Post by avalikia on May 22, 2009 0:59:24 GMT -5
Characters:
Niabi - Female Elk
Roscoe - Male Whitetail Deer
Sequoia - Female Adolescent Whitetail Deer
Notch - Female Whitetail Deer
Setting:
Rippling Stream
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The morning is well underway and the morning's chill has been replaced by a pleasant warmth. Niabi is following the river southwards, all her senses alert for danger. Not that she expects any; all has been fairly quiet lately. Well, when it comes to predators at least. Socially she's been very, very busy lately.
Sure, sure. The morning was great and wonderful and filled with all sorts of goodness.. but something was missing. Roscoe hadn't enjoyed his hours awake, from the time that he awoke just before dawn until even now, in the middle of the morning. The buck wasn't depressed, but merely confused. The doe that he had become acquainted with just a few days ago had all but disappeared, and despite his best efforts to find her, luck wasn't on his side. Coming to accept the fact that she may have ran away, the stag was in a decidedly quiet mood. Contemplative, observational.. just quiet. He'd come to the river for what all creatures that come to the river arrive for; water. It was a decent walk from where he had rested in the maple glade, and he was thirsty. Niabi caught his attention for a moment as his ears flicked forward, but unfortunately for the both of them, the prince was not in a talkative mood. Perhaps after his drink.. maybe he was just really, really thirsty.
Dainty hooves step quietly through the grasses, occasionally crunching on a pile of dead leaves as a young doe makes her way to the river banks. The whitetail still even has a light spattering of her white fawn-hood spots, indicating that she's not quite fully mature yet. Large ears swivel as she approaches the sound of rushing water, her narrow black-tipped muzzle twitching as she catches the scents of other deer in the area. That's a good sign. If there are other herbivores here, then there's a good chance that other carnivores aren't. Stepping out from between a pair of trees, Sequoia's dark eyes survey her surroundings, soon spotting the pair of other deer nearby. Judging that she has a good chance of being received pleasantly, she makes her presence known: "Well, aren't you the odd couple?"
When she spots another creature ahead of her, Niabi slows cautiously until she identifies it as a whitetail and specifically her friend Roscoe. Quickening her pace, she smiles and cheerfully says, "Good morning!" But she can sense that he's a little off today so she leaves it at that for the moment, figuring that he'll start talking if that's what he wants. But when she hears something else approaching instead, she turns herself to face the sound. After a moment she spots the young doe approaching, and this is met with a smile then a chuckle at the question. "Good morning," she offers, "I haven't seen /you/ around here before."
It was strange, really. With the morning sun shining down like this and the beginning warmth of spring, the riverside looked almost.. safe. The doe halted near the treeline, nose quivering as she took in the three other deer. Well, if there were others.. "Hello," Notch said, glancing up and down the riverside. "Hope I'm interrupting nothing?"
After a moment of silence while he took his drink from the cool river, Roscoe's head lifted and he forced a grin. "Good morning, Niabi." he spoke, and his grin faded. Rather uncharacteristic of him, since he was usually quite grinny. With nothing much else to say, the buck let out a light sigh and looked upwards at the cloudless blue sky. Such a beautiful day gone to waste, due to his rather sour mood. Ears licking forward and his eyes widening at the sounds of footsteps in the distance, he soon set his reddish eyes upon not one, but two whitetail does. With a blink, he grinned for real this time, and took a graceful step forward. "Good morning, ladies." Though his ten point rack of antlers had been shed weeks ago, his new set was coming in quite nicely; thick beams that had already forked once at the tip. He wished that they were fully developed now, though. It certainly was an embarrassing state for the regal deer.
Sequoia notices the buck before he notices her, and she responds to his presence accordingly. The adolescent lowers her eyes in a shy gesture that's perhaps too perfectly done, lashes falling over the cow-like orbs as she shakes her head in response to the larger female's observation. When she looks up again, her dark eyes are lifted in the whitetail buck's direction, smiling coquettishly with a soft giggle at his greeting. She either knows what she wants, or she simply knows how to play things her way. At another voice, the young whitetail glances over, considering the other doe with a neutral gaze.
Another whitetail she doesn't know? Niabi could have sworn that she knew all of those in this area. Of course, that doesn't include any who have only just arrived, and this spring has already been rather busy when it comes to deer of all kinds traveling through. "Not at all," she replies with a smile to the doe who's only just joined them. The buck's immediate comment gets a small eyeroll from the cow elk, but she doesn't comment on it. Instead she decides that a round of introductions is in order: "My name is Niabi," she says with a nod to both does, glancing over both of them quickly, "It's always nice to meet fellow deer."
She grins back as the buck suddenly turns, the expression nervous and fleeting. Unfortunately, Notch has none of the grace of the younger doe; there's a brief, awkward silence on her end as she glances over the buck, doe and elk, and tries to figure out what to say. She was never quite the best at this conversation thing.. So when Niabi speaks up and offers an out, Notch's eager to jump on it. "It is nice, innit," she chatters, somewhat blindly. "Haven't seen another deer all morning, you know.. didn't expect to find all of us here, yeah?"
Though his mood certainly is boosted by the sudden appearance of not one, but two does, he still doesn't quite have all of his charm back. Knowing that by nature he could become affectionate with both of them as well as Velia, only does a little voice in the back of his head reject the idea. Thankfully, that voice was silenced by the buck's other instincts. One of them looks to be younger, judging by the white speckles still adorning her coat, but he smiles at her anyway. Her nervousness is, in a word.. cute, and he chuckles a little under his breath. The older doe too made conversation with him, but then seemed to focus on the cow elk, who he had rather rudely ignored after the arrival of these two. An apology would be in order, but that would come later. Looking at both of the does, he stepped forward once again, holding his head high. Tall and proud, he spoke up yet again. "What brings you two lovely does out here so early?" he inquires, as it is still relatively early in the day.
"I'm Sequoia," the spotted adolescent answers in a youthful, feminine voice. Admittedly, her own attentions are primarily focused on the buck, but not out of an intention to ignore either of the other females...it's simply what she knows. At his question, she lifts her shoulders in a light shrug, gesturing towards the creek with a swing of her head. "Just wanting a drink. The company is merely a bonus," she answers with a sweet smile.
Being ignored by Roscoe is exactly what Niabi expects from him in this situation. She may be his friend, but that only means that she's all the more familiar with his impulses to try and charm any female around. And when those females happen to be whitetails like himself, well... "Pleased to meet you, Sequoia," she says immediately to the young doe, not any less sincere for all that it's the automatic response. "There's certainly been a lot more company to be had around here since spring came around," she comments with a grin, "Do you two know eachother?"
"Know em?" She blinked at Niabi, ears flicking forward, and then grins, the expression more genuine then nervous this time. "Nah, 'm just got up here a few days ago," she says, her attention refocusing back onto the buck as he moves closer. She's calming down as time goes on, and her voice's less worried and more amiable, "Name's Notch. You three livin' here, then?"
"Sequoia? A beautiful name for a beautiful doe." he says with his smile widening, staying a polite distance away from the two does yet still walking slowly towards them. He caught the other doe give her name also, and flicked an ear toward her. "Notch?" he repeats questionably, and chuckles a little. Not at her or at her name by any means, just that it was so unique. "I like it." he finally replied, and looked towards Niabi with his grin still plastered on his face. Oh, he was in such a good mood now, it was almost indescribable. Though he kept his calm demeanor, he had the excited happiness of a fawn again. It was nice to feel so happy. The buck flicked his tail a few times before giving his own name. "My name is Roscoe, and it's a great pleasure meeting both of you." His voice seemed lower when he said this, as if he was trying to /sound/ more masculine, making up for his rather pathetic, velvet covered antlers. "I suppose you could say I live here.. not ..well, not /here/, but around." His stammers were also embarrassing. Something he had avoided up until then.
Sequoia giggles again at the buck's compliment, eyelids fluttering as she takes a shy step back on her spindly legs. She shakes her head at Niabi's question, echoing Notch's denial, then again at the other doe's own question. "I don't live here...though I suppose I could," she replies, looking pointedly over at the buck during the latter half of her statement. After all, he's obviously the one she'd be living around, for protection purposes. "I live to the east. A bird came to me, and told me to come visit these lands for the purposes of a celebratory festival...and I simply couldn't turn the offer down, if for no other reason than pure curiosity."
"Pleased to meet you, Notch," Niabi says with another nod, but she leaves it at that when Roscoe speaks up. Whatever else she might have said is forgotten in her silent amusement at Roscoe's attempts to be impressive. That it actually seems to work surprises the elk, but she just chalks that up to lack of experience by both parties. "Ah yes, the festival," she says with a smile, "It's been a good opportunity to meet all sorts of creatures." A moment later something else connects in her head, "So neither of you live in a herd, I take it?"
Notch's ears flick forward at the compliment and she let out a low, pleased chuff. "Well, Roscoe ain't too bad either," she said generously. She even managed to bite back a laugh at the stammering, though she can't hide the amused smile. "Me, a herd? Nah," she shrugged, disinterested. "Used to have one, but it all fell apart..What's all this about a festival?"
Pleased when the younger doe looks specifically at him at her half-request to stay here with the deer, the older male nods with a rather serious look on his face all of a sudden. Maybe it was the mention of the festival that sparked his seriousness.. since he hadn't a good opinion on that whole charade. With a huff of breath, the buck shook his head. "Festival for the predators maybe.." he said with a hint of bitterness. Seeing that cougar with the deer carcass had certainly made an impact on Roscoe, and not a good one at that. "They call themselves merry makers.. and encourage everyone to join in their celebrations. Deer, wolves, bobcats, lynx, raccoons, foxes.. you name it. Our protection? That a moon deity frowns on them for killing at this time." Sarcasm filling his voice, he shakes his head yet again. "A bunch of nonsense." However, the buck hardly wants to be known as the grumpy old male. His smile returning, his gaze softens and he looks at the two does. "You two are more than welcome to stay here with me. ..Us." he says, looking back at Niabi with his ears flicking forwards. "With us."
Sequoia shakes her head again. "No," she answers simply, ears swiveling forward at Roscoe's diatribe. She huffs prettily, shaking her head with adolescent indignity as she turns to answer Notch with her own opinion on the event. "Well, perhaps if you're an old buck who's lost his sense of fun...but any reason that gets predators to stop eating our relatives, sacred festival ground or not, is good enough for me. Especially if it involves singing and dancing and other sorts of fun," she answers with a playful smile. "I believe there will be a gathering of celebration soon, too, when the moon is full." An ear flicks back to Roscoe at his invitation, and she appears to consider it for a brief moment before coyly replying: "Hmm...perhaps."
Niabi gives Roscoe a surprised look. Since when did they become an 'us'? Although... "There are only three in my herd, including myself. Four if Roscoe wants to include himself in that number," she says, looking at the two does, "That's hardly big enough. If either of you would like to stay with us, you'd be welcome." She gives the buck a rare smirk; that's what he gets for saying 'us'. But really, does he expect that he'd be able to protect them by himself? And yet, she shakes her head at his rant, "I don't think you realize how much power the threat of Luna's wrath has. Have you been attacked since the festival began?"
Notch's ears flicked back at the mention of predators, and by the time Roscoe finishes his rant, they're flat against her skull. An ear flicks towards Sequoia at the mention of song and dancing, and once the younger doe finishes speaking, Notch lets out a low snort. "Can't say I'm one for dancing with wolves," she said dubiously. "Luna or no Luna." She falls silent as the discussion turned towards talk of a herd, thinking it over slowly. A deer without a herd wasn't much of a deer, but.. "Maybe for a little while."
Of course he could protect the does by himself. He hadn't left his father's bachelor group with no knowledge of how to defend does from danger. Maybe not during the hotter months, but when fall and winter were here, Roscoe and his antlers were deadly. But, with two of the females against him in his argument opposing the festival, Roscoe let out a frustrated huff of breath through his nostrils, and pursed his lips together a bit. Niabi didn't prove much to him with her retort. "I'll have you know that I've only been 'attacked' once since my arrival here, and that was plenty of time before this festival." he said in a matter-of-fact tone, and shook his head once more, stepping a front hoof down in the soil to drive his point home. "If they became hungry enough, no deity would stop them, I assure you." His prejudice against the predators was maybe a bit much, but he figured that it was better safe than sorry in this case. Sequoia had remarked about him being an 'old male with no sense of fun', which resulted in a raised brow. Notch's need to really think the herd offer over did the same. His good mood diminishing slowly, his tail flicked upwards, and he raised a hoof as he turned on his hind legs. "Well then, best of luck to you both." he said in a rather apathetic tone, leaving the decision to join the conjoined deer group ultimately up to them and only them. His opinion wasn't given, as he began to walk gracefully back into the forest.
Sequoia rolls her eyes skyward as the buck grows disgruntled and actually leaves the presence of the other females. Her first impressions of Roscoe could have ended better, especially now that the last attitude he left them with has reminded her of her own father. Such old-fashioned adults. Not that the adolescent doesn't understand the danger of consorting with predators, but what teenager hasn't done something potentially dangerous in the pursuit of fun? But regardless, she's going to enjoy her time while the festival lasts before she considers staying with the new buck and his friends. With a prim nod of her head to both of the other females present, Sequoia murmurs pleasantly to the pair: "Good evening to you both." She turns then, and, with a flick of her tail, leaps nimbly across the stream over to the eastern bank, heading back towards the festival grounds.
"It is, of course, an open invitation," Niabi quickly reassures, "Tell you what: come meet the others, enjoy the festival a little, then decide." She shakes her head at Roscoe, though perhaps if Niabi didn't know Rye and had seen the dead deer that Roscoe saw her opinion would be different. Him leaving in a huff does nothing but earn her pity. Sequoia's departure, on the other hand, gets a quiet chuckle and "Good evening, Sequoia". So much like herself when she was young. She sighs and turns to Notch again. "I'm feeling a little old today," she says somewhat cryptically, smiling and shaking her head.
Notch's ears flick forward and she blinks as Roscoe turns and leaves. "Best of luck," she parrots amiably to his retreating back, and a moment later she turns to repeat the same to the now-retreating Sequoia. She shakes her head and steps towards the shoreline, head dipping to drink before she speaks. "Yeah, seems like everyone's in a rush, innit," she said with a good-natured huff. "'s true, though? No predators hunting during the festival?"
With one final look back at the females that he is quite literally leaving behind, Roscoe shakes his head in disappointment. Why was it that every doe he came across was defiant in some way or another? The does back home weren't like this.. they shared his beliefs on mostly everything, and respected him as the son of their leader. With a light sigh, Roscoe continues hoofing it through the growing grasses, knowing that he'll see the two does again, and he'll certainly see Niabi again soon. In the mean time, he would continue his search for the other doe, Velia.
Niabi shrugs a little at that question, "You can't argue with results," she says with a small smile, "Either Luna's will is being respected, or there has to be some other reason I keep stumbling into predators who just plain aren't interested in hunting. Of course, it's not like I'd let them come too close and I keep an eye on them, but there hasn't been any trouble." Yet, anyway. The elk isn't completely sold, but if things look safe she feels it that it's okay to assume that it's /probably/ safe.
"Hmm. Well," she shrugged, "as long as they're not hunting, I guess the reason isn't too important, right?" Notch doesn't bother to wait for a response; she stretches out her legs and turns back towards the forest, calling over her shoulder, "Nice meeting you, Niabi. I'll think about that herd.."
Niabi - Female Elk
Roscoe - Male Whitetail Deer
Sequoia - Female Adolescent Whitetail Deer
Notch - Female Whitetail Deer
Setting:
Rippling Stream
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The morning is well underway and the morning's chill has been replaced by a pleasant warmth. Niabi is following the river southwards, all her senses alert for danger. Not that she expects any; all has been fairly quiet lately. Well, when it comes to predators at least. Socially she's been very, very busy lately.
Sure, sure. The morning was great and wonderful and filled with all sorts of goodness.. but something was missing. Roscoe hadn't enjoyed his hours awake, from the time that he awoke just before dawn until even now, in the middle of the morning. The buck wasn't depressed, but merely confused. The doe that he had become acquainted with just a few days ago had all but disappeared, and despite his best efforts to find her, luck wasn't on his side. Coming to accept the fact that she may have ran away, the stag was in a decidedly quiet mood. Contemplative, observational.. just quiet. He'd come to the river for what all creatures that come to the river arrive for; water. It was a decent walk from where he had rested in the maple glade, and he was thirsty. Niabi caught his attention for a moment as his ears flicked forward, but unfortunately for the both of them, the prince was not in a talkative mood. Perhaps after his drink.. maybe he was just really, really thirsty.
Dainty hooves step quietly through the grasses, occasionally crunching on a pile of dead leaves as a young doe makes her way to the river banks. The whitetail still even has a light spattering of her white fawn-hood spots, indicating that she's not quite fully mature yet. Large ears swivel as she approaches the sound of rushing water, her narrow black-tipped muzzle twitching as she catches the scents of other deer in the area. That's a good sign. If there are other herbivores here, then there's a good chance that other carnivores aren't. Stepping out from between a pair of trees, Sequoia's dark eyes survey her surroundings, soon spotting the pair of other deer nearby. Judging that she has a good chance of being received pleasantly, she makes her presence known: "Well, aren't you the odd couple?"
When she spots another creature ahead of her, Niabi slows cautiously until she identifies it as a whitetail and specifically her friend Roscoe. Quickening her pace, she smiles and cheerfully says, "Good morning!" But she can sense that he's a little off today so she leaves it at that for the moment, figuring that he'll start talking if that's what he wants. But when she hears something else approaching instead, she turns herself to face the sound. After a moment she spots the young doe approaching, and this is met with a smile then a chuckle at the question. "Good morning," she offers, "I haven't seen /you/ around here before."
It was strange, really. With the morning sun shining down like this and the beginning warmth of spring, the riverside looked almost.. safe. The doe halted near the treeline, nose quivering as she took in the three other deer. Well, if there were others.. "Hello," Notch said, glancing up and down the riverside. "Hope I'm interrupting nothing?"
After a moment of silence while he took his drink from the cool river, Roscoe's head lifted and he forced a grin. "Good morning, Niabi." he spoke, and his grin faded. Rather uncharacteristic of him, since he was usually quite grinny. With nothing much else to say, the buck let out a light sigh and looked upwards at the cloudless blue sky. Such a beautiful day gone to waste, due to his rather sour mood. Ears licking forward and his eyes widening at the sounds of footsteps in the distance, he soon set his reddish eyes upon not one, but two whitetail does. With a blink, he grinned for real this time, and took a graceful step forward. "Good morning, ladies." Though his ten point rack of antlers had been shed weeks ago, his new set was coming in quite nicely; thick beams that had already forked once at the tip. He wished that they were fully developed now, though. It certainly was an embarrassing state for the regal deer.
Sequoia notices the buck before he notices her, and she responds to his presence accordingly. The adolescent lowers her eyes in a shy gesture that's perhaps too perfectly done, lashes falling over the cow-like orbs as she shakes her head in response to the larger female's observation. When she looks up again, her dark eyes are lifted in the whitetail buck's direction, smiling coquettishly with a soft giggle at his greeting. She either knows what she wants, or she simply knows how to play things her way. At another voice, the young whitetail glances over, considering the other doe with a neutral gaze.
Another whitetail she doesn't know? Niabi could have sworn that she knew all of those in this area. Of course, that doesn't include any who have only just arrived, and this spring has already been rather busy when it comes to deer of all kinds traveling through. "Not at all," she replies with a smile to the doe who's only just joined them. The buck's immediate comment gets a small eyeroll from the cow elk, but she doesn't comment on it. Instead she decides that a round of introductions is in order: "My name is Niabi," she says with a nod to both does, glancing over both of them quickly, "It's always nice to meet fellow deer."
She grins back as the buck suddenly turns, the expression nervous and fleeting. Unfortunately, Notch has none of the grace of the younger doe; there's a brief, awkward silence on her end as she glances over the buck, doe and elk, and tries to figure out what to say. She was never quite the best at this conversation thing.. So when Niabi speaks up and offers an out, Notch's eager to jump on it. "It is nice, innit," she chatters, somewhat blindly. "Haven't seen another deer all morning, you know.. didn't expect to find all of us here, yeah?"
Though his mood certainly is boosted by the sudden appearance of not one, but two does, he still doesn't quite have all of his charm back. Knowing that by nature he could become affectionate with both of them as well as Velia, only does a little voice in the back of his head reject the idea. Thankfully, that voice was silenced by the buck's other instincts. One of them looks to be younger, judging by the white speckles still adorning her coat, but he smiles at her anyway. Her nervousness is, in a word.. cute, and he chuckles a little under his breath. The older doe too made conversation with him, but then seemed to focus on the cow elk, who he had rather rudely ignored after the arrival of these two. An apology would be in order, but that would come later. Looking at both of the does, he stepped forward once again, holding his head high. Tall and proud, he spoke up yet again. "What brings you two lovely does out here so early?" he inquires, as it is still relatively early in the day.
"I'm Sequoia," the spotted adolescent answers in a youthful, feminine voice. Admittedly, her own attentions are primarily focused on the buck, but not out of an intention to ignore either of the other females...it's simply what she knows. At his question, she lifts her shoulders in a light shrug, gesturing towards the creek with a swing of her head. "Just wanting a drink. The company is merely a bonus," she answers with a sweet smile.
Being ignored by Roscoe is exactly what Niabi expects from him in this situation. She may be his friend, but that only means that she's all the more familiar with his impulses to try and charm any female around. And when those females happen to be whitetails like himself, well... "Pleased to meet you, Sequoia," she says immediately to the young doe, not any less sincere for all that it's the automatic response. "There's certainly been a lot more company to be had around here since spring came around," she comments with a grin, "Do you two know eachother?"
"Know em?" She blinked at Niabi, ears flicking forward, and then grins, the expression more genuine then nervous this time. "Nah, 'm just got up here a few days ago," she says, her attention refocusing back onto the buck as he moves closer. She's calming down as time goes on, and her voice's less worried and more amiable, "Name's Notch. You three livin' here, then?"
"Sequoia? A beautiful name for a beautiful doe." he says with his smile widening, staying a polite distance away from the two does yet still walking slowly towards them. He caught the other doe give her name also, and flicked an ear toward her. "Notch?" he repeats questionably, and chuckles a little. Not at her or at her name by any means, just that it was so unique. "I like it." he finally replied, and looked towards Niabi with his grin still plastered on his face. Oh, he was in such a good mood now, it was almost indescribable. Though he kept his calm demeanor, he had the excited happiness of a fawn again. It was nice to feel so happy. The buck flicked his tail a few times before giving his own name. "My name is Roscoe, and it's a great pleasure meeting both of you." His voice seemed lower when he said this, as if he was trying to /sound/ more masculine, making up for his rather pathetic, velvet covered antlers. "I suppose you could say I live here.. not ..well, not /here/, but around." His stammers were also embarrassing. Something he had avoided up until then.
Sequoia giggles again at the buck's compliment, eyelids fluttering as she takes a shy step back on her spindly legs. She shakes her head at Niabi's question, echoing Notch's denial, then again at the other doe's own question. "I don't live here...though I suppose I could," she replies, looking pointedly over at the buck during the latter half of her statement. After all, he's obviously the one she'd be living around, for protection purposes. "I live to the east. A bird came to me, and told me to come visit these lands for the purposes of a celebratory festival...and I simply couldn't turn the offer down, if for no other reason than pure curiosity."
"Pleased to meet you, Notch," Niabi says with another nod, but she leaves it at that when Roscoe speaks up. Whatever else she might have said is forgotten in her silent amusement at Roscoe's attempts to be impressive. That it actually seems to work surprises the elk, but she just chalks that up to lack of experience by both parties. "Ah yes, the festival," she says with a smile, "It's been a good opportunity to meet all sorts of creatures." A moment later something else connects in her head, "So neither of you live in a herd, I take it?"
Notch's ears flick forward at the compliment and she let out a low, pleased chuff. "Well, Roscoe ain't too bad either," she said generously. She even managed to bite back a laugh at the stammering, though she can't hide the amused smile. "Me, a herd? Nah," she shrugged, disinterested. "Used to have one, but it all fell apart..What's all this about a festival?"
Pleased when the younger doe looks specifically at him at her half-request to stay here with the deer, the older male nods with a rather serious look on his face all of a sudden. Maybe it was the mention of the festival that sparked his seriousness.. since he hadn't a good opinion on that whole charade. With a huff of breath, the buck shook his head. "Festival for the predators maybe.." he said with a hint of bitterness. Seeing that cougar with the deer carcass had certainly made an impact on Roscoe, and not a good one at that. "They call themselves merry makers.. and encourage everyone to join in their celebrations. Deer, wolves, bobcats, lynx, raccoons, foxes.. you name it. Our protection? That a moon deity frowns on them for killing at this time." Sarcasm filling his voice, he shakes his head yet again. "A bunch of nonsense." However, the buck hardly wants to be known as the grumpy old male. His smile returning, his gaze softens and he looks at the two does. "You two are more than welcome to stay here with me. ..Us." he says, looking back at Niabi with his ears flicking forwards. "With us."
Sequoia shakes her head again. "No," she answers simply, ears swiveling forward at Roscoe's diatribe. She huffs prettily, shaking her head with adolescent indignity as she turns to answer Notch with her own opinion on the event. "Well, perhaps if you're an old buck who's lost his sense of fun...but any reason that gets predators to stop eating our relatives, sacred festival ground or not, is good enough for me. Especially if it involves singing and dancing and other sorts of fun," she answers with a playful smile. "I believe there will be a gathering of celebration soon, too, when the moon is full." An ear flicks back to Roscoe at his invitation, and she appears to consider it for a brief moment before coyly replying: "Hmm...perhaps."
Niabi gives Roscoe a surprised look. Since when did they become an 'us'? Although... "There are only three in my herd, including myself. Four if Roscoe wants to include himself in that number," she says, looking at the two does, "That's hardly big enough. If either of you would like to stay with us, you'd be welcome." She gives the buck a rare smirk; that's what he gets for saying 'us'. But really, does he expect that he'd be able to protect them by himself? And yet, she shakes her head at his rant, "I don't think you realize how much power the threat of Luna's wrath has. Have you been attacked since the festival began?"
Notch's ears flicked back at the mention of predators, and by the time Roscoe finishes his rant, they're flat against her skull. An ear flicks towards Sequoia at the mention of song and dancing, and once the younger doe finishes speaking, Notch lets out a low snort. "Can't say I'm one for dancing with wolves," she said dubiously. "Luna or no Luna." She falls silent as the discussion turned towards talk of a herd, thinking it over slowly. A deer without a herd wasn't much of a deer, but.. "Maybe for a little while."
Of course he could protect the does by himself. He hadn't left his father's bachelor group with no knowledge of how to defend does from danger. Maybe not during the hotter months, but when fall and winter were here, Roscoe and his antlers were deadly. But, with two of the females against him in his argument opposing the festival, Roscoe let out a frustrated huff of breath through his nostrils, and pursed his lips together a bit. Niabi didn't prove much to him with her retort. "I'll have you know that I've only been 'attacked' once since my arrival here, and that was plenty of time before this festival." he said in a matter-of-fact tone, and shook his head once more, stepping a front hoof down in the soil to drive his point home. "If they became hungry enough, no deity would stop them, I assure you." His prejudice against the predators was maybe a bit much, but he figured that it was better safe than sorry in this case. Sequoia had remarked about him being an 'old male with no sense of fun', which resulted in a raised brow. Notch's need to really think the herd offer over did the same. His good mood diminishing slowly, his tail flicked upwards, and he raised a hoof as he turned on his hind legs. "Well then, best of luck to you both." he said in a rather apathetic tone, leaving the decision to join the conjoined deer group ultimately up to them and only them. His opinion wasn't given, as he began to walk gracefully back into the forest.
Sequoia rolls her eyes skyward as the buck grows disgruntled and actually leaves the presence of the other females. Her first impressions of Roscoe could have ended better, especially now that the last attitude he left them with has reminded her of her own father. Such old-fashioned adults. Not that the adolescent doesn't understand the danger of consorting with predators, but what teenager hasn't done something potentially dangerous in the pursuit of fun? But regardless, she's going to enjoy her time while the festival lasts before she considers staying with the new buck and his friends. With a prim nod of her head to both of the other females present, Sequoia murmurs pleasantly to the pair: "Good evening to you both." She turns then, and, with a flick of her tail, leaps nimbly across the stream over to the eastern bank, heading back towards the festival grounds.
"It is, of course, an open invitation," Niabi quickly reassures, "Tell you what: come meet the others, enjoy the festival a little, then decide." She shakes her head at Roscoe, though perhaps if Niabi didn't know Rye and had seen the dead deer that Roscoe saw her opinion would be different. Him leaving in a huff does nothing but earn her pity. Sequoia's departure, on the other hand, gets a quiet chuckle and "Good evening, Sequoia". So much like herself when she was young. She sighs and turns to Notch again. "I'm feeling a little old today," she says somewhat cryptically, smiling and shaking her head.
Notch's ears flick forward and she blinks as Roscoe turns and leaves. "Best of luck," she parrots amiably to his retreating back, and a moment later she turns to repeat the same to the now-retreating Sequoia. She shakes her head and steps towards the shoreline, head dipping to drink before she speaks. "Yeah, seems like everyone's in a rush, innit," she said with a good-natured huff. "'s true, though? No predators hunting during the festival?"
With one final look back at the females that he is quite literally leaving behind, Roscoe shakes his head in disappointment. Why was it that every doe he came across was defiant in some way or another? The does back home weren't like this.. they shared his beliefs on mostly everything, and respected him as the son of their leader. With a light sigh, Roscoe continues hoofing it through the growing grasses, knowing that he'll see the two does again, and he'll certainly see Niabi again soon. In the mean time, he would continue his search for the other doe, Velia.
Niabi shrugs a little at that question, "You can't argue with results," she says with a small smile, "Either Luna's will is being respected, or there has to be some other reason I keep stumbling into predators who just plain aren't interested in hunting. Of course, it's not like I'd let them come too close and I keep an eye on them, but there hasn't been any trouble." Yet, anyway. The elk isn't completely sold, but if things look safe she feels it that it's okay to assume that it's /probably/ safe.
"Hmm. Well," she shrugged, "as long as they're not hunting, I guess the reason isn't too important, right?" Notch doesn't bother to wait for a response; she stretches out her legs and turns back towards the forest, calling over her shoulder, "Nice meeting you, Niabi. I'll think about that herd.."