A quick nap, and then I'm on my way...

[Guest]

As Rosie stepped onto the shore, she turned back to Hendry, she gave a bow to him, "I thank you so much for the ride Mister Hendry, I was happy to travel with you, perhaps next time we can buy drinks at the Tavern, my treat." she smiled, before heading toward the trees, "By the way," she said toward Flammy, "You don't have to bother waiting up for me, I'm going to be going to sleep, and I won't be awake for hours, it would be best if you went on ahead. I'll catch up with you at the school," she said, honestly not caring, but knowing that she'd be seeing the man again, that is if he wanted to eat.

The woman made herself a little corner in the trees and brush, and promptly fell asleep as she had been up for far to long as it was. She really needed rest, and if the trip on the dirt road was as long as it was rumored to be, it was going to take her a few days to get through it.

[Rendaz "Flammy"]

Rendaz eyed Rosie suspiciously. Surely she wasn't scheming anything? They'd only been together for one boat trip - he'd be baffled if she even thought they'd be acquaintances - or worse, friends. Tipping his hat towards Hendry - the closest he could manage to polite gesture - he raised his eyes at Rosie, before briefly nodding. “Sure, whatever.” Sleeping in unfamiliar territory wasn’t usually his first instinct upon arrival, but it seemed to suit this girl fine. Shrugging, he turned away, making his way down the dirt path, more appreciative of the his sudden peace than anything.

[Guest]

Rosie moved into the trees and set up a little place to sleep, glad to finally be away from the "thing" who's name she still didn't know, and she pulled out two kunai. She could defend herself in her sleep, which could be bad at times, she slept through a burglary, and when she awoke, there were three dead men on her floor... It wasn't exactly a pretty site, and when she had someone she cared about or presented no threat, well occasionally they'd find themselves as a teddy bear in her arms. If they were too close that is. Her bag was under her head as she slept with her two kunai in hand.

A small whirl of magic wrapped around her, and the girl's body turned into that of someone no more than five years old. Rosie's clothing changed with her to fit her and she slept just as she had fallen asleep, with the two kunai in her now small hands.

[Ndale]

Ndale slinked out from the trees. The cheetah had only a collar around its neck and a wad of cloth tied securely around its back left leg, which, if unrolled for use, turned out to be a pair of baggy black shorts. He had been sent down from the castle to collect the new people coming in, but had had to stop and rest, and was now consequently running late. A strange scent now had his attention. So with body set low, tail twitching, the cheetah crept forward across the road and back into the forest on the other side. The hunter's wide nostrils, meant for air intake during sprints, were quick to follow a trail straight to a little girl. Ndale's ears flattened back against his head as his eyes sharpened in to the knives in the 5 year-old's hands. 'What the-...?'

The cat turned it's head to look around. His senses caught nothing else, but then why was a five year old out sleeping in their woods? Ndale huffed airily and eyed the girl as he relaxed his shoulders from their hunting tension. His tail swung easier instead of twitching in anticipation. With a raised eyebrow the cheetah strolled forward, deciding he really shouldn't leave a small child in the woods by herself. Besides, this could very well be the one he was sent to pick up anyway. Stranger people were coming in every day. Still wary of the knives the girl clutched, he walked around and nudged the little person's shoulder with his paw. His deep voice rasped and rumbled gently from his chest.

"Little one, you should not sleep here. You must get up now."

[Guest]

Little Rosie drops her kunai's and turns over to the “thing” that nudged her. She tried to grab Ndale as she was still mostly asleep. Her features were perfectly relaxed at this point, and her mind was slowly waking up. Even as she was still mostly asleep, the child gave a long yawn. Her mind at least was slowly waking up. Waking up quickly wasn’t exactly part of the deal when it came to Rosie in general. Her black bangs were all messy and hung in her face.

Her hands wrapped around Ndale’s neck and she nuzzled into the cheetah’s neck. The girl’s eyes slowly opened as she felt Ndale’s fur, “Kitty… so soft and warm… kitty…” she sounded a little out of it as she now hung around his neck, giggling softly.

[Ndale]

Ndale blinked and tried to take a step back as the girl yawned and grabbed for him, but stopped as little arms wrapped around his neck. Not knowing exactly what to do, and not wanting to startle the kid, the cheetah lowered himself to crouch on the ground, staying as still as possible. He felt a face nuzzle into his fur and deciphered the quiet mumble. Finding this officially awkward, Ndale tried again to entice the girl into consciousness with words.

"Yes, kitty is soft and warm. He would also like to talk to you. Can you wake up and talk with kitty?" His throat vibrated with each soft word and Ndale knew perfectly well he sounded stupid, but he was panicking somewhat on the inside. 'Dangit, how do you deal with kids?!' He felt like he had his neck in a guillotine. 'Maybe if I-.....' The cheetah loosened his vocal cords so that they hummed loudly with every inhalation and exhalation, hoping that the noise and feel would rouse the child gently.

[Guest]

The child’s mind was slowly coming around, “Kitty… kitty… kitty want to talk to me? Talk with Rosie?” she asked. Her eyes were bright and she searched the kitty, she moved off a little bit and actually looked into Ndale’s eyes, “Are we going to talk about you kitty kitty?” her hands moved to stroke his head, “Cause you make a pretty sound kitty kitty,” she giggled, “And you can talk kitty kitty… what’s your name?” she giggled gently again. The child thought it was so cool that she was with a large kitty, it was quite fascinating for a five year old. Her mind was slowly beginning to mature… just a few more minutes and she wouldn’t be a small child anymore…

[Ndale]

Large auburn eyes focused on the girl's face as she pulled back enough to speak to him, only to close as hands went to pet his head. He gently pulled his head away from the child, putting more space between their faces but not necessarily making the girl release her hold entirely.

"My name is Ndale, but no, actually, we're going to be talking about you. You can not sleep out here, girl. You must have gotten here by the boatman, Hendry, right? Are you trying to get to the Academy at Lillegard Castle? What's your name, anyway?" While trying to get information, Ndale was wondering about what he was going to do with this kid. Should he bring her back to the school, or back to Hendry to get her back to the main land and hopefully to parents who were sorely missing their lost daughter?

((sorry, ish short.))

[Guest]

The child laughed looking at Ndale, "Kitty Ndale is silly... Rosie already said her name," she giggled more because she was speaking in the third person. One of the girl’s hands had somehow gotten wrapped around his collar from their hug, or more her hanging off of him. Her hands were soft as she starts really exploring the cheetah with her eyes. The big cat greatly amused her, she wasn’t used to seeing something so big in comparison to her, and this exotic animal would amuse any five year old, especially when she was so close to him. To her, it was simply amazing, not to mention HE TALKED!

“I’m gunna be a cook at Lilly cassle… Gunna be the bestest cook ever. Kitty Ndale will like my food yes?” the girl giggled once more and continued to try to pet Ndale. “Miss Evwee and kale and od-od sent letter to me for cooking… I came here yesterday… Mister Henwee was nice to me, but he don’t talk much. Almost didn’t take me cause something was really really mean… and diswesp--- diswe--- disweespeckfull…” the girl looked a little annoyed that she couldn’t get the word correct. She soon started giggling again. “Sooo pretty kitty Ndale…” she moved to hug him again, “Wuv you!”


((That's all I could manage, I'm glad I slept on it, or it would've been REALLY short if I posted last night. XD))

[Ndale]

Ndale blinked again. "So you did." He must have missed her name the first time. The third person was a bit confusing for him to follow. And as he listened to uneducated speech, he stared almost blankly at the girl. However, when she mentioned the founders, he couldn't help but laugh. The name of his Guardian had been entirely messed up, and Ndale could clearly see the raptor's clearly unimpressed facial expression at being called "Od-od". The cat's laugh was rough and airy as it swept through his large lungs and around his exposed canines. He nodded his head as he finally calmed down. He didn't know why Headmistress Everly would hire a kid to be their chef, but I'm sure she had her reasons. And besides, the island was self-sustaining, and Od had cooked amazing meals for the both of them for the years they had traveled together, no one would go hungry even if the kid couldn't cook. The Academy would always find a way. Plus, no one questioned Hendry, and if he brought the girl here, then there was a reason.

Ndale was startled out of his thought as the girl hugged him again. He only sighed and rolled his eyes, smile still on his face. "Right, right, love you too. But we need to get you to the castle, hm?" He stood from his crouch, letting the girl hang or let go as she wished. "Come on then, it's a long trip."

[Guest]

Rosie giggled as she now tried to climb on his back. “Biiiiiiiiig kitty Ndale,” she giggled as she swung a bit to try to get her leg up and over so she could be on his back now. It would be not even a minute and she would change back into her normal 21 year old self, but for now the girl was playful. “Big kitty Ndale… can you hewp me on your back pwease?!” Her eyes shined up at him as she was still hanging around his neck like a pretty necklace. “And haow long is the trip big kitty Ndale?”

((sorry for the shortish post... she'll change back next time around.))

[Ndale]

Ndale sighed as the girl swung and tugged on his collar. There was only so much patience one cat had. 'But, I guess carrying her is the best way to get her to the school. A little girl wouldn't be able to keep up.' And so, with a small bit of reluctance, the cheetah lowered his front half to the ground, allowing the girl to climb on board.

"Please, be careful and hold on tight, without pulling hairs and without choking me with me collar." Ears twitched and his tail swung widely behind him. "The trip is a good few hours, if you're fast. It can be a few days if you take your time. Luckily, I'm very fast." A huge grin split the feline's black-lined lips.

((okay, and sorry this is short in return. I didn't really know what else to put in here. ))

[Guest]

She snuggled the "kitty Ndale" gently. "Wuff you..." she giggled gently before a light wrapped around her just as before. Suddenly the girl was full sized. The girl was about five times heavier then her smaller size, she actually falls off of Ndale, but of course, not before he felt her full weight. She hit the ground below, and her mind began to catch up, "I'm sorry Ndale, I'm really sorry about that." she was usually quite nice to the people she meets when she is five, rather then when she was older.

[Ndale]

Ndale, who had just stood, the weight of a five year old on his back, did not expect the sudden heaviness on his shoulders. His grin was introduced to the dirt in result of the abrupt assault. He could feel the weight leave his back, heard a body hit the ground beside him, and a voice that sounded vaguely like the girl's. A low growl tore up his throat, it was rough and threatening.

Detaching his face from the ground, Ndale rose again and turned to glare at the offending being. Lips were pulled back to expose large canines and fur stood slightly. Upon seeing the woman though, the noise died in his mouth and the offensive stance was dropped for the most part. The similarities were striking, there really wasn't a question about who this woman was. In the cheetah's opinion, there really was only one slurred thing to say:

"What the 'ell, Rosie?"

[Guest]

The girl immediately had a kunai in her hand and she jumped back at his growl, she was panting hard as he finally relaxed for a moment. She put the kunai away, and began “Well Ndale, I suppose you should know…” Rosie sighed softly looking over the cheetah she felt like she squished, “It’s a little complicated… but I’ll give you the somewhat short version. Lord Odin of Valhalla granted me immortality in exchange for being one of his Valkyries…as it turned out Odin began to spend a long time with me trying to get me to have sex with me and doing other such things, but, of course, I didn’t want it, and while Odin was trying to move forward with me, I called out to his wife Freya, of course she wasn’t happy, and blamed me… in blaming me and spiting her husband, she let me keep the immortality, but now every time I fall asleep, I turn into a five year old, and every twenty one point five years…. Or wait, no its every time I reach the age of twenty five and six months, either way it all blends together, however, every so many years, I turn back into a five year old and have to grow up… again…” Rosie said looking over Ndale, “And unfortunately, since I turn into a five year old when I sleep, when I wake up later on, I stay a five year old for the first five minutes of being awake. And unfortunately, I don’t remember the curse at that age, the only thing I remember how to do is cook… my memory starts coming back fully around age thirteen in the cycle actually….” She looked up at him, aside from her lover, he was the first person – or well, an animal that could comprehend her – that she had told other than her, now deceased, husband. She looks at him with abnormally soft warm eyes, it was a product of her meeting him in her five-year-old state which obviously loved him dearly. It also gave her older-self a soft spot for him. She was fairly quiet at this point, “I’m really sorry Ndale, I really am.”

((It looked a lot longer in MSWord.))

[Ndale]

Ndale sat, head low and sullen, flat gaze steady as he listened to Rosie's story. 'So...every time she sleeps, she turns five. And then every 25 years, she turns 5 permanently and has to grow up again...and repeat...for eternity.' He blinked before he shook himself, casting off any dirt left in his fur. A lopsided grin accompanied a small chuckle.

"Don't worry about it. Though, sorry to say, chicky, that really sucks." Amber eyes gazed over her figure. "Honestly, you're a fair amount of beautiful, it's a pity that the age might throw people off. Of course, everyone here is weird in their own way, I'm sure you'll fit right in." He scoffed as he turned towards the road. "Actually, I really shouldn't be making any comments on shifting forms." Shaking his head, amused, the cheetah trotted off through the bushes and back onto the dirt path leading to the castle. Ndale simply assumed that Rosie would follow.

[Guest]

Rosie tried to catch up with him. "Sorry that you had to take care of younger me...." she said softly following him. She wondered what he had meant, but she didn't dwell on it, she just wanted to get to the castle, and perhaps she would become friends with Ndale for more than just this trip. "Umm, how long does this trip take?" she asked.

[Ndale]

Ndale's trot flowed into an easy stroll, his body swaying with the rolling of his shoulders. He looked over his shoulder as Rosie apologized. "S'no problem." His normal rough voice dripped lazily. "But, you already asked about the trip when you were little. S'about a day er two if you take yer time I guess. Could only be a few hours if you run it, depending on how fast you are." He shrugged between steps. "I can do it in a few hours, because I cover long distances in short bursts, but I have to rest in between." He stuck his tongue out in distaste. "Body temperature, gets too high for me to keep running, I'd overheat my heart. Such a pain, but I've been looking into possible solutions." The cheetah thought a moment on this before huffing and raising an eyebrow towards the woman. "You run?"

[Guest]

"I can run at about twenty five miles per hour, give or take..." she says, "But if I run I'm going to crash in about an hour or so, and you'll have to play with with the five year old me," she gives a light airy giggle, she liked Ndale, and sighed thinking that she forgot the travel time from the five year old time. Usually she remembered, but that wasn't the case this time, it was slowly coming back... "If you want though, you can always move with little me..."

Rosie gave a smile, she was liking Ndale, she liked being around him already.

[Ndale]

"That's pretty fast, for a human." Ndale chuckled. "I hit about seventy-five, eighty if I push myself. After about 40 seconds I have to stop though. Rest for a bit, fifteen - twenty minutes." His cocky grin and step faltered though, at the mention of dealing with a five year old again. After his almost-trip, he gathered himself up and acted like it never happened. "Yea, actually. I'm not great with kids." Ndale coughed uncomfortably. "Besides, you were swinging from my collar and wouldn't stop hugging me and telling me you loved me." The cheetah turned his head slightly towards Rosie, a mischievous glint in his eye. "Though, maybe I should chalk it up to you not knowing what you were saying. I'm sure you wouldn't fall in love with me seriously, hmm?" The end of his sentenced hummed in his chest, ending almost in a drawn out purr. His tail swayed languidly.

[Guest]

"I... really... uhh...." her cheeks flared red, "I couldn't possibly... um.... right... now about getting to the castle," she tried to avoid the conversation that would lead down the relationship path. Crushes formed as her child like self... she was still trying to rationalize it, it wasn't exactly something that she was used to... she almost never had a crush on anyone, and really, not someone like Ndale, not that she knew anything about him other than the fact he was a large talking cat.

"What does it matter anyway?" she asked as she started to jog down the dirt path.

[Ndale]

Ndale paused, letting Rosie get ahead. 'Seriously..?' He hadn't really been expecting her to be crushing on him when he had joked about the five year old love bit. He shook his head and stared at the woman's back, more than a little perplexed. He made a small growling huff and hopped into a slow run meant for longer distances. Catching up, he kept pace.

"I'm not your type, hun, trust me." Ndale grinned and lowered his voice as it rumbled. "You wouldn't be able to keep up." The cheetah then leaped forward into a faster run, not so that he was leaving her in the dust, but just to push his point by putting her in line with the end of his tail.

[Guest]

"Who said I was crushing on you, it was a five year old thing!" she complained trying to catch up with him, hitting her highest speed. She was going to crash in about thirty minutes to an hour at this rate. She was still trying to straiten out her heart with her mind. She looked over the cheetah whom she was chasing, hoping to catch up, she still wasn't able to completely rationalize it. She wanted just to grab his tail, to prove she wasn't too slow, that she could keep up. She mumbled a short prayer and did her best to catch up.

[Ndale]

"Ha! I never said you were crushing, I only warned you that I wasn't your type." Ndale called back, slowing just marginally as he did so. "And I mean it. Accept it already." Just as he was about to lurch ahead again and put that much more physical distance between them, fingers wrapped around the end of this tail. The new burst relied on the tail to act as a rudder for balance and direction control, instead it acted like an anchor, pulling sharply as he tried to bound away from the girl who had a hold on him. With the unexpected misuse of his tail, the balance of his leap was off and his footing slipped. He stumbled once, and lost it when he couldn't counter balance and correct the mistake. Closing his eyes and pulling in his chin, Ndale's shoulder hit first, his body following in a roll over the ground into the path of the woman behind him.

[Guest]

The girl had no chance to stop, though she did try her best, she tripped in her attempt to stop and suddenly the girl fell, she closed her eyes and tried to do a roll but she found herself on top of Ndale, and in doing that got stuck, with the momentum causing them both to roll a few more feet. When they stopped the Cheetah was on top of her. She was panting a little bit and had a few bruises now, "So... thought you weren't my type..." she tried to laugh but her ribs hurt from the bruising. Thankfully, for her, her clothing wasn't torn, and she wasn't actually bleeding, just bruising.

((sorry for the short post))

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