[Episode 146791] [Episode 146791]With a final squeeze she had this morning's milking completed. Rising with the pail, the maid poured off the rich, foamy, cream-laden dairy product into a large ceramic jug, one of two that was waiting nearby. The other was already full. Taking both and balancing them on her head, she poured the cow her morning ration of feed and gave it a pat on the head. "There, there, Bella. That's a good girl. I'll see you this evening, okay?"
Since today was a 'show day', ie, she was out in public, the girl took much greater care to speak with correct grammar. In spite of the milking chore falling just after two hours of early dawn practice of her martial arts with the rest of her team, Ranko did not suffer a hair to be out of place in her gorgeous panoply of cascading red locks; her makeup was subtle, yet perfect, and jewelry shone from her throat and ears.
But she couldn't wear rings while milking a cow. That was rude, and unfair to the poor cow.
Effortlessly balancing two large clay jugs on top of her head, each frothing with milk, Ranko gave the dairy animal a last pat on the head, her muzzle already deep into her grain, before skipping off to pause before the next stall and commencing patting and feeding the horse there, a beautiful chestnut mare. "Good morning, Kasumi! It's a bright and lovely day out. I think Hagrid will let you run out on the lawn today. School's started, so there's lots of new faces, and so many pretty girls who'll all want to pet you. I hope you'll be nice. We made two new friends, the Patil twins, identical girls named Parvati and Padma. They joined us for martial arts practice early this morning for the first time, and boy did they suck! But Cologne is a good teacher and knows what to do with them. She put them on some very basic moves to build up, and they took it well enough, I guess. I've never seen anyone trained up from scratch before! It's like watching a different world. Anyway, I'll try to visit you in between classes, but I don't know what I can promise."
The mare lifted her head and nuzzled the redhaired girl, who hugged her nose and scratched around her ears. "I know, but I can promise to be here this evening, okay?" Satisfied, the mare went back to her breakfast and Ranko skipped off happy enough. She paused at a large tank of water in among the stalls and kicked in a bucket of chopped fish. "Rise and shine, Nabiki!"
A tentacle came out of the water and swatted at her, but she dodged it without spilling a drop from the clay jugs still balancing on her head. The octopus in the tank surfaced enough to shoot a glare at the milkmaid before yanking the empty bucket off its head and flinging it at the laughing girl, who once again dodged nimbly without hardly even noticing the attack.
Ranko clapped her hands together joyously. "Why, Nabiki! You look positively delicious this fine morning!"
The octopus and her tentacles all pulled in swiftly and hid in the bottom of her big glass tank.
Walking past an empty stall, one with a straw nest currently unoccupied, Ranko grabbed a couple of thick books off the bookshelf by the door and skipped back to place them on a reading stand, all queued up in order. The first of the self-reading tomes cracked open its cover and began to pronounce, "Grindewald, the Rise and Fall of a Dark Lord: page one, the introduction..."
There were other titles in the stack, from a conversion of a couple years compilation from Good Housekeeping, to various storybooks, a stock market analysis and a few novels. They couldn't find much of interest in the magical bookstores, so all summer long Ranko had been going to the muggle ones to buy books and do the charms herself. There was enough on the stack to keep going most of the day, and the books were programmed to start or stop at the sound of a horse's nicker, so Kasumi could pause them for her runs.
Satisfied that her charges were well cared for for another morning, Ranko skipped off and paused briefly once she'd exited the stables to knock on Hagrid's cabin, just next door.
"Good morning, Hagrid!" Ranko sang joyfully, bouncing off one of her two milk pots and catching the great clay urn before it fell far enough to break. Then she offered the jug to the giant. "Thanks again for letting us keep our animals near your house!"
The half giant blushed. "Aw, Ranko. T'weren't no trouble. I keep tellin ya. Ya don't haf ta pay me wit milk 'er nothin."
"I know! But we want to!" Ranko sang back merrily, proffering the jug again. "Besides, Bella gives us eight gallons a day and if you don't take your share there's no way that we'd keep up with her! Besides, you know what my mom says: Fresh, raw milk and cream is good for the complexion! And you're getting such rosy cheeks it makes me want to kiss you!" With an effortless bounce she equaled his height, planted a girlish peck on the end of his nose, left with a saucy wink and bounced off towards school, leaving a blushing half giant with a big jug of milk in his hands.
After staring fondly at a girl that was almost becoming like a daughter to him, Hagrid turned back into his hut and set the milk down on his table, simultaneously calling out, "Blaise! Ye'd best get yerself up an dressed. School'll be startin soon!"
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(Posted Mon, 08 Aug 2005 21:32)
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