A strange kind of meeting (Cara)

[Erin Hedge]

[color=#red]Day 58, Season of Fall, Year 511AV[/color] OOC : Is about 8 weeks old at the TimeStamp Trample her, they were most definitely trying to trample her, no doubt about it. But to understand why they were so agitated you had to go back to earlier that morning, about fifteen minutes before… Erin had decided she could not afford to practically live in the Savintar Warrens for the remainder of the season, she just didn’t have enough money nor did she have any job and every-time she asked they told her she was too young. It annoyed her but they were right, they had to be. Adults knew most things and her father had said when in doubt ask an adult. Though right now they weren’t very helpful. But that truly wasn’t her concern; her concern was the cold, the bitter, angry Fall cold. It seemed to hate her and today especially so and as if to prove how much it disliked her it sent another wave of icy wind slicing through her jacket. The sunny places, her father had told her many stories of them…why hadn’t he sent her there?! Pulling her coat tighter around her she finally took in her surroundings, the place was strange and littered with many—what did they call them? “Barts? Tar—Barn! No, staple?” It still didn’t sound right, humans had too many words for things and she could only remember so much of what her father crammed into her skull, not that she had always been paying attention. The words came to her eventually though, they always did. Like now for instance, “Stable! A stable!” Pleased with herself she then tried to remember what they were for. Ah, right! Animals. Wait, she was an animal, well, she had an animal form. Shouldn’t she be allowed a free stay? No other animals had to pay and she could understand why she had too. She should be treated with the same courtesy. Nodding to herself she strode off towards the nearest one only to freeze halfway there. People were coming. For some reason little Erin doubted they would think she was doing anything other than stealing their animals. Moving quickly despite the still oversized pack she jumped up onto a pile of logs and slid behind them and the wall, hardly daring to move as one log rolled off to the ground. “Need…wood.” They were speaking Vani and she couldn’t catch what they were saying save for the two words. She hoped they weren’t planning on checking! Shedding her backpack and clothes she allowed her body to slid back into its more nature-like form. Waiting till the sound of boots had faded slightly she tumbled through the snow, enjoying it more than she had moments ago in her heedless fear. Bounding up the low rise of the hill she let out happy puffing noises until she reached the stable. How was she supposed to open the door from way down there? And where was the handle? Bumping into the door in slight frustration it never even occurred to her to change back, instead she thought to circle the stable and on the other side she was lucky to find it open. The stark temperature change caused her to let loose a low whistling noise from the back of her throat. It was so warm, with so many horses all together in one spot. And where there were horses there was hay which meant a bed, she had found her place to stay! It never occurred to her that someone else might be in the stable, that the door was open because a human—the thing she was trying to avoid—was inside; her concern was only to find a bed. So imagine her surprise when the horse she brushed by she accidently poked a horse as she slid into its stall. And now that bring us back to her current predicament... Shocked and in slight pain the animal stamped his hooved in irritation. Panicked her spines stood on end and once more poked the horse and that was when four hooves seemed to surrounded her. A hoof came too close to squishing her flat she was no longer panicking she was outright screaming—a terrible sound her kind made when particularly terrified--, she couldn’t change because then she would really be stepped on! Finally managing to scurry out, still screaming mind you, she ran directly into a suede booted foot and her screams got louder.

[Cara]

Cara was walking through the center of the stables, carrying a bale of hay in her arms. Her heart was beating a little faster than usual, as a few beads of sweat appeared on her brow. Her arms ached, as did her sides, wherever a stray bit of dried yellow grass decided it felt like poking her. Pushing the length of its stalk into her clothes, her bare flesh as she continued on her way. The heels of her boots clicked against the wooden floor of the barn as she made her way towards one of the center stalls. When she reached it, she pushed the bale of hay up a little higher, as she nudged the door gently with her boot, forcing it to swing back on its hinges. When the door had parted enough to let her through, Cara made her way into the horse's stall, and dropped the bale of hay into the animal's food trough with a gentle huff. "There you are," Cara commented as she took a moment to catch her breath, before working out the knots in the string that kept the bale together. "Something nice and fresh to eat," she told the pure white horse, as she walked over to it, and placed her left hand just above its nose. Her right hand she curled, making it appear as though it were a lotus, as she scratched its chin, where the head and the neck met. It seemed to snort as its tail swished back and forth happily. "Enjoy your meal," Cara cooed as she strode out of the stall to retrieve another bale of hay to place in the next horse's stall, before she went back to pick all the dirt out of their hooves, brush their fur, and comb their tails. But before she could return to the area in which the hay bales were kept, the sound of several horses stomping their feet on the ground reached Cara's ears. She could hear their tails swishing, as they snorted, and tugged on the rope that bound them to the front of their stall. She could hear a fear of them whinnying angrily, as a shrill, shrieking noise also reached her ears. And then there came the squeals of another of the stablehands. What Frostfawn, in their right petching mind, would squeal like that in the stables? she wondered, as her irises went from a deep violet, to an angry ruby red, with the occasional fiery orange fleck. In an instant, she had turned on her heels, and begun walking in the opposite direction. When she reached the girl who had squealed, she glared angrily into her back. Her eyes settling on her mane of black hair, as she raised her right hand and tapped her on the shoulder. The girl turned to face her. "Just what do you think you are doing?" she asked, through grit teeth. Her voice hardly a whisper, but even so, there was no mistaking the cold that lingered there, her anger. "Even though you're a new recruit, you should know better than to squeal like a pig in the horse's stables. GET OUT, and don't you come back for at least the remainder of the day. Morwen knows it's going to take us that long to clean up after you." The Vantha seemed to shrink beneath Cara's gaze, and soon backed out of the stables. Petching idiot, Cara thought, as she wondered where to start. There were horses all over the stable whinnying miserably and stomping on the ground. "Petch," Cara muttered under her breath, as she finally decided to start at one end of the stables, and work her way to the other. Before she had so much as taken her first step, she could feel her foot attempting to come down on something with bristles. She pulled her foot back, clearly confused, and was surprised to find a hedgehog shrieking on the stable floor. Well that explains a lot, Cara thought as she bent to pick it up. "This is no place for an animal quite like you... you're scaring the horses half to death," she purred. "Perhaps you'd be best left in the Hold, under the care of someone who can be trusted... if we can so much as find one of those," she finished, the orange flecks in her irises being replaced by an emerald green as she spoke.

[Erin Hedge]

Human hands scooping her up immediately silenced her but did not make her lower her spines, she was half tempted to shift, shock them and then run. But then the human spoke. "This is no place for an animal quite like you... you're scaring the horses half to death… Perhaps you'd be best left in the Hold, under the care of someone who can be trusted... if we can so much as find one of those," Her voice was a low purr, calming and holding no threat. Relaxing at the soothing nature of the voice she poked her head out and glanced at the human curiously, obviously it was a female but her interaction with any had been…short to say the least. But what eased her posture the most was the girl’s eyes, they changed color! Just like the man in the street! So it was true, all Vantha’s eyes changed color. Blinking up at the girl she couldn’t help a small purr of delight as the melted to green. Completely unafraid now she danced in a small circle on the girls palms before settling to face her once more, pleased with herself she began to sniff the hand that held her and attempted to crawl up it. As she tried to crawl she looked around the stable. It wasn't for all animals it was for horses! Gear lined the walls in a clean and organized manner, the horses themselves were also regrouping, calming now that they weren't being unjustly poked by the hedgehogs quills. Proud at having defended herself and wrapped up her in her exploration of the human girls forearm she nearly fell off in surprise when a warm puff of air brushed past her face. A horse. It was too close! Scrambling back to the safety of the girls palm she raised her spines angrily. Why were there still horses? Hissing and clicking angrily she proceeded to tell the horse off with her body language, that thing had tried to pancake her! Spines raising a few more annoyed clicks left her before she relaxed once more; feeling she had done her trauma justice puffed at the horse and turned back towards the girl, her tiny green eyes seeming to give off a ‘praise me’ vibe. What should she do now? Shaking out her spines in what could almost be considered a shrug she once more took of sniffing the hand, the girl smelt good.

[Cara]

Cara smiled warmly down at the creature as its feet pressed lightly into the palms of her hands. They tickled her flesh whenever it scurried from one place to another, as its nails grazed lightly across her flesh, digging into it only slightly, for a better hold. She raised her hands slowly, bringing them closer to her chest, for not only was it uncomfortable to be hunched over, but she feared that moving her body any faster may startle the animal and cause it to run off her hands, if it did not fall naturally, of course. "Try not to move so much little one, you wouldn't want to take a short drop, with a sudden stop," she whispered, as her eyes sparkled, and her lips curled into a delicate smile. "Wouldn't want to hand you over to the Whitevines," she added, as the hedgehog curled into her right hand. She pulled the left away from its twin, curling all of her fingers with the exception of her index into her fleshy palm. She gently drew the hand over to Erin, and attempted to push in the hedgehog's nose rather lightly. She could see it moving swiftly back and forth, as its whiskers twitched, sniffing the air, getting used to the scent of the stables. She could see its quills relaxing, before poking out again. Cara pulled her finger away, and ran the back of her hand over the creature's quills, from its head to its tail, over and over again. Slowly, gingerly. "There there, no need to be so afraid. It's only one of the horses, it won't hurt you. But even so, this is no place for a hedgehog," she whispered as she strode forward, towards the door that led out of the stables. "We should go about finding you a nice place to stay now, and perhaps something to eat and drink too. You're probably hungry by now, if not a little thirsty, right?" she asked, as she turned her body to the side upon reaching the door, pushing it open with her shoulder. A cold burst of air swept through the stables, as she quickly stepped outside, letting the door swing shut behind her. After taking a moment to glance from left to right, just to be sure the coast was clear, since technically, she was taking off a bit early from work, Cara continued onwards towards her Hold. "You see that little one?" Cara asked, "that's the Frostfawn Hold. The only one with members who have the slightest semblance of a brain... and well, the ones that are known for their knowledge on hunting and animals... although I'm sure you don't appreciate the first part. You don't have to worry though, you're a bit scrawny for our tastes," she assured the hedgehog as the wind whistled all around them, sweeping her long black hair off her shoulders. The edges of her cheeks were growing cold and red, as her feet sank repeatedly into the sea of glistening white snow, leaving a trail of sloppy footprints from the stables to the front door of the Hold. "Here we are," Cara called, as she pushed the door open with her shoulder. "Now where to put you..." OOCIf I got too ahead of myself, please feel free to pm me and I can edit.

[Valkyrie]

Thread Award Cara : Experience 1 Bodybuilding 1 Animal Husbandry Lore N/A Other N/A Notes: I tried to give you what I could but since the thread got cut off rather early there wasn’t much to give. Bodybuilding for hauling hay and an animal husbandry for taking care of Erin in hedgehog form. I was so hoping I’d get to see Cara shocked when the cute little hedgehog turned out to be a person but oh well, that’s how things go. I will be grading for Erin Hedge as the player has not been active for quite some time. Erin, if you should return and would like a grade please PM me. Please send me a PM if you have any questions or concerns.