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 Posted: Tue May 23, 2006 12:05 pm
 The leopard smirked to himself. Surely jumping the rocks to cross the river would burn off some of that cubs energy, and if that didn't work he knew a few trees they could climb. Besides, he'd have to learn sooner or later, may as well start early.
The agile black form seemed to move so effortlessly as he lept to the next rock, muscles rippling lightly under black fur. By now, this was easy for him, his numerous scars apparently having no affect on his movement.
At the next rock, Xigbar turned again to look at the young cub, settling back on his haunches to watch what Demyx would do next. His tail curled about him, the tip flicking ever so slightly.
"To the other side of the river. Hurry up if you're coming."
Xigbar's actions might have seemed harsh, but the truth was he knew the cheetah was cabably of making it across on his own, he wouldn't have let him try if he didn't.
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Posted: Tue May 23, 2006 12:13 pm
"I'm coming!!"
Demyx crouched, making the leap to the next rock. His front legs shook a bit at the impact. While Xigbar's scars weren't affecting him, Demyx's were still in the process of healing. But he wasn't going to let that stop him from making it across.
Crouching again...and again...the cub followed Xigbar's path across the river, finally coming to the rock right next to where the older leopard waited. By now he was finally panting a bit, but even that wasn't going to stop him.
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Posted: Tue May 23, 2006 12:26 pm
Turning, the leopard made the last few leaps across the rocks until his paws landed on the shore. Here he stopped and turned around, settling back on his haunches to watch the cub.
That last jump was a bit further than the others, perhaps a bit harder for Demyx. While Xigbar seemed relaxed and calm, he was in fact watching very carefully, his hind end coiled under him ready to spring after his young friend if need be. But despite the longer jump, the leopard was confident Demyx could make that jump. Even if he didn't make it all the way to the dry shore, he'd at least make it far enough that the current couldn't claim him.
"Come on, I'm not carrying you."
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Posted: Tue May 23, 2006 12:32 pm
Demyx bounded along after his friend, stopping for a few moments at each rock to plan the jump to the next before making it.
Soon he came to the last jump, the cheetah cub stopping to study it. It was indeed further than the others, and he was seriously wondering if he could make it.
"I'm coming...really!"
Tail flicking around behind him, Demyx crouched down and waited. In his mind he was willing himself to jump. He had to! Xigbar was waiting, and he couldn't let him down...
Finally he jumped, but as Xigbar predicted he didn't make it to the shore. He landed in water...which was thankfully shallow enough that he could easily make it to shore from there. The cub walked over to Xigbar, no longer bouncing around insanely as he had been earlier.
"I made it!"
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Posted: Tue May 23, 2006 12:50 pm
A faint smile crossed the leopard's maw. Part of him was proud of the small cheetah, another smaller part of him relieved that he hadn't fallen along the way, and another part of him satisfied that Demyx was finally acting tired. But mostly it was the former.
"You did, good job."
Xigbar lowered his head, gently nudging against Demyx in a sign of affection, an ever so faint purr rumbling in his chest.
"I knew you could."
Xigbar stood and walked a shortways down stream to a place where a large rock bloocked the rushing water, creating a calm pool with a slight back current. Here he stepped into the water until it reached his chest, exhaling quietly as it cooled him. The leopard's tail flicked behind him, almost looking like a snake swiming in the water.
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Posted: Tue May 23, 2006 1:03 pm
Demyx gave his usual goofy grin as the larger feline nudged him, his smaller form nudging back a bit. As Xigbar walked off, Demyx followed along behind, paws dragging slightly.
"The water feels good papa..."
Green eyes watched Xigbar stand in the water, before the young cheetah had followed him in a bit.
"I like water...."
He grinned, giving the water a single, playful bat. The flying water droplets seemed to amuse the cub, who let out a bit of a laugh.
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Posted: Tue May 23, 2006 6:37 pm
"Yeah."
Most cats didn't like the water, rarely venturing further than required to satify their thirst. To Xigbar it was merely a necessity, it washed away the dust and cooled him when the sun baked on his dark fur. He didn't dislike the water, but he didn't revel in it either.
But the cub seemed captivated, enthralled with the fluid element, maybe he'd have been better suited as a fish. Xigbar snickered to himself at the thought of a furry fish, that would certainly be an interesting sight.
"Hey, watch it."
The leopard ducked his head as a spray of water hit him. But despite his words, his expression showed that he didn't really mind.
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Posted: Thu May 25, 2006 9:52 am
"Sorry papa..."
The cub gave a few pounces in the water, trying to keep the spray from hitting Xigbar. But, he was tired, and no matter how much he wanted he simply couldn't keep up the playful bouncing.
Glancing down at the water the cub gave one more bat at it before dragging himself up on shore.
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Posted: Thu May 25, 2006 5:32 pm
Xigbar kept a watchful eye on the cub, making sure he didn't stray from the small pool to be caught in the current of the river. He could see the cub winding down, his energy fading for the moment. A nap would probably be a good idea, and then Demyx could run around full of energy again.
Turning from the water, the dark leopard stepped to the shore, shaking the water from his fur when he reached dry land. Lowering his head he nudged the cub lightly.
"Tired, huh?"
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Posted: Thu May 25, 2006 10:43 pm
"Kinda..."
The cub nudged back, letting out one tiny yawn.
"Can we get some sleep papa?..."
Green eyes turned upward, the cub looking to the older leopard for approval. He was tired, yes, but if Xigbar wasn't ready to sleep and wanted to travel more than Demyx would try his best to keep up.
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Posted: Fri May 26, 2006 6:08 pm
The leopard wasn't really tired persay, he wasn't a cub and thus didn't need as much sleep. But Demyx did need sleep, and it would give Xigbar some time to just relax.
Nodding silently, the leopard stepped forward, paws carrying him away from the shore. He moved slowly, yellow eye always making sure the young cheetah cub was still there, now would be a bad time to become lost.
Fortunatelly for the cub, it wasn't long before Xigbar stopped at his destination, a large tree without any lowlying branches, but the large branches at the top were ideal for sleeping in. He nudged the cub forward toward the tree.
"Go on."
The lack of low branches would make it harder to climb for the cub, but it would also ward off any predators looking for a fight...or worse, an easy meal.
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Posted: Sat May 27, 2006 2:35 pm
The small cub trailed behind him, paws dragging in weariness. He made sure not to trail too far behind, as such a thing could be very dangerous out here, but he wasn't trying to bound around Xigbar anymore either.
Once they arrived at the tree, the cub simply stared up at it, even after Xigbar nudged him forward. Now, leopards might sleep in trees, but cheetahs only went up them when absolutely necessary. It simply wasn't in Demyx's nature to just scurry right on up the tree.
"....you want me to go up there?"
The cub blinked back at Xigbar before staring up at the tree once again.
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Posted: Sat May 27, 2006 10:12 pm
Xigbar knew that climbing the tree would be difficult for the cub, Demyx would have probably never thought to climb a tree before the leopard suggested it. But cub or not, Xigbar was a leopard, he'd been sleeping in trees since he was a cub, and he knew that it was the safest place to do so.
"Yes, start climbing."
Unlike crossing the river, Xigbar wasn't sure if the cheetah cub would be able to climb the tree on his own, at least not when he was tired, but he supposed he could help just this once. It was something the cub would have to learn, and with all that energy it wouldn't be long before Demyx was climbing trees as well as any leopard.
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Posted: Sun May 28, 2006 8:18 am
"I'll try..."
The cub looked back at him a moment longer before jumping to grab onto the tree. Tiny claws digging into the bark, Demyx struggled to climb up higher.
But, it was his first time attempting this afterall, and soon enough he lost his grip and fell back to the earth with one tiny frustrated squeak. Shaking off his failure, the cub tried again to start climbing the tree.
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Posted: Sun May 28, 2006 1:27 pm
Xigbar shook his head, this might be harder than the thought. Still at least the cub was trying and he seemed determined enough. The leopard was confident he would learn to climb trees quickly, just...not tonight.
Lowering his head, the dark leopard picked the cub up by the scruff of the neck. He didn't give Demyx a chance to protest before leaping at the tree, talons gripping the bark as he scurried up the tree and a moment later dropped the cub rather unceramoniously on one of the larger branches before flopping over on his own branch of choice.
"Next time you climb yourself...and don't fall."
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