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 Posted: Fri Dec 05, 2008 3:17 pm
"Lady Mya...."
The soft hoots punctuated the words that drifted through the mind of the sleepy dragoness, pulling her slightly from dreamland. Yawning, she gave a soft "mmph" and snuggled back down into the soft silks that made up their bed. The sun had not begun to rise over the horizen so there was still time for slumber.
"Mistress Mya! The day has started!"
The hoots got louder and the rustling of feathers were successful in their attempts to brush away any sleepiness that may have remained. Raising her head, Mya gave a soft yawn before glancing over at the large eyes of her father-like companion. "Rowen..." Her kept her voice to whisper, as to not awaken the two other sleeping in the cave with her. "It is but dawn. Please, go back to sleep."
His response was an irritated click of his beak. "Excuses come from such a young child! Your mate and his companion may awake soon, and you know how much of a glutton that...." He trailed off and fluffled up his feathers before hawk-wakling out the of the cave before taking flight. He wasn't going to stick around.
Mya sighed and shook her head before rising, being careful not to disturb the sleeping male beside her, walking outside and taking a breathe of the morning air.
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Posted: Fri Dec 05, 2008 5:01 pm
The brief exchange between the female at his side and her long time companion didn't cause the soundly snoozing male to stir. Valentine remained curled up contently for a few moments longer before the warmth where Mya had been laying against his side began to fade. It was that which caused him to rouse from his dreaming.
"Rrmph..." The male sleepily muttered as he raised his head to look about their nest. He shook his head and yawned as the last remnant of sleep left him, leaving him feeling rested and plenty refreshed. Valentine heard Rowan's hooting outside and figured Mya had stepped out as well. He straightened up slightly and stretched his tattered and scarred wings out to his sides slightly before folding them loosely to his sides, then gave another shake.
His own familiar continued to lay undisturbed by his early morning stretching. Bright green eyes looked down to where the sleeping chupacabra lay, curled up in a fairly tight ball against his haunch. Valentine rose and tapped Rajani's exposed side with his tail to wake her. The chupacabra made a sort of soft, hissing unintelligible mumbling objection to being woken up at the crack of dawn, but uncoiled herself none the less. She looked groggy, so the male didn't bother trying to bring her to her feet. She usually much preferred being active during the night hours, but the familiar was a relatively adaptable one.
"Morning," Valentine stated, his mane looking something like the Painter version of a bed head. She grunted more in agreement, than response, as if saying 'Yes, it is morning. Now why am I up again?' The Aviadracus male left their nest and headed towards the door. Before exiting he half turned back towards his groggy companion. "I'm heading out. You're welcome to get up and join the waking world, Rajani. Don't sleep until noon again." There was a faint hint in his warm voice that she had better get up soon, else wise he might come in and rouse her in a less polite manner. With that, Valentine returned his attention to the exit and walked into the fresh air of morning with a deep sigh, blinking in the growing light of the rising sun.
Rajani detected the hinted meaning behind her bonded's words and nodded. She waited until he stepped out into the morning light before she rose to her feet and arched herself to stretch her muscles. After a few more minutes of stretching and yawning, the chupacabra felt alert enough to head on out too. "Coming," she murmured as she moved to sit in the entryway behind Valentine in a patch of shade.
"Good, good, Rajani. Welcome to the waking world," Valentine said to her with a slight smile on his maw. It wasn't long before he spied Mya and Rowan. "Good morning, you two," the battle scarred male chimed to the pair.
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Posted: Fri Dec 05, 2008 5:48 pm
Rowen did nothing but nod in greeting towards the Paint from his perch before casting a glance at the chupacabra lingering behind. With a disapproving click of his beak, the Dire Owl turned to look out at the waters.
Mya, on the other hand, greeted Valentine with love only a mate could muster. Stepping over to him, she reached out and rubbed her head on her neck, purring happily when wisps of his mane tickled her nose. Pulling back, she smiled at Valentine. "Good Morning, love." Her wings unfolded slightly and stretched before re-folding against her body. "That's an interesting new look you're trying. Did Rajani suggest it?" Mya's eyes sparkled with mirth as they glanced over the bedhead.
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Posted: Fri Dec 05, 2008 6:16 pm
Rajani caught sight of the Dire Owl mid-yawn, a sort of mischievous grin passing briefly over her features.
Valentine beamed to his mate as she drew near to him. "Good morning, indeed. I trust you slept well?" He nuzzled the back of her neck as she rubbed her head against his neck. He blinked at her words and glanced in a vaguely upward direction. He couldn't see how his mane was sitting, but it did feel different than it normally did. The male chuckled and shook himself in an attempt to make his mane behave. "I wouldn't doubt it. I bet she did it while I was sleeping. Huh, Rajani?"
The female chupacabra gave a tiny roll of her red eyes. "Abtholutely," she lisped out loud in her soft rasp. She had risen and was stalking towards the tree that Rowen was perched in to 'wish him a very good morning', which in her mind translated into seeing if she could surprise him while he was looking to the waters.
The male Aviadracus gave a sort of snerk at her answer before returning his attention to Mya. "There. Any better?" He inquired of his feathery mane, lowering his head slightly so as to let her have a better look.
Rajani had lowered herself to a crawling stalk as she neared Rowen's perch. She paused a few feet away from his perch and looked up at him. "Mornin', Rowen! The fish will only end up in your talons if you actually go get them," she crooned to him with her telepathy, her mental voice being much clearer than her normal voice. It wasn't as raspy and she didn't lisp, but the occasional hiss made its way even into her mind.
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Posted: Fri Dec 05, 2008 6:51 pm
Rowens' head did a 180 and he glared at the chupacabra as if to say: "Try it and you get a taste of talon!" before staring out at the ocean again. He could barely tolerate the other familiar.....
Mya laughed and nodded as Valentine attempted to fix his mane; it looked a little better, but not by much. "A little. Here..." Reaching up a bit, she licked the feathery mane and matted it down before pulling away with a smile. "There! SO much better!"
The female Avaidracus then glanced around, perked up at the familiar scent of vension....had a deer herd wandered into their territory? "Valentine, love...are you hungry or do wish to wait a bit?"
Rowen huffed and scoffed at the idea of the two hunting together, yet...sadly...there was very little he could do about it.
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Posted: Fri Dec 05, 2008 7:19 pm
Rajani was unfazed by Rowen's glare or threat. "What?," She quipped. "All I said was good morning. What exactly would I try? Pray do tell."
Valentine laughed a bit as Mya took it upon herself to right the positioning of his mane. When she finished he straightened up and paused briefly, feeling things out. He smiled and nodded, satisfied. "Oh yeah. It feels much better now."
The scarred male paused when his mate had, scenting the air and picking up the definite scent of deer. Almost in response to the scent and Mya's question, Valentine's stomach growled loudly. He flashed a half embarrassed toothy grin. "I'm hungry now, apparently. Shall we see what we can scare up?"
The female chupacabra hunkered down in the crook of some roots of an old growth pine, listening to their bonded speaking of a hunt and to the gentle lapping of the water on the shore. "Eh, lighten up a little, will ya? They make each other happy. Besides, they provide for both you and I. There really isn't anything to be bothered by. Well, except for you, you grousy bird. But I mean that in the best possible way." She adored pushing his buttons.
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Posted: Sat Dec 06, 2008 9:46 am
 (-eyebrow wiggle- 8D) Rowen rolled his eyes and scooted against the the trunk of the tree so his blue/green feathers helped him blend with the shadows more. The light from the sun had started to irritate his eyes. "I know your habits of sneaking up on others, Rajani, and I am in no mood to be one of your victims." His clipped tone annouced his irritation to the world as the owl continued to eye the exchange between the two Painters with distaste. Mya smiled and nodded, giggling a bit as her mate's stomach spoke out how empty it was. "Well, let's see if we can get one that's large enough for all four of us." Standing, she paced over to the edge of the forest and inhaled; after a few moment, it became clear that the herd was in a small clearing not far from the cave. With another playful smile, she glanced back at Valentine before disappearing into the brush. Rowen turned and glared at Rajani before glancing up just in time to see the tip of his Mistress's tail disappear into the undergrowth. "Don't you think I know that?" He stretched his wings and hooted unhappily. "But I cannot but share the feelings of a father when I look upon this union! He has yet to prove that he can take care of her!"
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Posted: Sat Dec 06, 2008 10:41 pm
 ( Me-ow. ;D )
"Nah, I wouldn't vicitimize you, Rowen. You are much more valuable to me alive. You're too interesting to end up as a meal." Rajani eased herself down into the natural bowl formed of pine roots and earth, seemingly serenely crossing her front paws at her wrists.
Valentine's smiled mirrored hers, a hint of sheepishness in his grin at how vocal his stomach was being. "That sounds perfect." He glanced back to where the Dire Owl and the chupacabra where conversing. "We'll be back before long and we'll try to grab you guys something good to eat." With that, the male turned and followed after the fair, Mya.
Rajani gave a slight yawn at his ranting, but if she had a lick of fur on her, her fur would've been raised. When she spoke, a hiss was low in her voice. "He is more than capable, bird. His scars are hard earned proof of his experience with the big, bad nasties of the world. He is still alive, which shows that he is a survivor through good and bad. What does he have to do to prove to you that your precious Mistress is in good company with him?" She snorted at his anger and lazily scratched her jaw on a gnarled root.
Valentine trotted up along Mya's side, sniffing the air after giving her a light nuzzle to the jaw. The deer were close. The male lowered his voice scarcely above a whisper. "How hungry are you? I think perhaps either a large female or an adult male might be in order, so long as it isn't the big lead male. We wouldn't want to terribly disrupt the balance of a relatively socially settled herd.
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Posted: Sun Dec 07, 2008 12:01 pm
Rowen did nothing or say anything at Rajanis' re-buttel. Perking up at what the male Painter had said, the owl took to the air with silent wings and followed; his coloring kept him hidden among the trees, where he took perch to watch and see what the outcome of the hunt would be...
Mya nuzzled him in return before glazing at the herd with bright eyes; nostrils flared to pick up even the faintness scent, her instincts directed the dragon towards the edge of the herd. The large male was far too dangerous to take down and, like her beloved had spoke of, anarchy would consume and possibly wipe out this herd. Many of the females had young ones besides them and it would eat away at Mya's heart if they took out a mother...
And there were neither sick nor injured members within the group.
Her eyes kept going back to group of young males, all within the prime of their life. The few older ones seemed boastful of their strength, acting like teenage Sandpaints would when hormones struck.
"Valentine...." She whispered and motioned towards them with a light toss of his head. "How about them? It wouldn't cause much chaos in the herd and it would give the head male less competition to worry about in the future." She gave a light smile at the last part.
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Posted: Sun Dec 07, 2008 11:04 pm
Dark red eyes idly watched as Rowen lifted from his branch to follow after Mya and Valentine. The prospect of a treat brought back to them from the hunt was a tantalizing one and the chupacabra was feeling just a little curious as to how their bonded hunted together. Rajani, like virtually all of her species, shape-shifted into the form of dark whisps, unaffected by the gentle gusting wind and silent as a dream, or more appropriately for her lineage, a nightmare. Rowen was easy to follow, even in spite of the fact that she was sticking mostly to the shadows to avoid being a dark drifting orbs in a beam of sunlight.
Valentine crouched low where they stood, hidden the the shrubbery, gazing through to the sizable herd. Like his darling next to him, the male had the possibilities and potential targets listing themselves through his mind, immediately eliminating the the females with young and the lead male. When spoken to he nodded at her words, his bright eyes glancing over the cocky group of young males. "I agee. The loss of one of those young males wouldn't shake up the herd dynamic too much and in the long run, I bet that that head male will thank us." He flashed her a warm smile. "Now, as I see things there are a few ways we can do this. One of us can do a mock charge to scatter the herd and see if we can cause one of those young upstart males to break off on his own while the other either moves to dispatch the lone male or to draw the attention of the head stag away from the one who scattered them. One of us can spook them, while the other takes out the target from above. Or we can see if we can lure one of the young males away from the bulk of the herd and the watchful eye of the stag. What do you think?"
Rajani, still in the form of whisps, hovered in the area above the branch that was one or two branches above Rowen. "He's no roaming casanova, Papa Owl," her mental voice scarcely over a whisper. "He'll do good by your girl. Fret not." She was very aware of how he felt about Mya and Mya's being with Valentine. The chupacabra was fond of Valentine and she was happy that he had found someone in the female Aviadracus.
From her perspective, the hunt looked like it would shape up to be an interesting one. In the back of her mind, she was prepared to compare her hunting styles with the way the pair below worked out how to get their next meal.
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Posted: Mon Dec 08, 2008 11:43 am
Mya tucked her wings close to her body and crouched low before returning the smile. "I think we should stay with a quick strike, so possibly spooking them while one of use carries away one of the bucks may work best." Her tail flicked from side to side as the rush of the hunt started to flow through her veins.
Glancing up, she noticed that the large male (who had been in a relaxed state before) was now on high alert. Had he heard them talking? If so...then they had very limited time to strike before the herd dashed away. "Are you ready?"
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Posted: Mon Dec 08, 2008 12:12 pm
Valentine nodded, his wings folded close to his back and his dark mane slightly ruffed up with the prospect of the looming excitement of the hunt. His tail was twitching and curling behind him. "Agreed, am I spooking and you packing a young buck off, or the other way around?" The male could feel his muscles being to tense in preparation to spring into action, ready to act in the event the herd dashed away before he and Mya got a chance to act, which may be soon judging by the slight shift in mood of the herd.
Bright green eyes flicked over towards the lead stag and noted his alert stance. They would have to act fast if they were to eat that day. "Yes, I am."
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Posted: Mon Dec 08, 2008 6:07 pm
Mya pondered, tilting her head slightly as she often did. "Hm...I think you should grab it. A one hundred pound buck is a bit too much for my dainty self."
Fluttering her eyes at him in a flirty but playful manner, she laughed and gently kissed him on the cheek; whispering a final "Good Luck" to him, the dragoness quietly slipped into the bushes.
Rowen watched with a great deal of interest as the hunt began. Both dragons were quite stealthy...it was something truely to be admired. He fluffed out his feathers and watched as, unknown to the large Stag, Mya crept closer to the group of teenagers. They were arrogant young fools; through their minds, Rowen could tell that they were boasting on how they could take down a full-grown dragon and spitting out other similar tall tales. Well...Let lies be proven false...
Mya paused and peered through the bushes; the head male had gone back to grazing, though the hunched up shoulders told the young female that he would leap up the second danger presented itself.
She smiled at the thought. May that whimsical thinking come into reality. Inhaling, she held her breath for a spilt second before letting it loose in a loud roar. Those of the herd near her instantly paniced and tried to flee, but tripped and fell over themselves.
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Posted: Mon Dec 08, 2008 10:03 pm
Valentine flashed her a slightly silly crooked grin in lieu of laughing so he wouldn't spook the herd before he and Mya had moved into position. "Of course," he whispered. He dipped his head to her. "You too, darlin'." With that, he took his cue and moved almost soundlessly through the undergrowth, a surprising skill for a fully grown male Painter. Valentine moved around to be able to cut off any potentially fleeing teenagers.
The initiation of the hunt had captured Rajani's attention as well. She was following her and Rowen's bonded movements closely and noted how they reacted to the shifting of the members of the herd. It was all quite facinating to behold and she knew that very soon it was about to get very interesting.
Sparing a brief glance towards the area about where Mya was hidden and the large head stag, Valentine was crouched low in the underbrush, the wild ferns arching up and brushing at his underside in the slight breeze. A proud, affectionate smile grew on his muzzle when Mya roar to scatter the herd.
Once righting himself one of the older teenage males scrambled to his feet and darted away from Mya, straight towards the hidden Valentine. The scarred male let the teen sprint past before leaping out of the greenery after him, a low menacing growl alerting the teen to the presence of a dragon at his heels. The young buck started and sprinted as though his life depended on it, and it did.
Valentine wasn't terribly bothered by his physical limitations as he was when he first recieved the wounds that practically robbed him of being able to take to the skies. He was adaptable and smart. The male sprung up to a tree that was a midpoint between him and the fleeing buck, talons at the ready. He used the tree as a springboard to act as leverage, allowing him to take the buck down from above with a small shower of leaves and fragments of tree bark. The Painter had no intention of making the buck suffer so he quickly dispatched the buck with a swift bite to the back of the neck. Valentine kept his jaws wrapped around the buck's neck until he was certain that it was dead. He lifted his head and looked to Mya in case the stag hadn't fled with the herd as planned and turned to try to face the threat to his herd.
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Posted: Sat Dec 20, 2008 8:56 pm
Snapping at the heels of a few laggers, Mya gave a small snort of satisfaction as the last of the herd disappeared into the thick brush. Indeed, that was a pleasent hunt; now, it was time to see what her love had managed to catch. She darted off in the direction that the smell of blood was coming from.
Rowen gave a loud hoot of admiration to the duo below; even with his dislike of the male Paint, he could not help but approve of the way those two hunted together. It was like watching art in it's purest form.
Parting the bushes with her wings, Mya gave a soft croon at the proud male as he hovered over their prize: a sturdy-looking buck with plenty of meat on him, enough for themselves and their companions.
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