[[open post: a new friend!]]

[ravkanwitch]

After speaking with Sagramore at the dance, Nina now has her heart set on finding a pet of some sort. She isn't necessarily lonely, not with so many friends, but sometimes when she lays in bed alone at night and thinks about her past, her memories, and her worries, it all feels... a little too quiet and empty-- alright, maybe she's slightly lonely. But only at night. And only when her mind gets away from her. That's why after her morning walk, she's planning on going to ask Aziraphale about producing a rabbit for her.

Is a rabbit right for her, though? She considers this as she takes one of her favorite routes through the forest; it eventually leads to a small waterfall and she's enjoyed watching it slowly freeze into ice and then slowly start melting again. She doesn't mind the cold too much, not with her Ravkan blood and Fjerdan tendencies, and this forest is starting to feel like home. Only on short, ambling walks, though. She enjoys her solitary walks and the feel of the wind and sun on her face -- but at the end of the night, she wants to be in a soft bed with silk sheets.¹

Perhaps rabbits are too skittish, too terrified of loud noises, Nina thinks to herself. She is a loud talker. She does like to talk to herself and sing terribly. Right as she considers these thoughts and as she makes her way past a large pile of rocks, she hears a low wuffling sound emerge from it. She pauses. A rabbit?? A small squeak emerges that is distinctly not rabbit-like. She walks towards the tumble of rocks as it squeaks again, and she stoops down to peer into a crevice followed by another. On the third try, small beady eyes stare back at her. She offers her hand to it, tentatively. In a flash, a small furry blur streaks out and up her arm, ending up on her shoulder. She screams -- stifling it and feeling slightly silly when she realizes that the definitely-not-rabbit is just sitting on her shoulder and not attacking her. She slowly turns her head, meeting eyes with a very self-satisfied, mischievous little face.

"Hi," she says, cautiously reaching up to touch it. The ferret makes a soft dooking noise. "Aww," she says, petting its head, at which point the ferret gently nips her and then makes a dash for her jacket pocket, making a huffing laughing sound. "Ow! You rascal." Nina's already gone. Head over heels. What a perfect little creature. As she makes her way back out of the forest and indoors, anyone is welcome to meet the newest resident of the mansion.

¹Nina Zenik, you would love glamping.

Comments

[onthewillowsthere]

By the time Galahad gets disentangled from her, the shoulders and back of the silk shirt he was wearing is shredded and he is most definitely bleeding. He's been silent throughout, too startled to say anything. Drosera sits on the floor and preens her wings in a very catlike I meant to do all of that way while Galahad looks blank. Finally he says, "I'm sorry."

[ravkanwitch]

It takes Drosera dropping off for Nina to notice the cuts and the bleeding and she gasps lightly, taking a step or two towards him to take a look. "Your shoulder-- Are you alright? What are you sorry about?" This question is partially directed towards Drosera. Galahad shouldn't be the sorry one.

[onthewillowsthere]

Don't know what to say, he signs, even though Nina can't understand him. He's not sure how to explain that he's trying to find the right script to use when your own daughter injures you in front of your friend, and it turns out there isn't one, so he'd just picked one at random. "Magnus will fix it."

[ravkanwitch]

Nina looks carefully at the wounds, noting that they don't look too terrible, probably just painful. "Do you want me to go grab him or will you be alright until you find him?"

[onthewillowsthere]

Galahad cranes his head around to look. "I'll be all right. Thank you."

[ravkanwitch]

Khitka also tilts her head curiously at Galahad, as if to check if he's alright. Nina has discovered that she's quite fearless -- but Drosera does look like she could be one of her natural predators. "She's getting big," Nina says, conversationally, reluctantly letting go of the topic. "Do you know how big she'll get?"

[onthewillowsthere]

"We think she'll be as big as a lion. That's what the back part of her is." She's still pretending she hasn't done anything -- she looks up at Nina and cocks her head in a manner very like Asmodean's and chirps.

[ravkanwitch]

"Saints, that's big..." Nina leans down slightly and points at Galahad's shoulder. "Drosera, did you see what you did?"

[onthewillowsthere]

"She doesn't care," with the faintest hint of amusement.

[ravkanwitch]

"You're a misbehaving girl, aren't you? I was one as well," Nina confides, not caring if Drosera understands her or not, "until I was kidnapped."

[onthewillowsthere]

"You were kidnapped?"

[ravkanwitch]

Nina waves a hand. "It was a long time ago." Not particularly, but it feels like a long time ago. "I was angry about something and ran away from the rest of the group... straight into something dangerous."

[onthewillowsthere]

"Is that one of the times you had to remake yourself?"

[ravkanwitch]

Nina nods. "To be honest, I think I remake myself a little bit every month."

[onthewillowsthere]

"Still?"

[ravkanwitch]

"In small ways. I change myself all the time depending on who I'm talking to or what we're talking about." Nina shrugs. There are so many parts to her: Grisha, Ravkan, Crow, Corpsewitch. It's easy to change the part she plays.

[onthewillowsthere]

"Claudius does that. I don't know how."

[ravkanwitch]

Nina nods in agreement. She does recognize that this is one of the things she has in common with Claudius. "I told Magnus it was like flirting," she explains.

[onthewillowsthere]

Something else he doesn't know how to do, he thinks. "How do you flirt?"

[ravkanwitch]

Hm. How did Nina explain this to Magnus? But that's the thing, isn't it? What works for Magnus won't work for Galahad. "How I do it is by making them feel appreciated and comfortable, like they're the only person in the room. That's a start."

[onthewillowsthere]

His brows draw together ever so slightly. "How?"

[ravkanwitch]

She looks thoughtful. "You have to... understand them first. Read them at a glance -- like a book. It's easy with some people."

[onthewillowsthere]

"Me?"

[ravkanwitch]

"You're difficult to read," Nina tells him, not unkindly. "You're like... a book in a different language. Give it time and it's possible."

[onthewillowsthere]

"That's how I feel about everyone else. I can't read you."