Eden's Growth: Furry Post-Apocalypse (Ultimated and Darian)

[Darian]

"Eh, there are lots of folks who say hello like that. The traditional response is to shoot back." Kelly grins and finally squeezes her chest together in such a way that Nova is pushed upwards like she's been squeezed out of a tube of toothpaste. As soon as the sergal's shoulders are visible, the bunny sticks her hands under her armpits and pulls her out the rest of the way.

"Now, I'm gonna cut you loose for the ride, but if you try to run... well, don't try to run." Kelly gives Nova a serious look, and then cuts the bonds tying up the sergal like a hog. "now, hop in."

The buggy only has two seats, and the one in front of the driver is obviously more comfortable. The passenger seat is much smaller, and barely cushioned. There's also absolutely no good spot for her tail.

It soon becomes obvious why the Driver seat is so much more larger and well cushioned... when Kelly sits down, a couple clicks have have her big belly comfortably set before her, allowing her to drive and reach the steering wheel without problems.

She slams the door shut and pulls a belt over her chest, fitting it around her squirming belly. "Belt up now," kelly instructs, gently pointing her to the belt on the sergals side of the car.

[ultimated]

Nova wiggles somewhat as she's lifted out, her bound feet twitching above the ground, at least until she's set down and cut loose. She gets to her feet, brushing herself off, and approaches the buggy with caution. She pokes her head inside, looking around the buggy for several long seconds before she moves further, tentatively sitting on the chair as though it may explode. Her tail does indeed cause some trouble here, with her having to make several attempts at sitting before she finally finds a position that seems to work, her tail curving around her thighs and awkwardly draped over her lap, but she certainly doesn't look comfortable. When told to belt up, she watches what Kelly does, then pulls her own belt around, wrestling with it for a moment before clicking it into place.

[Darian]

"Right, here we go!"

The engine growls to life quickly, and then lets out a snarl as the buggy lurches forward. For sensitive ears, the noise would be startling, perhaps deafening.

The ride is not smooth, but surprisingly, isn't much worse than riding on an animal. The buggy's wheels and suspension flex over rocks and shrubs, and at a good clip... faster than the deer Nova could have ridden back home.

But so much louder! However, Kelly, even with her huge ears, doesn't seem to notice the noise.

"You know, I don't often have much use for that passenger seat. The bounties are usually unconscious or, well, in a much more useful spot." Kelly says conversationally, as her belly jiggles with every bump. Her voice is pitched loud to be heard over the engine. "Was thinking of putting in a gun mount, but I didn't want to leave my MG out in the open."

Nova probably doesn't have much clue what the bunny is talking about, but Kelly doesn't seem to care. And she's let Nova out of her chest! Now might be a good time to try and talk to the bunny...

[ultimated]

Nova seems somewhat bewildered, clutching her ears against her head as if they might blow away (which she half suspects they may!) to block out the loud noise from outside! Her eyes, when not staring at the blurred scenery outside, are fixed to Kelly's belly, praying for the safety of her friends trapped within. She'd almost been swallowed up by the bunny's breasts - she couldn't imagine the belly of the beast would be any more appealing! The words go right over her head, and she tucks her knees up to her chest, hoping for the rather loud journey to be finished quickly.

[Darian]

Realizing that Nova is a bit too distraught for casual conversation, Kelly lets her be. Though not before sighing and shaking her head. "Here's hoping, then..." She mutters, seemingly to no one.

Away from the mountains, the forest quickly vanishes and is replaced with dry wastes, occasionally the crumbling remains of what was a house dot the landscape... but these are few and far between. Mostly though, there are rocks, and patches of stringy brown grass.

Whatever happened here, the place feels... tired.

But it isn't dead. Not entirely. Quickly growing in the distance is a cluster of buildings, and a wall of scrap metal and wood. A fence of barbed wire going about an acre wide reveals a place that is more grass than rock, and She can see some large animals milling about among the weeds... though she doesn't quite get a good look at them, as they're too distant.

Still, when they arrive at the gate, a voice calls out to them.

"Ho there, lass! Looks like the hunt went well!" an heavily accent voice calls out. "Lemme get the gate!"

The wall creaks open, sliding to the side to reveal an old human man with a cowboy hat and a dusty set of clothes on hand... and a shotgun on his back.

"You were right, Mister Lugh. A whole lot of Mole rats were moving in up north." Kelly announces, unbuckling herself.

"Looks like you caught at least ten of the buggers, eh?" The man hesitates when Kelly hefts herself out of the car, revealing her huge belly. "More'n ten?" He give her a side-eyed look. "Ain't gonna judge you for keepin some of the meat, but did you have to wander around looking like that."

"Ah, these aren't for me, I'm just holding onto them." Kelly smirks at the man's reaction. "Because I didn't just find mole rats out there. Apparently, they're the pets of this one."

Mister Lugh tilts his head to one side as Kelly gestures to where Nova is sitting in the car.

[ultimated]

Nova has been spending her time since arriving looking around and marveling at the sights. This isn't something she's seen before: a dusty, walled-off town where life kinda just gets by rather than thrives. The town she'd come from originally had been more open than this, if not any happier... At least there's some vegetation here.

As Mister Lugh focuses his attention on her, she quickly wrestles the belt off her body and almost trips out of the buggy, but stands and performs a low bow - he's clearly a man of some importance. Typically, if somebody has a gun and you don't, they're pretty important either way. "Uhm. Hello sir, my name's Nova," she introduces herself. She can't help but glance over at Kelly and protest; "Th-they're not... Pets, as such, they're just wildlife I'm r-raising... Y'know, t-to try to... Get something of an ecosystem going again..." She trails off a little, perhaps embarrassed by the fact that she's starting to share the idea out loud with more people.

[Darian]

"... ain't ever heard of wild mole rats bein' tamed before. Nasty buggers, had a few digging holes in our fields." Mister Lugh guestures to the expanse of land outside the walls... and the clumps of stringy tough looking grass that makes up the vegetation there. It barely looks better than the rocky desert...

"Then again... nought seen anything like you before, either." The accented old man gives Nova a once over, his eyes softening a bit when she bows to him. "But if Kelly here brought you in, you probably won't cause more trouble than she does."

Kelly laughs as her belly jiggles. "Aw, you're all heart Mister! But I didn't just bring her here because she's cute." The bunny holds up he canteen and a few pictures. "Apparently your well isn't the only source of water around here anymore. She did something to the area that turned it all... green, and cleaned up the river there. The mole rats only really attacked when I got close to their nests... and I got most of these just wandering around."

That was good for Nova to here... it seemed not ALL of her furless friends were dead.

"I mentioned that you might have some difficulties with more wildlife around town, but might be interested in getting some of the water."

Mister Lugh looks at the water and the pictures, putting his gun away. "Well, yer not wrong about that. Our Purifier takes up most of our generators output..." He pauses then looks up at Kelly again, one eyebrow raised.
"And she didn't give you any trouble coming in?"

"Nah, not after I tased her and tied her up in my cleavage. She was totally open to negotiations once she woke up!" Kelly says in a chipper tone.

Mister Lugh doesn't say anything for a moment, then looks at Kelly's squirming belly, then at Kelly's smug face, and then at Nova... seeming to take in how nervous the sergal is.

"So..." he adresses Nova for the first time, "Kelly here tased you, and swallowed your little pets whole before she brought you back here after killing more of em? Just to make sure I'm understanding this right. And has been holding em hostage to ensure your good behavior?"

"Hey!"

[ultimated]

Nova seems taken aback by all this information being presented. She takes a few seconds just to take everything in, before eventually turning back to Lugh and nodding her head. "I... I suppose so?" she replies, rubbing the back of her head a little. The bunny *had* kidnapped her and eaten her friends, to be sure, but she's not *feeling* particularly kidnapped. Kelly's been... Leading her, more or less, she supposes. She never intended to stay in one place for that long anyway, there's a big wasteland out there, and once she's managed to install a functional ecosystem, she's intending to move along to work on another area.

"I uhm. I have talents and rituals that help m-me restore life to places," she goes on to explain, figuring that what Kelly has seen and shown off to the human man would be plenty of proof to take her at her word. "I have a w-way with animals, so taming th-the rats wasn't t-too hard, uhm. I could give you a demonstration if you like?"

Her tail swings gently behind her as she speaks, not seeming to know what to do with itself. Her hands move constantly, but never away from each other, nervously playing with her own fingers. The short creature seems to have trouble maintaining eye contact, and often seems to settle for looking at a person's chest or shoulder while talking to them. She seems to maintain a slightly hunched posture that makes her look even smaller than she already is, too!

[Darian]

Lugh rubbed his chin as he took in the creature's posture, meek and shy. The pink creature didn't seem like a bad sort... but it paid to be cautious. Thankfully, some of the animals were better judges of character than people. Perhaps letting this Nova interact with a few of the ranch's animals would prove both her abilities and character.

She sure seems shifty, after all.

"Seems like a good idea," the old human nodded firmly. "Tell you what: You and Kelly head over to that farm, and get your little pets settled in a pen for the night. I'll come get you in a few mintues, and have you take a look at one of our herd that's been giving us a problem. See what you make of it."

He points out a barn formed out of flimsy looking scrap and wood.

Kelly sighs unhappily at the concept. "You know, I can carry the mole rats around in my belly safely, right? There's no need to make me spit them out."

"It sure would be polite though, wouldn't it?" Lugh rolls his eyes at the bunny's pout. "I'm sure Nova will appreciate having her pets somewhere safe before she looks over our livestock. Never understand why you vores are so eager to keep your guts crammed full..." he mutters.

(Idea! Could have Nova look over a big cow that's having problems. A brahmin, a two headed cow. This one though, is both a bull and a female. What exactly is wrong with it is up to you, but given that this is a sexy rp, well.)

[ultimated]

Nova smiles and nods her head. "Oh, I'd be happy to examine your livestock!" she exclaims, perking up at the mention both of letting her friends spend some time outside of Kelly's stomach, and at being able to help around the farm! Especially to practice her own talents in nature. Helping animals is always more important to her than personal reputation, but in this case she can possibly handle both at the same time! "I'd um. Really appreciate it if you can give my friends some space to roam, even just a little... Th-they're not happy cooped up in such a tight space as that together, slimy too..."

Perhaps Lugh or Kelly are watching closely enough to notice Nova making a complicated gesture with her fingers briefly. Her red and white fur has been remarkably bright and clean despite the dust of the wasteland, and this is why - once the gesture is complete, a "wave" moves through her fur, up her arms, over her head, down her shoulders, and through to the bottoms of her feet and the tip of her tail, in the space of around two seconds, kicking up the dust that's clung to her fur and scattering it away from her body. A simple way to remain hygenic and clean even without a source of precious clean water to wash herself with!

[Darian]

"Well, we got a corral that we aint using. I was gonna insist you keepnthose critters in a pen..." Lugh scratches his chin and gives Kelly a side eye. "But i reackon you're right about not keep'in em cooped up much longer. Long as they behave we'll let em have the run of the corral."

Kelly sticks her tongue out at him, but doesn't say anything else.

Lugh leads them to one barn with a small fenced off area in front of it, and several stalls inside. Kelly walks in and heads to the empty stall in the back, while Lugh stays to talk with the farmhand. The big brown bunny closes the stall gate stretches and sighs a bit, hefting her squirming belly one last time.
"Alright... time to come out, fellas."
She leans over and puts one hand on her lower jaw... then stretches it open with a lewd 'uuuaaahh-' big enough to swallow a man easily... and then with a few flexing squelches, gently deposits the few remaining mole rats onto the soft hay in the pen. She steps back to let Nova check over her friends and calm them down.

"Neat trick, with the cleaning spell." Kelly comments idly.

[ultimated]

Nova freezes up for a moment like a deer caught in the headlights as Kelly's jaws stretch open before her, gazing into the pink abyss, a feeling of... Almost vertigo washing over her body as she stands as if at the precipice of a cliff gazing into the soft maw, across the tongue, past the dangling uvula, and down into the dark throat beyond... Before her friends slide back up through the exit and she snaps back to reality, taking a moment to regain her composure.

She leans down and carefully tends to each and every one of the rodents, calming them both as a group and as individuals whenever one seems more distraught than the others. She cleans them off, grooming them with her own hands and murmuring something Kelly can't quite make out, but that seems to be soothing the little rats, and even relaxes Kelly a little while she's at it!

"Thanks," replies Nova eventually, standing up. "I think they'll be much happier now! A-and um, thank you. It's really not that impressive in t-terms of magic, I'm just... Pushing some dirt around..."

[Darian]

Nova was too busy staring at the yawning maw before her that she didn't see one of Kelly's eyes open up and take in her frozen, reeling expression. Kelly knew what that look meant... how interesting. But she wouldn't say anything and tried to pretend that nothing had been seen. Instead, the big bunny leaned forward and rested her arms and ample chest over the top of the open stall door.

If she was right...

"Still a neat trick. One of the reasons I work so hard is to have the money to take actual showers... a lot of people can't waste good water on keeping clean." Kelly said casually. "Most people use magic for... well, fireballs and such. Makes you stand out quite a bit."

The bunny nodded decisively. "Makes you a good catch, eh?" she smiled in a joking manner. "Ready to see Lugh's troublesome brahmin?"

...

A question for Nova to consider... what the heck was a brahmin?

[ultimated]

Kelly may be overthinking things a little. Nova doesn't necessarily strike her as the kind of person to enjoy being eaten, given her timid nature... But there was certainly a little curiosity in those eyes. However, the sergal almost certainly wouldn't act on that curiosity herself. If Kelly wanted to get her used to being gobbled up, she'd likely have a lot more success simply stuffing her somewhere and waiting for her to calm down after the fact!

"I'm more than happy to share that with others, too!" exclaims Nova. "It's not... Particularly hard, s-so if you want to spare a little water, I can always cast on you too!" She trots along behind Kelly, allowing the bunny to lead her to the Brahmins' enclosure. She didn't particularly know what a Brahmin was, but she could apply a little logic - after all, Lugh had said that he wanted her to look at a member of the "herd" who had been having problems, right? She could figure out on her own that the creature was some kind of herd animal, probably kept for its ability to produce some kind of useful substance, such as how a cow produces milk or a bee produces honey. After all, they'd be the most valuable creatures to keep in this kind of situation, where you can keep getting a usable product over and over rather than raising animals to slaughter. While slaughter animals probably are still kept here, they'd be a long-term investment, since they have to reach an appropriate age and during that time all they do is consume food and water. These "brahmin" were therefore likely somewhat similar to cows - at least, that's the general gist of her train of thought!

[Darian]

(hooo, sorry about taking so long. Been distracted by... many other things. oh, and I had a request: if you can think of an appropriate way to deal with the Brahmin, that's fine with me. I could make it as smart or dumb as you like, intelligence wise. Lemme know what you think is better. Could use some advice there honestly.
I mean, besides it being half bull and half sow, the Brahmin could also have... some kind of super-mutant injection.)

They get to a large barn with a solid metal fence next to a small barn. Inside comes a loud banging noise and very, very unhappy lowing.

"Right... it's about time to let em out." Lugh sighs heavily and nods to the farmhand by the door. This time, they open it up with a rope, not standing too close to the entrance.

Out comes a big, and I mean, about the size of a small TRUCK big cow... with two heads. One has a pair of horns. It's a dirty brown color, with a lashing tail.

As the farmhand leaps the fence to get out of the way, the big creature begins trotting in agitation around the pen. Both it's heads shake in random intervals, and it lows in frustration. It's muscles bunch and bulge oddly, as if it's stressed. This animal is far more mutated than the molerats were, but shouldn't be so unstable, given it's ancestors were so calm.

"Got Patt here a good deal a year or so ago." Lugh explains, rubbing the back of his head. "Big un, and figured the bull would be good for the sows... he wasn't like this at all till a few months ago. Was as calm and gentle with the others as could be. But recently-"

Patt lows and charges the fence, putting a horn through the sheet metal. Lugh grunts and backs up.
"Yeah. Been riled something fierce, sometimes attacks the other Brahmin.. Already checked him for rabies, but nothing showing. Seems healthy, but something is wrong with Patt. Might have to put em down if I can't let im near the others."

[ultimated]

(Having it be plausibly human-level intelligence might be best if we wanted to do anything NSFW with it. I figure Nova's going to be "in and out" at least once in the process of examining it or trying to heal it up, but will ultimately solve the problem with "druid magic", possibly from within if we want to swing it that way!)

Nova watches the whole process with a concerned expression. At first she seems uncertain of why the barn is necessary - after all, animals are supposed to roam free as far as she's concerned - but understanding seems to dawn shortly when she sees its agitated behaviour and understands that keeping animals unfenced is a great way to get them attacked by predators or otherwise simply leaving so you can't harvest their milk any more.

"W-well, I make no promises, but I'll do my best, sir!" replies Nova, seemingly spurred on by the potential for putting the creature down. She takes a few moments to steel herself, but she doesn't seem particularly concerned, and after a few moments she's more relaxed than either Lugh or Kelly have seen her this entire time. As they watch, the air seems to shimmer gently around her as if she were surrounded by a heat haze, and they'd find themselves feeling just a little more relaxed than usual. Lugh can feel it, but Kelly gets a bit more of a kick out of it. This could almost be used as an intoxicant in the future...

The red-furred sergal vaults up over the fence and straightens up, ensuring that she keeps a relaxed composure. The shimmering air expands outwards around her like a shell, but not too far. She takes slow steps away from the fence, towards the middle of the pen, but not towards Patt himself - she wants him to approach her, and she wants him to feel like he has room to escape into if need be, hence choosing the middle of the enclosure rather than an edge. Her muscles remain relaxed, her palms open and upturned in front of her - she's unarmed, unclothed, and out in the open. With any luck, Patt ought not to see her as a threat. Especially not with that haze in the air around her, nor the scent of strawberries he's beginning to detect on the wind...

[Darian]

(hah, just finally figured out how to do this! Sorry this took so long, but now I'm inspired!)

As both Lugh and Kelly sway a bit at Nova's sudden scent, they begin to whisper.
"Some kind of pheremones? Or antisthetic?" Lugh whispers to Kelly... who shakes her head.

"Doesn't smell like it... there's a chemical scent to those, and those smell like spices." Kelly whispers back. "Doesn't seem like it..." She pinches herself, keeping a sharp eye on Nova...

Who has her attention focused on the giant brahmin. Which is good, because the big beast has finally noticed her. It paws at the ground for a moment... then the pawing stops as it shakes it's whole body.

It walks over to Nova, only one set of eyes on her... and it lows loudly. "mmmuuuuuuurrrrhhhh!"- is what everyone else hears.

Nova hears something rather different.

"Well, aren't you a strange little creature! Very different from the humans around here." Says one, effeminate, and cultured voice.
"YOU SMELL NICE!" Bellows another in a deep throated snarl.

[ultimated]

(Ahh, good to hear! I'm glad you've got your mojo back )

Nova takes a deep breath, slowly lifting her hands towards the feminine sounding creature's head, palms open to show nothing grasped within them - and she's far too weak to pose much of a threat to the bigger creature. "Yes! I'm what's called a sergal," she replies in her strange druidic cant that, although nonsense to human ears, translates well to animal creatures via magic. Even Kelly gets the general gist of what she's saying, albeit no direct translation or meaning in her words. She takes care to also turn and address the more aggressive head. "Thank you! I'm very glad you like it!"

If she's allowed to, she'll reach forward to pat at the more docile head. "I'm told you aren't feeling particularly happy right now. Is something the matter? Can I help?"

[Darian]

"Oooooh you can speak properly! How marvelous!" The effeminate voice is actually from the Horned head of the Brahmin, surprisingly enough. "You're quite right, my dear," he says quickly. "we're in quite a pickle. Now normally me and my life partner get along quite well, but for the last few weeks we've been of two minds about something-"

"WANT PETS!" the female head bellows, spittle flying in Nova's face. "PETZ!"

"Be calm, madam, she's new!" the male head whines softly. "You should pet her too, my dear. She's the one causing all the trouble, and I can't do much if she starts getting upset."

[ultimated]

Nova smiles respectfully throughout the conversation, and happily obliges the female, raising both hands to rub at her head and ears, scritch her chin, rub her cheeks, and generally just pet her as thoroughly as she can manage. "What seems to be the problem? Is it something physical, or more... External?" she asks, addressing the male head whilst focusing fully on the female.