Post by avalikia on Jun 11, 2009 16:04:49 GMT -5
Characters:
Tix - Female Whitetail Deer
Niabi - Female Elk
Roscoe - Male Whitetail Deer
Setting:
Sparse Copse
A few days have passed since Niabi and Tix arrived at the Sparse Copse, and Niabi hasn't left the doe's side except while she was asleep. However, Niabi's probably just being a bit overprotective - Catori has been around and neither elk has seen any danger in this part of the forest. Still, even if she hadn't made a promise to Roscoe when she decides to care for someone she isn't at all halfway about it. At the moment she's grooming her side as she stands near the bushes where Tix has been resting, an eye an an ear on the alert for danger, but not expecting any.
Lately, Tix's wounds have healed rather well, due to Niabi's careful work. Although standing upright for long periods of time had previously been an issue, now this particular trouble seemed to be far behind the doe. Spending each day carefully stretching and testing her weight on her hind leg, the Whitetail female's confidence too had slowly developed too. Ever since the incident and Roscoe's appearance in the undergrowth, Tix had made herself a single vow to be less of a coward. She had promised herself to be more alert and more ready and most of all, a worthy female dedicated enough to stick by the Prince's side. So, as the day wears on, Tix finally emerges from the bushes walking quite proudly and with little difficulty in her step. There is no longer much of a visible injury, but the often fearful wobble from the adult deer is enough to show she's not completely recovered yet.
If Niabi learned anything during her time alone, it was how to treat wounds. She may have learned the basic concepts in her old herd, but after having put it into practice far too many times on herself she's gotten good at it. At least this time she didn't have to be her own healer, though she'd prefer not to have to use those skills at all. "Good morning," Niabi greets when she sees Tix emerge from the bushes, "Looks like you're doing even better today." She closes the distance between the two of them, smiling but with most of her attention on the injured leg. "How much does it hurt?" she asks after a moment, pleased by how nicely it's healing but watchful in case that changes.
Slowly lifting her head and regarding the approaching elk with dark eyes, Tix's features finally work into a smile and a respectful nod as a return greeting. "It feels a lot better.. Still a bit wobbly though. Only a bit of pain if I rush myself.." To further demonstrate the doe tenderly raises a hind leg and extends it behind her to show that there is no discomfort from stretching it. However, she is fast to place is back down on the grass and shake herself down. Loose leaves and grass clung to her brown spring pelt and were soon dismissed with the action. Lowering her head to begin to graze, the doe asks a final question before beginning her meal: "Has Roscoe come by yet?"
Niabi nods at the stretch, clearly pleased. At this rate it won't be too long before Tix will be completely healed, which is no small feat considering how hurt the doe had been to begin with. It's fortunate that Niabi had been there when she was, or things probably would have turned out much differently. "I haven't seen him, but I'm sure he'll be along soon," she answers, trying to make the negative sound more positive, "I'm sure nothing could keep him away for too long." Except, perhaps, the fact that he's virtually guaranteed to run into Niabi as well, and he seemed rather upset with her the last time she saw him.
Tix flicks her ears forwards, listening to the elk's reply as she engages herself with the frantic task of eating what she can. The last days healing had taken away the doe's appetite for one, and her constant worry whether the Prince would even return had made her turn her nose up at the idea of food. So for now, tanking up was priority number one. Besides, she felt better, she -was- better! Surely Roscoe would be along soon? He said he would visit and he would come see her when she was feeling well again. Now that she was, the doe continued to glance around the area in hopes of seeing the stag arrive.
A few days had indeed passed, and to Roscoe, they seemed forever. Days of wandering and searching the forest, scouring uncharted territories for just a fading scent of another deer. His luck had arrived just a short time ago, though unfortunately in the form of a buck. The Prince had warned the newcomer that he was the dominant one, but the other buck's disinterest in assertive matters had concerned him a bit. With only a little doe population, surely there would be great competition this coming fall. Traveling from the southern woods, the large figure of the buck slowly appeared. His antlers beginning to show an impressive jump in growth, a certain amount of confidence in the Prince is regained. Slowly stepping through the hilly habitat, the stag's head lifted as he caught scent of two females. One he was glad to smell, the other, not so much. Tix and Niabi, the two most recurring deer in his life at the moment. Red eyes narrowing slightly, he craned his head elegantly, and quickened his pace to meet the doe.
Quietly observing Tix's response to her answer, Niabi reminds herself that they still haven't had that talk yet. Making sure that the young doe would get better was a higher priority, but now that it seems well in hand perhaps she should be ready now to bring it up at the next good moment. But this isn't one of them; Tix obviously has her appetite back so now it's mealtime. Or it is, until she first hears then sees someone coming. "Good morning, Roscoe. We were just talking about you," she greets pleasantly, but then turns her attention towards Tix in order to see the doe's reaction.
Mealtime? No no no! The moment Niabi greets and announces the arrival of the stag, Tix's ears perk up instantly and for a moment she stares, confirming what the cow elk says. No doubts - That's him! About to throw herself in a wild greeting of sheer happiness, the female catches herself back on a single reminder that she needs to act a little more dignified. Self-control! So, rather than charging over to Roscoe like an excitable fawn, Tix makes herself remain as still as possible, although her madly twitching ears and wide eyes seem to only radiate happiness and excitement. Giving a pleasant grin, Tix waits for Roscoe to approach before assaulting him with nuzzles.
Dead ahead are the two female deer, and his eyes remain relaxed and half-lidded throughout his stroll to them. Approaching the doe with little more than a semi-grin, the buck looks over at Niabi and instead of glaring or narrowing his eyes, he nods his head. "Good morning." he says quietly, his voice deep and peppered with just a hint of rasp, as if he hadn't spoken at all that day. Immediately after his nod, his head curves back up and he offers Tix then grin that she deserves, glancing back at the hind leg that was injured. "You seem to be doing well," he said and his grin widened a touch, "I'm glad."
Niabi can't help but be pleased that Roscoe seems to be less upset with her than the last time they bumped into eachother. Has he finally come to realize that she's been right the whole time? Probably not, but at least this is an improvement. "She's healing quickly; all that she needs now is to be gentle with her leg until we can be sure it can handle the strain," she comments quietly. Her assessment given, she becomes quiet, and allows the two whitetails to greet eachother without further interference.
Tix finally steps forwards, closing the gap between the pair of the Whitetails and reaching up to give Roscoe a warm nuzzle. "I missed you.." She mumbles quietly, awaiting for the Prince to return her affectionate gesture. Whether he does so or not, the moment doesn't linger for very long before Tix pulls away again. She doesn't want to appear too over-affectionate! Grinning and brushing past him, the doe wanders past the two and allows them the pleasure of talking whilst she in turn slowly descends down a slight slope, beginning to graze again.
The sheer sight of seeing Tix able to move about normally and with such a short time to heal makes the Prince very happy, and some faith is restored in the older elk. /Some/. He still holds a rather nasty grudge with her, as he took a decent amount of offense to her trying to pry into his personal life. However, his personal spat shouldn't suggest that she wasn't a good caretaker. For that, he is irritated. His irritation heightens when Tix pulled away from him and began to graze as well; no doubt Niabi must've taught her some independent female lesson, or something. Eyes narrowing only a bit, Roscoe says not a word to the cow elk as he shook off his reddening coat, and turned on his hooves in order to leave. He didn't thank her, he didn't say a 'goodbye', he just began to walk off.
Honestly Niabi hasn't even had a chance to say a word to Tix about being less dependent on Roscoe, though that's certainly something she would and probably will do. More likely it's something that's rubbing off on the doe after spending so much time with her. "Is something wrong?" the she-elk asks when she sees the change in Roscoe's expression and how quickly he turns away. Not that she doesn't have a very good guess, but she'd like to hear it from him.
Perhaps he was overreacting. What difference did it make if Tix only showed him slight affection this time, as opposed to the other, gratuitous amounts of affection that she showed him previously? He didn't /need/ her affection at all, in fact. It was just a plus. With his head still held obnoxiously high and his ears twitching back and forth as he made his way out of the meadow that he didn't feel comfortable in anyway, the buck shot the elk a glance and forced a grin. "Of course not. Thank you for your.. help." he said, searching for the word at the end. It wasn't often he accepted the help of others, though in this case he had little choice.
Yes, it seems that everything Niabi said that started all this tension between the two of them clearly went in one ear and out the other. Well, she knows it's no use repeating any of that now. He's likely to learn it all the hard way at this rate, though not for lack of warning on her part. For a moment she's tempted to indicate that she knows full well that something bothered him, but instead she merely says, "You're very welcome. Tix has been very pleasant company." She doesn't want to detract from his newfound willingness to at least try and appear happy around her. Still, she has an expectant look on her face, as if believing that he has something more to say.
"Good." he said dully, but continued his walking. Even if the two weren't at each other's throats, this area was far too close to the man-made farm and barn. A good long walk away, but still too close. His eyes, ears, and nose ever alert, the Prince glanced back at Niabi with moderate interest. "I don't know what would've happened if you hadn't taken care of her." he said slowly and calmly, expressing his gratitude with as much dignity as he could. "Thanks, again."
Niabi nods to this second expression of thanks, but says nothing this time though her ears twitch thoughtfully. Roscoe clearly seems to be intent upon moving along, and she sees no reason why he shouldn't. And while she would like to mend their relationship, she's not about to take back anything, apologize, or do anything of that kind because it would be insincere; she said exactly what she meant, and she feels no differently about it now. But she's guessing that without that sort of measure it will simply take a lot of time. The elk turns and starts nibbling on some grass, done talking if the buck has nothing else to say.
The lack of response only somewhat surprises the buck, though he doesn't show it outwardly. Ears still flickering nervously, Roscoe does all he can to show no fear in the territory not far from the human world, and he does a marvelous job. It would take a member of his old herd to even somewhat recognize his instability, as he stands there with little to no emotion on his face. With a light sigh, his tail flicks as well and he continues to the south, away from the meadow. Though the grass here looks just fine, he passes it up. Surely there is better grass somewhere safer.
The relics of man do not bother Niabi. Well, they did when she first came to this area, but she has caught no sign of that terrifying species and she's questioned a few of the creatures that live near here, and all of them said the same thing: no sign of man. And an empty den is no threat and therefore nothing to be afraid of. Therefore her lack of fear is completely genuine. Despite being somewhat distracted by her grazing and unable to read Roscoe's expression right now, the moving ears catch her eye and the sigh doesn't go unnoticed. "Are you sure everything is okay?" she asks with an inquisitive tilt of her head, though she's unable to guess what he could be thinking about.
History making it so that the Prince wishes not to set foot even on the /land/ that the humans make their homes near, no form of comfort would make him stay in this area for very long. Though perhaps a small, short conversation with the elk wouldn't risk his safety too much. Ears flattening with his decision, he looked at the older female and nodded his head. "Everything is fine. Tix is well, and there are does in the area." he said rather roboticaly, as if he had no other concerns. The dark buck lifted his head towards the sky in order to catch another scent of the area and, the smell of man wasn't even nearby. His hooves settling in the hilly ground, he blinked and then otherwise just stood there.
Niabi has more than enough reason to fear man herself and she can rightly be accused of being overly cautious, but there's a difference between overreacting to an obviously real threat and overreacting to a possibly nonexistent threat. Besides, everything other than the closeness of the barn is pretty much perfect in this area. She allows a brief pause when Roscoe's done listing off everything he 'officially' cares about. "And?" she prompts, hoping that he's noticed that she's noticed that there's something more since she's asked the question twice now.
Days without much good rest have left Roscoe with little patience. Littler patience than usual. His eyes narrowing at the elk, a huff of breath is given and he shakes his pelt again. Dead, gray winter fur flying in a cloud about him, the buck steps back in order to avoid the stray hairs and chuckles. "And what?" he asked rhetorically, his voice losing it's calm demeanor and sounding rather like a young buck with an attitude problem.
Niabi is silent for a moment. What is it that she really wants to know? "Are you unhappy with Tix being here?" she finally ask, hazarding a guess as to what line of conversation might give her some answers. Hopefully she's somewhere near the mark so that she doesn't have to pry too much. She doesn't want to pry at all really, but Roscoe hasn't been acting like everything's alright and she'd like to know what it is in case there's something she should do about it.
The red stag's eyes fixated upon the cow elk for only a few more seconds, before his gaze shifted onto the sparse elm trees, the grass, the sky, anything but the fellow deer. There were plenty of things on Roscoe's mind, sure.. but he wasn't going to admit them to Niabi. In his mind, it showed weakness. He wasn't /supposed/ to be plagued with thoughts about lost affection, or about what the doe thought of him. He was royalty, and royal deer like himself were supposed to think only of others. Self sacrifice and apathy were virtues that the buck still needed to work on, it seemed. Shuffling his forelegs about in the grass for a moment, the male answered her question with a tilt of his head. "Of course not. She needed help and you helped her, but she doesn't belong here." he said with a serious tone, hopefully hinting on that he wanted Tix to return with him.
Ah, so she did hit near the mark! Or at least, Niabi thinks she did; what she doesn't know is that there are currently multiple things she could probably hit upon. She pauses another moment before asking another question, "Where /does/ she belong?" The elk is not trying to drop any hints about where she thinks Tix should belong, but Roscoe's answer seems to imply that he knows where the doe belongs and she's curious as to exactly where that might be.
Unfortunately for Niabi, Roscoe is wise to the cow elk's tricks. Answering that question the way it formed in his mind would only start another confrontation between the two differing species, and neither needed that at the moment. A coy grin forming on his maw and his ears perking in almost delight, he answered the question with a strange brightness that seemed quite sarcastic at best. "With those of her own kind." And of course, by 'own kind', he meant himself. Though, he wouldn't admit his fondness for the doe. Not intentionally, at least.
Look at how clever he thinks he is! Niabi would roll her eyes if she could have without being noticed. Her own demeanor is calm as she says the logical conclusion to that answer, "With her own kind, yes of course you're right. Ah, but there aren't very many of her own kind around here are there? At least, not together. In fact, I believe the only safe place she can be with her own kind is with you - so what you're really saying is that she belongs with you." Niabi pauses, her ears twisting a moment in thought. "But isn't it a bit improper for a doe to be wandering around with a buck this time of year?"
Staring at the cow in thought, the simple answer at first is a shrug. At least she admitted that Tix would be safe with him. It was then that the whitetail had a revelation of sorts.. why was he fighting this female on the issue? Was it really /that/ important that he put up a defensive front? He didn't have to admit anything to her, but he didn't have to be so ungrateful, either. After all, she did just save on of his does' lives. With a rather humble chuckle, Roscoe's ears relaxed and he took a step towards the larger elk. "Impropriety seems to be the norm around here," he began, with reference to the lack of a stable deer population, not of it's inhabitants- though it may of sounded that way, "Even if it's not the season for Tix and I to wander together, I have a responsibility to look after her."
Well, the buck would probably be disappointed if he knew just how safe Niabi believes that traveling with him is, but she doesn't want to stir up any more trouble. But she nods to Roscoe, "Yes, you do have that responsibility. Though to make sure that she's safe, you have to wander pretty widely, don't you? And through dangerous areas? It's difficult to travel with others and look out for predators at the same time. But I don't have to tell you that; surely you know as well as I all the advantages of the traditional system. But isn't it true that you'd be far more effective at protecting her if she had a safe place to be while you wander?"
"I have to search as far as I can in a day, though there will be times where I have to stay gone for days at a time." he began, his ears flickering here and there at the random noises of the forest. "Taking Tix with me proved to be a mistake in it's own. I don't think she'll be going with me again, but when I am gone, she stays in the glade. It's safe there." he said with a arch of his brow, recalling the fact that he hadn't payed much attention to his glade in a few days. Perhaps the safety of it needed to be re-checked, though in their previous stays there, no predators were sensed.
"The glade?" Oh yeah, she remembers the glade! "Yes, that was a very lovely place," Niabi comments, though she's not going to comment on the safety of it. She really doesn't know, actually, having never inspected the place properly. "Though that seems rather risky, don't you think?" she asks, but continues without waiting for a response, "Suppose a predator comes by while you're away? She has much more to fear than I do; I'm a good fighter and much bigger. Foxes, lynxes, bobcats - I don't fear any of those - but don't forget the cougars, wolves, coyotes... And she'd be all by herself..." Niabi turns to look of true concern at Roscoe, because she considers Tix a friend too. "There's just not enough deer around, really. There should be younger bucks to help you - a larger group for Tix..."
Trying hard as he can /not/ to be offended by the last statement, his eyes merely narrow and his ears flatten, but his tone stays apathetic. He really needed to work on his apathy, it seemed. Getting too involved with does was a bad idea. The species was polygamous, anyway. Really, any doe that exhibited a certain amount of pride and dignity was fair game for him. "The glade is perfectly safe, there haven't been any wolves, cougars, nor coyotes there in weeks." he stated, his tone monotonous and dull. "And I don't need any help from younger bucks. Most of them are half-witted, rut-minded whelps anyway."
Uh-oh, she's losing him! And after she'd brought him so close to seeing her point, too. "Oh, but you know how lone wolves and the like are," Niabi quickly adds, "They wander where they do /because/ no others of their kind are around. Cougars are like that as well; you never know where they'll turn up. It's the same for many predators. All I'm trying to say is that it's a risky thing at best; and not due to any failing on your part, by the way. If you were all she needed to be safe, then your kind would live in pairs, not in herds."
Truthfully, the Prince knew exactly what she was saying, and she certainly did have a point. Herd animals such as themselves needed numbers for their survival. But when there are very little numbers to speak of.. they had to make do somehow. And if Tix was going to endanger herself further by accompanying Roscoe on his journeys.. then she would have to stay behind. "I didn't necessarily mean that she had to stay with me, permanently.." he said rather quietly, "I appreciate your concern, Niabi." With a smile, the buck finally appeared fully relaxed, the tension that built up at the mention of another buck subsiding very quickly. "You've done a fine job of protecting her, and I need someone to rely on for that.. but I would like her to come back to the glade for at least a day or so." The buck still hadn't apologized to the doe for his aggression, after all.
It takes a moment of ear-twisting thought before Niabi nods to Roscoe's words. Well, he seems to have finally gotten what she's trying to say at least. "You're my friends," she says simply, "And you know that if Tix is here, she's every bit as safe as she would be with you. But in any case, it would help." And perhaps other does would be more inclined to stay with him if they had a safer situation to be in, but Niabi isn't going to mention that since she's already brought up Roscoe's luck with does too often. "And of course I'm not going to object to you taking her for another visit to the glade; that's none of my business. Though I recommend waiting a few days - we don't want her to put too much stress on her leg too fast. She could reinjure herself easily."
Much to the surprise of the buck, it seemed that getting along with someone who could potentially help his tiny herd and himself was much better than arguing with them over petty personal matters. Personal matters that neither of them would budge on, to boot. A neverending war between the two was senseless. Finally, he figured it out. With another slow, dignified nod of his head, the Prince listened to Niabi's words carefully. Everything made sense, even if he /did/ want to get Tix back to the glade and apologize as soon as possible. From the sight of her leg, she was improving but still needed time to gain confidence in her agility again. The last thing that either the elk nor the male whitetail needed was for her leg to get worse. It was spring after all, and predators of the canine variety especially would be on the lookout for young or injured prey in order to feed their offspring. "If you think it's best." he said calmly, and grinned.
It doesn't surprise Niabi at all that they can get along and disagree at the same time. How many friends does she have strong differences of opinions with? The problem this time is that one side of the difference of opinion got really, really angry about it. But Niabi is the kind of creature that is hard to not like for too long because it's hard to dislike someone who is extremely obvious about how they only want what's best for you, even if she /does/ make the occasional misstep. Smiling back, Niabi comments, "This is actually the hardest part of recovering from something like this; Tix probably feels really good since she's almost better, and it'll be easy for her to forget that she needs to be careful. I've done that a couple times myself." She gives Roscoe a wry grin, as if admitting that she's a rebel.
Just another area where the two differ. Unlike Niabi, who can befriend people with vastly opposing opinions of her own, Roscoe was never granted with that gift. Born and raised under a very clear set of beliefs and morals, his solitary arrival in this area filled with things that were against his ideals was quite frustrating to the male. However, he had finally come to terms with the old 'if you can't beat 'em, join 'em' ideology, and had so far enjoyed it. Again he listens to what the older female has to say, and again she sounds as if she is correct. He has to trust her here, for he has no knowledge of medicine at all. With a blink, he takes in the information. "I hope that she hasn't gained too much trust in that leg of hers yet, then.." he says, and glances over at the area in which the doe was grazing. Caring a good deal for the female. the last thing that he wanted would be to encourage her to rush her healing.. even if that had been his intention previously. A glance back is given toward Niabi, and a chuckle is shared with her at her last comment.
"Oh, don't you worry," Niabi says reassuringly, "When I promised to keep her safe, that includes keeping her safe from herself. If she so much as prances before her leg is ready..." She chuckles as she leaves the threat open-ended. She pauses for a moment before she says, "You know... I know it's unorthodox, but perhaps you and Tix should be official - join my herd. I mean, it would be /our/ herd. You're both my friends, and it would mean a lot to me." And perhaps that just goes to show how little Niabi lets the differences between herself and Roscoe change her opinion of him.
The chuckle continues on as Niabi reassures the Prince that she will indeed keep his doe safe. It does much to help him relax, and his mind surely will dwingle on later about the other buck that he now had to deal with, as well as his neverending search for more deer; does and bucks alike. Though he obviously preferred the female company. The dark buck was brought back from his thoughts at the mention of a herd, though this time it was different. She had offered Tix and himself membership into the elk herd, which baffled him, to say the least. Saying nothing, he quirked a brow with a smirk, almost as if he thought it was a joke. "You're.. joking, right?" he asked with a nervous laugh tossed in at the end of his sentence. His ears perked forward, his laughter came to a halt. "An elk.. and whitetail herd?"
Niabi can't help but laugh at the buck's reaction to her suggestion. "No, I'm being serious," she says with a grin, "I mean, three cow elk is hardly more of a proper herd than one doe and one buck. They're both too small. Together - well, it's still too small, but it's better. Safety in numbers." Of course, the logistics of working with two different species with different habits and such would probably make things complicated, she's sure they could work things out. After all, she's sure that the five of them will get along well enough.
A strange look is planted on the buck's face.. one of confusion, and comedic confusion at that. One brow raised, one ear perked, the other back, a hoof raised.. it's all quite un-Roscoe-esque. Thinking it over for a minute, he has to correct her on her statistics. "There is more than just Tix and myself.. I just have to find them again." he said with a heavy sigh. It wasn't /his/ fault they ran off.. silly adolescents and their wandering, he supposed. The Prince gave it one final think over, and grinned. "Alright." he said simply, and perked his ears up. Turning around, he flicked his tail and looked back at Niabi. "We'll see how it goes.. but I'm wasting precious daylight. There are plenty of areas that need to be searched today. Thank you again for all of your help." he said rather happily, and with a skip in his step the male faded off into the southern woods, for another day of scouring the land for whitetails.
Niabi has to suppress her amusement a couple times as Roscoe reacts to her words, mostly to his expression and when he says, "find them again." She'd think that after all of his doe problems that he might start to think that it might be something to do with /him/, but no. And this would be the exact wrong time to laugh about it too. Instead she says, "We'd be happy to welcome them when you find them, I'm sure." She's never met a whitetail she didn't like, though admittedly she hasn't met a very large number of whitetails yet and she's only gotten to know a couple of them very well. "You're welcome," she replies when he excuses himself. When he's out of sight, a pleased smile crosses her face as she goes to tell her herdmates the good news.
Tix - Female Whitetail Deer
Niabi - Female Elk
Roscoe - Male Whitetail Deer
Setting:
Sparse Copse
A few days have passed since Niabi and Tix arrived at the Sparse Copse, and Niabi hasn't left the doe's side except while she was asleep. However, Niabi's probably just being a bit overprotective - Catori has been around and neither elk has seen any danger in this part of the forest. Still, even if she hadn't made a promise to Roscoe when she decides to care for someone she isn't at all halfway about it. At the moment she's grooming her side as she stands near the bushes where Tix has been resting, an eye an an ear on the alert for danger, but not expecting any.
Lately, Tix's wounds have healed rather well, due to Niabi's careful work. Although standing upright for long periods of time had previously been an issue, now this particular trouble seemed to be far behind the doe. Spending each day carefully stretching and testing her weight on her hind leg, the Whitetail female's confidence too had slowly developed too. Ever since the incident and Roscoe's appearance in the undergrowth, Tix had made herself a single vow to be less of a coward. She had promised herself to be more alert and more ready and most of all, a worthy female dedicated enough to stick by the Prince's side. So, as the day wears on, Tix finally emerges from the bushes walking quite proudly and with little difficulty in her step. There is no longer much of a visible injury, but the often fearful wobble from the adult deer is enough to show she's not completely recovered yet.
If Niabi learned anything during her time alone, it was how to treat wounds. She may have learned the basic concepts in her old herd, but after having put it into practice far too many times on herself she's gotten good at it. At least this time she didn't have to be her own healer, though she'd prefer not to have to use those skills at all. "Good morning," Niabi greets when she sees Tix emerge from the bushes, "Looks like you're doing even better today." She closes the distance between the two of them, smiling but with most of her attention on the injured leg. "How much does it hurt?" she asks after a moment, pleased by how nicely it's healing but watchful in case that changes.
Slowly lifting her head and regarding the approaching elk with dark eyes, Tix's features finally work into a smile and a respectful nod as a return greeting. "It feels a lot better.. Still a bit wobbly though. Only a bit of pain if I rush myself.." To further demonstrate the doe tenderly raises a hind leg and extends it behind her to show that there is no discomfort from stretching it. However, she is fast to place is back down on the grass and shake herself down. Loose leaves and grass clung to her brown spring pelt and were soon dismissed with the action. Lowering her head to begin to graze, the doe asks a final question before beginning her meal: "Has Roscoe come by yet?"
Niabi nods at the stretch, clearly pleased. At this rate it won't be too long before Tix will be completely healed, which is no small feat considering how hurt the doe had been to begin with. It's fortunate that Niabi had been there when she was, or things probably would have turned out much differently. "I haven't seen him, but I'm sure he'll be along soon," she answers, trying to make the negative sound more positive, "I'm sure nothing could keep him away for too long." Except, perhaps, the fact that he's virtually guaranteed to run into Niabi as well, and he seemed rather upset with her the last time she saw him.
Tix flicks her ears forwards, listening to the elk's reply as she engages herself with the frantic task of eating what she can. The last days healing had taken away the doe's appetite for one, and her constant worry whether the Prince would even return had made her turn her nose up at the idea of food. So for now, tanking up was priority number one. Besides, she felt better, she -was- better! Surely Roscoe would be along soon? He said he would visit and he would come see her when she was feeling well again. Now that she was, the doe continued to glance around the area in hopes of seeing the stag arrive.
A few days had indeed passed, and to Roscoe, they seemed forever. Days of wandering and searching the forest, scouring uncharted territories for just a fading scent of another deer. His luck had arrived just a short time ago, though unfortunately in the form of a buck. The Prince had warned the newcomer that he was the dominant one, but the other buck's disinterest in assertive matters had concerned him a bit. With only a little doe population, surely there would be great competition this coming fall. Traveling from the southern woods, the large figure of the buck slowly appeared. His antlers beginning to show an impressive jump in growth, a certain amount of confidence in the Prince is regained. Slowly stepping through the hilly habitat, the stag's head lifted as he caught scent of two females. One he was glad to smell, the other, not so much. Tix and Niabi, the two most recurring deer in his life at the moment. Red eyes narrowing slightly, he craned his head elegantly, and quickened his pace to meet the doe.
Quietly observing Tix's response to her answer, Niabi reminds herself that they still haven't had that talk yet. Making sure that the young doe would get better was a higher priority, but now that it seems well in hand perhaps she should be ready now to bring it up at the next good moment. But this isn't one of them; Tix obviously has her appetite back so now it's mealtime. Or it is, until she first hears then sees someone coming. "Good morning, Roscoe. We were just talking about you," she greets pleasantly, but then turns her attention towards Tix in order to see the doe's reaction.
Mealtime? No no no! The moment Niabi greets and announces the arrival of the stag, Tix's ears perk up instantly and for a moment she stares, confirming what the cow elk says. No doubts - That's him! About to throw herself in a wild greeting of sheer happiness, the female catches herself back on a single reminder that she needs to act a little more dignified. Self-control! So, rather than charging over to Roscoe like an excitable fawn, Tix makes herself remain as still as possible, although her madly twitching ears and wide eyes seem to only radiate happiness and excitement. Giving a pleasant grin, Tix waits for Roscoe to approach before assaulting him with nuzzles.
Dead ahead are the two female deer, and his eyes remain relaxed and half-lidded throughout his stroll to them. Approaching the doe with little more than a semi-grin, the buck looks over at Niabi and instead of glaring or narrowing his eyes, he nods his head. "Good morning." he says quietly, his voice deep and peppered with just a hint of rasp, as if he hadn't spoken at all that day. Immediately after his nod, his head curves back up and he offers Tix then grin that she deserves, glancing back at the hind leg that was injured. "You seem to be doing well," he said and his grin widened a touch, "I'm glad."
Niabi can't help but be pleased that Roscoe seems to be less upset with her than the last time they bumped into eachother. Has he finally come to realize that she's been right the whole time? Probably not, but at least this is an improvement. "She's healing quickly; all that she needs now is to be gentle with her leg until we can be sure it can handle the strain," she comments quietly. Her assessment given, she becomes quiet, and allows the two whitetails to greet eachother without further interference.
Tix finally steps forwards, closing the gap between the pair of the Whitetails and reaching up to give Roscoe a warm nuzzle. "I missed you.." She mumbles quietly, awaiting for the Prince to return her affectionate gesture. Whether he does so or not, the moment doesn't linger for very long before Tix pulls away again. She doesn't want to appear too over-affectionate! Grinning and brushing past him, the doe wanders past the two and allows them the pleasure of talking whilst she in turn slowly descends down a slight slope, beginning to graze again.
The sheer sight of seeing Tix able to move about normally and with such a short time to heal makes the Prince very happy, and some faith is restored in the older elk. /Some/. He still holds a rather nasty grudge with her, as he took a decent amount of offense to her trying to pry into his personal life. However, his personal spat shouldn't suggest that she wasn't a good caretaker. For that, he is irritated. His irritation heightens when Tix pulled away from him and began to graze as well; no doubt Niabi must've taught her some independent female lesson, or something. Eyes narrowing only a bit, Roscoe says not a word to the cow elk as he shook off his reddening coat, and turned on his hooves in order to leave. He didn't thank her, he didn't say a 'goodbye', he just began to walk off.
Honestly Niabi hasn't even had a chance to say a word to Tix about being less dependent on Roscoe, though that's certainly something she would and probably will do. More likely it's something that's rubbing off on the doe after spending so much time with her. "Is something wrong?" the she-elk asks when she sees the change in Roscoe's expression and how quickly he turns away. Not that she doesn't have a very good guess, but she'd like to hear it from him.
Perhaps he was overreacting. What difference did it make if Tix only showed him slight affection this time, as opposed to the other, gratuitous amounts of affection that she showed him previously? He didn't /need/ her affection at all, in fact. It was just a plus. With his head still held obnoxiously high and his ears twitching back and forth as he made his way out of the meadow that he didn't feel comfortable in anyway, the buck shot the elk a glance and forced a grin. "Of course not. Thank you for your.. help." he said, searching for the word at the end. It wasn't often he accepted the help of others, though in this case he had little choice.
Yes, it seems that everything Niabi said that started all this tension between the two of them clearly went in one ear and out the other. Well, she knows it's no use repeating any of that now. He's likely to learn it all the hard way at this rate, though not for lack of warning on her part. For a moment she's tempted to indicate that she knows full well that something bothered him, but instead she merely says, "You're very welcome. Tix has been very pleasant company." She doesn't want to detract from his newfound willingness to at least try and appear happy around her. Still, she has an expectant look on her face, as if believing that he has something more to say.
"Good." he said dully, but continued his walking. Even if the two weren't at each other's throats, this area was far too close to the man-made farm and barn. A good long walk away, but still too close. His eyes, ears, and nose ever alert, the Prince glanced back at Niabi with moderate interest. "I don't know what would've happened if you hadn't taken care of her." he said slowly and calmly, expressing his gratitude with as much dignity as he could. "Thanks, again."
Niabi nods to this second expression of thanks, but says nothing this time though her ears twitch thoughtfully. Roscoe clearly seems to be intent upon moving along, and she sees no reason why he shouldn't. And while she would like to mend their relationship, she's not about to take back anything, apologize, or do anything of that kind because it would be insincere; she said exactly what she meant, and she feels no differently about it now. But she's guessing that without that sort of measure it will simply take a lot of time. The elk turns and starts nibbling on some grass, done talking if the buck has nothing else to say.
The lack of response only somewhat surprises the buck, though he doesn't show it outwardly. Ears still flickering nervously, Roscoe does all he can to show no fear in the territory not far from the human world, and he does a marvelous job. It would take a member of his old herd to even somewhat recognize his instability, as he stands there with little to no emotion on his face. With a light sigh, his tail flicks as well and he continues to the south, away from the meadow. Though the grass here looks just fine, he passes it up. Surely there is better grass somewhere safer.
The relics of man do not bother Niabi. Well, they did when she first came to this area, but she has caught no sign of that terrifying species and she's questioned a few of the creatures that live near here, and all of them said the same thing: no sign of man. And an empty den is no threat and therefore nothing to be afraid of. Therefore her lack of fear is completely genuine. Despite being somewhat distracted by her grazing and unable to read Roscoe's expression right now, the moving ears catch her eye and the sigh doesn't go unnoticed. "Are you sure everything is okay?" she asks with an inquisitive tilt of her head, though she's unable to guess what he could be thinking about.
History making it so that the Prince wishes not to set foot even on the /land/ that the humans make their homes near, no form of comfort would make him stay in this area for very long. Though perhaps a small, short conversation with the elk wouldn't risk his safety too much. Ears flattening with his decision, he looked at the older female and nodded his head. "Everything is fine. Tix is well, and there are does in the area." he said rather roboticaly, as if he had no other concerns. The dark buck lifted his head towards the sky in order to catch another scent of the area and, the smell of man wasn't even nearby. His hooves settling in the hilly ground, he blinked and then otherwise just stood there.
Niabi has more than enough reason to fear man herself and she can rightly be accused of being overly cautious, but there's a difference between overreacting to an obviously real threat and overreacting to a possibly nonexistent threat. Besides, everything other than the closeness of the barn is pretty much perfect in this area. She allows a brief pause when Roscoe's done listing off everything he 'officially' cares about. "And?" she prompts, hoping that he's noticed that she's noticed that there's something more since she's asked the question twice now.
Days without much good rest have left Roscoe with little patience. Littler patience than usual. His eyes narrowing at the elk, a huff of breath is given and he shakes his pelt again. Dead, gray winter fur flying in a cloud about him, the buck steps back in order to avoid the stray hairs and chuckles. "And what?" he asked rhetorically, his voice losing it's calm demeanor and sounding rather like a young buck with an attitude problem.
Niabi is silent for a moment. What is it that she really wants to know? "Are you unhappy with Tix being here?" she finally ask, hazarding a guess as to what line of conversation might give her some answers. Hopefully she's somewhere near the mark so that she doesn't have to pry too much. She doesn't want to pry at all really, but Roscoe hasn't been acting like everything's alright and she'd like to know what it is in case there's something she should do about it.
The red stag's eyes fixated upon the cow elk for only a few more seconds, before his gaze shifted onto the sparse elm trees, the grass, the sky, anything but the fellow deer. There were plenty of things on Roscoe's mind, sure.. but he wasn't going to admit them to Niabi. In his mind, it showed weakness. He wasn't /supposed/ to be plagued with thoughts about lost affection, or about what the doe thought of him. He was royalty, and royal deer like himself were supposed to think only of others. Self sacrifice and apathy were virtues that the buck still needed to work on, it seemed. Shuffling his forelegs about in the grass for a moment, the male answered her question with a tilt of his head. "Of course not. She needed help and you helped her, but she doesn't belong here." he said with a serious tone, hopefully hinting on that he wanted Tix to return with him.
Ah, so she did hit near the mark! Or at least, Niabi thinks she did; what she doesn't know is that there are currently multiple things she could probably hit upon. She pauses another moment before asking another question, "Where /does/ she belong?" The elk is not trying to drop any hints about where she thinks Tix should belong, but Roscoe's answer seems to imply that he knows where the doe belongs and she's curious as to exactly where that might be.
Unfortunately for Niabi, Roscoe is wise to the cow elk's tricks. Answering that question the way it formed in his mind would only start another confrontation between the two differing species, and neither needed that at the moment. A coy grin forming on his maw and his ears perking in almost delight, he answered the question with a strange brightness that seemed quite sarcastic at best. "With those of her own kind." And of course, by 'own kind', he meant himself. Though, he wouldn't admit his fondness for the doe. Not intentionally, at least.
Look at how clever he thinks he is! Niabi would roll her eyes if she could have without being noticed. Her own demeanor is calm as she says the logical conclusion to that answer, "With her own kind, yes of course you're right. Ah, but there aren't very many of her own kind around here are there? At least, not together. In fact, I believe the only safe place she can be with her own kind is with you - so what you're really saying is that she belongs with you." Niabi pauses, her ears twisting a moment in thought. "But isn't it a bit improper for a doe to be wandering around with a buck this time of year?"
Staring at the cow in thought, the simple answer at first is a shrug. At least she admitted that Tix would be safe with him. It was then that the whitetail had a revelation of sorts.. why was he fighting this female on the issue? Was it really /that/ important that he put up a defensive front? He didn't have to admit anything to her, but he didn't have to be so ungrateful, either. After all, she did just save on of his does' lives. With a rather humble chuckle, Roscoe's ears relaxed and he took a step towards the larger elk. "Impropriety seems to be the norm around here," he began, with reference to the lack of a stable deer population, not of it's inhabitants- though it may of sounded that way, "Even if it's not the season for Tix and I to wander together, I have a responsibility to look after her."
Well, the buck would probably be disappointed if he knew just how safe Niabi believes that traveling with him is, but she doesn't want to stir up any more trouble. But she nods to Roscoe, "Yes, you do have that responsibility. Though to make sure that she's safe, you have to wander pretty widely, don't you? And through dangerous areas? It's difficult to travel with others and look out for predators at the same time. But I don't have to tell you that; surely you know as well as I all the advantages of the traditional system. But isn't it true that you'd be far more effective at protecting her if she had a safe place to be while you wander?"
"I have to search as far as I can in a day, though there will be times where I have to stay gone for days at a time." he began, his ears flickering here and there at the random noises of the forest. "Taking Tix with me proved to be a mistake in it's own. I don't think she'll be going with me again, but when I am gone, she stays in the glade. It's safe there." he said with a arch of his brow, recalling the fact that he hadn't payed much attention to his glade in a few days. Perhaps the safety of it needed to be re-checked, though in their previous stays there, no predators were sensed.
"The glade?" Oh yeah, she remembers the glade! "Yes, that was a very lovely place," Niabi comments, though she's not going to comment on the safety of it. She really doesn't know, actually, having never inspected the place properly. "Though that seems rather risky, don't you think?" she asks, but continues without waiting for a response, "Suppose a predator comes by while you're away? She has much more to fear than I do; I'm a good fighter and much bigger. Foxes, lynxes, bobcats - I don't fear any of those - but don't forget the cougars, wolves, coyotes... And she'd be all by herself..." Niabi turns to look of true concern at Roscoe, because she considers Tix a friend too. "There's just not enough deer around, really. There should be younger bucks to help you - a larger group for Tix..."
Trying hard as he can /not/ to be offended by the last statement, his eyes merely narrow and his ears flatten, but his tone stays apathetic. He really needed to work on his apathy, it seemed. Getting too involved with does was a bad idea. The species was polygamous, anyway. Really, any doe that exhibited a certain amount of pride and dignity was fair game for him. "The glade is perfectly safe, there haven't been any wolves, cougars, nor coyotes there in weeks." he stated, his tone monotonous and dull. "And I don't need any help from younger bucks. Most of them are half-witted, rut-minded whelps anyway."
Uh-oh, she's losing him! And after she'd brought him so close to seeing her point, too. "Oh, but you know how lone wolves and the like are," Niabi quickly adds, "They wander where they do /because/ no others of their kind are around. Cougars are like that as well; you never know where they'll turn up. It's the same for many predators. All I'm trying to say is that it's a risky thing at best; and not due to any failing on your part, by the way. If you were all she needed to be safe, then your kind would live in pairs, not in herds."
Truthfully, the Prince knew exactly what she was saying, and she certainly did have a point. Herd animals such as themselves needed numbers for their survival. But when there are very little numbers to speak of.. they had to make do somehow. And if Tix was going to endanger herself further by accompanying Roscoe on his journeys.. then she would have to stay behind. "I didn't necessarily mean that she had to stay with me, permanently.." he said rather quietly, "I appreciate your concern, Niabi." With a smile, the buck finally appeared fully relaxed, the tension that built up at the mention of another buck subsiding very quickly. "You've done a fine job of protecting her, and I need someone to rely on for that.. but I would like her to come back to the glade for at least a day or so." The buck still hadn't apologized to the doe for his aggression, after all.
It takes a moment of ear-twisting thought before Niabi nods to Roscoe's words. Well, he seems to have finally gotten what she's trying to say at least. "You're my friends," she says simply, "And you know that if Tix is here, she's every bit as safe as she would be with you. But in any case, it would help." And perhaps other does would be more inclined to stay with him if they had a safer situation to be in, but Niabi isn't going to mention that since she's already brought up Roscoe's luck with does too often. "And of course I'm not going to object to you taking her for another visit to the glade; that's none of my business. Though I recommend waiting a few days - we don't want her to put too much stress on her leg too fast. She could reinjure herself easily."
Much to the surprise of the buck, it seemed that getting along with someone who could potentially help his tiny herd and himself was much better than arguing with them over petty personal matters. Personal matters that neither of them would budge on, to boot. A neverending war between the two was senseless. Finally, he figured it out. With another slow, dignified nod of his head, the Prince listened to Niabi's words carefully. Everything made sense, even if he /did/ want to get Tix back to the glade and apologize as soon as possible. From the sight of her leg, she was improving but still needed time to gain confidence in her agility again. The last thing that either the elk nor the male whitetail needed was for her leg to get worse. It was spring after all, and predators of the canine variety especially would be on the lookout for young or injured prey in order to feed their offspring. "If you think it's best." he said calmly, and grinned.
It doesn't surprise Niabi at all that they can get along and disagree at the same time. How many friends does she have strong differences of opinions with? The problem this time is that one side of the difference of opinion got really, really angry about it. But Niabi is the kind of creature that is hard to not like for too long because it's hard to dislike someone who is extremely obvious about how they only want what's best for you, even if she /does/ make the occasional misstep. Smiling back, Niabi comments, "This is actually the hardest part of recovering from something like this; Tix probably feels really good since she's almost better, and it'll be easy for her to forget that she needs to be careful. I've done that a couple times myself." She gives Roscoe a wry grin, as if admitting that she's a rebel.
Just another area where the two differ. Unlike Niabi, who can befriend people with vastly opposing opinions of her own, Roscoe was never granted with that gift. Born and raised under a very clear set of beliefs and morals, his solitary arrival in this area filled with things that were against his ideals was quite frustrating to the male. However, he had finally come to terms with the old 'if you can't beat 'em, join 'em' ideology, and had so far enjoyed it. Again he listens to what the older female has to say, and again she sounds as if she is correct. He has to trust her here, for he has no knowledge of medicine at all. With a blink, he takes in the information. "I hope that she hasn't gained too much trust in that leg of hers yet, then.." he says, and glances over at the area in which the doe was grazing. Caring a good deal for the female. the last thing that he wanted would be to encourage her to rush her healing.. even if that had been his intention previously. A glance back is given toward Niabi, and a chuckle is shared with her at her last comment.
"Oh, don't you worry," Niabi says reassuringly, "When I promised to keep her safe, that includes keeping her safe from herself. If she so much as prances before her leg is ready..." She chuckles as she leaves the threat open-ended. She pauses for a moment before she says, "You know... I know it's unorthodox, but perhaps you and Tix should be official - join my herd. I mean, it would be /our/ herd. You're both my friends, and it would mean a lot to me." And perhaps that just goes to show how little Niabi lets the differences between herself and Roscoe change her opinion of him.
The chuckle continues on as Niabi reassures the Prince that she will indeed keep his doe safe. It does much to help him relax, and his mind surely will dwingle on later about the other buck that he now had to deal with, as well as his neverending search for more deer; does and bucks alike. Though he obviously preferred the female company. The dark buck was brought back from his thoughts at the mention of a herd, though this time it was different. She had offered Tix and himself membership into the elk herd, which baffled him, to say the least. Saying nothing, he quirked a brow with a smirk, almost as if he thought it was a joke. "You're.. joking, right?" he asked with a nervous laugh tossed in at the end of his sentence. His ears perked forward, his laughter came to a halt. "An elk.. and whitetail herd?"
Niabi can't help but laugh at the buck's reaction to her suggestion. "No, I'm being serious," she says with a grin, "I mean, three cow elk is hardly more of a proper herd than one doe and one buck. They're both too small. Together - well, it's still too small, but it's better. Safety in numbers." Of course, the logistics of working with two different species with different habits and such would probably make things complicated, she's sure they could work things out. After all, she's sure that the five of them will get along well enough.
A strange look is planted on the buck's face.. one of confusion, and comedic confusion at that. One brow raised, one ear perked, the other back, a hoof raised.. it's all quite un-Roscoe-esque. Thinking it over for a minute, he has to correct her on her statistics. "There is more than just Tix and myself.. I just have to find them again." he said with a heavy sigh. It wasn't /his/ fault they ran off.. silly adolescents and their wandering, he supposed. The Prince gave it one final think over, and grinned. "Alright." he said simply, and perked his ears up. Turning around, he flicked his tail and looked back at Niabi. "We'll see how it goes.. but I'm wasting precious daylight. There are plenty of areas that need to be searched today. Thank you again for all of your help." he said rather happily, and with a skip in his step the male faded off into the southern woods, for another day of scouring the land for whitetails.
Niabi has to suppress her amusement a couple times as Roscoe reacts to her words, mostly to his expression and when he says, "find them again." She'd think that after all of his doe problems that he might start to think that it might be something to do with /him/, but no. And this would be the exact wrong time to laugh about it too. Instead she says, "We'd be happy to welcome them when you find them, I'm sure." She's never met a whitetail she didn't like, though admittedly she hasn't met a very large number of whitetails yet and she's only gotten to know a couple of them very well. "You're welcome," she replies when he excuses himself. When he's out of sight, a pleased smile crosses her face as she goes to tell her herdmates the good news.