Post by avalikia on Feb 17, 2010 22:03:54 GMT -5
Characters:
Niabi - Female Elk
Catori - Female Elk
Ojalo - Male Elk
Setting:
Trickling River
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Is there any happier creature in the forest than Niabi? If so, she's giving them a run for their money. Whatever worries or cares she might otherwise be feeling, they've been knocked totally aside by thoughts of Ojalo and whether or not their time together has been productive. Really, can there be a happier thought than that? And so, while she grazes on the riverbank she's practically glowing with sheer satisfaction in the world. Sooner or later she'll be brought back to the reality that she's got a lot of busy work ahead of her, but for now she's content to enjoy the euphoria while it lasts.
One of the said happier creatures just so happened to be nearby the river still, though her giddiness had simmered down over the course of the day. After meeting another cow that had apparently been inducted into the herd before she'd met her, Catori had taken to resting for most of the day. Quite the lazy one, she'd wanted to wander in search of her beloved poet Mojag, but had opted to stay near the river and thusly the other elk as well. If all went according to plan, she was carrying precious cargo now! Not that it was in any way visible, but she knew she'd have to go through that painful process of calving eventually. And when she did, Mojag would have hell to pay. For now though, Catori is in a euphoric state much like Niabi, as is evident by the way she practically frolics toward the river.
Sheer joy does not dull Niabi's senses whatsoever. It's just that if she was attacked by something, she wouldn't mind it so much right now. So when she hears something approaching from the forest, her head goes up but there's no getting rid of that contented smile on her face. Fortunately, the noise turns out to be Catori, and Niabi can't help but chuckle when she sees the evidence of her herdmate's mood. "Looks like you're feeling better," she comments as soon as Catori is within earshot.
Catori's ears perk at the voice of Niabi, who she figured was nearby, but perhaps didn't expect so.. close! "Niabi!" She exclaims, and prances over to her in a hurry, twitching her ears and short tail at the same time and just appearing overly excited. "You won't believe what happened yesterday! Best day of my life, I'm almost sure of it!" Enthused was an understatement, but she doesn't want to forget her manners. "What about you, hmm?" She asks with a knowing grin, seeing how contented and happy Niabi looked as well.
"Oh, really?" Niabi says enthusiastically, some of Catori's energy rubbing off on her, "What happened yesterday?" She already has a few guesses, actually, not being new to any of this at all, but guesses are hardly worth much when she can hear about it outright. "Me? Bah, forget about me. Tell me about you first!" As exciting as what she might share is, she considers what Catori might say to be a bit more important. This isn't her first successful rut, after all.
Another giggle was given, and Catori shifted around restlessly with excitement on her hooves before she spilled the good news. "Well, I'm not sure /exactly/ how it happened.. but I came down here yesterday for a drink and, wouldn't you know it, Mojag was here too! He was so nice and so respectful, he knew I was still a little nervous around him, but.. he's just the sweetest bull I've ever met, Niabi!" She gushes, and lets out a short sigh, wishing that he was here with them both so she could attempt to flatter him with her words, and to hear his as well. "Anyway! I'm still not sure how exactly we went from talking about how he smelled funny to.. uh, but, yeah! I'll be having a playmate for Aylen, come spring."
To say that Niabi is paying attention would be an understatement, as she hangs onto Catori's every word with her smile only growing. "Congratulations!" she gushes when Catori is finished, her words quickened by her excitement, "I couldn't be happier for you! You and Mojag, huh? That is so exciting! Ojalo will be a bit upset I imagine - ah, but don't worry about that, they'll sort it out." She pauses just long enough to breathe. "Speaking of Ojalo, I imagine Aylen's younger sibling will be glad for the playmate too..."
"Thank you!" Catori says, and beams with a wide smile. "He really is such a sweetheart.. so good with words! I've never met another bull like him before.." Trailing off, she finds herself gushing once more, and clears her throat. A light stomp was given as to calm herself down, but it was in vain as she listened to Niabi's news as well, and let out an odd squeak of joy. "Really! You and Ojalo?" She asks, and tilts her head to one side, still grinning madly. "Aw.. y'know.. I can see you two together. Both business oriented! Even though he's much quieter than.. anyone, really." A blink was given at the notion that Ojalo would be upset, not having thought about that before her encounter with Mojag, but she shrugged. "Psh.. I'll leave that for them to sort out."
"Business oriented?" Niabi says with a laugh, never having thought of herself or Ojalo that way but not offended at all, "I suppose so. And yes, he is quiet. And good-hearted, and strong, and..." It's all she can do to stop herself from gushing too. Sufficeth to say, she made her choice and she's happy with it. "Anyway, I can't imagine they'll have too much to sort out. Two of us, two of them; seems fair to me. But as I told you, Ojalo does like you," she grins, nudging Catori playfully.
The reaction from Niabi was kind of expected. 'Business-oriented' wasn't necessarily a good way to put it. "Well, y'know.. you and him are the ones who are concerned about the whitetails and whatnot the most. It's a good thing!" She says, and then listens to all the compliments that were thrown in Ojalo's direction, grinning at each one of them. Yes, Ojalo was was good-hearted, and strong, and he was mighty handsome too, but Mojag had won her heart with how.. odd he was. "I hope not.. the last thing I'd want to happen is for one of them to be ran off.." Especially since Ojalo was noted as the lead bull, and though she had much faith in Mojag, she would assume that he would be the one to get the boot. At the nudge, Catori nudges the older cow back, and rolls her eyes. "Nah.. he's too serious."
"Ran off?" Niabi chuckles and shakes her head, "Nah, at worst they'll argue, maybe bash eachother on the head a little. But then once both of them prove that they're tough they'll be okay again. Bulls are like that. You should be flattered. And Ojalo does like you; I think it's because of that time when it was just the two of you before I came back. He'll have to do something to make himself feel better about it, I'm sure." For her part, Niabi doesn't seem too concerned about it. Actually, she kind of hopes that it will come down to a fight, and that she'll be around when it happens so that she can watch...
"You never know.. some bulls are crazy like that.." She kind of mutters, referring to either Ojalo or Mojag. Who knew? Maybe the sweet poet actually had a really aggressive side to him. Or maybe Ojalo was really a sociopath? Either way, a chuckle was given and she nods. "I suppose.. but he always seemed so.. distant, I guess?" Catori doesn't mean to offend either Ojalo or Niabi with her words, and so she shakes her head. "I'm kind of a loud mouth, I always thought I was annoying him." Scuffing her hooves against the ground, she is obviously still in a good mood, but is perhaps a bit embarrassed by the way she remembers acting around Ojalo, always pestering him for attention and whatnot.
Well, some bulls might be, but Niabi's instincts say otherwise and are usually right about this sort of thing. "Hmm, he just seems distant because he's quiet," she says with a smile, her eyes no longer focused on Catori, "But that just means his feelings are hidden, not that they're not there." For proof of that, just rewind about, oh, two days? Shaking her head in order to banish thoughts she could literally spend all day thinking about, she smiles, "But, that's for them to worry about. We have important things to do... that can wait until tomorrow." Nagging worries always plague Niabi, whether a pleasant mood is keeping them at bay or not, and she knows she'll have to attend to them sometime. But there's no reason she can't ignore them until later, especially when she's in this good of a mood.
"Well, I think you two would be a very nice pair of parents." She says, nodding her head to affirm her decision on the matter enthusiastically again. The prospect of having more important things to do slightly confuses her, and the smaller cow tilts her head to a side and gives a blink, looking almost like a calf would in a confusing situation. "Oh? Whatta we have to do?"
Niabi responds to the question without giving it any thought, which proves that she's already given the whole thing plenty of thought already. "Well, the first thing is that we really ought to move soon," she says, her tone suddenly proving that Catori correct in saying that she's business oriented, "I'm sure everything else that's been going on hasn't stopped you from noticing that there's too many wolves in this part of the forest right now. We've been lucky so far, but it would be better if we moved soon; possibly back to the copse. There will be more food for us during the winter there too. Also, we've managed to sort things out with the whitetails as far a security is concerned; but that's between the bulls and the bucks. But now we cows ought to strengthen our bond with the does. We're one herd, and we ought to act a bit more like it, even if we don't live in the exact same patch of forest." But once she's said all that her expression quickly changes back to one of sheer bliss, "But, like I said, that can wait until tomorrow."
The older cow was certainly right. This was the spot that Catori had wandered off to in the early days of the herd, but it wasn't suitable for their species to live, and certainly not with calves around. There would be far too great a risk of them being injured or, much worse, devoured by something here, and Catori was glad that Niabi was not willing to take that risk. The copse in the north was considerably closer to the whitetail portion of the herd as well; a group that she had never really met, nor quite cared to met. Not that she didn't like them, but.. it wasn't just a priority for her. "I agree, it's much safer there." She said, and looked around the area, wishing that more were there to hear the news of not only their calves, but of moving as well. Though.. the only one who didn't know about calves would've been Jasie, really. Mentally kicking herself about the odd thought, she turned to the north and let out a sigh. "It's kind of a long ways off.. I'm glad you want to wait to tomorrow." She said with a chuckle, and instead turned to the softer area of the bank, wanting to rest again.
Having disappeared for a while into the forest, a close, but all the while distant, watch over those of the herd, Ojalo comes back into the thick of things pulling himself through the rather cold waters of the river. He was kind of just out strolling, minding his own self and well, doing whatever bulls do when by themselves. All in all he was pretty much enjoying himself; even splashing about some like his younger days.
That Niabi never ceases to think of ways the herd could be safer, happier, or stronger is probably one of her biggest assets as a leader. "Well, I'm just not in the mood to do that much walking today. It'd be a lot more pleasant to start earlier in the morning anyways. We'd have plenty of time to settle in before nightfall that way. Eat something, make sure that nothing annoying has moved in, that sort of thing." She suddenly stops when she hears a noise in the river, but her alert pose quickly melts into a positively lustful smile. Well hello there, handsome.
All the while agreeing with Niabi, Catori suddenly sees and hears Ojalo, and falls silent. Her grin is still there, but she'd be lying if she said that she wasn't a bit.. frightened of his presence. Bulls could tell when cows were no longer in season, and she wasn't. Though she didn't want to fear Ojalo, she still did minorly. Taking a place at Niabi's side, only slightly lagging behind her, she nodded her head at Ojalo, whether he noticed it or not, but didn't say anything.
Ojalo wasn't really paying to much attention, but that doesn't mean that he didn't know who was in the area. In fact, he did look to the shoreline a few times and gives a brisk smile to those there but all in all gaze no real notion of going to the bank. Instead, he shakes water from his pelt and causing a slight pain in his side.
While not unaware of how Catori's likely to be nervous about this situation, Niabi isn't concerned. Ojalo's not the type to take things out on Catori, however upset she's certain he'll be. She doesn't wait too long before she heads towards him, meeting him in the river and quietly nuzzling his neck in greeting. Can she possibly distract him from catching a whiff of Catori's changed scent? Probably not, but maybe she'll at least distract him from becoming too angry.
Before taking the chance of angering Ojalo with her changed scent, Catori blinks as Niabi walks over to him, and slowly backs away. It's not long before she turns and trots off without a word to either of them, not angry or upset at all, just wishing to avoid any confrontation possible. Besides, she'd already begun to miss Mojag, and would probably set out to find him, and let him know of the news to move back to the copse as well.
Ojalo saw no reason to be upset, least not yet anyway. Though he doubted he'd really care at the moment. Drowned in his own mischief and smells, the scents of the cows isn't really picked up, or least Catori's anyways. When Niabi draws closer, he stops his antics and gives a bright smile nuzzling her back.
Hmm, so Catori is that nervous, is she? Well, perhaps it's better that Niabi finds a gentler way of breaking the news then. It's gotta be done, because this sort of thing can only be hidden in a herd as small as theirs for so long. But first, Ojalo is nuzzling her! "Miss me?" she asks quietly, giggling softly.
Ojalo doesn't say anything; that was normal for him, so normal that Niabi probably already knew that. So he just smiled and gave that guyish look to her instead. Stepping about, he huffs; ha, did he wear himself out already.
So normal, in fact, that Niabi hardly notices the lack of actual words. Watching him in a silence of her own for a moment, she suddenly asks, "So how is that wound of yours doing? Does it seem to be healing up okay?" No, Niabi will never stop worrying over everything; but Ojalo probably already knew that too. And since it's a good way to stall before she actually says anything more important, she'll take it!
Ojalo is silent for a while longer before finally saying, "Yes.. Its much better actually." toward her. Though his wound still had its moments of annoyance, he sometimes forgot that it was there. Circling around the cow now, he hmms looking at her. "So, how are things?"
"Good," Niabi responds to both, "Though we're planning on heading back to the copse tomorrow. There's been too many wolves around here, and we'll be safer there." By 'we', she's only speaking of the cows and Aylen, though she imagines that Ojalo and Mojag won't want to stay behind. Again, useful information but not what she really ought to be talking about. Taking a breath, she starts in, "I was just talking to Catori about it. She agrees that it will be a safer place for the calves next spring." She can't help but look at Ojalo to see if he catches the implications of that statement.
Moving, well OK seems reasonable. Circling back around to her front Ojalo blinks. It takes him a moment, but he soon does catch on... sorta. "I'd have to agree. I certainly wouldn't want to risk our future by staying with potential danger."
Niabi can't help but smile at Ojalo's response; she'd figured that Ojalo wouldn't quite get it just from that. Past experience has proven that her ability to beat around the bush far exceeds Ojalo's ability to figure out what she's actually saying. "I'm glad you think so. In all likelihood there's going to be /two/ of them running around at least, so we'll want things to be as safe as possible," she says, injecting as much certainty into her tone as she can into the number.
Ojalo wasn't always as slow as he came off, but upon hearing the number 'two' being said draws him back. "Two..?" He know of Niabi but. He hmms to herself looking past the cow for a moment. Ok, was there something here he didn't know. "What do you mean, two?" he wonders looking back to Niabi.
Ah, that's what she'd been hoping of! Just a little hint. "Mine and Catori's," she says simply, "Two." She's trying very hard to make this dawn on Ojalo as gradually as possible, so that the surprise of it doesn't happen all at once. With any luck that will make the whole thing a bit easier on the bull she's come to care for so much.
Ok, did she just say.... "I see." Is the only thing the bull says and very casually, as he takes all this in. Looking out toward the direction Catori departed he is quiet. He knows it wasn't him, and by knowing this only one other comes to mind. And here he thought Cat like him.. shows how much he knows about the opposite sex. Disappointed, he turns to Niabi for a moment before stepping forward.
Rubbing her cheek along Ojalo's neck affectionately, Niabi quietly says, "I'm sorry." And really, she is. Some other cows would be glad that 'their' bull didn't get someone else, but Niabi's not the jealous type and she knows that Catori's choice will hurt him. And she doesn't want anything to hurt Ojalo. Still, it was Catori's choice and she won't say it was the wrong one. "Just do me a favor, and don't kill Mojag," she says, no trace of humor in her tone, though she knows it won't come to that.
Ojalo had only taken a few steps before stopping; looking to the cow with a slight shake of his head. "Don't be." He tells her. "She made that choice." He was taking it easy but on the inside it hurt. She went against him and he must live with that. TO her request of him not killing Mojag he says, "I have no intention on killing anyone, but I do plan on meeting up with them."
"I know," Niabi says, remaining where she was. And though she's not exactly sure how hurt Ojalo is, she's aware that it's more than he's letting on. And she's also aware that Ojalo won't stand to let that choice go without consequences, but, "I just don't want you to do anything you'll regret. You might think things through a little before you find them..." Clearly a suggestion and not a command. She's fairly certain that all of this will turn out fine eventually, but she'd be remiss if she didn't nudge things in that direction all the same.
"Don't worry." Gives a light smile, "I wont do anything rash." To reassure her, Ojalo leans into nuzzle the cow before him. "You know me better than that. Besides I'd rather not see someone hurt." Meaning Catori more so than anyone. "If it'll make you happy, I'll take some time to think things over before going to them." He wasn't even sure if he was going to see them at all, but it was an option.
Returning the nuzzle, Niabi allows herself to be reassured. "It would," she says with a smile that's full of confidence. While she's fully certain that Ojalo would do nothing terrible intentionally, there's always the possibility of things done without thinking. But with that taken care of, she sees no real reason to worry. Or at least, worry very much - she wouldn't be Niabi if she didn't worry just a little.
Niabi - Female Elk
Catori - Female Elk
Ojalo - Male Elk
Setting:
Trickling River
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Is there any happier creature in the forest than Niabi? If so, she's giving them a run for their money. Whatever worries or cares she might otherwise be feeling, they've been knocked totally aside by thoughts of Ojalo and whether or not their time together has been productive. Really, can there be a happier thought than that? And so, while she grazes on the riverbank she's practically glowing with sheer satisfaction in the world. Sooner or later she'll be brought back to the reality that she's got a lot of busy work ahead of her, but for now she's content to enjoy the euphoria while it lasts.
One of the said happier creatures just so happened to be nearby the river still, though her giddiness had simmered down over the course of the day. After meeting another cow that had apparently been inducted into the herd before she'd met her, Catori had taken to resting for most of the day. Quite the lazy one, she'd wanted to wander in search of her beloved poet Mojag, but had opted to stay near the river and thusly the other elk as well. If all went according to plan, she was carrying precious cargo now! Not that it was in any way visible, but she knew she'd have to go through that painful process of calving eventually. And when she did, Mojag would have hell to pay. For now though, Catori is in a euphoric state much like Niabi, as is evident by the way she practically frolics toward the river.
Sheer joy does not dull Niabi's senses whatsoever. It's just that if she was attacked by something, she wouldn't mind it so much right now. So when she hears something approaching from the forest, her head goes up but there's no getting rid of that contented smile on her face. Fortunately, the noise turns out to be Catori, and Niabi can't help but chuckle when she sees the evidence of her herdmate's mood. "Looks like you're feeling better," she comments as soon as Catori is within earshot.
Catori's ears perk at the voice of Niabi, who she figured was nearby, but perhaps didn't expect so.. close! "Niabi!" She exclaims, and prances over to her in a hurry, twitching her ears and short tail at the same time and just appearing overly excited. "You won't believe what happened yesterday! Best day of my life, I'm almost sure of it!" Enthused was an understatement, but she doesn't want to forget her manners. "What about you, hmm?" She asks with a knowing grin, seeing how contented and happy Niabi looked as well.
"Oh, really?" Niabi says enthusiastically, some of Catori's energy rubbing off on her, "What happened yesterday?" She already has a few guesses, actually, not being new to any of this at all, but guesses are hardly worth much when she can hear about it outright. "Me? Bah, forget about me. Tell me about you first!" As exciting as what she might share is, she considers what Catori might say to be a bit more important. This isn't her first successful rut, after all.
Another giggle was given, and Catori shifted around restlessly with excitement on her hooves before she spilled the good news. "Well, I'm not sure /exactly/ how it happened.. but I came down here yesterday for a drink and, wouldn't you know it, Mojag was here too! He was so nice and so respectful, he knew I was still a little nervous around him, but.. he's just the sweetest bull I've ever met, Niabi!" She gushes, and lets out a short sigh, wishing that he was here with them both so she could attempt to flatter him with her words, and to hear his as well. "Anyway! I'm still not sure how exactly we went from talking about how he smelled funny to.. uh, but, yeah! I'll be having a playmate for Aylen, come spring."
To say that Niabi is paying attention would be an understatement, as she hangs onto Catori's every word with her smile only growing. "Congratulations!" she gushes when Catori is finished, her words quickened by her excitement, "I couldn't be happier for you! You and Mojag, huh? That is so exciting! Ojalo will be a bit upset I imagine - ah, but don't worry about that, they'll sort it out." She pauses just long enough to breathe. "Speaking of Ojalo, I imagine Aylen's younger sibling will be glad for the playmate too..."
"Thank you!" Catori says, and beams with a wide smile. "He really is such a sweetheart.. so good with words! I've never met another bull like him before.." Trailing off, she finds herself gushing once more, and clears her throat. A light stomp was given as to calm herself down, but it was in vain as she listened to Niabi's news as well, and let out an odd squeak of joy. "Really! You and Ojalo?" She asks, and tilts her head to one side, still grinning madly. "Aw.. y'know.. I can see you two together. Both business oriented! Even though he's much quieter than.. anyone, really." A blink was given at the notion that Ojalo would be upset, not having thought about that before her encounter with Mojag, but she shrugged. "Psh.. I'll leave that for them to sort out."
"Business oriented?" Niabi says with a laugh, never having thought of herself or Ojalo that way but not offended at all, "I suppose so. And yes, he is quiet. And good-hearted, and strong, and..." It's all she can do to stop herself from gushing too. Sufficeth to say, she made her choice and she's happy with it. "Anyway, I can't imagine they'll have too much to sort out. Two of us, two of them; seems fair to me. But as I told you, Ojalo does like you," she grins, nudging Catori playfully.
The reaction from Niabi was kind of expected. 'Business-oriented' wasn't necessarily a good way to put it. "Well, y'know.. you and him are the ones who are concerned about the whitetails and whatnot the most. It's a good thing!" She says, and then listens to all the compliments that were thrown in Ojalo's direction, grinning at each one of them. Yes, Ojalo was was good-hearted, and strong, and he was mighty handsome too, but Mojag had won her heart with how.. odd he was. "I hope not.. the last thing I'd want to happen is for one of them to be ran off.." Especially since Ojalo was noted as the lead bull, and though she had much faith in Mojag, she would assume that he would be the one to get the boot. At the nudge, Catori nudges the older cow back, and rolls her eyes. "Nah.. he's too serious."
"Ran off?" Niabi chuckles and shakes her head, "Nah, at worst they'll argue, maybe bash eachother on the head a little. But then once both of them prove that they're tough they'll be okay again. Bulls are like that. You should be flattered. And Ojalo does like you; I think it's because of that time when it was just the two of you before I came back. He'll have to do something to make himself feel better about it, I'm sure." For her part, Niabi doesn't seem too concerned about it. Actually, she kind of hopes that it will come down to a fight, and that she'll be around when it happens so that she can watch...
"You never know.. some bulls are crazy like that.." She kind of mutters, referring to either Ojalo or Mojag. Who knew? Maybe the sweet poet actually had a really aggressive side to him. Or maybe Ojalo was really a sociopath? Either way, a chuckle was given and she nods. "I suppose.. but he always seemed so.. distant, I guess?" Catori doesn't mean to offend either Ojalo or Niabi with her words, and so she shakes her head. "I'm kind of a loud mouth, I always thought I was annoying him." Scuffing her hooves against the ground, she is obviously still in a good mood, but is perhaps a bit embarrassed by the way she remembers acting around Ojalo, always pestering him for attention and whatnot.
Well, some bulls might be, but Niabi's instincts say otherwise and are usually right about this sort of thing. "Hmm, he just seems distant because he's quiet," she says with a smile, her eyes no longer focused on Catori, "But that just means his feelings are hidden, not that they're not there." For proof of that, just rewind about, oh, two days? Shaking her head in order to banish thoughts she could literally spend all day thinking about, she smiles, "But, that's for them to worry about. We have important things to do... that can wait until tomorrow." Nagging worries always plague Niabi, whether a pleasant mood is keeping them at bay or not, and she knows she'll have to attend to them sometime. But there's no reason she can't ignore them until later, especially when she's in this good of a mood.
"Well, I think you two would be a very nice pair of parents." She says, nodding her head to affirm her decision on the matter enthusiastically again. The prospect of having more important things to do slightly confuses her, and the smaller cow tilts her head to a side and gives a blink, looking almost like a calf would in a confusing situation. "Oh? Whatta we have to do?"
Niabi responds to the question without giving it any thought, which proves that she's already given the whole thing plenty of thought already. "Well, the first thing is that we really ought to move soon," she says, her tone suddenly proving that Catori correct in saying that she's business oriented, "I'm sure everything else that's been going on hasn't stopped you from noticing that there's too many wolves in this part of the forest right now. We've been lucky so far, but it would be better if we moved soon; possibly back to the copse. There will be more food for us during the winter there too. Also, we've managed to sort things out with the whitetails as far a security is concerned; but that's between the bulls and the bucks. But now we cows ought to strengthen our bond with the does. We're one herd, and we ought to act a bit more like it, even if we don't live in the exact same patch of forest." But once she's said all that her expression quickly changes back to one of sheer bliss, "But, like I said, that can wait until tomorrow."
The older cow was certainly right. This was the spot that Catori had wandered off to in the early days of the herd, but it wasn't suitable for their species to live, and certainly not with calves around. There would be far too great a risk of them being injured or, much worse, devoured by something here, and Catori was glad that Niabi was not willing to take that risk. The copse in the north was considerably closer to the whitetail portion of the herd as well; a group that she had never really met, nor quite cared to met. Not that she didn't like them, but.. it wasn't just a priority for her. "I agree, it's much safer there." She said, and looked around the area, wishing that more were there to hear the news of not only their calves, but of moving as well. Though.. the only one who didn't know about calves would've been Jasie, really. Mentally kicking herself about the odd thought, she turned to the north and let out a sigh. "It's kind of a long ways off.. I'm glad you want to wait to tomorrow." She said with a chuckle, and instead turned to the softer area of the bank, wanting to rest again.
Having disappeared for a while into the forest, a close, but all the while distant, watch over those of the herd, Ojalo comes back into the thick of things pulling himself through the rather cold waters of the river. He was kind of just out strolling, minding his own self and well, doing whatever bulls do when by themselves. All in all he was pretty much enjoying himself; even splashing about some like his younger days.
That Niabi never ceases to think of ways the herd could be safer, happier, or stronger is probably one of her biggest assets as a leader. "Well, I'm just not in the mood to do that much walking today. It'd be a lot more pleasant to start earlier in the morning anyways. We'd have plenty of time to settle in before nightfall that way. Eat something, make sure that nothing annoying has moved in, that sort of thing." She suddenly stops when she hears a noise in the river, but her alert pose quickly melts into a positively lustful smile. Well hello there, handsome.
All the while agreeing with Niabi, Catori suddenly sees and hears Ojalo, and falls silent. Her grin is still there, but she'd be lying if she said that she wasn't a bit.. frightened of his presence. Bulls could tell when cows were no longer in season, and she wasn't. Though she didn't want to fear Ojalo, she still did minorly. Taking a place at Niabi's side, only slightly lagging behind her, she nodded her head at Ojalo, whether he noticed it or not, but didn't say anything.
Ojalo wasn't really paying to much attention, but that doesn't mean that he didn't know who was in the area. In fact, he did look to the shoreline a few times and gives a brisk smile to those there but all in all gaze no real notion of going to the bank. Instead, he shakes water from his pelt and causing a slight pain in his side.
While not unaware of how Catori's likely to be nervous about this situation, Niabi isn't concerned. Ojalo's not the type to take things out on Catori, however upset she's certain he'll be. She doesn't wait too long before she heads towards him, meeting him in the river and quietly nuzzling his neck in greeting. Can she possibly distract him from catching a whiff of Catori's changed scent? Probably not, but maybe she'll at least distract him from becoming too angry.
Before taking the chance of angering Ojalo with her changed scent, Catori blinks as Niabi walks over to him, and slowly backs away. It's not long before she turns and trots off without a word to either of them, not angry or upset at all, just wishing to avoid any confrontation possible. Besides, she'd already begun to miss Mojag, and would probably set out to find him, and let him know of the news to move back to the copse as well.
Ojalo saw no reason to be upset, least not yet anyway. Though he doubted he'd really care at the moment. Drowned in his own mischief and smells, the scents of the cows isn't really picked up, or least Catori's anyways. When Niabi draws closer, he stops his antics and gives a bright smile nuzzling her back.
Hmm, so Catori is that nervous, is she? Well, perhaps it's better that Niabi finds a gentler way of breaking the news then. It's gotta be done, because this sort of thing can only be hidden in a herd as small as theirs for so long. But first, Ojalo is nuzzling her! "Miss me?" she asks quietly, giggling softly.
Ojalo doesn't say anything; that was normal for him, so normal that Niabi probably already knew that. So he just smiled and gave that guyish look to her instead. Stepping about, he huffs; ha, did he wear himself out already.
So normal, in fact, that Niabi hardly notices the lack of actual words. Watching him in a silence of her own for a moment, she suddenly asks, "So how is that wound of yours doing? Does it seem to be healing up okay?" No, Niabi will never stop worrying over everything; but Ojalo probably already knew that too. And since it's a good way to stall before she actually says anything more important, she'll take it!
Ojalo is silent for a while longer before finally saying, "Yes.. Its much better actually." toward her. Though his wound still had its moments of annoyance, he sometimes forgot that it was there. Circling around the cow now, he hmms looking at her. "So, how are things?"
"Good," Niabi responds to both, "Though we're planning on heading back to the copse tomorrow. There's been too many wolves around here, and we'll be safer there." By 'we', she's only speaking of the cows and Aylen, though she imagines that Ojalo and Mojag won't want to stay behind. Again, useful information but not what she really ought to be talking about. Taking a breath, she starts in, "I was just talking to Catori about it. She agrees that it will be a safer place for the calves next spring." She can't help but look at Ojalo to see if he catches the implications of that statement.
Moving, well OK seems reasonable. Circling back around to her front Ojalo blinks. It takes him a moment, but he soon does catch on... sorta. "I'd have to agree. I certainly wouldn't want to risk our future by staying with potential danger."
Niabi can't help but smile at Ojalo's response; she'd figured that Ojalo wouldn't quite get it just from that. Past experience has proven that her ability to beat around the bush far exceeds Ojalo's ability to figure out what she's actually saying. "I'm glad you think so. In all likelihood there's going to be /two/ of them running around at least, so we'll want things to be as safe as possible," she says, injecting as much certainty into her tone as she can into the number.
Ojalo wasn't always as slow as he came off, but upon hearing the number 'two' being said draws him back. "Two..?" He know of Niabi but. He hmms to herself looking past the cow for a moment. Ok, was there something here he didn't know. "What do you mean, two?" he wonders looking back to Niabi.
Ah, that's what she'd been hoping of! Just a little hint. "Mine and Catori's," she says simply, "Two." She's trying very hard to make this dawn on Ojalo as gradually as possible, so that the surprise of it doesn't happen all at once. With any luck that will make the whole thing a bit easier on the bull she's come to care for so much.
Ok, did she just say.... "I see." Is the only thing the bull says and very casually, as he takes all this in. Looking out toward the direction Catori departed he is quiet. He knows it wasn't him, and by knowing this only one other comes to mind. And here he thought Cat like him.. shows how much he knows about the opposite sex. Disappointed, he turns to Niabi for a moment before stepping forward.
Rubbing her cheek along Ojalo's neck affectionately, Niabi quietly says, "I'm sorry." And really, she is. Some other cows would be glad that 'their' bull didn't get someone else, but Niabi's not the jealous type and she knows that Catori's choice will hurt him. And she doesn't want anything to hurt Ojalo. Still, it was Catori's choice and she won't say it was the wrong one. "Just do me a favor, and don't kill Mojag," she says, no trace of humor in her tone, though she knows it won't come to that.
Ojalo had only taken a few steps before stopping; looking to the cow with a slight shake of his head. "Don't be." He tells her. "She made that choice." He was taking it easy but on the inside it hurt. She went against him and he must live with that. TO her request of him not killing Mojag he says, "I have no intention on killing anyone, but I do plan on meeting up with them."
"I know," Niabi says, remaining where she was. And though she's not exactly sure how hurt Ojalo is, she's aware that it's more than he's letting on. And she's also aware that Ojalo won't stand to let that choice go without consequences, but, "I just don't want you to do anything you'll regret. You might think things through a little before you find them..." Clearly a suggestion and not a command. She's fairly certain that all of this will turn out fine eventually, but she'd be remiss if she didn't nudge things in that direction all the same.
"Don't worry." Gives a light smile, "I wont do anything rash." To reassure her, Ojalo leans into nuzzle the cow before him. "You know me better than that. Besides I'd rather not see someone hurt." Meaning Catori more so than anyone. "If it'll make you happy, I'll take some time to think things over before going to them." He wasn't even sure if he was going to see them at all, but it was an option.
Returning the nuzzle, Niabi allows herself to be reassured. "It would," she says with a smile that's full of confidence. While she's fully certain that Ojalo would do nothing terrible intentionally, there's always the possibility of things done without thinking. But with that taken care of, she sees no real reason to worry. Or at least, worry very much - she wouldn't be Niabi if she didn't worry just a little.