A Stronger Parent

[Therdde]

Characters:
Revan - Male Cougar
Cael - Male Cougar Cub
Kein - Male Adolescent Cougar
Yuma - Male Adolescent Cougar

- Dense Undergrowth -

It has already been over two hours since Revan took the small boy from the two Amaranth parents, and already he's beginning to question the competency of both of them. He had made next to no attempt to hide his trail, and especially given the obvious scent marker left for the two of them to find, there should be no reason at all for the parents' not being able to track him. Why, then, have neither of them shown themselves yet? Perhaps just observing, waiting for the moment to strike? He might have been intentionally careless in his travel, but there's nothing remotely careless in his observation and frequent trips around the immediate area, senses straining to detect the presence of any other felines. So far, there's been no scents other than those of himself and Whiskers. And, of course, that of the young boy who seems so proud to be called Cael.

He dozed fitfully for a little while, having worn himself out from attacking great uncle-in-law Revan. Cael curled up near the sleeping Whiskers, and there remained until the waking world called tdo him again, along with his grumbling stomach. The boy blinks bleary blue-black eyes, glances to Whiskers and mrows pitifully at her, extending a large paw to kneed at her belly. He can't eat if she's laying like that. He tries for a while longer, nosing at her side and kneeding his paws, hoping for his dinner, but when the sleeping female doesn't oblige, or even deign to wake up, Cael gives up. The boy gets up, seeing no one else but Revan, and sleepily totters to him. He places a forepaw on the male's leg, and mews, "... 'unree, Wreevah..." Pout.

Not watching and waiting, no, but as the foreign scent becomes stronger, Kein does slow his pace, following the trail the stranger left. He is careful, as he gets closer, to brush against as little as possible and to step lightly, carefully. He is not used to walking through plant growth that is this thick, but even with it and his slow pace, he is keeping a fair pace. The trip here has done nothing to soothe Kein's anger at his son being kidnapped, and when he hears a very familiar young voice, it is all he can do to keep from growling as he breaks from the exact path Revan left to make his way more directly toward the boy. At least Cael is alive, but the boy is also talking to someone.

And finally, things are about to happen. Revan catches the faint sounds of someone approaching; he and Whiskers really did choose an advantageous location as it's near impossible to move without disturbing the dense foliage. Smoothly, he whispers down to the cub, "Your father is about to come take you back to your mother so you can get some milk, but first, you need to stay still while he and I talk, okay?" Hopefully the boy will both understand and heed the older male's words. That being said, he lifts his head to stare toward where he would imagine the father to be emerging from the undergrowth, provided he doesn't try circling or sneaking around in some form or another. Deciding to make this a little bit less formal, Revan sits down to where he's both comfortable but also able to move in a hurry if need be. He has hopes for how the other cougar will act, but he's been disappointed before.

He doesn't notice the subtle things that Revan does, and he can only bend his ears to the male's whispered words. Desperately Cael tries to shake the sleepiness from his eyes and ignore his increasingly hungry stomach. "M'kay," is about all that he can manages before he settles himself on his haunches, posture hunched. The mention of his dad has him thinking a little bit, and his eyes sweep the forest around them a few times, and he calls quietly, "Da?" He still can't really hear the slight and subtle shift of a fern leaf as surely as Revan can, but.. he did say dad was coming, right? Maybe it's now? "Da'?" He mews again, quietly.

Kein is close enough to hear everything Cael says, even with the cub speaking quietly, but he cannot hear anything but that someone, some stranger, is whispering back to the boy. Kein wants blood, as surely as he wanted blood when Chesmu banned him from Amaranth, but when he finally catches sight of Revan and Cael, he does not attack. Cael is far too close to the foreign male for that. He does, though, finally growl, and very shortly after he spots them, he says, in his most intimidating voice, "Back away from my son!" Kein /is/ willing to die to rescue his defenseless son. Is this stranger willing to risk death to keep the cub away form his rightful family?

And there he is. No different from when Revan saw him sleeping to the south only a few hours ago, but this time looking significantly more angry and volatile. "Your mate is not with you?" The other male's use of the word 'my' instead of 'our' would seem to indicate such, not to mention the sheer foolhardiness of leaving the other four cubs in an attempt to rescue the single boy. "A wise move, leaving her behind to guard the rest... but perhaps your own approach was a bit.. hasty." He remains sitting, carefully observing the other. "It should be obvious to you that you cannot possibly hope to defeat both myself and my mate here, and while I do not doubt your courage or willingness to risk injury for the sake of your son, you must learn when to utilize stealth and patience rather than just bravado." His words are not spoken with any sort of condescension or sarcasm, but rather with the tone of a mentor.

His father's sudden voice brings about a spark in Cael, and he bolts upright and whirls his gaze until it falls upon Kein. He is excited to see him, and stands, but his posture and tone of voice cause the boy to hesitate. Cael doesn't understand why Kein is so very upset, and he looks quickly between the two older male's as they begin to speak. What was once excited energy quickly turns to fear, and the cub tries to shrink into himself, to disappear, and fitfully stumbles back away from both Revan and Kein. Their voices frighten him. One is angry. One is calm, but underneath hides something he doesn't know. He just doesn't understand. He didn't think Revan was so bad. He wasn't hurt. He doesn't know the delicate and dangerous situation that he's place both himself, and his father in. Cael cowers, afriad, glancing wide-eyed at his father just paces away.

Of course Kein cannot defeat both Whiskers and Revan. The point is that he is definitely willing to try, but he would certainly cause some damage before he was incapacitated. His anger does not fade. He has no idea what Revan's motive in taking Cael was, and he doesn't care to find out. What he does care about is getting the cub to safety. He watches his son move, remaining where he is for the moment. Given a chance, he would snatch Cael and take the cub far away from here, but he does not want to encourage the stranger to go after his son, not when there's a chance Revan could reach him first. "If harm comes to him, there will not be enough left of you or your mate for anyone to identify. I /said/, back away from my son. Now."

The other male is, at least, showing enough discretion to avoid just rushing forward and attacking. Probably out of fear that Revan will simply kill his son before he can get to him. "No harm will come to your son, unless it is by your own paw." But still, Revan makes no move to distance himself from Cael, yet he remains somewhat casually-situated and postured, attention still locked on the near-adult. "Did you really think that I would have brought him here if I had intended to hurt him? It would have been much easier to do so where I found him, where he *should* have been under the careful watch of one of his parents." Hint, hint.

Cael blinks once or twice, gaze snapping from dad, to uncle, to dad, to uncle, back and forth, back and forth until the poor boy looks a little dizzy. He screws his eyes shut and shakes his head, regaining a little bit of composure but he's still quite confused as to what's going on. His father is so very upset, and it's that demenour that stops the boy from running to his dad in a happy greeting. Cael hunkers himself down, distanced slightly from Revan now, shoulders hunched and tail curled around his haunches. He sure /looks/ guilty, doesn't he? But he wasn't far from Kein or Nayeli... really... honest.

Kein may never know exactly what led to Revan being able to get close enough to snatch Cael and get away. He does remember falling asleep, exhausted and secure in the knowledge that Yuma had agreed to watch over the cubs. Then he was woken by Nayeli's frantic shouting. He still has no idea where Yuma is, if he is hurt or something else happened. He /is/ certain that there is no way Cael could have been with the other cubs, sleeping by their mother, when he was taken. Not without it waking her, no matter how exhausted they have both been. Regardless, he bristles at the accusation that he is an irresponsible parent, and it takes him a moment, during which time he takes a deep breath, before he says, "Then you'll let me take him, and you'll keep your distance." Anger is still clear in his tone, but he is not shouting. After speaking, Kein takes a step forward, closer to his son. His primary goal is to get Cael safe. He promised Nayeli he would, and since his second goal is impossible, with the presence of the female cougar...

"I will indeed," Revan offers, though his voice turns from near-concession to something much more firm. "However, there are things that must be said first." The older male now moves smoothly to stand between the father and his son. Not in a threatening way, but simply to punctuate his statement. "This will not take long, but you must listen to me. Sit down." It's said with the quiet and firm authority of one who is used to being obeyed and who expects the other to comply immediately. And if not.. well.. there is plenty of confidence backing that authority as though Revan is fully capable of enforcing that authority.

As Kein starts to move closer, Cael begins inching further away from Revan and closing the gap between father and son. He doesn't really want to get too close to Kein, since he's so angry and it's all obviously CAel's fault for some unexplainable reason, but when Revan blocks his path the boy cries out in a pitiful little whine. "Wreevaah," he churrs as the older male speaks, sulking, "... 'unree," he reiterates, remebering that Revan said he could eat when daddy got back. "Da'?" he wimpers, ears splayed to the side. "Mra?" he calls even more softly, glancing for Nayeli.

The growling returns when Revan moves between Kein and his son. The temptation to claw his way through Revan is strong, especially once Cael cries out. The first word is unrecognizable, but Kein knows 'hungry' perfectly well. It is hard to hold himself back, even knowing all of the risks that attacking would present. Digging his claws into the soft ground, he says, "Hurry up and say what you need to say. I will stand." His glare goes well beyond angry to murderous. Should he ever find Revan without his female companion, especially if Kein has backup... There is no way he could be as calm as Revan is currently being.

The father appears dangerously close to unstable, so Revan will have to make sure that he's extra careful and observant just in case the father snaps and turns violent. "You no doubt remember being a cub yourself, and had to learn lessons, some harder and more difficult than others, but all being given to you with the understanding that they would make you stronger. They would make you into a better cougar." The near-adult has decided to remain standing, and Revan does not press the issue. "Consider this another lesson. You may not be a young cougar anymore, but you are most certainly a young parent. What I am trying to teach you is intended to make you stronger. You may hate me for it, much the same way that your son may hate you for lessons that you must and will teach him. But I hope that you have enough intelligence to realize that this is for your own good and for your son's own good."

He's being ignored. That is not acceptable. The boy rowlrs once up at Revan, again rising to all fours and placing a large forpaw on the male's hindquarters, pokepokepokepoke. "Wreevah?" Pout. His tummy grumbles again, and when he's not answered his paw drops back to the ground and he turns to peer at his father, still very much upset. Cael glances between the cougars for a moment and totters around Revan in an attempt to remedy this himself! He'll just go to dad, dad will take him to mom, and he can eat. Simple, right? Sure. The son trundles toward his father at that awkwardly slow childs pace. Bye, Uncie Wreevah! Suresure.

Many things about this are not acceptable. One of those things is how Cael seems to be speaking, quite calmly, to this other male. This stranger. When this is all over... Yes, Kein /will/ have to do what he can to teach Cael a lesson. It will not be easy, since he isn't sure how much his son will be capable of understanding. The worst part about this, though, is how Revan has a point. "Fine. Your intentions were good." But that doesn't mean Revan had any right to be the one to try to teach Kein a lesson. Still, all he needs is to remain calm long enough to get Cael away form here, and Kein reminds himself of this often, forcing himself to keep this from becoming physical.

Revan may not have the 'right' to do what he did, but he certainly had the obligation to. His intentions were indeed good, though the near-adult may not want to see it as such. "When you return to Amaranth, please pass along my regards to Moonseeker. I trust she is doing better after my brother and I helped her recover from her injuries." Perhaps he's going a bit out of his way to reassure this father that he's not the evil and twisted villain that Kein might want to believe him to be, but perhaps such measures can be justified. Parents can be irrational when their emotions get the better of them, and Revan wants to make sure that such does not happen here.

Without being thwapped unkindly on the rearend, Cael continues his jaunty cub-tumble Kein's way, though at one point he stops, half way between the two, and glances back at Revan. The boy smiles, unaware of what has transpired, or what will, and turns again to Kein. "Da'!" he cries, and bounds a few tumbling paces until he reaches Kein's side and nuzzles his foreleg warmly. "Mra?" he questions, looking behind his father for mom, potentially on her way.

This cougar cared for Moonseeker after Azriel attacked her? It's nat hard to believe, if only because it would be difficult to explain how the stranger knows Moonseeker's name, and the name of the tribe. Once Cael is close, Kein reaches out to drag him closer, as well as to hold him in place, keeping his eyes on Revan as he does so. After a very brief silence, he says, simply, "I cannot give her your regards without knowing your name." The anger is far from gone in his tone, but... Well, whether he resents this or not, he will not be hunting Revan down after getting Cael back. Perhaps, in time, he will even get over his hatred for this male. Surely, this would have been much worse had it been any other predator who had taken Cael, and once all of the anger has passed, he will probably realize that, and /maybe/ even be grateful... But even if he isn't, he /will/ be much more careful about making sure the cubs are being watched at all times.

Moonseeker will no doubt know who Kein is talking about even with just a general description; how many other male cougars has she met in the forest who have taken care of her? "My name is Revan, and my brother's name is Malak. We have heard much about your tribe up in the mountain, and though he and I would prefer to stay in the forest, it is comforting to know that there are many of our kind in these lands." Will he and Malak desire to at least visit the cougar tribe? Perhaps. That much is still yet to be decided.

Kein's protective paw causes Cael to loose his balance a little bit, and his rear thumps on the ground rather uncerimoniously. He issues a mild yowl of protest, but seeing as how things have been going he doesn't make it too big of a deal. As it is, dad will already have quite a mouthful for him when they get back... not to mention Nayeli, too! As Cael realizes that he will also hear from mom, most likely, his eyes grow wide, then afriad, then apprehensive. Still, he sticks close to Kein's leg, though he watches Revan rather curiously. Mra.

Kein would prefer Revan and Malak to stay in the forest too. Would they find welcome in Amaranth? Most certainly not, no more than any foreign male would. "I will pass on your message." That's as civil as Kein will get, in this moment. Especially since, after saying that, he lowers his head to pick up Cael. Even as he does so, he keeps an eye on Revan. The most trusting of cougars, Kein is not.

Dark blues eyes look from the father down to the son, then back to the father. Whatever Revan is thinking now is not visibly evident, as his expression and voice are still relatively casual. "Perhaps you will honor me with your name before you leave? Your son, Cael, has done so already." The implication being that surely Kein would not want to be rude when even his own son was willing to give his name. Not that Cael would know when *not* to, but that's entirely beside the point.

Cael issues a little squeak, very like the one when Revan brought him here in the first place, when Kein picks him up by the scruff. As he is now, he can't do a thing, and can only rather blankly stare back at the other male. He blinks a few times, tail hanging limply beneath him, and manages a brief paw-wave at Uncle Wreevah before falling still and quiet, waiting to be transported (and likely 'spoken to').

Kein stands with Cael in his mouth for a while, just looking at the other male. Deciding whether to give Revan his name. Finally, speaking around the cub in his mouth, he says, "Kein." Yes, he will have many words for Cael, soon. Not now, though. He may not wait until they get to Nayeli, but Kein wants away from Revan now. After giving his name, he backs up a couple steps, then finally turns to walk away from the area at a fair pace, focusing his listening on the area behind him as he does so.

"Farewell, then... Kein." Revan backs up as well, finally sitting himself down next to Whiskers. "I trust that you will be a stronger parent and a stronger cougar as a result of all of this. And goodbye to you, young Cael. Perhaps we will meet again someday." No doubt Kein will try and prevent that, but one never knows. Stranger things and encounters have happened before, and no doubt will happen again.

- Fallen Log -

Shortly after Kein frees them both from the thick undergrowth, Kein finally sets Cael down. He has spent most of the time since leaving Revan just deciding to talk to his son now, instead of waiting. Cael is hungry. Nayeli is worried. This is important, though, and he doesn't want to give Cael any time to let the incident slip from his mind. After setting Cael down, Kein does not begin walking again toward where he left Nayeli again. Instead, he takes a step back and looks at the young cub.

Thankfully, Kein is a little more gentle when it comes to cub handling than Revan, and he's set rather nicely on the ground. Glee. Cael shakes his fur out a bit but doesn't quite look back at dad. At first, he takes a few happy, and hungry, bounds toward Nayali and his siblings, but dad's sigh catches him off guard and he turns, wary. With a furrowed brow the boy looks up at his father, confused and unaware. He doesn't understand the danger he put himself in, wandering as he did, and likely won't for sometime. Revan could have killed him easily. Later, he'll surely wonder why. Cael doesn't say anything though, and backs a few paces away from his father, afraid.

Moving away from his parents is what, to some small part, caused this whole issue in the first place. Kein was not awake to see that, but he /knows/ that Cael could not have been by his mother's side, where he should have been, when he was taken. So when Cael begins backing away, Kein growls softly and says, "Ah. Get back over here." There is no mistaking the threat in his tone, but the anger that was in it earlier, when he was speaking to Revan, is gone. What will he do if Cael does not obey? Walk closer to him, hold him in place... But Cael has no reason to really be afraid. Kein won't /hurt/ him... But he also isn't quick about letting the cub know that.

That tone of voice freezes him mid backstep, but Cael does not move any closer. Instead, he hunkers down in the grass, ears splayed to the sides, eyes cast down at his paws. He wasn't /doing/ anything. Just playing. Like always. He really wans't that far. He doesn't understand. The boy says nothing and only hunches himself down, afraid of his father and that tone. How is he to know what Kein will do, or not do? How is he to know that it was wrong? Well, he'll certainly learn.

After his encounter with Darkheart, Yuma managed to find his way back to the place where he left his tribemates... only to find it abandoned. The site did not look disturbed, and the cougar could find no trace of blood on the grass, but his sister, her mate, and their cubs are all unquestionably gone. He has no idea what could have heppened, but his mind is quick to supply possibilities, each one worse than the last. The big male is currently up in the branches of the largest nearby tree he could find, making an attempt to survey the area. With five cubs, Kein and Nayeli could not have gone far... at least, he doesn't think so, and while his idea was good in theory, the new growth of spring leaves severely limits his view. Yuma is about to give up and go back to combing the forest on foot when he hears something. He goes still and listens, ears swiveling.

At least the cub doesn't back up any further, but neither does he obey... Probably for the same reason that Sketch did not obey, the first time they met. Kein takes a couple large steps closer to Cael, but after doing so, he sits down. It is hard for him, to find that balance between not being scary enough and being too scary, but he tries. "I need you to listen to me, Cael. Do you understand?" The tone hasn't changed, but his growling is gone.

Listening.. that doesn't mean looking, right? Cael keeps his eyes pinned to his paws, though he does nod a little bit. Barely, but he does nod. He's listening, though he just doesn't understand what's so awful about everything. Uncle Revan wasn't all that bad. The boy's stomach grumbles again and he whines quietly, more to himself, but he doesn't dare ask for Nayeli... Instead he waits, still hunched and hunkered close to the ground, waiting.

As he listens, Yuma struggles to maintain his balance. He picked a fairly thick branch to stand on, but it's been a while since he's been up a tree, and he's gotten considerably larger since then. It's not as effortless as he remembers. The cougar shifts his weight slightly, and the branch creaks in protest. He grimaces - then pricks his ears, turning his head as he identifies a voice. Because of the leaves, he cannot see the source of the noise, so he creeps forward a step, trying to peer between the thick curtain of greenery. Frankly, it's more likely that Kein will see him than the other way around, if Chieftain happens to glance his way. Stealth is not one of Yuma's strong suits.

Even with the importance of the task at paw, Kein has not stopped paying attention to his surroundings. Though he's mostly listening for the sound of pawsteps coming from behind him, he does not miss the sound of Yuma moving. In response to it, Kein stands and moves a step closer to Cael. No other strangers will get close to his cubs for some time. If he had his way, it would not be until the cubs are full-grown, but he doubts he will be that lucky. His plan to stand above Cael, to protect him from whoever may be nearby, is halted when he sets eyes on Yuma, though, and he relaxes a little, relieved that the animal he sees is not, in fact, a stranger.

The boy cub cringes when Kein moves forward, not having the instinct for listening to sound that his father does, and so he has no idea what might happen as he's stood over. For a second he doesn't do anything but hunker down, but when Kein does nothing he perks an ear, then his gaze looks up through the forest of daddy-legs, trying to see what's going on. "Mrr?" he wonders curiously, the little noise more to himself than to Kein, and he stands, peering around Kein-leg. Wha?

Great. Now Yuma can hear nothing at all. Lashing his tail in irritation, the cougar inches forward a bit more. He stops short when the branch creaks again, but it's too late. A second later, with a resounding crack, the branch snaps, dumping the brawny male off of his perch. He lands with a considerable thud, though fortunately unharmed, only a bit surprised by his sudden descent. There is /one/ good thing - he can finally see Kein, standing a short distance away with one of the cubs. Normally he would feel embarrassed, but his relief is so great that it leaves room for nothing else. "There you are..." His eyes search quickly left and right. "Is Nayeli with you?" he blurts out, unaware that he is interrupting an important Father-Son Talk.

Kein winces lightly when he sees the branch Yuma was on break, but his only immediate action is to step back from Yuma and pull Cael back with him, in case the other male rolls upon landing. When Yuma lands fine and stands, Kein looks him over. His main concern was that Yuma would be injured, he seems fine, and so Kein just answers Yuma's question. "Nayeli took the other cubs to safety. She shouldn't be far off." He hopes. /Should/ he be just picking Cael back up and checking on Nayeli and the others before doing anything else?

Yes, yes he should. Food now, lectures later. The crash sends Cael stumbling backward, and Kein's paw to protect him only serves to scuttle him back further. Bleh. He'll sleep for a while after today. What a day of surprises. Another tummy grumpy, another decidedly pitiful looking pout. The boy says nothing, though, not wanting to anger Kein further by approaching yet /another/ unknown male, even if Kein seems to be on good terms. Bleh.

Yuma nods, not entirely reassured, but feeling better knowing his sister /should/ be safe. He glances down at the pouty, unhappy-looking cub, then looks back up at the Chieftain, guilt written all over his features. "What happened?"

"Cael here was taken by a male cougar who lives in these parts." Which hardly begins to describe it. At no point, though, does Kein try to make Yuma feel guilty. He doesn't raise his voice or glare. It takes effort, but while he was upset at the insinuation that he was a bad father for trusting Yuma to keep watch, /Yuma/ is not a parent of these cubs. Kein cannot expect him to provide for their well-being. For their safety. That is his job, and he failed. He'll make certain it doesn't happen again, but there is no reason to take his anger out on Yuma.

The Chieftain does not need to raise his voice, or make direct accusations, for Yuma to feel fairly miserable about the whole thing. This must have happened while he was stalking those deer... or maybe, even more humiliatingly, while he was wandering around lost, trying to find his way back. The big male hangs his head, shoulders slumping. Should he even bother to explain what happened? He let his tribemates down, almost at the loss of a cub. "I'm sorry." His eyes fall back to Cael. "I'm glad you brought him back safe."

"It's okay." Or, at least, it /will/ be. Cael /is/ back. He's safe. That's what really matters. And, with Yuma's presence, Kein decides to put off the talk he needs to have with Cael. With all of his cubs, but especially with Cael, since Cael was the one who saw no problem with befriending an unknown adult male. "He's hungry. We should probably go find Nayeli now." Since neither Kein nor Yuma are equipped to feed the young cub, right now.

Yuma only nods in agreement, still looking downcast. Having no idea where Nayeli and the rest of the cubs, Yuma waits to follow Kein's lead, hoping that he has a better idea of where she's hiding than he does.

Kein takes a step back to pick up Cael again. It's just faster than letting the cub walk as he tries to track down Nayeli. Though he doesn't know where she took the cubs, since getting to Cael was the biggest priority, he /does/ know exactly where they parted ways, and it should not take him long to bring the three of them to where Nayeli is. After all, traveling with four young cubs ought to leave quite a trail.