Post by abyss on Nov 1, 2008 22:45:21 GMT -5
Characters involved:
Chesmu, male cougar
Ayashe, female cougar
Yuma, male adol. cougar
Synopsis: Ayashe evicts Chesmu from the tribelands.
Sprawling Mesa
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The flat, barren surface here is made of ruddy stone, lacking in trees and other foliage, the only shaded areas being beside a couple of large boulders scattered across the landscape. There is virtually no rise or fall to this wide expanse of mesa, with the exception of a sudden incline to the north, leading to the mountain's snowy peaks. When the sun sets, the light of the rays only serve to enhance the crimson colors of the mesa, turning the ground into a fiery red.
================================================================================
It is still cold in the tribal lands. The former Chieftain is stewing and scheming at the mesa. How could she? How *could* she, that Maulisho? Not only betray him but conspire like that? Eyetwitch. Oh yes, Chesmu knows there is something he can do to cover and protect himself from whatever those two decide to do against him. But what? Eyetwitch.
Silhouetted against the setting sun, a familiar shape appears on the horizon. Although Ayashe hasn't been seen in Amaranth for several months, her scent lingers in the forests and on the mesa, strongest where her pawprints provide testament to her continuing existence. No, Paoro's eldest daughter isn't dead, but she may as well be -- more ghost than flesh and blood, she makes her way across the ruddy stone toward Chesmu, her stride strained but purposeful. As she approaches the former Chieftain, it quickly becomes apparent why she's been avoiding her tribemates more than usual; she walks with a limp, and if Chesmu looks carefully he might notice that the fur on her left hind leg has begun to thin out, leaving her skin patchy in some places and completely bald and pink in others. The worst section surrounds what looks like a gunshot wound festering with an ugly infection.
Of course it's cold. This late in the winter, Yuma would expect nothing else. The young male suppresses a shiver as he makes his way south, heading down the mountainside toward the broad, flat expanse of the mesa. Having already fed, he has gone back to prowling the tribe's territory, still hunting the terrain for a pair of reputedly hostile rogues... though in all honesty, he wouldn't mind running into Ankita again. Threading his way carefully down the mountain, he is still too far away to see his parents, but he is heading steadily in their direction. The trees are already beginning to thin out.
Chesmu's eye twitches as he hears the approach of Ayashe. Without looking at her, Chesmu speaks, his tone touched with madness, "Hello, Ayashe. Done neglecting your pride and..." Eyetwitch. "...family?" Chesmu hadn't expected to see Ayashe at this point. Her presence here may prove either to be a boon or a bane to the former Chieftain. "I suppose it is my duty to tell you that they have grown well and..." Eyetwitch. "...healthy."
"I do not need you to tell me what has become of my children," Ayashe says, her tone icier than Chesmu perhaps remembers it being. "The crows have been my eyes and ears -- I know everything. Had Yuma and his sisters needed me, I would have returned to them with the swiftness of the wind." She comes to a halt several meters away from Chesmu but does not ease back onto her hindquarters. Either it's too painful for her to sit down, or she doesn't intend for this visit to last more than a few minutes. "You are unwell." It isn't a question.
Beneath Yuma's paws, the ground gradually levels out, and the dark, rocky soil gives way to the mesa's reddish stone. As he moves past the last few trees and out onto the open terrain, he slows his pace, looking around carefully as he walks. He knows he is nearing the edge of the tribe's territory. His last conversation with Chesmu has left him on high alert, and while Ankita's appearance may have been a distraction, he can think more clearly now that he's alone. The male comes to a stop when he spots a distant, yet distinctly cougarlike shape - and a second shape that could be either a large rock, or perhaps another cougar, lying down. Features set with determination, Yuma begins making his way purposely toward his parents, believing them to be another pair of cougars entirely.
Chesmu chuckles madly. His eye twitches as he turns his mad eyes on Ayashe. "You sound just like your mother, Ayashe." Chesmu says with yet another eyetwitch. "'You are unwell.' How very amusing that the statement would have to be true. Like mother, like daughter." Eyetwitch. Chesmu turns his head back away from Ayashe and smiles. "I suppose now you're going to tell me that I'm beyond help because I'm not accepting that I'm what you would call 'unwell.'" Chesmu chuckles a bit madly. "How amusing!"
"The gods have punished us for our transgressions, Chesmu. My body has begun to fail me, as your mind has already failed you." Ayashe ignores the other cougar's comment about her mother. Paoro isn't why she has chosen to show herself again, after all. "I would kill you myself if I thought I had the strength. There is no love in my heart for Maulisho, especially not now that she has returned after turning her back on this tribe, but she has made me see you for what I always suspected you were."
Yuma makes no attempt to conceal himself, approaching openly. It takes a great effort to keep himself from breaking into a full run, but if those are the rogues he's looking for, he does not want to come upon them winded. As he draws closer, Yuma sees that the second shape is, as he believed, another cougar... but by now he's near enough to see his father's distinctive red markings. The adolescent slows down drastically, ears cupping forward as he enters hearing range and the voice of his mother reaches him. Yuma catches only the last few words, but her tone causes him to halt completely. He's not sure whether he's more shocked by the sight of her, or the way she's speaking to his father.
Chesmu just laughs, again with great madness in his tone, and with an almost mocking edge, too. "What I truly am?" Chesmu says, then finally stands and turns and slowly walks toward Maulisho. "I see, I am truly a monster who never should have..." Eyetwitch. "...lived past his own birth, is that it? A cold cougaress who also turned her back on the tribe sees fit to judge *me!*" Chesmu laughs again. "Suddenly you actually care about the children I raised myself because of *your* wanderlust, Ayashe. I am far from the..." Eyetwitch. "...worst thing to happen to the Amaranth..." And Chesmu lets his next statement hang in the air for several delicate seconds. "...*you* are."
Ayashe's green eyes shift from Chesmu to Yuma, but not even the sight of her son softens her voice or the aggressive posture in which she now stands. She acknowledges his presence with the slightest of nods before turning her attention back to her mate. "When I chose you as Ahiga's successor," she says, "I was young and I was foolish, and perhaps, had I waited, the tribe would not find itself in the position that it does today. The blame //is// mine. I do not deny it."
If Yuma was surprised at the way Ayashe was speaking to Chesmu, it cannot compare to the disbelief he feels when he hears his father's reply. What on /earth/ has he just stumbled in on? The adolescent takes half a step backward, but he stops when his mother's green eyes glance his way. He blinks at her nod, then looks back at the older male again, still startled by the madness and venom in his words.
Chesmu's eyes fall on Chesmu's favorite son. Then Ayashe speaks again, much to the mad amusement of Chesmu again. He lets out another teasing and mad laugh at Ayashe's expense. "The Amaranth's worst Matron comes down from her..." Eyetwitch. "...lofty pedestal of greatness to inform the one who had done his part that he has been a terrible affliction. Bravo! Bravo, Matron!" Chesmu laughs again, almost right in Ayashe's face. "It almost sounds as if you..." Eyetwitch. "...also regret the birth of your own young, including Yuma, a son any cougar, mad or not, could ever be proud of! And it was I who raised him. Where were you, hmm? Prancing about in the meadows, perhaps?" Chesmu laughs madly again.
Ayashe stands her ground, her gaze level with Chesmu's, unflinching. "I did not say that I regretted my decision," she points out, "only that Amaranth might have been better off had I been more prudent in my adolescence. My children are the one thing, the //only// thing that I am proud of." These words are not only for Chesmu's benefit, but Yuma's as well, and although they are addressed to the former Chieftain there's something about her tone that suggests they aren't really //meant// for him. "You will leave this place, Chesmu, and you will never return. But before you do, you will tell me which direction Nayeli has gone."
For the moment, Yuma is too stunned to speak a word. Chieftain or not, if either one of his parents had objected to his presence, he would have turned and fled immediately. Instead he remains rooted in place, looking between his mother and father with worry and confusion written all over his features. Clearly Ayashe is displeased with Chesmu, but the older male is laughing and ranting madly. His mouth drops open when his father brings him up in the discussion, and he looks worriedly at his mother, but his gaze shifts back to Chesmu when she passes her judgment upon him. /Leave/? Has it finally come to that? Yuma's mouth remains open, but he is still utterly speechless. He loves his father... but Chesmu is acting nothing like the father he knows, and Yuma can't find any words to defend him.
Chesmu suddenly stops laughing. His eye twitches more nervously now. No, he's not the Chesmu who actually had been a good father and Chieftain. Not anymore. This female dares to throw him out of the territory? "You..." Eyetwitch. "...wretch. So they've gotten to you, have they? Convinced you that I'm supposed to be thrown out of my home away from my family?" Chesmu says. "Nayeli is gone, that is all you need to know. Her and..." Eyetwitch. "...Kein."
"I am aware of the company she keeps," Ayashe says, "and she is old enough now to take my place as Matron. Kein, as retribution for your crimes against his mother, will take Yuma's place as Chieftain. I have seen it in my dreams, and so it will be." It is important that Yuma bears witness to what is transpiring here on the mesa tonight. Although Ayashe's voice is strong, her body is weak, and she would not have come forward if she thought she had more time on this earth -- she doesn't want to fight Chesmu, but she will if it comes down to it. "Go now."
If he could, Yuma would tell his mother what she wants to know. Unfortunately, he has no idea which direction Kein and Nayeli took when they left... but he doubts that Chesmu would know any more than he does. Knowing how little his sister trusted their father, Yuma doubts she would have told him any details about where they planned on going, if in fact they had any plan at all. "I don't think he knows, mom," he interjects quietly. The adolescent's gold-green eyes still rest on Chesmu, regarding him as if he is a stranger... until Ayashe speaks again. Yuma looks back at her with some surprise, but the young male has no wish to argue - the position of Chieftain was never supposed to be his. It felt wrong, even though he was trying his best to do right. And if Ayashe trusts Kein enough to grant him the title, he can do the same.
Chesmu looks between Ayashe and Yuma. With a mad growl, Chesmu hisses to Ayashe. "You are going to pay dearly for this... you and anyone who conspired with you!" Eyetwitch. Chesmu looks over at Yuma. "I love you, son." Chesmu turns and walks to the south, away from the pair and out of the territory.
Of course he doesn't know. Ayashe gets the impression that Chesmu doesn't know much of //anything// anymore. "Very well," she mumurs as she watches Chesmu furiously take his leave, "then I will have to seek them out myself. You will need to remain here, Yuma, should your father attempt to return. Do not feel badly -- his suffering will not last. His sickness will claim him before the winter is over, as will mine."
The younger male feels a surge of grief as he looks back at his father, watching him depart. He only nods when his mother asks him to remain here, her words causing a feeling of sorrow that constricts his heart. Yuma knows that what she says is true.
Ayashe cannot bring herself to touch her son, much as she might desperately want to. Too much time has passed. Like Chesmu, Yuma is not the same cougar he was when she last saw him. Fortunately, //unlike// Chesmu, she feels her heart swell when she thinks about what he has become. "One day," she tells him, "you will be a Chieftain in your own right, and though I will not be there to see it, I will always be with you in spirit. I am sorry I could not be there for you in life as your father was."
Yuma looks over his mother while she still stands before him. He has changed more than she has, having grown considerably... and not just in a physical sense. But while Ayashe has not aged much, he can see that she is badly wounded. Her words cause a sense of pride to grow in him, mingling strangely with his sadness. It seems to soften his intense grief, reassuring him. "I love you," he manages to say, moving forward a few steps to gently nuzzle his mother. As far as he's concerned, she has no reason to apologize to him.
Chesmu, male cougar
Ayashe, female cougar
Yuma, male adol. cougar
Synopsis: Ayashe evicts Chesmu from the tribelands.
Sprawling Mesa
================================================================================
The flat, barren surface here is made of ruddy stone, lacking in trees and other foliage, the only shaded areas being beside a couple of large boulders scattered across the landscape. There is virtually no rise or fall to this wide expanse of mesa, with the exception of a sudden incline to the north, leading to the mountain's snowy peaks. When the sun sets, the light of the rays only serve to enhance the crimson colors of the mesa, turning the ground into a fiery red.
================================================================================
It is still cold in the tribal lands. The former Chieftain is stewing and scheming at the mesa. How could she? How *could* she, that Maulisho? Not only betray him but conspire like that? Eyetwitch. Oh yes, Chesmu knows there is something he can do to cover and protect himself from whatever those two decide to do against him. But what? Eyetwitch.
Silhouetted against the setting sun, a familiar shape appears on the horizon. Although Ayashe hasn't been seen in Amaranth for several months, her scent lingers in the forests and on the mesa, strongest where her pawprints provide testament to her continuing existence. No, Paoro's eldest daughter isn't dead, but she may as well be -- more ghost than flesh and blood, she makes her way across the ruddy stone toward Chesmu, her stride strained but purposeful. As she approaches the former Chieftain, it quickly becomes apparent why she's been avoiding her tribemates more than usual; she walks with a limp, and if Chesmu looks carefully he might notice that the fur on her left hind leg has begun to thin out, leaving her skin patchy in some places and completely bald and pink in others. The worst section surrounds what looks like a gunshot wound festering with an ugly infection.
Of course it's cold. This late in the winter, Yuma would expect nothing else. The young male suppresses a shiver as he makes his way south, heading down the mountainside toward the broad, flat expanse of the mesa. Having already fed, he has gone back to prowling the tribe's territory, still hunting the terrain for a pair of reputedly hostile rogues... though in all honesty, he wouldn't mind running into Ankita again. Threading his way carefully down the mountain, he is still too far away to see his parents, but he is heading steadily in their direction. The trees are already beginning to thin out.
Chesmu's eye twitches as he hears the approach of Ayashe. Without looking at her, Chesmu speaks, his tone touched with madness, "Hello, Ayashe. Done neglecting your pride and..." Eyetwitch. "...family?" Chesmu hadn't expected to see Ayashe at this point. Her presence here may prove either to be a boon or a bane to the former Chieftain. "I suppose it is my duty to tell you that they have grown well and..." Eyetwitch. "...healthy."
"I do not need you to tell me what has become of my children," Ayashe says, her tone icier than Chesmu perhaps remembers it being. "The crows have been my eyes and ears -- I know everything. Had Yuma and his sisters needed me, I would have returned to them with the swiftness of the wind." She comes to a halt several meters away from Chesmu but does not ease back onto her hindquarters. Either it's too painful for her to sit down, or she doesn't intend for this visit to last more than a few minutes. "You are unwell." It isn't a question.
Beneath Yuma's paws, the ground gradually levels out, and the dark, rocky soil gives way to the mesa's reddish stone. As he moves past the last few trees and out onto the open terrain, he slows his pace, looking around carefully as he walks. He knows he is nearing the edge of the tribe's territory. His last conversation with Chesmu has left him on high alert, and while Ankita's appearance may have been a distraction, he can think more clearly now that he's alone. The male comes to a stop when he spots a distant, yet distinctly cougarlike shape - and a second shape that could be either a large rock, or perhaps another cougar, lying down. Features set with determination, Yuma begins making his way purposely toward his parents, believing them to be another pair of cougars entirely.
Chesmu chuckles madly. His eye twitches as he turns his mad eyes on Ayashe. "You sound just like your mother, Ayashe." Chesmu says with yet another eyetwitch. "'You are unwell.' How very amusing that the statement would have to be true. Like mother, like daughter." Eyetwitch. Chesmu turns his head back away from Ayashe and smiles. "I suppose now you're going to tell me that I'm beyond help because I'm not accepting that I'm what you would call 'unwell.'" Chesmu chuckles a bit madly. "How amusing!"
"The gods have punished us for our transgressions, Chesmu. My body has begun to fail me, as your mind has already failed you." Ayashe ignores the other cougar's comment about her mother. Paoro isn't why she has chosen to show herself again, after all. "I would kill you myself if I thought I had the strength. There is no love in my heart for Maulisho, especially not now that she has returned after turning her back on this tribe, but she has made me see you for what I always suspected you were."
Yuma makes no attempt to conceal himself, approaching openly. It takes a great effort to keep himself from breaking into a full run, but if those are the rogues he's looking for, he does not want to come upon them winded. As he draws closer, Yuma sees that the second shape is, as he believed, another cougar... but by now he's near enough to see his father's distinctive red markings. The adolescent slows down drastically, ears cupping forward as he enters hearing range and the voice of his mother reaches him. Yuma catches only the last few words, but her tone causes him to halt completely. He's not sure whether he's more shocked by the sight of her, or the way she's speaking to his father.
Chesmu just laughs, again with great madness in his tone, and with an almost mocking edge, too. "What I truly am?" Chesmu says, then finally stands and turns and slowly walks toward Maulisho. "I see, I am truly a monster who never should have..." Eyetwitch. "...lived past his own birth, is that it? A cold cougaress who also turned her back on the tribe sees fit to judge *me!*" Chesmu laughs again. "Suddenly you actually care about the children I raised myself because of *your* wanderlust, Ayashe. I am far from the..." Eyetwitch. "...worst thing to happen to the Amaranth..." And Chesmu lets his next statement hang in the air for several delicate seconds. "...*you* are."
Ayashe's green eyes shift from Chesmu to Yuma, but not even the sight of her son softens her voice or the aggressive posture in which she now stands. She acknowledges his presence with the slightest of nods before turning her attention back to her mate. "When I chose you as Ahiga's successor," she says, "I was young and I was foolish, and perhaps, had I waited, the tribe would not find itself in the position that it does today. The blame //is// mine. I do not deny it."
If Yuma was surprised at the way Ayashe was speaking to Chesmu, it cannot compare to the disbelief he feels when he hears his father's reply. What on /earth/ has he just stumbled in on? The adolescent takes half a step backward, but he stops when his mother's green eyes glance his way. He blinks at her nod, then looks back at the older male again, still startled by the madness and venom in his words.
Chesmu's eyes fall on Chesmu's favorite son. Then Ayashe speaks again, much to the mad amusement of Chesmu again. He lets out another teasing and mad laugh at Ayashe's expense. "The Amaranth's worst Matron comes down from her..." Eyetwitch. "...lofty pedestal of greatness to inform the one who had done his part that he has been a terrible affliction. Bravo! Bravo, Matron!" Chesmu laughs again, almost right in Ayashe's face. "It almost sounds as if you..." Eyetwitch. "...also regret the birth of your own young, including Yuma, a son any cougar, mad or not, could ever be proud of! And it was I who raised him. Where were you, hmm? Prancing about in the meadows, perhaps?" Chesmu laughs madly again.
Ayashe stands her ground, her gaze level with Chesmu's, unflinching. "I did not say that I regretted my decision," she points out, "only that Amaranth might have been better off had I been more prudent in my adolescence. My children are the one thing, the //only// thing that I am proud of." These words are not only for Chesmu's benefit, but Yuma's as well, and although they are addressed to the former Chieftain there's something about her tone that suggests they aren't really //meant// for him. "You will leave this place, Chesmu, and you will never return. But before you do, you will tell me which direction Nayeli has gone."
For the moment, Yuma is too stunned to speak a word. Chieftain or not, if either one of his parents had objected to his presence, he would have turned and fled immediately. Instead he remains rooted in place, looking between his mother and father with worry and confusion written all over his features. Clearly Ayashe is displeased with Chesmu, but the older male is laughing and ranting madly. His mouth drops open when his father brings him up in the discussion, and he looks worriedly at his mother, but his gaze shifts back to Chesmu when she passes her judgment upon him. /Leave/? Has it finally come to that? Yuma's mouth remains open, but he is still utterly speechless. He loves his father... but Chesmu is acting nothing like the father he knows, and Yuma can't find any words to defend him.
Chesmu suddenly stops laughing. His eye twitches more nervously now. No, he's not the Chesmu who actually had been a good father and Chieftain. Not anymore. This female dares to throw him out of the territory? "You..." Eyetwitch. "...wretch. So they've gotten to you, have they? Convinced you that I'm supposed to be thrown out of my home away from my family?" Chesmu says. "Nayeli is gone, that is all you need to know. Her and..." Eyetwitch. "...Kein."
"I am aware of the company she keeps," Ayashe says, "and she is old enough now to take my place as Matron. Kein, as retribution for your crimes against his mother, will take Yuma's place as Chieftain. I have seen it in my dreams, and so it will be." It is important that Yuma bears witness to what is transpiring here on the mesa tonight. Although Ayashe's voice is strong, her body is weak, and she would not have come forward if she thought she had more time on this earth -- she doesn't want to fight Chesmu, but she will if it comes down to it. "Go now."
If he could, Yuma would tell his mother what she wants to know. Unfortunately, he has no idea which direction Kein and Nayeli took when they left... but he doubts that Chesmu would know any more than he does. Knowing how little his sister trusted their father, Yuma doubts she would have told him any details about where they planned on going, if in fact they had any plan at all. "I don't think he knows, mom," he interjects quietly. The adolescent's gold-green eyes still rest on Chesmu, regarding him as if he is a stranger... until Ayashe speaks again. Yuma looks back at her with some surprise, but the young male has no wish to argue - the position of Chieftain was never supposed to be his. It felt wrong, even though he was trying his best to do right. And if Ayashe trusts Kein enough to grant him the title, he can do the same.
Chesmu looks between Ayashe and Yuma. With a mad growl, Chesmu hisses to Ayashe. "You are going to pay dearly for this... you and anyone who conspired with you!" Eyetwitch. Chesmu looks over at Yuma. "I love you, son." Chesmu turns and walks to the south, away from the pair and out of the territory.
Of course he doesn't know. Ayashe gets the impression that Chesmu doesn't know much of //anything// anymore. "Very well," she mumurs as she watches Chesmu furiously take his leave, "then I will have to seek them out myself. You will need to remain here, Yuma, should your father attempt to return. Do not feel badly -- his suffering will not last. His sickness will claim him before the winter is over, as will mine."
The younger male feels a surge of grief as he looks back at his father, watching him depart. He only nods when his mother asks him to remain here, her words causing a feeling of sorrow that constricts his heart. Yuma knows that what she says is true.
Ayashe cannot bring herself to touch her son, much as she might desperately want to. Too much time has passed. Like Chesmu, Yuma is not the same cougar he was when she last saw him. Fortunately, //unlike// Chesmu, she feels her heart swell when she thinks about what he has become. "One day," she tells him, "you will be a Chieftain in your own right, and though I will not be there to see it, I will always be with you in spirit. I am sorry I could not be there for you in life as your father was."
Yuma looks over his mother while she still stands before him. He has changed more than she has, having grown considerably... and not just in a physical sense. But while Ayashe has not aged much, he can see that she is badly wounded. Her words cause a sense of pride to grow in him, mingling strangely with his sadness. It seems to soften his intense grief, reassuring him. "I love you," he manages to say, moving forward a few steps to gently nuzzle his mother. As far as he's concerned, she has no reason to apologize to him.