Pretty in Pink (Cara)

[Krivak]

Timestamp: Winter 30, 511AV Time: Early Afternoon Location: The White Elk Stables Who: Cara Krivak was in his stall at the stables, happily munching on some grains. It was a normal, uneventful day for the Bull Yak. He hadn't even left his stall yet. He had seen a particularly fertile looking musk ox female walk by earlier. He knew from a previous attempt, that this was not the time of year for that sort of behavior. His nose twitched from the pain he had received that day. He went back to munching on the delicious grains. Then the hairs on his neck stood up. He was being watched. He could feel the eyes boring deep into his muscular body. And it wasn't just a single pair either, but several. Krivak stopped munching, the grains falling back into the trough. His ears twitched, trying to pinpoint the source of the stares. He tried to discern the noises that were normal for the stables. He could hear the snorts from the elk and horses. He tried to listen harder, and was able to discern the sounds of hooves hitting the ground, tails swishing, and the wind. He tried to focus on the wind, that was billowing gently through the stables. A tiny, feminine giggle was carried to his ears. The giggle was followed by a few more, albeit a bit more stifled than the first. Then he heard some heavy footsteps walking down the central corridor. It was one of the large male Frostfawn that watched over all the animals that stayed in the stables. He stopped in front of Krivak and gave him a devilish smile. "I'm just here to distract you from them." Krivak cocked his head, confused, to the side as he looked at the man. In a shrill, girly voice, he heard "Attack!" An unknown amount of young Frostfawn girls, of various ages, all jumped in from the walls of the surrounding stall walls. The man in front gave him a look that clearly told him not to hurt the girls. Not that he would. He knew they weren't dangerous. But he wasn't prepared for what was about to happen. "Brush only the top coat girls, the bottom coat needs to be matted to help keep him warm. He isn't blessed like us. Not yet that is." He felt the tug on his long dreads as the many girls made quick work of his tangled fur. Then the giggling began. Krivak started to look back toward what they were doing, but one of the older girls blocked his view. After a few minutes, the man looked like he was struggling to contain some laughter, and Krivak knew it was for himself. "All done!" The girls scrambled out as quickly as they had appeared and Krivak looked back at his fur. And his lower jaw dropped very uncharacteristically for a yak. Hanging from his many long dreads were several tightly tied pink ribbons. His eyes grew big and he bellowed loudly in horror. He heard the giggling grow to full on laughter, and the man joined in. Krivak quickly backed out of his stall to try and figure out a way to remove the horrifying ribbons. He started by trying to rub his sides against the sides of the stalls, but the ribbons were very well tied, not noticing anyone else nearby.

[Cara]

Cara dumped the bale of hay in Nutmeg's food trough. The ropes which bound it together sagged against the side of the container, away from her hands. The sharp lines they had imprinted in her flesh. The areas they had turned red as they dug their way towards her bone. She groaned as her chest rose and fell heavily. "Only... three more... to go," she gasped, as she fought to catch her breath. Why did everything have to be so damn heavy? Cara wondered, as she tore the rope away from the horse's food, and gave it a few simple tosses with her hands. Spreading the dried grass out across the trough. She raised her right hand, and pat the horse's nose a few times. "There you go love, enjoy," she commented, as she stepped outside Nutmeg's stall and tossed the rope in one of the bins. The Vantha sighed, as she wiped the sweat that had gathered on her brow away with the back of her hand. Thank Morwen the day is almost done, she thought, as she began to make her way back down the narrow path which ran between a section of animal stalls. She was headed for the pile of hay bales, so she could give more to the last few horses in her line, when she saw a flash of pink slip by. Shrugging, and thinking nothing of it at first, Cara continued onwards. Soon, however, her brow had furrowed, and she found herself taking a few steps backward. The Vantha stopped in front of Krivak's stall, and turned her head to look inside. What the petch? Pink bows, all over that... I petching just groomed him a few bells ago. He was petching perfect before. A feral growl escaped Cara's lips as her hands balled into tight fists. Small wisps of fiery light billowed about her knuckles as she grit her teeth and stared off down the stables. "Richard," she hissed, as her irises shifted from a deep violet to a ruby red; a color similar to the blood she so desperately wanted to spill. The fiery wisps about the young sorceress' knuckles disappeared into a tiny tendril of grey smoke, as the woman stormed inside Krivak's stall. "It was him, wasn't it?" Cara hissed. "He knew full well that today it was my duty to tend to your kind, and the horses. The bastard must have done this just to piss me off. He always was an immature, practical joker. A sad excuse for a Frostfawn." Cara paused as she jerked a comb off a nail which had been hammered into the stable wall. "The petching idiot shouldn't be working here. He should be with those wretched Snowsongs, always playing their damned music. Thank Morwen they haven't come here today... surely you agree, their songs will not be missed." Cara passed the comb between her fingers as she reached for the yak, and untied one of the pink bows closest to the top of his coat, where a mane would be on a horse. She unfurled the ribbon delicately, and placed it in her pocket, before raking her fingers through the fur it had tied underneath. It was hopelessly knotted, as though the girls had tried to braid the fur before they tied it, but failed. Instead, tying the fur before sealing it with a pretty pink ribbon. Cara's eyes flashed dangerously when she noticed this. More work. "He'll be joining them before the day is through," Cara assured Krivak, "for doing this to you. Your perfectly clean, fur coat." She grit her teeth, "oh he is going to dance for this... and pay a little more after that's done." Cara paused as she moved the comb over to the creature's fur. "Sorry, but this is going to hurt," Cara commented, as she tore the comb through the yak's fur to get the knots out. She could hear a low scratching sound as the comb tried to tug away the knots. She seemed to be getting no where. Oh he is going to pay for this, Cara thought, having no doubt in her mind that this was Richard's work, and maybe someone else's. Little girls probably. After all, who else would choose pretty pink ribbons, and try to braid a yak's hair? "If only... I knew... how best to torment him..." Cara growled, as she continued tugging at the yak's fur. OOCOk... so... next post, expect some ranting. Also, Cara has no idea you're a Kelvic, that's just how she talks to animals.

[Krivak]

Krivak had never felt such shame as he did now, slowly walking back to his stall. He could do nothing to get the blasted pink bows out of his dreads. Why would the nice denizens of this beautiful city do this to him? He was a mighty bull, he should be treated with respect. His shame was further increased as a Vantha female stopped in front of his stall. She then, much to his surprise, growled at him. And this was no imitation growl, this growl would make a grown wild cat think twice about attacking. She hissed out the name "Richard," a name he didn't know off hoof. Then her eyes did the weird color trick that was so common around here. They were a menacing red now, and it still bothered him that they wouldn't teach him the trick. Then he saw something that disturbed him to his core. Her hand was burning! But as quickly as the flames enveloped her hand, they disappeared. Then she began to speak to him in the language of the locals. She was accusing that man Richard, and Krivak could just feel that she was right in her assumptions. So he bobbed his head once and snorted in agreement. She then began to become his savior! She began to untie the ribbons from his fur and then comb it out. As comb and fingers ran through his fur, he began to relax. Grooming had always calmed him down, and it had been one his few guilty pleasures he had here in Avanthal. But he was a bull, so he deserved a few little treasures. She continued to speak to him in that language, which seemed to sound even more beautiful coming from her. Some of the males that cared over him made it sound rough and dark. Krivak never liked when they groomed him anyways, they just forced their way through his fur. This woman, however, was kind and gentle, and her fingers moved with a grace that had been unmatched by all previous groomers. Even when she was forced to pull on his hair, it wasn't the painful tearing through as the others, but a caring he was growing quite fond of. He mooed slightly as her touch continued to soothe him.

[Cara]

Cara smiled weakly as she kept on working. The yak seemed to be enjoying it, which made her happy. It meant that she was a skilled Frostfawn, someone who knew what she was doing. How best to tend to animals. "You'll be out of this mess soon love, and then they'll all pay. Perhaps you'd like to watch, and take part in the revenge we extract," Cara purred, as she tugged the last of the knots apart, and began to unwrap another section of hair by tugging lightly on one end of a bow. After a few seconds, the bow fluttered to the ground. Cara's smile widened as she looked at the section of fur the second bow had released. It was far less tangled than the first, making her feel a bit better. Although, she was still pretty petching pissed off at Richard. With her free hand, she moved over to the section of fur, clutching it by the base, she held it between her fingers. She then, guided the brush against the fur, tugging the knots apart. "There have to be a number of things we can do to get back at him." Cara paused, as she tore away at a particularly large knot. "There's the classic, hurling fireballs at him. But that gets a bit overdone. Dangling him over a pit of liquid hot magma may be somewhat amusing. But don't you worry about him, we won't let the rope snap. We wouldn't want him to burn too much, after all. Just give him quite the scare so he'll more than think twice about doing this to us again." After a short amount of time, Cara had worked out the next series of knots, and moved onto the third bow. She unwrapped it delicately, before placing the ribbon in her pocket. She could always use them later, after all. As she thought a moment, in silence, she kept on working, winding the brush in small, counter-clockwise circles to get the knots out. "Or we could tie the ribbons together and use them, somehow... we could make a noose and have something rather dear to his heart dangle from it. But I don't know him well enough to know what that would be, and killing somebody or something would be disastrous. Morwen would be so displeased... perhaps then, simply letting the ribbons go up in flame before him, as a sort of open threat would be effective... although, that seems like a bit of a cop-out." Cara shrugged as she kept on working and thinking. "Or, perhaps we can lead all the animals he's supposed to be watching out. We can mark them with your ribbons, and lead them to a place where they'll be safe, but he may not know where to look. Or, we could send them to that petching Coolwater, and her pet Ruffles, and ask her to sell them for us. Although that wouldn't be fair to the others, whom they belong to. Not that they matter to me, they don't like me anyway." Cara's face scrunched as she tugged even more furiously against the knots in Krivak's fur. Jerking her hand around rapidly as she grit her teeth and spoke more quietly. Strongly. It was obvious that she was upset, and didn't appreciate her own kind. At all. "Perhaps then, we can just give them to her, and tell her that we're cleaning the stables out. That we can come back to them later, and bring them back by day's end, or tomorrow morning at the latest," Cara paused. "That may work, as long as we remind her not to remove the ribbons, so we know what to go back for." Cara cackled as she tugged at Krivak's fur, ridding another section of knots from it. She moved on then, untying another ribbon, and placing it in her pocket. "Yes... that should work out rather nicely," she whispered, as her eyes flashed devilishly once more. OOCSorry she is speaking entirely in Vani, so you don't know what she's saying. I feel bad, but she doesn't know you're a Kelvic, and you could actually communicate with one another.

[Krivak]

Krivak continued mooing in a relaxed state. He turned his head back so he could watch her handiwork. Her hands were so graceful and efficient, and it was a kind and massaging feel. He noticed one of the dreaded pink ribbons laying on the ground within reach. He leaned down and sniffed at it. There was a strange smell to it, not a foreign smell though. It was like fur and sweat. As he sniffed it a bit deeper, the ribbon fluttered upwards and stuck to his snout. He bellowed loudly in surprise, and began trying to shake his head vigorously to get it off of him. Finally it fluttered back to the ground. He continued examining the blasted thing. It wasn't particularly long or special, but Krivak knew... he just knew it was of pure evil. After eyeballing it for a bit, he decided to lick it, to figure out that strange smell. It stuck to his tongue and wouldn't come off no matter what he did, and he sure as hooves wasn't going to eat it. His tongue was hanging out of his mouth, the ribbon hanging further down. He looked up at the female in distress, not able to tell her what was wrong. And then he heard a familiar voice approaching. It was that male voice from earlier, the man that distracted him. And he was singing and whistling on his approach. And Krivak grew angry. This man had shamed him, and hid behind calves so as to not be hurt. Krivak couldn't tolerate bulls that were cowards and tricksters. His hooves stamped and he snorted in agitation. His anger continued to grow and grow, finally he couldn't take it much longer. He charged out of the stall, being careful so as to not hurt the female. He turned quickly into the corridor and there the man stood, looking quite shocked. Krivak bellowed out his challenge, stamped his feet, and prepared for a full on charge, knowing he could easily run the man down. He let out one more warning bellow. The time was now.

[Cara]

Cara kept on brushing through Krivak's fur. Tugging at the knots until they all came out, before moving onto the next small section, which had been buried beneath yet another pink ribbon. After having untied it, she placed the ribbon in her pocket, and picked apart a larger knot with her fingertips. Slipping the thick hairs in and out of each other so they'd cease to be tangled. It took her a few moments, but she soon got the worst of it out, allowing her to go after everything else with her brush. At this point, Cara could tell that the bull was beginning to get agitated. By the way he stomped his hooves, and snorted, and swished his tail. Was she taking too long? Or was he simply angry about something else? Say the fact that the bows were on him in the first place? Cara shook her head lightly. "Calm down, it won't be much longer," the Vantha assured Krivak with a few pats to his side with her free hand. "Then we'll get you some fresh water, and perhaps a treat for having to tolerate this whole ordeal. What do you say to a nice shiny apple, or even a carrot?" she asked, as she kept on working at the fur, hoping her offer would be enough to calm Krivak down for at least a little while. So she could get her work done. But it wasn't enough. Within a few seconds, the bull had charged out of the stall, causing the Vantha to seek cover against its walls, or risk being trampled. She could feel the heat of him against her. The air he displaced as he lunged past. Instantly, Cara dropped her brush in the muck, and hurried after him. She wanted to shout at it, as though it could understand. Shout at Krivak as though that would get him to calm down, and keep the other stable animals calm. She knew it wouldn't. But she so desperately wanted to; it was her nature, to yell. Instead, Cara's heart merely beat faster as she forced herself to move out of the stall. She glanced left and right, taking note of how some of the horses were whinnying, and some of the smaller animals were tugging against their binds in fright. Oh in the name of Morwen, this is going to be murder to try and remedy, she thought, as her hands balled into fists, and she turned to see Krivak, lowering his body towards the ground. Preparing to charge at Richard. So it was him, Cara thought, as her eyes grew wide. The bull seemed to recognize him. Or, he simply, was too angry to be stopped, and was going to charge at the first thing he saw, which just so happened to be Richard. Cara's eyes flared a deep sapphire blue as she stared in fright. Not for herself, but for what would happen to the animals should the yak start moving. They could, after all, do quite a lot of damage. Not only that, but with Richard in the way, there was bound to be a lot of blood, which meant there'd be far more to clean up afterwards. Cara sighed, as her magic roared to life. Soaring through the center of her system, and winding its way down into the length of her arms. Her djed tingled as it made its way through, and then seeped through the tips of her fingers. A transparent, nearly invisible, light blue res, which she forced away with the occasional flick of her wrist. She guided it down the length of stalls, past Krivak, letting it settle between him and Richard. A wispy wall. "Move," Cara mouthed to the other Frostfawn. "Please move." This is something that may only be solved with magic, Cara thought, as she waited for someone to do something.

[Krivak]

Krivak shot the man a fury filled glare as he let loose his final challenging bellow. The man yelped in response and froze in place. Krivak couldn't have been any happier. As he shifted his weight forward, and took his first step, the air in front of him felt odd. Every single hair on his body was now standing on end. He looked around for the source of the fear within him. He couldn't make out anything, but his rage had shifted to fear. No animal, no man, no danger had ever made him feel this way, and he didn't like it. It felt like the cause was between him and the man, and he bellowed loudly at the empty air, trying to scare whatever it is. And for the first time in his life, he took a step back from it. His shoulders began to hunch and for once, he looked timid. He hated this feeling, it wasn't natural. As he continued to cower like a calf facing a pack of wolves, he realized something. He was a bull damn it! He would not act in such a shameful manner any longer! He stood up straight, and let loose a deep grunt as he regained confidence. He roared loudly at the air. He no longer cared about the man. He was more interested in whatever made him feel that calf fear. And once again, he was stamping his feet, snorting, and bellowing out in challenge. He didn't notice that Richard had fled away, for he could still tell that his mystery opponent was still here. And as an alpha bull, he crushed all opponents.

[Cara]

Cara's body sank into a crouch. Her arms were held out at her sides, bent at the elbow, fingers spread, everything tense. Her eyes were fixated on Krivak's broad back, and on the cowering Richard. She was staring into his eyes, a bright yellow now, suggesting his mounting level of fear. "You petching idiot, move out of the bloody way," she mouthed to him, as he simply stared at the yak. The Vantha was listening to its tail swish back and forth as she waited. As she watched. As her muscles continued to tense, causing them to ripple beneath the surface of her flesh. She was waiting, silently waiting, as her heart pounded in her chest. Why wouldn't someone make a move? Why wouldn't anybody petching move? Why was the area so still, so silent? When one man's life was being threatened, and a yak was angry, and more than ready to take him down? It seemed like an eternity had passed, when in reality, it couldn't have been more than a few chimes. But finally, the yak moved. It bellowed, it seemed to lower its head, and hide it as though it were ashamed. That caused Cara's face to scrunch up in confusion as she raised herself up a little, out of her crouch. She couldn't for the life of her figure out, why the yak was doing what it was doing. The Vantha doubt it even possessed the faculties to feel ashamed. Especially when in such an aggravated state. Which made her truly wonder why it seemed ashamed, or perhaps afraid. Could it sense the magic in the air? Even though she had yet to truly make magic, did the creature know that it was there? That if it made one false move, she may very well be forced to use what she knew against him? Cara simply could not tell. Thankfully, however, in the time it took for the yak to shift from its aggravated state, to its frightened one, back to its original state, Richard had managed to slip away, largely unnoticed. But, if Richard was gone, why was the bull still so angry? Cara stood silently, confused, appraising the creature for quite some time before she spoke to it, in little more than a whisper. "Calm down love. There's nothing here to be angry at. Nothing here that will hurt you. Why don't you just get back in your stall, and we'll forget this ever happened?" she asked, as she took a tentative inch forward. "Why don't we brush your fur out? Get those nasty bows out, and give you a nice treat? Something sweet perhaps, if you don't like carrots or apples. Maybe a sugar cube? Or a pear if we can find one?" she asked. "Unless what you'd really like is a hot bath. Or perhaps some company. It must get lonely sometimes, in that stuffy little stall, all by yourself." Cara inched closer to the bull. She was silently praying to Morwen that it didn't kill her.

[Krivak]

Krivak's rage was building within him. He could feel that he had a challenger, he just couldn't see it. As his rage intensified, he began to notice less and less of the world around him. His vision tunneled so he was just seeing what was right past his nose. He couldn't hear anything else around him, not the wind, nor the other animals in the stall. He didn't sense any of their fear or worry. All he was focusing on was the strange feeling that was welling up within him. That is, until a low, beautiful tone invaded his senses like a horn impaling a wild cat. It fought the funk, the foreign invasion, purified him like no other. It abolished his rage. And it was the voice of the female that was grooming him earlier. He still didn't know what she was saying, but he knew she was trying to just calm him down. And was succeeding in ways he once thought not possible. Not since Allana. His rage settled, the strange feeling of the unknown, that stirred the fear in him, was gone. He knew whatever it was, or who it was, still existed before him, but it didn't matter now. That beautiful voice had saved him. He stepped backwards away from the force, but not in shame this time. He knew it didn't matter now, it was of no threat. He turned toward the female, and looked her in the eyes, as if he knew her. Would she know what he is? Probably not, but it didn't matter. A kind soul is a kind soul. And that's what she was. He reached his head upwards toward her face, and licked her on the cheek. Then he mooed softly and rubbed his head against her arm and side. If she reminded him of Allana, then he knew she was a good person. He left her side and walked back into his stall, which he normally wished were bigger, but now was glad it was small. It allowed her to stand closer to him. That thought comforted him. He turned around in his stall, facing outwards, and waited on her to return.

[Cara]

Cara giggled as the yak licked her cheek. She could feel saliva dripping down her cool flesh. "Stop it," she insisted, as she put her hands up to block his path, and turned her head to the side, "you're making a mess out of me." The Vantha kept on giggling as he rubbed his head against her. The sudden show of affection nearly knocked her over, so great was his strength and size in comparison to her own. She could feel herself being forced back a few steps, into the door of another one of the stable rooms. She could feel her muscles rippling beneath her flesh, her boots digging into the ground in an attempt to hold their footing. But nothing seemed to help, the yak was simply too strong. Finally resigning herself to the motion, Cara's lips curled into a smile, as her eyes warmed, taking on emerald green flecks. She pat the yak's head a few times, enjoying the soft feel of its fur. Her eyes sparkled as she whispered, "glad you seem to be feeling better," as the yak pulled away, allowing Cara's arms to droop to her side as he somehow squeezed past on the way back to his stall. At least she didn't have to lead him back there, somehow, Cara thought, as she followed behind him slowly, providing the creature with enough room to maneuver himself through the stuffy stable. When the yak had made itself comfortable back in its stall, Cara followed, flicking her wrist a few times so her wall of gaseous djed would follow. With a few more subtle motions of her hands, she guided it over the yak's water trough. She moved over to it, turning the knob which would empty the old water into a collection bin. She watched as the water whirled away, emptying the basin, before she twisted the knob again, and turned all of her djed into fresh water. She watched it drip down, splashing wildly into the basin. "There you are love, something clean, fresh and cool to whet your tongue," Cara called, as she bent to pick up the brush she had dropped earlier. When she had been forced to chase after him. She held onto it tightly now, and moved closer to the yak. "Why don't we finish getting rid of those bows, and brushing out your fur?" she asked. "Then we can set about finding you a nice treat, and extracting our revenge on Richard, in a way that will end with only, marginally less blood." Cara began to untie another bow. She tugged on the ends with her fingers. Watching it unravel, just as her day as been. Just as Richard's day would be soon, if it wasn't already. He knew, by now, she assumed, that he had picked the wrong animal to piss off. He would know not to venture this way again, for a very, very long time. Finally, the bow came undone, allowing the Vantha to place it in her pocket with the others, as she extended her hand with the brush towards the yak, and began to run it through his fur. Slowly and methodically. "It will only be a little while before everything is back to normal again," Cara whispered. "Don't you worry about that."