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Post by Sulwyn on Sept 8, 2014 23:10:32 GMT -6
LIGHTS WILL GUIDE YOU HOME
✿She was learning patience, to be quiet and not move around so much. She'd never waited for a meal outside of a cage.. so being able to run around, to let out her excitement? It felt more than natural and she had so much bottled up within her. But the older woman often made her quiet down and be still before giving her her favorite treats.. red fruits. Grapes. Apples. Strawberries. She loved them all. Sulwyn tried to settle herself down, really, and it was evident with how low she was on the ground. Occassionally she huffed or rowled a bit inside her throat - the tail wagging fiercly in waving motions behind her. An ear twitched here or there, but her nose kept firmly focused on everything.. and her eyes followed her caretaker's hands to the inch. Soon, a plate was set down before her and she immediately shot her head down to scoop up a large bite of egg into her mouth. She chewed it, hands still planted firmly at the sides of the dish, and scooped up another and another. The milk took quite a long time to drink. Her tongue was mostly human.. though perhaps a bit thinner, it had no great length and wasn't born to drink from a flattened surface in lapping motions. She was patient with it though, taking her time and getting what she could before continuing to eat the main dish - having not even noticed the biscuit with fruit jam along it quite yet. The woman spoke, and so her ears went up as a sign that she was listening though she never stopped eating. Her nose bumped against the dish a tad as she ate the bits further down. When the fox girl heard something that sounded like - what she recognized now to be - a question, she lifted her head and simply... sat there. Her eyes looked up at the woman, ears still but at loose attention, and blinked a couple of times. She had no idea how to answer.. had no idea what the woman had said. But she knew it was something that deserved a response - and so she gave her one and politely stopped eating even before she'd realized the sweet biscuit. tag: GERALDINE ▪ words: 374 ▪ ooc: - Learning! |
BY KERRIA ♥ OF GANGNAM STYLE
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Post by Geraldine Killian on Sept 9, 2014 0:02:17 GMT -6
Geraldine smiled at the young kit. She was trying. She was slowly getting there. It all depended on her teachers. Geraldine didn't know much about teaching, unfortunately, but she did know a few things about learning. Repetition was good, but that was knowledge, it didn't have a use if you had to repeat it to learn it. Things that were useful should be things you use every day so you don't have to recite them repetitiously.
She took a bite of her sandwich. One of the last bites, she noticed, as she was coming to the end of the roll. She sipped the milk to wash down the crusty bread roll and then stole a strawberry from the table.
She watched to see Sul finish her plate, and made sure it was all done, before she leaned down and plopped a strawberry on the plate for her.
"To fight off the chill of the wind." She smiled, then popped a second one into her own mouth.
Just as she did this, the door opened and her mother strode in.
"Ah, you're both awake and have had breakfast. Fantastic. Your father went out earlier. Said there's a call for extra training to all troops and there might be more rigorous inspections."
Geraldine made a small noise in her throat. "...I suppose he wants me to report immediately..." She sighed through her nose.
"Actually..." her mother started. Geraldine turned to look at her, an eyebrow raised. "A courier came this morning. Sometime before dawn. He stayed at the Inn and met with me on the way back to the house. That's why I took so long. I returned to the barracks to deliver it to your father. He read it and said you're going to need to rest up. The council and even the Lord himself wants to speak to you about what happened in the tournament. It's also likely you'll be recruited for the new policies they'll be having regarding travel. You'll need to be there in a week... so if I were you..." She glanced at Sulwyn.
Geraldine did the same. It was true... if she were gone, it would be a less accommodating house for Sulwyn, likely... but what could be done about it? Duty calls. Sulwyn wouldn't understand "goodbye" or "I'll be home in a few weeks." And her nightmares hadn't slaked...
Lady Killian came up and put a hand on Geraldine's shoulder. "I very much doubt your father will be home much while you're gone, and I'm also fairly certain he's both proud and black with jealousy that you're being called on by the Lord himself. So he'll be doing his best to have something of equal or greater worth to present at the Hall soon. You know Morgan. He won't be thinking of ... domestic things. I'll keep her company as much as I can."
Geraldine nodded her head softly. "I appreciate it, mother. Soups, mostly, please. i give her eggs and fruit now and again, and of course a little bread so she gains weight... but..."
"She might not be strong enough to have potatoes and meat yet? I understand. We'll keep babying her a bit. She's looking much better in any case."
"My cooking may not be classy, but it's nutritious."
"Not every tasty either..."
"Mother!"
"Hehehehe..."
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Post by Sulwyn on Sept 9, 2014 0:47:44 GMT -6
LIGHTS WILL GUIDE YOU HOME
✿It wasn't long until she'd sniffed down towards the biscuit and made quick work of it. Ohhh and then the strawberry! It was plain to see how excited she'd gotten over the tiny fruit, having scarffed it down perhaps a bit too fast with a small cough at the end and a confused blink at what had happened - rather innocent in expression. No harm done though. One ear twitched off to the side at an odd direction towards the front door of the house before it opened and the mother marched in. Sulwyn scurried a bit just from being surprised, but settled - listening and watching. They sure did talk a lot... for a while... Why couldn't she understand? It was annoying for her, frustrating that they got to have all these conversations and she wasn't involved. She walked around them on the floor a bit, moving between them and looking up at them both. Soon they'd each looked down at her at the same time and Sulwyn could tell she was either being talked about.. or to.. and it made her so anxiously upset with herself that she let out a bark and pouted off back towards her milk to take a few more drinks with her tongue, tail flicking every once in a while, the bottom of her small dress flipping along with it. Finally it was gone and she just walked around it to look back up to them in a form of impatience. She let out another bark, a louder one, and stood up on all fours with a sort-of jerking movement to reinstate that she was existing in the room. tag: GERALDINE ▪ words: 277 ▪ ooc: - I'm here, I'm here! |
BY KERRIA ♥ OF GANGNAM STYLE
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Post by Geraldine Killian on Sept 9, 2014 1:21:41 GMT -6
Sulwyn was desperately trying to get Geraldine's attention, which finally worked. Geraldine leaned down and patted the young girl on the head.
"Then I guess a little walk wouldn't kill us, huh, Sulwyn? We'll go to the plateau by the river where the berry thickets grow and spend the day there. Sound nice? Yeah, you bet it does!" Her mother was putting several rolls into a basket as Ger spoke, adding a small jar of strawberry preserves and set of cups to drink from, which Ger would have to help Sul with, but they'd have to cross that bridge eventually, might as well start now.
Geraldine stepped over to a cabinet then.
"My first year book, mother... wasn't it in here?"
"Yes. Third drawer. Be careful with it." Geraldine nodded to the gentle coaxing. Her mother only had one child. This book had fond memories of when Ger was growing up with her mother, back before she could spend as much time training and doing things that her father found more appropriate. Back before he'd given up hope on finding a successor to marry into the family.
She shook the thought from her head and smiled at Sulwyn. "Then I guess we'll be on our way, eh?" She tucked the book into the basket and began walking to the door.
"Let's go, Sulwyn. Stay with me!"
She opened the door and started down the road. It wasn't far down the little path to where she was going. This time of year found it bursting with flowers and various insects that enjoyed the sun. Geraldine spread out the blanket near the stream and sat down on it, patting the area next to her so Sulwyn could come sit beside her.
"Look, Sulwyn..." She opened the book and began showing the little one the pictures. "...See this? This is a bird. Biiiirdah. This bird is IN a cage... and this bird is OUT the window. Iiiin... and oooout... What color are the birds? ... are they red? No, they're not red. Red is what color Sulwyn is. The birds are blue, like the sky."
She just prayed that all of this was going to eventually be worth the trouble... that somehow Sulwyn would understand even a little of it.
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Post by Sulwyn on Sept 9, 2014 22:27:27 GMT -6
LIGHTS WILL GUIDE YOU HOME
✿Outside? They were actually going to go outside? The kit hopped around as much as she could on her good leg and hands - tail flipping wildly and vocallizing with each and every hasty breath she took. Chirps here, little excited whines there, until eventually the door opened and she limped her little way out. She probably would've started sprinting around and away to explore if she would've been able. The scents were wonderful and she was welcomed by her grasslike favorite texture again between her toes and fingers. Her caretaker had called after her to stay with her, and though the words didn't make much sense she still felt obligated to go closer to her side. On the way towards the stream the fox sniffed every single thing she could with great interest. Ohhh, that rock smelled nice... and that moss too. That mushroom was sour, that flower was so sweet- "HN-PFF!" the pollen went up her nose and she immediately sneezed with a shaking head, blinking right after and looking over to Geraldine as if she could explain to her what on earth had just happened. It was really only a second later before she was distracted again and followed at a distance either at the woman's side or a bit behind. She'd adjusted easily to the blanket, walking around a few times in a circle before settling on her rump and sniffing around Geraldine's hands a bit too close as she removed the book and started opening it. Immediately - the fox kit's eyes locked onto the images. She'd never seen an item like this before. They weren't real... so did humans have the ability to make images like this? A bird! She knew that one. .....A cage.......... that looked like her cage... Metal rungs stretched up high above her head and around her sides with a flat, cold bottom. When the woman started speaking again, she heard her name spoken out towards her like it was a fact. Oh... so the woman... was okay with the cage then? Would she put her back when she could walk alright? Sulwyn's eyes slowly slid up to Geraldine as if her heart had sunk into her stomach. Her caretaker was going to have her in the cage again.. The ears on the sides of her head lowered with a loose and limp movement and her face turned pale as she stared with fear up at her. Silent. Still. Hardly even breathing. The next move the woman would make, so much as an inch, would send her scurrying back a few feet across the blanket for fear that it was time to take her back to that uncomfortable thing. tag: GERALDINE ▪ words: 447 ▪ ooc: - I don't want to go back.. |
BY KERRIA ♥ OF GANGNAM STYLE
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Post by Geraldine Killian on Sept 10, 2014 0:36:59 GMT -6
As Geraldine turned the page in the book to show Sulwyn flowers and berries, something she knew Sulwyn would like and hopefully latch onto with her young mind, she scuttled away and had a look of fear to her. Geraldine blinked in surprise and looked around to determine what kind of snake or crawlie had frightened her. Geraldine looked down at the book then and at the page and last night came back to her.
The scars...
The cage...
Geraldine turned to Sulwyn then with understanding new in her eyes. "...Sulwyn doesn't like the cage... because Sulwyn was in one."
Her hand reached out to Sulwyn softly. "...Sulwyn I would never put a child of Orik in a cage..." She realized easily that Sulwyn did not understand what she was saying. The redhead sighed softly and reached down to the book and the page that had the cage on it.
"Forgive me, mother... I know I said I'd take good care of it but... she doesn't understand words..." Geraldine then ripped out the page with the picture on it and held it up for Sulwyn to see. Then she took the page in her hands and ripped it in half, and in half again and then threw it into the air.
"No cage."
Would the child understand? She didn't know. She hoped so. It would be terrible to have to explain to her mother than her precious book had been mutilated for no reason. But her mother would probably understand... hopefully...
"I promise, Sulwyn. No cage."
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Post by Sulwyn on Sept 10, 2014 14:02:01 GMT -6
LIGHTS WILL GUIDE YOU HOME
✿Her breath was rather hasty in and out of her nose, her little chest rising as she sat straight and still on the balls of her feet and tips of her fingers - ready to try and flee at a moment's notice. She wouldn't go back.. she didn't like it there. The woman kept saying her 'name' which only made her muscles tense up more and more - the hair on her tail and ears ruffling upwards instead of lying flat and calmed. When she extended her hand out before starting to tear at the page, Sulwyn scuttered back again, further, and bared her tiny fangs in a sign of defense - not aggression. But then it tore some more in the woman's hands.. and then more. Eventually, Sulwyn couldn't even tell what the image was anymore. She blinked, her lips falling back into place over her teeth, and her hair settled a little. No cage. 'No cage'. The pieces scattered everywhere and Sulwyn looked back to the woman, then the book. She understood just fine. She understood this like a girl. In a quick change of expression, the fox pounced on a few of the torn pieces on the grass that were closer together, snarling at them and making a rather odd growl before stomping her palms all over them to wrinkle them further into the ground. "No-u cay!" she pronounced in a tiny growl, not very intimidating.. but angered all the same. "No-u cay!" she huffed down at it finally, glaring, and put her rump down to sit at the woman's side while eyeing the 'dead' pieces of paper. "Hmph!..." she didn't care if she got in trouble for speaking. She felt good about that outburst. tag: GERALDINE ▪ words: 447 ▪ ooc: - I don't want to go back.. |
BY KERRIA ♥ OF GANGNAM STYLE
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Post by Geraldine Killian on Sept 11, 2014 11:00:48 GMT -6
"No-u Cay! No-u Cay!"Geraldine's breath stopped as the child took her revenge on the "horrific" image of a bird in a cage and decimated it into the ground. She understood... she not only understood, she spoke. Possibly with all the diction of a toddler, but it was speaking, and that was something! She gently reached her hand out and patted Sulwyn's head before pulling her into a gentle hug. The child would be alright. She would be fine. She would grow up well and smart and become a shining beacon for the country. One of hope. She released Sulwyn and looked back down at the book. It had flipped pages during the commotion about the cage and was now sitting on a new section. The page it was now on had a great white stag with his tree antlers in full bloom with leaves and flowers, with birds roosting in them.  Geraldine held up the book for Sulwyn to see it again. "Look, Sulwyn. This is Orik. Have you ever seen Orik before? Do you know who this is?"It was a long shot and it probably wouldn't work, but it might tell her something, maybe. If Sulwyn remembered seeing Orik, she might remember receiving her gift. Though the chances of that were so slim it was almost not worth thinking of, and it had very few impacts on life in general... Still it was a much nicer and less grim topic than the one they'd discussed. She didn't want to focus on the cage. If it were a bad memory, better to leave it in the past. She also didn't want to focus on Sulwyn's speech. If she got excited about it and Sulwyn didn't understand and mistook it for rebuff, she might refuse to speak anymore. That wasn't what she wanted to come of this lesson. It would be the opposite, really. And she wasn't sure what Sulwyn knew of as far as the common tongue. She patted her head again. "Good girl."
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Post by Sulwyn on Sept 13, 2014 22:56:25 GMT -6
LIGHTS WILL GUIDE YOU HOME
✿Sulwyn went stiff when the woman put a hand on her head, her hair flattening and ears spreading out to the sides to make room instinctively from what was between them. She looked up at her, blinking a few times and getting ready to cower from doing something bad.. for speaking.. But that didn't happen apparently - Geraldine wasn't hitting her. She wasn't grabb her hair, her tail, or her neck. There wasn't a leather belt strapping around her neck or a whip slashing across her back. Instead, she had arms around her in a moment and was tugged into her. The fox took a second, but soon relaxed and let her ruffled hair finally settle back down. This wasn't bad at all... was she not being punished? Sulwyn looked down at the book as her caretaker pointed to it and spoke at it. She twisted her head a tad to the side in thought, occasionally looking up to her when she spoke, then back to the picture. She craned her neck down and sniffed at it, almost recognizing something about the image. She'd never seen it.. but it was a friendly image. Something she liked. The hand patted down on her head again and she looked up with an innocent confusion to the woman. A small fang curled over her bottom lip, still growing into it, and she lowered her head again to the book. Without lifting her hands, Sulwyn tried to nudge the next page with her nose. There was a friendly picture of a large kath mother and a few kath cubs. Sulwyn tilted her head the other way, her tail flopping down occasionally onto the blanket behind them. tag: GERALDINE ▪ words: 281 ▪ ooc: - Learning |
BY KERRIA ♥ OF GANGNAM STYLE
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Post by Geraldine Killian on Sept 14, 2014 10:46:58 GMT -6
The picture of the kath family was one explaining families in the forest. Cubs, kits, foals, hatchlings... the next few pages were full of different animals. Children from all different families all protected by Orik and his ways. Sulwyn represented both the protector and the protected, really. She was both kit and child.
They looked at pictures quietly for a while. Geraldine was satisfied with the progress they'd made. The sun was rising up further into the sky and the river looked calm and peaceful. The wind was cool but not cold. Early summer was always pleasant here in the mountains. The breezes kept things from being too warm and the sun kept things from being to cool. The smells were of pine and flowers and fresh water springs. It was a lovely place to live and grow.
It was her responsibility to make sure it stayed that way.
She began braiding some small purple flowers together that were near the blanket, humming softly. This place... She'd met him here often. She wondered what had become of him.
Her mind came back to the present as she realized she'd made a braid of the little purple flowers. She chuckled and then handed them to Sulwyn to play with. She thought of him often. Hopefully he was still out there somewhere doing alright. She had faith in him. He would come back someday. It was hard to keep that faith alive with no word from him... but... she couldn't imagine trying to mourn him. It... was too much for her. No. He had to be alive.
"Would you like to take a swim, Sulwyn? It's still a little early, but I see no harm in it." She sat up and stepped toward the water, leaning down and cupping some to drink then splashing her face. There were little minnows in the shallow end, darting silver in the water that was very cool. There weren't any rapids nearby, but because the mountains sloped down, the river moved at a steady clip.
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