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 Posted: Fri Mar 27, 2009 11:35 pm
Although Kiarra found herself more exhausted with each passing day, her gloom didn't slow theirs cubs' amazing growth rate in the least. With such an Affectionate and devoted father, the cubs seemed to bloom before their very eyes; their awkward movements, driven by instincts, slowly sharpening into fine skills.
As she began to fully awaken, Kiarra let her eyes gaze over her snoozing family...Contentment soon flooded her heart, as she let out a murmur-like purr. A small, rhythmic, squeak began to stir in her ears, she watched the closet cub, Mahoto, twitch in his sleep...His deep breaths made a strange sound every time he exhaled, she tried her hardest to stifle her laughter.
As quiet as a leaf, gently breezing in the wind, she pulled herself from the slumbering family, pausing as she moved past Monty; she leaned down and gently ran her tongue against his muffled cheek.
Satisfied, Kiarra crept underneath the broken shadows of hundreds of trees, slowly making her way down river for a morning drink.
She cautiously neared the water, lowering her body carefully and allowing herself to drink. As she stared at the rippled her tongue created, a flash of movement across river caught her attention.
Pausing slightly, Kiarra felt the feeling of 'being watched' creep over her silently...Her eyes locked straight ahead; there stood a dark-coated, slightly spotted male, and he was looking staring straight at her.
Kiarras heart raced; rogue males could pose extreme danger to cubs...if they knew where to find them.
Calm and collected, Kiarra smiled as she raised her head, aknowledging the stranger....Yet unknown male barely moved an inch; he seemed frozen...feer..anger...? She couldn't tell... Uneasy, Kiarra leaned down for one last sip, her eyes unmoving from the potential danger, before heading back to the family.
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Posted: Fri Mar 27, 2009 11:49 pm
Montgomery purred softly when Kiarra licked his cheek, still drowsily tired from a late hunt the previous night, and he shifted slightly to let her past, rumbling a friendly little growl deep in his throat as he curled back around their sleeping cubs. The den was warm and comfortable, and smelled of their growing family, and his beautiful, loving mate.
For a few minutes all was sedate and quiet, but he picked up a vague sense of unease... what in the world was that all about? His first instinct, of course, was to bolt from the cave to go find Kiarra, he had long since learned to trust his intuition about such things, but the presence of their still-young cubs tempered that urge. Instead, he moved toward the den entrance, automatically in the slow, fluid motion he used when he was stalking prey, his gray and silver dapples blending into the shadows.
He knew inteligently that Kiarra was a grown female, and could take care of herself, but he still wanted to race to her side, to get between her and whatever was out there, a wall of claws, teeth and fur between her and any threat. The cubs, he reminded himself, needed protection far more than his mate, whatever his mind wanted him to do. He would simply have to trust her to do what she needed, as she knew he would guard their den.
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Posted: Sat Mar 28, 2009 12:11 am
Kiarras uneasiness seemed to grow with every passing second beneath the strangers gaze; what was his problem? It wasn't exactly uncommon to run into strangers...It tended to happen from time to time, spotting others in the distance... Many wander the boundaries of their territory, yet only fools would make their presence to pronounced... Food wasn't exactly scarce this time of year, and was evenly spread out throughout the jungle.
Distracted by her thoughts, Kiarra let her concentration slip from the unknown one, and when her eyes darted for the familiar, frozen shape...she was met with confusion; he was gone.
Slightly paranoid, Kiarra stood in full force, her eyes desperately searching the distant foliage for the shadowy figure...he was no where to be found.
Unwilling to turn her back on such a threat, and simply lead him to her family, Kiarra bounded through the water...Hopefully to relieve some scent, then took the long way home, the 'nearly three times as LONG'-way home; underneath a waterfall...through the canopy above..Anything, to possibly help conceal her family.
She thought about telling Monty, yet...The thought of how concerned he would be, how much time he would dedicate to finding this intruder...it made her head swell with stress. He could simply of been passing through....caught off guard by her presence, surely he'd find one of their well placed scent-marks...
And with that, her heart eased a little.. She could see the den now, her pads seemed to thump the ground faster...She wanted to be home.
Damp and distracted, she returned to the den, eager to great the morning with the family.
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Posted: Sat Mar 28, 2009 12:24 am
Crouched in the shadows of the cave mouth, Montgomery spotted her fully fifty meters out, his eyes not locking onto her, but sweeping the treeline beyond her, and the canopy above. Clearer than words, her fast pace and damp form cued him in that there was something amiss. His claws flexed in their sheaths, powerful muscles tensed like a great spring, just waiting to explode into action.
As Kiarra entered the den, he flicked his ears and growled a comforting, friendly welcome, his eyes never leaving the jungle edge. "Kiarra, what's wrong?" He asked the question very quietly, barely a whisper. "You're soaked to the skin, and you look like you just ran a marathon. What happened out there?" His tone was slightly worried, and he spared a moment from survailing the jungle to look over at his mate, the familiar soft flicker of love in his eyes taking over from the slitted, laser-sharp hunter-vision he was watching the forest with.
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Posted: Sat Mar 28, 2009 12:41 am
The distress in his eyes greatly alarmed her, did he really know her so well? She barely knew herself these days..or recognized herself in the waters reflection anymore..the water....reflection......Stranger!
She quickly looked over her shoulder, her pants slowing to a normal pace.
"Nothing 'happened' love.." She said softly.. Her eyes stared at his mercilessly; she loved him fiercely when he was so concerned... so, Himself.
She was very sure of their safetly; she would dare never risk their babies... Yet still, she wondered if keeping this from him was really to his benifit...
This was their first time ever raising cubs..and the tole was obvious on both of their faces...Yet so was their love, ever stronger.
Almost as if to dismiss the current mood, Kiarra pouted her lips softly, folding her ears back as she leaned in to Monty, "You wouldn't let my fur dry so rediculously now, would you?" she cooed innocently, enjoying their momentary solitude together.
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Posted: Sat Mar 28, 2009 12:56 am
His posture relaxed slightly at her words, and he slowly slid out of the shadow, an eye still creeping across the woods for that inexplicable sense of something out of place... but it soon passed, and he rubbed his side up against Kiarra's, nuzzling his face into his love's side. "Of course not, I couldn't let that beautiful coat come to any kind of disorder." He smiled and purred softly, reaching his raspy tongue out to run along her cheek.
"That pout, darn it, I can't ever win when you do that." He chuckled and bathed her face and ears, purring happily. "Have I mentioned yet this morning that you're the most beautiful B'alam in the world?"
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Posted: Sat Mar 28, 2009 7:23 am
"I thought I heard you mumble something while you were dreaming..." She eyed him coyly, raising her chin ever so slightly for him to groom. She had been so preoccupied with the last few weeks, She really hadn't had the one on one time she was so used to receiving. Life was so much easier then, without the kits... Each decision she made affected only her...Each hunt...Each choice...Were now reflected upon her own family, without pause.
She remembered the lazy days they had spent together, the worry-free days... How they could simply up and decide to explore a new cave...A new part of the jungle. She reminisced..
And then....She cringed.
With a sigh, she reminded herself of how empty she had felt... Insecure and unsure. The day she met Monty, had briskly changed her life... And the richness he provided in her life was unsurpassed; All in all... All things accounted for, She was truly happy.
She pursed her lips as she purred fiercely, immersing herself in his touch.
'I love you..' Said her eyes, to his heart as she starred at him.
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Posted: Tue Mar 31, 2009 8:48 am
Montgomery smiled and murred, licking from her neck to the tip of her chin with slow, thorough swipes. "Perhaps, perhaps. I have such a beautiful mate that it's hard not to think of her in my dreams." He smiled and nuzzled her, his eyes smiling into hers. Since meeting her, he could barely even imagine being alone again, it seemed that everything he did was simply BETTER with Kiarra. It gave his hunts a little more purpose, made him just a tad stealthier and more patient, a little faster on the sprint... Everything was for him, her, and their kits now, part of something greater than himself.
He cast an eye back farther into the cave where their growing kits slept soundly, a warm little glow in his heart. "Purrr, even soaking wet you're still the most beautiful female anywhere, you know that?" He carefully licked between her ears, working down the back of her neck, along the direction that the fur liked to lay.
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Posted: Thu Apr 23, 2009 1:54 pm
He always seemed to know exactly what to say to ease her worrisome heart.
She stood soundly for a moment, letting her breaths return to normal as he 'combed' her to perfection.
"Mommm...", a small meow erupted from the cave, "hun-grehh" It proceeded to inform. Her peace was short lived, but so were the woes of motherhood; she loved their cubs to the fullest. Before heading towards the cave, she lingered longer then she normally would; the kids were in the process of being weaned anyway.
"What will you be doing today Monty?" She asked her love, the sun was rising over-head, and made her eyes sparkle just a tad more. "Nothing to tiresome, I'm hoping?" She added, though she already knew the truth... Monty was a devoted father, and would sacrifice anything for the well being of his family. She realized, every day, how lucky she truly was.
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Posted: Wed May 06, 2009 11:29 pm
Her fur felt familiar and comfortable as he carefully straightened and dried it with his raspy tongue, gradually overlaying that odd feeling of something not being *quite* right. At their cub's voice he smiled and chuckled softly, nosing her flank with his muzzle. "Ah, now there's something I can't help you with, unfortunately." He grinned. "Little guys are growing fast, aren't they? Seems like just yesterday that they didn't even have their eyes open."
He purred quietly and gave her flank another lick, combing out the errant spot of fur that his nuzzle had displaced. "Today? Well, today I think I'm going to make a sweep down by the stream and see if any of those Tapir have come back. I've been hunting the upper slopes of the hills fairly hard recently, and the prey is starting to wise up to it." He grinned, showing his fangs slightly. "About time I remind them who's on top of the food chain, I think."
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Posted: Fri May 08, 2009 11:40 am
"Your on top of my food chain.." She reminded him, curling herself around his front. She pressed her face against his, dragging down his body with her own.
"Ew..." Said two little kittens at the mouth of the cage.. "Get a cave."
She paused and looked back at their cubs, a little surprised at their presence.
"We had our own cave" She purred out in laughter, "Two little monsters kinda took over.." She moved from Montys side to the front of him, then exaggeratedly jump into a hunting position with a body pressed to the ground.
She locked her eyes on the two kittens, who began to glance at each other with a mixture of fear and excitement. They tried their best to mimic her movements.
"I bet they taste delicious monty.." She shot him a goofy glance, then returned her attention to them. "Maybe you wont have to catch breakfast after all...." She play-growled, then bounded over to the cave, pouncing carefully directly over the kits. Her ears rang with their laughter...then was proceeded with sharp little bites.
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Posted: Mon May 11, 2009 11:22 pm
"Awwww!" He purred languidly, folding up against his beloved mate as she pulled him to the floor, then laughed softly at the little voice from farther back in the cave. "A couple of little monsters indeed! We better get them before they can pounce our kits!" He grinned and watched her pounce, wigging up on his belly to playfully bowl the kits over with his velvet-padded paw. They promptly swarmed right up his head, one of them perching right between his pointed ears, the other hanging off of his neck by her front paws.
"Awk! I'm being dragged away by a couple of vicious little monsters!" He mock-flailed on the floor, twitching his ears around teasingly.
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Posted: Tue May 12, 2009 4:00 pm
"Watch out kids.." She said in a low, excited voice as she locked onto Monty.
"Let your Mother show you how its done..." Mahoto grinned wildly, leaping over his sister and finding a safe spot, eagerly watching his mum.
She lept an amazing distance, carefully pouncing Monty, pinning his shoulders to the ground.
She stood lovingly over him at the mouth of the cave. As she leaned in for a playful kiss, a familiar, yet strange figure appeared in her peripheral vision above them.
Her face went from pure relaxation, to complete fear; the spotted b'alam that had surprised her at the river, now stood directly onto the mountain top above their cave, only dozens of feet away.
"Kiarra" The stranger called out, "We need to speak.." he finished with a loud, serious tone.
Kiarra stood motionless, shocked at the fact that that he stood before her now, and that he knew her name. Without a second thought, she jumped infront of the kittens, keeping them directly behind herself. She puffed her chest and hissed with her teeth, threatening to do damage.
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Posted: Wed May 13, 2009 12:55 am
A laugh and a playful "mrowl!" accompanied Kiarra's pounce, as he folded to the floor in a crumpling, fuzzy heap. "Oh noes, I've been pounced by such a vicious, deadly femal..."
The voice cut off his reply, and he saw Kiarra's face go from happy to deadly in the span of an instant. As she jumped back to protect the kittens, he was evaluating his options... which were quite a bit better than they might have seemed at first glance, really. Since he was already on the floor, it took only a split-second to shift his paws from 'relaxed' to 'ready', and his rear claws extended to provide a better grip for a pounce. His ears flicked back, locking down across his skull automatically to keep them out of the way, and his tail lashed out behind his body in a classic 'hunter' posture.
Given the angles... he was certain that he had the first pounce. The stranger would have to pounce down the hill, which would give him momentum, but rob his fine directional control in the last seconds of his attack, which he knew he could use to position himself in defense and counter-attack. If he pounced in, Kiarra would only have to hold for an instant before he was on the stranger's back, and that would be a fatal moment for an aggressor. ... Of course, that was fairly plainly visible, so the new male would have to know that... He would be the first target in an attack, almost certainly.
With that resolved in the time it took for him to come into a ready stance and Kiarra to move for guard position, he bared his fangs and snarled up the hill to the stranger. "This is OUR den, stranger. Feel free to pass through near the river, or up on the ridge, but this is OURS. Come closer, and embrace your end."
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Posted: Sat Jul 04, 2009 7:48 pm
She stared at this lone male...Then actually took a look into his eyes. A sense of familiarity...of a past acquaintance, seemed to grip her thoughts. Puzzled, she fought her mind for answers...Did she really know him?
She glanced over to Komi, then slowly accompanied his side, never breaking eye-contact as she continued to study him.
Then, It hit her...
"..father? Could it really be you?" She questioned, her eyes brimming with pain. She held everything back ofcourse, and forced herself upright...
The dark male couldn't help but hide an excited smile, at the sound of his recognition. He bowed his head softly, then half sat, curling his unusually long tail around him.
Mahotto, as was his tendency, couldn't hold himself back anymore. Plopping his head between Kiarras arms, he strutted through to meet the strange b'alam; it was the only other cat that he had ever seen.
Before he was able to move too much farther, Kiarra stomped a large paw on the tuff of his tail.
"Hush little one..." She said in an affirmative tone.
"Well Kantos...You might as well tell us all. We're a family...We don't just LEAVE anyone out..." Kiarra adressed flatly...She thought she would never speak his name again.
With a shake of his head, Kantos announced "Your mother has passed Kiarra... And I thought I would inform you. Her territory is now yours, if you should so choose to have it.."
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