Welcome to Our World [M]

DragonSong · January 12, 2019, 11:31:41 AM

Gwen watched Sharrow with a kind of curious wariness-- and then rather abruptly she snorted, crimson eyes glinting with mirth when he carried the whole basket to her. Obviously, he had no idea what it was exactly that she wanted.

"A curry," she told him with another small laugh, and lifted her hand to show him the round, groove-bristled brush she held. "This is called a curry comb. Just brush in circles over her coat, it'll loosen up all the dust and dirt. And it's like a massage for the horse, they love it."

quaggan · January 13, 2019, 02:14:50 AM

He proudly counted making her laugh as a success. His ego was never so bloated as to view someone laughing at him as an insult in the first place; and he wanted to make her comfortable therefore it was a step towards success.

"Curry? Like the dish?" he asked. He has never eaten it before - most Thanati had, but that didn't really apply to the Untouchables. He carefully approached the horse. Most of the time when he had to mount, there were grooms to assist, but if he were to ask the stablehands now, it would defeat the whole purpose of learning from Gwen. He could only hope that the horse wouldn't be spooked.

"You hear that?" he addressed the animal, as if it could understand him. He's caught some staff talking to them, so perhaps it wasn't too much off. "It's going to be pleasant, and I will do my best not to mess it up, so please stay still and do not kick the squishy mortal."

DragonSong · February 04, 2019, 11:47:43 AM

Tierna snorted, eyeing him warily, and Gwen laughed again. "Oh, don't mind him. I won't let him bother you," she assured the mare with a pat.

Looking to Sharrow again, she approached carefully and showed him how to slip his hand into the brush handle, then begin tracing circles over the grey's coat. "See? Easy."

quaggan · February 05, 2019, 11:49:33 AM

Perhaps he should have read her willingness to let him near her horse as a sign of trust. He would not abuse it. He held the brush as instructed, trying to mimic her grip and movement. Carefully, he began to rub the brush in circles on the horse's fur... skin... ah right, they called it a coat. "Is there any special rule, such as only brushing in one direction?" he asked.

DragonSong · February 05, 2019, 01:24:38 PM

"Well, with this brush you move your hand in circles." She guided his hand, showing him what she meant. "With pretty much any other brush, you follow what we call the grain of the hair— the direction it grows."

After a few more moments, she stepped back and watched him work.

quaggan · February 07, 2019, 07:08:40 AM

The assignment was rather simple, but Sharrow didn't allow himself to become complacent. One of his tutors kept repeating 'If there's a job worth doing, it's worth doing well' ad nauseum, and the human has never been the kind to half-ass anything. At first, it was a matter of survival, then a matter of principle. He paid close attention to the horse - if he did something wrong, he supposed Gwen would tell him, but any clues from the subject of his actions would not be as easy to read. "Is there any specific rule regarding brushing the mane?" he asked. At least he remembered this specific term and didn't make an idiot out of himself by calling it 'horse hair'.

DragonSong · February 10, 2019, 12:18:19 PM

"Oh, just yank a comb through it until you've worked out as many tangles as you can," Gwen replied carelessly. "I mean, try not to be deliberately harsh, but it's not quite the same as with human hair. It's not as sensitive, doesn't really hurt them if you tug on it a bit."

Teirna whuffed at the young woman as she crossed in front of her again, picking up her own brush so she could begin working over the mare's other flank. "Their tail though, that you have to be a bit more careful with," she continued as she brushed. "It's actually got bone for about a foot down into the hair, muscle and tendons and whatnot. If you tug on that, you're asking for a kick in the head."

quaggan · February 11, 2019, 06:41:02 AM

Sharrow nodded, taking care to divide his attention reasonably equally between the the conversation and the brushing. The reply he received was less on the side of an expert's instruction and more on the side of common wisdom, to the point of making him feel a bit silly for making her spell out such a simple matter. The horse clearly didn't like that, although she was well-behaved enough not to take it on him - and thank the stars, he wouldn't be able to get away at that distance. Stupid human reflexes.

"Got it. Mane isn't sensitive, but a tail is" he repeated. In most animals, a tail was a very important limb that played a vital role in keeping the balance. "What function does a mane play in a horse's life anyway?"

DragonSong · February 15, 2019, 09:55:23 AM

Gwen laughed. "What function does your hair play?" she retorted, then shrugged. "It just is. Everything is built differently. We don't necessarily have to understand it all, do we?"

quaggan · February 16, 2019, 01:33:51 PM

"Well, according to a renowned scholar, Highmaster Virtain, human ancestry can be traced to the Sionadyaki of Hyoite. In the tundra, body hair played an important role in keeping warm. The mixing of blood with alien influences such as the fae caused a change in physical characteristics, and the-" he paused. "Oh. Rhetorical question. Never mind. Well, some researchers have their theories - I could show you some of their books. I imagine it's a mystery that keeps some people up at night."

DragonSong · February 17, 2019, 12:13:39 PM

The hostler shook her head with a small snort of laughter. "Like I said-- we don't have to understand everything. I'm sure some people like the idea of that, but me?" She shrugged as she continued brushing, eyes going a little soft, poppy petals rather than jagged rubies. "Where's the fun in the world if you know everything?"

quaggan · February 18, 2019, 07:32:03 AM

That was quite a... free-spirited attitude to take. Sharrow wondered whether her turning had influenced it, but quickly rejected the idea. It was too early - they called her a fledgling. And so far he only saw her expressing disapproval of her new situation - fixating on the negative aspects such as feeding, rather than taking in her new immortality. If she ever changed her mind, she would have all the time in the world to learn. A human like him was limited by the shortness of his lifespan.

He quickly put those thoughts out of his mind; he had plenty of practice doing so. He reminded himself that his view was very skewed; he was focused on the immortality while there were other aspects he was forgetting. And his knowledge was theoretical to begin with - he would never have the real view of vampirism, and perhaps if Lord Saroian wouldn't want him to turn, his staff agreed, and even Gwen missed being human, perhaps he should take the hint.

"Perhaps I'm trying too hard" he admitted. "Or putting too much effort into learning."

DragonSong · February 18, 2019, 05:42:14 PM

"Nah, I wouldn't say that." She shrugged again. "Some people need to learn. To understand as much as they can. They aren't happy otherwise." She switched to a hard-bristled brush, stroking soothing patterns over the mare's coat. "I'm just not one of those people."

quaggan · February 19, 2019, 08:31:47 AM

Sharrow would have to remember that. He was glad that he didn't make a mistake here - one of the avenues of approach he was considering was to offer her more information on the vampire condition. But with Gwen's rather negative view of it, and her... lack of interest in learning, perhaps it would have only put her in a bad mood. His assessment of the situation changed - perhaps the best way to make her happy would be to try and recreate the conditions of her mortal life.

Horses were a start, but he suspected that there will be far more he would have to do to truly make her comfortable. Perhaps he was the only one who could - other vampires would probably put her on edge. "Well, if hearing about hairy Hyoite men doesn't make you happy, I don't know what would" he groaned with an exaggerated fake sigh. "Well, apart from horses. What else do you enjoy?"

DragonSong · February 25, 2019, 05:33:37 PM

Gwen "hmmm"ed noncommittally. "Dunno. Lots of things, I guess. Least they used to."

Her hand slowed, eyes losing their focus a bit. "It's...different, now. Things feel...more distant. I can't quite explain it."

quaggan · February 25, 2019, 10:44:09 PM

It took no genius to deduce that perhaps the sudden transformation to vampire was behind the sudden life change and the distance. It was a delicate topic, and Sharrow would have to tread carefully in order not to alienate her. "While I probably can't know what you're going through, I remember some of the staff here talking about changes to their life after they were turned. Thance - he's not around right now, he was sent to get some supplies - used to be into cooking. Unfortunately, he really liked garlic, and was very upset about having to give it up. Just watch out for him - I'm sure he would just jump at the opportunity to lecture someone new about how blood is no replacement for garlic and try to rope you into some strange plant to get over it..."

DragonSong · March 31, 2019, 11:56:24 AM

She snorted softly and glanced at him over the mare's back. "You sure talk a lot for a servant," she noted.

By the way her eyes glittered, it seemed pretty clear that she thought this was a rather impressive character trait.

quaggan · April 02, 2019, 12:51:00 AM

"I can shut up if that's a problem" he offered, casting a glance in her direction to better judge her reaction. She appeared to be more amused than indignant. "No? Well, I suppose it's not quite possible to talk an immortal to death - but do let me know once you've reached your limits of tolerating my chatter. I believe my verbosity might be explained by my, uh, unspecified status."

He walked around the horse to start brushing the other side. The animal snorted at him, tossing a tail in a nonchalant wave that almost hit Sharrow. Confused, he looked up. "Did I do something wrong, or is it just something horses do?"

DragonSong · May 02, 2019, 06:57:24 PM

Gwen laughed outright, shaking her head at him. "That's just something they do," she assured. "Y'know how you can kinda cock one hip out when you're at ease, or you twiddle your fingers or something? Same basic idea."

Teirna huffed softly and nuzzled Gwen's chest, earning a smile and a scratch at her poll.

quaggan · May 05, 2019, 03:08:39 AM

Sharrow was glad that he didn't make an enemy out of a beast with heavy hooves and probably at least three times his weight. But there was a greater victory to be acknowledged. Gwen looked quite comfortable now, or perhaps the better wording would be 'in her element'. He was glad that he was told about her fondness for horses - it turned out to be the perfect approach to take.

"I think I saw horses using their tails to swat annoying flies too" he remembered. It probably wasn't a good moment to make a joke about mosquitoes being the vampires of insects. "Is snorting also one of those habits? I remember the white horse in the stall over there did it when I came here for the first time. He just gave me a look and snorted at me; and I wondered what did I do to make such a bad first impression."