2017-11-22: Something In the Air
- Log: Something in the Air
- Cast: Catenna, Ethius Hesiod, Kourin, Jacqueline Barber
- Where: The CaraKin
- Date: November 22, 2017
- Summary: The Caravan Kinship goes to play with puppies... only to encounter something unexpected overhead.
<Pose Tracker> Catenna has posed.
Over and over again, Catenna has suggested that she's not very good with animals. It was, after all, her humiliating weakness back home - her seeming inability to build the rapport with wild creatures expected of a Zortroan woman. She's really one of the few to not have an animal companion.
Perhaps it's unusual, then, for her to be so fond of the pups.
Out by a little oasis just off the beaten trade routes, on the edge of the Great Aveh Desert, the CaraKin has stopped for a brief respite. The day is a little cooler than normal, enough that Catenna's out with Snowlune and Taara, guiding the puppies through the warm sand. She's carrying a ball in her hand, smiling as she leads the way down towards the water.
She turns to look back over her shoulder, blushing a little. "Kourin," she ventures with a hint of a blush, "perhaps I shall require your guidance on this... I should like to teach the puppies how to, ah... to catch and retrieve a ball."
<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
Ethius relaxes - to the extent that this man ever does anything that remotely resembles the very concept of 'relaxing' - in the shade of the parked CaraKin, after a long and tense search for any buried explosives that might be near the oasis. It's long been declared a safe zone to travel on foot. Apparently, he was really wanting to check this for a sixth time. That is more than reasonable.
Maybe he just wants to be extra-sure it's safe for the puppies to come out and play for a bit? Nonetheless, he sits and observes passively as an inevitable seventh round may yet be forthcoming before they head out again to the next stop of the route.
<Pose Tracker> Kourin has posed.
Kourin smiles. "I suspected the ball might be for that," she notes. She's...comfortable, now, around Catenna and Ethius and Jay and the rest of the Caravan Kinship, enough so that she can smile without it seeming awkward or out of place. It makes her happy to be a part of the group. "I suspect also that getting them to play catch with you will be...easy enough."
Spirit can show them how it's done!
Spirit is a good dog!
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
Jacqueline can be found in the shade near the water as well. A sheet is laid over the ground, and she sits with her back resting against a nearby tree with her notebook in hand.
She appears to be writing about something or another...but at the moment, a part of her attention is on Catenna, Kourin, and the two puppies they had with them. She can't help but smile at the sight and she does, admittedly, get distracted away from her writing for a time.
No one could blame her for it, really.
<Pose Tracker> Catenna has posed.
"Yes... I thought it would be nice to teach them how to play a little," Catenna says with a gentle smile. "I can imagine our companions might enjoy that."
As Kourin explains, Catenna blinks at her, tilting her head to one side. "Do you... do you think so?" she asks. A touch of colour shines at her cheeks, her smile just a touch charmed. She lays a delicate hand at her cheek. "I hope so... I have never been good with animals...!"
As she spots Jay by the water, Catenna bows her head towards her friend. "Jacqueline," she calls lightly.
On cue, Snowlune and Taara bark and yip cheerily, bounding towards Jacqueline on little stubby puppy legs. Jacqueline will soon find herself accosted by armloads of pupper.
Catenna chases after them, waving her ball as if to summon them back. "Do not go too far, you two!!" she calls in vain.
<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
Ethius retracts a leg on reflex as Taara bounds by a bit too close for comfor-- no, let's back up a bit there. There does not appear to be such a term as 'too close for comfort' as it involves puppies. At least not today. Let's just say the retracting leg is to allow them safe passage en route to seeking attention and love from the Merchant-in-Chief.
"I have found the perimeter to be reasonably secure at this time," Ethius speaks up in that same tone of voice of his as always as Catenna passes by. That, or it is roundabout encouragement for the two to go far until he gets the random urge to start minesweeping again.
<Pose Tracker> Kourin has posed.
Kourin smiles and settles down to observe, watching carefully lest the play become rough or dangerous--unlikely, but Kourin likes to be safe. "I think this was a good idea," she says. "It is nice to just...relax, sometimes." She sighs. "With the ones we care about."
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
Jacqueline smiles and offers Catenna a friendly wave...but the puppies seem to take this as an invitation, as they're soon rushing over to her. She has to set her notebook down in order to accomodate the both of them while keeping her face out of range.
"Well, hello!" She greets with a smile and a friendly chuckle. They're just as friendly as the first day they met...
She gives them the pets they desire, then gestures toward Catenna, Kourin, and Spirit.
"Don't you want to play with them?" She asks. Her eyes stray to Kourin, and Jacqueline can't help but smile. It was nice to see her able to relax...and Catenna too, for that matter.
<Pose Tracker> Catenna has posed.
Catenna has learned something new today: Ethius doesn't seem to like dogs.
But then, Ethius doesn't seem to like anything, as far as she can tell.
The puppies bound into Jay's arms, both of them proceeding to lick her hands and face while occasionally barking with glee. One of them even rolls over in her lap. Catenna, for her part, looks on with a delicate hand at her cheek, smiling with a mix of embarrassment and quiet mirth - privately charmed by the sight of how happily Jacqueline deals with the pups, even more privately wishing she had that kind of way with animals.
"I, ah... I do hope to play with them," she admits as she moves to kneel beside Jacqueline and the puppes. She lifts her eyes to Kourin, then reaches out, carefully laying a hand between Snowlune's ears and beginning to slowly pet.
The puppy hops up and licks at her face too. She blushes, clearing her throat and offering Jay and Kourin a sheepish smile. "Is it... always difficult to hold their attention...?"
<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
The man does seem to have been more hands off about a lot of everyday things than someone might ought to be... this is a time of rest, reflection, and relaxation that they are all blessed to have after a number of difficult decisions and fateful encounters. It's kind of nice here, by desert standards. Not quite as hot, clean water nearby, good friends enjoying their time with lovely, loving puppies.
He just sits there and stares, for the most part, like a lumpy barnacle that happens to be able to detach and reattach themselves in the shadow of everyone's lives.
<Pose Tracker> Kourin has posed.
Kourin nods, smiling again. "It is. Remember, they're basically the same as small children, after all!" This--as usual--seems to send her back into mopeymope territory. (It's kids, the topic of kids.)
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
Jacqueline has many weaknesses, and puppies are one of them. It's something she shares with quite a few people, so there's no shame in it! She cradles Taara in her lap for a moment, before gesturing again to Catenna.
"Looks like Catenna's brought something for you...don't you want to see what it is?" She asks the pup. Of course, even if the dogs did decide to play, she had a feeling she wouldn't be able to get any more writing in.
...Well, it was a good sacrifice. This was plenty worth it.
<Pose Tracker> Catenna has posed.
"I hope we are not disrupting your writing, Jacqueline," Catenna murmurs, looking down at her friend apologetically. She ducks her head by a couple of inches.
As Snowlune hops up and down in the priestess's lap, Catenna holds up the ball, flashing Kourin a grateful smile - an encouraging one, truthfully. She hates to see her friend so blue! But soon it's back to the puppy. Soon Taara's bounding around by her legs as well. "Here, here," she coos, waving the ball a bit. "Go get it, go get it~!" With a light toss, she casts the ball away.
Her throw is either an incredible one, or an incredibly bad one. The ball arcs through the air... then hits the branch of a shrubby oasis tree and deflects away at a funny angle, bounces off of a patch of packed sand, then follows a funny, lobbing arc through the air...
Straight into the lap of Ethius Hesiod.
Ethius has about three seconds before a pair of extremely happy puppies jump on him.
<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
The ball moves in such a way that it manages to slip past Ethius' metaphorical radar. His eyes dart down to what's on his lap - a ball - as two very energetic creatures race across the sands at a speed and comfort only possible by puppies at play.
And then...
GS: CRITICAL! Ethius Hesiod takes a solid hit from Puppies' Love for 87 ??? points.
It is much too late for him! The puppies happily do their puppy noises and adoably paw and nuzzle as they intristically
find themselves underneath upraised palms...!
It is a massacre.
"Taara. Snowlune." Ethius addresses them with that same tone of voice. He patss at them with almost a mechanical character
to it. The same amount of pets, stroking at their scalps with the same rhythm and duration each as able to account for chaotic
puppy wriggling as they try to reclaim the ball.
Does he dislike their company? He doesn't seem to be trying to force them off, or anything of that sort, but there does
seem to be just something... missing.
About twelve pats in per puppy, Snowlune runs the risk of a petting deficiency as he gets his left hand in the pile to
retrieve the ball and underhandedly lob it back vaguely in Kourin's direction.
<Pose Tracker> Kourin has posed.
Kourin, surprised, almost fails to catch the ball--almost, but since she's Kourin, the desperate save manages to still look graceful and agile. "You're meant to warn the person you're throwing to," she says, chuckling at the two pups now dashing for her. "Catenna, here you go!" She throws the ball back to the other woman, and the puppies veer mid-course to alter their trajectory to match.
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
"Oh, it's no trouble, really..." Jacqueline replies, shaking her head dismissively with a smile. She didn't mind this. She could always pick her writing back up later, anyway, but this moment?
They wouldn't have this moment forever.
She watches Catenna throw the ball...which makes an impressive series of arcs and bounces before landing perfectly...
In Ethius's lap.
Jacqueline clasps a hand over her mouth.
"Oh no!" She says, trying to hide an honest-to-goodness giggle.
It's too late for Ethius...but he somehow manages to endure the fierce puppy assault and toss the ball over to Kourin.
The day is saved.
<Pose Tracker> Catenna has posed.
With utmost horror, Catenna watches the ball land on Ethius, suddenly realizing that there is a non-zero chance that this could end with Ethius going off like some human snapping turtle and murdering a puppy.
What happens is far cuter. Catenna blinks a couple of times - and then Jacqueline starts to giggle.
There is another soft sound. It is one that is not heard around here very often.
Cupping her hands over her mouth, Catenna struggles to hold in a peal of honest-to-goodness giggles. Her shoulders shake and her eyes water at the outer corners as she giggles along with Jacqueline, swept up in the contagious laughter.
By the time Kourin throws the ball to her, she's giggling enough that she can't quite catch it. It bounces off her hands, and she tumbles back into the sand. The puppies bound after her.
The pair of little dogs clamber atop her but she just can't stop giggling uncharacteristically.
<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
"My apologies, Miss Kourin," comes Ethius' reply at the undeclared toss. It all works out. Puppies are having fun, everyone involved is smiling and laughing... well, it can't be confirmed if he's smiling under there. Laughing, he seems to be able to keep that in - if he's even of the mind. His eyes have not lit up with any of the all-consuming joy of life in the company of innocent creatures that only seek love and companionship.
What kind of a heart does a man like that have, if he can keep a straight face through puppies?!
The strange man closes his eyes and re-alings himself in his seated position, exhaling loudly. Moments like these should be savored, shouldn't they? More actively participated in. Yet, there he is, sitting there just content to unobtrusively allow Kourin and Catenna to go over teaching the puppies how to play with a ball.
<Pose Tracker> Kourin has posed.
Kourin just smiles and nods at Ethius. How far the shy mage has come from never meeting anyone's eyes!
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
It takes Jacqueline a bit to get herself back under control after that fit of giggling. She wipes a tear away from her eye and takes a deep breath, a wide smile still on her face.
This was what they needed, really. This is what she needed. She picks up her notebook again, stowing it away carefully in her bags.
<Pose Tracker> Catenna has posed.
It does seem to be exactly what they needed, doesn't it? The sun's beginning to slip towards the horizon, but Catenna, at least, has managed to sunset her giggles by now. She's still blushing gently as she sits up, her smile sheepish as she wipes at her eyes. "Goodness," she manages, struggling to try and draw her usual dignity back around her.
There's something else in that smile, too, as she hugs a puppy in each arms and looks out at her friends. A look of simple happiness. One she hasn't felt in awhile. A shadow passes across her for a moment as she makes eye contact with Jay for a moment.
One of the puppies whimpers a little. Catenna's smile breaks. She blinks.
Then she realizes it's a big shadow that's crossing her. She looks up.
Overhead, a large white shape is soaring overhead, passing by and away from the group without noticing them. The shape is that of a large bird, possibly some kind of stubby-necked raptor of snowy plumage. Its broad wings are held out at a slight angle, as if soaring.
It could be a raptor, anyway, if it weren't about a solid ten or fifteen times the size of a normal bird of prey.
<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
Ethius' head turns as the large shadow appears over them. He rises up as to get a better view of what it is that's casting it. The thumb on his right hand crosses over the two fingers nearest, the remaining extending out at differing angles - a familiar gesture to those that have traveled with him for as long as they have. A precautionary adoption of the early stages of a Symbological spell's set of gestures.
Every part of him freezes still, as though waiting for further sound or movement. Any potential screeching calls, or any sounds of giant wings beating to displace air...
"I may suggest it is time to bring Taara and Snowlune back within the CaraKin." Ethius suggests in an overly wordy way where 'it is time to go inside' says basically the same thing!!!
<Pose Tracker> Kourin has posed.
Kourin's eyes widen. "Yes, I believe you may be correct, Mr. Ethius." She, too, is readying a spell, though hopes not to have to fire it off here. "Perhaps all of us should consider that a good time to head for cover..."
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
Jacqueline gets to her feet as a large shadow soars overhead. She studies it with a slight frown for a moment before glancing down to Catenna, silently asking her opinion on the situation.
It was an impressive creature, certainly...but also a dangerous one.
Ethius is the one who speaks first, and Jacqueline nods in agreement.
"Yes, I agree." She says, glancing between all of them.
<Pose Tracker> Catenna has posed.
As she watches the enormous shape passing overhead, Catenna presses her lips tightly together. Her shoulders come up a little.
"Yes... yes, it would be best to get inside," she murmurs. Gathering the shivering puppies up in her arms, she pushes to her feet. She can feel Jacqueline's eyes on her, but the look she sends back to her friend is tinged with questions of her own - she seems as in the dark as Jacqueline.
She hustles back towards the CaraKin, but the immense bird doesn't seem to notice the group below. With a heavy wingbeat, it sails a little higher into the air and lets the heat radiating off the desert carry it off towards the horizon. A low sound comes echoing over the sand as the bird vanishes into the distance.
A low, rolling 'hoo-oo-oooh' sound, like thunder. Catenna widens her eyes. "...An owl that large," she murmurs.
<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
For his part, Ethius seems to be willing to take up the rear as everyone finds themselves coaxed to get back inside the CaraKin while the sun starts to set. Maybe this entire event is the cover he needs in order to conduct the fabled seventh survey for buried landmines, while everyone is busy seeing to the safety of the puppies and themselves...!
"Miss Catenna? Is something the matter?" Does he even need to ask? He follows inside the CaraKin once everyone else is confirmed inside.
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
If even Catenna didn't know anything about this, then...
...Well, the important thing right now was to get inside. She follows the others into the CaraKin, and once everyone is inside she locks the door behind them.
Just in case.
"I haven't heard of such a thing. It was...impressive, but...frightening, at the same time..." Jacqueline comments.
<Pose Tracker> Kourin has posed.
Kourin, having ushered the pups indoors, glances over her shoulder at Catenna. "Miss Catenna...are you well?"
<Pose Tracker> Catenna has posed.
"I've just... never seen one quite so large before," Catenna admits, her cheeks a little pale as she trundles into the CaraKin with the others.
Once under cover, the priestess sets Snowlune and Taara down, ushering them off with a little pat. An anxiety hangs around her eyes like a shadow as she takes a few steps away. Both arms fold across her midsection; she almost appears to hug herself, as if it could chase away some dire mood.
Finally she lifts her gaze, clearing her throat softly. "...An owl's senses are very keen in the dark. If it is out at night, it must be out to hunt," she explains, her tone low and almost haunted. "Though, one wonders what so large a bird considers suitable prey...."
<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
Ethius brings a hand to his forehead as Catenna works out her fears and intrigue in consideration of this large bird. None of them appear to recognize it. Should he? They still don't quite have a bead on where he's come from, or what, exactly, he is supposed to be doing in these parts... but for the silence that follows, he does not seem to be able to draw anything from his own experiences in which to reassure or ease the priestess.
"That is a most curious question, indeed." He speaks up at last, lowering the hand from his forehead. He keeps his gaze level among the three of them as the puppies are seen off to wherever they will begin to calm down and rest for the day. "Perhaps it might seek younger sandworms, but that is just a theory."
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
"I...almost think I don't want to know..." Jacqueline admits, with a hint of a shiver. She takes a seat one one of the sofas, sighing and letting herself sink into the seat.
Sandworms sounded reasonable, and perhaps the least horrible option.
Yes, let's go with that.
"And...I have to wonder if there are more out there, and where it came from..."
<Pose Tracker> Kourin has posed.
Kourin trembles. "Let's...please not think of that."
<Pose Tracker> Catenna has posed.
"There are usually few large creatures like that," Catenna admits in a lower, steadier voice, though still underlaid by that chord of quiet worry. Turning to look towards Ethius, then Jacqueline, she presses her lips together, collecting her thoughts a moment.
Bad memories haunt the recesses of her mind. A little grave left in a place far away.
"There is little we can do about it now. It has passed us by. We can keep our eyes open for creatures like it, but this may be the limit on what we can achieve, at the moment." She pushes her hair back with a smooth sweep of one hand. "Sandworms are... certainly possible. Though an owl will often catch insects in flight."
Catenna dips her eyelids just a little. "More often they prefer to swoop down and catch small mammals in the dark. Mice, especially."
<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
"It would appear we have made the right call to retreat within shelter." Ethius suggests, gaze and posture unmoving even as Catenna speaks and explains through some of the behaviors in which she could measure the experience against. It also sounds as though if any of them were to be considered viable prey, any one of them - or maybe two - would have been taken away on that very spot.
The fear and relative quiet of the puppies probably says a whole lot more than anything he could.
"If anyone recalls the direction of the creature's approach relative to our present location, that might set us a future warning as to what directions not to travel at dusk," Ethius continues to suggest, "if such might put us at ease from fear of future encounter."
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
Small mammals, huh...?
That's what she was afraid of. They'd probably look pretty small to a bird like that...
"Good idea..." Jacqueline says with a nod toward Ethius. "We'll probably be fine if we're in the Carakin, but it'll be a reminder not to go too far beyond it otherwise."
Hopefully, though, it wouldn't be too much of a concern...