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 Posted: Thu Dec 15, 2005 9:51 pm
 General InfoName: Deonte Birthdate: 11/14/04 Gender: Male Species: Sea Mink Guardian: Skutt This journal belongs to Skutt and Deonte, and should not be posted in by anyone other than the above and Boundless staff unless otherwise specified by the Guardian. Curious about the Boundless? Visit us here. We won't bite. Really.
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Posted: Tue Dec 27, 2005 3:36 pm
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Posted: Tue Dec 27, 2005 3:37 pm
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Posted: Tue Dec 27, 2005 3:37 pm
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Posted: Tue Dec 27, 2005 3:38 pm
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Posted: Tue Dec 27, 2005 3:42 pm
Quote: It had been a long day at work, and Skutt groaned aloud as she stepped through the doorway of her apartment. Eridani and Aquarius were asleep, of course, as it was nearly two in the morning, and Sirius just barely pulled himself into consciousness to greet her, before the chunk of labradorite drifted off again.
Not really what one would term a warm welcome by the various creatures she cared for, but she instantly felt her stress difusing, surrounded by the comforting presences of her children. Yawning widely, she slipped off her shoes, kicking them to the side. Her jacket soon followed, and she grabbed for a bandana to tie her unruly hair back.
The mail was on the table, so Eri must have done her chores today. Skutt was lucky to have such an obedient daughter, and resolved to spend more time with all of her charges today, when she woke up.
"Bills, a catalog I don't want, another letter from the bank, a note from the dentist," she muttered to herself as she sorted the mail, tossing the disinteresting pieces back onto the table. One letter in particular stood out, however, and she held onto it curiously.
Walking over to the sofa, she seated herself on it and opened the envelope, which was plastered with multiple stamps. This was exciting. She checked the address before pulling out the letter, and her brow furrowed. Sunny? Who the hell was Sunny? And this address was...odd. It looked like the letter had come from some obscure island she'd never heard of.
Brushing a hand across her tired eyes, she scanned quickly through the contents of the note, pausing after the first paragraph and going back to read more slowly. This was...unbelievable. Somebody who lived on a deserted island wanted her to come take place in what looked like a phony experiment with extinct animals.
Shaking her head, she set the letter to one side and grabbed a blanket from the floor, settling on the couch more comfortably. Eri and 'Quay were currently sharing the only bedroom, as Skutt felt bad about dragging them from the nice home they'd previously lived in. Sirius was in his usual place on the coffee table between the sofa and the television, which Skutt briefly considered turning on before deciding against it. She was going to need her rest for tomorrow, especially if this letter-from-a-crazy-lady was serious.
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Posted: Tue Dec 27, 2005 3:57 pm
Quote: She entered the room cautiously, almost expecting some monstrous prehistoric beast to appear, looming over her. When none presented itself, she drew a short breath of relief, and set her luggage on the floor. Skutt was a light packer by nature, and her two small duffel bags looked lonely on the spacious wood floor.
The room was quite large (by her standards), and though it was clean and well-kept, had a feeling of long disuse that saturated the pine-fresh air.
A large, neatly-made bed stood near the only window, and long white curtains brushed the matching comforter and lace-trimmed pillows. All in all it was pleasant enough, if a bit colorless and sterile. A writing desk stood near the bed in front of the window, and a chair was neatly tucked against it. Other than these, a bureau was the only notable piece of furniture, topped with a wood-trimmed mirror.
"Nice enough," Skutt muttered under her breath, still wary of the intimidating mansion, and what strange creatures might lurk within it. She had her doubts about the eccentric (to say the least) plans of this woman named Sunny, but they were starting to fade as she took in the warm, tropical air, the exotic bird calls, and brightly colored plants outside.
Hauling her bags over to the bed, she flopped down tiredly, jet-lagged and worn out. The soft, sweet-smelling bedding was comforting, and before she realized it, she had relaxed into near-sleep. As she drifted off, it didn't seem so irrational that something fantastic was going to take place here. She just hoped she would be up to the task.
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Posted: Thu Dec 29, 2005 3:24 pm
Brenner The shaggy quagga trotted cheerfully up to Skutt and halted, squinting at her. "You Skutt?" He asked. Without waiting for an answer, he passed over a misty jar and a sealed letter. "Sunny sent me with these for you. Watch out for that jar thing, it's slippery!" With a whinnying laugh, he turned and bounded away.
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Posted: Thu Dec 29, 2005 3:29 pm
Quote: The fetus sat, or floated, Skutt supposed, in its jar. It wasn't really moving, or doing anything at the moment, but she found herself staring, nonetheless.
As soon as the zebra-man had delivered the jar, along with the rather ambiguous note from Sunny, Skutt had set it carefully on a nearby side-table, untrusting of her known tendency to clumsiness. She could just imagine dropping the fragile(and slippery)-looking jar on the ancient wood floor, and seeing the tiny brown creature within flopping like a fish out of water. Unpleasant imagery, to say the least. Seating herself on the bed nearby, she propped her chin against her palms, and stared at the fluid-filled container for many long moments.
Finally slipping out of her morbid fears and back to the present, she poked idly at the glass, wondering what could possibly be done with what was the equivilent of a dead fish in its bowl. But it wasn't dead, at least according to the pleasant and intelligent seeming woman she'd met earlier. She had some doubts as to the woman's sanity at least, when she claimed that this thing was a rare, extinct species of animal, specifically a sea...ferret? No, that didn't seem quite right. Glancing down at her hand, she verbally corrected herself, speaking quietly to the empty room. "Sea Mink."
She thought she remembered an irritating aunt of hers who'd owned a mink coat, but couldn't recall what kind of mink it had been. In fact, she had only a sketchy idea of what any mink might look like, though she was fairly certain it must be some sort of weasel-thingy.
Yawning, her gaze left the fetus for a quick roam of the room, lighting on her personal CD player (stashed in a corner) specuatively. Standing, she crossed over to it, and picked it up. Batteries should be fine, she thought to herself, turning it over to check. She then opened it, having forgotten what she had last listened to. Ah yes, Prodigy.
"Well then, helpless brown worm, you shall be subjected to...techno!" She paused, wondering if, in her boredom, she was being needlessly cruel. This thought was discarded within moments however, as love for her music conquered all (including her sense of humanity).
...
Three hours later, Skutt had fallen asleep, and the CD had long since played itself out. The fetus floated quietly in its jar, headphones affixed to either side of the cylinder, silence reigning after a music change to Tool's Lateralus, one of their milder albums. A leatherbound journal lay open next to it, red light from the sunset playing softly on the few words scribbled there:November 15th Today I played Prodigy and Tool for the jar. Fetus. Put the headphones against the glass, and cranked the volume. On second thought, hope it's not born deaf. My bad.
~Skutt
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Posted: Thu Dec 29, 2005 3:31 pm
The Boundless It was quiet as the seal on the jar somehow just.. dissolved, the fetus within nearly disappearing for a moment. It wasn't a jar, but some sort of ..time capsule, melting away when the time was just right. It did so now, and from within the 'jar' emerged a gorgeous baby boy.
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Posted: Thu Dec 29, 2005 3:36 pm
Quote: After a couple of visits to the downstairs kitchen, Skutt had returned to her room, worn out from the prolonged contact with people just as strange as she had feared.
Largely unconcerned with the safety of the fetus within, she dropped the jar onto her bed table with a loud 'clunk'. She'd already determined that if inserting pieces of waffle into the fluid, and carrying the fetus in a sock hadn't harmed it, it was either dead, or unharmable, at least to the extent she was capable of inflicting on it.
With a tired sigh, she flopped onto the bed, closing her eyes as she tried to relax. The truth was, coming to the islands with only a vague idea of what was going on had been incredibly stressful, and she wasn't coping well at all. And all this was besides the fact that her charge might be dead, and possibly had been since she'd received it. What a waste of time and money this all would have been in that case....
I need music. Reaching out with one arm, she groped for the abandoned CD player that still held Lateralus, her eyes closed. It wasn't hard plastic her fingers closed on, however, but wet fur, and it took her a moment to realize that this was a foreign sensation on her fingers.
Shrieking, she lept up, convinced that she'd just petted a huge, hairy (and slimy?) spider, one of her worst fears. Heart rabbiting in her chest, she dared a glance at the table, and stopped cold, staring. The jar was gone. The dead fetus was gone. There was a...rat on the table.
No wait. Shakily she checked her hand again. Sea Mink.
Then, the realization hit. "God damn you're cute," she whispered, approaching the shivering creature carefully. Hesitantly she reached out, stroking the damp fur gently. Gaining courage, she slid the other hand under its soft belly, and lifted it. The baby sea mink was alarmingly floppy as she held it, and if it weren't for the soft sqeaking noises it had started emitting, she might well have believed what she had suspected all along, though it didn't make sense for a fetus to grow when it was, well, dead.
Gathering the little creature securely into her arms, she realized that it was still shivering, and her vague maternal instincts told her that this might be a bad thing for a baby. Hurriedly, she looked around to find something to wrap it in, and finally tore the pillowcase from one of her pillows. Carefully she wrapped the musteline infant in its makeshift blanket, then held the bundle securely against her, automatically rocking it back and forth.
The squeaking soon quieted, as the baby stared up at its mother, memorizing her face, and more importantly, her scent. Comforted, it drifted into the peaceful sleep that only children and small animals seem to attain, becoming warm and pliant in Skutt's arms.
It was then that her doubts, her skepticism, and fears melted, as she gazed in awe at the little miracle dozing in her embrace. Smiling to herself, she settled back against the bed, and soon fell asleep as well, her Boundless cuddled against her.
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Posted: Sat Jan 28, 2006 11:17 am
The Boundless FIRST QUEST!! You can perform this quest as an individual or with a group. You will need to arrange going to Adhimu with another Guardian (or two, or three. No limit, but it must be consensual and continual.) While you are in Adhimu, enjoy the sights. Your actual quest will be to go to the small store in Adhimu and find a gift for your Boundless. These gifts are up to you to decide, but they must be simple. (A small sailboat toy, a rustic plush, shell jewelry. These gifts will be drawn by Brenner later, so please be descriptive.) Your quest will not be looked over until you have arrived back at the Hurul-ayni Estate. This quest is worth statistic points if RP'd and completed start to finish. They will be determined after the RP is completed. There is no time limit on this quest, but eight days would be ideal. (That should give you enough time to correlate and RP.) You may RP in journals, in a private thread, or in the main thread. Since the holidays are coming up, and there are a certain few of you who cannot get online much, a daily post in your journal depicting what happened each day of your travels will be acceptable, as well.
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Posted: Sat Jan 28, 2006 11:19 am
Quote: "Erm, what to take on a trip through vast and unknown territory...." Skutt glanced hopefully at the baby sea mink, whom she'd named Deonte after determining his gender. Now that had been an adventure. Why couldn't all animals be androgynous and reproduce like mushrooms or something? Spores sounded like a fabulous idea to her.
Yawning widely, Deonte gazed up at his caretaker with a pair of newly-opened golden eyes. They were striking, and held a certain awareness that no ordinary animal could attain. Shifting slightly, he pulled his fisted paws up against the pillowcase he had been wrapped in at birth, and squeaked at Skutt.
"Sorry babe, I don't understand small animal speak." She laughed softly at the ernest expression on Deonte's face, and ran a few fingers affectionately against the sea mink's forehead, smoothing the fur back. "Though I'm sure you know exactly what you're saying."
Pleased to see his mother laughing, Deonte made a faint humming sound in the back of his throat, a bit like a satiated bumblebee talking to itself as it rests on a leaf. He followed Skutt's progress avidly as she turned to shove a few more items into her backpack, muttering to herself as she worked. Wriggling out of the pillowcase, the infant sea mink half-crawled, half-scooted over the bedside table, where Skutt had left a few provisions for the journey. He snuffled about with his wet, black nose, until he discovered an open package of crackers. The beef jerky smelled more appealing, but as the crackers were more easily accessible, he settled for those. Lowering his muzzle, he came up with one round Ritz cracker, and scooted hurriedly back to the bed before Skutt could turn and catch him in the act.
A crunching sound was eminating from the bed, and Skutt turned, puzzled. She saw Deonte crouched over something and eating it, though she couldn't guess what it might be. Walking over to the young sea mink, she leaned over the bed, amused at the sight of him devouring a cracker with all the ferocity of a lion tearing through some fresh meat. Shaking her head, she walked back to the pile of recently unpacked things, wondering what to repack for what would likely be a week-long journey. Finally, she grabbed her leatherbound journal, and decided to make a list:November 23rd
Listeh Goodness
*Food (for me and Deonte)
*Clothes (for me)
*First-Aid (bandaids! <3)
*Water (canteens?)
*Money (I can ply the natives with shiny trinkets, perhaps?)
*Safety-Pins (you never know)
*??? (whatever else looks like I might need it)
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Posted: Sat Jan 28, 2006 11:21 am
Quote: Now she remembered why she'd been living life as a techy. No, seriously. Physical exertion sucked. Shifting her backpack for what must have been the twentieth time in the past half hour, she trudged along, nearly tripping over Deonte multiple times as the baby sea mink scampered along the trail just ahead of her.
The air was humid, and nearly suffocating hot, and Skutt's bandana was soaked with perspiration. Taking a swig from her water bottle, she put it back on her belt, and glanced at the frisky musteline that was currently investigating what looked like a partially-eaten fruit. He didn't need to share the water, as he'd been drinking out of (and rolling in) every puddle they'd passed, though whether that was from thirst, or simply for the novelty of drinking from something other than a bottle, Sarabi couldn't tell.
Suddenly, she heard the excited squeak that meant Deonte had found something to play with. She hurried along the trail, walking around a bend only to stop dead in her tracks.
Golden eyes wide in fearless curiousity, Deonte reached out one handlike forepaw to pat at the curious, almost armadillo-like creature before him. It was about the size of a cat, and was scuffling furiously at the ground, apparently digging for something.
Undaunted when the creature did not seem to notice his inquisitive patting, the sea mink took a few steps back. He then broke into a rollicking run, head and tail wagging back and forth as he used the momentum to pounce the digging animal.
Grunting, the Pokap righted itself, ignoring the tiny musteline that sat perched on its back. Deonte was actually nearly the Pokap's size, but his light weight made him a burden hardly worth noticing to the sturdy herbivore.
It was then that three more of the creatures emerged from the bushes, walking steadily over to where the one was digging. They all lowered their claws to the moist earth, and began scraping it aside easily, pausing when they found something edible.
Stunned by the appearance of these creatures she'd never seen before, it was several long moments before Skutt realized that they needed to continue on their way.
Reaching out one arm, she snagged Deonte from the pokap's back, and carried him some distance away before she set him back down again, just to ensure that he wouldn't run back to the distracting herbivore herd behind them.
An hour later, it was darkening outside, and Skutt found a dry place on the shorline to pitch their tent. She shared a can of stew with her Boundless, then crawled into her sleeping bag, with Deonte curled up on her chest.
The pair of them fell asleep quickly, exhausted by the day's journey. The rhythmic sounds of the ocean and the lazy hum of nighttime insects lulled them, and both were soon deep in their dreams.November 28th
Walked all day, weather was effing hot. Guess I should be glad it's not raining, though the humidity more than made up for that. Deonte found a strange little animal on the trail, some kind of herbivore-armadillo critter. Pitched our tent on the beach, and ate stew for dinner. Hope I can find the trail again tomorrow.
~Skutt
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Posted: Sat Jan 28, 2006 11:22 am
Quote: It had been a long day, Skutt reflected, glancing along the coastline behind them. After only their second day of travel, they'd made quite a bit of progress just by following the shore, rather than trying to navigate through the thick foliage and slippery undergrowth of the forest that dominated a good part if the island.
Their tent was pitched once more on the sand, and Skutt had built a fire, more to scare away unfriendly wild animals, than for warmth. She'd forgotten to bring bug repellant, too, but the smoke kept mosquitos at bay.
Breaking the stream of complaints trickling through her head, she turned, searching out Deonte's small form in the dark. The sea mink was frolicking in the tame waves, chasing them as they receded, then rushing back squeaking as they advanced. He looked like he was having a good deal of fun, despite his mock-fear of the water, and Skutt smiled affectionately. He, at least, seemed to be enjoying their journey immensely.
Rolicking in the sand, it was't long until the young mustline discovered something fascinating scuttling about in the dark. A small, red crab had left the safety of its rock lair to forage for food, and had not yet noticed Deonte, who was one of its natural predators.
Deonte watched the knobby legs bending and creaking in unison, and was transfixed by the shinyness of the wet red shell. Paws lifting and padding down almost silently, he followed this curious new object, unsure as to what to do with it.
Finally unable to help himself, he reached out carefully with one padded forepaw, and pressed it down upon the crustacean, lowering his wet black nose to investigate. This was a mistake. As soon as the crab felt the pressure of Deonte's paw, it had gone into aggressive mode, prepared to fight off this new predator. Deonte's nose provided the perfect target for one of its oversized pincers, and it latched down mercilessly on the sensitive flesh.
Skutt lept to her feet as she heard Deonte's first terrifed squeal, her heart racing. Sure that some large island predator had gotten ahold of her baby, and was tearing it limb to limb, she raced in the direction of the sound, prepared to beat the living hell out of any such monster.
She spotted Deonte writhing in pain a little ways down, and rushed to his side. Scooping him up, she carried him back to the fireside, trying to calm his frantic whimpering. "It's okay baby, the monster is gone," she soothed, stopping suddenly when she saw the ferocious crab attached to the sea mink's face, or nose, actually.
"Oh." Trying not to laugh, she held her Boundless quite still with one hand, and used the other to carefully pry the crustacean lose. Once she'd done so, she tossed it as far as she could back into the ocean, then turned her attention back to Deonte.
"Hun, you're not supposed to go chasing things with pincers, stingers, teeth, etcetera, especially if you plan on presenting them with such a perfect target to attack," she whispered, rocking her injured baby to and fro.
Comforted by Skutt's soft voice, as well as the rocking, Deonte soon forgot his tender nose, and curled against his human caretaker, falling quickly asleep. It was the deep, peaceful sleep only small children and animals ever attain, and he didn't stir, even when Skutt moved to put out the fire, and took him into the tent with her to sleep.November 29th
Today Deonte discovered that crabs are not good toys. Well, once I saw a pair of sea otters playing with one on the Discovery Channel, so maybe it's just a trick he needs to learn, avoiding the pincers or something. Made a lot of progress today, too tired to write more. I wish I had some Hostess Cakes right now.... sad
~Skutt
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