IC Contact: Atacalepsy

[tranquilforest]

My deepest apologies for not being home to you. Lin Xinyao will respond as soon as possible.

Comments

[sunborne]

[ he willingly angles the 'book so miss jing can get a better view of the draft, still keeping his vents to himself as he waits for her verdict.

and when he hears the kindest words he’s ever word about his doodles, daylight visibly sags in relief as his winglets twitch in excitement. ]

Really? [ his winglets begin to, honest-to-the-saints, flip and flap up and down from joy. ] I'm- I'm happy to hear that, Miss Jing! I wanted to make sure I got your presence accurate on the first try.

[ baaa! ]

Oh. Looks like some lambs wanna join us. So— What do you guys think? [ he whistles to bring the two lambs closer to where miss jing and he were, lowering his arm so the lambs could get a better look at their likeness.

for a few seconds, the lambs stare and seem to be deciding something. they could be described as being pensive, even.

… aaaaand that illusion is ruined the instant cotton tries to chew on the paper, chomping on down the sketchpad without any warning.

poor daylight makes that can be best be described as a squeal, strangled shriek, and the sound of someone’s dialup connecting online. ]

Cotton…! No!!

[tranquilforest]

[Her expression doesn't change to any significant degree, but the movements of her hands are deft and quick as she takes firm hold of Cotton's face, just enough to still the movement of the little lamb's jaws in the midst of chewing, coaxing its mouth open to try to extract the thick pad of paper from inside.]

I'm almost surprised Cotton finds paper to be appetizing at all. [She notes wryly, wiping at the abused book with her sleeve. It's a little worse for wear, but the papers inside aren't too damaged, at least.

And she's pretty glad for the distraction because she was a bit at a loss for how to answer Daylight anyway.]

[sunborne]

Guess they were curious. [ not that it stops him from sending a baleful look towards the direction at the now innocently baa'ing lamb.

yep. you're definitely going to be renamed after auntie epps... if he goes through with that choice, of course. but that's for later. daylight is more focused on inspecting his sketchapd, only allowing himself to vent in relief when the damage is revealed to be minimal. ] Thank you so much, Miss Jing. I mean it.

I think I would have cried if this had been ripped or something. Or, you know, tried to cry. [ it's one of those things he can't do. a weird hiccup of biologies being unable to reach a compromise with the other. ] I'm still working on this sketch of mom and dad and I think-

I hope it's finally looking like them. Going back to square one would have been awful. [ a pause, thoughtful one. ] Have you worked with farm animals before? I haven't seen anything like that since Uncle Art.

[tranquilforest]

I have some small experience with them. [Especially with water buffalo Mainly in passing though; she's relying mostly on common sense with things like this.

It's a little strange, hearing Daylight talk about his parents in this context, though she is very much capable of holding her tongue about things she has no business interfering in, however difficult that might be.]

Like most things, it's important to be gentle and decisive. I'm glad they didn't manage to do too much damage to something of such great sentimental value.

Do you have any experience working with animals, Daylight?

[sunborne]

Yeah! I do! [ daylight’s winglets flutter at the question that miss jing asked, a fond and nostalgic smile blossoming on his face. it helps him keep calm enough, even when his inspection reveals there is some crinkles and crumpling on his parents' sketches.

it fades a bit when he gives the question more thought, finding himself needing to add: ] Er... Some animals.

I have a lot of experience with dogs! Uncle Roderic and Uncle Art had this dog sanctuary that I could come and visit when Auntie Laura or Uncle Leeds could take me. It was really nice. [ spending his summers there were the best summers in his life, honestly. being able to walk the dogs and help at the kennels and just hear stories about his parents from uncle roderic.

he would give anything just to have one more day there. he wonders if it's still open... oh! focus, day. come on- ] I never interacted with farm-farm animals, though. Besides Mr. Darrison’s cows when they decided to run off. My guardians made sure I stayed within the range of Dust Tumbles, if possible. Parents' orders.

[tranquilforest]

[Oh Daylight. She's just glad your childhood sounds mainly like a happy one.] That does sound wonderful. Dogs as a whole are considerably more tractable and trainable than most farm animals I've had experience with, but the principle is still similar.

[She tilts her head thoughtfully.] At home, my son also has a dog [wolf]. He would bring Foya with him whenever he was away on campaigns. As a mother, that eased some of my concerns for his safety.

[sunborne]

[ oh! his winglets flick up in interest at the mention of foya the dog and miss jing’s son.

he doesn’t think he ever heard of foya. miss jing’s son, definitely, if he recalls their talk back at el-minha’s marketplace correctly. it’s… nice, knowing about others’ live before they came here. a bit like looking through a window.

and from what he’s heard from miss jing so far, she seems to have come from a really neat place. a safe place, for sure. ]

Uncle Roderic's companion dog, Daisy, was really protective of him. Made sure he was safe all the time. I’m sure Foya— [ by the dust and rust, he hopes he said that name right. ] —is just as loyal to your son. He's safe whenever Foya is around, I'm sure.

[ ... huh. something occurs to him. ]

How old is your son, Miss Jing? [ he adds, hurriedly, ] If I can ask! If not, I get it.