006 | Action/Voice

[funnygirl]

[Belle woke up early in the morning feeling a sudden wave of home sickness she hadn't felt in months. But it wasn't Beast's castle that she longed for, but the small cottage she had lived in with her father and their small assortment of animals.

It's this feeling that brings her to the stables. She's only been here a handful of times since arriving to accustom herself with the horses and to take one out for the occasional ride. Things have been so busy she hadn't been able to come by recently.

She spends most of the morning feeding the horses treats and keeping them company. Eventually she gets one saddled and goes for a ride through the forest, though she's careful not to ride out too far from the village. People may catch her during her ride, or they may come upon her while she's at the stables before or after her ride.]


[After she finishes brushing down the horse she took out for a ride, she decides to sit down and pull out her journal. She has a question she would like to ask the village.]

Good afternoon, Luceti. I should also welcome all of the New Feathers who have arrived. My name is Belle. I have a question I would like to ask everyone, out of mere curiosity, nothing more. So no one should feel pressured to answer. But how many of you had animals you cared for back home? Or do you have any here in Luceti? And if neither of these, what kind of animals are your favorite?

As for myself, I grew up caring for my horse, Philippe. I suppose that's why I feel so comfortable around horses. I miss him every day...[She pauses for a moment before continuing, sounding more upbeat.]

Well, I'm curious to hear everyone's answers.

Comments

[voice]

[notyourutopian]

[Eleanor's voice is distant but slightly amused, and there is the sound of running water.]

...There were a lot of fish where I lived.

[voice]

[funnygirl]

Really. I suppose you lived near water then? Do you have a favorite type of fish?

[Voice]

[geniustheveil]

[Ami actually sounds, and looks, a bit livelier than she often does at a question like this.]

I kept fish. I have some here, too, and I have a cat. [One of the kittens from quite awhile back is now very definitely a Cat. Ami's always liked them anyway.]

[Voice]

[funnygirl]

Fish seem to be popular. What kind do you have? Does your cat get along with them?

[Voice]

[mysicksadlife]

[And the very flat, but likely true, answer.]

If I tried keeping a pet, I'm pretty sure I'd end up accidentally killing it. [There are Reasons she's not planning on kids ever, either. She'd want to do right by them, of course, but she is really not the nurturing sort.]

[Voice]

[funnygirl]

Well that's very pessimistic. Have you ever tried?

You might do better than you expect.

[godbent]

I hatched Sekai here, and he's still going strong. He's a rooster.

[funnygirl]

That's wonderful. How old is he now?

voice;

[ahappylie]

We raised pigs at home [for food, technically.] and I have one of the grown piglets here with me.

Mm...since coming here I've somehow acquired a goldfish, a chicken and a thing called a chocobo. Her name is Tammy.

And horses are wonderful, aren't they? Perhaps one day your friend will show up here?

voice;

[funnygirl]

Oh really? It must be nice having a pet from home. My father and I raised some chickens. Although I suppose they are two very different experiences. [She laughs.]

That is quite the list. You must enjoy having pets a lot.

Yes, they are. I would be happy to see him again.

[Action] Hooray for awkward introspective thread-starters!

[tailasoldastime]

[He only faintly remembers Belle telling him she was going to the stables. At the time, Sultan was being extra noisy and expelling energy all around the house so he missed the word a little among his pet's movements. On top of that, his head felt a bit groggy. He didn't have the best sleep that night.

So it was only natural that by the time afternoon comes, he makes himself a small sandwich, takes out the bags of tea Belle just got that week and - wait. She didn't go to the library. Where did she go?

The question leads to him pulling his journal to look at the map, trying hard to refresh himself on what that word she used was. It started with an s... she wouldn't go to the smithy, was it the SOS...? No. Too long. Stah-bless...? Stableh... Stables. That was it. ... Why did she go to the stables...?

At first he second guesses himself on coming to her, thinking he's not ready yet. But then again, Aang assured him that they can just be together, have some fun, and it would still be enough. Nonetheless, he finds his throat getting dry as he locates the stables and heads out. For once he feels empty-handed and feels compelled to pick up stray flowers he finds on the way there - Mrs. Potts said that's romantic, right? He'll have several of them in paw by the time he reaches his housemate's spot.]

[Action]

[funnygirl]

[Belle had just returned from her ride around the forest and is busy brushing down the mare she'd taken out. She sets the horses' saddle aside and picks up the brush. Softly, she moves the brush along the mare's coat.

She's just about finished when she notices Beast's entrance to the stables. She notices the flowers right away and smiles as she puts the brush down and walks out of the mare's enclosure.]

Hello Beast.

[Video]

[windandrain]

At home? I have a lot of different animals in my charge, though I'm not entirely sure if inugami are considered animals by humans.

[Given that most are smarter than people]

But for normal pets? Dogs.

[She even tilts the camera down to show Belle her dog, Keiko, a recent arrival. The Shiba-Pug looks up at it curiously, smiling a doggy smile.]

[Video]

[funnygirl]

I've never heard of a...inugami before.

[She smiles at the appearance of her dog.]

Dogs are very good pets. I've never had one myself, but Beast does. [Sort of.]

[action]

[fourthgenerationprincess]

[ Twilight takes the morning to wander the forest. She strolls comfortably by the stream, experimenting with subtle adjustments of the water flow. She's enjoyed little experiments like this ever since she met Sona during the recent Shift. Twilight leans down to drink from the river, and enjoys the way the flow plays over her tongue.

It's when she gets up again to keep walking that she bumps into Belle on her horse. ] Oh! Pardon me.

[action]

[funnygirl]

[Belle pulls the reins back, and gets the horse to stop just in time. They hadn't been going very fast to begin with, but she hadn't spotted Twilight until it was almost too late. Once they're safely stopped, Belle leans over the side of the horse to speak.]

No, it's my fault. I should have paid more attention. Are you alright?

video;

[degleamed]

I have one! Hold on -

[ Rapunzel switches the feed to video as she jumps over to her window and snaps up a sleeping Pascal from his warm perch there. A moment later, the sleepy green chameleon appears in the journal. ]

This is Pascal. He's a chameleon! He was my only friend in my tower back home.

video;

[funnygirl]

[Belle smiles at her enthusiasm and looks over Pascal curiously.]

Hello, Pascal. I've never seen a chameleon up close before. Does he really change his skin to suit his surroundings?

[Video]

[complicatedliar]

Have you thought to volunteer at the stable? The horses would no doubt enjoy the company.

[Video]

[funnygirl]

I did not know the stables were in need of volunteers. What would I need to do?

[Voice]

[origami_ninja]

I have a kitten that is rapidly growing into being a full sized cat right now.

[Voice]

[funnygirl]

Oh? What breed of cat is it, if I may ask?

They're always so adorable when they're small. But watching them grow up is quite a lovely experience itself.

voice

[weaponry]

Hm.. I don't take care of animals at home, unless you wanna talk about my teammates. [ ba-dum tish, or however you type that sound effect. ] But I care for a turtle here in Luceti. I found him in my washing machine, and decided that he should probably stay with me with the Malnosso decided to afflict him upon me with a shift. He's friendly and doesn't do much, but I'm glad to have him here, especially if my roommates are doing couple stuff.

My favorite animal is a panda though, but you don't see too many of those, if ever, here.

voice

[funnygirl]

A turtle? [Her thoughts immediately go to sea turtles.] I would think they would be a little too big to keep as a pet. And to be so far from the water...

[Then the comment about the washing machine sinks in.]

Oh! But you must be speaking of another kind of turtle. One that is much smaller.

voice

[dogboy]

[Animals... Chien takes a look at his two bothers, sleeping comfortably beside him in the sun coming from the window. Counting himself, that's three.]

I have my brothers here with me from home in Luceti, who're Cer and Ber. They're plenty enough trouble. [Um.] When I was here last spring and summer, I took care of a creature called a Pokémon named Soren. He's a big bird that lives with Ikki - the little airbender girl - now.

[If he sounds kind of shy or awkward, it's because he feels it. Talking about things that're important to him as a conversation will never get eaiser for him.]

voice

[funnygirl]

[She's a little surprised when he mentions his brothers. They're aren't what she would consider as a 'pet'.]

Ah, yes. I know of her. Do you visit him at all? Soren, I mean.

action

[heartofthematter]

[For all the time Diamond's spent here - four months now! amazing! kind of sad! - he's never actually gone to see the horses. Mostly because if he's going someplace farther away or just around the forest, he just rides his Torterra leisurely and naps.

Like right now, actually. From afar it just looks like a moving tree, but it's slow and bigger and a giant tortoise actually yeah.]

action

[funnygirl]

[Belle is stepping out of the stables for a breath of fresh air when she catches sight of something moving out of the corner of her eye. She glances over and at first things it's a large tree coming towards her. But a moment of staring closely makes her realize she's wrong.]

Oh! [She can't help but cry out in surprise. Giant tortoises aren't something you see every day. Not even in Luceti.]

voice

[stilldontgotit]

I never did have pets back home. Just didn't think I had time to care for something when I had bigger fish to fry. But, well, you could say that's changed a bit since then.

[As he says this, there's the sound of screeching, and a strangely colored bat can be seen from the journal's camera.]

I wouldn't really call him a pet so much as a partner, but I had to care for this guy and a whole slew of other Dream Eaters during my last adventure. Not that I'm complaining.

voice

[funnygirl]

[Belle is at first surprised by the appearance of this strange looking bat. But surprise is quickly replaced with interest.]

Dream Eaters? Is that what he is or what he does?

I can understand your past reluctance. Caring for another creature can take a great deal of time and attention.

[Voice]

[of_sablier]

My family was never that fond of the idea of pets, I'm afraid. They thought they were too messy to want to allow any in the house, even if the servants would be the ones who took care of them.

[Voice]

[funnygirl]

That's very unfortunate. I believe that pets can be lovely additions to the family. And great friends.