[PRP] Playing in the Woods

[Kathryn Dragonna]

Athena was in an exceptionally good mood as he splashed around in the waterfall he had found. He and his mate, Nema, had made their arrangement official, and he just could not get over how wonderful it was to have a mate. He had his Nema to love, and she was going to be his forever now! He looked forward to the day the were blessed with idols that would turn into cubs. Cubs that might be odd given their mixed heritage, but what did he care? He never thought anything of her being an Earth and he a Water, nor did he think of the fact that she was an Air at heart but an Earth of body. They were an odd couple, but Athena loved the way they were. Nema was his soul, and if she ever found a way to fly, she would be his soul flying through the air. He had no doubt she was going to try to find a way to fly and keep trying until she did it. He would support her but always hope she never came to harm. To Athena, the oddities of his mate meant nothing. The water male was just happy that Nema was his love and his mate.

Athena could say many things about his mate, but why he loved her was not one of them. He just did with all his heart. The Water tribe male spent little time really thinking of the details of WHY because he had learned long ago to just follow where his heart lead him. He loved to go with the flow of life, and was truly happy with water being his place for this. Who else could he possibly be with how relaxed and calm he was? There was no better tribe for Athena than where he had been placed. This could probably be best demonstrated by the fact that he was splashing around in a waterfall like a cub, and paddling around the small swimming hole at the base of it. The male rather wished he had someone to play with him right now, though. This waterfall was fun, and this swimming hole was perfect, but they could be better if he had someone with which to share them. Athena always loved company of others, which was another reason he and his mate got along so well. His love of company was unbiased and his willingness to snuggle was enough to melt just about anyone’s heart.

Athena jumped from the ledge behind the waterfall to the swimming hole below it and dives to the bottom before surfacing. He came up with a gasp for much needed air and grinned to himself. Not bad if he did say so himself, he had managed to touch bottom with all four paws before coming up for air. The male did not dive much, so he probably should not be out here trying to push himself without someone to watch and come in if he had any trouble in the water. Athena had not been thinking of that when he found this spot and decided that the waterfall looked inviting let alone jumped into the swimming hole to go paddling around. He was only thinking of how fun this water could be, and how much he wanted to get soaked today! He would be having to fluff himself back up later, but this was totally worth every moment of grooming it would cost him in the end. Then again, he thought to himself “I enjoy grooming, so it is not negative no matter how I look at it, huh?”

Athena gave another chuckle at himself and swam toward the shore. He figured he most likely should take a break before continuing. He did not want to tire himself out too badly and end up in trouble. There was a sensible side to the care free male at least when it was necessary for him to have one. The Water Tribe male had not made it to adulthood by pure luck and chance, though some might argue that a lot of his survival had been those two things. Athena had always been very laid back and seemed to do things without thinking. He thought more than most knew, but it was hard to see when he was prancing around to his next adventure. There were probably those that would say his choice of coming out here alone was just another in a long string of reckless decisions. He, on the other paw, called it a good way to enjoy one’s life and find the path woven for one to tread. His attitude had lead him to the best things he could imagine in his life. Things like his mate, countless friends, and this place to play today.

Athena shook himself off as he stepped out of the waters and onto the shore. It probably was not the best idea to start shaking off water before he was completely out of said water, but he did not think of this fact before he carried out the action. As he shook more water every which way than he had intended or had on himself beforehand, it occurred to him that he most likely should get the rest of the way out of the water before he continued to try to shake himself somewhat dry. Athena stops his shaking motion and takes a few more steps that will put him completely on the shore of the swimming hole. Once his paws are firmly planted in the grass around the lovely crystalline water, the male takes up his shaking of water from his fur again. This time the water comes out of his fur, but he does not pick up more water in it with every movement. This means he sends water flying yes, but he does not continue to do so with just as much force every time he shakes. By the time he stops moving and lets his wet fur fall, the male has gotten quite a bit of the water out and is not dripping everywhere.
1020words  

[Anderleit]

A pair of b'alam came through the trees, not bothering to maintain any semblance of quiet. One spoke, casting his voice among the boughs in resounding baritone. The other laughed, high and fluttering - a musical descant to counter his rolling bass. Their good humour was evident not only in words, but all about them: terribly obvious in the brush and counter-flick of tails against each other, or the way that her head bowed to his in familial deference.

Though their bodies held no other adornment, one would hardly be able to tell from their manners alone. As befit Earthen b'alam, he held his crown as proudly as the Fires carried their horns, or the Waters their jewels. Spirited as it was, her step held a certain eminence that - while quiet - was just as apparent as the proud wings of a Dark or Wind, or the glittering scales of Light.

At first glance, the tahtll rather demanded center spotlight, but only because there was so very much of him to take it up. A nearly spotless white coat covered him, unblemished by any other color or marking from ears to tail-tip. The former faced forward despite the orientation of his brow. Beneath them, eyes almost permanently closed crinkled jovially - a fair match to a mouth that seemed all too used to smiling. A flat black nose, the only dark spot his face could claim, wiggled at his companion and sent her into fresh gales of laughter.

None of that captured his most prominent feature, however. It was quite obvious to any that saw the male approaching head-on that his midsection bulged out to either side of thick, well-muscled legs. That corpulent middle swayed in time with his step. While not seeming to cause him discomfort, that extra padding was clearly the cause of his sure-footed, implacable gait.

Quite the opposite was the nantlil who accompanied him. Her smaller form weaved and wandered, danced and frolicked around and through his path, though never strayed far from his apparently attentive eye. Her eyes were wide open, bright grey lamps alight with subtle sparkles of wonder. Like their owner, they darted from the tah to climbable tree to interesting stone and back again, sharing in her open-mouthed laughter and quickness-of-thought.

Like him, she was white through-and-through. The paleness of her pelt, however, went above and beyond his own. Her coat was not unlike crushed velvet, white as a fresh snowfall in the thickest of Ice's mountains. Slinking through the wilderness as she did had no effect on that blinding hide; detritus slid away just as soon as it gathered. Her humor seemed only to complement her waxen fleece, shining just as luminously despite what might have been just another stroll through the wood.

Upon seeing the waterfall, however, the nan at once sprinted forward on the path. "It's there, Manny!" She called back in strident tones.

Her words proved not to be all that was buoyed by the sight, as she was all but bouncing in delight - something the tah noted with a hearty chuckle. "Oh aye, yeah, of course it's there. I told you it would be, didn't I? Surely as I stand are there waterfalls in the Crystal Wood." He chuckled again, a rich, resonant sound. For just a moment, the slim crescents of closed eyes opened only a fraction, enough to discern the glimpse of the glittering eyes contained therein. Then it was gone as they closed again. "Someone didn't believe me, eh? Well, well, then, perhaps you don't need me to go with you to the waterfall. Certainly you don't want some ol' fibbin' tah with you to see your first one! No, no, I'll just be on my way..." His smile widened into a toothy grin as he turned back the way that they had come.

The nan all but yowled. "Manny! Don't you dare!" She rounded on him in an instant, grabbing hold of her friend's waving tail in gentle teeth. Claws dug into the earth at their paws and a lean back bowed and flexed as she tried - somewhat futilely - to pull him back to her. "I don't want you to leave, you big doof," came muffled through a mouthful of tailfur.

Once he'd recovered from the realization that she was biting his tail - something that might have been more of a chore were he not an expert as retaining composure - the rest was simple. The tah put on his share of theatrics, moaning in kind and feigning resistance. The greatest show by far lie in letting her pull him backward. "No, I simply couldn't, dear Shira! I'll mar the magic of the waterfall for you! Stop, child, stop! For the Weaver's sake, save yourself!"

Halfway through his spiel, she dropped his tail on her own. Grey eyes rolled but couldn't really be angry at the big brute. She could barely help smiling at the sight of him walking backwards on his own, still carrying on while being 'pulled' along by a force that was no longer there. "You're an enormous dork," Shira tossed out, though the insult held as much bite as an idol's. "I want you to come with me, but I'll go to the waterfall by myself if you're going to keep acting like one." Not that she would. Silliness was as much a part of his nature as being amused by it was part of hers.

Manny corrected himself rather quickly, though what he saw when he did helped dim his grin. "I certainly would, but it looks like some tah's beaten us to the punch." Slivers of his eyes cracked open once more, and his demeanor changed with them. The white male was at once less jolly than before, his paws more firmly claiming the ground. Black claws unsheathed, peeking deceptively from them. "Why don't you go say hello, dearie? I'll follow you down." His head lifted, nose quivering slightly as he scented the air. Reliance on that innate sense of another was all well and good, but he liked to be sure.

Shira could tell that something had changed in her partner, though as of that moment, she couldn't quite fathom what. Questioning that tone of his was not part of their relationship, though. "Oh. Sure, okay." Finally reaching their destination might also have had something to do with putting a damper on any investigating she could have done. The waterfall was so close, after all! She'd been waiting so long to see one!

Inky and black, the glimmering splinters of his eyes followed her down the path. The rise that overlooked the trail down the falls to the swimming hole beneath was a nice enough vantage, and one he fully intended to take advantage of. If the tah near the pool treated his bounding buddy poorly, he would see it firsthand. And he would make absolutely sure that the mystery male regretted his choices.

Heedless of the dark thoughts possessing her companion, Shira fled toward the watering hole with a will. She saw nothing but a Water tah, all by his lonesome on a beautiful day. She was beaming as she trotted up, her greeting ready on her tongue. "Hey there! Are you here to play in the waterfall, too?" It had been such a long time since the pair of them had seen a Water out and about. The impetuous girl hoped that they were all at least a little similar in mannerisms. Maybe he had started out a bit stodgy, but once he'd opened up a little, the last fellow had been so much fun!

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Kathryn Dragonna

 

[Kathryn Dragonna]

Athena was quite happy with how air drying his fur the rest of the way was making it fluff up extra and made him look oh so touchable and adorable. His fluff was one of the things Nema loved about him. The male had loved being as fluffy as possible for most of his life because of the attention it got him, and that had not changed with age. He was quite happy with his appearance especially since his mate loved it. The male shook himself one last time to make his fur stand more uniformly and looked at his reflection to make sure he was as fluffy as he desired. Athena sensed the female coming before he saw her, though all he really got was that someone was coming. He hoped whomever was approaching would be friendly. The fluffy male had found a few not so friendly encounters with others over his lifetime and they made him a bit nervous. He loved company, so it was all the harder to deal with others being cruel or unwelcoming toward himself. The male was hopeful that this female would be nice and watched her descent to the water’s edge eagerly. He was sure he sensed something else besides her, but he was too busy watching the almost glowing female to focus on it.

Athena could not have been happier with how the female reacted to his presence. She seemed very friendly, and that put Athena at ease and got a grin out of him. He had been wishing for company in the waterfall. This would be a nice bit of company, if the female would stick around and play. The male bowed deeply to her with a little bit of a flourish as he went down. “I have already been playing in the waterfall, and just now was taking a break. It is very kind of you to ask, my dear. I gather from your question that you have come to play in the waterfall as well. I wholly approve of such fun and would be honored to join you once I have had a few moments to rest my legs. Swimming can be such hard work if done for too long.” Athena grave his brightest smile and practically beamed in approval at the female. Every B’alam should be as happy as this one seemed! It would certainly make the world a happier place for fluffy guys like himself to find friends. He also thought it would make things much easier for his mate since there were those that had a problem with her tendency toward Wind things when she was an Earth.

Athena motioned to the water behind him with one paw. “The water is the perfect temperature for swimming, and the waterfall itself feels lovely on the fur when one swims under it. Or if one feels a little less inclined to get completely soaked, one can stand behind the waterfall on the little ledge and take in the misty spray that comes up there. If one is considering the last option, I do caution that the ledge can be slick if one is not careful. I would hate to see a Beautiful Soul such as yourself be harmed by a lack of information about your surroundings.” He gave her a cheeky grin and his eyes sparkled with delight as he spoke. Athena was an expert at lovely words, but he also found humor at himself for being so ‘flowery’ of speech. There were those that would mistake Athena’s tendency toward flattery and pretty words as a bad thing. They would assume he meant was insincere in his compliments, hiding something behind his words, or just using his silver tongue to get something from them. Athena was not at all like that. He did not say things just because. He meant every word he spoke. The fluffy male was truly as sweet and kind as he sounded when he spoke. It had been a blessing for him that Nema had realized this instead of thinking he was a shameless flirt like so many others. Even some of Athena’s friends thought him to be a bit overly friendly at times, so the male had an even harder time with strangers thinking ill of him.

Athena was so focused on the female in front of him that he had not taken any time to think on the fact that there was a second presence he could feel. As such, he was completely unaware of the male not far away even though he SHOULD have been aware of the other male. He should have been paying attention because it could mean danger, but Athena just was not the type to assume the worst was always out to get him. And thus he was not the type to pay attention to every little thing around him and worry about those things. The male was more amazed by the fact that the Earth female in front of him was interested in the waterfall behind him. Not that Earth tribe members had no interest in water, but Athena had met quite a few that did not like to get wet. Then again, he had met a lot of others from various clans that did not like to get wet, even a few Water clan. The male would never understand this desire to stay dry all the time, or the fear of water which some possessed. It was a very good thing that Athena WAS a Water tribe member. Water was his very soul. He could not help but think that those that did not like water or feared it and were stuck in the Water Tribe might have been the butt of a joke by the Weaver. Not that he would ever voice such an opinion, but the male did think it to himself at times.

Athena stretched and made his way to a rock ledge by the water. He hopped up on it gracefully, and settled down to lay on the spot for a short time. His legs were a little tired, and there were times like this that he was at least aware of his limits. He had times when he was not aware of his limits, but he tried to keep his mind on such things. He really did. Athena tried his best to not just be a fluffy sweetheart, instead he tried to be a smart, fluffy sweetheart. He did not always succeed, but one could not deny that male did try quite hard. He looked at the female from his perch atop the rock ledge and smiled softly. “Do you know how to swim, my dear? If you do not, I can try to teach you the fine art that is water traveling.” He thought that it would likely be fun to teach this female to swim if she needed instruction, and he would do his best to be a delightful and fun teacher as well as a good one. Athena believed that swimming was a very important life skill.
{1180 words (total = 2200 words)}

Anderleit

 

[Anderleit]

Shira was all smiles, her lithe form weaving back and forth in front of her new acquaintance. She could scarcely bear to stand still for such a thrilling meeting! Only once the tah began speaking did she stop, his words enough to invite a quiet to the pale nan's charged energies. Even that was more out of courtesy than anything, born of the sort of politeness that had been ground into Shira since she was the smallest of cubs. Still, that sort of ingraining could only go so far. As soon as he finished, she was bouncing again, all a-flutter with new reasons to celebrate the Water's presence.

Which she proved at once by gushing at his words. "How wonderful!" She enthused. What lovely words he used to say so, too! Unable to withhold a giggle - not that she tried terribly hard - Shira bowed in return. One paw curled beneath her chest as the other swept her low to the ground, dainty shells of her ears dipping briefly against her skull. Even her tail contributed, smoothly lowered into this freely-given deference to one assumed to be knowledgeable in waterfalls than she could ever be. There was the same innate grace to it that shone in all of her movements, no matter how numerous or excited. Unlike her manners, the prevalence of this careless poise suggested that it was a born-in quality, rather than one merely taught - no matter how aggressively.

"Thank you for the warning," Shira replied, beaming just as vibrantly, "but this one has no problem with getting soaked in the least! This one is seeing the waterfall for the first time, and is looking forward to being as immersed in the experience as possible." Her eyes crinkled with mirth, not in the least put off by the cheek in his manner or the fanciness of his words. It simply wasn't part of the nan's nature to think of anyone as being anything but true to the words they spoke, or the actions they displayed. After all, she was unfailingly authentic in both. Why wouldn't everyone else be?

That was, among other things, one of the primary reasons that Manzoku had come to travel at her side. Their views on the world certainly differed, but Shira had come to value his input. His secondary, often more serious opinion had gotten the pair of them out of any number of past scrapes. Not to mention, as the pale girl suspected, his taking the darker path between them allowed her to keep her own outlook joyous and unspoiled. Not that he seemed like he would ever admit that - he certainly hadn't the couple of times she had dared to bring it up. Regardless, she was wise enough to acknowledge that she needed the older B'alam, even if his actions were sometimes strange to her.

Such as his choices right now, for instance! What was he doing? The girl glanced back at the cliffs behind them, briefly scanning the horizon for just a glimpse of the older b'alam. As usual, however, he had all but disappeared. She could still sense him, of course. Though that was a comfort in and of itself, she still couldn't quite tell if he was still up there at all! And it was anyone's guess as to what he was playing at by remaining behind. He was missing out on meeting this lovely fellow. More importantly, he was going to miss seeing her in the waterfall! She sighed, rolling her eyes as she turned back toward her wordy friend. There was good humor in the gesture, however. Manny was full of mysteries; it was one of the things she liked the most about him. Whatever he got up to, it generally ended well for them. At least, it had often enough for Shira to come to trust his judgement implicitly. She'd leave him to do his own thing, and it would turn out for the best. It always had before.

So Shira padded along behind the Water as he leapt up to his stony perch. She maintained a respectful distance, but only just. There was a pleasant bounciness to the feline's step that reflected in her expression. If nothing else, it was plain to see that she handled this constantly keyed-up state rather well. The way she watched him, taking in the way he jumped and walked, was perhaps a bit closer to intrusive than might be desired. She just couldn't help herself, however. The Earth was terrifically interested in that sort of thing: the small differences that separated one sort of b'alam from another. The Weaver had created them all apart, Shira reasoned, but made them all one sort. Why would he have done that, if those small separations were not meant to be exalted?

With that in mind, she would be overjoyed to see her new friend swim! What a treat that would be! "I know a bit of a paddle, does that count?" She laughed, still grinning at the very idea of his tutelage. "I'm very sure that I don't know how to swim as well as you do, friend. So I think it would be rather silly of me to reject your knowledgeable instruction!" Clearly, she was more delighted that he'd offered at all. What better teacher could one have in the water than one of that tribe? It would be like learning to fly from a Wind! Or so she imagined. Meeting an actual Wind b'alam was still on her 'To Do' list. Manny seemed very opposed to the idea, for reasons she hadn't yet gotten him to explain.

"We can wait until you're finished resting, if you'd like. You mentioned that you were in the water earlier, after all. I would hate to see you overexert yourself." The white lady smiled, compassion overwhelming her obvious anticipation. For all she knew, the Water had been swimming here all day prior to their arrival! Far be it from her, then, to expect him to hop to and set about teaching her to swim. Shira did rather pride herself on being quick to pick skills up, so here's hoping that it wouldn't prove too challenging a task.

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Kathryn Dragonna