[Sanctuary] A Fox In The Hen House! A Fennec Fox! (open)

[Kavala]

Timestamp: 3rd of Spring, 510 AV Origin: From This Thread Reason: Meeting Flick! Status: Open! The old one-eyed owl was dozing in the shade of a stall eve when it flicked its eartuffs and swiveled its head around to listen. Not bothering to open its one good eye, the owl hooted a warning to the denizens of the stable below. Predator. Sure, it was a little pint-sized one, but trouble was trouble no matter what size the package came in. A wizened old barn cat leaped up on the stall of the Seme stallion named Sivak and squalled unhappily. She had an understanding with the owl. They divided the mice equally, and sometimes the wisened old mouser drove a few out into the arena for the owl to take. In exchange the owl dropped a few sparrows it caught snoozing for the cat that sometimes had a few aches and pains in her old age. The fennec fox, sneaking up, was trouble with a capital T. Didn't they eat mice too? This was a real threat to the current treaty and if the mistress of Sanctuary knew there was a fox lurking about, wouldn't she be concerned about her chickens? The calico matriarch let out a second yowl, fluffed up her tail, and spit unpleasantly cat-like at the fox. She could see her hiding, those ridiculous ears stood out after all, even if she thought she was cleverly disguised. Kavala, busy talking to two other ladies... one a stranger and one her sister, turned and paid attention. Her gift wasn't geared towards people. It was geared towards animals. And she felt the owls concern. She also felt the calico barn cat's displeasure. There was one other sensation though, a joyous sort of delighted curiosity. Kavala raised a white eyebrow, excused herself for a moment, and went in search of the new presence that was upsetting both the owl and the barn cat. "Hello? Anyone here?" She asked, not minding that she might sound ridiculous to the other people that were present.

[Flick]

Flick jumped at the sound of the yowling cat, turning herself around and pressing her back into the wall - her hackles raised. A small growl bubbled in the back of her throat as she looked up at the owl. It was almost scowling at her. Moving sideways, the small fox realized that perhaps curiosity had gotten the better of her this time. Nails ticking on the ground, she began to make her way back down the stairs, when a feminine voice called out from the room she'd just come from. Freezing where she was, Flick panicked a little. Was she going to get in trouble? Was she not supposed to be in here?

Looking around, the kelvic lowered her huge batlike ears and ducked her head, cringing slightly. If the woman seemed like she was going to be angry at her, at least she could try to be sorry. Then of course, she could always run. Glancing up with glittering black eyes, she wagged the tip of her tail a little as the konti came out. Flick knew this race, they were like the akalak, only the opposite. And usually, they were nice.

[Kavala]

Sorry!I'm so sorry this took so long! I've been having a series of busyness in life that was unavoidable that didn't let me play my PC much! Life's slowing down now though... so I'm back in action.

Kavala looked around, caught sight of the fennec, and smiled. She had a little bit of experience with foxes, come to think of it. And this one looked far too delicate to worry her much about the chickens. "Why hello there. It's okay. Don't pay any mind to the cat or the owl. They are just a little bit protective of their territory. One would think they've divided up the mice or something." She said, kneeling down and looking thoughtful.

"Are you lost? Hurt? This place is called Sanctuary... it's for all animals and you are safe here. Please don't be afraid... " Kavala said, studying the creature with azure eyes that noted detail. Was it limping? Were there wounds? The people in the courtyard - did they notice the fox? Kavala reached out tentatively, ... her fingers outstretched in friendship. There was a piece of dried jerky in her hand, rescued from her pocket. It was an offering meant to reassure the visitor and make her feel calm.

[Flick]

Flick wagged her tail a little more as the lovely woman spoke to her, raising her huge ears and stretching her nose forward to sniff the hand with jerky. It didnt take long to find it, and delightedly she chewed the meat, swallowing and sniffing for more. Standing, she shook herself out. This woman was nice, and she seemed genuine. Sitting back, she shimmered brightly, morphing with unconcious ease into her human form. Smiling widely at the konti, she sat cross legged on the cold stones.

"I'm okay! Just taking a stroll. Do you live here? My name is Flick! That owl, he's a bit mean, I never met a mean bird before. Well, not a mean owl anyway. This eagle once, it tried to eat me, but well..." taking a breath, she tucked her hair behind her ears and tried to stop rambling.

"Hi!"

[Kavala]

Kavala smiled. "He's not mean... he's just a bit old. You know how the elderly get when kids come around... or anyone beneath their age. Did you notice? He's missing an eye. The gentleman's had a hard life so we tend to leave him alone. He doesn't bother us and we try not to bother him if we can help it." Kavala said, offering the old owl a smile as she explained a bit about him.

"Yes, I live here. I'm Kavala. It's very nice to meet you Flick. We're just gathering for an evening meal if your hungry. It won't be ready for a bit, but your welcome to come in and look around. You're a Kelvic aren't you? That must be a great life. Do you live around here somewhere?" She asked, curious. There was always room for Kelvics in Sanctuary. In fact, Kavala had started to really rather enjoy them. "Kelvics are welcome here always so long as you follow a few rules. They are rather simple. Help if someone needs it and asks you to do so, don't make a mess unless you're willing to pick it up, and don't steal. We'll give you anything you'd like if we can, but we'd rather you ask than take." She said simply. Kavala wasn't trying to talk down to Flick. She just wanted to make sure the fox understood that there were rules. Sometimes Kelvics had a hard time with such things.

"This is a healing clinic for animals and kelvics. It also acts as a breeding and boarding stable. Would you like to come with me and look around?" Kavala asked.

[Flick]

Flick nodded with wide glittering eyes as Kavala spoke, her mouth pursed in a serious way. The konti made the young woman feel bad for the owl, and with a tsk she turne to look at the barn.

"Poor old thing. Yes, I'm a kelvic! I live in the city itself, with all my friends! Its wonderful!" The kelvic lied brightly, almost able to believe her own stories...until the evening came. And she was the last out of the inn, watching the sunrise alone on the docks. Turning back to Kavala as she continued, the fennec fox stood up, brushing off her naked flesh. It didn't come across as mean or condiscending, and Flick could barely contain her glee when she was invited to look around.

"Oh absolutly! I wouldn't dare steal a thing, I'm a good girl!" It was true, mostly..except when need outweighed morality. Pulling on her hair so it covered her small breasts in an attempt at modesty, Flick smiled again.

"If you possibly have something to cover myself in, that would be swell." She'd contemplated the idea of moving around as a fox, but how could she talk to Kavala then? The nudity didn't bother her, but she knew it could upset others. And then others were just too friendly.

"If not, I can just change back, not a problem!" The small woman almost bounced in her joy to have a person to talk to, a place to be. Distractedly, she tilted her head. Would they let her stay at night? The late night was the worst. People just needed to learn to stay awake.

[Kavala]

"Oh! I'm sorry... where are my manners." Kavala held up a hand as if to ask for Flick to wait a moment, and then had second thoughts. She gestured for Flick to follow her, and turned to head up the stairs and into the clinic proper. "I've got a tunic dress you can wear for sure. And if we're in luck a pair of sandals that will fit you as well." Kavala said, not getting any sort of negative feeling from the kelvic at all. She believed her when she said she was a good girl - mainly because Flick believed it herself. But Kavala had meant what she said. She'd give her anything she possibly could if she thought Flick needed it - clothing included - so the fox wouldn't have to resort to stealing.

"I'm a healer, so skin doesn't bother me a bit. But there are boys walking around... wearing the guise of men... but you know what I mean... so its best to cover up." She added. Kelvics were odd creatures - half feral half human - and wholly fascinating to Kavala. She knew they didn't mind nudity as she'd ran into with Camden and Asim, but others often did. Kavala didn't mind herself - it was natural to her. But she knew others might.

They made their way into an office that had a staircase that lead upwards. "This is the clinic and my office. The steps lead upwards to my quarters. Your welcome up here anytime. " Kavala said, meaning day or night and hoping the Fennec fox understood that. Sometimes, even for the feralist of creatures, shelter was necessary.

Kavala lead Flick up the stairs and into an expansive room that took up the whole second story. The room was decorated like the inside of a tent, with the walls hung with fabric banners and all the furniture low so it could double as both seating and sleeping if necessary. There were piles of fabric covered pillows here and there - perfectly comfortable for sprawling - and a low slung bed big enough to hold Kavala, her sister, and multiple others if necessary. "I was raised on the Sea of Grass, not Konti Isle, so the Drykas way is more familiar to me..." Kavala said, as a way of explaining the decorations.

The Konti opened a free-standing wardrobe and pulled out a simple white tunic dress and a pair of sandals to go with them. She handed them to Flick then added a small shell-covered belt that the kelvic could wrap around her waste if she liked. "Try those on... It should be close enough to count." Kavala added with a smile.

While Flick was doing so, Kavala tidied up about the room and then looked her over appraisingly. "So.. were you born in Riverfall?" Kavala wondered, suddenly, if she was one of the young kevlics the Akalak often imported for breeding - purchasing them from slave markets and kelvic breeders in Ravok. She couldn't decide if a fennec fox was in the same category as a lot of the other creatures the Akalak brought in - those that weren't considered big hunters or prey (cougars, bears, wolves) - and thus acquired cheaply as a 'discard'. The thought made Kavala mad, though she said nothing, hoping Flick had managed to make it to Riverfall on her own or was born here.

[Flick]

As they entered the curiously decorated room, Flick moved closer to the walls, running light fingertips along some of the beautiful hangings. Since she'd been alone, the kelvic hadn't seen anything quite so beautiful. Looking at the shared bed, a sudden pang of nostalgia twisted in her belly as she remembered the warmth atthe foot of his bed. Shaking it off literally, she took the clothes with a wide smile and quickly threw on the dress. Placing the sandles on the floor, she toed them slightly, not sure if shoes were a good idea for shifting. Not wanting to be impolite, she figured out the belt, tounge pokin out of the corner of her mouth as she concentrated. Looking at the shoes again, she knelt down and put them on.

The konti's question caught her off guard, no lie prepared. Fiddling with the shoe, her features shifted into a frown.

"N-no. No I was born in a dirty, scary place. I was taken away by an akalak...to live...in..uh..to be...uhh.." Flick stumbled over the story, fingers trembling as she fumbled with the shoe. Her frown became strained, her breathing faster.

"I was..a..uh..DARN IT!" Frustrated, she pushed the sandle away and straighted with a snap. Plastering a wide smile on her face, she shrugged.

"I was a pet." The blonde girl said finally, gathering her lie, forcing herself to cover the truth. For her own sanity. Admitting what really happened would just make it real and unbearable. If she thought about Reghitaar, it was like ripping a bleeding hole in her soul.

[Kavala]

Kavala listened with all her senses. She couldn't help it. As the girl covered her thoughts with her battle in regards to the sandals, the Konti was listening to Flick trying to avoid the emotions that were in her head. Kavala was an empath, but her abilities only worked on animals and strangely enough Kelvics. So as Flick attempted then lost her battle with the shoes, Kavala smiled through the girls masked pain and bent to pick them up.

"You don't need shoes, just watch your bare feet in the arena and barn area. Sometimes there are droppings if we don't get them cleaned up fast enough." The Konti said kindly, then placed the shoes back in the wardrobe. "If you want me too later, I can show you how to put them on if you ever decide you'd like to try wearing them." The pale woman said then walked over to one to a door in the wall and threw it open. She beckoned to the fox, hopeful that Flick would follower her out onto the balcony that looked down over the sea. Kavala would take a seat on one of the oversized rough-hewned but well cushioned loungers that graced the lovely spot. Then she'd pat the seat beside her.

If Flick joined her, the Konti would gently reach out and stroke her hair down around her ears.... if she chose to remain at a distance, Kavala wouldn't press the issue. "I have a confession to make to you." The Konti started out. She paused, looked intently at Flick, then told her what was on her mind. "Each and every Konti has a gift of some sort of sight. It is because Avalis, the Goddess of Divination, is our mother. Most can see the past or the future, but some can see emotions. I'm one of those sorts - an Empath. I feel things from animals and kelvics though, not people, so it makes me somewhat useless in most societies. But here, there are a great deal of animals and kelvics - so its fairly useful." Kavala said softly.

"I can feel when you hesitate... like you're not quite telling the truth. I can also feel fear and hurt and love and a whole host of things within you. I don't know what happened to you or why you are here alone, but I can tell you aren't a bad person, Flick. And I'm fairly sure I can piece together something of the story on my own. When you say you were born in a dirty scary place and then taken away - I would have to guess Ravok and the breeding pens. You probably weren't fierce enough for their fighting pits and were sold off to the Akalak who are prone to buy the kelvics that Ravok doesn't want because they bond easily with the warriors and often have no problems producing sons for them. So I imagine you were purchased as a breeder or maybe even as a pet and brought here. Something went wrong. I don't know what... I can only guess." Kavala said softly.

Then she looked thoughtful. "You are welcome to stay here Flick. There's lots of food and people around. No one will make you do what you don't want to do. But... if someone owns you there's nothing I can do if they want to take you back and they find out you are here. It might be that... as long as you didn't hurt anyone, we can talk to the owner and see if I ... I don't know... arrange for a sale." She winced at saying that because she didn't feel like people needed to be bought and sold like they were nothing more than clothing or food. "But I'll need to know the truth, Flick... and then you can stay here until you decide where you want to go and what you want to do. I'd give you your papers if I could get them from whomever has them since I assume they exist. I know you Kelvics prefer to bond with others. If you had a place to stay that was safe, you could take your time and be choosy and in the mean time have a lot of folks to keep you company. There's other kelvics here too, off and on, with our most unusual resident a rather grumpy bear. He's harmless but he likes to put on a good show..." The Konti said, smiling slightly.

"But you'd need to tell me.... all of it." Kavala said, urging her gently and yet keeping an eye out on the fox's emotions. She was such a cute little thing, but painfully young, and Kavala truthfully was going to not sleep well until she knew no one had actually tried to hurt the kelvic by either physical violence (she knew how the Akalaks dark brothers could be) or tried to force themselves upon her.

Then she decided to tell Flick a little bit about herself so the kelvic might feel more comfortable talking to her.

"I wasn't born here... but I came here because an Akalak raiding party confronted a slave caravan that I was in. They'd captured me about thirty days prior. I was born on the Sea of Grass to my Konti mother who was there on her Call. I should have known better, but I still got caught. It was the most violent horrible time in my life... so I understand about not being free. I understand about being treated like you have no value. I was raped, beaten, and one of them even liked to carve on me with a knifeShe paused for a moment, pain evident in her azure gaze.

"If someone tried to hurt you Flick, there are people we can go to here that don't tolerate that sort of thing. The people that run this city are really good people. They treat women, especially Kelvics, preciously since we are the only thing that keeps their people from dying out. They gave me this place - this healers clinic and stables - and the means to run it in exchange for the promise that I will give one a child when I am ready. That is someone of my choice. This year.. next year... ten years from now. They protect people, Flick. If you are in trouble, I'm fairly sure I can help so that nothing else bad can happen to you." Kavala said, reiterating her confidence.

If Flick was close to her she'd pet her again, gently...

"But I need to know what happened... so we can settle it." The Konti said.

[Flick]

Flick followed the konti onto the balcony, smelling deeply as a ligh breeze brought the faint smell of the ocean to her senses. Turning, she moved to sit with Kavala, smiling and closing her eyes aa the pale womans hand ran through her hair. Closing her eyes, she sighed. It had been a long time since someone had been so kind. As Kavala began to talk, the smile slowly faded from her lips and her eyes opened, staring out into the horizon. It had been foolish to come here, her silly curiosity had finally caught her. The mention of going back, returning to her owner sent a thrill of panic through the kelvic. Tears stung her eyes and her small frame tensed. If she got up now, if she just ran, changed form...she'd never have to come back.

Frozen with panic, her heart thrummed against her ribs as Kavala continued to talk. The woman talked with honesty and openness, and Flick desperatly wanted to belong again. Listening to the konti as she told her own terrible story, the fox swallowed hard. It was a horrible story, yet a familiar one. Tears wet her cheeks as Kavala fell silent, and Flick took a deep uneven breath. Nodding, she began.

"I remember the bad place was noisy, and dark. I was frightened, then suddenly he came. He took me on a long journey, collared me. But I didn't mind. He would pat my ears and cuddle me close in the cold evenings. I think...I think I was supposed to belong to his son. But when I met him, I found he was cruel and cold. And he didn't care about me. Reghitaar," Her voice broke, and for a moment she had to pause.

"He looked after me, fed me. I slept at the foot of his bed every day, and at night we would hunt together. I loved him, trusted him. My whole soul belong to him. But..." Struggling, the kelvic wiped her cheeks, shaking her head.

"I wanted him to love me too, I changed into this form, pleaded with him. But he didn't want me. I couldn't stand to be away from him, so I stayed, hoping he would care. Then...his son..he cornered me and collared me. Now I was grown, he wanted to be my mate. I couldn't, I was bonded to Reghitaar - even if he didn't want me. I rejected him...and he struck me. Again and again, he hit me, and his eyes..." Turning to face Kavala, she looked frightened and sad.

"His eyes were so terifying. I think he was going to kill me. I screamed and screamed, and suddenly Reghitaar was there, holding him back. I was so frightened and I hurt. I broke the collar, changed and ran." Letting out a huge sob, Flick pulled her knees to her chest and pressed her forehead to them.

"I'm so lonely without Reghitaar, I can breathe when I think about him. But I can't go back. I'm scared of his son, he'll kill me, I know it! But, I miss him so much. And I can't live like this. I hate being alone." Squeezing her eyes shut, the small kelvic sobbed painfully.