[Jaykobell]

She clutched the delivery slip with a large wing. The address was a little strange, and honestly, it looked like it was incomplete. They were sending her to some sort of abandoned farmhouse in a remote area of the Sekudui Farmlands. That alone was a little strange, but what was stranger was the fact she was supposed to meet up with another delivery person! This was supposed to be a team effort, although she didn't really know the specifics of why.

What she did know was that she would do her best!

Saddlebag wrapped tightly around her back and chest, wings stretched and ready to fly, scarf comfortably folded around her neck, and her trusty flight goggles cleaned, she beamed as she walked down the Sekudui lands. Despite the cold weather, she was excited. Originating from a village that saw snow more so than it saw the sun, this weather was a mild little winter day for her.

Soon enough, she had reached a place that fit the awkward description of the farmhouse. The gate certainly fit the bill of something old and left unattended, especially compared to the other farms around this area. "This has got to be it!" she said out loud, to no one but to herself, as she tucked the delivery slip in her bag with the help of a paw and a wing. "Now..."

She looked up, but indeed, she was alone. How unfortunate! She was so excited for this delivery, but it seemed like she had gotten here early. With a small sigh, she sat down by the gate. Her tails curled over her paws to keep them warm, and her wings folded neatly against her back. She looked this way and that, occasionally, keeping an eye out for her mystery partner.

[The Front Gate - 1]

[zapdragon555]

[Jesper - #7e8eb6]

There was a bit of a commotion behind the huge ranch gate, something of a sharp snarl of exasperation and a flick of reins. The sound of muted hoofbeats on snow could be heard approaching the gate from the inside, and before long a pink pony nose poked its way through the wooden slats and pushed forward.

"--n't believe he put me up to this. Can you believe he put me up to this? I can't. It's some kind of joke," a blonde, thin man in a postman's uniform was rambling on, seemingly to his horse, as it pulled a carriage through the gate. Jesper didn't miss a beat even as the gate let out an ungodly squeak when it shut. "I'll just go back home and let him laugh it up, or whatever it is dads do when their joke lands. I don't think I've ever seen him laugh. Whatever. All I know is I am not going to deal with th--"

He cut off, tongue between teeth and lower lip, before slowly pulling on the reins and affixing the strange little animal sitting in the snow by the gate with a hard stare. His eyes darted from the creature to the gate, to the postal bag on her shoulder. "Uh," he began slowly, looking over his shoulder at the ranch, then back to her. "You're... is... oh man," he muttered, reaching for his mailbag and fiddling around with papers. Finally he pulled out the itinerary for this delivery, which up until now he'd assumed was real, and now he thought it was bullshit, but now now he was thinking maybe it wasn't bullshit. Unfortunately. "Says... yeah, address... and... co-delivery..." He hadn't read that part the first time. Just skimmed.

"Are you uh... here for the... thing? Mail thing?" he asked, leaning his elbows on his knees and peering at her from the safety of the old dilapidated carriage. More and more around these parts, he was meeting all sorts of weird creatures, not just humans anymore. It still weirded him out, but if it turned out he was just talking to a random non-english-speaking animal with a stolen mailbag and goggles and cute little scarf, there'd be no one around to judge him.

[The Front Gate - 1]

[Jaykobell]

To say she had been surprised by the sudden noises and the appearance of a horse and carriage would be an understatement. When she heard the noises, she stood up, body tense and ears standing up high.

She watched silently as a man in the carriage ranted about something. Oh, how silly of her — this was a farmhouse. There had to be people living and working here. She sighed with relief and sat back down, charting this strange man and his carriage to be connected to the farm. Maybe he was a worker going out there to buy things for the farm, or going out to town to sell some produce.

She had been looking away down the road again when the man started speaking to her. She blinked at him as he tried to process the situation, and as he shuffled in his bag. And now she was confused.

But it all finally made sense when he mentioned the co-delivery. "Oh!" she gasped, shooting up and standing on all fours. "Are you the other delivery person?" she asked, and she bounced to get closer to him. "I'm here to pick something up here, at this farm!" she explained, and she, too, shuffled in her bag to pull out her own delivery slip. "I'm Mentha!" she introduced herself, offering one of her four big bat wings to shake hands. "But you can call me Mint! Or Minty. Or, like, anything really! What's your name?"

[The Front Gate - 2]

[zapdragon555]

In some ways, Jesper had been hoping that the creature wouldn't speak to him, that he could continue his trek back home and forget about all of this after a relatively mild tongue-lashing. But no, it had answered him, and now it was trying to touch him, oh god. Jesper tried not to grimace as he regarded the offered wing, then slowly bent at the waist to take her wing in his hand. Eugh, leathery. Jesper flexed his fingers as soon as he'd let go, darting his eyes back to the great barn door.

Okay. This was happening, he supposed. With a small sigh, he fixed the Kuhna with a kind of 'I really wish I weren't here right now' smile. "Jesper Johansen, at your, uh, service," he murmured, glancing at the empty seat beside him in the small carriage. After a brief moment of consideration, he scooted over and patted the seat beside him. "It's kinda abandoned in there. But I'm pretty darn sure this is the right place... right? Mint... Minty? I'll go with Minty."

It was clear that whatever Jesper was, a skilled postman was not it. His scrawny, soft-in-the-middle physique said nothing for it either. "And by abandoned I mean... like... inhospitable. Downright nasty."

[The Front Gate - 2]

[Jaykobell]

Jesper's displeasure at the situation went right over Mentha's head. She happily shook his hand despite his hesitation, and her smile didn't falter as he went on to speak. "Hi, Jesper!" she greeted now that they officially knew each other's names. The delivery could really begin now!

She blinked, and her eyes widened when he offered a seat in his carriage. "Oh, thank you!" she said as she gave a strong wing flap, just enough to push herself off the ground and onto the carriage. The wings, although big, were carefully folded and twisted to avoid hitting anyone or anything. "This is cozy!" she purred as she settled down more comfortably.

She tilted his head at Jesper and then looked back towards the gate when he described the place beyond it. "Aw, I'm sure it can't be that bad!" Her voice was genuinely positive. "And we're together! I'm sure it'll be fine!"

[The Front Gate - 3]

[zapdragon555]

Jesper could hardly contain his excitement, really. It just paled in comparison to the feline's good mood. Okay, that was a total lie, but he did manage a small smile at Mentha's chipper attitude. "Yeah? Alright, you be the judge of it. All I know is Harrison here wanted no part of it." He reached forward and tried to pat the pony's rump, but the distance between horse and cart was a little too great, so he just sort of ended up awkwardly poking the tail before sinking back against the seat. He wondered absently why they needed to send two of them... maybe the parcel was heavy? That didn't bode well, considering the two of them were a four legged animal and... well, Jesper hadn't worked out in awhile. Or ever.

He clicked his tongue and tossed the reins, and the pony snorted into the cold air and started moving. He carefully tugged the reins to make the pony turn back into the direction of the gate, and Jesper eyed it uncertainly. The vibes he'd gotten, perhaps, were nothing to worry about. Bad vibes as they were. Very bad vibes. But the farm looked huge from the outside, and not only that, the snow seemed deeper here. "So, Minty," he started after a long beat of silence. "How'd you get into the whole postal business?"

[The Front Gate - 3]

[Jaykobell]

When Jesper shared the name of the horse and how he had been scared, Mentha gasped. "Aw!" Although she had just sat down, she stretched over the seat of the carriage, and she tapped a paw — claws sheathed, of course — against Harrison's rump. "Don't worry, Harrison! We'll protect you!"

She sat back down just quickly enough to avoid being thrown backwards as the carriage started moving. Her attention was automatically focused on the scenery as they crossed the big raggedy gate. "Oh, it's nothing special!" she answered when Jesper asked about her motivations for getting involved in the postal service. "See, I was born in a faraway northern village, and we don't get a whole lot of letters or any kind of postal service there! Because of all the snow and sleet and ice and all, you know?" she explained, gesturing with her paws and even with some of her wings — the ones that wouldn't hit Jesper in the face, of course.

"I was born with these big wings, they're pretty different from the wings regular Kuhna get, you know?" she resumed as she motioned to her said large, bat-like wings. "Kuhnas are usually born with these, like, really tiny wings!" she added, motioning with her paws the usual size of a Kuhna's wings. "And at first people in the village thought it was weird, but I'm not the type to listen," she continued, laughing a bit right before pointing out listening isn't her forte. "I've always loved flying, and the cold doesn't bother me! So when I learned I could fly and use that to deliver mail? There was no going back!" She beamed at that last part, passion in every word that she spoke.

And then she gasped. "Oh, but what about you?" she asked, clear interest in her eyes as she stared up at Jesper. "What's your story?"

[The Front Gate - 4]

[zapdragon555]

Jesper hadn't been expecting a novel, but if he was honest, he should have. The creature was a chatterbox, that had been proven from the moment he first spoke to her. But this was a lot of information, and Jesper hadn't been ready to process all of it. However, he had picked up on a few things that felt uncomfortably relatable, and he sat silently as Mentha spoke, his brow slightly furrowed beneath his postman's cap. "Yeah, you... don't get a whole lot of letters... s'funny considering the motto. What was it about nothing stopping mailmen? Not rain, or sleet, or... snow? Hail? I don't remember." He tried to laugh, but it wasn't a very good joke.

"It's good you found a way to use those wings, though," he added, though he wasn't used to the idea of making small talk like this. It felt... weird, to just not say anything. However, when the question was passed to him, he clammed up hard, his amicable half-smile dropping like lead to a frown. "Uhhh."

He could try to make up something on the fly, but he wasn't that smart. So he went with honesty, because it probably wouldn't matter. Probably. "I'm not really..." No, admitting that he wasn't really a proper postman was not a good idea. That would be totally unprofessional, and then this cat thing would tell his father, and then he'd be out on the streets for letting it get out that his father passed an inexperienced millennial to be a professional postman just to force him to learn some responsibility and then he'd be SO very dead and-- "Dammit!" he barked suddenly, an outburst that was definitely supposed to stay inside. He froze and peeked at Mentha, shoulders hunched to his ears, his eyes darting every which way. "I uh... that old broken water wheel there. Still leaking. They should dam it up, you know? Anyway, where was I... story... stories are fun, aren't they?"

Not only could she tell his dad... even if she wouldn't do that, it still stood that she'd realize she'd been saddled with a phony, and that she'd be pulling this weight by herself. Possibly both literally and figuratively. He let out a sigh. Vague it was, then. "I don't... really have a story. My... dad's been in the business for a long time," he started with people who weren't him, which was much easier than talking about himself. "And... heeee... managed to get me into the postal academy, the one he... runs. Wasn't hard to do, y'know, nepotism and all, and uhh... yeah! That's. I'm here now. In the snow. Doing... postal things."

[Jaykobell]

Mentha listened passionately, eyes burning through Jesper's soul, for sure. She wanted to hear every word and learn as much as she could about this fellow postman.

Jesper's discomfort didn't go unnoticed, but Mentha didn't pay it much mind. Not everyone spoke as easily as she did, and so, she practiced patience when others spoke to her. This way, they both got to practice something they had to work on!

But her ears did stand on end when he snapped, and she turned around to look at the water wheel when he pointed it out. "Oh! It does look pretty banged up!" she agreed, but within seconds, her attention was back on Jesper. They weren't done yet! She still needed to hear his story. "Oh, yes, yes they are!"

She listened, ears on high alert, taking in every word. Granted, some of the more complicated ones kind of went over her head, but she got the big picture. "So your dad helped you out to get in the business! And now you're in it together!" she summarized. "I think that's really sweet! All my family's back home, up north, and... I miss them sometimes."

For the first time, her voice and demeanor faltered a little, tipping on sadness. But soon enough, she brightened up again. "But I'll see them soon! And I know they're proud of me," she added with a big, confident, genuine smile. "And I bet your dad must be proud to have you work with him, too!"

[The Front Gate - 5]

[zapdragon555]

Jesper's fake smile was getting more fake and less smile by the second, as Mentha went on and on about it. "My dad is... I guess? Sweet? Is a word?" he frowned to think about it, but yeah... he supposed his dad was sweet. He certainly did a lot to try to get Jesper into the working world. And Jesper supposed he was supposed to be grateful for that, but the truth was, he wasn't. He could be lounging at home with servants waiting on his every whim right about now, but instead he was freezing his ass off on some kind of character building postman journey.

"Actually, no! You know what? He's not," Jesper griped, lashing the reins a bit to try to make Harrison move faster. Not much luck, the old horse seemed to have one speed, and that was a slow amble. "Any dad who sends his son out into the freezing cold to do hard physical labor like this the total opposite of sweet. He's a dick. But I'll show him." Jesper frowned as he sort of melted back into his seat, hat drooping on his forehead with his scowl. "I'll show him."

At mention of her family, he had to force himself not to roll his eyes. Family didn't really mean shit to him if they weren't going to at least act like a family. As far as Jesper knew, family meant someone to take care of you, and Jesper had that, until he hit 25 and his father suddenly couldn't stop talking about Jesper 'making a man of himself' and 'putting himself out there' and 'please stop drinking all of the chardonnay in the house.' Well... the cat was out of the bag. "I mean... I guess your situation's different, since... y'live in the cold already, and all. I don't suppose they have caviar and silk sheets where you live, huh."

[The Front Gate - 5]

[Jaykobell]

Everything had been going well so far, at least, as far as Mentha had been concerned. The two had met up and teamed up to go on that delivery, and they were learning more about each other.

But Jesper's overall attitude shifted when they got deeper into the topic of family, and that didn't go unnoticed by Mentha. She jumped a bit when Jesper snapped the reins, instinctively feeling a little bad for Harrison, and her ears flattened against her head when she picked up on the strong emotions and the harsh words portrayed and used by Jesper.

She didn't really know what to say. She didn't know Jesper enough to help him cool down or work out his emotions. And she was absolutely willing to help him. But she became hesitant when Jesper spoke again. The words were rather scathing, and sarcastic. And he was talking about something that meant everything to her.

So when it came time to answer, she looked down. "Um, no," she said quietly, her eyes shifting to look away. "L-like I said, we don't get a lot of mail or deliveries, so there's not a lot back home. A-and it's cold, so not a lot of development, or, um, jobs... A lot of people are, uh, close to poverty... and all." And now part of her was embarrassed, because she wondered if he would make fun of that now.

So she shifted, and looked away, focusing her attention on the scenery. There was a forest in the distance; that was nice. This happened, sometimes. Not everyone could be her friend, or had interest in being her friend, and she was fine with that — but that didn't stop the fact it made her sad when it happened.

[The Front Gate - 6]

[zapdragon555]

Jesper hadn't really heard himself, nor his own tone, but by the looks of the Kuhna's drooped shoulders, Jesper had said something wrong. He side-eyed the other creature, his frown deepening as she started to avert her eyes. Ahh... damn it all. Poor people were so troublesome. Unlike Jesper, who was an absolute pillar of self confidence and poise, they always seemed to get their damn feelings hurt so easily.

No, no, that was shit. Jesper made a grunt in the back of his throat, rubbing a hand over his face. This... was probably the kind of thing that gave his father reason to send him out here. He hated to think about it, that his father was anything but cruel and stupid for all of this, but...

Would apologizing be patronizing, at this point? Jesper's mind raced. He didn't apologize often enough to know. What did people usually do to make up for things they did wrong? Give gifts? Jesper didn't have any gifts. Nothing except that... oh, right, that. Jesper held the reins between his knees and reached over into his bag, pulling out a tin. "Uh... so... you hungry, at all?" he asked, the aggressive tone in his voice from before softened into a cracky uncertainty. He opened it with a metallic sound, and inside was a few dried meats and fruits, packed carefully between sheets of tissue paper. Did... cats eat fruit? "Here."

He pushed the tin towards her, and wished he was better at this. Instead, a subject change would have to do for now. "Oh, hey. I think that might be the place, right?" he asked, gesturing outward to a very old, dilapidated house with a mailbox out front. It was a good sign, at least.

[The Cottage - 1]

[Jaykobell]

When a delivery turned this way, she usually focused on keeping her distance, and simply treating any relationship as a professional one. It wasn't devoid of respect, but it was usually devoid of any actual emotional intimacy.

So when Jesper offered some food, she looked down at the offering, and blinked. "Oh, thank you," she said gratefully, but she shook her head, "but it's okay! I ate before coming here." Working on a delivery without fuel in her belly wasn't a good idea, after all.

The mention of the farmhouse made her turn her head. "Oh! Yes, it might be!" she agreed, and she stood up from her seat. "There's probably someone waiting to hand us what we're supposed to deliver!" She spread her wings. "I'll go tell them we're here!"

Without waiting for Jesper's answer, she propelled herself up and away. She alternated between flapping her wings and gliding down until she had reached the house. With those same large wings, she used the clawed finger to knock. "Hello! We're post office workers!" she announced. "We're here to pick up your package!"

[The Cottage - 1]