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 Posted: Mon Sep 14, 2009 5:02 pm
((Crow is still a kitten at the time of this RP))  This was already infuriating. Althea nosed at her kitten once more, shoving him towards the warren's mouth, through which she could just make out the first light of dawn. Crow, as usual, was struggling against her efforts, grinding his paws into the soft earth of the tunnel, or trying to climb up her head and onto her back to avoid being dragged out into 'the cold, wet, icky outside' as he put it. In truth it was taking all her patience not to just simply kick him out of the tunnel and onto the grass. She was seriously starting to consider the option when, for the second time, he pawed her right in the eye in his desperate attempts to evade her and dash back to their nest where the rest of her kittens still slept soundly. She'd been singling them out, bringing up one each morning while the others slept to see what kind of rabbits they were growing into.
So far she'd been sorely disappointed. Fed up with the kitten's antics, Althea lowered her head and charged through the rest of the tunnel, her little black kitten clinging to her face in terror. Once outside she deposited him on the dewy grass and sighed. She stretched out to her full size, always feeling a bit cramped in the tunnel, and gave herself a few minutes to recoup before having to deal with her most difficult offspring.
Still in a bit of shock, he shock himself off and stood up, still rather dazed by suddenly being dragged out of bed only to be ushered rather harshly through the tunnel out into the first light of day. He didn't want to sit and get his tail wet, but he didn't much enjoy his paws getting soaked either. Picking his way carefully through the moist grass, he sought out a root to sit on that was somewhat drier than the rest of the ground. He huffed, still not done with his tantrum.
"This isn't fair! Mama, I wanna go back to bed! I don'wanna be outsideee it's all wet and I'm cold and I'm tired and this sucks."
He moped about, ears down as he hunkered near the bark to keep warm. She gnashed her teeth angrily, still trying to regain her patience while telling herself that she did have five other kittens and one missing wouldn't matter all that much. Though she didn't much like the idea of going through the whole ordeal again, so she'd better make the best of the 6 she produced. Taking a deep breath, she glanced over at the shaking furball before looking around for signs of any other rabbits or elil.
"You will stay out here until I tell you that you can go back inside. Am I clear? And I will not tolerate your whining. One more complaint out of you and I'll chew your ears off."
She grabbed a mouthful of flay before continuing to survey the Down. She wanted to make sure there wasn't any danger before taking her kitten out any further than the roots of the old hanger.
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Posted: Mon Sep 14, 2009 5:39 pm
Ebony had fallen asleep near one of the entrances to the warren while listening to a light rain the evening before, her silver underside snuggled firmly against the ground. The rest of her mostly dark coat had made her difficult to see, and she'd been woken with a start as someone bumped smack into her rump. Upon turning she'd seen a pair of outskirters peering at her with wide eyes before they bolted back into the depths of the warren. Probably trying to sneak out before everyone woke up, she supposed. She actually tracked them back to the nest they shared with their mother, and once satisfied with their safety she'd turned and headed toward a nearby exit to the outdoors. My, but she was hungry this morning. Ebony paused at the entrance, lifting ears and nose to the vastness outside to be sure nothing in the immediate area would come and snatch her away if she showed herself. Satisfied once again, she hopped out and peered around the area. Too early for most, for she saw not another rabbit out upon the Down right now. She decided to begin her morning silflay, pausing occasionally as she moved about to search for any sign of danger before continuing on. After a short time she caught scent of someone else coming out to greet the dim light of early dawn, and then heard voices. One sounded young and none too pleased... the other older, female, and vaguely familiar. Curious now, the black and silver doe hopped closer. Topping the hill and the oldest part of the warren where she rarely traveled most of the time she spotted Althea and bobbed her head in greeting. "Good morning, Owsla. Er... I've no idea if it warrants a report but I caught some of the recent batch of young trying to sneak out farther on the Down. The way they ran off when they spotted me I think they mistook me for the Black Rabbit." She blinked then, spotting Crow. "Oh... hello little one." She peered back and forth between the two for a moment, knowing full well that he was Althea's kitten by his looks and scent, but rather surprised all the same. "So you're one of those who had one of the recent litters?" It was only surprising because from what little she knew of Althea, the large doe seemed focused purely on the protection of the Down. Taking the time to raise a litter simply wasn't what Ebony would have expected from her.
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Posted: Thu Sep 17, 2009 9:38 am
Raising her head, she caught sight of a doe making her way up the down. The name was escaping her at the moment, but she blamed the memory lapse in part to the stressful morning. The large marli stood on her hind legs for a moment before returning to all fours, a sort of greeting and salute many of the Owsla used. She listened to the black rabbit's report and scratched her ear before replying.
"Snuck out of their beds no doubt. I'll remind the marli to keep a better eye on their kittens. Not much sense going through all the trouble of having them if they run off and get themselves killed."
She looked pointedly to her own offspring for a moment, staring long enough that he started to shift under her glare in his discomfort. When she was sure he'd gotten the idea Althea turned back to the doe. She nodded at the question, looking back behind her into the warren as if she could see the rest of her litter.
"Yes, Cocklebur's, no doubt. Four altogether. Just old enough now to start training, though a fat lot of good that's doing. This here's Crow, go on Crow, mind your manners."
He waited in silence before another glare from his mother stirred a response. His ears popped up from their flat position on his back and he stretched first, drawing out the length which he could safely disobey before getting reprimanded. When Althea took a step toward him he sat bolt upright on his perch and looked down at the doe.
"'Morning miss doe. Though it's not a very good one."
He looked at the bark intently, avoiding his mother's gaze as he was sure she'd caught the last bit.
Exasperated, she didn't want to cuff him in front of the black female, but she made a mental note to run him until he couldn't run another step for his attitude. She grunted with a scowl, catching the silver eyes of the doe before pointing a paw at the kitten.
"You can see he takes a great deal after his father. Unfortunately it only seems the worse of it. But, maybe he just hasn't had the chance to show what he's got yet. That's what brings us out here this morning, to see if he can run. Isn't that right Crow? And that wasn't a proper greeting by the way, I did hear you."
His ears dropped at this sorry news and he hopped down from the tree root to give a proper hello. Maybe his mom would ease up if he did.
"I'm sorry. Hello, I'm Crow. T'is nice to meet you."
His voice was rather glum as he looked at the grass and dreading running all along the down, he didn't like being wet; not to mention cold and wet.
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Posted: Mon Sep 21, 2009 2:03 pm
Ebony avoided chuckling at the kitten's small rebellion and simply quirked an eyebrow. It was obvious how trying his behavior was for poor Althea, and from the sound of it the others weren't being any better. Still, she had faith that the kittens would do well in the end with such a strong doe to guide them. They just had to... grow up a little more first.
"Cocklebur's, hm?" That made a lot more sense to the silver spotted doe. No doubt Althea had taken this particular task on with the thought in mind to produce a strong litter that could help protect the growing warren when they got older. "I think they'll take to it, after they've gotten used to the idea and find some motivation. Any of them that wind up following in yours and Cocklebur's pawsteps in the Owsla will undoubtedly earn the respect of the entire warren. And if anyone can help them get there, it would be you, in my opinion." Althea might be harsh but Ebony was certain she had the kittens' and the warren's best interests at heart.
An amused smile tugged at the edge of her mouth as she watched Crow peer none too happily at the wet grass, though she didn't let it do more than that. "It's nice to meet you, too, Crow. My name is Ebony." She hopped a bit closer to him, quirking an eyebrow at the wee buck. "Is there something wrong with the grass?"
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