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 Posted: Sat Aug 30, 2008 9:06 am
Marut mooched along, kicking a rock across the ground. When she lost it in amongst a line of long grass she shrugged, her hair slipping across her eyes again. She huffed it up, shaking her head, and dislodging several leaves from her slightly bedraggled mane in the process.
'Gonna have to go home again soon,' she muttered to herself. Once in a while she went back home just to let her mother tidy her up. She wouldn't have done it if Neve hadn't threatened to hunt her down and do exactly the same thing, regardless of where she was or what she was doing at the time!
'I could go bald..' she mused out loud as she ambled along. She could hear the river somewhere over to her right, gurgling along as she tramped through the grass.
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Posted: Sat Aug 30, 2008 9:34 am
Months of observation and careful research had come to this... The stallion couldn't help but double take at his own now transformed reflection. His once straight mane had been trained, tugged and twisted into submission over the course of the week. The result was an odd set of 'ringlets' enveloping his cheeks while his helpers had crimed, curled and otherwise encouraged the rest of his hair to become wavy. Even his tail had endured the same treatment, he had to twist his body somewhat to see his rear but he could already see the curls.
Not only had his cohorts opted to restyle his hair, but over the course of the week they had sought out craftsmen and had negotiated an exchange of nuts (and other various products) for their assistance. While they had worked tirelessly on his hair, these craftsmen and women (or creatures more accurately) had created a number of accessories that would ultimately 'finish' the look. No sooner had his new hairstle been applied than the golden bangles had been strapped to his legs and neck - and his hair...well it had received a heavy seasoning of golden flowers.
Now the transformation was complete.
To say he looked like a female would have been an understatement. His already lithe form had been transformed from a male into something that could easily be mistaken as a mare. The manner in which his hair now accented his features and the way that certain areas had been thinned and layers - well...he couldn't say he was satisfied by the sudden transformation. He was not inclined to be a female but he had to conclude that the initial planning had been a complete success. His change from a reasonably handsome stallion to budding young debutante had begun and if he was required to double take then others most definitely would.
"Weeeeeelll....?" Shaking her bushy tail, the squirrel waiting expectantly for her employers reaction. Given his otherwise unreadable expression she couldn't decide whether or not the transformation was something he was satisfied with. Hell, her friends and her were delighted but...
"You have done well, I should think we shall have little difficulty in performing further research in this form," the stallion confirmed after a few moments of quiet musing.
"Better work on that voice of yours though," the squirrel pointed out, her expression serious. She was more than just a little surprised when the male cleared his throat, gathered his composure and spoke again in a surprisingly gentle and feminine tone.
"I assure you, I have made all the necessary preparations."
...The Squirrel began to question at that moment in time, exactly how far her employer was prepared to go!
"If you say so," she squeaked in surprise.
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Posted: Sat Aug 30, 2008 9:51 am
'Jeeez.' Marut made a small noise, an unreadable expression on her face as she stumbled across the beautifying scene. Did mares really go through this much trouble just to look good? She was starting to feel glad that she didn't give a rats behind whether her mane or tail were tidy or not.
'Err hi,' she managed, taking in the bouncing curls at head and tail, the gold adornments, which even amounted to gold flowers in the hair and at the base of this mares tail! Although..Marut had a funny feeling, that she just couldn't quite put her hoof on.
'Sorry to interrupt, just passing through..' she said hastily, worried that she might be roundly turned upon and end up looking as dainty. That would never do, her brothers for one would never let her hear the end of it if they ever saw her so well groomed.
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Posted: Sat Aug 30, 2008 10:06 am
He hadn't paid his employees to tend to the appearance of another and slowly but surely the majority had begun to disperse. A few had 'hidden' in certain locations to see how truly impressive their work was, but for the most part... Well, Marut was in luck as no one had any interest in tending to her hair unless she had sufficient funds! What Raniero had bargained with would remain a mystery but to acquire such an impressive result indicated that he clearly had some funds at his disposal. Then again Raniero was renowned for his research and his studies - he knew exactly what certain creatures wanted and bargained with it accordingly.
Nevertheless, the stallion had not expected a visitor quite so soon and paused briefly. Once again eyeing his own reflection, he mused over its effectiveness briefly and then shook his head. She had shown no shift in tone other than to sound sheepish upon his discovery but this could be caused by a number of things. Either she was incredibly observant (which he doubted) or she hadn't intended to interrupt whatever it was that he had been doing...which wasn't very much to be honest.
Thus it was with a small sigh that the stallion gave a very slight nod and swung his head round to eye the mare. Ringlets and curls giving a flourish while his bangles seemed to 'c***k'. Really, if he had taken the time to practice he probably could have turned his legs into a musical instrument. Given that this would not aid his research however, he was not one to even remotely consider it. Coming to rest with his amber eyes fixed on the mare, he took a few moments to assess her otherwise... wild and 'untainted' appearance. She wasn't completely covered in mud but it was clear that she didn't really make any attempts to clean her hair up either.
If she threw him in the water after he had spent eight hours receiving a make over, he would kill her. There were times when even he would crack, to have a creak in ones neck and then have to stand for an additional eight hours would drive him insane. He had already wasted an ample enough time getting ready...maybe he should have considered hiring a bodyguard too.
Someone to take the mud for him.
Actually, in retrospec that was probably a fascinating experiment. If he could master the art of seduction and use it to his advantage it might prove to be a useful tool - but even he wasn't quite prepared to go that far as of yet. First he needed to prove that this change could bring results... He really was an odd one.
"Of course," he mused after a few moments, offering a slight smile as he spoke. "Just mind the rocks," he added, obviously referring to the river. Having never excelled at general 'chit chat', this was obviously going to be his weak spot.
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Posted: Sat Aug 30, 2008 4:18 pm
Raniero would have little to fear in that respect, Marut did love to joke around, to play and play-fight, but only with those who wanted to do so themselves, she'd never pushed a fight or japes on anyone that didn't seem like they would appreciate it.
'Yeah, thanks,' Marut said, eyeing the 'mare' curiously and starting to walk off towards the river. She stopped two steps along and turned to address Raniero again.
'You're a mare right?' she looked at the other through slightly narrowed eyes, trying to work out which it was. After all, she had a brother that wore roses, but he was strongly built and came across as male. This one, well she'd either insulted a guy, or really insulted a mare. Oh well.
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Posted: Sat Aug 30, 2008 4:46 pm
Oh she was a sharp one.
His brow rose immediately at her question and for the longest time he was silent. Her double take had been enough to alert him to the fact that she didn't quite fall in line with the majority of the categories he had prior knowledge of. Perhaps there was more depth to this one, a reason behind her hawkish eyes and uncanny instinct. He couldn't put his hoof on it as of yet but in feeding her lies he might hinder the investigation process. After all, if she were to doubt her instincts it might later cause issues and his data would be inaccurate. Heaven forbid he have inaccurate data!
Thus, after a few moments his smile twisted into a semblance of a smirk. It was an expression that he found much more comfortable, normal...natural. There was no facade to be had with in it, it was the truth and he was not about to deny it. In fact, should anyone realise what he truly was he would make no attempts to deny it - instead he would reward them with the confirmation they required. In time it would perhaps develop into greater things and unlock further secrets regarding particular odd quirks and behaviours that certain individuals possessed.
Regardless, she was lucky in the sense that he felt no insult from her words. Mild interest at her question would have been more accurate - there were few with such skills of observation. He was most definitely intrigued by her in that regard.
"Is your question rhetorical or definitive? If it is the latter, I would suggest you rephrase it as a statement that could be accepted or rejected in accordance with the individual's preference," he always did have a habit of over complicating matters just to goad a response. However, in this circumstance she had asked him to confirm something that wasn't true. She needed to rephrase the question, a simple denial to such a statement would not suffice for this individual who's answers were often somewhat vague and often overly analytical.
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Posted: Sun Aug 31, 2008 7:34 am
Marut's nose had been working overtime in the silence before Raniero had spoken again, and had taken a few more steps forward. When the expression on 'her' face changed, she raised a brow, still torn between whether this was a strangely masculine mare with a personality problem, or a very feminine stallion that didn't know how to behave around females.
Marut could identify a little with problems reconciling sex to behaviour, but she wasn't about to walk around with a carrot between her legs! She was just a very tom-boyish mare with a name to match.
'You want me to say it more plainly?'
Was that the meaning behind the convoluted way of speaking? She'd just about managed to prise understanding from what he said.
'Are you a male, or are you a female? My eyes said female when I first saw you, but my instincts say male.'
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Posted: Sun Aug 31, 2008 7:47 am
There were very few individuals in the world who would be able to restrain their laughter if the mare chose to adopt that idea. The concept of strapping a carrot to herself was something that would be hysterical while wholey disturbing all at the same time. Raniero would mostly likely have raised a brow and documented such a quirk but amusement was beyond him when it came to his specimens. Admittedly there were some he was fond of but on a more general level... well, they had their moments of interesting behaviour but it was often fleeting. Thus, it was just as well the stallion couldn't read the mare's thoughts! Alas, when she had at last been more precise with her choice of words, he was forced to answer.
She had done as he requested - he would reward her.
"Your instincts would be correct," his voice shifted, the feminine tone vanishing as he gave a slight nod of his head. As he had decided moments ago, an individual with such honed instincts should not be tampered with. Instead it was the instincts and the point to which they extended that required further investigation. Confusing them would cause problems and inaccurate results, thus his immediate reward with the truth. Granted while many stallions would appear to be sheepish upon being discovered, he seemed to be completely unphased by the revelation. He had never denied what he was to begin with and nor would he provided that the question made towards him remained direct.
If his subjects could be direct it meant they were decisive. Indecision was nothing something he would reward due to the lack of benefits it had.
"I am indeed male," flicking his ears forward, the stallion adjusted his weight to make himself more comfortable and once again stretched his head. The creaking in his neck was easing very slowly, would take a little while to completely disappear but at least it was no longer a hinderance. "You have quite a sharp pair of eyes, congratulations..." He offered after a few moments, resting his amber gaze on the otherwise bedraggled mare. Even he had to admit he was impressed, she had spotted him in under ten minutes after all.
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Posted: Sun Aug 31, 2008 7:59 am
Marut couldn't quite get that image out of her head, and had to try not to laugh out loud. Her mouth twitched though, and she cleared her throat.
'Uh, not laughing at you, silly though I had.' she explained, in case she did think she was finding her funny. But of course, she had to change those around when he admitted that her gut feelings had been right.
'Okay, so you are male.'
And to think she'd almost just walked away! This was too amusing not to be glad that her suspicions had been aroused enough to be curious.
'Thanks,' she said, acknowledging the compliment. Her bi-coloured eyes were quick when she put in the effort, and it was nice to be told the same, even if it was from a male who didn't seem to know what he was.
'Sooo.' she asked, when she just couldn't hold onto the question any longer.
'Why are you acting and done up as a mare? Well, a particularly girly mare.'
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Posted: Sun Aug 31, 2008 8:14 am
Silly thought? Why she would deem it necessary to explain herself was beyond him (from his point of view) but for the sake of his research it helped him. Ensuring that he selected the correct starting point from which to categorize her from, he could at least note a semblance of manners in the otherwise unruly looking mare. Her appearance might have been questionable but clearly the mare had received lessons on a certain level of etiquette - this at the very least hinted at famiyl to a degree.
Therefore it should have been of no surprise that he scarcely reacted to her laughter. His expression remained unreadable as he continued to watch her shifting features, noting and documenting each in return. She was an open book in that regard and it was easy to discern how she thought about certain things. Ah, but after she had confirmed his gender she seemed to enter the realms of the typical soquili...he could see the thought processes in there. The cogs turning as she drew her assumptions and made prior conclusions. She may have asked a question but she already knew her own answer.
Really, why must they all be so obvious?
"For the purpose of my research it was necessary to adopt the appearance of a female," Raniero responded in a flat manner. He failed to find the humour in it, nor could he find any semblance of discomfort that should have come with adopting such a role. It was only through logic and observation that he was aware that most Soquili would question his preferences immediately upon the discovery of his true identity. The conclusions they chose to draw from this were theirs alone, provided it did not hinder his research he didn't care.
"Though the content of the transformation was left to my cohorts," he was referring her view of being 'particularly' girly. He hadn't given them exact specifications, he had merely informed them that it was of the utmost importance that he looked like a female. They had used their artistic freedom to go wild and consequently...he may have turned out like a beauty queen according to some creatures.
"It is a satisfactory result," he glanced briefly at his own reflection and arched a brow. If he was honest it was a good thing it was a satsifactory result given that it had taken eight hours to achieve. He would have been furious at the loss of time if it had been a failure.
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Posted: Sun Aug 31, 2008 8:21 am
Research? That was a convienient explanation for dressing up like a girl. Really, who went that far? Again, she went back to the whole 'carrot' thing. Maybe she should do that for a lark, see how many mares she could confuse..but nah, she was a dunce at flirting so it would never work.
'If you say so.' Marut grinned.
'You pass as a female from appearances sake, but there's still something slightly male about you, and you can't hide properly who you really are.'
She nodded at his latter words though, admitting;
'Well I think if I hadn't stopped for a double take I might have just thought I bumped into one of those mares that thinks hair grooming is the most important things in life.'
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Posted: Sun Aug 31, 2008 8:38 am
"For one to keep up a facade, it appears that it is one of the more important things at present," failing to even show the slightest emotion in his voice, his tone remained flat and otherwise unconcerned. As he had suspected she had already made her own decisions and developed her own views. He would permit her to embrace and accept these accordingly as the reactions would simply add to his findings. No doubt his acquaintances would find such encounters hilarious, he simply found them relevant to a small degree. "If one were to lose the appearance they had cultivated this experiment would be substantially more complex than it is required to be."
"And while it is undeniable I am male and that I possess even visible signs of such a thing, it would take an exceptionally observant individual to detect them all." He was referring to the most obvious sign he was male, something that the majority of invidiausl didn't look for simply because it led to uncomfortable conversations. On occasions it would lead to accusations of the individual being perverted - really, he would simply congratulate them on having been smart enough to take note of the obvious.
"The majority of these traits can be excused under the guise of associating with certain individuals for any great length of time," he shrugged loosely and tossed the hair from his eyes, knocking the flowers out of position behind his ears. It jolted slightly but remained in place nearby it's original position... somewhere, he heard a cohort hiss their disapproval.
"For example, one could argue that I have spent the majority of my time in the company of male friends. Or one might say I was raised by my father," he sauntered towards the mare, his stride not completely male nor female given he needed to be aware of potential specimens within his immediate vicinity. He soon came to a halt a short distance a way - an opportunity to inspect the bizarre markings on her coat.
"You understand?"
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Posted: Sun Aug 31, 2008 8:47 am
'True, but don't you worry about inviting unwanted attention?' Marut asked. If she could hear his thoughts, she probably wouldn't give a damn either, she never explained herself to anyone. She was sometimes foolish, often boisterous, but never given overly to worrying what others thought about her.
'Well, you are obviously a male, but you aren't built as some I know. I mean,' she watched him as he moved around.
'If one of those dressed as you did, it would look even sillier. No offence meant,' she said, grinning cheekily. As it happened, she had snuck a look after he'd said he was a stallion just to make doubly sure, but she wasn't going to actually confess that.
'If I do correctly, you're saying that because you were raised by your father, and hang around just males that explains why you have masculines traits that you can't hide?'
Gawd, he liked the sound of his own voice didn't he?
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Posted: Sun Aug 31, 2008 9:10 am
"That would be the general logic that would be required to explain the numerous masculine quirks I might possess," he stated plainly. It wasn't that he enjoyed the sound of his voice, he simply explained things to the point of exhausting the other individual. While he understood his train of thought, it was very rare that another individual would be able to keep up with the complex labyrinth that the stallion often navigated his way through. That being said, her exasperation at his long winded speech had not gone unnoticed. He had noted it, taken it into account and would take the appropriate action in a few moments.
"I do not receive offence from such simplistic statements either," he shrugged loosely and drew away from the mare again, distancing himself from the individual who would sooner stare at him then converse. He could permit her to stare from a distance but his patience could not afford to be wasted on listening to idle chit chat. It was illogical to permit another to gnatter in his ear if he was required to keep his mouth shut in return - even if he did have objective criticism or views to offer.
"If I happen to acquire unwanted attention I will deal with it as I deem necessary, 'unwanted' can refer to a number of facets." He pointed out cooly. He was more than aware that the mare was referring to male attention but due to her lack of precision in her statement, he could bend and twist it until he saw fit. That being said he no longer had further words to contribute to the mare and chose this point to fall silent. If she was exasperated with his mannerisms then she need not pursue him - in his mind observation and research could be continued at a distance. He only needed to be reasonably close to detect the occasional conversation if it was deemed necessary. After all - general chit chat was a waste. He would only listen if there was something substantial.
This in mind, the stallion came to a halt once again and permitted his eyes to shut as one of his many cohort leapt from the bushes. Leaping onto his back, the Squirrel was present for only one reason and that was to fix the flower he had so callously loosened!
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Posted: Mon Sep 01, 2008 8:20 am
'Couldn't you just say 'yes'?' Marut asked, snickering a little. He wasn't exactly getting to her, she just thought it funny that he took a mile to describe an inch.
'See..yes. One simple little word. Means what you said just then.'
Marut continued to look at him, it was hard to keep a straight face when his voice and opinions were coming out of that coiffed and jewelled body.
'I would think a stallion taking you for being an actual mare, and trying his luck with you. I mean, unless that's all part of your 'research'.'
Marut caught sight of the squirrel, raising an eyebrow at the sudden appearance of the bushy tailed creature. She watched as it jumped onto him and fiddled around with one of the blooms that he was decorated with.
'So, how did you manage to persuade them to do all that?' she asked, her curiosity switching subjects.
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