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 Posted: Sun Mar 02, 2008 5:22 pm
He didn't believe in fate, destiny or luck. Cold, precision, and logic ruled his field of belief. If something made no sense or wasn't logical on his book, it was then something he wouldn't try nor approach.
That was, however, until he met her. She was everything he strayed from --Ilogical, emotional, vibrant, and unpredictable. And still, those qualities that would have made him avoid any other Hespierden, Minyabot or not, drew him to her like a moth to the flame.
And for the first time, he found himself eager to experience and partake on those rituals their species engaged on, the rituals of courtship. What spell did she cast on himself, he did not know, but at this point he didn't care.
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Posted: Sun Mar 02, 2008 7:33 pm
She was so unlike many female Minyas in Hesperides, bouncy, loud, cheerful graceful, and still a killing machine when provoked. Thankfully for many, Jazz was very hard to provoke and her cool demeanor seemed ever-lasting.
Nobody could have thought she would set her eyes on him. But alas, she did. She found him intriguing, his reserved nature and collected demeanor drew her to him, it fascinated her how opposite to her he was. She was like a hurricane, like a storm. He was the calm that preceeded and followed.
And just then, Jazz hoped he would partake on the rituals of courtship, just so she could lay her claim on him.
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Posted: Mon Mar 03, 2008 6:34 pm
Why he was here? He kept asking to himself. Gatherings of their species for the sake of meeting and socializing weren't usually something he'd want to get himself involved with. But there he was, waiting patiently and expecting to see that one Minya that grabbed his interest.
He wasn't sure what he was going to do when, and if she showed up to the gathering. He could devise strategies to approach potential prey without difficulty, and yet he was at loss of how to approach this particular female.
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Posted: Tue May 20, 2008 1:29 am
As if summoned by the errant thoughts of the other Minyabot, Jazz made her appearance. Her glowing eyes, concealed behind her visor; scanned her surroundings in search for that particular male, and she smiled widely when she spotted him huddled in a corner, trying not to get unwanted attention.
Jazz trotted her way to the side where the females were gathering, awaiting anxiously for the momment when the rituals would begin.
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Posted: Tue May 20, 2008 1:41 am
Prowl couldn't help but follow the other Minaybot with his eyes, and his door wings twitched lightly in anticipation. The rituals were nothing if not games to parade each other and demonstrate to potential partners just how good potential parents they could be.
Prowl didn't really care about showing off his skill for other females to try to pick him as potential parent for future offspring. But he knew these games could also lead to be with that special Minya to share one's life with. Still, Prowl could hardly believe he was going to try to impress a female.
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Posted: Tue May 20, 2008 1:51 am
Jazz smiled a little more to herself, deciding to kill some time with small chatter with other gathered females. The games would begin shortly, and, although she already knew who she wanted to pick, she admitted to being curious about what this particular male would do to try to impress the females.
The rituals of courtship included games to test hunting skills, tracking abilities, providing and mantaining a den to house a family. Other games included small duels to demonstrate they could protect each other.
Females usually partook in the same games, competing among themselves for the best potential parents for their offspring. Sometimes the pairs stuck together for the rest of their lives, other times the females and males searched for different partners in order to leave behind as many strong and suitable kits as they could produce.
But Jazz wasn't there looking for a minya to father her offspring. At least not right now. That would come later, if things progressed the way Jazz hoped they would.
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Posted: Wed Jul 09, 2008 5:04 pm
While the female lost herself in chattering with others, he turned his sight to study the competition. There were young and mature males of all kinds of backgrounds and sizes. Some young that were attending the games for the first time, just like him, and older, seasoned males that have seen plenty of these games already.
He was hardly the only Minya that stood on his hind legs, there were at least four others, with more probably to come once the time for the games neared.
Many females thought the males that stood on two legs to be the best potential parents for their offspring, since the additional height and the use of actual hands made it easier to dominate their surroundings. Prowl knew this wasn't entirely true.
While being a tall Minya that stood in two legs gave them certain advantages, they had their own disadvantages. They were inherently slower than the average Minya, and concealing themselves in tall grass was a more difficult feat.
Of course, keeping in mind all the kinds of mutations their species suffered through the generations, Minya with long locks of hair could easily get tangled in a tree. Or those with long wings could barely conceal themselves, as well. So neither was without disadvantages these days.
But like peacocks, sometimes the most exotic mutations in functional minya attracted the most interest, regardless of whether or not they could crawl through the grass unnoticed.
Prowl himself was considered a mutated Minya, not only was he one that stood on his hind legs but metal replaced flesh and fur. His eyes glowed so unnaturally it was unnerving for some of his kind to look at him in the eyes. He was hardly the only one, there were a few like him all over Hesperides. The female he would try to impress being one of them. And he knew he wasn't the only one that would try to impress her.
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Posted: Wed Jul 09, 2008 5:06 pm
On her part, Jazz was enteraining similar thoughts. There were other females that stood on their hind legs, and that made them immediately some of the most desirable females for the males competing in the games.
Likewise, she knew from the get-go and the chattering she was engaged in, that this particular male was quickly gaining the interest of a good amount of the gathered females.
He was one of the most exotic among the suitors, metal and fur, glowing blue eyes, those strange wings that spread proudly on his back. That alone struck the interest of many, however he performed in the games would diminish or increase the other females' interest on him, after all, the pretty package wasn't a guarantee the male would produce healthy offspring nor would be able to provide sustenance to their kits.
Regardless of anything, though, Jazz knew she was going to have to work extra hard to best her fellow female minyas if she wanted to stake her claim on him, and the prospect was actually exciting.
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Posted: Wed Jul 09, 2008 5:25 pm
He looked around some more, giving a passing look to the other females that were not-so-subtly giving him appraising looks as well as the other males. The thought made him uncomfortable and reminded him why he had intentionally skipped two courting rituals in the past. Males had little saying in the matter. They were parading themselves and it were the females who, depending on their own competition, would take turns themselves to 'shop for suitable genetic material'.
There was a very high probability that if he performed a little too well other female than the one he was pursuing would pick him. There was too much luck involved in this, and he really didn't get along well with luck and uncertainty.
He certainly didn't have to be here to try to come near that female, but he wasn't particularly inclined to go up to her and invite her to take a stroll along the gardens. The rituals were an option that wouldn't require him to try to charm her directly, and that was preferrable.
Of course, if all failed and some other female did pick him, either because he failed to impress the other minyabot or because she couldn't lay her claim on him first, he had the option to decline the proposition and that would be the end of it. It would certainly make him unpopular, but that was fine with him. He came for one female, and if she showed no interest on him he could live with that.
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Posted: Wed Jul 09, 2008 5:36 pm
Jazz decided to tone down her chattering, tunning out the talk the other females were engaged in while she gave passing looks to any new arrival, counting down the minutes until the games would begin.
There wasn't an strict organization behind the rituals, they all gathered and waited for the sun to sit high in the sky and produce a particular shadow in a certain formation of rocks which marked the beginning of the rituals.
The hour was nearing, she was sure. Males would perform first, engaging in a competition to gather food for the females to appraise. And while the males were gone doing that, the females would enter a competition among themselves to determinate the order in which they would pick. It was a game of dominance, impossing themselves to the others in mock combate.
Jazz knew her height gave her an advantage in the games of dominance, but she still had to prove herself before the other minya that shared the trait to stand in two legs.
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Posted: Wed Jul 09, 2008 5:58 pm
The time for the games rolled by and Prowl stood along with the other males, among those that stood on two legs. He wasn't the tallest, but he was placed just two Minya away from the beginning of the line. The females did the same and he saw she was actually just a little shorter than he was. It was the first time he saw her this close, but he stubbornly refused to let his eyes wander to look at her better.
The females together gave a loud cry that signaled the beginning of the games, and the males scattered around to gather food. The younger ones all but bolted around in excitement, eager to prove themselves.
Prowl merely walked calmly towards the nearby forest that hid several trees that bore fruit, and he knew there would be several species of mushrooms carpetting the ground. He knew what mushrooms were poisonous and which ones were safe to consume, so he began to gather a few.
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Posted: Wed Jul 09, 2008 5:59 pm
The females watched their suitors scatter around and Jazz couldn't help but chuckle softly as that one male made his way to the forest slowly, nowhere nearly as excited and eager as others. She allowed herself a few moments to watch the way he carried himself as he moved, then turned to her own competition.
The quadruped females began the challenges, standing fiercely before each other, trying to impose themselves. Though all of them knew there wouldn't be any real combat, it was an instinctual reaction to show submission when the apparent aggression of other females bested their own.
For Jazz, however, there was going to be more than just growls and postures to make herself impossing. She would have to engage in a combat of sorts, and though they would mean no intentional harm to each other, there was always the possiblity they could injure each other.
She wasn't afraid, however, and that particular male was well worth the risks.
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Posted: Wed Jul 09, 2008 6:16 pm
While he wasn't the best of trackers -he knew a Minyabot that could beat the living daylights out of anyone in that sense; Prowl was more than capable to find his prey and conceal himself as much as possible while doing it. His name wasn't Prowl for nothing, after all.
He decided however, that small animals would be heavily sought at the moment by the excitable youths, and would be harder to track the small critters that would be exceptionally alert now.
Deciding the best choice was to head for the river and catch some fish, Prowl carried the handful of fruit and mushrooms in his arms. The river wasn't too far, studying for a moment where was the best place to settle down for his hunting.
He was a good planner and decided to study the movements of the fish for a few moments, planning their trayectory as best as possible given their erratic movements. Prowl pulled back an arm, fingers spread and ready for the catch. He picked his target, observed it move under the rippling water and after a few moments his arm darted into the water, grasping the fish with the unusual strength his kind possesed, pulling it out of the water.
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Posted: Wed Jul 09, 2008 6:45 pm
By now she was sitting on the ground, panting heavily but smiling smugly, she sported a few minor scratches over her face, but it was nothing compared to what her competitors were now bearing. The other females were all but sprawled tiredly on the ground, some nursing a few minor injuries, others just thoroughly exhausted.
She felt it was a little unfair, since she was gifted with a strength that surpassed that or most minya, but she wasn't going to give an inch in this matter. She had to earn the first place to pick a suitor, and if she had to break a few legs in the process she was more than willing to go to those extents.
After a few minutes to regain their compossure, the females acknowledged their places and lay in wait for the return of the males who then would set up their offerings for the females to appraise.
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Posted: Wed Jul 09, 2008 7:22 pm
He returned with his offering carefully held in his arms, mindful to keep the fish in his hand and away enough from the fruit and mushrooms. The females were sitting, waiting for them, and he couldn't hold back the twitch of his wings when he noticed the hierarchy among them, that female was at the top position, and that meant she was going be the first to pick.
Prowl set down the gathered food and began to prepare his display. All males were expected to arrange their offerings as prettily as possible, they were showing off after all and beautiful displays were as important as the items offered.
He gave passing glances to other males that were already gathered. Some of the older ones had no problem sabotaging each other, stealing or exchanging some of their items to make their own offerings more appealing or impressive. Prowl didn't have to worry about that, though, since he brought with him everything he needed to arrange his own display and could keep an eye on it before the females approached him.
He arranged the items neatly in an specific order, nothing was out of place, and that spoke of a very orderly personality. He worried the display wasn't as beautiful as other males that were even decorating it with flowers and sparkling stones but it was too late to try to gather other things to embellish his offering without risking other males to sabotage it.
With a resigned little sigh, he stood behind his display in wait.
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