Post by Therdde on Aug 4, 2009 19:24:33 GMT -5
Characters:
Kein - Male Cougar
Amber-Kai - Elder Female Cougar
- Rolling Foothills -
It is not terribly often that Kein smells the scent of a female cougar he doesn't recognize. Aylin said she may be sending her daughters to Amaranth, but... They would be coming from the north, wouldn't they? And even if they weren't... This is the scent of an older cougaress. Older than his cousins would be, at the very least. So why is he searching the scent out? A conversation with Jinx about an unpleasant female named Jade comes to mind.
It's not a particularly pleasant thought, but there's no way to deny the fact that as the days continue to progress toward the latter half of the year, Amber-Kai is not able to travel quite as far as she once was. Even hunting is an exhausting, strenuous chore that more often than not threatens to be the death of her. Not for the first time she can't help but marvel that she's still alive. And regret it. Resting in the shade of one of the few trees in the nearby area--a sorry excuse for shade, but it's the best around--the aged cougaress wearily awaits the cool of nightfall.
It is not much longer before Kein spots the figure in the distance, by a tree. His approach is more relaxed that it would be, probably, if the cougar hanging around the borders of his territory had been male. He even announces his presence with a chuff as he draws closer, and he stops advancing just as soon as he is close enough that they will be able to speak comfortably. By now, he can see exactly how old, and therefore harmless, this cougaress is.
It's entirely doubtful that this particular cougaress would be successful in defending herself against even a lone wolf, let alone a male cougar in his prime. Nonetheless, there's somewhat of a regal aura that surrounds her as she struggles to her paws in response to the approaching male, eyes curiously staring in his direction. Yes, this one. That scent. This is the male who claims ownership of the mountain to the south, assuming her sense of smell hasn't deteriorated to the point that she can't even distinguish scent markers anymore. A soft chuff is given in turn, though considerably weaker-sounding than that of the younger feline.
Kein does not continue forward when she returns his nonverbal greeting. He does remain on his feet, though. "Good day." Polite. He has been getting better at it, slowly but surely. It helps that they are far removed from his territory and that she never actually crossed into it before coming here. He feels no anger. Just curiosity, mostly.
Amber-Kai coughs softly, though anyone familiar with her would quickly recognize the sound of amusement. "'pose it is, though too hot for my liking. Bet it's nice an' cool up on your moun'ain." Another cough, though more like just a prolonged clearing of her throat. She hasn't spoken to another creature in several days and her voice, already cracked and straining, is definitely a bit rusty at the moment. Her eyes, however, are clear and continue to size up the male in front of her. Not that she was expecting to recognize him, but her gaze confirms that this is a total stranger, yet his demeanor, in all of its curious caution, suggests no hostility toward her.
"I would invite you into my land, to slake your thirst." She /sounds/, after all, as though she needs it. "I suspect, however, that you would find water more quickly were you to look for it to the north." He knows the lands surrounding his territory, even if he rarely ventures into them. "I am Kein, Chieftain of the Amaranth Tribe." It's possible that she has heard of him specifically or, more generally, his tribe. Many animals seem to have, after all.
A frazzled eyebrow raises. "Amaranth Tribe? Never heard of them. Though I do be from a long ways 'way from here." Amber-Kai takes a few wobbly steps forward, stretches a little with a slight grimace, then takes a few more steps in Kein's direction. "Water, y'say? Lead to it, and much thanks t'you." Her rather scraggly and unkempt fur evidences many scars, yet none seem fairly recent. She's seen her share of conflict over many things, including water, but such things were a long time ago.
Kein cannot help but frown at the combination of the wobbly steps, grimace, and her... "request". Did she not hear him? "With a nod of his head, he says, "Due north, and you can't miss it. Simply follow the noise." No, he will not be leading her to that water source. Not this afternoon. "I cannot lead you there. I cannot leave my family for so long, but I promise, it is easy to find."
The same eyebrow raises even higher. "Did y'not say that y'had water on your own lands? I may be old enough to be yer ancestor, but I still have some good walkings left in these old paws o'mine. Lead m'to it, Chieftain Kein." An amused and somewhat toothy grin. "I promise t'not hurt yer family." As if she could. Granted, she could probably say a thing or two in the direction of an unruly cub! But physically, she'd be hard-pressed to hurt anyone who was aware of her presence. It's only due to many years of hunting experience that she's still able to feed herself, and even then, to her distaste, sometimes a meal comes in the form of finding someone else's kill and scaring them off. Poaching. Not something she enjoys, but... call it a senior discount.
Kein is not concerned about her hurting his family. He would rip her apart before she could raise a paw against any of them. It is concern for her that drove him to say what he did, but as she insists... "Very well." With no more hesitation, he turns to head back toward his territory. His pace is slower, now, than it was before. The cougar he is leading is, after all, very old.
Thankfully she's had most of the day to rest, otherwise Amber-Kai might have requested that they wait until several hours later toward the end of the sun's merciless heat. Her ears perk a little at the male's response, and as the chieftain sets off, the older feline falls in behind him, hoping that the distance isn't /too/ far. She won't complain, either way, but less pain is always preferable to more pain. An occasional grunt can be heard as they walk, and even some mumbling to herself, but if the male has ever been around elders before, it shouldn't be anything unexpected or unusual.
Kein keeps an eye on Amber-Kai as they continue to walk, to make sure that she does not fall behind, or that she is not in too much pain. After a while of walking, he speaks. "I gave you my name, and the name of my tribe. Are you going to give me yours?"
Another cough-laugh. "All y'had to do was ask me, Chieftain. M'name is Amber, honorific Kai. But you can just call me Amber, as I don' think m'honorific applies this far from m'old home." A definite snort this time, and not one of amusement. Besides, it's just one of those things that she'd probably rather just forget about. More just an old force of habit that she even mentioned it to this male, but what's done is done.
Amber... Kai? Also known as... Amber? Kein stops walking and turns to look at the much older cougaress. Old enough to be his grandmother? From very far away... Kein may be physically fit to be the Amaranth Chieftain, but he did not earn his position through physical prowess alone. He is not unintelligent, and now, faced with these so many things... "Have you had children, Amber? Daughters?"
Is this the Chieftain's idea of smalltalk? Or is there an ulterior motive? "Yes, yes. I've had several daughters, though you'd have to travel a fair distance if you were that desperate for a mate. Pretty girls though.. yes, yes." Amber-Kai laughs in somewhat of a croaking rumble. "Aren't there any females around here that tickle your fancy?" It seems absurd, the idea of being Chieftain of a tribe yet not having any available females? Or perhaps it really was just smalltalk in the first place. In that case, well.. she's answered his question. Yes, yes.
"Oh, there are plenty of females around here." One, in particular, that Kein is interested in romantically... Along with one no longer here that he is interested in right now. He remains still as he continues asking questions. "Maulisho. Was... Was she one of your daughters?" Perhaps he would not have to travel so far after all... But then, he is not interested in Maulisho as a mate.
Impossible. Amber-Kai is abruptly still, motionless, staring intently at the male in front of her. "I.. I had a daughter named Maulisho, yes. She was.. of my first mate." The one who left her. But.. how could this male have known? Either it was an extraordinarily lucky guess, or... or what? Blinkblink. "Why do you... ask such a thing?" The name runs through her aged mind again. Maulisho. A name that she had not thought about for quite some time. Years, in fact. A name that she didn't /want/ to think about, with eveyrthing associated with it.
Then this cougaress is... Kein sits down. Grandmother. The only grandmother he has ever known. "Your daughter... Was my mother." His mother never told him a great deal about his grandmother. After all, who could have expected that he would ever meet her?
Maulisho was his...?! Suddenly snarling, Amber-Kai lets her ears flatten as her eyes bore into the other feline. "Don't mock me, boy. My daughter Maulisho was killed when she was barely older than a cub. She never grew up, never had any cubs, and never became a mother. She's /dead/." And just as suddenly, the outburst of emotion is gone, seemingly having sapped the elder cougaress' limited energy, leaving her trembling and looking decidedly unhappy that such a topic has been brought up. Some things are best left buried in the past.
Kein does not respond kindly to being snarled at, nor to being called a liar, no matter who is doing the snarling or accusing him of lying. Baring his own teeth, Kein replies, "My mother's /sister/ was killed. My mother escaped." At least, that time, she did. "Her name was Maulisho, and she was a very good mother." Is it possible that there were two cougaresses around the same age with that name? Is it possible that both of them could have had mothers named Amber?
"They were /both/ killed. They..." Amber-Kai adopts the regal pose from earlier, though there's a definite hint of pain in her expression and tone. ".. they had to be. It was the only way." Taking in a somewhat shuddering breath, the elder cougaress regains control of herself. "M'second mate was very thorough. They both were killed quickly and easily, and I don't know who y'mother was, but it couldn't have been m'daughter." Definitely impossible. Neither of them survived the assassination. Her mate was quite clear in his report; besides, not only is it completely absurd that he would have lied to her, but how could either of the cubs have escaped from him in the first place? This is just some cruel mockery on the Chieftain's part, or the strangest coincidence that Amber-Kai has ever heard of.
"Your mate lied." Kein turns back around and begins walking again. "You are not welcome in my lands, Amber. Find your water to the north." With his mother's recent reincarnation... They just started moving past their troubles. She does not need this. /He/ does not need this. ... And, probably, Amber does not need this. Not with Maul starting to remember things.
Complete nonsense. Even if her second mate /had/ lied, and Amber-Kai is no more willing to believe that than she is that this cougar here is a female, Maulisho would never have been able to survive on her own. Besides, no feline bearing the Kai honorific would ever fail at such a simple killing task, and would most certainly /not/ stoop so low as to use deceit to cover failure. No. Most definitely an absurd claim by this Chieftain. Still, the abrupt question about a female named Maulisho /is/ rather disturbing, and something that Amber-Kai will have to think about for some time. Apparently it will be a solitary contemplation, as her invitation to the mountain seems to have been retracted. Without another word, she slowly turns around and begins hobbling toward the north. She's gone without water for long durations before, and she's quite certain that she'll survive, albeit with a tormenting thirst, until she manages to reach whatever body of water the male referenced earlier.
Kein - Male Cougar
Amber-Kai - Elder Female Cougar
- Rolling Foothills -
It is not terribly often that Kein smells the scent of a female cougar he doesn't recognize. Aylin said she may be sending her daughters to Amaranth, but... They would be coming from the north, wouldn't they? And even if they weren't... This is the scent of an older cougaress. Older than his cousins would be, at the very least. So why is he searching the scent out? A conversation with Jinx about an unpleasant female named Jade comes to mind.
It's not a particularly pleasant thought, but there's no way to deny the fact that as the days continue to progress toward the latter half of the year, Amber-Kai is not able to travel quite as far as she once was. Even hunting is an exhausting, strenuous chore that more often than not threatens to be the death of her. Not for the first time she can't help but marvel that she's still alive. And regret it. Resting in the shade of one of the few trees in the nearby area--a sorry excuse for shade, but it's the best around--the aged cougaress wearily awaits the cool of nightfall.
It is not much longer before Kein spots the figure in the distance, by a tree. His approach is more relaxed that it would be, probably, if the cougar hanging around the borders of his territory had been male. He even announces his presence with a chuff as he draws closer, and he stops advancing just as soon as he is close enough that they will be able to speak comfortably. By now, he can see exactly how old, and therefore harmless, this cougaress is.
It's entirely doubtful that this particular cougaress would be successful in defending herself against even a lone wolf, let alone a male cougar in his prime. Nonetheless, there's somewhat of a regal aura that surrounds her as she struggles to her paws in response to the approaching male, eyes curiously staring in his direction. Yes, this one. That scent. This is the male who claims ownership of the mountain to the south, assuming her sense of smell hasn't deteriorated to the point that she can't even distinguish scent markers anymore. A soft chuff is given in turn, though considerably weaker-sounding than that of the younger feline.
Kein does not continue forward when she returns his nonverbal greeting. He does remain on his feet, though. "Good day." Polite. He has been getting better at it, slowly but surely. It helps that they are far removed from his territory and that she never actually crossed into it before coming here. He feels no anger. Just curiosity, mostly.
Amber-Kai coughs softly, though anyone familiar with her would quickly recognize the sound of amusement. "'pose it is, though too hot for my liking. Bet it's nice an' cool up on your moun'ain." Another cough, though more like just a prolonged clearing of her throat. She hasn't spoken to another creature in several days and her voice, already cracked and straining, is definitely a bit rusty at the moment. Her eyes, however, are clear and continue to size up the male in front of her. Not that she was expecting to recognize him, but her gaze confirms that this is a total stranger, yet his demeanor, in all of its curious caution, suggests no hostility toward her.
"I would invite you into my land, to slake your thirst." She /sounds/, after all, as though she needs it. "I suspect, however, that you would find water more quickly were you to look for it to the north." He knows the lands surrounding his territory, even if he rarely ventures into them. "I am Kein, Chieftain of the Amaranth Tribe." It's possible that she has heard of him specifically or, more generally, his tribe. Many animals seem to have, after all.
A frazzled eyebrow raises. "Amaranth Tribe? Never heard of them. Though I do be from a long ways 'way from here." Amber-Kai takes a few wobbly steps forward, stretches a little with a slight grimace, then takes a few more steps in Kein's direction. "Water, y'say? Lead to it, and much thanks t'you." Her rather scraggly and unkempt fur evidences many scars, yet none seem fairly recent. She's seen her share of conflict over many things, including water, but such things were a long time ago.
Kein cannot help but frown at the combination of the wobbly steps, grimace, and her... "request". Did she not hear him? "With a nod of his head, he says, "Due north, and you can't miss it. Simply follow the noise." No, he will not be leading her to that water source. Not this afternoon. "I cannot lead you there. I cannot leave my family for so long, but I promise, it is easy to find."
The same eyebrow raises even higher. "Did y'not say that y'had water on your own lands? I may be old enough to be yer ancestor, but I still have some good walkings left in these old paws o'mine. Lead m'to it, Chieftain Kein." An amused and somewhat toothy grin. "I promise t'not hurt yer family." As if she could. Granted, she could probably say a thing or two in the direction of an unruly cub! But physically, she'd be hard-pressed to hurt anyone who was aware of her presence. It's only due to many years of hunting experience that she's still able to feed herself, and even then, to her distaste, sometimes a meal comes in the form of finding someone else's kill and scaring them off. Poaching. Not something she enjoys, but... call it a senior discount.
Kein is not concerned about her hurting his family. He would rip her apart before she could raise a paw against any of them. It is concern for her that drove him to say what he did, but as she insists... "Very well." With no more hesitation, he turns to head back toward his territory. His pace is slower, now, than it was before. The cougar he is leading is, after all, very old.
Thankfully she's had most of the day to rest, otherwise Amber-Kai might have requested that they wait until several hours later toward the end of the sun's merciless heat. Her ears perk a little at the male's response, and as the chieftain sets off, the older feline falls in behind him, hoping that the distance isn't /too/ far. She won't complain, either way, but less pain is always preferable to more pain. An occasional grunt can be heard as they walk, and even some mumbling to herself, but if the male has ever been around elders before, it shouldn't be anything unexpected or unusual.
Kein keeps an eye on Amber-Kai as they continue to walk, to make sure that she does not fall behind, or that she is not in too much pain. After a while of walking, he speaks. "I gave you my name, and the name of my tribe. Are you going to give me yours?"
Another cough-laugh. "All y'had to do was ask me, Chieftain. M'name is Amber, honorific Kai. But you can just call me Amber, as I don' think m'honorific applies this far from m'old home." A definite snort this time, and not one of amusement. Besides, it's just one of those things that she'd probably rather just forget about. More just an old force of habit that she even mentioned it to this male, but what's done is done.
Amber... Kai? Also known as... Amber? Kein stops walking and turns to look at the much older cougaress. Old enough to be his grandmother? From very far away... Kein may be physically fit to be the Amaranth Chieftain, but he did not earn his position through physical prowess alone. He is not unintelligent, and now, faced with these so many things... "Have you had children, Amber? Daughters?"
Is this the Chieftain's idea of smalltalk? Or is there an ulterior motive? "Yes, yes. I've had several daughters, though you'd have to travel a fair distance if you were that desperate for a mate. Pretty girls though.. yes, yes." Amber-Kai laughs in somewhat of a croaking rumble. "Aren't there any females around here that tickle your fancy?" It seems absurd, the idea of being Chieftain of a tribe yet not having any available females? Or perhaps it really was just smalltalk in the first place. In that case, well.. she's answered his question. Yes, yes.
"Oh, there are plenty of females around here." One, in particular, that Kein is interested in romantically... Along with one no longer here that he is interested in right now. He remains still as he continues asking questions. "Maulisho. Was... Was she one of your daughters?" Perhaps he would not have to travel so far after all... But then, he is not interested in Maulisho as a mate.
Impossible. Amber-Kai is abruptly still, motionless, staring intently at the male in front of her. "I.. I had a daughter named Maulisho, yes. She was.. of my first mate." The one who left her. But.. how could this male have known? Either it was an extraordinarily lucky guess, or... or what? Blinkblink. "Why do you... ask such a thing?" The name runs through her aged mind again. Maulisho. A name that she had not thought about for quite some time. Years, in fact. A name that she didn't /want/ to think about, with eveyrthing associated with it.
Then this cougaress is... Kein sits down. Grandmother. The only grandmother he has ever known. "Your daughter... Was my mother." His mother never told him a great deal about his grandmother. After all, who could have expected that he would ever meet her?
Maulisho was his...?! Suddenly snarling, Amber-Kai lets her ears flatten as her eyes bore into the other feline. "Don't mock me, boy. My daughter Maulisho was killed when she was barely older than a cub. She never grew up, never had any cubs, and never became a mother. She's /dead/." And just as suddenly, the outburst of emotion is gone, seemingly having sapped the elder cougaress' limited energy, leaving her trembling and looking decidedly unhappy that such a topic has been brought up. Some things are best left buried in the past.
Kein does not respond kindly to being snarled at, nor to being called a liar, no matter who is doing the snarling or accusing him of lying. Baring his own teeth, Kein replies, "My mother's /sister/ was killed. My mother escaped." At least, that time, she did. "Her name was Maulisho, and she was a very good mother." Is it possible that there were two cougaresses around the same age with that name? Is it possible that both of them could have had mothers named Amber?
"They were /both/ killed. They..." Amber-Kai adopts the regal pose from earlier, though there's a definite hint of pain in her expression and tone. ".. they had to be. It was the only way." Taking in a somewhat shuddering breath, the elder cougaress regains control of herself. "M'second mate was very thorough. They both were killed quickly and easily, and I don't know who y'mother was, but it couldn't have been m'daughter." Definitely impossible. Neither of them survived the assassination. Her mate was quite clear in his report; besides, not only is it completely absurd that he would have lied to her, but how could either of the cubs have escaped from him in the first place? This is just some cruel mockery on the Chieftain's part, or the strangest coincidence that Amber-Kai has ever heard of.
"Your mate lied." Kein turns back around and begins walking again. "You are not welcome in my lands, Amber. Find your water to the north." With his mother's recent reincarnation... They just started moving past their troubles. She does not need this. /He/ does not need this. ... And, probably, Amber does not need this. Not with Maul starting to remember things.
Complete nonsense. Even if her second mate /had/ lied, and Amber-Kai is no more willing to believe that than she is that this cougar here is a female, Maulisho would never have been able to survive on her own. Besides, no feline bearing the Kai honorific would ever fail at such a simple killing task, and would most certainly /not/ stoop so low as to use deceit to cover failure. No. Most definitely an absurd claim by this Chieftain. Still, the abrupt question about a female named Maulisho /is/ rather disturbing, and something that Amber-Kai will have to think about for some time. Apparently it will be a solitary contemplation, as her invitation to the mountain seems to have been retracted. Without another word, she slowly turns around and begins hobbling toward the north. She's gone without water for long durations before, and she's quite certain that she'll survive, albeit with a tormenting thirst, until she manages to reach whatever body of water the male referenced earlier.