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 Posted: Fri Nov 06, 2015 6:41 pm
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It was notably dark as Masoal stood perched on the twining roots of a very large, old tree, staring up into its branches. While the moonlight any evening was spotty at best—the canopy in this stretch of the forest was especially thick—it was decidedly dimmer than usual. Overhead, past the expanse of the natural ceiling, the clouds were shifting at an impressive rate. In less than a minute, the moons were visible again, casting the smallest pinpricks of light onto the tealblood's face.
The air smelled like rain and the wind carried the sound of bells from closeby. It had been like this for nights already, but Alternia remained dry regardless, and the energy of the forest felt like a child on the edge of their seat waiting for a wriggling day present that was a little too late for their liking.
Sometimes Masoal felt like an extension of the trees. It was significantly rarer to find him on the forest floor, after all, he was so often flung among the branches. So, it wasn't all that much of a surprise when the vibrant energy of expectance that had the forest alight had him revved up, too. Masoal was always ready to go (well, almost always), but tonight he was ready. It felt like his body was vibrating, muscles tense. He wanted to run. He wanted to feel the night air whipping through his hair. He wanted-
A small grunt from above woke him from his sudden decent into fervor, reminding him there was work to be done. There was a reason he was down here, after all. Tsking under his breath, Masoal finally moved from the roots, beginning the mundane task of gathering all the bells that had fallen from the branches above. It happened every once in a while, but with as hard as he put it off, there were more than a handful to be collected. It was going to be a long night.
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Posted: Sat Nov 07, 2015 12:01 am
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It was going to be a long night. In fact, it was going to be a longer night.
The smell of stale fast food permeated the train. Emi, in her excitement, thought to pick up some lunch when she immediately saw it. She then proceeded to ignore Maccue, whom very patiently attempted to explain that there were fast food chains in Four Fronds also, but Emi had absolutely none of it. Rather, she just did it ignorantly anyway. Cut forward an hour. Emi had the McD's. Within the confines of her precious parcel were, firstly, the filet o' fish, a very important item that she was sure would aid her on her journey. Second, was the big mac, not to be confused with the little one of the same name. Finally was the holy grail, the mother of all treasures, the twenty piece nugget. She held the lukewarm cardboard box so gingerly in her hands, resisting the urge to eat another fry before she reached her destination.
Thankfully, the train came to a stop in no time. Emiola was right on time.
Maccue was nervous. Maccue was always nervous. Emiola was prepared for this, which was to say, not actually prepared at all. This was okay. Maccue didn't believe so but she would prove this to the paranoid lusus. They had a competition, an unsung competition, and Emi was the winner. She was always the winner. For three nights did this battle wage. On the first rising of the moon did the tealblood plead with her father: Let me return to the forest, and Maccue denied her. There was civil unrest. The war was to be expected. Three. Long. Nights. Emi refused sleep. She refused food. She drummed. She drummed all morning long. Maccue cracked.
A couple naps later and an overly marketed energy drink and she was absolutely raring to go. She knew these forests well (Maccue would say otherwise). The bag clutched delicately in her hands was greasy and cold. It wouldn't matter.
She was particularly quiet as she walked, which even perplexed Maccue. Usually she was busy making a symphony of noise, conducting an artistic rendition of the natural instruments provided to her. The wind blew. Emi heard the bells in the far distance immediately.
It went like that for a while: quiet waking, stopping, waiting for the wind and then continuing. Emi had a nose for sound, er, an ear perhaps, but her ability to search things out was rather uncanny to the lusus.
Maccue readied himself for this probably awful and tragic encounter.
Eventually, she saw him, scuttled on the ground. Maccue kept her hidden a considerable distance away. There was a time, a place, a method to this sort of thing.
"HEEEE~EEY! BUDDDDY!" Emi's shrill voice carried across the forest, "I BROUGHT MC D'S!"
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Posted: Wed Nov 11, 2015 7:54 am
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It was going to be a long, long unbelievable night. Who would've thought it? That next time Emiola predicted was happening, after all. Against his will, Masoal might add.
When her shriek pierced the otherwise peaceful night, every last one of the multiple bells Masoal had gathered went clattering back to the forest floor. The fight-mode-engage was immediate and obvious as his back arched and his claws flexed out in front of him. Even his hair looked wilder, fluffed and framing the snarl on his face.
Large eyes flickered around the area, shimmering with aggression, but whatever had made the downright awful call was hidden somewhere among the underbrush. It didn't matter. The wind blew again. The hunter caught their scent. Unfortunately for whoever it was—the voice was familiar, but Masoal hadn't tried very hard to remember—there was no hiding here. This was his home, all the scents all the sounds... any small disturbance was a notable one to him.
Slowly creeping to all fours, Masoal inched forward, stalking straight at the scents. Despite their trips to the Fronds for supplies, he had no concept of what McD's was, or why the closer he got, the better it smelled. Masoal couldn't have picked out anything unusual about the aroma, not that it was old and certainly not that if he somehow got his hands on it that it would be just as cold, too. That didn't matter, either. The tealblood was mesmerized.
Everything about Masoal was still at attention, but he appeared vaguely less agitated, even with the scents of the other creatures continuing to mingle with the food (was it even food, he just couldn't tell). His crawl slowed to a standstill, and he perched on his toes, staring out into the forest. A low, warning grunt was what he decided on after a while, assuredly not friendly, but no where near as aggressive as it could've been.
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Posted: Thu Nov 12, 2015 4:12 pm
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There he was, there he was. "We got 'em now dad..." she whispered mischievously to her lusus, ignoring how he was literally breathing down his neck, beak cracked open. He was ready to swallow up the hem of her shirt and take off again, but he made a promise, and he was god awful at making decisions when disappointing Emiola was a possibility.
Meanwhile the tealblood giggled, watching Masoal as he lumbered out carefully. His grunt echoed carefully in the woodland. Emi wiggled in her spot, returning the call with a high pitched, squealy sort of chirp-and-whistle. Shortly after, she leaped out from her hiding spot, wearing an enormous grin.
"Buddy! Buddy! It's me!" she was waving the bag obnoxiously. She stopped suddenly, realizing she was probably making a french fry rave party occur inside of the bag, looking at the grease stained bag indifferently. Huh. Oh well.
"Anyway man! I brought some McD's! Figured you probably never had any of the good stuff, huh." she was back to looking mischievous, hand digging into the—oh, yup, fry rave party central in here. She plucked one out and ate it in her distracted state. OH, RIGHT.
She produced one of the precious, wrapped up parcels, but then tucked it away again. No, you had to start these things off carefully, and the Big Mac was a Big Commitment. Instead, she pulled out the cardboard nugget container, popping it open. Gripping one of the cooled nuggets, she offered it out to the fellow tealblood, Maccue watching the duo carefully.
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Posted: Mon Jan 18, 2016 1:24 pm
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"It's me!"
Now, Masoal wasn't one for talking. In fact, he'd learned speech much slower than most, and despite his sharp thinking, his knack for forming those thoughts into something intelligible wasn't quite up to snuff in the long run. That didn't matter right now. As soon as he saw who it was leaping from the bushes, his own words mingling with her cry of it's me, the feral child gaped his maw and gasped out a disbelieving reply.
"It's you?!"
That kid he'd met before, that idiotic troll who'd been headed for his hive, who covered her face with her hair like she wanted to die and completely ignored all of his attempts to threaten her off. Never in his wildest dreams had Masoal expected to see her again. Why would her lusus allow her back? Why would she come back of her own volition?
What did she want from him? No, better yet, how had she gotten so close to his hive? She'd been so noisy before, so much so he couldn't believe he hadn't heard her coming a mile away. They were only steps away from his hive here and she'd brought that bird. Masoal could feel the fine hairs on the back of his neck quivering to a stand, but, swallowing hard, he bit back the worry for now.
"Why? he hissed out low, rising from his haunches to full height. "Why are-"
Like a gem, it sparkled in her hand when the moonlight hit it. The scent that wafted off of it wasn't like any animal Masoal had ever eaten and its appearance was so utterly foreign and unnatural that he couldn't understand why his mouth was suddenly watering. He didn't know the word McD's and he didn't recognize a chicken nugget, but he was intrigued enough to momentarily forget what he'd been frazzled about.
Squinting at the treat, he tilted his head one way, then back the other, seemingly examining it from every direction. It could easily be a trap and he was wary, but he took a few short steps forward regardless. Like a curious animal, Masoal's nostrils flared. "... What is that?"
Melancholies I'm sensing a trend here.
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Posted: Mon Jan 18, 2016 9:04 pm
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"IT'S ME!" she exclaimed back, exuberant and melting liquid energy, the nugget wavering in her hand a little. Masoal was interested. This was good. Emi was pleased.
She waved the treat temptingly, smile widening. "It's a uh, y'known, cluckbeast nugget." she wondered if he understood that. Surely he did, right? "Uhh. Meat?" okay he had to get that one for sure.
"Anyway! I just thought my best bro could use a little McD'ssssss" she slurred, an idea coming to mind. Taking the nugget that she was offering out, she instead shoved it wholly into her mouth, chewing loudly as she got another. "Sfee? Shafe." she spoke with her mouth full, but hopefully it would get the point across.
She swallowed before she spoke again, giggling, "Anyway I never got your name! c'monnnnn how can we be friends if I don't know youuuuuu. I just wanna shaaaaaare." she drawled, also taking a few casual steps towards the fellow tealblood.
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Posted: Sun Apr 24, 2016 10:13 am
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There might not have been any cluckbeasts in the forest, but Masoal had a vague understanding of the word, one only solidified by the revelation of meat that soon followed. It smelled too ******** good and he wanted it, whatever strange animal it was. He wanted to try it. Sneaking a couple steps closer, all but ignoring any comments about best bros and McD's, he only snapped his attention from the nugget and back to Emiola when she shoved his prize into her mouth as if she had a right.
Masoal was bristling again. "That... that was mine!" he bubbled angrily. As she stepped forward now, he began to step back. "You don't know me, we aren't friends, you didn't share!" Not that he would've shared either, were he in her place. He would've defended his meal tooth and nail.
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Posted: Mon Apr 25, 2016 2:26 pm
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Posted: Mon Apr 25, 2016 6:03 pm
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Eyes went wide as her hand disappeared and he all but trained them there, watching, waiting. Masoal realized then he'd been too hasty, and Frossmom was likely shaking her head from the trees as she often did, but in the moment it hardly mattered. The smell of meat grew more prominent again and there in her hand, his prize. It shone like gold, just as it had before, and his mouth was watering. It was a vicious cycle, but this time... this time, Masoal was ready to pounce. He'd have that nugget, he would, he-
"Heads up my dude!"
In that very instant his muscles grew tense and his eyes narrowed to sharp focus on the movement of her arm. He was like a wild animal honed in on his prey, a cat ready to snatch a bird from the air mid-flight. All of his senses were heightened and he was ready. Except the lob was hardly worth the effort it took to prepare.
When it weakly soared his way, Masoal caught the nugget with ease, hardly moving from where he stood. It squished awkwardly in his hand and he stared hard at it closed between his fingers. The texture was like nothing he remembered feeling before, at least not something he was expected to eat. Still, he'd wanted this treat with a fierceness he usually reserved for his bells, so there was no way he was going to reject it. Besides, his mouth was still watering...
He shoved the entire nugget into his mouth, chewing and chewing and likely looking ridiculous in the process. There was a light in his eyes when he looked back up at Emiola, swallowing hard. "It's good..." he muttered with a surprising calmness. "It's good." And now he was taking a few steps forward. "More?"
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Posted: Wed Apr 27, 2016 5:22 pm
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“Oh dude, nice!” she cheered when Masoal caught it; Emi was none the wiser to how effortless it actually was for the tealblood, and she probably never would. She was impressed, but she then again, what wasn't she impressed with.
Maccue was chittering nervously behind her. Fossamom might be exasperated with the situation (or at least her stupid charge), but the lusus still saw the duo as a massive threat while Emi did… apparently not. It was honestly very worrisome. Sure, she was a midblood and she’d probably escape certain things that would nail a lowblood, but her lack of trepidation was… well, basically stupidity. Maccue wasn’t sure he liked how that reflected on him.
Oblivious Emi remained ignorant to Maccue’s woes, instead reaching into the cooled cardboard container for another nugget. “Heck yeah! There’s a lot more where that came from, buddy.” It was incredible! She was maybe making progress with her friend! God, they were going to be such absolute besties that she could taste it. It tasted good. Almost as good as the stale nuggets, but not quite. Pretty damn close though.
“Actually, I got some other stuff too,” she mentioned off hand as she extended another morsel, ever friendly. “Personally, I think the nuggets are the best, but you might be more of a fish guy. You like fish?” She honestly wasn’t even sure if the fish from McDs was even real or not, so maybe comparing it to actual fish wasn’t the best idea, but hey. It still tasted pretty good, and that was all that really mattered.
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Posted: Thu Jun 09, 2016 7:44 am
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Masoal didn't care about compliments or pleasantries and, for once, he didn't care about the chittering of her freakish lusus behind her. What stole his focus entirely was the promise of more. As strange as it was, Emiola was making progress. Weird, skewed, could this really be considered friendship progress, but progress nonetheless.
The best way to this little animal's bloodpusher was through his stomach.
"More..." he repeated, looking stiff, but rather close to her now. This time she didn't have to throw it, he took it straight from her hand. "What else?" Chewing greedily as she continued, his eyebrows perked up.
"Fish? I like fish. I want fish."
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Posted: Sat Dec 10, 2016 9:09 am
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"Well my dude are you in ever-loving luck." A few rummaging sounds later, Emiola produced the fish filet, its contents greasy and lukewarm at best. Still, Masoal didn't seem to mind that with the nuggets. Emi could appreciate that quality in a troll. He wasn't picky, and neither was she. Had she a more poetic conscious, she might be able to make a comparison to her choice in friends. People like Masoal.
But she didn't, and she likely never would. Instead she was all smiles as she daintily went to unwrapping the food, miraculously having some amount of foresight to know that Masoal probably would try to eat the non-biodegradable packaging. Good on you Emi.
"Here, it's yours buddy man." she snickered as she handed it over, "You know, since we're friends, I can totally bring more the next time I visit. Because you know, this was Emiola "Clueless" Vivace, and there would most assuredly be a next time.
"Honestly, I can't believe you live this close to Four Fronds and yet you like, haven't had McD's. It's bombastic man." she busied herself with a nugget of her own, savoring the cold soggy taste.
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Posted: Sat Dec 10, 2016 9:21 am
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It was in Masoal's best interest at this point to refrain from claiming they weren't friends—they weren't, after all, he didn't have friends—so he kept his mouth shut as he took the sandwich from her. The soft squish of the bun beneath his fingers had him mesmerized. The smell, ever-captivating, lured him in. He took a bite and knew in that instant that this was the best thing Emiola's McD's had to offer. Even Masoal would deal with having a "friend" if he meant more of this.
"You can bring more," he told her before shoving his face back into the cold fillet o' fish. It almost sounded more like a demand than just an agreement. With his mouth full, he added, "Don't leave the forest unless-" chew, chew, swallow, "-I really, really have to. Not good. Stay in the forest."
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Posted: Sat Dec 10, 2016 9:37 am
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Emiola tilted her head. "Not good?" She mulled the statement over for a bit, which was to say she didn't think about it very long. "But like, the city has so much cool stuff dude, like this" she waved the carton of chicken again, "And like, thiiiis," she stuck her leg out and shook it, emphasizing what she thought were the most radical Velcro sneakers. "And like! Thiiiiis!" she wiggled her fingers on that last one. What she was referring to was anyone's guess.
"Besides, the forest doesn't have music." she said matter-of-factly. "Unless there was like, some magical woodland drumset carved into a tree somewhere. That'd be kickass." Maccue pecked her on her head at the swear, making the tealblood wince with a small hop. She didn't apologize.
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