Initially, Justine was amused by honest and foolish words. His laughter making her heart flutter, for a fleeting moment. Then Miguel opened his mouth again after his pain subsided. She wanted to scold Miguel for trying to compare his pain and Melly's pain. "Don't compare your pain with his! It's rude—"
Justine abruptly stopped talking when Miguel did, his gaze are away. She was confused by his behavior and looked toward Collette to see if she had any explanation. She didn't. The two of them just silently stared at Miguel until he finally spoke again. She exchanged another look with her sister and shrugged. Neither them had any idea what got over Miguel. Clearly, he did not remember last night. If he did, he would be stuttering and tripping over his own paws by now because he couldn't hide his feelings very well...
Like the look he was giving her right now. It was obvious to Justine what was going through his mind, but she already gave her. Or she was giving up. He was looking at her like he realized his feelings, but he wouldn't realize her feelings or pursue her."We'll get Dr. Sammi. You need your wounds examined. I think they're messing with your brain. C'mon Wildfire."Collette said, clearly worried about Miguel. Justine nodded. "Right. Be right back. Promise." The two she-bears nuzzled Miguel, letting him know they cared and would return to his side soon.
However, once they were away from Miguel, calling for Dr. Sammi to check on him, Collette gave Justine The Look. "Whirlwind..." Her sister sighed."She Who Starts Wildfires, he is a lost cause. Please, release those feelings." "I know Whirlwind of Love. I shall. He's been a lost cause from the start."
The sisters walked back to Miguel, trailing behind Dr. Sammi as the doctor grumpily sulked into Miguel's curtained-off bed."We're back, Big Family,"announced Collette as Dr. Sammi examined their friend and asked him a bunch of questions about how he felt and about being truthful about his symptoms.
Eden
Armel
Humbert
Bera
Posted: Tue May 24, 2016 9:50 pm
"Wait, come-" Miguel watched them both walk away. "...back..."
I am in love with Justine. I have been for...as long as I can remember. Miguel looked inside himself and he felt how true that was. And he was a moron! She would never accept him if he didn't man up and admit it to her, especially if he had nobel's to compete with! Miguel wasn't blind, and he knew about her family, they were like his. But he didn't want to let a nobel have her.
When they returned, Miguel was still in the sweep of his epiphany, and answered Dr. Sammi automatically, then looked over to Justine. "Justine... Wildfire, I need to talk to you. Please?" His big eyes bore into hers, begging her to stay.
[Now, it won't be any fun if everything is resolved in one go...]
Justine glanced over at Miguel, but she was not prepared for the desperate look in his gaze. If she left him without hearing him out, she may come to regret it, yet she had already made her decision. A quick glance at her sister and she felt the heavy weight of her decision. A glance at Dr. Sammi and she felt herself become some sort of sideshow spectacle. "Alright," she finally mumbled.
Justine was not prepared for Miguel. Nothing could prepare her for his words nor actions. And nothing could prepare her for her mother's entrance.
The massive she-bear poked her head into the curtained off area and looked around at its occupants. Annabelle saw her two daughters, Dr. Sammi, and Miguel. She nodded her head to Dr. Sammi before speaking to her daughters. "Whirlwind, Wildfire, it's time for us to depart. Big Family, I am relieved and happy to know you are still among us and I pray to the First Queen that your wounds heal flawlessly." She gave Miguel a quick nuzzle, being fond of the young male as many of the other servants were. He was a sweet and kind bear, unlike many in the kingdom.
Annabelle then looked down at her son, who had also poked his head into the curtained off cubicle. "Tranquil Lake, be sure to give Big Family a proper greeting." "Yes, Mom," he said as she ducked her head out and met up with her two daughters.
Dmitri remained silent when he and his mother reluctantly left Melly's side. Work needed to be done, and they could no longer abstain from it. Melly was sleeping soundly, so all he and his mother had to worry about was Miguel before they all went on their "merry" way.
When Dmitri finally saw Miguel, he thought the older cub had seen better days and looked like a carrion had gotten to his back, yet he still looked far better than Dmitri's expectations. He only stepped toward the older cub when his mother and sisters departed, leaving only himself, Miguel, and Dr. Sammi. "Sunshine is sleeping soundly," he said to his friend, "which is what I want to tell you to do, but from the desperate look in your gaze, you won't do that easily." At the last bit, Dr. Sammi snorted. Dmitri ignored her. "Focus on getting better, Big Family. Wildfire isn't going anywhere with anybody. She's still a cub after all." He turned to look at the silhouettes of his family waiting on the other side of the curtain. Yes, they definitely weren't going anywhere anytime soon. "Focus on yourself before pursuing my sister. Vicious Seal won't approve of a male who can't keep his head straight. Wildfire may, but Vicious Seal won't."
Eden
Armel
Humbert
Bera
Posted: Thu May 26, 2016 10:39 pm
[ I figured xd ]
Miguel watched hopelessly as Justine was swept away by her mother. He was left gazing after her with a defeated look on his face when Dmitri began giving him brotherly advice. Putting a paw over his face, he groaned. "I screwed up. I told her I loved her when I was only half conscious, because I was too fur-brained to realize it sooner." He rolled over to face the younger bear. "You you think she'd accept me, when I really confess my feelings?"
Dmitri glanced at Dr. Sammi as she tended to Miguel's wounds, her frown less severe than he expected. Looking back at Miguel, Dmitri sat on his haunches, sighing. "You're a big idiot, but everyone already knows that," he said, expression dead serious. "I don't know if Wildfire will accept you. If you can only release the obvious when you're near death, it's not a good quality in a mate. Focus on improving your weak points and strengthening your good points. Prove your capable of being her mate, worthy of challenging generations of our mother's family traditions. Then she may accept you." Back on his paws, Dimka walked over to the curtain, glance back at his friend with a smile, and then departed.
Humbert arrived back at the infirmary just as Annabelle and her cubs were walking down the hall. His gaze briefly met hers as they passed by. She smirked as she walked away. He frowned and entered the infirmary to find half his guards unconscious. Turning to James, Hum could only ask, "What happened?"
Justine
Eden
Armel
Bera
Posted: Wed Jun 15, 2016 10:23 pm
Miguel nodded his head, accepting the truthful words. He had to get better because he had a lot of work to do.
James shook his head, staring after her. "She's formidable," was all he said.
[Time Skip Several Months]
Abigail walked with her little cub close on her heels. Her head was held high and proud as he baby was taking her first steps out of their personal den. Amaya was her single pride and joy in the world. And yet she didn't trust most of the bears here, so despite her head held high and proud, it also scanned for any sign of danger and she walked very close to her baby, hovering protectively. She couldn't help a smile on her face, watching her daughter playing with a chuck of ice, passing it between her paws. "Amaya sweetheart," She called to her, watching her play. Amaya ignored her, not very used to her human name yet. "Beautiful as home, and precious as ice, what are you doing?" She passed the ice back to her baby when it slipped away.
Amaya pounced on the ice that her momma passed back to her and bit it. "There, it's dead momma!"
Miguel was walking the halls searching for Justine, when he spotted Lady Abigail and what must be her new cub. He crouched around the corner to watch so he didn't disturb them, and tried not to giggle.
[Loiiy, how much older do you think Miguel is compared to Justine and her siblings? Two or three years?]
Justine traveled side-by-side with her mother through various personal and social chambers of nobles, cleaning them as they went along. With her mother, they formed a formidable pair despite her young age. Over the past several months, she had grown well and large, befitting of her family lineage. However, she had yet to reach cub-bearing age. She looked more like a preteen human child than a human teenager. Still, she would soon reach the age where she was old enough to witness and experience her family legacy.
In the meantime, Justine and her mother reached the chambers of Lord Arcadius and Lady Abigail. Justine tried to remember whether she would encounter Lady Abigail or not. She remembered her mother saying something about Lady Abigail's cub being old enough to begin leaving the maternity den every once in awhile for short periods. However, Justine's doubts were cleared once she and her mother rounded the corner and saw Lady Abigail with a single cub at her paws.
And a little further away, down the hall, Justine spotted Miguel hiding around the corner, though he wasn't doing a good job at hiding if she could see his massive head poking out from around the corner.
Suppressing a chuckle, Justine dipped her head to Lady Abigail, mimicking how her mother bowed."Good day, m'lady. Good day, young lady. May my daughter or I be of service to you?"asked her mother as respectfully as she would address any of the older and wiser servants. It wasn't hard to understand why. Lady Abigail was originally from the lower classes, but she was given to Lord Arcadius like a piece of meat so her parents could have a higher social status. Yet Lady Abigail remained strong and resilient through it all, or at least that's what Annabelle had told her. Her mother had little respect for most nobles the way she respected Lady Abigail.
Armel was out on the ice hunting for seals. The bones in his paw were fully healed, allowing him to properly hunt once again. In addition, he had managed to avoid his older brothers, especially Dov, for the past several months. He also continued working in the kitchen with the servants, but he couldn't help feeling self-conscious when he entered the large ice cavern. He constantly worried whether the servants resented him—he couldn't blame them if they did—and feared some of them were spies for Their Majesties. All he wished to do was serve them, to prove he was useful, yet all he caused was trouble. Sometimes, his thoughts returned to death. Would it have been better if he had died on the ice? Would life be better for Annabelle, Justine, Collette, Dmitri, Miguel, and all the others? Would Their Majesties be happier if it wasn't he who survived his first two years, but the others?
Some days, Armel would stare at his reflection in the water as he hunted for seals and imagined falling in and never going up for air. It was often worse when he realized, as the days went by, he started appearing more and more like His Majesty. Of course, Armel was sired by the king, but he wasn't like the king. His brothers and nephews were like His Majesty, but not him. Like right now, he was staring at the air hole of a seal that had recently gone into the water. He was alone, and the wait would be long, thus giving him ample time to contemplate his purpose in life."What am I even doing?"He sighed and settled back, away from the air hole.
Humbert
Eden
Bera
Posted: Sun Jun 19, 2016 2:06 pm
Abigail looked up from her darling cub playing and spotted Annabelle and her daughter Justine. Both were quite beautiful and quite well known in her circles, and she always hates the way the nobles spoke of the pair, and admired the way they survived their station equally. She gave them both a smile, and chuckled as Amaya scrambled to run behind her front paw. "Hello to both of you." She greeted them, then lifted her paw and pushed her daughter forward lightly with her muzzle. "It's alright Amaya, these two are very lovely. Why don't you say hello?" She watched her daughter bob her head the way she had taught her to, and then she ran over to Justine and pounced on her paw- or attempted to rather, when she instead slipped on the ice and slid the rest of the way there.
Not containing her laughter, Abigail sat down, and turned to Annabelle. "I don't require any services from you, though if you don't mind, I think Amaya would enjoy your company for a bit. She is so cooped up and confined, like her mother." Sadness touched her voice. "She may enjoy the chance to see a face other then mine."
Amaya made a little squeak as her head bonked into the bigger bear's paw, and she quickly tried to scramble up onto her paws. Of course that involved a bit more slipping a sliding before she managed it, but then she lifted her head to look up at the bigger bear. She was so pretty like momma, and so tall!
Miguel couldn't hold it any longer and burst into laughter, and watched as Abigail turned worried eyes in his direction before seeing who it was. Feeling embarrassed for hiding and for scaring her, he walked out into the open, his head bowed. He knew she had more then enough to fear from some of the bears here. "Apologies Lady, I didn't want to disturb you, but I couldn't help watching. She's very cute." He lifted a paw carefully above Amaya and watched her pull it down with her paws and began chewing on it. He winced at her sharp teeth, but accepted that as his punishment for sneaking.
Abigail smiled at Miguel. She knew him too, and what her husband had done to the poor bear. She wished she couldn't see the long scars running down his back. And yet he apologized to her, when her heart wanted to pour out apologies to him. "No need Miguel, though next time come and play with her, if we are alone." She eyed her cub gnawing on his paw. "And maybe next time Amaya will have more manners." Her voice was scolding, but it didn't touch the fond smile on her face. That cub was her pride and joy.
Annabelle chuckled as young Lady Amaya attempted to pounce on her daughter's paw. Such an energetic and lively cub. She couldn't help, but notice how bright-eyed and healthy Lady Amaya was. It showed that, despite being a first-time mother, Lady Abigail was taking special care of her cub.
Annabelle started to speak, to give her thanks to Lady Abigail, when a sudden burst of laughter startled her. She knew the bear behind the laughter, had noticed him when she first spotted Lady Abigail and Lady Amaya. Miguel.
Glancing down at Justine, Annabelle could see the more subtle twitch of her daughter's ear, but otherwise, she maintained her usual demeanor. "Lady Abigail, you wish, my cubs and I can always come on the pretense of serving you if you and Lady Amaya need company."
Justine laughed as little Lady Amaya tried to pounce at her paws only to slip and slide the rest of the way. Seeing her brought back memories of her first time out of the maternity den her mother had built for them in the snow, though she never slipped so much. She was thoroughly enjoying herself until Miguel made his presence known to Lady Abigail. She felt her chest squeeze when Miguel joined them. It hurt so much, but she had finally mastered stopping the fluttering of her heart when she saw him.
In fact, Justine mastered being able to smile at him like she would at any other bear she met outside of her family. She even spent more time with other bears, like Clarissa from the infirmary. They were the same age and liked many of the same things. Justine liked her, and she had a feeling Clarissa liked her, too. Justine kept thinking about Clarissa whenever Miguel was around. It kept her sane and focused on the present.
Crouching down, Justine wiggled her rump and pulled out a paw to poke the young cub, and thus distract her from Miguel. "I wouldn't mind spending more time with Lady Amaya. She's feisty," she added to her mother's statement. It wouldn't hurt to spend some time with the cute cub, especially when she herself would be having cubs of her own in the near future.
Armel
Humbert
Eden
Bera
Posted: Mon Jun 20, 2016 12:55 pm
Abigail turned a very grateful look on both of the females with her, and on Miguel as well. "I would be very grateful if you would. I don't want to her grow up thinking her station means she cannot have friends or fun, or that she must ignore those who serve her." These bears in particular she would love for her daughter to know, female who were powerful and knew it. She didn't want Arcadius's ideas of subservient quiet females spoiling her daughter's feistiness, as Justine put it.
Being as skilled at reading political flows a she was, she had been trained from cub-hood, even as a female, she could tell something was amiss between the two younger bears. Justine hid it very well, though that was a practiced look of concentration and calm, and Miguel did not have a way to have been trained to hide is emotions. His were plain as day. She wished she could help his predicament, but it was not hers to butt into even if she didn't respect the other female involved enough that she would not. "The invitation is open to you as well Miguel if we are alone. But you especially must be careful that we are alone." She cautioned. "Arcadius would welcome the two ladies if he saw them," she shivered at the thought, "but you I don't think he would. He's jealous at best, and he's already hurt you enough."
Miguel tried not to look discouraged in Justine's direction. Things had not been the same between them ever since the day he was attacked and rudely confessed his love in a half-conscious state. He still wanted to be worthy of her, but he wasn't sure what it was she wanted. He had hoped it was him... but he couldn't assume to know her heart. She was so brave and intelligent and had been ever since they were little. And maybe she wanted something other then him, because she could have more. She could have nobles if she wanted them. He didn't believe she would fall in love with them, the majority of them were as bad as Arcadius. But they could spoil her and she could still be free to come and go unlike their wives. And maybe one would fall for her, she was beautiful and with her keen mind she truly would be an asset as a wife. It had happened before, though not often.
But she still filled his mind when he was alone, done work for the day, or in the morning before he started his work. Maybe he had hurt her too badly to be forgiven by her, but he couldn't give up without trying.
"Wha- oh yes!" He turned back to Lady Abigail, realizing he had only been paying half attention to her words. If he didn't that with another noble woman, he could be struck, or worse. He had to be careful, not stupid. "I can be careful." He promised.
Amaya stomped chomping on the big boy-bear's paw and instead leapt after the bigger pretty-bear's paw, with significantly less slipping then before. Maybe she was getting the hang of this!
Annabelle eyed Miguel, like a mother reproaching her cub. If he stared at her daughter any longer or harder than he already was, he would burn a hole through her head. He needed practice hiding his emotions, and paying attention to nobles while they were speaking to him with her daughter around. If it had truly been anyone aside from Lady Abigail, Miguel would be skidding across the ice right now. "Tranquil Lake must also be careful if he is to visit as well," Annabelle finally spoke. Her son would have to be careful of Lord Arcadius. "Though if he comes with your older sisters, Wildfire, he and Big Family may be safe, even from your husband. They can be persuasive, m'lady." Annabelle's eldest daughters were exemplary of her family lineage. They could easily distract Lord Arcadius enough to allow Dmitri, and even Miguel, some time with Lady Amaya. "However, if worse comes to worse, I can keep him away, if you wish it, m'lady."
"Yes, Mother, Tranquil Lake will have to be careful, as well. And Sunshine won't be able to visit at all, but I'm sure he'd politely refuse anyways." said Justine as she tried to ignore Miguel's gaze by playing with Lady Amaya, though she felt his gaze burning through her so hot, she thought she may just snap at him to make him stop. However, Lady Abigail rescued her from that course of action with her warning about Lord Arcadius. "I wonder what Heavenly Skies and Great Thunder would do to distract, His Lordship? Maybe swing their hips and nibble on his lips?" she said in all seriousness to her mother. Then she said to Lady Amaya, "You're doing great, little lady. Remember, keep your haunches squared when you walk, or pounce, else you'll slip," Justine coached the young cub. This was truly fun.
Armel
Humbert
Eden
Bera
Posted: Tue Jun 28, 2016 1:04 pm
"Yes, as long as they are careful, I would love for everyone to visit. But I don't wish for harm to come to you or any of your cubs." She said to Annabelle. She realized she should probably feel jealous, for the way they were speaking of distracting her husband. But she held no love for him, only anger, revulsion and fear.
Amaya grumbled and squeaked, and spread her feet apart, squaring her hips as the pretty-bear said. Then she tried pouncing on her again, and this time managed to reach her leg without slipping. She was going to be the mightiest bear in the Kingdom!
Miguel turned away from Justine, not wanting to hear about how her sisters could distract Abigail's husband. At least they did not mention Justine joining in on this distraction, but he couldn't help but imagine it still. The thought of it made him want to retch, the female he loved distracting the male who had nearly killed him with his claws. Though he had to admit, imagining it being any other male didn't make it much better. It didn't make him feel sick then, but horrible envious of whoever would receive her attentions.
But I want more then her attention, he reminded himself. If he wanted anything from Justine, it wasn't the services her family was taught to provide. It was love. He wanted her love, and had no idea how to earn it.
"Does little Amaya have a favourite food?" He asked, trying not to think about his tangled problem. "I can probably sneak her a little extra of it from the kitchen. Then our little Lady can grow strong."
"That would be very sweet. She loves to chew on seal fins, if you can get any. Not much meat on them, but it makes an entertaining toy for her."
Miguel smiled. he'd liked the same as a cub, especially the practice using his teeth on. "I can do that."
Annabelle assured Lady Abigail that no harm would come to her or her cubs. "I and my cubs are bred to be tough. We will not be harmed by his lordship," she said as she sat back on her haunches. "Just give me the word, m'lady, and he will be distracted." She watched as Lady Amaya successfully pounced on Justine's paw. Annabelle felt proud of her daughter, even if it was just teaching a young cub how to properly pounce.
Smiling, Annabelle said to Lady Amaya, "Splendid technique, young one. Make sure you remind Wildfire to teach you how to properly kill a seal the next time we visit." Of course, she already expected Lady Abigail to have already taught her daughter that by the time they visited them again, but it was something to entertain the young cub.
Justine glanced at her mother and laughed a little. "Well, only if your mother hasn't already taught. However, I can show you the best places to hide for hide-and-go-seek. Ah, but don't go and be like Sunshine. After Tranquil Lake, Whirlwind, and I showed him, he became impossible to find, but he could always find us." "I'd have to admit, He Whose Laughter Commands the Sun to Shine truly has a gift at hide-and-seek,"said her mother. Justine huffed. "That's probably because he had plenty of practice hiding from Her—" "Wildfire." "Yes. Anyways, Big Family, get Tranquil Lake to help sneak some seal fins tonight. He's on gutting duty today," she said, finally bringing Miguel's and Lady Abigail's conversation to her attention. "Or you can ask Sunshine. I think he's out hunting right now. You can probably ask him for seal fins if he catches anything."
Armel almost fell asleep waiting for the seal to finally show itself. The ripple in the dark water alerted him to the presence of the resurfacing seal. He didn't remember how he managed to grab the seal, or kill it, he just remembered watching the snow bleed beneath his paws.At least I did something right,he thought as he picked up the deceased seal and dragged it further from its air hole.
Humbert
Eden
Bera
Posted: Wed Jul 06, 2016 1:35 pm
Miguel jolted at Justine saying his name. "I- yeah, I'll ask him." He nearly swallowed his tongue and felt like a moron.
Abigail smiled at Justine. "I'm sure Amaya would love that, thank you." She watched her daughter playing for a few minutes in silence, until nearby footsteps made her jump. "I apologize, but Amaya and I should be getting back now. Thank you all very much," she dipped her head to all three of them, then called to her daughter. "Come, Precious Ice, we have to return now."
Amaya ignored her mother for a while, she wanted to keep playing! But eventually she couldn't ignore the impatient rumbling coming from her mother. With one last swat at Justine's legs, she ran after her mother.
[Today, I met a lady who has an Alaskan Malamute named Nanook (Nanuq). I told her the name means polar bear in Inuit. She was pleasantly surprised.]
Justine let out a small laugh when Miguel stuttered. It sounded normal, like any laugh she'd give when he was behaving foolishly, but it felt painful for her because she knew why he was constantly being so air-headed. Yet she kept her usual persona as she continued to play with little Lady Amaya.
However, soon the play was cut to an end by Lady Abigail's words. It took her a moment to understand why Lady Abigail was in such a rush to return to her cave. Lord Arcadius was coming. Justine turned to look at her mother for instructions, but she was immediately met with quick commands from her."Big Family, go prepare what Her Ladyship requested. Wildfire, be sure it is delivered to her den as soon as possible. Do not dawdle. Go. Now."Justine could see her mother's usually warm, welcoming gaze transform into a sly, cool one.
And she didn't stay long to see what else her mother's gaze would transform into when she would meet Lord Arcadius.
Annabelle watched as Justine scurried down the hall, obeying her commands without a moment's hesitation. She glanced at Miguel and then turned around and approached the source of the footsteps that caused Lady Abigail to retreat. "My lord," she said as she bowed her head, "may I have a spare moment of your time?" she asked him.
Humbert was taking a break from his apprentices, eating alone in one of the less used caves of the ice packs and earth. It was a rare moment for him to be completely alone, but it wasn't necessarily a bad thing. However, lately, he only wished to be in good company. After the episode with Prince Armel and the servant Miguel, things had eerily settled down. Their Majesties had made no move towards His Highness since then. They did not prevent him from fraternizing with the servants, or stop him from his chief apprenticeship. To Hum, it was all signs of a storm yet to come.
Bera lounged in her king's bed chamber, a glass of wine in one hand and a dagger in the other. Before her, a crude dart board for her entertainment. No servant was in the chamber, she and her husband had all the privacy they desired. "Nanuq, have you read the report on the construction of the new kitchen?" she inquired. "Or the servant roster for it? It's amusing to see how many nobles living so far away and so close are willing to donate their servants to us. Pathetic." Bera gave a curt, cruel laugh. Only the heads of the noble families knew of their plans, but already they were clamoring to donate servants to her and Nanuq. On the surface, it was to be an honor to serve the royal family. However, once one scratched the surface, any fool could figure out something else was doing on behind the scenes.
