|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Wed Feb 27, 2008 2:09 pm
Zhenya, Scur, Javlein
-->
Puffs of mist rose through the air, swirling gently. Beneath the clouds walked a rusty colored male, his form heaving with past exertion. The heat of his recent running still hung around him, but with each cold breath he sucked in, his lungs felt more and more frozen. The Cavern was close now. It would do him good to sit down and relax, just warm up in front of the fire. Still, he felt reluctant to do so. Zhenya had never been good with interaction. And it seemed everytime he dared set paw within the stone-walled confine, he met overly friendly clanmates willing to make long-winded conversation. Not that he didn't appriciate their attempts. It was an honor that they tried. But being unable to answer conventionally, he felt awkward and stupid, watching with wide, green eyes as others watched him back expectantly. The thought made his slowly chilling body shake, but he moved into the protection of the Cavern nonetheless. Eyes shone in the flickering fire before him.
Steel blue eyes watched the glowing flames from a ways away as the badger banthy attempted to relax, leaning against the cold stone. The long boned spikes reflexted the glow of the fire as Scur sat in silence, exhaling slowly and his eyelids slid shut. He was back, and it was nice to be here. That fact was one that was far past obvious, but something about this place pained him, though he couldn't quite remember what it was. Opening his eyes once more, the banthi drew his gaze to the tall ceiling, scanning over it, as if somewhere up there, the answers would be carved into the stone...
It hadn't been very long, or at least she thought it hadn't been very long- but the cub still had no idea what time even was- since she had been released from her gem. Javlein, that was her name, at least that's what she had been dubbed. The strange blue-haired creature had called her that, and so it must be true. It simply must. With a small yawn the little cub stretched out slightly as her nap passed into a tired waking of the mind. Dark eyes opened cautiously, lazily even, to the warm glow of the fire. The indigo cub had curled up on the couch next to her caretaker, the blue-haired woman, who even now was fast asleep. Sleepily the cub stared at the large creature, a tiny ear flicking in the direction of the fire; for she liked the sound of the crackling fire. She had yet to notice if anyone else was about, or even if such things outside of herself and the caretaker existed at all.
For a long while he stood, unmoving, simply staring. The fire was to him, as it was to many, a hypnotizing presence. Finally thoughts returned, a realization that if he stood where he was much longer, it was highly likely that an unwanted encounter would ensue. That was just his luck, after all. Tail dragging and currently oblivious, the male stalked around the side of the large fire, watching only his paws on the ground. It'd been a long, long time since his last trip here. In fact, it was his first since the large exit of the entire clan from the territory. He hadn't understood it, but his mother had been unwilling to explain - if she actually knew the answer herself, that is. A flickering shadow met his downcast gaze, pulling him rudly from his thoughts. Nervous eyes slowly followed the shadow to its caster. Another adult, another male, and Zhenya could feel the awkwardness already. Taking a step back, he cast his gaze elsewhere, only to notice another Banthi, a cub with caretaker. The equine shrunk to a sit, tail automatically protecting his paws.
"Greetings" Scur's tone was rough, cold. The steel-blue irises darted to the corner of his eyes where he watched the other male. He even smelled of her, Knightmare, but it had been long since he had gotten over her. Shaking his head, the badger turned his head to the other adult. As he shifted, the bone spikes moved, aligned and connected with his joints.
A placid gaze was still stuck on the large blue-haired creature as it slept idly, however the cub had no mind to wake it, if it knew it even could do such a thing. However, in its biasted attention towards the human, it had somehow caught stray sounds coming from around the fire. A dark and tired gaze turned from its content staring towards the fire, however having to squint for even the warm glow irriated the sleep that still crawled about. She noticed something then, something that wasn't there before. Something large, and yet not like her caretaker at all. Unsure of what it was, the cub scooted closer towards its caretaker, edging its hindlegs into a creivice created by the human's arm. What was it? Of course she had no means of knowing it was another banthi, and in the midst of her ponderings something caught her unawares. A voice, however one that spoke within her mind and therefore startled the cub into leaping from her spot on the couch; a reaction similar to bolting. However, there was nothing to bolt into, and nothing to hide under now that the caretaker was up there... and she was all the way down here. Towards the edge of the couch, the banthi cub hunkered down once more, staring cautiously at the now two forms of large creatures. Had she known to speak, this probably wouldn't have been such a big deal.
There it was. The essential conversation starter. The less than inviting tone wasn't lost on him. However, that didn't keep him from feeling obliged to answer. The thoughts formed in his mind. Hello, he wanted to say. But they remained there, as he was unable to project them properly. It'd always been that way and always a sticking point for his anti-social nature. Eyes dropped to the ground once more, tail twitching at the silver tip. A bit more hesitation and he nodded fully. Zhenya was unable to bring his eyes to the other male's face again, but curiousity had him watching the movement of the dangerous looking mutation. So much more extensive than his mother's. Realizing his staring was bad manners, he looked away quickly, catching sight of the cub again out of the natural urge to look at something other than drab walls and eye-burning fire. Was she looking at them? But it's not like he could call her over. Shoulders drooped.
He followed the male's gaze to the cub, arching a brow and watching it curiously. Surely, it was watching them. Sighing lightly, he looked back to the adult. "You..." There was pause. "You're Knightmare's son, are you not?" His tail flicked gently behind him as he gaze a long pause before looking to the fire. This silence, it was causing such a tension...
Dark eyes shifted from both of the larger figures, catching each as they seemed to be looking back at her. What were they doing? She wasn't one to naturally obtain fear of others, but it had been rather startling to find somethings that weren't there before, and then to hear a voice in one's head- eek! There it went again! The indigo cub's ears flicked backward a bit, obviously not hearing anything with them but the crackling of fire. It was a difficult thing to grasp, and even to accept, for the blue-haired creature actually had a voice she could hear, with her ears. However, it seemed that the grey thing hadn't been talking to her at all, but the other brown thing, which set her at ease slightly. A bit cautiously, she placed her paws forward and padded a few steps in the direction of the brown thing, for he was closest. "Y-... u." She had heard the grey one speak a word like that, and though she had no idea what it meant, it couldn't hurt to try talking back. To either of them really, she hadn't spoken to any inparticular; a mere mimic of sounds.
Green eyes widened, leaving the little cub before she'd moved from the couch. Knightmare's son? How had he known? It wasn't obvious to the younger male that he smelled of his mother. Eyes darted around for some explaintion, but they found none. He had no other choice but to nod dumbly in answer, tail curling ever tighter around his seated form. The tension weighed on him, too, but he had no other means to remedy the situation. Especially not now, it seemed. Reaching his muzzle curiously forward, he asked to know how he knew. Those who didn't know he body language were unlikely to understand, but he still tried. All attention was on the male until he heard a slightly shaky and new voice. Blinking, a bit of tension drained from him as he turned, watching as the little girl slunk closer. Was she talking - or trying to talk - to him? Another curious round of blinking and he lowered his form to her, his muzzle now pointed to her at her level as he sniffed.
Scur looked to the younger banthi curiously, walking towards the both of them, stopping when he was a bit close. His tail flicked again, shifting so the boned spikes were pointing away from the two. "You mother and I..." There was a long pause as the badger thought over his words. Grey blue eyes flicked to the fire for a moment. "We were friends, a while back." He gave a friendly chuckle. "I could reconize her scent anywhere."
Just what was going on between the two big things, she couldn't possibly guess to understand, and so she simply watched the brown one as he watched her. Wait just a moment, was he falling? He was so high up, so very high up, and suddenly he was the same size as her! Well, height anyway. She couldn't help but give a startled squeak when she found his muzzle so close to her face when it had been aaaaaaall the way up there. Stiff legged but not at all running for the hills, she blinked back at the large eyes before reaching out with a paw to touch the large nose that sniffed at her. "Y-u", she said again, this time more of a chime but still shaky from unuse. Before long though, the grey's voice reached her mind in the same startling manner as before; but her dark gaze traveled to the odd fluffy thing behind him that swished out to the side. Odd, interesting, fun looking fluffy thing. Hmm...
The paw on his nose was so small and gentle, it was actually a bit surprising. Sure, cubs were far from threatening when compared to adults, but it'd been such a long time since he'd seen one. Honestly, he'd never had much experience with the newborns of their species other than family. He'd been small then, too. Carefully, he lifted his nose ever so slightly, bringing the tiny paw up with it. Green eyes watched her down his muzzle as she again tried to free her voice. She was already doing 100% better than he ever had. But however distracted by the girl, the other male's voice rang in his head, as well. The explaination came completely while he was turned away, but he thought about it and it did make sense. Slowly slipping his nose away from the paw, he rose again and turned back to his original company. Unaware of the true depth of the past relationship between this one and his mother, he smiled in a friendly manner and nodded. A friend of his mother must not be so bad, after all.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Feb 27, 2008 2:18 pm
Calli, Zhenya, Knightmare
-->
The yellow-headed gecko made her way towards the caverns, shivering in the cold. The harsh wind blew snow into her face and stung her eyes, and her fur was covered in a layer of snow. Usually she prefered to stay outside, but this was a little too much for her. She spotted the cavern entrance as she came out of the trees and quickened her pace to a trot anxious to get out of the cold. Calli paused at the entrance, taking a look around to make sure no one there before slinking in quietly and curling up near the fire, as close as she could get without burning herself.
Outside was preferable for Zhenya, too. However, as the weather didn't seem to be getting any better, he was still stuck inside. After his encounter with Scur and Javlein, he'd curled at the side of one of the couches, hidden and watching. It felt life it had been such a long time since then. He was starting to get bored. Sighing, he curled tighter in on himself, pulling his paws underneath his form. Green eyes fluttered, threatening sleep, until something met his dulling senses. Blinking away the tired feeling as best he could, he lifted his head and peered around the couch just in time to see Calli entering. Spirits brightened immediately. He would've called loudly for her were it possible. Getting up, he sped over to her, bumping right into her back and nuzzling between her shoulder blades.
Calli didn't notice Zhenya until the last minute. Most of her attention was on the fire, since she hadn't seen anyone when she'd first looked around and she was still shivering uncontrollably from the cold. The female glimpsed something speeding towards her out of the corner of her eye before it bumed into her. She was so startled she almost jumped into the fire, landing just beside and spinning around to face this attacker. She blinked, recognising her friend immediately and her face lit up with joy. "Zhenya!" She leapt at him, nuzzling and licking his face affectionately.
Before he had even the slightest chance to defend himself, Zhenya was assaulted with return affection. Form shaking with mute laughter, he tried to escape the licks, which reminded him just a bit of being bathed as a cub. Snorting ridiculously, he finally pulled his head away, nipping playfully but carefully at the fluff around her face before taking off around the fire. His tail flicked out behind him, taunting and wiggling, just calling her to try and catch him. There wasn't as much room inside, but running was still his specialty. His mother would've been ecstatic to see him so happy after how he'd been just months before.
Calli laughed as he nipped at her, watching as he took off around the fire. She'd already forgotten how cold she had been, she was so happy to see him agian. How long had it been? She couldn't even remember. Instead of trying to chase him around the fire, she went the opposite way, aiming to meet him head-on.
Oblivious to her plot, Zhenya continued around the fire, thinking he was surely so far ahead she would never catch him and he would win this game. For all the times he'd played tag with 'Mare, one would think he'd know all the tricks by now. Bounding back to nearly where he'd started, he was startled by her sudden appearance in front of him. Eyes widened and he put on the breaks, claws scratching against the ground. Positive he wouldn't be able to stop and reverse before she got to him, he took a sharp right, zooming away from the fire and over to one of the couches. Jumping up on the cushions, he stood poised and watching, waiting to see what she would do next.
Calli had been sure she would catch him, so she was surprised when he turned just in time to avoid her. She snapped at his tail playfully, just missing as she raced after him. The gecko was right behind him when he stopped on the couch, and seeing her chance, she lunged at him immediately.
Muscles tensed and his mind willed his paws to move. One forepaw had been lifted from the couch and his from strained forward with movement. However, there just wasn't enough time. Zhenya could feel her push against his side and gave into the momentum. In a big fluffy pile he crashed onto the cushions with her victorious. Whimpering pathetically, he gave her a puppy-eyed look. Perhaps drama would get him out of this predicament and back on the run. Having to stay inside had caused energy to build within him, which was only magnified by her presence after so much time. He wasn't ready to relax yet.
Haha, victory was hers! Calli stood with her two front paws on him proudly, though her tail wagged happily behind her. She eye'd him carefully for a moment as he made puppy eyes at her, pretending to serious consider it before grinning. You're it now! She said before launching herself off the couch and taking off across the room.
Well, so much for that plan. A pout dragged the corners of his mouth down, but Zhenya's tail still picked up in a wag. For a moment, he watched her run, settled on the couch and planning his next move. Then he stood in one swift motion, jumping from the couch and speeding in the complete opposite direction. Green eyes narrowed on his path before he made a sharp u-turn and ran straight at her now. There wasn't much thought in this plan, since being inside didn't allow much freedom. Still, he hoped the randomness would throw her off enough to give him an edge.
Calli watched Zhenya out of the corner of her eye as she ran, still looking ahead at the same time and trying not to crash into anything. She narrowed her eyes as she watched him take off in the opposite direction. What was he up to? Violet eyes widened as he made the u-turn and was suddenly running directly at her. Oh! She made a sharp turn, claws scraping against the stone floor as she swung her back legs around and then took off in the other direction. Her tail was tucked tightly against her side so that he wouldn't reach it and she braced herself incase she hadn't been fast enough.
A ready paw stretched out before the male. Muscles flexed, working hard to keep said paw outstretched long enough. Too long, and he'd come crashing down pretty hard onto the cold floor. Not long enough, and his target would escape his reach. So close... He reached, stretching as far as he could go before finally realizing that he wouldn't be so lucky this time. Huffing, he swung his paw back to the stone, the scrape of claws sounding as he skidded to make the same turn that she had. He had been so close, but was still 'it.' Finally straight behind her again, back paws pushed multiple times at the ground, gathering enough momentum to send him in this direction at nearly the same speed he'd been traveling before. It wouldn't be long before they would hit another turn. He picked up the pace. The best chance he had was getting her before they had to change direction again.
He hadn't caught her this time, but she knew he was right behind her. It wouldn't be long before he caught up to her. Calli was running her full speed, back legs pushing her forward as hard as they could, but it wouldn't last long. She could be fast when she wanted, but she wasn't a natural runner. The female glanced behind her just once to see where Zhenya was... and her front legs twisted, sending her crashing to the floor. Momentum sent her somersaulting a few feet before she landed awkwardly, shutting her eyes tightly and bracing for impact incase Zhenya couldn't stop.
Green eyes were trained on the female before him. He was going to make his move now. He had to. Otherwise, the turn he'd observed just seconds before would slow him down again. The cycle would just keep going that way until one of them tired. However, as focused as he was, it took quite a few moments for what happened next to register. As she moved from his line of site, he wondered what she was planning. As he realized that her movements were now rather painful looking summersaults, eyes widened. Paws forced themselves against the speed he'd gained. Unfortunately, he couldn't slow in time. Eyes squeezed shut and he coiled in, pushing his back paws as hard as he could against the stone. The momentum sent him flying over Calli, but the awkwardness of the take-off sent him tumbling into a heap on the other side of her.
Calli heard claws scrape against the ground, but there was no impact. She opened her eyes and blinked as she saw Zhenya in a heap beside her. Untangling herself, she stood up shakily. She was going to be sore later... Well... that was clumsy of me, eh? She said glancing to Zhenya. You okay? How stupid of her. She'd made them both fall. Later on she could probably laugh about this, but right now she was just embarrased.
Slowly but surely, Zhenya lifted his head and blinked curiously. The reaction had been so unplanned that he barely had an idea of just how he ended up on the opposite side of the femme. Hearing her voice, his ears perked in her direction and he turned, grinning. A silent laughter gently shook his form and he shook his head, giving her a nuzzle. It was no big deal, as long as no one was hurt. Perhaps next time they decided to play, the weather would be nicer and the path less dangerous. At the question, he nodded, though looked playfully contemplative, glancing at each of his forepaws. Once he'd finished making sure, he nodded again. His grin widened jokingly.
Oblivious to what was going on inside, Knightmare wandered into the caverns. She'd spent quite a bit of time outside and was ready to rest in front of the fire. A yawn spread her maw as she padded along, heart set on one and only one place. She was so focused that, even though she looked to her son and his friend flopped over a little ways away, she continued until she reached the fire and plopped down on her bum. It was only after a minute or so that it finally sunk in and she looked back, silver eyes widening. Was this the friend he'd told her about? Well, she would surely find out! Jumping up, she was with them in seconds. "Hello." She looked back and forth between Zhenya and Calli, smiling gently.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
