Welcome to Gaia! ::

Note:
::Ceres slides a note & some apples into her mailbox (lets assume you have one)::

Congrats Ashes of Roses on your gift. I hope you make many happy memories with Kasumi. I brought her a gift; some apples!



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Note:

::Ceres slides a note his mailbox (lets assume you have one)::

I just wanted to let you know the Head Quarters has been created. Click Here to go directly to the HQ. Please read over what has been posted, as a few things might have changed since you last looked. Also feel free to visit the main Farm area by Clicking Here. If you feel you and your foal are up for a bit of Roll Play, other than in the HQ you can always post at the Mystic RP site by Clicking Here.

P.S: This note is standard issue, everyone is getting one...

::two gift box apears on your door step, *wonder how they got there*::



A Note Is Attached:

Ashe led the mist-colored foal gently into the new stable, her arm draped softly over the velvety neck. "Here is your new home, Kasumi-chan...I hope you like it."



Ashe opened the stall door and stroked Kasumi's neck. "I think you'll be comfortable here...I'm going to have the hay changed fresh every day for you. And here's a present from Ceres for you!" She picked up a shiny red apple, polished it on her sleeve, and held it out for Kasumi to eat. The foal took delicate nibbles until the apple was gone, right down to the core.

"Good girl. Now, see, here's a barrel of fresh water for you...and I have a brush here, too." She picked up the brush from the bench and gently groomed the foal, then used a chamois to polish her hooves. "And I have a place to stay here, too. I'm going to spent tonight with you so you won't be lonely."

She settled down on the divan and admired her lovely new companion.

Food

Kasumi has some lovely apples provided by Ceres!



I've acquired some more nibbles for my lovely Kasumi-chan.

A banana,
An eggplant,
A vegetarian sushi "hand roll",
And a yummy strawberry for dessert!

Prezzies



What a nifty T-shirt! Thanks Ceres!



Kasumi's first toy, awwwwh! Thank you Ceres!

Kasumi's Stable


Enlarged to show detail.

The walls are rose-colored granite, while the beams and supports are rosewood. The stall is also made of rosewood, which means that the entire stable is always lightly rose-scented. A brush and chamois cloth lies on the bench, and the barrel is always full of fresh rainwater. The hay on the floor is changed daily. The divan on the side is for me when I want to spend time with Kasumi. There is a bridle and saddle as well. The path outside is pink gravel, leading through a green lawn lightly dotted with tiny flowers. Though you can barely see it from the inside, there is a rosewood trellis with climbing roses around the doorway.

Diary

May 6

We've been so busy getting acquainted that I haven't had time to write here before now. On May 4 I became the adoptive mother of a beautiful Changeling foal. She was the color of morning mist, so I named her Kasumi, which is Japanese for "mist". We bonded almost immediately--the first thing she "said" to me was "Mommy!" eek I've always said I have no time for a pet or companion, what with my room business being so demanding...but I lost my heart to a pretty mist-colored foal, and I'm not a bit sorry.

Yesterday we stopped by the HQ for the first time, and Kasumi went right to the munchies table. I was so busy trying to keep her from eating everything I didn't get much of a chance to interact with anyone at the sleepover, but I'm hoping to be able to say a proper hello to everyone later.

One wonderful thing: When I went to check on Kasumi last night before bedtime, her mane and tail had turned to a beautiful rose color! She pranced in front of me to show off, and I gave her an apple and sang her to sleep.

I'm going to take Kasumi over to the HQ today. She promises to behave herself, and how can I be stern with her when I love her so much already?

May 8

Today is Mother's Day, and Kasumi and I had a picnic on the beach. We shared a whole pint of strawberries, and I had some hand-rolled veggie sushi wraps made for us, too. After we ate we went for a run in the surf and collected some seashells. I'm going to help her identify them later.

Kasumi wandered off while I was packing up the basket, and when she came back she was carrying a bunch of violets in her mouth. She dropped them in my lap and let me know they were a Mother's Day present. How sweet of her! She demands a lot of my attention, but I don't mind a bit. We've already gotten very close and we've been together less than a week. She helped me design a stable for Minkey's Changeling, Jimbo--Kasumi shows real talent and I may ask her to help me with all the stables I make from now on. After all, she lives in one and she knows what Changelings like best.

May 12

There's a bit of a stir in the HQ; Silly has gone missing and Yuki is frantic! Apparently Silly and Yuki had some sort of falling-out. The other Changelings are worried too, and Kasumi won't let me out of her sight for a moment. I've promised to sleep in the stable with her until Silly is back and safe, just to put her mind at ease.

I have discovered that Kasumi is very fond of veggies. She also loves strawberries--she'd eat them all the time if I let her, but while they're better for her than some other snacks, she needs to get proper nutrition. I'm trying her on various grains and breads, and she doesn't seem to have as much of a preference for them. I want to make sure she grows up healthy and strong.

She loves her stable, which is a good thing. In fact, she's given me suggestions on stables I've built for other Changelings. She's proud to be my "consultant" on what an equine likes in comfort.

It was a perfect spring day. Ashe led Kasumi to a beautiful meadow just outside Barton, a field full of daisies and wild lavender and mayflowers and a few late violets that didn't know their time was quite over yet.

She set down the wicker basket she carried and carefully unfolded the blanket, spreading it on the grass. Kasumi sat patiently at the edge of the blanket, her anticipation revealed only by the occasional whisk of her rose-colored tail.

"It's been exactly two weeks today since we got together, Kasumi," Ashe explained. "I fixed a special picnic lunch for us to celebrate."



Ashe decribed the items as she set them carefully onto the blanket.

"I've got some steamed dumplings for you to try. There's spinach inside them and they're very good. There are fresh tomatoes, too, and these are apple slices, carved to look like rabbits. Aren't they cute? Of course I had to make some rice balls; they're my favorite and I thought you might like them too. And for dessert, something special--baked sweet potatoes, one for each of us!"

Kasumi was delighted with the repast, but she noticed something missing. *No strawberries, Mom?*

"There's a strawberry patch on the way home. I talked to the farmer yesterday and he's willing to let us pick some fresh off the vine." Ashe patted Kasumi's velvety nose. "As if I'd forget something you like so much! Now, let's dig in."

"Whups..." Ashe bent down and picked something up off the road.

*What's that, Mom?* Kasumi inquired, her wide soft eyes blinking curiously.

"It's a coin purse," Ashe said. "Seems pretty full, too."

*Wow! We're rich!* Kasumi pranced and gave a little kick of delight.

"No, sweetie--it's not ours. It must belong to someone--hey!" Catching sight of a figure farther up the road, Ashe took off at a run to try and catch up with them.

*You mean we can't keep it?*

"Of course--we can't--keep it. It's not ours. It would be--like stealing--and that's bad."

*I thought you were a demon, Mom,* Kasumi said as she cantered easily alongside her guardian. *Aren't demons evil?*

"I'm only half-demon, Kasumi-chan," Ashe murmured out of the corner of her mouth. "Anyway, demons are just another kind of people, really. Anyone can decide whether to do the right thing or not." She slowed to a brisk walk as they neared the young woman ahead of them. "Excuse me?"

The woman--hardly more than a girl, really--turned around. "Yes? Can I help you?" If Ashe's semi-demonic appearance startled her, she was polite enough not to show it.

"I was wondering if this was yours," Ashe said, holding out the coin-purse bulging with gold.

The girl's eyes opened wide. "Oh, no--I dropped it?!" A quick search of the basket she was carrying confirmed it. "Oh, thank you! That was the whole day's proceeds from our fruit stand; Father would have been so upset if I'd lost it." She accepted the purse with a grateful nod. "Thank you so much, Miss...?"

"Ashe. I'm just Ashe. And this is Kasumi." Ashe draped an arm over Kasumi's neck, and the Changeling foal tried not too look too disappointed at the "loss" of their newfound riches. After all, the girl would have obviously been in trouble if she'd lost the money.

"Ashe? Oh, yes--Father said you might be stopping by the field to pick some berries today. He'll be very grateful to you for returning the purse; I know I am."

In fact, the farmer was so grateful that he gave Ashe permission to pick berries there anytime she wanted. "We always have a surplus of berries anyway," he told her with a chuckle. "If you don't get 'em, the birds will, so by all means, take whatever you need."

"You see, Kasumi?" Ashe said as they headed out for the field. "Doing the right thing is always best."

*Did you know he would do that, Mom? Let us come here whenever we wanted?*

"No, of course not. That's not why I did it. Think how upset his family would have been if the money had been lost. You don't do the right thing just for what you can get out of it. You do it because..."

*Because it's the right thing?*

Ashe smiled. "Now you're getting the idea." She kissed Kasumi on the nose, which earned her a soft whicker that was almost a giggle from the foal.