Welcome to Gaia! ::

Hello! And welcome to my silly event for some free familiars~ This is an IC-RP contest! What does that mean? Well, read below for all the info!

Background Story Information:

A recently widowed jackal, Preta knows all too well the harshness of the Motoujamii. Despite all odds, she's managed to carry her litter of pups to term. But because of her incredibly weakened state, she is unable to safely take care of them and herself. And like any kid who found a box of kittens, An has a solution.

She's finding them some homes!

Preta will still be in the puppy's lives to instruct them in the proper ways of the jackal. But she needs some help looking after them, and that's where you come in!

---------
How this will go down!
---------

This will take place in two parts- and you only need to post twice to win a free pup!

Part One: Respond to An's post in any way you chose, with the character you want to enter to have a shot at a puppy. You are welcome to ask questions of her- but try to keep them general, since I'll be somewhat limited in her responses. Your response does not have to be lengthy, just a line or two. Write anything you'd like!

This will be opened for a week! So you've got plenty of time to post a response. But once the week is over, only people who have posted will be allowed to participate in the game. Consider it your 'sign up' if you will.

----

Part Two: A dice game! The only way to get a puppy is to impress one with...well, whatever you want! Explain to them why you are capable of looking after them. Brag! Juggle skulls! Tell them long boring stories!

This is a dice game, but uniqueness of your attempt will count as well. In your post, you'll roll a random number, 1-100. The higher the rating, the higher the puppies approval of you was~!

More on this game when it's time!






NOTE: Jackals live naturally in the desert, but they are not considered members of the pride, at least where they'd actually have a say in anything. Their involvement with the firekin is in direct relation to whom they belong to- and not any further.

It is expected that familiars in the Motoujamii will be on their best behavior while in the pridelands. [Although out in the desert, anything is fair game!]

And now, for our hosts...!

It was midmorning in the Motoujamii. A time when most lions had concluded their morning training and hunts, and now were seeking refuge from the sun's powerful rays. It was a miserable time of day, but a perfect one to amass the attention of a large group of lions and heat weary cubs. At least, An was going to try. It wouldn't have been an uncommon sight to the pride, to see some heat crazed child run about cawing for attention. But, what made this particular occasion different was the venerable army of yipping, howling, and bouncing puppies she had following behind her. Coupled with one loud voice of her own- An was quite certain of attracting the attention of just about anyone who happened to be in the central pridelands that afternoon.

“Hey!” She called, grappling herself onto one of the sandstone rocks. She was a rough looking sort- her face still slightly swollen from some close encounter or another. But her eyes were surprisingly bright, and there was an all too mischievous smile crossed about her face. “Hey, everybody!”

Beside her: the horde. It consisted of five puppies, all chattering away with one another. Their mother, Preta, left behind for this occasion. An had all but begged her to attend- but, the jackal's pride had not permitted her to watch her pups be handed off. To have to face that she could not rear them as fully and ably as they deserved on their own. Although An was quite sure she would make a showing eventually. She wouldn't have her pups given to just anyone!

An dusted herself off, and attempted to formulate her speech. The true mastermind of the operation- she had been considering for a few days now how to go about securing patrons for the little pups. She had, at first, considered being quite diabolical about it and simply forcing them upon her relatives. But, deciding against it, like a kid with a box of kittens, she was now quite adamant on finding proper keepers for them. Even as she prepared what she was about to say, one of the pups gnawed rather ravenously on her tail, hoping to goad her into another play fight.

“Owch- Milo!” She whispered in a half hiss. But, she was only a cub. Another couple playful taunts, and her speech was waylaid for a few minutes for a small wrestle match with one of the pups. A quick swing of her paw sent the little black and tan boy flying off the rock, and she settled back into her routine.

“Err-” An cleared her throat, noticing the confused glances of some of the lions that had gathered. She opened her mouth to continue, and Milo had already returned to harassing her tail with playful growls. She did her very best to ignore it. She had her serious business face on now. “I'm An! And these puppies, like me, were born here in the Motoujamii!”

That made them special puppies. Didn't it?

“But, they know how harsh the desert is. Their mother is injured, and she can't look after them now that they're eating real food. Now, you might be thinking, 'Why do I care?' WELL.” She swept down and scooped up Milo. Like a seasoned saleswoman, she began to shake him about. “I'm here to show you all the amazing things jackal puppies can do! Yes, yes, now you too can own your very own...um...”

She looked to Milo for help. The puppy smiled. “I eat rats.”

“YES. They eat rats! They eat snakes! They eat scorpions! All sorts of annoying things that we are far too busy to deal with! They find water. They... can be trained to deliver messages to far off lands! They distract children when you're off plotting your enemy's demise! They...”

“Howl!” Milo offered, and started a very long, raspy yodel.

An clamped her paw down on the pup's mouth and smiled. “They, uh! They don't do that! Not much anyways. And by far the most important thing...! They're adorable! Look at this face! Look into his eyes!” As a backup plan, An's own eyes became huge and watery. Her perfected “cute-kitten” facade. Even with her face scarred up, she made a painfully pathetic sight. “How can you say no? It's impossible, that's why!”

“Now, I'm sure some of you are going- but yeah, now you got to feed the thing! Well, the beauty is! They eat what you don't want to eat anymore. They'll clean up all the rotten food you have around, and they'll love it! Don't you love dead things, Milo?!”

“I love food!” Milo smiled lopsidedly.

“I mean. Why, you'd be crazy not to have one. All you have to do is promise not to eat it and keep other stuff from eating it. It's a fair deal, that's what I think! And I've got three puppies to find homes for. This one here,” She motioned to Milo. “He's defective, so I'll hold him back.”

Milo bristled, and shot a death glare.

“And Wessex wants to chose for herself. But these other three- these other three have come to you today so you can show them why you should be their patron!” An directed towards the three small orange puppies. They had been fighting amongst one another, but now they peered suspiciously towards the crowd.


“Well!” An said, sitting up straight. “Who is interested in trying? This is serious business though, so be sure that you are sure you can manage!”


And with that, she opened the floor for sign ups.

At first, Nuria had been...less than impressed. They were puppies, not Firekin. But her very own cleanup crew? That sounded interesting enough. "So they really eat what we don't want, huh?"

Yensid yawned but his paws led him towards the cub and the jackal pups, he sat behind the present females. Jackal pups? Well they needed a home and they sounded useful, maybe having one would be useful. They did look sort of cute too...

"They have a nose for water eh?" Well that raised the runts in his estimation.

Kinja had debating on retiring for a good afternoon nap when An came trapsing along like a mother hen with her chicks. Kinja couldn't help but wonder what her great grandchild was up to but listened intently to An's story. As she watched the young cub's antics with the pups and heard the story about them and their mother being unable to care for them, Kinja's heart ached for the littles ones and swelled with pride for An. For one so young, An certainly was a responsible and good hearted cub.

Rising up, Kinja walked over to An, taking care to tread lightly so as not to scare the pups surrounding her. She certainly didn't want to pups to think her hostile in any way. "On An, I am so proud of you." She smiled warmly as she reached down to lick the top of the cub's head. "You're doing such a wonderful thing for them and their mother. I am sure the thoughts of parting with her pups is hard for her, but at least she left them in capable paws."

Kinja sat down in front of An, her heart swlling with so much love and pride for An, that it was clearly noticable as she looked down upon the cub and her little pack of pups. It was quite adorable how the pups gathered around An almost as if she were their real mother. It made the lioness chuckle warmly.

It was Kai's first time in the heart of the pride lands; she had won her way into the pride, and didn't know anyone as of yet. Once she saw all of the other heads turn, she couldn't help but follow suit. Her small body wiggled its way through the crowd, until her large golden eyes stared blankly at the light cub. She listened, not knowing if this cub held some sort of importance or not, and eyed the little orange things that were next to her.

"But they're.....floof." She reached out a paw, wiggling her toes up next to one. She wanted them to do something special, but all she could feel was the googley bulges of organs through the small thing's thin pelt. Her chin was on the ground now, and she looked like a cub next to a small toy. Somehow, aside from their squishy bodies, she wanted one.

Vesta's dappled body drew closer, drawn to the sudden crowding and excited talk. What was going on here, then? Something exciting? Or...something scary? She peeked over another's shoulder and spotted An and...and...the cute little...puppies?

Her ears lifted as An spoke and she drew closer still, her normal timidness lost beneath her curiosity. Promise not to eat it? Protect it? Could she do that? Would Mummy and Daddy let her keep one? Would they be mad if they brought one home? No. Of course they wouldn't! How could they be mad once they saw that little round face?

She cast a glance across the other eager faces and stepped forwards, her ears up and tail waving a little.

"I'm interested!" She squeaked. "I can manage!"

Fintan had dragged himself out of his den, still blinking somewhat sleepily as he approached the group. He couldn't remember who'd told him about this - maybe one of his siblings, or mothers. Or heck, it could have been his uncle. The cub had a terrible memory, but the thought of having something that was 'his' had been enough to cement this event in his mind. And even enough to get him out of his den before noon.

The idea of having a little puppy to be his lookout while he napped was very, very appealing. "So what do we do?" Fin asked, maw stretching open wide in a yawn.