[Firenzata]

The spot he had been trying to get to was famous to his ancestors. It was a spot in the Idalani Falls area where they had come to meditate and take a break at, and it usually seemed to give them good luck in their future. He had also been working very hard for a long time trying to care for the other creatures that his mistress had also owned and cared for, while spending time with the other Lucains that he lead in his pack, The Blue Moon pack. A while ago, though, his mistress had traded them off, maybe sold them to another, and he had been alone ever since then, he had been the alpha of a pack who was non-existant. It occasionally made him feel a little depressed, because he treated them as his family; and now with them gone, he had no-one left. He needed to go and take a break from it all, anyway, and the last time he had a vacation was when he was a pup. The rest of his life was nearly all work.

By now, his legs began to ache, and his joints were sore. He had never traveled so much in his life, and his stamina was beginning to wear off. At least he was proud of himself for all of those years of training and hard work to get him this far without taking much of a break and only feeling sore. He was almost to the spot he was looking for, and that was all that mattered at the moment. When he got there, he knew he could rest and get something to drink if he wanted to. Up ahead, he noticed the landmark that he remembered to look out for; The medium-sized boulder that looked like a cresent moon was carved out of its side. Filled with a new energy, he bounded forwards, going through the trees. He slowed down when he noticed that the smell of fresh water and the pond up ahead grew larger and larger. He approached the egde before sitting down by the water's edge, then slowly lowering his head to lap up the water and soothe his throat. He then carefully listened to his surroundings, the wind whispering through the leaves, the birds chirping in the distance, and the sound of the water being lapped up by his tougne. He listenned carefully to the background noises, too, not letting his guard down incase something unexpected happened.

[Firenzata]

(( ...bump. And by the way, if you're interested, could you please check this thread? ))


Several moments passed by.  Staying very still in these timeless surroundings, Kuno seemed a bit more at ease. Everything was so serious to him, now more than ever it felt like. Could it be because he lost his family again, and that he was on his own yet again? Whichever answer it was, didn't quite matter to him. He just needed to loosen up a little bit and try to be a less serious person again.  A while back, he would at least be more playful and more happy, but now he was just work, work, work.  Even without his pack, he somehow seemed to manage to keep to ruling over his mistress's desired territory for him, along with his ancestor's traditions.

Trying to break these meaningless thoughts of aggravation from his mind, he tried to re-focus on the still, sparkling water in front of him. Sighing, he gazed into the water, trying to see if finding the bottom would take his mind off of being so serious.  He really needed to loosen up again.  It was probably just the stress of loosing his pack that made him like this, because his whole life, all he had were packs; now his life was gone.  A sad frown creased his muzzle, while thinking about that sore topic yet again. He shook his head, as if the thoughts would then scatter from his mind, but they only began to whisper, refusing to leave him alone. He then tried to block out the thoughts another way, by listening to the nature around him. Every bird seemed to have a different pitch, every bug a different sound. It seemed to finally take those thoughts out of his head, but with those leaving, he remembered about being alert for possible encounters. Turning his head to face the lush forest behind him, he flicked his ears repeatedly in all directions, making sure that he was alone.


(( And by the way, new posters won't have to "mirror" my posts, I just wanted to make long posts for myself. ))

[Thessur]

The sound of singing came floating on the air ahead of a lively group.  A grown female lucain danced and sang at the front of the group.  Behind her, six youngsters, all clearly her children and of varying ages, danced and sang and laughed as they followed their mother.  



Namid would be the first to come into view, the mother of the young ones following merrily in her footsteps.  Very light footsteps those were, too.  Her paws floated lightly over the ground.  She sang brightly, encouragingly to her children as they came up the hillside behind her.



Tiva, gentle, mute Tiva, came next, playing a violin.  She needed no voice today. She practically radiated joy through her playing to those around her.  Though she was in human form so she could play her instrument, her ears, peaking through her long hair, and the tail waving behind her in time to the music, gave proof of her true form.



Eira, like her mother, preferred her true four-legged form to that of a human.  She sang out and danced a little, mostly just leaping and laughing for joy of being alive on such a lovely day.  Wherever her paws touched, a light frost formed for a moment on the grass, melting away so quickly it would take a very keen-eyed observer to notice it.



Kachina, the youngest of the daughters, wore a human form like her oldest sister.  She sang some, but her expression of joy came through in the dance she danced as she followed close behind her mother and sisters.  She paused only long enough to call back over her shoulder to their brothers, telling them to hurry up, before joining her mother and sisters where they had stopped beneath the shade of a large tree.


[Namid: 56, Tiva: 1, Eira: 1, Kachina: 1]

[Thessur]

Helaku was the first of the boys to top the rise to meet the girls.  He was singing along with his sisters and mother, backing them up with his rich voice that was a little deep for a proper tenor and too high for a baritone, though he had the range to be able to sing almost either when he chose.  He had a couple of bundles strapped across his back, full of picnic supplies.  He didn’t dance, though his half-tripping, half bouncing walk could almost have been called a dance.



Theseus, the middle son and Eira’s twin, came running behind his oldest brother.  He was panting too much under the heavy load he had insisted on carrying to sing.  His breath formed little clouds in front of his muzzle, which was very odd considering the pleasant temperature.  He didn't dance either, but he looked happy and determined.



Chayton, somber young Chayton, brought up the rear at a much more relaxed pace than his siblings.  He wore a human form, like his twin Kachina and oldest sister Tiva.  Though his face gave no sign of his inward thoughts, his tail could be seen swaying in time to the song his family sang, and his ears quivered as they took in all the sounds of the world around him.


[Helaku: 6, Theseus: 1, Chayton: 1]

[Firenzata]

Listening intently for a few moments longer, his delicate ears picked up something that he didn't seem to catch before.  Getting out of his twisted stance, he stood up, completely and attentively facing the direction of this new sound.  It was a very pleasent noise, very joyous and calming.  It made his feelings of stress suddenly vanish, as if they never were.  He felt so calmed, and a strong, alluring feeling swept over him.  It felt as if it waned to control him, to drag him away from his ancestor's pawprints embeded into the earth and stray away to this care-free music.  His paws snuck away a few steps mindlessly, but when he regained control of himself, he looked around alertly, making sure he was the only other person in the surrounding area (for he always felt like he had to be on guard) before turning his back to where his ancestors pawsteps were engraved.  For once in his life, the feeling of turning his back on his ancestors didn't seem to bother him; but was it actually his own, pure feelings, or was it the breath-taking music?  Frankly, at this point he really didn't care; the song seemed to pulse a new type of energy through his veins.

Leaving the source of water behind him, he trotted off into the brush where the source of the music was coming from. He kept his head and tails proudly upwards, while his ears focused solely on the music. The music grew louder and louder with every bound his legs produced, and he realized that the source was much closer to where he thought it was...wait, make that sources of the music. Through the trees, he could see several shapes taking view up ahead.  So far, he could make out six seperate shapes; all seemed to be Lucains like himself, but only four were in normal form. One in a human form was playing a violin, while the others were singing and joyously following along. They were all seemingly young, but the oldest one out of the group caught his eye the most. She was gorgeous, with a simple but pretty ribbon on her forehead and a delicate neclace hanging from her neck. Taking a closer look at the younger ones, they seemed oddly familiar to the older, gorgeous one. Already in awe from the music that they produced, Kuno couldn't stop himself from troting forwards into the open. "Ah-er, excuse me, but uh, I couldn't help but to hear your lovely music..." He hesitated, a little confused of what to say in this awkquard situation.


[6]

[Thessur]

It was young Chayton, hang back a bit from his siblings, who first noticed the stranger’s approach.  A very quick but thorough looking over revealed nothing to fear from the lone male.  Sure, he looked tough, but he didn’t show any signs of being threatening.  Also, if he tried anything, it’d be seven against one, more if his mother mind-called to the paragon friend and his son who had given them a ride. So, since there was nothing to fear from the newcomer, Chay worked up a somber little smile and greeted him.

“Hello.  My mother’s singing is very pretty, thank you.  My sisters and Helaku aren’t bad either.”

Glancing back towards his mother, he sent her a quiet mind-call.
{Mamma} He still called her that when mindspeaking, since no one else could overhear. {Someone is here.  He seems friendly to me}

Tiva finished the first song to her sister’s laughter and began another as the stranger approached.  She watched her mother and little brother with some interest and sent a soft mind-call to her twin.
{Helaku, we have a visitor.}

Helaku, who had been helping Theseus take off his heavy load, turned to see who his sister was talking about.  The fellow seemed friendly enough to him.  Still, Namid’s oldest son kept one watchful eye on him.  It never hurt to be ready, just in case.


Meanwhile, relieved of his burden, Theseus launched himself at Eira.  The rowdy pair, oblivious of the visitor, began a lively tussle.  An odd, frosty haze following them as they tumbled over the soft ground cover.

Namid finished her part of the song before moving swiftly and gracefully to her youngest son’s side.  She gave him a playful lick on the cheek that had him frowning and rubbing the spot in over-exaggerated disgust.
Chay took a step back, still rubbing his cheek and looked up at his twin.  Kachina felt his look and skipped happily over to join him and their mother.  She loved meeting new people!

Namid, after checking quickly on each of her children, turned her attention to the stranger.  Her soft brown eyes were alight with the happiness of being out with her family.  They also held the very faintest hint of sadness.  For a long time now, she had been unable to shake the feeling that there was something very important she’d forgotten.  She shoved this concern to the back of her mind once again and performed what could only be described as a four-legged curtsy, though it looked far more graceful than that description might imply.  She reached out with her mind to just brush against the surface of the stranger’s consciousness and ‘spoke’ to him.

{Hello, I am Namid and these are my children.  I hope we haven’t disturbed you.  We’re out to have a picnic, but we can go to another spot if we’re bothering you at all.  May I ask your name?}

[Namid: 57, Tiva: 2, Eira: 2, Kachina: 2, Helaku: 7, Theseus: 2, Chayton: 2]

[Firenzata]

Usually, he was never so awkquard during or at the start of a conversation, so his tails slightly lowered instinctively and his chin did its little bristling thing that it had done since he was a pup. It was only a sligt bristle, but it was barely noticeable, anyway.  He was at least pleased to see how they didn't seem to mind his presence; for he had been around others who didn't like it and had to fight his way out.  He let a natural, clean smile cross his snout as he saw how a few of them just carried on with their lives, and how one or two of them seemed happy he was here. He noticed something peculiar, though, first from a few of the males.  They seemed to be having a conversation to one another, but without words. But then again, they were probably just giving each other a type of look that only they understood, he knew he had some of those looks.

One of the males in a human form approached him first, with a friendly smile placed on his face.  Hebegan to reply back to his awkquard comment, but he refused to let his polite smile drift from his face, no matter how embarrassed it made him feel. "You're more than welcome. She does have a very beautiful voice, I thought, but the rest of you have lovely voices, too, along with your sisters. Don't you think?" He bowed his head once, like a gentleman would bow for a lady or a new aquaintence to show his respect for the other Lucain. Human form or not, he wouldn't let his manners slip by him.  He noticed  a type of side glance that he made back towards, what was now confirmed, his mother, but he acted as if he didn't notice, staring into his human-like eyes. He took a give glance of his own, looking around at the other siblings of his, and noticed that one of them still seemed to be a bit warry. It didn't bother him, and he felt a small pang of sadness as he noticed  how much this family reminded him of a small pack. He let out a small, quiet sigh through his nostrils, not wanting to bother or annoy any of the others with it.

Then he still noticed something  that seemed a bit off to him.  Some of the siblings seemed to be slightly out of it at times, but would suddenly become back into reaility, but again he thought that he was being a bit too judgemental and let it go, based on how he and many others he knew had that habbit sometimes, too.  The answer to his self-situation was found within a few moments, though, when the older, gorgeous female that had caught his eye approached him as well.  The gracefully and elegantly came up to him, and while getting within talking range, she made a smooth type of cutrsy, which made his weird feelings become more alive with the sight of her being so polite as well.  His smile became much more natural, as he bowed his head to her as well in greeting. As he excpected to hear words come from her mouth, he noticed a weird puching feeling against his forehead. Still a little confused, he ignored it before hearing her voice, but the only problem was, her voice was inside of his head.  Seeming unfazed on the outside, besides some of his back fur bristling in shock along with his chin fur again, he thought of a reply back to her. "Why, hello there, Namid. I'm very pleased to meet you and your beautiful children! Disturb me? No, no, it's fine, I wasn't up to much, anyway. A picnick sure sounds lovely, especially on such a nice day, dont you think?  And you may definately ask for my name, its only fair since you've told me yours. And a gentleman shoiuld always give his name to the lady, even if her name isn't given, so I would be more than happy to tell you mine.  My name is Kuno, and it's such a pleasure to meet you and your family." He bowed his head once more, and felt as if he had talked way too much.



[7]