Post by Therdde on Apr 29, 2008 22:20:40 GMT -5
Characters:
Maulisho – Female Cougar
Kein – Male Cougar Cub
- Stone Formations -
If it's not one complicated issue, it's another. Maulisho can't even imagine life as anything remotely simple. Approaching the stone formations, she tries to switch her train of thought from Chesmu back to Kein. Oh yes. /That/ whole incident. Amber eyes sweep the area as she trots in, looking for her oldest son, and half-expecting him to be hiding in anticipation of the tongue-lashing that Scary Mom might be waiting to give him.
Kein is not hiding, not by a long shot. Indeed, he has /just/ started walking toward the edge of the clearing, and he spots his mother the moment she enters the clearing. His step does falter, as he hadn't anticipated this... And there's likely no way to sneak around her. She has almost definitely spotted him, just as he did her, and it would be folly to try... As he realizes this, he frowns and sits exactly where he is, shoulders slumped and head low. Maybe if he'd left earlier, when Kasim told him to go apologize... But now it's too late...
Oh, she's definitely spotted him. But instead of the grim and foreboding walk toward him like she had originally planned on, instead she breaks into a sprint, aiming straight for her son. What in the world? Not caring if any of the other siblings are watching, or even Kasim, for that matter, Maulisho focuses only on Kein. There's nothing pleasant about her expression; if anything, it's close to a snarl. Uh oh.
Kein ducks back, attempting to make himself as small as possible as soon as his mom begins rushing toward him. He hadn't anticipated this either, and it's certainly enough to frighten the young cougar! He curls up and flattens his ears against his head, but other than that, he doesn't move, doesn't attempt to avoid his mother. The only sound he makes is a quiet mewl. Being attacked by that wolf wasn't half this scary! If Kein were to realize that, he might realize how absurd it is that he should be more afraid of his mother than an unrelated predator, but he can't focus on /anything/ right now. Since his initial reaction, he's all but frozen.
Maulisho reaches her son fairly quickly, as she can cover ground with rather decent speed. As she nears the young boy, she suddenly springs forward in a beautiful and graceful motion, also known as a pounce. Right at Kein. Right /on/ Kein. Her paws grab the trembling ball of fur as she lands and settles into a relaxed crouch. "Kein, why are you so scared?" Her voice is calm and collected, despite her recent charge and pounce.
Kein was expecting rather more pain than that. He remains curled up tightly, even once his mom relaxes and she speaks calmly, even when she doesn't immediately hurt him. It's possible that Nayeli's opinion of his mother has rubbed off on him... But more likely he just expected a punishment proportionate to how bad /he/ thinks what he has done was. "I'm s-sorry, Mommy. Please don't hurt me. I'm sorry!" There's genuine remorse in his voice, but it may be difficult to discern behind the fear. He may not have directly answered her question, but it ought to be obvious what his answer would have been. He's scared because he thinks Mom is going to hurt him.
"Kein. Look at me." Maulisho narrows her eyes. "You are afraid I'm going to hurt you. There are two things that I want you to know." She takes a deep preparatory breath. "First, I want you to remember what I told you last time we had one of these talks. I love you dearly, and would never hurt you out of anger or revenge. Ever. But..." She sighs. "I also want you to realize that in the same way you were afraid of me hurting you, Nayeli is now terrified of you hurting her." She pauses for a moment to let that sink in.
As usual when he's in serious trouble, Kein wouldn't dare to disobey any command from his mother. He lifts his head when his mother tells him to look at her. His ears remain flattened against his head, and he remains curled up, but he does look at her, right up until she pauses. Tears sting at his eyes again, and he drops his head to stare at the ground. Saying sorry won't help anything. He's not even certain it will help anything when he says it to Nayeli, and right now it's absolutely worthless. He gets the feeling that he ought to say /something/... But he can't find any words that will work, so instead, he gives a nod of his head to indicate that he heard and understands.
Her seriousness has apparently gotten through to her son. Noting his seemingly repentant demeanor, Maulisho leans forward to give him a quick nuzzle. "While I am disappointed in you for what happened, I want to say again what I've told you before: we all make mistakes." She pulls back to gaze at him--if Kein decides to look back at her. "I'm just deeply concerned that you've hurt Nayeli more than you can imagine. She's still very young, like you, and cutting her down like that might stick with her for a long, long time." The cougaress looks off in the direction of the pine grove. "I just want you to really think about what you've done. Yes, I know that she hurt you as well, but... I think you'll agree that you're a lot stronger than her. You need to be that friend she can look up to for protection and encouragement... not someone who will tear her down."
Not only his mom's seriousness, though her demeanor and what she is saying clearly affects Kein. He has been coming to terms with the gravity of his stupid, angry statement for hours, though. Mom can offer her own take on his behavior, but it would be difficult for him to view his actions as any worse than he already does. Kein may not quite have recovered from embarrassing himself in front of Nayeli and Chandani, and from Nayeli laughing at him for it, but he knows as soon as Mom says it that she's right. Nayeli laughing hurt him right then, but he has barely thought about it since. The same is probably not true for Nayeli. Keeping his head low as a few tears manage to escape, he says, "I wish I never said it... Do... Do you think she'll ever let me talk to her again?" If she won't, he'll never get his chance to apologize, whether it does any good or not, and as much as he usually doesn't like apologizing... He has never done anything meant to hurt someone before. If he has to apologize for anything he has ever done, it's this.
Maulisho's heart aches for her son. She wants more than anything to say yes, Nayeli will talk to Kein again. But... the cougaress doesn't want to give Kein any false assumptions or hopes. Giving him another nuzzle, this one a bit more comforting than the last, Maulisho whispers softly, "I hope she does, dear one. I can't say for sure, but... there's always a chance. If you were to go and tell her exactly how you feel now, I think she might be willing to listen." One can at least hope that Nayeli wouldn't run crying away just at the sight of Kein, anyway. The cougaress gives her son a quick lick on the top of his head. "I'm glad that you're trying to do the right thing, Kein... I really am."
At least Mom seems to be willing to forgive him for what he said to Nayeli. If Mom were still angry, he wouldn't have the slightest hope of ever making things right with his friend. He spends a moment curled up beside his mother, just thinking. During this time, he nuzzles up against her, craving the comfort he has already received. He wants reassurance that he's not the absolute worst friend in the world, but he's to frightened to ask that, because he suspects the answer would confirm his fears rather than be reassuring. Instead, when he finally speaks, what he does ask is, "It's probably too late to go visit her now, isn't it?" It wouldn't have been an issue had he not run into her, but there's almost no chance Mom is going to let him go there alone or even agree to take him back there yet tonight. He has to ask, though.
She really /would/ like to take him back to the pine grove, but Maulisho has to nod in answer to Kein's question; yes, it is too late for them to go now. Besides, Chesmu had mentioned that he would be dealing with his daughter and Maulisho doesn't want to interrupt anything going on. "We'll go tomorrow, after a good night's sleep." She makes no move to get up, hinting that she may very well just sleep there. She also makes no move to displace Kein, giving him silent permission to remain curled up against her if he so wishes. The cougaress feels fairly certain that her son is clinging to any reassurance or comfort that she might offer; she'd be doing the same thing in his place. "I'll walk with you to her home, but I want you to talk to Nayeli by yourself." That's not too much to ask, is it?
No, it's not too much to ask. Kein can't decide if he likes the idea of talking to Nayeli alone, though. What if she refuses to talk to him? Quietly, he asks, "You won't go far away, will you?" Kein may be the most independent of his siblings, but he's still young, and the idea of being left alone when he /wants/ someone there is scary, especially if Nayeli absolutely won't talk or listen to him. His conviction that he has lost his only friend has made him more desperate to cling to his family, the only ones who are left.
"I won't be far away at all--probably talking to Chesmu if he's there." Maulisho settles her head down on her forepaws. Assuming Chesmu can behave himself, that is. With a bemused smile, the cougaress adds, "If you find that you're having too much difficulty trying to talk to her, you can always come over and join the chieftain and I. Nayeli's father might have some questions for you about what you did and said to make her daughter as upset as she is." Now maybe it might not seem quite as bad to talk to Nayeli as it would... to talk to her /dad/. The /chieftain/.
If Chesmu does have questions for Kein, then he'll have them whether he talks to Nayeli or not, and Kein /definitely/ doesn't like that idea. Suddenly he's not as eager to visit Nayeli, since he'll have that to look forward to. And he'll probably have to apologize to Chesmu for thinking he was evil and everything he did, and Chesmu is probably /really/ angry over all of it. Angrier than Mom. Kein curls up a little tighter and doesn't respond. Yes, he'll do everything he can to get Nayeli to talk to him, if only to put off having to talk to Chesmu for as long as possible.
Maulisho's now feeling a bit reflective, thinking about how she wasn't all that much older than Kein when her own sister was murdered and she was thrust out into the unforgiving wild without her own mother for guidance and comfort. But instead of using that as an opportunity to feel sorry for herself (or even proud that she still survived through it) Maulisho has determined to be the mother to Kein that her own mother would have undoubtedly been to her, had none of that ever happened. She moves her head off of her forepaws and settles it down right next to Kein, purring softly. She's halfway tempted to call for the other two siblings to come join them, but decides against it, knowing that Kein needs an extra dose of love and reassurance right now.
Kein can't bring himself to purr, but his mother's purring does calm him down a little bit. She won't let Chesmu do anything to him, right? Even tell him that he can't see Nayeli for a long time or ever again? He can at least hope so. Now all he has to worry about is whether /Nayeli/ will want to see him ever again. The purring isn't enough to rid him of that fear, but he does relax, no longer curled up quite so tightly, and he nuzzles against her face a bit.
Maulisho – Female Cougar
Kein – Male Cougar Cub
- Stone Formations -
If it's not one complicated issue, it's another. Maulisho can't even imagine life as anything remotely simple. Approaching the stone formations, she tries to switch her train of thought from Chesmu back to Kein. Oh yes. /That/ whole incident. Amber eyes sweep the area as she trots in, looking for her oldest son, and half-expecting him to be hiding in anticipation of the tongue-lashing that Scary Mom might be waiting to give him.
Kein is not hiding, not by a long shot. Indeed, he has /just/ started walking toward the edge of the clearing, and he spots his mother the moment she enters the clearing. His step does falter, as he hadn't anticipated this... And there's likely no way to sneak around her. She has almost definitely spotted him, just as he did her, and it would be folly to try... As he realizes this, he frowns and sits exactly where he is, shoulders slumped and head low. Maybe if he'd left earlier, when Kasim told him to go apologize... But now it's too late...
Oh, she's definitely spotted him. But instead of the grim and foreboding walk toward him like she had originally planned on, instead she breaks into a sprint, aiming straight for her son. What in the world? Not caring if any of the other siblings are watching, or even Kasim, for that matter, Maulisho focuses only on Kein. There's nothing pleasant about her expression; if anything, it's close to a snarl. Uh oh.
Kein ducks back, attempting to make himself as small as possible as soon as his mom begins rushing toward him. He hadn't anticipated this either, and it's certainly enough to frighten the young cougar! He curls up and flattens his ears against his head, but other than that, he doesn't move, doesn't attempt to avoid his mother. The only sound he makes is a quiet mewl. Being attacked by that wolf wasn't half this scary! If Kein were to realize that, he might realize how absurd it is that he should be more afraid of his mother than an unrelated predator, but he can't focus on /anything/ right now. Since his initial reaction, he's all but frozen.
Maulisho reaches her son fairly quickly, as she can cover ground with rather decent speed. As she nears the young boy, she suddenly springs forward in a beautiful and graceful motion, also known as a pounce. Right at Kein. Right /on/ Kein. Her paws grab the trembling ball of fur as she lands and settles into a relaxed crouch. "Kein, why are you so scared?" Her voice is calm and collected, despite her recent charge and pounce.
Kein was expecting rather more pain than that. He remains curled up tightly, even once his mom relaxes and she speaks calmly, even when she doesn't immediately hurt him. It's possible that Nayeli's opinion of his mother has rubbed off on him... But more likely he just expected a punishment proportionate to how bad /he/ thinks what he has done was. "I'm s-sorry, Mommy. Please don't hurt me. I'm sorry!" There's genuine remorse in his voice, but it may be difficult to discern behind the fear. He may not have directly answered her question, but it ought to be obvious what his answer would have been. He's scared because he thinks Mom is going to hurt him.
"Kein. Look at me." Maulisho narrows her eyes. "You are afraid I'm going to hurt you. There are two things that I want you to know." She takes a deep preparatory breath. "First, I want you to remember what I told you last time we had one of these talks. I love you dearly, and would never hurt you out of anger or revenge. Ever. But..." She sighs. "I also want you to realize that in the same way you were afraid of me hurting you, Nayeli is now terrified of you hurting her." She pauses for a moment to let that sink in.
As usual when he's in serious trouble, Kein wouldn't dare to disobey any command from his mother. He lifts his head when his mother tells him to look at her. His ears remain flattened against his head, and he remains curled up, but he does look at her, right up until she pauses. Tears sting at his eyes again, and he drops his head to stare at the ground. Saying sorry won't help anything. He's not even certain it will help anything when he says it to Nayeli, and right now it's absolutely worthless. He gets the feeling that he ought to say /something/... But he can't find any words that will work, so instead, he gives a nod of his head to indicate that he heard and understands.
Her seriousness has apparently gotten through to her son. Noting his seemingly repentant demeanor, Maulisho leans forward to give him a quick nuzzle. "While I am disappointed in you for what happened, I want to say again what I've told you before: we all make mistakes." She pulls back to gaze at him--if Kein decides to look back at her. "I'm just deeply concerned that you've hurt Nayeli more than you can imagine. She's still very young, like you, and cutting her down like that might stick with her for a long, long time." The cougaress looks off in the direction of the pine grove. "I just want you to really think about what you've done. Yes, I know that she hurt you as well, but... I think you'll agree that you're a lot stronger than her. You need to be that friend she can look up to for protection and encouragement... not someone who will tear her down."
Not only his mom's seriousness, though her demeanor and what she is saying clearly affects Kein. He has been coming to terms with the gravity of his stupid, angry statement for hours, though. Mom can offer her own take on his behavior, but it would be difficult for him to view his actions as any worse than he already does. Kein may not quite have recovered from embarrassing himself in front of Nayeli and Chandani, and from Nayeli laughing at him for it, but he knows as soon as Mom says it that she's right. Nayeli laughing hurt him right then, but he has barely thought about it since. The same is probably not true for Nayeli. Keeping his head low as a few tears manage to escape, he says, "I wish I never said it... Do... Do you think she'll ever let me talk to her again?" If she won't, he'll never get his chance to apologize, whether it does any good or not, and as much as he usually doesn't like apologizing... He has never done anything meant to hurt someone before. If he has to apologize for anything he has ever done, it's this.
Maulisho's heart aches for her son. She wants more than anything to say yes, Nayeli will talk to Kein again. But... the cougaress doesn't want to give Kein any false assumptions or hopes. Giving him another nuzzle, this one a bit more comforting than the last, Maulisho whispers softly, "I hope she does, dear one. I can't say for sure, but... there's always a chance. If you were to go and tell her exactly how you feel now, I think she might be willing to listen." One can at least hope that Nayeli wouldn't run crying away just at the sight of Kein, anyway. The cougaress gives her son a quick lick on the top of his head. "I'm glad that you're trying to do the right thing, Kein... I really am."
At least Mom seems to be willing to forgive him for what he said to Nayeli. If Mom were still angry, he wouldn't have the slightest hope of ever making things right with his friend. He spends a moment curled up beside his mother, just thinking. During this time, he nuzzles up against her, craving the comfort he has already received. He wants reassurance that he's not the absolute worst friend in the world, but he's to frightened to ask that, because he suspects the answer would confirm his fears rather than be reassuring. Instead, when he finally speaks, what he does ask is, "It's probably too late to go visit her now, isn't it?" It wouldn't have been an issue had he not run into her, but there's almost no chance Mom is going to let him go there alone or even agree to take him back there yet tonight. He has to ask, though.
She really /would/ like to take him back to the pine grove, but Maulisho has to nod in answer to Kein's question; yes, it is too late for them to go now. Besides, Chesmu had mentioned that he would be dealing with his daughter and Maulisho doesn't want to interrupt anything going on. "We'll go tomorrow, after a good night's sleep." She makes no move to get up, hinting that she may very well just sleep there. She also makes no move to displace Kein, giving him silent permission to remain curled up against her if he so wishes. The cougaress feels fairly certain that her son is clinging to any reassurance or comfort that she might offer; she'd be doing the same thing in his place. "I'll walk with you to her home, but I want you to talk to Nayeli by yourself." That's not too much to ask, is it?
No, it's not too much to ask. Kein can't decide if he likes the idea of talking to Nayeli alone, though. What if she refuses to talk to him? Quietly, he asks, "You won't go far away, will you?" Kein may be the most independent of his siblings, but he's still young, and the idea of being left alone when he /wants/ someone there is scary, especially if Nayeli absolutely won't talk or listen to him. His conviction that he has lost his only friend has made him more desperate to cling to his family, the only ones who are left.
"I won't be far away at all--probably talking to Chesmu if he's there." Maulisho settles her head down on her forepaws. Assuming Chesmu can behave himself, that is. With a bemused smile, the cougaress adds, "If you find that you're having too much difficulty trying to talk to her, you can always come over and join the chieftain and I. Nayeli's father might have some questions for you about what you did and said to make her daughter as upset as she is." Now maybe it might not seem quite as bad to talk to Nayeli as it would... to talk to her /dad/. The /chieftain/.
If Chesmu does have questions for Kein, then he'll have them whether he talks to Nayeli or not, and Kein /definitely/ doesn't like that idea. Suddenly he's not as eager to visit Nayeli, since he'll have that to look forward to. And he'll probably have to apologize to Chesmu for thinking he was evil and everything he did, and Chesmu is probably /really/ angry over all of it. Angrier than Mom. Kein curls up a little tighter and doesn't respond. Yes, he'll do everything he can to get Nayeli to talk to him, if only to put off having to talk to Chesmu for as long as possible.
Maulisho's now feeling a bit reflective, thinking about how she wasn't all that much older than Kein when her own sister was murdered and she was thrust out into the unforgiving wild without her own mother for guidance and comfort. But instead of using that as an opportunity to feel sorry for herself (or even proud that she still survived through it) Maulisho has determined to be the mother to Kein that her own mother would have undoubtedly been to her, had none of that ever happened. She moves her head off of her forepaws and settles it down right next to Kein, purring softly. She's halfway tempted to call for the other two siblings to come join them, but decides against it, knowing that Kein needs an extra dose of love and reassurance right now.
Kein can't bring himself to purr, but his mother's purring does calm him down a little bit. She won't let Chesmu do anything to him, right? Even tell him that he can't see Nayeli for a long time or ever again? He can at least hope so. Now all he has to worry about is whether /Nayeli/ will want to see him ever again. The purring isn't enough to rid him of that fear, but he does relax, no longer curled up quite so tightly, and he nuzzles against her face a bit.