Post by Mythri on Jul 18, 2009 16:58:06 GMT -5
Cast:
Mythri, adolescent female cougar
Kein, adult male cougar
Scene:
It's been a long several days for Mythri, traveling southeast toward the mountain. The threat of being overtaken by her vengeful father had made the hours crawl past, as danger seemed to lurk behind every tree and rock and bush. Sleep was scarce, and hunting even less of a success; there's nothing more frightening than being a predator.. while being hunted by another as well. Finally here in these woods, to the south of the beautiful lake, Mythri has been victorious in her hunt. A large rabbit lies in front of her now, bloody and making the young cougaress' stomach growl. With one last cautious look around, she leans her head down and begins eating.
Kein has not had a pleasant time since he saw that wolf out of his territory. He hasn't managed to find Ashen, at least not yet. While that might be a very good thing for the missing cub, since it means Kein won't be tearing him to pieces for causing so much trouble, it's not good for Kein. Though he's certain that, if Ashen is gone from the territory, it is not to the north, he is here, walking through the trees that are really beginning to bloom. His pawsteps are far from silent as he walks on the drying leaves from last autumn. He's not trying to be silent. He's /trying/ to look for his mate, and the last he saw her, she was heading to the northern parts of the territory.
It's surprising that she hasn't run into any other cougars thus far. Mythri has certainly noticed the scents of her kind here and there, but has always done her best to stay undetected and hidden as much as possible. Even now, as she feeds, her senses are on high alert, ears perked and swiveling to every hint of noise, nose trying to filter any new scents despite the strong smell of blood from her meal. Her tail lashes behind her, though her soft growl is satisfied and content. Revan taught her well, and she can be proud of a skilled kill, even if she can't enjoy it in peace without having to be paranoid about her surroundings.
As Kein continues to draw nearer, he catches the sound of the contented growling, as well as the smell of blood. And, moments after that, there is the smell of an unfamiliar cougaress. Times past, he would have overlooked this. He probably even would have actively avoided the strange cougaress, for fear that she was a Sister who had no desire to see him. Now, though... Even if he weren't convinced that he must know all of Amaranth's members, by now, with current circumstances being what they are, he simply /can't/ ignore some stranger hunting on his land, and so he alters his path to take him more directly toward the faint sounds and equally faint
Were she concentrating more on her meal and less on her surroundings, it's entirely possible that Mythri would not have heard the faint crunch of paws on leaves and what's left of the winter's snow. She still can't smell anything but fresh blood, but her ears give her enough warning; a thrill of adrenaline rushes through her body. Those pawsteps sound frighteningly familiar: there's a large creature walking toward her, and the only creature heavy enough to sound like that, so far as she knows, is an adult cougar. But why would her father be so careless in his approach? Unless he /wanted/ her to know he was coming... With a shiver, Mythri moves away from her kill, slinking into the undergrowth as she tries to keep from letting the adrenaline take control of her body. It's difficult, but it's something she's practiced. Ironic, yes, that she's been able to elude her father so far, largely in part due to everything that he taught her so very well.
Were her father anyone but Revan, Kein might have heard that retreat. Very few animals as trained to move quite so steathfully. She cannot avoid leaving a scent trail, though... And Kein fully intends to follow it, upon arriving at the recent kill and finding no one there. Maybe he should just let her go. She ran away. All the same, he approaches the dead rabbit, to smell at it and determine what direction the creature who killed it took.
It's not her father. It's not any other cougar she knows, though that's not surprising given her rather.. solitary upbringing. Keen eyes watch the male come closer and closer, both to her freshkill and to her hiding place. Ears slick back and hackles raise as it seems as though this stranger is going to take /her/ food! Mythri might be younger and smaller, but she /earned/ that prey, and no other cougar is going to take it away from her! With a savage snarl, bordering on a scream, the adolescent charges from her hiding place in the undergrowth, claws unsheathed and fangs bared. That food is /hers/!
Mythri has the element of surprise... Or, did, before that snarl. Kein's head snaps up, and as, from the corner of his eye, he spots a young cougar leaping towards him, he leaps forward, attempting to get out of the way of those claws and teeth. It's not enough to save him completely. Indeed, it's not even enough to prevent him from being knocked over, if she hits him hard enough. It will, however, hopefully provide him with time to react to whatever she intends to do next, and prevent her from directing those claws or teeth to his neck or face.
Her father always warned her about assumptions in combat. Perhaps it's the fact that she's now fighting an unknown opponent, in unknown territory, and apparently a cougar who's not afraid of her as she crashes into the feline she assumed would have evaded or fled. Mythri might be a little better prepared for the impact than the male, but she's still caught off-guard and doesn't get a chance to use her claws or fangs, but does manage to absorb most of the impact with her shoulder before rolling off to the side. Falling and tumbling are something she does well, and it's a showcase of her agility that brings her back up on her paws, tail lashing as she gives another snarl, but this time chooses to pause and observe, waiting for the stranger to potentially reveal a weakness in his reaction to her.
Kein's feet are knocked from under him, but he immediate rolls back to them, spinning to face the cougaress in time to see her stand. Growling loudly, he advances one crouched-step towards her. As she was before she leapt for him, she remains between Kein and the rest of Amaranth, and that is never a safe place for any stranger to be. He has no intention of talking before he has eliminated this threat to his tribe. His teeth are bared as he growls, but he does not rush to her. Not with her looking right at him, prepared to counter any such rush with a potentially blinding attack to his face.
How would this strange male fare in combat against her father? It only takes a few seconds of sizing him up before Mythri is fairly certain of his strengths and weaknesses. But it begs the question: does she /want/ to fight him? Does she /need/ to fight him? The rabbit carcass on the ground is a resounding /yes/. "Leave my food alone, and I /might/ let you live another day." The accompanying snarl leaves no doubt as to the sincerity /and/ severity of her threat. She IS going to get her food back, and if bloodshed is required, then so be it.
"You dare threaten me on /my/ land?" No doubt, Kein is not a learned a fighter as Revan or even the young Mythri, but he is much larger than Mythri, and he has something much more valuable to him than a rabbit should be to any predator. His family. Mythri may be willing to fight for her meal, but Kein is willing to /die/ in the process of keeping his family safe. He always has been, and he's quite certain that even if any such fight were to lead to his death, he could take this cougaress with him.
/His/ land? Suddenly, Mythri looks a bit uncertain. It's one thing to fight over food, but.. now apparently as a trespasser, she's left at a disadvantage. She /did/ get a few bites in, at least enough to tide her over until she can get away from here and hunt again. "Just.. let me have my food, and I'll leave your lands." Tail lashes. Claws flex. Muscles quiver in anticipation. She's pretty, but she's also quite defensive right now. Not to mention still hungry.
"I was never going to take 'your' food." Though, by rights, since it is on his land, and she /isn't/ a member of his land, it's /Kein's/ food, to do with as he pleases. Even so, he begins to move off to the side slightly, at the same time that he moves forward. Keeping an even distance from her, his primary goal in circling her, as he is, is to place himself between her and the majority of Amaranth... And, also, allow her to get to her food without going through him. Sure, he could take it from her without feeling guilt over it. She poached it from his land. He really doesn't think her catch is worth fighting over, though. It'd be much easier for him to just catch his own rabbit, if that's what he wanted.
As the stranger circles, Mythri allows herself to do the same. Her eyes never leave the male's, watching for any subtle hint of deception or preparation on his part. There doesn't seem to be any, and as she reaches the carcass again, she lowers her head a little, gritting her teeth at her own hint of submission to the older male. Aside from his seeming initial interest in her catch, he's done nothing against her, so why fight? Her paws surround the dead hare as she stands over top of it now, no longer baring her fangs. Ears remain slicked back though, and her eyes are still wary and just shy of hostile.
She has her prey now. And, given what she said, just moments ago... "Well?" You /said/ you were leaving? Kein never looks away from her. The cougar may be young. Clearly not yet an adult. She can catch food for herself, though... And she's unpleasant. She attacked him, and he will /not/ allow a situation to occur where one of the others in Amaranth could get curious about her only to wind up getting attacked.
"So this does not happen again, what territory do you claim?" Mythri's voice is not quite a growl, and definitely not a snarl anymore, but there's still an enormous amount of wariness present. She starts to lean down to grab at the carcass, but decides to wait until she's entirely sure that she's not going to be attacked at a moment of distraction. There's nothing in this male's demeanor or presence that suggests that he's not above that, and she's not going to be foolish enough to make such a potentially fatal mistake.
Kein has absolutely no intention of attacking this cougaress... Unless she does something foolish, like tearing off into deeper Amaranth. "This, and the whole of the mountain south of here, is Amaranth." Of course, if she would, say, pay attention to scent markings, she wouldn't have this problem. Perhaps he /should/ do as he told Solace he would, and make more of an effort to mark their border in a way that could be seen instead of smelled.
His land. This mountain is Amaranth. /Oh/ great. Mythri's eyes widen as realization sinks in, and she can't help but look a little sheepish while still trying to maintain her defensive and confident demeanor. "You are... these lands, the Amaranth lands, are yours?" She remembers well what her father taught her about the mountain tribe; it's precisely what she's been seeking, and now to find it like this... definitely /not/ a good beginning.
She has heard of them? Cautiously, Kein says, "They are. Why?" Who is to say that Cheveyo hasn't recruited some young female to come here and sacrifice herself? Or that this isn't one of his unknown family members, as Aylin was? One thing that does not occur to him is the truth, that this female is somehow associated with Revan or Malak. Cheveyo seems the more immediate threat, right now... And Azriel has been the most lasting.
It's entirely possible that the male might detect the scent of Revan on her, faint yet noticeable. It's also entirely possible that he might not, and that would be quite fine with Mythri. If this is the chieftain her father spoke about, then it's his mate that her father nearly... Tilting her chin up slightly, the young adolescent speaks slowly, confidently, and with the hostility slowly leaving her voice. "I wish to live here, in Amaranth. I understand that it is open to any female who wishes to move here." Of course, her source for that information might very well be wrong, but with everything else that he taught her, Revan did seem to be remarkably correct about most everything.
She wants to /live/ here? After that display?! "It is not open to /any/ female who wants to live here. Females who might attack the other members of Amaranth, for instance..." So what that she didn't know who he was, at that time? He has not smelled Revan on her. If he had, her staying here would be out of the question, at least today. As it is, he at least gives her an opportunity to apologize, or promise it won't happen again, or whatever else she might think would convince him to let her stay.
There's no mistaking the surprise on Mythri's face; she was never trained at disguising her expression, after all. Not open to any females? But.. surely.. This must be because of her hostility a moment ago, right? She studies the male carefully, trying to decide how truthful he's being right now. It doesn't look like he's going to change his mind, and she certainly isn't going to /beg/, so.. she'll have to think about how to deal with this complication. Assuming her father doesn't find her in the meantime, of course. With a grimace, she leans down, grabs the partially eaten rabbit with perhaps a /bit/ of irritation, and begins to back away from the male. There's no way she'll turn her back on him, not until she's far enough away to consider herself safe.
Not the slightest attempt at an apology. No promise that this will be the last attack on an Amaranth cougar. As such, Kein is not at all upset when she begins to back away. Neither does he grow frustrated with her taking his time, behaving cautiously, though. He wishes her no harm, truly... And her caution will serve her well, outside of Amaranth.
Why would she apologize? She was defending her food, nothing more. The fact that it was on Amaranth territory is irrelevant. It was still /her/ food. The taste of warm meat in her maw provides a little extra motivation to hurry away from this adult cougar so she can finally finish the rest of her meal. Now several yards away, Mythri finally turns, tail lashing, and begins to trot off, back toward the north, toward the lake. Hopefully she won't be bothered there, and at least the scenery will be a little nicer. A shimmering waterfall, rather than a scowling male. Okay, so she was trespassing, and.. yes.. she did attack him, but.. still. She was told that Amaranth was /open/ to females needing a home. She'll figure out how to get in, one way or another. Time to brainstorm. Several moments later, the pretty form of Mythri has all but disappeared from sight.
Mythri, adolescent female cougar
Kein, adult male cougar
Scene:
It's been a long several days for Mythri, traveling southeast toward the mountain. The threat of being overtaken by her vengeful father had made the hours crawl past, as danger seemed to lurk behind every tree and rock and bush. Sleep was scarce, and hunting even less of a success; there's nothing more frightening than being a predator.. while being hunted by another as well. Finally here in these woods, to the south of the beautiful lake, Mythri has been victorious in her hunt. A large rabbit lies in front of her now, bloody and making the young cougaress' stomach growl. With one last cautious look around, she leans her head down and begins eating.
Kein has not had a pleasant time since he saw that wolf out of his territory. He hasn't managed to find Ashen, at least not yet. While that might be a very good thing for the missing cub, since it means Kein won't be tearing him to pieces for causing so much trouble, it's not good for Kein. Though he's certain that, if Ashen is gone from the territory, it is not to the north, he is here, walking through the trees that are really beginning to bloom. His pawsteps are far from silent as he walks on the drying leaves from last autumn. He's not trying to be silent. He's /trying/ to look for his mate, and the last he saw her, she was heading to the northern parts of the territory.
It's surprising that she hasn't run into any other cougars thus far. Mythri has certainly noticed the scents of her kind here and there, but has always done her best to stay undetected and hidden as much as possible. Even now, as she feeds, her senses are on high alert, ears perked and swiveling to every hint of noise, nose trying to filter any new scents despite the strong smell of blood from her meal. Her tail lashes behind her, though her soft growl is satisfied and content. Revan taught her well, and she can be proud of a skilled kill, even if she can't enjoy it in peace without having to be paranoid about her surroundings.
As Kein continues to draw nearer, he catches the sound of the contented growling, as well as the smell of blood. And, moments after that, there is the smell of an unfamiliar cougaress. Times past, he would have overlooked this. He probably even would have actively avoided the strange cougaress, for fear that she was a Sister who had no desire to see him. Now, though... Even if he weren't convinced that he must know all of Amaranth's members, by now, with current circumstances being what they are, he simply /can't/ ignore some stranger hunting on his land, and so he alters his path to take him more directly toward the faint sounds and equally faint
Were she concentrating more on her meal and less on her surroundings, it's entirely possible that Mythri would not have heard the faint crunch of paws on leaves and what's left of the winter's snow. She still can't smell anything but fresh blood, but her ears give her enough warning; a thrill of adrenaline rushes through her body. Those pawsteps sound frighteningly familiar: there's a large creature walking toward her, and the only creature heavy enough to sound like that, so far as she knows, is an adult cougar. But why would her father be so careless in his approach? Unless he /wanted/ her to know he was coming... With a shiver, Mythri moves away from her kill, slinking into the undergrowth as she tries to keep from letting the adrenaline take control of her body. It's difficult, but it's something she's practiced. Ironic, yes, that she's been able to elude her father so far, largely in part due to everything that he taught her so very well.
Were her father anyone but Revan, Kein might have heard that retreat. Very few animals as trained to move quite so steathfully. She cannot avoid leaving a scent trail, though... And Kein fully intends to follow it, upon arriving at the recent kill and finding no one there. Maybe he should just let her go. She ran away. All the same, he approaches the dead rabbit, to smell at it and determine what direction the creature who killed it took.
It's not her father. It's not any other cougar she knows, though that's not surprising given her rather.. solitary upbringing. Keen eyes watch the male come closer and closer, both to her freshkill and to her hiding place. Ears slick back and hackles raise as it seems as though this stranger is going to take /her/ food! Mythri might be younger and smaller, but she /earned/ that prey, and no other cougar is going to take it away from her! With a savage snarl, bordering on a scream, the adolescent charges from her hiding place in the undergrowth, claws unsheathed and fangs bared. That food is /hers/!
Mythri has the element of surprise... Or, did, before that snarl. Kein's head snaps up, and as, from the corner of his eye, he spots a young cougar leaping towards him, he leaps forward, attempting to get out of the way of those claws and teeth. It's not enough to save him completely. Indeed, it's not even enough to prevent him from being knocked over, if she hits him hard enough. It will, however, hopefully provide him with time to react to whatever she intends to do next, and prevent her from directing those claws or teeth to his neck or face.
Her father always warned her about assumptions in combat. Perhaps it's the fact that she's now fighting an unknown opponent, in unknown territory, and apparently a cougar who's not afraid of her as she crashes into the feline she assumed would have evaded or fled. Mythri might be a little better prepared for the impact than the male, but she's still caught off-guard and doesn't get a chance to use her claws or fangs, but does manage to absorb most of the impact with her shoulder before rolling off to the side. Falling and tumbling are something she does well, and it's a showcase of her agility that brings her back up on her paws, tail lashing as she gives another snarl, but this time chooses to pause and observe, waiting for the stranger to potentially reveal a weakness in his reaction to her.
Kein's feet are knocked from under him, but he immediate rolls back to them, spinning to face the cougaress in time to see her stand. Growling loudly, he advances one crouched-step towards her. As she was before she leapt for him, she remains between Kein and the rest of Amaranth, and that is never a safe place for any stranger to be. He has no intention of talking before he has eliminated this threat to his tribe. His teeth are bared as he growls, but he does not rush to her. Not with her looking right at him, prepared to counter any such rush with a potentially blinding attack to his face.
How would this strange male fare in combat against her father? It only takes a few seconds of sizing him up before Mythri is fairly certain of his strengths and weaknesses. But it begs the question: does she /want/ to fight him? Does she /need/ to fight him? The rabbit carcass on the ground is a resounding /yes/. "Leave my food alone, and I /might/ let you live another day." The accompanying snarl leaves no doubt as to the sincerity /and/ severity of her threat. She IS going to get her food back, and if bloodshed is required, then so be it.
"You dare threaten me on /my/ land?" No doubt, Kein is not a learned a fighter as Revan or even the young Mythri, but he is much larger than Mythri, and he has something much more valuable to him than a rabbit should be to any predator. His family. Mythri may be willing to fight for her meal, but Kein is willing to /die/ in the process of keeping his family safe. He always has been, and he's quite certain that even if any such fight were to lead to his death, he could take this cougaress with him.
/His/ land? Suddenly, Mythri looks a bit uncertain. It's one thing to fight over food, but.. now apparently as a trespasser, she's left at a disadvantage. She /did/ get a few bites in, at least enough to tide her over until she can get away from here and hunt again. "Just.. let me have my food, and I'll leave your lands." Tail lashes. Claws flex. Muscles quiver in anticipation. She's pretty, but she's also quite defensive right now. Not to mention still hungry.
"I was never going to take 'your' food." Though, by rights, since it is on his land, and she /isn't/ a member of his land, it's /Kein's/ food, to do with as he pleases. Even so, he begins to move off to the side slightly, at the same time that he moves forward. Keeping an even distance from her, his primary goal in circling her, as he is, is to place himself between her and the majority of Amaranth... And, also, allow her to get to her food without going through him. Sure, he could take it from her without feeling guilt over it. She poached it from his land. He really doesn't think her catch is worth fighting over, though. It'd be much easier for him to just catch his own rabbit, if that's what he wanted.
As the stranger circles, Mythri allows herself to do the same. Her eyes never leave the male's, watching for any subtle hint of deception or preparation on his part. There doesn't seem to be any, and as she reaches the carcass again, she lowers her head a little, gritting her teeth at her own hint of submission to the older male. Aside from his seeming initial interest in her catch, he's done nothing against her, so why fight? Her paws surround the dead hare as she stands over top of it now, no longer baring her fangs. Ears remain slicked back though, and her eyes are still wary and just shy of hostile.
She has her prey now. And, given what she said, just moments ago... "Well?" You /said/ you were leaving? Kein never looks away from her. The cougar may be young. Clearly not yet an adult. She can catch food for herself, though... And she's unpleasant. She attacked him, and he will /not/ allow a situation to occur where one of the others in Amaranth could get curious about her only to wind up getting attacked.
"So this does not happen again, what territory do you claim?" Mythri's voice is not quite a growl, and definitely not a snarl anymore, but there's still an enormous amount of wariness present. She starts to lean down to grab at the carcass, but decides to wait until she's entirely sure that she's not going to be attacked at a moment of distraction. There's nothing in this male's demeanor or presence that suggests that he's not above that, and she's not going to be foolish enough to make such a potentially fatal mistake.
Kein has absolutely no intention of attacking this cougaress... Unless she does something foolish, like tearing off into deeper Amaranth. "This, and the whole of the mountain south of here, is Amaranth." Of course, if she would, say, pay attention to scent markings, she wouldn't have this problem. Perhaps he /should/ do as he told Solace he would, and make more of an effort to mark their border in a way that could be seen instead of smelled.
His land. This mountain is Amaranth. /Oh/ great. Mythri's eyes widen as realization sinks in, and she can't help but look a little sheepish while still trying to maintain her defensive and confident demeanor. "You are... these lands, the Amaranth lands, are yours?" She remembers well what her father taught her about the mountain tribe; it's precisely what she's been seeking, and now to find it like this... definitely /not/ a good beginning.
She has heard of them? Cautiously, Kein says, "They are. Why?" Who is to say that Cheveyo hasn't recruited some young female to come here and sacrifice herself? Or that this isn't one of his unknown family members, as Aylin was? One thing that does not occur to him is the truth, that this female is somehow associated with Revan or Malak. Cheveyo seems the more immediate threat, right now... And Azriel has been the most lasting.
It's entirely possible that the male might detect the scent of Revan on her, faint yet noticeable. It's also entirely possible that he might not, and that would be quite fine with Mythri. If this is the chieftain her father spoke about, then it's his mate that her father nearly... Tilting her chin up slightly, the young adolescent speaks slowly, confidently, and with the hostility slowly leaving her voice. "I wish to live here, in Amaranth. I understand that it is open to any female who wishes to move here." Of course, her source for that information might very well be wrong, but with everything else that he taught her, Revan did seem to be remarkably correct about most everything.
She wants to /live/ here? After that display?! "It is not open to /any/ female who wants to live here. Females who might attack the other members of Amaranth, for instance..." So what that she didn't know who he was, at that time? He has not smelled Revan on her. If he had, her staying here would be out of the question, at least today. As it is, he at least gives her an opportunity to apologize, or promise it won't happen again, or whatever else she might think would convince him to let her stay.
There's no mistaking the surprise on Mythri's face; she was never trained at disguising her expression, after all. Not open to any females? But.. surely.. This must be because of her hostility a moment ago, right? She studies the male carefully, trying to decide how truthful he's being right now. It doesn't look like he's going to change his mind, and she certainly isn't going to /beg/, so.. she'll have to think about how to deal with this complication. Assuming her father doesn't find her in the meantime, of course. With a grimace, she leans down, grabs the partially eaten rabbit with perhaps a /bit/ of irritation, and begins to back away from the male. There's no way she'll turn her back on him, not until she's far enough away to consider herself safe.
Not the slightest attempt at an apology. No promise that this will be the last attack on an Amaranth cougar. As such, Kein is not at all upset when she begins to back away. Neither does he grow frustrated with her taking his time, behaving cautiously, though. He wishes her no harm, truly... And her caution will serve her well, outside of Amaranth.
Why would she apologize? She was defending her food, nothing more. The fact that it was on Amaranth territory is irrelevant. It was still /her/ food. The taste of warm meat in her maw provides a little extra motivation to hurry away from this adult cougar so she can finally finish the rest of her meal. Now several yards away, Mythri finally turns, tail lashing, and begins to trot off, back toward the north, toward the lake. Hopefully she won't be bothered there, and at least the scenery will be a little nicer. A shimmering waterfall, rather than a scowling male. Okay, so she was trespassing, and.. yes.. she did attack him, but.. still. She was told that Amaranth was /open/ to females needing a home. She'll figure out how to get in, one way or another. Time to brainstorm. Several moments later, the pretty form of Mythri has all but disappeared from sight.