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 Posted: Fri May 28, 2010 4:02 pm
Thea smiled softly at the kit, nodding over to the rabbit that the twin-ish sisters just brought down. "Here, come, little React, and have something to eat," Thea said, struggling to her feet--pregnancy did not help her balance or spry...ness?
Shaking her head to clear it, Thea made sure React was with the other two, then told them, "If you'll excuse me, ladies...React, please, eat however much you would like, I will be back in just a few minutes," Thea said with a small smile. Once she made sure that the two older vixens had been introduced and React was as comfortable as possible, Thea slippped away.
"I am thinking tonight is as good a night as any," Thea murmured to Anjafey before hefting herself over to the middle of the meadow.
"Excuse me," Thea said, far too quiet for anyone to have heard her. "Ex-cuse- me." There, that would be louder. Everyone heard her, this time, even Ari and Nato, which is good because...well...
"Ari? If...if we could have your attention..." Thea said, her voice faltering slightly.
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Posted: Fri May 28, 2010 4:22 pm
((Happy pg 100~ Julie will get the main page prize, but all active tribe members will get something for having helped us reach this landmark! <3 (Prizes are a secret for now~)))
"Thank you, Nato."
If it hadn't been for the care of his friend after the Moon Fox had made her announcement...Ari didn't want to think about what sort of condition he, or the rest of the tribe, would be in right then.
He had put a lot of undue pressure on Nato while he was...while he had been...whatever that state was. Not really alive, not really dead...a zombie. While he had been a zombie.
He didn't know if he could ever express his gratitude to Nato. He was trying to think of ways, but Thea's announcement broke into his thoughts.
"Yes, Thea?" he encouraged her, wondering what she wanted to speak to the whole tribe about.
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Posted: Fri May 28, 2010 4:27 pm
React followed Thea over to the other two vixens. Her mouth watered at the freshly killed rabbit, but she was able to hold herself back long enough to say "Hellos" and be introduced to Kin'iro and Yudoku. With a big smile and a 'Thank you!" she began to tear into the rabbit.
-*-*-*-
Michie woke up slowly, stretching himself full out on his favored tree branch. Blinking and rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he scanned the tribe area with a lazy gaze. He noticed a new kit with the twin sisters, and decided he would have to soon introduce himself. New kits were always fun to play with.
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Posted: Fri May 28, 2010 4:39 pm
Thea swallowed thickly, nervous still--she hated being a public speaker, but Anja was right--Ari wouldn't appreciate this surprise of theirs if it came soley from her.
"I...well, we, wanted to...to tell you something," Thea said, shifting her more-than-usual weight from foot to foot.
"We wanted to tell you...happy birthday?" Thea tried with a winning smile, nudging Anja gently. "We didn't know when the actual date of your birth was, neither of us, but we wanted to...to do something that would maybe...maybe make you happy?" Thea tried hesitantly, feeling herself blush again.
"Anja should have the things we gathered?" Thea asked, looking at her new sort-of-she-wished-maybe friend. Thea knew it wasn't much, what they'd done, but...Thea just hoped he would like them.
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Posted: Fri May 28, 2010 8:57 pm
Well this was going splendidly.
The truth was, none of this was really her doing. Yes, she'd gathered things the pregnant Thea couldn't, but still. Too much was going on in the purple and blue's vixens head right now to get into the spirit of planning a...."birthday party" for an Elder who tensed every time he even saw her. The female truly felt for Ari right now, and wished she could help, but she knew that he would always be accusing her of foul play.
At least she had Nato. Kazuki had been her biggest ally, and now he was just...gone. There was no hope of her friend returning, and no hope of really ever entering Ari's good graces again. Even now, with Nato and Thea as friends, she was still a borderline member.
Once more Anja avoided looking directly at Thea when she padded past her to get the food they gathered. It wasn't out of shyness or disdain; it was out of intense jealousy. The other female, the other Carer was pregnant. Not only did Anja have no true children of her own, but Ari also tried to restrict her interactions with others' kits. The vixen was cut off in every way from her instincts, and Thea, even if she couldn't help it, was a giant slap in the face sometimes.
Pushing back her mental dwellings for a moment, the oldest female in the tribe (with Amira now missing), disappeared into the treeline for a moment before reappearing, dragging a woven sheet of leaves covered in Ari's favorite foods with her teeth. She set it down near Ari, then offered him a weak smile, unable to procure much more than that in his presence. He still unnerved her.
"Happy birthday, Ari," she said quietly before retreating to Nato's side. The vixen gave him a friendly nuzzle, then glanced sideways back at the scene with Thea and Ari.
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Posted: Fri May 28, 2010 9:37 pm
Thea could sense her fellow Carer's tension with her, but she didn't know what she could do to fix that at the moment, or else she would be trying to do that, too.
"Hope you're hu...oh..." Thea said, blinking in surprise as her legs fell out from under her. Ou...ch? Looking down, Thea realized why there was a sudden pain in her stomach and why her vision was fuzzy and why it felt like she was about to explode.
She was giving birth.
"Happy birthday to them too," Thea whispered breathlessly as one...two...three? little...
Oh, deities, that hurt...
"Sorry...Ari," Thea whispered, her claws extending and digging into the ground. She felt...very weird...
But then Thea looked back down and there were three little BCRs. -Her- three little BCRs.
"Oh," Thea whispered in surprise, exhaling loudly. "They're...Ari, Anja, they're here..."
And Thea looked up at her two only and best friends and smiled, very slowly. So this is what being a mom felt like...
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Posted: Tue Jun 01, 2010 11:44 am
React watched the 'birthday' announcement as she quietly ate, her small eyes taking in the whole scene. As she finished up her fill of rabbit and started to clean herself, she noticed Thea contort in pain. Alarmed, the small black kit cocked her head as she watched. After a few moments, however, she calmed down, as she noticed the three small BCRs beside Thea. Smiling, she trotted over and sat a small ways away from the white vixen and her new babies.
"Hurray!" she said softly, her tail flipping gently in the dirt happily.
~*~*~*~
Michie watched on as well, but wasn't quite as alarmed at Thea's birth. He had seen kit-birth before. Fluttering down on his tiny wings, he landed a couple feet from Ari. "Happy Birthday!" He said happily, offering his elder a small smile and a quick nod before joining the small circle forming around Thea and her new family.
"Congratulations!" He said. "They are so cute! Happy birthday to them, too!"
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Posted: Tue Jun 01, 2010 1:37 pm
Well, he was definitely surprised by the party all right. It took him a minute to even pull himself together to tell Thea (well, and Anjafey too, he supposed, but she barely counted) "Thanks".
And then to add even more to the night that had only barely just begun, Thea's kits had arrived, adding to the excitement.
"Congratulations," he told her, smiling down at the 3 BCRs.
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Posted: Tue Jun 01, 2010 5:00 pm
Thea blinked in surprise at the group of foxes that had gathered around her, blushing lightly in spite of herself. "Thank you," Thea murmured in a quiet voice, though she quickly remembered why everyone had been here in the first place.
"But...tonight is about Ari," Thea reminded the others, smiling softly in return up at her big fluffy friend. Keeping her eyes on Ari, Thea continued quietly, "Anja? Would...um..." Thea finally looked back at the purple vixen and offered a small, hesitant smile. "Would you mind terribly getting them set up in one of the caves, where Reyes, Victoria and Fitzroy were put before? My legs are a bit shaky still..." Then she glanced at Ari again and met his eyes, hoping he would understand what she was saying as she looked back at Anja and continued, "Unless you think a different one would be better,"
And none of that was a lie, either. Thea truly didn't think she could stand on her own two feet, and Anjafey was the only other person besides Ari she would really trust her children (her children!) with.
As silence descended upon the group, Thea reprimanded him softly, "You should investigate that," Thea said, nodding over to the leaves. "It is your birthday, after all,"
With that, Thea smiled softly over at the little kit and the perma-kit, repeating, "Thank you both. Here, come, would you like to see them before they get put to bed?" This was mainly directed at little React, for she knew that Michie had seen kits be born before and was thus less excited by the whole ordeal.
Though Thea had to admit, she was with React on this one--her children had just been born. All the feelings that were washing over her were completely indescribable and completely amazing.
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Posted: Tue Jun 01, 2010 5:16 pm
Forget a different cave, Ari thought a different fox would be better.
"Your children are more important, I'll take them to the cave," he told her firmly. While Anjafey had been a carer once, that had been a lifetime ago, back before she had revealed her true, unstable, insane, and downright violent nature to him, and the rest of the tribe.
If Anjafey were left alone with them...he didn't want to think about what the vixen might do. All of his scenarios ended up with the poor BCRs cracked open, and their fragile occupants dead, though.
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Posted: Tue Jun 01, 2010 5:22 pm
Thea met his eyes again, hers flashing dangerously as she answered him, slowly and carefully, but with a weight perhaps not heard from Thea before, "No, Ari."
That was the first time she could recall ever saying no. To anyone. Ever. But this was important.
"No. I would like Anja to take them, please, and for you to enjoy your party. They are my children. I trust her, as I have always done." If Thea could've stood in defiance of her Elder, she would've, but she still didn't think her legs could hold her, and she doubted crushing her little babies before they were born hardly qualified as good mothering skills.
"They are my children," Thea repeated, much softer. "I have been a Carer for quite some time now, Ari, I believe I have developed a sense about safety for kits. If I did not think Anjafey was suited to care for my children and the others of this Tribe, I would not let her near them.
"As it is," Thea said with a small sigh, looking back at Anja, "Would you please take them? I do not want them to...be around fighting," Thea said much quieter, looking down at them. They were so small, so young, so safe away from everything bad in the world. She wanted them to say that way for as long as possible--she would not have the day of their birth be a bone of contention between anyone and anyone.
"Please," Thea repeated, not entirely sure whom she was asking.
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Posted: Tue Jun 01, 2010 5:29 pm
On the one hand, he wanted to keep Thea's kits safe, which included, in his opinion, keeping Anjafey as far away from them as possible.
But on the other hand, he trusted her. Trusted her judgment. And she said that she trusted Anjafey...
He had never seen her speak up like this before. Never seen her so defiant. It was obvious how much she wanted the purple vixen to be the one to care for her kits, rather than Ari. And that hurt, a little.
He knew that she just wanted him to enjoy himself, and enjoy the party...but he couldn't help but feeling as though she trusted the Anjafey more than she trusted him. For all he knew, that was right--he liked Thea, and they got along, but they could hardly be called friends. He knew little about her--such as whom she counted as her her friends.
In any case, she said she trusted Anjafey...
And there had been that one night, one that Thea surely hadn't heard about, as that had stayed between him and Anjafey and that mad red fox, that one night where Anjafey had seemed to turn sane for just a bit...
"Anjafey, you heard her, take the BCRs to the cave." His tone promised: 'if the least thing happens to them, I will hold you completely responsible'.
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Posted: Tue Jun 01, 2010 6:08 pm
Ari's doubt in her abilties left Anja unruffled. She didn't like the attitude he took towards her, but Anj was used to his doubts. He had refused to let her raise children since...well, since a long time ago.
"Congratulations," she said belatedly to Thea, voice nearly mute. It wasn't Ari that was making her hard to hear. It was the jealousy again.
But now was not the time for that. Even as she had kit-envy, her carer instincts came back to her, and Anja padded over to her friend and the three BCRs that had spotaneously decided to say hello.
"Rest, Thea, do not worry for their safety," she reassured the new mother. "I will stay with them until you are well enough to walk comfortable. Please, you must be careful for at least a couple of days." Thea already knew all of this, but Anja had seen motherhood instincts take over reason before. Thea would do herself and her kits no good if she attempted to walk the distance to the caves until at least the day after tomorrow.
The purple vixen stooped her head down and gently nosed the three BCRs. "Hello, little ones," she said in a soothing voice, simultaneously breathing warm air on to them. She knew they could hear her. "Do not fret, I will take care of you."
The carer gingerly slipped each between her teeth, taking good care not to jangle the balls the kits themselves slept in. Anja had learned before that with BCRs this new, warmth was a msut, and they wouldn't get enough from her leg or tail while she took them to the cave.
It was very clear that nothing was going to hurt these BCRs while she had a say so.
Anja turned and headed for the cave, ignoring Ari's piercing look in her direction. Let him spoil his birthday party wallowing about her if he wanted, Anjafey had more important things to worry about at the moment. She gave Nato a look that asked him to visit late rif he could, then walked at a slightly brisker pace, keen to get the BCRs to the safety of the caves.
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Posted: Tue Jun 01, 2010 8:00 pm
Thea let out a sigh of relief as Anj murmured reassuring words to her, nodding absently--she was half afraid that Ari would have a sudden change of heart and would charge after the purple vixen for Thea's kids.
"Thank you," Thea whispered up to Ari once Anja was out of earshot, meeting his eyes again. "I just..." Thea tried to curl up more about herself, but that hurt her stomach, so she decided to take Anja's advice and just lay still.
"I want what you said, Ari, before," Thea murmured very quietly, looking decidedly at her paws. If she could've, she would've stood up and walked away with Ari to give them some privacy, but such were things. "About them being raised by everyone, not just me and..." Thea caught herself quickly, the flame red blush returning to her cheeks--she had been about to say 'me and you', which not only would've been awkward, but presumptuous and rude as well: Ari was running a Tribe for the Moon's sake, he wasn't here to help her mother her children.
And that made her a little bit sad, because Thea thought that every kit should have a mother as well as a father, but Thea could not provide this last. As the only male besides Conundrum that Thea was close enough to consider a friend, someone she trusted, she realized she had sort of assumed that Ari would play an active roll in the kits' lives...
...But hadn't that been what he was trying to do? Why he wanted to keep them from Anjafey, however misguided that attempt was?
Letting out a small grumble of annoyance and achiness, Thea rested her head down on her paws and closed her eyes, silently willing for the party and people enjoying themselves to get on without her needing to open her eyes again.
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Posted: Tue Jun 01, 2010 10:33 pm
React's ears cocked and twitched as the adults argued. She kept her eyes trained on the BCRs, watching them intently until Anjafey gently scooped them up. React then turned her attention back to Thea. She looked uncomfortable, and React instantly did the only thing she could for the first female that had ever been nice to her; she curled into her side gently, hoping to offer warmth and comfort.
~*~*~
Michie watched Ari watch Anja walk away, and could feel the intense stress in his elder. He wished he could do something-anything- to help, but he knew that he would be no help.
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