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Post by Kiara on Dec 25, 2008 22:30:45 GMT -5
Epesi licked her forepaw.
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Post by Jiang on Jan 1, 2009 23:58:31 GMT -5
[Apologies for my extreme absence. There be a thread in my den further apologizing for it, if you lot care to read it.]
Jiang's muzzle opened in shock. The tiger rose to his paws and reached out with a single forepaw, as if he intended to use the appendage to magically stop the lioness. "Lai, I..."
The tiger closed his muzzle and sighed, as he slowly sat back down. "I'm sorry... Good... Good night."
He wanted to stop her, he desperatly wanted her company, but how? She was so shy, and after the incident with Anara and now this, his self-confidence was at a all-time low. He would have sooner pulled his own teeth than risked further hurting Lai by opening his muzzle, an act which, it seemed, had the effect of offending everyone in a ten-meter radius.
And besides, after what Anara had said, he sincerely doubted that Lai wanted to be near him. And so the tiger sat, eyes downcast at his paws, with his new greatest wish being something along the lines of the Earth opening up and swallowing him right on the spot.
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Post by espeon101 on Jan 2, 2009 6:32:02 GMT -5
"Good night..." Laini said quietly. She stopped and glanced over her shoulder at Jiang; silently apologizing, then broke into a run down Pride Rock, headed for her almost-too-small den.
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Post by Jiang on Jan 3, 2009 22:01:10 GMT -5
Jiang didn't see her look back, as his gaze was still locked on his paws. By the time he managed to tear his gaze off the striped fur of his paws, she was long gone. With a heavy sigh, the tiger got up, then started padding towards his den so that he could sleep.
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Post by espeon101 on Jan 3, 2009 23:46:30 GMT -5
((Time jump?))
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Post by Jiang on Jan 4, 2009 0:26:04 GMT -5
[Sure, you jump, please.]
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Post by espeon101 on Jan 4, 2009 0:37:08 GMT -5
((Will do!))
Laini got up early the next morning. The first thing on her mind was Jiang. Maybe she could sneak up to his den while everyone was asleep. She looked outside, saw that no one was out, and started to walk up to the tiger's den.
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Post by Jiang on Jan 5, 2009 0:32:59 GMT -5
Jiang was still asleep in his den. Though, sadly, sleep was not as peaceful for the tiger as he had hoped it would be. Gone were the pleasant dreams about his future that had made the first hours of his rest into a relaxing time, and in their stead was a host of terrifying and painful nightmares, each one involving the death of his mate and child.
"Mei Xing? Mei Xing, I'm home!" Jiang shouted into his den, as he approached the small cave nestled into the otherwise solid rock face of the cliff. His home was nestled into the base of a cliff that made of the eastern edge of this valley, the valley he had called home for all his life.
It had been just another normal day in his life. He had woken up, kissed Mei Xing and told her how much he loved her, kissed his young son's forehead, then left to hunt and gather herbs to replenish his den's stocks of supplies. Around midday, he had bumped into his little sister, Aisha, and her daughter, Lin, near the crystal clear river that ran through the middle of the valley. He stayed and played with Lin for a bit, giving Aisha a chance to clean up, then went back to his duties.
Not long after that, he had ran into his aging father, Yi Shan. After spending a hour helping his father hunt down a elusive flower that was a favorite of his mothers, the tiger went off and hunted dinner for his family.
What he found wasn't much. Little more than a couple rabbits, but considering how he had brought in a much larger meal last night, he didn't think that they'd need any more than the duo of hapless bunnies. And so, Jiang sped home with the furry critters, eager to get back to his family in time to get a hour or two to spend with Tai before his little one fell asleep on him.
Which is where he is at now. At his home in the base of the cliffs, a pair of rather large white rabbits sitting, dead, at his forepaws. "Mei Xing?" He called out, ears perked out of worry. His mate always replied or came to him by the time he called her name for the second time. Either that, or little Tai came waddling out to greet his 'Baba', with his mama in tow.
But not tonight. Now sincerely worried about his family's safety, the tiger slowly and cautiously advanced into the cave. It wasn't very big, and had only three chambers situated in a straight line. The first of the three, which he was in now, was the 'entrance hall'. Next up was the living area, and beyond that, the storage room.
Hoping that Mei and Tai were both looking around in the storage room, and so couldn't hear him, the tiger advanced directly towards that stockpile area.
He noted that the little 'lamps' made out of glowing plants had been darkened with the cover rags Mei Xing had made, which was odd, since she never did that until their infant son Tai was fast asleep in Jiang's forelegs.
He was roughly halfway across the room when his front right paw fell into something warm and a little on the sticky, yet slippery, side. "What in the name of the gods is this?" He muttered, freezing in mid-step and lifting that paw up to examine it. He couldn't really see in the dim light, though, so he hopped over a foot to the nearest 'lamp' plant, and tugged the covering off.
He instantly wished he had left the cover on. His paw was covered in blood. Warm, fresh blood. At first, he was hoping and praying that it was just blood from a animal that Mei had brought in and eaten earlier. Then he remembered that she had sprained her foreleg last night, and she couldn't run or hunt. So instead he turned to hoping that his sister and her mate had dropped something by for Mei to eat.
That hope was shattered when the tiger set down his paw, and replacing that furry appendage in his vision, was the scene of a bloodbath. The walls and much of the floor was painted a dark crimson, the color of blood, and barely visible off in a shadowy corner of the living area was a single body.
Mei Xing's body.
The tiger unthinkingly rushed straight towards his fallen mate, his fallen love, and set about nudging, nuzzling, and otherwise attempting to awaken her. "Mei Xing, wake up! Mei Xing! Mei, please!" He begged and begged, but no response was had from her.
After yet another moment, one more horrifying thing came into his vision. Protectively nestled between her paws and tucked up against her chest, was the unmistakable form of Tai. Only the once-adorable little boy's form was, like that of his mother's, ruined. Deep cuts and scratches covered him, along with several terribly deep bites.
But Tai drew a single, long, rasping breath, startling his father out of his remorse. As gently as was possible, Jiang extracted the cub from the battered forelegs of his broken mother. The terrified father slowly laid down, cradling his wounded child between his forepaws. "Tai? Tai, it's Baba! Tai..."
The little one slowly opened both eyes, and managed to gaze up into the light brown orbs staring back down at him. "I... Tired... Baba... And I hurt..." He mewled, a few little tears streaking down his cheek as he spoke. "Shhh, don't speak, save your strength. I'll... I'll heal you, just save your strength, and stay with me..."
"I gonna... Sleep now..." Tai mumbled, seemingly unaware of his father's words. "No, Tai, stay awake, stay with me!" Jiang urged, but to no avail. His son went limp in his paws, and the cub's eyelids slowly slid shut, never to reopen. "Tai? Tai!? Tai, please, answer me, son!" The tiger broke down completly and started sobbing a moment later, unable to cope with the realization that his only child, and the love of his life, were both dead.
And the events of his nightmare carried over to his sleeping form as well. Tears streaked down the slumbering tiger's cheeks, as he repeated, again and again, "Tai? Tai!? Tai, please, answer me, son!"
[Eeek! It's long. Sorry. And, uh, yeah, drama. Sorry 'bout that too. xP]
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Post by espeon101 on Jan 5, 2009 4:35:13 GMT -5
As Laini reached the entrance to Jiang's den, she heard him. She couldn't really tell what he was saying, but the tiger seemed quite upset. "J-Jiang?" she called tentatively, poking her head through the entrance.
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Post by Jiang on Jan 5, 2009 13:12:55 GMT -5
Jiang was laying right in the middle of the den, and so was instantly visible to Laini when she decided to take a look inside the cave. It was plain to see that the tiger was not awake, but instead, captured within the throes of a terrible nightmare. Thus, it probably came as no real surprise when no response to the normally calming sound of a feminine voice, especially Lai's voice, was seen upon the tiger's face, which was contorted with untold emotional pain.
The situation would likely appear to be such that the only option presented to Laini was thus: Gently shake the large tiger out of the darkness of his dreams and back into the gentle embrace of a more peaceful reality.
Well, there was also the option of running away and hoping he would wake up on his own, but that wouldn't exactly be pleasant for the tiger.
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Post by espeon101 on Jan 6, 2009 8:01:07 GMT -5
Laini carefully went into the den. She inspected Jiang with eyes full of worry. "Jiang?" she inquired again. She gently nudged the tiger, and when he didn't respond, laid down next to him. "Jiang, wake up!" she urged, prodding him with a claw.
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Post by Jiang on Jan 6, 2009 11:29:47 GMT -5
The prodding of Lai's claw served it's intended purpose, jolting the tiger from his nightmares almost instantly. Jiang bolted upright into a sitting position, eyes widened and glancing around frantically, chest heaving as the striped cat basically hyperventilated. After a few seconds, the tiger's gaze turned downwards, towards Laini. When he realized he was still in the Pride Lands, at Pride Rock, in his new den, his panic faded, and was replaced with a surge of relief. His forelegs failed and he collapsed back to the ground and onto his side, breath settling into a more normal rhythm.
So grateful was he to have been jolted from the nightmare, and also so desperately in need of comfort after the nightmare, that the tiger instantly wrapped both forelegs around Lai's upper torso, and nuzzled his face deep into the wonderfully soft fur covering her neck. "Thank you..." He said softly, his voice further muffled by Lai's fur.
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Post by espeon101 on Jan 6, 2009 18:42:47 GMT -5
Surprised by Jiang's actions, Laini had flattened her ears. Once he came in contact with her though, she raised them. "I just hope you're alright." she said quietly. A small smile appeared on her muzzle to accompany the tiny purr in her throat.
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Post by Jiang on Jan 6, 2009 18:46:43 GMT -5
"I will be." He said, his voice still muffled by her fur. After a moment, Jiang slowly picked his head up, so that he could actually see Lai's face. The sight of a smile upon her face, despite it's small size, served to cheer the tiger slightly, as did her purr. And so, a little smile of his own managed to fight it's way onto his muzzle, urged onwards to victory over his saddened expression by Lai's smile and purr.
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Post by espeon101 on Jan 7, 2009 4:25:58 GMT -5
Laini looked at her paws, suddenly shy and blushing. What she had wanted since cubhood but never expected to have, had almost arrived. What she wanted, was an official relationship. She simply could not believe that she had found someone that seemed willing to have that with her, which was the reason for the pink in her cheeks.
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Post by Jiang on Jan 7, 2009 11:35:00 GMT -5
The smile upon the striped feline's muzzle slowly grew in warmth as he noticed the blush upon Laini's cheeks. The tiger slowly leaned his muzzled towards hers, giving her plenty of time to pull her head away, and affectionately nuzzled her cheek. He wanted to kiss her, but he also didn't want to move to quickly and risk making the already-shy lioness even... Well, shyer.
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Post by Kye ! on Jan 7, 2009 14:48:25 GMT -5
Trthy turned her head and sighe. She shook her head and stood up.She walked back in with him and snuggled withhim. "No...Nothings wrong.. I just...My sister..." She said looking at the ground. She didnt know how she was doing.. alone. Her cub had probably come by now. She knew she was alone and in the outlands. No one was goin to help her with it. She his her head into Kiergos fur. She felt safe when she was touching his fur.
((repost...srry. No one answered hahaha))
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Post by espeon101 on Jan 9, 2009 3:06:22 GMT -5
Laini looked up again, into Jiang's eyes. She paused for a moment, "I should get back to my den before everyone gets up." she whispered before giving the tiger a short but sweet kiss. She then got up and left, headed back to her own dwellings.
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Post by Jiang on Jan 9, 2009 12:28:04 GMT -5
Jiang was somewhat surprised when he found Lai's lips pressed up to his in a kiss. He purred softly into the kiss, and he would have affectionately pawed her cheek, but it was over too soon. "W.. Wait, Lai! Wait up!" He called after her, taking off in pursuit of the shy but sweet lioness.
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Post by espeon101 on Jan 9, 2009 18:52:37 GMT -5
Laini, not knowing who was calling her, looked around in a very much alarmed manner. Once she saw it was Jiang, however, she turned to face him. "Yes?" she inquired, curious about what he was going to say.
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