A place of Quiet.

He had only meant to be getting away from people.
People who might or might not be dangerous- he didn't know.
Better to be safe than eaten.
It wasn't like people came here that often right? It was a stable... a place of quiet.
He hoped anyway.

So he'd come in here to get away. And ended up falling asleep on the hay which although not really all that comfortable, was comfortable enough to lull him off into dream land. Nice dreams of candy and happy places too- which was why he managed to be quite fast asleep, despite stalks here and there poking into him.

Kale landed with a gust outside the stables. This was supposed to be a quick stop, and she wasn't even exactly sure if it were going to be a worthwhile one. This idea of hers...to be honest, she was starting to question her sanity for even having it.

With a sigh, she readjusted the brown sack to being slung over her shoulder. Right.

Entering, Kale glanced around. The stables were neatly kept, but she didn't particularly like the smell of horses. The hay was just around the corner, her target. But as she approached it, she was displeased to see that it was currently occupied by some blue-haired thing with...perhaps they were ears, given where they were attached. With a flat, unimpressed expression, Kale very quickly decided that she was not going to wait for the thing to wake, nor was she going to leave just to come back later. Walking over to one of the horse's water bucket, she scooped the cold liquid with both hands cupped together. Though she had lost some of the water through the cracks when transporting it back over to the hay, there was quite enough for her satisfaction when she let it go over the kid's head and neck.

It was a startling wake up call that was for sure.
His dreams quickly subsided in a cold wet mess and he jumped up, trying to quickly figure out the cause of his awakening.
It didn't take long. Upon noticing the Harpie he leaped back, stumbling and falling slightly to the right of where he'd been sleeping moments before.
"Uh.. um.. hello M-miss.. er.. sorry am I... I'll just.."
She was intimidating. Very intimidating.
He just didn't hold his ground well if he thought he couldn't hold it.
And she looked like she could definitely hold hers.

He quickly scrambled up before realizing he wasn't sure what she even wanted.
"Am.. I.. um.. in the way?"

The boy's sudden scramble was amusing, at least. Kale stood there, chin up, hands on hips, wings partly extended with lax, rigid posture. She held herself as if this regal stance was the most natural and comfortable for her body -- her default, if you will.

Her chilled, ebony gaze held him easily, seeming to watch his every movement. A single brow raised at his stuttering, seemingly entirely unfazed and rather uncaring about his apologies or excuses.

"You are." Her words were final, and a simple statement. "Move." And with a lazy hand, an elegant finger nail pointed to the spot directly beside the hay, but out of her way.

As soon as he was aware he was indeed in the way- and was furthermore told to me, he automatically jumped to get out of the way, right where she was pointing him to stand. Sure it was a cowardly way to act but her aura was threatening, she was imposing without trying.
At least that's how he felt.
Maybe it was the whole bird of prey look.
He was a rabbit after all- even if he technically should be more afraid of.. well.. rabbits. It still made him nervous.

He didn't say anything further, being to afraid quite yet to speak. Standing in a weird cross between at-attention and awkwardly uncertain.

It was refreshing, how the boy leaped to follow her command without so much as a objectionable look. It was more than could be said for most the sorry creatures in this lot, so eager to pronounce themselves above the world's population indiscriminately. Kale's gaze lingered on his before returning to the rather large hay pile. The woman crouched, slinging the bag from her shoulder. It was a worn thing, patched it seemed, with only one strap and a drawstring opening. She tugged it open.

"Do you find our accommodations at the castle disagreeable?"

She did not look up from stuffing some hay into the sack, but it was only logical she was addressing the only other company.

He was slightly startled just that she continued to talk to him after he was out of the way.
Somehow the idea that she'd noticed him enough to keep conversation going after he was out of her vision just hadn't formulated in his brain.

"ah- no it's not that.. I didn't mean to fall asleep out here.." he wondered what he was supposed to say. "I'm.. um.. sorry- I just came out here to get away from.. people.. a bit. I enjoy the peace.." It was pretty much true- but also not quite.
The real reason was he wasn't sure how many people in there were likely to attack him, or pose some form of danger- so he came out here to escape the potential danger. That could be called peace, he supposed. He certainly didn't NOT like peace.

It had appeared to the average outside viewer, that at some point when the student was answering her question, she had simply stopped listening. Not to say she didn't hear though. She had such a trouble simply not hearing.

When a sufficient amount of hay had been stuffed into the bag, Kale righted it and drew the top closed with the drawstring. In a fluid motion, Kale rose and swung the sack back up onto her shoulder, turning to the boy with a gust from a passing wing.

"Acceptable. What are you supposed to be, then?" She raised a hand to gesture vaguely to all of him, but perhaps more specifically his ears - if that's what they were meant to be.

As she gestured to him, inquiring as to what all of it was supposed to be, he shifted uncertain how to reply.
That was a long story, and one that was hard to put short without requiring a long explanation.
Well... he supposed he'd give the short version and if she was actually interested she could hear his long explanation.

"It's a bit um.. I'm a Rabbit person with insides made out of passionfruit." He stated completely straight face, eying her talons a tad nervously. "I was cursed to be that way." That was about the best explanation he could give in roughly one sentence. It still didn't explain much, but it had all the important points down.
Rabbit. Passionfruit. Cursed.

She stared a blink blankly.

"A rabbit...made of passion-fruit, because of a curse." She hesitated a moment before huffing. "Well, this school certainly has it all now."

The glance to her talons were not missed and she raised an eyebrow. The woman stepped forward to intrude upon the boy's personal space, letting her large wingspan reach out to brush the walls, fully intending to back him into a corner.

He managed to resist the urge to let out a nervous squeak.
He didn't manage however to resist stepping back quite hurriedly, unaware and uncaring that he was being cornered.
As long as he got away from those threatening talons.

"Y-yeah it's.. crazy I know- I d-didn't get a say in the matter though I was cursed before I was b-born."
He tried to keep the conversation going. Keep something else other than him being slashed open happening.
"It's a wonder I'm alive at all considering my insides are fruit really hehe.."
His humour was sort of lost in his nervous laugh.

Her smile widened, and though it retained all outwardly appearance of pleasantness, there was something about her look that made it a bit more of something else. The woman continued forward, wings coming together to keep in the confines of the walls as she stepped up to block his path.

"It's certainly interesting. From just looking at you, one would not be able to tell you we're entirely an edible substance." Her head tilted slightly and her gaze flicked up and down. Despite being the shorter of the two, her chin was lifted, giving the impression she were looking down at him. "What cursed you, do you know?"

He swallowed nervously.
This women unsettled him, greatly.

"Yes I-I do know, I was cursed by a Faer... ugh um they're like demons but, they consider themselves righteous, handing out punishments to those they see as sinners." or supposedly anyway. He didn't see how his mother and father had actually been punished. They weren't made of fruit- he was, was it wasn't like they'd kept him around for long enough to suffer for it.

"My parents were cursed because they were glutinous; that their first born would resemble the last meal mother ate." Who eats rabbit with passionfruit anyway? He would have liked to know whose idea THAT was.

"Such a pity." She cooed, overly sweet. "To impose their judgement upon you, so pompously self-righteous these creatures sound. It was an interesting choice for a last meal on your mother's part..."

The harpy paused, before she smiled and leaned in, increasingly intruding upon his personal space. Hey, she liked watching things squirm, and he was incredibly responsive to her mere presence. Her head tilted and a hand reached out to trail a finger feather-light over the bunny's collar bone.

"Funny though, I've never tried passion-fruit."

"You could say it was an interesting choice- but I suppose I should be thankful it wasn't sausages and asparagus..."
He attempted a bit of humour to try and relieve the horrible trapped and endangered position he was in.
The humour was a bit futile though- because she had gotten closer still.

He shifted uncomfortably again, trying to let the meaning of it go over his head.
"You're not m-missing out on much, really.." he tried to chuckle but it came out incredibly half-hearted.

"There's that." Kale spoke lightly. Her hand trailed away from his collar bone and she let it drop. "I don't really eat fruit that often..."

Then, she took a moment to glance him over. Rather suddenly, her expression became slightly harsh, colder, as if she were suddenly displeased immensely with this boy before her. She angled her eyebrows and lifted her hand before her to move her finger in a 'come here' gesture.

She knew it made absolutely no sense for her to be angry at anything here, and the only way to really come closer was to lean in, but that was exactly the point to why she was doing it. Surely messing with the bunny a little bit couldn't hurt much.

Corey was startled internally by her sudden change of attitude- completely unsure how to react now.
What was he supposed to do in situations like this?!

Uncertainly and hesitantly he leant forward a tiny bit, ear twitching nervously. He was wary. Wary and quite scared of all the things that could easily go wrong here. All the things that could be and most probably were dangerous and out to get him.
Things he usually did well to avoid.
But unfortunately not this time.

He wanted to run- but he couldn't. He couldn't escape so his only choice was to comply and hope for the best.

Seeing as he only leaned forward a little bit, she reached up to wrap her hand around the back of his shoulder and pull him encouragingly closer. The fact that he practically reeked of nervous to her senses was enticing, but she was old and wise enough now to not give in to that temptation and there had been far closer calls than this. No, this was just a slight thrilling chill in her spine, but no danger. Besides, she didn't care for most fruits, if he had been normal rabbit, now, things might have been different.

"Do you know what the point of this academy is?" Her voice was low, and seemingly lined with sweetness.

He didn't resist her at all- of course he didn't. How could he? He was trapped, and he had no choice.
He couldn't possibly have been more uncomfortable either. More afraid.
He was terrified.

The ironic part was he wouldn't die- he would regrow, he had less reason to be afraid than others who wouldn't have been.
But it was in his nature- he was unfortunately instinctual unable to quell his fearfulness.
So he was terrified.

He stuttered as he spoke, afraid to say the wrong thing and afraid it wouldn't matter WHAT he said.
"U-um to be.. a p-place for... different people to.. b-be...... safe?" he offered in a weakly hopeful and questioning tone.
That had at least been the reason he'd been given in any case.

"Good.." She cooed lowly, giving him a small smile as a reward. She did not move her hand, but rather pulled him even closer. Stretching up, she moved to place a kiss at his forehead.

"Do not get me wrong, you have reason to fear me, but really, use your brains little Rabbit. As one of the prominent guardians of this Academy, of which you are a student, I will do nothing but protect you as long as you don't do anything to get me particularly angry." She pulled back a bit to give him a piercing look with a raised eyebrow. "Understand me?"

It was that weird half panic-confusion feeling before understanding that came at that.
He wasn't quite sure what was going on- she had completely changed in a split second.
He was being.. praised or..? He was...

He looked up at her with a bemused expression as he tried quickly to clear his head.
"Oh right- of c-course I'm.. sorry I just.. you know.. ehehe.. heh..." his voice was sheepish and unsure- he really didn't know how to respond.

Her hand slid from his neck up into his hair to ruffle it nearly fondly. An understanding smile settled upon her lips. Well, best make friends now, now that she had a feared respect in him already.

"It's fine. You just don't have to be so uncomfortable around me when there's really little reason to. To be perfectly honest, I could be a great ally if you would want. It'd require little on your part asides from some loyalty." Her tone had become flippant as she lifted her hand from his head to turn it in the air before letting it finally fall back to her waist.

Corey didn't really understand what it was that was going on- he was still cautious as to his safety. So he decided to go with being agreeable as he could.
"O- Oh of course I.. why wouldn't I?" He replied, although she hadn't really asked him a question.

He knew she was saying he need not fear but his nature was to fear those with power- and usually to try and appease them.

(Sorry short response)

The harpy paused and stared at the boy a moment before shaking her head and taking a step back from him, lowering her wings.

"Ah, I guess you'll figure it out in time."

Turning, she finally pulled her attention away from him and readjusted her bag onto her shoulder.

"Do try not to get eaten. I suggest telling hunters that you're made of passion fruit, and leaving that fact out to those who would not be tempted by rabbit flesh as they would fruit juice."

It was such a fond farewell as she started towards the exit of the stables.