Post by Therdde on Jan 20, 2010 10:34:29 GMT -5
Characters:
Scorch - Female Cougar
Kaya - Female Cougar
Kein - Male Cougar
- Sloping Gradient -
Scorch is MUCH more relaxed after having met Sweet-Rain. Something about that Shamaness ... she must have a lot of magic in her. The new Amaranth recruit is actually /humming/ as she truges down from the foothills. She still has not met most of Amaranth, but she is very much liking what she has seen and whom she has met so far. She is feeling a bit peckish, and she comes sniffing for prey ... a waried bird roosting on the ground, a rabbit ... heck, a rat would do.
Kaya has decided after a long time away with her mate, Scuddle, that she misses home. She felt that a visit would be a good thing. Telling Scuddle she would meet him back at the desert in a little time, she heads for the mountain home she had grown in.
Neither of Kein's older daughters have been in Amaranth in some time, and with the departure of one of his younger daughters... Well, Kein can finally understand what his mother meant when she said she doesn't know how to be anything but a parent. This parent has picked up quickly on a scent that, though matured, is still familiar, and it is with no hesitation that he has followed the breeze that brought it to him.
Scorch begins to pick up the trail of a large, old har and sniffs along its scent-trail when she senses others are about and aborts her hunt. She mrrowls aloud, "I am Scorch, a new Amaranth recruit, accepted by the Chieftain and Shamaness." She is a little tense, an entire lifetime of unpleasant encounters with unfamiliar cougars yet to overcome, but not as tense as she had when first meeting Kein.
"Well Scorch, new Amaranth recruit, accepted by the Chieftain and Shamaness..." Replies Kaya bemusedly. "Might you know where the Chieftain and Matron are?" Kaya says with a grin. "And must you be so nervous? The Amaranth are a peaceful sort, after all."
It is now your pose.
It's almost easier to recognize Kaya's scent than it is to recognize the sight of his firstborn. That's his first scent as he passes a boulder and spots her. Oh, how she has grown. With a smile, Kein continues approaching and calls out. "Kaya!" He notices Scorch near his daughter, but his daughter is much more important to him.
Scorch mrrowls, "I only had the pleasure of meeting him briefly a few days ago. I have yet to meet the Matron ... and ... I apologize," she says. "Everyone has been very gracious to me. I'm ... I've been a vagrant my whole life. Outside of Amaranth, cougars not familiar with each other are ... not very welcoming. I still feel ... ancy ... since I haven't met so many of the tribe yet." She looks down a bit submissively before this cougress. "Could I have the pleasure of knowing your na..." she starts to ask when a newly familiar male answers the question for her. Scorch graciously bows and steps back to allow Kein and this ... new sister of hers ... to greet.
Kaya blinks and turns her head to see her father. "Daddy!" Kaya says and walks over to give him a nuzzle. She has indeed grown. An adult cougaress now. "I kept thinking about everyone, so I just had to come back for a visit. Is mom also around?"
Kein nuzzles his daughter fiercely as the two meet. Of course, he has had to wonder, at times, what has become of all of his first litter. How could he be anything but relieved to see Kaya, looking well? "It is wonderful to see you, Kaya. Your mother has spent the last week lamenting the loss of winter by inhabiting the highest cliffs." It's just a light-hearted joke. What Nayeli really sorrows over is Maul's departure, but... Well, he doesn't want to bring any sorrow to this reunion.
Scorch sits quietly, soaking up the love and harmony between father and daughter. For most cougars, fathers' jobs end at conception and have no interest in getting to know their cubs. Is so different than Scorch has ever known ... so much more beautiful. She says nothing to disrupt their harmony, but can't help but smile warmly. A bit more happiness and she might even purr like a cub!
Fortunately Scorch was not around to see when Kaya and Kein had a great conflict between them. It's all bygones to Kaya now, who feels only warmth at being with her father. "Well, she should realize spring is much more beautiful anyway." She doesn't pay Scorch much mind.
Kein steps back to smile at his daughter. "I see you haven't lost that dislike for the snow." In order to not be entirely rude, he looks to Scorch, then says, "In case she'd not yet gotten around to properly introducing herself, yet, this is my oldest child. Kaya." The name is not so important to him as the relationship, as if Scorch could not have figured it out for herself, by now. He is a proud father. He can hardly be blamed.
Scorch marvels a bit. "I would not have thought you old enough to have such a fine, mature cougress for a daughter," she says to Kein, then realizes that was maybe a bit more sloppy-flattering than she intended.
Kaya just giggles and looks over to Scorch. "Well, they were young." Kaya says, "But in the end they proved to be excellent parents who I wouldn't trade for anything. Except perhaps Scuddle." Before Kein can respond, she says, "Ilm only teasing, Daddy."
So, she is still with Scuddle. And Jinx? Kein has not smelled her anywhere in Amaranth, but he knows that Kasim has been around, recently. "And what of you, Kaya? I distinctly remember you threatening me with grandcubs, right before you left. I can only hope that you have not left such young children alone, without their mother, to visit here." There is no need to focus, in this instance, on all of the things about Kaya's preferred family that upset him. He is determined to only enjoy this meeting, not let any part of it upset him.
Scorch feels a little less comfortable as the conversation loses its pleasant sheen. She sits quietly, though.
Kaya smiles. "Unfortunately, no grandcubs for you yet, daddy. If I do ever bear them, they will be brought here to meet you. And possibly as a place to grow." She seems to sense Scorch's unease, turning to face her. "Are you alright?"
"My own cubs are all grown now, Kaya. Perhaps if you ever bear cubs, your mother and I can come to visit you, instead of the other way around. As I seem to recall, travelling with cubs is seldom pleasant." His tone remains lighthearted, though his smile fades a bit as Kaya calls his attention to Scorch.
Scorch brightens a bit as the cloud seems to pass. "I'm ... more than alright, actually. So ... you had a taste of life outside Amaranth?" she asks Kaya. "Its good you had someone to be with out there," she remarks, not thinking her dad probably didn't want another reminder of that. At the father's mention, though, she nods in agreement with him. "I don't know whether lands just outside Amaranth borders are as bad as most places I've travelled through ... but he's right. So many times, wandering alone, I've barely managed to escape with my own hide intact, and I had to run so hard I could barely breathe. Packs of wolves that can suddenly surround you, other cougars who consider you a threatening to kill first and ask questions later, or grizzly bears who just seem perpetually pissed off at everything. Trying to dodge all that while keeping a cub safe ... not a fun game to play."
"Which sounds more like an argument for coming here, where the cubs could be safe." Kaya says as a for-instance. "Only problem is I'd have to leave Scuddle behind." She hasn't forgotten her father's policy on other mmales, after all.
Her father's policy. Her great-grandfather's policy. Only one male in recent history has been very lax with the males he would allow around, and that era did not end well. "Is where you've been living not safe, Kaya?" Kein has no intention of allowing Scuddle or his brothers back. He does not like the idea that his children are in constant danger, though.
Scorch seems lost in thought. The notion of a father actually taking an interest in his cubs is more than most cougress' could hope for ... but ... over time, Scorch can't help but fathom the problem as daughters grow up. She turns to the Chieftain and bows her head lowly. "Forgive my ... offensible question ... Chieftain ... but ... if you have a grown daughter ... how does that work? I mean ..." she flops a bit, embarrassed. "She'd be a blood relative and couldn't ... you know ... breed." It'd be a long time before Scorch need worry about such things, but she has no idea what the tribe's traditions are.
Kaya blinks. "Well no." Kaya says, "Of course I wouldn't breed with my father." She's never heard of such a thing. Parents mating with their offspring? "Um.... well, we're not unsafe, really. But... we don't really have a home."
Kein nearly bares his teeth at the implication that he would ever think about breeding with his daughter. "The daughter who inherits this territory from her mother will have her choice in a mate. I would never do anything so inappropriate with any of them." He's not pleased... But at least he avoids growling as he, first, answers Scorch, then looks to Kaya. "You know that Scuddle cannot have a home here, Kaya, and you know why. I would never ask that you leave your mate, but if you are not safe... I can leave. Help you settle a place. I couldn't stay away long. Amaranth has troubles of its own, yet. I would do everything I could, though."
Scorch shrinks back. "I'm sorry, I just ... wondered how that worked ... for some reason I imagined patrilineal lines. Matrilineal is the way our kind are meant to be, I guess." She tries to think without being insulting. "Is there particularly bad blood with this Scuddle?" she asks the Chieftain. "If you merely do not wish him in your territory ... maybe he could become a ... confederate, of sorts. Have a sovereignty, claim territory bordering, but not overlapping Amaranth? Then, as they became stronger, they could serve as a border shield ... and for now, they wouldn't be far should they need help." She hopes this idea isn't as badly received as her previous question.
Kaya ers, "I'm sure that we'll be okay. We haven't been having any problems." Kaya says. She was mostly just thinking it might be tougher to raise cubs without more protection if she were to need it. "We'll be fine."
Kein nuzzles against his daughter again. "Of course, our grandcubs are welcome here too, Kaya. And, of course, Scuddle would be welcome on our borders, if he were to escort you here, to keep you and your cubs safe. It was simply an offer. I would have loved to have my parents around, when my first litter was born." This is said with a wink to Kaya, as he answers Scorch's questions by talking to his daughter.
Scorch remains silent for several awkward moments, then turns to the Chieftain and asks, "Can I ask how you came to Amaranth?"
Kaya sits down and looks over at Scorch. She knows this story a little, but there's always the unsettling parts.
Kein looks back to Scorch again. "I was born here. My family moved when we were very young." He speaks of no unpleasantness. Why would he? Those things happened years ago. "When I came of age, I returned and reunited with my childhood sweetheart, and when it came time for her to inherit the land, she decided I was worth keeping around." What he tells is a much cuter story than what actually happened, but his determination to keep this meeting happy has not left him.
Scorch comments, "I had the pleasure of meeting the Shamaness last night. I ... think she did something. I felt so relaxed after meeting her."
Kaya blinks, then looks over at her father. "You finally found a new shamaness?" Kaya asks curiously.
Kein answers Scorch's statement with a smile, then looks to his daughter. "Sweet-Rain... You likely knew her as Nium... She has spent a great many months studying to fill that role, and she has done a good job of it, so far."
Scorch says, "I ... still feel a stranger here, afraid I'll find a cougress who doesn't know I'm here, and ... well ... I guess that's just paranoia, from all the territorial cougresses who have chased me out over the years ... but somehow, after meeting her, I'm not quite so nervous." She says, "I've never really known a shamaness before. Just seems like ... something about her ... is relaxing and peaceful."
Kaya blinks, and then smiles. "Nium, huh?" Kaya says. "Well, I'm happy for her."
"If you learn nothing else quickly, Scorch, you will soon learn that the cougaresses here generally trust me to do the chasing. So long as you are civil, you shouldn't have any problems." The answer is simple and truthful. He doesn't foresee any problems.
Scorch asks Kaya, "You knew her before she was Shamaness?"
Kaya nods. "She was a kind old female from my youth. From what I understand she's been around since before my birth." Kaya says. "So, when did she start calling herself Sweet-Rain, Daddy?"
That one takes a bit of thought. Oh. Yeah. "It was... Well, quite a while ago. There was some sort of celebration, down in the forest. Your sisters were still very young, and so I could not go, when I was invited. I sent Sweet-Rain in my stead, and she came back with the new name. Or... Old name, I guess, since she said that's the name her mother gave her."
Scorch licks her chops, still feeling peckish, not having managed to hunt yet. On that note she asks, "Are there official hunting grounds for members to hunt in?" she asks.
Kaya hmmms. "I guess I'll have to ask her more about that. I need my mark refreshed anyway." Kaya says to her father, then look over at Scorch. "Official hunting grounds?"
Kein shakes his head in response to the question. No official hunting ground. Looking to his daughter, he says, "I'll let both her and your mother know that you are here, when I see them."
Scorch asks, "Is Kaya's mother the Matron?"
Kaya looks at Scorch. "Yes, my mother is Nayeli, the Matron." Kaya says, then finally sits. "I'm in no hurry to leave. Scuddle understood I'd likely be a few days at least."
Which means they can't be all that far away. Kein would not be surprised if Nayeli decides to head back with Kaya, anyway. Moving to nuzzle his daughter, he says, "Still... The sooner, the better. I know your mother will want to see you. I'll go and let her know, and then be back, okay?"
Scorch says nothing to intrude on the coversation, sniffing the air for any sign of game. She actually hasn't eaten anything since arriving in the tribe's turf, which was ... how many days ago? She feels her stomach grumble a bit.
Scorch - Female Cougar
Kaya - Female Cougar
Kein - Male Cougar
- Sloping Gradient -
Scorch is MUCH more relaxed after having met Sweet-Rain. Something about that Shamaness ... she must have a lot of magic in her. The new Amaranth recruit is actually /humming/ as she truges down from the foothills. She still has not met most of Amaranth, but she is very much liking what she has seen and whom she has met so far. She is feeling a bit peckish, and she comes sniffing for prey ... a waried bird roosting on the ground, a rabbit ... heck, a rat would do.
Kaya has decided after a long time away with her mate, Scuddle, that she misses home. She felt that a visit would be a good thing. Telling Scuddle she would meet him back at the desert in a little time, she heads for the mountain home she had grown in.
Neither of Kein's older daughters have been in Amaranth in some time, and with the departure of one of his younger daughters... Well, Kein can finally understand what his mother meant when she said she doesn't know how to be anything but a parent. This parent has picked up quickly on a scent that, though matured, is still familiar, and it is with no hesitation that he has followed the breeze that brought it to him.
Scorch begins to pick up the trail of a large, old har and sniffs along its scent-trail when she senses others are about and aborts her hunt. She mrrowls aloud, "I am Scorch, a new Amaranth recruit, accepted by the Chieftain and Shamaness." She is a little tense, an entire lifetime of unpleasant encounters with unfamiliar cougars yet to overcome, but not as tense as she had when first meeting Kein.
"Well Scorch, new Amaranth recruit, accepted by the Chieftain and Shamaness..." Replies Kaya bemusedly. "Might you know where the Chieftain and Matron are?" Kaya says with a grin. "And must you be so nervous? The Amaranth are a peaceful sort, after all."
It is now your pose.
It's almost easier to recognize Kaya's scent than it is to recognize the sight of his firstborn. That's his first scent as he passes a boulder and spots her. Oh, how she has grown. With a smile, Kein continues approaching and calls out. "Kaya!" He notices Scorch near his daughter, but his daughter is much more important to him.
Scorch mrrowls, "I only had the pleasure of meeting him briefly a few days ago. I have yet to meet the Matron ... and ... I apologize," she says. "Everyone has been very gracious to me. I'm ... I've been a vagrant my whole life. Outside of Amaranth, cougars not familiar with each other are ... not very welcoming. I still feel ... ancy ... since I haven't met so many of the tribe yet." She looks down a bit submissively before this cougress. "Could I have the pleasure of knowing your na..." she starts to ask when a newly familiar male answers the question for her. Scorch graciously bows and steps back to allow Kein and this ... new sister of hers ... to greet.
Kaya blinks and turns her head to see her father. "Daddy!" Kaya says and walks over to give him a nuzzle. She has indeed grown. An adult cougaress now. "I kept thinking about everyone, so I just had to come back for a visit. Is mom also around?"
Kein nuzzles his daughter fiercely as the two meet. Of course, he has had to wonder, at times, what has become of all of his first litter. How could he be anything but relieved to see Kaya, looking well? "It is wonderful to see you, Kaya. Your mother has spent the last week lamenting the loss of winter by inhabiting the highest cliffs." It's just a light-hearted joke. What Nayeli really sorrows over is Maul's departure, but... Well, he doesn't want to bring any sorrow to this reunion.
Scorch sits quietly, soaking up the love and harmony between father and daughter. For most cougars, fathers' jobs end at conception and have no interest in getting to know their cubs. Is so different than Scorch has ever known ... so much more beautiful. She says nothing to disrupt their harmony, but can't help but smile warmly. A bit more happiness and she might even purr like a cub!
Fortunately Scorch was not around to see when Kaya and Kein had a great conflict between them. It's all bygones to Kaya now, who feels only warmth at being with her father. "Well, she should realize spring is much more beautiful anyway." She doesn't pay Scorch much mind.
Kein steps back to smile at his daughter. "I see you haven't lost that dislike for the snow." In order to not be entirely rude, he looks to Scorch, then says, "In case she'd not yet gotten around to properly introducing herself, yet, this is my oldest child. Kaya." The name is not so important to him as the relationship, as if Scorch could not have figured it out for herself, by now. He is a proud father. He can hardly be blamed.
Scorch marvels a bit. "I would not have thought you old enough to have such a fine, mature cougress for a daughter," she says to Kein, then realizes that was maybe a bit more sloppy-flattering than she intended.
Kaya just giggles and looks over to Scorch. "Well, they were young." Kaya says, "But in the end they proved to be excellent parents who I wouldn't trade for anything. Except perhaps Scuddle." Before Kein can respond, she says, "Ilm only teasing, Daddy."
So, she is still with Scuddle. And Jinx? Kein has not smelled her anywhere in Amaranth, but he knows that Kasim has been around, recently. "And what of you, Kaya? I distinctly remember you threatening me with grandcubs, right before you left. I can only hope that you have not left such young children alone, without their mother, to visit here." There is no need to focus, in this instance, on all of the things about Kaya's preferred family that upset him. He is determined to only enjoy this meeting, not let any part of it upset him.
Scorch feels a little less comfortable as the conversation loses its pleasant sheen. She sits quietly, though.
Kaya smiles. "Unfortunately, no grandcubs for you yet, daddy. If I do ever bear them, they will be brought here to meet you. And possibly as a place to grow." She seems to sense Scorch's unease, turning to face her. "Are you alright?"
"My own cubs are all grown now, Kaya. Perhaps if you ever bear cubs, your mother and I can come to visit you, instead of the other way around. As I seem to recall, travelling with cubs is seldom pleasant." His tone remains lighthearted, though his smile fades a bit as Kaya calls his attention to Scorch.
Scorch brightens a bit as the cloud seems to pass. "I'm ... more than alright, actually. So ... you had a taste of life outside Amaranth?" she asks Kaya. "Its good you had someone to be with out there," she remarks, not thinking her dad probably didn't want another reminder of that. At the father's mention, though, she nods in agreement with him. "I don't know whether lands just outside Amaranth borders are as bad as most places I've travelled through ... but he's right. So many times, wandering alone, I've barely managed to escape with my own hide intact, and I had to run so hard I could barely breathe. Packs of wolves that can suddenly surround you, other cougars who consider you a threatening to kill first and ask questions later, or grizzly bears who just seem perpetually pissed off at everything. Trying to dodge all that while keeping a cub safe ... not a fun game to play."
"Which sounds more like an argument for coming here, where the cubs could be safe." Kaya says as a for-instance. "Only problem is I'd have to leave Scuddle behind." She hasn't forgotten her father's policy on other mmales, after all.
Her father's policy. Her great-grandfather's policy. Only one male in recent history has been very lax with the males he would allow around, and that era did not end well. "Is where you've been living not safe, Kaya?" Kein has no intention of allowing Scuddle or his brothers back. He does not like the idea that his children are in constant danger, though.
Scorch seems lost in thought. The notion of a father actually taking an interest in his cubs is more than most cougress' could hope for ... but ... over time, Scorch can't help but fathom the problem as daughters grow up. She turns to the Chieftain and bows her head lowly. "Forgive my ... offensible question ... Chieftain ... but ... if you have a grown daughter ... how does that work? I mean ..." she flops a bit, embarrassed. "She'd be a blood relative and couldn't ... you know ... breed." It'd be a long time before Scorch need worry about such things, but she has no idea what the tribe's traditions are.
Kaya blinks. "Well no." Kaya says, "Of course I wouldn't breed with my father." She's never heard of such a thing. Parents mating with their offspring? "Um.... well, we're not unsafe, really. But... we don't really have a home."
Kein nearly bares his teeth at the implication that he would ever think about breeding with his daughter. "The daughter who inherits this territory from her mother will have her choice in a mate. I would never do anything so inappropriate with any of them." He's not pleased... But at least he avoids growling as he, first, answers Scorch, then looks to Kaya. "You know that Scuddle cannot have a home here, Kaya, and you know why. I would never ask that you leave your mate, but if you are not safe... I can leave. Help you settle a place. I couldn't stay away long. Amaranth has troubles of its own, yet. I would do everything I could, though."
Scorch shrinks back. "I'm sorry, I just ... wondered how that worked ... for some reason I imagined patrilineal lines. Matrilineal is the way our kind are meant to be, I guess." She tries to think without being insulting. "Is there particularly bad blood with this Scuddle?" she asks the Chieftain. "If you merely do not wish him in your territory ... maybe he could become a ... confederate, of sorts. Have a sovereignty, claim territory bordering, but not overlapping Amaranth? Then, as they became stronger, they could serve as a border shield ... and for now, they wouldn't be far should they need help." She hopes this idea isn't as badly received as her previous question.
Kaya ers, "I'm sure that we'll be okay. We haven't been having any problems." Kaya says. She was mostly just thinking it might be tougher to raise cubs without more protection if she were to need it. "We'll be fine."
Kein nuzzles against his daughter again. "Of course, our grandcubs are welcome here too, Kaya. And, of course, Scuddle would be welcome on our borders, if he were to escort you here, to keep you and your cubs safe. It was simply an offer. I would have loved to have my parents around, when my first litter was born." This is said with a wink to Kaya, as he answers Scorch's questions by talking to his daughter.
Scorch remains silent for several awkward moments, then turns to the Chieftain and asks, "Can I ask how you came to Amaranth?"
Kaya sits down and looks over at Scorch. She knows this story a little, but there's always the unsettling parts.
Kein looks back to Scorch again. "I was born here. My family moved when we were very young." He speaks of no unpleasantness. Why would he? Those things happened years ago. "When I came of age, I returned and reunited with my childhood sweetheart, and when it came time for her to inherit the land, she decided I was worth keeping around." What he tells is a much cuter story than what actually happened, but his determination to keep this meeting happy has not left him.
Scorch comments, "I had the pleasure of meeting the Shamaness last night. I ... think she did something. I felt so relaxed after meeting her."
Kaya blinks, then looks over at her father. "You finally found a new shamaness?" Kaya asks curiously.
Kein answers Scorch's statement with a smile, then looks to his daughter. "Sweet-Rain... You likely knew her as Nium... She has spent a great many months studying to fill that role, and she has done a good job of it, so far."
Scorch says, "I ... still feel a stranger here, afraid I'll find a cougress who doesn't know I'm here, and ... well ... I guess that's just paranoia, from all the territorial cougresses who have chased me out over the years ... but somehow, after meeting her, I'm not quite so nervous." She says, "I've never really known a shamaness before. Just seems like ... something about her ... is relaxing and peaceful."
Kaya blinks, and then smiles. "Nium, huh?" Kaya says. "Well, I'm happy for her."
"If you learn nothing else quickly, Scorch, you will soon learn that the cougaresses here generally trust me to do the chasing. So long as you are civil, you shouldn't have any problems." The answer is simple and truthful. He doesn't foresee any problems.
Scorch asks Kaya, "You knew her before she was Shamaness?"
Kaya nods. "She was a kind old female from my youth. From what I understand she's been around since before my birth." Kaya says. "So, when did she start calling herself Sweet-Rain, Daddy?"
That one takes a bit of thought. Oh. Yeah. "It was... Well, quite a while ago. There was some sort of celebration, down in the forest. Your sisters were still very young, and so I could not go, when I was invited. I sent Sweet-Rain in my stead, and she came back with the new name. Or... Old name, I guess, since she said that's the name her mother gave her."
Scorch licks her chops, still feeling peckish, not having managed to hunt yet. On that note she asks, "Are there official hunting grounds for members to hunt in?" she asks.
Kaya hmmms. "I guess I'll have to ask her more about that. I need my mark refreshed anyway." Kaya says to her father, then look over at Scorch. "Official hunting grounds?"
Kein shakes his head in response to the question. No official hunting ground. Looking to his daughter, he says, "I'll let both her and your mother know that you are here, when I see them."
Scorch asks, "Is Kaya's mother the Matron?"
Kaya looks at Scorch. "Yes, my mother is Nayeli, the Matron." Kaya says, then finally sits. "I'm in no hurry to leave. Scuddle understood I'd likely be a few days at least."
Which means they can't be all that far away. Kein would not be surprised if Nayeli decides to head back with Kaya, anyway. Moving to nuzzle his daughter, he says, "Still... The sooner, the better. I know your mother will want to see you. I'll go and let her know, and then be back, okay?"
Scorch says nothing to intrude on the coversation, sniffing the air for any sign of game. She actually hasn't eaten anything since arriving in the tribe's turf, which was ... how many days ago? She feels her stomach grumble a bit.