And on that farm he had a -- dear God, what is that thing?

[ternaui.livejournal.com]

He'd gone back to the ship and spent a day in preparation, contacted the ship about transport, made the purchases...  And so now he had a couple cages of swine -- the individual in the ridiculous fur cap had called them targs, but the seemed quite boar-like.

There were cattle -- six-legged cattle, but cattle all the same, and the individual in the ridiculous broad-brimmed hat had assured him their milk would be safe for the consumption of the humans.

And he had some actual deer, on the oath of yet another man in a ridiculous hat. Skittish, but he was going to get them situated one way or another.

Comments

[ternaui.livejournal.com]

The Chancellor makes no sudden moves, and speaks quietly. "What exactly are they?"

[kungfu-sexnun.livejournal.com]

"My herd? Or yours?"

Nima turns her head only enough to see the Chancellor out of the corner of her eye. What she sees is . . . possibly not human? How interesting!

One of the bioluminescent creatures, rippling with a very yellow-tinted orange, crouches on bowed front legs to sniff the Chancellor's ankles.

[ternaui.livejournal.com]

"Yours," the Chancellor asks politely, lips unmoving as always, but the transmitter braodcasting a very natural-sounding English voice.

[kungfu-sexnun.livejournal.com]

Nima doesn't recognize an English voice. Everything from the Chancellor's accent to his appearance to his speaking without moving his lips is foreign to her, and since there is nothing about him that is familiar, she takes the entirety of it in stride.

"I bought them on XaXing," she says, speaking just above a whisper as the deer continue to stare at them both, motionless but distinctly interested in the salt in her hands. "They're called something - I can't remember the name - but what they ARE is egg and milk-producing herdbeasts."

The one licking the salt in her hands has a bioluminescent coloring on the pink side of purple, and the color ripples through the fur in gentle, placid waves. The fur is very long, and on close inspection, is translucent in the individual hairs. The color appears to come from the skin underneath. Far underneath, as all the creatures are very, very shaggy.

"What about yours? They look like deercats - if you crossed them with something with hooves."

[ternaui.livejournal.com]

"Very interesting. Do you plan to pasture them here as well?"

"They are called simply 'deer,'" the Chancellor explains.

[kungfu-sexnun.livejournal.com]

"No - they're mountain creatures. When I can find someone to make a little mountain for them, I'll settle them there."

She peers at the deer, picking apart their features with a breeder's eye - "So - so that's what they look like without the -cat parts?"

Amazing

"What makes a simply-cat then?"

[ternaui.livejournal.com]

He smiles. "I often wondered what they meant by 'cat' as well. Then Imperial Research and Development finally presented Her Majesty with their attempt to recreate one. They are furry, fanged creatures that walk on four padded, clawed paws and have a long tail."