Today's word from Mother Nature

@"Fletcher"

Aurélie Fée Perrault

Aurélie was no Snow White, nor was she at all a Cinderella. Appearances and behavior aside, the key difference between those princesses and the golden haired aristocrat was that Aurélie quite disliked animals of all species. The ludicrously rare, magical, or otherwise prestigious were exceptions to this rule, though tolerance of the second were more or less dependent on firstly, how intelligent the animal was and secondly, how its presence would affect Aurélie's reputation. All others served only to incur her disapproval.

Even now, in the courtyard, she had begun her quiet crusade against the flies and mosquitoes that had surfaced on the first truly warm day of the season, batting them away with a delicate lace parasol. Birds could be acceptable at times but insects never were. As far as common animals went, if it did not have feathered wings, then Aurélie's noble sensibilities would be intruded upon.

Unfortunately, Starlight had many such creatures.

Aurélie Fée Perrault

The shrill chattering of some wild animal was all the warning Aurélie had before she was assaulted. Before she could even do much more than turn her head, a furry caped creature seemed to come out of nowhere. Swinging her parasol like a shield, the golden haired young lady found that her reaction was just a hair too slow. A paw swiped at the top of her head and instantly, Aurélie was incensed.

Whirling with the grace of a dancer and frowning severely, she tried to shake off the animal while simultaneously retaining her dignity. What kind of establishment allowed vermin like this to crawl around uncontrolled? Surely no place of repute. Aurélie was determined to bring it up with administration later, so that they could rectify that oversight.

Aurélie Fée Perrault

The utter ridiculousness of the situation was not lost on Aurélie. Here there was, this insolent creature that seemed to actually be challenging her to some battle of wills. Aurélie refused to believe that this was the result of some higher thought process. Clearly the thing was feral and utterly out of control. She had no idea how the school's security had missed it but then again, Starlight was somewhat inferior in that regard. Of course, not every place could be as efficient as she herself ordained. Such oversights were only to be accepted.

It was beneath her to engage in quarrels with animals. Yet at the same time, her pride felt that it had been slighted. With a quiet huff, Aurélie swung her umbrella again, in order to rid the path of this vermin.

Aurélie Fée Perrault

Just when Aurélie thought that she had gotten the final word in this confrontation, she felt a weight suddenly at the hem of her parasol. In a moment, her mind flashed to a disgusting conclusion -that creature was sullying her personal effects. Such an insult could not possibly stand. Furiously, she swung the parasol back and forth, no longer caring about what kind of spectacle she made. It was such an insignificant pest, something that should have never even warranted her notice. And yet there it was, infuriating her. Her skin crawled with thoughts of what sort of sick pleasure it was deriving from the experience.

When the weight vanished, the young lady had a split second to feel relieved. She chose to feel suspicious instead. A blur seemed to pass before her eyes and then small paws were tugging at her light summer cardigan. With an angry shout, Aurélie swung her arm violently towards the ground to throw it off.