Melvin the Mule

Not affiliated with Universal Studios and the like. Home of the Once-ler's fuzzy beast of burden. ((He's post-movie now, but I can rp him in any timeline))

[askmelvin]

((It’s been 5 years omg...)

[askmelvin]

...Hi, Mel.

H-hello…Dee…how have you been? *He shuffles his hooves nervously*

[askmelvin]

“Oh thank the spirits.” He sighed, pressing his head against her shoulder. “If you think talking about…it, would be too painful then I won’t ask. But I’ve seen a lot, I think I can handle any story you tell. And I’ve heard us beasts make the best listeners.” With another sigh, he gently nudged her. “Besides, I could swap you the story of what happened to me…after…if you’d like?”

[grayrockheartbreak]

She sighed and dropped her gaze. “I tried to kill myself. I hoped… I thought maybe, if I gave up all my energy at once, I could… bring it all back. And if I didn’t, well, at least I wouldn’t be around to see it.”

[askmelvin]

He was silent for a long moment, watching her sadly. If he was capable of crying, he would have, his heart breaking for her. The burden she had been given was cruel. Even with all her strength, all her raw will, what had been ‘gifted’ to her was far too…unfair. Melvin wrapped around her, pulling her close to his shoulder, as gently as his stocky body could manage. He closed his eyes and nickered quietly, lovingly. He had no ‘people words’ that would help anything. Wishing things had gone differently. Wishing he’d stayed with her. Wishing the world was just a little bit kinder. Wishing he’d never made that call for help. And wishing that, as blasphemous as he felt the wish was, that a particular nature spirit had been just a little bit wiser.

[askmelvin]

...Hi, Mel.

H-hello…Dee…how have you been? *He shuffles his hooves nervously*

[askmelvin]

“Oh thank the spirits.” He sighed, pressing his head against her shoulder. “If you think talking about...it, would be too painful then I won’t ask. But I’ve seen a lot, I think I can handle any story you tell. And I’ve heard us beasts make the best listeners.” With another sigh, he gently nudged her. “Besides, I could swap you the story of what happened to me...after...if you’d like?”

[askmelvin]

...Hi, Mel.

H-hello…Dee…how have you been? *He shuffles his hooves nervously*

[grayrockheartbreak]

“I’m honored, in a weird way,” Dee replied. “This here’s the foyer. Not much else to say, some toys here, some plants there… That’s how home decorating goes when you’ve got five kids running around,” she joked. “This way to the kitchen. You look hungry.” She led the way down the hall.

[askmelvin]

“It looks beautiful, I’m sure! I mean I’ve only looked in a couple windows before, but this is nicer than those houses I think.” He followed, reminding himself just in time not to give the plants a nibble. “Food? Yes I’m hungry! Definitely!” Potted plants are not for eating. One time he ate the flowers growing on the front porch of the farm house and, well…Melvin had a very good reason for avoiding his master’s mother from that day forward.

[grayrockheartbreak]

She dug some carrots out of the fridge and held them out in the flat of her hand. “Knock yourself out, old buddy.”

[askmelvin]

Melvin was ever so careful taking them from her hand, not wanting accidently nip. But as soon as they were in his mouth they were gone with a few blissful crunches. “Thank you, Dee. I haven’t had a carrot in…I actually don’t remember. A long time.” He nuzzled her hand. “So…how did you end up becoming a Lady and a… zoo-olly-gist?”

[grayrockheartbreak]

“Botanist,” she amended with a giggle. “I made friends with a King. Then I tamed some plant monsters, and things just fell into place. I finally caught a break, I guess.”

[askmelvin]

He bobbed his head once in solemn understanding, making a mental note that a botanist was a monster-plant-tamer. Melvin was definitely the smartest mule he knew. “You deserved a break. Really you did.” He hesitated, then wrapped his neck around her in a hug. “I’m glad you’re finally happy.”

[grayrockheartbreak]

She returned the hug. “I’m just glad to see you again,” she admitted with a strangled sob. “I thought for a while…”

[askmelvin]

“Thought…oh.” He sighed and nuzzled her cheek. “I think I very nearly did. But I got lucky, came across yet another nature guardian, and I’m feeling quite well now.” He eyed her with concern. “It’s alright…everything turned out ok, sort of.”

“I worried about what had happened to you, after…but I never once thought you’d…die. You’re too determined for anything to take you down for good.”

[grayrockheartbreak]

She sniffled. “Guess we were both wrong,” she replied weakly.

[askmelvin]

"What do you mean? Are you dying?!" He pulled away and stared at her, wide eyed and horrified. "How...?!"

[askmelvin]

...Hi, Mel.

H-hello…Dee…how have you been? *He shuffles his hooves nervously*

[grayrockheartbreak]

“I’m honored, in a weird way,” Dee replied. “This here’s the foyer. Not much else to say, some toys here, some plants there… That’s how home decorating goes when you’ve got five kids running around,” she joked. “This way to the kitchen. You look hungry.” She led the way down the hall.

[askmelvin]

“It looks beautiful, I’m sure! I mean I’ve only looked in a couple windows before, but this is nicer than those houses I think.” He followed, reminding himself just in time not to give the plants a nibble. “Food? Yes I’m hungry! Definitely!” Potted plants are not for eating. One time he ate the flowers growing on the front porch of the farm house and, well…Melvin had a very good reason for avoiding his master’s mother from that day forward.

[grayrockheartbreak]

She dug some carrots out of the fridge and held them out in the flat of her hand. “Knock yourself out, old buddy.”

[askmelvin]

Melvin was ever so careful taking them from her hand, not wanting accidently nip. But as soon as they were in his mouth they were gone with a few blissful crunches. “Thank you, Dee. I haven’t had a carrot in…I actually don’t remember. A long time.” He nuzzled her hand. “So…how did you end up becoming a Lady and a… zoo-olly-gist?”

[grayrockheartbreak]

“Botanist,” she amended with a giggle. “I made friends with a King. Then I tamed some plant monsters, and things just fell into place. I finally caught a break, I guess.”

[askmelvin]

He bobbed his head once in solemn understanding, making a mental note that a botanist was a monster-plant-tamer. Melvin was definitely the smartest mule he knew. “You deserved a break. Really you did.” He hesitated, then wrapped his neck around her in a hug. “I’m glad you’re finally happy.”

[grayrockheartbreak]

She returned the hug. “I’m just glad to see you again,” she admitted with a strangled sob. “I thought for a while…”

[askmelvin]

"Thought...oh." He sighed and nuzzled her cheek. "I think I very nearly did. But I got lucky, came across yet another nature guardian, and I'm feeling quite well now." He eyed her with concern. "It's alright...everything turned out ok, sort of."

"I worried about what had happened to you, after...but I never once thought you'd...die. You're too determined for anything to take you down for good."

[askmelvin]

...Hi, Mel.

H-hello…Dee…how have you been? *He shuffles his hooves nervously*

[grayrockheartbreak]

“I’m honored, in a weird way,” Dee replied. “This here’s the foyer. Not much else to say, some toys here, some plants there… That’s how home decorating goes when you’ve got five kids running around,” she joked. “This way to the kitchen. You look hungry.” She led the way down the hall.

[askmelvin]

“It looks beautiful, I’m sure! I mean I’ve only looked in a couple windows before, but this is nicer than those houses I think.” He followed, reminding himself just in time not to give the plants a nibble. “Food? Yes I’m hungry! Definitely!” Potted plants are not for eating. One time he ate the flowers growing on the front porch of the farm house and, well…Melvin had a very good reason for avoiding his master’s mother from that day forward.

[grayrockheartbreak]

She dug some carrots out of the fridge and held them out in the flat of her hand. “Knock yourself out, old buddy.”

[askmelvin]

Melvin was ever so careful taking them from her hand, not wanting accidently nip. But as soon as they were in his mouth they were gone with a few blissful crunches. “Thank you, Dee. I haven’t had a carrot in…I actually don’t remember. A long time.” He nuzzled her hand. “So…how did you end up becoming a Lady and a… zoo-olly-gist?”

[grayrockheartbreak]

“Botanist,” she amended with a giggle. “I made friends with a King. Then I tamed some plant monsters, and things just fell into place. I finally caught a break, I guess.”

[askmelvin]

He bobbed his head once in solemn understanding, making a mental note that a botanist was a monster-plant-tamer. Melvin was definitely the smartest mule he knew. “You deserved a break. Really you did.” He hesitated, then wrapped his neck around her in a hug. "I’m glad you’re finally happy.”

[askmelvin]

...Hi, Mel.

H-hello…Dee…how have you been? *He shuffles his hooves nervously*

[grayrockheartbreak]

“I’m honored, in a weird way,” Dee replied. “This here’s the foyer. Not much else to say, some toys here, some plants there… That’s how home decorating goes when you’ve got five kids running around,” she joked. “This way to the kitchen. You look hungry.” She led the way down the hall.

[askmelvin]

“It looks beautiful, I’m sure! I mean I’ve only looked in a couple windows before, but this is nicer than those houses I think.” He followed, reminding himself just in time not to give the plants a nibble. “Food? Yes I’m hungry! Definitely!” Potted plants are not for eating. One time he ate the flowers growing on the front porch of the farm house and, well…Melvin had a very good reason for avoiding his master’s mother from that day forward.

[grayrockheartbreak]

She dug some carrots out of the fridge and held them out in the flat of her hand. “Knock yourself out, old buddy.”

[askmelvin]

Melvin was ever so careful taking them from her hand, not wanting accidently nip. But as soon as they were in his mouth they were gone with a few blissful crunches. “Thank you, Dee. I haven't had a carrot in...I actually don’t remember. A long time.” He nuzzled her hand. “So...how did you end up becoming a Lady and a... zoo-olly-gist?”

[askmelvin]

...Hi, Mel.

H-hello…Dee…how have you been? *He shuffles his hooves nervously*

[grayrockheartbreak]

“I’m honored, in a weird way,” Dee replied. “This here’s the foyer. Not much else to say, some toys here, some plants there… That’s how home decorating goes when you’ve got five kids running around,” she joked. “This way to the kitchen. You look hungry.” She led the way down the hall.

[askmelvin]

"It looks beautiful, I'm sure! I mean I've only looked in a couple windows before, but this is nicer than those houses I think." He followed, reminding himself just in time not to give the plants a nibble. "Food? Yes I'm hungry! Definitely!" Potted plants are not for eating. One time he ate the flowers growing on the front porch of the farm house and, well...Melvin had a very good reason for avoiding his master's mother from that day forward.

[askmelvin]

...Hi, Mel.

H-hello…Dee…how have you been? *He shuffles his hooves nervously*

[grayrockheartbreak]

“What?! No she didn’t tell me! Why didn’t she say anything? This is so exciting!” He prances around her in a little celebration, looking surprisingly graceful for an old mule.

She grinned, a little sheepishly. “Yeah, it’s been about a year and a half now. And the baby’s ours, she was delivered about nine months ago. Came down on a blustery night just before Christmas.”

[askmelvin]

“I’m sure she’s a lovely little filly! Does she take more after you or Moirin? I mean, is her grinch blood showing much yet?” He had settled to walking calmly beside her again, but he was still clearly pleased with the news. “Really now, where are we? Is your house nearby?”

[grayrockheartbreak]

“We’re nearly there, nearly there,“ she assured him. “She wanted to live by the sea, so we do. I admit, there is charm in the beachcomber life. But I haven’t reseted on my laurels, oh, no. I’m advisor to a King, a zoologist of sorts. He gave me an island and I put a sort of garden there. Technically I’m a Lady now, not that it means much here.“

They came up a sandy rise, and some way down the shore was the Red House. “There we are: home.”

[askmelvin]

“I can see why she would want to live here. Sand is nice to walk on, and a beach is much better then a desert.” He flared his nostrils, taking in the unfamiliar smells as he looked around. “It’s very…it’s a house. A normal house.” Melvin studied it thoughtfully. “It is nice. But if you’re going to live in a house you could have made a castle. Couldn’t you? You’ve got titles now.”

[grayrockheartbreak]

“Having a title doesn’t make you rich. Didn’t you ever see Corpse Bride? No, no you didn’t, never mind,” she answered herself.

She led the way up to the front door. “Besides, castles aren’t terribly energy efficient. Just tap your hooves off before you come inside, it’s been hell trying to keep the sand out this summer.”

[askmelvin]

‘Corpse Bride? He puzzled to himself. He didn’t think those words really fit together but hey, lost in translation and all that. Melvin stomped and scuffled his hooves best he could. Getting all the sand out of hooves, short of picking out, brushing off, and then washing, was next to impossible unfortunately. He paused at the doorway. “Perhaps I should stay out here…I’m not exactly clean…And after all, people don’t let certain animals in their homes. It could be a house having rule. Big animals stay outside, small ones it depends, something like that.” Tentatively he peaked his head in to look around.  

[grayrockheartbreak]

“Don’t be silly, you’re a friend of the family,” she objected. “It’s fine if you don’t want to come in, but otherwise I insist.”

[askmelvin]

“Well...if you’re sure...” Melvin stuck his head in the doorway. Big ears brushed the door frame as he paused a moment to sniff and look. The rest of his body soon followed, clip-clopping across the floor. “I’m probably the only one in my family to actually go inside a house.”

[askmelvin]

Some people think animals don’t dream. Those people probably hadn’t been around any, in Melvin’s opinion. He didn't hold those people in high regard, since how could you know about a creature if you’d never really known them? Everyone he knew had dreams, he certainly did. In dark smoggy greys and in impossibly bright greens and pinks, he dreamt his memories and twisted idealistic fabrications. His dreams haunted him with what might have been and what probably did occur beyond his view. He walked with those he had loved in the pinks and oranges. He watched them die in the greys. And most of all, Melvin watched, helplessly trying to run, unable to move an inch, seeing that green blob in the distance. So, yes, animals did dream. But sometimes Melvin wished they didn’t.

[askmelvin]

Melvin arises from his strange and sudden coma on Dee’s living room floor

((No, kidding. Um...I don’t have an explanation this time. Give me a minute or 20. ))

[askmelvin]

((I’ve been gone for 3 months?! I thought it’d been like a few weeks...how is my concept of time totally skewed?)) 

[askmelvin]

[askmelvin]

So are the stereotypes true? Stubborn as a mule, and all that?

Well…yes, I guess so…I can be very stubborn and grumpy at times. We mules do have our advantages, though. I’ll have you know no regular horse could have managed the wagon I used to pull.  

You’re Eternal’s mate, are you not? What may I call you? 

[askmelvin]

Melvin! What are you doing out here, buddy?

*Snorts in surprise, looking up from his grazing. He trots over to give the man’s hand an affectionate nuzzle.* //Eating of course. What are you doing here?//

[thefaceofthneedinc]

*He patted the mule’s head* It’s been a while, friend, sorry for not visiting you more often. The company just keeps biggering and biggering as is my workload.

*smiles at him again* Them Swami Swans ain’t bothering you now are they?

[askmelvin]

*He rolls his eyes and gently headbutts the man’s shoulder* Too busy even for me? Did I get replaced with a dog or something? The forest animals don’t pester me, they like me well enough.  

[askmelvin]

...Hi, Mel.

H-hello…Dee…how have you been? *He shuffles his hooves nervously*

[grayrockheartbreak]

“What?! No she didn’t tell me! Why didn’t she say anything? This is so exciting!” He prances around her in a little celebration, looking surprisingly graceful for an old mule.

She grinned, a little sheepishly. “Yeah, it’s been about a year and a half now. And the baby’s ours, she was delivered about nine months ago. Came down on a blustery night just before Christmas.”

[askmelvin]

“I’m sure she’s a lovely little filly! Does she take more after you or Moirin? I mean, is her grinch blood showing much yet?” He had settled to walking calmly beside her again, but he was still clearly pleased with the news. “Really now, where are we? Is your house nearby?”

[grayrockheartbreak]

“We’re nearly there, nearly there,“ she assured him. “She wanted to live by the sea, so we do. I admit, there is charm in the beachcomber life. But I haven’t reseted on my laurels, oh, no. I’m advisor to a King, a zoologist of sorts. He gave me an island and I put a sort of garden there. Technically I’m a Lady now, not that it means much here.“

They came up a sandy rise, and some way down the shore was the Red House. “There we are: home.”

[askmelvin]

“I can see why she would want to live here. Sand is nice to walk on, and a beach is much better then a desert.” He flared his nostrils, taking in the unfamiliar smells as he looked around. “It’s very…it’s a house. A normal house.” Melvin studied it thoughtfully. “It is nice. But if you’re going to live in a house you could have made a castle. Couldn’t you? You’ve got titles now.”

[grayrockheartbreak]

“Having a title doesn’t make you rich. Didn’t you ever see Corpse Bride? No, no you didn’t, never mind,” she answered herself.

She led the way up to the front door. “Besides, castles aren’t terribly energy efficient. Just tap your hooves off before you come inside, it’s been hell trying to keep the sand out this summer.”

[askmelvin]

‘Corpse Bride? He puzzled to himself. He didn’t think those words really fit together but hey, lost in translation and all that. Melvin stomped and scuffled his hooves best he could. Getting all the sand out of hooves, short of picking out, brushing off, and then washing, was next to impossible unfortunately. He paused at the doorway. “Perhaps I should stay out here...I’m not exactly clean...And after all, people don’t let certain animals in their homes. It could be a house having rule. Big animals stay outside, small ones it depends, something like that.” Tentatively he peaked his head in to look around.  

[askmelvin]

((Ok, so, I got fired. On the bright side, I'll have time to rp for a bit now, so yay? ))