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 Posted: Sun Sep 13, 2009 8:22 pm
Ariia got the feeling that Vana just didn't want to tell her what happened but she sort of already knew, her mother wouldn't have been all bloody just because of the snowstorm. Something had hunted her. She had looked like the prey that the cheetah had always brought home for Ariia. "Mama told me that other creatures were bad for us. She said they would hunt me if they had the chance.... did one of them hunt her?" Despite her young age Ariia was very intelligent and her mind was beginning to piece together the puzzle now that she was warm and safe.
As his tail curled around her she lay down and closed her eyes but she did not sleep, she just basked in the warmth, her mind still whirring as she tried to figure out why something would want to hurt her mother.
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Posted: Mon Sep 14, 2009 12:40 pm
Taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, Vana nodded. "Yes. Soemthing hunted your mother. What it was, I am not sure but i do have a good idea." He said, more to himself than to her. He was very impressed with the fact that she knew what had happened and she was still rather calm about it. Whether she was stricken with shock or if she could handle the truth, he wasn't quite sure but he knew she was strong enough.
"There are certain beings that will hunt anything in their path." He said, looking at her directly. "There are some lions that are mean and won't put up with us cheetahs. There are even some hyenas that will attack us if there are enough of them to surround us." His voice was becoming a warning, he wanted her to know that she couldn't just go where ever she pleased without some kind of caution.
"Ariia... if you are ever in a position that frightens you, and I am not around, run. Run as fast as you can. Do you understand that?" His voice was gentle now as he held in a small breath.
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Posted: Mon Sep 14, 2009 2:47 pm
Ariia listened to Vana as he confirmed her beliefs about what had happened to her mother. She couldn't suppress the snarl that came from her then, "When I get big, if I see whoever hurt my mama, I'm gonna teach them a lesson!" she vowed, opening her eyes again and looking up at Vana.
"I can already run fast, you should see me run! Mama always told me I could almost be invisible." the young cub smiled brightly, remembering that day only a month ago when her mother had been teaching her how to hunt and control her direction while she was running at top speed. As the memory faded away Ariia looked down again, closing her eyes, if only her mother was still with her.
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Posted: Wed Sep 16, 2009 12:41 pm
Vana let out the breath in a slow sigh and wondered if her mind owuld always be focused on her mother, or would she ever be able to look past that and see herself? He was sure she would grow to be a strong cheetah, strong off her memories for her mother.
Forcing a smile to his face he nodded. "I'm sure you can, but let us sleep now. You'll need your strength for the days to come." He spke softly and laid his head on his paws. With another deep breath he rolled his head tot he side so he could watch as she snuggled under his wing.
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Posted: Wed Sep 16, 2009 3:15 pm
Ariia noted that Vana seemed uncomfortable talking about her mother with her so she decided to keep those thoughts to herself from now on. She didn't want to chase him off when he was the only person she had to rely on.
"I guess so..." she mumbled though she wasn't really that tired. She lay down and rested her head on her paws, her tail tucked over her nose as she curled into a ball and closed her eyes. She worked hard to control her breathing and make it seem as though she was asleep. Hopefully Vana wouldn't catch her faking, she wanted to listen to him, really she did, but she just wasn't tired.
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Posted: Wed Sep 16, 2009 10:12 pm
As Ariia dipped her head down, Vana let out a sigh. What was he getting himself into? He had no idea how to take care of children let alone a stranded female cub. His eys took on a distanced look as he began thinking to himself, the fake sleeping completely fooling him out. He was mumbling lightly to himself, his head still on his paws.
It was a good hour or so before Vana quite his mumblings and closed his own eyes, how was he going to get any sleep if he kept thinking? The flight from the mountain had made him tired, something an hour or so of sleep would cure. As he nodded of he had the vauge feeling that Ariia was laying there, watching him.
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Posted: Thu Sep 17, 2009 2:12 pm
Ariia listened to Vana as he talked to himself though she couldn't really make out what he was saying because he was mumbling into his paws and when he finally lay his head down and closed his eyes she waited for his heartrate and breathing to slow before very carefully scooting out from underneath his wing. She froze once she was free, waiting to make sure he was indeed asleep before she snuck off onto the savannha heading towards a nearby acacia tree that looked like a very promising playground.
Once she reached the tree she recalled all the skills her mother had taught her before she died and was soon scrambling up into the highest branches, overlooking what to her seemed to be the whole world. She saw zebra and gazelle mulling around a watering hole and a leopard sneaking around on the edges of them, hunting, but she failed to notice the pair of hyenas that were coming over closer to the tree she was in and the fact that they had her in their sights.
A small bird landed on the end of the branch just above her head and Ariia couldn't resist the temptation, creeping forward on her branch, she mewed in fright when it began to shake under her weight. She tried to back up and her foot slipped, almost sending her plummeting to the ground but she dug in with her claws and scrambled back up. Looking down she finally saw the hyenas who were slobbering and staring at her like she was a snack.
Terrified now the young cheetah did the only thing she knew, she mewed loudly, calling out for her mother, only to realize her mother wouldn't come. This sent another wave of fear crashing over the small cub and soon she was crying out at the top of her lungs. Why had she come here, she should have stayed back in her cave or with Vana at least. Now she was trapped and she knew at some point she would fall and become a meal for the hyenas below.
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Posted: Thu Sep 17, 2009 4:53 pm
What was that odd feeling? Vana subconciously thought as his wing shifted as Ariia slithered out. He had planned to only close his eyes but instead he was slumbering in a deep sleep. His dreams were twisting with the pictures of the carnage of the mother's death. His brow furrowed in anger as he shifted ever so slightly. It was then his mind licked on and realized there wasn't a small body beside him.
What was that noise? His ear flicked as he heard the faint mewing but he had thought it was part of his all to vivid dream but the second he heard the heart wrenching cry his rose immediately, his eyes popping open and a growl rumbling his throat and chest. It didn't take him long to spot Ariia's bright white coat in a tree with a couple of hyena's below it.
"Damn girl!" He growled as he pushed off the ground as hard as he could, sprinting towards the tree. Just as the hyena's caught sight of him and considered what to do, Vana sprung into the tree with a great beat down from his wings. "Ariia!" He growled in a command and scooped her up by the nape of the neck, hauling her into the sky. He held her like this as he flew a great distance away, the hyena lost in his path as they attempted to follow.
Landing beside a small pool of water he gently set Ariia down. "Don't ever do that again!" He scolded only to look at her frighten features and soften his tone. "I mean.. please don't do that again. It frightened me. How am I supposed to look after you if you disappear like that? These places arn't safe like the cave you knew in the mountains. You don't blend into the ground here like you did it the snow..." He lectured, watching her, trying not to feel the fear he had before. How could he be so attached to this cub after less than a day?
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Posted: Thu Sep 17, 2009 9:23 pm
Ariia saw the black shape coming towards her and for a moment felt a flood of relief, until she saw how angry he looked. Suddenly it didn't look like such a good thing for her to be coming out of that tree, whether it was with Vana or not. She didn't have time to object though as he scooped her up and flew off with her. When they landed near the water's edge she scampered backward quickly her ears pinned to her head and her tail tucked between her legs as she cowered in fear while Vana yealled at her.
After he changed his tone Ariia was still unsure how to react and she stayed huddled up in a ball for a long while before finally speaking to him "I just wanted to play. I was bored. I didn't know there were hyenas around here." she said, her tone slightly indignant as if she were upset with him for scolding her and, in a way she was. She was a cub, she had a lot of energy and she liked to explore, it was in her nature, so how could he be angry with her for what came natural?
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