Oerba Yun Fang (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
belligerentwarrior) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
middaeg2020-03-15 02:19 pm
belligerentwarrior) wrote in middaeg2020-03-15 02:19 pm
Closed Catch All
Who: Fang, Ozymandias, Alex, Kaede; others to add
When: Throughout Mareuer
Where: Throughout Aefenglom
What: Fishing, cats, and Fang being Fang
Warnings: n/a
[Ozy] It takes a village (to raise a cub)
[The giant sphinxes posted outside were... new. Even if Fang expected no trouble from them—and part of her was confident she could take one on—her jaguar's instinct pressed her to pass by like a shadow, and downwind. It was kinda a fun challenge, trying to get around the sentinels.]
[Even with the intermittent rain, there's enough track-like shapes around the back to indicate that one patrolled the perimeter. The cat-shifted Turnskin waited for it to pass before darting in, poking her head up to peek through the windows, looking for a certain someone. Ah, there—]
[A faint bap bap as she pawed the window to alert the growing starry sphinx and rouse it from its nap. Once Fang had its attention, she stood bipedally in order to work at undoing the window. Fang had stayed out of the mud (largely, as much as anyone could in this weather) as much in consideration of the mansion as it was for her inner jaguar's fussiness, tracking very little in. She had a gift for the little dude.]
[As so she finally dropped the squirming, panicked beast from her jaws. It's like a hare—on the large side, about the size of the starry sphinx, and... bearing a pointy rack of antlers on its head. Fang quickly shut the window keep it from leaping back out (it tried, resulting in a rattle as it hit the window before scrambling off elsewhere into the room. Go, little cub.]
[And Fang has the presence of mind to shut the door leading into the room. The cub's master would probably pout up a storm if the antlered rabbit-thing escaped into the rest of the house.]
[Alex] I don't have anything clever about quailfish
[The ocean. They're fishing in the ocean, just outside of the harbor. The wildlife here was simpering and weak compared to Gran Pulse, that was a given, but... the ocean. Fang had never imagined swimming out in that wild, open body of water. Others had gone. No great leviathan of creature had risen up to swallow them whole, or swarms of frenzied, bloodthirsty fish descended upon them.]
[Fang had a net and hooks in the little boat she'd taken out, and some of the coveted quailfish she'd been sent for. But after a while, she couldn't help indulging. She dove into the water in her jaguar form, chasing the shadow she'd seen flickering under the surface, coming up with one of the fish in her jaws. The cat paddles back to her boat, plopping the catch in, and dives again.]
[The ocean, honestly, reeks. The currents were strong and more multi-directional than the rivers she grew up swimming in, and the salt horribly stung her eyes—and especially her silverburn scars, now uncovered but still raw, rings of warped flesh around her wrists and neck.]
[But fishing like this, though ineffective, was delightfully satisfying.]
When: Throughout Mareuer
Where: Throughout Aefenglom
What: Fishing, cats, and Fang being Fang
Warnings: n/a
[Ozy] It takes a village (to raise a cub)
[The giant sphinxes posted outside were... new. Even if Fang expected no trouble from them—and part of her was confident she could take one on—her jaguar's instinct pressed her to pass by like a shadow, and downwind. It was kinda a fun challenge, trying to get around the sentinels.]
[Even with the intermittent rain, there's enough track-like shapes around the back to indicate that one patrolled the perimeter. The cat-shifted Turnskin waited for it to pass before darting in, poking her head up to peek through the windows, looking for a certain someone. Ah, there—]
[A faint bap bap as she pawed the window to alert the growing starry sphinx and rouse it from its nap. Once Fang had its attention, she stood bipedally in order to work at undoing the window. Fang had stayed out of the mud (largely, as much as anyone could in this weather) as much in consideration of the mansion as it was for her inner jaguar's fussiness, tracking very little in. She had a gift for the little dude.]
[As so she finally dropped the squirming, panicked beast from her jaws. It's like a hare—on the large side, about the size of the starry sphinx, and... bearing a pointy rack of antlers on its head. Fang quickly shut the window keep it from leaping back out (it tried, resulting in a rattle as it hit the window before scrambling off elsewhere into the room. Go, little cub.]
[And Fang has the presence of mind to shut the door leading into the room. The cub's master would probably pout up a storm if the antlered rabbit-thing escaped into the rest of the house.]
[Alex] I don't have anything clever about quailfish
[The ocean. They're fishing in the ocean, just outside of the harbor. The wildlife here was simpering and weak compared to Gran Pulse, that was a given, but... the ocean. Fang had never imagined swimming out in that wild, open body of water. Others had gone. No great leviathan of creature had risen up to swallow them whole, or swarms of frenzied, bloodthirsty fish descended upon them.]
[Fang had a net and hooks in the little boat she'd taken out, and some of the coveted quailfish she'd been sent for. But after a while, she couldn't help indulging. She dove into the water in her jaguar form, chasing the shadow she'd seen flickering under the surface, coming up with one of the fish in her jaws. The cat paddles back to her boat, plopping the catch in, and dives again.]
[The ocean, honestly, reeks. The currents were strong and more multi-directional than the rivers she grew up swimming in, and the salt horribly stung her eyes—and especially her silverburn scars, now uncovered but still raw, rings of warped flesh around her wrists and neck.]
[But fishing like this, though ineffective, was delightfully satisfying.]
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[As for the cub, well, it's a bit of a clumsy take-off. The larger sphinx lifts her paw, but the cub starts a little too early and still ends up going up and over instead of ducking beneath. There's a quick recovery at least as once he has all four paws on the porch, he's already scrambling down the stairs. Wisely, he takes the path leading up to the stairs for as long as he can before the jackalope's direction forces him onto the grass.]
[And despite the jackalope's exertion from all this stress and struggling, it still is able to turn on a dime when its antlers prove getting through the wrought iron fence a little too difficult with an active predator after it. The cub, on the other hand, is a little less graceful in trying to get traction, but continues all the same. Now the jackalope is left with two options: either find another point of escape or get into a better position to hold its ground. It needs to make a decision fast though because despite lacking in some grace, the sphinx cub is beginning to gain ground.]
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[The jackalope tried its best, zig-zagging through the yard—and turning sharply back the fence once it realized the path was leading back to the guard sphinxes' shelter tree. The cub's approach was wedging it against the fence, and it's left with little choice but to take a stand in the corner of the fenced yard. The panicked beast turns its antlers towards the predator, half-barking angrily and half-screaming in that way of distressed prey.]
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[Inside the mansion, Ozymandias is beginning his descent down the stairs. While it would be his preference to finish the whole of his morning routine and he hasn't entirely come around on the whole idea, he figures he might as well see for himself how this plays out. And so, he's limited himself to merely putting on warmer clothes for the sake of time, saving the rest of his preening and adornments for after Fang leaves.]
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[Fang doesn't take her eyes off the scene, but one ear swivels back and her tail gives one bigger flick before resuming it's idle curling when Ozymandias joins her.]
There you are. Was startin' to worry you'd miss the whole thing.
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That was foolish. I'm a man of my word.
[He said he would come outside and watch, so here he is doing just that. Although there doesn't appear to be much to watch at the moment. The jackalope seems to be doing its best to appear threatening, trying to make the young sphinx back down, but the cub doesn't seem frightened. Stuck perhaps, but not frightened. A divine beast such as he is could never be frightened of such a creature even if while at this size and limited in its abilities, there is some degree of threat that this creature poses to it. Ozymandias offers no commentary on the matter though, folding his arms loosely in front of him.]
[Wiggles start to happen. The sphinx cub stays low but begins to rock side-to-side as it gears itself up. Ozymandias leans in a little.]
[And then, without any further warning, the sphinx cub shoots forward at the jackalope, trying to move with instinct and aim low enough to get at the thing's throat.]
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[The jackalope springs upward, back feet viciously lashing out at the cub's face. If successful, it might be able to make a break for it over the sphinx's back... but which of the two was faster in this game was the question.]
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[Nothing seems to go exactly as planned for either the jackalope or the sphinx. The cub doesn't get the thing's neck as it intended and the jackalope doesn't really get in as much as to the cub's face with its kicks as it was likely hoping for. The sphinx cub twists and contorts itself, drawing its wings in close to its body to try and protect them as much as possible as the jackalope launches itself over the cub. Turning as quickly as it can in the slick grass, the cub at least manages to get a claw or two into the jackalope as it tries to flee. But his prey is a little too quick and surefooted in these conditions to be more than just a briefly slowed down rather than brought to the ground.]
[The sphinx cub, however, seems to have learned a little something from the previous chase and tries to drive the jackalope away from the fence and closer to the house itself.]
[Ozymandias straightens once more now that the pursuit is back on with a small sigh. He's not exactly disappointed. It's a bit much to expect the sphinx to have taken down the jackalope in the first try with their first clash with one another. But that doesn't mean he didn't hope the sphinx was capable of it all the same.]
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[Muscle memory, and to some extent reflex, could be taught, but it was a hard road without a good base.]
[The beast screams when claws catch it's flank, it's already frenzied motions intensifying. The cub's herding proved to be effective; the prey first tries to dash away to the trees, then away from the watching sphinxes towards the porch, and back again to the cub when that also proves to be a bad idea. It zig-zags in a short erratic pattern in the center of the yard, caught between panic and three sources of predators.]
[Honestly, the jackalope looked like it was unraveling. It might soon keel over from the prolonged stress alone.]
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[There is a lot of noise and a lot of motion. It's difficult to say if the thrashing is caused by the jackalope trying to get the sphinx off, instinct attempting to free itself from sharp fangs beginning to dig into its neck, or if it's the sphinx using any tactic he can to try and take total control over the situation by disorienting his prey further. Whichever the case may be, this only lasts for mere moments and then it is quiet.]
[Not exactly still though. The sphinx cub swishes his tail a few times, as though expecting the jackalope in his jaws to be playing dead, before somewhat clumsily disentangling himself from it. He drops the jackalope and gets into a crouch, but when it fails to get up or move, he grabs it by the back of the neck and begins dragging it toward the porch. It's a little awkward given the jackalope's size to the sphinx cub and there are constant little readjustments along the way, but he continues dragging it along.]
[Ozymandias pushes off the pillar and walks down to wait for the sphinx cub at the bottom of the stairs despite the rain. The sphinx cub sets the jackalope down at Ozymandias' feet and sits quite straight. He hums in light amusement.]
A worthy sacrifice to Pharaoh, [he says before bending down and picking up the cub.]
[He holds the sphinx out in front of him not because he's particularly concerned about getting anything on his clothes, but to inspect him. The jackalope managed to get a few licks in from the looks of it even with the splotches of mud on the cub, but light scratches from claws are nothing. Ozymandias draws the cub to his chest, and the sphinx half-purrs and chuffs, leaning into Ozymandias. Ozymandias picks up the jackalope by an antler and brings both it and the sphinx cub back onto the porch.]
You may enjoy your spoils here. We'll get you cleaned up later. You've done well.
[He sets both the jackalope and the cub down on the porch, giving the sphinx a few scritches under his chin before he stands. There's a bit of mud now on Ozymandias, mostly where the sphinx was leaning against his chest and on his arm where its paws were resting, but it's almost as though it is not even there.]
I'm going to make coffee, [he says, looking up from the cub to Fang.] Would you like some?
[She broke into his home, so he probably shouldn't. But she at least adhered to his request to take this outside, so the least he can do is extend some hospitality to her. And allow her the option of going back inside where it's warm.]
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[One ear twists briefly back and her tail lightly thumps the ground once at the question. Coffee was far from her favorite, but hospitality was a concept Fang too semi-seriously.]
Sure.
[From her crouch, the jaguar shifts her weight back and stretches paws forward, toes spreading and claws lightly clicking on the porch before standing again. Truthfully, she was oblivious to the true gravity of her crime. She understood the concept of breaking and entering, but... growing up in a communalistic society and living among a semi-communal gang placed a lot of cultural barriers on that one.]
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[He frowns a little then at the mess of his shirt, especially his sleeve with the distinct pawprints, and grabs a kitchen towel to start cleaning at least some of it off, mumbling to himself about the probability that this won't come out. Still, he works on getting the biggest splotch on his chest out as much as possible.]
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[The jaguar pads in after Ozy, settling back into a crouch and idly flicking the tip of her tail.]
[She holds her silence. He's made it clear he's in a mood.]
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[Stranger perhaps though is that Ozymandias doesn't really know how to break the silence. One moment, Fang seems content to push on past what happened last time as though it never did and the next she seems sensitive to (or at least aware of) his discomfort with it. If it was one or the other, he'd know a little more easily what he is to do, but the back and forth leaves him at a loss. His skin crawls though, the longer the silence carries on.]
[Ozymandias drops the kitchen towel into the sink for now, giving up on his shirt. The silence continues to eat at him for a little while longer before he decides that they're both far too old to be acting like this.]
Fang, [he says, turning to face her.] I enjoy the company of others plenty, but I've kept very few friends throughout my life and thereafter.
[It's not a boast or attempt to mark himself as a peerless superior in saying that. Nor is it seeking something useless like sympathy or even really trying to make excuses for himself. It just simply is.]
So, I will admit that I'm not the most skilled in these matters and I possibly misread whatever this relationship between us is. Regardless, I know overstepped the last time we spoke.
[He pauses though not for very long.]
I won't apologize for having concern for your well-being, [he says with a small shake of his head,] But I apologize for overstepping.
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[For a moment, two more thoughtful tail curls were her only response. Then, she sighs; the big cat sits up, shoulders hunched... before her form melts into Fang's usual visage, her eyes closed and her body sagging. The look of horrible exhaustion is brief, however, and she hauls herself to her feet. She's decent, at least, her bra and shorts enchanted to stay with her through her shifts.]
Doesn't really bother me any. Case you never noticed, I don't keep a whole lot of the boundaries people are always trippin' themselves over.
[It seemed... trivial—too small to get hung up on in the grand scale of life. Not that Fang was without them completely. She settles herself at the table, chin resting in her palm and the foot of one crossed leg idly kicking.]
You were worried sick, in you own way. Guess... I wasn't in a place to hear it, with the right bloody mess that my head was—more than usual, anyway. Didn't mean to upset you, Sunshine.
[As loose and casual as her posture is, there's that pointed look in her eyes again; watching Ozymandias, almost as if trying to see through him. The corner of her mouth quirks wryly.]
So, what it is, then? This—[her voice drops in imitation of Ozymandias' tone]—"relationship between us."
[Fang hadn't thought about it, really. It just was. That never bothered her.]
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[Still, he crinkles his nose.]
...That was a horrible impression of me. I sound nothing like that.
[But focusing more on her question rather than how it was delivered, Ozymandias' expression settles once more. He doesn't provide her with an immediate answer though. Unlke before, he notices how Fang is looking at him. Ozymandias can't read her mind, but he gets the sense she's trying to puzzle something out about him. The scrutiny seems a little unnecessary to him, but he supposes it's understandable given the question. She's asking him to label something that he doubts very much she's ever bothered to apply one to with her flagrant disregard for boundaries and how people ought to conduct themselves with one another.]
[Gold eyes hold her gaze steadily.]
I would consider it a friendship. [Despite their obvious differences and Fang's penchant to ruffle his feathers on a regular basis. Perhaps even because of it rather than in spite of it.] But what I consider it doesn't mean much if you feel or think differently.
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Aww, that's sweet of you, goin' on about how few friend's you've got, then turnin' around to call me one. I must be special.
[She's teasing him (she always is), but there was an undercurrent of gravity. For as much as Fang taunted him about taking everything too seriously, it worked both ways; the things Ozymandias said had weight, even in throwaway comments or introductions to his long preambles, and now that weight fell in friends.]
[Ozymandias meant it. Fang could respect that.]
[She shrugs lightly.] Friendship, huh? Works for me, if you've really gotta stick a name on it.
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[Her own annoying way.]
You're impossible.
[Ozymandias shakes his head, turning and walking away from her to pull down the carafe and dripper from the cabinet now that the water is reaching an audible boil. While he's getting coffee grounds, he asks her over his shoulder.]
How strong do you like your coffee?
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Whatever's fine, long as there's sugar in it. [Lots of sugar, preferably. Fang liked strong flavors, but she's never been a 'bitter' fan.]
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I wouldn't take you for having a sweet tooth.
[With as rough and lackadaisical as she is about everything else, he'd easily believe she takes her coffee black. It'd seem like too much work to try and find the right balance of flavors.]
[He measures out the coffee before placing a bowl of sugar and pitcher of milk on the table along with two mugs. He's going to let her sugar intake be her decision and steps away to take the kettle off and start blooming the grounds.]
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Not something I got every day on Gran Pulse. Not much of it in the Dunes, either.
[There was sugar, of course; Oerba wasn't that backwater. Still, it was something they imported, so being able to dump in a drink was a bit of novelty for her. Fang idly spoons a few lumps of sugar into the mug, stirring a splash of milk in to get it all dissolved.]
Salt's more my speed far as flavor goes, but long as it's not bland, [Looking at you, Cocoon,] doesn't bother me too much.
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Did you contend with many bland meals in your world?
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Are you kidding? Gran Pulse was the only place that knew what flavor was. Every bloody thing on Cocoon tasted watery, and I was ready to put one of my guys in the Dunes through a wall the next time he called something "too gamy."
[She sighs.] Guess I can't really blame 'em for not knowin' better. Food produced by fal'Cie might as well've been fake.
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Food has changed a great deal in my world since I was alive. People are no longer limited by what grows near them and can sample dishes from anywhere in the world. [He pauses in pouring the hot water for a moment, letting what he's already poured drip into the carafe for the moment.] I suppose that is one thing I do not mind about being summoned into the modern era.
[Low-key Pharaoh really likes chocolate. Don't tell.]
Though I will admit, I miss the banquets of my era. [He pours a little bit more.] I've yet to see an equivalent in the modern era.
[Ozymandias replaces the kettle back on the stovetop.]
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[Even though he's looking away, her face pinches a little in disgust.]
Banquets. Bloody waste of food, if you ask me. Feasts for people that need to feel high and mighty. [Her tone, somehow, isn't accusatory at all.]
The Order used to try to throw those in Vanille and my's honor. [Honor pitches upward mockingly, and he can probably imagine Fang's sarcastic handwave that accompanies it.] People were out starvin' in the city, and they thought we'd appreciate the damn thing, or something.
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My people were not starving, [he clarifies.] I will admit that poorer individuals did not always have the ability to enjoy the same foods often outside of festivals, but they did not go without food.
[Ozymandias moves the drip into the sink once it's done and brings the carafe to the table, setting it down in front of Fang to allow her the first pour.]
Egypt lies in a desert, but my kingdom was built along a great river known as the Nile. [He sits down in the chair in front of the other mug. As he speaks, he puts in some milk and less sugar than Fang does into his own mug.] To my people, it was life-giving. It provided them with meat from the animals that lived along its shores and within its waters. And with each flood, it would leave behind fertile land for their crops to grow.
Much of my own food came from the Nile as well.
[Granted, Ozymandias was not out there farming or fishing himself (though he would occasionally hunt when time allowed and before he was well past his prime), but the dependence upon the Nile is still a way in which he feels some undeniable connection with his people. And so, he speaks of it with some pride and a great deal of fondness.]
But I can understand your perspective. It is an irresponsible thing to indulge if there are people going to bed with empty bellies. I would not be able to even enjoy the entertainment, never mind the food if my people were hungry.
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i'm cool with this being ~fin~ if u r