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 Posted: Sat Sep 27, 2025 12:22 pm
 Stirring from sleep where he's been curled around his sister Esfir since she victoriously tumbled into the grove to sleep, Shahrivar blearily raises his head at the sound of conversation. While he hadn't been part of the ritual, he had happily helped gather ingredients beforehand and then left the Ladies to their work. Waking with a questioning sound when Esfir practically melted over him, he had listened to recounting of what details she felt could be shared, and made a low purring rumble of sound to lull her to sleep. After that, it had been rather hard to return to so deep a sleep, so he had contented himself with a light doze now wrapped around his sister's tightly coiled form.
Now, with a flick of his ears, he hones in the mutes voices and determines Rum has appeared to get the attention of his mother and the aunts. Giving a considering narrowing of his eyes, he listens to their murmurs and discerns all of this is due to the arrival of strangers that seem to have quite the story to tell. Esfir would hate to miss out, but she's still so clearly exhausted he doesn't have the heart to wake her.
"Well, I guess you were successful, hmmm?" Shah muses to Esfir, making an affectionate rumbling noise at the sound of her sleepy hwurring breaths. "Good for you. I'll let you gloat at breakfast, alright?"
Rather than risk her waking with all the chatter, he carefully settles his hat over her ears and then unwinds himself, leaving her to her heavy sleep in the moonlight dappled hollow. "Aunt, if you wish to go ahead to greet our guests? I will go wake Mama and Da and we'll follow after." Shahrivar StoneSkipper Wordcount: 290
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Posted: Sat Sep 27, 2025 12:40 pm
Quote: 'We had one job and we failed, now there are strangers in the herd, I'm waking up the aunts, and Mama looks like she knows I messed up...' Rumple frets internally, flicking his eyes to the woods to catch sight of Kahlúa to make sure she's still safe.
"What do you want me to do?" The peppermint colored Cheshire asks with a swivel of his ears.
Then Shahrivar joins the conversation, unexpectedly.
Rum, still practically on tiptoes and humming with nerves, startles slightly as a previously unseen party joins their conversation but relaxes slightly when he sees who it is. Shah has ever been the laid back sort, the kind to wait and watch before he comments on a situation. For his part, Rum doesn't know if it's his influence on his carnivorous plants that inspires them to be more helpful than not... Or if their parasitic nature and the fact that they are so relaxed is what influences Shah's own temper. All Rum knows for sure is Esfir's pair -Snicker and Snack- are a much harder audience to win over when one is attempting to do so. He's rather glad they aren't inviting themselves to the conversation, hopefully they're just as tired as Esfir is.
Shah's offer has Rum relaxing further, relieved that more of the authority figures are getting involved in the new arrival and alleviating some of his stress about the situation. He knows Zing is capable of dealing with most matters, but he can't really help if what the Magician and the Vorpal Blade want are Aunt Katya and her sisters.
"Thank you, Shah." He offers in a bashful mumble, ducking his head and swiveling his ears forward and back. "I appreciate it." Quote: Distracted from offering a relaxing purr to her obviously out of sorts son, Irina turns in surprise at the arrival of Shah. When last she'd seen him, Esfir had been sleepily chattering his ear off after waking him up. Perhaps he couldn't get back to sleep now that she had crashed out.
'Poor Nephew,' Irina thinks with a soft fondness.
"I very much appreciate that, Shah. She'll know where to find us so I'll go ahead and head out. I think promptly addressing them is a little more important than arriving in a united fashion. Tell her not to rush, since we're waking her up, and apologize to both her and Moofu for me too, hmmm?"
"And you, darling," She murmurs turning to Rum. "I think it best if you get some sleep, hmmm? Get settled in and make sure to keep Kahlúa with you. I'll see you in the morning."
Giving a soft chirp she turns and trots off to greet their new arrivals, leaving Rum and Shah behind
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Posted: Sat Sep 27, 2025 3:10 pm
Arcane considers Smoke as he waits for the response, taking care to keep his thoughts safely obscured behind a politely neutral mask. He can't put his paw on it, but he stands by his initial assessment that there's something off. The Warrior he used to know from a distance is nowhere to be seen, gone with no hint and leaving only this shell in his place. Diminished. Perhaps Broken.
'That would make sense,' The Magician notes to himself when he takes even a moment to think of the Queen of Hearts and how he has seen her behave in the past. 'If she's had her claws in him all this time? Add that to the fact that she likes to play her games, and rarely does she seem to care who they damage or utterly destroy.'
Traveling from the initial meeting location through some of the paths and into the revelry glades for refreshment and relaxation, the Magician notes a blend of scent beyond the hint of smoke and steel clinging to the Vorpal Blade. Perhaps it is the proximity to him that makes the scents he carries stand out stronger than those of the herd that inhabits these woods. or the heat he throws due to the exertion of his journey. Regardless, the lingering scent of several others clinging to the grey and cyan coat speaks of Smoke being part of a group fairly recently, though one stands out stronger than the others. Either he spent the most time with that individual, or he was the closest to them, or a mix of both.
Considering how strongly it lingers, perhaps Smoke had willingly scent marked and been scented in return, if not enthusiastically. In his current state, it's hard to imagine Smoke being particularly enthusiastic about anything.
The Vorpal Blade offering a bland polite reply is unsurprising. Even looking at him, Arcane can tell there's no connection or emotion tied to the words or the conversation. Though he uses words that indicate surprise or sorrow, there's no true tone to them. He is so clearly disheartened-
Arcane's head flies up as the idea crosses his mind. Disheartened.
'Oh. Oh no.' Arcane Wordcount: 361
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Posted: Sat Sep 27, 2025 7:55 pm
Monfulta's ears pressed forward towards the sound of his sister in law Irina and her son talking. By the way he spoke, the accent sounded like her second litter of children. Rum. It was definitely Rum, as he recalled Gin going off with a young Fayth mare.
A rumbling escaped his throat as he then overheard his son talk about getting his parents up. Flicking an ear he sighs out, "Katya." His tone fond, loving even with the sleepy rasp. "Our son is approaching." His tail flopping over Katya's form in order to act as a means to stir her more from her slumber.
Monfulta tried to take a minute, for both himself and Katya to recall details he had overheard. "Something about a magician. The Magician, I figure, that you have been waiting for. And a Vorpal Blade. Something about coloured as a mycena?" He didn't recall a Vorpal Blade in their ranks looking like such, so he figured it was within Katya's history when they had not met.
Nonetheless he tried to push at her to see if she'd stir and answer him before Shah appeared. Which, speaking of Shah, when he did come into view Monfulta gave an approving look and sound. His tail flicking against Katya again. "You've come to wake up your parents, I see?" A cheeky smile growing on his resting bit--stoic face. Pushing Katya once again, it was a soft body check as to not get claws in his side, "Petal, they need you to be as present as you can be, hm.."
Words: 260
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Posted: Mon Sep 29, 2025 11:31 am
 Ekaterina Hopscotch, called Katya, is firmly burrowed in dreamland. Wrapped in the affectionate shadows of her mate's coat, coiled against his strength, she's sleeping deeply when she hears the telltale rumble of his voice. Making a disinterested churr in the back of her throat, she attempts to curl up tighter, flicking her tail in a dismissive thwap when the words continue.
Words like "Magician" seep into her awareness slowly, like treacle on a cold day. "Vorpal Blade" also eeks in, though "Mycena" makes her think of mushrooms and takes far too long to connect to any of the other words.
The body check prompts a low growl but jostles her just enough, swaying her head up as she blinks in bleary confusion. "Hmmm? What? Magician?"
Katya's expression scrunches, confusion evident in her eyes. "A Vorpal Blade, the.. color of mycena? We don't have-"
Awareness dawns and she scrabbles to her paws. "They're HERE?" Katya is Maxxed
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Posted: Mon Sep 29, 2025 11:35 am
The first son of Ekaterina, the young Prince called Blu, is outside of and somewhat removed from the herd happenings for the moment. Fresh off a rather spirited rendezvous, the young Cheshire stallion strolls leisurely through the northern stretch of the Underland Herd's territory on his way to the dens, his paws stealthy and strides smooth. The twisting length of his tail curls and flicks, vanishing and reappearing intermittently, striped with a prismatic riot of colors. There's a hint of lightning in his scent, a crackle of electricity as if he's been near something crackling with that otherworldly energy. Like he's been scent marking or curled around something from the heavens. Something scorching, striking and dangerous.
Which explains, to those who know him, just why Blu looks so smug and self-satisfied, his trademark grin even brighter than usual. Thankfully there's no one around to remark upon it near the upper borders, the cliff face and rocky terrain of the mountains foot a preferred prowling range of Blu himself but not as desirable a guard assignment to others. Which meant he was free to claim the perch himself, and then visit as it suited him.
Most of his watch passed, he meanders his way southward with the intention of curling up in one of the family dens or hollows, hopefully with the soothing company of his kin. He's fairly certain he'll find Esfir and Shah bedded down somewhere, their strange bone limbs mean they tend to curl up with other relatives in an attempt to trap and enjoy the body heat thrown off by others. It is therefore to his surprise when he steps into the groves and hears Shah disturbing their parents, mentioning something about guests? A Magician and a Vorpal Blade?
"What on earth?" Blu mumbles with a swivel of his ears, bright eyes narrowing. "Guests, at this hour? Are we having an Unbirthday Party and no one told me?" Blu Wordcount: 321
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Posted: Sun Oct 19, 2025 1:32 pm
Quote: As the conversation continues, Rum splits his attention between his mother and cousin. His wide eyes continue darting between the two, oversized ears swiveling back and forth to show appropriate attention to whomever is speaking in the moment. Listening to how his mother takes control of the situation, choosing to go act as envoy so their Queen can gather herself and meet them in a more collected state, has him relaxing. The previous generation has experience with such things. So he knows that Irina and Katya will surely have the whole situation under control should the guests mean something bad for the herd. And if it is all good, well, that's fine too. More than fine, really.
"Thank you for your help," Rum mumbles with an affectionate shoulder to Shah. "I'll see you later, then."
Watching as his cousin moves into the sleeping glade that the royals had claimed and hearing the rumbling sound of Moofu's voice, Rum gives a soft nod. He doesn't think anything bad can befall them with Uncle Moofu involved. Tension seeping out of him, the peppermint cheshire shuffles himself into the nearest sleeping glade and makes a low greeting purring sound at the sight of Esfir curled up in the ferns. Snicker and Snack both appear to be deeply asleep, each of them making distinctly different growling snore noises in the quiet night air.
Rum hears Kahlúa make her own greeting sound and grins to himself, settling down near Esfir's back so he can share warmth with his daintier cousin. Not close enough for Snack to take a bite out of him if they wake up in a mood, but not far. Kahlúa marches into his personal space without hesitation and tucks herself against the slope of his neck and shoulder, folding down into a little fluff ball that he has treated like a pillow once or twice. Tonight the ferns are fresh and deep enough in this glade that they'll make a comforting enough pillow, and he's pretty sure he's asleep before he even realizes it. Quote: Shah makes another soothing purr of sound in an effort to help Rum relax, nodding his understanding and acceptance when his cousin thanks him. It's a simple enough thing, and the Cheshires have to stick together, so he's happy to contribute even in a mild way. Esfir had been part of the summoning event, after all, and Rum and Zinger appear to be the welcoming committee. He needs to do something to participate, it might as well be to inform and escort their Queen.
Leaving his cousins behind to their rest, Shah interrupts his parents with a softly apologetic look. That Papa is awake and helps notify Mama of the happenings works too. The only Vorpal Blade ranked warriors they have here aren't mycena colored, so a strange warrior certainly does raise a question or two in his mind.
"Papa." Shah greets softly with a nod of his head and a hwurr of sound. "I apologize if you were both asleep... However, there are strangers here that insist on seeing Mama. It seems important. I wouldn't want to disturb you otherwise."
He hears Mama's somewhat-dismissive sleep churr, fighting the urge to grin as he watches Papa nudge her again with more insistence, trying to bring her back to awareness. Shah is pretty sure he hears a sleep growl and thinks she might just sleep through it, but then the sleepy muttering gives away to a sudden flurry of movement and sound. Katya goes from coiled up almost invisible beneath Moofu's dark coat and fluffy tail, to standing on her feet and looking like she's been hit by lightning.
Shah might chirp and startle in surprise. Just as he's able to recover Blu's voice suddenly cuts in, his face appearing unexpectedly and prompting Shah to actually help in surprise.
'I think I just had a heart attack...'
"Wha! BLU!" Quote: Blu genuinely is not deliberately trying to eavesdrop when he hears Shah talking to their parents about the sudden arrival of strangers in the depths of the night. He we just returning home from what had been a very satisfying evening, only to find something extremely interesting appeared to be on their metaphorical doorstep. All in all, it is certainly a new sort of occurrence, unusual and interesting. Potentially entertaining, even. So he can't quite help himself, ears swiveled forward with keen interest as he tries to catch more details. A Vorpal Blade? The color of mushrooms? Someone Mama knows, and was perhaps even expecting?
Blu can't help it, craning his head into the glade so he can be included in his family's conversation. He's sure Esfir would hate to miss out, so he'll do his best to absorb details to share with her later. He would probably have offered to tell Devora about it too, but his sister was probably the type to only be concerned if she'd heard they were found near her precious roses. If it didn't impact the garden, it didn't really impact Devi. Even now, Blu was sure she was off with her paramours or tending to her gardens.
Thoughts of his sisters are set aside in favor of trying to get closer so he can glean more details as to what is actually happening. Blu half invites himself into the sleeping glade, following the sound of his family's voices and craning his head in to ask what is going on. Of course, once he does he is abruptly faced with Shah practically having a heart attack, and flails in response to his brother's abrupt squawk.
"Wah! Sorry?!" He yelped back, ears swiveling down as he is abashed. "I didn't mean to?"
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