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*Nightwhisper
"And guilty I may be, but don't give up on me... We will still be thick as thieves."
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Post by *Nightwhisper on Nov 13, 2020 21:42:39 GMT -5
Parker's eyes found Sol once more. A couple of seconds passed before he ventured, "Tell me about him. Your dad, I mean," he requested. He wasn't sure if he would mind talking about him or not, but if he wanted to, then Parker would listen to whatever it was he had to say.
~*~*~
Anya followed, having a hard time focusing on the course and not the bundles of floof following them. Honestly, if her parents didn't get one, she may end up with one for herself as well. "Until another lead blows by," she said, giggling.
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Heterosexual
✧☽ ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴅᴏᴇʀ ☾✧
"You never have to prove yourself to anyone who doesn't accept you for who you are."
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Post by ✧☽ ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴅᴏᴇʀ ☾✧ on Nov 14, 2020 10:25:37 GMT -5
Sol's gaze found and held Parker's. He leaned back in his seat and folded his arms across his chest. He said nothing for a minute, and then he took a deep breath and his eyes dropped to the table. "He was a better man than I am. And I'm not saying that in a pity-party kinda way," he added with a wry half-smile. "He was. Not because I can't or won't willing do some of the things he did, but because it was second nature for him, completely natural. And it's... not for me. My first instinct is to be selfish, not selfless. He never judged me for it, though. He hoped I might follow in his footsteps one day and join the Navy, especially when I proved a natural on his ship before I even started talking. But something in me..." He shook his head, gaze distant. "I was never meant for following orders or obeying rules, and those are both a big part of being a soldier, on land or sea. I tried for a really long time after he died, to be the man I thought he wanted me to be. It never fit. I never fit.
"Then I encountered a pirate during my first year as a Naval officer. He was..." He huffed a quiet laugh. "A lot different from the picture I had in my head of what pirates were like. I used to think they were all like the Pirate King, pillaging, ravaging, and killing for kicks. He wasn't, and he proved that a lot of other pirates were pretty decent people too. That's when the real lesson my dad was trying to teach me clicked. So I worked my ass off, used every stupid skill I'd learned about obedience, and got myself promoted to captain of my own ship. And then I went out and started making my own rules — most of which I break on a daily basis." He smirked a little as he met Parker's gaze again. "I'm not half the man my father was, but I've taken everything he's taught me and everything I've learned and turned myself into my own version of a good man. And I think he'd be proud of that."
~ • ~ • ~ Seth smiled at her. "If that happens we can share mine. Who, by the way, needs a new name. Tiny (that was his name, right? xD) isn't going to fit him for long. Have you seen the size of his paws?" As he said it, the puppy tripped over those big paws of his and went sprawling. He jumped right up and kept running like it never happened.
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*Nightwhisper
"And guilty I may be, but don't give up on me... We will still be thick as thieves."
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Post by *Nightwhisper on Nov 14, 2020 16:11:59 GMT -5
As he listened to Sol's explanation, it was as if he was seeing a different man. Or at least, a different part of the man he had come to know. This was the foundation, or at least a small glance of it, of why Sol did what he did. He had to admit that upon first impressions, Parker thought that he was a pirate simply for the freedom it gave, and the excuse to do things his own way. Well, it was true, but for a completely different reason than most pirates. He thought profit was the main driving force, or the hunger for power and fame that it brought. Of course, now he knew that wasn't it, but still. Everything he did had a purpose, and, as their eyes meet again, he could tell that there were minimum regrets, if any at all, about the actions he took to get where he was. "I don't think I have any qualifications in telling you what he would think, but I would believe he is proud of you," he said. "After all, you've certainly made a name for yourself, and you do offer some sort of justice in places that might not get it. I think that's plenty for him to be proud of."
~*~*~
Anya giggled. "I'm sure he'll name himself soon enough. Animals have a way of doing that," she told him. "Take it from me. I've named nearly all our animals that way."
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Heterosexual
✧☽ ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴅᴏᴇʀ ☾✧
"You never have to prove yourself to anyone who doesn't accept you for who you are."
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Post by ✧☽ ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴅᴏᴇʀ ☾✧ on Nov 14, 2020 17:49:01 GMT -5
Sol smiled. "Thank you." His eyes flicked to something over Parker's shoulder just before Charlotte returned with two plates of cake, with ice cream and whipped cream on the size.
"A voila!" she said with flourish. "Two house specials!"
~ • ~ • ~ Seth nodded as he crouched down by the tunnel opening. "You are the expert. Do you even know exactly how many animals you've had and named?" He patted the inside of the tunnel, encouraging the pup to go in. He did, sniffing curiously at the odd material before pouncing on Seth's fingers. Seth extracted them from the puppy teeth, then gently pushed him over. Unfazed, the pup jumped right back up and tried again to turn Seth's fingers into chew toys.
~ • ~ • ~ ( Okay, just to clear the air so I can finally get this reply done, Kyra is in a small no name (none that I remember, anyway xD) town, and locked in, what? A room in the governor guy's house? Or was she moved? )
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*Nightwhisper
"And guilty I may be, but don't give up on me... We will still be thick as thieves."
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Post by *Nightwhisper on Nov 14, 2020 20:43:55 GMT -5
Parker looked up as Charlotte appeared by the table, dishing out two plates of dessert. He grinned and picked up his fork. "It looks amazing," he said, digging into the cake. He lifted a hand to partially cover his mouth, partially so he wouldn't seem rude talking with his mouth full, (his mother hated when her kids did that) "It tastes amazing too." It seemed like forever since he had anything that compared to his mother's baked goods, and Charlotte's cake came very close to having the same flavor. He finished his hurried mouthful before adding, "I hope you have plenty in the kitchen, because I might be asking for more."
~*~*~
"I've lost count. We have so many lambs being born, it's hard to keep track of, and so many Fluffy the Second, Third, Fourths, to really keep track of," Anya stated, laughing. Not to mention she had been doing it since she was little, so it was hard to say an exact number. While Seth got attacked by his puppy, she walked around to the other side of the tunnel. She crouched down and tried to get Tiny's and his sibling's, who had stopped to watch the commotion and was unsure if he wanted to join in the attempts to chew on Seth's fingers or pounce on Tiny, attention.
~*~*~
(Yes. I gave it a name, but I can't remember what it was, but it was a small town, and I figured she'd just be tied in a chair in the governor's office where she can't get out.)
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*Nightwhisper
"And guilty I may be, but don't give up on me... We will still be thick as thieves."
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Post by *Nightwhisper on Nov 14, 2020 21:32:55 GMT -5
"Oh, you don't have to do that," Parker said, chuckling. "If I take the whole cake with me, the rest of the crew will get their hands on it. Just a few pieces will do."
~*~*~
Anya looked over the tunnel to respond. "You say that like you're surprised," she commented, grinning. "Yes, I have names for all our sheep. Even the ones that I know we'll end up selling. The only reason why any of the animals have names is because of me."
~*~*~
(Three guys, all there in the house. One can be in the room with her, waiting for a response to the letter, and the other two can just be doing their own thing.)
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*Nightwhisper
"And guilty I may be, but don't give up on me... We will still be thick as thieves."
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Post by *Nightwhisper on Nov 15, 2020 9:02:01 GMT -5
And Parker's face went bright red. "Knowing him, he'll probably just laugh while it happens," he muttered, trying hard to act as if he wasn't suddenly lost for words.
~*~*~
"Mama uses them, and Papa will too when he gets frustrated with them and tell me to go do something with them," Anya replied. "Parker too, naturally, but other than that, no one really cares. Not unless its a horse or the few cows, or even the rooster." She lowered her head when she heard the puppies running through the tunnel. She was just in time to see them pounce on the leaf.
~*~*~
(Can't forget about those midnight potty runs. XD)
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Heterosexual
✧☽ ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴅᴏᴇʀ ☾✧
"You never have to prove yourself to anyone who doesn't accept you for who you are."
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Post by ✧☽ ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴅᴏᴇʀ ☾✧ on Nov 15, 2020 12:14:38 GMT -5
At his blush, Charlotte gave a knowing smile. "You think so? Well, why don't you ask him?" She gave Sol a pat on the head that had him ducking away and made her grin. "I think he'll surprise you." And with a wink, she headed back to the kitchen, calling over her shoulder, "Come see me before you go!"
~ • ~ • ~ Parker and Maria didn't surprise him, though Marcus did. "How do you even tell them apart? They all look the same to me." Well, most of them. Some had unusual markings or telling features that made them stand out from the rest, but in general each sheep just looked like the next.
In the tunnel, the puppies had abandoned the leaf and were now wrestling. The noises they were making, amplified by the tunnel, made them sound way bigger and scarier than they were.
~ • ~ • ~ ( No, but I can forget my phone when I go for it. xD )
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*Nightwhisper
"And guilty I may be, but don't give up on me... We will still be thick as thieves."
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Post by *Nightwhisper on Nov 15, 2020 21:02:41 GMT -5
Parker, seeing Sol reaching for his plate, playfully mimed stabbing his finger with his fork, but didn't actually stop him from taking the whipped cream. "Safe? Safe for you to eat, more like it," he corrected, chuckling. "Not to mention, if I hide it in your room, I'd have to go in there and get it whenever I wanted it. You giving me that kind of permission?"
~*~*~
Anya waited until he had them turned around before giving a whistle of her own. "Come here, babies," she called, patting the edge of the tunnel and rustling the fabric.
~*~*~
(Caring for the babies and getting them ready for their forever homes is hectic, I'm sure. So you don't have to worry about it. ^^ )
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*Nightwhisper
"And guilty I may be, but don't give up on me... We will still be thick as thieves."
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Post by *Nightwhisper on Nov 15, 2020 22:21:40 GMT -5
(Missed opportunity. XD)
Parker took a moment to let that sink in. He had been joking, but apparently Sol hadn't been. That felt like it was a much larger step in whatever this relationship was, and he wasn't sure how to take it. While, yes, he did feel a sense of giddiness knowing that Sol was telling him he had pretty much full access to his room, it made it all the more bittersweet to remember that it wouldn't last for long. Should he even bother with it? Why get used to it if he would be leaving? "Well don't tell me that. Now I'll be stashing all sorts of snacks there," he said, pushing aside his thoughts for now. He could work them out later when he wasn't with Sol.
~*~*~
Seeing and hearing the puppies scampering her way, Anya smiled. They were just too stinking cute, and she didn't even care to defend against their attacks. She petted their heads and ruffled their fur for a moment, lavishing them in attention. "See, that wasn't so bad," she cooed.
~*~*~
(Still, I call that hectic for a homebody such as myself. XD Save for the puppy play time. That just sounds wonderful.)
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*Nightwhisper
"And guilty I may be, but don't give up on me... We will still be thick as thieves."
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Post by *Nightwhisper on Nov 16, 2020 8:52:25 GMT -5
"Yes, like a chipmunk," Parker said, fully embracing the tease and emphasizing it with his last bite of his cake. "I will pick up every acorn on our way back to the ship, and will store it in your fridge for the winter along with the cake."
(Lol, it's fine. XD)
~*~*~
"Speaking of the pros," Anya started, glancing up and looking around the course, "I wonder how Aidan's doing with his group."
~*~*~
(It was bad because you had less time to play with the puppies because of the errands. XD)
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*Nightwhisper
"And guilty I may be, but don't give up on me... We will still be thick as thieves."
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Post by *Nightwhisper on Nov 16, 2020 21:26:53 GMT -5
"It will happen when you least expect it," Parker confirmed. Now he would have to find some acorns, because, gosh darn it, it would be funny to see his reaction. "Until then, I guess the cake will do."
~*~*~
While Seth focused on fixing the jump, Anya played supervisor over the puppies, following wherever the swarm went to both prevent and fix whatever they might get into.
~*~*~
(Storm. XD Just storm the whole place. Morgan's going to get into trouble anyway, so might as well go all out for it. XD)
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Heterosexual
✧☽ ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴅᴏᴇʀ ☾✧
"You never have to prove yourself to anyone who doesn't accept you for who you are."
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Post by ✧☽ ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴅᴏᴇʀ ☾✧ on Nov 16, 2020 22:15:14 GMT -5
Sol noticed the move and chuckled softly but didn't say anything.
Charlotte waved him off. "Oh, pish posh. It was my pleasure. And don't you dare pull out that coin purse, mister," she added, pointing a threatening finger at Sol.
Sol gave her a charming smile and slid smoothly to his feet, crowding her space because she didn't step back. "I would never." He gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you for dinner and dessert. It was great. We're shipping off in the morning, but I'll come back and visit soon."
"You better." She stood on her toes to give him her own kiss on the cheek, and reached up to ruffle his hair as if he were a little boy. He ducked out from under her hand and slid away, shooting her a look that tried to be a glare but failed.
~ • ~ • ~ ( Yes, yes, yes! Let's do it! xD Who should start??
Edit: I felt inspired after writing Morgan's post, so here we go! 😁 )
The rest of the day passed uneventfully. They played around on the agility course for a while, and ended with Aidan giving them a show displaying everything Star had learned in that time. They did surprisingly well, though both could definitely use more practice.
After that they went to lunch. Seth even bought five nutritional homemade dog bones for Star and the pups to snack on. Aidan did most of the talking over lunch, but Seth nor Anya complained.
They spent another hour or so walking the Festival grounds, window shopping and occasionally actually buying stuff. Aidan also sold both of the remaining puppies, both of whom promised to stop by the Dorreh place after the Festival to pick them up and pay. Aidan was a little sad after both sales, but Seth managed to cheer him up and/or distract him.
It was well into the afternoon when the trio and their pack of pooches returned to the Dorreh home. Seth had Aidan put the puppies right to bed in the barn. The little dogs were exhausted after such a busy day. Aidan complied, and then they all headed inside to see if Maria would feed them a snack before dinner (with "them" mostly being Aidan).
While Aidan did that, Seth went and sat down in the living room. Chasing after Aidan and four puppies all day was exhausting, but it was the good kind of exhausting. It was similar to how he felt after a good workout. It wasn't that he couldn't keep going, but it was nice to be able to sit down and relax for once.
~ • ~ • ~ ( Okay, this time I will definitely bring my phone out when I take Ella (the puppy) out for her bedtime pee and work on that reply. xD
Edit: Success. xD )
As they closed in on their destination, Morgan had two options: stealth op, or storm the place. It wasn't much of a competition. Stealth and subtlety were Seth's strong suit. It had never really been Morgan's.
Storming the place was a helluva lot simpler too. It went something like this:
Kyon landed in the street directly in front of the house with an earthshaking BOOM that left cracks in the pavement. He barely fit between the rows of houses; one wrong move and he would crush a bunch of houses into rubble.
Morgan dropped to the ground and jumped up onto the house's porch in two bounds. He kicked in the door with a crash of splintering wood. As he stepped over the threshold his hand went to the sheath at his back and drew a dagger. A flash of silver, and it was flying through the air and pinning a man to the wall by his shirt collar. The man could do nothing but stand there, stunned.
Morgan's attention had already moved on. A second man, given a little more warning, was running toward him with a wicked-looking blade in hand. He swung. Morgan ducked under the blade, spun, and landed a roundhouse kick on the man's chest with enough power to send him crashing into the wall. Morgan was on him again before he could recover, grabbing a handful of his hair and yanking his head down to meet his knee. The man hit the ground, out cold.
Without missing a beat, Morgan spun just in time to deflect his own dagger, wielded against him by the man it had pinned to the wall a minute ago. He knocked the blade aside with his forearm and used the momentum to whip his other arm up and nail the man in the face with his elbow. He stumbled back with a grunt. Morgan kicked him square in the chest, much like he had kicked the door. The man fell back and crashed down onto and through the coffee table. Morgan landed on him a second later, driving the air from his lungs, and slammed his head back into the floor. The man went limp.
Morgan snatched up his dagger and stood. He stalked deeper into the house, not even sparing either man a second glance. As he had been doing since the town came into sight, he followed the pull of his magic right to the door that held Kyra trapped on the other side. Like the front door, he kicked it open. It crashed into the wall with a BANG.
He had only a second to take in the office space, with Kyra tied to a chair on the far side, before all his attention went to the third and final man standing in his way.
( Okay, so I'm not sure if this guy is the governor or not, but if he is, I can't see him attacking Morgan like the other two did. If it's actually the governor and one more bodyguard, then I'll edit so Morgan can kick his ass too before moving on. xD )
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