Post by braxton on May 9, 2009 10:20:08 GMT -5
It's getting cold and windy. Scuddle is curled up on the rock, eyelids half closed. Some snow has built up against his fur. It's been a lot longer than he had expected. From all the stories he's been told, he didn't know what Kein was capable of. Did he hurt her? He wraps his tails around his hind paws, kneads the rock a couple of times, and looks up the slope. He would have followed Kaya already if he wasn't scared himself of confronting Kein.
Kaya is walking hesitantly but with no doubt as to her actual destination. The poor girl is on her way to the border. Is she leaving? Is she doing what she wanted to do after all and actually help her friend. She passes by the cave just now, not even glancing toward Scuddle. She might not have seen him, but before long she is at the border again, and there she is, hesitating. Her paw is just over the edge, but she hasn't taken that last step. She seems unusually frightened and doubtful about her next move.
Scuddle is overjoyed to see Kaya as he looks up from his perch, and immediately happily bounds over to her. "Kaya!" he exclaims, bouncing through the snow. But he stops when she doesn't really regard him and moves past him. Well, asking how it went would probably be pretty dumb, huh? He frowns and follows her as she approaches the border. This isn't like Kaya at all! Even if her dad said no, she was so ready to just ignore him and go help look for Ashen! "Whuts the matter?" he says.
Kaya looks as if startled to see Scuddle and she almost takes that step just to steady herself, but finally she backs several steps from the border, her ears back, and looks to her best friend, whom she trusts. "S... Scuddle!" Kaya says, then looks over at the border. What she almost did. Look at what she almost did. Abandon her family and tribe for a friend. How Kaya's heart aches for Ashen. But she can't go. Not now. Not while her father would do this to her. She closes her eyes and desperately jumps over and nuzzles her best friend.
Oh! Okay. It's alright after all. He smiles and nuzzles back. Maybe her daddy even said she could come? "Let's go find Jinx!" He happily bounds straight over the line separating the territory without a second thought and trots a few steps before he turns around and watches her expectantly.
Kaya watches despondently as her friend leaps over the border. Her eyes fill with tears and shakes her head. "N-no." Kaya says, then looks down at the ground and starts to sob quietly. She can't leave. She just can't. It would hurt her mother, just like her father said. She starts to cry in er place, sitting down and just letting the wails, sobs, and tears flow. She needs her friend. She wants him. But she can't leave.
Scuddle's face falls. His paw, held up in a half-step, slowly falls back into the snow. He turns around and walks closer and sits down. "Kaya...?" he leans a little closer. A moment passes and he gets back up, takes a few steps, and sits down, now only inches away from her outside of her father's boundary. "Didja get between the small spaces?"
Kaya takes a few minutes to respond. She is wracked with sobs and sadness. She looks at her friend, facefur matted with her tears and says, "I-if I leave... I can't come back." Kaya says. If she didn't love her parents, then this decision would be an easy one. But as it is, she loves them both, no matter how much it feels like her father is trying to control her. "I need you."
Scuddle blinks and leans back a bit. "But.. they can't do that. How're dey supposed to do that? You're Chosen!" he says. That doesn't make sense! He starts to sniffle, instantly empathetically feeling Kaya's sadness. "Right?" They need her, don't they?
Kaya again seems to take a while to answer his question. She's stuck in a difficult place. She can't leave without being cast out by her own father, and if she stays she has nothing to aspire to. The crushes cub opens her mouth, then closes it, then shakes her head sadly. No, she is no longer Chosen. Her own father decided she was just a disappointment. Disappointment. Disappointment! Kaya begins to cry again.
Scuddle's eyes begin to fill up to. He has no idea what is going on in Kaya's head right now. He just sees her sad and feels sad. He's always felt kind of useless, and now that Ashen is missing, and Jinx even gave him permission to follow her, he finally feels he is needed for /something/. Somewhere out there Ashen needs him. Right? But Kaya needs him to. She even said so, pure and simple. 'I need you', she said. I need you. He takes a steps back over her Father's boundary and nuzzles her neck lightly. "Let's go home..." he says sadly.
Kaya nuzzles her friend back and, yes, that was a lick to the cheek as the juvenile turns back to head home with her friend. She isn't moving very quickly or with any sign that she's happy to head home. But now Scuddle is with her, so she can at least have someone near. And honestly, no one better for her than her best friend and her crush. She doesn't say anything. She just needs her friend to be there. Nothing else holds the same comfort right now.
Scuddle closes his eyes and wiggles as she licks his cheek. This wasn't, actually, too hard a decision to make. Though Kaya is not overjoyed with the prospect of facing her father again, Scuddle's sadness seems to melt away. She needs him. That means he has to be strong for her. He bounces against the snow around her and noses her cheek. "Come on, Kaya! Everything will be fine. Jinx and Chayton will find Ashen. And you won't have ta make your daddy mad." He soon bounds back up the slope with the same ignorant enthusiasm that he had shown when it was decided they'd set off to search for his brother.
Kaya nods and keeps with her best friend. In the end she will feel better, if only for Scuddle's inevitable attempts to cheer her up and make her feel better and worthwhile. She's decided whether or not she is Matron when she grows up, whether or not she even stays in Amaranth in the end, she needs Scuddle. At the very least this entire experience has been humbling for the cub.
Kaya is walking hesitantly but with no doubt as to her actual destination. The poor girl is on her way to the border. Is she leaving? Is she doing what she wanted to do after all and actually help her friend. She passes by the cave just now, not even glancing toward Scuddle. She might not have seen him, but before long she is at the border again, and there she is, hesitating. Her paw is just over the edge, but she hasn't taken that last step. She seems unusually frightened and doubtful about her next move.
Scuddle is overjoyed to see Kaya as he looks up from his perch, and immediately happily bounds over to her. "Kaya!" he exclaims, bouncing through the snow. But he stops when she doesn't really regard him and moves past him. Well, asking how it went would probably be pretty dumb, huh? He frowns and follows her as she approaches the border. This isn't like Kaya at all! Even if her dad said no, she was so ready to just ignore him and go help look for Ashen! "Whuts the matter?" he says.
Kaya looks as if startled to see Scuddle and she almost takes that step just to steady herself, but finally she backs several steps from the border, her ears back, and looks to her best friend, whom she trusts. "S... Scuddle!" Kaya says, then looks over at the border. What she almost did. Look at what she almost did. Abandon her family and tribe for a friend. How Kaya's heart aches for Ashen. But she can't go. Not now. Not while her father would do this to her. She closes her eyes and desperately jumps over and nuzzles her best friend.
Oh! Okay. It's alright after all. He smiles and nuzzles back. Maybe her daddy even said she could come? "Let's go find Jinx!" He happily bounds straight over the line separating the territory without a second thought and trots a few steps before he turns around and watches her expectantly.
Kaya watches despondently as her friend leaps over the border. Her eyes fill with tears and shakes her head. "N-no." Kaya says, then looks down at the ground and starts to sob quietly. She can't leave. She just can't. It would hurt her mother, just like her father said. She starts to cry in er place, sitting down and just letting the wails, sobs, and tears flow. She needs her friend. She wants him. But she can't leave.
Scuddle's face falls. His paw, held up in a half-step, slowly falls back into the snow. He turns around and walks closer and sits down. "Kaya...?" he leans a little closer. A moment passes and he gets back up, takes a few steps, and sits down, now only inches away from her outside of her father's boundary. "Didja get between the small spaces?"
Kaya takes a few minutes to respond. She is wracked with sobs and sadness. She looks at her friend, facefur matted with her tears and says, "I-if I leave... I can't come back." Kaya says. If she didn't love her parents, then this decision would be an easy one. But as it is, she loves them both, no matter how much it feels like her father is trying to control her. "I need you."
Scuddle blinks and leans back a bit. "But.. they can't do that. How're dey supposed to do that? You're Chosen!" he says. That doesn't make sense! He starts to sniffle, instantly empathetically feeling Kaya's sadness. "Right?" They need her, don't they?
Kaya again seems to take a while to answer his question. She's stuck in a difficult place. She can't leave without being cast out by her own father, and if she stays she has nothing to aspire to. The crushes cub opens her mouth, then closes it, then shakes her head sadly. No, she is no longer Chosen. Her own father decided she was just a disappointment. Disappointment. Disappointment! Kaya begins to cry again.
Scuddle's eyes begin to fill up to. He has no idea what is going on in Kaya's head right now. He just sees her sad and feels sad. He's always felt kind of useless, and now that Ashen is missing, and Jinx even gave him permission to follow her, he finally feels he is needed for /something/. Somewhere out there Ashen needs him. Right? But Kaya needs him to. She even said so, pure and simple. 'I need you', she said. I need you. He takes a steps back over her Father's boundary and nuzzles her neck lightly. "Let's go home..." he says sadly.
Kaya nuzzles her friend back and, yes, that was a lick to the cheek as the juvenile turns back to head home with her friend. She isn't moving very quickly or with any sign that she's happy to head home. But now Scuddle is with her, so she can at least have someone near. And honestly, no one better for her than her best friend and her crush. She doesn't say anything. She just needs her friend to be there. Nothing else holds the same comfort right now.
Scuddle closes his eyes and wiggles as she licks his cheek. This wasn't, actually, too hard a decision to make. Though Kaya is not overjoyed with the prospect of facing her father again, Scuddle's sadness seems to melt away. She needs him. That means he has to be strong for her. He bounces against the snow around her and noses her cheek. "Come on, Kaya! Everything will be fine. Jinx and Chayton will find Ashen. And you won't have ta make your daddy mad." He soon bounds back up the slope with the same ignorant enthusiasm that he had shown when it was decided they'd set off to search for his brother.
Kaya nods and keeps with her best friend. In the end she will feel better, if only for Scuddle's inevitable attempts to cheer her up and make her feel better and worthwhile. She's decided whether or not she is Matron when she grows up, whether or not she even stays in Amaranth in the end, she needs Scuddle. At the very least this entire experience has been humbling for the cub.