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 Posted: Sun Feb 08, 2009 1:24 pm
Morning mist swirled beneath her paws as she moved through the jungle - her home - and formed when she breathed, hanging mid-air like puffs of irridescent cloud. The sun had not yet risen enough to shine dappled through the leaves overhead. Nor was it strong enough to dissipate the mist which hung thick across the vegetation she now traversed. The last few mornings had been like this, peaceful and cool, surprisingly cool, in fact. Maybe the sun was losing its strength, or maybe it was that she was used to the humidity.
In either case, the young leopardess moved easily across the ground. Another may have tripped or stumbled or circled round on himself. But not this one. She knew the jungle and she knew it well. She knew its secrets, its hiding places, she knew its beauty and its danger. It would take a lot to take her by surprise. She was accustomed to the screams of birds and monkeys somewhere high above her head. Used to seeing snakes slinking off into the foliage.
She was used to it and she loved it, but she hated it too. For though the jungle was her life. Though she loved it more than any place in the world, it also brought her that pang of loneliness.
There were man creatures in the jungle, but few leopards and it was rare for her to come across them in a place as dense and wide as this. She could wander for days, weeks, months and perhaps come across a scent of another. But, other than on a few occassions, she was alone.
Always alone.
Her name was Hera and she was a young adult leopard. She had a grace about her, a natural movement that made her seem at ease among the trees. And she was, for she could climb and adapt to difficult terrain without so much as a blink of an eye. And yet, where there had once been a permanent smile fixed on her face, there was now none. What was there, was sadness and it seemed deep and thick and as impenetrable as the mist that surrounded her.
She emerged at the bank of a stream and paused to drink, lapping thirstily. She was moving home, she'd decided, and today seemed like the best day for it. Quiet, calm and still. She'd been moving home for a while now, every few months, in hopes that she'd come across other leopards whom she could befriend. It had brought nothing so far but she wasn't one to give up so easily.
She stepped into the stream and raised her dripping muzzle to scent the air.
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Posted: Sun Feb 08, 2009 1:47 pm
His name was Ithildin, son of Mithrilion, and he was far from the jungles of his fathers. The stony grey leopard however moved through this one with ease, its sounds and scents not so very different from those of his native land. His coat blended in well with the silvered mists and he knew how to keep silent, knew too the plants that helped concealment. He was almost ghostlike as he explored, for he was a ranger and it was the way of life that had been handed down in his home prowl for generations.
He too was alone and also not by choice. A couple of seasons back the last of his band had been killed for his spotted pelt by man, one of many good friends and allies that were often missed these days. It was also one of the reasons he was being so careful to move undetected through this place. He knew that there were the two legged creatures here and did not wish to meet any of them. His grey-silver was his own and not for them to wear.
Ithildin did however have un-ghost-like needs and one of those was for a drink every now and then. He made his way to the nearest source of water, scenting a stream though the air was humid and following his nose to it. He stopped when he saw a female, red as any jungle bloom, quenching her own thirst there. It took a minute or two to decide to stop and greet her rather than forget the drink, to simply pass on through and try to avoid her notice.
“Good morning” Ithildin called over to the lady.
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Posted: Mon Feb 09, 2009 11:27 am
And through the heavy moisture she scented him, not quite believing her senses until she turned her head and spotted him. For a moment she thought she was seeing things. This one was the colour of mist, appearing from it as if a child of its making. A ghost of the morning doomed to fade with the rising sun. But no. He was real and he had spoken to her.
She dipped her head, suddenly shy, not knowing what to do or say. Her head was in a panic, her heart was in a flutter. She had waited for this moment for so long and now that it was here she had no idea what to do! Realising she should respond, she turned towards him, water pooling around her legs. Her golden eyes seemed to glow, seemed to lighten and she stepped towards him.
"Good morning." She repeated, lifting her whiskers and ears towards him. "Are you...are you real?" She shook her head, knowing how silly that must have sounded. "I can hardly believe my eyes. For so long I have searched for another leopard. So long without seeing one. Then, when I least expect it, you appear."
She raised her tail from the water and droplets rang a pretty tune on the surface. "I am Hera."
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Posted: Sat Feb 14, 2009 5:42 am
"I've been traveling long alone myself and could ask you the same - but as you are I am sure, I am most assuredly real, lady Hera. I'm Ithildin son of Mithrilion, at your service. " He bowed politely then and thought how his late mother would have smiled to see him using the good manners she'd drilled into him as a cub. It had been a long while since he'd had to use them and longer still since those distant lessons. It did him good to remember her, he thought, and it made his own smile soften. It was also heart lifting to see another one of his kind, especially when it had been so long and he'd been cautious about the nearby man-creatures.
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Posted: Fri Feb 27, 2009 5:15 am
(( sorry about the long wait ;o; I find it hard to keep up with rp in the rogue subforum. ))
"Nice to meet you." She chirped back. "And that's such a lovely name." She didn't mention that she'd never known her father. From what she could gather, family seemed quite important to him.
She moved closer. "This has been my home ever since I was little. I have done a little travelling but I found it a difficult task alone. The jungle is lonely but its the only place that has ever made me feel secure and safe. I like feeling closed in, as if nothing can see me or hurt me. It's far from the truth, of course, the jungle can be a dangerous place but...well...it's home." She smiled somewhat sheepishly.
"Now I'm dithering." Her smiled widened. "How long have you been travelling, Ithildin? I take it you've been far beyond the jungle?"
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