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 Posted: Thu Aug 11, 2011 10:41 am
 " Hello!" she told the small creature her brother was speaking to. " I'm Lucky Charm, but you can call me Charm if you want, and this is Talisman," she gestured to the owlcat on her back, " and these are all charms I've made. Oh, speaking of, Grumpy Smudge, I've got one for you!" She reached over her shoulder and nipped a vine tied around small stones and a bright hibiscus blossom. " Here! For steadiness and cheerful feelings." She looped the vine around his pale horns so it draped down his back. " By the way, what are you?" she asked the pink creature. " I've never met one such as yourself." Okay, Mead thought as she looked back at the free samples buck, if I want any of that, I think I should probably get it now. So thinking, Mead wandered back over in time to hear the doe's last insinuation. " I highly doubt he's going to be passing out bits of drugged food. There's no way to determine who'd eat it." Inwardly, she was slightly apprehensive of offending this rather intimidating doe, but it looked like the buck was unable to defend himself for some reason. " If I may?" she inquired of the buck still holding the sling between his teeth.
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Posted: Thu Aug 11, 2011 10:47 am
 "Ha" Snow-Blind said the word, rather than actually laughing. He wasn't making a very good impression, but it was too late to backpedal. He was a little puzzled with himself as to why he cared at all what this buck thought of him, but for some reason he really hoped he didn't scare the buck away. "no, no toads for me today. I was just hoping to meet some cute does, and see these non-Meti... things... In action. Have you ever met one?"
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Posted: Thu Aug 11, 2011 10:47 am
Why, yes - she was very prone to flattery, and the kimeti's awe was flattering. Delighted, she danced a little caper as his charm-laden sister arrived. "Smudge?" she bubbled, "how strange, you are very much more than a little Smudge! But I can see where your name comes from, Lucky Charm, did your dream give you a dream? Mine did, and I am Red-stained Blossom - but everyone calls me Rouge. I am an Acha, and within them, I am a hunter; I am an artist - I paint red across the desert sands," a sharp little pirouette, sunlight gleaming off the razor-edges of her hooves, "and now your swamp!"
If her small audience had displayed any reaction toward her revelation, it escaped her as the kiokote's call rang out and her ears perked, "A race? The first game is a race?" Ooh - ooh, she had meant to only watch, but - the very first game was racing! She wasn't too bad at running, if she could say so herself...oh, who was she kidding, she was excellent at running! Why, she'd run everyday in the desert - no hare could outpace the red-stained hunter and her little dog. This...this could be really fun! "A race!" she said again, rearing in excitement now, "shall we, Smudge? You look like you could run a pretty good race. Shall we, Charm - oh, well. Maybe not you, unless you put your pretty things down somewhere first."
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Posted: Thu Aug 11, 2011 11:01 am
 Smudge's eyes narrowed in distaste as his sister flung one of her strange collections of plants and other...bits of the swamp...over his horns so it draped down his back. "Really, Charm, is this necessary--" he grumbled, twisting his head to see the rather atrociously brightly colored flower that now adorned him. "I don't want any of your damned 'cheerful feelings,' I just --" He was cut off by the continuation of the little Acha's excited speech. 'Paint red across the desert sands'? That sounded more than a little ominous, Smudge thought, especially when combined with the -- now that he looked closer -- rather sharp edges of Rouge's little hooves. Perhaps these Acha weren't all bad after all. "Race? Oh no, Rouge, um...thank you," the buck protested, inclined to be a little more polite to the prancing Acha now that she seemed to be more than just frivolity. "I don't participate in such...events."
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Posted: Thu Aug 11, 2011 11:11 am
Alright, that was it - a bone was one thing, but drugs?! She might have the smile of an alligator and the fanned-out curls of a flytrap, but no alligator (and certainly no flytrap) had ever insulted his life's work like this! Self-preservation made a valiant stand, but faced no chance against the rising tide of pride; if he was courting death, so be it, there were some things a buck must die for -
- aaaand, thankfully, right before he was about to draw himself out of his customary cringe to his full (not especially impressive) height and do something his bleached bones would regret in a shallow, unmarked grave, he was saved by a sweet, blessed, voice of reason. "Certainly!" he said out of the corner of his mouth, relief palpable, swinging the meats in the grassy doe's direction. "This miss is entirely correct," he said proudly, as soon as he could drop the vine again, "and as a respectable foodstuff purveyor with a fixed address, a drugged customer is not a happy returning customer...unless you're into that sort of thing," he added, faltering, "I think there are other kimeti to see about that."
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Posted: Thu Aug 11, 2011 11:13 am
Pieces relaxed slightly - he hadn't been particularly interested in cute does lately because he had so much else on his mind, but at least this sounded like a slightly more usual course of action, picking up does. Yes. " You'll have to have a clear mind to pick up does, yes," he said, nodding a little readily, " else you might not end up with what you thought you wanted." Take it in his stride. Speak normal-like. " I've seen some of the Kiokote - the bigger ones - before. Those delicate little ones though, I've only really seen them today. The sexes of the non-Meti seem quite alike," he continued, happy for a small-talk topic, " so if you're about to approach them, as said, a clear mind is good!" Truth be told, he was kind of failing at the manly discussion, and feeling like he missed out on something during his adolescence. Did he have to grow up before realising how ill-adjusted he was to the world? Psychopaths, druggies...
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Posted: Thu Aug 11, 2011 11:17 am
" An Acha? One of the desert cousins? How amazing! Oh, racing, no, I'm not really one for running unless it's a game of Hunter and Prey. And I like to watch as others run. Great way to find the really strong and handsome bucks, you know." Charm gave Rouge a sly female wink and started to adjust the loop she'd flung over her brother, to make sure it stayed put for a good long while. Nothing like tormenting a sibling while helping them out, really! " Of course you want them, silly Smudgy! You're just too uptight, like Nudge! And even he mellowed out after Wood Spider gave Meets that charm for us!" Charm turned to follow the procession of competitors with her eyes. " There are some very handsome bucks over there, Kimeti and kiokote. Mr. Red Mane the announcer, certainly."
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Posted: Thu Aug 11, 2011 11:47 am
Mead took a dainty bite of the meat in the sling, savoring the sensation as salt and meat and oh Motherfather, that's delicious! flavor coated her tongue. " Oh, my," she said, swallowing the bite. " That's quite wonderful. You said it was salted duck? What else do you have? Is it quite as good as this?" The questions came fast as she moved closer, hoping this buck had other treats for sampling and feeling vaguely sorry that she was crowding him. But the duck was so good she wanted more.
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Posted: Thu Aug 11, 2011 11:58 am
Infectious was her relief. Albatross felt herself growing light, too. A new spring in her step! A tendril fell into her face but she whipped her head back, attempting to bat it to the side. Success. Hooves at the ready, she looked back at the white bird and walked to the nearest pond, steering clear of fermented juices. She looked back once more to see if the bird had flown off. Hard to tell with that one. Albatross stared at the other doe who obviously walked different paths from other kimeti. They were quite different. Shrugging it off, she drank.
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Posted: Thu Aug 11, 2011 12:09 pm
This buck was proving to be pretty cool, despite his obvious lack of experience. But he caught Snow-Blind's ear when he mentioned the other things, small and delicate? This, Snow-Blind had to see. "Wait, what delicate little ones? I haven't even heard of them! Are you sure they aren't just baby... What were the other ones called again?" He tried to hide his excitement, but he was still a little too sleep-deprived to do it well. This buck might know some of the new things, and maybe he could introduce them!
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Posted: Thu Aug 11, 2011 12:16 pm
Fixed address.
Say no more, friend.
This buck was a neverending hollowed out trunk full of treasure. She had no choice but to react. His natural demeanor drew something out of her. Simply put: it couldn't be helped. She laughed, oh how she laughed! She grew hungry at the thought of seeing every shade of his emotions.
The landscape doe came back. Doom watched the moving speech and the following consumption of the pickle duck. Yes, she knew that look, but whereas the doe exuded joy, the buck's emotions were more captivating and varied. Changing her tactic, she advanced, "Yes, they're quite scrumptious." Eyes ablazed and poised with a smile that could cut ice, "Tell us more, what other foods do you carry and where?"
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Posted: Thu Aug 11, 2011 12:45 pm
And just as it was getting normal, it got weird again. He seemed so excited about delicate little ones was it a...a... thing for him? Pieces' mouth shut for a little while, as his mind processed these terrible possibilities. Oh Swampmother what am I thinking! Thinking bad things already; he was probably just really excited because he'd never seen them before and - " the other ones are Kiokote" - they were obviously bigger. It was too late to shed himself of this buck, and it was too late to escape potential trouble. All he'd come here for was to look for his family - he really hadn't thought about the...(he didn't know the word for those smallish 'cousins') because he obviously wouldn't find his siblings there. But of course others would be interested in them. Maybe he was the abnormal one here. Pieces wasn't too sure whether he felt more or less beseiged by the world at this point, but what the heck. He rose on his hind legs to survey the surroundings. " Well..." he reported, hesitantly, " there's a blue and orange one, and there's a purple one, as far as I can see. Which one are you...interested in?"
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Posted: Thu Aug 11, 2011 1:00 pm
Shadow snorted, still missing the point of all the entire show masculinity, but decided to go along with it anyways. "Well, I guess bucks will be bucks..." he admitted. "And it could be fun for some people."Ears flickering, he turned his head as a large kiokote bellowed across the field that the races would soon begin. And with en masse, a number of kiokote and kimeti alike began taking their places at the indicated starting point. "Since this is all for the does, I suppose you'll want to go over there and watch," he said, already beginning to plod in the direction everyone else was going. Silent nodded, in acknowledgment, but before she could follow Tomo down the hill, a large buck stepped forward and proceeded to explain the kiokote as well as the mystery of the new race. He introduced himself as Whistles Twice and appeared to have a rather gentle nature."My name is Silent Burning," she said a bit shyly. It was the first male she had ever met, and she wasn't quite sure what to do with herself. Not only that, but he did appear quite handsome, though she couldn't really say for sure since she did not have any others to compare him to. "As for coloring, I can't say I have. But it sounds like great fun!" she concluded, her confidence growing by the minuted. "We'll have to ask Tomo though, well, What Tomorrow Brings is her real name. She's just over there."
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Posted: Thu Aug 11, 2011 1:14 pm
"Silent? Silent, where -- oh." Tomorrow came to a stop in front of the foal and the buck, blinking at the male before nosing lightly at Silent's side. "I see you're making friends already," she said cheerfully, before her attention turned to the buck. "I'm What Tomorrow Brings, but you can call me Tomorrow. Or Tomo. Tomo works too." Quietly, Lightfall wandered behind Silent, keeping a close eye on her charge. Though the buck made her nervous, she didn't say anything, knowing Silent wasn't in any real danger.
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Posted: Thu Aug 11, 2011 1:20 pm
Fell brightened at the grassy doe's questions: this sounded like a potential customer, no doubt about it! The brightness, however, dimmed - more accurately, was abruptly extinguished - as the sinister doe leaned in...Swampmother, that smile. W-well, she did quite seem to enjoy the samples...she was a customer too... If only he didn't have the most alarming sensation that telling her where was the equivalent of delivering himself to doom, vine-wrapped and salt-pickled. But a shop was a shop - where could a shop hide? He was probably just being paranoid...right...
"T-thank you, kind misses," he started, hesitant, "yes, that was our newest product, salt-pickled duck. Unfortunately, I have brought no other samples today, but let me assure you, we carry all manner of top-quality preserved foods, from salted salamander to sun-dried fruit, full of flavour and guaranteed to last at least five days if stored out of water - perfect for both feasts and emergencies! A free tasting pack is available upon request, and can be delivered to just about any location in the swamp, as can all our wares...b-because, you see, our main store can be a little far for some kimeti..." he trailed off nervously, flickering glances at the terrifyingly intent gaze of the Venus flytrap alligator. She wanted more, she had to know more, she would know more, he could feel it, he couldn't - he couldn't...he caved.
"We're located at the salt marshes," he deflated, "bordering the swamp. You couldn't miss us, if you were in the vicinity."
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