The Harcourt Family - Exploring Histories

[Kasumi Roseglimmer]

Some while later, Jabe tiptoed up to the door of their bedroom, walking on his toes so as to make as least amount of noise as possible. He sidled up to the door and prised it carefully open, though the hinges were old and they creaked and complained as he slipped round the side of the door and into their bedroom. Sitting on the edge of the large double bed, he watched Winny sleeping for a while, thinking how blessed he was to have someone so amazing as his wife and best friend. He reached out and lightly brushed strands of tawny hair away from her face, stroking her soft lioness ear as he tucked them behind it.

Jabe leaned over to kiss her gently before lying down next to her, drawing her close as he lay an arm over her in a light embrace. Eyes the colour of wild gold slid closed as he dreamt of the holiday they were leaving for first thing in the morning. He had missed spending such time with her lately.
***

Saberlin sighed as he looked up at the sky, walking side by side with Cheria to the archery range, holding her tiny hand in his. Dark clouds were scudding in and covering the sky. They probably wouldn't have a very long lesson if it began to rain. Still, he was enjoying this walk.

"Well, it depends what your idea of hard is, doesn't it? Everything feels awkward when you do it the first few times but with practice and dedication, even the most unskilled of beginners can become proficient" he replied, smiling down at her encouragingly. "Do not worry little sister, I have never skewered anyone with an arrow yet. We have rules in place to ensure this sport is enjoyable and minimise risk of injury"  

[Incognita Ninja]

Winny snuggled into Jabe's chest, gently breathing in his scent. She missed him, but she knew that he had to work for the family.

---------------------------

Cheria held tighter to Saberlin's hand when she saw the dark clouds. "Brrrr. Will we get really wet if it pours, 'Aberlin?" She shivered in anticipation, her tail fluffing out at the end.  

[Kasumi Roseglimmer]

(Since Winny and Jabe are both asleep, I guess we leave them til next morning. We should probably just rp Saberlin and Cheria for a while, unless one of them wakes up. =^_^=)

At the end of the path there was a large, fenced off area, with a small wooden gate set into the high fence. Apologising, Saberlin wiggled his hand free of Cheria' s grip so he could reach the latch to open it, having to stand on his toes to reach the tricky latch.

Swinging open the small gate to the archery range, he stepped aside to let Cheria through first. "Here we are; in you go" he nudged her lightly, indicating she should step forward.

Glancing at the clouds again, he considered them, sniffing the air. It smelled mildly of water and ozone, with hints of coolness. "I do not think our lesson will be cut short. We have at least half an hour to an hour while it builds up. Most likely it will pour on us while we walk back to the house." he noted. "Though it is a possibility you shall have a second bath today" Saberlin stated, noticing the end of her tail was fluffed out. He patted her head lightly. "Don't fret...a little water shouldn't hurt us" Saberlin gave Cheria a gentle smile. "Now, let's go get our archery gear."  

[Incognita Ninja]

Cheria nodded. "Of course 'Abelrin." Cheria looked at the Archery gear and let her mouth drop open. "All of this, just to shoot a stick?" Once decked out in her gear, she went back outside. Trying to lift the bow, she notched the arrow and drew back the string like she'd seen Saberlin do, but when she let go,instead of going straight, but downward, the arrow fell and pierced her foot paw. "Ouch!" Cheria tried to pull out the arrow, but she made the wound worse with her claws. Finally, the shaft broke, leaving half the arrow in her foot. "'Aberlin, where are you?" Rain started to gently fall down, gently soaking her face. "My foot hurts." Red droplets dripped on the ground, getting her golden fur, her shoe, and the ground stained red.

(We need a bit more drama, dont you think?)  

[Kasumi Roseglimmer]

(Ow ow ow, that would hurt! XP You leave them alone for two seconds...lol.)

Saberlin hadn't taken long to find his gear and his favoured bow. He wore simply an arm bracer and a skeleton glove to protect his arm and fingers, though he'd given Cheria a chest plate as well for extra protection. Nothing could go wrong, he was sure of that. This archery should be as enjoyable as the fencing was.

Although he had taken some extra time to find the quiver of arrows he preferred for this bow, he had been only about five minutes maximum. Flexing his fingers as he pulled his glove on more comfortably, he wandered back out of the shed to begin their practice lesson, looking around for her. "Okay Cheria...let us begi- Cripes, Cheria, what have you done? Trying to take your foot off?!" he gasped, sprinting over to her with absolute shock stamped on his face and skidding to his knees beside her, putting his hands on her arms to steady her if she fell. He growled inwardly at himself, furious with himself. How could this happen? It was his fault for not watching her!

"You...look what you have done, you should not have tried to remove it. And you snapped it also?! O-okay...just...stay calm. Big brother will assist you" he told her, trying to look and sound as calm as possible himself so she would see there was nothing to panic about, though he was panicking himself.

Another person had been in the practise grounds at the time; a boy from the house's staff quarters was there with his father as they were on a break and the staff were allowed to use the range if they wished and had Jabe's permission. When Cheria shot herself in the foot, they saw and heard her. A boy with dark hair soon came running up, the man behind him looking concerned as they both came to kneel near the injured girl and her brother. "Mistress Cheria!" the boy, who looked about four or five years old, gasped out "Are you okay? Don't worry, we can help you!"

"Young master, you should watch her more closely, I'll get a first aid kit! If we carry her all the way back she might bleed too much, we should put pressure on it" the man informed him before running off to do just that and coming back hurriedly, opening the kit to find bandages.

Saberlin nodded, holding Cheria close while the man went to get the kit, watching the other boy reach for her hand.

"Here Mistress, hold my hand, if you look at me, you won't feel it" the boy offered, which was what he got told every time he had to get shots. If it worked for those, it could work for this, right? "My name is Michael, my dad's a butler here"

Saberlin directed a faint smile at the younger boy, grateful for his bravery and help. "We should take her out of the rain before you bandage that or the badages will be wet. Let us move inside the shed" he told the butler, who nodded and went to pick her up... "Good idea.  

[Incognita Ninja]

Cheria nodded, sniffed and wiped her nose with a blooded paw. "Okay." She the pain more keenly and stiffened up. She clutched at Saberlin's hand rather at the stranger's proffered hand. Out of the rain, she felt better, if not a little bit. Turning to Saberlin, her eyes widened and slitted a bit, as she was feeling a bit dizzy from blood loss. "Will Mommy and Daddy know about this?" inquired Cheria as she laid her head on Saberlin's chest.  

[Kasumi Roseglimmer]

Helping the butler and his son with the first aid kit, Saberlin let her hold onto his hand, not minding that she was squeezing it a little too hard and digging her claws in. He'd got himself with his own claws before and was used to cuts and scratches.

He helped wrap the bandages round the arrow wound, holding pressure on the dressing the older man applied after disinfecting it with some alcohol and snipping them off neatly from the roll.

Saberlin wouldn't let anyone else carry her and picked her up to start the walk back to their mansion, closely followed by the butler, who was making a call on his mobile to the main house, and the young boy, who had managed to find a large black umbrella somewhere and was walking beside the siblings, holding it over Cheria to stop her getting rained on.

They were about halfway back when a car came to pick them up, taking them back to the mansion where Cheria would be rushed off to the medical bay and Saberlin would be left dripping in the lobby with the other staff and a rather wet umbrella.

He pulled a wry face as he watched water plipping onto the cool marble floor, sullenly shaking water from his ears and tail. "Well, this is a fine turn of events, I must say. Father shall probably ban Cheria from the archery range entirely" he sighed, wondering about Winny's reaction to the accident. "I dread to think what would occur had it been worse"

"I hope Cheria will be okay" Michael added, handing the umbrella to his dad to fold up as it kept springing back open every time he tried, spraying them all with cold droplets.  

[Incognita Ninja]

Cheria was limp from all the blood she lost. "Where's mommy and daddy?" She mumbled, her head lolling to one side as she was put under for the surgery.
*******************
Winny slowly woke up, her hair in her face and all kinked up. Getting out, she shuffled to the window and raked a hand through her hair. "What a wonderful evening huh Jabe?" She didnt care that he might still be asleep, she wanted to admire the view of the lawns bathed in the golden sunset light. She heard the faint thud-thud of footsteps, but she couldnt tell who they were from.  

[Kasumi Roseglimmer]

The nurse smiled at Cheria. "Don't worry little mistress, your parents are right here but they are busy with other things right now. They will see you soon" she comforted, stroking the girl's ears and hair as she would begin drifting off. 'We will have your foot healed in no time"

***

Jabe's reply was a grunting sort of snort as he snored in his sleep. He rolled over onto his back, a huge feline smile on his face, looking for all the world like a big cat sprawled out in the sun - the epitome of luxury. "Mrf argnnerrr!" he mumbled, swatting at something invisible.  

[Incognita Ninja]

Cheria had drifted off into a peaceful sleep as the nurses and doctor started on her foot.
eek
***********
Winny giggled as she hopped up on the bed again and cradled Jabe's head in her lap, stroking his ears every so gently. She caught one of his hands and gently traced them with a finger, amazed at how big they are compared hers. "Great. Bigger than me in human form and in cat form." Winny changed into a lion and sprawled across his torso, her tail flicking in a mambo rythmn.  

[Kasumi Roseglimmer]

((Lol. I meant she was drifting off because of the anesthetic. It makes you feel sleepy. You feel like you're falling into a heavy sleep that you can't fight...))

The nurses and doctor worked quickly as they could on Cheria's arrow wound, efficient at their jobs. They were used to dealing with much more complicated procedures than this, having been trained to repair damaged bio-engineered, mecha parts and otherworldly bits and pieces. Cheria would most likely recover well, so long as the wound was properly taken care of.

Saberlin was waiting in the medical bay, in the waiting area, a book on mecha and machines and various sources of power they could run on spread open on his lap as he glanced at it's pages. He was trying not to worry about Cheria. The main house had been rung and the message passed onto the head butler but his father hadn't been informed yet, as apparently he'd been closed up in his room with Mother. Michael's father, another butler, had gone up to wake and inform them.

(finish it later. Got to get off)  

[Incognita Ninja]

Cheria slept while the nurses and doctors did surgery on her foot.

**********

Winny smiled, and closed her eyes. She dozed for what seemed a minute, on top of Jabe's torso.  

[Kasumi Roseglimmer]

Saberlin was halfway through the book now. A fast reader, plus he found this fascinating the more he read. Strangely enough, he was so into the book that he almost forgot about Cheria. So when a nurse came by and announced Cheria was now in the recovery ward, though still asleep, he didn’t hear her. Neither did he hear the second one, who was standing next to him at present, until she shook his shoulder and called his name loudly.

"Master Saberlin!”

“Ahh!” Saberlin jumped, jolted out of his book. “Whu…ha…wh-what is it?” he stammered, thoughts scattered every which way. Snatches of what he’d been reading tangled with memories of where he was and what he was doing here.

“Master Saberlin, your sister is now in recovery…”

Oh right…Cheria. Regaining his composure, Saberlin stood and bowed to the woman slightly.as he thanked her “Oh…I see…thank you for informing me. I shall go to her now.” Closing the book, he tucked it under his arm and headed towards the ward where she’d be. It was quite strange that no one had approached him about it. Their parents surely have heard of it by now.

***

Out of nowhere, there was a frenzied knocking on the door of the master bedroom.

Jabe Harcourt bolted upright at the sound, unaware of Winny’s presence or that she was sleeping on top of him. As close as he was to the edge of the bed, she could very well roll thud! onto the floor. When he was half asleep, Jabe didn’t know his own strength. And since he wasn’t properly awake yet, he would hardly have noticed if she plopped off until she sprang back up and made him aware of her being there.

“Y…yah, who-iss-‘t? Come in already! Don’ stand there like a flabb’rgasted flathead!” Jabe ordered loudly, scrubbing a hand over his face. He’d been working long hours lately and it seemed to have caught up to him. But after this rest, he’d be back down in his workshop again for sure. That was, if nothing interrupted him. He had no idea Cheria shot her foot with an arrow.

A butler materialised from behind the door, looking somewhat apprehensive. It was the man who had helped the kids earlier, though Jabe of course couldn’t know this. “Sorry to disturb, Master Harcourt but I must inform that there has been an injury to one of the residents of the household. I have taken the time to fill out the correct paperwork, which is the reason you are just hearing of it now. Sir, the one injured was your daughter. Mistress Cheria is currently being treated for a damaged foot. There is no need to worry though – we brought her straight to the medical bay”

Jabe blinked at the man who’d come into the room and gave him a quizzical look, sticking a finger in his ear and twisting it around as though trying to clear his hearing. “Eh? Say alla that a’gin?”  

[Incognita Ninja]

Winny was jolted awake as Jabe bolted upright. Hitting the floor, she grunted and got up, shaking her head to get rid of the dizziness. "Cheria hurt her foot? How?" She padded up to the butler, her teeth showing just a little bit.

***************************
Cheria opened her eyes a little bit, since she was still groggy from when they put her under.  

[Kasumi Roseglimmer]

Saberlin was standing at the side of his sister’s bed, holding a bouquet of flowers that he picked from the patient’s garden on the way here.

He peered at her in concern, ears pricked and swerving gently as though they were worried too.

“Cheria? Are you awake? I brought you some flowers” he whispered, leaning over to get a better look at her.

“How is your foot? I’m not sure if Mother and Father know of it yet but they are bound to find out soon. In that case, you can tell them it was my fault, okay? I don’t want them to ban you from learning archery before you even give it a proper try. That wouldn't be fair.”

***

Jabe jolted at the thud of a body hitting the ground. Looking down to see what it was, his tattered gold leopard ears drooped and he offered an apologetic grin to Winny while she pulled herself back up. “Eheh…sorry, Love, forgot y’were there…” he chuckled sheepishly, scratching the back of his head as his tail swayed in a nervous pattern. She seemed to be okay, but he hoped she hadn’t bruised anything.

His wife’s words to the butler finally struck a chord and all at once, what the man had been saying clicked together. His sleepiness evaporated at the news that Cheria was hurt. When, where, how, why?!

Jabe galumphed out of bed and stalked over to stand by Winny’s side, fixing the butler with an intense stare that wasn’t exactly directed at the poor man but at anyone who willingly dared to hurt their princess.

With an anxious gulp, the butler quickly retold the tale of what happened, explaining that young master Saberlin had taken miss Cheria along on his normal lesson for the day and they had got into a spot of trouble with a wayward arrow.

“Right…banned from the archery range!” Jabe shouted loudly almost as soon as the man finished speaking, slapping a curled fist hard against an open palm as though to cement the verdict.

“An’ that boy is goin’ to get a talking to as soon as I see ‘im! Where is he?!” a soft growl grated in his throat. “What does he think he’s doin’, teachin’ our sweet angel to fight wit-out me there! He knows I love practice fightin’…”