Maybe you've grown tired of traveling on foot? Maybe your wings are tired? Come to the Grand Stables and let them help you find a way to better traverse the land of Aleris. Everything from horses to gryphons, if you must cover a great distance in little time there is a beast with your name on it just waiting to be purchased. All animals sold are of the highest breed and are guaranteed to satisfy all your traveling needs. The Stables are not responsible for loss of limbs or life, so be certain you can handle the mount you purchase.

NOW HIRING! Apply within!
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To date, working at the Grand Stables would be his second job in Aleris. Verial's first one had been as a bodyguard for the women of Siren's Corner. While not exactly a respectable position, having basically worked in a whore house with a bunch of flirty women, he didn't really mind the job at all. He felt as if he were protecting something, women who were unfortunate enough to be handled by rough clientele on the occasion. And Verial had to be honest. Part of him didn't mind throwing those rowdy men into the lake or wherever he might find a place to toss them for the night.

Strangely enough, it was where he had been reunited with Aursra weeks after she had escaped from her Sire. The poetess had made it there, hoping to find Angelus, his younger and absent brother, but found Verial instead. The months afterwards were history, but that is another story.

His time at Siren's Corner was short lived. Verial worked there for a few months when Salome was the manager. Then one day, she mysteriously disappeared from her position as owner of the place and everything went to shambles. No one seemed to care and so like many, Verial left as well. It seemed to have been for the best anyway as he was shortly bitten by a werewolf not long after. At least he could say that he wasn't kicked out for sleeping with any of the women, much to previous gossip columnist Najia Sarai's disappointment.

With everything that had gone on in Elved recently, his fight with Elijah Bluefield and curing the infectious virus within himself, Verial wasn't too sure he was ready for another job. He certainly didn't know how Aursra felt about it either, but as it was he was part of the Dreamer family and an anxious soul. He needed to do something with himself and at first he wasn't too sure what that something was. But after a search through the available positions in the Alerian job market, he found a career that he thought suited him.

Why not go work for the Grand Stables that were mostly abandoned and falling to pieces? Sounded like a good idea to Verial.

The term "Grand" in the place's title was certainly an over exaggeration to say the least. When he got there, things had been left alone far too long. Though the building seemed to be in decent enough shape, it needed a thorough cleaning. The wood was caked with dirt and muck, and the stalls, though unused had been left with dried out layers of manure from animals that had previously been there. Any food keep in the feeding room was moldy and reeked terribly. Leather saddles and bridles had been nibbled at by most likely rats and were both unable to be used and beyond repair.

Looking around the place, Verial thought back throughout his past and knew he'd been in worse situations and places. However, he had to wonder what he was thinking when he signed up for this job. Perhaps he was thinking he could take a shitty situation - literally shitty situation - and make it better. In any case, standing around thinking about the terrible condition The Grand Stables were in was going to get him nowhere.

Amazingly, there were about two horses that had been left in the stables; Verial was honestly surprised they were still alive. They took to grazing the pastures behind the stables which were overgrown with weeds and long lengths of grass. Both were quite thin and malnourished, having been abandoned by their previous owners and left here. While the stables themselves needed a huge overhaul, first thing was first - to try and bring those skin and bone horses back to life.

He was going to need food for the animals as the stable had nothing edible for either of the horses. This would require a trip to some of the farms on the outskirts of Grand City. And he was going to need water, a whole lot of it, not just for watering the animals, but for cleaning the stables too. Verial was not exactly an expert on animals or managing a stable, but he did feel a certain kinship towards the animals and looking at the two that had managed to survive, he felt a responsibility now to make sure they made it out of this and became healthy again.

Heading out towards the farms, Verial knew the recent shift in Aleris' temperature wasn't going to make this situation any easier either. It was hot out and this heat was unparalleled to anything he had ever felt before. Top that off with his raven feathered wings that were a constant attraction to the sun. He had to believe that more often than not, he was going to be coming home sweating and smelling like horse manure.

Well, he thought, the first day on the job is never easy.

Verial had made a great deal of progress in the last few days. Stalls had been cleaned thoroughly and the rotten food had been thrown away. Verial purchased new pellets and hay for the horses from some of the farms on the outskirts of the city, thanking them for their business. Replacing the worn out saddles and bridles would be done within time, but for now, no one was actually riding or boarding horses in the stable, so that could wait.

The two horses that had remained within the stables were doing better. Though they were still quite skinny, they were now eating a normal and healthy diet instead of just left over grass from the pasture. Verial cleaned out the dirt that was stuck in their hooves, digging away until they could walk properly and more comfortably again. The stalls were once more layered with fresh sawdust, providing for the first time in a long time clean bedding. It wasn't as if Verial could actually speak to those horses, but he thought, or imagined, that they looked appreciative.

It was evening when he was working at the stables when the storms started. Technically, he should have been home a while ago, but there was a certain sort of peacefulness being here, all other things considered. He'd been sitting down for a moment on a bale of hay eating an apple when suddenly the sky began to pour down rain and thunder rolled noisily across the night clouds. And the wind... the wind was something else as it ripped freely through the city; trees moaned in response, threatening to be unearthed. Thankfully the roof was holding steady and the outside of the building was getting that much needed wash.

Presently, the two large doors on either side of the stables which had been opened, were now swinging back and forth wildly, crashing against the side of the barn with a loud bang. This ultimately spooked the horses which were now whinnying and tossing their heads in a worrisome manner. Verial got up quickly, shutting the doors on one side of the stable, barring them tightly together with a heavy lock and chain. He was about to do the same to the other side of the stable when he paused, hands trying to hold onto the other doors and raven feathered wings being pelted by rain.

Out in the stormy darkness, Verial could see something coming towards the stable. It took him a while to realize what it was; the thing was weaving back and forth, trying to avoid any debris that the wind was playfully tossing around. When he finally made out the shape, as it was lit up by the stable's few lanterns that were inside, Verial recognized it was the horse had had gotten in Bariston, the one he had ridden all the way to Garis Town and let go sometime before making it to Tezzra's Gorge.

The horse wasted no time waiting for an invitation; it ran straight in the open barn doors and Verial quickly barred the doors behind the animal. The other two horses in their stall looked perplexed at their new visitor as the light chestnut colored horse tried to shake off some of the water as it was drenched from the rain. Verial went towards the horse, just as confused, and titled his head curiously inspecting the animal as if it were something very mystical. In a way, it was. Verial couldn't fathom how the animal had made it all the way through The Shadow Marshes of Arthuran let alone across the small gap of ocean that spanned between Arthuran and Eiler, but here it was.

Verial went and grabbed a few towels that were in the tack room of the stable and went to help the horse dry off. It was dripping with water, despite the animal shaking some off. Verial rubbed the horse down and it tossed its head as if thankful. Looking towards the horse, Verial glanced it over with questioning odd colored eyes and raised a brow. Verial could tell this was definitely the horse he had bought in Bariston as it had scars were a werewolf once bit it.

"You must have been through a long journey, my friend," Verial started. The horse turned slightly to look back at Verial and gave a snort in response as if saying, "Well, yeah." After a long few minutes of silence, Verial had thoroughly shed the horse of most of the water. "I wonder through what strange forces were you brought here... In any case, welcome to the Grand Stables."

Melvin liked the rain. It saved him on bathing himself, and there were days that he stank worse than a privy in a whorehouse.

No, the rains didn't bother him. Not even the thunder or lightning scared him, except that one time that a bolt hit a tree not too far from him, scaring the piss out of him. Literally. It ran down his leg in a yellow warm stream.

Ah, thank goodness for the rain. It washed the pee away.

Melvin spent the last few weeks roaming the lands of Eiler, a fearsome killing machine slaughtering animals and humans throughout the countryside!

In actually, after retreating the Villa, Melvin left his brothers and hid in a small clearing far away from people, surviving by munching the occasional field mouse that came too close. The truth was, he had heard the rumors that not only was Elijah still around and kicking, but his witch wife was seen tracking him.

Melvin was in truth, scared shitless when it came to Elijah, and even more so with the Redmont Witch. He heard that she could melt a guy's manly parts with a snap of her fingers! Melvin looked down at his beast peen and cupped it gently. He loved his bits! No woman was going to melt these babies!

So Melvin stayed in hiding. The heat came as a great surprise considering he had just gotten used to the cold. The cold shriveled your bits. Not exactly attractive when trying to woo a potential mating partner. At least his hand didn't point and laugh at him. His hand was always loving and attentive.

So he hid, and had rosy palm loving on a regular basis, and enjoyed his mice.

Then the freaky heat came, and Melvin couldn't stop whining or crying about how hot it was, and actually thought about finding his brothers and having them put him out of his misery. After the freaky heat came the storms, which were actually nice. Melvin would curl up in his hidey hole and watch the winds ravage the landscape, the sound of the rain soothing him to sleep.

Except for that near brush with death from that lightning bolt, Melvin was actually coping with his solitude rather well.

And then the mice were gone, and the hunger pains came.

So the brave Melvin ventured out into the hurricane in search of some poor creature that might have had the misfortune of colliding with a tree or something. Which of course, there was none.

Whimpering, starving, the rain soaking his fur to the point that even his massive balls were so saturated with water, they hung low and heavy between his legs, almost brushing against the ground as sought out food.

Suddenly it would seem that the gods were looking down at old Melvin and his droopy balls and they smiled their favor at him. His nostrils flared, and flared some more. He smelled something mouthwatering delicious. Horse!

He loped forward toward the stables. Stables? There were stables here? Really? By now, Melvin was slavering, the idea of sinking his face into the horse's belly, his maw nuzzling warm entrails that would be sticky with blood....well, it got the werewolf rather excited. All the blood ran from his lemon sized brain to his fantastic member of his (all four inches!), but Melvin didn't care! He pressed onward.

Damn the thunder! Damn the lightning! Damn his mad hard-on and saggy ballsack!

Melvin was going to feast!

He crashed through the stable doors, sending bits of wood splintering and flying through the stable. This monstrous creature with rather obscene boner growled and snarled as he prepared to savage the horse, or rather three! He would feast for days!

"RAWR!"

He was about to sink his claws into the rump of one of the horses when he saw Verial there, just....staring at him with this incredulous look of surprise on his face...and zero fear in his odd colored eyes.

"Um....rawr?"

Melvin had his arms raised high above his head, curving black claws ready to tear into horse meat, his jaws spread wide, razor sharp canines covered in drool, his beast peen standing proudly at attention! And there was Verial....just staring at him.

Melvin wasn't sure what to do at this point. He was sooooooo hungry! Just then, his stomach rumbled and gurgled. The beast looked down and clamped his hands over his midsection, then peered back at Verial.

"So...you mind? I was just about to eat here! Get out!" Melvin gave his best menacing growl, hoping that would scare Verial off so that he could munch on horseys!

The doors of the stable had been closed for about an hour or so, and Verial was listening to the sounds of the storm outside wondering when it would cease. At this point, travelling outside the stable was a hazardous idea. Occasionally he could hear debris being thrown against the side of the stables, tossed about by the wind. Part of him thought about when he would finally be able to head home and then he remembered there was a hole in his roof. His house was probably drenched right now and collecting a good amount of water. Verial hoped that Kyrian, Aursra and Mycha had taken refuge at his mother's house which was not very far away from his own.

These thoughts, though fleeting, were shortly interrupted as the barn doors came crashing open, ripped right off the hinges and flung to either side. The three horses, startled, reared back, kicking their hooves in the air and neighing loudly. On top of that, the storm was now quite freely entering the stables. Rain was everywhere and wind brushed loose pieces of hay up into the air in mini-tornados.

Verial raised a brow questioningly looking towards the door as he tried to settle and calm the horse that had come from Elved. If the circumstances were normal, Verial would had been cautious and on guard to see a hungry werewolf standing in the doorframe of the stables. Considering his whole encounter with Elijah and the Bluefield gang, the last thing Verial wanted to see was another therianthrope (well, except Deanna and Quinn).

Truth be told, Verial couldn't find himself in the least bit fearful of the beast that was waiting to rip into the flesh of his horses. For one thing (and Verial had no idea why he was even thinking about these things), the werewolf had these abnormal, alien-like giant testicles and from being soaked by the rain, they were also shriveled up in a fashion similar to raisins. To top it off, most likely from the excitement over possibly being able to eat one of the stable horses, the werewolf had this sad, little erection. And then there was the ferocious war cry of "RWAR" followed be "Um... rawr?" at Verial's lack of response.

A hand went to Verial's forehead and he shook his head in disbelief. The whole situation was comical instead of the werewolf coming off as fearful. The only other emotion Verial felt right now was mild annoyance at the rain and wind in the stable and that he would eventually have to fix the barn doors. Even the werewolf's attack pose with his black claws outstretched did nothing to faze Verial.

Then the werewolf's stomach grumbled loudly, all but failing the beast's pathetic attempt at being ferocious. Verial couldn't help himself. As the werewolf was telling him to leave the stables and get out so he could finally dine, Verial just lost it and started laughing. It was very rare for Verial to laugh in such a way, so much so where his sides started to hurt and tears filled the rims of his eyelids.

"You have... got to be kidding me..." Verial said breathlessly.

Nevertheless, Verial was through laughing and stood alert when he heard the sound of something unearthly coming in the direction of Grand City. Thankfully, he had elvish hearing so he would hear before most people. The storm died and off in the distance, complimented by the rumbling of the ground, was the sound of a giant tidal wave rushing in the direction of the city.

Verial then sprang into action, ever watchful of the werewolf. The two horses in their stalls were let loose and ran from the stables. Verial lifted himself onto his chestnut colored horse and didn't even bother to see if the werewolf would follow. Hopefully that sad and wasteful excuse for life would just drown in the oncoming wave. Nudging his horse into a full gallop out of the barn with the other two horses following closely behind, Verial headed towards the highest hill surrounding the stables. Thankfully, it was not far off.

Melvin was used to being laughed at. Elijah. His brothers. Hot hairy chicks with giant knockers. Small children. Real wolves. His mother. Pretty much everyone.

Yet when this strange boy? girl? whatever it was, began to violently tremble (which at first Melvin hoped was out of fear), Melvin felt mighty and powerful! He was getting ready to strut when Verial began to laugh uncontrollably, complete with tears and maybe some snot.

Melvin's spirit deflated just as quickly as his hard-on did.

For a moment, the werewolf just stood there rather perplexed, scratching alternatively his forehead then this balls. Even the horses, skittish meals on four legs that they were, didn't seemed too particularly scared by the Hell Beast known as Melvin.

"You have... got to be kidding me..." Verial said breathlessly.

"Well you don't have to be such a dick about it," Melvin grumbled as he aimlessly kicked at one of the horses, but missed and lost his balance. When his hairy ass finally hit the ground, he heard a strange splat sound and knew instinctively he was sitting in a pile of horse shit. Well that and the smell gave it away.

Melvin stood up and made a half hearted attempt to clean his crap covered fur, mumbling about bad luck, when he noticed the strange look on Verial's face.

"You need to rip one? 'Cause if you do, it's cool. I do it all the time." Melvin considered that a polite way to start a conversation, but the strange boy/girl with the funky colored eyes was obviously a huge sort of snob and pointedly ignored his remark. Melvin watched as Verial loosened two the horses while watching him suspiciously, like he was a horse rapist or something (for the record, Melvin has NEVER raped a horse in his life. A sheep yes, but that was during a desperate time in his life!) which kinda pissed Melvin off.

"Again, you don't have to be a dick....heeeeeeeey! Where are you going?" Verial at that point had mounted the stallion and rode off without so much of a "See ya loser!", the other two horses following.

Now Melvin considered himself a reasonable intelligent werewolf with a rather high IQ of 72, and it didn't take him long (about seven and a half minutes of just standing there scratching himself) to figure out that something bad was either going down or about to go down for Verial to just take off like that. So Melvin did what any highly intelligent being would do.

He ran after Verial crying like a little bitch.

"Heeeeeeey! Wait for me! Wait for MELVIN! Don't leave me!"