Post by Therdde on May 12, 2009 11:18:23 GMT -5
Characters:
Kein - Male Cougar
Nayeli - Female Cougar
Aurora - Female Juvenile Cougar
- Snowy Highlands -
It is only a couple hours since he last talked to Kaya. Just barely past noon, though this day has seemed to last forever... And already, Kein is returning to Nayeli, carrying a large hare with him. Does he have anything to tell her? Nothing that couldn't wait until this evening... But he's tired, and has no desire to encounter any other members of Amaranth today. It's still an effort just to converse with most members of Amaranth in any manner that could be considered polite. He doesn't want to deal with it anymore today.
It was the thought that counted, hopefully. Nayeli has just finished eating her own catch, and is currently relaxed and watching her youngest daughter finish up the last remnants of this hare. Fed, content, and happy to be able to spend time with Aurora, not to mention preoccupied with a lot on her mind, the matron is quiet and thoughtful, though still enough aware to make small talk if her daughter has anything to say. After what's happened with Kaya, she can't help but wonder if it was a mistake to rule out Aurora as the possible replacement for the position of future matron. Her personality doesn't seem to be an issue at all; a bit on the quiet and shy side, perhaps, but wasn't Nayeli similar when she was Aurora's age? It's more a matter of her potential to be a leader that's in question. So far, Nayeli has yet to see any indication that Aurora will be able to take charge when needed or to be a motivator and encourager of those around her.
Aurora looks a little less angelic with blood smeared all over her maw, but the undersized cub still manages to look cute despite the fact. Dragging her raspy tongue over a picked-clean bone to get off the last bits of flavor, she then licks at her muzzle, which doesn't do too much in the way of cleaning off the scarlet stains there. Aurora doesn't seem to mind the silence too much -- the food keeps her quite occupied, after all -- and appears content to just lie beside her mother after their afternoon lunch. Her pale green eyes, an inheritance from the matron, flick up at the sight of motion, and they seem to light up even brighter when she recognizes her father. "Daddy!" she chirps, abandoning the bone and leaping up to all fours before bounding through the snow towards the chieftain.
As he approaches his mate and youngest daughter, he can smell the remains of their meal, and once he is even closer, he spots what remains of Nayeli's catch. Well, his catch won't go to waste. If they're both full, he will eat it. As soon as he is spotted by Aurora and sees her enthusiastic reaction to his presence, he drops the hare. After moving just beyond it, he stops, waiting for his youngest to close the little bit of distance that remains between them. "Aurora!" He lowers his head, preparing to greet his daughter with an affectionate nuzzle and lick. The exhaustion he has been feeling most of the day is gone. Aurora's energy does have a contagious element to it. Nayeli's too, for that matter.
Whether she has energy at the moment or not remains to be seen, for Nayeli doesn't immediately jump up or show extreme excitement at Kein's arrival like their daughter does. However, there's no mistaking the pleased smile that immediately takes control of her muzzle, nor the softening of her gaze as she watches her mate prepare to greet the energetic cannonball of a daughter bounding through the snow. Ahh, cubs. Is she really ready for /more/ of them? It's been something that refuses to leave her thoughts, and she's still not sure if she has a definite answer. If Kein wants to have a second litter, there is no way she'll refuse, but whether or not she's /eager/ for such a thing... remains to be decided.
Aurora runs up to her father, resting her paws on his foreleg as she rears up to meet his nuzzle, returning it with one of her own as she purrs like a kitten. Stepping back down a moment later, she accompanies Kein back to Nayeli, trotting along by his side and smiling brightly up at him all the way. "Didja bring that for us? We already ate though," Aurora states matter-of-factly, as though Kein can't see the evidence of such himself. Ahh, cubs, indeed. At least if the matron has another litter Aurora won't be the littlest cougar of Amaranth anymore! Though she's still quite underdeveloped in terms of stature...at least she's grown a little more in the past couple of weeks as she and her siblings near a year old.
Kein twists around to pick up the hare. As he carries it back with him, he speaks around it, his voice just slightly muffled as it dangles from his teeth. "It's okay. Whoever gets hungry first can eat it then." He's far from angry that they managed to catch and eat something while he was away. After all, who could have known what time he would be returning?
Of course Kein would never get angry that Nayeli went ahead and caught something for Aurora and herself... right? If he did, he'd have a worried mate, for sure. That doesn't mean that Nayeli looks a tiny bit sheepish when she notices that Kein was planning on feeding them; her smile only grows a little bigger in appreciation. "One day you'll be able to hunt like your father, Aurora, and all the prey on the mountain will fear you, the mighty huntress!" Somehow she doubts that any child of hers will ever be able to hunt as well as her mate, but surely it's a good thing to joke around with Aurora and her siblings. An encouragement of sorts, too! Also a subtle thank-you to Kein for being thoughtful enough to hunt for her in the first place. Though she still hasn't risen to her paws yet, Nayeli is obviously eager for her mate to get within nuzzling distance. Their daughter isn't the only one happy that he's finally here!
Aurora giggles girlishly at that thought -- her, a mighty huntress? It's probably not likely she'll be able to take down anything larger than a white-tail doe, even when she's an adult, given her smaller size. But she looks up at her mother and father as they meet and embrace, smiling happily at the sight. "Hehe. Mommy loves daddy." Yet another obvious observation from their youngest-born.
Kein drops his hare a short distance away from his mate. Then, with a grin, he says, "And daddy loves mommy too." As though there could be any doubt about that, as Kein takes another couple steps to nuzzle gently against his mate. After doing so, he says, "And Aurora too, of course." Why did he delay coming back here, again? Certainly, interacting with his mate and youngest child is infinitely more pleasant than the conversation he had with Ama... But then, at least a renewed understanding between them came of his conversation with Ama.
Warm fuzzy feelings. Mushy stuff. Whatever one might want to call it, Nayeli is deeply glad to see how the love she and Kein share for one another is both noticed and delighted in by their daughter. Does it strengthen their bond with her? No doubt. And hopefully, possibly, it might help Aurora one day in her relationship with a love of her own, should such a thing ever occur. It may be difficult, given her much smaller stature, but even if it never happens, Nayeli is quite confident that her relationship to her parents will always remain strong. As it should be. With a laugh at Kein's response, the older female returns the nuzzle, adding a quick lick to his cheek. "And that love only gets stronger, too."
Aurora giggles again, cutely. "Of course you do, daddy! I love you too! And mommy!" A bundle of joy from the start, the spotted juvenile's positive energy never seems to stop - even when she's complaining about being smushed under the bigger male cubs in the tribe, she tends to recover pretty quickly afterwards. Looking up between her mother and father with bright jade eyes, she pads back to her original position beside Nayeli, settling down onto her haunches and getting quiet once again. She bets mommy and daddy have Adult Things to talk about!
Perhaps they do have adult things to talk about. Kein is reluctant to talk about them around Aurora, though, so, after greeting Nayeli, he lies down face to face with his daughter and asks, "Did you help Mommy catch lunch today, Aurora?" It seems a logical question to ask. He hasn't had as much time to help teach his cubs how to hunt in the past few weeks, but he had started to work with them even before that. Of course, what 'help' they are capable of offering is usually minimal. They more often make it more difficult to catch prey. Kein is hardly going to say that, though.
Part of it is helping them to begin to learn how to hunt, yes. But another (big) part of it is actually getting the chance to spend time with their cubs and have them feel like they're actually accomplishing something. Will Aurora claim that she 'helped' her mother catch this hare? Perhaps. But either way, she /did/ get to spend time with Nayeli, and that in and of itself made the hunt worthwhile, regardless of how much more difficult it was with the young girl being present.
Aurora looks down with a little shake of her head when she's asked the question, though she's still smiling regardless. "No...mommy caught it all by herself," she answers, looking back up at the chieftain as she speaks. She was a little scared of messing her mother up while she was hunting, though she wouldn't admit it unless asked directly about it. But her brows furrow, and she peers a little closer at her father's face. "Daddy...did the rabbit hurt you when you caught it?" she questions, lifting a foreleg to gently paw at the little scratches on his cheek.
Of all of Kein's cubs, Aurora is certainly the most humble. Any of the rest would be glad to take all of the credit, no matter how little they actually helped. A direct result of her smaller stature? Perhaps... But regardless of the cause, Kein makes a mental note to watch and make sure it doesn't affect Aurora's confidence as she continues to grow. That bit doesn't remain on his mind for very long, though, as Aurora asks a question that... With a deep breath, he says, "No... It wasn't the rabbit." Kein is not above being injured by prey, but it hasn't happened in a long time. Still, he is reluctant to say what /did/ hurt him... So only after a pause, and in the mildest way possible, he adds, "Your sister and I had a bit of a disagreement, is all."
All of the concern and curiosity that Nayeli might be feeling over what must have transpired between her mate and their oldest daughter remains carefully masked; there is no way she's going to delve into the matter while Aurora is anywhere close to within hearing distance. With a warning we'll-discuss-this-later-when-alone glance given to Kein, she forces a soft laugh. "Of course the rabbit didn't do that to your father, Aurora. He's too good at hunting for that to happen! If you're still hungry, I'm sure he'd be willing to share." Humility she might have, but hopefully Aurora has conversational discretion as well, and will pick up on the subtle hint that a topic change would be rather nice right about now.
Aurora looks quite surprised when Kein admits that Kaya is responsible for the scratches on his maw. She wouldn't dream of hurting her own father in a thousand years. "...Kaya hurt you? Why would she do that?" she inquires earnestly, her expression one of pure concern. Her mother's words are heard, but the young girl hasn't quite mastered the ways of subtlety just yet. Especially with such alarming knowledge about her older sister, someone she used to look up to, and what she's done to her beloved father staring her in the face.
Kein stretches out his head to nuzzle against Aurora again. It isn't that he doesn't catch the look from Nayeli. Only that he knows that without an answer, Aurora may worry, and he doesn't want to lie to the young girl. "She just wasn't very happy, Aurora. Don't worry about it. She didn't really hurt me." Then, attempting to help his mate, he asks his youngest daughter, "/Are/ you still hungry, Aurora?"
The fact that Kaya /did/ claw her father and drew blood is indeed alarming, and Nayeli is rather upset at the thought. But while Aurora is present, such distress is concealed as best as she can manage, and she appreciates the help from Kein to keep the topic on... happier things. Like food.
Aurora quietly nods in response to Kein's explanation, though her pale green eyes are still filled with daughterly concern. At the repeated question, she shakes her head -- it's not as if she's very much of a growing girl compared to her other siblings, so it's easy for her to eat her fill. "No thank you, daddy," she answers properly, looking between her parents and offering them a soft smile. "Um...did you need to talk in private?" She may be lacking in perceptions of subtle subject-changes, but she nonetheless understands that her parents need to be alone sometimes.
Perhaps it would be nice to speak with Nayeli, especially since she must be concerned, by now. Before he thinks about that, though, he spends a couple moments thinking about what task or game they could charge Aurora with to keep her busy and entertained while he and Nayeli talk. After all, he's not going to answer that question with, 'Yes, now buzz off.' Smiling, he asks Aurora, "Do you think you could find one of your brothers and tell them there is food here?" That ought to keep her for a while.
Aurora smiles back, nodding eagerly in response. She'd love to help! "Okay!" She starts to bound off, then stops mid-step as she remembers something. Turning back, she leans up to offer a little affectionate lick to each of her parent's cheeks in turn, then darts off towards the south on her sibling scavenger hunt.
Nayeli returns the lick, giving a bit of a nuzzle as well as best as she can before the young girl scampers off. Her mother watches for several long seconds before finally turning to look at Kein. Or, more specifically, at Kein's nose. Claw marks and dried blood. Worse, they were apparently inflicted by their oldest daughter's claws. What can she say? That she's sorry? That she hopes that the pain is gone? The earlier happiness at Aurora's company seems to have dissipated, and her silence is hopefully indicative enough to her mate for him to start the conversation with a recount of what happened.
Kein's mate does rather like to invite him to speak by being completely silent. At least if she would ask him questions like "What happened?" or "Are you okay?" then he would know how to begin talking. As it is... Looking at his mate, he says, "You shouldn't worry either, Nayeli. I took care of it." Nothing in his tone is defensive. He's not trying to get out of telling her what happened. He just really doesn't want her to worry, either about him or about their oldest daughter.
And what would the point of such questions be? It should be obvious enough that Nayeli is quite impatient to learn what happened, and the whole reason that Aurora was sent away is so Kein could explain without having to worry about young ears listening in. His initial words, though, cause her a fair amount of confusion. She shouldn't worry? He took care of it? What's /that/ supposed to mean? Whereas anyone else might think that his words mean exactly what they sound like, Nayeli isn't so sure. Of /course/ she's going to worry; she's /been/ worrying ever since their conversation with Kaya. And how exactly did Kein 'take care' of the situation? Getting himself clawed isn't very reassuring. The cougaress remains silent, listening, observant, waiting for her mate to explain further.
Kein remains lying down and looking at his mate. As her silence continues, he goes on speaking. "Kaya came to me earlier today. Apparently, Ashen has gone missing, and she had it in her mind that she was going to leave the territory to look for him. When I told her she couldn't, she started running, and when I tried to stop her... She did this." At least, when he tried to stop her the first time. "She's still here, though. You needn't worry about that." It could have turned out differently, in which case he would not be explaining it as calmly as he currently is. Thankfully, it seems to have worked out... Though the fact that Kaya has shown not even the least bit of remorse, since after she clawed him, is certainly cause for concern.
Cause for concern indeed, not to mention the fact that she clawed Kein in the first place! That's so unbelievably unacceptable, Nayeli isn't even sure what to say. They are going to have a TALK over this. Period. With a muted nod, Nayeli tries to imagine what could possibly have possessed their daughter, rebellious attitude or not, to /attack/ her own father like this! "Have you found Ashen yet?" If not, they'll have to do some searching; other questions like the time he went missing and the location he was last seen at come to mind.
Kein shakes his head. No, he hasn't found Ashen... But he's not really looking, either. "He may yet be somewhere in Amaranth... But Ama is going to visit her sons soon, and I asked her to keep an eye out for him, when she does, and I've done the same where I've been in Amaranth." Frankly, though, if the boy doesn't want to be found yet, for whatever reason... Then he probably won't be. Of all the things that are possible, three seem the most likely. Either he's safe and he'll catch enough prey on his own, in which case there's no need to be concerned. Or he won't be able to catch enough prey on his own, he'll get hungry, and he'll come home, in which case there's no need to be concerned. Or something bad has already happened to him... In which case there's nothing to be done. Kein doesn't mean to be cruel, but he is /not/ going to sacrifice other duties because one cub decided to spend some time away from home.
It's not that Nayeli, as matron, isn't able to come to such logical conclusions and possibilities like her mate can--and usually does! She's thinking more from the maternal side, concerned with a young and lost cub. No doubt Ashen is hungry, no doubt Ashen has been spending a lot of time trying to keep warm despite the freezing snow. And no doubt that his adopted mother is worried sick about him; why hasn't there been a search group formed, organized, and dispatched? Surely Kein would have immediately done this were it /Aurora/ who was lost? "I'll gather as many of the sisters as I can find and we'll go search for him." The cub must be rescued!
Kein stares at his mate as she says what she does. His immediate urge is to tell her that she should /not/ do that, to remind her that there could, quite possibly, be violent cougars out there, and it is hard to keep himself from raising his voice to her even as he has his own cubs, simply for his concern for her. "Nayeli..." His reluctance is clear in his tone. He has told himself for many weeks that he would not allow himself to feel guilty because anyone decided to leave Amaranth on her own and then got hurt. Nayeli, though? "Promise me you won't travel alone at any time." That's as much of a concession as he can make. Should he be joining them, if they intend to leave Amaranth to look for the cub? And what, leave all the other cubs unattended?
Her mate's request catches Nayeli by surprise, and at first she isn't sure how to respond. It's expected that he would be concerned for her safety, but is that really all he can offer, rather than giving advice on where to look for Ashen? Or even volunteering his own efforts into finding the lost cub? The reluctance is noted, and met with a touch of stiffness in her own voice. "How long has he been missing, Kein?" Nayeli is up on her paws now, tail lashing slightly behind her. "How long have you known?"
Kein flinches at her tone, the lashing of her tail. He's not particularly surprised that she's upset, but it does hurt him, a lot more than Kaya's claws did. "Today. I've known since earlier today." Since right before Kaya found him and attacked him. "According to Jinx, he just didn't come home last night." His attitude toward Ashen, or at least toward all the grief others have given him because of Ashen, has /nothing/ to do with this. But the cubs /are/ old enough that he has gone twenty-four hours without seeing them and not freaked out.
Should she be upset with him? He apparently found it more important to go hunting for her, which normally she would find endearing, but now can't help but think of the hunger that Ashen must be feeling right now. If Kein has really looked throughout Amaranth and not found Ashen, then either the cub has done a remarkable job hiding from the best feline tracker on the mountain, or he really /is/ lost, and the sooner they can search for him, the better. All of the time they just spent with Aurora should have been better spent... Still not looking entirely pleased, Nayeli gives a tight-lipped nod, and turns to head off, tail still lashing. "And don't worry. I won't go off alone." Maybe she's slighting her mate a bit too much, but there's something about how he can be so nonchalant about this that... bothers her. Maybe it shouldn't, and maybe she'll need to apologize later, but.. it still bothers her, and quite a bit.
Will Nayeli even get a chance to apologize later? If Nayeli had taken offense to anything that the other cougars of Amaranth have taken offense to, he would have apologized much sooner, and as she continues to walk off... No, he hasn't looked earnestly for Ashen... But it might well be worth it to do it now, and so help him, if he finds the cub hiding somewhere in Amaranth, the /last/ thing Ashen will need to worry about is Kein growling.
Kein - Male Cougar
Nayeli - Female Cougar
Aurora - Female Juvenile Cougar
- Snowy Highlands -
It is only a couple hours since he last talked to Kaya. Just barely past noon, though this day has seemed to last forever... And already, Kein is returning to Nayeli, carrying a large hare with him. Does he have anything to tell her? Nothing that couldn't wait until this evening... But he's tired, and has no desire to encounter any other members of Amaranth today. It's still an effort just to converse with most members of Amaranth in any manner that could be considered polite. He doesn't want to deal with it anymore today.
It was the thought that counted, hopefully. Nayeli has just finished eating her own catch, and is currently relaxed and watching her youngest daughter finish up the last remnants of this hare. Fed, content, and happy to be able to spend time with Aurora, not to mention preoccupied with a lot on her mind, the matron is quiet and thoughtful, though still enough aware to make small talk if her daughter has anything to say. After what's happened with Kaya, she can't help but wonder if it was a mistake to rule out Aurora as the possible replacement for the position of future matron. Her personality doesn't seem to be an issue at all; a bit on the quiet and shy side, perhaps, but wasn't Nayeli similar when she was Aurora's age? It's more a matter of her potential to be a leader that's in question. So far, Nayeli has yet to see any indication that Aurora will be able to take charge when needed or to be a motivator and encourager of those around her.
Aurora looks a little less angelic with blood smeared all over her maw, but the undersized cub still manages to look cute despite the fact. Dragging her raspy tongue over a picked-clean bone to get off the last bits of flavor, she then licks at her muzzle, which doesn't do too much in the way of cleaning off the scarlet stains there. Aurora doesn't seem to mind the silence too much -- the food keeps her quite occupied, after all -- and appears content to just lie beside her mother after their afternoon lunch. Her pale green eyes, an inheritance from the matron, flick up at the sight of motion, and they seem to light up even brighter when she recognizes her father. "Daddy!" she chirps, abandoning the bone and leaping up to all fours before bounding through the snow towards the chieftain.
As he approaches his mate and youngest daughter, he can smell the remains of their meal, and once he is even closer, he spots what remains of Nayeli's catch. Well, his catch won't go to waste. If they're both full, he will eat it. As soon as he is spotted by Aurora and sees her enthusiastic reaction to his presence, he drops the hare. After moving just beyond it, he stops, waiting for his youngest to close the little bit of distance that remains between them. "Aurora!" He lowers his head, preparing to greet his daughter with an affectionate nuzzle and lick. The exhaustion he has been feeling most of the day is gone. Aurora's energy does have a contagious element to it. Nayeli's too, for that matter.
Whether she has energy at the moment or not remains to be seen, for Nayeli doesn't immediately jump up or show extreme excitement at Kein's arrival like their daughter does. However, there's no mistaking the pleased smile that immediately takes control of her muzzle, nor the softening of her gaze as she watches her mate prepare to greet the energetic cannonball of a daughter bounding through the snow. Ahh, cubs. Is she really ready for /more/ of them? It's been something that refuses to leave her thoughts, and she's still not sure if she has a definite answer. If Kein wants to have a second litter, there is no way she'll refuse, but whether or not she's /eager/ for such a thing... remains to be decided.
Aurora runs up to her father, resting her paws on his foreleg as she rears up to meet his nuzzle, returning it with one of her own as she purrs like a kitten. Stepping back down a moment later, she accompanies Kein back to Nayeli, trotting along by his side and smiling brightly up at him all the way. "Didja bring that for us? We already ate though," Aurora states matter-of-factly, as though Kein can't see the evidence of such himself. Ahh, cubs, indeed. At least if the matron has another litter Aurora won't be the littlest cougar of Amaranth anymore! Though she's still quite underdeveloped in terms of stature...at least she's grown a little more in the past couple of weeks as she and her siblings near a year old.
Kein twists around to pick up the hare. As he carries it back with him, he speaks around it, his voice just slightly muffled as it dangles from his teeth. "It's okay. Whoever gets hungry first can eat it then." He's far from angry that they managed to catch and eat something while he was away. After all, who could have known what time he would be returning?
Of course Kein would never get angry that Nayeli went ahead and caught something for Aurora and herself... right? If he did, he'd have a worried mate, for sure. That doesn't mean that Nayeli looks a tiny bit sheepish when she notices that Kein was planning on feeding them; her smile only grows a little bigger in appreciation. "One day you'll be able to hunt like your father, Aurora, and all the prey on the mountain will fear you, the mighty huntress!" Somehow she doubts that any child of hers will ever be able to hunt as well as her mate, but surely it's a good thing to joke around with Aurora and her siblings. An encouragement of sorts, too! Also a subtle thank-you to Kein for being thoughtful enough to hunt for her in the first place. Though she still hasn't risen to her paws yet, Nayeli is obviously eager for her mate to get within nuzzling distance. Their daughter isn't the only one happy that he's finally here!
Aurora giggles girlishly at that thought -- her, a mighty huntress? It's probably not likely she'll be able to take down anything larger than a white-tail doe, even when she's an adult, given her smaller size. But she looks up at her mother and father as they meet and embrace, smiling happily at the sight. "Hehe. Mommy loves daddy." Yet another obvious observation from their youngest-born.
Kein drops his hare a short distance away from his mate. Then, with a grin, he says, "And daddy loves mommy too." As though there could be any doubt about that, as Kein takes another couple steps to nuzzle gently against his mate. After doing so, he says, "And Aurora too, of course." Why did he delay coming back here, again? Certainly, interacting with his mate and youngest child is infinitely more pleasant than the conversation he had with Ama... But then, at least a renewed understanding between them came of his conversation with Ama.
Warm fuzzy feelings. Mushy stuff. Whatever one might want to call it, Nayeli is deeply glad to see how the love she and Kein share for one another is both noticed and delighted in by their daughter. Does it strengthen their bond with her? No doubt. And hopefully, possibly, it might help Aurora one day in her relationship with a love of her own, should such a thing ever occur. It may be difficult, given her much smaller stature, but even if it never happens, Nayeli is quite confident that her relationship to her parents will always remain strong. As it should be. With a laugh at Kein's response, the older female returns the nuzzle, adding a quick lick to his cheek. "And that love only gets stronger, too."
Aurora giggles again, cutely. "Of course you do, daddy! I love you too! And mommy!" A bundle of joy from the start, the spotted juvenile's positive energy never seems to stop - even when she's complaining about being smushed under the bigger male cubs in the tribe, she tends to recover pretty quickly afterwards. Looking up between her mother and father with bright jade eyes, she pads back to her original position beside Nayeli, settling down onto her haunches and getting quiet once again. She bets mommy and daddy have Adult Things to talk about!
Perhaps they do have adult things to talk about. Kein is reluctant to talk about them around Aurora, though, so, after greeting Nayeli, he lies down face to face with his daughter and asks, "Did you help Mommy catch lunch today, Aurora?" It seems a logical question to ask. He hasn't had as much time to help teach his cubs how to hunt in the past few weeks, but he had started to work with them even before that. Of course, what 'help' they are capable of offering is usually minimal. They more often make it more difficult to catch prey. Kein is hardly going to say that, though.
Part of it is helping them to begin to learn how to hunt, yes. But another (big) part of it is actually getting the chance to spend time with their cubs and have them feel like they're actually accomplishing something. Will Aurora claim that she 'helped' her mother catch this hare? Perhaps. But either way, she /did/ get to spend time with Nayeli, and that in and of itself made the hunt worthwhile, regardless of how much more difficult it was with the young girl being present.
Aurora looks down with a little shake of her head when she's asked the question, though she's still smiling regardless. "No...mommy caught it all by herself," she answers, looking back up at the chieftain as she speaks. She was a little scared of messing her mother up while she was hunting, though she wouldn't admit it unless asked directly about it. But her brows furrow, and she peers a little closer at her father's face. "Daddy...did the rabbit hurt you when you caught it?" she questions, lifting a foreleg to gently paw at the little scratches on his cheek.
Of all of Kein's cubs, Aurora is certainly the most humble. Any of the rest would be glad to take all of the credit, no matter how little they actually helped. A direct result of her smaller stature? Perhaps... But regardless of the cause, Kein makes a mental note to watch and make sure it doesn't affect Aurora's confidence as she continues to grow. That bit doesn't remain on his mind for very long, though, as Aurora asks a question that... With a deep breath, he says, "No... It wasn't the rabbit." Kein is not above being injured by prey, but it hasn't happened in a long time. Still, he is reluctant to say what /did/ hurt him... So only after a pause, and in the mildest way possible, he adds, "Your sister and I had a bit of a disagreement, is all."
All of the concern and curiosity that Nayeli might be feeling over what must have transpired between her mate and their oldest daughter remains carefully masked; there is no way she's going to delve into the matter while Aurora is anywhere close to within hearing distance. With a warning we'll-discuss-this-later-when-alone glance given to Kein, she forces a soft laugh. "Of course the rabbit didn't do that to your father, Aurora. He's too good at hunting for that to happen! If you're still hungry, I'm sure he'd be willing to share." Humility she might have, but hopefully Aurora has conversational discretion as well, and will pick up on the subtle hint that a topic change would be rather nice right about now.
Aurora looks quite surprised when Kein admits that Kaya is responsible for the scratches on his maw. She wouldn't dream of hurting her own father in a thousand years. "...Kaya hurt you? Why would she do that?" she inquires earnestly, her expression one of pure concern. Her mother's words are heard, but the young girl hasn't quite mastered the ways of subtlety just yet. Especially with such alarming knowledge about her older sister, someone she used to look up to, and what she's done to her beloved father staring her in the face.
Kein stretches out his head to nuzzle against Aurora again. It isn't that he doesn't catch the look from Nayeli. Only that he knows that without an answer, Aurora may worry, and he doesn't want to lie to the young girl. "She just wasn't very happy, Aurora. Don't worry about it. She didn't really hurt me." Then, attempting to help his mate, he asks his youngest daughter, "/Are/ you still hungry, Aurora?"
The fact that Kaya /did/ claw her father and drew blood is indeed alarming, and Nayeli is rather upset at the thought. But while Aurora is present, such distress is concealed as best as she can manage, and she appreciates the help from Kein to keep the topic on... happier things. Like food.
Aurora quietly nods in response to Kein's explanation, though her pale green eyes are still filled with daughterly concern. At the repeated question, she shakes her head -- it's not as if she's very much of a growing girl compared to her other siblings, so it's easy for her to eat her fill. "No thank you, daddy," she answers properly, looking between her parents and offering them a soft smile. "Um...did you need to talk in private?" She may be lacking in perceptions of subtle subject-changes, but she nonetheless understands that her parents need to be alone sometimes.
Perhaps it would be nice to speak with Nayeli, especially since she must be concerned, by now. Before he thinks about that, though, he spends a couple moments thinking about what task or game they could charge Aurora with to keep her busy and entertained while he and Nayeli talk. After all, he's not going to answer that question with, 'Yes, now buzz off.' Smiling, he asks Aurora, "Do you think you could find one of your brothers and tell them there is food here?" That ought to keep her for a while.
Aurora smiles back, nodding eagerly in response. She'd love to help! "Okay!" She starts to bound off, then stops mid-step as she remembers something. Turning back, she leans up to offer a little affectionate lick to each of her parent's cheeks in turn, then darts off towards the south on her sibling scavenger hunt.
Nayeli returns the lick, giving a bit of a nuzzle as well as best as she can before the young girl scampers off. Her mother watches for several long seconds before finally turning to look at Kein. Or, more specifically, at Kein's nose. Claw marks and dried blood. Worse, they were apparently inflicted by their oldest daughter's claws. What can she say? That she's sorry? That she hopes that the pain is gone? The earlier happiness at Aurora's company seems to have dissipated, and her silence is hopefully indicative enough to her mate for him to start the conversation with a recount of what happened.
Kein's mate does rather like to invite him to speak by being completely silent. At least if she would ask him questions like "What happened?" or "Are you okay?" then he would know how to begin talking. As it is... Looking at his mate, he says, "You shouldn't worry either, Nayeli. I took care of it." Nothing in his tone is defensive. He's not trying to get out of telling her what happened. He just really doesn't want her to worry, either about him or about their oldest daughter.
And what would the point of such questions be? It should be obvious enough that Nayeli is quite impatient to learn what happened, and the whole reason that Aurora was sent away is so Kein could explain without having to worry about young ears listening in. His initial words, though, cause her a fair amount of confusion. She shouldn't worry? He took care of it? What's /that/ supposed to mean? Whereas anyone else might think that his words mean exactly what they sound like, Nayeli isn't so sure. Of /course/ she's going to worry; she's /been/ worrying ever since their conversation with Kaya. And how exactly did Kein 'take care' of the situation? Getting himself clawed isn't very reassuring. The cougaress remains silent, listening, observant, waiting for her mate to explain further.
Kein remains lying down and looking at his mate. As her silence continues, he goes on speaking. "Kaya came to me earlier today. Apparently, Ashen has gone missing, and she had it in her mind that she was going to leave the territory to look for him. When I told her she couldn't, she started running, and when I tried to stop her... She did this." At least, when he tried to stop her the first time. "She's still here, though. You needn't worry about that." It could have turned out differently, in which case he would not be explaining it as calmly as he currently is. Thankfully, it seems to have worked out... Though the fact that Kaya has shown not even the least bit of remorse, since after she clawed him, is certainly cause for concern.
Cause for concern indeed, not to mention the fact that she clawed Kein in the first place! That's so unbelievably unacceptable, Nayeli isn't even sure what to say. They are going to have a TALK over this. Period. With a muted nod, Nayeli tries to imagine what could possibly have possessed their daughter, rebellious attitude or not, to /attack/ her own father like this! "Have you found Ashen yet?" If not, they'll have to do some searching; other questions like the time he went missing and the location he was last seen at come to mind.
Kein shakes his head. No, he hasn't found Ashen... But he's not really looking, either. "He may yet be somewhere in Amaranth... But Ama is going to visit her sons soon, and I asked her to keep an eye out for him, when she does, and I've done the same where I've been in Amaranth." Frankly, though, if the boy doesn't want to be found yet, for whatever reason... Then he probably won't be. Of all the things that are possible, three seem the most likely. Either he's safe and he'll catch enough prey on his own, in which case there's no need to be concerned. Or he won't be able to catch enough prey on his own, he'll get hungry, and he'll come home, in which case there's no need to be concerned. Or something bad has already happened to him... In which case there's nothing to be done. Kein doesn't mean to be cruel, but he is /not/ going to sacrifice other duties because one cub decided to spend some time away from home.
It's not that Nayeli, as matron, isn't able to come to such logical conclusions and possibilities like her mate can--and usually does! She's thinking more from the maternal side, concerned with a young and lost cub. No doubt Ashen is hungry, no doubt Ashen has been spending a lot of time trying to keep warm despite the freezing snow. And no doubt that his adopted mother is worried sick about him; why hasn't there been a search group formed, organized, and dispatched? Surely Kein would have immediately done this were it /Aurora/ who was lost? "I'll gather as many of the sisters as I can find and we'll go search for him." The cub must be rescued!
Kein stares at his mate as she says what she does. His immediate urge is to tell her that she should /not/ do that, to remind her that there could, quite possibly, be violent cougars out there, and it is hard to keep himself from raising his voice to her even as he has his own cubs, simply for his concern for her. "Nayeli..." His reluctance is clear in his tone. He has told himself for many weeks that he would not allow himself to feel guilty because anyone decided to leave Amaranth on her own and then got hurt. Nayeli, though? "Promise me you won't travel alone at any time." That's as much of a concession as he can make. Should he be joining them, if they intend to leave Amaranth to look for the cub? And what, leave all the other cubs unattended?
Her mate's request catches Nayeli by surprise, and at first she isn't sure how to respond. It's expected that he would be concerned for her safety, but is that really all he can offer, rather than giving advice on where to look for Ashen? Or even volunteering his own efforts into finding the lost cub? The reluctance is noted, and met with a touch of stiffness in her own voice. "How long has he been missing, Kein?" Nayeli is up on her paws now, tail lashing slightly behind her. "How long have you known?"
Kein flinches at her tone, the lashing of her tail. He's not particularly surprised that she's upset, but it does hurt him, a lot more than Kaya's claws did. "Today. I've known since earlier today." Since right before Kaya found him and attacked him. "According to Jinx, he just didn't come home last night." His attitude toward Ashen, or at least toward all the grief others have given him because of Ashen, has /nothing/ to do with this. But the cubs /are/ old enough that he has gone twenty-four hours without seeing them and not freaked out.
Should she be upset with him? He apparently found it more important to go hunting for her, which normally she would find endearing, but now can't help but think of the hunger that Ashen must be feeling right now. If Kein has really looked throughout Amaranth and not found Ashen, then either the cub has done a remarkable job hiding from the best feline tracker on the mountain, or he really /is/ lost, and the sooner they can search for him, the better. All of the time they just spent with Aurora should have been better spent... Still not looking entirely pleased, Nayeli gives a tight-lipped nod, and turns to head off, tail still lashing. "And don't worry. I won't go off alone." Maybe she's slighting her mate a bit too much, but there's something about how he can be so nonchalant about this that... bothers her. Maybe it shouldn't, and maybe she'll need to apologize later, but.. it still bothers her, and quite a bit.
Will Nayeli even get a chance to apologize later? If Nayeli had taken offense to anything that the other cougars of Amaranth have taken offense to, he would have apologized much sooner, and as she continues to walk off... No, he hasn't looked earnestly for Ashen... But it might well be worth it to do it now, and so help him, if he finds the cub hiding somewhere in Amaranth, the /last/ thing Ashen will need to worry about is Kein growling.