Post by Kasim on Jan 11, 2011 1:23:06 GMT -5
Characters involved:
Crevan- Male Cougar
Nexia- Female Cougaress
Darkness makes for the perfect time to hunt for the beast that wishes his presence to remain undetected. Food is food, and every cougar on the mountain is going to need to hunt at some point, but Crevan is in no mood to meet up and converse with another surly member of his family at the moment. With the cubs recently being born, there's been too much ruckus and *far* too much emotion - everyone is either overly excited or overly anxious, and Crevan finds himself secluded in that strange position of being overly... absent. Honestly, he wishes he cared more. It would be handy to be able to sympathize with the females and to be proud with the males. But Crevan hunts at night for a reason now, and that reason has far too much to do with the fact that he has become only slightly unattractively anti-social. At least the bunnies don't care. As a matter of fact, Crevan snuffs to himself amusedly as he cleans the last bit of marrow from his most recent kill and stretches languidly... those cute little dead little dead bunnies tend to make the best, silent company of all. <3
There's this little thing called sleep and, lately, one cougaress has found that to be a foreign concept. Even at this hour, Nexia is still prowling through the area like it was mid-afternoon, except maybe for the occasional yawn. She really has no idea where she is right now but, frankly, she doesn't care. Judging by the scent she keeps smelling around here, she can guess that she's walking through someone's territory, but that certainly didn't stop her from walking in anyways. Maybe that's why she's a /bit/ more hesitant to fall asleep. She can certainly take care of herself, but, you know, don't want to tempt fate and all that stuff. She's noticed the area starting to get much more mountain-y, something which doesn't help her try to make as much ground as possible. "Stupid mountains..." she mumbles to herself as she continues her walk.
He rolls over on his side and brushes against the coarse pebble-filled terrain. There /are/ places to find cover around here, but knowing the area as he does, as well as recognizing the hour, Crevan has little inclination to strive for slyness right now. "Mmm...” He stretches again, splaying his claws and yawning - perhaps a bit of sleep would do him well after all. If he fell asleep now, though, he'd probably wake up about dawn, and that means the cubs would be waking up as well, meaning by the time he'd be heading back up the mountain, the cubs and their respective guardians would... /everywhere/. Crevan puffed out a heave of a breath and pulled himself up on his elbows again. Meh, not yet then. Or else he could just -- say what? Both ears swivel about, detecting sounds. New sounds. With narrowed eyes, the large cougar gathers his hindlegs beneath him and peers out from his light brush cover to try to see something, if anything.
"Honestly, I had to run into this /now/," the cougaress mutters to herself again, a clear tone of annoyance in her voice, followed by a small sigh. "Maybe I should just find a spot to rest for the night..." Clearly, Nexia isn't too concerned about being a super stealthy cougaress right now, stepping on twigs and kicking rocks that just happen to be in her way. At this hour, it's just too much work to try and be quiet. The girl doesn't notice anything or anyone that might possibly be around her, not really focusing on her nose at the moment. Probably not the best idea after just walking into someone's territory but, oh well.
The distinct scent of a female hits him before the fact that she's also a cat. Which is a plus. The corner of Crevan's lip twitches faintly. She's new, apparently. Not that he pays so much attention to every other female in Amaranth, but she definitely smells different. It's not so much a succinct cougar smell that gets to him, as the fact that she also smells like... a *lot* of other things. "Traveler," the male murmurs under his breath to himself as he gets to his paws lithely and promptly lifts himself into view, should she feel inclined to look his direction. If not, nothing his way would be especially eye-catching to the casual scan. Once up, he sits, his posture tall as he observes her, tail flitting lightly, yet silently. He almost hopes she doesn't see him, and merely passes by so he could... well, *welcome* her first. Then again, nothing's more exciting than the suddenly realization you're being watched by a stranger.
Nexia continues her walking further into the territory, yawning again slightly and blissfully unaware that she now has an observer watching her from the bushes. Really, the only thing running through her mind right now is how freaking annoyed she is that this mountain is here and how bored she is that there's nothing to do. The two worst things mixed together, boredom and annoyance. It is perhaps because she has nothing else to do that the female takes a small look to her side only to notice... HOLYCRAPTHERESSOMEONEOVERTHERE!! Instead of reacting instantly into her alerted stance, the cougaress instead gives a surprised "Whoa!!" and jumps back a few paces, almost tumbling over her own paws but managing to catch herself in time. Nexia stares intently at the stranger, all of her alerts back up, wondering just how long he's been sitting there.
Okay. That was *so* worth it. "Wow, I'm sorry," Crevan's face is wiped clean of any indication he anticipated this reaction at all, and instead is wholly and earnestly apologetic. "I didn't mean to startle you, I swear." The large cat comes out from the brush as if cautious, and takes a tentative step toward her - perhaps it would be better to wait for her permission this time. Alternating methods; yeah, that's good. He inclines his head slightly, the amusement playing upon his expression candidly. "You don't look familiar - you lost?" One eyebrow lifts slightly in question, as both eyes graze along the length of her elegant form, and shortly return back. Right, her eyes are over *here*.
The step forward by the stranger does raise her alarm just a bit but it doesn't prompt any reaction from her, yet. So long as he doesn't do anything stupid that would make her want to start beating him up she's no threat to him. "How long have you been sitting there?!" the girl snaps back at the male, his first to statements flying right over her head. She's been to many places before but this is certainly the first time she's caught someone staring at her from some bushes at night. Creeper! "And no, I'm not lost, I'm just walking. What, a girl can't wander in without getting a welcoming party?" What a great first impressing she's getting.
"In my defense, I had only just stopped when you glanced my way - it's my nature as a wild creature to move my eyes in the direction of an intruder and *not* immediately step out to announce my presence," Crevan responds coolly, the ever-lingering twitch of a smile becoming more defined. Sure, maybe he *did* stretch that just a bit, but it was only a *tiny* bit! Sheesh. "And technically, my dear lady, no - a 'girl' usually *can't* just walk into unfamiliar territory without gathering a welcoming party... of sorts, anyway." In reality, there aren't many unfriendly cougars here; Kein's a bit stoic, but he's the Chieftain. He's got that right, and it's likely safer that way, anyway. Either way, Crevan can't help tossing in at the end, "You're really quite lucky you ran into *me* instead of someone else, you know."
Not like she was actually looking for an explanation as to why he was staring at her from the bushes, but she does note the coolness in his voice. Despite her jumpy state, Nexia does gradually relax herself into a normal stance but still makes sure her eyes don't leave the male and her ears are listening to everything around her. "Well, guess I can't really blame anyone for that," she says, her tone suddenly a lot less hostile and, dare she say it, a small grin showing up on her muzzle. "Yeah, lucky me getting the cougar that watches people from the bushes at night," she says, almost in a way that could be considered jokingly. Yeah, she has a tendency to go from hostile to playful in a matter of seconds.
Hmm. Bipolar much? Refreshing. "Hey, once you get used to it, it's kind of nice to know that there's someone watching in the bushes. I'm like a nocturnal bodyguard." Crevan's ear twitches faintly and his eyebrow relaxes from its raised position again, still slightly smiling. "And since it's... part of my job, you see... I'm sure you'll understand that it's incredibly important that I learn your name," a paw extends out further, willing to test her acceptance. "For all intents and purposes, of course." The cougar chuckles, relapsing any seriousness in his voice completely into a joke.
It's becoming quite clear to the cougaress that this male may or may not have much experience in how to talk to strangers, since what he just said was pretty darn creepy. Nexia stares at him for a moment, not really even sure if she heard him right. Should she just shake her head or laugh? Not really sure which option to take, the girl instead opts to just say, "Riiiiight....." Awkward. Now all of a sudden he wants to know her name? Honestly, she really hopes that the animals here are a bit brighter than this one. Still, she guesses he was only trying to make her laugh... or something. "It's Nexia," she says, a small smile coming onto her muzzle. "And what is the name of my little creeper in the bushes?"
Well, now little Miss Bipolar isn't sounding so sure of herself anymore... or, sure of him, anyway. The male looks bemused at her uncertainty and sits once more, deciding not to try her further. "I realize I'm startling you again - I do apologize, I'm only trying to lighten the mood, particularly after I frightened the wits right out you only a moment again by accident." Yeah, anti-social doesn't do so well when faced with... well, society. Being anti- it and all. First impressions were never his strong suit. "Ah, well, Nexia," he purred, gesturing towards the mountain, "I am Crevan, and this is the land of the Amaranth. Welcome." His tail flicked noiselessly as he continues, "I trust you know something of us, being that you were walking so defiantly toward the mountain."
This time, Nexia can't hold back a small chuckle from escaping her, finding the male's tripping over himself to not come off bad quite amusing. Or, at least, amusing enough to let the fact that he implied he actually /scared/ her slide. He didn't scare her, she just jumped back in a startled manner! That's her story and she's sticking to it! "Well Crevan, you can loosen up a bit. I'm just ruffling your fur a bit is all," she says, a grin on her muzzle. Mhmm, now she's all playful again. "Amaranth?" she repeats, looking confused. "Never heard of it in my life. I'm just walking wherever I feel like it really."
"Ah, intending to walk right over it, eh?" Crevan beams an insolent grin at her, and glances off in the direction of the mountain pointedly. "If you were planning on continuing on, I would recommend going around, but since you're already here, you may as well rest with the tribe for the night. Unless, of course," he looks back at her with a smirk, "You were planning on turning around? In that case, you must be quite the nightstalker." And quite fond of chasing her own tail. Which could be, actually. Crevan shifts his gaze back again, noting the position of the moon in the sky. "Either way, my dear," the male's pale eyes remain in the sky, "I'm sure you'll be just fine."
Why does she have a small suspicion building up inside of her that she wouldn't be the only one chasing her tail? Maybe it's just a thing or maybe it's because this guy has been nothing but kinda weird since she met him, to put it bluntly. Still, she can tell that he's at least trying to lighten the mood after she caught him spying on her from the bushes and, to be honest, he's kinda cute. Not that she'd ever be caught dead saying that to him or anyone else, but hey. "Well I'm certainly not the only nightstalker here am I?" she jokes back at him, grinning a bit. "Nah, I think I might as well stay here for the night if you're offering." That and she really doesn't want to walk all the way back the way she just came. Too much work.
"Mmm, I suppose that's true," Crevan admits faintly, finally dropping his eyes to be level with hers again and grins cheekily. "Night time tends to be the best time for being alone though, except in this case, apparently, since you seem *so* intent upon invading my solace.." The grin intensifies for but a moment, and then he's up on his paws and making special point to move up the rocky path. Aaaand, it'd probably be a good idea to alert her to what's about to happen, too... "So, if you stay here for the night, just be prepared to speak with our Chieftain in the morning... he *may* come by, he may not - but don't be ready to maintain your anonymity." He exhales, chuckling. "It's like a big family, the tribe. You at least have to sign the guestbook." The male winks, and continues, in both speaking and walking up the mountain. "But don't let it scare you - you're welcome here."
Crevan- Male Cougar
Nexia- Female Cougaress
Darkness makes for the perfect time to hunt for the beast that wishes his presence to remain undetected. Food is food, and every cougar on the mountain is going to need to hunt at some point, but Crevan is in no mood to meet up and converse with another surly member of his family at the moment. With the cubs recently being born, there's been too much ruckus and *far* too much emotion - everyone is either overly excited or overly anxious, and Crevan finds himself secluded in that strange position of being overly... absent. Honestly, he wishes he cared more. It would be handy to be able to sympathize with the females and to be proud with the males. But Crevan hunts at night for a reason now, and that reason has far too much to do with the fact that he has become only slightly unattractively anti-social. At least the bunnies don't care. As a matter of fact, Crevan snuffs to himself amusedly as he cleans the last bit of marrow from his most recent kill and stretches languidly... those cute little dead little dead bunnies tend to make the best, silent company of all. <3
There's this little thing called sleep and, lately, one cougaress has found that to be a foreign concept. Even at this hour, Nexia is still prowling through the area like it was mid-afternoon, except maybe for the occasional yawn. She really has no idea where she is right now but, frankly, she doesn't care. Judging by the scent she keeps smelling around here, she can guess that she's walking through someone's territory, but that certainly didn't stop her from walking in anyways. Maybe that's why she's a /bit/ more hesitant to fall asleep. She can certainly take care of herself, but, you know, don't want to tempt fate and all that stuff. She's noticed the area starting to get much more mountain-y, something which doesn't help her try to make as much ground as possible. "Stupid mountains..." she mumbles to herself as she continues her walk.
He rolls over on his side and brushes against the coarse pebble-filled terrain. There /are/ places to find cover around here, but knowing the area as he does, as well as recognizing the hour, Crevan has little inclination to strive for slyness right now. "Mmm...” He stretches again, splaying his claws and yawning - perhaps a bit of sleep would do him well after all. If he fell asleep now, though, he'd probably wake up about dawn, and that means the cubs would be waking up as well, meaning by the time he'd be heading back up the mountain, the cubs and their respective guardians would... /everywhere/. Crevan puffed out a heave of a breath and pulled himself up on his elbows again. Meh, not yet then. Or else he could just -- say what? Both ears swivel about, detecting sounds. New sounds. With narrowed eyes, the large cougar gathers his hindlegs beneath him and peers out from his light brush cover to try to see something, if anything.
"Honestly, I had to run into this /now/," the cougaress mutters to herself again, a clear tone of annoyance in her voice, followed by a small sigh. "Maybe I should just find a spot to rest for the night..." Clearly, Nexia isn't too concerned about being a super stealthy cougaress right now, stepping on twigs and kicking rocks that just happen to be in her way. At this hour, it's just too much work to try and be quiet. The girl doesn't notice anything or anyone that might possibly be around her, not really focusing on her nose at the moment. Probably not the best idea after just walking into someone's territory but, oh well.
The distinct scent of a female hits him before the fact that she's also a cat. Which is a plus. The corner of Crevan's lip twitches faintly. She's new, apparently. Not that he pays so much attention to every other female in Amaranth, but she definitely smells different. It's not so much a succinct cougar smell that gets to him, as the fact that she also smells like... a *lot* of other things. "Traveler," the male murmurs under his breath to himself as he gets to his paws lithely and promptly lifts himself into view, should she feel inclined to look his direction. If not, nothing his way would be especially eye-catching to the casual scan. Once up, he sits, his posture tall as he observes her, tail flitting lightly, yet silently. He almost hopes she doesn't see him, and merely passes by so he could... well, *welcome* her first. Then again, nothing's more exciting than the suddenly realization you're being watched by a stranger.
Nexia continues her walking further into the territory, yawning again slightly and blissfully unaware that she now has an observer watching her from the bushes. Really, the only thing running through her mind right now is how freaking annoyed she is that this mountain is here and how bored she is that there's nothing to do. The two worst things mixed together, boredom and annoyance. It is perhaps because she has nothing else to do that the female takes a small look to her side only to notice... HOLYCRAPTHERESSOMEONEOVERTHERE!! Instead of reacting instantly into her alerted stance, the cougaress instead gives a surprised "Whoa!!" and jumps back a few paces, almost tumbling over her own paws but managing to catch herself in time. Nexia stares intently at the stranger, all of her alerts back up, wondering just how long he's been sitting there.
Okay. That was *so* worth it. "Wow, I'm sorry," Crevan's face is wiped clean of any indication he anticipated this reaction at all, and instead is wholly and earnestly apologetic. "I didn't mean to startle you, I swear." The large cat comes out from the brush as if cautious, and takes a tentative step toward her - perhaps it would be better to wait for her permission this time. Alternating methods; yeah, that's good. He inclines his head slightly, the amusement playing upon his expression candidly. "You don't look familiar - you lost?" One eyebrow lifts slightly in question, as both eyes graze along the length of her elegant form, and shortly return back. Right, her eyes are over *here*.
The step forward by the stranger does raise her alarm just a bit but it doesn't prompt any reaction from her, yet. So long as he doesn't do anything stupid that would make her want to start beating him up she's no threat to him. "How long have you been sitting there?!" the girl snaps back at the male, his first to statements flying right over her head. She's been to many places before but this is certainly the first time she's caught someone staring at her from some bushes at night. Creeper! "And no, I'm not lost, I'm just walking. What, a girl can't wander in without getting a welcoming party?" What a great first impressing she's getting.
"In my defense, I had only just stopped when you glanced my way - it's my nature as a wild creature to move my eyes in the direction of an intruder and *not* immediately step out to announce my presence," Crevan responds coolly, the ever-lingering twitch of a smile becoming more defined. Sure, maybe he *did* stretch that just a bit, but it was only a *tiny* bit! Sheesh. "And technically, my dear lady, no - a 'girl' usually *can't* just walk into unfamiliar territory without gathering a welcoming party... of sorts, anyway." In reality, there aren't many unfriendly cougars here; Kein's a bit stoic, but he's the Chieftain. He's got that right, and it's likely safer that way, anyway. Either way, Crevan can't help tossing in at the end, "You're really quite lucky you ran into *me* instead of someone else, you know."
Not like she was actually looking for an explanation as to why he was staring at her from the bushes, but she does note the coolness in his voice. Despite her jumpy state, Nexia does gradually relax herself into a normal stance but still makes sure her eyes don't leave the male and her ears are listening to everything around her. "Well, guess I can't really blame anyone for that," she says, her tone suddenly a lot less hostile and, dare she say it, a small grin showing up on her muzzle. "Yeah, lucky me getting the cougar that watches people from the bushes at night," she says, almost in a way that could be considered jokingly. Yeah, she has a tendency to go from hostile to playful in a matter of seconds.
Hmm. Bipolar much? Refreshing. "Hey, once you get used to it, it's kind of nice to know that there's someone watching in the bushes. I'm like a nocturnal bodyguard." Crevan's ear twitches faintly and his eyebrow relaxes from its raised position again, still slightly smiling. "And since it's... part of my job, you see... I'm sure you'll understand that it's incredibly important that I learn your name," a paw extends out further, willing to test her acceptance. "For all intents and purposes, of course." The cougar chuckles, relapsing any seriousness in his voice completely into a joke.
It's becoming quite clear to the cougaress that this male may or may not have much experience in how to talk to strangers, since what he just said was pretty darn creepy. Nexia stares at him for a moment, not really even sure if she heard him right. Should she just shake her head or laugh? Not really sure which option to take, the girl instead opts to just say, "Riiiiight....." Awkward. Now all of a sudden he wants to know her name? Honestly, she really hopes that the animals here are a bit brighter than this one. Still, she guesses he was only trying to make her laugh... or something. "It's Nexia," she says, a small smile coming onto her muzzle. "And what is the name of my little creeper in the bushes?"
Well, now little Miss Bipolar isn't sounding so sure of herself anymore... or, sure of him, anyway. The male looks bemused at her uncertainty and sits once more, deciding not to try her further. "I realize I'm startling you again - I do apologize, I'm only trying to lighten the mood, particularly after I frightened the wits right out you only a moment again by accident." Yeah, anti-social doesn't do so well when faced with... well, society. Being anti- it and all. First impressions were never his strong suit. "Ah, well, Nexia," he purred, gesturing towards the mountain, "I am Crevan, and this is the land of the Amaranth. Welcome." His tail flicked noiselessly as he continues, "I trust you know something of us, being that you were walking so defiantly toward the mountain."
This time, Nexia can't hold back a small chuckle from escaping her, finding the male's tripping over himself to not come off bad quite amusing. Or, at least, amusing enough to let the fact that he implied he actually /scared/ her slide. He didn't scare her, she just jumped back in a startled manner! That's her story and she's sticking to it! "Well Crevan, you can loosen up a bit. I'm just ruffling your fur a bit is all," she says, a grin on her muzzle. Mhmm, now she's all playful again. "Amaranth?" she repeats, looking confused. "Never heard of it in my life. I'm just walking wherever I feel like it really."
"Ah, intending to walk right over it, eh?" Crevan beams an insolent grin at her, and glances off in the direction of the mountain pointedly. "If you were planning on continuing on, I would recommend going around, but since you're already here, you may as well rest with the tribe for the night. Unless, of course," he looks back at her with a smirk, "You were planning on turning around? In that case, you must be quite the nightstalker." And quite fond of chasing her own tail. Which could be, actually. Crevan shifts his gaze back again, noting the position of the moon in the sky. "Either way, my dear," the male's pale eyes remain in the sky, "I'm sure you'll be just fine."
Why does she have a small suspicion building up inside of her that she wouldn't be the only one chasing her tail? Maybe it's just a thing or maybe it's because this guy has been nothing but kinda weird since she met him, to put it bluntly. Still, she can tell that he's at least trying to lighten the mood after she caught him spying on her from the bushes and, to be honest, he's kinda cute. Not that she'd ever be caught dead saying that to him or anyone else, but hey. "Well I'm certainly not the only nightstalker here am I?" she jokes back at him, grinning a bit. "Nah, I think I might as well stay here for the night if you're offering." That and she really doesn't want to walk all the way back the way she just came. Too much work.
"Mmm, I suppose that's true," Crevan admits faintly, finally dropping his eyes to be level with hers again and grins cheekily. "Night time tends to be the best time for being alone though, except in this case, apparently, since you seem *so* intent upon invading my solace.." The grin intensifies for but a moment, and then he's up on his paws and making special point to move up the rocky path. Aaaand, it'd probably be a good idea to alert her to what's about to happen, too... "So, if you stay here for the night, just be prepared to speak with our Chieftain in the morning... he *may* come by, he may not - but don't be ready to maintain your anonymity." He exhales, chuckling. "It's like a big family, the tribe. You at least have to sign the guestbook." The male winks, and continues, in both speaking and walking up the mountain. "But don't let it scare you - you're welcome here."