<span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: Courier;"><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 16pt;"><strong>S T O R Y T E L L E R</strong></span></span><hr/><div class="floatleft">(https://artfiles.alphacoders.com/210/21002.jpg)</div><strong>Dramatis Personae:</strong>Animal Companions<br/><strong>Wearing:</strong>As pictured<br/><br/><strong>Time:</strong><em>3:15-3:30 XST </em><br/><strong>Location:</strong><em>Villa Gardens</em><br/><strong>Tagging | Mentioning:</strong>Bridgette, Melody, Alexis|<br/><strong>Notes:</strong><br/><hr/>With assistance, Bridgette finds it easy enough to ascend the wall. It's not that high of a climb, and with assistance from her two fellows, it goes smoothly. Team work, it seems, really will make the dream work!<br/><br/>Once on the wall, Bridgette has a good view of what lays beyond the Villa. There's maybe a hundred feet of open, slightly uneven, grassy field around the place. Past that, it's surrounded on three sides by a dense pine forest. They look an awful lot like blue spruces, although these ones have a light purple-ish-ness to them.<br/><br/>Bridgette doesn't need to search particularly hard to see a large, black horse munching on tall grass in the field, with a fire-red mane that glows like campfire embers. The creature is also adorned with what, at a glance, looks a bit like tribal tattoos--they have a similar glow to the mane hair.<br/><br/>As she watches the creature, it stops eating, and turns to look at her. It neighs at her, then slowly walks up to the wall. It moves in a slow, casual, unconcerned pace. When it stops moving, it's right alongside the wall, and looking backwards to her with a look of expectation. It would be easy to just slide off the wall and onto its back. The nightmare seems to be expecting her to do so. Should she, though? There are plenty of fables on Earth of people being spirited away on magical beasts, never to be seen again.<br/><br/>Could something like that happen here? It's entirely possible. Would the Triumvirat allow it to happen? Perhaps, perhaps not. Yet, like the other two girls, she feels an odd<em>connection</em>with this animal. She'd never be able to explain precisely why she feels it, but she nevertheless is left with a feeling that whether she chooses to ride the nightmare or not, it will still be around--it will still be connected to her.<br/><br/><span class="bbc_u">Should she choose to mount the horse</span>, it at once takes off into a gallop along the field. Her hands, guided by an unknown instinct, settle onto the back of the horse's neck, along the fire-y looking mane (which is pleasantly warm, not hot). After a handful of seconds of it building up speed, it begins to winglessly ascend into the sky, leaving a wispy trail of gray smoke in its wake, leaving her with no choice but to hold on for dear life.<br/><hr/>Dragon and Wicce share eye contact with each other, and it seems... contemplative. Assessing the wicce. Its tail sways back and forth, slow and ponderous. Then, a glint of something shiny catches its complete attention, and it's on her. Enraptured with the beauty of treasure, yet also seeming to understand Melody's intention, it works with her so she can get the ring onto the tail; it's actually quite a nice fit, too.<br/><br/>The scaled creature makes a tiger-like chuffing (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1Ts6DRnDGk) noise. As time goes on, Melody will eventually figure out that this is a happy noise (it snorts derisively to express displeasure). It also, somewhat aggressively, snuggles and cuddles into the human girl for some time, before it hops off her to ascend the wall once more. It finds a warm, comfy spot, and curls up for a nap.<br/><br/>An independent creature, Melody will find that it often disappears on dragon business, but in the end, it always comes back to home--to her. It hunts its own food, but won't say no to being spoiled with carnivorous treats. The dragon will also enjoy and attempt to sleep alongside her at night, for warmth and comfort.<br/><br/>Like a cat, it enjoys grooming itself, and getting its golden scales to shine properly. Unlike a cat, there will be no worries about 3 AM zoomies. The dragon is crepuscular, and it will be most active during the time periods of dawn and dusk. It tends to spend the afternoon lazing about, and the nights in deep sleep.<br/><br/>They enjoy the ring on their tail, and will occasionally take the opportunity to flaunt it in front of the other wicces (and the members of the Triumvirat), as if to say 'look at my treasure! Behold its glory!'.<br/><hr/>Meanwhile, the Jackalope finishes eating, a process that it takes it long enough to give Alexis time to assist Bridgette. Soon afterwards, it hops its way over to Alexis, and bounces about at her feet. Once it has her attention, it sort of raises onto its back legs, but can't quite seem to make it all the way; but the brief raising of its forepaws makes it seem like it's trying to communicate 'pick me up'.<br/><br/>Should she pick up the animal, she finds it's comfortable with her. It's fur is soft and floofy, and the horns sharp. In the coming days, Alexis can discover that, like the dragon, her companion is fairly independent and knows how to take care of itself. It can often be found having its own 'adventures' with Sarah the Cabbit in the gardens. The two creatures are possessed of complimentary temperaments, similar diets, are both diurnal, and enjoy each others company.<br/><br/>Again, like the dragon, come bed time, the jackalope prefers to be some place warm and safe feeling. It looks to Alexis for that warmth and safety. Thankfully, it's mindful of the comparatively large antlers it has. It can usually find its own food, as the Villa garden is rife with tasty and safe-to-eat plant life, but won't say no to being fed herbivorous treats.