannors this 'king' held.
He was tempted, oh yes - so tempted to reach out an simply scarf it down as he did when no one was about to watch the primal instincts consume his better judgement. Ah, the suices roiling over his claws as he would sink them in and rip the tender strips of meat and flesh away from the haunting, white remnants of some long dead creature. Granted, as an animal, he'd killed his own meals. Rabbits, the occasional quail or dove...they had all been much more appetizing at the time than now they seemed...
But this...ribs...was a delicacy (or at least high on his list) of granduer.
However, he could see he was being watched, and doubted Willow would hessitate to tell the others about his vulgar behaviour if he attempted another stunt as he had with the drinks.
Thus he allowed his mind to wander back into the black and white illustrations of a true king, and took up the motions that he himself would present were he here. The napkin provided was shaken lightly as he picked it up with the very tips of his claws, the fabric unfurling to the desired shape before it was lowered into his lap.
Man he wished he was stuffing his face...
Cal then proceeded to assure he was close enough to the table before picking up his utensils and inspecting them, noting Willow's way of holding them before making an attempt to imitate her mannerism and grab hold of the first bit of meat.
Stupid twigs..
The first attempt, as did the second and third, failed - but upon his fourth attempt, he managed well enough to tear away the tender nourishment and bring it to him, taking it gently in his beak and swallowing only after a few seconds of having savoured it.
Ooooooh so good....
He continue this way for a bit before looking up at Willow, as though seeking approval. "Are you enjoying your meal?"
LP Willow paused in mid bite, lowering her chop sticks. It was abnormal for her to have company, atleast ones that were real enough to eat with. Normally all the ghosts left her be while she ate in solitude. She seemed rather stumped by the question.
"I... I suppose so." She muttered, looking around. Hmm... guest.... There was something missing. Maybe some sort of upbeat tune yes? Most people liked music when they ate didn't they? She snapped her fingers and nodded to the small record player as Sir larwence nodded and wisked over to hit play and stood beside the player.
She watched carl for a moment longer, "What do you think? Is Rosey a good cook or what?" She'd sorta lost her appite now, having realized it was most likely rude to eat and not talk to one's guests... Picking at the meat on her plate she tried her best not to look guilty.
He nodded, setting asside his utensils as well. He was still hungry, mind, but he didn't want to appear selfish for eating when she did not. "Rosey is an excellent cook. These ribs are wonderful, although I'm not familiar with everything here - as I mainly eat meat." He paused and rubbed the back of his head. "And mexican...alot of mexican."
The music was a welcome distraction, and albeit he knew not who had turned the player on, he nodded in thanks to whomever had gone about. The last thing he wanted was the ghosts to dislike him and perhaps make trouble for him while he stay. "Thank you."LP LP Willow looked at carl and tilted her head, "I suggest you eat now while you can." She wasn't much of one for company but she didn't need him corvorting about hungry in the middle of the night looking for a snack.
"Eh it's just a normal meal, the pie should be meat to though." She looked at the slice sitting on a saucer next to her plate and picked up the crust on top of it looking at it. "Yup mince meat." She said nodding.
Her tail flickered softly as she wondered if it was because she'd stopped eating that he had. Damn this company, "Eh never had mexican food, I try to stick to chinese and Japanese stuff as much as I can. Although I do go with american too." She said as she picked up a green bean and poped it into her mouth. Well most of it had a meat flavor too it save for the mac and cheese. "Most everything here has had bacon or something close added ot it, if not the fat from the ribs." She added looking at Carl.
She looked over to Sir larwence. "Oh Welll Sir Larwence doesn't mind, he'd rather see guests enjoying their meal as much as I do..." She added.
Not that he was gluttonous, mind. He took only what he knew he could handle, leaving plenty left for Willow to sup on whilst he tucked the vittles away into his muscular frame, feeding the muscles that had strained themselves with todays work. He would be sore in the morning - but knew the pain well enough to know that it would pass just as soon as it'd come.LP Willow nodded and picked at her food still of crouse she was chewing on bits of it. Meat and things mostly. She figured it wouldn't matter if she convorted about at night anyways that's when she rather had most of her activity anyways.
If not roused - he felt as though he could sleep for a week.LP There came a candle floating into the room. Ah Carl's room was ready a iceey cold hand latched onto the boy and begged him to follow her.
Rosey had come back just in time for Willow was about to excuse herself to show Carl to his room but Rosey shook her head and simply refused to allow Willow up until she'd had her fill. Almost motherly knowing of Willow behing hungry but yet not because of the guest.Willow nodded to Rosey, "Go with Rosey she'll show you to where you're staying. It's not much mind you the guest rooms aren't finished yet."
Granted, not the usual hug he got every night, but it would have to do. He waved to his peer as he left, his attentions soon shifting instead to the luminous candle that now hovered before him. He inclined his head and hessitantly kept the the side of it, allowing it to take him where it would, or rather - she would. This...was more than a little awkward for him. "So......Rosey, right? Thanks for showing me to my room - and for dinner."LP Rosey could get into other's heads sometimes if she wanted, but she smiply bobbed the candle up and down as if to say you're welcome. Had she been able to speak through Willow she would've asked had he liked it.
But alsa that wasn't an option nor did she want to temporarily posses him like other ghosts normally did. She only did it when needed and asked of. The candle moved at a nice even pace for she didn't want to go too fast for the bird. They moved into the End of the temple that was still under constrution, the Roof was moveable here, and could easily be taken away.
Nothing here seemed permant. WElll the floors were and 90% of the walls so nothing was going to knock them over unless some large unruley racoon caused trouble. Everything was supported with little beams that held up the outside walls and Ropes held the roof on tight so nothing would blow away. There was only a bed and a table where rosey stopped and with the candle pointed. This was to be Carl's place to sleep, handing him the candle the Maid fluffed his cheeks before leaveing. So he'd know she'd gone.
However, they made it safely enough, and the boy plopped himself down onto the bed. The candle lowered to the table, and the gentle sensation of something in his feathers lulled him some, and even if she'd already gone, he smiled and curled into the bed. "Thanks, and Goodnight."
It would still be a while before he fell asleep, so through the window he peered, observing the grounds while he could. LP By this time Willow had had her fill and went outside walking her hands behind her back. "No Rosey I'm fine. Why don't you go get some rest?" She asked the ghost looking at her.
"You desrve some time to relax." Willow said she was a ways from Carl's window but in the night voices carried more than normal because most everything was sleeping.
Willow moved along the path taking her foot every so often and rubbing it. She paused at the pond to toss bred crumbs in for the fish and then moved along sighing to herself watching the moon through the trees. Of crouse she stopped at a swing LP had just recently set out, most likely while they were eating.
Willow inspected it before shaking her head, "It needs some sanding done, and a nice coat of sealer...." She went to pick up the sanders which carl had been using earlier and started to work on the swing humming a tune. It sounded like something from holes, 'If only' more than less likely. "I hope Carl isn't takeing what I'm doing too harshly, tis for his own good. I mean after all he shouldn't've acted that way to Sidney." She said with a nod.
"Oh Chow good evening! How're your books coming?" She asked cheerfully. "Good good, I look forward to reading the newest one. It's always good to know more about you're family history." She paused and thought, "Oh? Well that shouldn't be too hard to find." She nodded and gave a bow. "Goodnight yourself."
Maybe, someday, he'd ask her. Or maybe he'd just figure it all out as time went by. What he had figured out....was that Willow really wasn't such a bad Velvet, even if she was a little bossy.
The eagle smiled to himself and rolled over, casting only one more look out the window as he whispered it once more. "Goodnight, Willow."
-End of Day 1-
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Posted: Wed May 09, 2007 6:21 am
Day 2
*Works on Strength
*Works on Claws of Steel
*Works on Willow's ghost speak
LP Day 2
Willow worked her way though the night, come morning she found herself sleeping in the Swing, curled up much like a kitten. Ear flickering as the sun came up she placed a paw over her eyes.
"Ugh can't be morning already...." She muttered. Curling up tighter and making sure her tail was also covering her eyes.Rosey Wisked by Carl to wake him up with that ice cold feeling one gets when a ghost passes by and then on to Willow. "Ms. Willow you can't always sleep outside. Come inside, I've got breakfast waiting."
The bird wasn't much of a heavy sleeper, as birds oft aren't, and woke to the sensation with minimal complain. Rather, he stretched for a few moments and slipped out of the warm covers - slipping then into some new clothes to greet the day. He stretched one more time and then finally moved on from the bedroom and towards the direction he knew Willow would most likely be, albeit he was surprised to find her actually outside, rather in one of the nearby rooms.
Carl moved to the swing, giving it a gentle push. "Morning, Willow."
LP Willow gave a growl as the swing moved. Damnit she wanted to sleep, didn't anyone get the fact that she was up most of the night, it felt like she'd just gotten to sleep.
She yawned now though woken up by the bird she got up and snarled. Moving towards the dinning room. "Time for eats...." She muttered as she moved along sighing.
Ooook...So he was the only morning person here. Carl ran a hand through his remaining crest feathers, wincing as five or so more fell from the once thick plumage. Granted - some of them had begun to grow back in places that had already gone bald. Little bitty feather tuft-tips could be seem against the skin, but it would still be a while before full feathers resprouted.
He picked up his mess and threw them away as he followed her back into the temple and towards food, hoping it would put the tiger in a better mood.
LP Willow sauntered and sat down rubbing her head as coffee was brought to her, sipping on some of it as she run a paw though her hair.
As the omlettes were brought to them she started picking at it with her chop sticks and eating bits.
Carl followed suit, more than a little hessitant as he looked over the strange dish. Honestly - he'd never had an omlette. Sure, he'd heard about them, even seen some one else order one in a resteraunt, but never once had he actually seen the thing up close. All he was really aware of was that it was made from eggs...or something.
He poked and prodded it with his chopsticks, eyeing the odds and ends of its content as though trying to distinguish just what the multicolored little bits could be. *GROoWOoOoWWoOWL* His stomach. He blushed, probably visably, over the noise and put a hand over his stomach to silence it. Not that it helped much...
He'd have to bite the bullet if he was to silence the beast. He picked up a considerable sized piece of his supposed breakfast, and with very delicate approach, took the whole thing into his mouth and swallowed.
LP Willow chewed on the omlette watching several other types of foods float in. Including Sausage and what appered to waffles.Rosey grinned as she served the pair. Atleast Willow was eating breakfast at a decent hour. The tiger might not be happy but atleast she was getting on a decent time clock.
Carl finished the omlette and moved on to the rest of the spread, sampling everything he could before the beat was content and he hungered no more for the fine foods prepared by his host. He pushed away his plate when done and leaned back, waiting for his orders of the day.
"So, what are we going after first? Painting? More Sanding? Metalwork?"
LP Willow was still sleepy and yawned after she finished eating her fill, leaving half of what she had. She'd eat the rest later. "Uhhh.... Well I suppose you could start sanding the floors of inhere, save for the part you're sleeping in as you may've noticed the guest rooms and beyond aren't finished."
Streatching she got up from her place at the table. "I'm sure you know where the sanders are when you've finished the task Rosey'll tell me." Willow nodded softly before walking off, "Oh and only disturbe me if one of two things happens, The apocolyse or the place catches on fire. Otherwise Let Rosey handle it."
She muttered as she dissapered off outside.
He'd honestly been hoping for metalwork, but he couldn't neccesarily say that sanding wasn't what he expected. He waved her off and pushed himself up, making sure he left the table with minimal mess before moving on to find the sanders, dustpan, and broom he'd be needing afterwards. The latter was easily found and set asside, the sanders also found without too much difficulty - as they were in the same place he'd last left them.
One in one hand, one in the other, he set them to the floor just beyond the doorway and began each in the opposite direction of each other, the small spherical motions covering every inch of the floor that they came across.
However, as it was larger than yesterday - and his muscles still ached from the work, the task took longer. The sinew was actually visible in places now. Every motion the eagle made caused the flesh to shift and contort as tight bands rose to the surface, minor tears occurring beyond mortal veiw as they strained with every step. This occurance swept over the entirety of his body, every muscle synchronized like a well oiled, albeit tiring, machine.
Willow wouldn't be roused for at least two, perhaps even three, hours as the sanders roved the entirety of the floor - soon enough to be followed by the cleaning crew - and in end, resulting in Carl plopped down upon the newly swept floor.
LP Rosey noticed he'd finished. It was a nice job too. Hrmm LP would have to fetch some varnish now and some paint burshes or something.
She floated off to tell Willow.Willow woke startled from the sudden icey cold feeling. She was use to it but she'd been dreaming of something warmer so when the cold poored on her it was an unexpected surprize.
Looking at Rosey her eyes were wide and puiples were dialated before she finally caught her breath. "Don't dooo that." She wined, before muttering, "Right he's done.... hrmm.... he said something about metal work...." She got up looking to see what there could be to do.... she could get him an impossible task of making japanese style window framing from metal so she could have it screened and later put up in all the windows of the house, but could he do it?
She looked and moved towards LP's cave. Sreaching for the plans."What you looking for?" Willow blinked, "Oh the plans for the insides of the windows do you have those?" LP produced the construction drawings of what the metal in the windows were to look like. Willow nodded and grinned, "Carl wants to do metal work, if he can dothis then he's worth the time I'm wasting." LP shook her head as Willow headed back outside.
Moving to the Temple she called, "CARLLLLL I have more work for you!!!"
Carl groaned quietly, using the tips of his claws to push himself up. The floor was much farther down than he'd realized until just now. "Comming! I'm comming." Slowly - but still, it wasn't a lie that he was making his way towards Willow. The break had given him some leeway with the pain, so once the girl was in sight he hurried on until he stood beside her, awaiting orders.
LP Willow was walking off towards a pile of stripped metal, "I'm not sure if you can do this task or not, if you can't get it to look like this leave and LP'll take it to town tomorrow she found a metalsmith."
Willow was lookign at the drawing before showing it to carl. "It has to be excate mesurements and all. I'm afriad I don't have any tools here for you to measure with." Her tail flickered as she climbed up a tree a bit of a ways and Slamed a nail in each corner of the picture.
Now this was something he actually knew what he was doing. Granted - Carl was no mathematical genius. He couldn't look at a tree and tell you how many leaves were on it or how many sheep were in a flock just by a glance. What he did know was size, and how the scale a model up and down depending on the prints given and the information he could gather.
Sapphire optics roved the paper before he turned, looking to where the window would be facetted. There he moved to and began walking the length of the inner side up, and then the inner top across. He knew the window would have to be just a hair smaller to fit, but not so much that it wouldn't be secure enough to be properly welded or bolted in. Even without - a window ought to be able to stay in on its own accord.
Once he made mental measure of how many it was, he moved to the blueprint to confirm that the scales matched up, also looking at the design of the intricacies that would be carved into the metal once the exterior was fitted for it.
It was a few moments before he spoke, but the tones were confident - sure that he could accomplish it. "It'll take me a while, but the design really isn't much more complicated than making a crown. You'd just be making it on a flat surface instead of around - which is probably simpler than having to work at an angle. Just bring me the metal and I'll see what I can do."
LP Willow pointed at the pile and the few tools they did have, hammers, and such and a lighter to heat the metal. "There it all is." She pointed. Of crouse she wasn't sure if he could do it or not, he might be but she wasn't.
Taken to sitting under the tree she yawned. "I'll be watching from here." She said, although watching and dozeing being two different things she still counted it as watching.
Carl moved to the pile and began looking through the materials, discarding pieces of metal while carefully setting asside a good few that he dubbed worthy of being crafted.
Yet, the bird started on nothing until after stripping off his shirt and pulling on some gloves, carefully guiding his claws through the seams and forcing them to poke out of the fingered ends. The gloves would still be usable to others, but the eagle just wasn't comfortable with them concealed. He next dawned a mask to protect him from the light of the lighter, as well as keep any sparks from his face as he worked, albeit his beak proved to be a formidable obsticle that took several adjustments to account for.
After these things were done, he organized the metal and tools to form a rough forging area which he'd used enough common sense to set in a sandy area that wouldn't cause the temple to catch flame. Yes, Carl now had his workstation.
And with it set...he set the first piece of metal down and struck up the lighter, heating the metal slowly whilst measurements were sketched onto the surface, and his claws began to dig into his work.
Willow might have seen a difference then.
Besides his usual boysterous, carefree self - Carl was serious. It was as though his entire mind was set on the task before him, his body rigid with concentration as lazy ribbons cascaded from the lethal appendages, their razour edges raked with a precision that had caused the name Harpy to be feared.
Slowly, chunks of unneeded material fell away from the frame. They would be used again later, but went unheeded as the window outline began to take shape, the bird stopping only to measure and assure that it was perfectly straight - occasionally turning the heat off to allow it to rest before continuing his method. Then he would begin again, smoothing out areas, rounding off various points, and pollishing the surface with white flame.
Only once the entire outline was completed did he take some water set asside and cool it completely. The metal crackled and hissed, steam pouring off of the surface before it cooled, and Carl allowed himself to fully touch and lift it to the frame.
There he set it in and stood back, waiting for Willow's review of his workmanship.
LP Willow got up from her state of daydreaming, mostly ghost converstations in her head... to look at new frame and then back at the picture eyeing it using her tumb as mesurement. "Very good carl, Now lets hope LP can put the screening on it. Unless by so odd reason you want to do that after you finish them all."
She walked around the temple counting windows, "We'll need about 30 of them." She said having over guessed. "I didn't realize there were going to be this many windows." She looked at carl and tilted her head. Looking at the sun to get the gist of the time. "Eh if you want to work some more you can but if you need a rest you can also do that you can do a few of them a day, until you get that finished." She shurged and moved off to walk one of the gardens. Not knowing what carl would do, but now she was sure his craftsmanship would suit the temple fine."Ohhhhhhhhhhhh" It would've sounded like the wind to carl but to Willow it wasn't it was something to worry about. Oi a heck of a time for work.
Havoung found the source she was standing face to face with a little boy. He held tears in his eyes. The boy saw Willow when she came with in inchs of him, and he became very violent throwing what he could before wisking off."Ack." Willow jumped managing to dodge the objects before stalking after the ghost quick as she could.
Carl took it down and took it back to the work station, preparing to carve the interior to have the screen fitted to. "I can have about five done in a day, including the groove needed for the screen - and any ornamental carving you need. That might take some extra time though, depending on how intricate it is, and how well the metal holds. I'm not really sure about what kind this is, since I usually only work with what people don't want around." Ah yes, junk metal. "Mom doesn't exactly know I've been taking metal from off the street where the shop is."
Nor did he intend to let her find out, at least not until he was good enough to display his works. Donna was pretty easy going, but had she seen the cuts on his hands or the very fine soot hidden in his feathers - the bird feared she may force him to give up his ambition to carve himself a crown. This partially being the reason the bird bathed so often and moisturized the rough areas of skin.
He again began at it, ignoring the wind whilst row after row of metallic ribbon streamed from his claw tip, but at the sound of something hitting the ground - the claws lifted from the surface and he looked to see if she was alright.
LP Of crouse before carl to look to see if she was alright she was off and chasing the ghost into the bushes. Headed towards the deep forest. Someplace man, beast nor gouls liked to go.
Willow could only hope to catch up with the boy and find out what was the matter with him. Trying to smush her like that, The nerve. He was much larger than herself although when laying down as he was before he moved to throw things at her she came face to face with him.
Something was wrong with this one, scars or something from his life. Most likely cut short for some unknown reason. "Wait.... stop please! I can help you." She cried, looking to see if Carl had followed her and/or if he thought her more of a loon."Go Away!!" The young boy screamed at her picking up speed, "Everything gets hurt around me. Stop following me." He then dissapered from Willow's line of being able to follow him.
The bird continued with his work for a few minutes, dismissing the commotion as just a minor thing. But when Willow didn't come back for a good few minutes...He again looked up and towards the wood where she'd vannished. It was dark in there...granted, he was sure tigers could see well in the dark, and could hear things comming, would she really be alright in this strange place?
He ignored it for another few minutes - but soon the earth itself was disturbed by a mask and gloves hitting the dust, cast off to make his movements lighter as he began into the trees, silent as he stalked after whatever traces were left behind in the loam of the forest floor.
LP Willow stood in an opening looking around her ears twitching this way and that for any sounds or anything of where the boy had went. She heard something coming from where she had just been. Not too keen on being here in the first place she pressed her back close to the large oak tree in which she'd past by.
Anything unwlecomed other than a ghost would learn to try and sneak up on her. She was still looking for the boy though, ears twitching and rotateing.
Carl emerged into the clearing, tail feathers twitching in an agitated - alert - manner as he kneeled down and checked the signs of disturbance again. Willow had been here only but a few moments ago although he couldnt see her.
His beak parted, anyone assuming that he was going to call out for her, but Carl knew better, he was unfamiliar with these woods and what lived in them. He knew nothing of what lurked just beyond his keen range of sight, or within shadows that might rob his senses of the obvious. No monsters were these supposed creatures, but the region wouldn't be too far off the proper habitat for bears, racoons, and a few coyotes scattered amongst the foliage fringe.
Instead of calling out, Carl exhaled his warm breath against the cool moss, causing some condensation that further clarified which direction Willow had gone, and the direction he then began towards.
LP Willow lunged at carl as soon as he came within arm's distance, teeth bared, she had confirmed whatever it was, WAS real. But failing to know whom it was would cause slight dismay.
Having hit or missed carl it was clear she was unhappy about this "What do you think you're doing?" She hissed lowly staring at the harpy, "Do you want to get us both killed!?"
Carl wasted no time in his reaction. He too couldn't distinguish if it were Willow or some feral animal that had somehow snuck up upon him. But the two were fortunate in one regard. Carl lashed out at the shoulders before the throat, instead attempting to dig his two thumb claws just below the bone, while shoving forwards to pin his assailant.
Whether or not he was succesful in this, he abbandonned his claws once Willow spoke - causing him instead only to try and push her down as best he could, keeping them low to the ground and less visible from whatever the hell else would take advantage of a concerned trip gone wrong.
He shook his head a bit and whispered, just loud enough to be heard at a close range. "Keep it down, Willow. I just came to make sure you were alright - but you will get us both killed if you don't shut it and calm down enough to be logical about what's out here." Harsh, yes. Probably slap worthy? More than likely, but addrenaline still spiked his blood from having been attacked, so the child wasn't nearly as concerned about being hit as he was of staying out of sight of any larger predators.
LP Willow Snarled in pain, as carl's talons hit her flesh. She didn't like where this was going, him trying to pin her? She Moved instead to knock his legs out from under him and pin him. It was better than being helpless. Holding the wound she'd been inflicted she stared at him eyes narrowed.
She wasn't one for voilence either although at the time that could be questionable. This would get him more work though. "If you ever try to tell me what to do again donna'll be taking you back home in peices bird brain. Don't you ever sneak up behind me again. Is that understood?" She growled more from pain than anything before letting him up and stalking back towards the temple. She'd deal with the ghost another day, she had to get this wound fixed up first.
Carl lay there for a few moments, stunned he'd been pinned - but more so that he'd managed to hurt Willow. Yes, he had fully intended to take down any wild animal that threatened him or Willow, but never had he intended to hurt her.
Wooboy he was in for it now...
His claws again dug into something, but this time it was the ground as he pushed himself up, comming into a sitting position rather than laying sprawled out and vulnerable. The crimson residue that stained his claws was whiped away on the loam, but the heavy feeling wasn't gotten rid of so easily as he watched the forest for a few minutes more and began back towards the temple.
This time he made it a point to make at least some natural noise as he approached, the soft tick-tak of his claws against the ground more audible now that he wasn't making express effort to have them hit soft, muted soil. It wasn't hard to find her, but the eagle found it hard to speak very boldly as he adressed her. "Willow....are you alright?"
LP She didn't speak to him for a long time. Looking at her paw with the blood on it, she was not happy, but was thankful he didn't hit anything major.
Her ears flattened she sighed, having regained her normal temperment. "I'll be fine." She muttered as she headed towards the cave to search for something, hopefully LP would be out. Last thing she needed was LP to have a duck fit over this.
He followed her at a distance, trying to give her some space before he continued. "I...I didn't mean to hurt you...I was worried when you didn't come back, and I was scared.." As much as he hated to admit it. "That something would hurt you..."
He paused for a bit, blushing as he averted his gaze. "I wanted to protect you from whatever was out there...but I guess I couldn't. I'm sorry..."
LP Willow paused to look at him, hand pressed to the wound again to try and slow the blood. "You don't live out here, you don't know what could be in that part of the woods, next time don't try to be the hero." She said, not much in a repermanding voice but a pleading one.
"If you think something is going to hurt me you need to get Rosey or LP, I know their persent and wouldn't have tried to clawed you." She shook her head moving on to get what she needed, if she could manage to open it with the wound where it was.
"I know the woods better than you, although I give you not as well as I'd like but I could'ved handled my own. You were just a distraction." She sighed, "Distractions cause people to get hurt." She paused thinking about what the ghost had said the arm where the injury was felt like it was burning. No wonder LP hated Nax while he was visiting, sighing she murfed. "Oh well to late now. Come on I'll need you're help." She said as they entered the cave.
Truthfully - he'd been expecting to be yelled at. There wasn't really any particular reason for it, but he'd just always assumed that Willow was like that and didn't care much for sugar coating anything. Not that it was sugar coated, but the approach surprised him, and for once he let the last word ellude him, instead moving after her to assist in dressing the wounds he'd caused.
LP Willow moved with some diffuculty to get up on the shelfs in which LP kept the vails and things. She learned which ones did what while she was watching LP sort through them. Finding the one she wanted she murfed trying to drag it along.
"Dangit." She muttered grabbing it the best she could with her hurt arm. She knew it wouldn't break but she still didn't want to drop it. There were banadges on the next level along with a mirror and needle. If she could get up there she could have it dressed in no time....
Carl watched her struggle and strive to obtain what was needed, probably making the flesh around the wound aggitated or tearing it further. The last thing he wanted right now was to be a nuisance, but the bird just couldn't help but poke his beak in. "Willow, wouldn't it be easier to lift me up to the shelf and have me lower it down?"
LP Willow looked at him and murfed. "I..... nygh...." Okay she didn't have it she sat down, lucky her tears weren't a thing she knew of.... just yet.
"Ugh fine if you can get up here and shove this pest up to that next level I might can get the rest." She sighed, damnit this wasn't suppose to be the way it ended up. "Just hurry up before LP gets back."Gets back from what?" A voice echoed from down in the Celler.... As the door swung open with her arms full. Lucky Willow LP couldn't see the pair were they were.
Carl thought fast on his feet, looking around the cellar and finding anything red to smear on his hands. He made use of some old paint cans and streaked bits and lines over his claws, calling up to Lp as he did so. "Gets back from her trip. Hi Lp...I'm really sorry, but I spilt some red paint on Willow's shoulder. It was a pretty big drip, so I'm helping her get something to get it out."
Ok - so lying was wrong, but he didn't want Willow to have to explain anything, nor did he want her being so fussed over and such that she'd get embarrassed. He'd already done enough damage without toying with her emotions.
LP LP looked at him placing her things down on the counter and walked over to inspect willow, whom had removed her hand trying to make it looked like paint while trying ot make the vial look as if it was int place. LP's eyes narrowed, "Right paint.... well lets get it off then shall we?" She picked up Willow in one hand and carl in the other and carried them both the sink. Willow glared at Carl, the glare said, gee thanks.As they were both sat down on the counter and a rag was gotten from the counter and hot water ran on it. She lightly cleaned Willow's 'paint' spot. "Well that's the dangest paint I've ever seen." She said with a chuckle as she moved over ot the contents she'd just brung up, grabbing a bottle of liqour. "It might make that paint stain stinge but you're a tough little cookie." Willow's ears lowered, "Eh it's not THAT bad of a stain is it?" She asked not really thrilled about this idea. She watched LP place the rag just under the spot and pour the white liqud where carl's Talon had left it's mark. She winced, trying not to let tears pass.
"Okay All done!" She said about to get up before LP placed a finger ontop of Willow's head."Yeah right....." She said as she pulled out the bandaged. "Carl turn around for a bit and then we'll get that paint off you're claws."
Ok. Not what he'd expected! He could only give Willow a helpless look of utter sorriness as they were carried about, taken to the sink to be washed off like stuffed animals. The bird watched the spot closely as LP washed it, willing ever fiber of his being for it not to bleed anymore, somehow already suspecting the woman knew, but clinging to his denial for all he was worth.
Still...there wasn't much of it left to cling to.
The bird turned around as commanded and covered his eyes, at least giving modesty where he'd failed in everything else helpful that day.
LP LP chuckled at Carl and shook her head. Pulling Willow's shirt off gentally she tehn took some bandaged and wraped her up, nice and snugly so that the bandages covered willow's upper half and her wound. She made sure Willow looked like a 'Amazon' warrior of sorts and after making sure it wouldn't come lose she tilted her head. "Too Tight?" She asked poking softly at Willow's side. "No... it's fine." She said looking at the bandages. "You going to wash the shirt?" LP nodded and set Willow on the counter across from Carl. "Okay Carl it's safe now." She said with a chuckle placing Willow's shirt in with the dirty rags. "Once I get that 'paint' out of there you can have that one back." She said and Willow nodded. "Okay Carl you're turn. Lets get that paint off you're hands...." She said pausing not sure if that what they were to be called or not either way they needed to be cleaned off. "Donna'd Shoot me if you went home with red paint on there."
Ok. Not what he'd expected! He could only give Willow a helpless look of utter sorriness as they were carried about, taken to the sink to be washed off like stuffed animals. The bird watched the spot closely as LP washed it, willing ever fiber of his being for it not to bleed anymore, somehow already suspecting the woman knew, but clinging to his denial for all he was worth.
Still...there wasn't much of it left to cling to.
The bird turned around as commanded and covered his eyes, at least giving modesty where he'd failed in everything else helpful that day.
Carl turned around, still not looking directly at Willow. She might slap him if he did...
For LP, he held out his claws, allowing her to get at and around them to get off the old paint and metal bits that still clung to the surface. He'd never really cleaned them off from working, so it gave a sort of metal-flake paintjob look to his hands. Not a bad look at all, really, although Sid might tease him if he saw red nails on the masculine-kinda bird.
LP Willow tugged at the bandages feeling slightly bare she blinked. She wasn't sure she liked this... but atleast there was enough to keep the blood from seeping through. She was more in shock LP didn't fuss than having been picked up and fussed over... well not really fussed over but still.
She moved her arm and shurged figureing it could hurt wrose but it was better than nothing. She slipped off the counter using a 'slide' that LP had put there for her to move quicker. She moved over to where she kept some clothing."Willow I'd suggest not doing that.... unless it's a button up you're going to play heck getting that off in the morning." She said looking over to willow, "assuming that paint hasn't come all the way off." She set Carl on the ground and shooed both of them off. "Okay LP....." She said blinking. She hadn't thought that it might be hard to remove anything other than button ups what with where the wound was. She sighed and headed out the tunnel back to the temple.
Carl scurried after Willow, looking everywhere else but the bandages as he followed her back to the temple, already knowing he had work to do when they got there. The bird shuffled his feet a bit as they neared their destination. He couldn't help but feel a little bit foolish.....ok ALOT foolish in comparisson to his older peer, and the way things were going, he was beginning to doubt if he would make it an entire week.
LP Willow sighed, "I hope you'll be rested well tomorrow. You have alot of work to do tomorrow." She went to cross her arms and winced. Okay fine that wasn't going to work.
She sighed and moved on to the dinning area sitting down. "It's nothing rosey..."Rosey frowned but didn't turn another word about Willow's current outfit and moved to get the Orange Mango Chicken and Rice. Setting the table and giving the pair tea.
"I'll get up early to get a start on it, just get some sleep yourself and rest up your shoulder, ok? I'll do whatever you need until it's better..." The tone wasn't demanding, but soft and sad, not in the mannerism that one would think the bird to cry - but simply concerned about the wound and how it would hinder her. He didn't exactly want to see her sleeping outside with that, or sanding in the dark for that matter.
He slid into his seat and scooted up, taking up the chopsticks and reaquainting himself with them as he waited for Rosey to bring the food forth. As much as he'd done today, he really didn't feel as though he had much of an appetite.
LP Willow rolled her eyes, "Carl, don't worry about me. And you need to eat." She poked at her food using the opposite hand she normally used. Having trouble picking up her food she sighed.
She looked at him wondering what he ment by doing whatever she needed until it got better. Her tail flickered as she manage to get some chicken up and eating on it. Afterwards she looked at Carl. "You wouldn't feel this way had I been Sidney." She said trying to get him thinking about what a stuipd move that was.
He poked at his food and nibbled on it bit by bit, making an effort to at least look like he was hungry - but the statement cut him off and he set his utensils down, actually giving her a look of disdain. "That's not true, Willow. I never meant to hurt him."
Except when he'd thrown the ball, but Sid had started it! Sorta...
LP Willow looked at him, "Maybe...." She said looking at Carl tail twitching. "You know that's what got you out here in the first place. Right?" She said.
Tail flickered. She sighed shaking her head wondering if the bird would learn. "you better be glad I don't hold grudes long." She said murfing trying to shift the bandages. "These things are uncomfortible." She wrinkled her nose.
He nodded and oked at the remainder of his dinner, simply moving around occasional bits and pieces. "I know...but I'm not lieing. I wouldn't really want him hurt or killed...he just doesn't believe me."
LP Willow looked at Carl, "Well that's when you do everything in you're power to make yourself a less of a threat." She of course said this because it was true.
She got up from the table having only picked through the chicken and was about to head outside. "There are many kinds of people in the world Carl, some will cause pain to you and others will make you feel warm and fuzzy inside."
She paused at the door, "For those that cause you pain, no matter if it's sad to mad you need to be the one that backs down and tries to do you're best to get everyone to like you." She sighed, "You can't be a good king if everyone is scared of you." With that she disspaered out the door.Rosey passed by holding the candle waiting to see if Carl was finished with his meal or if he wanted a little more time.
Like that would help. Carl looked at the floating candle and sighed, trying to imagine what Rosey looked like as he adressed her. "You know, I should be scared of you. You're a ghost - and by all rights that makes you a threat - but I know that you're not a bad person, so that's why I respect you. But other Velvets just don't seem to think that way..." To this he offered up her claws. "The only way I would be less threatening is if I were to dress up in a pink bunny outfit and put bubble wrap around my beak."
Well, maybe something that drastic wasn't in order. He took back the dangerous extensions and looked them over. "Maybe she's right though...I can't have my subjects cowering before me. It just isn't DONE. But I don't know how I'm going to look less of a threat without looking completely rediculous.....What do YOU think, Rosey?"
LP Rosey snickered and shurged with the candle. She couldn't really tell him what she thought without being able to talk but she did have an idea.
She set the candle down for a second and went off to get something and showed it to him. It was a picture of sorts as she handed it over to carl. It had a picture of a guy that was a king but he was dressed up silly, almost like a clown.
He took the picture and looked it over, shaking his head a little. "Kings are supposed to be regal...aren't they? No one would respect a clown king. Well, except other clowns, neh?"
Than again, no one would be scared of a clown king. "Is this really what I should look like?"
LP Rosey tried to make carl read the passage.Quote: King entertains kids at party. Dressed as a clown for charity he went around to sick children's rooms and gave them an unexpected surprize.
"Kinda like the Badger Lord would comfort his hares when they were sick or at war...right?" He did follow, but that certainly wasn't the end of the conversation. He'd never known a dead person who knew so much about kings. "So a good king can make his subjects smile, but I know how to do it...kinda...so why are they still scared? You wouldn't believe how many of them think I wanna eat them."
LP To this she had no answer and just shook the candle side to side in a sort of clueless way. If he'd been Willow things would've been differnetly, but oh well.
Once at his guest room she gave him his candle again, fluffed his feathers as if to say good luck and roamed off.Willow was outside again, working. She didn't much care for being hurt but she was rakeing out the gardens, making sure that the stones where just so, so and picking out weeds. So she was hurt, it wouldn't stop her from doing what needed to be done. And Carl didn't need to be fussing over her.
She sighed leaning on the rake looking up at the night sky.
Ah well...Rosey had other things to do than to answer his questions right now, and the bird had alot to think of either way. As last night, he peered out the window, watching Willow work away at her home although it would have understood if she'd taken a break.
He continued this for a long while before an idea slowly began forming in his head and he turned away from the window to rummage through his things. He was surprised to find his mother had packed his journal and a pen, perhaps just to keep it current with what was going on while she wasn't around. Carl took it up and climbed onto the bed, opening the blank pages and beginning an entry while he awaited the sound of Willow's slumber.
LP Willow worked till midnight when the pain got the better of her and she decided she better stop for the night. Instead she sat down beside the pond watching the fish swim and jump.
She sighed softly watching the moonlite sky, petting thorn on the head. Whom was now sleeping quitely beside her. Willow didn't always mind thorn, speically when the kitten was sleeping. Willow herself yawned and was talking softly to another ghost.
"I'll have to go back tomorrow" She said softly looking towards the forest. "No he has to stay here....speically after what happened, it's too dangerous for him to be following me." She sighed and shook her head.
"No, no, I'm not worried about myself. It's what I saw in that little boy I'm worried about." Her tail flickered softly as she sighed eyes half closed. "No I don't quite understand it. It almost was like he had an illness. But I've never seen a ghost with an illness. I've seen headless, nearly headless and alot of other htings but nothing like that."
She was being stubborn, although Carl couldn't help but to jar himself awake every few minutes or so - just to continue listening. The conversation led on to what had gone on that day and what she'd seen, the words painting a mental picture of just what she'd been after in the depths of the forest. He didn't plan on following her again, lest he get more 'paint' on her clothes, but decided that he would keep an ear out tommorow - comming to her aide only once he was absolutely sure it was needed, and not without LP or Rosey with him.
The description of the ghost didn't leave him with a pleasant feeling, and it felt like there was an uncertain weight in his stomach as he imagined some small child being inflicted with some horrible illness that even Willow couldn't see.
It was all much too creepy for his liking.
Carl shuddered at the thought and pushed the feeling asside, peeking back out to see what else there was to learn tonight.
LP Willow sneezed and winced. "s**t...." She rubbed her shoulder, that wasn't a plesant feeling at all. She looked around before stopping to stare she saw something in Carl's window. Her eyes narrowed.
Why wasn't he asleep yet? She tilted her head softly and murfed. "I better not be seeing birds up in the middle of the night. Unless it's an owl it's time for all birds to be sleeping." She said as she turned back around to the ghost she was talking about.
"No, no I'm getting closer to finding that one though. There's three temples in China I've Narrowed it down to. I just have to get there."
Ok - that was his cue to get down and be quiet, at least until she fell asleep...or he did first.
Carl lay down and stared up at the ceiling, trying to keep his mind occupied enough that the demons of slumber wouldn't claim him yet but finding it harder and harder as the minutes passed. He eventually rolled over with journal in hand, thinking to close his eyes but for a moment...before he was dead asleep without realizing it.
LP Willow took longer to fall asleep. She'd moved to a hamock that was tied onto two trees and hoisted herself in it placing her good arm behind her head nad watched the stars twinkle.
She didn't really get to sleep till a few hours before dawn.
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Posted: Thu May 17, 2007 6:32 am
Dear Diary,
Wow - I haven’t written that before, and I was hoping that when I finally did that it would be a special occasion. No…instead I write from the bedroom of Willow’s temple, after having been sentenced to spend time here as punishment for attacking Sid. I’m still angry at him, sorta. If it weren’t for him, I would be home right now, in my own bed, maybe even working on my crown. But instead I lie here by candlelight, my body one big throb of muscle pains from muscles I didn’t even know I had. Who knew sanding was so painful? Sanding wasn’t all I did though. Today I finally got to try out something that I’ve had to undertake in secret for some time now. Welding.
Since when did kings weld? For a long time! The Lord of Salamandastrom forged weapons for his subjects, to protect their home from those who would harm innocent people. He forged crowns for queens who led their own to liberate the enslaved. They crafted beautiful bells and ornaments that countless people admired…Things that I admire, and want to be able to make.
At first it was just an exercise. Mom would give me pieces of metal to lift or cut, just to get me into practice with my skills. That turned into cutting little things out of scrap metal that no one wanted. I once made something for Trea and Yume, but when I looked back on it, I wanted to do better than some roughly thrown together mouse or charm. I wanted to make things worthy of a King! After all - one day I will be. I’ll look over a whole group of Velvets who know my name and who look up to me with loving eyes. I could make them fear me…I know I could…but that’s easy. Much too easy for me, with my sharp beak and long claws. I want a challenge…so why not love? That’ll really be fun to master.
But back to what I was saying…After I realized that my power was still raw and unpolished, I began picking up metal - any metal I could find - to cut and shape to my hearts content, although I hid the cuts and calluses from mom. She’s lenient - but I know that if she saw how bloody my hands could get or how hard my skin was becoming, she might make me stop. So I kept them away while searching for something more to carve.
Only recently did I begin to find suitable sized pieces to try my hand at crowns, but most of my early attempts at it…well…I wound up having to cut them down and rework them into metal figures. I haven’t given up though. My most recent crown will be better than all the rest, and after months of having toiled in secret, I finally feel, for the first time, that I’ve improved on all the good that I am.
I may hide it just a bit longer from mom, but I vow this, once I return home and once I take the next step in life - everyone will know just what I can do.
But…at the same time I’m a little disappointed. Today wasn’t just a day for welding…I wound up hurting Willow. It was after I’d finished the window frame that she ran off into the woods and didn’t come back that I got worried and went after her. I probably shouldn’t have. Willow can take care of herself after all…but I wanted to protect her from whatever might have been out there. All I wound up doing was starling her and accidentally gouging her shoulders with my claws. There was blood and everything…I feel like an idiot. She was really upset at me for a little while, but I think that after she got bandaged up and stuff that she forgave me, even if it was my fault.
After that we had dinner and I talked with Rosey for a bit. She’s nice, for a ghost, and gave me some advice. I hope it helps me become a better King, like Willow has been trying to teach me. As much as I hate to admit it, she makes a lot of good points, even if they are a little hard to understand some times. But that’s Willow for you. And speaking of, I think she’s finally drifting off.
I’ll write again tomorrow night, but for now I bid you farewell. I have some work to do.
With adoration,
Carl
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Posted: Sat May 19, 2007 6:38 am
Day 3
*Works on Claws of Steel
*Works on Strength
*Works on Willow's ghost powers
Beginning of Day 3
Carl was up earlier than he'd anticipated. Maybe it was the unsettling feeling that still hung loosely around his body, or maybe for the fact that he hadn't climbed beneath the covers that night to keep warm. Either way, the bird was up with the sun and quietly stalked out into the temple grounds to get started on what he could before breakfast. His body was stiff this morning. Not as sore as the previous day, but the bird felt as though everything in him just wanted to lay in bed for the rest of the day, something that he was forced to tell it that he just couldn't do. He stretched out his muscles for a bit, loosening them up before pulling on some new clothes - just old things that he didn't particularly mind getting dirty.
He first moved over to Willow to check on her. Again she'd slept outdoors, and she looked rather comfy in her little hamock. He wouldn't wake her this morning, at least not until Rosey came out to find the two. Instead, he backtracked to the garden and began to hunt out little weeds and things that didn't belong. Those were disposed of as needed, his footprints being swept away as well as he carefully memorized the pattern previously set and traced it with great care to assure it was at least decent, if not much more so than that.
Afterwards he moved to where he'd last left the sanders and broom, taking each supply up with one hand as he sought out anyplace he'd missed. These weren't too far and few apart - just what one would expect from some one who wasn't enitrely used to the task. Carl leaned and sanded these out, sweeping up afterwards before moving to the next spot, repeating it over and over until he couldn't find any place he'd overlooked. They were then put away, their weilder moving on to the next task.
This was the window frames. By now, the tiny tears of his muscles had reopened. He was sore from bending and pushing, walking about throwing things away...He was forced to head inside and find a suitable stool that could be set near his work station to help ease his pain. He found one not too far off from the incompleted side of the temple and hoisted it out. Carl climbed onto it and slipped off his shirt again, donning his material and at last setting to his expected work.
LP Willow yawned she murfed as rosey was poking her. She looked around sleepy like and yawned again.
"Carl there's paint buckets by the fence." She said from her postion, she knew he wasn't too far away. "After you finish what you're working on Paint the fence. Little Board Right hand - Up down, Big board Left hand - Up Down, Make sure you move your whole arm locking you're elbow and letting you're wrist do the work. Make sure you do the Whole Fence."
With that she dozed back off for a while. If Carl looked around the Fence went all the way around the temple, and garden. The graden for the Temple was rather large as was the empty patchs that held a gazibo. Carl had his work cut out for him today.
He nodded and continued, finishing the full five frames and making adjustments as needed to each one before setting them all asside and moving to the pain buckets.
Granted, it had taken him a long while to temper and carve all that metal, he said nothing of it and bent to pick up a brush. He dipped the bristels into the paint and set it then to the wood - using the pattern Willow had specified for each individual board. Time ticked away as he went up and down, left hand, right hand, over, under, and around the fence, the progress slow going as he toiled beneath the continuously rising sun.
But toil as he might, the bird said not one word of complaint. This was his punnishment for harming Willow, and he planned to face it like a man.
LP When carl was about midway through his task Willow got scratching her head. She looked around..... the zen gardens had been finished. She watched him work on the fence.
Getting up she inspected it and then turned to watching him. "Don't forget the backside and then if it's not too late start on the floors. You may need a differnet brush for them. I think there's somthing over there that has a spongy surface and a wooden top. If so use that, and the circles that you were useing earlier for the floors to varnish them." She didn't expect him to get it done today but she figured he could start if he felt like it. She went in and saw rosey had made a few warps to take out to him. "Good idea." She said as she rummaged in the fridge with her good arm, doing her best to move the other one little as possible.
"Finally" She pulled out some meat and some bread which she popped into a small toaster. After having poked at it she sighed. "I'll have to get acia to work on it. Maybe she can get it to work. Along with all the other eletrical things that don't work." She sighed and shurged placing the bread back onto the table and started making a sandwhich.Rosey on the other hand floated out to Carl with a stryofoam box and nudged him with it when he had a pause in painting. She offered it to him, she didn't know if he'd like chicken with lettuce, tomato, cheese, chilli, and ranch dressing wraps but she hoped he'd atleast appricate the gesture.
Carl continued working until something nudged him out of his concentration. "Wha-?" A floating box had come to call! Rosey, no doubt, who had come out to keep him company...with a box...Full of FOOD!!! Carl grinned and set down the brush, plopping back and taking out one of the wraps. Without question he bit into it, making a soft eagley-noise of happy as he munched on it. As soon as he swallowed the ffirst few bites he looked over at the spector. "Thanks Rosey! How did you know I like chili? The ranch isn't bad either - and the lettuce is awesome with it. You wouldn't happen to have been a class A chef in life, would you?" Maybe she had. Carl was only making a whimsical assumption about it as he continued to enjoy the remainder of lunch/breakfast.
The entirety of it was devoured within his own sweet time, almost procrastinating a little before he pushed himself up and picked up the brush. He again nodded his sincere thanks to Rosey, and began on the fence once more, trying to make sure it was done right before he would move onto the back, and maybe the floors if he stayed up late.
LP Rosey chuckled as she watched Carl chow down on the meal. Well atleast he did like it. "You're welcome," She said having forgotten he couldn't hear her as she blushed, thankfully he couldn't see her either. "No, no Grade A cook, I just worked for a few rich pe......" She paused when she remembered he couldn't hear her.
Oh well. She fluffed the bird before she left and floated off with the box.Willow heard rosey though and Carl and called from the kitchen. "Rosey was no more of a cook than a maid. She should've been a cook though." Willow nodded as she bite down into her sandwhich which she had added A1 sauce too. Having finished a bite she also called out, "She said you're welcome." Afterwards she finished her meal and then aimed to dissaper back into the woods to look for the specter that dissapered from her last night.
"Yeah, she would've done really well with it." The bird enjoyed the extra fluffling of his feathers and continued painting, stopping only after a few minutes more worth to step inside for a drink. That chilli had left him parched! Thus he followed where the box had gone and tried not to look foolish as he adressed where he assumed Rosey was. "Excuse me, Rosey, may I please have a glass of water? I'm a bit thirsty - but I can wait if you're busy."
LP Of crouse Rosey didn't mind and filled a glass with water handing it to him. She then retreated towards other daily work. Including dusting.Willow was slinking in the woods. If this was night it'd be so much easier She thought to herself as she scamped along looking for the boy.
She lucked out and found him moving very causal like as if she was just taking a stroll. "Hello there." She said to him as she passed, "Nice day isn't it?"The boy sat there moping when Willow came up he blinked several times before huffing. "It is not. Look at those clouds it's going to rain tonight."
Carl tilted the liquid down his throat slowly, making sure to get it all before setting the glass down nearby the sink, perhaps to be re-used again later to save Rosey from washing too many dishes. Refreshed and rejuvinated, the boy set out and back to work with a will, moving more quickly but still making sure to do the job right so that Willow's temple would suit her needs and tastes to a tee.
He saw her move again towards the woods, but he made no move to follow. As planned, the bird began listening hard to the air around him, waiting for the cue that she needed help. It was a doubtful thing that it would ever come - but if it did, he was ready.
LP "Oh, Well I suppose it just might. I don't smell rain yet so maybe it'll be tomorrow before it gets here." She said with a soft nod looking at the boy as she hummed a soft tune.The boy nodded softly as he looked at the tiny tiger. "What happened?" He asked pointing to her shoulder. Atleast he was more clam today than he was yesterday he still had been weeping."Oh this?" She said looking at him, "A friend I'm suppose to be teaching got a little over zelous in trying to protect me and we ended up attacking each other. Nothing major. It'll heal in a few days." She walked on Humming hoping the boy would follow.He watched her sorrow again filled his eyes. "I'm sorry, I suppose that was my fault too." He shuffled his feet but the song caught his attention. "What are you humming?" He asked looking at her and following slowly."No, no. The bird needs to learn his place. He's got a big head and I need to make him see that having a big head is dangerous." She said with a nod.
When he asked what song it was she paused. "If only..." She said softly.
The front was done. Carl picked up the paint and went to the gate, crossing over and beginning on the other side as he'd been instructed. It didn't look like he'd be getting to the floors today, but if all else failed he always had windows to make. The sound of something in the woods caught his attention. He paused at the board he'd started on and listened, trying to catch just what was being said and if it had anything to do with any information he could use.
LP "Will you sing it for me?" He asked looking curious at the little tiger as he followed her.Willow looked at him her head tilted. "What happened to go away? Everyone gets hurt around you?" She asked softly not really in a mean tone but cuirous."I.... I think you're different than all the others." He replied softly looking down. "I... I don't think you can catch the plague."Willow blinked, so that's what it was. The Plague, she didn't know why she couldn't place what it was when she first saw it but now it all made sense. She nodded softly. "I think I might know a cure. Follow me." She said softly as she walked.
"Mind you I'm not no patsy cline." She said with a nod. As she tried to remember the lyrics.
"The old mans been stealin she's holdin the greevin for hundred a years we all keep believin that history repeats
itself year after year.
i fears that the future is worse
we have to give in to a hundred year curse
sweatin the sun like we're diggin a grave
dig deep enogh and our fortune is saved
(chorus)
if only if only
the wood pecker sighs
the bark on the trees was as soft as
the sky
as the wolf waits below
hungry and lonely
he cries to the moo-oo-oon
if only if only
chasin the sky our beautiful wife you make mistakes and it's my back that breaks and forever my prosteals my life to
submission
i'm beat but there's hope beneath these feet
blisters and blood and the sun makes you blind you don't let it eat ya it can't help but be kind cause you know what's
important with your back to the world you can break metal chains and your friends don't let you fall"
She continued on like this as they walked stopping when she found what she was looking for. There was a patch of wild onions growing here, Huge ones too. They were the sweetest onions around these parts, and not many knew about them. "Here Drink the water and eat the Onions It'll make you feel better." She said with a soft smile and a nod as she sung the rest of the song softly. Feeling the wind picking up as she did.The boy did try what he was told, and was amazed that he could actully taste the onion and the water. Soon he started to fade away. "Thank you..." He said softly as he dissapered.That one didn't take long to solve at all, she started heading back home towards where the wind blew when she got back they'd have to make sure everything was tied down on the contrustion end and the swing and gazibo too least they blow away. She was humming as she returned.
Most of the song had elluded him, but what little he caught caused him to hum as well as he got back to his task. The tune was a little off of the actual song, but he didn't really seem to care as he streaked the paint onto the wood, moving on and on until Willow returned. It was then he stopped and moved over to greet her. "Oy, did everything go alright?"
LP Willow chuckled, "Of crouse. Come on you can finish that in the a minute. We have to batten down the hatches." She said moving to grab the rope murfing as she moved her hurt shoulder. But it had to be done she couldn't stop because of the stiffness.
"We can't have any of this stuff blowing away if it gets bad."
Carl stretched and nodded, loosening up before taking up some rope for himself and looking around for whatever would need tying down. "The zen garden will probably have to be re-raked tommorow, and the sand washed off the grounds. I think the pain job will survive - but I decree that your hamock will need taking down." As for everything else, he just waited for her to point him to it. He'd never tied down his own things for a storm, but the thought was curiously akin to his idea of securing a castle before a war or brutal addault battered against its' walls. However - this wasn't a castle, they didn't have to protect the ramparts, and they were just tying stuff up to keep it from the wind.
LP Willow also Grabbed some stakes and a hammer. "Well don't just stand there grab a hammer and some stakes. You get the Gazibo Ready to be tied and I'll get the Swing and then I'll help you get the ropes where they need to be." She said moving it was much easier with two people than one. Because normally LP wasn't there to help so Willow had to grab one of the random animals to help but they weren't that much of a help. She started Driving in two Steaks one on each side and swung part of the rope around one steak and then took it wrapped it around the upper portion of the legs on the swing, Diagonally of crouse and tied it to the stake opposing the first one and did the same with the second before moving to help carl.
"Right. I'll see you at the Gazibo." He moved towards the specified aread and began positioning the equipment. Once Willow came ove, he began driving them into the appropriate places and tying off ropes to them, letting her position those to best tie it down while he dealt with the other, less intricate, proceedures. Something that wouldn't take too long.
LP Willo caught the ropes and tied them down as needed so the Gazibo wouldn't blow off. "Okay I think we've got this good. WE need to double check the ropes on the contrustion end, less the room you're staying in blows away." She said as she carried what was left of her ropes and stakes over. "This is going to take a bit more time." She said looking at the roof. "Can you throw the ropes over that?" She asked looking at him with questioning eyes.
Carl looked at the angle for a moment when inspiration struck! The eagle nodded and died a stake to the end of the rope, then grabbing it at midlength and beginning to swing it in a small circle. "Stand back." And then it widened, spinning farther and faster and harder as her whipped it over and over again and *SHOOM!* With all his strength, he hurled it in the direction it needed to go, watching as the weight on the end turned into a distant spec and the rope it held went streaming forwards with life all its own.
"Think that'll do it?"
LP Willow looked at him "Yeah let me get to the other side. So I can Wack them in. I think three maybe four more stright across and then if we can manage it two that cross each other. That should hold for tonight." She said with a nod making sure the support beams where all in place. "I'll be glad when LP has this finished. I'm getting tired of doing this..." She said with a sigh.
Four more stakes were tied on the ends and whirled over the top, each one going a little farther than the last one, as though some subtle hint to the fact that all the work was paying off in his body. Carl didn't seem to notice it, but just kept on with it until all were across one ay, moving then to the other side and slinging two more over to be pounded in.
LP Willow was pounding in the ones she caught. "Ack CARL WATCH WHERE YOU'RE THROWING THOSE YOU ALMOST HIT ME WITH THAT ONE!" She said, she wasn't really fussing she was more trying to kid with him.
"Now get you're half fluffy butt over here and help." She had two pounded in but her arm was giving her a fit so she had to break for a second.
"Well maybe you should gussy up some more so you won't blend in so well with those stripes!!" He'd caught the joking tone and retaliated, chuckling softly as he walked around to her side and pounded in what she'd left undone.
"My butt is MORE than half fluffy, you know! I bet it's three times fluffier than yours." Like that was true. He grinned and winked at her, daring the tiger to come up with some retaliation.
LP "If i gussied up more you for sure would have been in trouble for getting blood on my clothing." She said and stuck her tounge out. Picking at the bandages. "Good thing it's not that cold out here." She said looking around.
Pauseing before she murfed, "Don't you have a fence to finish before it rains fluff butt?"
"Yeah, but you'd be better noticed - although I must say that stripes are very slimming on you." The last bit was actually truth, for Carl had never actually looked at Willow and had the word 'fat' come into mind. Nope - she was just right, not a beanpole, not a yeti.
He shook his fluffy butt indignantly as he swaggered off in high style to finish the fence, making it a point to hum 'I'm too sexy' loud enough to be heard all the way back to the paint can.
LP "You keep that up I'll make a point to find Nax. We'll see how realtive that song is after he finishes with you." She said with a grin before moveing off to so some sweeping or something.
He called back as he got to painting again, "Sorry, I can't hear you over the sound of my fluffy butt rocking like pop rocks." Not that he particularly liked pop rocks. He much prefered hot sauce and lime sherbet to the overy fixy candy that bounced in his beak. Other than that - he didn't know who Nax was anyways, so he wasn't too concerned as he shook his butt while painting.
LP Willow shook her head. That boy was just wrong. Oh well, she could smell the rain now. It wasn't too far off but it'd serve him right to get wet out there.
She went about work inside cleaning some things mostly. And Putting plastic wrap over the windows so the rain didn't get inside. It was one hting for it to rain it was another to get sopping wet from it.
Willow wasn't the only one with it. Carl couldn't smell the rain, but the birds had gone quiet and had left the open of the sky to seek cover. Other animals had found shelter as well, and the azure hues that had been there earlier in the day had now faded into a dismal shade of grey. The boy picked up the paint and supplies and hauled them to a covered area, leaving them for tommorow while he headed inside to await the comming of the great storm.
Once indoors, the bird curled up into a secluded corner of the temple, allowing the faint, ruddy glow of a nearby light to keep him company as a soft peal of thunder filled his senses. His eyes closed, his feathers fluffed. Carl wasn't scared of storms exactly - but no bird liked the thought of thunder and rain, the sickening smell of burnt feathers as lightning struck some foolish avian who'd risen to face the angry winds...It was just unpleasant to think about; so the eagle prepared himself to wait out the noise and chill, and perhaps focus on some other chore that could be found for him to do.
LP Willow watched the rain fall as she churred. She liked the rain but wouldn't go outside with the bandages on. "Hey carl you can vaccuum Rosey hasn't done that yet!"
"Ok..." His voice was quieter, almost a paranoid sort of sound as the first few drops hit the roof, followed by their countless bretheren of the dark evening. Carl could only hope the vaccuum would drown out the noise as he moved over to it.
It was a rather old looking vaccuum. The bag was an internal cylander, the hose looking as though it had been duct taped back together a few hundred times. It would still WORK, he was sure, but he couldn't help wonder just how such a dog-forsaken piece of junk had wound up here. Regardless, he picked up the attatchment and reached down to turn it on, waiting for the hum of the machine as the ignition was flipped.
LP Willow looked a him tilting her head, "You're not scared of the rain are you?" She poked at him looking outside.
She chuckled and walked off to another part of the room.Whorrllllllllllllllll when the vaccuum cleaner was turned on it hummed... plesnatly.
"No...It's just a bird thing. Only waterfowl like the rain - and I'm not a waterfowl. That's all." Carl watched her go off on her own, probably to enjoy the view from somewhere else while he picked up the shedded fur and feathers and dust from the ground, the cautioned end being set to the floor and slowly pushed along as his task began. He wasn't in any hurry either. He inched along, watching the thin layer of dust be sucked away to it's doom, dead cells completely oblivious to the fact that they'd ever once held life at all. Sort of a depressing way to look at it, but he couldn't help that dust wasn't sentient.
Ah well, that didn't matter. He simply toned himself to the sound and continued his snails-pace trek, completely ignoring everything else around him as he simply vaccuumed-out.
LP Willow shurged as she sauntered off.Ahhhh she's gone. Now I can give this bird brain what for... The vaccuum cleaner started whorlling faster and faster. Untill it got where it could suck the fethers from carl's body. and moved for it. "MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA" Whoommpppp...whomp, whomp, fwahoomp. Carls feathers weren't going to stay there much longer... well atleast the older ones weren't.
The machine lurched forwards. Carl looked down at it, a look of query crossing his features. Again it lurched, pulling harder this time, a strange sound emenating from deep within the mechanical bowels. "What the hell...??"
Carl wasn't given an opportunity to think it over. The machine LUNGED forwards and pulled away from him, sending the eagle sprawling onto the hardwood floor as the tube broke free of his grasp and sped off and around.
The eagle moaned. It hurt...Carl winced visibly as he pushed himself up, the sting of fresh bruises having come too quickly to conceal - but bruises were only bruises...as he looked up towards the mechanical menace, the sapphire orbs grew wide, and the floor trembled beneath him as he pushed himself up and ran for the door.
LP Ohhh he wasn't going to get off that easy. The cleaner Darted infront of the door and then again started to aim to get his feathers. Now Carl could leagibly blame Willow for the ghost attack had she been the type to get a ghost to do her pay back.
But this... this was of his own accord. Switching power on the vaccuum to the fullest possible power the machine whorlled and buzzed and thumped and whomped as it ate carl's feathers.
And then it ripped. If the girl was in hearing range, Willow would hear the most masculine man-like scream-like-a-little-girl scream ever uttered on the face of the earth. One, two, six, twenty - fifty! The feathers flew like a bird having his an airplane engine.
Had he only kept his hoodie on earlier that day...if only it didn't lay on the other side of the temple, warm and safe with the welding tools that he'd used to make the windows...
Carl tried to cover the remaining feathers with his claws, tears streaming from the suction that ripped every last feather off of his birdy behind, save for the newer installments that had been growing since he'd arrived. But even with these it was painfully obvious, especially to Carl, that he was naked.
And bleeding. Just a little bit from feathers that hadn't quite been ready to come out. The bird sank to his knees and rubbed the bare pink flesh, trying to sooth the hurt where he was unable to salvage his ego. He could only look up now at the machine that continued to suck, pulling away the last traces of his feathers whilst watching the once mighty king fall into a big, pink, muscley heap.
LP Willow was there in a flash after the scream holding her shoulder for she'd appernetly hit it on the way. "What the....... DAMNIT FINCH." She yelled and kicked the plug from the vaccuum cleaner. "OUT OUT OUT!" She roared at the ghost before tossing carl a towl that she had in her paws.Of crouse a dejected Finch left, "Though you'd be happy I got the bird back for you." He muttered as he left."That was low even for you." Said rosey as she brought carl his hoodie and took the towl and got the little blood stains off of him having also happinginly to have brought some warm water, which she had planned on scrubbing down walls with. Instead she used it to make sure carl was alright first, being there was nothing in the water to hurt the bird.
Carl quickly pulled it on, completely ignoring the blood and covering himself completely with the towel. The only thing shown was his beak as he curled up into it, shivering from the shock of it, as well as the fact he'd just lost his substantial heat source.
Not to say he was in any physical danger - but one really couldn't tell that just by looking at the bundle of towel and hoodie that sat there. The only thing he uttered came in a low, startled voice. "I'm not comming out."
And as far as he was concerned, that was that.
LP Well that wasn't going to do. Willow Grabbed carl's hoodie and pulled it away from his face. "I got you something." She said with a grin and eyebrow wiggle. "I was going to wait till the end of the week but now's as good as time as any. So you better get that fluffy butt up and follow me."
She then let the hood fall on carl's face again and walked towards the door watching the harpy with a sigh.Rosey frowned and nudged carl. "I'll make you some more wraps. And anything else you'd like." She didn't like Finch, never did but Willow couldn't manage to get him to go on."Rosey said she make you some more wraps and anything else you wanted to eat...."
Carl hessitantly followed her, completely edging AWAY from the vaccuum cleaner. He moved past it in a single burst of speed, almost bumping into Willow in the process of trying to escape the manic device and keep every inch of himself covered in his hoodie. Ok - so walking around blind probably wasn't the best idea, but would you go around naked infront of a house of women? Carl tightened the hood around his head and reached out, feeling his way around by means of occasionally batting Willow's tail.
"Are we almost there?...And I'm not hungry, Rosey...I'm....bald. Please tell me she bought me some rogain or something..."
LP Willow stopped looking at him. "Carl there are wrose thing than being bald. You could be dead for ghost sakes." She shook her head and paused pushing him guiding him to her room. She sighed. "Rogain an't going to help you feather butt." She muttered as she led him on.
"Besides you need to eat something because you're still going to have to work." When they got to her room she pulled out a box and tossed it at him. When he opened it he'd find several sets of japanese and chinese style clothing for men. Includeing a monk's outfit. "I had them hand crafted, there's several there for you. I would've gotten some for Nayati but there's no point because he doesn't wear much of anything at all, and I got Acia, trea and willie some things as well. Toby.... well his is in the works."
The monks outfit was his first choice although the rest were wonderfully done and would look good on him, once he got feathers back. He slipped the robe on over his other clothes and adjusted it for maximum coverage, finally succeeding in making himself nothing but claws and beak - with the newly added feature of sight! He looked up at her.
"Thanks, Willow...it makes it a little better."
LP "Sorry about Finch. He's got a big heart but his head is in the wrong place." Willow said tapping two fingers upside her head. With a shurg."Big heart my foot." Rosey muttered leaning on the temple wall looking crossed. "More like a big bully.""He does have a big heart Rosey. It's just he doesn't know how to use it." She looked at Rosey, of crouse not normally would she stand up for a bully. "Just because he's a bully doens't mean he'll stay that way." She said with a nod.
"Although know that he know carl's scare of him that'll be a bit harder to prove." She said tapping her chin. "Shame, although this reminds me of something else that happened with someone whom could've been called a bully." Willow eyed Carl.
Carl caught the look and glared beneath the hood. "Don't even GO there. I never sucked some one's feathers off." Not that that was what she meant, but the point stood. He was honestly quite offended that she would even think of such a thing. If feathers still remained to him, they'd be fluffing up at this point, but the bird only looked away and gave a little 'humph'. "I can't believe you would even assume such a terrible thing, after all the times I was sincerely sorry for everything - and even apologized and made a deal with Sid. Accusing me of being a bully...That's treason!"
LP Willow got up and moved to streatch before she realized it hurt wrose to do that. "Well you were a bully for a little bit. Before you made that deal with Sid." She crossed her arms.
"Treason? Carl Do you remember what I told you when you first came here? This isn't you're land to rule it's mine." She looked at him, "Any one who's committing Treason it's you." She tilted her head eyes narrowing.
"Do you even know why you're here?" She asked softly looking at Carl.
"Of course I do!" Oh yes, he'd forgotten this wasn't his realm for a minute. The stance was abbandoned as he looked down at his claws, searching them for inspiration while he tried to get his point across. "I'm here to learn how to be a King......and to understand that I can't always solve my problems by impulses or first glance...I have to work through them quietly before I can take credit for what's been done." He looked at a red streak that had somehow escaped all the cleaning and fussing over the matter. "And...to learn that Kings take credit for the good things, and have to take responsibilty for the bad, even if they don't always feel that their situation is just."
LP "That maybe be." Willow said as she walked out of the room. She sighed and shook her head, "But you've forgotten something...."
He maynot want to hear it and she didn't want to say it but it was needed to be done. "It's also to teach you that you're EGO isn't everything. Donna said you're Ego has gotten to you're head and you're starting to think you're to good for anything else." She placed her paws on her hips as she looked at a picture on the wall.
"Having an Ego the Size of a human isn't something that you need to have. You have to realize that there's more to life than yourself and you're ruling the 'velveteen kingdom.'" She shurged and move on looking at the floor. "If you don't learn that then there's no point in you trying to be king because even kings know that they have to make everyone feel welcomes and things aren't always about themselves."
Her ears laid down flat. "If you don't learn anything about that then this whole week will be a waist.... Well for you, not for me." She said looking at the temple and what all had been done before leaning on a nearby window seal watching the rain peacefully falling and a soft sigh escaped her.
Willow just always had to be right, didn't she? The bird looked up at her, dejected, but understanding that she'd made a very good point.
That was what kings were FOR, wasn't it? To make their people happy...But only then did it ever occurr to Carl that he hadn't been doing the best he could to do that, even if he had tried.
But trying and failing was a part of learning, so he nodded and inclined his head a little, looking up at the picture as well, while still making effort to fully grasp just what she expected him to do in order to become a good king.
"Well?..." Carl was unsure of himself for a moment, but tendrils of confidence slowly overtook his tones as he gave a resolute look and picked himself up to full stance. "What do I have to do to make YOU happy?"
LP The picture on the wall was a painting of a unicorn, sorta looked like nayati in a way but it wasn't. There were different paints of all kinds of animals inculding tigers hung every where in the temple, this was one of those times Willow just decided to stare off in the distance.
"Hrm?" She said looking at carl from the window, brought back from a day dream. "What would make me happy? Well...." Why'd he have to ask that. it was such a hard question. "There's alot of things that make me happy, the rain for one." She said watching it fall the soft pitter patter and a rumble every now a then.
"People who aren't jerks, or don't have too big of egos." She shurged. As she moved along turning on the radio as she flipped to a station with rock music and then to techno trance and she hummed along with it.
"I'm not trying to be a jerk you know. I like seeing you and Trea happy, and I don't like getting into it with Sid. Why would I, after all? It just gets me in trouble, one of us could have been hurt, and I can't help it that he thinks I'm trying to kill him."
Carl moved over to her again and leaned on her, trying to get her to understand he really meant it. "I would be really sad if Sid was hurt...because I know that would hurt you, and Trea, and Iris."
LP Willow cringed as he leaned on her. Looking off down the hall oppsite of him. "Yes but still just because someone is frighten of you that doens't make it right to egg it on." She sighed and petted him on the head as she moved so he wasn't touching her.
Contact with others besides ghosts were strange, she didn't really enjoy it either... Nayati though something was different with him. She sighed and leaned on the wall shaking her head. "It wouldn't only hurt us it'd hurt you other friends too if you hurt sid or any of those scare of you." Her tail flickered.
"I'm almost surprised that Trea isn't scare of you." She said softly remembering how timid trea was when they first met.
The got the hint and left her be, not leaning on her as he would have done with Trea or Donna.
And then he remembered. "Trea WAS scared of me though!" Ah yes. It had been a long time ago, but the eagle inclined his head as the memory came. "It was when I was an animal. I was trying to show her just how good I was at flying, but she thought that I was trying to attack her. I was sorry to have scared her...She was the first person, besides you, I'd ever known."
He looked to her, smiling a little. "Mom says you were the first velvet to ever play with me."
But back to the matter at hand..
"The point is though - even though she was scared, she didn't yell at me like Sid did, or accuse me of trying to hurt her on purpose. She was nice to me...like I wish those who're scared of me would try to be."
LP Willow looked at him her head tilted softly. "Mayhaps not. But you have to show them you mean no harm, well not just show but prove to them you mean no harm."
Her tail flickered, "Prey animals are most of the time scare of predators and thus they must be shown we mean no harm. I myself have not had the pleasure of anyone fearing me yet." She turned and walked on slowly. Listening to the music, "Of crouse when me and sid first remet so to speak he startled myself." She chuckled shaking her head moving on. "My my it's late. There's more work to be done, you should get some rest."
She moved to kitchen to fix herself a night snack, "Good night..." She said.Rosey stood there with a candle watching as Willow walked off, looking to carl.
And Carl watched her go, as always. He waited until she was out of sight before turning his attentions instead to rosey. "So...Have any advice tonight?" This was directed in regards to the conversation, but he wasn't sure if the ghost wanted to get involved. He would understand if not - but he honestly couldn't say that he didn't crave some direction from the dead.
Surely she had seen a King in her life - or afterlife time.
LP Rosey smiled, of crouse he couldn't see her, so she lead the way to his room. She'd seen him writing in the journal. She would perhapse borrow a page from it.
As they reached his room she sat the candle down and she moved to where he kept the journal fliping it over she opened the back slowly. Writing down something before showing it to him.
'if you mean on being a king, then no. I do have some advice about willow though.'
Clever!
Carl smiled and nodded happily, pleased with how clever Rosey had turned out to be. Not that ghosts were dumb - but he hadn't expected her to think up a solution to their communication dilemna so practically. "My dear, if you were a Velvet - you would SO been one of the round table crew. Do tell what you can."
LP 'I'd have to reject that as I only serve my mistress Willow.' Rosey had her head tilted thinking about what she wanted to tell him first. Pondering over it she sighed softly, 'Willow really does have a soft heart, you should know that. But when she had to she'll be the dominate figure.' The pen flowed and as it did the color of it changed to ice blue.
Rosey paused here before continuing. 'She prefers her own company over others, but she's learned that we're always around. So she's come to accept us, you're the first to have come here, mayhaps the last.'
Again rosey paused to think, 'She's starting to rather dead over the living. You seen how she acted at you're touch, you're the only other one besides LP and one other to have touched her at all, while she doesn't care about LP, the other she seemed not to mind either... now, it's like she rathers us over most any contact.' With that Rosey stopped and looked at Carl.
The bird read on and inclined his head, putting it into his hand as he pondered over what kind of person Willow really was. He didn't really remember the first time they'd played together...nor did he remember much of her ever being a child like him. She'd just always been Willow...that was all...
But she was becomming something a little bit more.
"Doesn't she miss it? Ghosts are people to - but you're cold...you can't really 'touch' things like the living." Thus the reason she could hold the pen, but when he reached out to gently put his hand over where her own should be, he felt nothing but a bitterly cold patch.
A rather sad thing that caused him to pat her the best he could.
"I just wish that she liked me as much as she likes you...and that she would be warm again, like the living, instead of seeming so cold. But......I can't ask her to change. She has to want to change - just like I have to keep wanting to be King if I ever want it to happen. Even if it means just taking her as she comes, I think I could live with that if it meant that one day she'd be proud to have me around."
LP 'To be living among the dead one chances. Heart may grow cold but she has a deeper understanding of things that others may never have.' Rosey paused to think about this, 'To think, she will never be afraid of the dead or the things she can't see. She is cold, but that is her nature.'
Thinking of what carl had said, rosey stopped. Saddened eyes as he tried to touch her. 'I'm afaird she misses it no more than she misses anything thing else in the world. For she could easily turn from who she is to a dark mistress, or to a lovely mistress of good. She is who she is and we cannot change that. She will ride the fence between worlds, if two or three. One day she will fall to one side or the other.
Rosey gave a chuckle as he said he wished she liked him as much as she liked rosey. 'One such as herself cannot help but to love the dead, but if you have heard that cat of her talk, thorn I beleive is it's name. You will come to find that the kitten speaks of things that could happen. That card of the kitten, death. It may very well resemble one of her sides dieing. While any way she goes it benifits us. She'll never show she's proud of anyone Carl.'
With this Rosey stopped and shook her head, 'Willow treats everyone the same, she even smiles when she sees them. They're all family to her even you. But it's not the family she cares for like she once did. She can only stand so much of the living. Before she seeks us out, even though she does often get tired of us as well. The cold grip of death, she's always loved it, her passion and calling is helping us......' Had rosey not been a spectra she might have shed a tear thinking about all these things.
"So...what you're saying is that she's just who she is, whether or not the person she is isn't really sure of who she really is yet. We just have to accept her for whatever she turns out to be, and understand that she's the way she is for reasons that we're not always supposed to know?"
Or something like that.
Carl smiled a little, although he felt like he'd somehow learned less about Willow than he thought he'd known before. Women were complex things indeed...
"I hope that Willow continues to help you and the other ghosts, Rosey. I'll do my best to, on this side, to help the living - so that maybe I can make sure that there are at least a few less unahppy spirits."
LP 'But it is not you're job to help us.' Rosey wrote. Looking to Carl, 'She doesn't worry about understanding who she is or why, she learns as she goes what there is to know. Granted most of it comes from the TV, but still. Have you ever known one as a child to be just as cold and distant as they are to be when they're an adult, if not more so when they are an adult?'
Getting up Rosey looked to carl. Before writing two more things, 'Do not worry about Willow liking you, she maynot say it but she appericates all that is living as well as all that is dead. She just has a funny way to show it. Good night Carl.' Taking out the pages she had written after carl had read them she bowed and took the papers to burn them.Willow was in the kitchen when Rosey came back, she was eating on an omlette she had made. "It's not as good as your's Rosey." She said softly looking at the Ghost eyes narrowed slightly. She could see something about Rosey was a bit more meloncholy than normal. "Talking to Carl?" She asked looking at the papers as they burned in the fire place Rosey had tossed them in.
"You know. I'd appericate you not talking about me behind my back. You might have thought you were helping something but it really only causes me more trouble Rosey. Do understand." She said looking at the Ghost before giving her a hug and moving off. "I like who I am, I can't help that I like the fridge cold of death that you guys bring.... Aside from that of the warmth of those that are Alive.""H... How did you know?" She asked looking at Willow stunned."I've heard you talk about it all to many times rosey, and I know that look on your face as one to say you have mentioned it again. I wish you'd stop worrying about me like that." Willow said and with that she walked out of hte room having finished her omlette and went to bed.
End of Day 3
He thought she would have liked the idea, but did less ghosts mean a lonelier world for her? Carl gave an apologetic look to the spector ar it dawned on him, and gently tried to fluff her as she'd done to him before she went. It probably wasn't a very good attempt, but it was the thought that counted, right?
"Goodnight, Rosey...and thanks. I think I understand Willow a little bit better now...if only a very little bit."
But by that time she'd vannished, leaving him alone with his thoughts as he slipped into bed and pulled his journal to him, deciding to write a little before going to sleep.
LP Of crouse Willow sat on the floor looking at her tarot cards. She had to open one of her spare packs of her favorite deck. Looking at the card she had pulled off the top she sighed.
Of crouse she hadn't had time to work with the deck so it wasn't going to be accurate at all. She watched as Thorn came in and settled herself beside willow nuzzling into her leg. Willow placed the deck into it's velvet pouch and sighed scritching Thorn's ear.
"Sometimes I wonder if you're right kitten." She said softly looking to the card before getting up. "I suppose we sleep on it untill the morrow. Night Thorn."
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Posted: Sat May 19, 2007 11:13 am
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Posted: Sun May 20, 2007 9:03 am
Day 4
Beginning of Day 4
This time, he slept late. It seemed that Rosey was going to have to push the boy up and out of his sore coma of aching ailment. The only sounds to come from the room were those of slumber, soft 'krermgfl..'s and various other things not quite made out.
Up until they got near anyways, for there were a few distinct phrases that led one to wonder just WHAT was going on in his brain. "Sid and the fence when he was a homo ghost...Trea.."
LP Willow Snerked and went to get a bucket of cold water. So he wouldn't wake up hum? She'd teach him. When she got back she herd the sid comment. "What the...." She looked at Rosey who shurged.
'SPLOOSH!' One bucket of extreamly cold ice water coming up. "Willow stood there her arms crossed on her chest. "Rise and Shine Sleeping Beauty You've got to finish that Fence and get working on varnishing my floors today. NO TIME FOR SLEEP UP UP UP!"
Another scream, although this time he'd not been awake enough to control just how manly it was before the high pitched tones broke loose and he flailed wildly in the now soaking wet bed. "WHOASHERBERTFUDGE!!!" *Fwhoomp!* The blanket cuccooned around him then, and with a final, graceful descent -he landed at her feet, wet and dazed.
LP Willow proded at him with her toe. "I think he's ready for the barbie Rosey." She said in a steve erwin accent. "Lets fire it up and roast this turkey." She winked and watched the Dazed bird.
She might as well have some fun poking at him. "While we're at it we can get Sid and the Fence that was a homo ghost." She grinned and nodded. "Yes deffinally time to fire up the barbie we'll have bird tonight!"
EEp! carl scrambled to free himself, tugging this way and that at the covers and only succeeding in getting himself even more tangled. It could safely be said that if not for the love of hife, he would have given up all hope of removing the fabric without ripping it. Rosey would kill him for that! So instead he appealed to the good nature, hoping Willow was in a charitable mood as to release him. Big sad birdy eyes welled beneath the sopping monks hood, but as Sid had once mentioned in thought, it was hard pulling off cute when the rest of you looked like a drowned rat. "Help?"
LP Willow paused midstep. "Ohhhh so we are awake?" She snapped her fingers. "Darn I was hoping ot have a meal of harpy tonight." She grabbed one corner of the covers he was tangled in and 'Whoosh' with a tug they untangled from carl and she let them land on the bed in perfect fashion.
She walked towards the dinning room wondering what was for breakfast.
Carl stayed behind to pull on some dry clothes before following her. He was MIFFED! Miffed, so very very miffed at having been watered in his sleep, or at all. It was only now fortunate he didn't have feathers, or he would have spent the day trying to blow-dry himself when Willow wasn't looking.
He slipped into his seat and gave her a stern look, raising one claw to reiterate his point. "miff!!"
LP Willow tilted her head looking at the bird. Batting her eye lashes she grinned, "Miff? Oh pish posh. You brought it onto yourself harpy." She said with a nod as the omlette floated to her.
"You slept in. You needed to be taught a lesson, NEVER sleep in here." She said eating her omlette in peice. Although carl's meal was two warps quite like he had the other day, both were given tea and then left to eat. Willow paused in her eating, "You have a lot of work to do today, You must finish the fence get the outside boards varnished, start on the inside varnishing them, raking the garden the rain made a horrible mess, and working on some more of the windows." She said with a nod and then started to eat her omlette again taking a sip of her tea.
"Than I'd better get started on it...And I guess you're right, I must have been more worn out than I thought." The bird picked up his wraps and ate them as daintily, and quickly, as possible - devouring them both within a matter of a few minutes. The tea he took his time on, but the affair was still a brief one, finished nearly before the wonderful sensation had begun so he could get finishedwith yesterday's tasks and start on the whole new agenda she had planned.
He nodded to her as he left, following her example and walking off on his own - fetching the paint supplies on the way and heading to the spot he'd left off of, dipping the painbrushes in and setting them to the still damp wood.
LP Willow shurged, "The only way you get out of any major work is when it rains." She said nodded before finishing off her food and heading off opposite of carl's direction.
Of crouse the night's rain did leave a mess, and there was a little stream through the property that wasn't there before flowing from the pond around all the flowers and things, it was a pretty sight if one had time to stop and look at it.
The stream was a pretty thing although he knew it wouldn't last long. Pretty things almost never did, except for pretty girls, but even those could go away or change. He was just fortunate enough in the fact that Trea, Willow, and Chastity hadn't - nor ever would, for as far as he could see.
He poked his head above the fence to catch a glimpse of his tormentor, slavedriving, fun as heck peer before slipping back down and going on about his buisness with a smile as he pictures what changes would never occurr in a million years. Namely - Willow in a pink dress, Trea as a punk, and Chastity as a goth. The thoughts were just laughable!
LP [[Willow in a pink dress now that is a laugh. Although Chastity would make a pretty goth if the clothing was sparkly and jewelery clad xD]] Willow yawned as she repitched her hammock that while it iddn't get completely torn appart or blown away was forgotten abuot in the midsit of the storm and left to fail in the wind. Once it was repitched Willow curled up in it and yawned.
It was the perfect time for a cat nap. Nice and warm outside and the air still freash and clean from the spring time storm. She purred as she closed her eyes and dozed off.
Carl continued on, letting the time pass him by until the fence was completely coated in an even layer of the paint. He stood back and admired his work, pleased with how well it had come out. Perhaps he wasn't that bad an artist after all! Well - at least not when it came to paining fences. The empty paint can was picked up and toted in, but along the way, Carl couldn't help but stop to observe the sleeping cat.
And just then, the ghosts they say, Carl's mischieviousness grew three sizes that day.
He stashed the paint cans where need be, but instead of moving onto the varnish, he had a MUCH better idea. Instead, he went to the kitchen and rummaged about in the fridge, taking this and that, if only a smidge. Then that sneaky old rotter, with whipped cream in tow, snuck up to the tiger who still didn't know - that in her paw was whip cream sprayed, a cherry on her nose to top the parade, and with one little feather that hung from his hand, he tickled her features and waited for the grand stand.
LP Willow wiggled her nose, instead of moving her paw she nipped at the feather trying to catch it. Her nose itched, friggin pests. She sniffled and gave a soft sneeze that sounded like a puff of air moving her hand.
Of crouse what one might not know is that she wasn't completely asleep. She was slightly aware if only a tick of what was going on and licked the whip cream from her hand afterwards taking the cherry and chewing on it. While stoping the itch. She'd seen that done too many times for it to have gotten her, Had she not been able to smell the sticky sweetness of it she would have borrowed a robe and whipped it off. "Very funny Carl... get to work." She muttered before turning over wincing as she did before going back to her half sleep state.
Oh. His. Dog. The look on his face would have ben priceless if she'd taken the time to look, the utter essence of a prankster who's cherry bomb had blown up all over his face with red, sticky failure goo. Carl knew there was only one was to justify it. Only one possible way to save face.
"Curse you, Willow McNiffle! We will meet again!!!!"
And with that he sped off in quasi-dramatic villain fashion to get to work on varnashing before it was too late.
LP "IT'S VOLTAIRE AND DON'T YOU FORGET IT!" She shouted as he ran off in his villainious fashion. Her tail flickered as she yawned and nuzzled back into the hammock.
So he was a pain in the assests, he'd get over it. And for that he'd get an extra shot of cold water if he slept in tomorrow.
Carl snickered once more as the shout reached his delicate ears, the varnish having been spread out along the path chosen and smoothed by the soft ministrations. This was quicker than fence painting, if only for the fact that it was cooler inside - so he needn't worry about roasting out in the heat of the day.
What he should be worrying about is the fumes comming from the enclosed space, but what was a little smell to bother the bird? He'd be fine, right?
Right. Forget fans or windows or vents. He just continued on his merry way, going back and forth and across the floor in his merry escapade.
LP Lucky Carl willow had already removed all plastic from the windows after the rain had stopped. So it wouldn't bee too many fumes to mess with him.
But the thought of Carl getting a bit tipsy on the fumes was a bit amuasing as Willow had looked to see where the bird had gone. Getting up she streatched, still sore but oh well. Afterwards she moved to find something to pass the time untill tongiht.
Carl was a happy thing by the time the first two or three rooms were done. The fourth room had him humming, and beyond that, he simply swayed and hummed, perfectly content within his throbbing mass of menacingly murderous man meat that ached almost amiably.
Only once he got outside did he begin to calm down a bit as he raced from one end of the floor to the next.
(( Just a note: That part about the man meat was supposed to mean he's sore all over but doesn't care. xd ))
LP [[-coughs- Donna knows what I'm thinking about that last post]] Willow was walking and moving some of the smaller limbs from the garden. She'd make carl do the rest. Tossing them over the fence. They weren't suppose to be in the garden so they wouldn't be. She'd make sure of it.
Carl passed by where Willow worked, and whistled as he watched her weigh in the wondrous wood. "Those are some pretty good sized pieces. Are they from earlier this morning when the rain got them wet and heavy?"
LP Willow held up one of the larger branches. "Do make me hit you with this." She said threatenly. "And yes. You'll be helping pick these up before you rake...." She stared at him, "Now get back to work." She said staring at him, tossing the larger of the limbs over.
He blinked and shrugged,. "What'd I say? I just meant the dead wood that was water logged..."
But he wasn't about to stick around for an explination. Fuelled on sheer will, pain, and fumes - Carl sped off in the other direction, leaving a varnished foor in his wake.
LP Willow shurged. "So, you still need to finish!" She called after him as he went on his way.
After she got what she could she stopped and went back to sit on the swing.
Carl ran back and forth for quite some time before the floors shined with the dresh coat of varnish. He'd made sure not to miss anything that would need going over again, and carefully trod on claw tip as he crossed the damp earth and made his way outside to complete a few more of the windows priorly requested. This time, the shirt, and everything else, stayed on. He didn't care if it caught fire - he was NOT stripping down so everyone could see his pink flesh. He merely pulled on the mask beneath the hood and gloved his hands, starting up the lighter and setting his tools to the metal.
The poor tiger, he hadn't heard the snickering - but he had somehow, unknowingly, added to the image. He'd begun to hum - of all dog forsaken things! Hum he did, which came out as a low chanting sound as it had to manuver from under his hoodie, beneath the monks hood, and then out of the mask. The striking of the occasional hammer and his claws carving arcane measurements into the metal did not help matters at all, and one honestly couldn't be too surprised if some unsuspecting happener by mistook him for one who resided in this temple.
One who just happened to be a welding, bald monk.
LP Of crouse LP would be out walking at this time, she stopped and looked at the.... err.... monk.... She paused backed up and looked again. "Carl?" She asked going to peek closer. "What are you doing under that thing?" Willow hear the crying and paused looking around. Hrmm now that was odd, she shurged and kept walking towards the river sure she would find the owner of the noise soon. Of crouse she wasn't sure what she'd find.
But sure enough she did finally find the owner of the noise. Her ears lowered slightly looking at the girl. She couldn't've been much more than five or six. Willow walked up to her, "Shh, it's okay. I can help you." She said softly Even if it the sun had started to slowly fade Willow was going to do her best to help the little girl.The girl gasped and backed up, the little ceature was strange and scarey but at the same time she felt that she could trust it. She nodded softly drying her eyes. "I... I'm lost." She said looking around, "M... My parents they live in town." She said tears again starting to flow.Willow smiled and nodded knowingly. "Oh would you like me to show you the way out?" She smiled offering her paw. "I'm Willow by the way, what might you're name be?" She peered at the girl with a soft smile on her features. She loved children, speically ghost children, they always reminded her of the girl from the carniville.
He quickly pulled down his hood. "Don't look, Lp. Please don't look at me this way..."
That's right - she hadn't seen him naked! Thank dogs for that, since the eagle's pride had hit an all-time low since having lost his feathers. The smaller buds had begun to grow, and he couldn't claim total nudity, for a few feathers had shown pity to the poor bird and decided to grow in whilst he slept. Still, that didn't mean he wanted her to see what was under the hood.
LP LP smiled, "Aw don't worry carl. They'll grow back before you know. I once seen a duck, poor thing molted all over, you're lucky they've started growing back in already. That duck was bald for weeks." She winked. Pondering, "If you want I have a feather boa!" The girl smiled shyly, "N....Nice to meet you W-w-Willow." She said nodding as she looked about, "M...My name's Geraldine. They called me Gerry." She said softly looking around. "Which way is out? And won't you get lost? You're such a small thing."Now that was better, atleast the girl wasn't really scared anymore, she was starting to ask questions. "Well come on this way is out. And No, no I won't get lost I live in these woods." She said with a nod leading the girl towards town. LP had pointed out everything around and Willow knew just which way to head, there were only two towns and Willow figured if she could get the girl in the middle of them she'd find her way home just perfectly. After all there was a beatten path in the feild.The little girl seemed pleased with this answer holing tight to Willow's hand she walked with the tiger as she was lead out of hte scarey forest.
Feather boa? Boas were a kind of snake, weren't they?
Carl had never seen a feathered snake before and couldn't help but look up at her with big, curious eyes. That was something he just had to see!! "Can I see the boa? What color is it? Is it very big?"
LP LP chuckled, "I'll go get it." She said with a nod as she walked off to fetch the boa, it maynot be carl's feathers but atleast it'd be something feathery. When she got to the cave she started rummageing around until the sound what she was looking for. There were several of them, each just big enough for carl or willow to wear. They'd come from barbie dolls. She picked up all the different colors and took them out to carl for him to see. Willow grinned but before too long there was some longs and things in their way. "Oh dear... we'll have to go around." She said looking to Gerry. She wasn't in the mood to climb over things atleast not and risk the kid getting lost."Oh.... okay" Gerry didn't seem bothered by this turn of events she liked the little ceature and getting to spend more time with it was a good thing. So following Willow she wound her way though bursh and other foilages. She was humming and skipping by the time they'd gotten back to a clear path. "Willow, how come you can see me?"
The girl looked at the tiger curious to know the answer for it seemed that no one could and no one else paid he attention."I have a gift." Willow said softly, "I can talk to those whom by normal people and animals can't be seen or heard." Her tail flickered as she looked around they were almost out of the woods, good thing too. It was getting dark and the faster the girl moved on the faster Willow could get back home.
The bird was nearly wiggling in anticipation. Feathered snake, feathered snake, feathered snake, feathered - what the hell? As LP approached with the boas, his excitement fell. Those weren't boas! They didn't even have any scales or eyes! The bird looked them over critically and then up at her again, giving a look of query as to what was going on.
LP LP chuckled and took a blue one and wrapped it around the bird's neck and head so that his eyes and beak peeked out and chuckled. "See Feather boas." She nodded "They're not like you're feathers but they might help keep you a bit warmer." The girl giggled as they reached the feild outside the woods. "OHhhh thank you!" She said clapping her head, "Now I can find my way home." hugging Willow the girl walked off down the path and dissapered.Willow had she not been use to the dead by now would've shivered but she just smiled and nodded to the girl. "I'm gald I could help." She said softly waving bye as she dissapered.
Looking around Willow blinked, "Ohhhh I'll have to hurry if I want to make it back home before nightfall. I have too much to do to dilly dallyaround." She muttered and started running back, she didn't like to run but today was an exceptional day to be doing it. As she closed in on LP's Cave and her temple she bagan to walk again after pausing to rest for a moment, she did keep in shape but running was among her least favorite activities.
Now she could stroll back and work on the garden or something.
"But they're not snakes...They're just strings with lots of feathers tied on." He picked up the blue thing and very loosely dropped it back in place, unused to such gausy colors that looked better suited for a peacock or songbird. If he hadn't before, he looked rediculous, a bald bird - in a hoodie - with a monks robe - welding mask - and a feather boa wrapped around that for good measure.
He didn't get the jist of just how he looked, but waited until Willow was within hearing range to call out. "Hey! Wilow! How do I look?"
LP LP shurged. "That's what Feather boas are...." She said softly looking at Willow. She tilted her head waiting for the answer. Willow tilted her head and shook it, "I'm pleading the 5th on this one." She said and walked off. Blue was his color but what was with the feathers. She shurged and went on to work about the garden redoing some of the lines that had previously been messed up durning last nights rain.
"Carl when are you going to get the rest of these limbs out of my way!?" She called.
"You said I had to finish the windows first, didn't you?" Not that he'd finished much but three windows since she'd gone and LP and boa'ed him. He took it off carefully and handing it back, smiling a little at LP. "Sorry about that, but when you said boa - I thought you were going to show me a big feathered snake. I'd better get back to work though..."
The mask and gloves were taken off and the hood pulled down again, fully concealing him in it as he slid off the stool and scurried off to help with the limbs.
LP "The only things you had to do in order were the paint and varnish." She crossed her arms looking at carl tail flickering irrated like.LP shurged and headed off after she got the boa back. Willow busied herself with the raking while looking at the stuipd leaves that collected in her garden and in the rake as she moved along. "Dang flab it. These leaves are huge." She pondered what could be done with them and then shurged oh well they'd just have to be tossed out. She sighed as she continued to rake trying to keep from getting too many leaves so that her rake would still work.
Well it wasn't as though he'd known. But Carl didn't fuss about it, and instead started picking up two or three branches at a time and throwing them over, stretching his newly forming muscles as he sent the wood flying to its final resting place. This was easily enough finished with the rate he'd set, and rather than going back to window work he watched her rake and the dilemna she was facing with the prongs.
Well, she wouldn't get very far with that happening every few strokes. He pondered over a solution as she continued on, further demonstratng the issue for him to analyze.
And then inspiration struck. He grinned and looked at Willow, an idea having formed. "A net. why don't you use a net rake?"
LP "Or you could pick up the leaves while I rake." She said looking at him crossly." She was kicking the leaves off to the side and started rakeing again fighting to keep the leaves from it. She humed as she scratched and scraped the sand into they're piles again. Neatly round bits. IT took forever to do speically with the leaves in her way. She muttered working.
"Oooooor that works." Carl stepped into the garden and began picking up leaves, piling them al lhigh ontop of one another in his arms before carefully manuvering them over to the other side of the fence. The last thing he wanted to do was drop a big pile of leaves right infront of Willow's rake, so he made it a point to be slow and elegant as he continued to gather and dispose of the plant menace.
LP Willow watched him as she raked humming as she did. Watching the leaves slowly starting to dissaper from the garden. She pondered for a moment pausing as she did. "You missed one." She said pointing at the leaf.
"Right, and you missed a spot over that-a-way." Not that she had, but he couldn't help the comment comming. He did spot the leaf however and moved over to snatch it up, throwing it over the fence and plopping down nearby, watching her rake.
"Willow, why is the garden like that? I've never seen one with just sand and rocks arranged in it."
LP Willow went back to raking. "It's like this because they have them in Japan." She said softly as she was walked about looking at the paths she just raked and redid them several times over. She then moved on to the next patch and over and over again until it was prefect.
Processing. . .
Analyzing. . .
Translation: I don't know.
Carl inclined his head and shrugged, pushing himself up and heading back to the welding area. "Right than - if I run out of sand, I know where to find more now." If he had a death wish anyways. He still didn't get the purpose of a bunch of rocks and sand, but knew better than to tamper with a woman's work - notmatter what it may be.
LP Willow rolled her eyes, "They're called Zen gardens, they are for peace, balance and tranquilty." Her tail flickered, "I can come here and meditate when I need it. Since you and sid ruined my santurary." She said glaring at him.
Willow tossed the rake to carl. "Here finish it, Just go over it until you have a nice deep crease."
He caught the rake and moved back over, making sure to tuck under the end of his robe so it wouldn't drag in the sand and muss the lines. He set the tips of the impliment down into it and pulled towards the pre-prepared pattern, slowly dragging it along through the earth to deepen the shallow cavern. He still didn't get it. "It isn't ruined you know. I've seen it alot worse than that, when I fought that kitten. She broke open the Halloween pumpkins and tore up decorations...it was really awful. I'm glad that she never came back."
LP "Kitten?" Willows ears perked and stopped in mid walk off. She looked at curiously. "What kitten?"
This was something new, something she knew nothing about. She wanted to know about this, this was something important... hrmm she never came back, that was even more interesting. Willow wondered if the kitten would come back if there was a party or something. Hrm she'd have to keep this in mind.
Carl gripped the rake tighter, uncomfortable with the memory. "Her name was Kearia. She was...strange. She was mean...really mean...and could change herself from a plush into a child and back at will. She didn't LIKE Iris. She destroyed the Halloween decorations, and when I approached her about it - she called Iris a stupid bunny-eared twit."
Carl looked over at Willow, apparently angry at the idea. "I don't like it when people call Iris stupid...not one bit, so I told her she was being a brat. It ended up my first real fight when she held me down with some kind of force and went at me. I only escaped by grabbing her favorite toy and threatening to rip it - although...I would never really hurt a little plushie."
Well - at least ones that were actually plushies and that were nice.
"After that night, I never saw her again. I would go back every day just to make sure she wouldn't smash the shop to bits - but after a month or two, I realized that even the plush cat was gone from the shop, without an owner."
LP Willow lofted a brow softly thinking, "No. Iris isn't a twit. A bit dizty sometimes, but you can't hate iris." Willow said thoughtfully. Her tail flickered softly thinking eyes narrowed in thought.
"Well......" She paused and shurged and walked on. "Who knows she could come back...." Her tail flickered softly as she pondered this idea, it would be nice to meet this cat. Even if it was a meanie maybe she could teach it something, or learn from it. Who knew, but it did get Willow to wondering.
"I hope she never comes back...She's also what caused my very first run in with Sid."
Not that he was going to elaborate about that right away, and instead went back to pulling the rake through the sand, deepening the grooves as he moved along and around the rocks.
LP Willow shurgs, "Well even if she did that's no reason to hold it agaisnt Sid." She said softly as she walked off to hop into her hammock and nap.
She figured her didn't want to talk about it so she'd let him talk when he wanted. Placing her good arm behind her head she yawned, but when Rosey came out with a plate of food she sat up and looked questioning at it. She'd not seen this before, it looked like some sort of wrap or something. Willow took one and looked at it. "What's this?""I've been looking at foods Carl's use to eating. I took a few pages, try it." She said floating over and offering carl some of the three that were on the plate, if he wanted them all she could always Willow something else espeically if she didn't like it.
"I don't...." He scritched the sand a bit with his claw. "I blame myself for messing it all up, trying to get back at Kearia for the scars..."
Litterally! Only once he'd lost his first few feathers had he noticed it, but the scratches of the Halloween kitten had not healed up correctly. Several small streaks lay forever embedded into his skin, now hidden by the robe and his unwillingness to admit that he'd been hurt.
However, his attentions didn't stay there long and instead turned to food. The rake was leaned up against a rock and he moved over to Rosey to see just what she'd managed to come up with. He picked one up and took a tentative nibble on it, testing the food to see what lurked beyond the surface.
LP It was deep fried chicken, tomatos, chilli, some random spices, hot sauce, lettuce, peppers, shreaded cheese, some diced ham and turkey, and a few other pinchs and dashes of things too numberous to mention.
Rosey looked at Carl, "What do you think?" She asked which she was asking willow."Rosey wants to know what you think." Willow said sniffing at the wrap curiously before nibbling into it and makeing a face. "Yeah I'd rather my orange chicken and rice...." She said with a slight gumble, eating it anyways. Because she wasn't about to turn down Rosey's cooking it was better than LP's.
The bird smiled wide and nodded, gulping down another few bites before realizing the one thing it needed. "Hotsauce - more of it. May I have some more hotsauce?" Lots of hotsauce! Enough hot sauce to incinerate the very furr off of Willow's tale and cure Sid of his lisp. The bird continued noshing on the food, but still he held himself from finishing in the name of his treasure.
Hotsauce! That's right. Glorious hotsauce!
LP Rosey went and fetched the hot sauce and handed it to carl. Well.... atleast he idd like it. She chuckled."You're strange." Willow said before rolling over and going to sleep.
Carl quite litterally dumped the hotsauce on the food. Not sprinkled. Not dabbed. Not shook.
He took off the cap, handed that ro Rosey, and DUMPED the hotsauce on. Once he was sure thatevery last drop had been put upon the food, he gave an elegant gesture of thanks to the ghost....
And began scarfing it down while Willow wasn't around to say anything.
ONE wrap down, TWO - he was beginning to sweat, THREE - the flesh on his palms burned - the spices had gotten into the skin now to turn it red, FOUR - tears had begun to stream from his eyes, gasping sounds could be heard as the spices seared into the tender tastebuds that were flooded by the scarlet red sauce. The way he was going, one would think the boy was dying.
Every last one went down, each one turning the symptom worse and worse although he never did stop eating.
Carl loved Iris. Carl loved Trea.
But most in the entire world - Carl LOVED hotsauce, and staggered as the last bite was swallowed and he was left without anything more to distract him from the euphoria of searing heat.
LP "Rosey get the boy some crackers." She didn't have to see what he done Rosey told her.Rosey left to get some carckers and water for Carl and soon she was bringing it to him. Offering him both she watched him gasphing for air."Carl I suggest you not do that anymore. That Hot sauce is speical made for BBQ, it's hotter than most. You don't really need the whole bottle." Her tail flickered as she yawned. "You have a death wish, we all know it."
Carl took the crackers but pushed away the water. With his love of hotsauce - came a knowledge of hotsauce. "M-Mi-i-Milk....Milk!!!"
Yes, milk, the one thing to counteract the spices of the peppers and other things.
He looked at Willow and grinned, moving over to her rather quickly. "Are you JOKING?! That's the best hot sauce I've *gasp* ever had! *wheeze* You HAVE to give me the recipe, *cough* P- *cough Please?"
LP Rosey got him milk instead, "Freash from the Goat." She said which caused willow to snerk."You have to ask LP for that..... It's a family repiece of her's although some things are harder to find than others." Her tail flickered and was sure Carl didn't want to know WHAT was in it.
He'd never had goat milk, but milk was milk right? He downed it in one go and whiped the ressidue away, relieved as the chemical merged and deactivated the mild poisons caused. That was the stuff...
Carl sank down next to Willow. "If I can't get that - than I'm comming back jus to get another bottle. Man that was some hot stuff..."
LP "You don't want to know what's in it.... trust me, but you'll have to ask LP. You need to skitter to bed now so that you're ready for tomorrow." Her tail flickered and wrapped around her.
End of Day 4
He almost had the impulse to hug her, but stopped mid-lean and simply waved, pulling back and rubbing the back of his head. "Yeah...Goodnight, Willow, Rosey. I'll see you in the morning." And with that he gave a nod towards the direction of the ghost and headed off, having somewhat got enough of a gist of the temple to find his room without assistance.
Tonight there wasn't writing, he merely crawled into bed and allowed sleep to take him, hoping for an early - or semi normal start.
LP Willow's ear flickered as she looked at rosey, "No...." She muttered before yawning and snoozing in for some sleep.
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Posted: Sun May 20, 2007 9:20 am
Day 5
Beginning of Day 5
This time, Carl was determined not to get wet. Instead he chose to get up at a decent time and be dry and with breakfast to boot. No different from the usual, he pulled off his attire and looked over his feathers, counting to see just what area would be getting back to normal first.
But this morning, he was pleased to find some of his adult feather had already sprouted! Yes, his head was beginning to get plumage back, that being the first area to have lost it, as well as an almost even caot over the body. Still not enough to be proud of but Carl was pleased either way of it and pulled on some fresh clothes, and his robe, to face the day.
He moved to where he knew the food would be and slipped into the seat gracefully to await his company.
LP Willow on the other hand had gotten up in the middle of the night to wonder the woods, dragging back a sack of various friuts for Rosey to use in cooking.
It had been a long morning, and even though there wasn't any dew on the ground this morning it was still slightly damp in spots where there were larger puddles. Yawning as she walked into the temple she moved along to her room, passing Carl along the way. "Nice to see someone up on time." She said looking at him as she passed.
Her pants legs were damp so she was holding them up so they wouldn't drag the floor, she sighed as she got into her room pulling the door to. "Urg," she rubbed her shoulder as she went digging for something to wear.Rosey hummed and brought carl several peices of bacon and sausage, along with some scrambled eggs for breakfast. After having pour his tea she left him to his eats while she fixed up something for Willow to eat.
Mmmm - looked good. Carl would wait for Willow to get back before eating, but couldn't help but start a bit of conversation once she would come in."Thanks Rosey - and I didn't want another bath, so I made sure to get up. What were you up to all night, besides the obvious?"
Surely she hadn't gone out just to pick fruit, right? Carl picked up one of the sausages with his chopsticks and munched at it, intent on the answer as he watched her.
LP Willow didn't answer carl until after she'd found some dry pants, and a button up shirt, she didn't bohter buttoning it because she still had the bandages on it.
"Me?" She asked tilting her head, "Nothing, just went fruit picking; had LP change this durn things." She muttered looking at her shoulder. Shurging she sat down as her plate, with the same meats Carl had; and an omlette plopped down at her place.
taking her chop sticks she started eatting thinking of today's tasks, as she had been all night. Carl might kill her but it was something that would be nice to have and besides she was running out of real work.... well untill the new wing; which carl slept in at night was finished.
The bird nodded, having expected a bit more - but content enough with the answer that he didn't pry further into the matter. Besides, it wasn't like there was much to do in the forest but pick fruit and perhaps study animal behaviors. That was something he knew enough about though so it didn't interest him.
Instead he turned his attention fully on his food and continued the concuption until the plate lay bare and his stomach lay full and content. There were only a few more window frames to complete now but the week still hadn't ended - so he pondered as to what she'd do to him once the work had ended.
LP Willow watched carl finish up. "Why don't you get to work on the windows. After wards you can start on the new task."
She said as she was working on fnishing her meal. She still had preperations to make before he could start on the new project. IT was just a matter of time to get it finished being planned.
"Alright - as long as it doesn't involve vacuum cleaners I should be up to it." Carl pushed himself up and nodded to his leave, slipping out quietly to his work. The bird noticed something though. It was something small and quiet, minute and easily overlooked...but hadn't he been more sore than this? Hadn't his muscles ached and groaned moreso in the past days than they did now? He looked to assure no one was around before pulling up one of his sleeves, flexing his arm just a bit to coax the muscle out. The bird was more than a little surpised. It had gotten bigger! Just by a bit that only he would notice right off. Had he begun to grow? Not into a teen, yet, but physically larger? It was plausible - and all the work he'd been forced to do only contributed to the taunt flesh that pulled against the hard tissues.
He relaxed his arm and pulled the sleeve back down, moving to his station and picking up one of the last sheets of metal, starting to carve away at it with purpose. This week hadn't been a waste after all. The bird smiled, now knowing that albeit punnishent - it had caused him mature, in both attitude and physical prowess, both of which would continue to strengthen as the rest of the week came. He'd need to make a mental note to thank Willow later.
LP Rosey had been watching carl.... not really spying but stilll she had gone to get something and paused to see what the bird was up to. She giggled after she saw what he was doing and floated off to tell Willow. She had a funny idea....After Willow had finished her breakfast she streatched and was thinking of what to do now. When rosey came skittering in. "OH?" She said as rosey spilled out a bunch of chitter - chatter. Willow shook her head and laughed. "No, not today rosey, maybe before he leaves." She said as she walked outside.
She was looking for what she wanted to be done next, LP of crouse was working on plans since Willow had mentioned it and was almost finished with them.
Willow paused and looked and nodded stabbing a stake into the ground. "Yes this would be a perfect place for it."
The time passed away as he continued to carve, flowing ever on as the lazy bits of metalic rivulettes that flowed from his claws. They never seemed to stop for the hour or so put into it, until finally Carl sat back and admired all the frames he'd done. They were finished! Intricate and precise to the measurements. He lifted the last one he'd made and set it upon the others, pleased as they all lined up with one another.
He left them there to be set in later and went to seek out Willow for his next task.
LP Willow was on the new end of the temple, that was still in constrution mode, she was picking and pokeing at the wood trying to see if there was any that could be used.
looking unhappy with all of it she sighed and shook her head, "This just won't do." She said crossly, she couldn't figure any that'd work nicely for what she wanted and even though there was a whole stack she'd yet to go through she wasn't pleased with teh current results.LP chuckled and handed willow a paper rolled up, and then went to working on the temple taking the peices that were used to make a fake roof off until they could be sercued rightly. She had a bunch of new furniture and went about replacing the temporary items that were in carl's room and moving to put the rest of htings into the other rooms. There were about five to seven more rooms besides the one carl stayed in. After having the furniture she laid down rugs, and added little bonsi trees and other little things, some of those included different kinds of fountians. Of crouse LP had made sure that she could always get into the temple be there ever a need, she had gotten new hings for the part she was completeing and locks, and not to mention weather stripping to seal it. She picked up Willow for her to see, "Anything you want moved before I put in the new paintings I got??" "No, no that'll do nicely." She said as she was left down again and went off to her own work. Tail flickering heading back to where she'd placed the steak.
She hadn't noticed him yet it seemed. Now, if there was one thing he'd learned in staying there - it certainly had been not to sneak up on the tiger. He moved closer, just beyond claw reach, and softly cleared his throat to announce his presence. "Willow, I finished the window panes. The floor has set already and I don't see any missed spots on the fence...so...Do you have anything else I could help out with?"
Now at first day he would have hidden, stayed out of sight and sound well enough not to get chores assigned to him, but it just....it just didn't bother him as much. Without anything to do, the bird honestly couldn't think of anything to do save for sitting around and being generally unproductive. Not his particular cup of tea even in his own home.
His attentions went to the wood she prodded at. "What's the wood for?"
LP Willow turned and looked at him brow lofted as he asked, she shurged and went about looking shoving him new plans. This one was wood working and more sand. "The sand bags are over on the other side of the cave you'll have to get LP to help lug one over here."
What the plans were of was a new koi pond with a 'river' and a new flower bed, they'd have to lay sand down after everything was dug, the wood was for new flooring and fenceing to include it into the rest of the yard. Not to mention that there were plans for benchs andd a floating dock, because this pond was going to be much like a lake to the velvetens.
Right than. Carl noted the direction of the sand and headed off that way, hoping that LP would be in the nearby vacinity to help him out. Not that he much needed it, he was sure, but it all really depended on just how big these bags were. The bird was more than confident he could do it on his own - but at the risk of a pissed off Willow or a torn bag....he decided to play it safe and let LP help.
The sacks of sand were easily enough found out, being..well..bags of sand! Carl moved over to one and tried to lift a bit, doing it gently so as just to test how heavy it was before attempting any sort of clean jerk.
LP LP just so happened to be heading that way herself watching carl she chuckled and grabed two bags, one of them being hte one carl held. And carried them back to the site, now it was carls fault if he was still attached to the bag.... Then she headed off to get herself more nails to finish the roof. Willow in the mean time was looking at the river that flowed from the other side of LP's garden and was trying to think of how to get it back over to the newest additon.
After a while she nodded and headed back to carl's direction, "Okayyy so we'll need a few bridges two and we'll have to direct the water from the near by river" she pointed off past LP's flower gardens. "To todo that we'll need to dig the layout first and then add the sand before we bother with directing some of hte river to here. We'll also have to use stones to keep the sand from washing away too much." She noted this as she went over the plans in her head.
Carl was indeed! The bird gave a small 'eep!' as he was bodily lifted, claws just barely pricking the fabric and keeping him bourne by the bag. With wings he might have enjoyed this. With wings he would have swung and chuckled and had a good time of the trip. But without them...without the surefire safety net to catch him, the bird clung for dear life until slowly the desent was made onto sweet, solid, merciful earth.
He freed himself as soon as he could and scurried away, lest there be another unwanted ride by the seat of a bag. Rather, he went over quietly and listened to the explination, simplifying it the best way he could.
"So we have to dig a trench. Set the sand. Solidify the stones. And Set loose the solution. Right?"
LP "That's the plan." She said softly as she was trying to trace out where the stream and lake would be pondering off how it should work. "What do you think Carl?"
He looked at it for a moment before pointing to a certain spot. "I think that spot would be better for the lake and you could run the stream past this spot here to accent the plant life. But it's up to you - that space is fine as well."
LP Willow thinking about what was said she nodded before tracing around the path that the lake should follow as she moved around whilsting as she traced out the pattern.
Carl followed behind, watching her scape out the area for the new installment. It would certainly bring a special touch to the place, although - Carl paused, puzzled, how was he expected to dig this out exactly? His claws weren't meant for digging, and he hadn't spotted a shovel yet. Perhaps she'd simply held out on that?
LP After having dragged out the basic lines and general area of things; inculding a small island where the lake was going to be; Looking at it she nodded they'd work on digging out towards the river after they'd finished the rest. She also pondered about a water fall but she'd have to get acia to help with that... after all she wasn't sure how to go about getting it to work.
Her tail wavered as she walked over to a small toolshed and tossed out a shovel. "Knock yourself out." She said as she sat down to watch Carl.
Carl caught it and spun it once, implanting the tip into the earth and leaning on it. Just because he was learning how to live humbly, didn't mean he couldn't have a little flare to it, right? The shovel head was pulled from the dirt and transported to the beginning, gently set upon the first of the traced line before he deftly kicked hard against the top of the metal.
It was easily burried in. The bird's strength did not only reside in his arms, so it made the process a quicker one that he was able to get it in the first time instead of forcing his way in by wasting several shoved against it. The earth loosed as he pulled it out, set asside from its natural placement before he began the continual motion of plunge, rip, dispose, and repeat.
LP As she watched the bird dig the earth along the paths she started wondering how long it'd take them to finish this. Maybe the rest of the week. That is if she worked as well. But she enjoyed watching the bird work and think he was learning how to be a king.
Although he did seem less large headed and more down to earth she wondered how much he really had learned about being humble. Atleast this rate atleast she'd have some more of hte temple finished and less for LP to do.
Carl didn't catch on to the gaze of his hostess, he simply continued digging, keeping the ditch smooth and even by ocassionally stopping to use the pressure of his foot to make the earth nice and steady again. It would make laying the sand and rocks alot easier if it was even, so he carefully observed his shovel as though wondering just what the best way to accomplish both things at once would be.
However, it only came with practise. Carl certainly didn't dsicover any technique right off so he was merely forced to be cautious in his labor as he continued through the slowly forming stream bed, a soft hum on his beak as some random melody struck up with him.
Perhaps, unconciously, he really was becomming a more mellow monarch.
LP As the tigeress watched her charge she soon found it became very borning but just as she was about to nod off rosey had dropped her a paper down. "Ohhh today's news? That's something I haen't seen in a while Thanks." She said with a grin.
That caught his attention. Carl paused and looked up, eyeing the paper with a bit of disdain towards it. "You actually read that thing?"
Yes. To Carl the paper was 'That thing' the thing that had all the depressing news about things he didn't understand, people he didn't know, and things that he didn't much care for at all. "How can you stand it, Willow?"
LP Willow pulled out the obituraties and comics. "There's two good parts to this paper." She said with a grin and a waggle of her finger. "The Comics and the Obits. The Funny things and the list of dead people that I can expect to run into that may or maynot have passed on already." Her tail flickered as she read though the names and tore out the ones that she believe could still be around.
"I can stand the paper just as much as the next person. Besides there's always something good in it." She said nodding before pausing. "Ohhhh pocky's two for one this week I'll have to tell LP." She grinned and went about her marry way chopping out bits and peices.
"Oh...I thought you read the nasty part. You know, almost the entire thing..." The bird looked back to his work and continued digging, but thought that perhaps time might go by faster if conversation fuelled his attention more than the repetative dig-dug smooth technique. "What's pocky? Is it good?"
Might as well kill two or three birds with one cannonball, right?
LP "I read most anything with names and deaths in it." She said as she continued. Pausing looking up at Carl. "It's a japanese snack.... sorta a bread stick dipped in different flavored chocolate and yes it is." She said softly as she kept shifting through the paper.
"Dark chocolate even? I'm not very big on sweets....but I like the bitter taste of the dark chocolate, or coffee. Although...grape juice is good, if it's white. Then it tastes like wine..or so I'm told..." Yes, there reakky wasn't anything better than a dark chocolate truffle with white grape juice when lounging. Something he hadn't exactly gotten to do in a while.
Lessons or not, he couldn't help but grin at the thought. He would certainly be making lounging and pampering a point when he got home...before going back to her lessons, of course - for he wasn't that stubborn.
LP "Everything..." She said softly as she paused reading a section of paper that seemed to interest her. It was a peice on tigers she lofted a brow and ripped it out folding it she stuffed it into a pocket of her buttoned up shirt.
Despise the newspaper as he might, Carl quirked a brow and looked over at her, pausing. "Did you hear about those new tigers they're making? They're like Velvets only not." Yes, It had been on the front page a few weeks ago, and Donna had been on about it for several days, even going to far as to considering buying the new species...what were they? Oh yeah! "Toygers. House-cat-sized tigers."
LP Willow looked at him with a brow lofted and shook her head, "Nope haven't heard o' them." She said simply and went back to flipping through the pages.
She'd gotten almost to the comics when she saw the movie listings. She blinked and went checking for what had tickets on sale. She wanted to go a theater but she'd have to find something LP'd really want to watch before they could go. Willow knew how LP was and knew that if they could see it at a dive in LP would rather go because you could sit outside the park at the edge of the woods and watch rather than bothering with paying lots of cash to see it.
Carl mused on the idea of a small tiger, a little bitty Willow walking around the house. Not that he would name it Willow, for he was sure that the real tigress would smack him one for it, and he'd learned all too well this week just how hard she could smack him when irritated. Actually - he couldn't even think of having a cat, other than Maxine around. That was just be too much!
So instead of dwelling he began to work again, digging the trench with a soft hum on his beak.
LP After finishing with the news paper Willow stood up and yawned, her ears twitched and then she moved off towards another area of the forest it was different this time, she heard laughing and playing. But what were kids doing here?
She paused at the tree to listen as she tilted her head and then scaled a tree to see what she could find, when she located the sound she paused looking around before pausing. What's this, there were kids running around in the woods and they weren't suppose to be here. But were they real, sometimes it was hard to tell if they were or not but she sat hidden in the brush before the clearing that the two kids were in. Her brow forrowed.
LP It wasn't willow whom answered him but LP. "She's busy do you need some help?" She asked as she strolled past humming. It wasn't often that she had to make up for Willow's dissaperances so now it didn't really matter to her if Willow had ran off or not. Willow watched as the children played and came closer to her she was quite curious as to why they were in the woods. Her tail flickered and brow's furrowed.
Well he hadn't expected that. Carl rubbed the back of his head. "No, thank you. I was just curious was all - but if she's busy I can wait." With that he merely bowed to the woman and scurried off, getting back to the work site and again taking up the shovel. He honestly wasn't fond of Willow comming back peeved at him, so he chose safety in his ignorance until she approached him.
LP Willow finally decided to head out and find out what they were doing here, having resolved that one had to have been real and the other a ghost mayhaps. She walked over to them and tilted her head.
"Hello." She said softly with a grin watching as the children stopped their playing."Hi" Said the boy bending down to look at her. He was deffinatly real. His look sort of stated confusion, "What are you?" He asked curiously, he couldn't be no more than seven or eight. The dirty blonde hair looked as if it hadn't been combed in weeks like he'd been living out here. His blue silk shirt tattered and his dress pants of dark grey also tattered.The other, a spectra; stared down at Willow unhappy like. She knew what she was and she knew she didn't want the tiger interferring. The girl was about thriteen or so, her hair the same dirty blonde color but much neater and she wore a yellow dress. "You leave my brother alone, He's not worth anything to you." She said in a clearly pouting voice. She didn't want to leave him nor did she want him to go back to their parents.Willow looked at the little girl sadly. "But don't you think you're parents miss him?" She asked she knew the little girl didn't beleive she wasn't part of this earth anymore so she had to somehow prove it and get the brother back before he starved to death.
"Oh by the way I'm Willow." She said grinned at both, espically towards the brother. "I'm a velveteen, if you let me help you both of you can be happy." She said sweetly as she held out her paw to the young boy and willed them both to follow her. She knew the town wasn't far.
"Come why don't you take me to you're house? I'd like to meet you're parents, maybe they'd like me too." She said with a soft chuff of air trying to get them to take her to their house."Ohh OKay Willow! Come on sis lets show mummy and daddy the new friend we've made!" The little boy was more than happy to take Willow along, appernetly the two had played in the forest before so they knew their way in and out."You know I can't leave brother." That made Willow stop hairs prickling on her neck. "You know I have to say here near my body. Come join me brother we can play ring around the rosey. Don't listen to the bad little tiger."
The time passed slowly, and without Willow's company Carl was beginning to grow very tired of the repetative motion of the shovel. He'd already managed to go about ten or so feet away from the starting point, digging a ditch that was considerably deep for one of Velvet size. Surely she wouldn't mind him simply taking time to aquire a higher sense of knowledge and wisdom by seeking out her advice and what she would spare him...right?
Right. Carl Put the shovel down in the ditch and moved inside, going to his bedroom and tearing out a page of his journal, quickly scrawling a note for Rosey or LP. 'Gone to talk to Willow, will be back very soon, leaving through the east gate. - Carl'. This was left in plain sight of anyone passing the grounds, allowing him to move off towards the forest with a clear conscience as he moved into the hallowed grounds of the trees.
However, hallowed as it was, he was sureto make himself known by humming softly in a song that Willow would recognize from when he'd been working. It was only just audible to very sharp tiger ears, but drifted calmly so that the rest of the world went undisturbed by his being. He would go in one direction for a while and see if she was there, and if not than he'd just turn back around and go back to the temple before getting himself too far away to make a safe trip back.
LP Willow looked at the little girl, fur on her neck still standing on end. "What do you mean you have to stay near you're body?" She asked looking at the girl hopeing the answer wasn't what she though for sure it was.
Okay spirits are all well and good but there were somethings Willow didn't even dare touch on. The fact the little girl knew she wasn't alive anymore didn't bother Willow it was the 'I can't leave my body' that sent a feeling to her stomach that made it feel like she left it back at the temple."Near the river." Said the little boy rather clam like. Pointing over to the side of the woods, lucky Willow it was down stream of her home or this could've turned out wrose. "We can show you." He said, "I found her.... she was face down in the water."Willow's ears caught carl's tune but this wasn't the time or place for Carl to walk up on them..... or was it? She grinned, "CARL COME HERE I NEED A FAVOR." She shouted as he neared them, looking from the girl to the boy.
"Dear I'm going to leave you with Carl, me and you're brother are going to find you're parents. I know they're worried sick. I'll bring them back." She said with a nod, "I promise.""No, no, no, no, I WONT GO BACK." She said with a screaming cry. "Brother Can't go back either." Her wails were enough to make even the dullest of ears burn in pain."Why not? You have to. I can't leave you out here roaming free."The brother had gone silent. Then he muttered, "He beats us...." Willow cursed. This only made things wrose.
The cries of Willow caught his attention and the bird hurried over, slowing down as the sounds of others reached his senses. Great...letting others see him this way was NOT his idea of a good time. But something in his brain had already clicked together the meaning of it, and he knew that she would never ask for his help with a ghost matter unless it was important.
So assuring his hood was well covering his still barely feathered face, he stepped into the clearing and approached Willow and what appeared to be a small boy. "Hey Willow, and erm..." He looked to the boy. The moment initially had been seered towards a friendly introduction, but before the bird could speak, the child muttered something that completely struck him silent. 'He beats us...'
Us? It had to be a ghost. He couldn't see anyone else, but with Willow near it was a perfectly sensible assumption. Carl rubbed the back of his head for a moment before offering up his hand to the boy in a friendly manner, the confident tones having fallen into a softer, gentler tone with the child. "Hey there...my name's Carl. I..I can't see whoever is with you, but please tell them that I'm very sorry to hear that something like that has happened to you both..." he then motioned to Willow with his head. "I can't do anything about it, at least I don't think so, but Willow is a good person, and she wants to help you both. So please, why don't we be friends and see what we can do together. Ok?"
LP The Girl screamed again "NO, NO, NO, NO."Willow barred her teeth. "Stop this instant. You're just a little brat. You are going to get the help no matter if you want it or not. We'll get you set and then I'll see what I can do for you're brother to get him away from jerks."
She looked at Carl. "I need you to stay here... careful. She's throwing a fit." "M...my name is Chester and her's is Sharrie." He said nodding to his sister. Looking to the tiger. "Help me? But what can you do?" He tilted his head and poked at carl. "You look funny." HE said."You'll see what I can do. Come on Chester lets go find you're parents." Willow said taking the boy by the hand and tugged softly and went to lead the way out of the woods. "I know were the town will be."
Well that was a blow to the pride...but circumstances being what they were, he wasn't about to argue with the kid, and instead made a silly face and waved instead, giving him a little something to go on at the least before Willow began off with him. He waved after the two and called out, trying to be reassuring. "Don't you worry, Chester. Everything's gonna be allllll right. I'll just be over here with your erm..." He looked at the empty space, "Sister, friend, or other female aquaintance?"
Whooboy. Something told him that he was in for it now, but the prospect of dissapointing Willow after she left him with such an important task..and Chester who trusted him to stay here and guard her...well... Carl put on a charming smile and bowed. "Greetings, who may I have the pleasure of adressing on such a sunny afternoon as this? Surely some fair lady whom would grace me with her name, if possible? I cannot hear your sweet voice, but if you would give me a sign of your presence I would be grateful."
LP "Thanks Carl!!!" She called back and chuckled, "Sharrie wouldn't really hurt him would she?" She asked looking up at Chester as they walked. along."No... I don't think she will." He said softly, looking back at his sister. "We live on durary lane." He added looking at Willow.She picked up a stick and threw it at Carl. "There happy now." She passed by him and sat down. She sighed and looked off towards where her body lie.It didn't take Willow long to find the house, it was an odd little thing. She knocked on the door ushering Chester to say out of site for a few."What is it?" A man's voice traveled as he looked for the person whom knocked on teh door. "If this is some kind of prank I swear....""Ahem." Willow cleared her throat, "Down here sir." She said softly as she placed her hands behind her back and slightly frowned, "I believe I know where you're son and daughter is, regertfully you're daughter is no longer with us. If you would please follow me I'll take you to her body."The man let loose some foul words, Willow didn't twitch she just lead the way. "What reason do you ahve to stick you're nose in my family's bissness." He seemed not to care.
Ok. Apparently this wasn't gonna work. Carl rubbed where the stick had struck him and picked it up, looking it over before plopping down. "Fine. No more of that - I was just trying to be nice. It isn't my fault that you're dead, but at least I AM sorry about it..." The bird turned the stick this way and that before setting it down and pointing at an open patch of ground. "If you can throw that at me, I'm sure you can write...so tell me - why're you so angry at everyone, since I'm getting that it's safe to assume you gave Willow an ear full. Or you can just throw it at me again and we can sit here awkwardly, even though I want to help."
LP The child looked at him her eyes narrowed in a cold stare. She picked up the stick and pondered throwing at him or actully writeing. She sighed and wrote, 'you wouldn't care. No one can do anything anyways.' Then she left it at that.On the other hand the man followed Willow, rather irked that she was sticking her nose in this. "They could've found their own way home if they wanted to come back. They both ran off why should I give a care about them?" His eyes narrowed dangerously."You're daughter couldn't have. She's dead." Willow said looking at the man. "Look here if you've been abusing you're kids that's no way for a father to treat them, you should be loveing and caring. You should try to understand their problems or help them."
She walked along, knowing Chester was following at a safe distance away. "I'm no child psychologist but I do know things that others don't. I wish sinarios wouldn't happen like this, you're son Chester close to death and you're daughter Sharrie drown." Her tail flickered looking at the man."They were dumped on me. I don't want nothing to do with those kids, that's the reason I didn't bother to report them missing." He looked at the tiger something got him feeling sorry about what he'd done, "Yeah I hit them but I never ment any harm."
He sighed, "Their mother was a druggie and I didn't want to them to turn out like that. I've kept them under lock and key and tried to teach them right from wrong. I guess I went over board.""Just a little, if you didn't want them you could've put them up for adoption." She said as they reached the woods.
Carl shook his head a bit and reached out towards the stick. "Dear, just because I didn't know you in life doesn't make it any less sad for me that you'll soon be gone. True - it'll probably be to a better place than here...but I'll still remember you, you know, and when I think of you I'll stop and wonder if you're alright..." He withdrew his hand and rest his head in it. "I guess I'm a bit silly for being such a sap when it comes to things like this, neh?"
LP Willow pratically had to drag them man into the woods, who knew someone so large would be frightened of the woods, she checked to see if Chester was still following. Indeed he still was.
When they finaly reached the clearing where carl was Willow looked around. "I'll find out where her body is...."The man stopped and looked at her, "Y-you don't know where it is? You mean you haven't seen it?""Not that I'd care to... " She muttered softly, "I talked to you're daughter, she's inbetween our world and the spirit world." She whistled, "Sharrieeeee~ Dear please come here." Willow walked on and ushered the man to follow.The little girl saw him and backed up. "D-daddy.... why'd you bring him here little tiger!? It was a bad thing to do where is brother?"You're brother is fine... but I need you show us hte area you're body is in dear." She looked at the father of the two. "She's scare of you.""Well that's no surprize." Man muttered disdanfully.
No reply. Thinking he'd said something wrong, Carl looked back towards where he assumed she'd been - only to catch sight of Willow dragging the man.
Now it was on. Carl pushed himself up and marched over to him, stpping infront of the man and clearing his throat loudly. "YOU there. Are you Sharie's father? If so than I demand a word with you." Demand? Yes - one of the few times he ever outright had demanded anything, but this was something that had to be done, whether the adult knew it or not.
LP "Carl MIND you're place" Willow snapped, "Excuse me sir." She grabbed the fowl by his robes, since she couldn't get his scruff and dragged him along.
"You need to stay out of this. I am handling it Carl." Her arms crossed she gave him a warning glare. "That man is big enoughto squish us both, watch you're mannors. Again you are not KING in my teratory." Afterwards she stalked off and took Sharrie's hand. "Come dear."The ghost reluctantly followed her as she watched her father in horror. "But, but...." She looked at Willow, "He hurt us, he cna't be trusted, please make him go away." She was crying by now."Sh, it's okay Sherrie, he won't do it again. I brought him here to apologize. He's sorry for what he done to you." She lead sherrie up to her father and then looked at the man.
"Do you love her enough to apologize to her?" She asked her eyes stared at him, almost doubtful but she hoped that he would, "Sir she needs to pass on and then only way that she can, I'm sorry to say; is to know that her brother will be safe. If not with you with an adoptive parent."The man stared at Carl eyes narrowing dangerously but when Willow drug the odd thing off he blinked tilting his head looking around, there was something heavy in the air. It grew more so as Willow brought over the 'thin air' suppiosly his daughter.
He looked at the little tiger and then to the beak hiding in the monk's robe. Sighing, "I do reget what I"ve done to her and her brother...."
The bird almost wanted to say something, but shut up. It wasn't about him being king - not that Willow knew that, he believed - but about him hitting a girl. It was hardly a wonder his children were afraid of him, or that the ghost girl was bitter. It was hardly even a wonder that he wanted to be violent himself and return the man's abuse ten fold...
But that would just make them alike. that would only make it so he was following the footsteps of some one he was simply too angry at to even muster up a kind word.
So he just shut up and let Willow work, glaring daggers at the man beneath his hood, even after his apology.
Was this how Willow felt about him when he'd fought Sid? Had he really acted such an a**? Perhaps...
And even if he hadn't, the thought of him even maybe being that way caused an inner recoil at ending up doing such a horrible thing as beating a child - or perhaps just failing to make things right before it came to something like death.
His gaze turned to Willow. It wasn't the time right now for it, but later on when they were alone, he would tell her what he'd learned in his mistake.
LP Willow no matter if she beleive it was about being a king or not didn't want Carl's help in the matter at hand. There were things that needed to be handled with care here and if the wrong things were said, well surely Carl could understand that.
Willow looked at the little girl. "Here that? He's sorry, he was only trying to protect you and you're brother and ended up making a mistake. He said; while we were on our way here; you two had been dumped on him, he wasn't expecting you and he did what he thought was right." Her tail flickered looking at the child. "Sherrie he never ment to harm you. I'm sure of it, although he lost his temper I'm sure and then hit you because he thought it was the only way to keep things right."Sherrie looked at her father, "I.... is that true?" She had clamed down consideribly. "Why didn't you just dump us in an opranage? Mother would've.""She wants to know why you didn't put them up for adoption, they're mother would've.... sooner or later...." Willow said the last part skecptically. "I didn't think you'd like it there, I was thinking about it but the more I saw them the wrost they looked. I didn't want that for you two. I didn't want you to run away either......." He sighed. "Too late now I suppose...." The man looked like he kind of could cry"Daddy...." Chester came out of hiding looking at his father and then to Sherrie, "Daddy don't be mad at us.... we were only going to be gone for a little while. Then Sister fell into the water and didn't move... After I pulled her out... she begged me not to go so we stayed and played here."Sherrie hugged her father closely followed by chester who also hugged him. "I'm sorry father, I love you." She said and with that her spirit left heading off towards her body and then dissapered.Willow pointed, "Her body must before over there... Sherrie said she loved you and was sorry." Willow bowed, "Come we must get it before any more decay happens. So you can give her a proper burial."The man told chester to wait there and followed Willow as far as she'd go to get the girl's body and then the man and chester left both sadden, as they left the woods they hollared for help."Come on carl... our work here is done." She said softly as the walked back to the temple, "It's late you need you're sleep."
Carl nodded and followed close after Willow, watching the ground for a while before working up the voice to speak again. "I'm sorry...Willow...I was angry and spoke before I thought it over. I won't do that again...and...I promise not to fight anymore, when I do go home. I don't want to end up that way...ever." If he hadn't already become like that with all the trouble he'd caused. Carl pulled the monks hood around him a little tighter. "You don't think I'm going to grow up to be like that, do you? I don't want to..."
LP Willow didn't speak or turn a word to Carl as she walked her hands where behind her back and she was looking up at the night sky. She had tuned him out for some reason or another her mind was in a different place although when she stopped walking; having reached the front of the temple; she did say only one thing, "Nah, don't worry about it. Everything will be fine in the morning"
With those words Willow walked off towards the gardens, "Good night Carl, I'm sure Rosey has some wraps waiting for you, then you go get a nights rest. You'll need it come morning." With that having been said she walked along the path and dissapered into the forrest of Roses and tulips.
"Good night Willow....thanks...." And before more could be said, the tigress vannished into the garden, leaving him to head back in on his own. Carl wasted no time in it. For some reason the incident had left him with almost a soreness in his chest, one that didn't easily dissipitate even as he made his way back into the warmth of his near home away from home.
He almost thought about simply skipping dinner as he walked inside, for all the discomfort he was feeling, but he knew that would be dissrespectful to Rosey who'd worked to make him something nice. So he headed that way and plopped down, waiting for the food while prodding at the table top with a claw.
LP Rosey delivered the goods to carl and sat down looking at him her head tilted almost qurraying what was wrong. She twirlled around a wash towl she had sitting with Carl while he ate.Willow on the other hand was much more light hearted than carl. Something smelled like rain but she doubted it'd last long, a nice quick spring shower. She played with a tulip as she was watching the sky bubble slowly with clouds.
After today they were quite claming and she sighed and finally walked back to the temple and started digging some of the stream and lake, until it started to rain. When she walked to sit on the swing and sighed.
The wraps went down slowly, one by one dissapearing before Carl wiped away the last remnents of the meal and leaned back. It wasn't as though he hdn't seen the towel earlier but he really was off at the moment and didn't much think to speak until he was done and without distraction. "Hey Rosey, what brings you to keep me company? Not that I mind at all..."
LP Rosey happened to have a pad of paper near the table she got up and got it. 'I just felt like sitting down with you for a while. After all Willow's off, most likly waiting on the rain to come and wash away some of her worries.'
Rosey could see the clouds bubbling up and was getting a bit nervous. 'Hey carl do you mind covering the windows so hte rain won't get in. I don't think Willow is going to do it. And it looks like there might be a few drops starting to fall.'
Of crouse had Willow been inside Rosey was sure she'd do the job but well maybe she could get carl to do it and it be done just as right.
"Mmm? Oh, sure. Just show me what I need to use to cover them and I'll get to it..." For the sooner it was done, the sooner he could sleep. The soreness still hadn't gone away and was steadily installing itself as a long-term thing in his mind. Hopefully sleep would cure whatever the heck was wrong, but it would be miserable for everyone if the windows had rain comming in through them, so he pushed himself up quietly and waited to be directed.
LP 'All you need to do is unroll the plastic from the top of the windows and tape it down. The tape is over there on the counter.' Rosey pointed the writing tool over to where the tape was.
'Just make sure you get all the windows'Willow sat out there in the cool soft rain, while it was only a dizzle it'd come a downpour soon before it let up. Her tail flickered as she held her hand out watching the rain drip slowly from her hand.
It was nice tonight, she figured Carl wouldn't like it out; but oh well... She paused and looked over at the temple. "Carp.... I forgot to cover the windows."
"Alright, I won't be too long, Rosey." He pushed himself up and moved towards the tape, taking it up and pulling out a strip as he approaced the first of the windows. As instructed, he pulled down the plastic to the botton and held it there by ripping off a suitable piece of tape. Simple enough. So Carl continued on and on to each window, continuing his works while occasionally casting a tired eye out into the world beyond.
LP 'Take you're time' she wrote as she sat there watching him, what she could manage to watch. As he taped up the windows making sure there wasn't any water coming around them.
Then she floated outside to let willow know. "I've got Carl covering hte Windows Willow. No need to worry." She said with a smile holding hte towel with both hands infront of her.Willow blinked and then smiled. "Thank you Rosey. You better get inside before you catch cold." What was she saying, Rosey was a ghost... if anyone would catch cold it'd be Willow. Whom as far as she was concerned didn't care one way or the other.
Sitting out there she started to hum a tune that had gotten suck in her head. It was 'I will follow you into the dark' by death cab for cutie She wasn't really sure how it got there, but appernetly she'd heard it earlier in the streets.
And he did. The further he went, the slower he seemed to get at it, and the more tired he became. Granted, only one window had allowed rain in by the time he was done - but the bird having learned some form of respect for the home walked back to the kitchen to fetch a towel, going back and cleaning up the puddle before setting the damp towel where it could dry without causing a fuss.
Then, as unusual as it was for him, Carl slipped away quietly to his room and essentially collapsed on the bed, curling up into himself without the covers as though for some reason - they threatened to smother him tonight. So much so was the weight that for the first time since he'd lost his feathers, he completly slipped out of the monks hood and his hoodie and tossed them asside before his eyes slipped shut and he slept, restless dreams plaguing his slumber.
LP Willow sat out in the rain and once it stopped she shook off and yawned. The rain washed away most of her stress, although instead of going inside the temple she wondered into LP's cave and pulled on some freash, dry clothing and then took out a peice of paper and wrote down some instrutions for Carl for tomorrow.
Willow had and itch to go to the velveteen shop tomorrow night and she was going leave carl to work. She figured he couldn't get into too much trouble. Plus she figured she'd be back before he woke up for sunday's work. She then yawned and then went and laid the note on the table.
It read, 'Carl please work on finishing the the stream; I'll have LP take care of the lake if you'll get most of the rest of the stream today we'll finish it tomorrow. I have someplace I have to run tomorrow night try not to wake me up unless you aboslutly have to.' She left the note on the table.
With that she started working a little bit on the stream until sunrise.... afterwards she moved to under the gazibo where there was a dry chair and curled up for a nap.
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Posted: Sun May 20, 2007 9:31 am
Day 6
The night had not been merciful with his rest. Carl awoke, if just a little late, the covers tangled and mussed from his tossing and turning, and his body tired. Great...had he not done enough to redeem himself from such punnishment? Was nature itself out to piss him off? The boy groaned and pushed himself up, pulling the covers from his body before he slipped off of the bed and towards his bags - hoping to find something that'd straighten him out.
He kneeled down beside it and began to rummage through the contents, tossing asside whatever was useless to him while claws reached deep to find SOMETHING besides his other clothes and a spare diary pen. The search was fruitless for the first few minutes, but at the very bottom of the bag did the tips of his fingers brush against something hard that he proceeded to pull out and investigate. A mirror! Oh sweet day, why hadn't he found this earlier? Carl used an old shirt to wipe off the glass so that he could see just how poor he must look for so little sleep, but the surface was almost promptly scratched as he took his first look and dropped the mirror.
What illusion was this?!! Was it a joke by some ghost, or was it real? carl scrambled to pick it up and have another look before the expression of disbelief was replaced by one of rapture, a grin breaking loose over him.
His feathers! They had returned! The aching sensation, the sleepless night, the sweltering heat of even cloth covering his skin...it all made sense to him now. Granted, the new coat was mussed and untidy at the moment, but with some well deserved preening, Carl couldn't help but admire the much larger, thicker, and glossier feathers that had replaced his worn and dull fledgeling attire.
Wouldn't Willow be surprised, and just a little impressed!!
But Willow....Oh he was gonna set her straight now. Carl fixed himself up to prime perfection, only to reach not for his hoodie, but the monks robe - slipping it over himself as though still without. He then headed off as he was dressed, struggling not to dash into the dining room whooping and calling out in joy. But somehow he managed. Somehow he made it quietly into the room and into his seat, waiting for Rosey and his early morning guest.
LP Rosey brought in just one plate, one cup and one dessert plate. She dished out sausage some new wraps, made with two different kinds of chicken Mango and Lemon pepper, extra hot sauce, lettuace, chilli a little spicey; hot peppers, onions, and just about anything else she could find that seemed to be suited for wraps.
She also poured him a glass of milk and left him some mince meat pie. She then left a note that was folded up for after he finished his meal. She sat down with him at Willow's seat and was working on some paper work.Willow's tail wrapped around her eyes as the sun started to bother them as it rose. Then she yawned and nuzzles up and went back to sleep.
Mmmm? Carl looked around, more than pleased with the spread but confused. "Rosey, isn't Willow comming to join us this morning?" It'd be rude to start without her, but he knew it unusual for Willow to be late without reason. Perhaps some ghost had called her off? or maybe she'd already eaten...No explination was readily accepted, but he knew that it really wasn't his buisness where she was at all times of the day.
Still..he found it more so dissapointing that he didn't get to surprise her yet, but she would show up eventually, right? Then he would have his time - and until then he'd just have to be patient.
So rather than dwell, the boy picked up one of the wraps and began his meal, feathers fluffing slightly beneath the hood as he savoured this new sensation. The first bite was swallowed, but he paused before the second. "Rosey - this is delicious! Have you been experimenting?"
LP Rosey sighed and ripped out a page from the back of her book, 'You'll find out after you eat and read the note.' She then added 'Yes, I suppose you could call it that.' She went back to her paper work pen flowwing like a well directed orchastar.
"Oh...Alright than. Thank you, for the info and breakfast."
Oooooh breakfast. Carl took another bite and enjoyed the mixes of flavours, allowing it to marrinade in his mouth before taking another bite. Occasionally he would take a sip of the milk to balance out the heat of the food, but for the most part he ate steadily and without disturbing his host until the last of it was gone and the liquid drained down his throat.
It was then he took up the note and unfolded it. With a quick scan he set it back down, pushing himself up from the table. "Alright than...I'm off to work, Rosey. I hope to talk to you again sometime today when the work is done, but if not than have a good one." It was there he would hug her if he could, but as he couldn't he only waved his farewell before making his departure and heading towards the stream.
The shovel was easily enough found from yesterday, as it lay where he'd last left off. He still had a it to go before it was done so there was no time to waste in preperation for the newly forged waterway. Carl bent and took up his tool, and as quietly as he could - so as not to disturb Willow -he began digging out the earth again with a will.
LP Rosey waved as carl left.Carl.... working without Willow..... this was going to be fun. Eyes narrowed and a grin wider than the cheshire's as she hade her move. Hop, hop, hop, dun-nah, dun-dun-nah-nah, dun-nah......
One last hope and a tail flicker as her prey was right infront of her back turned as he worked. All this before there was a yowl the most horribleist yowl ever.... "DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMED!"Willow's eyes snapped open and she fell off the chair she was sleeping on. "WHAT THE HELL"
HOLY SHI-!!! Carl's entire body went rigid as the sound pierced his very spine. To Thorn - he must have looked like a startled rooster, tail flaring underneath the hood, feathers pracitcally bursting from every open hole in complete ruin of all his hard work placing them. It was fortunate, for the both of them, that not one feather fell from Carl's body as he turned around slowly, beak clenched in anger.
"THORN!!! You...You BRAT! You are in SO much trouble." Ohhhhhh!!! If looks could kill. Carl pushed the head of his shovel into the earth and pulled himself out of the ditch, steadily stalking towards the bush.
LP Willow on the other hand unfluffed her fur and muttered. "I SWEAR..... I can't get a decent hours sleep for all of you -insert random four letter word +ing here- Willow moved and grabbed up the Kitten by her scruff. "If it's the last thing I'lll d.....""Willow for God's Sake I told you never to use that language What's going on?" LP clearly distressed came out to see what was going on. Saving Thorn from both Willow and Carl...she didn't like the card cat but she wasn't about to let anyone kill it. "I'll take thorn inside, you two be have....."
Carl pointed an accusing finger at the card cat and grinned, one of those malicious tv-villain grins. "I swear by all that is orange and fluffy that I WILL get you for this. I will hold your paper thin butt down and sing the most horrendously sweet and caring song on the face of this earth until the cavity of all of it rots that cynical little brain of yours into being a decent person!"
Ah, creative threats indeed. He didn't exactly want them thinking he planned to beat the kitten up, but rather craved revenge for the impromptu heart fibrillation.
LP LP took Thorn off but before they were gone thorn called out. "Did I mention you're feathers were going to get eaten by a VACCUUM CLEANER!? MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA" -cough, choke, hack hairball.- LP wrinkled her nose... stuipd kittenWillow murfed and flopped down. "WHY MEEE" She cried in dispair before coiling up into a tight ball tail over her eyes again. Clearly craving sleep. But Thorn had now made her paranoid and her ear flicker serverly.
Carl snickered as her laughter was cut short, calling out to her. "Did I tell you about that hairball?..Oops, guess not. Now go behave before I really get serious."
Yeah, serious, like a schoolgirl was serious about which boy was popular that week. Carl sighed and smoothed himself down, resetting his beautiful new feathers before moving back to the ditch and taking up the shovel, driving it into the ground and continuing to excavate the row.
LP Willow murfed, "Carl shut up....." She muttered poking her head out from under her tail. Shaking her head before pulling her tail back over her face muttering something about how he thinks he's so smooth.
The bird continued chuckling to himself as he continued to work, trying not to make too much more of a fuss so that Willow could return to her nap. At least she wasn't overly angry at him, for one really couldn't blame the poor, startled bird.
LP Willow finally ablet clam down slumbered quitely.Rosey came out to watch Carl work holding a bottle of water incase he got thrusty.
It was hard, but it got done one way or another. Half way to the lake he finally grew tired of the element of surprise and pulled off the monks robe, leaving him in simple black slacks. That was the only time he paused until the afternoon sun began to rise into the azure hued oblivion, ever constantly watching him as the shovel met earth, and then stopped.
Carl looked towards the water bottle and smiled, moving over to it and gently taking it from her. "Thanks Rosey. Think we'll get it done today?"
LP Rosey shurged although he couldn't see it. She didn't have anything to write with either and wasn't about to wake Willow. After all she had heard the comotion that the cat caused. She looked around and saw LP appoarching.LP paused the kitten having been placed in a box to sleep for the afternoon, hoping it wouldn't figure out how to get out of it. And peered at carl's work. "Interesting. Hrm. While you take a break..." She said looking down at carl, "I'll dig up that lake if you want so you odn't have to much work to do." She had a few shovels and a rake with her. That were small enough to do detail work like that but they weren't so small she coudln't use them.
The answer was more of an assumed 'yes/no' thing, so Carl didn't further inquire anything of her and took a swig of the water. The taste was good and clean, just how he liked water on a hot day, and his luck seemed to improve on from that point as LP approached - offering to help out.
The boy grinned and beamed up at her. "Thank you, Lp, that would really help! I'll finish the stream in a moment, so that way we can surprise Willow when she wakes up."
LP LP looked over to Willow not seeing how the tiger could sleep like that. "Eh She'd already asked me to do that part I just didn't know if you wanted me to wait or go ahead to be truthful." She chuckled as she sat down looking at where the lake was suppose to go. It was rather large, possibley going to be big enough to plant a nice sized tree in. "Oh this will be fun." She said eyeing the layout of it before starting to dig out the earth. "We'll have to pack and remake an island I'm afraid. It'd be easier because then I could use a normal shovel and get it does twice as fast." She said looking at carl as she went to go get a different shovel.
Carl downed the rest of his drink and took up his shovel, slipping back into the stream bed while she went to gather the needed tool. Things would go like clockwork now that they were working together! And even as clockwork went, Carl was determined to speed up a bit and finish the job, albeit he did make sure to do it the right way so he wouldn't be forced to go back and fix any errors.
LP When LP came back She dunked the shovel into the dirt and started diging out the Lake. Within an hour she had it deeper tahn Willow had planned on and a little bit larger too. "There.... I think that'll do it for that. Now when you get finished carl I'll need you're help." She said Dummping a half a shovel full of loose dirt back into the hole. She needed Carl to do this part because she couldn't work like she needed to without laying down. Willow twitched slightly in her sleep. Possibly dreams turning slightly into nightmares. She didn't often have them but when she did they weren't the best thing in the wrold.
"Ok....This shouldn't take much longer!" And indeed, he'd abegun digging the shovel in as far as he could to achieve the maximum amount of dirt per swipe. Within ten minutes the path from start to finish was fully connected and the loose dirt neatly in their piles to be used again for some other task while they worked on the one at hand. He moved over to LP and smiled. "What do you need me to do?"
LP LP pointed down into the whole. "Well I need you to get down there and while I bring something around to help dampen the ground I need you to start pasking for the island. It's suppose to be big enough as it looks for the size of hte gaziboo which fits possibley three or four velveteens larger than Willow. Plus one or two your size, I wouldn't say comforbitly but simi-close ot it. She then picked up carl and set him down into the hole. "I'll be right back." She said as she moved to get the best thing to a watering can she had.
Wow....He hadn't quite realized how deep the hole was until he was in it. Carl looked up, never having really felt the magnitude of just how small he was and how big everything else was - to think that the hole completely went over his head and that should fate be so cruel, be might have been abbandonned there had he not the knowledge that LP was comming back.
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Posted: Sun May 20, 2007 9:32 am
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Posted: Sun May 20, 2007 9:33 am
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Posted: Sun May 20, 2007 9:35 am
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Posted: Sun May 20, 2007 9:36 am
Some day, Carl will find you[ ORP ]
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Posted: Mon May 21, 2007 6:34 am
I knew a little alligator with a pretty smileCarl and Nanet rp
* Works on Intimidation?
* Works on Strength
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Posted: Wed May 23, 2007 3:51 am
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Posted: Sun Apr 20, 2008 2:33 pm
*After the metaplot
*Patches Carl up
*Introduces family and potential for moving
* Gets him fixed up
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