Post by avalikia on Mar 30, 2010 3:21:16 GMT -5
Characters:
Niabi - Female Elk
Leilani - Female Elk
Setting:
Sparse Copse
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The speed with which the cold is coming this year is starting to worry Niabi. The weather seems to hint that the snows could arrive at any time, though it's a bit too early in the year for that, isn't it? The early signs that she didn't fuss over are starting to trouble her more, so Niabi has been spending extra time thinking over various plans for 'just in case'. She's had to weather a few tough winters before, so she knows what to do, though she's still hopeful that it won't prove necessary. Pondering all this over a lunch of autumn grass, she keeps an alert ear to her surroundings despite her thick thoughts.
Leilani has been wandering alone for some time now, in fact, she's forgotten how long it's been since she became lost. Picking up the scent of other elk in the area brings a wave of relief, but she realizes that the scents are still unfamiliar; she had found a new herd apparently, rather than finding her way back to her old one. She looks around as she makes her way into this new herd's territory, following Niabi's markings.
Periodically pausing in her meal to check for new sights, sounds, or scents of danger, Niabi doesn't expect any. This area is very safe most of the time, which is why they're here in the first place. Still, she thinks she catches the sound of something approaching, so she pauses and spots an unfamiliar cow elk just coming into view. "Hello there!" she calls out in a friendly voice, instant smile at the ready.
Leilani looks very relieved to see another elk even if it is one she's never seen before. Granted, the friendly greeting certainly helps. She smiles back as she continues on toward the larger female. "Hello! It's great to finally see another elk. I have lost track of how long I've been wandering alone."
"Well, that's a story I've heard before," Niabi says with an understanding nod. Sometimes she swears that this area is the nexus of the universe, given how many lost deer end up wandering in. Not that she's complaining; it's been great for building up the herd's numbers. "My name is Niabi, I'm the lead cow of the Umber herd. Pleased to meet you!" And she is; she always looks at strangers as simply being friends she hasn't met yet, as long as they're not of a species she's inclined to run from. And other elk are the best of all!
"Oh really? So I'm not the first strange elk to wander into the area huh? Well, I used to be in a herd, but I was attacked by a cougar. I ran for my life, and well, while I managed to get away, I also managed to get hopelessly lost. At this point I was beginning to think I would be living alone for a while."
The question causes Niabi to smile, "Hardly. I was the first one: four other cow elk followed, and a couple of bulls. The Umber have only been around for about a year and a half. And there are whitetails in the herd as well; we joined with them for greater safety." She smiles when she finishes explaining, hoping that the story will ease the other cow's mind. "So what do they call you?" she asks with a curious tilt of her head.
Leilani blinks a bit. Finding it a bit odd that she had found a herd full of other elk who had wandered in lost or otherwise alone, and there were whitetails in the herd too. "Well, that's new, but I guess it makes sense, safety in numbers and all. I am called Leilani. Pleasure to meet you Niabi."
Perhaps it /is/ a bit of an odd herd at least as far as the cows are concerned (wandering bulls are far more common), but Niabi figures that all those herds that have been around for generations had to have started somewhere. "The pleasure's all mine," Niabi says kindly, "And it's probably a good thing you found your way here when you did: winter is nearly here, by the looks of it." Too early, she tells herself again, her mind brushing against those worried thoughts again.
"Yes, it is starting to get rather cold for Autumn isn't it? Colder than I remember it being last year at this time anyway." She asks as she looks around a bit, then lowers her head and starts to graze on the grass a bit.
Nodding her head in agreement, Niabi comments, "Yes it is. I don't remember a colder autumn actually, though I may be misremembering some of my earlier years. I seem to remember the autumn before my fourth winter as being rather nasty, but I'm not sure how that would compare." She stops then laughs, "I'm afraid I tend to run off at the mouth sometimes. But if you'll forgive me that, you're welcome to join the herd." Then she forces herself to continue her lunch, so that she'll stop mulling about past years out loud.
Leilani looks up at Niabi as the cow offers to let her join the herd. "Well, I think I'd have to be pretty crazy to turn down that offer, particularly with winter right around the corner, and also, I'm pretty sure I'm pregnant." She says nothing about how long winded Niabi may have been as she goes back to grazing, so perhaps it doesn't bother her much.
Quickly finishing a mouthful, Niabi says, "Well, congratulations are in order! I /know/ I'm pregnant, and there's probably at least one other that I know of. It will be a good spring." At least that thought can banish her worries about the upcoming winter. "Will this be your first?" she asks, having noticed Leilani's youth.
Leilani swallows a mouthful of her own and smiles warmly as she looks up at Niabi again . "Thank you, and yes, it will be my first. How about you?"
"This will be my sixth," Niabi says with a faint smile after her next mouthful, "We seem to be at opposite ends." The answer might be surprising to some, as the signs of age on Niabi are still rather faint even though she's obviously not young; she could be six by all appearance.
Leilani does show a tinge of surprise at the answer she gets, and she looks up at her with a warm smile. "Well, congratulations. You do look on the younger side for a cow about to have her sixth. My mother looks a fair bit older than you, and I was her second, so, if she has a calf this year, it will be her forth." Feeling a little tired now, she moves to the shade of a tree and lays down.
A little flattered by that comment, Niabi would blush if her face weren't covered by fur. "Thank you," is all she says, though the truth of the matter is that she /did/ have to skip a couple of years. Of course, she also had calves two years in a row more often than is common too. Glancing up as Leilani says, "Oh, I'm sure you're exhausted! Go right ahead and rest; this area is very safe and I'll be around to keep watch." She remembers well her own days of being alone and how tiring it was to have to be your own guard all the time. She's doesn't doubt that Leilani can use a good rest.
Leilani nods, looking up at Niabi again. "Yeah, it's been an exhausting trip, that is for sure. I feel like I have to have been wandering around for at least a couple of weeks, and it's been rough going. To finally be able to settle down and really rest, well, I'm very grateful to be accepted into your herd."
"I know exactly what you mean," Niabi says with an understanding smile, the times she's spent on her own still fresh on her mind. It hasn't really been that many moons since she returned with Aylen, after all, and a young calf is hardly someone you can trade guard duty with. "Have a good nap; we can talk more and I'll introduce you to the others later." In the meantime, she'll finish her lunch and take more time to worry about the next change of seasons.
Niabi - Female Elk
Leilani - Female Elk
Setting:
Sparse Copse
----------------------------------------
The speed with which the cold is coming this year is starting to worry Niabi. The weather seems to hint that the snows could arrive at any time, though it's a bit too early in the year for that, isn't it? The early signs that she didn't fuss over are starting to trouble her more, so Niabi has been spending extra time thinking over various plans for 'just in case'. She's had to weather a few tough winters before, so she knows what to do, though she's still hopeful that it won't prove necessary. Pondering all this over a lunch of autumn grass, she keeps an alert ear to her surroundings despite her thick thoughts.
Leilani has been wandering alone for some time now, in fact, she's forgotten how long it's been since she became lost. Picking up the scent of other elk in the area brings a wave of relief, but she realizes that the scents are still unfamiliar; she had found a new herd apparently, rather than finding her way back to her old one. She looks around as she makes her way into this new herd's territory, following Niabi's markings.
Periodically pausing in her meal to check for new sights, sounds, or scents of danger, Niabi doesn't expect any. This area is very safe most of the time, which is why they're here in the first place. Still, she thinks she catches the sound of something approaching, so she pauses and spots an unfamiliar cow elk just coming into view. "Hello there!" she calls out in a friendly voice, instant smile at the ready.
Leilani looks very relieved to see another elk even if it is one she's never seen before. Granted, the friendly greeting certainly helps. She smiles back as she continues on toward the larger female. "Hello! It's great to finally see another elk. I have lost track of how long I've been wandering alone."
"Well, that's a story I've heard before," Niabi says with an understanding nod. Sometimes she swears that this area is the nexus of the universe, given how many lost deer end up wandering in. Not that she's complaining; it's been great for building up the herd's numbers. "My name is Niabi, I'm the lead cow of the Umber herd. Pleased to meet you!" And she is; she always looks at strangers as simply being friends she hasn't met yet, as long as they're not of a species she's inclined to run from. And other elk are the best of all!
"Oh really? So I'm not the first strange elk to wander into the area huh? Well, I used to be in a herd, but I was attacked by a cougar. I ran for my life, and well, while I managed to get away, I also managed to get hopelessly lost. At this point I was beginning to think I would be living alone for a while."
The question causes Niabi to smile, "Hardly. I was the first one: four other cow elk followed, and a couple of bulls. The Umber have only been around for about a year and a half. And there are whitetails in the herd as well; we joined with them for greater safety." She smiles when she finishes explaining, hoping that the story will ease the other cow's mind. "So what do they call you?" she asks with a curious tilt of her head.
Leilani blinks a bit. Finding it a bit odd that she had found a herd full of other elk who had wandered in lost or otherwise alone, and there were whitetails in the herd too. "Well, that's new, but I guess it makes sense, safety in numbers and all. I am called Leilani. Pleasure to meet you Niabi."
Perhaps it /is/ a bit of an odd herd at least as far as the cows are concerned (wandering bulls are far more common), but Niabi figures that all those herds that have been around for generations had to have started somewhere. "The pleasure's all mine," Niabi says kindly, "And it's probably a good thing you found your way here when you did: winter is nearly here, by the looks of it." Too early, she tells herself again, her mind brushing against those worried thoughts again.
"Yes, it is starting to get rather cold for Autumn isn't it? Colder than I remember it being last year at this time anyway." She asks as she looks around a bit, then lowers her head and starts to graze on the grass a bit.
Nodding her head in agreement, Niabi comments, "Yes it is. I don't remember a colder autumn actually, though I may be misremembering some of my earlier years. I seem to remember the autumn before my fourth winter as being rather nasty, but I'm not sure how that would compare." She stops then laughs, "I'm afraid I tend to run off at the mouth sometimes. But if you'll forgive me that, you're welcome to join the herd." Then she forces herself to continue her lunch, so that she'll stop mulling about past years out loud.
Leilani looks up at Niabi as the cow offers to let her join the herd. "Well, I think I'd have to be pretty crazy to turn down that offer, particularly with winter right around the corner, and also, I'm pretty sure I'm pregnant." She says nothing about how long winded Niabi may have been as she goes back to grazing, so perhaps it doesn't bother her much.
Quickly finishing a mouthful, Niabi says, "Well, congratulations are in order! I /know/ I'm pregnant, and there's probably at least one other that I know of. It will be a good spring." At least that thought can banish her worries about the upcoming winter. "Will this be your first?" she asks, having noticed Leilani's youth.
Leilani swallows a mouthful of her own and smiles warmly as she looks up at Niabi again . "Thank you, and yes, it will be my first. How about you?"
"This will be my sixth," Niabi says with a faint smile after her next mouthful, "We seem to be at opposite ends." The answer might be surprising to some, as the signs of age on Niabi are still rather faint even though she's obviously not young; she could be six by all appearance.
Leilani does show a tinge of surprise at the answer she gets, and she looks up at her with a warm smile. "Well, congratulations. You do look on the younger side for a cow about to have her sixth. My mother looks a fair bit older than you, and I was her second, so, if she has a calf this year, it will be her forth." Feeling a little tired now, she moves to the shade of a tree and lays down.
A little flattered by that comment, Niabi would blush if her face weren't covered by fur. "Thank you," is all she says, though the truth of the matter is that she /did/ have to skip a couple of years. Of course, she also had calves two years in a row more often than is common too. Glancing up as Leilani says, "Oh, I'm sure you're exhausted! Go right ahead and rest; this area is very safe and I'll be around to keep watch." She remembers well her own days of being alone and how tiring it was to have to be your own guard all the time. She's doesn't doubt that Leilani can use a good rest.
Leilani nods, looking up at Niabi again. "Yeah, it's been an exhausting trip, that is for sure. I feel like I have to have been wandering around for at least a couple of weeks, and it's been rough going. To finally be able to settle down and really rest, well, I'm very grateful to be accepted into your herd."
"I know exactly what you mean," Niabi says with an understanding smile, the times she's spent on her own still fresh on her mind. It hasn't really been that many moons since she returned with Aylen, after all, and a young calf is hardly someone you can trade guard duty with. "Have a good nap; we can talk more and I'll introduce you to the others later." In the meantime, she'll finish her lunch and take more time to worry about the next change of seasons.