"Borrowing... Permanently"
Oftentimes, when young Jvalka would travel into the villages and towns near the Timeless Forest, she simply couldn’t keep herself from testing her own abilities.. and in this case, that often meant both lying to mislead people- a necessity to keep herself underestimated, sure, but even she would admit the homeless bit was a bit much- and, more often, “borrowing” from other people. Of course, sometimes it was incredibly temporary- perhaps she’d steal a coin pouch from off of their belt, then immediately grin at her success and quickly return it, making up some story about how she heard it fall on the ground, and “I’m blind so I can’t be sure, but is this yours?” Other times it might be something like borrowing a slice of pie... though those she most certainly didn’t return. But, rarely was it something important that she stole- or as she likes to call it, permanently borrowed. And never did she steal something when the loss of it could cause harm someone. More often than not, the only thing she’d bother to permanently steal was food, or perhaps a small amount of coin to buy food.
There was only one really notable exception to this.. one that most certainly changed things for Jvalka.
Jvalka had travelled into the village a week before, but was returning- for one thing in particular. She’d heard, last time, that the butcher’s prime, purebred hunting dog had pups a week short of two months before- but he didn’t know the sire this time. Most certainly, he wouldn’t be keeping them, though he did say that if they looked good, he’d sell them. She was there now to check on the pups- any who were left. She was quite surprised to see only one which looked both large for its age and quite healthy, although... as she looked closer, she realized it closely resembled the wolves of the forest. She blinked one in surprise, then moved over to pet the dam with a small giggle, congratulating her on the beautiful pup, even if he was of age where he would be sold soon. She then walked towards the butcher’s favorite place to stay, planning to see if she could listen in and find out who the beautiful sleeping puppy she had seen would be going to, but was rudely awakened to the cruel reality of some people as she heard his plans.
“No one would want him anyway, what with his eye like that! They’ll know he’s part forest beast... might as well just toss him in the garbage, yeah! With how large he is, he definitely isn’t worth the money it’ll take take to feed him!”
Jvalka didn’t bother to wait to hear the rest of his rant, angry enough with what she’d already heard. She simply got up and left, only hesitating for a moment before altering her direction and heading back to the shop, and the pup that was in it. Gently, she picked up the puppy, surprised at how big it really was, and lifted her blindfold to look at it more closely. The sleepy thing blinked it’s eyes open to look at her, and she saw that, while one eye was the beautiful blue of his mother’s eyes, the other was the unmistakable amber tone known only to wilder beasts. The little thing wagged it’s tail once, and gave her a gentle lick on the nose before promptly cuddling in closer to her and falling back asleep.
And that was all it took.
Pup in her hands, she took off running back towards the Timeless Forest, stealing the most important thing she’d ever stolen before, and gaining a friend from it. By the time she got back to her own home, she was exhausted from carrying the little one home with her at a dead sprint, but was unquestionably proud of herself- for she’d done it. She stole the little one, and she saved his life by doing so. Though she knew she couldn’t keep him at her home, her family all helped her to find the dire wolf pack that called the forest their home, and introduced the little one to be accepted into their pack... and if the two of them still met up every month on the new moon, well, no one was going to say they couldn’t. Even if the creatures and innocents weren’t part of her forest home, Jvalka was still determined to save them- she would save as many as she could.
(Pup eye color example, though the brown would seem more golden)
Oftentimes, when young Jvalka would travel into the villages and towns near the Timeless Forest, she simply couldn’t keep herself from testing her own abilities.. and in this case, that often meant both lying to mislead people- a necessity to keep herself underestimated, sure, but even she would admit the homeless bit was a bit much- and, more often, “borrowing” from other people. Of course, sometimes it was incredibly temporary- perhaps she’d steal a coin pouch from off of their belt, then immediately grin at her success and quickly return it, making up some story about how she heard it fall on the ground, and “I’m blind so I can’t be sure, but is this yours?” Other times it might be something like borrowing a slice of pie... though those she most certainly didn’t return. But, rarely was it something important that she stole- or as she likes to call it, permanently borrowed. And never did she steal something when the loss of it could cause harm someone. More often than not, the only thing she’d bother to permanently steal was food, or perhaps a small amount of coin to buy food.
There was only one really notable exception to this.. one that most certainly changed things for Jvalka.
Jvalka had travelled into the village a week before, but was returning- for one thing in particular. She’d heard, last time, that the butcher’s prime, purebred hunting dog had pups a week short of two months before- but he didn’t know the sire this time. Most certainly, he wouldn’t be keeping them, though he did say that if they looked good, he’d sell them. She was there now to check on the pups- any who were left. She was quite surprised to see only one which looked both large for its age and quite healthy, although... as she looked closer, she realized it closely resembled the wolves of the forest. She blinked one in surprise, then moved over to pet the dam with a small giggle, congratulating her on the beautiful pup, even if he was of age where he would be sold soon. She then walked towards the butcher’s favorite place to stay, planning to see if she could listen in and find out who the beautiful sleeping puppy she had seen would be going to, but was rudely awakened to the cruel reality of some people as she heard his plans.
“No one would want him anyway, what with his eye like that! They’ll know he’s part forest beast... might as well just toss him in the garbage, yeah! With how large he is, he definitely isn’t worth the money it’ll take take to feed him!”
Jvalka didn’t bother to wait to hear the rest of his rant, angry enough with what she’d already heard. She simply got up and left, only hesitating for a moment before altering her direction and heading back to the shop, and the pup that was in it. Gently, she picked up the puppy, surprised at how big it really was, and lifted her blindfold to look at it more closely. The sleepy thing blinked it’s eyes open to look at her, and she saw that, while one eye was the beautiful blue of his mother’s eyes, the other was the unmistakable amber tone known only to wilder beasts. The little thing wagged it’s tail once, and gave her a gentle lick on the nose before promptly cuddling in closer to her and falling back asleep.
And that was all it took.
Pup in her hands, she took off running back towards the Timeless Forest, stealing the most important thing she’d ever stolen before, and gaining a friend from it. By the time she got back to her own home, she was exhausted from carrying the little one home with her at a dead sprint, but was unquestionably proud of herself- for she’d done it. She stole the little one, and she saved his life by doing so. Though she knew she couldn’t keep him at her home, her family all helped her to find the dire wolf pack that called the forest their home, and introduced the little one to be accepted into their pack... and if the two of them still met up every month on the new moon, well, no one was going to say they couldn’t. Even if the creatures and innocents weren’t part of her forest home, Jvalka was still determined to save them- she would save as many as she could.
(Pup eye color example, though the brown would seem more golden)
