Strawberry and Butterscotch’s origin stories

Butterscotch’s fur and her kennel are still stained by the dust of her shroud. when a Harman’s Black Deer uses its magic, it creates a mass of living darkness that it hides in, and when it stops hiding, the darkness turns into dust. wild Harman’s Black Deer’s coats are usually completely covered in this black dust, giving them their name.

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Strawberry–originally named Jasmine–is a Lesser Meadow Unicorn, and was born at a breeder’s stable. As a tiny filly she grew up being told that someday someone would buy her. It was a distant thing then, an abstract she didn’t really care about… until her favorite friend was sold off.

It’s not that she felt sad for losing her friend. It was more that she felt slighted that someone else had been picked instead. It was more that she had seen how excited her friend’s new owner was to have their very own Lesser Meadow Unicorn. The joy and pride in their face! The appreciation! Jasmine wanted that. She wanted someone to want her so much they’d take her home!

For the next year she dreamt about it. She fantasized about it. Every time a stranger came through looking for a unicorn her hopes rose, and every time it wasn’t her, they crashed. Now, it wasn’t that Jasmine had anything wrong with her. She wasn’t even passed over very many times–but as a unicorn, even a Lesser Meadow Unicorn, she had her pride to consider–and she took each potential customer who left without her as an insult.

Finally–finally–finally–the day came! Yet another customer had come through, had talked to the unicorns, had appraised them, and left. Jasmine had hardly gotten her hopes up this time.

But the door to her pen opened again. The stranger returned–and–and he had bought her!!

Someone finally noticed how beautiful she was! Someone had finally wanted her!

It hadn’t been a full day at her new Master’s house before he suggested a new name for her. She asked what was wrong with her own? Her name was Jasmine. That was her name. She was already feeling put off by this whole situation. Her name already was Jasmine!

It wasn’t Strawberry!

But Master was so nice to her. He saw how wonderful she was. He appreciated her, he cared for her! It took her a little bit to understand, it took her some time to adjust, it took her a small while to realize this really was what she had wanted. She learned how nice it was to be his unicorn–to be his Strawberry.

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Butterscotch–originally named Shadowsnatcher–was born in the wild, like many Harman’s Black Deer. After her first year with her mother she went off to find her own territory to shadow. That territory happened to be a farm, and the prey she had settled on happened to be the farmer’s chickens.

Shadowsnatcher was caught in a humane trap. Where she a less magical, less intelligent beast, the farmer surely would have killed her, but as the confused Shadowsnatcher babbled to him, thinking he had come to rescue her, thanking him for finding her, his heart softened.

Shadowsnatcher was brought to a beast shelter. Because Harman’s Black Deer, when trained properly, make excellent pets and familiars, Shadowsnatcher was kept with the intent of being domesticated and sold. She was named Night–no one had really asked her what her name had been, and she had never bothered to correct anyone on it.

It wasn’t so bad. These new people she was surrounded by, they gave her treats. They pet her! It felt nice to be pet! She wanted to chase things and she would be told no, bad girl, and she wouldn’t get treats then, so she realized it was better to be a good girl. She tried to hide all the time, but then they would say, “Night, if you were here I would give you a treat, but you seem to be gone, so I guess I can’t,” so she learned to not hide in her shroud all the time, because she really did want those treats!

She grew used to being around people. She was told that someday someone would buy her–would take her away, would take her to her new home–but she didn’t really understand what that meant.

One day–on a day like any other–a stranger showed up in front of Night’s kennel. The trainer told her this person was her owner now? Which didn’t make sense? This person was going to take her away? Okay? Why? Where? Huh?

Night didn’t get it.

When she got home, Master explained to her that she belonged to him now, and that meant she would do things he wanted her to do, and he would feed her. See, that seemed like a great deal to her, and she decided then and there that she wouldn’t run away.

Master told Night that her name was going to be Butterscotch, too, and Butterscotch didn’t really care about that anymore than she did the last time someone had renamed her!

So Butterscotch learned that if she was a good girl, and did her chores, and showed up whenever Master sang for her, she would be a good girl, and good girls get treats, and good girls get pets, and good girls are loved by Master, and Butterscotch was a good girl.