Itsaki
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There is a time and a place for everything, my love, and let no one tell you different.
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Post by Itsaki on Sept 1, 2008 3:44:11 GMT -5
Niko had not slept all night. He was too worried for Sora. He wanted to be awake when she woke up. He layed quietly when she stood, and then he stood as well. He stood beside her, nuzzling her leg. "Do you feel better?" Niko asked her. "Do you think you can walk very far? We have to leave here. The humans know we're here, so we have to go somewhere else. Not far, but somewhere else. If you are okay, we'll probably leave in a few hours." He continued to nuzzle the wounded leg.
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Post by Shu'al Raethir on Sept 1, 2008 3:55:50 GMT -5
Sora backed away from Niko nervously, but nodded. "Yes, I can travel. I have run three-legged before." To prove her point, the hybrid took off, moving at a greatly reduced pace, but still quickly. "No worries." She came back over to him, limping. When she was close, she lowered her head and dropped her voice to a whisper, "But it does hurt." She glanced at him, the pain clear on her face. She quickly covered it all up and put on a cheery mask. She wasn't sure as to why, but Sora had really wanted Niko to see the extent of her pain and not her lie. "Onward and southward! Away from human traps!"
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Itsaki
Administrator
Has negative infinity karma.
There is a time and a place for everything, my love, and let no one tell you different.
Posts: 774
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Post by Itsaki on Sept 1, 2008 6:00:21 GMT -5
Niko noticed when she backed away, and decided not to press it. He could see she was in pain, even though she tried to not show it. "We're not running anywhere. Riko and the others are going to get food, and bring us some, and then we're heading south. We're not in so big a hurry, we just have to stay away from humans. Besides, you're no good to me with a wounded leg, why make it worse?" He stared out at the rising sun. It was time to wake Riko and the others, so he went to Riko, and nibbled his ear. Riko pawed at his ear, and looked up at Niko. "Don't do that." "But it's funny." Niko said chuckling. Riko rolled his eyes, and stood, going around to wake everyone else up. After he did so, Niko told Riko, "Go hunt with the others. Bring back some for us. I'm staying with Sora and she clearly can't hunt." Riko nodded, and ran off with the others.
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Post by Shu'al Raethir on Sept 1, 2008 13:14:06 GMT -5
Sora growled; Niko had hit her pride twice. "I'm no good to you wounded? That's nice." She snorted, "And I beg to differ about hunting. I was incapacitated before like this, and I was capable of feeding myself and caring for myself. If I am going to be such an inconvenience to your plans, perhaps I will find someone else to wander with." She growled again, lowering her head angrily and thrashing her tail. Her ears were pinned to her scalp. Did he think her a worthless invalid? Pain and anger flooded her as she continued her steady stream of growling.
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Itsaki
Administrator
Has negative infinity karma.
There is a time and a place for everything, my love, and let no one tell you different.
Posts: 774
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Post by Itsaki on Sept 1, 2008 13:51:36 GMT -5
Niko growled. More at himself for his stupidity than at her. "No, I apologize. I only meant to make it easier for you, I never meant to insult you, I swear. I only wanted you to take it easy until you healed, but if you say you can, then so be it. I saw your pain, and it hurt me, too. I don't want to see you in pain." He looked her in the eyes. "I was only looking out for you, I meant nothing against you. I know you can take care of yourself fine, but I only wanted to be nice. I apologize for insulting you." He dropped his gaze again.
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Post by Shu'al Raethir on Sept 1, 2008 14:01:35 GMT -5
Sora sighed. Once again she had jumped the gun and attacked a friend. "No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have thought such nasty things., much less said them. You sat with me through the night, I know you don't mean me any harm." She sat down and began to nibble on the white cloth protecting her leg. It annoyed her.
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Itsaki
Administrator
Has negative infinity karma.
There is a time and a place for everything, my love, and let no one tell you different.
Posts: 774
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Post by Itsaki on Sept 2, 2008 9:36:06 GMT -5
"I apologize for underestimating you. I shouldn't have. Besides," he looked up with a cheery tone, "I can't race you if your leg is broken." He smiled. "But one day, I'll race you. I want to see which is faster, a cheetah or a cheon." He grinned at his clever name for cheetah and lion. He bounced. He hooked a claw thorugh a stich in the fabric on her leg, making sure to be careful that he didn't hurt her. He watched the humnas, and so he knew where they had sealed it. The stich came free, and the cloth began unrolling itself from her leg.
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Post by Shu'al Raethir on Sept 3, 2008 12:08:06 GMT -5
"Thanks." She sighed, relieved, then set to licking the wound. Animal saliva was a natural germ repellent and antiseptic. The wound was deep, and she would be limping for quite a while, or until her skin grew back. She doubted her fur would ever grow back on that line. The 'cheon' stretched her back leg forward to show Niko. On her hind leg were a bunch of ragged scars from a toothed trap she had stepped into when she was younger. "I tend to survive my human encounters quite often." With that she rolled onto her back to show him another, circular, scar on her rib cage. "A poacher's fire stick. He hit me in the side, I collapsed, but the good humans came and protected me from any more shots. I ran and hid in a den until I got the metal piece out and could seal over the hole. I have bad luck with humans. I survive, but I would simply rather not encounter them at all."
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Itsaki
Administrator
Has negative infinity karma.
There is a time and a place for everything, my love, and let no one tell you different.
Posts: 774
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Post by Itsaki on Sept 4, 2008 10:28:25 GMT -5
Niko was impressed. He had heard bad stories about humans' fire sticks. One killed Riko's brother. "You have been through much. We will do our best to stay clear of any humans until we reach your friends territory. You are fortunate to have lived through so many human attacks. We have been fortunate enough not to encounter any. When the others return, we shall leave for the south. It will be fun to actually go somewhere new. I have never really left this area. I was born not far from here in fact. It will be a change to go somewhere new."
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Post by Shu'al Raethir on Sept 4, 2008 11:39:52 GMT -5
"Never left here? Ha. I don't even know where I was born anymore. I have been everywhere. Maybe that's why I run into so many humans. I'm constantly traveling." She laughed, folding all four paws against her body as if she were crouching, only on her back. "Food sounds good." She said, listening to the other cheetahs returning. The vibrations from their feet made her back tingle.
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Itsaki
Administrator
Has negative infinity karma.
There is a time and a place for everything, my love, and let no one tell you different.
Posts: 774
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Post by Itsaki on Sept 4, 2008 12:13:23 GMT -5
Niko's ears twitched as he heard them. The footsteps were too loud and heavy for cheetahs, though he saw Riko and the others appraoching. No, these were coming from the other direction. When Riko heard it, he dropped the slab of meat in his jaws and ran beside Niko. "Sora, up." Niko whispered. He faced, with Riko at his side, the others behind him, a herd. That was all his senses could tell him. It wasn't really a herd though, for it was composed of Cheetahs, Tigers, and Lions. There were about twenty of them in all, but they looked an impressive sight. The leaders of the groups approached Niko, Sora, and Riko. The lion was a massive beast, easily twice to three times the size of Niko. The tigress was not nearly the size of the lion, but considerable to Niko, and the cheetah was... small. He was a scrawny fellow, smaler and most likely much younger than Niko. The lion stepped forward. "Who are you?" came the rough and rumbled reply. "My name is Niko. This is Sora and this is Riko. Why are you in such large number? I have never seen any pride or group this large. What has happened?" "I am Gara, this is Ara, and the cheetah is Geis. The twolegs, the humans, have pushed us from our home, and unless we flee, they will kill us all." "But not all humans kill." "They will kill our spirits and the will kill our way of life." "Fair said." "We see you have a human infestation." The tigress said, her voice fair and lovely. "We are preparing our venture south." "With an injured," she examined Sora. "Cheon." "Very well, if she seems to be fit enough to venture, then your clan can come with us, as we are headed south as well." "I will need to speak with the rest of my group, if you don't mind. You all must be weary from your journey, please, make yourself at peace and rest." The lion nodded, and Niko turned and walked behind the Home Rock.
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Post by Shu'al Raethir on Sept 4, 2008 13:01:04 GMT -5
Sora watched them passively, then followed Niko quietly, limping. When they were out of hearing range she thrashed her tail and said, "I don't want to travel with them." With that said, she sat down and stared off into the distance petulantly. "And I don't want them in the southern pride's territory. I am personal friends with the lioness there. I can get you in. But she may not accept these others."
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Itsaki
Administrator
Has negative infinity karma.
There is a time and a place for everything, my love, and let no one tell you different.
Posts: 774
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Post by Itsaki on Sept 5, 2008 9:10:50 GMT -5
"But if we travel with them, the humans will stay away from us. We will make sure they stay away from your friends pride. We will leave them and seperate. We don't know where they are headed, maybe they're headed all the way to the Southern Beyond. I think it wil be a good chance." Riko said. "I don't know, maybe we should vote or something." Niko replied. "This is a quick choice, Niko." Niko sighed. "We travel with them south, but only for a few days, and then we seperate and travel our own direction. We simply have to tell them that we have our own destnation to reach, Gara doesn't seem like the person that would intervene on us after we seperated."
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Post by Shu'al Raethir on Sept 5, 2008 18:20:27 GMT -5
Sora snorted, flipping her tail angrily. "That's where we are headed. That farthest south we can go is where her pride is." Unspeakable fears and angers rampaged wildly through the young cheon. She opened her mouth to say more, then clamped her jaws closed and ran off quickly, scaling the rock to the plateau they had climbed yesterday. When she leapt onto it, she struggled for a moment, trying to get her hind legs under her to support her body, then push herself up rather than pull. Once Sora managed to get up to the top, she sat, tail curled around her front paws and the tip twitching slightly as she stared hatefully at the human territory,
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Itsaki
Administrator
Has negative infinity karma.
There is a time and a place for everything, my love, and let no one tell you different.
Posts: 774
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Post by Itsaki on Sept 6, 2008 0:35:22 GMT -5
Niko sighed. "Then we decline. I would rather take no chance to the matter." He walked back around the rock to give Sara his decision. When he had done so, Gara nodded, and he and his clan continued their journey away, the weedly cheetah dropping his head to Niko in respect, then running to lead his group.
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