[PRP] The Employment Pages [Rise & Co!]

[Maxx D]

i. Dark is a Way

When The Flood calmed - as confirmed by their runners - Rise strapped several salted rodents to himself, pulling the vine taut with his mouth. It was a little hard to tell whether he was doing it out of charity or more insidious, opportunistic purposes...but at the same time, the head of Rise & Co. had always seemed endlessly kind, spare his desire to pickle all the things.

"I'm off!" He informed. "And I will be alright. Everyone remain here and make sure you're here for any customers or stragglers, I'll see you later."

With that, he was off to the North, strong hooves forcing their way through the soft mud. The water was high, but manageable and still. Rise continued to move, looking for kin and carefully keeping the goods out of harm's way.  

[Jun D]

Dark sat, defeated, in a pool of flood water; it might well have been a pool of her tears, so many had flowed. The first day she had capitulated to despair, her cheetah had tried to rouse her from it; Far had tired of that, tired of the wet, by now, and only guarded her, a distance away on a higher, dryer root. Dark had not the mind to heed him, only one occupied her grief: her brother, oh, her brother. Her better half, her shining half, the Light to her Dark. What was Dark without her Light? She had been able to forestall the dread, in the thick of the waters fighting for the lives of the Kiokote foals on her back - but once their safety had been ensured, she had begun her search. The Swamp had changed in myriad ways, the Flood taking many great trees in its rush, but she was an experienced traveller, and still knew it well enough. Well enough to know that she had run his haunt and far beyond, and still he was nowhere to be found. He was strong. And quick. And resourceful, and brave. He could not...he could not possibly have...fallen? The thought brought tears anew.

She had never feared death - her dream had taught her before birth that death was peace, where the twin halves of their soul could finally rest as one again. But...what if he had gone before her? What if he had faced it alone? Was his half drifting in search of her own? ...If she left off this mortal body, could she find him again? She felt she ought to try. She had felt so for many days now. Even if - and still part of her clung to the possibility - he had not yet been taken, if he were stepping through waters somewhere out there calling her name, her spirit would surely fly to him faster than her hooves could do, and bless his path till the day he joined her in the Swamp's heartbeat. Increasingly she was sure of this solution. There only remained one problem.

Far. He had been brought to the Swamp as a cub, and many more of his kind now prowled the mangrove roots, washed down but not out by the flood. He should be able to make his own way without her - but yet...she could not leave it to chance. He was her duty, her friend. She would first have to find a guardian for him. But...she knew no one.  

[Maxx D]

Rise wasn't having much luck, stepping carefully and grimly through the strewn branches and foliage half-soaked in stagnant water, until he sighted a remarkably upright bush; no, not a bush, but a cheetah, perched upon a mangrove. His first assumption was that its self-preservation saved it from being washed away with the flood, but its unmmoving posture led him to realise it was standing guard - guarding what? The first thought that struck him was...it was morbid, but he had heard of such situations before. If that were the case, he would feel the duty to put the creature at ease.

He dipped his head at the feline, acknowledging its presence, and proceeded beyond to discover a doe disconsolately crumpled and damp - a wave of relief as he realised she was still very much alive despite evidently having been caught in the flood. Rise slowly crouched before her and queried, in a soft, soothing voice, "Hello, miss? Are you alright?" It was a ridiculous question to ask, she certainly didn't look 'all right'. He tried again, following up with "I hope you aren't hurt?"  

[Jun D]

"Argbrg? Argbrghbrg?" was all she really heard as she slowly lifted dull eyes to the one who addressed her, "Argbrgharnt urt?"

But it was not so much his address that struck her, as the very existence of him at all. The brightness suddenly rushed back into her eyes as she realised that this buck may well be Swampsent, a gift from the Motherfather, the solution to her problems. He cut a fine figure (reminding her, even, of her beloved brother, burning swathes upon a dark pelt), he was kind - and he was, she feverishly noted, carrying strings of meat. Far could be - could be happy accompanying such a buck.

"Please, sir, would you take my cheetah for your own?" she cried at once, carried away by the serendipity and wasting no time, "I fear my twin dead, and thus I must die too, so that we may be together again as we ought. My sole worry had been my cheetah, but I can see you are of fine character, and would care well for him, that I may finally go to my happiness!"  

[Maxx D]

Well, if she wasn't hurt, she certainly had been thwocked in the head - Rise was no stranger to hopelessly sitting in a swath of water bemoaning his existence, but her passionate conviction to actively die was rather stunning. He jolted up slightly, and attempted Rise-style reason:

"Please don't, miss."

His eyeglow flickered as he blinked a couple of times, trying to figure out how to talk her out of this...not everyone was as receptive to Grey's harsh style as he was. 

"Your brother would not want you dead, if he loved you as much as you do him." Yes, emotional blackmail was probably the trick. "Especially after having survived The Flood - trust me miss, this is not the Motherfather's will, nor is it your brother's desire." He cast a glance back at her pet. "Besides, one must be a special Kimeti to own a cheetah - it would not be possible to replace you in its heart so easily." Rise was a dab hoof at sentimentality, and he direly hoped that she too, was succeptible to appeals of this nature. 

"Please reconsider."  

[Jun D]

She had been so set in her intended course of action, the buck's impassioned defense rather confused her. She was also nothing if not gullible. "But..." she started, turning to stare bewilderedly at Far, "surely he would be...he would be happy... Come here, Far, come here."

The cheetah in question had already been alert, leaning forward with an intent gaze. At her entreaty, he started mewling, chirping most folornly. Of course, being but a cheetah it had no intimation of the high drama surrounding it, meaning nothing more than 'what's that - what's that - that guy is carrying meat! Good meat! I want that! Noooooo can't you make him come over here? I don't want to go in the water again, I'm sick of being wet. Whaaat? Do I have to get into the water to eat that? Noooo make him come over pleeeeease.' Without that knowledge, the scene seemed rather touching.  

[Maxx D]

Rise was moved, not understanding the mind of a cheetah and very frustratingly continuing to stand in stagnant water next to the doe. The more he watched it cry and mew and generally make a lot of noise, the more sorrow he felt for the poor creature, somehow [it seemed] understanding their words and refusing to leave the one he watched over. He turned back, eyes wide with empathy. "See then, your cheetah knows what you intend, and see how saddened it is! I found you, dear miss, by sighting your loyal cat," he related, imploring. "He stood guard, leading me to you: how dedicated it is, and how miserable it is at the very thought that you would leave him! Your cheetah - and I, convinced by his mourning - truly believe how special you are as a kin, and as his mistress. Surely after his tragic speech you can't possibly abandon him, not after all you two have been through?"  

[Jun D]

Despite having run with one for ages, Dark understood the cheetah mind no more than Rise did, and was just as moved, if not more so - not simply by her dear companion's heartrending cries, but the kind buck's ardent appeal. Slowly, by degrees, she reluctantly unfastened her dedication to her plan of death, and painfully swung it back towards the living. "Oh, Far," she grieved, ploughing through the water to where her cheetah cried, "I am sorry, my dearest friend. I had not thought you felt for me so. I am a fool." Nuzzling into his sleek fur, her tears rolled anew, "Forgive me, brother, I cannot join you now. I shall someday, when my friend is, too, at rest. Please wait for me, your sister loves you always. You are right, kind sir," she turned to Rise, "how could I abandon my companion, whom I had travelled with, hunted with, lived with, for so long? When he stole the fish I brought back from the sea, the first night we met, he was but a cub. I have not missed a day with him since. How could I cast him from my heart, simply because my heart no longer wishes to go on? You have shown me my folly - thank you."  

[Maxx D]

At this display and her words, Rise had a gracious smile fixed upon his face - joyous and benevolent. He was truly happy for this ending and the rescue of a doe, at the time, hopeless and dispairing. But now that the crisis had been averted, something else caught his attention.

"fish I brought back from the sea."
"fish I brought back from the sea."
"fish I brought back from the sea."

He caught the tail end of her long, sweet speech. "You are very welcome, miss - I am so glad that you've made the right decision for both of you. It would have been such a shame." The smile relaxed, and he asked, a little out of sorts, "and you catch fish from the sea?"  

[Jun D]

Sweet, simple soul that she was, Dark could never see a motive coming if it bludgeoned her upside the head. "Yes," she innocently replied, thinking nothing of his very specific interest, "I am a hunter by trade and a traveller by nature. I enjoy the rigours of a long journey, and the sea is so magnificent, I have - ...had long sought to convey it to my brother, and so I returned to it time and again. I...I never managed to, in the end, but I had often brought back fish that I thought he would enjoy. They taste rather different from the ones in the Swamp."  

[Maxx D]

"And see how special a Kimeti you are," Rise said, a bit dreamily. "I am terribly sorry to remind you of your brother, but I do hope that you can still find joy in your travels, after the ground settles from the flood, and possibly bring even more joy to others..." He focused his bright eyes upon her, and said, "may I ask your name, please? I'm The Sun Also Rises, but everyone calls me Rise."  

[Jun D]

The Sun Also Rises... She couldn't help but smile, a little sadly, but comforted, at that piece of information. Even in name, he was not far off from her Light. One way or another, he had, indeed, been Swampsent.

"I am Dark is a Way," she inclined her head in greeting, "please call me Dark. And my dear companion is A Long Way - Far."  

[Maxx D]

"I'm glad I met you, Dark and Far." Oh, and he could be much, much gladder. "Though you may not be able to delight your brother with fish from the sea, I know many, many people you could make ever so happy on your travels. You see," Rise said rapturously - it was almost terrifying, how much he seemed to believe in the joy she (and good food) could bring, "I head a preservation and food enterprise, and we are in the business of making people happy." He sold by enthusiasm alone - a quick tear of meat for both the lady and her pet, and he continued. "What you will taste is the magic of salted meat, and we are always looking for more meats to expand our selection. More importantly though," his tone was solemn and sincere, "we are one big family - all of us, Kimeti of different blood. And I think, Dark, that we would be absolutely delighted to be family for you."  

[Jun D]

Many of the words he spoke flew over her head, and her smile while genuine, was a little baffled as she beckoned her cat (who splashed sulkily into the water, having had to have gotten wet anyway, with no reward) and followed the blazing buck's steps. But she had ever been trusting, and after all that had transpired, she could never think ill of him now. And if there was a place where she could be of use yet - well. Until she could peacefully leave this mortal coil to complete her soul, she would be glad to be led to this family of another kind.

*******

 

[Maxx D]

ii. My Trouble

The first time he saw her he could not look away. Rise had paused on his journey back, salamander cage in mouth, when he'd found a pretty doe standing in a clearing looking up a tree. It wasn't so much her he was looking at, but the curious string of naked birds she had draped across her shoulder. It was also the fact that, he noticed, there was a rock at her hoof as she looked up the tree.

He stood there tilting his head thoughtfully, wondering what she would do.

With one swift motion, the rock flew up, straight and true, briefly rustled through the leaves, and knocked a bunting straight off its perch. It fell motionless on the ground, and he watched her eye it critically - in a blur, she had plucked it entire and it was gleaming clean. She neatly added it to her sling.

Rise was completely in awe.

He galloped over quickly, spit his salamander cage out and exclaimed, "That was incredible! Astounding! Amazing!" and proceeded on the quickest, most desperate pitch he could muster: "I run a preservation and food enterprise and we would love to add birds to our roster. You are an amazing hunter please for Motherfather's sake come join our ranks of suppliers we would be so ecstatic to have you on board with your incredible bird-killing skills!"