A Kennel of Relatives

Count Ivan Vorpatril Voralys now has several Country estates, he's certainly going to have a menagerie somewhere...
(This isn't a shaggy dog story, tho Dogs, Cats, and other critters are central to the text.)

Notes:

Inspired by Another Innocent Bystander by Rose_Milburn

Please make suggestion for animals in the Voralys Menagerie; I'll add them to the body of the text with attributions as things progress.
(Added a few 06/19/19)

Work Text:

Count Ivan Xav Vorpatril Voralys received a HUGE amount of property when the Vorclarence holdings were laid on him by the council of Counts. It's clear from Rose's stories that Ivan hasn't really taken the measure of what he owns, and he seems oblivious to the properties the Vorpatril Trust (controlled by Lady Alys) possesses.

It's certain that the countship has houses - estates - holdings close to the three main cities of the District, not only the official residences in the urban core, but there are certainly smaller estates that are (were) Vorclarence family property (consider them the equivalent of the Windsor Crown Estates, or the Duchy of Lancaster and Cornwall properties held by Prince Charles).

This is not including the property (such as the factories that reverted to the district when mortgages were foreclosed, those would not be personal property of the Vorclarence family, but owned by the district directly), such as the various government buildings, the Schools and Academies, or the like, civic property is separate from what the Family owned outright.

So, I expect that Vorclarence, or some members of the family, had a collection of pets - perhaps a private zoo - on one or more of the family properties. Ivan now owns them, in fee simple -

- but does he know this?

Eventually he will, as he tours his properties; and is introduced to all the items on the budget he's handed monthly.

So, at one of his private residences (which he decided he really likes, and makes his home-away-from home ALA Vorkosigan Surleau), he has a collection of pets...

Ivan, being Ivan, decides on names 'appropriate' to the menagerie..

(and now the fun begins...)

He certainly has a German Shepherd - a BIG one, Fast, Loyal, Intelligent, named Aral.

A Sheepdog, named Cordelia.

A Beagle, Simon.

A Borzoi, Alys

A Doberman Pinscher, Bothari (Cordelia and Miles's favorite)

Several female Kangaroos, called Team Koudelka; heaven help you if they take dislike you......

A small flock of Galah parrots, named after Marie and her friends. (Canon of Rose Milburn)

A Pygmy hippo (a creation of _someone_ on Eta Ceta).... Named Miles (Canon of Rose Milburn)

(Please, make suggestions!)

And, at the end....

A Donkey - Miles........

A clutch of skunks (deodorized, certainly!)...... referred to as the 'Council' (and privately as the 'Reactionaries')

A family of raccoons.... "Impsec"

Several new-world apes, their cage is 'unofficially' named 'Tau Ceta'

Several breeding pairs of Chimpanzees or Bonobos - "Jackson's Whole"

The chicken run is.... "The General Staff"

Peacocks - "The Admiralty"

A Galapagos tortoise - cloned to prevent them from going extinct - "Count Vormoncrief"

A Rottweiler, getting old, named "Bothari". He follows the sheepdog "Cordelia' everywhere she goes - when he's not snoozing in the shade.

Several Poodles - "Countess Vorinnis and her friends"

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Miles is a mongoose... Magister_Tekton

A Jack Russell Terrier - Admiral Naismith .... HawkeyeState

Byerly - a snake (lovely and sinuous, with interesting markings.) Gwynne Sun

Raine - a leopard. Because they're so beautiful. Gwynne Sun

Sela - a peacock. Gwynne Sun

Vorberg - a Labrador. Gwynne Sun

Byerly - a Tau Ceti Beaded Lizard (Canon of Rose Milburn!)

A de-fanged, declawed Mongoose - Vorresiak (Canon of Rose Milburn!)

A mountain hare (non-agressive, well camouflaged, very quick to spot predators, very agile at dodging predator attacks, won't go underground, very randy, and they get smacked about by the women during the breeding season - Named "Bunrab" by Marie, but is privately called "Ivan" by the Koudelka Girls... Diana

A flock of Great Horned Owls - Negri, Simon, and Guy. Hanuman_prodigious_leaper

An Elephant (a Pygmy, donated by a Foreign Ambasador long ago) - Named 'Psymon" - Hanuman_prodigious_leaper

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Oiofc, LadyNav, NorthCoast, Sneacim, Sid401k, filkferengi, MargeryStarseeker, Katcameback, kypip, Jonis, Charmruhnke, GailG, Rose_Milburn, Calon_lan, and Magister_Tekton as well as 7 guests left kudos on this work!

Comments

Magister_Tekton Sun 13 Jan 2019 01:53AM UTC

Miles is a mongoose...

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HawkeyeState Sun 13 Jan 2019 05:28AM UTC

If we stick with dogs, Miles is either a friggin' Corgi or a friggin' Jack Russell Terrier - smaller than you might think, has no trouble taking down things ten times its weight, and if not occupied, will chew the furniture and ruin everything around it...

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1. Magister_Tekton Sun 13 Jan 2019 07:18AM UTC
  
  Oh, definitely JRT. Corgi have their indolent-side, Miles not so much.
  
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Gwynne Sun 13 Jan 2019 08:05AM UTC

Byerly - a snake (lovely and sinuous, with interesting markings.)
Raine - a leopard. Because they're so beautiful.
Sela - a peacock.
Vorberg - a labrador

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RGmolpus Sun 13 Jan 2019 03:18PM UTC

Suggestions for Gregor? Elena Bothari-Jesek? Elli Quinn?
What might the Cetagandan Haut ladies send as a gift (for diplomatic purposes?) (No, they won't send a kitten tree!)

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1. Stewart (Guest) Mon 14 Jan 2019 05:52PM UTC
  
  I can see naming an animal after Gregor being considered lese-majeste, though perhaps you could get away with a lion, or whatever takes its place in Barrayaran culture.
  
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2. 1. RGmolpus Mon 14 Jan 2019 07:52PM UTC
    
    Maybe Ivan gets one of those Sphinxes Miles encounters on Kibo-Dani?
    
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Diana (Guest) Sun 13 Jan 2019 09:32PM UTC

It's highly agricultural district. Ivan probably has working estates with cattle or sheep herds (in Chatsworth House in Derbyshire, you can see the sheep grazing just over the garden walls) There'll be a dog pack somewhere too. He definitely has horses just like Piotr did, and some may be crossbred with Vorkosigan lines. Could there be a breed of VorAlys Walking horses? Perhaps working horses get named for great sergeants or Armsmen, similar to the way spaceships are named for great Admirals. That means there's a Walton line :)
Definitely donkeys. I recommend a newborn foal called Vanya or Ivanuska (both of which mean Little Ivan) as Ivan has always described himself as Miles' donkey. Actually, I think Ivan is more like a mountain hare (non-agressive, well camouflaged, very quick to spot predators, very agile at dodging predator attacks, won't go underground, very randy, and they get smacked about by the women during the breeding season). I always imagine Ivan having a mountain hare for a daemon.
Possibly pet birds? I always though Miles was a human humming bird -never forget they're aggressive and territorial as hell. (I can see Miles, the Mongoose, but that seems a better fit for Illyan.) Byerly the parrot? they are some of the most colourful, intelligent birds out there, or perhaps Byerly & Sela the lovebirds!
Gregor is a tough one. Possibly an eagle? but I think a crow. Crows don't encompass his sense of majesty like an eagle would, but they are highly intelligent, solitary, inventive, plain-but elegant, adaptive to challenging puzzles & changing situations, plus they scare the hell out of other birds.
Haut lady gifts would have to be beautiful, elegant, impractical, suit Barrayan taste and cause harm to it's owner in a way that can be excused diplomatically. I think they'd probably bioengineer something out of classical mythology (like New Egypt did with the spinxes, only more tasteful). The best candidate is a Russian Firebird (the legend is actually called 'Ivan and the Firebird') or a riding dragon to replace a lightflier, since Miles can't pilot with the seizures. If they were really serious about sending a gift to someone they actually respect, they would send Ekaterin the scientific notes made by the ghem during the 9th Satrapy on Baryon flora.

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1. Magister_Tekton Mon 14 Jan 2019 04:58PM UTC
  
  There's a fanfic tale where Lord Regent Aral receives several breeding-pairs of Velociraptors from the Cetans as a snide birthday or Winterfair gift. Either Aral or Cordelia suggests they send them on to Count Piotr to raise since they're just like him, and the Dendarii Mountains can always use another predator.
  
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2. 1. diana (Guest) Mon 14 Jan 2019 11:10PM UTC
    
    eep. I don't know this fic. I hope they weren't foolish enough to release an unplanned predator on an ecosystem not evolved for it. 50 years ago General Piotr would have been delighted and trained them to hunt Cetagandans!
    
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Diana (Guest) Mon 14 Jan 2019 05:07AM UTC

Here's a silly thought: At the District Fair, Ivan has to give out the awards for the competitive Ferret-fanciers society. -Racing ferrets an added plus!

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1. RGmolpus Mon 14 Jan 2019 07:50PM UTC
  
  Ivan should pass that on to his Father-in-Law Simon; who spent his live wrangling ferrets, weasels, toads, and slugs.
  
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2. 1. Diana (Guest) Mon 14 Jan 2019 09:39PM UTC
    
    Perfect! Classic Ivan delegation, and he gets to hear everything afterward about the silent terror in the tent.
    
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Zoya1416 Fri 18 Jan 2019 10:52PM UTC

Ivan is a labrador--able to work in military environment, but easy and happy in home environments, loyal.
Alys is a poodle. Hear me out. A standard poodle, the second most intelligent breed there is. The coat doesn't have to be clipped to the show 'lion' shape, but can be clipped to subtle, easier maintenance shape.

Mark is a badger, fat and short-legged, a little comic looking, but vicious defenders. They can take down animals much bigger themselves.

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1. RGmolpus Tue 22 Jan 2019 04:42AM UTC
  
  I can agree about Mark being a Badger, but he has his softer, cuddlier side as well (Just ask Kareen! Or Grunt...) Maybe a Basenji?
  Lady Alys Vorpatril is a serious, elegant, directed woman; the cringing lap-whining Poodle isn't her - unless you're thinking of the Standard Poodle, a water-loving hunting dog.
  
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2. 1. Zoya1416 Tue 22 Jan 2019 05:17PM UTC
    
    On Alys I wrote that she is a standard poodle-highly intelligent, coat clipped naturally short enough to be elegant but not the lion type of the shows. I was thinking of her as an lovely asset hidden in plain sight.
    
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  2. 1. RGmolpus Wed 23 Jan 2019 11:07PM UTC
      
      I can't see Alys as a poodle, they aren't 'aristocratic' enough for me. The same goes for chihuahua's, corgis, and other small, yapping dogs.
      Lady Alys can stare down Ghem; Poodles can't stare down kittens.....
      
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    2. 1. Jane Hotchkiss (Guest) Sat 25 May 2019 11:53PM UTC
        
        Oh, that depends on the poodle! My standard boy tried to defend my mother from a skunk (and lost, of course...)
        
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      2. machiavellijr Wed 19 Jun 2019 08:48AM UTC
        
        The author has this right, Alys is a Borzoi. Most aristocratic dog there is. They aren't even particularly dim despite their reputation, just very difficult to train because they don't see why they should bother doing tricks for proles.
        
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Jane+Hotchkiss (Guest) Sat 25 May 2019 11:51PM UTC

Howl of laughter...

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Hanuman_prodigious_leaper (Guest) Sun 07 Jul 2019 10:59PM UTC

Owl name Negri.

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Hanuman_prodigious_leaper (Guest) Sun 07 Jul 2019 11:10PM UTC

Elephant? Name Simon for long memory

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1. RGmolpus Mon 08 Jul 2019 04:26AM UTC
  
  Done and Done!-
  
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Magister_Tekton Sat 06 Mar 2021 06:25PM UTC

There's a fanfic on here somewhere were Regent Aral is presented with several pairs of true-breeding Velociraptors by the Celestial Household for Winterfair. Too dangerous for Gregor, Aral wants to re-gift them to Count Piotr for VK Surleau; like as for like. Simon or Cordelia fears he'll appreciate the gift and set them loose to free-range in the Dendarii Mountains.
(In southern Indiana or Illinois there's a State park with a resident flock of emus that escaped captivity and are thriving in the forests there.)

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