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moineau bavarde Vice Captain
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 Posted: Thu Jun 04, 2009 3:42 pm
Where could she be? Harar shook his head fiercely to remove a few stray strands of hair that clung to his face. Gone again. He was responsible for her, damn it! Jess. His daughter, Jess. Not by blood perhaps, but still his daughter. Nevermind that he was too young, nevermind that he had no time: her mother had left her in his care, hadn’t she? To pass on to the pack, he reminded himself, or to a mated pair who wanted a child of their very own. Not to keep. But when she looked at me with those great big blue eyes of hers –
Harar sighed. Jess had claimed him, through and through. Adopted him, even. And now he was stuck, always chasing after her when she decided to wander off and do something stupid, like swim in Keystone Lake or, or try to climb a tree – always something bound to result in her breaking her fool neck! – and always, always worrying, watching her while she slept and wondering. He wasn’t ready to be a father, but that didn’t stop him from loving her.
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Posted: Thu Jun 04, 2009 4:00 pm
The dead, Jess decided at long last, were quite, quite boring. Unless you knew where to look, how to look. They were in the wind, mostly, although not every gust was a ghost. But some of them had to be. And it was easy to tell which ones, too, as long as Great-uncle Arbre was near, especially if he was asleep. Especially if he was napping under a tree during the hottest part of the day and didn’t know she was hiding in said tree just above his head. Listening. Waiting.
Mostly waiting. Frowning, Jess shifted her position slightly as her right foreleg started to go numb. Waiting, waiting. Where was Nari?
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moineau bavarde Vice Captain
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moineau bavarde Vice Captain
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Posted: Thu Jun 04, 2009 4:09 pm
Nari was… well, she was giving Arbre a break. She sighed, wishing there was some other way. If only the pack had a ghost speaker! But it didn’t, and the voices of the dead needed to be heard. She, Arbre… they were the only link. Their bond, their love. Which didn’t make it right, make it better.
She was hurting him. And that was wrong. He needed to move on with her life, she needed to move on with her afterlife, and the pack needed a ghost speaker.
Easier said than done. Frowning, she slipped after the green dragon in the ever present mist that just had to be Harar. But distant, distant, never as close as Arbre. She could always tell where he was, even talk to him when he slept. Because she still loved him and, she supposed, he must still love her too. Which only served to make things worse. He wasn’t the Ghoststone the pack so desperately needed.
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Posted: Thu Jun 04, 2009 7:54 pm
She wasn’t at the lake. Harar dug his claws into the mud by the side of the lake in frustration. Trees then, or one of the many paths running through the hills. Probably trees. He headed back the way he had come, shivering as he passed through a stray gust of wind. It had been a while since his student days, but he still remembered some rudementary tracking. He’d just have to trace Jess’ path from the cave this morning, or hope he could so. The alternative was blind guessing or waiting for Jess to return at night. If she returned, for she had driven him to blind panic two or three times already by deciding that she felt like sleeping in Arbre’s cave. Arbre. Something clicked in the back of Harar’s head. What was Jess’ fascination with Arbre? Turning abruptly, he broke into a run and made a bee-line for Arbre’s cave.
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moineau bavarde Vice Captain
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moineau bavarde Vice Captain
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Posted: Sun Jun 07, 2009 3:12 pm
She’d lost sight of him in the fog. Stalking Harar was stupid anyways – just a way to pass the time. But now Nari was curious. Why had Harar gone to the Keystone Lake? Nari sat and examined his fresh prints in the mud. Alone and too far away to drink. Something’s up. Tail twitching, Nari turned and started to follow Harar’s tracks. A difficult task with the fog blocking her vision, but Nari smiled to herself. You weren’t Arbre’s mate without learning a Whetstone trick or two.
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Posted: Sun Jun 07, 2009 3:32 pm
Harar had also learned a few whetstone tricks as well, tracking included. And although his skills were somewhat rusty, they weren’t entirely forgotten. He studied the tracks of Arbre’s cave carefully for some time, trying to make sense of them. These large prints are Arbre’s, and these small ones are Jess’… hers cover his, and look fresher, quite a bit actually, and stop here, and here, where she crouched down. Arbre must have been pretty out of it if he didn’t notice her stalking him. Harar shook his head to clear his face, miserable and worried about Arbre. He’d have to talk to his uncle, see what was up.
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moineau bavarde Vice Captain
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moineau bavarde Vice Captain
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Posted: Sun Jun 07, 2009 3:41 pm
With a sinking feeling in her gut, Nari realized that Harar was heading for Arbre’s cave. But that wasn’t where he was. And something was wrong, it had to be!
Calm down girl, you’re overreacting. I’m sure Arbre is fine.
Or not. Nari shivered as she noticed the same tracks Harar had, but also something more, the listlessness of Arbre’s steps.
What I wouldn’t do for a ghostspeaker right about now! Or somebody, anybody to look after Arbre. He… needs someone else. Someone alive. But right now, he’s in trouble. Breaking into a run, she bolted in the Arbre’s general direction, small footsteps temporarily forgotten.
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Posted: Sun Jun 07, 2009 7:03 pm
Maybe he was a bit rustier than he thought. Harar lashed his tail in frustration and glared at all of the nearby trees. Jess was nowhere in sight, and neither was Arbre. Worse yet, Harar had the sneaking suspicion that he had been following a deer path for some time now, having gotten distracted by following broken branches and other signs instead of actual paw prints.
Well, there was one way to solve this. “Jess!” he called at the top of his lungs.
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moineau bavarde Vice Captain
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moineau bavarde Vice Captain
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Posted: Sun Jun 07, 2009 8:29 pm
“I’m here daddy!” Jess called back instinctively as she got to her feet. Unfortunately for her, her legs had grown stiff from remaining in a cramped position for so long and as she leapt to her feet, she also lost her grip and her balance.
“HELP,” she shrieked as she clawed at the branch, desperately trying to catch a grip as she slipped over the side. She screamed as she fell.
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Posted: Sun Jun 07, 2009 8:34 pm
Maybe it was Nari’s approach. Maybe it Harar’s call, or Jess’ scream. Whatever the reason, Arbre snapped awake as Jess fell. He didn’t have much time, he was still groggy, but above all else he was a Whetstone. Tuning out Harar’s distant scream as he bolted towards the clearing and a sudden breeze that blew by, Arbre lunged forward and braced for the impact of Jess’ small furry body hitting his.
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moineau bavarde Vice Captain
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moineau bavarde Vice Captain
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Posted: Sun Jun 07, 2009 8:38 pm
“Oof!” Jess lay still for a minute, stunned, before taking in what had happened. “Great-uncle Arbre,” she cried, “are you all right? I didn’t mean to hurt you, I really didn’t –“
“I didn’t mean it,” she screamed again as she saw Harar enter the clearing and started to cry.
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Posted: Sun Jun 07, 2009 8:42 pm
Arbre didn’t know Jess very well, despite all the times he had woken up to find her sleeping in his cave. He had been… well, out of it. Ever since Abalis had left to become a student, he had been lonely and dejected. Abandoned. Empty nester syndrome, without a mate to share the burden. But here, for whatever reason, was a small white dragon that had fallen out of a tree and called him “Great-uncle.” He shot Harar a warning look, stopping the lecture he knew was coming, and gently nuzzled Jess. “Shhh, shhh. It’s all right, I’m fine, and I’ve got you. You’re all right, just a couple bruises. It’s all right.”
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moineau bavarde Vice Captain
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moineau bavarde Vice Captain
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Posted: Sun Jun 07, 2009 8:47 pm
Harar gritted his teeth, but held his tongue. He’d talk to Jess later about climbing trees, but for now… for now her fear was enough, nearly as great as his own. If he lost her… if he ever lost her…
Love, that’s what he felt towards Jess. And towards Arbre, he realized, despite the green and white marks he shared with Harar’s father. Arbre… Arbre was family. Jess was family. And Arbre had saved Jess, and now… now maybe Jess would save Arbre. Harar smiled and relaxed slightly before walking closer and nuzzling Jess as well.
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Posted: Sun Jun 07, 2009 8:51 pm
Still crying, Jess nuzzled her father and great-uncle back. Family, family. She loved them both, so so much. “I won’t do it again,” she hiccupped, “I promise I won’t do it again.” But not even she knew whether she was talking about climbing trees or spying on Arbre.
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moineau bavarde Vice Captain
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moineau bavarde Vice Captain
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Posted: Sun Jun 07, 2009 8:55 pm
Nari leaned against one of the trees and watched the scene, utterly mystified. All she could see were brief glimpses of Arbre through the fog, jumping up, bending down, stretching his head back and nuzzling something that wasn’t there. She didn’t understand any of it, but it didn’t matter. Arbre looked… well, he looked happy. Like he’d found something he’d lost, or found something new entirely. Nari smiled to herself in triumph and headed back to the Keystone Lake. Today might be a good day for a swim, a very good day indeed.~FIN~
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