Uncommon Fates

Lenn suddenly seemed a little little embarrassed, she hadn't received much praise in her life, usually what she did get was along the lines of looking more masculine than usual, being a good fighter actually made her unpopular, because the officers saw her skill and expected the others to do better.
"Heh... I dunno... I'm pretty decent... But I'm not as strong as I used to be and a rifle isn't so good at close range".

Thane actually spoke up about that.
"Excuse me miss Lenn, but I can see your talent, it's in the way you carry yourself, I'm sure a sparring match between us would be quite a close call! Of course right now I couldn't fight my way out of a blanket".
He didn't seem that put down by his injuries, clearly it was far from the first time.
 
The ram gave a smile at the other and went to touch her hand sweetly, "Its better than no skill, and Thane is right. You carry yourself so confidently and the way you took down the undead! The mark of a woman who can beat some ass," She replied and agreed with Thane. Then finished off her meal and focused on the warrioe solider in question, "What about you Thane? Did your dad also befome a solider? What sort of things did you face in the terrifying winter storms?" Thane was unbothered by his wounds so he most likely got hurt often and didnt get cate for long periods. He was also armored and very stocky, so he was most likely a knight of some kind.
 
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Lenn couldn't help but blush at the continued compliments and reminder of the brief battle against the undead, even she had been surprised by how flawlessly she'd taken it down... Then again, most of her experience was against lightly armoured, fast moving bandits or animals in partial cover... So shooting a slow moving, heavily armoured undead with no sense of self preservation was easy.
"T...thanks..."
Was all she managed to say.

"Ah, my entire family are soldiers actually... My parents met in battle and trained us all to fight... We even marched into battle as a family unit until...".
He went quiet for a moment before changing the subject.
"The storms aren't often trouble for warriors, the weather mages warn us well in advance... Still, when we are caught off guard men die as much from the cold as blades, and I've seen more than one man survive a mortal wound after blood froze the wound shut..."
 
The ram gave a sweet smile at Lenn and touched her shoulder since she was flustered. Then removwd her hand to speak to Thane, "A small army of a family, isnt that neat. Mustve been fun to have actual fights with youe siblings over stupid things," Cordelia now could tell that Thane was keeping parts to himself, and she understood. They each had a reason to leave their home ajd she wasnt going to force them to speak on it. Though she did have to shiver at the thought of frozen wounds. Defrosting them would be awful and could leave to mold even! Not to mention how long it would take as well, "I shiver at the thought of treating a froze wound,"
 
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The touch on her shoulder made Lenn flinch a little... She was not used to being touched as it was discouraged in Katusha, because of course it was, can't risk letting in demons by showing kindness and affection! Or... Whatever lie it was that the ultra conservative church made up.

Thane simply nodded, apparently not wanting to discuss his family further at that point.
He did grimace though when the topic turned to wounds.
"They are quite painful to treat, the process involves fire and water, and a select mix of herbs to ward off infection...".
From the way he shivered slightly it seemed may have had rather personal experience.
 
Ah she was becoming too invasive. Cordelia knew when her words became uncomfortable or when her touching was becoming too much for someone. So, the ram went silent after that and did not comment further on them. She wished to make friends with these two and enlist their help in her home, give them a purpose like her mentor gave her. Wanting to see more good go out into the world than what seems to be an endless darkness entrapping this world.
The ram then finished her meal and went to stand up, "You're welcome to everything in the fridge and cabinets, and I'll make up a bed for you Lenn in my own personal room until Thane gets better. I am going to head outside to feed some of my creatures for the night," she informed them, and pulled her hair up into a bun. The wavy, chocolate locks messily going up and the amount of blue tattoos across her wider shoulders and back now showing. Her tanner skin seemed to tell a larger tale than her own words did. Hooves clicked over wood as she headed out a backdoor for her little farm. Leaving the two to their own devices.
 
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Neither of them were particularly hungry, Lenn was simply full and Thane rarely ate much when he was hurt, tending to get grossed out when he thought about wounds... Blood wasn't too bad but seeing injuries on a person's skin was just so upsetting... Ironic considering what his job was!
He did however get tired and chose to retire to bed, Lenn however was still wide awake! How could she not be when so much had happened?
So instead she quietly followed Cordelia, using her scout training to avoid making much noise unless the animals were sleeping or something.
 
Cordelia had a small backyard with a stable and a variety of animals. Along with the little ferret, Chester, there was this half goat-half lion chimera with a missing from leg an tail. Beside them was a peryton, a sort of deer looking creatuer with large wings and antlers, that appeared to be blind and was guided by a hypogriff and lastly a little jackalope was on the ground munching away already even with its huge head-tilt making it harder. They all waited patiently to be fed their respective meals, and the large ram-lady was singly something in another language. Very spiritual and calming sounding, and was filling bowls or handing them large things of meat for her half-carnivore creatures. Cordelia smiled and nuzzled her chimeras' goat head when it demanded a kiss on the head. She also tended to care for injured or disabled animals when she had no humans to care for. Though Lenn wasn't as sneaky as she seemed for Chester seemed to know she was there and crawl onto the roof above the back door to onto her shoulder again happily. Yet didn't make a sound to alert the others or Cordelia.
 
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Lenn was amazed, she'd never seen so many rare and magical beasts all in one place... If the Katushan military was here they'd be torn between declaring them evil, eating them and running away screaming.
She ended up stopping to watch and listen, finding herself incredibly relaxed by the spectacle, so much that she wasn't even surprised by Chester, and stroked him lightly, waiting for Cordelia to either finish or notice she was there rather than interrupt, partly out of a type of awe, but also slightly fear... After all these animals might see her an an intruder, even though she mostly doubted they would hurt her.
 
It was the blind peryton that seemed to notice Lenns' presence, as it gave a warning honk in their general direction. It wasn't aggressive, but more so the blind creature didn't know what it was and thus scared it. Cordelia had finished with the last of her animals and jumped at her perytons' noise and quickly soothed them, "Hey, what're you scared at Simon? Nothings' going to harm you," she spoke confused and then looked to the door to see Lenn with Chester on her. For once the ram seemed flustered and caught off-guard by her presence, "Oh! Lenn! I-I...how long have you been standing there?" Now no longer seeing a threat, the chimera approached Lenn to sniff her with his dual heads bobbing to allow the other to smell, "Hey, come on guys, let her come out here first," Cordelia never had someone come to her backyard and see the creatures she cared for. It was a bit embarrassing as they where seen as a waste for many since they had a disability or an injury. So they technically shouldn't be in the city anyway.
 
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The honk surprised Lenn quite a bit but she didn't cry out or anything, it clearly wasn't aggressive, in fact... It seemed scared of her? Something Lenn found a little sad, she didn't want to be scary and was amazed anything could be frightened by her.
"Oh umm...".
Now she was flustered too as she realized she had fallen into her bad habit of spying on people, something equal parts useful and likely to get her into trouble!
"A while?...".
She answered after a moment, cooing a little as the chimera sniffed her.
"Oh they are all just charming!"
Lenn declared, looking around at all the creatures, though she seemed a little sad.
"You take care of these poor creatures?"
 
The ram was hardly ever caught off guard as she was use to patient staying inside, but Lenn was her first apprentice. So, suppose she should learn about her herd before the ways of a alchemist first. Even though the two weren't linked and Cordelia just liked having her own shelter. "They're certainly not poor creatures, they're large brats with hooves if you ask me," she responded with a chuckle before nodding, "But yes, I do care for them and they here in my backyard. They're creatures who where born with a disability or where injured permanently beyond my magics' affects. Those two are Apples and Safari, they're a chimera. Then there is Bubbles who is the blind peryton, and her seeing-eye hypogriff Nester, and the jackalope doesn't have a name yet. He is new and has a very bad case of head tilt so his antlers are shaved to keep him from getting stuck," She explained pointing to each one in turn and gave Lenn a sheepish grin, "They are weary of new people are humans have not been kind to them, and Bubbles thinks everything is a threat. She'll honk at leaves moving by,"
 
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Lenn herself was also rarely caught off guard, not that she was naturally more observant than most people, quite the opposite in fact, she had a reputation as a bit of an airhead when relaxed.
She was just used to being on guard all the time, it was a stressful way to live indeed.
"They.... They're so cute!"
Lenn suddenly declared.
"Can I pet them? Or hug them even?"
She was like a little girl at a petting zoo, Lenn loved animals, all animals, she got am official warning for giving the war hounds belly rubs.
 
The ram blinked a bit, seeming surprise she thought they where cute as most found her actions odd on useless creatures, but she was so excited that Lenn thought they where cute! Cordelia then gave a quick nod after corralling her chimera back so Lenn could move freely, "Of course! Just let them sniff you first and I have treats in my pocket for them. They loved being pet and attention, they just tend to be scared cats when a strong wind blows by," She then went to pick up her jackalope off the ground to set him down on a nearby chair so he wouldn't get trampled by the massive creatures, "Come here, Bubbles, you large goose," She placed her hand on the back of the winged-deers' neck to lead her closer, with the hypogriff close behind yet he seemed calm.
 
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Lenn couldn't figure out why anyone would not think them cute! All animals could be cute... Even the scarred, aggressive attack dogs back home were adorable if you scratched them just so and rubbed their bellies rather than the light slap usually used to tell them it's battle time.
She gave the animals plenty of opportunity to sniff her, not wanting to frighten any of them, though she was curious...
"How does a seeing eye hippogriff work? Do they often do that?"
 
"Oh! Bubbles and Nester are a special case, actually," Cordelia replied rather excitedly and went to the grey hypogriff, "I got Bubbles first from a farm that couldn't take care of her needs anymore, and she was very depressed from the moment she was at the farm till she got here. She also ran into everything," The ram rubbed the feathers of the large creature and continued, "Hyprogriffs are solitary creatures and hardly enjoy other creatures company, but Nester was different. I have no idea where he came from, but he hung around the house for a few days and I started to feed him. Like a stray cat? And eventually he got comfortable in the backyard, and instantly adhered to Bubbles. No prompting or anything, and Bubbles got so much happier. She started to eat more and Nester helped her find her way around the house and yard. They've been together ever since," She gave a small chuckle and smiled at Lenn, "They're an unlikely love story,"
 
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Lenn listened to the story quietly, occasionally glancing at the (to her at least, and apparently Cordelia) adorable creatures when they were mentioned, she only spoke when Cordelia finished.
"Indeed... I've never heard of a hippogriff like that, do you think they could have been a pet? Or trained to help the blind? It would explain why they took to it so fast".
She questioned, carefully moving to pet Bubbles, making sure they could smell her clearly.
 
"I don't know honestly, no one came looking for him or anything. I just take it as a lucky strike," Cordelia mused to the other and Bubbles was fine with Lenn touching her now that she wasn't a threat. The deer-hybrid flapped her wings with a happy noise, "Awe, she likes you Lenn. You're going to be a great apprentice at the rate you get along with all walks of life,"
 
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"That really is lucky... It's a good thing were in Dhorn rather than Katusha, back there someone would have already killed them for money or sport...".
She didn't seem very proud of her homeland, though who could blame her?
"You think so? I always did like animals... They were the only ones who ever gave me hugs...".
 
Lenn was right, but also in Katusha she wouldnt exactly be allowed to live there either for entirely different reasons, "Really? Well animals naturally attach to creatures they care for or love even, even with a bad past or sickness. All they want is companionship and food," The ram responded and then went to touch Lenns' bicep with a smile, "And I'll give you hug too,"
 
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