Post by crescendo on Nov 25, 2010 11:16:46 GMT -5
Pristine Lake
Malina, female cougar
Shanira, female cougar
Tantallon, male cougar
Thrash, male cougar
It has been a few weeks since the four cougars left the lands of Amaranth and have wandered out to some of the more unknown, yet unclaimed territory. With winter having finally ended and spring arrived bringing fresh air and the warm sun, Thrash is enjoying himself immensely. His relationship with Nyana has blossomed, and he is starting to feel more at ease. For now he finds himself alone, striding along the side of the lake with the sunlight sparkling off the clear surface, his eyes drawn towards the blue depths in search of a fish or two.
Though she's been travelling for some time, leaving her birthplace and family far behind, Malina is not weary. On the contrary, both her heart and her paws are light, and she sings softly to herself as she strides along. "Flow'rs of the forest, are bright in the spring, Wake with the dawn, hear a lone skylark sing..." She wanders along the edge of the lake, eyes lidded, enjoying the scenery and not paying a bit of attention to where she's even headed. "Brooks gaily babble, O'er hillsides so green, Streams ripple secrets, of what they have seen. Small birds give voice, mid the leaves of great trees, which rustle softly, in time with the breeze..." She finally sits at the edge of the lake, swaying back and forth in time with her song. "I'll add my music, for what it is worth, and sing just for you love, the song of the Earth." Having come to the end of the song, the cougaress falls silent and simply stares out at the lake. Well, since she's here, maybe a fish or two will show itself and she'll have some food to complement the fine day she's having.
Life with the other three has been pretty decent for Shanira. Considering she spent so much time walking by herself, this is definitely an improvement. She found Thrash, for one, and Tantallon and Nyana aren't half-bad individuals either. In short, Shanira's quite alright with things so far this Spring. She's standing very still, her front paws submerged below the water surface while the rest of her remains dry, eyes on a budding lily pad that moves in a suspicious way. Her tail flicks, then rests, pale green eyes trained on the pad as bubbles slip out from under it. She wants to pounce, just for the sake of it, but is unsure of the depth below the water plant, hence her continued observation. "Thrash," she mumbles, "if I jump in the water and disappear, will you save me from drowning?"
Tantallon isn't far from his brother, or maybe more correctly, the other travelers aren't far from him. Afterall, he's the one who knows how to get to the Ute packlands. Unlike Thrash, however, Tantallon is laying alongside the banks of the lake. His forepaws are stretched out so just his toes rest in the water, his eyes half lidded and cast out across the water and the subtle ripples his touch causes. It's a typical pose for him with his expressions lost to his thoughts and sounds only he can hear. No doubt he's well aware of Shanira and Thrash nearby, even the sound of Malina's singing, but for now his focus is... elsewhere.
As Thrash makes his to Shanira's side, his eyes are drawn towards the water, then back to her. "For you beautiful? I'd jump in twice to save you from drowning. The world would be a bleaker place without your pretty eyes to stare into." He is a smooth criminal, this one. Stealing the hearts of every lady he meets. His tail sways back and forth a bit, then his ears lift upwards to the sweet sining of Malina in the distance. "Be still my heart.. who is -that-?" He asks as he takes in a deep breath, then starts past Shanira with purpose in his stride, holding his head up and chest out. As he approaches the unknown female, he lets out a loud clear of his throat. "Hey." He says with a cock of his head, his grin forming wryly upon his muzzle. "You have quite a voice on you. Spell binding. I must know your name." He says.
Malina starts at the sound of Thrash's voice, immediately whipping around to lock eyes with him. Her tail poofs a bit, and she blinks before relaxing and responding. Hmmph. Been a long time since another beast managed to sneak up on her, and she's rather irate with herself for slipping so far into her reverie that she managed to walk right into the middle of a bunch of cougars without even noticing. Still, she plunks her rump back down and greets the male. "My name is Malina." The others are ignored for the time being, other than a curious glance. Since when do cougars hang out together in groups, anyway?
As Thrash moves away towards the new female, Shanira looks over at the stranger cougar for al of three second before the moving lily pad snatches her attention again. Her priorities aren't quite what they should be yet. It seems whatever caused the plant to move has given up now, however, and as nothing more seems to happen and the idea of swimming just for the hell of it doesn't quite to Shanira, she starts moving along the edge of the lake, padding through the water until she reaches Tantallon. Without further ado, she brings one of her paws out of the water, dripping wet, and places it on her friend's shoulders with a smile. "Daydreamer..!" she exclaims, giving Tantallon a light push.
Tantallon blinks with a soft snort of surprise at the wet paw that is shoved against his shoulder and the young male blinks grey eyes as he looks towards Shanira. "Fff, not daydreaming! Just trying to reach someone, but, no luck." He pulls his damp paws under him as he pushed himself up onto his feet, dipping down his head to aim a good-natured headbutt against Shanira's shoulder. "We're too far away still. So... we have a visitor?" He asks as he glances up and across the water towards Malina, though his voice soon turns dry and wry. "...and Thrash is flirting with her. Surprise surprise."
"Malina." The older male cougar repeats her name as his grin bolsters across his boxy muzzle. "Pretty name to go along with that beautiful voice. My name is Thrash." He cocks an eyebrow up at her, then settles himself back upon his haunches. "You make that up yourself or did you hear it somewhere? The lyrics were captivating." His voice is a smooth rumble in his broad chest as his tail tick tocks behind him. "Behind me that is my little brother Tantallon and his lady friend Shanira. We're kinda traveling, taking an adventure of sorts. How 'bout you?" He drawls to her. Wink.
As the cougaress fully relaxes, a smirk tugs at the corner of her mouth. Boy, this guy could charm the birds right out of the trees. "Thrash, eh? I like it. As for the song, my mother taught it to me. I think it was my grandmother who made it up." She glances over to the other two cougars and nods in greeting. As strange as she think it is for them to be travelling in a group, she has to admit that she's glad to see some others for once. And who knows, maybe she's the weird one. "Pleasure meeting you." Glancing back at Thrash, she continues. "I'm... well, I guess I'm kinda travelling too, but by myself. Struck out on my own and whatnot. Figured my poor Ma could use a break. I took off one way and my sister went another. How's your adventure been so far?"
Shanira gives a growling chuckle, pressing back towards Tantallon before she dance around to his other side and putting her head on his shoulders as she looks over at Thrash and the newcomer. "Of course he is, it's what he does. Always did, always will do." Giving a soft snort, she gives Tantallon another push, wanting to usher him in the direction of the other two. Ears forward, she slips back past him to move up alongside Thrash, her body sliding against his as she gives Malina a grin. "Nevermind him, he's got a girlfriend. Don't you, Thrash?" she asks with a mock innocent look up at the other. "I'm Shanira," she then introduces herself to the other female.
Tantallon follows Shanira's none-so-subtle suggestions to join the party and chuckles as she heads off ahead to pester Thrash. "Yah. You wouldn't want us to tell Nyana how kindly you're being to strangers, eh brother-dear?" Says the small, lanky male as he ambles up beside his elder brother with a wide, joking grin. "Malina, did I hear? Hi. I'm Tantallon. Sorry I was too distracted to keep Thrash from pestering you, I'm normally more on top of those things."
"Yup, my name is Thrash. My mom named me Tantallon first, but then pops didn't like it, so mom named -him- Tantallon instead." The large cougar says with a rising grin upon his muzzle, as if the story will always amuse him. "I think Thrash suits me better anyways. Gives me an edge." As she asks her question, he replies in kind. "The adventure is going alright so far. We just left the Amaranth lands because they're full of drama and we're trying to find some green grass to call our home and just relax. How about you tag along? We're good company." As Shanira starts in, soon followed by Tantallon, he lets out a loud groan. With a laugh, he leans in to push his muzzle in against Shanira's neck. "She's not my girlfriend by the way, she's Tantallon's, I think." He teases his younger brother, tail swaying behind him. "And I'm not pestering the lady, maybe she enjoys my company, ever think that? Why are you two raining on my head for?"
Malina stifles a laugh as the other two cougars attempt to ruin poor Thrash's chances. Not that he has much of one, anyway, she's got better things to do than pair off with some random male and make babies. At least she likes to think she does, despite being an aimless wanderer. Ahem. "Nah, he's not bothering me. Takes a lot to really get to me. If you lot want another travelling buddy, then I suppose I can tag along, see what this corner of the earth is all about." The cougaress grins at all the 'girlfriend' talk, wondering if whatever other female they're speaking of would appreciate this Thrash fellow disowning her as a girlfriend. She's a girl, afterall, and has a sister. She knows all about jealousy. Perhaps she'd better just lay low for a while, she certainly doesn't want to cause any drama now that she seems to have made some friends.
"We haven't really discussed...that." Tantallon remarks with a brief, almost nervous sidelong glance to Shanira. Friends, certainly. More? Well, that's their decision, not Thrash's. "Anyway. We're not raining on your head, we're just keeping it from floating away. But, you are welcome to tag along for as long as you want. We're heading to wolf territory and, I dunno if you're up for that, but... it's company, at least, if you don't have any and there's more than enough places up north for some cougars to settle in."
"See, the lady likes me, so... you two go frolic in the flowers." Thrash says with a laugh as he tilts his head to one side, then flops himself against Malina's shoulder, as if they are old buddies. "Yes, we're headed towards the Ute wolf pack territory. Tantallon grew up there and he wants to see his old family. Long story, but they saved his life when he was a cub and raised him until he found me again." His whiskers twitch a bit. "I have been told it's plentiful of food and very easy on the eyes." He says with a wink. "Kinda like you."
Malina cocks an eyebrow at Thrash's little flop, but she's learning to take him in his stride and simply grins at him. "Wolves, hmm? Never minded them. I guess I wouldn't mind strolling up their way. My sister was always suspicious of them, but the ones I saw always seemed trustworthy. If they're saving cougar lives, they must be good beasts. Food is good, too..." The male's next comment catches her off guard, and she feels her face flush hot. Dammit, she was doing so well! "Um... Thanks!" Ugh, lame, but witty retorts are harder to come up with when you're flustered. Despite her slight embarassment, Malina wonders just how many other females have heard that exact line from this guy. Probably a lot.
Shanira tries to bat at Thrash's head as he pushes his nose against her neck, but doesn't quite hit Thrash as much as she manages to smack herself up the head. "I'm nobody's girlfriend," she protests mildly, though she glances over at Tantallon and flicks her tail at him as she says it. "Not saying I won't ever be, but I'm not right now..!" She rolls her eyes at Thrash's next well-aimed compliment, sighing. "He's absolutely hopeless. Ab-so-lutely." She smiles at Malina. "But if you ignore him enough, you'll get by just fine!"
Tantallon snorts absently as he shoulders Thrash lightly with his own, his tail giving a light side to side switch. "Anyway, sitting here harassing one another wouln't welcome Malina and in fact we'll likely scare her off. How about we get ourselves some dinner, hm? I, for one, could go with a good dinner and dinner is always a nice way to sit and talk. I'm sure Malina'll have questions for us if she wishes to travel with us."
Leaning over, Thrash gives Malina a smooch on the cheek, then pushes off as he starts down the lake side, letting out a loud yawn. "Very well, let's find Nyana and hunt down something to eat, something big for a change. I'm tired of fish and bunnies and I am thinking an elk." He says as his tail sways behind his strong haunches in a teasing manner, as if to hypnotize Malina if she was to look over.
Malina simply blinks at the smooch. Good God what has she gotten herself into. Having never had attention from a male before, she doesn't know exactly how to respond other than to remind herself that guarding her heart would be most wise. Particularly in this situation, it would seem. Shaking her head, she hauls herself to all fours and prepares to... hunt in a group, apparently. Well, if they do find an elk at least there'll be plenty to go around, and any scavengers can be run off more easily. She follows the others, silently hoping that she's made a good decision by joining this bunch.
Malina, female cougar
Shanira, female cougar
Tantallon, male cougar
Thrash, male cougar
It has been a few weeks since the four cougars left the lands of Amaranth and have wandered out to some of the more unknown, yet unclaimed territory. With winter having finally ended and spring arrived bringing fresh air and the warm sun, Thrash is enjoying himself immensely. His relationship with Nyana has blossomed, and he is starting to feel more at ease. For now he finds himself alone, striding along the side of the lake with the sunlight sparkling off the clear surface, his eyes drawn towards the blue depths in search of a fish or two.
Though she's been travelling for some time, leaving her birthplace and family far behind, Malina is not weary. On the contrary, both her heart and her paws are light, and she sings softly to herself as she strides along. "Flow'rs of the forest, are bright in the spring, Wake with the dawn, hear a lone skylark sing..." She wanders along the edge of the lake, eyes lidded, enjoying the scenery and not paying a bit of attention to where she's even headed. "Brooks gaily babble, O'er hillsides so green, Streams ripple secrets, of what they have seen. Small birds give voice, mid the leaves of great trees, which rustle softly, in time with the breeze..." She finally sits at the edge of the lake, swaying back and forth in time with her song. "I'll add my music, for what it is worth, and sing just for you love, the song of the Earth." Having come to the end of the song, the cougaress falls silent and simply stares out at the lake. Well, since she's here, maybe a fish or two will show itself and she'll have some food to complement the fine day she's having.
Life with the other three has been pretty decent for Shanira. Considering she spent so much time walking by herself, this is definitely an improvement. She found Thrash, for one, and Tantallon and Nyana aren't half-bad individuals either. In short, Shanira's quite alright with things so far this Spring. She's standing very still, her front paws submerged below the water surface while the rest of her remains dry, eyes on a budding lily pad that moves in a suspicious way. Her tail flicks, then rests, pale green eyes trained on the pad as bubbles slip out from under it. She wants to pounce, just for the sake of it, but is unsure of the depth below the water plant, hence her continued observation. "Thrash," she mumbles, "if I jump in the water and disappear, will you save me from drowning?"
Tantallon isn't far from his brother, or maybe more correctly, the other travelers aren't far from him. Afterall, he's the one who knows how to get to the Ute packlands. Unlike Thrash, however, Tantallon is laying alongside the banks of the lake. His forepaws are stretched out so just his toes rest in the water, his eyes half lidded and cast out across the water and the subtle ripples his touch causes. It's a typical pose for him with his expressions lost to his thoughts and sounds only he can hear. No doubt he's well aware of Shanira and Thrash nearby, even the sound of Malina's singing, but for now his focus is... elsewhere.
As Thrash makes his to Shanira's side, his eyes are drawn towards the water, then back to her. "For you beautiful? I'd jump in twice to save you from drowning. The world would be a bleaker place without your pretty eyes to stare into." He is a smooth criminal, this one. Stealing the hearts of every lady he meets. His tail sways back and forth a bit, then his ears lift upwards to the sweet sining of Malina in the distance. "Be still my heart.. who is -that-?" He asks as he takes in a deep breath, then starts past Shanira with purpose in his stride, holding his head up and chest out. As he approaches the unknown female, he lets out a loud clear of his throat. "Hey." He says with a cock of his head, his grin forming wryly upon his muzzle. "You have quite a voice on you. Spell binding. I must know your name." He says.
Malina starts at the sound of Thrash's voice, immediately whipping around to lock eyes with him. Her tail poofs a bit, and she blinks before relaxing and responding. Hmmph. Been a long time since another beast managed to sneak up on her, and she's rather irate with herself for slipping so far into her reverie that she managed to walk right into the middle of a bunch of cougars without even noticing. Still, she plunks her rump back down and greets the male. "My name is Malina." The others are ignored for the time being, other than a curious glance. Since when do cougars hang out together in groups, anyway?
As Thrash moves away towards the new female, Shanira looks over at the stranger cougar for al of three second before the moving lily pad snatches her attention again. Her priorities aren't quite what they should be yet. It seems whatever caused the plant to move has given up now, however, and as nothing more seems to happen and the idea of swimming just for the hell of it doesn't quite to Shanira, she starts moving along the edge of the lake, padding through the water until she reaches Tantallon. Without further ado, she brings one of her paws out of the water, dripping wet, and places it on her friend's shoulders with a smile. "Daydreamer..!" she exclaims, giving Tantallon a light push.
Tantallon blinks with a soft snort of surprise at the wet paw that is shoved against his shoulder and the young male blinks grey eyes as he looks towards Shanira. "Fff, not daydreaming! Just trying to reach someone, but, no luck." He pulls his damp paws under him as he pushed himself up onto his feet, dipping down his head to aim a good-natured headbutt against Shanira's shoulder. "We're too far away still. So... we have a visitor?" He asks as he glances up and across the water towards Malina, though his voice soon turns dry and wry. "...and Thrash is flirting with her. Surprise surprise."
"Malina." The older male cougar repeats her name as his grin bolsters across his boxy muzzle. "Pretty name to go along with that beautiful voice. My name is Thrash." He cocks an eyebrow up at her, then settles himself back upon his haunches. "You make that up yourself or did you hear it somewhere? The lyrics were captivating." His voice is a smooth rumble in his broad chest as his tail tick tocks behind him. "Behind me that is my little brother Tantallon and his lady friend Shanira. We're kinda traveling, taking an adventure of sorts. How 'bout you?" He drawls to her. Wink.
As the cougaress fully relaxes, a smirk tugs at the corner of her mouth. Boy, this guy could charm the birds right out of the trees. "Thrash, eh? I like it. As for the song, my mother taught it to me. I think it was my grandmother who made it up." She glances over to the other two cougars and nods in greeting. As strange as she think it is for them to be travelling in a group, she has to admit that she's glad to see some others for once. And who knows, maybe she's the weird one. "Pleasure meeting you." Glancing back at Thrash, she continues. "I'm... well, I guess I'm kinda travelling too, but by myself. Struck out on my own and whatnot. Figured my poor Ma could use a break. I took off one way and my sister went another. How's your adventure been so far?"
Shanira gives a growling chuckle, pressing back towards Tantallon before she dance around to his other side and putting her head on his shoulders as she looks over at Thrash and the newcomer. "Of course he is, it's what he does. Always did, always will do." Giving a soft snort, she gives Tantallon another push, wanting to usher him in the direction of the other two. Ears forward, she slips back past him to move up alongside Thrash, her body sliding against his as she gives Malina a grin. "Nevermind him, he's got a girlfriend. Don't you, Thrash?" she asks with a mock innocent look up at the other. "I'm Shanira," she then introduces herself to the other female.
Tantallon follows Shanira's none-so-subtle suggestions to join the party and chuckles as she heads off ahead to pester Thrash. "Yah. You wouldn't want us to tell Nyana how kindly you're being to strangers, eh brother-dear?" Says the small, lanky male as he ambles up beside his elder brother with a wide, joking grin. "Malina, did I hear? Hi. I'm Tantallon. Sorry I was too distracted to keep Thrash from pestering you, I'm normally more on top of those things."
"Yup, my name is Thrash. My mom named me Tantallon first, but then pops didn't like it, so mom named -him- Tantallon instead." The large cougar says with a rising grin upon his muzzle, as if the story will always amuse him. "I think Thrash suits me better anyways. Gives me an edge." As she asks her question, he replies in kind. "The adventure is going alright so far. We just left the Amaranth lands because they're full of drama and we're trying to find some green grass to call our home and just relax. How about you tag along? We're good company." As Shanira starts in, soon followed by Tantallon, he lets out a loud groan. With a laugh, he leans in to push his muzzle in against Shanira's neck. "She's not my girlfriend by the way, she's Tantallon's, I think." He teases his younger brother, tail swaying behind him. "And I'm not pestering the lady, maybe she enjoys my company, ever think that? Why are you two raining on my head for?"
Malina stifles a laugh as the other two cougars attempt to ruin poor Thrash's chances. Not that he has much of one, anyway, she's got better things to do than pair off with some random male and make babies. At least she likes to think she does, despite being an aimless wanderer. Ahem. "Nah, he's not bothering me. Takes a lot to really get to me. If you lot want another travelling buddy, then I suppose I can tag along, see what this corner of the earth is all about." The cougaress grins at all the 'girlfriend' talk, wondering if whatever other female they're speaking of would appreciate this Thrash fellow disowning her as a girlfriend. She's a girl, afterall, and has a sister. She knows all about jealousy. Perhaps she'd better just lay low for a while, she certainly doesn't want to cause any drama now that she seems to have made some friends.
"We haven't really discussed...that." Tantallon remarks with a brief, almost nervous sidelong glance to Shanira. Friends, certainly. More? Well, that's their decision, not Thrash's. "Anyway. We're not raining on your head, we're just keeping it from floating away. But, you are welcome to tag along for as long as you want. We're heading to wolf territory and, I dunno if you're up for that, but... it's company, at least, if you don't have any and there's more than enough places up north for some cougars to settle in."
"See, the lady likes me, so... you two go frolic in the flowers." Thrash says with a laugh as he tilts his head to one side, then flops himself against Malina's shoulder, as if they are old buddies. "Yes, we're headed towards the Ute wolf pack territory. Tantallon grew up there and he wants to see his old family. Long story, but they saved his life when he was a cub and raised him until he found me again." His whiskers twitch a bit. "I have been told it's plentiful of food and very easy on the eyes." He says with a wink. "Kinda like you."
Malina cocks an eyebrow at Thrash's little flop, but she's learning to take him in his stride and simply grins at him. "Wolves, hmm? Never minded them. I guess I wouldn't mind strolling up their way. My sister was always suspicious of them, but the ones I saw always seemed trustworthy. If they're saving cougar lives, they must be good beasts. Food is good, too..." The male's next comment catches her off guard, and she feels her face flush hot. Dammit, she was doing so well! "Um... Thanks!" Ugh, lame, but witty retorts are harder to come up with when you're flustered. Despite her slight embarassment, Malina wonders just how many other females have heard that exact line from this guy. Probably a lot.
Shanira tries to bat at Thrash's head as he pushes his nose against her neck, but doesn't quite hit Thrash as much as she manages to smack herself up the head. "I'm nobody's girlfriend," she protests mildly, though she glances over at Tantallon and flicks her tail at him as she says it. "Not saying I won't ever be, but I'm not right now..!" She rolls her eyes at Thrash's next well-aimed compliment, sighing. "He's absolutely hopeless. Ab-so-lutely." She smiles at Malina. "But if you ignore him enough, you'll get by just fine!"
Tantallon snorts absently as he shoulders Thrash lightly with his own, his tail giving a light side to side switch. "Anyway, sitting here harassing one another wouln't welcome Malina and in fact we'll likely scare her off. How about we get ourselves some dinner, hm? I, for one, could go with a good dinner and dinner is always a nice way to sit and talk. I'm sure Malina'll have questions for us if she wishes to travel with us."
Leaning over, Thrash gives Malina a smooch on the cheek, then pushes off as he starts down the lake side, letting out a loud yawn. "Very well, let's find Nyana and hunt down something to eat, something big for a change. I'm tired of fish and bunnies and I am thinking an elk." He says as his tail sways behind his strong haunches in a teasing manner, as if to hypnotize Malina if she was to look over.
Malina simply blinks at the smooch. Good God what has she gotten herself into. Having never had attention from a male before, she doesn't know exactly how to respond other than to remind herself that guarding her heart would be most wise. Particularly in this situation, it would seem. Shaking her head, she hauls herself to all fours and prepares to... hunt in a group, apparently. Well, if they do find an elk at least there'll be plenty to go around, and any scavengers can be run off more easily. She follows the others, silently hoping that she's made a good decision by joining this bunch.