[FIN] Don't Touch That! Mine! (Last Whisper & Stargarden)

[Darkmoon Dancer]

Crouching over her latest kill, Last Whisper was part way through cleaning up the mess she had made pulling it apart to get at the skull. This one had been a mercy kill, like most of them were, but that didn't make them any easier to clean! She grunted and growled at the skin and meat as she tried to pull it away from he goal underneath. After lots of angry scuffles and some agitated splashes, Last Whisper finally managed to remove the skull and place it safely in the shallow water next to her. She picked up the rest of the foxbun and dunked it in the stream to rinse it a little bit, to get rid of the worst of the blood at least. Having done so, she placed the body on a rock just along the water's edge and then turned to look at her newest prize.

Damn it!, she thought to herself. She had forgotten the feathers! And so, thinking she was completely alone, Last Whisper stood up, and swiftly trotted back to her den to find those feathers, leaving her treasure unguarded in the stream nearby.
 

[Appeal]

Stargarden was dragging his hooves through the thick grass and water, his light blue eyes piercing into the water's depths as if he searched intently for something hidden under it's surface.

His pace suddenly stopped short of a patch in the marsh, his hoof making a light clicking noise against something in the water. Click, click, click. He curiously continued to push his hoof against it until dunking his head into the swallow water for a moment, bright eyes staring at the skull. His face nudged it, and it didn't make a noise. This creature was no fun at all so he rose his head and hopped up onto the land.

This wasn't the end of his game. He spotted a foxbun skin. It didn't seem to run away from him so he walked closer. Nothing. And closer. Nothing. Stargarden kept going until he was nearly on the rock. What a friendly foxbun!  

[Darkmoon Dancer]

There! She had found those feathers at last! Grabbing a few between her teeth, Last Whisper wiggled her way backwards to get out of her den. She blinked once at the sun and then trotted back towards the stream she had left her treasure in... only to draw to a complete stop.

She was frozen in... shock? terror? No! Anger. Yes, that was it! She was angry. Her ears trained forwards, he tail took on an agitated twitch and her brow furrowed. She rushed forwards, and in all of the emotions, she dropped her feathers along the way. She ran towards the stranger and once her hooves hit the water with a splash, she growled angrily, "Don't touch that! Mine!" Sure, it wasn't complete sentences... but it was exactly what she meant!

The doe stood there, hunkered down to a defensive stance, a few paces away from the strange buck, with the skull caught somewhere in the middle.
 

[Appeal]

Stargarden stared at this creature. It was bewildering that it did not run away. It was not like Bites For Fun at all! He was about to step closer when his damaged ear twitched. He slowly turned his head, expecting to see a Bites For Fun but instead, his eyes stared at this expected mostly black creature.

"Oh, that sure explains why it is so tame!" He said, twisting his body so he was no longer facing the foxbun but the kimeti instead.  

[Darkmoon Dancer]

Tame? What was tame? The doe's head tilted to one side and she asked out loud, rather confused, "What do you mean? What's tame?" A little more indignantly she also added, "And why were you touching my Treasure?" With that last statement, she stepped closer and stretched out her neck until she could reach the skull. Dunking her head under for just a moment, she gently wrapped her mouth around it to pick it up.

Holding it carefully in her mouth, the empty eyes could almost be watching the buck with as much confusion as the doe that held it.
 

[Appeal]

He glanced to the foxbun on the rock and pushed his head forward, as if pointing to it. "It doesn't run away like most foxbuns."

He didn't see any treasure, and ignored it and instead took notice that she seemed to favour the boring creature from the swamp water. "What sort of pet is that?"  

[Darkmoon Dancer]

Her head turned so that she could look down at what the buck was pointing towards and realized he meant the foxbun... the... dead... foxbun... Brow furrowing further, she looked back at the buck and was about to speak, but on the breath in, she realized that she was still holding the skull. What pet? What was he talking about? The skull?

She sidestepped once, twice, and then put the skull down on the ground in front of her feet. "Of course it doesn't... it wouldn't be able to.... it's.... not alive..." She glanced at it again, she had killed it right? Yeah, it was obviously dead, bleeding and whatnot...

Oh right! Her 'pet'... "It's not a pet at all!" she said, rather plainly, as that was all that needed saying. Anyone could see that!
 

[Appeal]

Stargarden stared intently at the doe, and then back to the foxbun. It was so well trained, it didn't move at all! He wished Bites For Fun was so trained. It was always running away from him! Chasing it across the swamp, and then sometimes they'd even reverse rolls! It was so nice to have a pet.

He seemed to completely ignore, or maybe not understand her whens he said the foxbun was not alive.

"But it waited for you in the water. It's very well behaved."  

[Darkmoon Dancer]

Riiiiiight.... Why was he so convinced it was a pet? The doe was very confused, but decided that instead of arguing with him, she would try to understand him. "Well, yes, yes it did wait for me. And underwater, at that. I suppose it is well behaved..." She had never looked at it that way. She had only ever considered them her Treasures, and maybe named one.... or two.... or all of them...

She looked at the buck, admiring his sky-like coat. He almost looked like he glittered! How handsome! A sheepish grin overcame her features as she looked him over again, completely distracted.
 

[Appeal]

"How wonderful. I wish Bites For Fun was so behaved." He shared as he watched the skull.

"Does it have a name? What is it?" He sent many questions her way, curiosity and misunderstanding flooding through his mouth. "Where did you find it? I haven't seen any wandering around anywhere!" His bright and shining blue eyes, purely and innocently questioning this creature in front of him. Those bright eyes that seemed to see the world so differently than everyone else, directly right at the doe in front of him.  

[Darkmoon Dancer]

"Oh? Who's Bites For Fun? Is he your pet?" curiousity invading her own mind. Perhaps it was contagious? Who knew!

Last Whisper sat down, just where she was, rather heavily actually. She decided that she liked this buck, even though he confused her a little. But he seemed to like her Treasure, so it was all good with her... so long as he didn't try to take it away from her, that is! But if that should happen, she could change her mind then. So with a smile, she replied, "This one is Quickfoot, named after it's last owner." She nodded towards the corpse. "It's... well, it's a Skull." She giggled, "They don't wander, silly!"
 

[Appeal]

Stargarden thought for a moment, which was rare. Bites For Fun. Pet? Or friend? They kind of had a game of tag going, so maybe he was more of a friend! "A pet friend. Yes. A pet friend. He wanders the swamps. Maybe you've seen him! He has has a huge mouth, but he's not very talkative."

Stargarden wasn't fond of sitting, so he continued to stand, kicking his hoof to get the drying mud off his extra fur. "I am not familiar with this skull pet you speak of." He looked at it, and then at the foxbun. "What about this one? What's this one's name?"  

[Darkmoon Dancer]

Pet friend. She thought about it a moment, and then decided that made sense. A pet could be a friend, too, afterall! But when he described Bites For Fun, she wasn't sure what he meant, and so politely returned a vague answer, "Yes, perhaps I have seen him then. There have been a few large-mouthed pet friends I've come across. Next time I shall ask him if his name is Bites For Fun."

When he said he wasn't familiar with Skulls, she wasn't too surprised. Not very many kimeti knew what they were, as they stayed away from Death and dead things, but her thoughts were interrupted when he asked about the foxbun's name. She paused, at a loss for an answer..."It... it doesn't have a name. Though you could give it one, if you like." She frowned down at it trying to remember if she had actually given it a name, but she didn't think so...
 

[Appeal]

"If you stumble across him, be sure to tell him Stargarden has been looking for him."

Stargarden stared at the little foxbun. It was really tame, happily laying on the rock. "You never named it?" He questioned, with a very hmmm sound. "Let's name it Happyfoot. It's the perfect name, just like Quickfoot!" Although, both names were quite the opposite. "What do you think of Happyfoot?"