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 Posted: Sat Jul 16, 2005 8:04 pm
This journal belongs to Talencia and her pets. Please do not post here unless you have her permission to do so. Do not ask to buy her pets. They are not for sale. Eftemie This is where I'll leave you messages rather than interfer in the rp going on. This journal is yours to do with as you wish.
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Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2005 7:04 pm
Talencia was pleased to see an old friend here. She had forgotten Neon has mentioned the place to her some time ago. She supposed the place had pulled at her subconcious, especially after the fire.
When Neon handed her the pouch, she was mildly stumped. A pouch? Couldn't get it open? Keep what was inside? Her expression was a study in absolute puzzlement. If there was something inside, doesn't that mean the pouch belonged to someone? Baffled, she retreated from the noisy living room to her new corner bedroom. She gently set the pouch on the bed and looked at it without touching for a few minutes.
Then she began to carefully explore it with her fingers. She ran them along the edge of the pouch's flap very gently, then slid her fingers around the back, along the bottom, and even slid the strap through her hands. Although it looked mysterious and well embellished, there was no indication outwardly of ownership. Very curious.
Finally, she slipped her fingers along both side of the flap and pulled tentatively. Would it open as simply as that? If so, why hadn't it done so for Neon? Before anything happened, as these thoughts raced through her head, she felt a sudden thrill. This just might be a magic pouch! What might it contain?!
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Posted: Tue Jul 19, 2005 10:48 am
As she tugged lightly, the pouch suddenly shifted! Talencia gave a startled yelp and fell off the bed. She got to her feet quickly and eyed the pouch askance for a moment. The pouch moved a little more, as whatever was inside changed position. Then there was a soft sighing noise, and the pouch went still.
Tal was shocked. There was something ALIVE in there! She looked around in a mild panic, and then tugged harder on the flap. Wouldn't the poor thing suffocate? But still the thing wouldn't open! Who would do such a thing to a poor animal? Her panic rose, and she tore out of her room in search of Efte.
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Posted: Wed Jul 20, 2005 11:45 am
Talencia re-entered the room much more calmly. So this was a baby roozel? She settled back onto the bed next to it and gently stroked the bag.
"Hello little one. I'm Talencia, and I'm gonna be your momma." She spoke softly, for the roozel's ears alone. Her tone was gentle and loving, her heart audibly opening to the small creature. "I know it must sound awfully scary out here, with all that's been going on. But I promise you, you are safe now, and I will be here waiting for you when you decide to come out."
She drew the blue pouch into her arms and cuddled it as if there was nothing between her and the baby. "And I promise you will never again be alone, unless you want to be. So from now on, it's you and me, kid." She smiled fondly, and laid there on the bed for a while, getting the baby used to her voice and touch as she murmured and hummed to him.
Finally she rose and gently lifted the pouch by its strap. She settled it over her head, across her body, adjusting the strap a bit so it fit more comfortably. Now they were ready to face the world!
Happily she headed back out to the living room, cradling the baby inside the pouch.
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Posted: Mon Aug 08, 2005 7:27 pm
Tal left the house and meandered along, no particular goal in mind to reach. She followed a path through a forest that was atwitter with day's end song. The sun was westering, but not really setting yet. It was such a pleasant time of day, the air warm but cooling, the shadows under the trees blissful in their cool touch. The sunlight streaming through the branches at an angle cast a nimbus glow over everything, making all it touched appear blessed and angellic.
As she walked, she talked off and on to the roozel she carried. "So, my dear little one, this is the space we will share with all those other crazy, lovely, bizarre crew." She smiled fondly and stroked the underside of the pouch. "Ah, but I don't mind. It's a nice distraction. It helps me think less on the fire and what I lost." She gently hugged the pouch then, beaming. "Of course, you help a lot there too. You definitely help ease the pain of loss by giving me so much to look forward to."
After a bit of easy walking, the trees thinned and the air cooled further. Through a wide swath of thick, long grasses, she could see the glimmer of a body of water. Intrigued, she gravitated that direction, still following a pathway so that she didn't need to wade through the deep grass.
He came winging heavily over a hill, just barely clearing it, an descending sharply at a very uncontrolled rate. One foreleg hung limp and both wings were scratched and bleeding. He managed to glide across a small section of water before dragging too low and slowing to a watery crash just in the shallows of the other side. Exhausted, the newly hatched wyrm pulled himself up just far enough to lay his head on the dry bank, panting and screeing in pain.
Those awful creatures! Surely he wasn't theirs, surely! Thoughts whirled crazily in his head, making him dizzy. He lay limp in the waters, miniature waves occasionally rolling over his large body. He bled from several vicious wounds, some of them obviously bites. He shuddered sharply, and a membrane on one wing ripped suddenly. His high-pitched howl of pain echoed across the water.
What a shock it had been, to hatch from his scale, only to find himself nose to nose with those creatures... who had promptly set upon him as if he were their meal! Was it because he was so different? He hadn't seen himself, but he knew instinctively that he was not the same as they were... but they were similar. And so he writhed inwardly as well as outwardly, pained and distraught, voicing his distress in a most unwise fashion.
After all, the goblins were not the only dangers that challenged intruders.
Talencia heard the keening cry from a ways down the lake shore. She frowned and paused, poised to either leave a dangerous area or hurry to help a creature in need. It took her a few moments to decide which was the case.
The continued sounds of pain were too much for her though. "Hang on, roozel dear," she warned before she broke into an odd, loping run. She was forced to lope due to the height of the grass. She had to leap with each stride, and so took on more the gait of a deer than a cheetah. When she thought she was getting quite close she slowed and continued at a cautious pace. The closer she got, the bigger this creature sounded.
The grass ended rather abruptly at the bank of the lake, where she very nearly stumbled over the creature's head and went face-first into the water herself. She caught herself in time, slipping down the bank on her backside the short distance. Thus it was the came literally face to face with the wounded thing. As she struggled to regain the breath she'd lost from her sliding fall, she realized that this may not have been a good thing.
Gailen was in mid-howl when he belatedly realized he'd called attention to himself. He only had enough time to acknowledge that this may have been a bad idea when something came crashing through the grass right above his head and slid down the bank, coming nose to nose with him.
His first reaction was one of panic. This creature was shaped the same as some of those awful ones back the way he had come! They had hurt him! They had bashed and clawed and bit him! He reared his head back sharply out of the water and hissed angrily. "NO FOOD!" He snarled his first words. "NO FOOD! NO FOOD!"
He was struggling painfully to his feet, when a thought occured to him. This one was not the same as the others. This one was shaped the same, but was very different. Just like he was different from those that resembled him. Maybe this could be a friend? Maybe this too was an outcast of those awful others? And if outcast... then maybe not as cruel and vicious?
So he stayed where he was, propped up on one foreleg, the other curled painfully against his chest, eyeing this stranger suspiciously, but not longer ready to do his best to tear into her before she could hurt him.
Tal watched as that reptilian head facing her rose in alarm and tensed up, ready to be at the very least bitten, if not eaten outright or toasted to a crackly crunch. What happened next startled her into looking more closely at him. No food? What did that mean? He certainly meant it with all of his heart, to be sure.
She took a moment to puzzle over this. No food? Hmm... said in fear, no less. She took in the tattered and pained state of him, and it clicked. Something had tried to eat him for food. The poor thing! Sympathy rose immediately at the possibility, unbidden and perhaps unwisely. She seemed to forget this was a large, obviously carnivorous creature, injured and on edge. Now all she saw was a creature in need of help and comfort.
"Easy, easy there... " She spread both hands out to the side non-aggressively. "Yes, you are not food, I know that. I wouldn't eat a beautiful guy like you. There's no way. You are definitely not food material. I'd say you might make good friend material, though. What do you say, would you like a friend? I could help you with the places you hurt." She really was mostly murmuring to calm him, but made it a personal policy to only say things she truly meant when whispering 'sweet nothings'. If she'd had time to consider, she'd probably have laughed and commented that she guessed that would make them 'sweet somethings' instead of 'sweet nothings'.
As it was, she had her hands quite full. She stayed aware of the roozel pouch strapped around her. Thankfully the baby was being still and quiet. Meanwhile the... it dawned on her that this looked quite like... a dragon? The dragon was watching her uneasily. "Would you like help?" she quietly asked him, unsure of how much he understood her.
Gailen puzzled over this. Help? What was help? He watched her closely, taking in her soft, clawless hands, her flat teeth, and her gestures. He inhaled to gain more information about her, and smelled very little actual fear, and absolutely no aggression. He also smelled the presence of another creature, though none was visible. His eyes narrowed on the lump that seemed attatched to her by a strap. Was she a mother, then? Did she carry her young in this way?
He paused in thought. Where was his mother? He swung his head back and forth, looking up, down, and around. No, there was noone there to care for him, teach him what he needed to know. He turned back and eyed her intently again. She was a mother already, he surmised. Perhaps.... perhaps.....
"Help?" he half-growled, unintentionally sounding harsh and grating. He leaned forward, keeping the rest of himself as still as he could, and nudged the pouch with his nose. "Mother? Help?" he asked, his tone changing to be a little softer, though still deep and rough, so that now he sounded wistful and vulnerable. He lowered his head so he was looking up at her and folded his good front leg, grunting in pain as he settled down onto his injured limb. "Mother, help?" he repreated once more, just to be sure she knew what he was asking. If she was going to try and eat him like the others did, she surely would pounce now.
Tal watched him mull what she had said. She still wasn't entirely sure he understood her. She remained still and non-aggressive. The last thing she wanted was for him to feel cornered. As his eyes drifted to her roozel pouch, she tensed just a little. Still she remained with her hands outspread, eyes focused on him and his reactions. She noted with some relief that he did not look ready to take a bite. In fact... he looked.... both gentler and more distressed?
When he began searching for something around them, and then peered at her closely again, with more interest, her heart warmed. Something inside of her recognized the look of need and hope, of a soul in dire need of someone to nurture them. The he spoke again! Even though it was only a repetition of what she herself had said, it thrilled her. It was a good thing the rush of pleasure went through her, since she went deadly cold when he reached his muzzle to touch the pouch. His next words made her breathe again with a mild gasp, though. He certainly was running her through the emotional gambit here!
As he knelt in pain, she gave a small cry of sympathy and distress and reached a hand towards him, even as he asked again for her to help him. She immedately was in the water beside him, stroking his head and neck. "Of course I'll help. You poor thing, what happened to you?" She examined his wounds up close, and they certainly were nothing to sneeze at!
Gailen was surprised by the sudden rush of love he felt from this Mother. His mother? He wasn't sure yet. But he instinctively knew love, and was a little surprised to feel an immediate response in like kind inside himself. Her touch felt good and soothing, and his tired body relaxed. He let her run her hands over his body, finding the hurts.
Talencia found several mucky, dirty wounds on him, and used the lake water to wash the grunge away, fearing that infection might have set in already. She cupped water in her hands and drizzled it over a gash in his shoulder, probably the cause of most of his pain and his limp leg. She also thoroughly drenched some rather serious rents in his wing membranes. The poor baby, she thought... for now she was sure he was young, very young, despite his large size. He did have a rather gangly, unfinished look to his body, now that she was up close and could see it better.
Once she cleaned his hurts as best she could, she returned to his head and gently nudged. "Come, little... not-so-little one." She smiled wryly to herself at her inclination to call him little! "Come out of the water and let's get you dry up here." She indicated the heavily grassed upper bank and gently tugged on his jaw again, urging him up.
Gailen heaved wearily to his feet with a groan, pain lancing through his shoulder. He growled at the pain and curled that leg close to his chest before stumbling out of the shallow water and clawing his way up the bank. She stayed beside him, his mother did, urging him on and encouraging him with words and touches. When he finally was fully up atop the bed of grasses, he was exhausted. He simply lay still, rolled faintly to one side away from his injured leg. Blood still slowly crept down that leg, staining his pale yellow hide a red-orange. His mother was using handfuls of grass to dry off his hind, carefully manuevering his wings to be sure she got all the moisture off even the folds there. He wasn't quite expecting her next minstration, however.
She had taken another handful of clean, softer leaves and had first rubbed the blood that had trickled down his leg, then, with a warning word which he didn't understand in time, put the handful pretty much into the gash in his shoulder! He snarled fiercely at the sudden and piercing pain, turning to snap in her direction. Even in his frenzy of agony, however, he took care not to actually harm her, nor come near enough to do harm. Still, it HURT! He hissed as the pain slowly reduced back to a dull throb. She apparently intended on leaning there on the handful of leaves for a while. He laid his head back down and heaved a sigh.
Surprisingly, when his mother stopped leaning there, the leaves remained stuck there, and the pain had ebbed, leaving him more aware of his other hurts, as well as other things. "Mother?" he spoke, lifting his head and turning his great yellow eyes to her. "Mother? Hungry."
Tal was getting quite tired herself, and suddenly remembered the sandwiches she had with her. Well, it wouldn't be enough to satisfy him, but at least it would put something in his tummy. She was willing to bet he hadn't eaten all day. Little did she know, he had never eaten anything at all! This would be his first meal since bursting into the world from his scale.
She had dropped the bag when she'd slid down the bank, so she hurried back now and returned with the miniature feast in hand. She carefully unwrapped a sandwich and held it in her flat hand for him, extended his way. "Here, this is to eat... it isn't much, but this is all I have right now, until we can get you closer to home."
She offered him an odd lump of various smooshed ingredients. Gailen mentally shrugged and very carefully accepted the food from her hand. He made certain his teeth did not touch her obviously delicate skin. He paused in chewing, eyes widening for a moment at the idea of what those awful creatures could have done to Mother, if they had hurt his hide so much. He swallowed what was a rather small bite for him (though it was an entire sandwich), but felt a bit better for it. She offered the only piece of food left, the same as the other, and again he was gentle when he took it from her. How good it felt to be cared about!
Tal gently fed him the two sandwiches and then sat stroking his head and neck, crooning soothing things. He was so handsome! But what to call him? Did he have a name already? She paused and frowned in thought. "Let's rest now that you have eaten a little." She continued stroking his jaw and forehead. "Do you have a name? My name is Talencia." She smiled at him reassuringly.
A name? A name. He puzzled over this. Mother was Talencia... what was his name? He craned his neck a bit to look over the lake for inspiration, but found none. Sighing, he realized he would just have to come up with something himself, even if it wasn't quite right. "Gailen, Mother," he replied. "Mother Talencia, me Gailen." He sat up straighter, rather proud of himself.
It was then that his sharp ears caught sounds coming from over the hill just beyond the lake. They were coming! He lurched to his feet in terror. "Mother! Fly! Bad!" He shoved her hard with his muzzle and looked back towards the hill from which he had come. When he turned to find her scrambling through the grass, he realized she had no wings. Mother couldn't fly! But then, neither could he. With a last glance at the slowly growing noises, he headed after her in a clumsy three-legged lope. He would follow her. Mother would know where it was safe.
As he named himself, Tal beamed proudly. What a clever fellow he was! But she had no time to dwell on this small triumph, for his sudden overwhelming fright washed all those warm feelings away. He was in fear of their lives from something she could not sense. In this place where impossible things lived, she knew better than to disbelieve him. She couldn't fly, but she darn well could run! She bolted, weaving through the grass as quickly as she could. As he came up behind her, she called to him. "Gailen! This way is safe! Come with me!" And with that, she beat a hasty retreat for Efte's apartment.
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Posted: Wed Aug 31, 2005 1:00 pm
Tal sighed in relief somewhat as Gailen settled into deep sleep, whether from pain relief, exhaustion, or something Efte gave him. The timng was reasonably good too, since it was about then that Roody decided he was hungry, and hungry NOW. He set up a howl that was surprisingly hearty and loud for such a small creature. She rose, taking a last look at the sleeping Gailen to reassure herself that he'd be fine without her for a while.
Feeling somewhat safe in leaving him in the barn, she headed into the apartment and up to the kitchen, lugging a howling and occasionally whimpering infant roozel with her. It was a lot harder to walk with him hanging half out of the pouch and wiggling about so energetically. She managed to make it there without either of them getting bonked on the way up.
She settled him on the counter in his pouch and began poking around. She had to find something quick to tide him over until she could think and find something for him regularly. But what? What did baby roozels eat? Milk? But regular milk wans't healthy for babies, who needed formula instead. Then what? Water? Juice? Desperate, she wrenched open the freezer, looking for she didn't know what... and spotted some juice popcicles shoved to one side behind a box of fish sticks. Maybe that would work!
She snatched one and ripped the wrapper off. She swooped the hiccuping, whimpering Roody off the counter and tipped the cold stick of frozen juice to his mouth.
At the first touch of cold to his muzzle, Roody stopped his noises and stared, stock still in his Momma's arms. What was this? He cautiously opened his mouth, then gave a small shudder as it touched his tongue. Still... it didn't taste all that bad... in fact, it tasted rather nice! He firmly set his baby mouth around the popcicle and began to lick at it in earnest. His wee forepaws came up to clutch at Tal's hand around the stick, ensuring the continued feeding. Mmm, this was nice!
Tal smiled affectionately at him. What a total cutie. She glanced around as the baby ate, wondering what to do for the long term... he couldn't survive on just popcicles! Could he? She looked back down at him doubtfully. Yup, she had her hands full, to be sure.
And nowhere but the very back of her mind did she recall her own tragedy of recent events. The smell of smoke might bring her woes back, but for now, they rested quietly, healing slowly, mostly forgotten in the stir of activity and wonders of this new life.
Soon Roody was sleeping, and Tal carried him back to the barn. It looked like this was where she would be staying. After nestling Roody in his pouch against the sleeping dragon, she went back into the house. She rummaged around in closets. She found a cot, some extra blankets, as well as a few pillows that didn't seem to belong to anyone. She stuffed some of this into a pack, then collected her very few belongings from the room she so recently had claimed.
So armed, she marched back out to the barn. She set them just inside the door and began to tidy. She found a large broom and began to sweep the dust and dirt of disuse out of the lower level. It had a concrete floor that was reasonably smooth, so it was not much of a chore, although it did take some time. Still the boys slept on.
She pitched some fresh hay into a large pile for Gailen to lay in when he awoke, so she could clear out the old, musty pile he was currently reclining on. She didn't bother with the loft yet. She chose an out of the way spot and set up her things.
A green cat paced in the open doorway of the large barn, her eyes shifting to almost all black as she went from bright sunshine to shadowy dark. She padded right up to the large dragon and sniffed his muzzle. Her ears twitched, and she gave a sudden, small feline sneeze. With that, she turned and paced sedately to the small young creature. She also sniffed of him, her whiskers trembling with information.
At the sneeze, Tal turned, concerned for Roody's health. Instead, she caught sight of a very strange... green?... cat! She watched as the feline considered Roody, then rubbed her cheek against his face. Roody stirred and made snuggly motions in his sleep. Apparently satisfied, the cat turned and looked directly into Tal's eyes. Those bright green eyes captured her heart immediately.
Tal knelt and held out a hand and the she-cat padded to her. There was no hesitation on the animal's part at all. She immediately rubbed against Tal's hand when she was near enough, and moved up close to rub against her bent knees. "Hello there, sweetheart. Where have you come from?" The cat looked up at her again, as if to say where she came from was of no import. Simply that she was here now was what mattered. Tal found herself smiling. She had to agree. She stroked the cat down her back and tail, then lifted her and carried her to the cot. There she sat, settling the feline in her lap.
"So, my dear... what shall I call you?" The cat rolled onto her back and gazed up at her blissfully. "I think your name will be... Bella." She nodded to herself in agreement with the name, while Bella herself squeezed her eyes shut in ecstasy. Tal rubbed the cat's belly, smiling at the very soft happy trills that Bella made. Well.... the more the merrier, she supposed!
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