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 Posted: Thu May 22, 2014 5:02 am
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Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2014 3:18 am
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Ephias stifled a yawn and leaned back in his chair. His workbench lay before him, cluttered with various metal instruments. He had stayed up all day again, working on a new telescope. He was confident this one would work twice as well as his last. He had obtained not only a powerful lens but a decent sized mirror as well. It was as good as he was going to get unless he could build an observatory. Ephias did not see that happening any time soon, if at all.
Leaning forwards over the desk, the redblood cautiously lifted a corner of the curtain over his window. Darkness. The outside was lit by pale, pink moonlight. The last of the sun's deadly rays had disappeared. He pulled the rest of the fabric to the side, giving a clear view of the night sky. Or partly clear anyway. Thick clouds clustered above, only allowing glimpses of the stars. Ephias sighed. He would have to put off his star-gazing for another time. Besides, he had promised Wolly that he would volunteer for the gerbil races again.
Right on cue Wolly bleated downstairs. Ephias got up from his workbench, leaving his telescope and tools where they were. Maybe after the races were over, the weather would clear up. There was no time to think about that though. He could hear Wolly's hoof beats on the stairs. Wildly, he began to change, stripping off his shirt and gerbil volunteer badge. His lusus would not be happy that he had stayed up all day again.
Ephias had just slipped into a different shirt and was pulling his jacket over his shoulders, when Wolly head-butted the door open. The sheep lusus looked him up and down. He gave a questioning bleat.
“No,” Ephias admitted. His lusus bleated again, this time with a disappointed edge in his voice. “Yes, sorry. I know,” Ephias said, rubbing at his eyes. He felt better having come clean. He just hated to make his lusus worry. Wolly bleated twice more, the first gentle and the second with more intent. When Ephias nodded, the lusus turned and scooted down the stairs. Grabbing his sneakers, Ephias followed him down.
Five minutes later Ephias was out the door, toast in hand and backpack over his shoulder. He stopped to lock the door while his lusus paraded on ahead. Then the troll was dashing—well, jogging—to catch up. When he had reached his lusus he slowed to a leisurely walk, yawning. There was a nagging sensation at the back of his mind that something was wrong, but he could not quite pinpoint what it was. He felt a flash of irritation. If only he could think straight! As he turned around a corner, he began to tick off boxes on a mental checklist of his morning routine. |
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Posted: Sun Jul 06, 2014 7:26 pm
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"I'm telling you, no one will be there! I've been watching!" Voice hushed but maybe not quite as low as it should've been for a plotting thief, Etsali ambled alongside her lusus towards the hive in question. Keeper didn't seem so keen on the idea, but then Keeper also didn't seem to like being in Chittentown for so long at all, even though Etsali had insisted that the gerbil races were a great opportunity for finding things. So she figured it was just a matter of proving she was right, and this time she was sure she was. "Well, you know, except for those times when I wasn't watching, but I've got a really good feeling about this one. You'll see!"
As they arrived at the hive, Keeper's doubts only seemed to grow. Etsali supposed it wasn't an entirely impressive target, being such a small hive. She tilted her head, reconsidering the narrow little building, then shrugged and marched forward to knock at the door. She rolled back and forth on her heels a moment as she waited for an answer, then flashed her lusus a triumphant grin as none came. Reaching out for the door handle, she gave it a quick try and hummed thoughtfully at the discovery that it was locked. While her lusus sat to watch the road, ready to steal away with her troll at the first sign of trouble, Etsali began to dig around in her pockets.
Soon enough she came away with a pair of paperclips, which she immediately began to bend around. Once satisfied with their shapes, she stuck them into the lock and began the process of wiggling them around. Another moment later, the results were in: it was still locked. The orangeblood frowned and shoved the useless little bits of metal back into a pocket. "That always works on tv..." Hands on her hips, she glanced around for an idea of what to try next. Above, the second story window beckoned, its open curtain showing just a glimpse of the room beyond.
She knew for a fact she couldn't jump high enough to reach it, but she tried once anyway. Then she looked at Keeper, considering, and with a determined nod scurried off to find something she'd spotted on the way over. Keeper watched, unimpressed, as the troll returned dragging a large wooden box behind her. This was pushed up against the wall of the hive, and then Etsali motioned to it. "Stand up here for a minute, Keeper! I'll climb up on your shoulders!" Once she'd coaxed the lusus into it, she did just that and reached out.
This was the moment of truth! Was the window unlocked? Would she have to try to break it somehow? Would someone see her up here and try to stop her before she decided? Was this a- Wait, what was that shining in there? With an excited squeal, she pushed the window up (unlocked!) and threw herself inside. While she began gleefully going through the various lenses and tools in sight, Keeper turned to face the street and sat. Just a raccoon-dragon making a delivery. Not suspicious at all.
((Hope that's alright! But if you think the window should've been locked, I can rewrite that part!))
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Posted: Tue Jul 22, 2014 3:28 pm
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The nagging sensation followed Ephias, all the way down the street and around the corner. He was sluggishly sifting through his thoughts which were as viscous as honey. Then suddenly, as he passed a sign pointing towards the volunteer centre, it hit him like a bolt of lightning. His volunteer badge. Where was it?
Sitting on his chair, underneath a pile of dirty laundry back at his hive of course.
Ephias groaned and smacked a hand to his forehead. How could he have forgotten? He needed his badge for the event. Ephias knew exactly how he could have forgotten though. It was because his sleep-deprived intellect could not keep up with simple day to day matters. It was pathetic. He was pathetic. He might have had a rock for a brain for all the good it did him. With how often he screwed up, he deserved his lowblood status. No, he deserved even worse. He deserved...
There was a warm pressure on his forehead, and a pair of ovine eyes stared unblinking into his own. Ephias immediately pulled away, battling a fresh wave of irritation. His lusus was not easily dissuaded however. He made a move to nuzzle the redblood's shoulder, but Ephias side-stepped. Resigned, Wolly let out a questioning bleat.
“I left my badge at home,” Ephias answered, voice flat. “I'll go back and get it. You can go on ahead with-without me.” Without waiting for his lusus' approval, Ephias turned and started back towards his hive at a brisk jog. Behind him, Wolly stood in the centre of the road, head cocked to the side. After a moment he trotted after the young troll, keeping a safe distance between himself and his charge.
When his hive appeared around the corner, Ephias was nearly out of breath. He disliked to be late, so he had hurried as much as possible. He was not in such a rush however that he had missed the box and the strange lusus that was sitting on it beneath his window. Ephias stared. He was too bewildered to think of a proper response.
At last, he took a hesitant step towards the racoon-like beast. “C-can I... help you?” he asked. His gaze wandered up towards the window. He was certain he had not left it open. Did this mean that...? The idea seemed to absurd to believe. Behind him, Wolly's hooves clapped against the pavement.
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Posted: Tue Aug 05, 2014 1:14 pm
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Keeper stared down at the troll for another long minute, scale-surrounded eyes unblinking. Aside from the brief, agitated flutter of her little wings, in fact, the lusus was still as a statue and seemed unlikely to change that anytime soon. Until, of course, she suddenly did, lifting her head to release an odd chattering call at high volume. Then it was back to the staring as if it had never happened at all. Possibly Ephias would think she had meant it as a reply, but the intended listener was still inside the home, gloved hands pawing at everything in sight.
Etsali nearly dropped the lens she'd been holding, head turning sharply to the window. Why would Keeper be...? The orange-blood edged towards her entrance, sticking her head out, and could only stop and stare as she realized just who it was down below. He wasn't supposed to be back yet! She'd been so sure! What was she supposed to do now? He'd definitely catch her, she hadn't seen anywhere to hide, and now...and now...Her head was still hanging out the window. Yelping, she backed away, but it was almost definitely too late now.
So what to do? How to salvage this...? He knew she was here, so stealth was out, but maybe she could still spin this to make a clean getaway. Maybe...A smile spread across her face as an idea struck and she all but skipped down the stairs to put it into motion. If she'd taken a little more time to think it over, she might have realized it wasn't a terribly good plan, but there was no time for that now! Quickly unlocking the door, the thief pulled it open and beamed at the red blood.
"There you are! I was looking all over for you, but you weren't even upstairs. Did you know you left the door unlocked? That's not very safe at all, you never know what kind of trolls are around!" She reached out to pat her lusus' side, giving a laugh that was only a little edged with worry. "Good thing it was only me and Keeper today, right?"
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Posted: Thu Sep 04, 2014 9:29 pm
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For a long while, the raccoon lusus did not move and Ephias met her gaze, unflinching. Behind him, he heard Wolly approach. The sheep let out a disapproving huff, eyeing the other lusus warily. Suddenly the raccoon made a loud chittering noise. Both Ephias and Wolly startled. A moment later there was a yelp from above. The troll looked up. No one was there. The curtains were moving though. There was barely any wind. So what...? At his side Wolly bleated in alarm.
“There you are!” a voice exclaimed. A young orangeblood had emerged from his hive. She grinned down at him from the top of the steps. Ephias was so surprised that his brows furrowed. “I was looking all over for you, but you weren't even upstairs.” the orangeblood continued. “Did you know you left the door unlocked? That's not very safe at all, you never know what kind of trolls are around! Good thing it was only me and Keeper today, right?”
“I guess...” Ephias agreed. “I mean, uh...” The orangeblood's fast-paced dialogue and beaming face had tripped him up. Not to mention, he was still unsure what to make of the situation. His thinkpan seemed to be responding especially slowly to this sudden deviation from routine. Scrunching his face up in a scowl, Ephias scratched his head.“I'm s-sorry, who were you? And what were y-you doing in my hive?” Beside him, Wolly snuffed and stamped a hoof. He shook his head what he thought looked like a fierce fashion at the other lusus. His wool rippled in great waves.
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Posted: Sun Sep 21, 2014 1:38 pm
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Hmm, he wasn't buying into it as well as she'd hoped, was he? Well, Etsali guessed she ought to have known better than to expect perfect results right from the get go! The important thing was to keep at it, to absolutely keep to her story until there could be no doubt! And then she'd run away, probably. It depended on how good the exit might be at the time. So as the redblood scowled up at her, she held stubbornly on to her grin. Beside her, Keeper bared her teeth at Wolly, and there was an odd symmetry there between the raccoon's snarl and her charge's smile.
"I'm Etsali," the thief informed him smoothly, as if this was something he ought to have already known. "And I just told you, didn't I? I was looking for you!" Oh, now was probably a good time to come up with a reason to have been looking for him, wasn't it? She probably should've already been working on that. Fingers curling into her lusus' fur, she kept stalling. "But then you didn't answer when I knocked, and I thought 'Oh, I wonder if he just didn't hear', so I tried the door just to see. I didn't think you'd mind."
The orangeblood glanced at Wolly, then back to Ephias, and kept pressing. "You don't mind, do you?"
Katanari This is so short I'm so sorry
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Posted: Wed Oct 29, 2014 2:10 pm
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"Oh. That's too bad." Etsali tilted her head, glancing between troll and lusus again, and completely failed at sounding the least bit sorry that he minded after all. She was still too busy working her way through options, trying to pin down a proper reason to have been looking for him that wouldn't immediately be seen as a lie. The last thing she wanted was another fight, and though she didn't think he looked the sort, she couldn't be sure this redblood wouldn't start one. At least, she supposed, he didn't have a sword.
It was really too bad she hadn't ever picked up his name. Asking now was out of the question, but it would've given her something more to stand on in her insistence that he should have known her. People liked hearing their names, she thought, listened more when you used them. But that wasn't an option now and he was questioning her again and what was she going to say-
"That's it, yeah!" His question about the gerbil races was more than enough to latch onto, she'd take it. "We were going to go help at the gerbil races together, remember?" She'd seen him there the times she'd popped in to play with the little creatures and heading that way had a chance of taking his mind off this. Get him away from the scene of the crime, distract him with cute things, come back later, profit probably. Although he might lock the window the next time...
Though her smile was pained for a second at that realization, there was nothing for it. Keeping pushing forward, there would always be another way! Forcing a laugh, she nudged Keeper, who was still snarling. "Come on, be nice, Keeper! He won't want to go with us if you keep doing that, you know." She hopped down the steps to Ephias' level. "So who do you think will win anyway? I bet it'll be Elcapn, you know, have you seen that cute little face? That is the face of a great and always victorious th-winner!"
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Posted: Thu Dec 18, 2014 6:51 am
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Ephias narrowed his eyes in suspicion. Or he would have if he had any talent in manipulating his facial muscles. Instead he gave Etsali the same dead look he had given her the entire time. Maybe that was for the better. He would not like to alarm her.
He was suspicious though. His window was open. He knew for a fact that he had kept it closed. The desert nights were chilly. There was also her questionable story. She had claimed that she had went through the front door to look for him. Yet he could have sworn that he had locked it. At least he thought he had. Even if hadn't, there was her lusus's presence outside his window, acting almost like a lookout. Then the hostile behaviour it displayed towards him; it was too unusual.
So, that meant... that meant...
Ephias' sleep deprived brain muddled through the logic. He studied the orangeblood as she prattled on about the gerbil races. She seemed to be at ease. A little eager to change topics though.
That meant... she had broken-in.
Ephias did not like to think it, but it seemed more likely than her story. The only question now was, what did he intend to do about it?
“Um... I don't really know their names,” Ephias admitted. “And I don't really like b-baseless predictions...” He had not seen any of the gerbils in action. How could he be expected to guess their performance against one another without any insight as to their ability? “A-anyway, I'll go grab my badge and lock up and then we can g-go together. Wolly, I'll be right back.” The sheep lusus bleated unhappily, but stayed behind to watch the orangeblood and her guardian as Ephias darted inside.
He could not afford more than a couple seconds. He needed to confirm if she had taken anything, but taking the time to look meant she might get away. And if she had taken something and she escaped there would be no getting it back. Scrambling up the stairs, Ephias grabbed his badge, closed and latched the window, and then bolted back down into the entry block. A couple seconds later he was out the door.
“Thanks for waiting,” he said, sounding out of breath. He slipped his lanyard over his hair and around his neck. “Etsali, right? Sorry, but sometimes I have trouble remembering things... Where did we meet before? Also, we should hurry if we want to be on time.”
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Posted: Tue Jan 06, 2015 6:52 pm
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"You don't know their names yet?" Etsali gasped in mock outrage and seemed more than ready to go on about the subject. Her mouth popped back closed instead as Ephias announced that he'd be right back, darting back into his hive and leaving his lusus behind. She turned her smile to the sheep with a thoughtful 'hm', glancing back at Keeper. The raccoon had stopped her snarl in favor of returning to her usual stare, but the thief knew exactly what her lusus was thinking. This was their chance to make a break for it, wasn't it? She bounced on her toes, considering, and did not run. She'd be hearing a lot about that choice later, she guessed.
"Hey, that really was quick." She eyed the badge hanging from his lanyard as he pulled it on with interest, nodding approvingly. So his name was Ephias, that was definitely a nice bit of information to be given. "Good thing you remembered that, huh? Makes it more official like when you help! I should probably get one too when we get there." Her smile widened into a teasing grin. "Then maybe you won't forget who I am the next time, right?" She turned to start them walking, rubbing her neck.
"I guess I shouldn't be surprised if you haven't even got the gerbils' names down yet, though. How are you going to know who you want to cheer for when the time comes? At least pick a couple to memorize! Then they'll be easier to track for your predictions, I bet." She glanced over. "Doesn't matter who you pick, though, I still say Elcapn's got this!"
Katanari Oh sure, Etsali, failing to acknowledge a question is definitely helpful.
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Posted: Sat Jan 31, 2015 3:39 am
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She dodged the question. Ephias had anticipated that. It was just another nail in her metaphorical coffin.* If it had not been for her repeated mention of one of the racers, he might have doubted her being a volunteer as well, especially considering the convenient circumstances and her lack of a name badge, but a name badge does not a volunteer make.
“I'll remember that.” At the moment he could not care less about the race. “Is Elcapn your gerbil or...?” Out of the corner of his eye he glanced by at Wolly. The sheep lusus followed behind the pair close enough that he almost trotted on their heels. Every so often, he punctuated his displeasure with a snort.** Catching his eye, Ephias gave the sheep a slight nod. For a moment, he thought that Wolly might have missed it but then, with one last huff, the lusus backed off. He turned his attention back to Etsali and her guardian.
“I haven't really gotten an opportunity t-to work with the gerbils. Mostly I've been doing publicity...” he said, expression less annoyed and more pensive. “Since you seem to have experience with them, maybe you could introduce me... Well, not introduce but...” He was not so much looking for an opportunity to pursue Etsali as he was testing her. A part of him still wanted to believe that she was innocent, and another, more logical part, needed to deduce how quickly she would try to make a break for it.
*He had no intention of harming her, much less killing her. Some people get the craziest ideas.
**As he had been doing since Ephias left him alone with Etsali and Keeper.
KitsuneAura Short posts are back in style. |
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Posted: Sat Feb 07, 2015 12:28 pm
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"Nope! I don't have one, I just came to see what they were like." Etsali glanced up towards the night sky with a thoughtful hum. "I might try to catch one one day, though, maybe. But it would be kind of weird, don't you think? It's just this tiny little wriggly thing that you have to look after and take care of and train to beat out the competition in races. I'm not a lusus, you know?" She reached out to pat Keeper again, as if there was any need at all to make a comparison between the two of them. The raccoon dragon huffed, attention still fixed on Ephias and Wolly as they walked along.
The thief paused for just a second as Ephias asked for introductions to the gerbils and had to add another quick step to keep from falling behind him. The hand that had been in Keeper's fur dropped back to her side, pressing against the pocket of her shorts before lifting to rub at her cheek. She'd sort of expected that once they'd got there, he'd go off and do his own thing and she'd be able to slip away. But he actually wanted to spend time with her? So...she really had sold the friends thing, then? Her smile brightened.
"Oh man, yeah! I'll show you Elcapn, and you'll remember him for sure, he's got eyes sorta like-" She pointed at her own makeup-smeared eyes and then to Keeper's scaled mask. "And there's Pennii, she's the smallest one, and ooh, I bet you'd like Theodore-!" Her delighted giggle came to a halt at a chattering reminder from her lusus, and her eagerness dimmed a little again. "Ah, but, I don't think I can stay very long today, though. Keeper's got some stuff she wants us to do."
More like Keeper wanted them to get out of dodge with their ill-gotten gains before that sheep started getting ideas, but jeez, it wasn't like they wouldn't find a chance to run later right?
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Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2015 7:21 pm
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"Well yeah, but if Keeper says 'let's go', I gotta go! Really, she'll just pick me up and carry me if I don't." Etsali's tone and matter of fact nods made it clear this was a situation she had experienced firsthand, more than once. "Just between me and you, I don't think she likes Chittentown all that much. Or maybe it's the gerbils? She never actually says, hmm!" Her attempts to suss out her lusus' problem came to a stop as Ephias continued, and she listened attentively, trying to decide if this was something she ought to slide into her cover story.
It was, unfortunately, really hard to tell, mostly because she had absolutely no idea what he was talking about. She had, however, picked up one pretty key detail. Ephias had been working on some kind of something that could somehow overheat and make people sick. Her smile froze. Suddenly she was concerned. Was the thing she'd slipped into her pocket unusually warm, or was it just that it was always kinda hot out here and she was imagining it?
"Y-yeah, I heard something about that too. Nobody told me what it was for, or you know, even what it looked like, though!" She watched his face a little desperately, waiting to see if he would tell her, but couldn't quite stop talking in her nervousness. "What are you working on something like that for, anyway? Wouldn't it make you sick? Do you work on it in your house?"
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