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 Posted: Sat Mar 25, 2023 11:57 am
Katori was walking around the animal sanctuary, doing her old rounds throughout the area with stables behind the manor. The large buildings had expanded over the years, being far larger than during her own childhood spent here, and the stonework along the walls now transitioned into giant wooden rafters that allowed for various creatures of all sizes to find shelter from the colder winter months. Currently there was even a pair of mamu residing inside the main building alongside the flock of bleating roati, the gentle giants having been brought in by a concerned traveler who had saved them from some nasty rogues. Katori had left her own mount in the stables in the stall near the mamu, the stables warm and cozy despite the early chill of a spring morning. Honestly it was nice to be home for a visit, the hybrid having spent so much time wandering that she had almost been afraid that she had forgotten what it was like at the actual animal sanctuary created by her family. Thankfully though once the gray stone manor came into view everything seemingly fell into place when she arrived a week ago. There were a few obvious changes, including the missing Shifter who used to always be busy in the kitchen, but overall the place still felt like home. Peace and quiet never seemed to exist for long because of all the family and friends constantly coming in and out of the sanctuary, her cousins always expanding as they raised their own children while the flood of friends and injured animals never seemed to cease either. Speaking of injured animals and family…today there was a wild raptrix pup that had been brought in because of a torn wing and not only that, Katori was also watching over Revna who had begrudgingly stopped in with her father for a visit. While Zyphire’s oldest had taken much of his personality, the boy loving to talk and help out, the darker daughter was more of a grouch who much preferred staying in remote places throughout the sanctuary instead of family bonding. “If only it was any of the others.” Murmured Katori before she peered around another building, the young woman looking at any odd and high corner for her younger cousin. Anyone else in the family would be bouncing around the sanctuary, eager to help or at least visible so that she could grab them, but not Revna. Last time Katori had even found her trying to nest with the chiavi in the aviary!
“Revna!” Katori sighed as she called out the name once more. “Can you come down? I need help!”
[Katori 1]
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Posted: Sat Mar 25, 2023 11:57 am
Revna despised traveling, but she also did not want to waste the chance for some alone time with her father and so she had agreed to tag along to visit some of their family in the south. It wasn’t that far of a journey, especially when you flew by chiavi instead of spending a couple of days walking, but the few hours still felt like an eternity from their home village in the north. While Zyphire was busy the youngling would take to finding remote areas of the sanctuary, exploring around the various creatures and such in the area while also avoiding socializing with her extended family. The only one she truly tolerated was Branna whenever he was actually here because all he liked to do was play music and not really talk. In those situations Revna would grab a few blankets and pillows to make a nest of sorts, the youngling making herself comfortable while she listened to the soft music of a harp or whatever instrument he was fiddling with in the moment.
Now that Katori was looking for her, Revna had taken to perching on a high corner of one of the smaller stables. It was quiet up here and she could see all of the various animals grazing in a field nearby, the raptrix and chiavi circling about the sanctuary and somehow not ripping into the roati as expected. Revna assumed they kept the truly wild ones somewhere else to avoid bloodshed, as disappointing as that could be. This part of the family felt so much softer than home, even if they could fight they opted to instead pamper and shelter creatures instead of making fierce hunters like her family. Though Revna supposed that was fine, considering they didn’t have the hardships that her village once endured. Would be a shame if something terrible happened. Would they be able to handle it? They weren't a bad family despite their differences and if Revna had to pick which cousins she wanted to survive a disaster then it would be her father’s side for certain. Her city cousins were just….too much. The girl made a face at the thought before blinking as Katori walked beneath her and yelled for her. Did she bother coming down? I suppose. She let out a soft sigh before slipping from the perch, the girl landing quietly behind the older hybrid. “Hva skjer?”
[Revna 1]
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Posted: Sat Mar 25, 2023 11:57 am
“Seriously?” Katori made a face as Revna slipped onto the ground behind her. If the monk wasn’t so accustomed to the strange habits of her younger cousin then she may have prepared for an attack, but both of them had an understanding that Revna would not play surprise pranks on Katori who could accidentally send her flying across a field with a startled punch. Using Sylvirah’s language at first had flustered Katori, but she was slowly learning certain phrases thanks to Zyphire’s help and so she simply shook her head towards the youngling in response to the question. “There’s an injured raptrix. You interested in helping?” She would have to set the wing herself since her mother got called away to another situation in Sauti.
[Katori 2]
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Posted: Sat Mar 25, 2023 11:57 am
Brushing some dirt from her leggings, Revna glanced up towards Katori with a small frown. “You want my help?” How desperate was her cousin? Or was it simply the fact that others wanted to keep an eye on her? Just because she had climbed up into the rafters with the chiavi that one time….at least the one time that the family had caught her up there. Four out of five times, not too bad. She mused with a faint grin before shaking her head and focusing on the situation at hand. “I guess I can help, but you know it’s not my…strength.” Revna was much more capable of just stealing things and causing a bit of playful mischief for amusement.
[Revna 2]
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Posted: Sat Mar 25, 2023 11:57 am
“Mmhmm, but things can change.” Katori replied with a small grin, her hand reaching out to ruffle the youngling’s hair before gesturing for her to tag along. It wasn’t a far walk since they were already in the middle of the stables, the four buildings standing in cardinal directions in the main area behind the manor, and the one she was headed towards was in the west corner away from the grazing fields. “The one in there is a little bit more wild, so just be careful.”
[Katori 3]
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Posted: Sat Mar 25, 2023 11:57 am
“So you take your younger cousin towards a dangerous beast…” Began Revna with a rare chuckle as they approached the older stable, the structure casting a long shadow across the snowy ground. Even with tufts of grass sprouting here and there the shadows between the stables always kept some of the winter snow far longer than the surrounding fields where the sunlight hit the most. “But I like it.” She did enjoy danger and definitely despised being treated like a child even if she was one. Revna had pride as a huntress and expected to be fully treated as someone who could handle her own, even if she was about a foot shorter than her cousin still. As the door creaked open she heard the faint whines of something that turned into a snarl as the sunlight flickered into the open stable, the noise directing her attention towards the back stall which was the largest one and currently the only occupied and locked one in the whole building.
“So what’s the plan, Tori?”
[Revna 3]
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Posted: Sat Mar 25, 2023 11:57 am
“I need you to try and keep him calm while I work on that wing.” Katori pursed her lips thoughtfully and headed over towards one of the shelves with little bags hanging from it. “Some spare jerky may work, especially this one that has some medical herbs blended in.” They had their own specially made treats for the raptrixes and chiavi on the sanctuary, a way to train and entice the predators to not fly away with any of the smaller animals living at the sanctuary. These particular ones though were for medical reasons, to help numb pain and calm any of the more wild animals that came their way. It was this bag that Katori handed to Revna. “Think you can manage that?” She knew that her younger cousins worked with raptrix up north so hopefully the other girl could handle herself, that much Katori trusted.
[Katori 4]
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Posted: Sat Mar 25, 2023 11:57 am
Revna turned the pouch upside down and shook out a few treats. A sniff gave her a vague idea of the medical herbs and the youngling slowly nodded as she pondered the situation. “I’ll be fine, if not then whatever.” She gave a slight shrug towards Katori. If anything, maybe this would finally be her first battle scar. Closing her fingers around the treats, Revna walked up towards the stall door where the growls started again. What a big baby. All growls and probably no bite. All the youngling could do was roll her eyes before looking back towards her cousin. “Ready.”
[Revna 4]
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Posted: Sat Mar 25, 2023 11:57 am
“I…don’t know how I feel about that.” Katori frowned before shaking her own head. She had given up on trying to figure out Revna years ago. It was tough enough keeping up with the other feral companion she had made along her own journeys and she simply didn’t have the patience for more. So Katori quietly swung the door open, the growls increasing as she revealed a raptrix that was dark as midnight with piercing blue eyes. A deep violet shine was throughout the coat of matted fur, the left wing twisted at an awkward angle with ugly red slashes though out the raptrix’s back towards the wing. “Careful!” Katori quickly pulled Revna towards her, the raptrix trying to rush them despite the restraints that kept her tied against the back part of the stall.
[Katori 5]
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Posted: Sat Mar 25, 2023 11:57 am
Oh, exciting! Revna’s golden gaze gleamed whenever the raptrix tried to bite them. “Hun er en jeger!” Her mother’s native tongue spilled from her lips in her excitement, the youngling ducking under Katori’s arm so that she could take a step closer despite the warning growls from the raptrix. This was definitely a wild raptrix! Revna adored the ones that they bred back home for the hunters, but even they were tame compared to the fire that burned in those blue eyes. Still…the injury was bad and it would do no one any good if the raptrix kept trying to maim them while they were helping. Even Revna had to admit that much. “Should I just offer the treat?” She held out a piece in her open palm, the girl quickly moving her hand so that the piece bounced and fell in front of the raptrix.
[Revna 5]
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Posted: Sat Mar 25, 2023 11:57 am
Maybe I should have thought this over more. Katori held her breath as Revna went towards the raptrix, but thankfully the youngling only tossed a treat towards the creature instead of risking her own hand. Even if she didn’t recognize what Revna said exactly, the feeling in the words was obvious and Katori knew that Revna was intrigued by the injured raptrix. “She’s more afraid than angry…I hope.” Mused Katori as she watched the raptrix snarl towards them, the creature moving to snatch the treat from the floor. A few swallows later the creature was eyeing Revna warily, looking towards the pouch that obviously held more treats. “Maybe a few more pieces and I’ll slowly make my way towards that wing.” She had medical supplies in hand, everything prepared to set the broken wing so that it could properly heal, but the last time she had tried by herself the raptrix had simply moved about far too much for Katori to handle the situation on her own.
[Katori 6]
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Posted: Sat Mar 25, 2023 11:58 am
“Perhaps.” Revna nodded as she pondered Katori’s words. Either way they had some serious bonding to do! The youngling’s lips pressed together in determination as she continued offering pieces to the raptrix, tossing one after another as the raptrix snatched them all up. The creature must have only arrived at the sanctuary this morning, the blood was fresh and the pain obvious in that wild gaze. Eleven years and she had never felt such a connection with a beast before like this. Let’s just hope you feel the same, Midnatt. She didn’t know if she should call the creature midnight, but the fur definitely reminded Revna of the darkness of a moonless sky. Eventually though the raptrix seemed to be a bit groggy, the pain medicine finally settling in and as one of the final pieces of treats were slowly scooped up from the ground Revna found herself moving another step closer. “You’ll be fine. Just let her take care of this, okay?” She murmured, slowly offering another treat but this time from her own hand instead of simply tossing it forward.
[Revna 6]
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Posted: Sat Mar 25, 2023 11:58 am
Katori watched Revna interacting with the raptrix, her gaze never leaving the beast even as she walked around the stall and started towards the wing again. After waiting for the medicine to take effect, the growls started to lessen more and more, Katori finally made her move. “Sorry girl.” She whispered before snapping the wing back into place, her own expression turning into a grimace at the noise. Thankfully she had been well taught by her mother how to handle such injuries, the girl’s whole childhood spent helping with various animals brought into the sanctuary, and so finding out how to position the wing only took a few decisive moments. A whine left the raptrix, but the medicine had taken strong enough of a hold that neither Katori or Revna lost their hands. If anything it looked like the raptrix was leaning into Revna who was whispering to the beast as Katori worked on setting the wing and securing it. Brushing dirt and dried blood from the feathers, Katori looked to the scratches next and started applying ointments so that those wounds would quickly close without risk of infection. “I think we’re almost finished.” She stated after a few more minutes, the raptrix’s breathing slower as sleep started to overtake the exhausted beast.
[Katori 7]
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Posted: Sat Mar 25, 2023 11:58 am
“Just a little bit more.” It was a very rare moment for Revna to actually seem like she cared about something, but even the youngling winced at the sound of the snapping wing. She could only imagine what it would be like to have wings of her own, the girl’s appreciation for heights and freedom constantly moving her to push her limits, and the very idea of having flight taken away like this hurt. At least it was only temporary…that much she hoped as she watched Katori. The raptrix had settled and while Revna knew it was mostly thanks to the medicine in the treats, she couldn’t help but to feel a bit warm on the inside whenever her fingers finally connected with that soft fur. Even matted she could tell that the coat was incredibly soft and would be once they cleaned it. Brushing would have to wait though since the most important part was just making certain there was no chance of infection, Revna even moving to take some ointment and smear it carefully across the raptrix’s scratched maw. Talk about a fighter. Once she was finished, Revna wiped her hands on her leggings and slowly took a few steps back to give the raptrix space. “Will she be okay?” She found herself asking Katori, the youngling’s gaze thoughtful as she waited for her older cousin.
[Revna 7]
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Posted: Sat Mar 25, 2023 11:58 am
“I hope so.” Katori’s own gaze was gentle as she realized that Revna was truly caught up in the moment. It had been something she was hoping for, a way to get a glance at the girl’s usually hidden kindness and it was a relief to see that there was a heart beneath the cold exterior. “We’ll leave her be for now and come check on her after dinner.” Katori loosened the restraints to give the raptrix as much comfort as possible and even refilled the water bowl before opening the door again. “For now we can just tidy up this area. There’s a pen that we can clean for her that’s attached to this area, away from the rest.” Katori scooped up the medical supplies and headed out of the stall, waiting on Revna so that she could latch the door behind them.
[Katori 8]
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