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Post by Kirchy on Aug 10, 2005 10:07:59 GMT -5
Sash continues to growl softly as she stares at Vetus.
"Really?" Kirchy says as she takes her eyes off Sollew and turns to Vetus. "Why would you want to do that?"
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Post by EbonyPatriot on Aug 10, 2005 16:23:40 GMT -5
"Why should I keep going after him the human?" replies Vetus, his chilling gaze drifting from Sash to Kirchy. "Why shouldn't I let the Demon Bear destroy his own village? In the meantime, why shouldn't I try to join you five? Sollew here wouldn't do well in my pride; all the cubs are much larger than she is- they'd hurt her in play. When she gets older then we'll return to my pride; until then, she needs to be with members of her own gender." He casts his gaze over the three females.
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Post by Kirchy on Aug 10, 2005 21:01:25 GMT -5
Kirchy thinks this over in her head. Well, Vetus did have a point. Maybe they should let them join. It wouldn't hurt anything, would it? Kirhcy sighs, "Ok, I guess you can join us. That is, if it's oj with everyone else." Kirchy glances at Sash and the owels.
"Fine with me," Sash shrugs.
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Post by EbonyPatriot on Aug 15, 2005 14:31:44 GMT -5
"Fine with us," agree the Snowy siblings. They turn to Specter and cock their heads.
Now when an Owl is afraid, his fluffy feathers fall, making him look emaciated. Specter's feathers have collapsed; not for fear of the Lion, as the others would suspect, but fear of the deal he had made with Vetus. What would happen if they found out...? He knew that, as long as he could get airborne, there was nothing Sash or Kirchy could do; but Nyctea and Kojak...
The old Owl shakes his head, forcing himself to relax and his snowy plumage to fluff out. "F-fine with me." Brother and sister clack their beaks, but say nothing.
Nyctea floats down to the little Lynx. "Poor little Sollew... What happened to your mother?"
"My mother was killed by a predator," whispered Sollew, praying to the Great Father that no one asks which kind. The last thing she wants is for these strangers to know her guardian was the one responsible for her orphan status.
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Post by Kirchy on Aug 15, 2005 19:08:35 GMT -5
"Wow, that's terrible," Kirchy says as she comes closer to Sollew. "My parents are gone too, so I know how you feel."
"Mine too," Sash nods as she watches Sollew.
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Post by EbonyPatriot on Aug 15, 2005 19:12:48 GMT -5
Sollew cocks her tufted ears in suprise. She wasn't expecting that. "H-how did you survive?" she asks quietly.
Nyctea leans down and gently begins to preen the little cub's fur, a soothing, thoughtful gesture used only between friends.
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Post by Kirchy on Aug 16, 2005 10:43:40 GMT -5
"Well, I was taken in by an otter until he had to leave," Kirchy explains "Then I met these guys."
"I already knew how to take care of myself, and I still had a little sister, so I took care of the both of us on my own," Sash tells Sollew. "But I lived somewhere completely different, not the wild, so it was a little easier for me."
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Post by EbonyPatriot on Aug 17, 2005 12:03:32 GMT -5
The Owl's preening and the others' comments calm the little feline. "Really? Where did you live, Sash?" asks Sollew.
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Post by Kirchy on Aug 18, 2005 11:26:18 GMT -5
Sash stops and thinks for a second, trying to figure out how to explain it to her. "Well," she begins. "I lived somehwere far a away, in a villaiage you might say. I had all this technology and humans all around. It was really quite nice."
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Post by EbonyPatriot on Aug 22, 2005 16:29:19 GMT -5
OOC: Ack! I'm sorry I didn't post sooner! It took me a while to type this up... BIC: Sollew gasped, her yellow-green eyes widened. "You lived with humans?!?" The little Lynx's jaws continue to hang open; but no more words come out. "My brother and I lived with a human too," muttered Nyctea, still preening the soft grey coat. "Some of them can be pretty nice, eh, Sash?" Vetus's fire-red eyes darken as the conversation leads to humans. A memory, one he had long ago buried in the depths of his brain, rises like a phantom, to torture him once more... He was a young tom then, the lowest of the low in his pride. Still, he had managed to secure himself a mate, a beautiful, pure-white lioness named Albeo. Their mating had produced a handsome, black-furred Caveo and a gray little female, Soleo. Oh how proud he was of his family! Why, even the Leo's lioness (a 'leo' is the most dominant male in the pride)couldn't compare to his beautiful, intelligent mate. And his cubs! Why, no other Cave Lion boast of such fine offspring!
Vetus had just returned to his den after a success hunt; a small elk hind's throat was clamped in his strong jaws. The toms and unmated lionesses were out hunting on a giant hunting party, leaving the mothers and cubs alone. Normally, this practice was perfectly safe, for Cave Lions make their dens right next to each other; thus the lionesses could fight together. Even a Sabre-tooth pack would hesitate to attack.
So Vetus had never, in his life, dreamt that he would return to find the den area scattered with the bodies of massacred lionesses. And closest to him was- was- was Albeo, her snowy coat soaked with her own blood. At her side towered a man, with a red-hued dog timidly sniffing at her corpse.
Vetus screamed a demonic yell of wrath and flung himself at the man, every cell of his being vibrating with rage.
His heavy body forced the man onto the ground. Using his talon-studded paws to pin the screeching human to the ground, the Lion slashed his fangs through the man's throat, slicing the jugular- that great vein of life- in two.
The dog wailed at his master's death and flung himself on the big cat. Rage unsatisfied, the Lion reared onto his back legs and smacked the dog with a sledgehammer blow. The canine went flying into a tree and collapsed to the ground, unconscious.
Screeching, Vetus glared at the remaining humans. A young man prepared to fling a spear at the feline, but a sharp cry from the eldest changed his mind. The humans fled for their village, unable to make use of their kills.
Vetus prepared to go after them, only to be stopped by that dear, so dear, voice he knew so well. "Vetus?"
"Albeo!" he choked, rushing to his mate. Oh, but she was a sorry sight! She lay in sphinx position with her head protectively over her paws; a spear quivered in her ribs- normally, such a thing would mean nothing to a Cave Lion, what with its four layers of hair; but alas Albeo had plucked out the outer layers of her fur to form a soft, warm for her cubs. The hair on her head, ribs, and back was sticky with blood where a club had struck her. Her blazing orange eyes were glazed with shock.
"Vetus is that you?" she weakly asked. "Oh Vetus!" Tears streaked from her eyes and diluted with the blood on her cheeks. "Vetus they killed him! They killed Caveo!" Vetus looked between her paws and saw, through tear-blurred eyes, his little son's black-furred body. He had died of single blow to the head- a relatively quick death. On the other side of Caveo's body lay the grey, blood-soaked Soleo. Much to Vetus's shock, the little lioness moved. “Soleo-Soleo’s still alive,” panted Albeo. “Take care of her. I-I-I love you.” With that, the lioness’s eyes closed for the final time.
Vetus sat down on his haunches and wailed his grief to the cold, uncomforting stars. Only for a minute did he cry of his terrible loss; for his daughter needed him. Carefully, tenderly, gently, he pulled the little grey female from his mate’s forelimbs and laid her between his own forelegs. “Oh Soleo…” he moaned, cleaning the blood from her body with his sandpaper tongue. “My little Soleo, I’ll protect you from harm… Yes! I’ll do it or die!”
The dog, meanwhile, had come to and was struggling to his paws. Vetus flattened his ears and withered his lips back to reveal his cruel, gleaming fangs. Whimpering, the canine turned and ran for his life, his tail between his legs.
“Vetus!” the Leo called. “What happened?” A tidal wave of horrified gasps of terror announced the pride’s return.
Taking his little daughter in his mouth, Vetus sprang to Announcement Rock and faced the pack. After he lay down Soleo, he announced his loud clear voice: “My fellow Cave Lions, humans has done this to us. They slaughtered our mates, murdered our cubs- because they could! They are evil, selfish beasts! I bet they would kill their cubs!
Our alliance with humans has ended. I, for one, will kill any human to enter my territory. They are our prey! Who agrees with me?”
A resounding wave of agree echoed back at Vetus. “Hail Vetus, the new Leo!” called the old leader.
Vetus was stunned; his jaw fell with amazement. Shaking away his weakness, the Cave Lion proudly roared, announcing his new status.
That accomplished, he picked up his daughter and slowly loped into the Leo’s den. Terrible concern was etched in his pain shattered face- not at his status, but for his daughter. For little Soleo had barely responded to anything around her; and worse, her breathing was short and shallow- MUCH too shallow. Lying down, he licked her soft fur again. “Soleo,” he whispered. “It’s okay, it’s okay. I’ll never let anything bad happen to you- never.”
The Lion’s voice suddenly grew frantic; tears once again streaked from his eyes. “SOLEO!!! SOLEO!!!”
But it was too late. The little grey cub’s heart had stopped beating.Vetus wipes the tears away with a paw. His dear family... He had failed, failed to protect little Soleo... Without warning, he suddenly grabbed Sollew by the nape and ran his rough, sandpaper tongue over her soft grey coat. He may have failed with Soleo; but he would do better with Sollew. "I'll do better... I'll do better this time... I promise Sollew, I'll protect you or die..."
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Post by Kirchy on Aug 23, 2005 10:18:59 GMT -5
"Yep," Sash nodded at Nyctea. "Most of them are."
Sash looked at Vetus strangley as he suddenly grabbed Sollew by her nape and said something to her. "You ok?" Sash asked curiously.
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Post by EbonyPatriot on Sept 4, 2005 20:02:22 GMT -5
Vetus ignores Sash's question and continues to caress Sollew with his sandpaper tongue. Not now, but soon, soon he would tell her about his past, what had happened in his past. Not the others...the others didn't need to know.
With that thought, his fire-red eyes flicker up to the five curious on-lookers. Except for Specter, they all are young- even Kojak and Nyctea.
Then and there, Vetus the Cave Lion decides to take care of the others as well as Sollew.
The little Lynx cub's ear, meanwhile, curiously twitches to catch the big tom's every word. A terrible hybrid of pity and comfort sweeps through her body. She gently turns and licks with her little tongue. As she does that gesture of affection between cubs and their parents, she whispers a soft phrase in Latin, the tongue of wild cats, that melts his cold heart: "Ego diligo vos, abbas (I love you, Father)."
Kojak and Nyctea's eyes glow warmly at the tender scene. Specter, however, clears his throat and asks: "Well, shall we get a move on, then?"
"Yes," Vetus replies, giving his adopted daughter a final lick and getting to his paws. "Come on."
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Post by Kirchy on Sept 5, 2005 10:42:21 GMT -5
Sash and Kirchy nod and stand up. "Which way?" Kirchy asks.
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Post by EbonyPatriot on Sept 9, 2005 22:14:14 GMT -5
OOC: ACK!!! Sorry it took me so long to reply, Kirchy. BIC: "Well," replies Vetus, raising his shaggy head. "We're going to a Thunderbird, aren't we? Well the nearest Thunderbird is Turgor. Like all Thunderbirds, he likes it in the West- so, we should head directly west." With that, he faces away from the blazing sunlight and lopes off, Sollew at his heels. The Owls instantly take flight, hovering as before a few feet above the others. "Come on Sash, Kirchy," calls Vetus, looking over his shoulder. "You two can go this fast- I know you can." OOC: One question that's been bothering me for a while now, Kia: since Koni's with Kiara, and since Kia and Kera are dead, how are you going to role-play with us?
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Post by Kirchy on Sept 12, 2005 16:26:19 GMT -5
OOC: I can answer that for you. She said she'll be bringing in a new character.
BIC: Sash and Kirchy pad after Vetus in a light run, then they speed up and catch up with him.
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