Post by avalikia on Aug 2, 2009 23:39:58 GMT -5
Characters:
Roscoe - Male Whitetail Deer
Tix - Female Whitetail Deer
Niabi - Female Elk
Setting:
Harvest Fields
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From a distance, Roscoe could still recognize the scent of.. whatever it was that was moving about in the dark fields. It frustrated and angered him that she was out here; hadn't he specifically told her to avoid this area? The doe had a mind of her own though, and he should've known that he wasn't going to control every aspect of her life, especially after he'd practically abandoned the female to the protection of the other females in their conjoined herd. Eyes narrowing, his head lifted arrogantly and he cleared his throat. "Tix?" he called out questionably, feigning ignorance. He knew it was her, but perhaps if he acted like he didn't.. then she wouldn't run off.
Tix is still trying to figure out whom is hanging around the fields with her. The scent slowly does become familiar, and the voice which calls out causes the doe to flick her ears in the direction in which the noise originates from. Silently she remains still, tail still perked. She's thankful that it's not a predator, but no happier that it's Roscoe. She hadn't wanted him following her or telling her she couldn't see what was up here for herself. Her dark eyes glance around the darker surroundings, trying to figure if there was a method of escape she could take. However, if he was aware it was her, she knew that trying to run off wouldn't benefit her all too well. ".. Yes?" The doe speaks back, keeping her voice quiet as a precaution. She didn't seem afraid, but she was very alert.
It hadn't taken long for Niabi to discover that Tix wasn't with the others. What had taken much longer was for her to decide whether or not it was safe for her to go looking for her and leave the others behind. If it hadn't been for how often canines have been finding their way into the herdlands lately it would have been an easy choice, but with the way things have been she can't help but feel like she's risking something. However, she did eventually find Tix's scent trail and when she figured out which direction it went, the choice suddenly became easy again. But again she was slowed because she's actually a terrible tracker, but she didn't miss the fact that Tix passed /through/ dog territory to get here. Now she's not sure whether she'll be angry or relieved when she finally catches up. Still some distance away and focused on the scent trail, she doesn't notice when the two whitetails come into view.
The buck wastes no time getting straight to the point. His tone is actually relatively calm, but it was easy to tell that he was certainly still upset with her. Ears perking forward and taking a few steps toward where the female was, he spoke up again. "What are you doing up here?" Again, there is very little hints of anger in his voice like there had been the last time that they had gotten into an argument. He'd learned his lesson from that time. A bit of compassion was needed, however bad he was at showing that. "It's not safe here."
There was very little to no point avoiding him. Tix knew that Roscoe had found her by now and her reply had certainly gave her away. Niabi's presence is not noticed and even if it had been so the doe would not have paid much interest. Pausing silently as the wind brushed through the grass, the female Whitetail inhaled the scent of the Prince again, truly confirming it was him. "I wanted to see this place for myself.." Tix replies, turning about slightly to examine the fencing. She'd never seen something like this before. ".. I'm fine. You didn't have to follow me here." Or so she assumed he had.
It isn't until she close enough to hear their voices that Niabi finally looks up and sees them. She sighs quietly to herself and speeds up slightly as she approaches, but then stops while she's still some distance away. "So here you are," she says quietly to Tix, relief and just a little irritation in her voice, "Glad to see that you're safe." Turning her attention to Roscoe, she greets him with a silent nod then glances behind her in the direction of the herdlands. Clearly she's got a few unhappy thoughts on her mind, but she doesn't see the need to share them. Instead she takes a moment to look around, sniff around, and listen around; this area makes her nervous.
The attitude that the doe had, as if this was some sort of grand adventure for her, was all the more irritating to the buck. He tried as hard as he could to sound as calm as possible, but it wouldn't be surprising if some frustration was leaked in his voice. "Follow you here?" he asked with a scoff, shaking his head slightly. "I didn't follow you here. If I'd have seen you on your way here, I would've stopped you and told you what a stupid idea it was." There. There was the frustration. Glancing back to see Niabi, he hardly greeted her. A sour, "Hello," was given, and that was about it. Surely all the blame for Tix's wandering wasn't to be put on the cow elk, but he needed some kind of scapegoat.
But for Tix, this wasn't much an adventure. She knew the risks and she had been aware that the territory she had passed through belonged to a predator, but it was curiosity that had prevented Tix from turning back. She wasn't sure about how she felt when the Prince claimed he hadn't followed her. Disappointment? No.. Tix wouldn't have come all this way just for his attention. Raising her head as she notes Niabi's presence, the doe sighs in annoyance. "That's your opinion. I wanted to see what was here myself." From the manner Tix is speaking, it's obvious she's not keen on being led back to the herd lands. "I could have looked after myself just fine." What a lie.
If Niabi knew that Roscoe was placing any blame at all on her, she'd have Something to Say. But since he gives no sign of that, her attention is more on Tix. "I'm surprised, Tix," she says, her voice remaining remarkably quiet, "I thought we talked about this, about how it wasn't safe to travel alone. I thought that you agreed with me, and I offered to go with you. But then you sneak off behind my back; how am I supposed to feel about that? And how do you suppose I felt when you just vanished without a word to anyone?" Though her voice betrays just a little hurt Niabi does her best to keep her voice mild, knowing that the words themselves are enough to express what she needs to say.
Something about the doe was much different than before. She'd never been very defiant, but she had a certain attitude about her tonight, and Roscoe didn't like it one bit. Narrowing his eyes though he doubted if she could see that in the dark, he took a few more steps toward her and sighed in annoyance as well. "Humans and dogs. Two very bad things, and you want to see them? Are you /trying/ to get yourself hurt again?" he really wasn't sure. Tix had to have passed directly through dog territory, and even though he did too, he had his antlers to protect him, and much more experience with dogs in general. "Look out for yourself?" he asked, and a gruff scoff came again. Maybe he should let her, just to show her how much she really did need protection. He didn't speak much more though, leaving the sentence hanging. Niabi had began speaking with her too, like a mother would. He appreciated the help, but didn't want Tix to think that they were ganging up on her, either. "You think you can look out for yourself, hmm?" Repeating the question, his head tilted in curiosity.
Tix felt trapped. "No.. I didn't want to see them.. I just wanted to see this place. You wouldn't have let me come if I had said I wanted to see it, so I had no other choice. I wasn't intending on leaving for long!" She knows trying to get on anyones good side with words wasn't going to help for very long, but at the same time sudden realization also occurred. ".. I didn't want to bring either of you into harm because of my selfishness." Oddly enough the doe steps away from the fence, clearly showing regret. "I'm sorry. I know my recklessness isn't appreciated and it puts others at risk.. Perhaps you would do better without me placing the herd at risk." The other questions aren't given an answer, but by this point Tix just doesn't want to. The lessons from Niabi may have helped keeping her safe, but she knows that Roscoe isn't going to accept that as an answer.
Niabi frowns at Roscoe's words, but shakes her head and doesn't comment. She's guessing that's the wrong sort of thing to say at the moment, so she tries to soften it a bit, "Look, if you'd come to me and said that you wanted to come here, I would have offered to come with you. If you'd said that you wanted to go alone I would have told you it was a bad idea, but I would have let you go. If Roscoe had tried to stop you," a glance in his direction, "/I/ would have stopped /him/. We're a herd, not a prison. Yes, it's dangerous coming here, but you're not the only one who enjoys a little risk now and then. And it's much safer when you're not alone. But you didn't give me a chance to say any of this." With some effort she's still able to keep her tone level. She's not trying to sound like anyone's mother, but when you're so much older than the one you're talking to and trying not to lose your temper it sure sounds that way.
A glare is given towards the both of them, and the male throws his head upwards in a show of frustration, the tines of his now fully grown antlers jabbing up at the air. What was this, a sorority? No, Niabi would not have stopped him, unless she physically pushed Tix here. Roscoe considered Tix to be his responsibility, even if he'd been lacking the drive to check up on her lately. That would stop, then. Tempers permitting, she would come back with him to the glade. There were plenty of other, safer places to visit throughout the forest and even south to an extent. He knew; he'd been there. "Enjoy a little risk? You can't be serious." he muttered, and groaned. While he was certain that the both of them were wrong on different accounts, he needed the security of having at least /one/ doe around. To put it bluntly, he couldn't afford losing Tix from the herd. "Fine. The risk has been taken, and it's dark. There are predators around. At least now let's get somewhere safe before something gets our scent, hmm?" There. A compromise. He could let this incident go without too much of an argument, and they could all go somewhere safer, and he wouldn't lose his doe.
The antlers, the antlers! Even in the dark, Tix can clearly make out that Roscoe's rack has fully developed and for a moment she absorbed in staring. The Prince certainly does look more fitting with his new crown. Should that be King? Snapping her attention away from the sight, Tix dares to approach the stag, ears flattened backwards in the usual afraid manner that he's going to smack her about senseless for running off for the second time. She would smile and thank Niabi for her support, but perhaps another time would be better when Roscoe isn't so on edge. "Yes please.." She agrees to the moving comment, trying to get back on the stag's good side with a nudge of her head. Go go female charms!
"I /am/ being serious," Niabi says with a smile, "It's fun." But she glances around again, ears and nose working. "If my sources are correct, the danger here comes from cougars, not dogs or man. That being the case, it's probably actually safer in the dog territory. It'd take a lot of dogs to trouble the /three/ of us," she comments, though she's actually just counting Roscoe and herself. "The quickest way out of here would be straight south, back to the copse," she adds after another moment, glancing at Roscoe to see if he agrees. She hasn't failed to notice Roscoe's antlers, but they're far too small in her eyes; a whitetail buck just can't compete with a bull elk, especially to a cow elk.
Thankfully, Roscoe's antlers were not meant to impress someone like Niabi, but aimed more toward someone like Tix. And apparently, they'd done their job. A very small grin formed on the male's maw when the doe had nudged her head up against him, and he felt like he'd won the 'argument.' Whatever kept him satisfied. Turning on his hooves with little more to say to either of them, he hid his victorious attitude and instead disguised it with being alert. At the moment, there was nothing that he could sense that would hurt them in the area. Good. Ears flickering around and his eyes set towards the copse to the south as Niabi had suggested, he began walking away from the fields. Perhaps he was being a little too paranoid.. but Tix's safety was very important to him. So without acknowledging the doe's apology or anything else that Niabi had said, he led the way back.
The impression the oh-so strong and noble male gives leaves it's mark on Tix as no argument is given. Nope. He wants to go back? That's fine! Tix will go too. Why was she even here? No idea! Almost instantly the doe aligns herself with the stag and is already tailing close behind, eyes on him. She'll leave him to be the alert one whilst she's oogling that gorgeous new set of antlers. Perhaps she is overreacting to him right now, but considering he's likely to be the only male she'll ever know, she's quite happy to let him win her over with those big.. strong-.. No! Blinking and tearing her sight away from the stag, she pauses and looks to Niabi instead, ensuring that the cow elk was alright. After the performance of running away, it was only fair she looked out for other rather than herself at the moment.
Completely unaware of any arguments that Roscoe has won, Niabi chalks all of his strutting up to how Tix is, once again, fawning all over him. Those two are going to be /unbearable/ during the whitetail rut. Content to take up the rear, she goes into full-on-alert mode, as she's not sure exactly how much attention either of them are paying to their surroundings. When she sees Tix turn, she gives a smile and a nod; she's fine. Except the sight of those two reminds her that the elk rut is only about half a moon away... Yep, time to be worried about that.
Roscoe - Male Whitetail Deer
Tix - Female Whitetail Deer
Niabi - Female Elk
Setting:
Harvest Fields
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From a distance, Roscoe could still recognize the scent of.. whatever it was that was moving about in the dark fields. It frustrated and angered him that she was out here; hadn't he specifically told her to avoid this area? The doe had a mind of her own though, and he should've known that he wasn't going to control every aspect of her life, especially after he'd practically abandoned the female to the protection of the other females in their conjoined herd. Eyes narrowing, his head lifted arrogantly and he cleared his throat. "Tix?" he called out questionably, feigning ignorance. He knew it was her, but perhaps if he acted like he didn't.. then she wouldn't run off.
Tix is still trying to figure out whom is hanging around the fields with her. The scent slowly does become familiar, and the voice which calls out causes the doe to flick her ears in the direction in which the noise originates from. Silently she remains still, tail still perked. She's thankful that it's not a predator, but no happier that it's Roscoe. She hadn't wanted him following her or telling her she couldn't see what was up here for herself. Her dark eyes glance around the darker surroundings, trying to figure if there was a method of escape she could take. However, if he was aware it was her, she knew that trying to run off wouldn't benefit her all too well. ".. Yes?" The doe speaks back, keeping her voice quiet as a precaution. She didn't seem afraid, but she was very alert.
It hadn't taken long for Niabi to discover that Tix wasn't with the others. What had taken much longer was for her to decide whether or not it was safe for her to go looking for her and leave the others behind. If it hadn't been for how often canines have been finding their way into the herdlands lately it would have been an easy choice, but with the way things have been she can't help but feel like she's risking something. However, she did eventually find Tix's scent trail and when she figured out which direction it went, the choice suddenly became easy again. But again she was slowed because she's actually a terrible tracker, but she didn't miss the fact that Tix passed /through/ dog territory to get here. Now she's not sure whether she'll be angry or relieved when she finally catches up. Still some distance away and focused on the scent trail, she doesn't notice when the two whitetails come into view.
The buck wastes no time getting straight to the point. His tone is actually relatively calm, but it was easy to tell that he was certainly still upset with her. Ears perking forward and taking a few steps toward where the female was, he spoke up again. "What are you doing up here?" Again, there is very little hints of anger in his voice like there had been the last time that they had gotten into an argument. He'd learned his lesson from that time. A bit of compassion was needed, however bad he was at showing that. "It's not safe here."
There was very little to no point avoiding him. Tix knew that Roscoe had found her by now and her reply had certainly gave her away. Niabi's presence is not noticed and even if it had been so the doe would not have paid much interest. Pausing silently as the wind brushed through the grass, the female Whitetail inhaled the scent of the Prince again, truly confirming it was him. "I wanted to see this place for myself.." Tix replies, turning about slightly to examine the fencing. She'd never seen something like this before. ".. I'm fine. You didn't have to follow me here." Or so she assumed he had.
It isn't until she close enough to hear their voices that Niabi finally looks up and sees them. She sighs quietly to herself and speeds up slightly as she approaches, but then stops while she's still some distance away. "So here you are," she says quietly to Tix, relief and just a little irritation in her voice, "Glad to see that you're safe." Turning her attention to Roscoe, she greets him with a silent nod then glances behind her in the direction of the herdlands. Clearly she's got a few unhappy thoughts on her mind, but she doesn't see the need to share them. Instead she takes a moment to look around, sniff around, and listen around; this area makes her nervous.
The attitude that the doe had, as if this was some sort of grand adventure for her, was all the more irritating to the buck. He tried as hard as he could to sound as calm as possible, but it wouldn't be surprising if some frustration was leaked in his voice. "Follow you here?" he asked with a scoff, shaking his head slightly. "I didn't follow you here. If I'd have seen you on your way here, I would've stopped you and told you what a stupid idea it was." There. There was the frustration. Glancing back to see Niabi, he hardly greeted her. A sour, "Hello," was given, and that was about it. Surely all the blame for Tix's wandering wasn't to be put on the cow elk, but he needed some kind of scapegoat.
But for Tix, this wasn't much an adventure. She knew the risks and she had been aware that the territory she had passed through belonged to a predator, but it was curiosity that had prevented Tix from turning back. She wasn't sure about how she felt when the Prince claimed he hadn't followed her. Disappointment? No.. Tix wouldn't have come all this way just for his attention. Raising her head as she notes Niabi's presence, the doe sighs in annoyance. "That's your opinion. I wanted to see what was here myself." From the manner Tix is speaking, it's obvious she's not keen on being led back to the herd lands. "I could have looked after myself just fine." What a lie.
If Niabi knew that Roscoe was placing any blame at all on her, she'd have Something to Say. But since he gives no sign of that, her attention is more on Tix. "I'm surprised, Tix," she says, her voice remaining remarkably quiet, "I thought we talked about this, about how it wasn't safe to travel alone. I thought that you agreed with me, and I offered to go with you. But then you sneak off behind my back; how am I supposed to feel about that? And how do you suppose I felt when you just vanished without a word to anyone?" Though her voice betrays just a little hurt Niabi does her best to keep her voice mild, knowing that the words themselves are enough to express what she needs to say.
Something about the doe was much different than before. She'd never been very defiant, but she had a certain attitude about her tonight, and Roscoe didn't like it one bit. Narrowing his eyes though he doubted if she could see that in the dark, he took a few more steps toward her and sighed in annoyance as well. "Humans and dogs. Two very bad things, and you want to see them? Are you /trying/ to get yourself hurt again?" he really wasn't sure. Tix had to have passed directly through dog territory, and even though he did too, he had his antlers to protect him, and much more experience with dogs in general. "Look out for yourself?" he asked, and a gruff scoff came again. Maybe he should let her, just to show her how much she really did need protection. He didn't speak much more though, leaving the sentence hanging. Niabi had began speaking with her too, like a mother would. He appreciated the help, but didn't want Tix to think that they were ganging up on her, either. "You think you can look out for yourself, hmm?" Repeating the question, his head tilted in curiosity.
Tix felt trapped. "No.. I didn't want to see them.. I just wanted to see this place. You wouldn't have let me come if I had said I wanted to see it, so I had no other choice. I wasn't intending on leaving for long!" She knows trying to get on anyones good side with words wasn't going to help for very long, but at the same time sudden realization also occurred. ".. I didn't want to bring either of you into harm because of my selfishness." Oddly enough the doe steps away from the fence, clearly showing regret. "I'm sorry. I know my recklessness isn't appreciated and it puts others at risk.. Perhaps you would do better without me placing the herd at risk." The other questions aren't given an answer, but by this point Tix just doesn't want to. The lessons from Niabi may have helped keeping her safe, but she knows that Roscoe isn't going to accept that as an answer.
Niabi frowns at Roscoe's words, but shakes her head and doesn't comment. She's guessing that's the wrong sort of thing to say at the moment, so she tries to soften it a bit, "Look, if you'd come to me and said that you wanted to come here, I would have offered to come with you. If you'd said that you wanted to go alone I would have told you it was a bad idea, but I would have let you go. If Roscoe had tried to stop you," a glance in his direction, "/I/ would have stopped /him/. We're a herd, not a prison. Yes, it's dangerous coming here, but you're not the only one who enjoys a little risk now and then. And it's much safer when you're not alone. But you didn't give me a chance to say any of this." With some effort she's still able to keep her tone level. She's not trying to sound like anyone's mother, but when you're so much older than the one you're talking to and trying not to lose your temper it sure sounds that way.
A glare is given towards the both of them, and the male throws his head upwards in a show of frustration, the tines of his now fully grown antlers jabbing up at the air. What was this, a sorority? No, Niabi would not have stopped him, unless she physically pushed Tix here. Roscoe considered Tix to be his responsibility, even if he'd been lacking the drive to check up on her lately. That would stop, then. Tempers permitting, she would come back with him to the glade. There were plenty of other, safer places to visit throughout the forest and even south to an extent. He knew; he'd been there. "Enjoy a little risk? You can't be serious." he muttered, and groaned. While he was certain that the both of them were wrong on different accounts, he needed the security of having at least /one/ doe around. To put it bluntly, he couldn't afford losing Tix from the herd. "Fine. The risk has been taken, and it's dark. There are predators around. At least now let's get somewhere safe before something gets our scent, hmm?" There. A compromise. He could let this incident go without too much of an argument, and they could all go somewhere safer, and he wouldn't lose his doe.
The antlers, the antlers! Even in the dark, Tix can clearly make out that Roscoe's rack has fully developed and for a moment she absorbed in staring. The Prince certainly does look more fitting with his new crown. Should that be King? Snapping her attention away from the sight, Tix dares to approach the stag, ears flattened backwards in the usual afraid manner that he's going to smack her about senseless for running off for the second time. She would smile and thank Niabi for her support, but perhaps another time would be better when Roscoe isn't so on edge. "Yes please.." She agrees to the moving comment, trying to get back on the stag's good side with a nudge of her head. Go go female charms!
"I /am/ being serious," Niabi says with a smile, "It's fun." But she glances around again, ears and nose working. "If my sources are correct, the danger here comes from cougars, not dogs or man. That being the case, it's probably actually safer in the dog territory. It'd take a lot of dogs to trouble the /three/ of us," she comments, though she's actually just counting Roscoe and herself. "The quickest way out of here would be straight south, back to the copse," she adds after another moment, glancing at Roscoe to see if he agrees. She hasn't failed to notice Roscoe's antlers, but they're far too small in her eyes; a whitetail buck just can't compete with a bull elk, especially to a cow elk.
Thankfully, Roscoe's antlers were not meant to impress someone like Niabi, but aimed more toward someone like Tix. And apparently, they'd done their job. A very small grin formed on the male's maw when the doe had nudged her head up against him, and he felt like he'd won the 'argument.' Whatever kept him satisfied. Turning on his hooves with little more to say to either of them, he hid his victorious attitude and instead disguised it with being alert. At the moment, there was nothing that he could sense that would hurt them in the area. Good. Ears flickering around and his eyes set towards the copse to the south as Niabi had suggested, he began walking away from the fields. Perhaps he was being a little too paranoid.. but Tix's safety was very important to him. So without acknowledging the doe's apology or anything else that Niabi had said, he led the way back.
The impression the oh-so strong and noble male gives leaves it's mark on Tix as no argument is given. Nope. He wants to go back? That's fine! Tix will go too. Why was she even here? No idea! Almost instantly the doe aligns herself with the stag and is already tailing close behind, eyes on him. She'll leave him to be the alert one whilst she's oogling that gorgeous new set of antlers. Perhaps she is overreacting to him right now, but considering he's likely to be the only male she'll ever know, she's quite happy to let him win her over with those big.. strong-.. No! Blinking and tearing her sight away from the stag, she pauses and looks to Niabi instead, ensuring that the cow elk was alright. After the performance of running away, it was only fair she looked out for other rather than herself at the moment.
Completely unaware of any arguments that Roscoe has won, Niabi chalks all of his strutting up to how Tix is, once again, fawning all over him. Those two are going to be /unbearable/ during the whitetail rut. Content to take up the rear, she goes into full-on-alert mode, as she's not sure exactly how much attention either of them are paying to their surroundings. When she sees Tix turn, she gives a smile and a nod; she's fine. Except the sight of those two reminds her that the elk rut is only about half a moon away... Yep, time to be worried about that.