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 Posted: Fri Jun 18, 2010 5:55 am
 Persidskij woke up today finding himself in the same place he had fallen asleep- a tree in the forest. In his current position, he was staring down at piles of leaf litter. He blinked a few times before he moved anything else at all, then rose a bit and gave a sizable yawn. He shook his head to wake up, then leapt limberly from the branch he had been sprawled out on. He moved quite silently through the forest, holding himself as he typically did- head held high and motions smooth- so much so that there was no discrete motion to him. These were all just habits taught to him by his mother. "A proper gentleman walks like this-"
He gave a small chuckle, it was amusing that his mother's words had emanated with him so much that he had taken everything she had said and applied it. He could have been one of those rebellious types.
No, no that's not how a gentleman acts. And there was his problem- he thought the same way as his family. Typical.
He looked down to where his paws had taken him- Per had been so caught up in thought that he didn't even pay attention to where he was headed. He found himself at a river's bank- a perfectly logical place to wind up at the beginning of the day. He padded gently down the bank to a spot where he could get some water. It was cool and crisp, the perfect thing to wake up to in the morning.
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Posted: Fri Jun 18, 2010 6:51 am
 Sjenos woke quickly, but moved slowly, first taking stock of his surroundings aurally. Only after determining that there was no threat that he could hear did he open his yellow eyes and confirm his assessment visually. Of course, his range of vision was limited by his temporary den beneath a low-hanging bough of a pine tree, but from what he could see there was no reason for him to be concerned about stepping out and going down to the river he'd seen the night before.
A dark creature, Sjenos knew his fur was no boon when it came to camouflaging himself against the white snow, but one of the things he liked about the forest was that the trees tended to mitigate snowfall and their shade rendered his dark coat an asset. Spring and summer were the dark snow leopard's favorite seasons for they were seasons in which no snow fell and he had a much easier time of it, both in the forests and outside of them.
Still, he took care emerging from his erstwhile den and moved at a gait that could only be described as a slink, heading toward the river bank. It was harder to hear potential threats over the sound of running water, and so his amber eyes were constantly in motion, scanning the area. It wasn't difficult to spot the fair-coated leopard across the water from him, but Sjenos was thirsty and unsure whether it was worth his while to shift himself up- or downstream just to avoid this other person.
He decided it wasn't worth the effort, and that he could handle the other male if an altercation arose, not that there should be a problem, with a river between them. He crept the rest of the way to the bank and lowered his head to the water, lapping at it without taking his eyes off of the other snow leopard.
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Posted: Fri Jun 18, 2010 7:02 am
Per lifted his eyes the moment he detected another, though he didn't stop drinking. A darker leopard peeked out of the forest, and Persidskij analyzed him. Most leopards were kind enough- there were few who were out looking for a fight. That was a ridiculous idea, to just meander around and fight with everyone you lock eyes with. After all, who would want to bring that sort of damage on themselves? Not to mention it was rude. He determined that the other meant no harm (if he had, he wouldn't have just come and drank, there would already be a fight,) and Per drank until he was full. He could do one of two things- just walk away or try to strike up some sort of meager conversation while they were both there, then go on his way.
He chose the more interesting of the two.
"Your coat is most intriguing. It seems to be well suited for the forests here-I didn't see you until I heard you," he admitted, sitting back on his haunches on the other side of the river. He curled his tail neatly to the side and held perfectly still, awaiting a response.
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Posted: Sat Jun 19, 2010 5:45 am
Sjenos was already watching the fair-furred snow leopard, otherwise being addressed unexpectedly would have produced a more noticeable reaction in him. As it was, his eyes simply widened and he lifted his head from the chill water. He was not sure why he had not expected to be addressed. Perhaps because he would not have spoken first, and would have been content simply to go his own way without conversation of any sort. He was not a social leopard by nature, after all.
"I didn't mean for you to hear me either," Sjenos said, having little gift for small talk. "Though I did assume you would notice me at some point. I'm pleased you haven't jumped the river and attacked, or will that come next?"
As far as conversation went, it was probably not the ideal way to begin, but for Sjenos it was positively chatty for him to reply in this manner. He could have ignored the other leopard's foray into conversation and walked off, disappearing into the underbrush and slinking away as if he had never been there. It irked him, just a little, that he had been heard. Clumsy!
Making a supreme effort to be polite, though he knew not why he would bother, Sjenos said, "Your coat probably serves you well in the snow."
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Posted: Sun Jun 20, 2010 6:54 pm
"Oh no, I'm not going anywhere. It would be a waste of energy, not to mention it would be foolish, to attack a complete stranger for no good reason," he said, brows furrowed a little bit. He knew others out there were like that, and he knew that the stranger didn't know him at all, but there was no point to it. "All that sort of behavior accomplishes is injuries and a general waste of energy," he said, not hiding his disdain for those of extremely short tempers.
Now that he thought about it, those sorts of individuals were not unlike cubs. Yet to be reared.
"It seems that way, I do tend to fare better in the North. A bit of green and wetter air, though, I needed to get a change of scenery," he admitted.
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Posted: Mon Jun 21, 2010 12:01 pm
Sjenos cocked his head to one side and held his tail low as he considered the stranger's words. As far as the dark-colored snow leopard was concerned, he spoke sensibly. It would certainly be wasted energy on his part, because Sjenos had a strong feeling that he could seriously damage the stranger if he put his mind to it. It didn't seem the sort of thing which would be politick to say, however, and so he kept those thoughts to himself.
"I'm not inclined toward committing pointless acts of violence, but it never hurts to be wary in unfamiliar territory."
He recalled more of his manners and social niceties as he spoke and remembered that most of the time it was considered polite to introduce himself when meeting people, particularly when he was trespassing on their territory. Not that he was positive this territory belonged to the leopard across the water from him, but he knew it didn't belong to him and he was sure it had to belong to someone.
"My name is Sjenos," he said. "If I've intruded on your land, please know that I don't intend to stay long and I will hunt sparingly. Your mate and cubs are safe from me."
Given his usual tendency to slink through territories without attracting or giving notice, Sjenos' manners had fallen into disuse, but he recalled perfectly the precise wording of a stranger's greeting. He didn't remember learning the words, or the family member who had taught them to him, but he had found that they usually served him well. Though in this case they seemed to be unnecessary, which annoyed Sjenos a little. It looked like the other leopard was a traveler, too, if he was only here for a change of scenery.
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Posted: Mon Jun 21, 2010 4:01 pm
"Yes, it certainly is prudent to make sure," he said, no longer concerned at all about the leopard before him. He was trustworthy enough, Persidskij decided. "You and I seem to share the same mindset there," he said with a genuine smile. It was always nice to meet someone who still had some dignity.
He did hope he wasn't coming across as too aloof or anything- he didn't think he was giving off the impression that this was his territory.
"No worries," he said, "I'm alone and just passing through." Something occurred to him- for a moment, that this could be near Sjenos' territory, but it sure didn't seem that way. He would make sure.
"My name is Persidskij, but just Per will do if you feel like shortening it. By the way, you don't have a territory nearby, do you?" he asked. "I wouldn't want to intrude, if I can avoid it I will," he said, his face looking a bit concerned.
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Posted: Tue Jun 22, 2010 6:18 am
If Sjenos had been able to read Per's thoughts and learned that the other snow leopard thought he had some dignity, Sjenos would have laughed at him. Dignity was an affectation that Sjenos had no use for. He was generally a dignified creature, but it was not something he sought after. It was more something he achieved unwittingly by not being a moron and being mostly competent at everything he put his paw to.
Per's easy-going response was not one Sjenos would have given, but he was glad of it. It was always significantly easier to deal with people who were not inclined to get into fights or take offense at minutiae. Sjenos had been through lands with complex hierarchies for their society and more rules than he really found necessary, and he had not cared for them. Those times when he was forced to play along with their idiotic ideas of what was proper and not put him in a foul mood. Having good manners was one thing, and could often save a fellow's life. Knowing that it was inappropriate to take the eldest daughter of a clan chief to bed when she asked him to do so was just idiotic.
"Well met in peace, Persidskij," Sjenos said formally. He knew the conventions he lived by were not necessarily others' but the phrases he used were handy catch-alls that were mostly inoffensive and showed him to be a civilized sort of person. Civilized. Hah. Sjenos would have been among the first to call himself a savage, though he would have pointed out that it was the only way to survive in the world.
"I have no territory," Sjenos said. And then he added with a smirk. "Rather, you could say the whole world is my territory. But even in that case, I would hardly consider you an intruder. There is just the one of you, and the world, as I've observed, is large."
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Posted: Wed Jun 23, 2010 12:50 pm
The lighter snow leopard thought on his words for just a moment. Persidskij had never been much for the way of words, but he thought that Sjenos' last statement had been very well put. Witty, too.
"That's a rather good way to think about it," Persidskij admitted with a nod from the other side of the river. The whole world was one's territory... That seemed to be the case especially if you were a wanderer. It simplified the world around him- took away rules and limitations and gave out a sense of freedom. That freedom was more important to the snow leopard than anything, at this point in his life, and he was more than happy for it. He was grateful, too, to have bumped into someone who seemed to share his viewpoint.
Per had gotten himself lost in thought. He pulled himself out of the reverie to focus his attention on the leopard before him. He was getting too trustworthy, these days, Sjenos could have easily hopped the river while he was in thought. "Well, I'll probably be on my way now," Persidskij announced, feeling that just walking off would be extremely rude, especially after having started the conversation. He rose to his paws and gave a small bow, "It was nice to meet you, Sjenos. Safe journeys to you wherever you go- may the wind be at your back," he said before turning and padding liquidly into the forest.
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Posted: Sun Jun 27, 2010 6:43 am
Sjenos gave a small smile in response to Per's compliment on his outlook. Sjenos would never have called himself an optimist, but he also did not consider himself a pessimist. A pragmatist, he might have called himself, or perhaps an opportunist. Either way, he did tend to look at things with an eye to how they would effect him and how he could make it a positive effect, or at least a neutral one. A positive side effect to his "the world might as well be mine" attitude was that it gave him a great deal of confidence to fall back on if he needed it.
He was reflecting on this while Per did his own reflecting, and so he did not really take much notice of the prolonged period of silence. He was not much surprised, however, when Per broke it to let him know that he was leaving. Knowing that Per was a wanderer, Sjenos had not expected him to stay in the area for very long. Still, this abrupt departure struck him as a little odd. Had he said something wrong? He didn't think so. He'd been as carefully polite as he ever was.
"And the same to you," he bid Per as he watched him retreat into the forest.
Well, that had been an interesting beginning to the day, Sjenos reflected. Perhaps he would be spared further adventures and encounters for some time, having handled this one reasonably well. Wasn't that how the gods worked?
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