Post by Curiosity on May 27, 2010 12:11:51 GMT -5
Characters Involved:
Nyssa, female cougar
Maul, female adol. cougar
Kaya, female cougar
Aurora, female cougar
Nova, female cougar cub
=== Stone Formations ===
There hasn't been much on her mind in only one night, having spoken with Kein the day before and found something very unexpected for her, here in Amaranth. She didn't know what she was going to find upon coming here, but it seems that she and the Chieftain have come to an unspoken understanding of friendship and that warms her heart a great deal. While Nyssa isn't sure that she will stay on these lands forever, her Guide hasn't been vocal about moving on, and so she will stay for now. The air is warm and the lands quiet, and she has taken to resting underneath a tall pine, flat on her stomach with her paws outstretched. Nyssa lifts one paw and inspects in closely, then begins a task of meticulous grooming, a gentle purr coming from her all the while. There is a smile on her muzzle as she works, and she is fully focused on the task.
Maul has been gradually filling out as the spring progresses, and hunger does not drive her so thoroughly anymore. That is why she is carrying a hare with her, instead of having settled down to eat it as soon as she caught it. No, today she can have a nice, leisurely meal in the area where she and Thrash have been staying ever since winter ended. At least, that's the idea. She is somewhat delayed from her destination by the sound of purring nearby, by an unfamiliar smell. After a moment of hesitation, the girl drops her meal by the nearest tree and covers it up with some loose soil and pine needles. She may no longer be starving, but she remains cautious about the idea of loosing her food to some stranger.
Kaya has been working toward a somewhat new balance in her life since coming back to the Amaranth territory. She is healed, but looks ready to pop with cubs now. Spring is always the season of new life, and this case is clearly no exception. The truth is in Kaya's hunger. She's very hungry and looking around for some food. She doesn't think she'd have much luck hunting as she is now. She's probably end up hurting herself. So here she proceeds, seeking a kill already made. She has no knowledge of Nyssa's presence or even her familiar ties to the family. Needless to say, if she knew who Nyssa's grandfather is she's not hesitate to call her 'blood.' She also does not notice her much younger sister Maul.
The air, her constant companion, brushes through her fur and smooths down and ruffled patches, and then whisks away through the trees like a startled jaybird. It causes the female to stop her task and look over her paw, seeing another approach just as she emerges from behind the tree line. Nyssa places that paw back on the soil and watches the newcomer, warmth behind her eyes rather than the usual caution. The wind returns in a gentle puff and envelops Maul, then dances through the trees warmly and eddies around yet a second that Nyssa turns her head and curls her ears to greet. Silence for a moment or two, and then she intones, "Sisters." If they are not Kein's blood relatives, they are of his tribe, and that respect should be shown. She is a guest, afterall. Nyssa stands and shakes the needles for her coat and bows her head to each.
Aurora has been keeping to herself for the past several weeks, spending the majority of her time holed up in the mountainside den that served as a nursery for her mother, her grandmother, her great-grandmother, and now herself as well, doting on the single newborn cub the spirits have blessed her with...and what a blessing she is indeed. The youthful Aurora has taken quite well to the role of new mother, and with the help of her family and tribe sisters, she's been kept well-fed enough to ensure her young daughter is as healthy and well-taken-care-of as she could possibly be. But today is different, a special day indeed -- now that Nova's a full moon old, Aurora has decided to take her precious little one out for a stroll of Amaranth's territory, helping to familiarize the wide-eyed cub with her new home and the family within it. Still a ways off from the rest of her extended family, Aurora is slowly guiding Nova through the maze of pine trees to the south, occasionally pointing out important landmarks or particularly colorful birds among the branches as she sweetly coos to her only child. "...and one day, you'll be able to climb all the way up Snowcrest Peak too. Your daddy likes racing to the top, so you'll have to try and beat him someday when you're big enough," she confides with a broad smile and a little giggle.
The world is a huge and wonderous place to eyes that have only ever seen the inside of a cave. Nova lingers just at her mother's flank, pausing every now and again to look more closely at something with brilliant blue eyes that have yet to take on an older cub's color. Whenever Aurora gets too far away, she bounds along to her mother's side, nearly tripping on oversized paws. A bundle of cubby fluff, the girl is spotted and mottled with splotches that seem like a yet-paler version of her mother's own fur. Mostly, she doesn't seem the babbling type of toddler, looking up just once with her ears perked to listen to her mother's words.
Maul only notices Kaya by the fact that Nyssa does as well. After all, as Nyssa was, previously, focused on grooming herself, Maul was focused on the stranger. It's why she fails to notice even Nova and Aurora. After following Nyssa's gaze to Kaya, she greets the vaguely-familiar, and very pregnant, female with a smile, before turning her curious gaze back to Nyssa. Responding kindly, as there is no reason to be anything but kind, with Nyssa's polite demeanor, though young female says, "Hello. I'm Maul."
Kaya beams when she sees her little sister Maul, she calls out to her, "Maul!" But, alas, before she can trot over to greet her sister her attention is pulled away by Nyssa. "Good evening!" She says. Oh! Where to begin? Little sister? Newcomer? Who?
Aurora pauses briefly as she feels Nova stumble against her leg as she runs up beside her, the first-time mother looking down at her newborn cub with a swelling of love and adoration like she's never felt before. "Are you all right, my bright little star?" she inquires, leaning over to drag her tongue over Nova's forehead in an affectionate gesture, purring to her all the while. "We're almost to the stones, and then we can rest there for a bit...the rocks are great for warming in the sun." Stepping ahead once again, Aurora continues her slow-paced trek, navigating the easiest path through the trees for her young cub and finally emerging from the thick grove of pines several moments later to the sounds and sights of others...it would seem they're not the only ones with this particular location in mind. She quickly recognizes her blood-sisters, though the third of the mountain lions gathered here is unfamiliar to Aurora, though with Kaya and Maul at ease it doesn't appear the stranger is an unwelcome one. Stepping closer to Nova in an obviously protective manner, the slightly undersized cougaress introduces herself and her new little cub with a proud smile: "Hello, sisters...this is Nova. Nova, these are your aunts, Kaya and Maul."
Similiar to Kein's, both cougars have the red dye marked on their fur, reminiscent of her own yet also worldly different at the same time. Nyssa returns Maul's greeting with a smile, "Hello, Maul," and then she is distracted momentarily by the arrival of yet a third, and a fourth. Nyssa says nothing as the young cub is introduced, and her smile widens at the young one before she looks back to Maul, who had addressed her. "You must be of the Chieftain's family?" she says quietly.
Nova shakes her head briefly, looking at the leg she tumbled into and going just slightly cross-eyed. Then, as the lick comes over her head, she just looks up with big innocent eyes as her ears slick a little backwards along her skull. "Uh huh." It's not exactly words, but a little nod shows that she's just fine. The cub moves in small stops and starts, pausing whenever something draws her attention. Out of one of the nearby bushes, a little fly begins to buzz and it causes her attention to shift as she follows the bug's path down under her mother's belly. She lifts her paw, trying to bat at it, but it flies away out towards the open and the little girl pauses, peeking out from behind one of her mother's forepaws. "Kai. Moool." Nova repeats, obviously not quite good at this speaking thing yet.
Kaya turns her head as Aurora addresses the group, then sees Nova and her worls seems to go in slow motion. She loves cubs. And here's a little neice. She's an aunt now. She looks absolutely tickled to see the cub and hear her try to say her name. "She's adorable, Aurora!" Then she looks over at Nyssa. "Yes, we're family to the chieftain. I'm Kaya, the firstborn."
Maul is distracted from Nyssa by the sudden arrival of her other older sister, as well as a cub. It has been a long time since Maul has been is such close proximity to so many others, and she moves as she does so that she can keep all of them in her sight, and keep herself between all of them and her nearby, hidden food, simply by instinct. Perhaps if she were closer with her family, she would not feel so driven to do so, but if Maul inherited only one thing from her father, it is her usual taste for solitude. After moving, she simply watches, instead of trying to speak.
Aurora practically melts from the cuteness as her young one tries to pronounce her sisters' names, smiling even more brightly as her older sister gushes over her as well. "Thank you, Kaya...looks like pretty soon she'll have a cousin or two to play with as well!" she remarks about the obvious, before Nyssa's question brings her attention back to the unfamiliar female. Nodding, she answers in the affirmative before offering a question of her own: "Yes, I'm Aurora... Who are you?"
"Dokable." Nova repeats the word that comes out of Kaya's mouth, still looking a little shy as she stays mostly in the safety of her mother's paws. The cub's tail swishes lightly behind her, even as her big eyes look out towards all the strangers. Then, that dastardly little fly appears and lands right on the girl's nose! She freezes, standing perfectly still, although the movement of the insect starts to make her nose twitch. "A...A...Achoo." The cub sneezes, sending the fly up into the air. "'ey!" She calls out, and then starts forward, batting at the air as she tries to catch it, forgetting the fact that there strangers around.
Nyssa sits back on her haunches, eyes roving around those assembled, stopping only briefly on the young cub as she considered the Guide that she will one day begin to listen to. The others, though, are addressed with a nod, "I am Nyssa, a Sister of a tribe far beyond the valley; I have met your Chieftain Kein and spoken with him at length," though she doesn't delve too much further into that. It would be a long story.
Maul remains watching and listening to the other females for a short while longer, but as she does so, she is left feeling rather uncomfortable. As her older sisters seem to have greeting this newcomer handled, the young, and largely antisocial cougaress, begins to back up. She was going to enjoy her meal here, but with the area so occupied, and her feeling out of place, she'll find someplace else.
Kaya walks right up to the cub and smiles down at her. Yes, of course Kaya is so very obviously pregnant herself. She reaches out a gentle paw and pats the cub lightly. "Hello, Nova." She looks up at Aurora. "She's the only one?"
Aurora nods simply at the brief explanation, assuming that if her father has met with this female and not run her off the lands that she must be here on good terms, or perhaps even a potential new tribe sister. As such, when Nova goes after a buzzing fly, the new mother doesn't dive after her in a flurry of worry and alarm -- instead, Aurora merely keeps a watchful eye on the young cub as she plays, wanting the girl to grow up feeling safe and secure in her family's home. She nods to Kaya before inquiring curiously of Nyssa: "Will you be staying here with us?"
"I believe that I may, until such time when my Guide asks that I move on," Nyssa replies gently to the young mother, her attention falling on the retreating first-comer for a few moments until she has disappeared. So much of Kein in those eyes, in that gait, Nyssa 'hmms' to herself and flicks her tail thoughtfully. Perahps she was one of the few that Kein suggested she speak to one of these days? Time will tell her, surely. The cougar blinks and the bows her head to the remaining three, another smile given to the cub, "I'll leave you to your exploration, little one; may you find many, many things." Nyssa gives each Sister another steady look before turning, moving off away from the crowd and away from where Maul had gone, paws leading her where they will.
It doesn't take long for the insect to grow tired of this game, even if the cub seems able to go on for quite a while - it's the gift of youthful energy. However, Kaya's approach causes her to turn her head and look upward, blinking big blue eyes as she sits back onto her rump. "'ewwo," the girl replies, her ears perking forward. A little smile shows on the child's face, her nose twitching. "Ow oda foo?" It sounds like a question, although there's no real words to it. She glances at Kaya's belly, and then seems to get distracted by Nyssa, "Odu." She babbles, tail swishing in the dirt.
Aurora merely nods again, watching Nyssa leave with a curious expression before she returns her focus to her cub and elder sister. "Hm. Perhaps we should continue our wanderings, little angel, before we head home for a nap? Maybe Aunt Kaya will come with us...?" she leaves off as an open-ended invitation, though she's already moving on towards the northeast, once again carefully guiding her cub as she begins padding away from the stones, wanting to show the young girl her first glimpse of the big lake found at the far northern edges of the huge mountain they live upon. "All right, Nova, I'm about to show you something really neat, even better than anything you've seen so far..."
Kaya watches as Aurora leaves with Nova, as well as Maul. Feeling a bit lonely, she decides maybe its time to more fully reintroduce herself into the tribe. She stands and begins to wander toward the heart of the territory.
Nyssa, female cougar
Maul, female adol. cougar
Kaya, female cougar
Aurora, female cougar
Nova, female cougar cub
=== Stone Formations ===
There hasn't been much on her mind in only one night, having spoken with Kein the day before and found something very unexpected for her, here in Amaranth. She didn't know what she was going to find upon coming here, but it seems that she and the Chieftain have come to an unspoken understanding of friendship and that warms her heart a great deal. While Nyssa isn't sure that she will stay on these lands forever, her Guide hasn't been vocal about moving on, and so she will stay for now. The air is warm and the lands quiet, and she has taken to resting underneath a tall pine, flat on her stomach with her paws outstretched. Nyssa lifts one paw and inspects in closely, then begins a task of meticulous grooming, a gentle purr coming from her all the while. There is a smile on her muzzle as she works, and she is fully focused on the task.
Maul has been gradually filling out as the spring progresses, and hunger does not drive her so thoroughly anymore. That is why she is carrying a hare with her, instead of having settled down to eat it as soon as she caught it. No, today she can have a nice, leisurely meal in the area where she and Thrash have been staying ever since winter ended. At least, that's the idea. She is somewhat delayed from her destination by the sound of purring nearby, by an unfamiliar smell. After a moment of hesitation, the girl drops her meal by the nearest tree and covers it up with some loose soil and pine needles. She may no longer be starving, but she remains cautious about the idea of loosing her food to some stranger.
Kaya has been working toward a somewhat new balance in her life since coming back to the Amaranth territory. She is healed, but looks ready to pop with cubs now. Spring is always the season of new life, and this case is clearly no exception. The truth is in Kaya's hunger. She's very hungry and looking around for some food. She doesn't think she'd have much luck hunting as she is now. She's probably end up hurting herself. So here she proceeds, seeking a kill already made. She has no knowledge of Nyssa's presence or even her familiar ties to the family. Needless to say, if she knew who Nyssa's grandfather is she's not hesitate to call her 'blood.' She also does not notice her much younger sister Maul.
The air, her constant companion, brushes through her fur and smooths down and ruffled patches, and then whisks away through the trees like a startled jaybird. It causes the female to stop her task and look over her paw, seeing another approach just as she emerges from behind the tree line. Nyssa places that paw back on the soil and watches the newcomer, warmth behind her eyes rather than the usual caution. The wind returns in a gentle puff and envelops Maul, then dances through the trees warmly and eddies around yet a second that Nyssa turns her head and curls her ears to greet. Silence for a moment or two, and then she intones, "Sisters." If they are not Kein's blood relatives, they are of his tribe, and that respect should be shown. She is a guest, afterall. Nyssa stands and shakes the needles for her coat and bows her head to each.
Aurora has been keeping to herself for the past several weeks, spending the majority of her time holed up in the mountainside den that served as a nursery for her mother, her grandmother, her great-grandmother, and now herself as well, doting on the single newborn cub the spirits have blessed her with...and what a blessing she is indeed. The youthful Aurora has taken quite well to the role of new mother, and with the help of her family and tribe sisters, she's been kept well-fed enough to ensure her young daughter is as healthy and well-taken-care-of as she could possibly be. But today is different, a special day indeed -- now that Nova's a full moon old, Aurora has decided to take her precious little one out for a stroll of Amaranth's territory, helping to familiarize the wide-eyed cub with her new home and the family within it. Still a ways off from the rest of her extended family, Aurora is slowly guiding Nova through the maze of pine trees to the south, occasionally pointing out important landmarks or particularly colorful birds among the branches as she sweetly coos to her only child. "...and one day, you'll be able to climb all the way up Snowcrest Peak too. Your daddy likes racing to the top, so you'll have to try and beat him someday when you're big enough," she confides with a broad smile and a little giggle.
The world is a huge and wonderous place to eyes that have only ever seen the inside of a cave. Nova lingers just at her mother's flank, pausing every now and again to look more closely at something with brilliant blue eyes that have yet to take on an older cub's color. Whenever Aurora gets too far away, she bounds along to her mother's side, nearly tripping on oversized paws. A bundle of cubby fluff, the girl is spotted and mottled with splotches that seem like a yet-paler version of her mother's own fur. Mostly, she doesn't seem the babbling type of toddler, looking up just once with her ears perked to listen to her mother's words.
Maul only notices Kaya by the fact that Nyssa does as well. After all, as Nyssa was, previously, focused on grooming herself, Maul was focused on the stranger. It's why she fails to notice even Nova and Aurora. After following Nyssa's gaze to Kaya, she greets the vaguely-familiar, and very pregnant, female with a smile, before turning her curious gaze back to Nyssa. Responding kindly, as there is no reason to be anything but kind, with Nyssa's polite demeanor, though young female says, "Hello. I'm Maul."
Kaya beams when she sees her little sister Maul, she calls out to her, "Maul!" But, alas, before she can trot over to greet her sister her attention is pulled away by Nyssa. "Good evening!" She says. Oh! Where to begin? Little sister? Newcomer? Who?
Aurora pauses briefly as she feels Nova stumble against her leg as she runs up beside her, the first-time mother looking down at her newborn cub with a swelling of love and adoration like she's never felt before. "Are you all right, my bright little star?" she inquires, leaning over to drag her tongue over Nova's forehead in an affectionate gesture, purring to her all the while. "We're almost to the stones, and then we can rest there for a bit...the rocks are great for warming in the sun." Stepping ahead once again, Aurora continues her slow-paced trek, navigating the easiest path through the trees for her young cub and finally emerging from the thick grove of pines several moments later to the sounds and sights of others...it would seem they're not the only ones with this particular location in mind. She quickly recognizes her blood-sisters, though the third of the mountain lions gathered here is unfamiliar to Aurora, though with Kaya and Maul at ease it doesn't appear the stranger is an unwelcome one. Stepping closer to Nova in an obviously protective manner, the slightly undersized cougaress introduces herself and her new little cub with a proud smile: "Hello, sisters...this is Nova. Nova, these are your aunts, Kaya and Maul."
Similiar to Kein's, both cougars have the red dye marked on their fur, reminiscent of her own yet also worldly different at the same time. Nyssa returns Maul's greeting with a smile, "Hello, Maul," and then she is distracted momentarily by the arrival of yet a third, and a fourth. Nyssa says nothing as the young cub is introduced, and her smile widens at the young one before she looks back to Maul, who had addressed her. "You must be of the Chieftain's family?" she says quietly.
Nova shakes her head briefly, looking at the leg she tumbled into and going just slightly cross-eyed. Then, as the lick comes over her head, she just looks up with big innocent eyes as her ears slick a little backwards along her skull. "Uh huh." It's not exactly words, but a little nod shows that she's just fine. The cub moves in small stops and starts, pausing whenever something draws her attention. Out of one of the nearby bushes, a little fly begins to buzz and it causes her attention to shift as she follows the bug's path down under her mother's belly. She lifts her paw, trying to bat at it, but it flies away out towards the open and the little girl pauses, peeking out from behind one of her mother's forepaws. "Kai. Moool." Nova repeats, obviously not quite good at this speaking thing yet.
Kaya turns her head as Aurora addresses the group, then sees Nova and her worls seems to go in slow motion. She loves cubs. And here's a little neice. She's an aunt now. She looks absolutely tickled to see the cub and hear her try to say her name. "She's adorable, Aurora!" Then she looks over at Nyssa. "Yes, we're family to the chieftain. I'm Kaya, the firstborn."
Maul is distracted from Nyssa by the sudden arrival of her other older sister, as well as a cub. It has been a long time since Maul has been is such close proximity to so many others, and she moves as she does so that she can keep all of them in her sight, and keep herself between all of them and her nearby, hidden food, simply by instinct. Perhaps if she were closer with her family, she would not feel so driven to do so, but if Maul inherited only one thing from her father, it is her usual taste for solitude. After moving, she simply watches, instead of trying to speak.
Aurora practically melts from the cuteness as her young one tries to pronounce her sisters' names, smiling even more brightly as her older sister gushes over her as well. "Thank you, Kaya...looks like pretty soon she'll have a cousin or two to play with as well!" she remarks about the obvious, before Nyssa's question brings her attention back to the unfamiliar female. Nodding, she answers in the affirmative before offering a question of her own: "Yes, I'm Aurora... Who are you?"
"Dokable." Nova repeats the word that comes out of Kaya's mouth, still looking a little shy as she stays mostly in the safety of her mother's paws. The cub's tail swishes lightly behind her, even as her big eyes look out towards all the strangers. Then, that dastardly little fly appears and lands right on the girl's nose! She freezes, standing perfectly still, although the movement of the insect starts to make her nose twitch. "A...A...Achoo." The cub sneezes, sending the fly up into the air. "'ey!" She calls out, and then starts forward, batting at the air as she tries to catch it, forgetting the fact that there strangers around.
Nyssa sits back on her haunches, eyes roving around those assembled, stopping only briefly on the young cub as she considered the Guide that she will one day begin to listen to. The others, though, are addressed with a nod, "I am Nyssa, a Sister of a tribe far beyond the valley; I have met your Chieftain Kein and spoken with him at length," though she doesn't delve too much further into that. It would be a long story.
Maul remains watching and listening to the other females for a short while longer, but as she does so, she is left feeling rather uncomfortable. As her older sisters seem to have greeting this newcomer handled, the young, and largely antisocial cougaress, begins to back up. She was going to enjoy her meal here, but with the area so occupied, and her feeling out of place, she'll find someplace else.
Kaya walks right up to the cub and smiles down at her. Yes, of course Kaya is so very obviously pregnant herself. She reaches out a gentle paw and pats the cub lightly. "Hello, Nova." She looks up at Aurora. "She's the only one?"
Aurora nods simply at the brief explanation, assuming that if her father has met with this female and not run her off the lands that she must be here on good terms, or perhaps even a potential new tribe sister. As such, when Nova goes after a buzzing fly, the new mother doesn't dive after her in a flurry of worry and alarm -- instead, Aurora merely keeps a watchful eye on the young cub as she plays, wanting the girl to grow up feeling safe and secure in her family's home. She nods to Kaya before inquiring curiously of Nyssa: "Will you be staying here with us?"
"I believe that I may, until such time when my Guide asks that I move on," Nyssa replies gently to the young mother, her attention falling on the retreating first-comer for a few moments until she has disappeared. So much of Kein in those eyes, in that gait, Nyssa 'hmms' to herself and flicks her tail thoughtfully. Perahps she was one of the few that Kein suggested she speak to one of these days? Time will tell her, surely. The cougar blinks and the bows her head to the remaining three, another smile given to the cub, "I'll leave you to your exploration, little one; may you find many, many things." Nyssa gives each Sister another steady look before turning, moving off away from the crowd and away from where Maul had gone, paws leading her where they will.
It doesn't take long for the insect to grow tired of this game, even if the cub seems able to go on for quite a while - it's the gift of youthful energy. However, Kaya's approach causes her to turn her head and look upward, blinking big blue eyes as she sits back onto her rump. "'ewwo," the girl replies, her ears perking forward. A little smile shows on the child's face, her nose twitching. "Ow oda foo?" It sounds like a question, although there's no real words to it. She glances at Kaya's belly, and then seems to get distracted by Nyssa, "Odu." She babbles, tail swishing in the dirt.
Aurora merely nods again, watching Nyssa leave with a curious expression before she returns her focus to her cub and elder sister. "Hm. Perhaps we should continue our wanderings, little angel, before we head home for a nap? Maybe Aunt Kaya will come with us...?" she leaves off as an open-ended invitation, though she's already moving on towards the northeast, once again carefully guiding her cub as she begins padding away from the stones, wanting to show the young girl her first glimpse of the big lake found at the far northern edges of the huge mountain they live upon. "All right, Nova, I'm about to show you something really neat, even better than anything you've seen so far..."
Kaya watches as Aurora leaves with Nova, as well as Maul. Feeling a bit lonely, she decides maybe its time to more fully reintroduce herself into the tribe. She stands and begins to wander toward the heart of the territory.