[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

She was awoken the next morning by a knock on the door, and rubbed her sleepy eyes as she padded over to unlock it, noticing that although the fire had died down overnight the room was still quite warm. Her bare feet padded over the rough rug beneath her, as she stepped aside to allow the guide from the night before and another monk into the room with the assortment of items they were carrying between them.

[16]

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

Her guide turned to her and she returned a smile tentatively, as he laid out an assortment of garments on the bed, including what appeared to be thermal long undergarments and a long coat. She watched as the other monk placed a tray with a covered dish carefully upon the desk, and then yelped as he bustled up to her and began checking her temperature and pulse, and peering into her eyes, nose and ears with some sort of little spyglass.

[17]

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

Finally, the monk seemed satisfied and he nodded to her, pointing at the covered dish and bowing to her as he left the room. Her guide from the day before pointed at the wash basin and the clothes on the bed, before also bowing to her and leaving the room, closing the door behind him.

Bali sighed; it was very clear what they were instructing her to do, but she had yet to have anyone speak to her - she hoped she wouldn't need to rely on sign language to communicate.

[18]

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

Once she had bathed and dressed herself (finding the new robes to be thicker and better fitted than the one she had slept in), Bali eased her feet into the slippers they had left beside her bedside and sat down at the desk, her now-dry clothes left in a pile at the end of her bed. Her stomach gurgled, reminding her of her sparse supper the day before, and she peered curiously at the tray on the desk.

[19]

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

Carefully, she raised the dish, and as her nostrils flared her mouth began to water at the smell of a delicious potato stew and fresh bread. She had expected simple food, perhaps grown by the monks themselves, but she had clearly underestimated what they could do with some vegetables, lentils and beans. She tore a piece of bread off of the chunk she had been given, and dunked it in the bowl, slopping a little of the stew over the sides.

[20]

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

The first bite was exquisite, and although she burned her mouth and tongue she found she didn't care. Besides being delicious, it was thick, rich food, and hot - although she wasn't cold, she could feel her insides warming in a way that even the fire and bed hadn't been able to do. Grabbing the spoon, she began to shovel the stew into her mouth, messily dribbling down her chin and wiping it up with the piece of bread in her hand.

[21]

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

When she had licked the bowl clean, she looked down at herself in dismay; she had spilled stew down her front, and there were breadcrumbs mushed into the fibres of the robes she wore.

Embarrassed about her carelessness, she stood and went over to the basin, using the washcloth to rub at the worst of the stains. She hoped nothing in the stew would leave a permanent discoloration - she would be mortified if she had ruined their gifts during her very first meal.

[22]

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

A knock on the door startled her, and she dropped the washcloth into the basin causing water to splash out.

"One moment please!" she called out, frantically rubbing at her robes, but it was no good - the stains from the stew were still visible, and the more she rubbed the more she seemed to be pushing it into the weave of the fabric.

Shame-faced, she crossed the room and opened the door, wincing at the raised eyebrow she received from the monk who greeted her.

[23]

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

"I can explain, sort of" she mumbled, stepping back to allow the monk to enter the room. She shrunk into herself as he took in the scene without a word - the wet floor, washcloth still in the basin where she had dropped it, crumbs all over the desk, chair and floor, the stew that had overflowed onto the tray and the pile of clothes on the bed. He turned to face her, and she felt her cheeks heating, though she didn't think it could be seen through her fur.

[24]

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

Ears back, tail down as low as it would go, she clasped her fingers together in shame and stood awaiting his criticism. She had been in this situation before, but she had been hoping she would at least get through the first day without an incident. She usually tried to behave, but she always found she had been careless, no matter what she did - she just never seemed to be able to pay attention to what was going on around her.

[25]

[Wild Pet Found]