//------------------------------// // Aminals // Story: Cerulean // by Cherax //------------------------------// In amongst it all, the flurry of feathers and clucks and caws, the stench of droppings so strong it's practically visible, there she is - cool, calm and collected; the picture of placidity. In her element, Dash thinks. Heh… I guess 'kindness' has a better ring to it than 'critter wrangling.' She chuckles under her breath, the sound masked by the frenzied yelps of the chickens around her. Only, they're not really frenzied; she's seen them go crazy before, last time Opal was over for her check-up, but this is a markedly different mood. They're fawning over their bashful owner, vying for her love and attention, which she lavishes on each in turn, doling out generous hoof-fulls of feed and gentle ruffles of downs. A fowl waddles underneath the by-standing mare, fluttering its wings as it hurries towards its owner's loving arms and the bucket of grain they carry. She starts with a yelp as its feathers tickle her belly - in turn, the chicken squawks back at her in alarm, flapping its wings with increased urgency and spinning in aimless circles, as if looking for a fight. Flustered, she hops back and forth on her hooves, trying to afford it an exit; but the determined bird won't stand for such an act of insolence, and it gives her a quick sharp peck on her hind leg for her trouble. "Gyahhh! Son of a--" Her leg kicks out involuntarily, and the assailant finally scurries off in Fluttershy's direction, leaving Rainbow to inspect her fresh wound. She can't quite bend her leg enough to see it herself, but she can feel the dull, persistent resonance of the initial cut. Eh, I've had worse… "Oh, Rainbow!" The culprit, having reached his owner at last, is practically bowled over by the yellow mare as she tosses the bucket aside and bounds over to her injured friend. He gives an irate cluck, then sets to work on the abandoned feast. "Are you alright?! Your leg, how did you-- did Mr Stickybeak do this to you? You really can't get in between him and his breakfast, he's-- not that I'm blaming you, of course! I only mean he can get quite-- oh no, it's bleeding! Oh Rainbow I'm so sorry! Does it hurt? How badly? No, quickly! Come with me!" Rainbow, barely having the time to register what her friend has even said, suddenly finds herself being ushered out of the hen-house, pushed along by an outstretched yellow wing. Fluttershy dashes in and out of various rooms of the cottage, searching for her first-aid kit with a pained look on her face, mumbling inaudibly with breathless panic. You'd think she was the one with the injury. Not that I'd even call it that, she thinks, barely registering the sting any more. "I'm telling you--" she calls out, but she's cut off immediately by a guilt-laden "I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" from somewhere upstairs. With a sigh of resignation, she plants herself on the sofa by the window and waits. "Mm jrr, mm srr srrrhh," Fluttershy continues as she re-enters the room, mumbling vowellessly from the bundle of cotton swabs held in her mouth. She produces a dark bottle from underneath one wing and a roll of gauze from the other - spitting the swabs on to the floor, she sits down on her hind legs and sets to work cleaning the wound. "I'm so-- oh, and I'm sure Mr Stickybeak is too! He's not always like this, you know, and I'm sure he didn't really mean it. I think he was just hungry, and really there's just no stopping him when he's on an empty stomach… you understand, right?" "Really, I do. C'mon, I ca--" She winces involuntarily at the first touch of a cotton bud, swabbed with something stinging and foul-smelling, but continues before her friend can apologise again. "I can't really hold a grudge against a dumb chicken." "Oh now, Rainbow." Fluttershy looks up at the injured mare, pausing her cleansing strokes. "Ponies aren't that much smarter than our feathered friends, you know. We all get a little bit like Mr Stickybeak, if we want something bad enough." She holds Dash's gaze for a short moment, then quickly lowers her head again, grabbing the gauze and beginning to wrap the disinfected cut. Rainbow offers only a pensive "hm" in response. Wound successfully dressed, Fluttershy stands up and smiles at her patient. "Alright now, you just stay here and rest that leg of yours, okay? I've really got to finish feeding the chickens, but I'll bring back some eggs from the hen-house and I'll make you a nice big omelette with some of the herbs from my garden - that'll have you feeling better in no time," she beams. "Sure," Dash replies. Bemused as she is, she can't help but marvel at the strength of the mare's compassion. "So this is how it feels to be one of your little pets, huh?" she chuckles. For a split second, she sees Fluttershy's face flush a burning red, before her friend spins around and marches silently out of the room.