Post by malak on Mar 23, 2009 22:15:58 GMT -5
Pristine Lake
================================================================================
The lake is dark and deep, and in the spring and summer bears lilypads adorned with brightly-colored flowers. Clusters of reeds stand tall in the marshy shallows, and in the thickets surrounding the lake, birds and other small creatures make their nests, creating a cacophony of various sounds. The lake is, most days, a negative of the sky, dark to its blue, save for when it's windy enough for the breeze to break through the trees that ring the water, and the sky grows grey and threatening. At the lake's northern end, a river cuts a course towards the mountain's edge, resulting in a waterfall, its thunderous sound easily heard from here.
=================================== Exits ===================================
[North] to the Waterfall [South] to the Wooded Terrain
[West] to the Valley
================================================================================
[IC] Malak
[IC] Aylin
Ah, respite. Her cubs, older, stronger, more prone to making poor choices, are sleeping. Bliss. Aylin extracted herself from her children quietly, making sure they were tucked away, before she headed north, away from Amaranth. She hasn't heard from her brother, or anyone else, in fact, for quite some time. Kein's company, while interesting, isn't terribly amicable, either, so she leaves her nephew to his own devices. As she emerges from the deeper woods, she stretches her back legs and arches her back, growling in satisfaction. With her head held high, and her tail mirroring that behind her, she strides toward the lake and bends for a long drink.
Malak does not particularly mind his newfound solitary nature. He has no idea where his brother is. Or Moonseeker or Whiskers, or the wolf and dogs that brought him here in the first place. He does know that Aylin is to the south, though, and that the lake positively reeks of the wolves that, mostly, stay to the west. Even this late in the year, though, he has not wanted for food. The times that he might have, one or two stray lupines found their way into his stomach, and so Malak has stayed. Mostly, he rests well to the north of the lake. When he came here for a drink today, though, and found no group of wolves, he decided to lie down here, not far from the top of the waterfall. The sound drives out his own internal doubts and occasional concerns, and it is a pleasant place to rest. If only there weren't those wolves to the west, a group too large for him to take on by himself, preventing him from settling down here safely. Perhaps, though, if enough of them wander far enough from the pack...
There's not much out there that is going to mess with an adult cougar, unless it's another cougar, and Aylin is content in the knowledge that she is well equiped to handle herself. She closes her eyes as she laps up the cool water, pausing a moment as a few stray drops fall from her whiskers and break up the clear, crisp surface. The feeling is lovely as it coats her throat, and she purrs deeply as she lifts her head and eyes the spray from the nearby waterfall. Her ears swivel forward, brow furrowing gently, as she spies the form of a lazy male. Easing back onto her haunches, Aylin delicately grooms a forepaw, watching the figure over her claws. She can't tell if it's Azriel, or someone else. Not from this distance.
Malak should have known that he and Aylin would probably cross paths eventually if he insisted of staying around here. If he had realized, earlier, that it would be today, he would have returned to his usual resting spot instead of deciding to sleep here for a while. Sleeping though he may be, he does not have her attention long before a breeze brings her scent by him, and the strength of that scent causes him to life his head, automatically on guard against the none too pleasant female that he remembers entirely too well. It takes a while of searching for him to spot her, though.
The waterfall kicks up many air currents along with the tiny droplets, and Aylin, too, eventually catches Malak's scent and registers the other male immediately. The crisp breeze seems to toy with the two of them, flitting back and forth and gusting up memories very foul and ver unpleasant. Part of her would love to try to rip Malak apart, but her other, more hidden side, would really rather not. Still, on guard, the female remains where she is for quite awhile, seemingly ignoring the male and his elitism. Hmph. Eventually, she pushes to all fours and meanders toward him, bright eyes looking down at his prone form without a hint of disdain, surprisingly. "Hello, Malak," she purrs gently, amicably. Sort've.
Of course, she couldn't just leave well enough alone. Malak has accepted that it is worthless trying to speak to Aylin about anything, and probably would not have approached her. It doesn't matter at all to him that she is the mother of his nieces and nephews. Or niece and nephews. Or nieces and nephew. He doesn't really know, any more than he knows whether any of them are still alive. She just /has/ to wander over here, though. So, standing easily, only to settle back into a sitting position, Malak returns her greeting with a very simple, reserved, "Aylin." Entirely in his own mind, he also adds, "What insanity is on your mind today?" He is smart enough, though, not to say that part aloud. He may be confident in his ability to beat Aylin, but that does not mean he /wants/ to fight her.
She's not a bad individual, really... just a little quick to temper. She does, however, give Malak space enough not to crowd him, though it seems as though the whole world isn't space enough for these two. The female isn't quite sure why she has to speak with him, but she does. Aylin smooths her whiskers down, considering, knowing full well the ill will being thrown at her, but she draws herself up and attempts to ignore it. "Have you seen your brother?" she asks simply, tail tuft twitching in her eagerness to leave though her paws remain cemented to the ground.
For just a moment, Malak relaxes. Not much, but it's there. Whatever his opinions of her and her ability to raise cubs satisfactorily, she does have some right to inquire about their father. After all, even Vector occasionally interacted with Malak and Revan. Not often, but he was around. The relaxation does not last long, though, as he does not have any good news for Aylin, and he doesn't know how she might react. "Not since the flood." He has searched, but apparently not in the right areas, since he has not yet found his brother. If Revan is even still alive, Malak suspects he has probably moved on.
Progress is apparently short lived. Aylin's ears twist forward at Malak's response, then flit out and away to the sides when his barrier returns in full force. The female 'mms' quietly and glances across the lake, eyes narrowed. For a while she says nothing, contemplating, before she pivots on her paws and moves away a few steps, pausing to slide dark green eyes in the male's direction. "Thank you," she offers lowly, not really sure what else to do. Another moment goes by before she laughs gently, whiskers twitching, "I'm sorry." That said, she looks again to the lake, curious. Revan wouldn't be stupid enough to drown... but he wouldn't leave Malak behind with no reason, either.
The apology comes as a surprise to Malak, and for a while, he can't figure out /why/ she has said sorry. perhaps he really is as heartless as she accuses him of being, as he has never really been upset about Revan's disappearance, and if that is why she is apologizing... "There is no need for you to be sorry for me." Malak never intended to remain by Revan's side indefinitely. They shared a similar purpose. Would Malak be able to work with another male cougar if there wasn't that familial bond? Probably not, but that doesn't mean he intended to ally himself with his brother forever. "Thank you for the... Sentiment, though." Bleh. Sentiment.
His voice chases after her, which is something she didn't expect, and it causes her to turn with her shoulder toward him, eyes subdued. She lifts her brows as the edges of her muzzle curl in amusement. Aylin wasn't sorry for him, her apology had another purpose. But, she doesn't bother to clarify, thinking it better that Malak believes what he wants about her 'sentiment.' She had thought Revan would come by, by now, to at least know what his cubs looked like and she finds it strange that his brother doesn't know where he is, either. Something almost feels wrong, but Aylin doesn't try to probde the question with Malak. /Not/ a conversation she wants to have. "Well," she begins, voice trailing off, unsure what to do. It would be rude to just take an answer from Malak and leave like that, without a word. But the wall between them is high, and awkward. Something hangs on the edge of her tongue, wanting to be said, but she tightly holds on to it.
Malak keeps his eyes on Aylin. He likely would have until she was out of sight, had she just kept walking. Since she turns back to him, though... He remains silent for a while after she says her single word. After a moment, though, he only says, "Good bye, Aylin." Now neither of them have any reason or need to stay, and, with that in mind, Malak stands to head back off toward the north.
The good bye is caught with another flick of her ear, and soon she hears steady pawsteps moving away. Don't turn around, don't turn around, don't turn around... Her mantra is loud in her head, but even so she turns her body around and watches his retreat, still biting her tongue against calling him back. Aylin draws in a steady breath, holds it, and slowly releases it. That should've fixed everything, but there's still something tugging at her mind even though she doesn't know what to do about it. "M--," no, no, no, don't call him back. "... Malak?" Damn it.
Malak stops walking away when he hears Aylin call his name from behind him. Oh, why could that have not been enough? The had a whole conversation. Sort of. Neither of them wound up growling at the other. They were nearly /civil/, for crying out loud, but she just couldn't accept his goodbye and leave it be. As he often does, he thinks about what might set Aylin off next as he turns to face her. Instead of being a complete jerk and forcing them both to yell over the sound of the waterfall, he begins walking toward her a bit before asking, in the same carefully controlled tone he used when he first greeted her, "Yes?"
Why couldn't she just let it be? The same agonizing question runs through her brain even as the male turns and retakes the ground he'd just passed over, his voice suggesting that he'd rather have fled. In hindsight, she wishes he had. Her attention falls away from his face, pensive, and for a minute she just chews on the inside of her cheek. Breathe. She reminds herself to do this as she looks up at Malak, now in front of her. "When I said I was sorry," she begins, trying not to sound /offensive/ in any way, "I was apologizing to you. Not for you."
Malak only wants one thing from this, if he is going to walk away with anything at all. Peace. He has tired of picking pointless fights with Aylin, and he has no intention to start up again. He had never expected a genuine apology for any of her behaviour, though, and he in unsure of how to respond to her statement in a way that will keep the peace that he wants. He could play at being dense, but he doubts she would appreciate the gesture, which only leaves accepting the apology... But he suspects that she'll be insulted if he is either too haughty or too casual in doing so. Or she might just be insulted because she's crazy, and nothing he could possibly say in response would make any difference. Or he might really be a bit too harsh in his opinion of her, /because/ of the things he thinks she ought to be apologizing for. Who knows? After staring at her for what was probably entirely too long, trying to make up his mind, he says, "It's in the past." Dare he offer her a clean slate, over a single apology? Well, it's too late now. She'll take from that statement what she will, and he'll have to live with her interpretation of it.
If anyone was a master at antagonizing Aylin, it would be Malak. Then again, it seems as though she's terribly easy to antagonize... Now, though, she only waits quietly while Malak stands there in what she considers to be a stunned silence. Her ears delicately roll forward, her eyes focused on his face. His response is interesting, to say the least, and a light little laugh slips from between her lips, though her face remains gentle, serene, undisturbed. "As you wish," is her response, wondering if Malak truley believes that, or if he's just saying it so he can get away faster. She'll never know. The male is given a considerate eartip. Part of her would like to bridge that gap, the sane part, but seeing how much his distaste for her has remained, she only responds to those thoughts with a light sigh. Again she turns, as if to leave, but a few paces later, she stop. What?! What is this?! Feelings?! Oh, Lord.
Malak can't really hear her sigh, any more than he heard the laugh, but he sees it, and combined with those guarded words that he usually uses... Oh, how satisfying it would be to just run her off, in response to the fact that she actually succeeds, a little bit, in making him feel guilty over the fact that he accepted her apology, and absolutely nothing more. She went out of her way, if only just, to make things right between them, and he showed absolutely none of that effort. Hrf. Well, he'll give her a little more, but so help him, if decides she hates him again, after this, or if this is some game of hers, he'll never tolerate her presence again. When she stops moving, he calls out after her, "Aylin?" Without waiting for her to turn back, he says, "For what it's worth, I'm sorry too." For what part he may have played in making the misunderstandings and confrontations between them worse. It's quite possibly the only apology Malak has /ever/ uttered, and he doesn't intend to make a habit of this, either.
She hadn't expected a response. She'd expected to get her paws moving again, to not have stopped, and to have looked back toward the falls when she reached the woods, and to have found nothing. But Malak is still there, and her subdeud gaze is again directed back across her shoulder. The tip of her tail lifts at him in recognition, and a pensive little smile dances across her muzzle only to disappear a moment later. Maybe he's not /that/ bad, but, then again, he may just be putting on a brave face. "If you see your brother," she offers back, "ask him to come find me." Then she turns and wills her paws to move again, her mind turning over this strange encounter. Then she pauses, one paw lifted over the grass. "Please."
"Of course." This response, at least, doesn't require any thought. Malak would have told Revan about Aylin and the cubs even if she hadn't asked, even before this conversation... /If/ he ever finds Revan. Since Aylin is continuing on, after the brief response, he turns to do the same. Though he doesn't she'll call him back a second time, he keeps one ear trained on the sounds of her walking away, until the sound of the waterfall drowns out any hint of her presence behind him.
================================================================================
The lake is dark and deep, and in the spring and summer bears lilypads adorned with brightly-colored flowers. Clusters of reeds stand tall in the marshy shallows, and in the thickets surrounding the lake, birds and other small creatures make their nests, creating a cacophony of various sounds. The lake is, most days, a negative of the sky, dark to its blue, save for when it's windy enough for the breeze to break through the trees that ring the water, and the sky grows grey and threatening. At the lake's northern end, a river cuts a course towards the mountain's edge, resulting in a waterfall, its thunderous sound easily heard from here.
=================================== Exits ===================================
[North] to the Waterfall [South] to the Wooded Terrain
[West] to the Valley
================================================================================
[IC] Malak
[IC] Aylin
Ah, respite. Her cubs, older, stronger, more prone to making poor choices, are sleeping. Bliss. Aylin extracted herself from her children quietly, making sure they were tucked away, before she headed north, away from Amaranth. She hasn't heard from her brother, or anyone else, in fact, for quite some time. Kein's company, while interesting, isn't terribly amicable, either, so she leaves her nephew to his own devices. As she emerges from the deeper woods, she stretches her back legs and arches her back, growling in satisfaction. With her head held high, and her tail mirroring that behind her, she strides toward the lake and bends for a long drink.
Malak does not particularly mind his newfound solitary nature. He has no idea where his brother is. Or Moonseeker or Whiskers, or the wolf and dogs that brought him here in the first place. He does know that Aylin is to the south, though, and that the lake positively reeks of the wolves that, mostly, stay to the west. Even this late in the year, though, he has not wanted for food. The times that he might have, one or two stray lupines found their way into his stomach, and so Malak has stayed. Mostly, he rests well to the north of the lake. When he came here for a drink today, though, and found no group of wolves, he decided to lie down here, not far from the top of the waterfall. The sound drives out his own internal doubts and occasional concerns, and it is a pleasant place to rest. If only there weren't those wolves to the west, a group too large for him to take on by himself, preventing him from settling down here safely. Perhaps, though, if enough of them wander far enough from the pack...
There's not much out there that is going to mess with an adult cougar, unless it's another cougar, and Aylin is content in the knowledge that she is well equiped to handle herself. She closes her eyes as she laps up the cool water, pausing a moment as a few stray drops fall from her whiskers and break up the clear, crisp surface. The feeling is lovely as it coats her throat, and she purrs deeply as she lifts her head and eyes the spray from the nearby waterfall. Her ears swivel forward, brow furrowing gently, as she spies the form of a lazy male. Easing back onto her haunches, Aylin delicately grooms a forepaw, watching the figure over her claws. She can't tell if it's Azriel, or someone else. Not from this distance.
Malak should have known that he and Aylin would probably cross paths eventually if he insisted of staying around here. If he had realized, earlier, that it would be today, he would have returned to his usual resting spot instead of deciding to sleep here for a while. Sleeping though he may be, he does not have her attention long before a breeze brings her scent by him, and the strength of that scent causes him to life his head, automatically on guard against the none too pleasant female that he remembers entirely too well. It takes a while of searching for him to spot her, though.
The waterfall kicks up many air currents along with the tiny droplets, and Aylin, too, eventually catches Malak's scent and registers the other male immediately. The crisp breeze seems to toy with the two of them, flitting back and forth and gusting up memories very foul and ver unpleasant. Part of her would love to try to rip Malak apart, but her other, more hidden side, would really rather not. Still, on guard, the female remains where she is for quite awhile, seemingly ignoring the male and his elitism. Hmph. Eventually, she pushes to all fours and meanders toward him, bright eyes looking down at his prone form without a hint of disdain, surprisingly. "Hello, Malak," she purrs gently, amicably. Sort've.
Of course, she couldn't just leave well enough alone. Malak has accepted that it is worthless trying to speak to Aylin about anything, and probably would not have approached her. It doesn't matter at all to him that she is the mother of his nieces and nephews. Or niece and nephews. Or nieces and nephew. He doesn't really know, any more than he knows whether any of them are still alive. She just /has/ to wander over here, though. So, standing easily, only to settle back into a sitting position, Malak returns her greeting with a very simple, reserved, "Aylin." Entirely in his own mind, he also adds, "What insanity is on your mind today?" He is smart enough, though, not to say that part aloud. He may be confident in his ability to beat Aylin, but that does not mean he /wants/ to fight her.
She's not a bad individual, really... just a little quick to temper. She does, however, give Malak space enough not to crowd him, though it seems as though the whole world isn't space enough for these two. The female isn't quite sure why she has to speak with him, but she does. Aylin smooths her whiskers down, considering, knowing full well the ill will being thrown at her, but she draws herself up and attempts to ignore it. "Have you seen your brother?" she asks simply, tail tuft twitching in her eagerness to leave though her paws remain cemented to the ground.
For just a moment, Malak relaxes. Not much, but it's there. Whatever his opinions of her and her ability to raise cubs satisfactorily, she does have some right to inquire about their father. After all, even Vector occasionally interacted with Malak and Revan. Not often, but he was around. The relaxation does not last long, though, as he does not have any good news for Aylin, and he doesn't know how she might react. "Not since the flood." He has searched, but apparently not in the right areas, since he has not yet found his brother. If Revan is even still alive, Malak suspects he has probably moved on.
Progress is apparently short lived. Aylin's ears twist forward at Malak's response, then flit out and away to the sides when his barrier returns in full force. The female 'mms' quietly and glances across the lake, eyes narrowed. For a while she says nothing, contemplating, before she pivots on her paws and moves away a few steps, pausing to slide dark green eyes in the male's direction. "Thank you," she offers lowly, not really sure what else to do. Another moment goes by before she laughs gently, whiskers twitching, "I'm sorry." That said, she looks again to the lake, curious. Revan wouldn't be stupid enough to drown... but he wouldn't leave Malak behind with no reason, either.
The apology comes as a surprise to Malak, and for a while, he can't figure out /why/ she has said sorry. perhaps he really is as heartless as she accuses him of being, as he has never really been upset about Revan's disappearance, and if that is why she is apologizing... "There is no need for you to be sorry for me." Malak never intended to remain by Revan's side indefinitely. They shared a similar purpose. Would Malak be able to work with another male cougar if there wasn't that familial bond? Probably not, but that doesn't mean he intended to ally himself with his brother forever. "Thank you for the... Sentiment, though." Bleh. Sentiment.
His voice chases after her, which is something she didn't expect, and it causes her to turn with her shoulder toward him, eyes subdued. She lifts her brows as the edges of her muzzle curl in amusement. Aylin wasn't sorry for him, her apology had another purpose. But, she doesn't bother to clarify, thinking it better that Malak believes what he wants about her 'sentiment.' She had thought Revan would come by, by now, to at least know what his cubs looked like and she finds it strange that his brother doesn't know where he is, either. Something almost feels wrong, but Aylin doesn't try to probde the question with Malak. /Not/ a conversation she wants to have. "Well," she begins, voice trailing off, unsure what to do. It would be rude to just take an answer from Malak and leave like that, without a word. But the wall between them is high, and awkward. Something hangs on the edge of her tongue, wanting to be said, but she tightly holds on to it.
Malak keeps his eyes on Aylin. He likely would have until she was out of sight, had she just kept walking. Since she turns back to him, though... He remains silent for a while after she says her single word. After a moment, though, he only says, "Good bye, Aylin." Now neither of them have any reason or need to stay, and, with that in mind, Malak stands to head back off toward the north.
The good bye is caught with another flick of her ear, and soon she hears steady pawsteps moving away. Don't turn around, don't turn around, don't turn around... Her mantra is loud in her head, but even so she turns her body around and watches his retreat, still biting her tongue against calling him back. Aylin draws in a steady breath, holds it, and slowly releases it. That should've fixed everything, but there's still something tugging at her mind even though she doesn't know what to do about it. "M--," no, no, no, don't call him back. "... Malak?" Damn it.
Malak stops walking away when he hears Aylin call his name from behind him. Oh, why could that have not been enough? The had a whole conversation. Sort of. Neither of them wound up growling at the other. They were nearly /civil/, for crying out loud, but she just couldn't accept his goodbye and leave it be. As he often does, he thinks about what might set Aylin off next as he turns to face her. Instead of being a complete jerk and forcing them both to yell over the sound of the waterfall, he begins walking toward her a bit before asking, in the same carefully controlled tone he used when he first greeted her, "Yes?"
Why couldn't she just let it be? The same agonizing question runs through her brain even as the male turns and retakes the ground he'd just passed over, his voice suggesting that he'd rather have fled. In hindsight, she wishes he had. Her attention falls away from his face, pensive, and for a minute she just chews on the inside of her cheek. Breathe. She reminds herself to do this as she looks up at Malak, now in front of her. "When I said I was sorry," she begins, trying not to sound /offensive/ in any way, "I was apologizing to you. Not for you."
Malak only wants one thing from this, if he is going to walk away with anything at all. Peace. He has tired of picking pointless fights with Aylin, and he has no intention to start up again. He had never expected a genuine apology for any of her behaviour, though, and he in unsure of how to respond to her statement in a way that will keep the peace that he wants. He could play at being dense, but he doubts she would appreciate the gesture, which only leaves accepting the apology... But he suspects that she'll be insulted if he is either too haughty or too casual in doing so. Or she might just be insulted because she's crazy, and nothing he could possibly say in response would make any difference. Or he might really be a bit too harsh in his opinion of her, /because/ of the things he thinks she ought to be apologizing for. Who knows? After staring at her for what was probably entirely too long, trying to make up his mind, he says, "It's in the past." Dare he offer her a clean slate, over a single apology? Well, it's too late now. She'll take from that statement what she will, and he'll have to live with her interpretation of it.
If anyone was a master at antagonizing Aylin, it would be Malak. Then again, it seems as though she's terribly easy to antagonize... Now, though, she only waits quietly while Malak stands there in what she considers to be a stunned silence. Her ears delicately roll forward, her eyes focused on his face. His response is interesting, to say the least, and a light little laugh slips from between her lips, though her face remains gentle, serene, undisturbed. "As you wish," is her response, wondering if Malak truley believes that, or if he's just saying it so he can get away faster. She'll never know. The male is given a considerate eartip. Part of her would like to bridge that gap, the sane part, but seeing how much his distaste for her has remained, she only responds to those thoughts with a light sigh. Again she turns, as if to leave, but a few paces later, she stop. What?! What is this?! Feelings?! Oh, Lord.
Malak can't really hear her sigh, any more than he heard the laugh, but he sees it, and combined with those guarded words that he usually uses... Oh, how satisfying it would be to just run her off, in response to the fact that she actually succeeds, a little bit, in making him feel guilty over the fact that he accepted her apology, and absolutely nothing more. She went out of her way, if only just, to make things right between them, and he showed absolutely none of that effort. Hrf. Well, he'll give her a little more, but so help him, if decides she hates him again, after this, or if this is some game of hers, he'll never tolerate her presence again. When she stops moving, he calls out after her, "Aylin?" Without waiting for her to turn back, he says, "For what it's worth, I'm sorry too." For what part he may have played in making the misunderstandings and confrontations between them worse. It's quite possibly the only apology Malak has /ever/ uttered, and he doesn't intend to make a habit of this, either.
She hadn't expected a response. She'd expected to get her paws moving again, to not have stopped, and to have looked back toward the falls when she reached the woods, and to have found nothing. But Malak is still there, and her subdeud gaze is again directed back across her shoulder. The tip of her tail lifts at him in recognition, and a pensive little smile dances across her muzzle only to disappear a moment later. Maybe he's not /that/ bad, but, then again, he may just be putting on a brave face. "If you see your brother," she offers back, "ask him to come find me." Then she turns and wills her paws to move again, her mind turning over this strange encounter. Then she pauses, one paw lifted over the grass. "Please."
"Of course." This response, at least, doesn't require any thought. Malak would have told Revan about Aylin and the cubs even if she hadn't asked, even before this conversation... /If/ he ever finds Revan. Since Aylin is continuing on, after the brief response, he turns to do the same. Though he doesn't she'll call him back a second time, he keeps one ear trained on the sounds of her walking away, until the sound of the waterfall drowns out any hint of her presence behind him.