Post by Ashen on Apr 16, 2010 20:42:14 GMT -5
Location: Stone Formations
Cast:
Maul, adol. cougar
Shade, adol. cougar
Time: Mid-Winter
The winter has been incredibly rough not just on Maul, but on her relationship with Thrash. It was so much easier when they first met and did not constantly have hunger gnawing at them. Perhaps recognizing that her own mood is a danger to the peace at the cave they've been inhabiting, or perhaps just irritated with Thrash beyond the point that she could tolerate, anymore, the adolescent female has been traveling for a few hours, now, without so much as the vaguest attempt to hunt. She knew where she was going, though, and now she has arrived. She begins circling the odd formation of stones, her paws sinking deep into the snow as she does.
It wasn't her intention to stroll this way, but here Shade finds herself. Her mind has been lead astray by a plethora of thoughts that she just can't seem to shake. But when she passes over the trail behind Maul, her paw falls into one of her sister's prints, and it brings her back to reality. She steps the rest of the way across, avoiding the rest of Maul's paw prints, then turns her gaze onto her litter mate. Shade frowns slightly. Maul looks... what? Troubled? Angry? Lost in thought? "Ah... good evening." Because it seems right to say something.
Maul's ears don't perk until Shade first speaks, and at that point, she stops walking. She remains like that for just a couple seconds before turning to face her sister, and after turning, the underweight female smiles thinly before speaking. "Hello, An'a." She does not often address her littermate with her bastardized version of her mother's originally proposed name for her sister anymore, but unsurprisingly the girl's mood has her behaving somewhat oddly, even for her.
Shade's ears both flick back for a moment. *Something* is up. Shade's been feeling distant lately, since the worst of the winter had begun, but she's not drifted so far as to be unable to tell when her own sister is acting off. Is it something she, herself did? Or is it something else? Shade approaches, tail held low. Is something wrong? What's bothering you? No... too direct. "How are you feeling, Maul?"
The silence before Maul answers is nothing particularly new. It used to be the result of her trying to figure out what was the most normal thing to say, whatever wouldn't cause too many raised eyebrows, but she grew past that. For a while. "I feel, um... I dunno." Maul takes in a deep breath and sighs it out. "I'll be glad when the winter is over, if it ever is. I don't like the snow, and... well, I don't like the snow."
"I don't blame you." Shade almost makes to sit down. But, remembering how cold and damp the ground is, she quickly decides against it. "If the prey didn't all disappear, I think I would rather like the winter, myself." Some days, sitting in the freezing cold wind and pouring snow, it just feels -right-. But never mind that, she wants to understand what's going on with Maul. She looks away from a second, thinking. Upon turning back, she speaks; "the snow isn't the only thing on your mind, is it?"
"I think-" Maul cuts herself off quickly, looking over Shade once she does. At least whatever she had to decide, before continuing, she seems to decide it fairly quickly. "I don't think Thrash is going to stay with me, after winter is over. I don't even know if he'll stay here, in Amaranth." Of those, the second upsets her a little more. "And I worry about... about Kein. I just don't know what to do with them." Of course, there is little more to concern a teenaged girl than the subject of boys, but the way she treats her father, it would not seem like she is ever actually *concerned* about him. Realizing this, the girl shakes her head. "I'm just being... impossible. I'm not even sure I'm not doing it on purpose."
Shade listens carefully, trying to conclude the best things to say. It's rarer that Shade speaks to her sister than she'd like, but perhaps that's just a part of growing up. Still, Shade tends toward responses that will keep Maul talking, perhaps not altogether intentionally. "What makes you say that, were you two fighting?" And as for their father? Shade leans her head to one side, proceeding carefully. She's not blind to the way Maul's treated him in the past, and she's little reason to believe their relationship has improved much at all. "Why're you worried about dad?"
Maul seems quick to accept her sister's offer to turn the conversation quite away from Thrash. Maybe that is a conversation that will be better had with him, once she gets her concerns about her father off her chest. "He's angry, because of... because of something happening to Kaya. To our sister. He's going to leave, and I can't ask him not to, this time. I can't, because I haven't let him be my father, and... I can't keep him from acting like my father, but still expect him to treat me like his daughter." Maul is upset. That's very obvious. She has worked so hard, though, to establish her independence, and to do it as much as she could without hurting Kein. Having succeeded as well as she has, though, she can't just go to him and demand that he remain in Amaranth.
Shade recalls hearing something of that, regarding Kaya, second hand. But she's not aware of all the details. So when Maul brings it up, Shade has to struggle to follow along. She frowns at the problem Maul explains to her, not understanding it all, but trying to all the same. "Do you... would you like me to talk to him in your place?" It doesn't seem like the best solution, but Shade doesn't know what else to offer. "But I don't understand; why can't you let him be your father just this once?"
It has taken months for Maul and Kein to become comfortable with the cold ritual that exists between them, and with a frown, Maul responds, "Because it won't be just once. If I insisted that he should listen to me, as his daughter, then he'd-" Solve all of her problems for her, or certainly try. Maul is so hungry and tired and upset that it's a tempting idea. "I just don't know. I think... I think that maybe I should talk to Thrash first." She left in a snit, and she's not sure her pride would allow her to return, just yet, but at least she is currently entertaining the idea of talking with Thrash, and more honestly than most of the talking she does with him. Feeling oddly better, Maul smiles a little more sincerely than earlier and says, "Thank you, anyway... for listening to me. I feel better now."
It was worth suggesting, though. Or maybe it wasn't. Shade has never understood what precisely is going on between her sister and father, and may never. "It's okay, I understand." She says softly. "Do what you think is right." As for Thrash... Shade never did ask what was going on with them. That can wait for another day. "'Thank you's aren't necessary. I'm always here, you know. If you need to talk." The cougaress steps forward, her head dipped and tilted as if she were about to give her sister a nuzzle... only, something stops her, and Shade abruptly pulls her neck back as if tugged away by an unseen force. Ignoring the cold now, she sits down into the snow, tail wrapping tightly against her legs.
While Maul is perfectly prepared to receive, and return, her sister's nuzzling, Shade pulls herself back, leaving her sister a bit confused... and, where she to admit it even to herself, perhaps a bit hurt. Even so, Maul responds with a simple nod and an equally simply, "I'm gonna go, now, but... I'll find you. Soon." She finishes her brief speech with a faint smile, then begins walking away, back towards the highlands.
"Alright. I'll be around, then." Shade smiles gently in return. She holds the expression until Maul has begun to move off, then it falls away and is replaced by a more somber look. Her chest expands and throat stings as she pulls in a deep sigh, then lets it out into the chilly air. Her eyes turn to watch the vapor billow upward from her maw. At it flutters away with the wind, Shade gets up to follow it. Where is she going to go now?
Cast:
Maul, adol. cougar
Shade, adol. cougar
Time: Mid-Winter
The winter has been incredibly rough not just on Maul, but on her relationship with Thrash. It was so much easier when they first met and did not constantly have hunger gnawing at them. Perhaps recognizing that her own mood is a danger to the peace at the cave they've been inhabiting, or perhaps just irritated with Thrash beyond the point that she could tolerate, anymore, the adolescent female has been traveling for a few hours, now, without so much as the vaguest attempt to hunt. She knew where she was going, though, and now she has arrived. She begins circling the odd formation of stones, her paws sinking deep into the snow as she does.
It wasn't her intention to stroll this way, but here Shade finds herself. Her mind has been lead astray by a plethora of thoughts that she just can't seem to shake. But when she passes over the trail behind Maul, her paw falls into one of her sister's prints, and it brings her back to reality. She steps the rest of the way across, avoiding the rest of Maul's paw prints, then turns her gaze onto her litter mate. Shade frowns slightly. Maul looks... what? Troubled? Angry? Lost in thought? "Ah... good evening." Because it seems right to say something.
Maul's ears don't perk until Shade first speaks, and at that point, she stops walking. She remains like that for just a couple seconds before turning to face her sister, and after turning, the underweight female smiles thinly before speaking. "Hello, An'a." She does not often address her littermate with her bastardized version of her mother's originally proposed name for her sister anymore, but unsurprisingly the girl's mood has her behaving somewhat oddly, even for her.
Shade's ears both flick back for a moment. *Something* is up. Shade's been feeling distant lately, since the worst of the winter had begun, but she's not drifted so far as to be unable to tell when her own sister is acting off. Is it something she, herself did? Or is it something else? Shade approaches, tail held low. Is something wrong? What's bothering you? No... too direct. "How are you feeling, Maul?"
The silence before Maul answers is nothing particularly new. It used to be the result of her trying to figure out what was the most normal thing to say, whatever wouldn't cause too many raised eyebrows, but she grew past that. For a while. "I feel, um... I dunno." Maul takes in a deep breath and sighs it out. "I'll be glad when the winter is over, if it ever is. I don't like the snow, and... well, I don't like the snow."
"I don't blame you." Shade almost makes to sit down. But, remembering how cold and damp the ground is, she quickly decides against it. "If the prey didn't all disappear, I think I would rather like the winter, myself." Some days, sitting in the freezing cold wind and pouring snow, it just feels -right-. But never mind that, she wants to understand what's going on with Maul. She looks away from a second, thinking. Upon turning back, she speaks; "the snow isn't the only thing on your mind, is it?"
"I think-" Maul cuts herself off quickly, looking over Shade once she does. At least whatever she had to decide, before continuing, she seems to decide it fairly quickly. "I don't think Thrash is going to stay with me, after winter is over. I don't even know if he'll stay here, in Amaranth." Of those, the second upsets her a little more. "And I worry about... about Kein. I just don't know what to do with them." Of course, there is little more to concern a teenaged girl than the subject of boys, but the way she treats her father, it would not seem like she is ever actually *concerned* about him. Realizing this, the girl shakes her head. "I'm just being... impossible. I'm not even sure I'm not doing it on purpose."
Shade listens carefully, trying to conclude the best things to say. It's rarer that Shade speaks to her sister than she'd like, but perhaps that's just a part of growing up. Still, Shade tends toward responses that will keep Maul talking, perhaps not altogether intentionally. "What makes you say that, were you two fighting?" And as for their father? Shade leans her head to one side, proceeding carefully. She's not blind to the way Maul's treated him in the past, and she's little reason to believe their relationship has improved much at all. "Why're you worried about dad?"
Maul seems quick to accept her sister's offer to turn the conversation quite away from Thrash. Maybe that is a conversation that will be better had with him, once she gets her concerns about her father off her chest. "He's angry, because of... because of something happening to Kaya. To our sister. He's going to leave, and I can't ask him not to, this time. I can't, because I haven't let him be my father, and... I can't keep him from acting like my father, but still expect him to treat me like his daughter." Maul is upset. That's very obvious. She has worked so hard, though, to establish her independence, and to do it as much as she could without hurting Kein. Having succeeded as well as she has, though, she can't just go to him and demand that he remain in Amaranth.
Shade recalls hearing something of that, regarding Kaya, second hand. But she's not aware of all the details. So when Maul brings it up, Shade has to struggle to follow along. She frowns at the problem Maul explains to her, not understanding it all, but trying to all the same. "Do you... would you like me to talk to him in your place?" It doesn't seem like the best solution, but Shade doesn't know what else to offer. "But I don't understand; why can't you let him be your father just this once?"
It has taken months for Maul and Kein to become comfortable with the cold ritual that exists between them, and with a frown, Maul responds, "Because it won't be just once. If I insisted that he should listen to me, as his daughter, then he'd-" Solve all of her problems for her, or certainly try. Maul is so hungry and tired and upset that it's a tempting idea. "I just don't know. I think... I think that maybe I should talk to Thrash first." She left in a snit, and she's not sure her pride would allow her to return, just yet, but at least she is currently entertaining the idea of talking with Thrash, and more honestly than most of the talking she does with him. Feeling oddly better, Maul smiles a little more sincerely than earlier and says, "Thank you, anyway... for listening to me. I feel better now."
It was worth suggesting, though. Or maybe it wasn't. Shade has never understood what precisely is going on between her sister and father, and may never. "It's okay, I understand." She says softly. "Do what you think is right." As for Thrash... Shade never did ask what was going on with them. That can wait for another day. "'Thank you's aren't necessary. I'm always here, you know. If you need to talk." The cougaress steps forward, her head dipped and tilted as if she were about to give her sister a nuzzle... only, something stops her, and Shade abruptly pulls her neck back as if tugged away by an unseen force. Ignoring the cold now, she sits down into the snow, tail wrapping tightly against her legs.
While Maul is perfectly prepared to receive, and return, her sister's nuzzling, Shade pulls herself back, leaving her sister a bit confused... and, where she to admit it even to herself, perhaps a bit hurt. Even so, Maul responds with a simple nod and an equally simply, "I'm gonna go, now, but... I'll find you. Soon." She finishes her brief speech with a faint smile, then begins walking away, back towards the highlands.
"Alright. I'll be around, then." Shade smiles gently in return. She holds the expression until Maul has begun to move off, then it falls away and is replaced by a more somber look. Her chest expands and throat stings as she pulls in a deep sigh, then lets it out into the chilly air. Her eyes turn to watch the vapor billow upward from her maw. At it flutters away with the wind, Shade gets up to follow it. Where is she going to go now?