|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Sat Apr 23, 2011 2:46 pm
(( PRP Between Vladislav Draculesti and Alexandru Draculesti!)) 
It was a lovely crisp spring night. Vlad stretched his wings with pleasure under the glitter of starlight. There was no moon in the sky tonight and the land was shrouded in darkness. Vlad's own eyes were well suited to this condition. The red of his eyes gleamed in the shadows and he could see the sharp outlines of trees surrounding him. The glare of sunlight was too bright and hurt him to look at. Night was perfect.
He wished he could say the same for his adopted son, Alexandru. He had woken up before sunset and Serghei had watched him until Vlad himself had awakened. This nocturnal lifestyle wasn't natural to most soquili, Vlad knew. Part of him wondered if he shouldn't simply release Alexandru to live more normally... but no. He was a Draculesti and that carried with it certain traditions.
He looked down to where Alexandru was staring blankly around him. "Open your eyes wider if you cannot see, my son."
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Apr 23, 2011 2:54 pm
Alexandru stared around himself in frustration. His father moved around so easily at night. Alexandru wanted to be like his big and strong father, but it was hard. He couldn't see very well still and he often stumbled into things when he wasn't being very careful. He was angry at himself whenever he failed. He was supposed to be a Draculesti! That meant he should do those things.
The language they talked to was in something called "Romanian." Alexandru didn't know where Romania was, but he liked the language a lot better than what the rest of the soquili spoke. It felt more special this way, too. He liked having a secret language to talk to his father in, his father and Serghei, of course. "Will I ever be able to see as well as you?" He asked, straining to keep his eyes open wide.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Apr 23, 2011 3:06 pm
Truthfully, Vlad didn't know the answer to that question. He assumed that more time spent at night would improve night eyesight but couldn't be certain. He had never met a nocturnal usdia. Maybe there was a reason for that. If it turned out that Alexandru couldn't adjust to this lifestyle, Vlad would think of something else.
He wasn't about to give Alexandru away. He was too selfish to allow that. If Alexandru couldn't stay up into the night with him then.... then Vlad would think of a solution as needed. "If you try hard and sleep during the day then you will be able to see as well as an owl in the night," he said to his son. "That is the strength of a Draculesti. Do not doubt yourself, Alex."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Apr 23, 2011 3:10 pm
Alexandru took heart in his father's words. Though Vlad had told him that he would never be as large as his father, Alexandru hoped to at least be able to be as powerful in other ways. Even if he couldn't fly, he'd learn to run fast! He'd learn to fight so that he could make sure that no one would hurt him, even larger soquili! He had a bear now for his protection. Maybe some day he wouldn't even need a bear!
Alexandru held his head high and smiled proudly. He scuffed his hooves in the leaves and trotted for a moment in place. "What are we going to do tonight, Father?" he asked brightly. "Will we hunt?" So far, hunting lessons had consisted of learning to walk quietly. Alexandru had been practicing his stealth and hoped to be able to show how much better he had gotten!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue May 03, 2011 6:47 pm
"Very well," Vlad said with a note of amusement at the colt's enthusiasm. "We will hunt." He glanced around the area and sniffed at the scents on the wind. He didn't smell anything in particular. In reality, he doubted there was much game in the area. The local wildlife had started to learn of his carnivorous habits and kept away as a result. The last times they had gone "hunting" it was mostly just stalking squirrels. He considered carefully ways that he might make the night more interesting.
"Serghei told me of something earlier," he said with a pause afterward to incite curiosity in his minute son. "He said that there were sightings of..." He paused again and thought quickly. "Sightings of bear-lions in the area." He'd have to invent a more convincing fake animal for the next time he did this. A "bear-lion" was a ridiculous excuse for an imaginary monster.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue May 03, 2011 6:51 pm
Alexandru had not yet mastered the art of seeing through his father's tall tales. He immediately grew excited at the idea of hunting down whatever a bear-lion was. It sounded dangerous! His father had always told him to watch out for bears most of all animals and bear-lions sounded even worse. He opened his eyes as wide as he could and stared into the forest around them. Could a bear-lion be lurking there and watching them already?
"What do they look like?" he asked in a whisper. If there was a bear-lion around he didn't want to startle it!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue May 03, 2011 7:17 pm
More questions. He really needed to plan out these lies better. "They look like...." He swept a wing suddenly to their north. "Nevermind that. I heard the call of a female bear-lion in that direction." He eyed his son. "She is looking for her mate. Be careful. If she has cubs she will be even more dangerous and won't hesitate to kill."
Without waiting for a response he prowled forward into the darkness. He kept his body in an exaggerated pose with head held low and wings tucked tightly in. Seeing the movements magnified would help Alex to mimic them better. Their hunting practice wasn't about killing. Alex had the blunt little teeth of his race and would neither need to kill for food or be able to, most likely. Learning how to be stealthy had it's own advantages. He might be able to sneak away from an angry skinwalker someday with the skills he would learn "hunting."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue May 03, 2011 7:20 pm
Alex understood the cue for silence and so said no more as he followed his father. He tried to be as silent as he could but as usual he had difficulties. He was only a fraction of his father's height and for each step that Vlad took Alex had to take many more. The fast pace meant that he was going too fast to really put his stealth skills into use. He inwardly cringed each time a twig snapped underneath him but didn't know how to be any quieter at the pace they were going.
He still was having a hard time seeing too and that didn't help. Uneasily, he noticed the reflections of eyes in the trees. Something was watching them. It looked too small to be a bear-lion. Was it too small to be a bear-lion cub? Alex craned his head to watch the glowing eyes until they were well past them and he was able to look ahead once more.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Jun 01, 2011 7:54 pm
Alex looked like he was really taking to the night's lessons. Vlad was charmed by his enthusiasm but wondered what he would do to keep things interesting. If they spent half the night out and no bear-lions showed up then Alexandru would take it personally. As he was thinking about ways to invent some dangers for them to face he heard a sound.
"Stop," he whispered to his son. "There is something near." He pricked his ears up and focused. It didn't sound like a deer but was too large to be something like a raccoon. It probably wasn't dangerous but he didn't want to risk anything while Alex was present.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Jun 01, 2011 8:01 pm
Alex's ears were immediately perked up and alert and he would have pranced with excitement if he wasn't trying to be silent. "I hear it too!" he whispered back. "It's the bear-lion!" His hesitance was gone in the face of potential adventure. Now would be the perfect time for him to test his sneaking abilities!
He skittered forward in the shadows of bushes toward where he had heard the sound coming from. He knew that his father would follow along soon and that if anything happened he'd be protected. He didn't think he'd need it, though. In his mind he was as quiet as a ghost and with his eyes wide he thought he could see everything there was to notice. He was going to find the bear-lion!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Jun 01, 2011 8:20 pm
Vlad raised an eyebrow slightly when Alex ran out ahead of him but didn't rush to follow. It would be good experience for Alex to scare whatever poor creature it was. It would give him a good lesson on how to sneak up on prey as well. He came slowly after Alex and was careful to be silent himself. His chains clinking softly accompanied him but his hoof steps were silent.
He heard the movement of the animal again and along with it something that sounded suspiciously like a soft growl. Immediately he was alert. "Alex! Go no closer!" He didn't bother muffling his voice or the sound of his approach. It was more important that Alex knew to get out of harm than it was for him to remain unheard. He could handle himself if attacked by a mountain lion. The colt could not.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Jun 01, 2011 8:35 pm
Alex came to a sudden stop when he heard his father's voice but in his haste his stealth was lost. His head snapped up with alarm and his hoof crunched down loudly on a branch. He hadn't heard what had first given his father alarm but now he did. A low growling came from directly in front of him and despite all his excitement he found himself frozen with trepidation.
He made out the form of the animal as it lumbered toward him. In his eyes it was giant, as large as he was and probably heavier. There was red on its furry body and in the haze of the night he thought that it might be blood. It was a bear-lion! Now that he had found one, he had no idea what to do aside from stare in fright.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jul 03, 2011 5:48 pm
"Alex! Come back!" Vlad's warnings turned out to be unnecessary. In a few bounds he had caught up with his son. Upon seeing the animal moving toward them, he quickly put himself in front of Alexandru. "Alexandru," he growled, eyes locked on the animal. "Stay close to me." His wings opened in a defensive stance.
The animal in question was a bear, not a bear-lion. It was only a baby bear which was not dangerous in itself, but it was the mother he was worried about. He feared very little in the wild but an enraged mother bear was not something he enjoyed the thought of fighting.
"You," he growled in the kawani language at the young bear. Some animals could understand the language of soquili. He hoped this was one of them. "Go back to your mother. Ve have no food for you here."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jul 03, 2011 6:00 pm
Alexandru was grateful for the protective presence of his father when looking into the eyes of the monster that had appeared. He was used to seeing Vlad's sharp teeth and was never frightened by his father's eerie appearance. This monster was something else. He saw the lumbering creature's teeth and thought that they would like to do nothing else but tear him to pieces.
"Kill it, father!" He whispered hoarsely while peering out from behind one of his powerful legs.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jul 04, 2011 8:08 am
Keeping his eyes on the young bear, Vlad addressed his son. "No. It does not need to be killed. It is probably just looking for its mother." He met the bear's eyes with his own and addressed him once more in the kawani language. "You! Can you speak? Vhere is your mother?"
In Vlad's experience, some animals had the power of speech and others were nothing more than beasts. He would not devour an animal that begged him for its life, at least when he realized it prior to a mortal wound. If the animal could speak then it would make things easier. If it couldn't... it was time for them to take their leave.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
