[PRP] Jam Session (Kachchi/Rio/Lume)

[Painted Moose]

Kachchi filled his lungs with the Earth's crisp air, and stood tall in his tree. Among the grasses and sparse foliage he had managed to set up camp for his small party; small being singular. After a long, tiring process of trying to convince his family to follow him out on his quest, the young male had branched out on his own. After all, why not? He was a grown adult! Surely now was just as good a time as any to seek his fortune.

Shifting on his branch, his tail thumped against the trunk once, then twice. He paused, then intentionally started to tap out a beat against the tree. Kachchi nodded his head, his paws moving on their own accord to tap out a rhythm on the branch. Soon enough the leopard was grooving in his tree, oblivious to the world around him.  

[The Captain Britain]

Painted Moose

Sorry! Didn't see that you had posted this! @.@

The two felines weaved their way through the trees, light on their feet and silent as the grave. Their paws barely made any impressions in the dirt, though their steps were sure and graceful. It was a dancer's grace, something that both the cats shared. The female, smaller and stockier than the male next to her, walked more quickly, rainbow wings flashing with colour as sunlight peeking through the trees danced along her fur. Rio, as she was called, turned back to scowl at her son. "Next time, hijito, I wish you to think before taunting those bigger than you. These fights are dangerous. Next time, you may lose a paw!" She scolded.
The male snorted in response, rolling his eyes. His face bore multiple scratches, his fur covering up bruises. Lume rolled his shoulders, his orange wing markings stretching with the motion. "It wasn't even that bad, Mama! Besides, I-" His mother cut him off, dark navy ears perked upwards.
"Do you hear that?" She whispered, listening to the sound of a beat. It was nearby. The leopardess shot off in the direction of the noise, leaving her son to sputter and chase after her. Rio stopped underneath a tree, glancing up at another leopard tapping out the drumming noise. Lume trotted up beside her, staring at the leopard with an eyebrow raised. "Grooving out there, buddy?" Her called up. Rio turned to cuff her son upside the head for messing up the stranger's concentration, but Lume skittered away to avoid it.  

[Painted Moose]

The Captain Britain

It's cool! C:

Ah! What a lovely pair. A leopardess, and a leotah, both with wings like the Gods themselves! How marvelous. Kachchi paused his beat just long enough to look at the pair before continuing. This time, however, he kept the volume to a low enough level so they could converse. "Actually, yes, I am." He smiled, his green eyes bright.

"Do you like it? I'm not sure if I do; it's not the kind of music I usually go for, but I felt the beat." He turned his paws on the branch, nimbly avoiding his tail as he turned. "Either of you wouldn't happen to know any musicians, would you? Dancers? Artists? I'm doing some research."  

[The Captain Britain]

Painted Moose

Rio gasped in delight at the stranger's words, her son rolling his eyes and groaning in the background. "Research? How exciting! Both my son and I are dancers. We would be happy to teach you what we know." The leopardess turned to her son with a stern gaze. "Won't we, hijito?" She asked with a threatening tone.
The young male scowled at his mother. He had no problem showing off his new-found dancing skills to strangers, but he hated being volunteered against his will. Not to mention he was still sore from his fight with that passing lion. He wondered if the big yellow blister was alright. Lume hadn't exactly left him in the best of shape..."Lume Flanco!" He mother hissed quietly.
"What? I mean, yes! Dancing, yeah, research. Good." The leotah answered quickly, finishing with a toothy grin.
Rio narrowed her eyes at her son, but looked away, satisfied with his answer. Sometimes she didn't know what to do with him.  

[Painted Moose]

The Captain Britain

"Are you, really? That's perfect!" Kachchi stopped his music, and stretched himself out along the length of the branch, his eager eyes soaking in the pair. The son obvious wasn't as pleased as his mother, but that was alright; he would come around. "Would you mind if I asked you some questions first?" Without waiting for her consent, he out the barrage. "Were your parents dancers? Has it been passed down through your family? Or are you two the only ones?" Then he turned his attention to Lume. "Have you always danced? What made you pick it up?"

With that, he bounced out of his tree, an eager smile on his face. "Thank you both so much for this! It really means a lot to me, and- oh my, what happened to you?" He turned his concerned gaze back to Lume. "Are you a fighter?" The way he asked it...was like a Scientist eyeing up his newest specimen.  

[The Captain Britain]

Painted Moose

Lume gave the stranger another wary expression and took a few steps forward. He didn't the way the leopard was looking at him. "Yeah, when I wanna be." The male answered curtly. Rio clucked disapprovingly behind him. Lume could just imagine the scowl on her face. "But I'm a dancer as well, like Mama." He relaxed his stance a little. The strange leopard hadn't made any motions to indicate an attack. Though he did still seem a little odd. Who would research dancing? "She's the one that taught me."
"As I was taught by my mother, and as she was taught by hers." Rio interjected, sitting next to her son. "Dancing in an art that has been passed down through my family for many generations." The female explained. Traditionally, it had only been through the females. Lume was the first one Rio knew of who had been taught. But she was starting a new tradition, and so far it had worked out wonderfully.  

[Painted Moose]

The Captain Britain

"My grandfather is too, a fighter, that is." Kachchi shook his head. "Actually, a good lot of my family is, which makes me the oddball, doesn't it?" He smiled. "Do you think dancing helps you to fight? I would imagine stretching your limbs would give you a speed advantage over any opponent."

Oooh, a family lineage! "How interesting." He logged the information back for later use. "May I ask if he is your only offspring, to have learned the art while being male? Or is it that you teach all of your cubs."  

[The Captain Britain]

Painted Moose

Rio sputtered at the idea of dancing helping out a fighter. But Lume cut her off, grinning proudly. "You bet it does! Some of the moves I know can even be used in battle if I just unsheathe my claws." Rio squawked in rage. "Plus it helps me dodge easier too. Sometimes they never even hit me!" Lume boasted proudly, his chest puffing out a little. Rio gave her son a warning growl, telling him to shut up.
"They might not, but I will be, hijito." She hissed under her breath. After receiving a sheepish smile from her son, she softened her expression and smiled at the stranger. "Traditionally, it is only the girls that are taught the dancing. This is what my Mamacita was told, and what she told me." Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Lume perk his ears and stare at her. Rio had never told her son any of this information. "However, my mother is long gone, and am I not of the same thinking. Whoever wants to learn will be taught." She punctuated her words with a confident nod. Lume looked away from his mother, starting at his paws contemplatively.  

[Painted Moose]

The Captain Britain

"Really? By unsheathing your claws, would you say that you are faster or slower?" This was perfect, absolutely perfect! He couldn't have asked for better subjects if the Gods themselves had been present. "Or is it that you unsheathe your claws when you're about to attack, but keep them sheathed as you dodge to gain additional speed?" Trapped in his musings, he was nearly blind to Rio's protests, until the latest growl snapped him out of it. "You really should be proud, you know," he spoke to her. "The only one in my family that could manage such a feat is my cousin, and she's a Leotah as well. Comes with the blood, I suppose. He's got natural talent."

A tradition of female dancers that changed with Lume. Or was it that it changed with Rio's mindset towards the gender inequality among dancers? "I think it would beneficial for you to keep that idea. Passing it onto daughters, while a tradition, limits the amount of dancing that be done. By opening it to your son you've given him an edge. It's in fighting, yes, but it's also an edge that will safe him from harm."  

[The Captain Britain]

Painted Moose

Lume was torn between the flurry of the leopard's questions and the warning glares from his mother. Rio had never liked fighting, preferring more peaceful ways of conflict resolution...like running away. He had been told by his mother countless of times that pointless fighting could interrupt the balance of nature and disrupt his ability to feel the energy around him. But what was he supposed to do? His mother hadn't started teaching him until he was closer to adulthood, and by then Lume had already developed a taste for scuffles and combat. Since he started learning, Lume would argue that he could sense the energy around him just as well as his mother could. After all, it wasn't too different than being aware of an opponent's position and trying to predict his movements. But Lume kept his mouth shut for his mother's sake, instead grinning at the praise from the stranger.
Rio, however, could barely manage a tight-lipped smile. She was aware of just how much of a feat fighting was, and of how dangerous it was as well. The dancer was going to have Lume's ear shredded later on, but for now she kept her focus on helping this stranger. "This is my believing as well. Dancing should be shared with as many as possible." Rio agreed sincerely. "And who can tell? Perhaps if more put their energy into dancing, there would be less bad things in the world."
Lume's darted over to his mother, scowling at the barely-subtle scolding. Whatever. He could ignore for it now. "So what's with all this research, huh? What's got you so interested in musicians and dancers like us?"The leotah asked.  

[Painted Moose]

The Captain Britain

Ah, the look of a disapproving mother. How he had basked in such a glow in his youth. The warnings, worries, threats...It made him miss her all the more. Maybe he would make his way back soon? It certainly would make him happy to see his family, and how they'd grown!

And maybe he would even gather some more information from them. "Oh yes, you have a point. Dancing lets out the same amount of stress as fighting, and with so much less bruises to account for." Kachchi nodded.

"Oh? I never really did explain, did I? Sorry. I've been interested in dancing since I was young, and when I started out my own I met another such dancer, though his style was completely different from my own. So, I became curious. How many other styles were there? Or music, for that matter? Or song? The performing arts are too small to just find out a little bit of information and call it a day. I'll never know it all, but maybe one day I'll come close."

He stood and stretched, popping his shoulders. "Be that as it may, I would love to chat with you more, but I really should be off. It's been far too long since I've hunted, and you can't learn on an empty stomach."  

[The Captain Britain]

Painted Moose

Last from me!

Lume received a pointed look from his mother. "Is a shame you have to go. There is much that can be learned from scholarly types such as you." It was her way of not-so-subtly saying that Lume should listen to the leopard and knock off the brawling. But fighting was as much in his blood as dancing was. One day Rio would appreciate his other talents, Lume was sure. And that day could not come soon enough. "Can't do much at all on an empty stomach." Lume drawled in agreement, giving his mother his own pointed look. His mother was always telling him to watch how much he ate, else it would hamper his dancing abilities. An elephant cannot dance as well as a gazelle, she would always say as Lume stuffed his face. "But good luck with your research and all. Hope it goes well."

"Indeed. It is heartening to hear of so many in pursuit of the arts, no?" Rio smiled, ignoring her son's look. He would learn one day, just like this researcher. And who knew, perhaps Rio would learn something too. "Come, Lume." Rio led her son off with a flick of her tail. She wanted to find some nice flat, clear ground to run some routines on. "See ya mate! Have a good one!" And maybe some place Lume could chat with someone his own age.