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 Posted: Thu Nov 22, 2007 9:19 pm
Not wanting to seem rude in any way, Fiore set his thoughts at ease and nodded at each of their greetings. " As my friend here has already announced, " He winked at Mikaila. " My name is Fiore. It's a pleasure to meet all of you. " For one with such a name as Sweetfern, she doesn't appear to be so sweet. The female wolf threw him for a loop but he dared not say anything aloud. Outer appearances were nothing compared to the soul.
Mikaila frowned when Eli seemed to grow even more distressed. She looked from Fiore to Eli, then back again. Her flower loving friend didn't send off a signal of hunter that would bring up some kind of companionship among them. As if to add kick to her statement, the striped cervi saw her friend wince at the sight of the roasting rabbits. No doubt he was saying a prayer in his head for them.
" Well, Mikaila," She was startled out of her thoughts when Fiore placed a hand on her shoulder. " You've found some fine company, that you have. " Beaming, she nodded.
{ ~wanted to make Fiore know Furze in some small way but didn't know what way in which to do it~ XP }
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Posted: Thu Nov 22, 2007 10:01 pm
The dark red wolftaur stared at the drawing in the sand, memorizing it so that he could make it when they got back to their island. He simply smiled when her hair touched his skin, liking the feeling. After he had greeted the new cervi, he sat back down, turning the rabbits on the spit. They were almost done.
Evisule patted Furze's head lightly and stroked his fur. "It's okay Furze, it's just another cervi..." she said in a calming voice, not realizing the true reason for the little one to hide his face.
Elitalov stiffened when he saw Fiore wince at the roast. "What, don't like rabbits?" he shot, not in the best of moods. Of course, it was rare that he was ever in a good mood around others, but he seemed to have taken a disliking to the new cervi.
Evi noticed this, and wondered if it could have been because Eli was jealous of the close relationship Fiore seemed to have with Mikaila, but knew better than to ask. It would only anger Eli more. Either way, she still didn't want him being rude to possible friends. "Eli, be nice!" she said, frowning.
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Posted: Thu Nov 22, 2007 10:30 pm
It was interesting for Sweetfern to realize that not all cervitaurs were hunters. Sure, she would expect a reaction of distaste at the rabbits from a centaur, but cervitaurs were supposed to be warriors, weren't they? Like Eli. Like Det and her brothers and parents and the many other hunting wolftaurs she'd known. Maybe the two species were not so similar after all. Or maybe Fiore was just an anomaly.
Either way, she smiled sweetly and joined Det by the fire again, watching the cervitaurs but not interfering.
Hmmm. Just another cervi. Maybe she was right. Furze didn't recognize him. He never really paid much attention to adults other than his parents and the old lady that lived next door, who was fun to bother and who always gave him snacks. Maybe it was all right. Paying no attention to Eli snapping at Fiore, he lifted his head and laughed, pointing. "You got flowers on your head, mister!"
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Posted: Mon Nov 26, 2007 4:52 pm
Mikaila merely shook her head, lowering herself to sit next to Evi. It they were going to fight, nothing she could say would stop them. Being raised ina household with mainly males had taught her that. She hoped that Eli could just like Fiore for Fiore but she was beginning to doubt.
Fiore scrunched up his nose, shaking his head from side to side. " Oh, quite the opposite. " He gingerly took down his flower crown and mended the frayed links. " I adore rabbits. It's a roating carcass I can't stand. "
Mikaila tensed. " Fiore." She warned, chewing on her bottom lip as he walked by.
He waved her off and bent to Furze, holding out his crown with a grin. If it bothered the buck that much, then let him run off with Mikaila and be done with it. Showing such a display in front of ladies and a child wasn't proper. " Aye, that I do but now I'm not the only one. " The elder cervi placed it on the fawn's head.
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Posted: Sun Dec 02, 2007 5:04 pm
Eli glared at the white-haired cervi, for once not being able to think of a good retort, and in his frustration, decided to stomp off into the forest instead.
Det simply rolled his eyes at his friend's juvenile display. He had to admit that for all Eli's good qualities, sometimes he sure could be an idiot. Well... more like a lot of the time, but some more than others. He shrugged and took the rabbits off the fire to cool, stabbing the two sticks they were on diagonally into the sand and resting the ends on the forked sticks at the edge of the fire circle. "Dinner is served," he announced, winking at Sweetfern. "I suppose we can save some for Eli..."
Unlike the wolftaur, Evi was very uneasy and worried about her brother. "But what if he gets lost?" she asked, mostly just voicing her thoughts to herself. "Or what if he trips over something and gets hurt and can't make it back? Or what if he's attacked by a hungry wild animal?" With each new thought she hugged Furze a little closer, but not enough to make the little one uncomfortable. She barely realized when Fiore gave Furze the crown of flowers.
Det tried to give her a comforting smile. "Don't worry about Eli, Evi, he can take care of himself, and I'm sure he'll be back soon-"
Evi interrupted him. "Well yes, but what if he's his usual stubborn self and doesn't come back all night? And he may not remember to keep himself warm..." She stood up, preparing to follow after her brother, as usual acting more like his older than younger sister. If Eli could have seen her then, he would have smiled, and possibly even laughed, at his dear sister's motherly, caring personality. But she paused, remembering she held Furze, and she didn't want to put the little one in any unnecessary danger.
Not too far into the dark forest, Eli stopped to see where he was. As he thought about what he had just done, he wanted to smack himself. How dumb could he be? There he was, picking a pointless fight, and ending up making a fool of himself. And for what? Or who, for that matter? Mikaila? Why? Why should he have felt... he didn't like to admit it, but jealousy? It wasn't as if he liked her... right? No one could replace Naina. No one. But although he had only known Mikaila for half a day, sometimes she seemed to him to resemble Naina. They were both strong-willed, intelligent, beautiful... he sighed, running a hand through his hair. And what if she didn't like him in that way? What if she was already involved with someone else? What if he didn't really like Mikaila for herself, but only because she reminded him of Naina?
No... he knew that the two were different enough for him not to be petty like that. But did he really want another relationship, or was it just Evi's influence? Another no, Evi didn't influence him that much... he was just in denial. He didn't want to admit he had feelings for her. And he wouldn't, for as long as possible.
Now to find my way back to the group... he thought as he looked around at the unfamiliar scenery. Luckily, he was a pretty good tracker, and just followed the reckless path he had made, although quite a bit slower this time, so as not to lose his own trail.
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Posted: Tue Dec 18, 2007 6:30 am
Furze was so pleased at the crown of flowers that he couldn't contain himself. He batted happily at Fiore's hand, then when the hand was out of his reach, bounced in Evi's arms, pulling his fists to his chest and beaming a grin over her shoulder. He didn't notice the tension between the adults until Eli left the group. His excitement dimmed and he adjusted the flowers on his head, watching Eli's retreat with his lower lip sticking out in a puzzled frown. Silently he gazed at the adults and tried to make sense of the situation. Evi's tone of voice was worried -- that much he could tell. He smiled and reached up to pat her head.
Testy things, these cervitaurs, Sweetfern thought. Then she stopped and corrected herself. It was only Elitalov; the others seemed to think, as she did, that he was being unreasonable. True, she actually agreed with him. What was this Fiore fellow thinking? If her pack had been here they would have laughed him off of the island. But Eli's reaction was too much.
For a moment, seeing his sister's anxiety, she considered going after him herself. But no, that was ridiculous. She barely knew him. What would she say? Instead she settled for backing Det's statement up. "Even if he does stay out there all night, he'll be fine. He's a hunter. They stay out in the woods by themselves at night all the time." She gestured at the empty area around the fire and said hopefully, "Come, sit."
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Posted: Thu Dec 20, 2007 8:07 pm
Mikaila gazed off into the forest in the exact spot where Eli had disappeared. On impulse she rose from her spot on the sand and left to track him down.
Fiore shook his head and turned his attention to the meal at hand. " If your brother's attitude is equal to his skills then I'm sure he'll be just fine. " Whether that was meant to assure Evi or disgrace Eli, he himself wasn't sure. Pulling a small bundle of berries from his antlers, Fiore quietly munched on his supper. Truly he hadn't meant anything that would make him run off like that but if his own temper couldn't be in check then he should go take some time to cool off.
With only the makeshift path as her guide, the petite cervi scrambled through the forest. Many years of openly travelling with a band of humans had stripped her of her most basic skills, including those that would help her watch out for obstacles. " Wonderful, " She grumbled as her tail got caught in a briar patch. Standing there, in the dark and rather creepy forest, she mulled over what she was trying to do. Was she just going to magically convince him to come back? " Oh, I'm sorry that my friend was such an arse. Could you forgive him? "
Gently tugging her tail free, Mikaila trotted silently up the path and bounced on her hooves just to hear that lovely little jingle her jewelary made to shut off her mind.
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Posted: Thu Dec 27, 2007 12:16 pm
Evisule couldn't help but smile back at Furze when he pat her head. She sighed and sat near Sweetfern, trusting that Mikaila would be able to retrieve her brother, and hoping that they wouldn't both end up lost. She nodded at Sweetfern for her somewhat-reassuring words, and took the small hunk of meat that Det handed to her. She smiled up at Fiore. "Thank you, you're all probably right... it's just, I haven't seen him in years, and I don't want him running away again on me, or even worse, getting lost... But this time, I suppose, it would be more his fault than... the last time..."
Shaking her head to rid herself of the thoughts, she gently lowered Furze to the ground, then handed him a bit of meat from her chunk. "Here sweetie, eat this," she offered.
"Eli's such a drama king," Detnuadnu muttered to himself half-jokingly, quiet enough so that only Sweetfern would hear, if she were listening. He gave her the rabbit he had taken a hunk out of for Evi, so that she could choose whatever she wanted then he could take from what was left. There were still three more rabbits, but he needed to save for Eli and Mikaila, then they could split the rabbit or two left over. He almost snickered, picturing Eli having to share with the pretty pink cervi, but held it in.
Elitalov's ears perked up as he heard... jingling? He had guessed Evi might come for him but wouldn't want to risk the little cervi she held, nor would she want to put him down. So he was pretty sure it could be her, but even more so as she had no jewelry of any sort. He knew Det didn't have anything, and he was pretty sure Sweetfern didn't, although he vaguely remembered some sort of necklace or bracelet that Det had probably given to her. All he remembered or Fiore's accessories was some dumb flowers in his antlers, so all that was left was- he paused when he was close enough to see a flash of pink through the foliage. He let out a soft sigh, wanting to punch himself at the realization of who it was. He could be so dense sometimes.
Guessing that she probably hadn't noticed him, since he blended in with their surroundings much better than she, and had no pretty, noisy baubles to alert her of his presence, he simply stepped in front of her. If she had seen him, then she wouldn't be surprised; if she hadn't, well, her reaction could be anything from being startled to complete calm. Crossing his arms, he said bluntly, "My sister sent you, didn't she?" Evi was the only one he thought would actually want to find him, Det was maybe another, but the wolftaur probably wouldn't care unless Eli was gone for at least a few days. With the way he had treated her friend, Eli assumed that Mikaila was only retrieving him to be nice to his sister.
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Posted: Thu Dec 27, 2007 1:39 pm
"Yay!" Furze seized the meat and cut off his own cheer by stuffing it into his mouth. Immediately he reached his hands toward Det, grinning with full cheeks. "More?"
Sweetfern smirked at the little cervitaur, and glanced up at Det with a bit of extra sparkle in her eyes as she accepted the rabbit. In true wolf form she used her teeth to rip off the part she wanted. "Thanks," she said, returning the rest of the rabbit to him. "So, Eli does this often?" Chewing on the meat, she watched out of the corner of her eye as Fiore ate his berries.
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Posted: Fri Dec 28, 2007 8:36 am
Fiore felt...odd. He had never spent much time around wolftaurs, but not out of trying. It just seemed that no-one wanted to have a flower loving cervi next to them. At first he had thought them horrible beasts because of their way of living but seeing it all first hand was somehow calming. With a small smile on his face, he eagerly awaited information on the green one.
Mikaila screamed out right and reared up before falling flat on her bum. Where had he come from?! It didn't make sense! Fiore was forest colored and she could still find him, so why not Eli? " Owie, " She pouted, rubbing her sore hind legs. A collision with an up-turned root left her aching and agitated, mainly at the cervi infront of her.
" If at all possible, your sister would the one out here, not me. " She glared up at him and crossed her arms over her chest, trying her best to look intimidating. " She's worried to death! Who knows what could have happened to you out here? " Mikaila didn't know if it would be good for her to mention that she felt the same way, even though she'd only known him for a short time. Something about him just made her want to reach out, give him a big hug and never let him go. Might as well. Rising up, she wrapped her arms around his waist and leaned onto his chest. " Don't do that again, okay? "
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Posted: Fri Dec 28, 2007 2:57 pm
Det grinned at the youngling and ripped off the leg of the rabbit, handing it to Furze with a wink, "Don't eat the bone, okay?"
He smiled at Sweetfern. "Not so much when we used to hunt together, but whenever others would try to talk to him about himself or his past, or if someone insulted him or something, he would make a big deal out of something that generally didn't need to be. Of course, if he was ever insulted so much that it was practically a challenge to fight, he accepted that challenge and he fought well." Det nodded, remembering. "He sure did feel a need to preotect his honor, or some pride thing like that. Never was one for hurting others, though, even in fights. He just wanted to prove he was better than they were so they'd leave him alone. He didn't even want to humiliate, just humble them... In fact, the only taur I ever saw him hurt were those cervis-" He shook his head then, realizing that he could be going someplace touchy for Evi, knowing it was a sore spot for Eli. "Ahem, but, I'm sure Evisule knows more than I about that, even if she wasn't there at the time. Probably shouldn't be bringing that up." He grinned at the cervi sheepishly. (Hee, wolf in sheep's clothing. *cough* Sorry, just had to say that. XP)
Evi simply smiled at him. "No that's okay. That's Eli's personal business, but I am his sister, and I was there when... Well, when we were younger, Eli was like this a lot more often. Always storming out of our hut..." She giggled. "But, that was because of our parents. In fact, one of the times he got most angry at them was when he got those earrings. Five on each ear. Goodness, were Mother and Father angry!" She shook her head. "But then, he didn't care much for them. Only for me, his dear little sister, who was always watching out for him," she smiled jokingly, but it turned to one of wistfulness, "and Naina..."
Eli blinked down at Mikaila, surprised at her outburst. Just as he was about to offer his hand to help her up, she hugged him. He froze in shock, caught off-guard, enjoying her warmth, but uncomfortable with her closeness. His arms were out to his sides, looking ready to return the hug, but held back by his will. "Um- yeah- sure- whatever," he muttered, feeling like a stuttering teen again. He touched the tips of his fingers very lightly to her shoulders and pushed her gently away. "Let's, um- let's just get back to the others." He could feel his face get warm, and hoped the moonlight was faint enough so that Mikaila couldn't see his blush. He could see her clearly enough, though, so he tried turning away his head instead. "Come on," he said, trying to continue past her.
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Posted: Fri Dec 28, 2007 10:29 pm
The little cervitaur wiggled in place, which passed for a 'thank you,' and got to business gnawing on the meat as if he hadn't eaten in days.
"Sounds like a lot of wolftaurs I know," Sweetfern said, thinking idly of a handful of the challenges she'd seen between members of her own pack. Good times. The story about Eli and the cervitaurs he hurt was waiting to be told, hovering enticingly, but she decided not to reach for it. If even Detnuadnu was dodging the issue then it wasn't her place to pry.
Furze tried to talk with a full mouth, paused long enough to swallow, and choked a bit. When he could speak he said, "Mister Eli runned away too! His Daddy and Mommy make him go in a corner?" He was practically beaming. "Running away's fun." Happily he stuck the end of a bone into his mouth like some sort of strange tooth, about half of the meat still dangling from it, and made growling noises. "I'mma monster, rarrrr. Monster hungry!" With wide, innocent eyes and the bone still in his mouth, he held out his hands. "More?"
Ah, kids. Quite the appetite. Even if he actually hadn't finished what he'd already taken. Sweetfern was glad to be away from the isle for an evening; it also meant being away from having to help the pack's mothers with all their annoying offspring.
Her mind turned back to that name, Naina. The way Evi said it, she could tell that there was another story behind there somewhere. "Who is this Naina?" Quickly she added, "Unless you don't want to talk about it." There was a lot of mystery behind this pair of siblings. Mystery was always intriguing.
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Posted: Wed Jan 02, 2008 9:30 am
Fiore couldn't help the wide smile and the little laugh that came out. Oh, how he'd missed the innocent antics of children. He could barely contain himself by the time little Furze asked for more. Clutching his side, billowing laughter spilt forth from somewhere lost. It had been along time since he'd been this happy!
On his rise back up for another breath, the elder cervi remembered that he was not alone and that important matters were being discussed, so he wisely clamped his mouth. " Sorry about that. " He turned back to his berries.
Was Eli blushing? Mikaila tilted her head to the side, grinning from ear to ear. She could barely see it but it was there! " Alright then, let's get a move on. " The petite little cervi decided to hang back behind him, content with letting the butterflies in her tummy take wing. She so desperately wanted to reach out and grasp his hand, but the 'what-ifs' maimed that plan.
The darkened sky provided excellent in distracting her from the man infront of her. It seemed that the longer she stared at the stars, the farther away they got. Feeling a might bit depressed, Mikaila turned her attention back to Eli.
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Posted: Wed Jan 02, 2008 10:59 am
(*should submit Eli's story to the CI library again* I sent it in right before the Autumn Festival, so I don't think they had any time then, and right after was the Winter event... XP Ah well. Eli's life is full of too much drama, without everyone wanting to know more about him. XD Hopefully later he won't be as much of a focus. 8D; )
"Like wolftaur? That's true, which is probably why Eli came to our island for help... Lucky for him I was there, he wasn't the best at picking villages to ask for help in." Det snickered. "I probably would have ignored him just the same as the others with the attitude he's got, except then he seemed so desperate for a friend. I always preferred making weapons to using them, but of course, I excel at both, and Eli was good at neither, so I had to train him." He shrugged. "He was eager to learn so it was over with quickly, but then I just had to have become his friend and offer to help him... Eli's quest sure did take out time from my personal life." He winked at Sweetfern. "But then, he was only eighteen, and although I was about the same age, I suppose, I was still a year older and apparently much more mature. Doesn't seem like Eli's changed all that much, though," he said, rolling his eyes.
Evi giggled at Furze then at Fiore's outburst, not paying complete attention to Det but enough so she mostly knew what he was saying. "Yes, little monster," she replied, smiling and handing him the rest of her meat as she wasn't particularly hungry, and ate berries and other fruits throughout the day anyway, "His mommy and daddy made him go in a corner. But when he got big, and could take care of himself, they couldn't make him go in a corner anymore... running away's not always as fun as it seems, little Furze," she added.
"Oh, Naina? She..." Evi paused, trying to think of words good enough to describe her old friend. "Well, she was a year older than me, and so Eli's age, just about. He was in love with her," she said with a sigh and a smile. "And she with him. They were perfect together, and I... I expected to have her as a sister someday, with the way those two went on. You see, part of it was that Eli had gotten five earrings on each ear instead of two on each, which the males in our family had done for generations uncounted." She rolled her eyes, a smile still playing on her lips. "So of course our parents just couldn't stand it. Not to mention they didn't like the fact that Naina's family used to live with the cattaurs on the cattaur island." She shook her head. "I love our parents, but they were always so close-minded about such things."
Sighing, she went on, "Nainai, he used to call her... she was beautiful... -in my opinion, at least. She was strong-willed, gentle, intelligent, calm and centered, loving... everything that Eli needed to balance himself. But my parents didn't understand their love, and they told him to leave her, forget about her, but of course he could never have even considered such a thing, and he just couldn't deal with them any more, and he ran away, just for a day, he told me, but so much can happen in just a few minutes..." She paused to collect herself, not wanting to end up bursting into tears infront of her new friends, and especially not wanting to alarm Furze. Thinking back on her description of Naina, she knew what Eli was probably thinking when he was with Mikaila.
As he picked his way back through the bushes and other greenery littering the ground, Eli tried to think of what to say to the others. He thought of just sitting down and acting as if nothing happened, but that reminded him of the way his parents had always acted after he had a huge argument with them. He didn't really want to apologize, but knew it would make Evi happy, and so guessed that would be the best course of action. But what would he say? He was definitely not used to making apologies, especially to people he didn't know very well. He thought of Mikaila following behind him, and almost asked her what she thought he should say in his apology, but decided against it. There was no need for more embarassment than he had already put upon himself that night.
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Posted: Fri Jan 11, 2008 11:43 am
If Eli had come to Sweetfern's pack for help, what would have happened? She imagined her father's scorn at the very idea. Fisk, though, that stupid, lovable lunkhead, he would have helped. He was probably the only one that would. That was one more thing that Det had in common with her brother. Sweetfern looked at the red wolftaur thoughtfully, as if trying to see something just beyond him, and when he winked at her she smirked. Shameless flirt, he was.
At Fiore's laughter Sweetfern smiled, though somewhat distantly, and when he cut it off she wanted it to continue. To her surprise she was feeling more at home here by the minute.
Having an audience that appreciated his antics instead of shushing him and telling him to be more like his brother was something Furze had never really experienced, and he found that he liked it. His two pieces of meat were locked in a fierce battle against each other, the loser of each round having a bite taken out of him, when he noticed that the adults were talking again and not really paying attention to him. For a moment he was disappointed. But he recovered quickly when he realized that his food was challenging him. He made faces to scare it and then gnawed off what he imagined to be its head.
Sweetfern managed to contain her distaste at the idea of someone staying with cattaurs. Despite that one glitch, Naina sounded lovely, and she could feel the pain in Evi's voice threatening to overflow. Part of her wanted to hear the details of what had happened, especially when Det and Eli got revenge, but if she wanted to know that she was going to have to ask Det later since he was the one who had mentioned it.
"I'm sorry," she said, brushing the backs of her fingers against the cervitaur's shoulder in a consolatory gesture. Beyond that there wasn't much to say. She returned to her meal, hoping the conversation would take a new turn and bring it out of the melancholy she had invited with her question about Naina.
(So I just wanted to kind of clarify where, in my head, everyone is sitting around the fire. I made this dumb little map in Paint. XD
For some reason this is how I've pictured it the entire time, which is why I have Sweetfern near enough to reach Evi. Hope that's okay with you guys.
Oooh... fanart idea...)
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