terrariums | open; 2024

"Perish the thought." What beautiful fangs! Ah, just like Floyd's. Jade could tear his throat out in a heartbeat just as easily, if he really wanted to. Is it any wonder just how ridiculously attractive the man is? Tall, strong, gorgeous, so dangerous if you know how to look for it..... He would have actively questioned just how disinterested Jade really is, if the man had thought to question aloud why Rook wants to hold onto him so possessively while in the walls of the dorm.

"Of course! Why wouldn't I be excited to show you around my home territory? I've gotten to look around Octavinelle plenty already, but you've never visited Savanaclaw before, have you?" There's been no reason to come here, really--dorm aside, they have very little but wide open spaces. But plenty of students are going to have reason to come visit the Lounge once it's in full swing, won't they?

"I suppose that's true. You have great pride for your home..." He can relate. It is just unfortunately a little more difficult to show off the Coral Sea without additional assistance. While students can reach the dorm easily enough due to magic, it is entirely different from returning home... He still remembers the time Floyd tried to bring candy floss back home for their parents only for it to dissolve immediately upon passing through the mirror.

It was as funny as it was a little sad.

As easily as he lets Rook guide him through the open dormitory he can't help but feel the eyes on him. Perhaps it's just his natural instinct as a predator to know when he is the one being watched, but to have so many eyes of such strong beastmen so openly staring is unsettling.

Is it because he's the outsider here? Or perhaps it's because of how easily he's letting Rook touch him? Maybe it is a combination of the two as well as the fact Rook is carrying a small corpse-disposal set up. Hm...

"Does everyone here always watch you so closely?"

"It's too bad I can't show you where I'm really from. But this is a good substitute, non?" He would love to show Jade the real savannah, the one without such 'cramped' artificial boundaries. The savannah you could get lost in for days on end, full of pristine beauty and simply bursting with life of all kinds..... His home, the one that had not only taught him how small he really was, but also that it was no bad thing, either.

Had he a tail, it would be wagging right now, feeling the eyes of so many of his dormmates lingering on them--watching them, together, as they headed off for their excursion. Instead, Rook just laughs lightly as they step out into the morning sunshine, making a broad dismissive gesture. Explaining the others looking because they're touching so readily is so obvious as to be pointless, isn't it? "Everybody wants to make sure they don't get too close, when they see I have my real arrows with me. Plenty of us enjoy exploring or training in the savannah, but not many of the others are interested in hunting like I am."

It's easy to imagine Rook running through what Jade imagines the Sunset Savannah is like if this place is any 'replacement'... Rook's hair blended with the dry, yellow grass. His bowstring taut as he watches any variety of beasts wander and explore--comfortably waiting for the best time to let his arrow fly. His body practically one with a land he's so intimately familiar with that the mirror had no hesitation to place him among his kind. More beast than man, but still man.

"Are they nervous that you will turn your arrows on them?" It's an instinctive fear, he thinks. Something he's intimately familiar with after what (he believes was) just a few short months of Rook's attention when Jade first enrolled. Even now he can feel his skin prick with how close he is... it's too similar to how Floyd and himself cornered and guided their prey back home.

It's exciting too, but that's a thought set aside. "I wonder if they feel the way I do about you."

"Heh heh..... They know I could, if I wanted to. I train with Monsieur Fier-à-bras quite often, after all. Why wouldn't they be nervous?" Rook grins, perhaps a little too pleased with himself. Why shouldn't he be smug, being able to inspire so many predators to feel that instinctive, visceral fear of a mere human? At first, some had thought he might be simply an herbivore..... It hadn't taken long to disabuse them all of that particular illusion, had it? Ah, such memories!

"Well, who knows? They might. How do you feel about me, Monsieur Prémédité?" Is he looking forward to this answer a little too much? Maybe. Juuuuuuust maybe.

"Mm... I believe my more personal opinions are safer close to my chest." Especially if Rook takes so much pride in his observations and skills to strike fear into the hearts of predatory beings. He respects it. It's one of the reasons why Floyd and Jade so like him... he's an interesting human. Perhaps that much is alright to say at the very least as they walk through grass that's getting taller by the step.

"But, I find you to be an amusing human. Normally I find them boring in comparison to my own kind."

"Oh là là..... are they, now?" Rook's gaze sharpens immediately with a fresh glitter of fascination. Silly Jade, doesn't he know that the more his quarry runs from him, the more he wants to chase them down? The more you want to keep secrets from him, the greater his urge to pry them from Jade's heart.

Still..... amusing is better than nothing, he supposes. Better than boring! He thinks he'll take it. Maybe they just need need to spend more time together, to make Jade fonder of him..... "Such rare praise! I'm honored, Monsieur Prémédité."

"Is it praise? I had thought my interest in you was fairly obvious." He hasn't told Rook to stop showing up at the Lounge nor to leave him alone when he is on his walks through the mountains. Even if the Savanaclaw man doesn't always approach him, Jade can still feel him nearby on occasion. He isn't so blind as to think that Rook isn't there on purpose... he just can't fathom why when his brother so clearly gives him everything he needs or could want.

Jade's hand reaches toward the grass, fingertips brushing against the long yellow stalks. As he'd thought--it isn't likely to be something that can easily work in something so confined as a terrarium.

"Although, I--" He pauses as his gaze shifts at the sound of a step in the grass that isn't their own. Another student? An animal, maybe? Perhaps one drawn in by the scent of food in his bag or even his own body? It must be a scent that the savannah is unfamiliar with.

"How could it not be praise, to be one of the few humans who can hold your interest? I'm happy just to hear it." He'd thought the signs were fairly obvious himself, after all. His presence alone isn't unwelcome. Jade enjoys spending time with him, he doesn't need to be a beastman to pick up on that much. The problem is, Jade is just so stoic..... It's so hard to tell if Jade is tactfully ignoring his signs in hopes they'll just go away, or merely overlooking them entirely. Wouldn't it just be easier to get hissed at or clawed, and know for sure one way or the other?

"Yes?" Rook doesn't lose the thread of the conversation, even as he perks up attentively at the sound of rustling grass. He pulls the bow from his back in one smooth motion, reaching for an arrow to nock--better to draw a bead on his fellow students and spook them, rather than risk not being ready to fire if they're being approached by a less-than-friendly creature. Do you see now why he'd brought so many things with him, Jade?

While Rook may be holding onto the conversation, Jade is content to lower himself instead to focus on the sound. Paws, he would guess... even if their sound is so softened by the dry grass and dirt. His eyes shift to the hunter beside him setting his bow with a level of comfort that he's never experienced humans to have. He's heard tales, of course, but he'd never thought his school life would expose him to such a person.

He does wonder if he should continue speaking when they're both so clearly focused on the same patch of grass, but... "It isn't important."

Jade's words earn a hiss from the space ahead, the grass shifting as the lithe creature moves toward Rook's side. Dark spots occasionally visible through the grass that so matches its fur. Clearly a cautious creature, but how close it is does bring Jade pause. If it wanted to attack by now, wouldn't it have?

"Oh..... Bonjour, mon cher." A soft, pleased laugh to see such a familiar face, and Rook eases the arrow off of his bowstring, tucking it back into his quiver. He sinks to his knees immediately instead, slipping into soft, conversational purrs and trilling meows as he leans in for cheek rubs. Jade will be just fine waiting a minute for them say good morning, won't he?

It's a good opportunity to introduce him, anyway. Even if Jade is only a temporary guest, why not let his friends meet each other?

When Rook approaches the grass, the cheetah moves her way closer. Her dotted forehead immediately butting into the hunter's own with a low, rumbling purr. Such gentle affection is followed by a nuzzle to his cheek before the length of her body rubs against his lowered side. The dialect is a little different than Jade is used to in feline linguistics, but there are some notes that he can catch.

Something about cubs, he thinks. How she hasn't seen someone (Rook, perhaps?) in a while... Then content sounds as she rubs into his palms as if she's always belonged there.

But when Jade's head tilts for a slightly better look she hisses softly in his direction. A warning, most likely.

His accent matches hers almost uncannily well, doesn't it? Rook can speak the common feline dialect, but that doesn't mean he'll ever sound like one. Even if he was entirely fluent in housecat, those rough edges and rustic turns of phrase he grew up learning will surely always betray his roots.

Either way, he looks and sounds absolutely delighted, stroking her affectionately as he chatters away. Congratulations, from the sound of it, questions--names? Surely she's settled on those already, yes?--, a promise..... To bring meat later, so she doesn't have to spend so long away from her cubs? To avoid her territory, for today's trip?

Most importantly, though, Jade can probably catch his own name as Rook nods towards him. Not human. Water person. Friend. Just today.

He doesn't expect the feline to look at him so directly, even as she peeks around Rook's muscular arm... before she gives the blond a lick on his face. Several, in fact along his cheek and into blond hair. Clearly agreeable to his easy conversation or perhaps just happy for the promise she's been made.

Were all the beastmen like this with the wildlife here? Surely not if the game that Rook so easily brings them is anything to go by. Not that Jade doesn't understand the benefit of befriending other predators back home. Minding one another's territory and not hunting too close by so as not to cause trouble. Sturgeons, barracudas, and plenty of sharks that Jade could likely speak to but their minds so ancient they lacked reason when enraged.

Her body turns with a final rub of her head against the hunter's arm before she shoots off back into the grass. Silent as if she were never there. "A friend of yours?"

Rook just laughs in delight, pressing a kiss of his own to the cheetah's cheek. A loud chirp of farewell before she vanishes entirely, and Rook stands up, settling his bow back onto his back and straightening his hat where she had knocked it askew. "Oui! I met her not long after I enrolled, and we've been close ever since."

Have a nostalgic little smile as Rook looks off in the direction she had left in, before he starts walking again. No need to wait around any longer than they have already; Jade is probably turning into baked fish even as they speak. "You could consider her my senpai; relatively speaking, she's not much older than we are. I know the bounds of her territory, we won't need to worry about disturbing her."

Jade straightens back up to follow. It's a relief from the dryness of the air and while he wouldn't like to admit it the hat was certainly the best option to take here. Fortunately, his sleeves are sweat-absorbant and long today, too... so different than the casual clothes the hunter wears. A different sort of practicality clearly meant for the woods than something like this.

"Is this her first litter?" He had heard that it's difficult for cheetahs to carry fully, but a place like this might lack the stress that they normally would have back in the 'real' Sunset Savannah. A hunter like Rook is probably important for such a 'small' space like this to help keep all numbers from getting out of hand. "She certainly seemed to like you."

He takes his own water bottle from the clip on his bag, unscrewing the cap to take his first drink so far.

"It is! I can't wait to meet them. I've grown quite fond of her, as well; I can't imagine her cubs will be anything but absolute gems. It's the least I can do to lend a hand with them while she's so busy, when she helped me settle in so well when I arrived."

Perhaps that's why he was so cavalier about offering Jade such mushrooms freely, hmmm? This is a relatively small, enclosed space, a completely isolated ecosystem magically maintained to help ensure its continuous prosperity and abundance. With nothing to likely to jeopardize anything, no introduced diseases, no natural disasters, no dangerous human development encroaching on their territory..... This is a peaceful, fruitful place. Food is easy to come by, if you only have the knowledge and time to go find it.

Edited 2024-04-27 06:57 (UTC)

That is an exchange that Jade can understand. It isn't that kindness and benevolence have to be so intimately profitable... that's just the trio's take on things considering their upbringing. How would Rook like the way Jade's family handles things under the sea? Would he stop playing with them altogether if he knew the truth about them? It would disappoint Floyd, of course, but... it would disappoint Jade, too. Even if he wouldn't say it aloud.

"You are too kind. I believe even the Sea Witch would admire your compassion." Though Rook's tenacity certainly comes through, too. If only his work ethic was a little stronger in ways that were more... convenient. "She is fortunate to have a friend like you."

"Ahahaha! I hope she would. It would be an honor to be admired by someone I admire so much myself! I just want to be as good a friend as I've had myself, though." It's awfully nice to imagine, isn't it? The Sea Witch has always been someone to aspire to, just like the rest of the Seven. He can't help but wonder, though.....

Had she ever been lonely, bestowing her favors so freely? Had she had friends, or a pride of her own? He can't remember any stories of people offering the Sea Witch herself boons in return. Then again, maybe those stories are all told under the sea.....

Maybe someday, he'll get to see the stories even merfolk write for themselves. What if he could swim into a theatre down there, arm in arm with Jade? What must he look like, in his real shape?

"You have good taste. Floyd and the Sea Witch are both fine options for your admiration." He wishes that their Sea Witch was more appreciated everywhere for her acts. The beautiful story of redemption and personal growth that led to her becoming the beautifully admired woman she became to this day... yet her cunning mind and strength are just as breathtaking in Jade's eyes. There's a kindness in her early ruthlessness to him that he is unsure anyone outside of the sea can ever truly understand. He'd love to share his favorite tales, but so few seem to see them as they are intended.

"I admittedly know only as much of the King of Beasts as are in our lessons, but I am certain he would take pride in a human like you wearing his colors here."

Jade pauses to re-clip his water bottle to his bag before unzipping it to dig inside for a glass jar. He might as well take the opportunity to collect some of the dirt here.

"Only them?" Silly Jade. Doesn't he know how much Rook admires him, too? Even Azul, for that matter--he can admire the sheer persistence the man shows in pursuing his goals, even if he finds Floyd and Jade more engaging. If Rook is an eager companion for Jade's terrarium-building exploits, though, wouldn't he be just as happy to listen to Jade's favorite tales about the Sea Witch? Curling up with his head in Jade's lap and Jade's fingers in his hair, listening as the merman talks to his heart's content, about her or whatever else he pleased..... It sounds like a wonderful way to while away a lazy day, in his opinion.

"I know he would. His Majesty brought all kinds of species together under his rule." Rook beams in pride, even as he unclips the spade from his belt to offer Jade. (See, look how useful all the stuff he's brought is being so far!) The King of Beasts would be proud of hosting a merman in his kingdom like this too, wouldn't he?

Perhaps he would if Jade wasn't already wishing it was sunset... unfortunately from the position of the sun he can tell it's late morning at best. The spade is taken as he looks over the ground. Too dry there, he doesn't want to disrupt the hoofprint there, that looks like a new stalk of grass barely breaking the ground there and he would hate to disrupt it's progress...

His eyes are focused as he chooses carefully where to stab the ground, pressing it in further with the heel of his shoe.

"Azul as well." It'd said with honesty while loosening the ground beneath the spade. No mention of himself because that seems obvious. He is simply a helping hand to assist in their potential--it's a role he's more than comfortable with.

Hearing Rook speak so fondly of his home and respective member of the Seven is moving. He offers the spade back before opening his collection jar. Fingers digging into the dirt and bits of sand for the softer, slightly less dry substrate beneath. "I can see why. There is a benefit to everyone who lives here... I imagine every one under his rule was extremely useful in their own unique ways."

"Heh heh heh..... You're so modest, Monsieur Prémédité. What am I ever going to do with you?" Does Jade perhaps need some help digging? Maybe while Jade is collecting dirt, he can find some interesting worms or insects buried in there? Rook flops on the ground in an ungainly sprawl, all but vanishing into the tall grass.

"Mmhmm! He understood that claws and fangs aren't the only strengths that are worth having. That's why he made sure even those living in the shadows could have their time in the sun." It was a bit of a different, more wild kind of compassion..... but isn't it similar to the Sea Witch's own, raising up those who were suffering and needed a helping hand?

At the mention of his modesty Jade only smiles. A little more softly than his usual with just the slightest raise of his brows showing his amusement before his eyes return to the dirt. After a few quiet moments he fills the silence.

"It's fascinating just how different earth can feel, isn't it? In the ocean so much of the sand feels the same. Wet and dense..." Jade's voice is soft and thoughtful as his fingers crumble a dry chunk over the jar. Careful to add a few of the varying shades. "The Coral Sea is beautiful, but even the colors seem so distant in comparison."

The vibrant red-orange of the clay coating his fingertips would look like nothing more than blue-black dirt back home. Even Rook's colors would be more subdued in comparison even as he so easily becomes one with the ground now. Ragged browns and corn yellow, caked in the dirt and grass that Jade has come to appreciate so deeply.

"It is because of the Sea Witch that I was able to come to land and experience all of these textures and colors." And people, too. "Truthfully, I had thought I would dislike it."

Edited 2024-04-28 04:09 (UTC)

"Vraiment?" There's a hint of sharp green peeking through the grass, as Rook peers up at Jade in open surprise. How in the world could it all feel the same, no matter where it was or what it was made of? Are the colors really so dark and muddied, when he had assumed their eyes must have evolved to compensate for the lack of light?

Rook pushes himself up to his hands and knees, scooting closer to Jade's side to listen more attentively. He'd heard about the program the merfolk students had to go through to come attend Night Raven College, but this..... this is different. This is personal? "Why did you think that?"

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