Post by Therdde on May 25, 2009 23:28:32 GMT -5
Characters:
Skelaghe - Female Wolf
Helaku - Male Wolf
Ashen - Male Juvenile Cougar
- Wind-Blown Lowlands -
It is nearly morning before Skelaghe returns, after she left the pups with Helaku and Teketa the day before. She did not travel throughout the entire night, but she only slept for a very few hours after Nium left her. Still, she is not terribly tired, and she's sure her pups will be eager to nurse for a while, so she will have plenty of time to lie down and rest then. For now, what is most important to her is getting home.
Helaku had kept his watch on the pups when he needed to, but whenever he got the chance to wander alone he took it, and left them inthe care of Teketa for short periods of time. As happy as he was having pups of his own with Skel, and wanting to be a constant factor in their lives, at the same time it made him unsettled. He was an unsettled as his mentor had been when he first joined the Eloone and was rather fair at combat. Today, though, he sat outside the temporary den, again set in his ways to mask his scent as much as possible. A disadvantage it might be to the pups to hardly know the scent of their father, but he wasn't going to compromise his own stealth for anyone. In the future, he might go as far as to have another pose as the Alpha of the Ute and take his own responsibilities from the background...like a puppetmaster. Only time would tell.
Skelaghe's feelings about everything she experienced while she was away are mixed. Regardless, as she spots her mate at the mouth of her temporary den, she lets out a soft bark to greet him and forces a smile. It's good to see him there, even if he isn't in with the pups. It's much better than the almost complete absence that she has noticed in him. Perhaps things will be getting better now. Perhaps... Stopping just a couple feet away from her mate, she sits and says, quietly, "Good morning, Helaku."
Helaku's ears perked at the site of his mate. The ways of the Ute hadn't completely left him, but there were some things he dealt with. Ever since he had grown accustomed to Teketa, he found the wolf to be a rather similar being to himself. It was unusual that Hekalu quickly trusted anyone, but Teketa reminded him a lot of his old pack, the later and not his birthpack. "Hello, Skelaghe," he said softly as he approached her, dipping his nose under her maw with a wag of his tail. "They are asleep," he said. "Though all ready they like to pull on ears and tails."
So he did spend time with the pups. Good. Skelaghe chuckles quietly and scoots forward to close the distance between herself and her mate to nuzzle at him gently for the first time since they last spoke about Sketch. "I hope they didn't pick on you too badly." Her spoken 'hope' is not entirely heartfelt, though. What she really hopes is that her pups did everything they could to drag their father into playtime with them, no matter how much ear- and tail-pulling it took. As she nuzzles her mate, light slowly breaks on the eastern horizon as the sun begins to rise.
"It was absolute torture," he said, jokingly. "They all ready love to pounce and try to keep anything that moves from moving." That meant for certain they did drag him into playtime--he did not mind this with their pups. He closed his eyes and inhaled her scent deeply. He was tempted to nudge, tug, even play with her but he held himself back. He had forgotten, in a sense, how to fool around with adults. There was the occasional friendly-insulting and teasings among the Eloone, but they kept it restricted due to the dangers of that region. "They might try to eat you."
"Oh, they know better than to torture Mommy... Which only makes it right that Daddy is fair game." Skelaghe has spent plenty of time playing with her pups, but it always ends well before it has any potential to become painful, either for her or for any of the pups. She draws her head back after saying that, her smile far more natural now. For as long as there are no sounds coming from the den, she is content to sit here and speak with her mate.
"Really, now?" he asked, nipping at one of her ears. "I suppose it is only fair, being you carried them for a long while--torturing Mother-dearest would be unfair." Hel likewise kept the games simple, drawing it to a limit before any of them would be harmed. "But there seems to be no rule about Father teasing Mother."
This is teasing? If it is, it certainly doesn't upset Skelaghe, as Helaku's teasing is very low-key. And as long as it stays that way, "Just be careful, love. It's quite obvious that Mommy makes all ther rules." She's grinning through-out. She had missed this time with her mate... And she'll have to make a note to spend more time with him, as the pups continue to grow. Not today, though. She is tired, and there is business to be handled. "I found a gorgeous land to the north. I think our pups could do well there."
Helaku murmured, setting about..grooming? Helaku was...grooming Skel's neck and ears? How...cat-like? "What is the land like?" he asked, continuing on his grooming business. Short and to the point as it was business--but that did not stop the incessant grooming!
A patch of grass sways softly as the cub that's curled within shifts to his paws. Ashen had slept most of the day, but now was fully awake and ready to occupy himself with whatever first came to mind. He's about to pounce out into the open, but the sound of two voices conversing halts his immediate plans. What are they talking about? Something of land to the north. Ashen settles back down, ears quirked to listen.
Skelaghe closes her eyes as her mate begins to groom her. What is the land like? "Open. Green. They will have room to grow and play." It is not entirely dissimilar to the old Ute territory, and she would love to see her pups have a place where they can play in the open. "They'll be old enough to move, soon, with our help." She does not know, yet, that Ashen is so nearby, but she would change nothing she is saying if she did. Funny, how Ashen is included in 'they' in her mind, even if she does not think he will be around as long as her pups will.
Helaku paused his grooming for a moment. "Sounds...like home," he said, shortly going back to his business. Gentle, but rough enough to be thorough--Skel should be pampered for everything she had done, and rightly so. Ashen - personally, he hoped the cougar would stay as long as he could. His views, though, differed. He believed Ashen could successfully live, even if blind. Nature was less optimistic, but he had seen things...unusual things in his travels. "When do you wish to move?"
Meanwhile, Ashen is ironically wondering horrible, frightening things. It sounds as though they're planning to leave, and the cub wonders if they'll forget about him. What if he wakes one day to find them all gone? The young cougar whimpers soundlessly to himself. Should he make his worries--and incidentally his presence--known? When Helaku asks the question of 'when', Ashen decides to wait for that answer first.
Skelaghe would not normally move pups from one location to another until after they're fully weaned. With Helaku, Teketa, and herself, though... Is that really necessary? Were she alone, or even if it were just her and Helaku, yes, but with the three of them, they can keep the pups safe and not have to push the pups to keep moving if they're tired. Even crossing the water should only take two trips. Three, at most, with Ashen. "I think we'll just give it a few more days. Five or six." Enough time for her to recover, physically, from spending the better part of the last day in almost constant motion. Enough time for them all to relax a little in this pleasant spring weather... And not enough time for Nium to return to her tribe and then come back here. After they move, they will have the water between them and Amaranth, and a more easily defensible position, should Nium or another member of Amaranth decide not to let Ashen be, as Skelaghe requested.
Helaku wrinkled his nose, and considered it. Amaranth was not his care or concern. Just the Ute and certain other individuals. "That is a suitable time," he said. "Enough for them to adjust to moving about, and for you to rest." He did not mention himself. There was nothing to mention in regards to himself anyway.
Ashen cannot hold himself still any longer. The cub launches from his hiding place, and toward their voices. His hind leg seizes, and he trips once, but his determination gets him upright almost immediately. "Wait! Wait! Please don't leave!" His tone is urgent, a little dramatically so. As if they were actually leaving right *now* instead of in several days.
Skelaghe's head turns to Ashen even before he speaks, and she sees him trip, frowning as she does. Yes, definitely three trips across the water. "Ashen?" Skelaghe stands and moves away from the pleasant grooming of her mate to meet the young cougar half-way. "Hey... Calm down." He can't see, his leg is hurt, and if he continues moving about in a panic, he's liable to hurt himself. As such, getting him to calm a little is by far the most important thing to Skelaghe right now.
Helaku's attention immediately shot to the little cougar. He remained where he was, as Skel had everything under her control. Of course, they wouldn't leave him. He wouldn't be able to live with himself if he left Ashen while taking the rest. "We are not leaving yet," he said. "And we wouldn't leave you behind, Ashen--that is, if you wish to come with us."
Ashen just about literally slides to a stop, looking up at the general direction of Skel's face. "But... don't wanna be left alone again!" He has to work to slow his breathing down, and in that time, Helaku seems to answer his biggest worry. "You won't?" He stares at the male wolf's direction now. For a moment, he considers what was just said, before his concern flares back up again. "But what if you forget?"
Skelaghe appreciates the verbal support from her mate, but she keeps her gaze on Ashen. Stretching her head out to nuzzle at the young cougar gently, she says, softly, "Ah, Ashen. I could no more forget you than I could forget one of my own pups... But if it will comfort you, you may den with my pups, just so you can be certain we'll know where you are, when it is time." The den is large enough. Perhaps just barely large enough, but large enough all the same, and if it will soothe Ashen's worries, Skelaghe will gladly allow it, now that her pups are large enough to know who Ashen is and not be worried by him.
Helaku tilted his head. Mindful creature Ashen was. His memory may serve him better than his eyesight ever would have some day. "I promise, we won't forget," he added. "And I doubt Skel would allow me to forget even if I could." He still remained where he was, not wanting to come closer and chance spooking Ashen like he did the first day they met. "I have no objections."
Ashen finally stops hyperventilating. He arches his back affectionately when he feels her nuzzle, and even does his best to return it. "Den? That's alright?" He asks, wondering if it would be disrespectful for him to accept right away. But Helaku said it would be okay, too. So surely he's not expected to decline? "Even tonight?" He'd often thought of asking if he could sleep inside with them; not that he was unappreciative, but the night got lonely sometimes, and the grass doesn't provide the best company. But he'd always figured, especially after the birth of the cubs, that he would not be *that* welcome.
With a smile and another nuzzle, she says, "Yes, Ashen. Even tonight. I would enjoy your company." Skelaghe does not, after all, want the young cougar to feel like he is putting anyone out. Maybe she would be a little less enthusiastic in reassuring Ashen if Helaku seemed reluctant... But, more likely, she would be even /more/ enthusiastic about it. Every cub needs to feel comforted by the presence of an adult once in a while, and had she realized how worried Ashen was getting, she might have made the offer a few days sooner.
Helaku had no reason to object to Ashen staying with them. Even if someone tried to show up and force him to go somewhere he didn't want to go, he wouldn't permit Ashen to be taken. He was on his own in a sense, and was able to make his own decisions on who he preferred to stay with, if anyone. "It is totally up to you to decide what you do with your life, Ashen," he said, slowly stepping up to the cougar to let him get familiar. "And you've made a decision to stay with what is familiar and friendly to you--there's no problem in that. And, I would enjoy your company too."
Ashen breaks into a smile. "Really?" As if he still can't believe it. But it doesn't matter what he believes now. "Thank you." He purrs, craning his neck up to nuzzle Skel's neck. "Thank you." He stumbles around in search of Helaku, to do the same. As he does so, the cub's movements give away a slight fatigue setting in, although he tries not to acknowledge it. Despite his best efforts, a yawn slips through.
Skelaghe dips her head to nuzzle back against Ashen. After doing so, she stands to follow the cub back to Helaku, and after Ashen nuzzles against Helaku, she says, "Why don't you come on into the den with me now, Ashen? I'm tired." Though it is only morning, she needs some rest, and clearly Ashen does as well.
Helaku was, perhaps, the only one of them that didn't need rest. He smiled, even though Ashen couldn't see it--and moved himself so they could return to the den for their rest.
Skelaghe - Female Wolf
Helaku - Male Wolf
Ashen - Male Juvenile Cougar
- Wind-Blown Lowlands -
It is nearly morning before Skelaghe returns, after she left the pups with Helaku and Teketa the day before. She did not travel throughout the entire night, but she only slept for a very few hours after Nium left her. Still, she is not terribly tired, and she's sure her pups will be eager to nurse for a while, so she will have plenty of time to lie down and rest then. For now, what is most important to her is getting home.
Helaku had kept his watch on the pups when he needed to, but whenever he got the chance to wander alone he took it, and left them inthe care of Teketa for short periods of time. As happy as he was having pups of his own with Skel, and wanting to be a constant factor in their lives, at the same time it made him unsettled. He was an unsettled as his mentor had been when he first joined the Eloone and was rather fair at combat. Today, though, he sat outside the temporary den, again set in his ways to mask his scent as much as possible. A disadvantage it might be to the pups to hardly know the scent of their father, but he wasn't going to compromise his own stealth for anyone. In the future, he might go as far as to have another pose as the Alpha of the Ute and take his own responsibilities from the background...like a puppetmaster. Only time would tell.
Skelaghe's feelings about everything she experienced while she was away are mixed. Regardless, as she spots her mate at the mouth of her temporary den, she lets out a soft bark to greet him and forces a smile. It's good to see him there, even if he isn't in with the pups. It's much better than the almost complete absence that she has noticed in him. Perhaps things will be getting better now. Perhaps... Stopping just a couple feet away from her mate, she sits and says, quietly, "Good morning, Helaku."
Helaku's ears perked at the site of his mate. The ways of the Ute hadn't completely left him, but there were some things he dealt with. Ever since he had grown accustomed to Teketa, he found the wolf to be a rather similar being to himself. It was unusual that Hekalu quickly trusted anyone, but Teketa reminded him a lot of his old pack, the later and not his birthpack. "Hello, Skelaghe," he said softly as he approached her, dipping his nose under her maw with a wag of his tail. "They are asleep," he said. "Though all ready they like to pull on ears and tails."
So he did spend time with the pups. Good. Skelaghe chuckles quietly and scoots forward to close the distance between herself and her mate to nuzzle at him gently for the first time since they last spoke about Sketch. "I hope they didn't pick on you too badly." Her spoken 'hope' is not entirely heartfelt, though. What she really hopes is that her pups did everything they could to drag their father into playtime with them, no matter how much ear- and tail-pulling it took. As she nuzzles her mate, light slowly breaks on the eastern horizon as the sun begins to rise.
"It was absolute torture," he said, jokingly. "They all ready love to pounce and try to keep anything that moves from moving." That meant for certain they did drag him into playtime--he did not mind this with their pups. He closed his eyes and inhaled her scent deeply. He was tempted to nudge, tug, even play with her but he held himself back. He had forgotten, in a sense, how to fool around with adults. There was the occasional friendly-insulting and teasings among the Eloone, but they kept it restricted due to the dangers of that region. "They might try to eat you."
"Oh, they know better than to torture Mommy... Which only makes it right that Daddy is fair game." Skelaghe has spent plenty of time playing with her pups, but it always ends well before it has any potential to become painful, either for her or for any of the pups. She draws her head back after saying that, her smile far more natural now. For as long as there are no sounds coming from the den, she is content to sit here and speak with her mate.
"Really, now?" he asked, nipping at one of her ears. "I suppose it is only fair, being you carried them for a long while--torturing Mother-dearest would be unfair." Hel likewise kept the games simple, drawing it to a limit before any of them would be harmed. "But there seems to be no rule about Father teasing Mother."
This is teasing? If it is, it certainly doesn't upset Skelaghe, as Helaku's teasing is very low-key. And as long as it stays that way, "Just be careful, love. It's quite obvious that Mommy makes all ther rules." She's grinning through-out. She had missed this time with her mate... And she'll have to make a note to spend more time with him, as the pups continue to grow. Not today, though. She is tired, and there is business to be handled. "I found a gorgeous land to the north. I think our pups could do well there."
Helaku murmured, setting about..grooming? Helaku was...grooming Skel's neck and ears? How...cat-like? "What is the land like?" he asked, continuing on his grooming business. Short and to the point as it was business--but that did not stop the incessant grooming!
A patch of grass sways softly as the cub that's curled within shifts to his paws. Ashen had slept most of the day, but now was fully awake and ready to occupy himself with whatever first came to mind. He's about to pounce out into the open, but the sound of two voices conversing halts his immediate plans. What are they talking about? Something of land to the north. Ashen settles back down, ears quirked to listen.
Skelaghe closes her eyes as her mate begins to groom her. What is the land like? "Open. Green. They will have room to grow and play." It is not entirely dissimilar to the old Ute territory, and she would love to see her pups have a place where they can play in the open. "They'll be old enough to move, soon, with our help." She does not know, yet, that Ashen is so nearby, but she would change nothing she is saying if she did. Funny, how Ashen is included in 'they' in her mind, even if she does not think he will be around as long as her pups will.
Helaku paused his grooming for a moment. "Sounds...like home," he said, shortly going back to his business. Gentle, but rough enough to be thorough--Skel should be pampered for everything she had done, and rightly so. Ashen - personally, he hoped the cougar would stay as long as he could. His views, though, differed. He believed Ashen could successfully live, even if blind. Nature was less optimistic, but he had seen things...unusual things in his travels. "When do you wish to move?"
Meanwhile, Ashen is ironically wondering horrible, frightening things. It sounds as though they're planning to leave, and the cub wonders if they'll forget about him. What if he wakes one day to find them all gone? The young cougar whimpers soundlessly to himself. Should he make his worries--and incidentally his presence--known? When Helaku asks the question of 'when', Ashen decides to wait for that answer first.
Skelaghe would not normally move pups from one location to another until after they're fully weaned. With Helaku, Teketa, and herself, though... Is that really necessary? Were she alone, or even if it were just her and Helaku, yes, but with the three of them, they can keep the pups safe and not have to push the pups to keep moving if they're tired. Even crossing the water should only take two trips. Three, at most, with Ashen. "I think we'll just give it a few more days. Five or six." Enough time for her to recover, physically, from spending the better part of the last day in almost constant motion. Enough time for them all to relax a little in this pleasant spring weather... And not enough time for Nium to return to her tribe and then come back here. After they move, they will have the water between them and Amaranth, and a more easily defensible position, should Nium or another member of Amaranth decide not to let Ashen be, as Skelaghe requested.
Helaku wrinkled his nose, and considered it. Amaranth was not his care or concern. Just the Ute and certain other individuals. "That is a suitable time," he said. "Enough for them to adjust to moving about, and for you to rest." He did not mention himself. There was nothing to mention in regards to himself anyway.
Ashen cannot hold himself still any longer. The cub launches from his hiding place, and toward their voices. His hind leg seizes, and he trips once, but his determination gets him upright almost immediately. "Wait! Wait! Please don't leave!" His tone is urgent, a little dramatically so. As if they were actually leaving right *now* instead of in several days.
Skelaghe's head turns to Ashen even before he speaks, and she sees him trip, frowning as she does. Yes, definitely three trips across the water. "Ashen?" Skelaghe stands and moves away from the pleasant grooming of her mate to meet the young cougar half-way. "Hey... Calm down." He can't see, his leg is hurt, and if he continues moving about in a panic, he's liable to hurt himself. As such, getting him to calm a little is by far the most important thing to Skelaghe right now.
Helaku's attention immediately shot to the little cougar. He remained where he was, as Skel had everything under her control. Of course, they wouldn't leave him. He wouldn't be able to live with himself if he left Ashen while taking the rest. "We are not leaving yet," he said. "And we wouldn't leave you behind, Ashen--that is, if you wish to come with us."
Ashen just about literally slides to a stop, looking up at the general direction of Skel's face. "But... don't wanna be left alone again!" He has to work to slow his breathing down, and in that time, Helaku seems to answer his biggest worry. "You won't?" He stares at the male wolf's direction now. For a moment, he considers what was just said, before his concern flares back up again. "But what if you forget?"
Skelaghe appreciates the verbal support from her mate, but she keeps her gaze on Ashen. Stretching her head out to nuzzle at the young cougar gently, she says, softly, "Ah, Ashen. I could no more forget you than I could forget one of my own pups... But if it will comfort you, you may den with my pups, just so you can be certain we'll know where you are, when it is time." The den is large enough. Perhaps just barely large enough, but large enough all the same, and if it will soothe Ashen's worries, Skelaghe will gladly allow it, now that her pups are large enough to know who Ashen is and not be worried by him.
Helaku tilted his head. Mindful creature Ashen was. His memory may serve him better than his eyesight ever would have some day. "I promise, we won't forget," he added. "And I doubt Skel would allow me to forget even if I could." He still remained where he was, not wanting to come closer and chance spooking Ashen like he did the first day they met. "I have no objections."
Ashen finally stops hyperventilating. He arches his back affectionately when he feels her nuzzle, and even does his best to return it. "Den? That's alright?" He asks, wondering if it would be disrespectful for him to accept right away. But Helaku said it would be okay, too. So surely he's not expected to decline? "Even tonight?" He'd often thought of asking if he could sleep inside with them; not that he was unappreciative, but the night got lonely sometimes, and the grass doesn't provide the best company. But he'd always figured, especially after the birth of the cubs, that he would not be *that* welcome.
With a smile and another nuzzle, she says, "Yes, Ashen. Even tonight. I would enjoy your company." Skelaghe does not, after all, want the young cougar to feel like he is putting anyone out. Maybe she would be a little less enthusiastic in reassuring Ashen if Helaku seemed reluctant... But, more likely, she would be even /more/ enthusiastic about it. Every cub needs to feel comforted by the presence of an adult once in a while, and had she realized how worried Ashen was getting, she might have made the offer a few days sooner.
Helaku had no reason to object to Ashen staying with them. Even if someone tried to show up and force him to go somewhere he didn't want to go, he wouldn't permit Ashen to be taken. He was on his own in a sense, and was able to make his own decisions on who he preferred to stay with, if anyone. "It is totally up to you to decide what you do with your life, Ashen," he said, slowly stepping up to the cougar to let him get familiar. "And you've made a decision to stay with what is familiar and friendly to you--there's no problem in that. And, I would enjoy your company too."
Ashen breaks into a smile. "Really?" As if he still can't believe it. But it doesn't matter what he believes now. "Thank you." He purrs, craning his neck up to nuzzle Skel's neck. "Thank you." He stumbles around in search of Helaku, to do the same. As he does so, the cub's movements give away a slight fatigue setting in, although he tries not to acknowledge it. Despite his best efforts, a yawn slips through.
Skelaghe dips her head to nuzzle back against Ashen. After doing so, she stands to follow the cub back to Helaku, and after Ashen nuzzles against Helaku, she says, "Why don't you come on into the den with me now, Ashen? I'm tired." Though it is only morning, she needs some rest, and clearly Ashen does as well.
Helaku was, perhaps, the only one of them that didn't need rest. He smiled, even though Ashen couldn't see it--and moved himself so they could return to the den for their rest.