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 Posted: Sat Mar 27, 2010 9:42 pm
 Nefertari made her way through the forest slowly, not wanting the dirt to get on her white paws. She looked around curiously, as she was new to this area, and wanted to find someone to find food for her. Where was everyone anyways? Sure she didn't know anyone yet, but she would make them know her.
Getting rather impatient, the female called out, "Is there anyone here?!" as she huffed to herself, the bells on her saddle jingling.
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Posted: Sat Mar 27, 2010 11:40 pm
 Jump paced tiredly along the trees, his tail limp and dragging across the ground. His once shining coat was dirty and matted with foliage, his ribs protruded from his sides, and his fluid gait was now a haggard stumble: signs that made it evident he was more than tired and obviously hungry. Even his eyes seemed dull and lifeless, but still he continued to move, striding towards whatever was so important he allowed himself to reach such a state.
He clambered over a fallen log, and fell onto the other side. He was tired, so tired, but he couldn’t stop now. Raising himself on trembling legs, he staggered forward and fell once more onto a bush. It was dotted with dark blots of blue, and although it had an appealing smell, he had received his meals from a broken bowl too often to realize they were food. The way his stomach growled was enough of a hint for him, however, and he reached for a stick of berries, which had broken and clattered to the ground when he fell. He chewed the stem, assuming the whole thing to be edible, and not just the berries itself, when the sound of ringing music reached his ears.
He had a single bell, which had been with him for as long as he could remember. It was a familiar sound, one that faded to the background in the blink of an eye, the twitch of an ear. But the sound he heard now was that of many bells, and the prospect of company (perhaps one that could get him to his owner) after his days of solitude was enough to get him to stop chewing.
Standing, strengthened by the voice he now heard and glad he was able to understand it, he trotted over to the origin of the noise, the berries still clamped in his mouth. He was surprised to see a fox, for he was used to having humans speak, not animals like him. But the items it wore on its back were familiar, as they were similar to his own, and there had once been a time when he spoke often. So he approached, failing to take into consideration his fearful appearance, or make a plan, intent only on reaching the fox.
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Posted: Sun Mar 28, 2010 11:00 am
Hearing the sound of footsteps behind her, she turned around in anticipation and to her excitement saw that it was another. Sure he (or she) wasn't a fox, but a tiger would suffice. Nefertari merely turned around, a small 'bored' frown etched on her face, as she looked him over. He was awfully dirty. Actually, dirty couldn't even describe this one fully. The tiger was awfully thin, the actual color of his (or her) fur was hard to tell as it was covered in dirt and some other objects that she couldn't quite tell. She couldn't help but back away a little as she didn't want her pristine fur to be sullied by the dirt this tiger was lugging around.
Nefertari cleared her throat before speaking, "And who are you?" she said, with a bit of a condescending tone.
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Posted: Sun Mar 28, 2010 1:20 pm
Jump paused, confused by the fox’s response. His sleep-deprived mind was unable to comprehend that he looked anything but approachable, and, well, even if he had been well rested and fed, he wouldn’t have noticed, either. People had always come to him, to gape at his strange-colored pelt and the bright accessories that adorned his figure. A few had run, but they held the scent of fear. This fox didn’t. (In fact, it held a different scent, although he did not know it meant the fox was a female. In the circus he had originated from, there had been no reason to breed, and so gender had never mattered much and was never taken into consideration.)
When it spoke, he wondered if he should reply. He had never spoken to humans, for fear it would result in a reprimanding, and it was a good thing, too, else he would have been further abused. But it was not a human, it was a fox. There had once been a fox in a cage near him, but it had long gone, for the circus’ main attraction had been large animals, who had been very, very capable of brining harm to their owners. That was the thrill of it, after all.
In the end, he chose not to, for he realized there was still something in his mouth, which prevented speech, anyway. All he could think of by that point was to get the fox to direct him to his owner. He had no idea how he was supposed to do that, but somehow, it seemed crucial that he reach her. Shaking himself, he continued his advance. From another’s point of view, he could even pass as one desperate to offer his little twig of berries to the fox.
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Posted: Mon Mar 29, 2010 10:48 am
Nefertari watched the tiger advance towards her. She raised a brow, awaiting its response. Well he probably couldn't speak because he was holding a twig in his mouth. Her tail poised high above her, she spoke again, this time a little impatient, "Drop that twig and tell me what your name is." she demanded. What was wrong with this one? It was so dirty, and it didn't even speak. What a bore. Well maybe...if it didn't speak...she'd have an easier time ordering it around.
She made a tut-tut sound, "So are you going to tell me your name or not?" Sure, she didn't give him ample time to reply, but it was one's name. One should know their name without thinking twice.
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Posted: Mon Mar 29, 2010 12:10 pm
Jump paused once more, ears flickering before pressing forward. The fox’s tone was familiar, its words a command, and for a moment, he wondered if it was his owner in a different body. No one else had ever ordered him around in such a fashion. The closest he could compare it to was the one time a pair of humans had come to him in the middle of the night (which was strange, considering no one had ever come to him at such hours, unless it was for food or care) and tried to drag his cage outside, with one whose tone, although tinged with authority, it was mainly anxious, almost desperate. And soon after, his owner had come, there had been a quick scuffle, and the pair had left, rather forcefully it seemed to him.
But that had been it. No one else dared to try and order him around, fearing his large size and the stigma attached to his kind. No one except his owner, who had known his true nature, and had bent it to his will.
And so he decided this fox must be his owner, only with a different appearance. Humans were good at things like that, always changing their pelts, and doing impossible things. Nearly every morning he had seen one of his caretakers put powder in a container and have it come out as a dark, strange-smelling liquid, which they often referred to as “coffee”. They even allowed horribly loud monsters to eat them and moved around in them, although they lacked legs and had only wheels.
As soon as he had reached that conclusion, he did as he was told, and dropped the twig. The berries fell, and their appeal was forgotten, for he was more than content at the moment. Surely, now that his owner had returned, he would be fed and taken care of, wouldn’t he? He only needed to do as he was told.
“Jump,” he finally said, after a large amount of effort. It had been a long time – years, really – since he had last spoken, and his voice came cracked and broken, but legible all the same. Pleased that he had managed it, he kept his ears taut and poised, waiting for more commands that would come his way. He knew his owner to be a cruel person, one who cared more for green slips of paper than the health of the animals he owned. But he always made sure they were alive, in fit shape for the next performance. And Jump was sure that, after he had done a job good enough to please his owner, he would be allowed rest and would be cared for again.
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Posted: Mon Mar 29, 2010 12:27 pm
Nefertari watched the tiger drop the twig on the ground. The berries weren't much, and she most certainly wasn't going to eat from them as they came from that dirty creature. She edged closer to him, but far away so that she didn't smell the stench of him. "No!" she said indignantly, "I will not jump for you!" Nefertari glared at the tiger, "I asked you for your name. Don't you understand what that means you buffoon?" Upon closer inspection, the fox could guess that maybe this tiger was male. Hm. Though she couldn't be too sure. But he was rather large. Or maybe that was just its species. But for now, he would be a male. "And have you ever heard of a bath?" she said rather sharply, "You should try it out sometime."
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Posted: Mon Mar 29, 2010 1:10 pm
Jump took a step back, astonished. His ears pressed themselves flat against his skull, and he wondered what it was he had done wrong. Had it been his name? It was true that his owner had never exactly given it to him, or even called him with it – he had simply taken it upon himself to keep it, since he had been told to “jump” so many times. It hadn’t been that important before. No one had asked for his name, and he never gave it. But now that he had, it was obvious it was misunderstood and disliked. But what else was he supposed to say? If “Jump” wasn’t his name, then what was?
He shook his head desperately, eyes wide. His fearful expression made him look like a child, and he crouched in apology, trying to get his owner to understand that that was not what he had meant, that it was a mistake, but he had gone too long without vocal communication to realize it was now an option for him. Soon, more angry words were being thrown at him, and he could only stare, distressed. As a human, his owner had never done this, for he had never expected a response, and this left him perplexed and troubled beyond reason. He hadn’t expected he could make his owner so angry so soon after they had reunited.
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Posted: Mon Mar 29, 2010 1:30 pm
She calmly watched Jump recoil. Nefertari couldn't help but smile. She liked being in power. It was quite a nice feeling. Maybe this one was going to be obedient to her every whim and desire? The female let out a lilting laugh, enjoying her new found power. Hm. He didn't say anything else about his name. So maybe his name was 'Jump'? How unattractive. But whatever. It would have to do.
Why did he look so scared though? For once, Nefertari felt a sense of fear for Jump, as she had never seen another animal so...desperate. Her head tilted, she advanced closer to Jump, raising her bangled paw over his head, as if to strike him.
If this played out as she expected, then she might understand this dirty tiger more.
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Posted: Tue Mar 30, 2010 6:50 pm
And now his owner was laughing.
Jump thought the sound nice, as he had never heard it with such effeminacies. It made his owner sound kind and cheerful, like a type of person who would enjoy helping others, but it was still intimidating. It couldn’t be ignored that such a laugh was in response to his frightened posture, and he made himself smaller, as if to escape it.
It seemed to help, for his owner soon stopped to observe Jump with an appraising eye. But when he approached, Jump started to tremble. It had been a while since he had been punished, but he would never forget the sting of a whip. His owner did not hold a whip now, but he had always known numerous other ways to cause pain, and was never too shy to try them out on him.
When his owner raised a paw, in preparation to strike (this, too, was new, for his owner had never tried to hurt him with his bare hands. His fur was too thick for normal human hands alone to do much damage, but a fox’s paw was different), his shaking stilled and he grew tense, bracing himself for the pain he was sure would follow. He could have moved back, or tried to shield himself from the blow if he had tried, but if it was his owner’s wish that he be harmed, then he would submit himself to it. He knew what would happen if he showed resistance.
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Posted: Tue Mar 30, 2010 7:01 pm
Swiftly, without warning, Nefertari slapped her paw down, but made sure for her paw to land gently on Jump's wooden mask. She could tell that in the past it might've been quite pretty, but now with all this dirt and filth the mask was now a piece of junk. With a small (fake) sigh, she brought her paw back to the ground, not wanting to see what kind of new filth she may have acquired. She needed a bath. As did this one. Jump. She shrugged, turning around to walk in the direction she was originally walking, "Follow me." she called out, not bothering to turn her head around to make sure if he was following.
This may be more work than she had originally expected, but if she put a little more effort into this than she usually would, it might pay off quite nicely...
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Posted: Tue Mar 30, 2010 7:20 pm
Jump nearly flew out of his skin from the tension of it all, but he managed to keep himself together. When he felt his owner’s paw simply touched his mask before returning to the earth, he opened his eyes (which he realized had closed instinctively) and watched him curiously. Was that it? Surely, it couldn’t be. His owner had never been the merciful type. It must mean… his punishment was to come later?
The thought seemed to be confirmed, for he saw his owner turn away with a little shrug before commanding him to follow. He did as he was told, keeping himself close enough to assure his owner of his presence, but far enough to not hinder his owner or cause him discomfort. It seemed his owner was prone to do many new things as a fox, for he noticed his paws were no longer shackled as they usually were when he was to go to a new location.
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Posted: Tue Mar 30, 2010 7:27 pm
Nefertari lifted up her head to sniff about. Where would she find a decent sized pool of water? Actually, decent might not be enough with Jump's amount of filth. The woods should have a lake or river somewhere? Though a waterfall might be preferable. "Jump." she said soft, yet commanding voice. "Find me a lake or pond." Nefertari stopped, waiting for him to respond.
The female still found it quite unsettling of the male's fear. Sure, fear would make him quite obedient, but the amount of fear Jump had made her rather nervous. What had happened to this tiger in the past? Perhaps she could find out more later. She would have to force it out of him. Nefertari's tail swayed slowly from side to side, lost in her thoughts.
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Posted: Tue Mar 30, 2010 7:50 pm
Jump looked up when his name was called, his legs half-bent. He had almost actually jumped, but he couldn’t be blamed for it, seeing as no one had actually used the word to call him before now. But he was quick to adapt and he corrected himself soon after, pressing his ears forward. If his owner had called him, it meant he accepted the name (which Jump was grateful for), and had something to tell him.
As soon as the order was given, he turned away (he was too used to doing things as soon as he was told, and so he failed to give his owner a nod or something of the sort to let him know he heard), ears pivoting and nose twitching. He had once passed by a lake, and had seen the large body of water through the bars of his cage. He knew it looked like a large, misshaped water bowl without visible sides, that it held a leafy scent from the plants on its fringe, along with the smell of mud and general wetness, and that the sounds it made could vary from slight ripples to thundering roars.
He went around, making sure to stay within sight of his owner (who he knew had a weak sense of hearing and smell, and grew anxious and angry when he was far), but soon grew restless. He couldn’t find the lake or pond close by, and that meant he had to either disobey his owner or face his wrath by leaving his field of vision. In any case, he would receive punishment.
Thankfully, in the end, he had to choose neither decision, for he spotted a glimmer of water from his place on a small rise. It looked small from his view, and was almost invisible between the trees, but it was there all the same. Returning to his owner, he pointed with his muzzle in the direction of the lake, hoping he hadn’t taken too long to find it.
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Posted: Tue Mar 30, 2010 8:02 pm
Nefertari, awaiting Jump's response, did not realize that he had in fact gone off into the direction that she was not looking towards. She had realized this as she had turned around curiously, to see him a few yards away. The female frowned, as she bounded up elegantly towards him, "You could've at least said something you know. Don't you know how to speak?!" she said sharply, feeling annoyed that she had probably looked so stupid.
She huffed as she followed him. What, was he not going to speak? Nefertari stared curiously at him, just wondering what he was actually doing, staring into the distance. Though they knew where the direction of the lake would be. Thank goodness.
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