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 Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2007 1:16 pm
Amani & Keeper RP 2: The Secret Room Quote: Amani followed Keeper inside with a little blush left over from before, and she smiled as she made her entrance. Upon walking inside, she froze and stared up at the intricately carved ceiling. She was in awe..and very much impressed by it.
"Your home is beautiful Keeper.." she managed to draw her eyes back down to look at him as she spoke, " You and your brother did all this..?" Quote: He nodded, "I dug out the entire den myself. Drey painted it. We both moved the things around." he loved the den, he worked so hard on it and would be crushed if it was destroyed. Fortunately, Drey reinforced the walls with wood. Amani was wonderful. Now in the light Keeper could see her for what she was, a female. Her colors and design were magnificant. Just looking at her made Keeper's fur turn purple...
"C-come this way." he said walking down the corridor to his chamber. His chamber's door was a cotton sheet that drapped down, he needed his privacy as well, right? The dragon lifted up the drap for the female to pass.
Unlike the rest of the den, Keeper's quarters was....different. The ground wasn't covered it was just dirt and the walls too. The ceiling however was covered in leaves. In one corner was the trunk of one of the trees outside. Between the roots was a bed of leaves that Keeper used. The room was natural no human modernization in it. "This is where I sleep, and you as well for the night if you wish it so." he offered. Quote: She smiled as she noticed Keeper turning purple and stammering..it was very cute to her.It amazed her that such a large, tough looking dustling like keeper could be so adorable.
Dipping her head down, she walked under the sheet as he held it open for her, taking a look at his room. " It's very impressive..and homey too", she said as she turns back to look at keeper, sitting down and wrapping her tail back around herself.
" This is much nicer than where I normally sleep" she says with a nod," Thank you for allowing me to stay..I wouldn't want to rob you of your bed though." Quote:
"Rob me of my bed? Oh no, why it's built for many dustlings. Before Drey had his room, this was the only one. I shared it with him so I made a rather large bed." he explained. His face turned blue to purple to deep red, now his fur did nothing to hid it.
Keeper walked to the center of the room and stood up on his hind legs. He outstretched his neck and his beak grabbed hold of something, a grin formed around the object. Pulling back, some of the leaves moved to form holes allowing the moonlight to come in and let them view the stars outside. "Made this myself, took me a while, but I did it." the process was done with a series of strings that pulled some leaves apart when the main one was pulled.
"We can...share it." he blushed. Quote: Amani smiled and gazed up at the sky, her own featherfur blushing to a darker pink. She just couldn't get over how sweet he was...the first dustling she meets and he's a nice one.
" You never cease to amaze me Keeper..", she said. And it was true, he wen't out of his way to be hospitable and kind to her. It was a lot to take in.
Slowly, she walked over to him and nuzzled him shyly. She couldn't resist..he's just too darn cute! "I'd like to share.." Quote: Keeper's soft azure turned crimson red when Amani nuzzled him, nuzzling was a sign of affection and he has never felt like this before. However, he didn't let it get to him. He smiled, "Then I can always keep you amazed." he said motioning over to his bed.
Keeper slowly walked to the bed and bowed a little wanting her to have her spot first, he wouldn't mind. Quote: Amani smiled back at Keeper and walked over to his bed, settling down on in lightly. She certainly didn't take up very much of it at all. She felt especially tiny in comparison to Keeper..but that didn't bother her anyhow. He was good company..only a large and hostile dustling would bother her.
This was also the first time Amani had ever had feelings for..well..anything for that matter. Keeper certainly wasn't alone there. With another soft smile and a blush, Amani motioned for Keeper to join her as she looked back up to the sky. Quote:
Keeper slowly crept onto the bedding and pulled himself close to Amani, tail swung over her for warmth. The female was so small compared to his bulk frame it was adorable! She was small, cute, pink, and so fragile. Keeper smiled at her and joined her gaze into the night sky. It was wonderful.
"THe stars are wonderful tonight." he said staring out into the endless sky. Quote: Amani was suprised again at how big he was, especially with how easily his tail covered her up. She sidles up closer to him and got nestled up against his side.Looking down from the stars, she leaned her head against his shoulder, nearly burying herself in his featherfur. The warmth was a very nice change for her. It surely beat sleeping in a cold tree alone. " Indeed they are..beautiful..". *she let out a contented sigh and closed her eyes. Quote: Keeper smiled down at her and pulled his arm over her. "Indeed they are, but nothing compared." his blue featherfur head leaned down into a nuzzle with a soft murr. He didn't know he was feeling this way, he had never felt it before with the other two females he met. Was this an ability that female Dustlings had? Inflatuate males? He could not seem to take his mix-match eyes off of her. Her pink feathers with it's brilliant colors and patterns. Her soulful eyes. He could not think of anything else but her.
But for some reason he didn't mind too much, he just recently started actually experience other Dustlings three nights ago. After having studied them through books, it was nice for a change. Keeper placed his head down onto the large leaves that formed the bed. "Amani, you should get some rest. We could get an early start tomorrow." Quote: Amani happily laid her head down beside Keepers, getting quite comfortable under his arm. She had to admit that she was quite smitten with keeper..she was under his spell as much as he was under hers, and that was saying something considering how much the pair of them were blushing and smiling.
With a quiet yawn and a smile, Amani adjusted herself one more time before drifing into sleep. " Goodnight Keeper..."
(( I think Amani is going to do a really good job of keeping Keeper busy when you bring a nebula tiger to the den lol )) Quote: ((Firstly the Starfox I got ^^))
Keeper murred and licked her. She was adorable and irresistable. Amani and Keeper sitting in a tree. L-I-C-K-I-N-G. First come loves, then comes a litter, then comes Drey's room into a dustling nursery.... Keeper laid his head softly over her's and quietly feel asleep. Tonight was wonderful and he could not imagine what tomorrow will be like. Quote: Amani awoke when the first ray of light shone down through Keeper's roof. She didn't dare move from her comfortable position..but instead she lay still under Keeper. She only moved noticeably when she stretched out her legs and back and took in a deep yawn.
Until Keeper awoke, she'd only enjoy his warmth and company in quiet. She didn't want to wake him before he had slept enough. Instead, she timidly licked at the featherfur of his neck, that being the only spot she can reach. Quote:
Soft snores came from Keeper, he won't be waking any time soon. He often slept in too. Often times when he finds Drey still sleeping he gets mad. Dunno why, just doesn't like others to sleep longer than he has.
Keeper murred at the soft licks and smiled. He rolled over onto his back laying sprawled on his and his guest's bed. Another snore and a deep breathe. Yup....not gonna wake any time soon. Quote: Amani noticed his little grin and quietly stood to stretch. With a mischievious smile, she sprung foreward and lightly pounced onto Keeper. She nuzzles and lightly licked at his neck, murring a little herself. She certainly wasn't heavy enough to cause him any discomfort..but she was heavy enough to get his attention. " Morning sleepyhead." she said with a smile. Quote: Keeper's bi-colored eyes shot opened when she spoke. Out of reaction from being on his back, he lunged forward switching the two's position and his beak closing around her neck. He pulled back with a grin, "Mornin'."
He stepped back onto the firm earth and stretched out his back with a pop here and there. He was sleeping so soundly too. He looked over to the female, "You know Amani, if you want to stay here it's fine with us. We don't have to build another room for you if you are fine here with me." he smiled softly, swinging his tail. A strange invitation but one nevertheless. Quote:
Amani lay sprawled on her back for a moment, rather stunned at his quick reflexes. After a moment she rolls over onto her side..bouncing back from the shock with a smile.
She smiled moreso at Keeper's offer and fluffs up her tail a little. Well..she was really comfortable around him..she didn't really want to be separated from him.
" I'd love to stay in here with you," she said with a nod, " but you won't need a guest room for anyone else?" She tilted her head a him a little, curious if his need for an extra room was to accomodate her alone. Quote: Keeper growled, "There won't be any other Dustlings around here..." he growled, "Just you, me and Drey." The male shot back from his little moment with a cough, "Sorry."
Keeper thought for a moment, "But unless you want to make guest room with me than that is alright." That meant he got to work out for the day AND along side of the female too. Two stones with one bird? Oh...wait....it's the other way. Keeper smiled at her, So adorable. Quote: Amani disregarded his little snap. She already could guess that he was very protective of those he was close to. That's not necissarily a bad thing.
With a little stretch, Amani stood up and walked over to him, nuzzling his shoulder a little. " I'd like that very much, I could use a workout" she nodded, " but where should we dig?" She took a look about his room an got an idea.
"How about..a branching off of this room..? Something more private?" she suggested with a slight smile. " Well..as long as it's only the three of us living here.." Quote: Keeper looked confused, "A branch off of this room? Why would we need that? If we ever do have guests then that will mean that others will have to go through this one to get to that one." that would sort of destroy the privacy factor..."I was thinking more of the wall to the left of the entrance, y'know, in the foyer?"
There was a large chamber when one entered the den, there was currently only three ways to go; back out, go to the left to the kitchen, or straight ahead down the hall to Drey's and Keeper's room. There was that blank wall to the right of the entrance, left if you are exiting the den, and was of currentl of no use. Quote:
Amani laughed quietly to herself and shook her head. He missed her little hint..but that was alright. It didn't bother her either way. She shrugged a little and stretched out her arms, warming them up for work. "Whatever you decide is best, Keeper. Your home after all." she nodded.
Maybe she should have winked and nudged him a little more.. Quote: Keeper's eyes widened, "Oh..." he chuckled. "Well, we can always make two rooms~" he grinned mischeviously. "That way Drey won't know." he added with a lick on her neck. Keeper was slow....a muscle-head, perhaps his brain wasn't there at the moment.
Keeper looked around the room. All there was were the dirt and the large tree in the corner. Where could he dig here where Drey could not find it? Well, Drey doesn't normally come in his room anyways but for safety percautions. "Where do you think we should start digging?" Quote:
Amani smiled when he caught on and nuzzled him in return before walking towards the tree trunk to size it up. She pawed at the ground by it,checking how far down the roots went.
"Well..maybe we should dig down a little..and the tree roots could cover the entrance?" She looked back at keeper and couldn't help but grin. He may be slightly on the slow side, but he was more than adorable enough to get away with it..he caught up with her and that's what was important. Quote: "I know, how about you start on that and I'll go make quick work of the other...."room". And I'll grab us something to eat." he smiled idiotically. Her intentions were unknown, but they couldn't be that bad....right?
Keeper slipped out of the room and entered the foyer. Now, finally, the wall that has bugged him for years, the one Drey forbade him to touch unless given a reason and now he does. Quickly, Keeper lashed out at the wall, pushing the dirt away and in moments a good feet was carved out. To make it larger he pushed out with his body and clawed at the walls. The male stepped back and looked at it. It was a horrible work, but he didn't care wasn't like someone was going to use it, right? Quickly Keeper slipped outside for a quick moment. Quote: Amani giggled a little at Keepers attitude and started digging downwards. All her time spent hunting had strengthened her muscles enough to make quick work of the dirst before her. At a slant, she started to carve out a little passage that would lead down to their little "hiding spot". She tried to make the passage big enough for Keeper to fit through..but it still may be a bit of a squeeze.
After a while of digging she started to level out the ground and carve out their room. She was unsure of exactly how large she should make it, so she lay down in the first half of the new room and rested, waiting for keeper to come back before she went any further. Quote: Keeper happily returned to the den site with a few fish in his beak. He circled around the tree above his room and slipped into one of the sun-roof crevasses. Upon entering it would seem that Amani disappeared. The male crawled over to his bed and lefted one side up with his tail and started to dig into where the roots met the dirt. Luckily, it the leaves were quite large and pretty heavy so Drey couldn't use that entrance anyways. The dragon dug small enough hole for him, a tight squeeze, and he slipped into Amani's hiding place. His head peeked through the hole and dropped the meal down. This hole will be for a quick escape from his bed.
"Hey, I got breakfast." he spoke slipping in completely. The room was rather....small, Keeper had to stay low on all fours to feel a minimal level of comfortability. "Rather small don't you think?" he asked jokingly. Quote:
Amani stood with a smile and greeted him with a lick to the side of his neck. She laughed a little to herself at his comment. " I promise, It's not done yet..I was just taking a break." She nodded a little, " I was wanting to see how much bigger I should make it for you."
She sized him up quickly and laughed a little to herself. " A lot bigger it seems.." Quote: Keeper whined at her comment. He wasn't that big was he? Sure he was tall, but that is normal for males. Sure he was big, but that is normal for males. Sure he was strong and bulky, but that is normal for males.....he's probably wishing he wasn't. "Heh now I am here to help out." he smiled returning the kiss.
He pushed a relatively large share to the game to his female companion leaving him with only two. "Here ya go, eat up, Amani." the male grinned as he played with his food. He wanted to make sure she liked them first before devouring his own. Quote:
*Amani smiled back at him and settled herself down. She was glad Keeper was as big as he was..he's like a big teddy bear..much more to love she thought with a nod.
"Thank you Keeper." She bent down to eat at her fish, putting on her manners for Keeper..she really didn't want to look like a slob in front of him. She enjoyed her fish a good deal, but didn't need as much food as he had pushed her way since she was so tiny. " I'm sure you need more than two..don't starve yourself.." Pushing the remaining fish his way, she sidled up closer to him, relaxing and letting her food settle. Quote: Keeper smiled, she was nice , he bent down and devoured the fish in a single gulp, something Drey told him not to do but still did anyways. Now that the meal was done what to do now? Keeper's bi-colored eyes looked at the small room. It's so cramped in here...
The male pushed out with his bulky frame, compacting the dirt to make it slightly bigger for him to move. The chamber was slightly bigger now so Keeper could move his limbs about. "Heh, back to work I go." he said with a smile as he pushed his paws against the wall. Quickly he leveled down the wall, making it bigger and slightly deeper. He slowly started around the room, "You just rest there, Amani." he said as he finished his cycle around the room. Their secret room was now more comfortable. The ceiling was high and the ground was leveled. But something stilled seemed wrong with it. Keeper sat his butt down and looked around with a confused look. Quote: Amani noticed Keepers confused look and sat up as well, taking a look around. " Hmmm...," she looked up tp keeper, "We're missing something aren't we..?"
After a moment she stood up and walked to the center of the room. She pawed at the dirt there and started digging, making a round hollow in the floor..the makings of another bed, big enough for the two of them. Surely once they filled it up it'd be more comfortable to relax in. "What else do we need..?" Quote:
Keeper looked disgusted with the thought, "Do we have to use leaves....I mean we have some up....up....tunnel, but can't we use something else?" Keeper felt sort of stupid asking a question such like that. What else could they fill it with, water? fur?...grass?
Keeper was really bad with decoration and design. His room above them was only possible with Drey's idea, he just done it himself. He couldn't really think of anything for this one. He needed an excuse. "Um...I'm gonna go, uh, widen the tunnel entrance a bit." with that he quietly, and nerviously slipped away to widen the den.
((They can still talk, it will just be that Amani will be talking to his back side since he's...well you know blaugh )) Quote: Amani blinked a little and looked about the den with a shrug. Maybe fur was a good idea..it certainly was a lot softer than leaves..and it didn't dry up and get all brown and crinkly either. Perfect!
Amani slipped up out of the their new room and made a break for the exit, looking for something soft and furry..like rabbits. Quote: Keeper, finally satisfied with his wide yet still unnoticable tunnel, turned back into their secret quarters. His heart sank to find that Amani disappeared. Was it something he did? The two just met and the two spent a night together and now....now she's gone? Keeper's heart sank to the very bottom...he wasn't going to lose her that easily.
Keeper peeked his head up through the hole under his head, she wasn't in his room. Quickly he slipped out of the den and went out to look for her.
~
An hour has gone by and no Amani in sight....Keeper sat by the Lake staring down at his reflection thinking that something about him drove her away... Quote: Tired, Amani carried her beak-full of rabbit skins back towards the lake, spotting Keeper and cheerfully trotting over in his direction. She tried to mumble her greeting through all the rabbit fur but eventually had to set the skins down at his feet to talk.
"I brought these for our room" she beamed, looking particularly proud of herself for brinking in so many pelts at once. It was quite a load for her to carry. She noticed his down expression and leaned closer to him, nuzzling his shoulder. "Is something wrong..?" Quote:
Keeper's eyes lit up with glee when he saw Amani's pink featherfur reflection. He quickly jumped her, "Amani!" he shouted burying his large beak into her featherfur. "I though...I thought I lost you." he cried. "When I was done with the tunnel, I didn't see you and I thought you...I thought you...." he trailed off not wanting to say the words himself. For a brute he was quite emotional. Quote: Amani's eyes widened in suprise when se jusmped on her, but she soon relaxed and nuzzled him in return. She licked and comforted him the best she could, making note to not run off again.
" I wouldn't do that to you Keeper..I'm sorry I scared you..I just wanted to get things for our new bed, that's all", she said with a nod. Quote: Keeper smiled. He pulled off of her and picked up the rabbit pelts into his beak and turned to Amani with a grin. He dipped his head down and in a single move tossed the female onto his back. She was pretty small and very light, just how Keeper liked it nothing to strain himself with. Slowly he returned to the den.
Back in his room, Keeper laid down to let Amani off and dropped the pelts. "I don't want you to walk around too much, you might get tired." he teased with a murr. He reached up to her and nipped at her softly. Quote: Amani again went wide-eyed and clung to Keeper tightly while he carried her to the den. When he laid down, she slipped off to the side and rubbed against his shoulder. "You're so considerate.." she said, nipping at him in return and bending to pick up the rabbit skins in her beak.
Playfully, she walks foreward and slips down into their new room, brushing her tail against Keeper softly as she passes him. Quote:
Keeper's body stired in delight when she pasted him and disappeared. He quickly followed behind her. She was amazing, the only Dustling that he liked was here in his room. Maybe he should ask her....if not now then when? Now would be best.
Keeper crept up close to her body and nuzzled her, "Amani..." Quote: Pausing, Amani set the rabbit skins down in the hollow she made and turned to Keeper a little. Murring quietly, she nuzzled him in return and gave him a little lick on the side of the neck. He seemed so timid..his question really must be important. She even got a little anxious, curious about exactly what kind of important question he was going to ask.
"Hmmmm..? What is it..?" she purred, looking him curiously in the eyes. Quote:
"Would you...." he broke off to tell himself that he had to ask, "Would you stay here with me?" he asked a hint a of fear of rejection in his voice. He didn't care what Drey would say, he wanted Amani nearby. "I want you next to me, Amani." Quote: Amani brightened a great deal at his question. He's such a sweetheart! Excitedly she stepped closer and nuzzled him affectionately. "Oh Keeper..stay?" she asked, licking at his neck and murring, " I never wanted to leave.." Quote: Keeper jumped her down to their new fur laid bed. He licked her and nuzzled her. "Thank you." he murred down at her. Keeper rolled over beside her and stared into her endless eyes. He could stare forever, she was simply beautiful. "I am glad you're staying."
Keeper pulled up close to her and murred from her warm Quote: Amani grinned and nuzzled and licked him back in return. She had never been so happy, or felt so warm and safe before. It was wonderful. She wrapped her tail around herself and cuddled up to his side, getting very comfy. " I'm glad to be staying with you.." she smiled, before closing her eyes and licking his neck. Quote: Keeper was so tired. A day of working out with his companion. A day's worth of worry in a single moment. A day of comfort, warm, and acception. He wanted to fall alseep, fall asleep next to the very female that he had....fallen in love with. He draped his tail over her small lithe body and brough his head onto her bosm. "Anami....." he trailed off, building, preparing, himself for this moment, "I love you..." Quote: Amani smiled and fluffed up her featherfur a little..she was getting that warm and fuzzy feeling as she stayed rested against him. There wasn't any denying it, Keeper had her all to himself. It'd take six steel crobars to separate them even an inch. She bent her head down and licked his cheek with a warm smile.
" I love you too.." Quote: Keeper rested peacefully with his innocent dreams of the pair. All his life he has grown so attached to Drey that he thought that he'd never meet or share the same level of love for another. Now Amani has taken Drey's love to an even higher level. Was it instinct? Was it just that she was a Dustling like himself? No....it was simply love.
A soft smile crawled onto his beak. He was finally, truely, and forever happy. Quote: Amani drifted off to sleep after getting cuddled up against him. She could rest easy now..she had a home..a warm place to sleep..and a sweet dustling to sleep beside and share the warmth with. She had never been in love before, but she could tell that this was it.. fate led her right to Keeper and she wasn't going to question it, because it felt absolutely perfect.
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Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2007 1:17 pm
Amai & Keeper RP 3: The Meeting The morning sun rose high above the desert sands, reflecting it's rays off the Lake's glass-like surface. Drey felt guilty leaving Keeper home alone for so long. He brought back a book for the Dustling to look at for a while. Keeper was coming to that age, but in truth, he had already reached it and Drey was in denial.
Drey was only 6 feet tall and rather slim for a adolecent. He didn't do much physical stuff other than play with Keeper and luge around his books and documents. He always wore the same clothes, he just had many pairs of them. The boy was only turning the cub when he noticed many footprints coming to and from the den, the one that stood out was the smaller pair. Did Keeper....bring a friend? he thought, but dismissed it remembering what he told him before, "I'll kill anyone who comes into our den." he mimicked in a mocking tone but then laughed it off.
Inside he saw that the wall right of the entrance, left if exiting, was clawed and dug out slightly. Drey warned Keeper to stay away from that wall. He dropped off his things, books, documents, and Keeper's gift in his room and then stormed off to Keeper's.
"KEEPER!" he shouted out, bursting into his room. Oddly, the dragon wasn't there. He looked around to see that the leaves of the ceiling have been opened and Keeper rarely did that unless it was dark out or he was sleeping in and forgot. "Keeper?" he called out. His bed was empty, was he out? "Keeper." he called again. Amani jerked and awoke from her restful sleep with a start. The suddon noise had certainly scared her. 'What was that noise..who's calling Keeper's name..?" she wondered. Warily she lifted her head, nuzzling Keeper's shoulder gently to wake him. If someone was calling him..he'd probably want to be awake for it.
Curiously she stood and slowly walked towards the entrance of their room, keeping herself hidden as to not give away the location of their room. The listened intently for the voice again. Keeper stirred, he opened one eye at a time. Amani was up and looked rather concerned. "Amani, what is it?" he asked. "What's wrong?" did he do something that perhaps offended the female? They said their three words last night, what could possibly be wrong within a 24 hour time period?
Then a scent reached, all the way down there. Drey. Keeper came up beside Amani with a gentle lick he returned to the center of the room and looked up at the gaping hole where the leaf bed covered it. He propped up on his hind legs and quickly jumped out so the human would not notice where he just came from. He replied with a snapping of his jaws.
"Keeper! There you are. I thought I told you not to touch that wall!" he shouted. "You deliberately disobeyed me. And worse, you allowed others to come into the den!?" Okay that last sentence didn't have any seriousness in it, but it added some....affect. "Who was it?"
Keeper scoffed and puffed his chest, standing his ground not giving Drey the dominance in this conversation.
"Not moving until you tell me."
Keeper growled, snapping his jaws again as a warning to bug off, throwing a quick glance at a lone pink featherfur under his foot. Where did that come from!? Amani tilted her head curiously at the voices above, and leaned up to try and get a better look at what was going on. Someone was shouting at Keeper, and her featherfur bristled at the thought of such an occurence. She could see a little of Keeper now. He looked slightly alarmed..and that worried her.
What was going on..?
Keeper gazed down at the feather and back at Drey. Uh oh.... He must've got it caught when they slept together. Keeper shook his head and dipped his head. Assuring him that there was no one else."Keeper, let me tell you something." he started, his voice of sincere and of importance. "There is all but one sin, Keeper. Do you know what it is? I'll tell you. It is theft. Blinding a man steals his right to see. Killing a man is stealing his life. Lying to man is stealing his right to truth. Do you understand? This sin, the one sin, that cannot be forgiven easily."Keeper seemed to submit under Drey's words. He just comitted that sin....four times in a span less than 30 minutes. Keeper whined and sighed. he looked over to the entrance. The male twirled his paw around asking the human to turn around.Drey shrugged and turned away. Amani peeked up at Keeper through the leaves of his bed, taking his words as her que to appear. Quietly she climbed up out of their secret room and landed lightly beside Keeper. Turning, she took a look at the new creature before her. She had never seen a human before..and she was curious of him. She kept close to Keeper's side and looked over at the human, unsure of what to expect from him.
'Was this Keeper's..brother..?' she thought.
Drey shrugged, he given him enough time. He turned around and his eyes lit up. Another Dustling! And it was a female too! She was so small compared to Keeper. He read that females are shorter than males. Perhaps she was below average and Keeper above. Her beautiful pink featherfur and the wonderful blue design.
"Keeper, a female?" he asked still confused and bewildered. Drey took a step.
Instant, out of reflex, Keeper stepped in front of Amani. He nodded.
"Where did you find it? She's a wonderful specimen!"
Keeper let out a growl from his body as if saying, 'She isn't a object for you to study, Drey.' he growled. He knew that if Drey, a Dustling fanatic, saw something he hasn't yet to see, then he'd jump at the first chance to examine it. He loves Amani, and didn't want anything to tear her from him. Amani kept close to Keepers side, suprised at Drey's enthusuasm. Curiously, she peeked her head out over Keeper's shoulder before moving closer to his ear. Worriedly, she whispered, " Keeper...what's a..specimin..?". This was the first time she had heard the term, but by how defensive Keeper was over the word, she was already sure she didn't want to be one.
Again she looked back over to Drey, trying to figure him out. 'Why had he called me an it..? I'm not a thing..' she thought. He certainly was an interesting creature..
"It's nothing, Amani." he whispered back. Keeper kept his bi-colored eyes on his human brother. For years, Keeper has seen what he does when he sees a Dustling. He would oogle over it, examine it's behavior and things like such. From those many years, he was able to learn their language, broken but still affective. Keeper laid down and curled himself protectively around Amani.
Drey was so excited, "Keeper found a mate?" he spoke. He brought out a small notepad from his back pocket and a pencil. He sketched a quick image of the two. A protective male and his female companion. Keeper cocked his head, but still kept his stern serious expression.
"Well, if it makes ya feel better, I'll leave you two alone. I've got something new to study." he smiled and left the room. His new topic, Dustling breedings and courtship.
Keeper's expression became of that of confused, "Well, that turned out better than I had planned." he turned his head to Amani, "he didn't say anything about you being here....so I guess you can stay then." he nuzzled along her. He was happy. Amani rested her head softly against the featherfur of Keeper's shoulder. She could relax now that she wasn't under the magnifying glass anymore. She smiles and took a deep breath, wondering what else Drey would be up to.
" Its a good thing we have a place to hide now isn't it..?" Amani laughed..though she was genuinely happy they had a private spot to stay. Undoubtedly Drey would be in and out from now on with his sketchbook in hand. She happily nuzzled Keeper in return and licked at his neck. They had their peace and quiet..for now.. "I guess so. Well, you were the smart one to make it no?" he said, licking at her neck. "I fell in love with the smart one~" he sang playfully. "If we are going to hide from my brother, then we need to work a little more on the other den." he murred. He nipped at her and slipped back into their hidden chambers.
The chamber was dimly lit. The only sources of light was that coming from the entrance, the trap hole he created was covered with leaves so no light from there. The male tried to think of something but it was hard to come up with a way to get light into the room 24/7 when needed. "Amani~" he whined.
Amani grinned and hopped back down into their new room to take a look about. The room was a bit dark for her..surely the bed was comfortable enough..but it needed something.
She walked up beside Keeper and nipped at his neck playfully as she studied their room. They needed light..they needed warmth for their little..love nest. She smiled inwardly at the words.
" How about..a fireplace?" she said, nuzzling Keeper's neck, " All we'll need is a vent to the surface..so the smoke doesn't fill up our room..right?"
This could work..they'd only need to dig out a chimney really..how hard could it be?
"Well, the chimey will have smoke." he said, "and that would give away our secret." he finished, laying himself onto the rabbit furred bed. Keeper looked up at the ceiling. What if they made one vent that branched off into many. But would the smoke be harmful to everything around them? And that could call for fire wood, though Keeper could take care of that another work out.
"Amani, do you really think a fireplace would work?" he asked quizically. "I'll help." he offered, actually he was willing to do all of it if she wanted him to.
Amani was stumped..Keeper made very good points. She laid herself down next to him and hummed thoughtfully. "It would give us away, wouldn't it?..And if we made holes in the ceiling..like in your room..others on the surface could look in too.." she said, leaning on Keeper's side. " What else could light up our den..?"
"Our room, Amani." he corrected with a grin. "We could build a fire, sure, but we need a way to spread out the fire so not one strong cloud is produced." he said. Perhaps didn't make too much sense.
"If we do make a fire, we would need a vent. But that would cause a large tower of smoke. So why not make one vent that branched off to spread the smoke to smaller puffs. That way, the smoke won't do harm and we can keep our secret." he explained with a grin. Amani smiled and nuzzled at Keeper again happily. Adorable and smart..what more could she ask for? " That's a wonderful idea Keeper," she said with a lick, "How would we go about making this vent? Isn't it a long way to the surface?"
How would they reach the surface if it was so far up? Sure, Keeper was big and tall, but digging so far up vertically could be a problem..maybe they should slant the vent?
"Keeper will take care of that." he grinned. He licked her softly with a murr. He got up and chosen the wall opposite of the upper room's entrance and dug in a bit. He clawed out a box shape, taking the time to make it perfect for Amani. Keeper smiled and slipped out of the room and returned with a beak full of rather large, long sticks.
For the vent, he clawed at the top a bit until he could stand on his hindlegs. Then Keeper slowly dug at a diagonal slant. I think this is far. he pushed out with his body, compacting the dirt to give himself some movement in his shoulders. Pulling one stick up, he pushed it against one side of the small, very small, room and pushed it out until he could not hold it anymore. Keeper pulled it back and stuck his beak into the hole. Air. The male could smell fresh air. He took the stick and poked many holes all around him until he could breath freely. The male took in a long refreshing breath and looked around him. The holes he created branched off from near and far. Suddenly he reliezed what he just done....he was stuck in the vent of the fireplace. Keeper growled and thrashed about. "AMANI!" he shouted.
(( o.o the breeding report confused me....does Feline want Keeper to fill up that room with sand from eveyrwhere?))
Amani heard the yell and scrambled out of bed, rushing into the fireplace vent after him. Her eyes widened in fear when she saw him stuck there. Softly she nuzzled his flank to calm him as she clawed the dirt away from Keeper's body. She dug a couple inches clearance for him on one side, and moved to the other. She repeated the process on his other side and nudged at him.
"Let all the air out of your lungs and pull backwards, love."
(( I think FO only meant that they make a shallow nest of sand..they could always just take the rabbit skins up and use their bed hollow as a nesting site..yes? ))
Keeper groaned, he felt like an idiot....He could feel Amani touching him. His body was in the way so it was hard to see exactly what she was doing. He heard her voice. She's smart, I guess she knows what she's doing. Keeper exhaled and felt him get free and slowly moving down. Then something gave under him. Keeper slide down the vent and the two fell out, Keeper made sure he was on the bottom. He grinned up at Amani, his feathers dirty. "Thanks, love." he grinned playfully.
Note to self: NEVER make a vent....especially when you can slide down onto your mate.
Amani yelp in suprise as she slid down the vent with Keeper, landing on top of him with a quiet 'Uuf!" when they lanted. 'Well this was..interesting..' she thought. She grinned down at him and nipped at his neck playfully, noting that her own feathers had gotten quite dirty too. " I think we could use a bath.." she said, hopping off of Keeper and licking his cheek before walking to their den's entrance. She checked to make sure the coast was clear before climbing out.
Keeper grinned and followed. He sort of "barked" towards Drey's room to let him know that he was going out. Too bad, Amani won't be around for you. he chuckled and slipped out.
The air was getting cooler as the sun got closer to the horizon. The only place where Keeper knew of water was the Lake. Keeper slowly stroll along side of his female companion. He crained his neck and nuzzled her gently, "I love you." he murred.
Amani walked closer to keeper and nuzzled him in return. With a murr of her own she answered, " I love you too.." in a dreamy tone. Being with him was so blissful..he was such pleasant company that she never wanted to leave. All she could hope for is that she never became one of those 'specimen' things that Drey talked about.
Gently Amani nipped Keeper on the shoulder. With gleeful smile, she said " Tag, you're it!" and bounded off towards the lake with a coy flick of her tail. She was light and speedy..but she didn't run too fast for Keeper, she wanted to be caught.
Keeper flinched when she tagged him. "Oh I see how it is." he grinned and bounded after her. Unaware of her intention he pounced on her as they rolled a bit. "I got you." he smiled. Keeper loved Amani, he didn't want to part with her. What sort of life will bloom with Amani around?
He licked her beak, "I would do anything for you." he spoke sincerely. Anything.
Amani let herself fall when Keeper pounced on her and held onto him. She licked at him in return and looked up at him admiringly."Well, that game of tag ended fast" she said with a smile, " and I would do the same for you, love."
She brushed some of the dirt off of his featherfur and nuzzled him softly. If Keeper got any sweeter she'd get cavities.
Keeper laid his head on her's, "But for you, a thousand times over." he murred and picked her up onto his back. "Come, we are getting dirtier the longer we are together." Keeper laughed.
At the lake, starlights painted teh water's surface with the dim light of the sun. Keeper put his paw into the water but then hesitated. Was she here...? he thought. Last time he went into the water he almost drowned because of her. Amani sensed Keeper's uncertainty and slid off of his back, lowering her head and looking closely at the lake. She too took a couple of steps into the lake, just testing the water. " Is something wrong lovey?" she said, lifting her head to look up at him in concern. He certainly looked worried..What was bothering him?
Keeper broke himself from his thoughts, "N-no. Nothing wrong." he replied, still a little hesitant. That female wasn't here this time, the only female was his beloved. Keeper smiled and came to her side, "Nothing can be wrong." he assured.
Keeper walked a little deeper until his body was submerged, only his neck and head showed.
Amani smiled and dove the rest of the way into the water beside Keeper, re-emerging and shaking the water off of her head. She swam towards him the best she could, since water up to his neck was quite a bit deeper on her. With a bit of difficulty she starting cleaning herself up, brushing bits of dirt off of her featherfur with her beak
Floating about and cleaning at once was a bit difficult..
Keeper had a much more....masculine way of cleaning. He grinned and swam deeper into the lake and dove in. The water was so clean and cool, the male can see the many fishs that swam in it's waters. His bi-colored eyes looked down to the bottom spotting Amani's shadow. She was so small, adorable, loving, smart, and....his, he was glad he made the right choice. He swam up at her and rose up with her on his back.
"See, all clean." he grinned at her idiotically. Yup, the right choice.
Wobbling, Amani clung to Keeper's back as he emerged. She grinned right back and nuzzled his neck lovingly. " All clean.." she said, fluffling up her featherfur to let it dry. She was going to look like a little puffball once her featherfur dried completely. Until then, her feathers were still sleeked back..showing how small she really was without all the fluff.
Keeper looked back at his, his featherfur did little to hid his muscluar physique. He worked hard for those, but he always felt that he should cover them up. Didn't want to challenge any other Dustlings. He looked back at Amani's yet fluffed body, "Yes, all clean." he chuckled.
"So what do you want to do now?"
Amani licked at Keepers beak as she clung to him, afraid of falling off. It was then she noticed just how muscular he really was. "Wow.." she said, sounding a little dazed. He really does love to work out like he says..
She snapped out of it and shook her head a little to clear her thoughts. " Drey has been quiet for a while now..how about we test our new fireplace while he's still distracted?" she tilted her head at him with her question.
Keeper's fur turned a light purple color from the red blush. "T-thanks..." he whispered. He usually worked out since he had nothing better to do. Drey was always studying nowadays that it left him with a lot of free time. Fishing, swims, moving rocks away from the den to be more spacious, and digging. Keeper didn't always feel comfortable with his muscules, but when Amani compliment, that all changed. If that made her happy then he would do it more often. He sort of laughed on the inside.
"Sure, let's go gather some fire wood, that should warm us up." He grinned and swam back to short and let her off. "Alright, some dry sticks." he thought looking around. He looked down at Amani, she was smarter, she'd know what a dry stick would look like. He just gave a weak smile. I'm an idiot... Amani stretched and shook the rest of the water off of her featherfur after hopping down from Keeper's back. " Well..if we were looking for wet sticks, we'd stay by the lake" she chuckled, licking his cheek when she saw the uncertainty in his smile, " Lets look in the forest.."
She fluffed up her featherfur and started walking towards the forest, she passed by keeper and let her tail trail along his body softly, beckoning him to follow.
Keeper shuttered as her tail brushed against him, god.... Keeper stayed close behind anything he saw suitable, most likely a tiny twig, he'd throw it unto his back and carry it. Though...most of his attention was on Amani's tail swishing before him. Keeper smiled and walked along side her. "After this we drop through the top of my room and back into our den." he suggested with a grin.
Amani grinned as well and nodded, starting to scan the forest floor for good firewood. All of the broken tree limbs that littered the ground should be dry enough to burn. She picked up only the thick fallen limbs, hoping they would burn longer. She Put the limbs onto her back and picked up a beak-full of dry leaves to use as kindling. All they needed now was two flint stones to start the fire with..surely there would be rocks at the den..
Keeper was distracted again, watching Amani when he walked into a low branch. "Ow!" he shouted as the branch fell off of it's trunk. Keeper picked it up and threw it onto his back. "This is the first one to burn..." he gruff. The branch was large enough to be the only thing to burn. Keeper just snapped off some branches and threw them onto his back. On it was sticks from the size of toothpicks to that of that branch.
"I think we got enough, wanna go back?" he asked, turning slowly not to drop anything. Keeper approached her and took a few off of her's. "Here let me get those for you."
Amani nodded to keeper with a smile, wanting to giggle but unable to through her beak-full of kindling leaves. Turning again, she flicked her tail against him as she began to walk back towards the den, drawing it along his underside this time with a grin, just wanting to see his reaction to her.
Upon reaching the den, she eased herself through the top of his bedroom, and then proceeded down into their new room.
Keeper shuddered when her tail ran under him. What was she trying to do!? Keeper just kept walking, his tail twitching behind him, he didn't want her to see him in his weakness. He was glad that they made it back to the den without him losing it.
Keeper came inside and slipped down below. "Give me a moment." Keeper slipped back out and went next door to Drey's room.
His room was a mess....again. Books, papers, everywhere. A few laps laid scattered about. Keeper whined as Drey turned around. He didn't say anything noticing that Keeper was motioning towards the lamp. He simply nodded and Keeper took it away.
Back down below he placed the lamp by his feet. "Saved us the trouble with starting the fire."
Amani assembled the branches she had collected in their fireplace and stuck the kindling leaves in between them. When Keeper returned with the lamp, it was she who felt like the clueless one. She had never seen one before now. Staring at it, she sat down beside Keeper and gave him a confused look.
" What is it..?" She asked curiously, her tail swishing about behind her.
Keeper placed a talon in one of the many notches on the Lamp's wheel. He turned it and a flame lit up in the glass container. "It makes fire when you want it to, just got to turn this wheel." he said, "It's usually for light, but we can make a fire with it." Keeper took off the glass, turned it off, and carried it over to the fire place. The male turned it on again and blew at the flame catching some of the leaves on fire. Instantly he took the lamp away, just in case the fire grew out of control. He put the lamp on the other side of the room for later use and laid himself onto the rabbit lined bed. Keeper flicked his tail, inviting the female over to him.
"I made fire." he chuckled. "Now what do you want to do?"
Amani gazed at the new fire and settled herself down next to Keeper, cuddling up at his side as the warmth from the fire filled their den. It certainly was cozy now..and even daresay...romantic?
She laid her tail across his and stretched a little, nuzzling him once she finished. She licked at his neck and smiled up at him, watching his expression. Murring softly, she asked " Well, what did you have in mind..?
Keeper murred and wraped his arms around her, "I dunno. You are the smarter one." he replied nuzzling her. What brought up these thoughts? He never thought of them before, nor was he ever told of them. So was it instinct? His gaze turned to the fire as it's flames danced for them.
Keeper just licked at her beak and smiled. "I love you, Amani, and I'd do anything for you."
Amani closed her eyes happily and nestled herself up against Keeper. Still she swished her tail against him as she thought. He's so sweet! What male could possibly be better? In Amani's world, there were none.
Instinctively, Amani began to run her beak gently through Keeper's featherfur. She didn't think much of the gesture at the time, though something told her it was the right thing to do. The warmth from Keeper and the warm glow of their fire was getting to her..that was for certain. The whole situation gave her those happy chills, so she kept on. She was careful not to pull any of his feathers though..she didn't want to hurt her sweet Keeper. Keeper murred and began to runs his own beak against her neck, it just felt...right. Their feathers were still a little damp, but he heated up pretty fast for some reason. Her featherfur was so soft and the scent was invigorating. Amani's gesture was so gentle and calming. Soon enough the room was filled with murrs.
Keeper was just glad that Drey didn't know where they were.
Amani adjusted herself against Keeper and murred in return. She was so happy..she was getting those chills again and she loved them. Everything felt so perfect to her, and it just blew her mind that a large muscle-y dragon like keeper could be so gentle and sweet. Laying on her side, she curled her tail around his and continued to groom him gently. She didn't stop herself with the featherfur at his neck.
She also was glad that Drey remained clueless as to where they were. Nothing could be more emarassing than having Drey pop up in their little love nest with his sketchbook to oogle over the two of them.
Keeper's eyes kept glancing back at the fire. It's mesmorizing colors dancing around the burning wood. The male groomed the feathers from her neck to her upper back. Her's were so soft and the sweet aroma they gave off was wonderful. He never thought of liking another Dustling, but a female? Keeper could not have been luckier. Keeper pulled Amani close and kissed her on her beak, well given their ways.
"I hope you stay with me....forever, Amani."
Amani smiled and held Keeper close as she licked him in return. She never wanted to leave. She felt so at home and at ease around Keeper..she could easily get used to his brother's little quirks to stay by his side.
Softly she buried her face in the featherfur of Keeper's chest as she rested against him. She murred quietly about how comfortable he was. She could rest like this forever easily. " Not even brute force could budge me.." she said with a lick.
Though something Keeper's size could easily throw her across the room, the meaning was still there. Nothing could move her from Keeper without her hissing and kicking about it.
Keeper held her close and closed his eyes, perhaps his dreams became his own reality....if not then he hopes to sleep forever. "Nay one's prowess shall move me." he whispered. He curled his massive body around Amani's resting his head on her's. Amani was all the he hoped for, someone kind and caring for the brute. How did the two attract? What was this...breeding that Drey talked about earlier? Hopefully, not something that would harm either of them. Keeper dismissed teh thoughts and returned to Amani. If he lost her, he wouldn't know what to do.
The den was so warm from the fire, burning and crackling as it's wonderious flames danced their passionate dance. The rabbit lined bed was soft and still smelt fresh of the mammal's scent. The room was roomy and hidden, only their murrs of pleasure echoed in it's walls.
Amani started feeling drowsy from the heat of the fire and let herself relax all over. The warmth of Keeper's body and the reassuring weight of him put her at ease. Her thoughts began to wander as they lay there together. What would the next day bring? What would the two do together tomorrow? And what about Drey? She could only wonder what he was up to.
Eventually her cares just melted away and she slipped into a dreamy slumber.
Keeper yawned and looked down, Amani had fallen asleep. He smiled, "To relax to the very point of drifting way from it's calm feeling." he whispered. He pulled her close and drapped his tail over her. His murrs started to die away as he too drifted to sleep. His dream has only been fufilled, only now he can live it, so there is nothing left to dream but of their life together.
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Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2007 1:28 pm
Amai & Keeper 4: The...Newcomers CRASH a loud noise awoken the male even from his underground den. Keeper looked around, the fire has dimmed, it was dying slowly. Next to him, his arms wrapped around, his tail draped over, Amani. However, Keeper wanted to know what was going on up there, slowly he pulled himself away from his mate and slipped above. CRASH. CLANG. more louds noises from outside his room.
Keeper made his way into the foyer to find Drey up and about, frying pan in one hand and a net in the other. What was going on here? The male barked out to get his attention, cocking his head in asking what he was doing.
"Oh hey Keeper, did I wake you?" he asked, out of breath panting. "Well, sorry, this little bird has been floating around here since last night with that desert wind. Remember last time it brought sand into your room, well, now this thing came with it. Help me catch it!" he shouted continuing chasing the little bird.
Keeper grabbed Drey's shirt and pulled him away. He only looked back in confusion. The male growled a bit and pushed him toward his room; Keeper wanted to catch it. Drey shrugged and returned to his room to study whatever it was he was studying. "Good, now to end this mess."
Back in the foyer, the little blue spot was gone from the kitchen. Keeper looked around and couldn't find it. He reclined to his haunches and waited for it to make a move.
"Dood"
Keeper looked up to see it sitting on the lighting fixture contently out of Keeper's reach. He growled knowing he could not get it, but he still had to try. But jumping up and down with marble floors and his weight would be bad....Drey put in alot of working putting those down. He felt defeated and whined. "Darn it..."
Amani also awoke to the sounds of crashing and barking. She noticed Keeper was gone from their bed..and she hoped he hadn't gotten himself into trouble. Quickly she ran from their den and into the foyer. Amani was going to save the day!..or so she thought. The transition from dirt to marble didn't go well at high speeds, so she was sent sliding across the marble floor like a dog trying to run across slick linoleum.
Her feet slid out from under her and she landed ungracefully in a heap on the marble floor, skidding a little afterwards. With a fluttering of wings, a small weight settled on her head and chirped proudly. A small, pudgy, rust colored little bird had flown in and perched triumphantly on her head.
Keeper watched at Amani as she slipped across the floor...should have told her to walk upon claws. Then when she came to a stop another bird sat itself on her head. It was of a rusty color but was similiar to the blue one on the light fixture. He looked up and back to Amani.
"Amani, it seems we got an issue with birds lately..." he spoke looking at the two birds.
"Dood." the blue one called again.
Amani nodded and stood herself up slowly. The rust colored bird wobbled on her head and pecked at her when she moved too abruptly. The desert bird clung to her featherfur and nested itself into it. " Hish-am!" it trilled out smugly.
" It seems so..I can't get this one off.." she said, shaking her head. The bird squeaked in alarm and pecked Amani angrily until she stopped. " Eh..I guess it's staying.."
"What about that one up there?" he said pointing his beak to the ceiling. The bird just sat there contently, fluffing it's feathers. It was taunting him! "That one is starting to annoy me...I wonder if I could eat it." he said. He was getting frustrated from the bird. He threw away the idea of not jumping for it and tried it anyways. Keeper crouched down and then lunged up at the light fixture and missed falling back down. Perhaps it was not the best idea to build a ceiling that high.
He fell down and just stayed there. "This is stupid..." he mumbled. And the next thing he new the blew bird's eyes were staring back into his own. "Dood." it chirped. Keeper rose to his feet and the bird remained on his beak. What did it want. He didn't want to do any sudden movements afraid that it might peck his eye out or something.
Amani stepped closer to keeper and eyed the blue bird curiously. Her own bird made a peeping noise and fluttered over onto Keepers head. Anxiously it scuttled closer to the other bird, peeping repeatedly as if to initiate conversation. Little Hisham paid no mind to his perch and continued on despite the grimacing.
Amani chuckled at the little birds and sat down beside Keeper, nuzzling his neck reassuringly. " They're quite comical aren't they..?" she laughed. The little birds were cute enough to get away with being annoying in her book. Of course, heaven help them if they ever strayed too close to the kitchen again..
"Dood." he chirped. Quickly it fluttered itself onto Keeper's head,"Dood!" it cried happily and nuzzled itself into his fur. His little beady eyes landed on the female Dustling and it fell onto her head. "D-Dood!"
Keeper smiled, "I guess his name will be Dood....until I eat him." he smiled, he was only kidding when the other bird pecked him on his forhead. "Ow!" the male shouted, shaking his head down. "I guess this means no more alone time for us huh...." he could only smirk. But maybe there is a way to get this bird to leave them alone for a moment sometimes?
The little rusty bird meeped loudly and toppled after the other onto Amani's head. "Hish-am!" he said as he waddled up next to Dood and ruffled his feathers. Amani couldn't help but giggle at the little things..they were too cute!
She leaned up and licked Keeper's beak softly with a smile. " I think they could entertain each other if they were left alone..don't you, love? ". She leaned up against keeper and nuzzled him, murring audibly. She was already in the mood for some more alone time.
Keeper squeaked sort of when Amani defiantly dropped the hint and nuzzled him. "Of course." He nuzzled her softly and trotted back to his room, very seductive like. He grinned back to her before he disappeared inside.
Dood stared at the other avian. "Dood." it spoke and hopped around Amani's head. "Dood!" he chirped before fluttering after Keeper. Inside teh room he flew to the knot in the tree bark, "Dood!" he chirped down at the large male.
Keeper looked up at the little bird and smiled, "Dood, stay out here for me? Amani and I wished to be alone for a while, alright?" he asked the bird, hoping that it understand. The little bird opened out his wings and ruffled its feathers as if agreeing. The bird sat in the knot above the bed as Keeper slipped down below.
Keeper laid down in the fur bed, staring at the dancing flames that mesmorized him for so long. What about them that kept taking his attention, even from Amani?
A shudder went through Amani when Keeper walked by..his seductive gait enticed her to follow, and she did so. Little Hisham wobbled unsteadily on her head whrn Amani rushed after Keeper. Eventually she broke into a run and Hisham was forced to find another perch..right next to Dood.
Amani rushed down into their secret den and pounced upon Keeper playfully once she saw him, murring and licking at his featherfur with a smile. His warmth and scent enthralled her..a masculine scent..but a good one nonetheless. She loved her time with Keeper, every second she could get was treasured.
Keeper squeaked again when his mate tackled him. He let himself fall back and sat her onto his chest. He loved the time he got with her. No care about anything, his attention and love was for her. He murred and licked at her. Her soft, sweet, femine scent. Their two scents filled their room.
Carefully, he rubbed his beak against her feathers, grooming them. He loved the scent of her feathers as they filled his nose when he passed. If he could not do this, if he lost the ability to love Amani, he would be utterly crushed. As long as she was next to him, he will always be happy. A soft murr echoed in the room.
Amani cuddled up on top of Keeper and gently groomed at the featherfur of his chest. Her tail swished behind her to keep her balance as she energetically cleaned his featherfur for him. His scent intoxicated her..gave her energy..she didn't know what she'd do without her Keeper. The first dustling she ever came into contact with loved her so genuinely..Her life was like a happy dream.
Keeper murred and laid his head back. The way she groomed him was so relaxing. He laid there as murrs escaped him. He loved the attention. Then a thought came to him, if he loved the attention then why hide his body? He worked hard for those muscles and he covered them up with his feather. Perhaps he should show them off a little more. He smiled, but only for Amani.
Keeper turned over, flipping the female onto her back, and licked her passionately. "I love you." he curled up beside her and laid his neck over his shoulder.
" I love you too..and I always will.." she murred and nipped Keeper affectionately on the neck, continuing to run her beak gently through his featherfur as they both lay curled against each other. Her tail moved up and brushed against Keeper's side lightly.
In Keeper's bedroom, Hisham flitted about impatiently. He landed among the leaves on Keeper's bed and pecked at them, chirping rather loudly in his restlessness. After a bit of hopping about, he moved toward the edge of the bed where he felt heat coming from. After hopping onto one partigular leaf, he plummeted down into Keeper and Amani's secret den. He squeaked and flapped his wings all the way down, landing in a ruffled up ball at the entrance of their room.
"Do-o-o-o-ood" the little blue bird laughed as the little brown one fell off a leaf....a leaf on the ground. The blur bird flutted down and landed on the same leaf when it gave way and fell too. "Dood!" he shouted as he landed next to Hisham. Dood's small beady eyes scan around the room and saw his favorite perch. Happily, he fluttered over to him and landed on his head. "Dood!" Dood chirped.
Keeper giggled at Amani's grooming. "Amani, you're wonder-" the male was cut off when a little blue bird fell onto his head. It chirped it's name and nestled itself nicely ontop. "..." he simply stared up at it, "I think we got company, love." laughing a little, and when he did, the little bird did too. Keeper played with his expressions and the bird mimicked him. The two laughed.
Hisham righted himself and squeaked in alarm, zooming on top of Keeper's head to join Dood. The little bird was making a habit out of following him around. Fluffing his feathers, he nipped at Dood to tag him and leapt onto Amani's head with a chirp. " Hisham!"
Amani looked up at the little bird, who was now settling into her featherfur. "Very energetic company too" she laughed as she rested her head against Keeper's chest. She licked him a few more times softly before switching her attention back to their birds. Hisham chirped at Dood and fluttered his wings, trying to get him to join in on their little game.
Keeper smiled as Dood remained on his head. "Dood." it chirped before fluttering away back into the upper den and back into the knot for a little rest. A soft dood whispered.
Keeper chuckled, "I guess Dood was a little tired. Hisham, why not go with him." he said, cuddling Amani. Amani's feathers smelt so heavenly, he was lost in their scent. Oh how wonderful it was. "If worse comes to worst, we could always cook them in the fireplace." he chuckled, he was being sarcastic. He gently groomed her chest, taking in her scent.
Hisham ruffled his feathers at the thought of being roasted for dinner and took off for Keeper's room to join Dood on his perch. There would be no Hisham-wings for the dragons' lunch today.
Meanwhile, Amani smiled warmly and stretched out onto her back. She loved the attention, and almost looked as if she were basking in it. Licking at him wherever she could reach, she took in his scent and murred quietly. She felt as if she could live of off Keeper alone..but she was quickly proven wrong when hunger started to gnaw at her belly. Gently she nuzzled him to get his attention, "How about I catch us something to eat..?" she asked.
Keeper nodded, "Of course. I should go to Drey for a moment. I am feeling guilty for growling at him." he said, looking away for a moment. Last time he argued with Keeper he scarred him, and Keeper never did forgive himself for it. He wouldn't want to lose his brother now. "You go catch something to eat. I am going to see Drey and then catch up with you." he spoke, nuzzling her softly and slowly slipped from the den.
Drey's room was a mess again, opened books, scattered parchments, and notes. The many lamps in his room kept things lit. Drey was on his bed, a book in hand. Keeper whined softly to get his attention.
"Oh, Keeper. I haven't seen you lately. Are you and that female doing alright?" Keeper nodded. "Does she have a name?" he asked intrigued. Keeper couldn't hide anything from Drey, something inside him prevented it. Keeper nodded. "That's good, so I guess you take a liking to her then." Keeper nodded again. Drey motioned him to come sit beside him and he came and curled protectively around him as if he was Amani. Drey showed him what he was reading. "See here? This is what you were before I met you." he said pointing to a picture of what looked like to be a dustpan. Keeper huffed and shook his head in disbelief, Drey laughed. "Keeper, you're so funny." he said hugging the brute. "Now, get out of here, Amani is probably wanting you right now." THe male smiled and slipped out of the room. "A hopelessly lost Dustling, struck by the heart by a female."
Amani stretched out and trotted outside of Keeper's den, towards the lake. She stopped at Keeper's normal resting place and sniffed at the grass there. Keeper's scent was fading..but his imprint was still there. Keeper had already made such an imprint on her as well. After a life of living alone and just surviving, she now couldn't imagine herself without her sweetheart.
Snapping out of her trance, she shook her head and poised herself at the edge of the lake. She was scanning for that little flash of silver under the water, the scales of a fish. Aha! As soon as she saw her catch, she plunged her beak down sharply into the water, splashing and getting water all over. Setting her catch down, she tried again..
This time, her footing slipped and she plunged all the way into the lake, splashing about loudly and taking her prey with her.
Keeper emerged from the brush to see his love in the water. She could swim...right? Keeper walked slowly up to her and picked her up, "You alright there, Amani?" he asked. He placed her down and laid himseld down on his spot and flicked his tail. Normally, it was a place he would sit every night, but since Amani came into his life he has never had time to carry on his night time tradition. The sun flickered down onto the water's surface like the moon at night. But it was not the same, the sun was brighter and made the male squint.
"Amani, would you like to come out here tonight?" he asked, staring into the water. "It'd mean a lot to me." he whispered. His reflection shown back at him. His blue fur, his azure highlights, his solid sapphire eye, and the only thing that really stood out on him, his right orange eye. It made him feel wierd looking at it and it looking back at him. He just didn't like seeing it, that is the main reason for seeing the water at night, because he could not see himself very well.
Amani shook the water off of her featherfur and laid her second fish down by the first, nodding to him to let him know that she's fine. She lightly settled herself beside Keeper, looking down into the water with him.
Smiling she nuzzled up against Keeper's right cheek to lick at him, distracting him from his eye. Her own reflection in the water began to merge with his, the orange of his eye not standing out as much next to the intense bright pink. She murred quietly and smiled at him, " I'd be honored to love..It's a very special place." she stretched out and tried to fluff up her still wet featherfur.
Keeper smiled and basked in her scent. It was so fresh and yet wet. The male smiled as he slowly cleaned her featherfur of the collected water. It was a wonder how her scent could remain so fresh after getting wet and still sustain it with being with him for so long.
"Thank you." he replied, snatching up the two fishes. He was sure Drey can find something in the fridge. Keeper walked back to the den, his tail swinging playfully behind him. Keeper had an important question to ask Amani. After talking with Drey, he learned something from perusing that one page of the dustpans....he was curious.
Amani bounded cheerfully after Keeper, sliding on the marble again slightly but righting herself afterwards. There was something different about Keeper today..something she sensed that she couldn't quite place. Maybe it was this new look in his eyes...Whatever it was, Amani was anxious to find out.
She skittered along the floor to keep up with Keeper, nuzzling at his shoulder once she got up beside him. " Are two fish really going to be enough..?"
Keeper smiled and nodded. Two were enough, Keeper wasn't all that hungry and well, he had other things to think about. The male dropped the fish, "Amani, go to our room, I have to go get something." he said. He nuzzled her quickly and slipped into Drey's room.
Drey seemed to have fallen sleep with his books. Keeper came to his bed side and nudged him slightly. Took the book from his arms and drapped his blanket over him. "Get some sleep, Drey. You study too hard." With the book in beak he went to Amani.
Amani watched Keeper leave, her curiosity peaked. What was her sweetie up to..? With a slight shrug she picked up her two fish and walked into Keeper's room. She settled down on his bed and picked at one of the fish in front of her. Her curiosity was beginning to eat at her more than her hunger was.
Hisham fluttered down beside Amani and pecked at her portion of fish in distaste. He didn't particularly care for fish..or any meat for that matter. Chirping, he let Amani know that he was leaving and flew up through the holes in the roof to find something to eat for himself.
Dood watched as Hisham flew off. If he didn't like the Dustlings' catch he probably would not either. Dood quickly left to find himself some berries to eat and probably get some to save for later.
Keeper entered the room and nestled himself comfortably next to Amani, plopping the book down in front of him. "Drey showed me this earlier, thought you might want to see it." he opened the cover, and slowly turned to the pages of the Dustpans. He showed Amani the page, not sure if she could even make out what it meant.
"Drey let me look at the pictures of the books, and I sort of gotten used to them and assumed what each could mean." He traced his claws along the page, "Something about a male and female together can make this." he said, pointing to the dustpan with a head popped out. Keeper's featherfur blushed a little when he pointed to it. He knew what it meant, Drey talked about breedings and stuff. "W-what do you think about it?"
Amani looked over the page with keeper, studying the little piles of sand and the little dustlings that popped out of them. She understood what Keeper was getting at, and a blush soon came to her own featherfur, tinting it a darker pink. A smile came with her beak when she looked closer at the picture of the fluffly little dustling in the dust pan. "They look so sweet..don't they..?" She looked up to Keeper timidly, curious of his thoughts as well.
The thought of raising little dusts with Keeper interested her greatly. She found herself picturing their children, and she couldn't help but keep smiling, But maybe she was getting ahead of herself.."Does the book say how it's done..?" she wondered out loud. All of this was rather new to her.
Keeper shook his head. Keeper could only assume what things meant from drawing conclusions from the images. He could not read the words, why he didn't even know the letters. Keeper still smiled, he thought of what it would be like to have little ones around. "I can ask Drey about it. But are you sure we can do it?" he asked, nuzzling her softly and somewhere in it, concern. "I don't us to get our hopes up if we are unable to." he said. He stared back down at the page. The images of the Dustlings and the piles of dust. He sort of wanted it and at the same time, he didn't want to do something Amani wouldn't.
Amani nuzzled Keeper back affectionately to reassure him that she wanted it too. Still she stared down at the book and it's pictures, wondering what it was like to be a parent. The thought of having little Keeper's running around enthralled her. Already she could imagine how nice it would be to have a family..something she's never had before.
"I think we should be able to...Drey would help us..wouldn't he?" she asked, looking up at Keeper questioningly. She really hoped they could..it sounded like a dream come true.
Keeper smiled, little Amani's running around him and her, calling to them, playing with them, and eating. He was sort of smiling more that it was with Amani. It would a very special night if they are able to do such a thing.
"Should we go ask him? I am sure he would be excited to hear." he replied, he knew Drey too well. He was defiantly going to help them, it was Keeper, and they were Dustlings. Heh, if given the chance Drey would do the entire process for them. "I would really like it if this could happen. Amani....would you give me that honor? THe honor to have our own family?"
Amani licked keeper's neck enthusiastically and cuddled up against him, murring softly. " Oh Keeper..it would be an honor to me too.." she said, her tail swishing about excitedly, " Of course I will..Oh I hope we can!"
Straighting, Amani stood up. She completely forgot about her hunger..It didn't really matter to her now anyway. More exciting things were on her mind. " Let's go see Drey about it.." she said, anxiously leaving their room and waiting for Keeper to follow.
Keeper smiled and followed. Quickly he caught up and picked the female onto his back. He loved having her there, her light weight on his sturdy back made him know that she was there and he was strong. "Amani, we will be able to, I am sure of it. I am just glad that it is with you that I am having it with." he said, smiling happily back to her. He picked up the book back into his beak and headed to Drey's room.
Drey yawned out when Keeper came into his room. On his back was the pink female, in his mouth a book. Drey smiled, he knew which book it was. So it would seem that Keeper had made a decision and was planning to follow it through.
"I see you found my book. Heh, so are you sure about it?" Keeper nodded. The human motioned him to the bed side. Keeper carefully curled himself protectively around his two closest beings, his mate, and his closest friend. Drey opened the book and cleared his throught.
"Dr. Feline had writen here: Dr. Feline of Stardust Facility Breeding is a very graceful thing with the Dustling Dragons. The male begins by forming a pile of different sands from all over, the farther the better. This seems to affect the production rate of successful offspring. More foreign sand, more healthy babies. After the floor of their mating area is covered in at least one inch of sand, the two Dustlings intimately groom each other, picking select pieces of featherfur off of each other and patting them into the sand. This process may take up to a couple hours. The evidence of a mating could probably be left over dust that didn't form into the dust piles and possibly a few bits of hair or a feather or two that didn't turn into dust. Once the piles of dust and featherfur are constructed by the parents and.. well.. fertilized, the parents leave the area to enjoy their last night as free Dustlings, not weighed down yet by parenthood. Lab assistants such as I then go in with our specially-designed handshovels and collect each dust. The ones that appear to have life are marked with a small sign labelled merely "Star Dust". --Feline, Stardust Facility
Amani smiled at Keeper and nodded to him before she nuzzled his neck. She was positive..she wanted to go out collect good sand with Keeper. She wanted to travel far with him and bring back the best sand they could find for their children. They weren't even here yet and already she wanted the best for them and their health.Thinking over the whole process..imagining the night of grooming each other like that..it made her blush deep scarlet.
Keeper in return nodded, "Okay then, you will need this bag. It is stable, study, and can hold enough sand. I will give ya a map of the desert in case you need it. Then again, I just hope you can read it." he laughed. He packed one side of the bag with everything they needed, food, water, maps, and other things.
"Keeper, this means that I won't see you for a while. But I think you already knew that." Keeper nodded and licked him softly. "I'll miss you two. I suggest that you two get a move on. Sand doesn't collect itself." Drey pushed the brute off his bed and out of the den. Keeper put on the pack. Drey hugged his large neck, Keeper could hear soft sobs from his brother. "Keeper, come back soon. Be careful?" Keeper licked him softly and started off, he could see him waving good bye. Keeper will missing him.
"...Bye, Drey." he whispered.
Amani saw the sadness in Drey and timidly nuzzled him with the side of her beak. She wasn't sure if the human understood the gesture..but the meaning was still there. Turning, she trotted off to join Keeper, licking at his neck to encourage him. " It's ok lovey..we won't be away from him for long.." she said, murring softly into his featherfur, " ..And when we come back..we'll have a family right there with Drey too." She smiled at him warmly, hoping to see him perk up some.
Amani's words brought a soft smile to his face. She always knew the words to say. Keeper licked her softly, "Thank you, Amani."
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Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2007 1:29 pm
Amai & Keeper 5: The Future Keeper stood over the lake, it's glass-like surface reflecting the sun on it's surface. He would not see this wonderful place for a long time. Keeper could not believe that he was going further from his home. He never left the lake, the furthest he has ever gone was a little ways up river.
"As long as I got Amani by myside, I will be alright." he murmured to himself.
Amani smiled back and licked Keeper's beak softly. Looking about at the surrounding landscape, she saw the forests and mountains. She had only been out past the mountains once..and she had been alone. Undoubtedly this time her company would be much better.
She pointed a claw at a pass through the mountains, they'd be able to get through easily enough. " There is desert just outside those mountains, sweetheart..there's sand all over as far as the eye can see." She smiled back at Keeper and flicked her tail excitedly. Surely out of all that sand there has to be some good spots of it.
Keeper smiled, "Then to the mountain pass we go then." a grin slipped on his beak. "Come, let's go!" Keeper smiled, licked Amani and quickly ran to the montains.
Amani gladly sprinted after him to keep up. Though she las light and fast, her muscles weren't as conditioned as Keeper's. She was more of a sprinter..and by the time they got through most of the mountain pass she was starting to lag behing, her muscles burning at her in protest to any more sprinting.
Keeper slowed down for Amani, he took her onto his back to carry her. "Is that better?" he asked with a smile. He walked through the path and instantly was hit by a gust of desert wind. He winced at it as the golden ground blinded him with the sun's deflection.
"Amani....we have to travel through this?" he whispered. Was there water out there to last them? He wanted the best for his family and the best meant the further he had to go and with that, the dangers of dying from the heat.
Amani clung to Keeper's back and shut her eyes tightly against the wind and the sand carried by it. Shuddering, she buried her beak in his featherfur, speaking with uncertainty. " I've never been though a sandstorm like this before..maybe we should wait..when it clears we could just run in, get the sand, and run out..right?"
An hour or so of sand collecting couldn't hurt them..Drey did pack them food and water after all..
Drey back a little ways into the mountain pass finding a crevass for them to rest in for a while. It was worn out, must've been used by Dustlings before them. Maybe having Amani with him was a bad idea, but he could not leave her behind. Keeper nuzzled her softly. "We can rest here for a while until it dies down a bit. You know I can do this myself." he spoke.
Amani nodded slowly and nuzzled Keeper in return, licking his beak. " I don't want to be burdensome to you Keeper..do you want me to wait for you..?" She looked at him rather sadly..she didn't want Keeper to go out in the hot desert all alone..
But then again..maybe it would be the best thing to do. If she wasn't there to slow him down, wouldn't it be easier for him to gather better sand?
Keeper looked outside to the desert, staring at the golden sands. "How can I say no to you?" he asked. He didn't want to go out there alone, honestly, he was sort of scared too. But with Amani, he wouldn't be alone, and he would have her with him. At the same time, he didn't want her to get hurt...or worse. However, he didn't control her, if she wanted to go, then he would have to obey her wishes.
"Amani, do you want to come with me?"
Amani turned to look outside at the desert as well. The desert was indeed a cruel place..the heat and the sand might be much for Keeper to take by himself..she really didn't want him to get lost or hurt..or even worse, run out of water. And after being alone for so long in her life, the last thing she wanted now was to be left behind.
Soon she stood up, her light frame strengthened by her resolve to push ahead. Nodding to keeper, she stretched out her limbs to prepare herself for the long walk ahead. " I want to go Keeper..I don't know what I'd do without you close.." she said, as she softly nuzzled the featherfur at his cheek.
Keeper sighed, he already knew the answer. Actually a part of him wanted her to go as well. He just had to put her before him, that was the case. The male chuckled, "Honey? We have to wait for the sandstorm to die down before we go anywhere. Com'ere, rest." he spoke, motioning her to him.
He rolled Drey's side packs off of him so he too could rest nicely. He just hoped that the water and everything else would be alright before the two went out into the desert. The further they went the better the sand, the worse the food would rot and the water evaporating. If they were going to do this, running would be the best and one of the most dangerous options. To get it done quickly and exhausting their bodies. Keeper was fit and could take the strain, Amani however.....Keeper would make sure that she didn't push herself.
A blush of embarassment came across Amani's featherfur, she was laughing at herself. " Oh..yes..right.." she said as she settled herself down next to Keeper, " We don't want to go into this tired.." She let out a deep breath and let her head drop onto Keeper's shoulder. Afterwards she stayed stock still, resting to regain the strength in her limbs again.
She heard Keeper sigh..maybe he didn't want her to go after all. She could see where he'd want her to be safe..but they were in this together weren't they? She'd brave a path to hell and back for her Keeper..and that included sand storms and desert heat.
Keeper yawned with a soft yip and nuzzled into her softly, holding her tight. At least he had his mate to be with. The male nuzzled her softly, refreshing her scent for him and slowly closed his eyes.
That rest, he dreamt. He dreamt of his family with her.
Amani murred happily as she rested with Keeper, and soon enough her nerved gave way to sleep. Amani too dreamt of the family she would soon have..surrounded by little balls of featherfluff..with Keeper and Drey to keep her company...A real family..
She awoke quite a while later..her limbs heavy from sleep. Moonlight peeked into their little resting area enough to wake her. The moon was a reassuring sight to Amani..at night the desert sands were cool and the sun would no longer bake the couple as they travelled.
Amani nudged Keeper gently to wake him..no good would come from wasting the moonlight. "Wake up love, I think it's safe for us to go out.."
Keeper moaned and turned over, "Give me five more minutes, Drey...." the male mumbled before jolting upight, "Oh! Amani." simply giving a shy smile back, hopefully he didn't upset her with that.
Keeper slipped the pack back on and sat before her, ready to go. He just wanted to wait to see if she was. "Ready?"
Amani giggled at Keeper as he woke, nodding a little. " I hope you slept well.." she said, standing up and stretching some. She tilted her head to gesture towards the mouth of their cave, showing keeper the cooled sands that nighttime had caused. "Travelling should be relatively safe Keeper.. I bet we could get a lot done by the time the sun rises" she added with a smile.
Keeper nodded.
The two travelled over the cool sand, picking a few grains here and there. Keeper kept his eyes on the stars rather anythign else, they were so bright and many out here. If it weren't for the heat and the sandstorms, he would love to live out here. It was so opened, void of modernization.
"Amani, if you were able to live out here...would you?"
Amani looked over at Keeper for a moment before taking in the sight of the desert before her. At night it was such a beautiful place..the sand like an ocean in the way the tops of the hills of sand reflected moonlight like water did.
" I'd have to be nocturnal lovey" she said, laughing and nipping Keeper's neck playfully, " Though it is beautiful here..If we could find a small oasis..It would be a livable place.."
Keeper smiled, "We should either start running to get further quicker, only spend half our supplies. Where we end up is where we gather our sand, rest and used the last of our supplies on the way back." he explained, his pace increasing to a slight trot. "Sound like a plan?"
It seemed a good idea. "To live here would be wonderful, if only the sun wasn't so hot out here." the larger blue male smiled down to his female companion, a charming smile.
Amani nodded to Keeper approvingly on both accounts and brushed against his side softly as she stepped out into the moonlight. The sand was coarse and cool under her claws now, and was quite pleasing to bounce and run around on as she waited for her mate to catch up.
She was full of energy now after her rest, springy and giddy from being able to accompany Keeper on their trip. She could think of a few things she wanted to use her energy for..but of course that would have to wait until later. The matter of finding the perfect sand came first.
"You know love..I bet the sand around a little desert oasis would be quite soft and pleasing.." she said, scanning the horizon for tropical trees, "there would have to be a little one around here somewhere..right?"
Keeper quickly ran to her side to make sure not to lose her if something were to happen. He was carrying the saddle after all, so where was she going? It made him smirk at her and the thought of her sitting and pawing at sand waiting for him to get to her. Whatever Drey put into his sack....it was heavy.
"Amani, slow down a bit. You cannot collect sand without your male now can you?"
He called out playfully as his paws slashed at the grains under him as his body carried him far. He was fast approaching until he pasted her. It was much more nicer in the night than it was before and these two seemed to have much more energy on it too.
"Come on, love, you can do better!"
Amani smirked and bolted after Keeper, playfully nipping at his flank and tail as she gained on him again.
"Just you wait until I can get my beak on you love, then you'll see what I can do!" she called as she bounded through, adding a wink at the end for more effect. She was laughing, and she felt like she was walking on air. Nighttime in the desert seemed so..perfect for the two of them. She couldn't help but feel that maybe this was the place they were meant to be.
After a little chasing, she slowed her steps to survey the desert beyond. She was focused now..searching for something far more important than herself amongst the dunes of sand. Somewhere on that horizon there had to be some little dot of green. She could envision it already..a clean desert oasis-even a small one- with green palms and soft white sand surrounding the untouched water..It would be paradise. The hard part is just the finding of it...
Keeper moved to her side, nipping and ruffling her feathers a bit before licking at her neck. He was very affectionate to Amani, and much more protective. His tail swung lightly behind him as his eyes joined her in searching for the oasis that would produce the best and softest sand there was.
"Amani....do you know exactly where we are going? What if we cannot find a way back?"
He murred softly as he continued to gaze around. That was strange, he did not see anything. He carefully took a few cautious steps around and kept an eye out. There was nothing around for miles but the soft sand and the beauty before him. He smiled.
Amani purred right back at Keeper and leaned against him as she scanned the landscape. There was something there...she knew it..there had to be..
Searching still..what's that..?..Her eyes were adjusting..and lo and behold amongst the navy black of the sky there was a hint of green on the horizon that had only just blended in earlier. Amani got a fresh burst of energy and nearly squealed in delight as she started to run for the trees on the horizon.
"There!! Over there my love! I see trees!"
Keeper nodded and immediately dashed off. He had to, he was carrying the containers that Drey had given them. He was a bit dragged down and knew his female-counterpart can out run him.
"Amani! Amani! Come on! We must hurry before the sun rises!"
He called out. He simply ran in the direction she had been looking. He trusted her with his life, she would not steer him wrong. If she saw it, she saw it. No questions asked. It was there. Surely.
"Amani, offsprings!"
He cried, he was very excited about it. He would be a father, Amani a mother, it would be....a family.
Amani felt as if she were glowing, and happy tears were streaming down into her featherfur now. They've finally found it..the best sand they can find..and the thought of a warm happy den with Keeper and their children powered her onward towards their oasis.
Soon enough she slows her strides, letting Keeper catch up to her as she steps through the sands at the edge of the pool of water, letting her claws dig around in it. It felt so nice..and she liked the way the moonlight shone on it..this was their sand alright.
Suddenly something in the corner of her eye caught her attention, and immediately her featherfur stood on end as she went into defensive mode, It was a reflex..she couldn't help but go rigid and snarl at what looked like a rather surly -and large- snake. Already it was coiled up and hissing right back at her.
Keeper quickly moved toward her as she passed. Up ahead she could see her at the oasis, a mother would now, it was for sure. But when she jumped and turned, with a faint growl coming to his ears, he sped up. His face grew into scowl as he grew closer.
He jumped before her, turned to the to the snake and roared out. The sound was loud, echoing and strong. A mixture of a hawks cry and a roar of a lion. His eyes narrowed sharply as he growled and snarled at the reptile until it left.
Quickly he turned and hugged his mate closely, whimpering and shaking.
"Amani, are you alright? Did it get you? Are you hurt? Your paw? Your leg?"
THe male looked her over with every inch she had, nudging in places and drew back.
"I was so worried."
He sighed, falling back, the empty bottles, the map, and the cantne of water rolled out from the saddle on his back.
The serpent was so freaked out be Keeper's roar that it began to retreat quickly. Two angry dustlings was enough to put it in it's place...and the last thing it wanted was to find out what a large angry male like Keeper would do to it.
Amani relaxed significantly once Keeper was at her side again and nuzzled up against his shoulder a little, licking the feathers at his neck.
"I'm just fine..you big ferocious male you.." She laughed easily, sitting down in the sand and pawing at it, starting to make a pile. She was still smiling and she didn't feel that she could stop, even though tears were starting to come to her eyes again.
"It's all ours..all this beautiful sand.." She smiled up at her mate tearfully and licked at his cheek. They were going to be parents!
Keeper smiled back warmly, licking at her neck softly. This was it. This was the first time he actually felt closer to Amani than he had before. He felt as if he was her for he too could feel tears as he gathered the sands into the jars. Gran by grain, he made sure that both of them were filled and locked up.
Staring at the cantine, he turned back to Amani.
"Love...this is it. When we go back, Drey will help us and we will be...parents. Here, you keep this one you. I am sure you will need this much more than I do. Besides, you must get bored waiting for me to catch up to you all the time. And now I am carrying very precious cargo. I cannot haste myself."
He chuckled, getting a quick drink from the Oasis.
This was it, there was no turning back now. As soon as they get home, Keeper knew that his partner would immediate jump to aid their breeding.
Amani nuzzled up against Keeper softly as he drank, spreading out the map from their saddlebag to scratch a little x onto the spot where their oasis should be. Afterwards she folded it back up and looked at Keeper lovingly.
"I feel so much at ease now love..I can slow down now that we finally have our precious sand.." She held the bottles of sand close..she could tell her nesting instincts were already starting to kick in. Those little bottles of sand were soon going to be their family..she couldn't help but feel attatched to them already. They were as precious to her as Keeper was..she would defend them tooth and nail till the end.
Keeper took the cantine and emptied it. He carefully began to fill it with the sand closer to the Oasis' water. It was nothing certain, but he wanted to make an extra container if something were to happen to the bottoms. At least the cantine was hard and would not break too easily. Quickly he loaded up the map and cantine safely. Then he nuzzled Amani softly, enough to bring her up off the bottle that were their children. Carefully, he tucked them away and propped the saddle onto his back. It was much heavier than he thought it would be.
"Amani, we must return home before day comes. And once we get home, we are gonna spend a lot of time sleeping to relax once again before we start anything if you know what I mean."
He smirked and nipped at her before starting off. He had a stomach full of water, a saddle with very, very precious cargo, and a beautiful female by his side, what could be better? Oh, the starry night above them adding to their moment.
Amani grinned and nipped at Keeper's shoulder playfully in return. She didn't much like having those bottles of sand taken from her, but she inwardly chastised herself and reminded herself that they were now in very capable hands. She knew Keeper would protect their sand just as well, if not even better than she could.
She winked at Keeper slyly and let out a perverse giggle at his comment. Sometimes she couldn't help but have those little thoughts pop into her head. " Oh..we'll be needing all that energy..and then some.." she purred. She took a few steps and circled around him to brush softly against his shoulder in the most seductive way she could. "Suddenly I'm extremely homesick for our nest..let's go home love.."
With that she gave him a soft nudge and walked beside him, going slowly as to keep from rushing him and endangering their precious sand. She could see it now..the two of them coiled around each other beside their little piles of sand with the fire going to warm their nest. Her heart ached for the warmth and comfort she imagined in that moment.
Keeper nodded with a serious expression as he pressed forward. He walked at a strong, fast walking pace and moved faster and faster. He wanted to get home as soon as possible. Besides the fact that now that his and Amani's sand was at risk every single moment they were out here, the sun was approaching before they could reach half way back into the valley and back to Serpent's Lake. Another thing was that they had no water, he gave up the water for some extra sand.
"Yes, we must get back as soon as possible. I am wanting something that only you can give me."
He wanted to curl up in their chamber, the warm fire lit and crackling. Amani nestled against his side, her soft, warm head leaning against him. The jars of sand placed before them, piled on the floor about them. The image of a family with the lovely female beside him was just...well, it made him desire it even more.
Amani grinned when Keeper picked up the pace and trotted alongside him to keep up. Soon enough she felt the first rays of sun at her back, which pushed her to move even faster. The last thing they needed was to get stuck out in the desert without their water, so she gave Keeper a few encouraging nips on the shoulder to keep him going.
She couldn't wait to see the reasuring green of their home and the shady forests that surrounded it..no matter how beautiful the desert may have been..their little den by Serpent's Lake seemed like the best place to raise a family, and how how her eyes lit up when she saw it..
Keeper gritted and scowled. This put this sand at a great risk, but he did not want Amani out in the desert, no not at all. He quickly dug his claws into the ground and lunged off, sprinting toward the valley they passed through to get here to begin with. He made sure that his body was straight and that the cargo was safe and sound. His head turned back to the items constantly while maintaining the speed of his run.
"Amani, I bet if I beat you home, I get to name the first born!"
He called out with a hearty laugh to encourage her that it was all a game to cover up the truth of the matter. He did not want her here. She was too much of a risk to lose, even more than the sand itself.
" Not if I get home first, you're not!",she said as she nipped at his shoulder again playfully and hept her tone of voice gleeful. Taking advantage of her lightness, she sprang off ahead of him, flicking her tail teasingly behind her at Keeper. Truthfully she didn't mind if Keeper got to name their first child, but somehow she sensed there was something more to it than just that honor. Whatever it is that's bothering him, lightening the mood with a little spirited fun couldn't hurt.
Soon enough that familiar valley spread out before her and she tore her claws out of the warming sand and strode onto the cool soil that made up their home. Shaking the sand from her feathers, she let out a little huff of air and paced at the end of the valley. By the time he showed up she could probably recuperate enough for another sprint. It was then that she noticed her throat was drying, the sandy dry air of the desert sucked out all the moisture and made her throat raw.
She laid down on the cooler dirt as she waited, figuring it would do no harm to rest for a little while. Her eyelids started to get heavy..and her thoughts drifted towards serpent's lake...and Keeper..and their sand..
Maybe I shouldn't have run so fast.. she thought with a soft sighing whimper.
Keeper laughed as the female ran past him, we was indeed faster than him even without his saddle on. Females were small and slender allowing them to move very much quicker. Males were big and bulky making them slow but stronger. Keeper was that sort of male. He laughed and sprinted after her. Watching her run...it only made things more clear to him. She was the one. She was so free and graceful, it was too obvious.
The valley came closer as did the resting female. He craned his neck and nuzzled her before falling down beside her, panting. They should not have ran knowing that Keeper had used the cantine as another bottle of sand, sand gathered closer to the water than the other two. His breaths were raspy from the dryness of his throat but he did not mind it. He was just glad to be by Amani's side and Sand safe.
The deep blue male laid his head down and smiled, still panting.
Relief washed over Amani once she felt her mate's reassuring touch rouse her from her near-sleep. They were both safe now, and almost home. Amani felt as if soon she could finally relax. The first thing that came to her mind was her desire to leap into serpent's lake to cool off and drink before she got settled back in with Keeper and their family.
Those were the thoughts that motivated Amani to pull herself up onto her feet and nuzzle her mate's neck until he would do the same. She was so tired..yet there was still a little glimmer of light in her eyes to be seen.
"Come on Keeper dear...we're almost home..not far now.." she offered with a smile, speaking slowly to mask the thirsty rasp in her voice. She didn't want Keeper to get worked up over her thirst..not now. Not when there were more important things to worry about..
Keeper nuzzled her back with a type of purr emanating from his throat. He too rosed to feet and continued to walk toward the lake. His shoulders rolled as he walked shifting the saddle from side to side.
"We're almost there....just a quick stop at the lake and then to the den....then we sleep."
He murred with a bit of a raspy voice. He flicked his tail from side to side as he pressed on. Oddly, his heart was soring like the wind with the thought of the family, and yet his body ached from the trek they had.
The lake was just the same when the two had first met that night so many moons ago. The calm surface reflected the full moon with the dark shadows roaming under it's surface.
They were home.
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