finalbows | ic inbox - Pasture / Sheep Game

[ spins around, cheeks flushed and eyes glistening. ]

I'm certain because he's my servant and has been for the past few centuries, so unless you've been stalking us that whole time, you have no idea what you're talking about.

He'll come round. He doesn't need some stick-wielding creep telling him what to do. What's with that thing, anyway? It looks ridiculous.

Centuries, huh? Kids sure grow up slow these days...

The crook's not exactly... suiting to my angelic guise, it's true... yet! 'Tis still a mark of my station. Don't tell me you've never seen a Ranker Shepherd, before, kitty cat?

Edited 2023-09-05 18:19 (UTC)

...

[ bursts out laughing ]

Are you just making up names now?

Careful, brat. I might turn you into a particularly interesting sheep.

_{[ waggles crook threateningly ]}

... You're not even a Ranker, are you...?

You're a sorcerer.

I could be both. I contain multitudes.

Great.

[ the three lighthouses materialize: one green, one pink, one blue. that's all you see before you go blind. ]

Bye!

[ the blind only lasts for a few seconds. some of the effect can be blocked if you're fast enough, so you may see the blue lighthouse grow to the size of a small table as the other two release the flash. (you would have felt them channeling the flash while the kitten threw his minor tantrum. these are basic ass lighthouses, after all.)

the kitten leaps on top of the blue cube, his own eyes squeezed shut as the lighthouse whizzes away.

it's still slower than you. ]

Edited 2023-09-05 18:50 (UTC)

Tch! Cute.

_{[ if you couldn't stand a little lightshow like that, your master would never have let you loose on Gaia.

You can feel the way that rosebud's ran.
You fly after with an Actual feeling of the wind on your skin. A decent chase is really fun, honestly-- when was the last time you--? ]}

Edited 2023-09-05 19:13 (UTC)

_{[ (you feel the dirt under your paws.)

(a lean predator sprints toward a flicker of vulnerable motion, every step a bound)

suddenly, you're not having fun anymore.
You pull to a stop. ]}

[ the bells on your staff jingle as you stop. you hear a yelp from ahead; a red band snaps around the kitten's upper arm, its own bell jingling in harmony with yours. the cuff yanks him to a halt, forcing him off the still-whizzing lighthouse. he crashes to the ground. ]

What the hell—

[ his eyes meet yours and you witness his terror for the first and last time. white light fills the area. you pass out. ]

[ when you open your eyes... you're in an underground obstacle course, with a somewhat Queen of Hearts aesthetic. propped up against one of the hedges is a rose-patterned couch. the kitten — hair slightly longer than you remember, baby fat fading but not completely gone from his cheeks — lounges on it, tossing and catching an apple in one hand, upper arm still cuffed with that annoying red band. ]

— Rosebell? Hello?

[ he spares you a glance, then goes back to staring absently at the ceiling ]

Did all that floating finally get to your head?

[ you're floating, naturally. you have all your powers; why wouldn't you? your crook rests against a hedge beside you. all these years, and you haven't changed at all. you're even wearing the same outfit. ]

Edited 2023-09-05 19:35 (UTC)

_{[ you're floating. you're not touching the ground. there's no mist-swollen earth rending beneath your steps, anymore.

your crinkle your brow, looking at that red band. your free hand strays to your throat. no bell collar. ]}

...I merely found my mind straying to other times, a while. But I'm here now, cat.

[ chuckles ]

Daydreaming about bullying more strays with your Ranker act?

...Hn. It's their faults for falling for it. I barely even know what a Ranker IS. If some silly old discontinued doll like me is able to pull the wool over your eyes, it's more than enough proof you need to hurry up and wise up, or die.

Edited 2023-09-05 22:35 (UTC)

Did you hit your —

[ sighs, shakes his head and sits up. ]

Sometimes I feel like you say words just to fill the air, Rosebell.

[ taps his red arm cuff. a green light blinks in the middle of it. ]

Are you close, Sheep Fiend? Rosebell's gonna create an entire mind palace for us at this rate, you'll barely recognize him by the time you arrive.

[ you hear a bleat over the cuff-that's-apparently-a-comlink. ]

Oh? You should have said so. Yeah, just come in. We're not busy.

[ there's a nearby hiss of an electronic door opening, followed by rustling bushes. a man-sized white sheep ambles into the clearing on its two hind legs, dressed in white robes, bound around the waist with a red sash. the sash's bell jingles as it walks. unlike the Sheep Fiend of the pasture, this one's cat ears and tail don't need to be stuck on. the abs are still drawn on, though. he's around a head taller than the kitten while standing up, though the kitten stays put on the couch for now. ]

Sheep Fiend, you look ridiculous. Where did you even get that?

[ Sheep Fiend bleats. ]

What? Rosebell gave that to you?

[ both of them turn to look at you. ]

Edited 2023-09-05 22:53 (UTC)

...
We were making sheep-sized clothes for the play anyway...

Now you're just doing it on purpose.

[ Sheep Fiend bleats in assent, then flops down on top of the kitten. ]

— H-hey! What did I say about personal space?!

[ SHOVES HIM OFF. Sheep Fiend bleats sadly and moves over. now they're sitting side by side. the kitten spits out wool and groans ]

Seriously, you guys are impossible.

[ the kitten sounds happier than you've ever heard him. ]

Ah, but I'm impossible from a dis~tance~~.

Sheepy, dear, just because you're a living blanket doesn't mean the fur rug over there wants to be tucked in all the time. But. Isn't there... Someone... still missing...?

[ the kitten winces. hands the apple to Sheep Fiend — who munches it happily — and taps the cuff-comlink again. a hologram appears, showing a small girl with pale skin, black hair and talon-like feet, dressed in all black save for a red bracelet around her wrist, sitting on the floor of the soundproof room. she stares ahead, motionless. ]

She hasn't spoken since the last mission. The food trays I give her come back empty, which is promising, but... she won't talk to me.

[ Sheep Fiend bleats again. ]

... He says her life signals are active, but it's like her mind isn't there.

_{[ something in your chest falls into a painful, empathic stillness, to see her like that. ]}

I see.
...Nutrition intake and minimizing loss of muscle mass are the two most important things for buying time in these situations. _{It's why he grows us standing. If you can't even properly bask, the body's doomed.} --That's. Well. It's something. And we NEED whatever something we can get.

...
It'll be... very. Very difficult. Taking on the Chaos Floor, without her.

Hey, don't get ahead of yourself. We can't even fund the test with our existing funds, unless you found a way to exchange your gil for points. You know how conservative the directors are.

[ he hesitates, eyes flickering away for a moment. ]

I made a deal with Red. To get the funds.

...

It involves robbing the Workshop.

I want to rob the Workshop...!

... _{[ ahem. shepherd's staff. HOLDING, shepherd's staff... ]}

...It would be very dangerous. We'll need QUITE the solid plan.

[ speaking of which. glances at the staff. ]

Are you sure you don't want an arms inventory for that? I know it hasn't caused us problems so far, but this is the Workshop we're talking about, not some decrepit off-the-grid factory. It's not like they cost much. I'm sure you can get one of those with gil.

[ Sheep Fiend gives a small, very guilty bleat. ]

[ the kitten freezes. ]

You got what?!

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