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 Posted: Tue Nov 14, 2006 11:19 am
The watering hole was proving to be a less then agreeable place to spend the day at, contrary to the small black female’s hopes.
No had been staring at it for half an hour now, and the highlight of her day had been a fish suddenly flopping out of the water. It had excited her terribly, but with some regret, the fish seemed absolutely unwilling to throw itself onto the shore so she could eat it. The truth was- as brave as No had attempted to be, there was one thing she was absolutely horrified of.
And it seemed to know it too. The water, glistening in the bright sun, almost looked inviting. It was luring- and she eyed it cautiously. About a week ago she had fallen in trying to get a similar fish hooked by her claws. The memory alone caused her fur to rise. The water! Swallowing her up and covering her head. She’d been so surprised that she’d breathed a gulp of it down before she crawled back to shore, sputtering and gagging as it came back up. She couldn’t swim- but it wasn’t really necessary in the shallow end of the pool.
But she loved fish. It was quite a dilemma really.
No balked and sighed, pressing her paws into the earth. The fish jumped again, but she tried to will herself not to look at it. "Urr...f." She hushed in a strange, strangled voice. "Not fair at all." Perhaps she would try to find Mum. She'd never seen her get the fish before, but she was quite sure she was excellent at it. What couldn't moms do?
If only fish lived on the land, and gazelles in the sea! It would have been marvelous.
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Posted: Wed Nov 15, 2006 1:04 am
Xu was sleeping, with dad, Ai, and Choa helping dad look after her, and where did that leave Ausi, No and Jing'fei? Well, No had wandered off at some point, as they were sure Choa and Ai would eventually do as well.
So, Ausi and Jing set out to find the dark pelted female.
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Posted: Wed Nov 15, 2006 11:35 am
By the time No had begun to realize someone was approaching, she had started to give up. Slumped over a rock and watching the water shift diabolically, she resolved herself to the belief that absolutely nothing was going to happen today. Why was that? She seemed to attract boredom like bad luck. She’d thought a black cat’s luck only worked badly for the people around her. Or maybe it was just the water.
She scowled at it, and looked at her wavering reflection. A small face. She was a dainty cub, although she was beginning to show signs of muscle growth. But changes were coming slowly- and awkwardly. Her paws were already far too large for her paws, and she was becoming prone to tripping. That wouldn’t do if she was going to be a great hero.
But...for now, No perked her ears and lifted her brow. The noise was growing closer, and the familiar smell that she associated with milk was flooding into her nostrils. Her ears perked, and No stood up on top of the rock. She could not see her brother- but her mother she could see clearly, stalking slowly through the grasses.
“Momma!” She called.
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Posted: Wed Nov 15, 2006 12:32 pm
Ausi smiled as the scent of her second daughter drifted into her nose, confirming that they had indeed found their missing den-mate. For a moment her pace picked up a few steps, into a light trot, and Jing seemed to grow amused.
Suddenly, the white and golden son began to sprint into a run, straight for No, still debating. Should he pounce the bejesus out of her, or be nice and refrain?
Well, it wouldn't matter, Ausi reached her first and Jing couldn't chance hurting either of them. Besides, he'd heard about the water incident, he might be a typical older brother, but he wasn't heartless or meanspirited. His sprint panned out into a cubbish trot, ocassionally tripping a bit before catching himself with his also cubbishly oversized paws. His expression was mirthful as he stopped before No alongside Ausi'juu.
"There you are, sis! We've been lookin' all over for you!"
Ausi simply purred and lowered her head to nuzzle it against No in greeting, Jing haven beataen her to speaking what was on her mind.
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Posted: Wed Nov 15, 2006 12:40 pm
No purred and rubbed her small body up against her mother as she nuzzled. Mothers really were wonderful, she could not think of a better feeling in the world then their attention. “Mommy-“ She said again pleasantly and withdrew, glancing a nervous look over to her brother. He looked like might want to pounce at her again- and she kept herself flinched just in case. She had to admit- he was fantastic at finding her off guard. She wished she knew what his secret was- at least then she could ward off against it.
“Looking for me?” She asked, looking up at her mother’s face as it pulled away. “What’s going on?”
After she finished, she shot a look towards her brother to see if it held any further information. His white pelt seemed to glisten in the bright sun. Xu and Choa were just as white- but there was always something shiny about Jing.
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Posted: Wed Nov 15, 2006 12:45 pm
"Your brother is just being restless as usual. Your sisters and Ai are sleeping back at the den, and Jing was bored." Ausi supplied, placing a kiss to the top of No's head before settling down onto her haunches beside the rock of No's perching.
Jing's eyes gave off a mischevious glint, but he didn't make a move to pounce his sister. She'd thank her brothers for the "rough treatment" later in life when she was stronger to show for it. >3
"Yeah, what mum said. She promised to hang out and play with us today since everyone else is nappin'! Isn't that great, No? We get mom all to ourselves today!"
Ausi'juu had to chuckle at this. The children seemed to share that trait in common, wanting to have their father or mother's attention all of their own from time to time. Some didn't seem to display this trait so blatantly as the others, but she knew it was only natural to vie for that spotlight.
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Posted: Wed Nov 15, 2006 1:01 pm
Although No might not have shared Jing’s outward enthusiasm, the idea of having mom for a day thrilled her. She stumbled off of the rock and sprawled across her mother’s back, having been given an easy pathway to it as her mother lay alongside the stone.
She was glad though, that she wasn't in trouble and nothing had happened. No had always been a cautious cub- but with the shakeup in the pridelands, a child's imagination tended to create wild scenarios around every corner.
“Those sleepy bums.” She spoke flicking her tail. But for the better of it- it wasn’t often where they got a chance to even share mom in small portions. Usually the cubs rabbled about one another like a swarm. “What are we going to do then?” She gleamed- which, for No, was a shocking amount of facial expression.
Her eye’s fell to Jing- because of course, Mothers didn’t usually have much say when it came to the wiles of their children.
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