☯ Patch's Haven ☯

[Patch]

I decided to present my homestead in a tour-like fashion. I really enjoy writing, so you'll be left in the very capable hands...er, paws of the leader of my Border Collie Dire pack, Kyro. But first, talk to Charmain. (:



"Hello, there! I'm Charmain. I suppose I'm the record-keeper, here. Wanna leave a message for us? Shoot it towards Patch's mailbox, and she'll give it to me to put here!"

Messages from visitors:

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This is a work in progress, so please don't post yet. Thanks. ♥

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A young black and white dire bounds up to you happily, wagging his tail and panting slightly from his excitement. "Hello, there! You are entering the realm of Patch's Eldemore pets. This is a really big area to go through, so I hope you brought your hiking shoes and something to keep you hydrated."

Kyro bounds ahead of you then turns back, sitting down on his haunches to indicate you should stop and listen to what he has to say. His tails continue to wag, sending leaves and dust from the dirt path in pretty much every direction. "Just thought I'd tell you before we begin, there are special barriers dividing the creatures living here to prevent fights. Ya know- dires like me and those ligers for example. We just don't play nice."

He snorts a bit then gets back up, trotting ahead and still wagging his tails. "Okay, let's begin..."

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[Patch]

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{ Click to view the entire pack. }

Kyro leads you down a path that slopes down a hill that overlooks the entire valley. "The entire homestead is one big...field, I guess with different things added on to make it a fun and safe place for the creatures to live," he explains, heading towards a fork in the path that splits off in opposite directions. A large post stands in the grass right where the path splits off into two. On the top of the post are two signs shaped like arrows. The arrow pointing to the right reads, "Dire Wolves" and the arrow on the left reads, "Ligers". Both of the signs' letters are hand-painted and appears brand-new.

"Zara made these," Kyro tells you, leading you down the path on the right. "She's helps Patch take care of all the creatures here. She's super nice, and hey, we may run into her later." He smirks. "I like to think the best go first, right?" Before you can even reply, he goes on to add, "Yep. I thought so. Dires first." With a happy yip, he picks up his pace, heading towards an open field where many wolves were running around- chasing each other, playing with toys, swimming in their lake, or play fighting. Most of the pygmy dire wolves spot you. Ears up, they come running at you, whining and yipping excitedly at the sight of you. The sheer number of them knocks you off your feet and onto your backside on the path. Two particular pups seem to be over the moon excited...



"The blue one's name is Bumper, and the brown one is Shep," Kyro explains, looking slightly irritated at the pups' enthusiasm. "Bumper was one of the first ever wolves to live here, along with his littermates. They're all Gummy Dires."

Bumper licks your chin and wiggles his short tails, his blue eyes bright with interest and his paws resting on your chest. Shepherd calms down enough to just flop across your legs while the rest of the pygmies go back to their antics in the field.

Kyro allows you to have some play time with Bumper and Shep before he nudges them along with his nose. He also helps you up, being the nice wolf that he tries to be. "Well, as you can see over here, we have tons and tons of room to roam and practice hunting and swimming." He indicates the lake near the center of the field, where most of the larger pygmy dires were playing- splashing each other and pushing around toys. "Quite a refresher in the Summer time," your Collie tour guide says fondly. "Luckily, it's mostly mild temperatures here. Rain is occasional, but it's not like it bothers us," he says proudly, starting to walk again.
A few dires near the path look upon you with some mistrust...



The black dire shows his teeth and raises his hackles, but upon seeing you with a guide, he moves away rather than attempting to fight. The Yellow Candy Dish Dire just growls at you, but he too follows the first male.

"Not the nicest," Kyro says a little unnecessarily. "It's just the fact you're a stranger. They aren't too keen on these tours, but Patch wanted people to view her prided collection. Don't worry, they won't do anything... I think."

Not altogether reassured, you follow Kyro down the winding path towards the next section of land: the Rune Drakes' area.

[Patch]

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{ Click here to view the entire colony. }

After a while, you notice that the fur on the back of Kyro's neck and a bit down his back starts to lift up. His steps become a little more hesitant, and he even slows down enough to let you walk beside him, rather than being several paces ahead like he has been since you started exploring.

"Uh...up ahead is where the rune drakes are kept," he says with less eagerness in his tone now. He keeps glancing up above you both at the sky as if expecting something to drop down on him. "I mean...we can pass this part if you want..." His brown eyes blink anxiously up at you, but you just frown at him, thinking 'Who would want to miss the drakes?'. The Collie Dire sighs in defeat and continues towards an area that appeared to be an enormous canyon. Down below, you see dozens of the flying creatures soaring around- doing tricks, weaving through built-in obstacles, or else clinging to the sides of the canyon to sun themselves. Towards the back of the canyon is a stone tower a good thirty stories high. "The tower is where they sleep," Kyro says, sounding wary, "and the pygmy eggs are kept in there, too. We'd have to go in there, but..." He gulps.

Suddenly, the sun is blocked out by an enormous shadow. Kyro lets out a soft yelp and steps hastily behind you, shaking and pinning his ears back while his tails tuck beneath him in fear. You both gaze up at the drake as it slowly hovers down to the ground, making the ground shake as it lands before you...



The Emerald Tiger Drake lowers her head down to just above your own and sniffs at you. Her hot breath ruffles up your hair and clothes, but at least she seems curious and not aggressive.

Kyro snaps and darts into the bushes that rest among the trees lining the path. His black and white tails slide into the undergrowth and out of sight. So much for a brave leader...

The drake doesn't seem bothered by the dire wolf's sudden flight nor your presence. Her red eyes look you over before she lowers herself down further, and you see she's inviting you to climb onto her scaly back. After some hesitation since you don't know this drake very well, you climb onto her back. The emerald drake crouches down before rocketing up into the air...and over the side of the cliff down towards the canyon. You hold onto her neck for dear life as you plummet, wind whistling through your ears and hair and your eyes watering from being kept open. The ground is getting nearer and nearer...

But at the last moment, your ride spreads her magnificent wings, and you're both jerked up a little before she starts to flap her wings a couple of times to gain height. When she's at the right altitude, the rune drake opens her wings completely and glides towards the very tower your cowardly tour guide had pointed out earlier.

Other drakes pass you and your flying friend- slowing to glide along side you both...



They, however, lose interest quickly and swoop down in opposite directions. On your way towards the tower, you can see that the drakes have plenty of room to practice their flying skills and exercise. Many-colored eyes follow you and your temporary new guide as she suddenly turns her body up sharply, banking upwards towards the very top of the tower. Again, the wind blows through your hair though not as harshly as it had during your dive.

At last, you reach the top. Your steed pulls back a bit then slowly flaps her wings so she can land carefully on the edge of the top most window. The frame of the empty window is just large enough for the drake to stand up properly and not scrape her head at the top.

You dismount and see that there is a walkway just large enough for a single human to navigate (even if there are no guard rails to grip). Below are stairs that spiral further and further down all the way to the bottom. You grimace at the great height, but you'd come this far, might as well view some of the pygmy eggs. You start down the stairs, seeing carefully built nests where each pygmy egg in the collection was nestled safely and securely. The nests are set into small nooks beside the stairs where they can be easily viewed. The first few eggs at the top seemed to be the most carefully positioned and visible right away...



Overall, there are not too many eggs, and the last half of the floors or so are empty. It takes a while, but you do eventually reach the bottom and look up to see your Emerald Tiger friend lowering herself down again so you can clamber onto her back. Once again, she launches herself into the air and soars high above her fellows. She circles the canyon a few times, making sure that you take in as much as possible, such as the rock formations that had been shaped into loops for the drakes to fly through or tall ones lined up in a row, which the flying creatures were using to weave through to practice turning sharply. All and all, the drakes look content in their home.

Your mount takes you back to the spot where you'd first met her and lands carefully so you can slip off her back once more. She nudges you gently with her nose, gives the bushes where Kyro was no doubt still hiding a look that was unmistakably a glare before taking off to join her family.

[Patch]

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{ Click here to view the entire group. }

No sooner had the drake dove out of sight did Kyro emerge from the trees. His nose twitches as he sniffs the air for any signs of danger. "Well, that overgrown lizard didn't know what she was messin' with." He huffs a little and shakes stray leaves and bites of broken twigs from his fur. "Let's keep going, then..."
Shaking your head in disgust, you follow the Collie dire down a path that lead to one of the mountainous sides of the valley. Ahead, you can hear it before you see it, is a roaring waterfall that empties into a very large pool: a good forty feet in diameter or more.

"This is where the otterlings hang out," Kyro tells you, regaining his confidence pretty quickly.

The furry creatures were playing around in the water mostly. There were a few floating on their backs with pups on their bellies while others climbed up on semi-submerged rocks to groom their coats. A couple of otterlings pop out of the water and waddle up to you without fear, sniffing at your shoes. They look up at you and sit back on their rear legs, blinking shiny black eyes up at you...



Their button noses twitch eagerly as you crouch down to let them sniff at your hands and face. Their whiskery muzzles tickle your cheeks and neck, so you playfully nudge them back and look around at their fellows. A great majority of the mischievous creatures are now watching you with innocent curiosity, but only a couple of them approach, including two pygmies...



They scramble over each other, appearing to be close friends, as the two attempt to get a good look at you but not get close enough to be touched. The one that resembles a panda makes a chattering noise and sniffs at you eagerly, while the smaller one with a jester hat waves his staff at you, like a human would tempt a cat with a toy. The Panada Otterling gets annoyed and jumps on his friend, sending them both toppling over and scrambling to grab the staff.

You smile at their antics as the pair wrestle, completely forgetting about you and focusing on fighting over the little staff.

"I've seen enough," Kyro grumbles, watching the two pygmies roll around and growl at each other. He turns to lead you on, but at that moment, the adorable wrestling pair rolls into the water with a splash, sending a rather large wave over the side and onto the bank- drenching everything within a few feet of them including Kyro.

The dire yelps in shock as his coat is drenched, and he stumbles. With an angry growl, he shakes himself and snorts angrily, baring his teeth at the now trembling otterling pups. You decide maybe it's time to move on, so you get up and continue on your way. Kyro gives another snort before turning and following you out of the otterling's play area. The furry water-lovers seem to be laughing at the dire, judging by the chattering noises they were making.

[Patch]

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{ Click here to view the whole group. }

"Ugh!" Kyro angrily shakes out the last of the water from his fur. Luckily, it's warm and sunny out today, so he'd be dry in no time. He still is pretty ruffled. With a groan, he turns a corner to show you the next area: the ligers.

Instantly, the atmosphere gets very tense. Some of the ligers are napping lazily in the shade, while others (mostly the pygmies) are playing around and chasing each other through tall grasses. But the ones making your dire wolf companion so tense are the ones watching the two of you with mistrusting eyes. Luckily, their resentment seemed to be aimed more towards Kyro than you.

Two large males look particularly fierce..



Kyro huffs. "This isn't my favorite part of the tour."

"Oh, hey there!" A girl in her late teens comes hurrying over to you, her eyes sparkling and her smile genuine. "You must be the visitor we have today. I'm Zara. I take care of the creatures here." She's dressed in jeans that looked as if she'd been wrestling in the dirt with a particularly difficult creature, and her t-shirt is also dirty with a few small holes in the neckline area, like little claws had poked through the fabric and had been removed quickly. She shakes your hand after you introduce yourself, and she looks over her shoulder as a low growl echoes through the trees that surrounds the clearing the ligers called home. A female liger with a white coat and black stripes comes trotting into view. All of the ligers who had been standing aggressively a moment before now back away hastily, their body language showing submission. It's clear this particular liger was the leader, or at least she was not to be messed with...



"This is Shiba," Zara says happily, scratching behind the Tiger Liger's ears. "She's bonded to me, and I raised her from a cub." Her blue eyes show deep affection for the purring feline beside her.

Kyro takes a step back, his demeanor also changing.

A couple of cubs wonder over to your little group and rub against Zara's legs while blinking up at you with curiosity and mewing...



The tawny cub with the bow around her neck seems to like you a lot and rubs against you, purring happily. Zara grins and shakes her head. "They're all so well behaved, really. It's just...the dire wolf and liger feud is hard for them to ignore. It's instinct."

Kyro makes a soft yip to show his agreement with Zara's words before the young human turns to you. "So, I'm guessing you haven't seen everything yet? You're about to complete the first circle. Just in those trees over there is where the rune dragons live. I'll come with you, since I still need to check on them." Zara gently leads the pygmy ligers back to their playing area before jogging over to you and Kyro. "Lets go!"

Your pair now becoming a group, Zara walks slightly ahead of you but a little behind Kyro, knowing the Collie Dire enjoys his job as a tour guide (for the most part). The three of you set off for the forested area where the rune dragons called home.

[Patch]

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{ Click to view the whole group. }

The three of you enter a section of forest that is quite a bit darker than the clearing you just left that contained the ligers. Though you can see the path well, the temperature is a little cooler due to the many trees around you having a vast and close-nit canopy. All around you, you can hear the quiet scuffles of many small feet on the branches of the trees above, but you can't see much. These secretive creatures are curious but not quite ready to show themselves...

Well, most of them. A fuzzy rune decides to make his appearance by leaping out of the tree on her left and clinging to your shoulder. Luckily, he has a tight grip, so even if you were to freak out, he makes sure he isn't thrown off...



The small rune pokes his nose into your ear and sniffs enthusiastically. He has soft fur along with his bushy tail. His red eyes blink and stare into yours when he leans away from his inspection of your ear. The noise he makes is a soft and playful sort of growl, like a puppy almost.

"Aww, he likes you," Zara tells you, smiling as more and more of the small creatures poke their heads out from their hiding places in the trees. "That's Momo. He's one of Patch's favorites...don't tell the others." She smirks. The other runes tilt their heads curiously, but Zara hastily starts giving them treats.

Kyro is grumbling silently because three dragons were riding on his back happily...



The Wisdom Seeker (snowy owl-looking) dragon nibbles on the Collie Dire's perked ears, causing him to tilt his head then shaky his entire body. The runes take off in alarm, most of them scrambling up to their trees. The rune with a hat and sweater on hops over to Zara and scales her leg with her sharp claws. She then perches on the young woman's shoulder and rubs her soft face against hers. Zara giggles and scratches the fuzzy rune behind its ear. "They're pretty friendly for the most part. They're at least friendlier than most of the ligers or sea servals."

The little Flame Seeker Rune Dragon on your shoulder nuzzles you one more time before hopping onto a branch and scrambling to its nest. Your still traveling group is nearly out of their territory, so they decide to drop back to join their family again. Kyro is the only one looking grumpy.

[Patch]

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{ The entire herd can be viewed here. }

After leaving the forest behind, Zara leads you down a path. Up ahead, the thundering sound of hooves can be heard. Then, they all come into view: sleipnirs. Dozens and dozens of them running in together in a herd. Zara's smile is wide. "Patch recently started taking a fancy to these guys, and she's taking in more and more than she used to. She loves to ride. That one over there is her favorite." Zara points to the huge stallion leading the herd, practically flying. Well...



...He is.

"That's Sawyer," Zara murmurs, now looking a tiny bit nervous. "He really only likes Patch, so lets gives him some space, 'kay?"

You hastily follow her away from the grazing stallion, who is watching you with baleful blue eyes.

"Here are some pygmies!" Zara says excitedly as Kyro jumps forward to play tag with the little ones:



You watch them happily for a few moments before moving on with Zara. Most of the sleipnir seem content with giving you your space, but a feisty pygmy decides to block your path by jamming his head into your stomach and bracing his legs. It's not as if he full on rammed you, but he's showing no signs of wanting to move.



Zara gently coaxes the goofy baby away from you with some treats. "He's a bit of a pain, but he means well. That's how he says 'hello'."

You decide to take Zara's word for it. The young woman hurries over to one of the larger equines and climbs onto her back. "It's almost feeding time, so I better go. Kyro can take it from here." She smiles before leading her steed towards what appeared to be enormous barns in the distance.

"That's where the sleipnirs sleep if they choose," Kyro informs you, leading the way once more. "Of when they need shelter from the rain. All of the creatures are pretty free-roaming, but Patch does provide them with shelter."

You smile to yourself and follow the Collie Dire towards what appears to be an area that is dense with trees like back in the rune dragon's area, but you can't help but feel less...secure here. Eyes appear to be watching your every move...

"And we're approaching the sea serval's territory," Kyro tells you, sounding resigned. "Keep your hands on your pockets and jewelry. They like shiny stuff."

[Patch]

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{ The entire group can be viewed here. }

Kyro looks a bit more relaxed entering sea serval territory, which seems odd to you. Ligers and dires are notorious for not getting along, but isn’t it the same with the servals? They were felines too, after all. You decide not to share your thoughts with the Collie Dire and just follow him along the path, which is lit by pretty purple and blue lanterns that hang from lower branches in the trees.

“They like it semi-dark for whatever reason,” Kyro says, sounding sort of annoyed. “I mean, I can see just fine. My only concern is for our guest, of course.” He gives you a shy grin before hurrying a few paces ahead.

Gleaming eyes watch you from the trees. The servals seem wary…or just uninterested in their visitor. At least they aren’t hissing and swatting at you, right? You can make out shiny objects hidden in the trees or in rough holes in the ground as if the cats were hoarding their treasures.

Suddenly, a red serval with ankhs on its coat slinks out of the shadows to rub against your legs, purring contentedly.



Kyro ignores the felines who seem be becoming more and more curious of you, the stranger. While you're busy petting the red serval that appears to like you, a couple more had snuck up behind you to sniff at your pockets. One finds some spare change and takes off running with it... Another tries to take your watch, but you manage to nudge it away in time. The two little thieves move in front of you at lightning speed to look up at you innocently...



Kyro snorts. "They can't stand to take pickings from strangers. They find it funny. Shoo, now. All of you!" He barks sharply, and the servals retreat. Several hiss at the dire wolf, but they know better than to pick a fight. Patch would have their skins for hurting her favorite dire, and they know she prefers dires over servals.

"Patch has allergies when it comes to servals," Kyro says brightly once you're on your way again. "She hates it, but she has limited time with them. That's probably why they misbehave- they're acting out." He sounds knowledgeable but also doubtful. You, being an Eld lore expert, know that it isn't uncommon for thieves and other law-breakers to own servals. With this in mind, you hurry after Kyro and out of the serval's area.

"Next up is the griffins," your canine guide says brightly.

[Patch]

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{ The whole group can be viewed here. }

Kyro raises his hackles as you both reach a gorge-like area that wasn't like the drake's canyon. It appears more as if a mountain split in half and the halves drifted away from each other. The dirt path follows the divide. Up above, you can hear the screeching of what sounds like birds of prey. You look up, but you see nothing. It's too foggy. More than once, you catch a glimpse of what appears to be wings...and occasionally a lion's tail.

You open your mouth to ask Kyro if you both were about to be ambushed when a screech shatters the air and a huge shape emerges from the fog smoothly. The creature sours once above your head then lands with a heavy thud in front of you. The griffin extends its wings and lowers its head in a slight bow.



Kyro returns the gesture, to your surprise. The dire always seemed to proud and egotistic to be formal with other creatures, but he seems to have respect for the griffins.

"Meet Magnus," Kyro introduces you two. "He's the leader of the...pack? Pride? I don't know what groups of griffins are called off the top of my head. He's the Alpha so to speak." He scratches his ear. "Like your's truly."

Magnus blinks, his eyes piercing but not angry. He seems calm and willing to accept strangers in his territory as long as they didn't harm his family. Just then, there's a light chirp and a couple of pygmy griffins soar down clumsily from their perches to land on your shoulders:



The little ones sniff at your hair and nip your ears gently, their tails swishing from side to side. They chirp softly, clearing just curious.

"Visitors around here are rare, so seeing a new face excites the little ones especially," Kyro says, watching Magnus take off to join the others.

A few more griffins soar down to land a few feet away to watch you as well, but they do not approach and bow like Magnus had.



"Every griffin has a nest up there on the ledges," the dire says knowledgeably. "It can get misty up there because of the height, but the griffins like being invisible to both enemies and prey, so Patch tries to keep things to their liking as often as possible."

The pygmies leave you be to join the others for a group flight. "They fly together as a group every single day to build their bonds. It's kind of like my pack, but ya know...we run. Trying to see us fly is interesting to say the least." He huffs and clears his throat. "And onward..." He lifts his head and tails with dignity, and you both exit the gorge.

[Patch]

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{ Click here to view the herd. }

After crossing a bridge over a glorious blue river, Kyro leads you along the path and around a bend to a humongous open field where dozens of elkrin were out grazing peacefully. "They're more even tempered than the sleipnir," Kyro says. "So we can get closer if you wish."

Why not? So you approach the peaceful creatures. One of the bucks eyes you suspiciously for a bit then returns to feeding.



"Another leader," Kyro murmurs. "Most of the groups have one to keep everyone in line and organized. The only group that doesn't seem to have one is the otterlings. They would rather play, anyway."

The rest of the elkrin either ignore you or spare you a quick glance upward as you and Kyro walk among them. Two doe lift their beautiful heads and blink long-lashed eyes at you.



They seem to smile then return to either grazing or grooming the pygmies. Those said pygmies weren't just standing there to take the grooming. Most of them were bouncing around, pawing the ground or just doing anything they possibly could to avoid bath time.



You can't help but laugh at how goofy the little ones are being to avoid being cleaned. They would clearly much rather play around and show off in front of their visitor instead. Kyro yelps when the winking pygmy leaps clean over him and then bounds around and around him. The dire gets dizzy and closes his eyes until the elkrin moves on.

"Yep...we're going now." Without a backward glance, Kyro hurries out of the field and towards what appeared to be an area with several bird houses hanging from trees and bushes.