Post by Mythri on Jul 21, 2009 19:57:02 GMT -5
Cast:
Mythri, adolescent female cougar
Kein, adult male cougar
Scene:
Nowhere in particular. Just.. far enough away that she can have some time alone to herself. Time to think. Time to collect herself. And, most importantly, time to reorient herself and her future plans. Now that she's free of her responsibility to deliver the apology, there really isn't any other burden to worry about. Mythri is quite sure that she'll pick up additional responsibilities, whether deliberately given to her by Kein or Nayeli, or intentionally chosen herself. Regardless, she'll enjoy being able to rest for now, not having to worry about anything. That doesn't mean she won't be thinking; especially after what happened back there, she'll have quite a bit to think about. But there's no goal or mission or objective she has to keep foremost in her mind. She's free, now. Free to do exactly what she's doing now: lounging up in a low-hanging tree branch, tail curling idly beneath the limb as she breathes slowly, easily. Relaxed, mmm. Her eyes are barely open, though her ears are keenly listening to her surroundings. Even at rest, habits kick in.
If Kein would have known that apologizing was the reason why Mythri wanted to speak to Nayeli, would he have agreed to let Mythri anywhere near Nayeli? No. Absolutly not. As he tracks Mythri, he does not really try to hide his presence. What anger he feels, now, is... Artificial. Months ago, it would have been very real simply because something /could/ have gone wrong. Nayeli /could/ have been terribly upset at being reminded of her encounter with Revan. Now, though, because it did not go wrong, at least not so far as Kein knows... He just can't feel the anger he knows he should, the anger that drives him to keep his mate both physically and emotionally safe. As Mythri's scent grows stronger, Kein's approach slows. He's not within sight of her yet, and even when he is, he might not see her absolutely immediately, because she is up in a tree, but he's close.
His scent hasn't reached her quite yet, but Mythri finds herself aware of the male's approach. Ears, already perked and listening, strain for any indications as to the identity of the newcomer. The only thing she can make out is that it's definitely another cougar. Either that or it's another very large animal that she wasn't aware existed here on the mountain. Could it be Cael? The chances that he would find her unintentionally or accidentally this soon after the earlier incident are next to nothing. Either he's tracking her, or it's not Cael. It could be one of the other cougaresses who inhabit this land, and although she's not entirely looking forward to it, Mythri realizes that she'll have to meet them all eventually, and now might as well be as good a time as any. Probably isn't Nayeli, as Myth highly doubts that she'd be willing to leave her newly-born cubs like that. Kein? Maybe if he stumbled across her scent trail and decided to come find her. But what for? Meh. All she wanted to do was relax. Whoever it might be, Mythri doesn't look terribly pleased, and honestly doesn't care. Just get this over with quickly and leave her alone, and she'll do her best not to be too irritable.
Kein's first indication that Mythri is probably nearby is the strength of her scent. He stops walking, but it is several more moments before he spots first the tail that hangs down below the low branch, then the rest of the very fun cougaress. Well. Wanting nothing more than to get this over with quickly, he calls out to her, "Can you come down here, please?" Despite the wording, it's more of a command than a request. His tone sounds obviously impatient, and there is a definite forced quality to the final word. A lot of it is just posturing. He is not quite as displeased as he sounds, but his efforts at manufacturing his anger have paid off some.
It's.. Kein. Meh. It's not that Mythri has anything in particular against the tribe's chieftain, or any reason to dislike him--it's more the fact that he's obviously here for a deliberate reason that sours her mood. And yes, it would seem her suspicion was entirely justified, as the male's somewhat irritated-sounding summons is no doubt the precursor to his lecture on his being upset at her recent actions. Sigh. With a tight-lipped grimace, she slowly rises to her feet and then jumps down with a mixture of casualness and gracefulness that doesn't quite match up with the expression on her face. Guarded and perhaps a little bit uneasy as well. Definitely not pleased. Nobody likes lectures, and Mythri is no exception. Does she even need to say anything? No doubt the male will speak what's on his mind with no prompting from her. Introductions and pleasantries definitely are not on the conversational agenda. No... Mythri is going to remain silent, at least until words are demanded from her. An explanation, no doubt.
On the way here, Kein decided to keep this short. Hopefully, that plan will remain. "You know... A lot of cougaresses come here to escape their past. When you and I last talked, I assumed the same of you." It was an easy thing to assume. Despite her father's obvious hatred for them, she came here, specifically. "So you can imagine my surprise when I found out that you were seeking out my mate to deliberately bring up a past that wasn't even yours. A past that was a very painful time for many of us here in Amaranth." Not all of the anger with the final couple sentences is false anger. It would be... Well, rather like Kein deciding to suddenly apologize because Kasim executed Chesmu, or Nayeli deciding to suddenly apologize because Chesmu raped and murdered Maulisho. Why drag up those feelings, why upset someone, simply to apologize for something that was never your fault?
Perhaps, given Mythri's rather unusual background, it's her rather unusual way of expressing her distance from her father. Or, perhaps it's something entirely different. "I never came here to escape my past." Mythri can't quite hide the note of confusion in her voice, wondering where the chieftain got such an idea, but her tone is still guarded. "And if I was mistaken in assuming that your mate--" As in, not /you/. "--would appreciate an apology on her attacker's behalf, then.. well.. I won't make that mistake again." Mythri's tail twitches behind her, close to all-out lashing. Anything else he might feel the need to bother her about? Maybe this is just his roundabout way of admonishing her for talking to his mate in the first place. Without him there.
"And I'm sure the cougar on whose behalf you were apologizing was quite sincere in wanting that apology to be passed along, yes?" Kein doubts that, and regardless, Revan has done nothing to earn forgiveness. "So you risked upsetting my mate for, what? A bunch of words that were empty, meaningless?" It isn't that Kein doesn't understand what Mythri was trying to do, at least to some degree.
With no small trace of sarcasm in her voice, Mythri retorts, "And I'm sure the cougaress on whose behalf you're speaking for was quite sincere in wanting this criticism to be passed along, yes?" Did Nayeli really send Kein here to berate her for the earlier incident? Perhaps. But her demeanor at the time didn't seem to suggest that she was upset with Mythri. Maybe a little confused, as her mate here no doubt is, but not... angry.. displeased.. irritated. Not like Kein seems to be. Let this male call her words 'empty' and 'meaningless'. She wasn't apologizing to /him/, anyway. Her tail lashes again, and her lips press into that tight grimace again.
"It is my /job/ to protect my mate." Again, not all of the anger is false. "It is /not/ your job to be your father's defender. Not here." Had she just accepted what he said, realize how what she did could have gone wrong, and expressed a willingness to /think/ before she goes off to say whatever she wants to someone, next time, this would be over already. Kein would have let it go, because no harm seemed to have come from it. "If you cannot accept that, then it is best for all of us that you move on. Do I make myself clear?" Is he using his Angry Father voice? Yes. Very much so. But if she is going to remain, he is quite obviously going to have to make sure that his authority is not to be questioned. Not by Mythri.
"I am not my father's defender!" Far from it! Her father can take care of himself, quite obviously enough. And why does Kein seem to think that she's questioning his job as his mate's protector? Maybe it's because he feels guilty that he wasn't able to protect her against Mythri's father? Or is there something else here that she's not aware of? "And I am well aware of your job. Chieftain." The honorific almost seems like.. not quite an insult, but not something she sounds pleased to add to the end of her sentence. "If you felt the need to come here and punish me for mentioning my father to your mate and scaring her, then go ahead and punish me. I will not resist." Her head is raised, almost proud, though there's a flicker of.. fear? hesitation? uncertainty? in those dark, amber-rimmed eyes before they close, as the female adolescent waits for Kein to.. do whatever it is he's going to do.
Punish her? The fear that he sees in her eyes, or imagines he sees in her eyes, causes him to bite back some of his no-longer-feigned anger. "I am not here to hurt you, Mythri." He would, if that's what it would take. Granted, though, he envisions hurting her by expelling her from the territory, not by physically attacking her. Regardless of the method he would use to hurt her, though, that is not /why/ he is here. "I am here to make sure nothing like this happens in the future. What I need from you is for you to tell me if I need to be worried about that, or if we can let this rest."
Quite honestly, she's disgusted with herself for not being able to keep her eyes open, to look into Kein's own as he punishes her. To close her eyes is nothing but her own cowardice, and it fills her with loathing. But as it seems that Kein has no intention of punishing her, per his words, she opens her eyes to look at the chieftain with definite uncertainty. "Why would I need to apologize for my father a second time? I said everything that I needed to, and now it's in the past." She's freed of that responsibility--why would Kein worry she'll bring it up again?
Why did she bring it up the first time? She says it's in the past, but that's where she dragged it up from. Still, he does not continue to push. "Then, this time, that is where it will stay. Where we will both leave it." And next time, if there is a next time? Kein will deal with it when it happens. Until then, he will give Mythri the benefit of the doubt. Really, this is not all he had to say to her. There are obviously issues between Mythri and his son. Those can wait, though. This conversation has likely been stressful enough for the both of them already.
She's tempted to say something to the effect of thanking him for stating the obvious. Yes. It's in the past. She /just/ /said/ that. Ironically, Mythri has grown up free from any persuasion that males are particular lacking in the area of intelligence or common sense, but that doesn't keep her from wanting to question Kein's mental capacity at this particular moment. She knows from her father that males /can/ be frighteningly intelligent, and she's also quite sure that Kein wouldn't be Chieftain if he didn't possess the same. Instead of any verbal reply, she merely raises an eyebrow. Not so much in response to his... pointless remarks.. but moreso questioning if there's anything else he requires her to endure through. Can she get back to her former /relaxing/? /Please/?
Kein watches Mythri for a short while. Finally, though, he nods, no matter that no verbal question was asked, and he turns to leave. Barring any further statements from Mythri, that is what he will do. Return to his mate for the very few hours that are left in the day.
Mythri, adolescent female cougar
Kein, adult male cougar
Scene:
Nowhere in particular. Just.. far enough away that she can have some time alone to herself. Time to think. Time to collect herself. And, most importantly, time to reorient herself and her future plans. Now that she's free of her responsibility to deliver the apology, there really isn't any other burden to worry about. Mythri is quite sure that she'll pick up additional responsibilities, whether deliberately given to her by Kein or Nayeli, or intentionally chosen herself. Regardless, she'll enjoy being able to rest for now, not having to worry about anything. That doesn't mean she won't be thinking; especially after what happened back there, she'll have quite a bit to think about. But there's no goal or mission or objective she has to keep foremost in her mind. She's free, now. Free to do exactly what she's doing now: lounging up in a low-hanging tree branch, tail curling idly beneath the limb as she breathes slowly, easily. Relaxed, mmm. Her eyes are barely open, though her ears are keenly listening to her surroundings. Even at rest, habits kick in.
If Kein would have known that apologizing was the reason why Mythri wanted to speak to Nayeli, would he have agreed to let Mythri anywhere near Nayeli? No. Absolutly not. As he tracks Mythri, he does not really try to hide his presence. What anger he feels, now, is... Artificial. Months ago, it would have been very real simply because something /could/ have gone wrong. Nayeli /could/ have been terribly upset at being reminded of her encounter with Revan. Now, though, because it did not go wrong, at least not so far as Kein knows... He just can't feel the anger he knows he should, the anger that drives him to keep his mate both physically and emotionally safe. As Mythri's scent grows stronger, Kein's approach slows. He's not within sight of her yet, and even when he is, he might not see her absolutely immediately, because she is up in a tree, but he's close.
His scent hasn't reached her quite yet, but Mythri finds herself aware of the male's approach. Ears, already perked and listening, strain for any indications as to the identity of the newcomer. The only thing she can make out is that it's definitely another cougar. Either that or it's another very large animal that she wasn't aware existed here on the mountain. Could it be Cael? The chances that he would find her unintentionally or accidentally this soon after the earlier incident are next to nothing. Either he's tracking her, or it's not Cael. It could be one of the other cougaresses who inhabit this land, and although she's not entirely looking forward to it, Mythri realizes that she'll have to meet them all eventually, and now might as well be as good a time as any. Probably isn't Nayeli, as Myth highly doubts that she'd be willing to leave her newly-born cubs like that. Kein? Maybe if he stumbled across her scent trail and decided to come find her. But what for? Meh. All she wanted to do was relax. Whoever it might be, Mythri doesn't look terribly pleased, and honestly doesn't care. Just get this over with quickly and leave her alone, and she'll do her best not to be too irritable.
Kein's first indication that Mythri is probably nearby is the strength of her scent. He stops walking, but it is several more moments before he spots first the tail that hangs down below the low branch, then the rest of the very fun cougaress. Well. Wanting nothing more than to get this over with quickly, he calls out to her, "Can you come down here, please?" Despite the wording, it's more of a command than a request. His tone sounds obviously impatient, and there is a definite forced quality to the final word. A lot of it is just posturing. He is not quite as displeased as he sounds, but his efforts at manufacturing his anger have paid off some.
It's.. Kein. Meh. It's not that Mythri has anything in particular against the tribe's chieftain, or any reason to dislike him--it's more the fact that he's obviously here for a deliberate reason that sours her mood. And yes, it would seem her suspicion was entirely justified, as the male's somewhat irritated-sounding summons is no doubt the precursor to his lecture on his being upset at her recent actions. Sigh. With a tight-lipped grimace, she slowly rises to her feet and then jumps down with a mixture of casualness and gracefulness that doesn't quite match up with the expression on her face. Guarded and perhaps a little bit uneasy as well. Definitely not pleased. Nobody likes lectures, and Mythri is no exception. Does she even need to say anything? No doubt the male will speak what's on his mind with no prompting from her. Introductions and pleasantries definitely are not on the conversational agenda. No... Mythri is going to remain silent, at least until words are demanded from her. An explanation, no doubt.
On the way here, Kein decided to keep this short. Hopefully, that plan will remain. "You know... A lot of cougaresses come here to escape their past. When you and I last talked, I assumed the same of you." It was an easy thing to assume. Despite her father's obvious hatred for them, she came here, specifically. "So you can imagine my surprise when I found out that you were seeking out my mate to deliberately bring up a past that wasn't even yours. A past that was a very painful time for many of us here in Amaranth." Not all of the anger with the final couple sentences is false anger. It would be... Well, rather like Kein deciding to suddenly apologize because Kasim executed Chesmu, or Nayeli deciding to suddenly apologize because Chesmu raped and murdered Maulisho. Why drag up those feelings, why upset someone, simply to apologize for something that was never your fault?
Perhaps, given Mythri's rather unusual background, it's her rather unusual way of expressing her distance from her father. Or, perhaps it's something entirely different. "I never came here to escape my past." Mythri can't quite hide the note of confusion in her voice, wondering where the chieftain got such an idea, but her tone is still guarded. "And if I was mistaken in assuming that your mate--" As in, not /you/. "--would appreciate an apology on her attacker's behalf, then.. well.. I won't make that mistake again." Mythri's tail twitches behind her, close to all-out lashing. Anything else he might feel the need to bother her about? Maybe this is just his roundabout way of admonishing her for talking to his mate in the first place. Without him there.
"And I'm sure the cougar on whose behalf you were apologizing was quite sincere in wanting that apology to be passed along, yes?" Kein doubts that, and regardless, Revan has done nothing to earn forgiveness. "So you risked upsetting my mate for, what? A bunch of words that were empty, meaningless?" It isn't that Kein doesn't understand what Mythri was trying to do, at least to some degree.
With no small trace of sarcasm in her voice, Mythri retorts, "And I'm sure the cougaress on whose behalf you're speaking for was quite sincere in wanting this criticism to be passed along, yes?" Did Nayeli really send Kein here to berate her for the earlier incident? Perhaps. But her demeanor at the time didn't seem to suggest that she was upset with Mythri. Maybe a little confused, as her mate here no doubt is, but not... angry.. displeased.. irritated. Not like Kein seems to be. Let this male call her words 'empty' and 'meaningless'. She wasn't apologizing to /him/, anyway. Her tail lashes again, and her lips press into that tight grimace again.
"It is my /job/ to protect my mate." Again, not all of the anger is false. "It is /not/ your job to be your father's defender. Not here." Had she just accepted what he said, realize how what she did could have gone wrong, and expressed a willingness to /think/ before she goes off to say whatever she wants to someone, next time, this would be over already. Kein would have let it go, because no harm seemed to have come from it. "If you cannot accept that, then it is best for all of us that you move on. Do I make myself clear?" Is he using his Angry Father voice? Yes. Very much so. But if she is going to remain, he is quite obviously going to have to make sure that his authority is not to be questioned. Not by Mythri.
"I am not my father's defender!" Far from it! Her father can take care of himself, quite obviously enough. And why does Kein seem to think that she's questioning his job as his mate's protector? Maybe it's because he feels guilty that he wasn't able to protect her against Mythri's father? Or is there something else here that she's not aware of? "And I am well aware of your job. Chieftain." The honorific almost seems like.. not quite an insult, but not something she sounds pleased to add to the end of her sentence. "If you felt the need to come here and punish me for mentioning my father to your mate and scaring her, then go ahead and punish me. I will not resist." Her head is raised, almost proud, though there's a flicker of.. fear? hesitation? uncertainty? in those dark, amber-rimmed eyes before they close, as the female adolescent waits for Kein to.. do whatever it is he's going to do.
Punish her? The fear that he sees in her eyes, or imagines he sees in her eyes, causes him to bite back some of his no-longer-feigned anger. "I am not here to hurt you, Mythri." He would, if that's what it would take. Granted, though, he envisions hurting her by expelling her from the territory, not by physically attacking her. Regardless of the method he would use to hurt her, though, that is not /why/ he is here. "I am here to make sure nothing like this happens in the future. What I need from you is for you to tell me if I need to be worried about that, or if we can let this rest."
Quite honestly, she's disgusted with herself for not being able to keep her eyes open, to look into Kein's own as he punishes her. To close her eyes is nothing but her own cowardice, and it fills her with loathing. But as it seems that Kein has no intention of punishing her, per his words, she opens her eyes to look at the chieftain with definite uncertainty. "Why would I need to apologize for my father a second time? I said everything that I needed to, and now it's in the past." She's freed of that responsibility--why would Kein worry she'll bring it up again?
Why did she bring it up the first time? She says it's in the past, but that's where she dragged it up from. Still, he does not continue to push. "Then, this time, that is where it will stay. Where we will both leave it." And next time, if there is a next time? Kein will deal with it when it happens. Until then, he will give Mythri the benefit of the doubt. Really, this is not all he had to say to her. There are obviously issues between Mythri and his son. Those can wait, though. This conversation has likely been stressful enough for the both of them already.
She's tempted to say something to the effect of thanking him for stating the obvious. Yes. It's in the past. She /just/ /said/ that. Ironically, Mythri has grown up free from any persuasion that males are particular lacking in the area of intelligence or common sense, but that doesn't keep her from wanting to question Kein's mental capacity at this particular moment. She knows from her father that males /can/ be frighteningly intelligent, and she's also quite sure that Kein wouldn't be Chieftain if he didn't possess the same. Instead of any verbal reply, she merely raises an eyebrow. Not so much in response to his... pointless remarks.. but moreso questioning if there's anything else he requires her to endure through. Can she get back to her former /relaxing/? /Please/?
Kein watches Mythri for a short while. Finally, though, he nods, no matter that no verbal question was asked, and he turns to leave. Barring any further statements from Mythri, that is what he will do. Return to his mate for the very few hours that are left in the day.