the creature alliance - semi advanced discussion
Shanti watched quietly, and once it was tossed back she pulled the bag close it had other things like a blanket, change of clothes and food. Watching Anya leave, she heard Nora's voice and turned to look at her,
"It's fine," she mumbled in reply, "And don't worry, no one is what they seem," she adds.
She was referring to the fact how Anya seemed one way to some and another to others, and the same was for most people these days, they could say they are one thing and the next be something completely different in seconds. The girl opened her bag and pulled out a piece of packaged bread, it had small dots in it those dots being dried fruit, she ate quietly and looked at Anya when she returned.
She took it gently, and nodded understandingly,
"So what do you want me to do?" she asked, her mouth slightly full.
Nora nodded. She was reminded of how Anya didn't quite enjoy the thought of their mother, yet she missed her every day, an aching pain in her chest. The thought sent a jab through her and she frowned, looking downward.
She turned upward, staring at the food. "Did you make it yourself?" Nora asked, having been practicing making bread more recently. She had made banana bread only yesterday. If the girl had made it then maybe she could gain a tip or two, seeing as the bread looked good.
Anya breathed a sigh of relief, glad that Shanti wasn't being as feisty as before. "Well, if you don't send the message I think that you'll have lots of people on your tail. You'll have to send a message, just not the one that was asked to be given. They'll likely eventually find out you betrayed them, but not before you can run off to safety," she stated calmly, having already thought this through while she was retrieving the money. "And trust me, it will be better than if you listen to them. We can provide amenities if you ever require them, so long as it isn't unreasonable." While Anya said this, Nora twisted her hands. She knew her older sister made a sacrifice by supporting Nora and that the knight could have so much more money. It was terrible to see her pretending she could afford all of that. Anya continued, saying, "I will take care of Winona and Beowulf for you. Things will return to how they are, the Canine Kingdom reigning supreme." A prideful grin broke on her face, her eyes sparkling. She wanted to remind Shanti that if she didn't obey, she'd be another skull in her collection, but didn't want to risk the girl getting so flighty again.
She nodded, she held the piece in her mouth as she dug through her bag, finding a second piece. She offered it to Nora, since she looked interested. Shanti made the meals in her house for all three of her brothers, it often meant lots of food and extra so that they could all eat well and still had more for later.
"That's kinda obvious," she commented, it was a little snarky.
She listened to the rest of what Anya had to say, she kinda wished she had just walked out and gone the other way, not the direction Anya had been. It would have saved her a lot of time, plus allowed her to keep her job. Since now that she was going to lie that meant she would be out of a job and need to find another that would be impossible. Being that she didn't want to rely on canines, not entirely trusting them.
"They won't," she mumbled.
Shanti wanted the felines to win, even if they were great people, yes they already were racist towards the snow-leopard people who were one of their own. But if the canine's won, that meant they would possibly be even lower ranked and that was worse in her opinion.
Nora tentatively took the bread, unsure of how to interact since she hadn't had much contact with other people. Especially since this person was a cat . . . in her home . . . and she was taking something they were offering. She swallowed her fear, choosing to instead swallow the bread. It tasted good, the raisins adding a spark to the bread. Nora nodded in approval, now admiring Shanti's cooking skills.
Anya glared at Shanti's remark, but not the death glare from earlier. "Remember whose territory you're on, cat," she said coldly. She didn't dare pity this child, no matter how unfortunate her situation was. This was simply the way of the world and she did what she had to in order to survive. Maybe Shanti shouldn't have messed with the superior kingdom.
"Mhm, sure, kitten. You better hope we win, or else the chances of you being found are much, much higher," she whispered, her face appearing so innocent like she usually portrayed herself to be. Yet, this wasn't meant to make Shanti believe she was a simple girl. They were past that. The dark words contrasted her tone and expression as she let it sink in. "Besides, you have no reason to even be loyal to them." Anya didn't know about the racism that occurred there, but simply assumed that she was being stubborn for the sake of it.
Nora finished the bread and made a mental note to try out Shanti's recipe. Shifting the subject, she said, "Now that that's settled, I really, really need to fix those clothes," she said. It had been making her anxious the entire time, just seeing the imperfections in Shanti's clothing. "I have spare ones while I mend them. Though only if you'll let me."
Shanti gave a small smiled to Nora, she liked this sister better then Anya, probably because she was a little more gentle and not as out right aggressive. So far at least.
"I know," she mumbled, and shifted, so her tail was out from behind her and swishing in front.
She watched Anya part of her wish was was stronger and had the ability to take her down, but she didn't have any gifts and didn't have the slightly natural ability to turn invisible, again she wished she did.
"I don't hope, things will only get harder for my species," she stated.
There was a little sorrow in her eyes at she looked at Anya, but it quickly dissipated back to her guarded state.
She looked at Nora again when she offered to fix her clothing, she looked at her dress, she was a cook good but not the best at sewing or mending clothing.
"Okay," she said.
Nora felt so shocked at her smile and immediately looked away on principle. She wasn't trying to be mean, but just wasn't used to being perceived. That was kind of something that she tried to avoid. Shanti, while she was a cat, was a kind girl. Even if Anya disagreed, she thought that not all cats were bastards.
Anya raised a brow and cocked her head, black locks bouncing. "How so?" She wanted to know the reasoning of the Feline Kingdom. It seemed so irrational and so self centered. They hardly cared for anything except themselves. At this, Anya felt a wave of disgust for Felines. She didn't notice Shanti's sad gaze because she was too caught up in thinking how worthless cats were.
Nora beamed, though softened it after realizing Shanti might be caught off guard by her large reaction. She began, saying, "Thank you, Shanti. I can even teach you a few sewing tricks, and you can teach me a thing or two about cooking. It would be an honor!" Anya screwed up her face when she saw how Nora treated Shanti as if she were an equal, but didn't make a remark. She couldn't give her any incentive to betray her.
Shanti was a little confused and slightly hurt by this reaction, but didn't take it to heart to much, remembering that they weren't people that liked her all the much, and finished off her food. She looked at Anya, realizing that of course the canine wouldn't know about this,
"You probably didn't know about the racisim happing in the feline kingdom, considering your a canine," "But my species is being hated on for our traditions and way of living, so if the canines were to take over our kingdom, that would place us probably even lower," she explained, "The reason I have this job is because I'm not able to get any other job as a female of my species," she comments.
She caught a glimpse of the sudden reaction from Nora and flinched a little, it was like someone had flipped a switch in her face, and it had scared her.
"Sure," she smiled.
Nora didn't see Shanti's hurt reaction as she was still trying to look away. She really, really sucked at interacting with people. It was horrible.
Anya felt surprised at that, though shouldn't have been. She didn't show this on her face and carefully articulated the mask she always put on. That didn't make Shanti a good person, she repeated. That didn't make her not dangerous, she repeated as well.
At Shanti's horrid reasoning, Anya almost laughed and it showed with her reddening cheeks and barely suppressed smile. She said, "We wouldn't take over. You are simply attacking us, ruining a perfectly fine alliance that benefits everyone. If you break the alliance, your trade will for the most part completely stop. You can barely afford food as it is, I'm assuming. Vegetable prices will go up, since a lot of it comes from the Rabbit Kingdom. That is one of many other things, but I'm sure just that statement says a lot." She paused, thinking. "I understand your kingdom promotes propaganda and is terribly racist, but a little freedom from racism isn't going to solve anything for the long term. There are alternatives. You could move here. There are plenty of Feline towns here where cats have settled. People don't judge as hard here and it's a better life. That's because we actually progress, unlike the cats." Nora stood in the background, hoping that what Anya was saying wouldn't come off as super rude to the guest. She was liking her and didn't want Anya to ruin everything with her cold demeanor. Though she agreed. It wouldn't be wise to wish harm upon the alliance, even if there was much racial injustice and sexism in her kingdom. There had to be another way, Nora thought.
Nora quickly left and brought back a change of clothes, handing them to Shanti. "You can go change in the bathroom," she said and pointed to where it was. "I'll mend these clothes while you're at it and will hopefully be near finish by the time you're out. Then I'll teach you how to do it," Nora said softly and had already threaded her needle. She was really quick when it came to sewing and could do things faster than many would expect.
Shanti saw this coming, Anya was clearly a high ranked canine so she didn't get to see the injustice towards lower ranked people, or understand what it was like. She put on her firm expression towards the two again, her guard going up fully once more, they had been actually closer to her opening up but the insensitivity to her species wasn't something she would let slide. Not easily.
"You don't apparently," was the last thing she said, before going quiet.
She watched Nora leave, she continued to stay in her spot on the floor, her tail swished back and forth grumpily, and her ears were back again. The hair on her neck up defensively.
When the female returned she took the clothes with a nod, and walked into the bathroom, she took off her clothing she set it outside the bathroom. Changing into the set of clothing given to her, she didn't plan on taking much more if she didn't need to.
"Yeah, little kitten. Be in denial, it isn't my issue," Anya said and smirked. How foolish and uneducated. It was pitiful, to be honest.
Nora began to work immediately, her hands rapidly sewing the holes and by the time Shanti was out she had nearly finished. It looked better now, but she thought it'd look better with some embroidery. "If it's alright, can I add a design? You could pick, but if you don't want to that's perfectly okay." Anya snorted at her sister's nice voice. It was so odd for her to treat the cat like she was an equal, she thought. Even if the girl had suffered, so what? She was still being irrational. Seeing Nora work was mesmerizing, her hands moving in a blur. She began to teach Shanti how to do it in simple terms, making what she was doing seem like something anyone could do.
Shanti had walked into the washroom without responding to Anya commented, she didn't want to talk to her any more then she had to frankly, already having a good idea of how she would respond to anything she said.
When she stepped out of the bathroom she had taken a bath, so that she wasn't so dirty, and was kinda like a fluffy ball. Her hair was all fluffy from drying quickly, and more having so much hair in the first place it was quite impressive how fast it dried. But was very frizzy and fluffed, her tail the exact same. In all honesty Shanti just looked like a fluffy snowball.
"I don't mind," she replied to the question, and watched as Nora worked.
Anya took Shanti's nonresponse as a win and felt a boost to her ego.
When the girl stepped out, Nora barely noticed as she was working, though when she paused to ask her question she thought Shanti looked so freaking adorable. She didn't comment though. Anya also thought the same, though would rather die before she'd ever admit it. A traitor could never be cute. It was a fluffy monster.
"Okay! Does a flower pattern sound good? I don't really know what you'd like best, so . . ," Nora said, realizing she didn't know a lot about her. She got out different colors of thread and put them out to Shanti. "What colors do you want incorporated?" Anya felt glad Nora was doing this. Small talk might gain more information for her to use in some way later, so she carefully watched them. Nora was more thoughtful than she looked.
Shanti walked over to Nora and sat down, she ignored Anya purposefully, not wanting to talk with her. Crossing her legs she nodded,
"Flowers are nice," she replied, agreeing.
She wasn't picking, and was simply grateful that someone would even offer to do this. Looking at all the thread that had been set out before her, her eyes darted over the different colors her own clothing had been black and white with lots of furs, meaning it was all rather sad and muted colors.
"I like the blues and purples," she commented, and pointed at her favorites.
It had been a little hard to chose since they were all so pretty in her opinion, and she had ended up really having to think before pointing out her preferred colors.
Anya was okay with Shanti ignoring her. It was justified, after all. She wouldn't want to be near someone who had threatened her life. Then again, by now they'd be dead.
Nora smiled. "I'm glad you think so," she said. When the girl picked the colors, she began to put the thread through the needle and embroidering the clothing, making cute patterns all throughout. She had chosen flowers because they were easy for her to do, even complex ones. Nora was pretty fast at this, and finished a flower every few minutes. "So, how do you make such good bread? I've been trying to bake it recently, but yours tastes better than mine," she said as she worked, not looking up at Shanti. Nora had to extract herself from her focus just to get the words out. Her work was something she felt glued to, in a way.
Anya felt a bit annoyed Nora wasn't asking the right questions, but it'd be easy if she gained her trust. She walked over to a bookshelf, pretending to examine a book but carefully listening and watching the cat's movements.
Putting her arms on the table she crossed them and rested her chin, she watched her eyes following the needle and pretty threads that she had chosen, already she was trying to figure out how to do this herself so she could try on her brothers clothing.
"Well, the yeast is the biggest part, storing it properly helps as well as using the right yeast," she stated.
Shanti was tired, she was warm from her bath and though she shouldn't feel safe, a wave of comfort have come over her. She fell asleep, her tail curled over her like a blanket.
Nora tried to explain a little how to do it by telling her different stitches to create different styles. She hoped it'd stick since she hadn't ever taught anyone before. She'd learned all of her skills from her mother, but now she wasn't here. As Nora stitched, her excitement grew and her butterfly wings fluttered slightly.
"Ah, I see. I've been learning to cook and bake on my own, so it hasn't come as easily. Thank you," Nora said and bowed her head slightly, though quickly moved it back up to focus more on her work. By now she was nearly finished and began to tie the thread, the part she found a bit annoying. Nora didn't notice Shanti had fallen asleep, but Anya did.
"Looks like she's out cold. What should we do?" Anya asked, eyeing the cat suspiciously as if she might awake and pounce at a moment's notice.
Nora bit her lip and set the clothes aside. "Well, she looks so cozy! I don't know, we could just leave her like this and let her go once she wakes," she said. It seemed reasonable, enough time for them to figure out what Shanti would lie about to the Feline Kingdom. Anya thought for a moment, then nodded. "You're right."
((should we stop here now that she's asleep or uh time skip or idk, i don't mind either way))
(stop here?) (I think it's a good spot)
The Canine Kingdom was definitely not one of Genesis' favorite places, but he had no choice but to be there. He felt like everything about him was odd. Most people had no idea what he was, with his horns and his long rabbit-like ears. Sometimes even he had no idea what he was. But he wasn't going to hide what he looked like, even with the stares of others.His bare feet padded softly along the ground, and he took in everything around him, making sure to be cautious. The blue eyes sweeped among the citizens, and the buildings around him. Every now and then, his tail would twitch with worry, but that was mostly instinct. His brow furrowed.
He had to quickly hurry up and get what he needed. He didn't trust leaving his younger siblings by themselves. The oldest of his brothers and sisters was only thirteen, and was inexperienced being the leader. Gradually, he got lost in his thoughts as he walked, not truly watching where he was going.
"Umph." He rubbed his elbows.
Genesis had been stuck in his thoughts until he was jolted out of them. Literally. Stumbling back a couple paces, he squeezed his eyes shut for a total of two seconds before coming to his senses and realizing what had happened. He finally was able to stable himself.The jackalope stared down at the other boy, wearing a stone cold expression. To deal with his social awkwardness, he put on a type of glare, that kept people from truly interacting with him. So typically, the scowl on his face was prominent as ever. He said nothing, but merely stared down at the person who'd run into him.
Honestly, he felt a bit bad for not looking where he was going, so after a moment, he offered a hand. Why did he draw attention to himself so quickly? His heart was beating fast, and though it wasn't true, he felt everyone's eyes on him. He wanted to go home already.
"Who are you?" He gave a small smile, and tried to appear friendly. Why was the person scowling...did he do something wrong? Was it his fault he ran into the guy? Was he hurt?
"Sorry for running into you. You okay?" He stuck out his hand to shake.
"I'm Zaine Mikel by the way! What are you doing in the Canine Kingdom?"
Dang it, he's talking to me. Genesis' head spun, desperately looking for something to say. He kept staring up at the other awkwardly, his mouth opening and closing a few times. He felt so suffocated. The scowl on his face had softened a bit, and now his expression looked a bit more nervous then anything. "Her-Herbs," he stated, his voice soft and panicky. Idiot. "Here-Here for herbs," he tried again, swallowing hard to keep from getting sick. "Sor-Sorry." His ears twitched. The fact that this person was almost a head taller than him didn't scare him much, like it might've to other people - what scared him was the questions.
((Sorry for the stuttering, I know it's a bit cringey XD But Genesis does have a stutter, so I apologize))
"Herbs? For what? I may be able to help." Zaine gave another friendly smile. "I have some herbs for tea if you think they may be able to help." (gtg byeee)
Genesis' eyes widened and he quickly shook his head. "N-No! No, it's ok-okay!" he said. Already, he hated speaking. He didn't know how much interaction he would be able to take, he was already on the verge of panicking. He'd just find some store that sold what he needed, because the things he needed weren't in the rabbit kingdom, surprisingly. But really, that wasn't all he needed, it was just what he had said."I-I don't want to both-bother you," he said, trying to find some kind of excuse to avoid making the other angry. Cause, if he was being honest with himself, he would quickly be overpowered by anyone from the canine kingdom. Especially with the fact that he was completely powerless, while he had no idea what anyone else had under their sleeve.
"It's okay!! I'd really love to help, I'm a bit new here, so I'm trying to make a few friends. Being alone kinda sucks to be honest. Right?" He smiled broadly, and put his hands in his pockets.
"Which herbs do you need? If I don't have them, I know someone who might."
((Trying to come up with fake fantasy herbs XD))
Genesis desperately looked for any way he could get out of this, though his facial expression stayed the same; a mix between a scowl and a worried look. What he was looking for wasn't necessarily common, bet they weren't rare either, which is why it was a wonder the rabbit kingdom didn't have them. Eventually, he swallowed deep, and slowed his breathing. His eyes narrowed so the bright blue of his pupils were prominent against his black scleras. "Maidenhair leaf, Comfrey, and-and Mug-Mugwort." He spoke slowly to prevent his stuttering though it didn't help much.
The herbs he listed were used for healing and medicinal purposes, which is exactly what he needed. To make some extra money, Genesis worked as a healer of sorts to those who couldn't afford a real doctor.
((Sorry that took so long, ended up looking up a list of fantasy herbs XD)
((lol it's oky)
Genesis stared at Zaine, kind of amazed he knew about Mugwort. He suspected Comfrey, as it was a pretty commonly known medicinal herb, with it's beautiful pink flowers. But Mugwort, used to dull pain or seal wounds; maybe even protect against danger if worn correctly, was uncommon, and looked like any normal leafed plant."How-How much money?" he asked, hope woven through his voice. He prayed that it wasn't anymore than he had with him. He'd given some to his siblings to use for a few days, but even with that money combined with the coins he had now, it still wasn't a lot. His services didn't cost much, and he was recently unemployed from his main job, so he only had a small sack of coins.
Genesis gaped. No money? He was a bit wary of the isea that there wasn't a price. Everything had a price. But he shook his head, sighing. He needed the plants one way or another, so this was his best bet. "I'll-" he paused, not sure if he was making the right choice. "I'll come ov-over." Usually he would never want to go somewhere where something easily could happen to him, but he felt a sense of calm near this person. Of course he knew not everyone was out to get him, but not everyone was necessarily friendly either. Zaine was. Odd.
"Here. Is this as much as you need?"
((How much is there? Like a small jar, or..?))
Genesis nodded, and then inspected each jar, opening the lid and smelling each, checking to make sure they weren't fake. He didn't dare taste or touch them without some kind of protection. His nose wiggled slightly as he did. Both smelled fine, and he sealed the lid back on, staring at Zaine with slight wonderment. "Thank-Thank you," he whispered, eyes wide. He opened the leather satchel he had, and put each jar inside. The satchel was full of different types of plants, flowers and mushrooms. He had multiple glass sample jars, and a leather bound journal was shoved to the bottom. He had a cloth sack next to the journal, tied with a blue ribbon.
"Of course. Anything else?"
