Post by Therdde on Oct 1, 2009 20:54:25 GMT -5
Characters:
Kein - Male Cougar
Maul - Female Juvenile Cougar
- Stone Formations -
Despite the fact that his second litter are growing quickly, it is difficult for Kein to leave them out of sight of himself or Nayeli. Maul has displayed an occasional desire to be alone from time to time. It's a habit he knows all too well, both from some of his first litter and from himself, as a child. Knowing that he and all of his first litter are alive and well still doesn't make it any easier to accept. As such, his patrol of the northern border was shorter, less thorough than usual, as his desire to return to his daughter overcame him. His journey to the stones, as he follows his daughter's trail, is a silent one. He's not frantic, at least. She doesn't seem to have wandered too terribly far from where he left her.
She's sleeping. At least, she *thinks* she's sleeping. Her mind is alert, her eyes are wide open, but even so, her limbs feel heavy, and the fog clouding her vision doesn't seem entirely natural. She *must* be dreaming, and for this reason, Maul doesn't allow what she sees to alarm her too greatly. It wasn't here, anyway. The grainy fog has blurred the stone formations to the point that she can't see them, leaving her with the distinct feeling that she is somewhere other than where she knows she laid down, somewhere she only vaguely knows. She has never been there, and she wasn't there when she needed to be, in the dream, either. All she can see is the aftermath. Even if it weren't a dream, she could do nothing to stop it, because it has already happened. All she can try to do is put the pieces together to try to know what happened, but there are bits missing, and she's not sure she *wants* to find them.
The stones come into sight just a few seconds before Maul does, and when he spots her, he stops walking for a while. He told himself he wasn't frantic, he kept his ace slow, but it's still a comfort to actually see her. For a time, he just watches her. She's... Well, she's breathing, and her eyes are open, but he can recognize the vacant stare, and after a time, a smile twitches at his muzzle. How long has it been since he simply zoned out like that? A couple more seconds, then he begins walking forward again and calls out, softly. "Maul."
There's a voice. It's familiar, but it's wrong. It doesn't fit. The piece is wrong. Before she can puzzle over this for too long, there's movement within her line of sight. It's blurry, but it serves the purpose of thinning out the fog. In just a few seconds, all that remains of the white layer in her vision are a few loose snowflakes wafting across her sight. Once the fog is gone, the movement becomes clearer. The young cougar slowly lifts her head, following the leg up to rest on Kein's familiar, red-painted face. It doesn't fit. It's not part of the dream-vision. It's... real. "Dad. Is it... It's time to go?" The confusion in her tone seems to add, "Already?" It feels as though it could have been just minutes ago that they parted ways.
The smile remains. His daughter may prefer her mother, but she is still beautiful and precious to him, and for all of her oddities, sometimes she is exactly like any cub. Adorable. "It is. Did you enjoy your nap?" He can't claim to understand why Maul would have wanted to come all the way out here just to nap, but that doesn't make her any less cute, upon waking. After speaking, Kein begins walking towards Maul again.
As Kein begins to approach her again, Maul stands and stretches. Her voice is quiet when she answers, "I didn't like my dream." It's not a complaint, really. Just an answer. The nap was okay, but the dream... Looking at her father, she tilts her head in thought, then says, "Does that... Do our markings come off? On other things, I mean. If, like... Okay, if I laid on the snow with my shoulder for a long time, would the snow be red when I got up?" Maul knows they fade, with time, and have to be reapplied, but... Where do they go?
Kein's smile finally fades when Maul says she had an unpleasant dream. Before he can comfort her, though, she goes on to ask a rambling question. He watches her closely, listening so that he won't have to ask her to repeat herself. Fairly certain he knows what she's asking, he answers, "Not... exactly. A couple bits of fur might be on the snow, but the snow itself wouldn't be red, any more than it's tan if we shed a bit of our unmarked fur." With no real distance left between them, he stops walking to watch her for a reaction.
"I thought not." Maul doesn't like her suspicions being confirmed, though. With nothing more, she begins walking south, back toward home. It'll be the long way around, because she really doesn't want to go to the place that she saw, but... Well, it was the long way around to get here, too. Should she tell her dad what she saw? But, it was only a dream, and... It's over. There's nothing anyone can do about it.
Kein blinks as his daughter walks past him. He follows her first with his gaze, a little confused. After a couple seconds, he starts walking after her, no less confused for his brief watching of her. After a few minutes of walking, he says, "Maul, is there... You know that you can tell me anything, right?" He may not understand. He often doesn't, with Maul. He can always listen, though, and try to help.
Maul nods, but she doesn't stop, and she doesn't say anything else. She asked Kein what she wanted to know. All she wants, now, is to go home, where, hopefully, her sister and mother will be awake, so she can distract herself with playing and not have to think about what all of the red in her dream-vision might have meant, or what might be in those missing pieces.
As his daughter doesn't seem eager to talk, he escorts her towards home in silence. Maybe she'll say something to Nayeli, and he'll be able to learn something from his mate, since it's unlikely he'll learn anything directly from Maul, if the past gives him any indication. Without her saying something, he has no way of knowing how to direct his questions, but without specific questions, Maul seldom lets anything slip.
Kein - Male Cougar
Maul - Female Juvenile Cougar
- Stone Formations -
Despite the fact that his second litter are growing quickly, it is difficult for Kein to leave them out of sight of himself or Nayeli. Maul has displayed an occasional desire to be alone from time to time. It's a habit he knows all too well, both from some of his first litter and from himself, as a child. Knowing that he and all of his first litter are alive and well still doesn't make it any easier to accept. As such, his patrol of the northern border was shorter, less thorough than usual, as his desire to return to his daughter overcame him. His journey to the stones, as he follows his daughter's trail, is a silent one. He's not frantic, at least. She doesn't seem to have wandered too terribly far from where he left her.
She's sleeping. At least, she *thinks* she's sleeping. Her mind is alert, her eyes are wide open, but even so, her limbs feel heavy, and the fog clouding her vision doesn't seem entirely natural. She *must* be dreaming, and for this reason, Maul doesn't allow what she sees to alarm her too greatly. It wasn't here, anyway. The grainy fog has blurred the stone formations to the point that she can't see them, leaving her with the distinct feeling that she is somewhere other than where she knows she laid down, somewhere she only vaguely knows. She has never been there, and she wasn't there when she needed to be, in the dream, either. All she can see is the aftermath. Even if it weren't a dream, she could do nothing to stop it, because it has already happened. All she can try to do is put the pieces together to try to know what happened, but there are bits missing, and she's not sure she *wants* to find them.
The stones come into sight just a few seconds before Maul does, and when he spots her, he stops walking for a while. He told himself he wasn't frantic, he kept his ace slow, but it's still a comfort to actually see her. For a time, he just watches her. She's... Well, she's breathing, and her eyes are open, but he can recognize the vacant stare, and after a time, a smile twitches at his muzzle. How long has it been since he simply zoned out like that? A couple more seconds, then he begins walking forward again and calls out, softly. "Maul."
There's a voice. It's familiar, but it's wrong. It doesn't fit. The piece is wrong. Before she can puzzle over this for too long, there's movement within her line of sight. It's blurry, but it serves the purpose of thinning out the fog. In just a few seconds, all that remains of the white layer in her vision are a few loose snowflakes wafting across her sight. Once the fog is gone, the movement becomes clearer. The young cougar slowly lifts her head, following the leg up to rest on Kein's familiar, red-painted face. It doesn't fit. It's not part of the dream-vision. It's... real. "Dad. Is it... It's time to go?" The confusion in her tone seems to add, "Already?" It feels as though it could have been just minutes ago that they parted ways.
The smile remains. His daughter may prefer her mother, but she is still beautiful and precious to him, and for all of her oddities, sometimes she is exactly like any cub. Adorable. "It is. Did you enjoy your nap?" He can't claim to understand why Maul would have wanted to come all the way out here just to nap, but that doesn't make her any less cute, upon waking. After speaking, Kein begins walking towards Maul again.
As Kein begins to approach her again, Maul stands and stretches. Her voice is quiet when she answers, "I didn't like my dream." It's not a complaint, really. Just an answer. The nap was okay, but the dream... Looking at her father, she tilts her head in thought, then says, "Does that... Do our markings come off? On other things, I mean. If, like... Okay, if I laid on the snow with my shoulder for a long time, would the snow be red when I got up?" Maul knows they fade, with time, and have to be reapplied, but... Where do they go?
Kein's smile finally fades when Maul says she had an unpleasant dream. Before he can comfort her, though, she goes on to ask a rambling question. He watches her closely, listening so that he won't have to ask her to repeat herself. Fairly certain he knows what she's asking, he answers, "Not... exactly. A couple bits of fur might be on the snow, but the snow itself wouldn't be red, any more than it's tan if we shed a bit of our unmarked fur." With no real distance left between them, he stops walking to watch her for a reaction.
"I thought not." Maul doesn't like her suspicions being confirmed, though. With nothing more, she begins walking south, back toward home. It'll be the long way around, because she really doesn't want to go to the place that she saw, but... Well, it was the long way around to get here, too. Should she tell her dad what she saw? But, it was only a dream, and... It's over. There's nothing anyone can do about it.
Kein blinks as his daughter walks past him. He follows her first with his gaze, a little confused. After a couple seconds, he starts walking after her, no less confused for his brief watching of her. After a few minutes of walking, he says, "Maul, is there... You know that you can tell me anything, right?" He may not understand. He often doesn't, with Maul. He can always listen, though, and try to help.
Maul nods, but she doesn't stop, and she doesn't say anything else. She asked Kein what she wanted to know. All she wants, now, is to go home, where, hopefully, her sister and mother will be awake, so she can distract herself with playing and not have to think about what all of the red in her dream-vision might have meant, or what might be in those missing pieces.
As his daughter doesn't seem eager to talk, he escorts her towards home in silence. Maybe she'll say something to Nayeli, and he'll be able to learn something from his mate, since it's unlikely he'll learn anything directly from Maul, if the past gives him any indication. Without her saying something, he has no way of knowing how to direct his questions, but without specific questions, Maul seldom lets anything slip.