Status: active lovelies
Panea
Aspen
Aspen gritted her teeth. Her muscles were aching and her body was twisted in an odd, somewhat painful, position as she fought to keep her ground. "What, you can't do better?" She taunted as she summoned up her strength and pushed forward. Usually she would blanch at the thought of her spear acquiring so much damage for a practice fight, but she couldn’t afford to hold back or let others hold back on her for that matter. Not if she actually wanted to become better…
At the time she pushed forward in a surge, she managed to knock back her sparring partner, who growled at her in an indignant manner as she pressed the spear against his throat and pinned him to the ground with a grin. “You’re quite lucky you aren’t wild, or I would have killed you just now. Next time, don’t hold back, Dinte,” she advised once she had gotten up.
Her response was another growl, but she grinned all the same as the giant cat leapt to his feet. Dinte, standing on all fours, easily reached up to her breast in height, his big paws about the size of her head if she were to guess. He had sandy colored fur with russet flecks, his paw, chest, and the tips of his ears and bobbed tail being a snowy white. His eyes were green like the local plants, except for his slitted, pitch black pupils. Aspen found him to be a good sparring and hunting partner, as well as a great companion.
“Now, shall we go again?” she asked, moving to take up her spear in a defensive position. With Dinte, she was rarely moving in an offensive manner. The large feline bared his wicked canines at her just as he pounced, before she had even readied her spear, and landed neatly atop her, successfully knocking the breath from her lungs. “Yes, yes, I got it!” She was laughing softly as he began to nuzzle her, his whiskers tickling against the side of her neck and cheeks, and she found herself grinning as she heard –and felt- the large purrs which vibrated through his body. If she were to be honest, Aspen loved Dinte.
“Aspen!” The harshness of the familiar voice brought her out of the fun, loving moment she had been having with her cat as she winced. Still pinned in the dust, she turned her head to look at the feet of a person hovering nearby. A little roughly, she bit her lip and pushed Dinte off of her, pulling herself up into a sitting position and meekly glancing up at the giant-like figure.
Sorrell was dark-haired, with a strong, muscular build. The aura about him was intimidating, even to his own children, and Aspen suspected that her mother had probably been the only person who hadn’t been at least a little scared of him. And then there were his flat blue, unforgiving eyes that reminded her of how their family had been since Ash had died. He had changed into a less kind, less patient man, and while he put on the charade for Song and River might try to mend ways with their father, Aspen had become distant. With her older brother training to be a Healer, she was technically considered the oldest, the one who would take charge after her father, since she had chosen to become a Warrior. And he was especially unforgiving with her… She prayed that Song would choose the path of the Hunter, for her own sake.
“Yes, Father?” she asked of him quietly. He sounded so displeased with her, but Ash had died a few years ago and since then she had just begun to mend with herself. She was done training herself into the ground to try and please the man before her. She wanted to be better, wanted to fight, but she would do so on her own terms, not his. She could no longer bring herself to care what he thought of his daughter.
She suspected he knew it as well, his eyes darkening as they took her in. Maybe it was the inflection of her tone that gave her away… she tried to pretend she still cared, but it wasn’t always a convincing act on her part. “It is nearing dark, and soon the animals will be prowling. I expect you back in the village with Dinte before dusk this time. I will not risk another loss to those creatures.”
Sorrell turned on his heel and started down the dusty path once more, leaving his daughter sitting on the ground with her large cat. She never had the chance to reply in any sort of way, as she was expected to obey her father and leader. And she would. “It looks like we’re leaving early today, Dinte,” she sighed as she looked into the beautiful green eyes of her cat. For a moment she thought she saw a flicker of recognition and understanding in those brilliant orbs, but she decided that she had imagined it. They did have an understanding, Dinte and herself, but that was different. It was a mutual understanding of respect and love for each other.
“As long as I have you, Dinte, I’ll never need another,” she vowed to the creature then, scratching behind his ears as she knew he liked. She smiled a little as he nuzzled into her hand then, feeling the purrs rumbling in him, and she gave him one last pet before she hopped up to her feet. “Let’s go then. Maybe we can talk to River.”
At the time she pushed forward in a surge, she managed to knock back her sparring partner, who growled at her in an indignant manner as she pressed the spear against his throat and pinned him to the ground with a grin. “You’re quite lucky you aren’t wild, or I would have killed you just now. Next time, don’t hold back, Dinte,” she advised once she had gotten up.
Her response was another growl, but she grinned all the same as the giant cat leapt to his feet. Dinte, standing on all fours, easily reached up to her breast in height, his big paws about the size of her head if she were to guess. He had sandy colored fur with russet flecks, his paw, chest, and the tips of his ears and bobbed tail being a snowy white. His eyes were green like the local plants, except for his slitted, pitch black pupils. Aspen found him to be a good sparring and hunting partner, as well as a great companion.
“Now, shall we go again?” she asked, moving to take up her spear in a defensive position. With Dinte, she was rarely moving in an offensive manner. The large feline bared his wicked canines at her just as he pounced, before she had even readied her spear, and landed neatly atop her, successfully knocking the breath from her lungs. “Yes, yes, I got it!” She was laughing softly as he began to nuzzle her, his whiskers tickling against the side of her neck and cheeks, and she found herself grinning as she heard –and felt- the large purrs which vibrated through his body. If she were to be honest, Aspen loved Dinte.
“Aspen!” The harshness of the familiar voice brought her out of the fun, loving moment she had been having with her cat as she winced. Still pinned in the dust, she turned her head to look at the feet of a person hovering nearby. A little roughly, she bit her lip and pushed Dinte off of her, pulling herself up into a sitting position and meekly glancing up at the giant-like figure.
Sorrell was dark-haired, with a strong, muscular build. The aura about him was intimidating, even to his own children, and Aspen suspected that her mother had probably been the only person who hadn’t been at least a little scared of him. And then there were his flat blue, unforgiving eyes that reminded her of how their family had been since Ash had died. He had changed into a less kind, less patient man, and while he put on the charade for Song and River might try to mend ways with their father, Aspen had become distant. With her older brother training to be a Healer, she was technically considered the oldest, the one who would take charge after her father, since she had chosen to become a Warrior. And he was especially unforgiving with her… She prayed that Song would choose the path of the Hunter, for her own sake.
“Yes, Father?” she asked of him quietly. He sounded so displeased with her, but Ash had died a few years ago and since then she had just begun to mend with herself. She was done training herself into the ground to try and please the man before her. She wanted to be better, wanted to fight, but she would do so on her own terms, not his. She could no longer bring herself to care what he thought of his daughter.
She suspected he knew it as well, his eyes darkening as they took her in. Maybe it was the inflection of her tone that gave her away… she tried to pretend she still cared, but it wasn’t always a convincing act on her part. “It is nearing dark, and soon the animals will be prowling. I expect you back in the village with Dinte before dusk this time. I will not risk another loss to those creatures.”
Sorrell turned on his heel and started down the dusty path once more, leaving his daughter sitting on the ground with her large cat. She never had the chance to reply in any sort of way, as she was expected to obey her father and leader. And she would. “It looks like we’re leaving early today, Dinte,” she sighed as she looked into the beautiful green eyes of her cat. For a moment she thought she saw a flicker of recognition and understanding in those brilliant orbs, but she decided that she had imagined it. They did have an understanding, Dinte and herself, but that was different. It was a mutual understanding of respect and love for each other.
“As long as I have you, Dinte, I’ll never need another,” she vowed to the creature then, scratching behind his ears as she knew he liked. She smiled a little as he nuzzled into her hand then, feeling the purrs rumbling in him, and she gave him one last pet before she hopped up to her feet. “Let’s go then. Maybe we can talk to River.”