Post by Bhaskar on Oct 2, 2010 19:17:39 GMT -7
Bhata (Tiger)
Bhaskar and Lakshmi (Tiger, Golden Jackal)
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Seaside Mangrove
Depending on the time of day and season, the mangroves are soaked by varying degrees in a mixture of ocean water and the fresh water borrowed from the river to the west, even occasionally drying up completely. The branches of these tall, sturdy, sprawling trees form an intricate network of dappled sun and shade over the water, a network mirrored from below by their arching roots. It's as if the trees are on stilts, and some species of the mangrove’s trees have large knobby protrusions on their roots designed to remain above the water no matter how deep it becomes. Here, the creatures of land, sea, and river can meet - particularly further back in the mangrove forest, where the water is more brackish. The ground rises out of the ocean’s waters to the west and north, creating an end to the mangrove and the beginning of a rainforest.
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Bhata is currently swimming through the mangroves trying to learn different routes and the landscape. After all, you never know when it might come in handy to know different routes and such in a place that would be unfamiliar to other creatures. The mangrove could provide a good hiding place in the event he'd need to find one. So here Bhata is swimming through the twisty vines and tree roots keeping an eye out for crocs in case he needs to make a mad dash for shore. He is enjoying the cool waters on a rather warm late spring evening....down south.
The Ran Garjana have not been idle, and nor has Bhaskar. Through Lakshmi, he's kept his ears to the wind and the ground and now, this evening, something has brought him down to the mangrove. Unlike Bhata, he stays out of the brackish water; instead he traverses the enormous roots that arch above its surface, moving with brisk deliberation, his head lowered but alert. He appears to be alone.
Bhata hears a noise rustle above and a root snap....under paws. "Who Who is there?" He asks, ears flattening a bit in alarm...he looks around, nope its not coming from below, its coming from above. "Show yourself." The igter says. Better find out who it is first before doing anything foolish. He stops swimming and treads water for a moment looking up.....its quite foggy/misty this evening and its getting dark so its hard to see.
The instant that Bhata speaks, the barely-audible sound of passage above simply ceases. Bhaskar does not make any move to show himself, but his low, guttural sigh drifts out of the fog a moment later. "I should have known you'd be down there," he comments. Knowing that it's unlikely he'll see Bhata through the thick, milky-white mist, he doesn't try. Instead he listens, and he keeps his whiskers arched, sensitive to abnormal changes in the sea breeze that tickles them.
Bhata looks up at a barely visible shadow through the fog. "Aye, Been trying to find my way through this mangrove...would be agreat hiding spot if the need arises....though, what do I have to worry about...the lands are at peace. We did our job....we stopped the Sakht Nakh...I doubt a couple tigers getting together in a group nearby is that much of a threat to worry about...but it never hurts to be on the side of caution you know and learn to navigate places like the mangroves..." He grins "Besides with the warm weather lately its quite refreshing."
Silence greets the other male's words at first; Bhaskar's shadow remains unmoving, strung out across several of the large roots that characterize this area. "Indeed?" he responds eventually, idly. "You do one 'job' and then you have nothing to be concerned about for all your life after, Bhata?" He's not smiling. In fact, were his expression visible Bhata would be able to see that he's started to look exasperated. "I beg to differ. Come out of that water before one of the Jwaar Santaan bites your tail off and I'll tell you why."
Bhata shrugs. "I've been here long enough the crocs don't bother me anymore. I've actually befriended some of them by providing them meat from my kills in exchange for free movement through the mangroves." "But you're right you never know when a rogue croc might come by or a new croc that doesn't know who I am." He grabs onto a branch and begins to climb up from the swamp, climbing up a vine to swing himself up to a log that has fallen across the mangrove.creating a bridge. He stands a few feet from his friend and grins. "Still got the tiger touch....and agility.." He says with a grin as he lands on all fours after doing a semi-flip from the vine.
Now that Bhata is out of the water, and closer, the two cats can see one another more easily--and Bhaskar's expression does not look promising, his face tense with growing irritation. He suffers the other male's acrobatics in silence, however, his tail ticking and his ears nocked back. "They are more than a couple of tigers banding together," a voice says from somewhere behind Bhata, as Lakshmi emerges from the shadows and settles herself almost daintily on one of the overgrown roots. Apparently Bhaskar wasn't as alone as he looked. "Were I you, amgikrita, I would not dismiss them so easily."
Bhata looks at Bhata..."More than just a couple of tigers? If there were more than just a couple of tigers, wouldn't we have seen them by now? Or at least smelled them if they were nearby?" He sniffs the air. "Nothing." "Besides, this mangrove is pretty safe. How do I even know these so called tigers, even know who I am or have anything to do with me? Don't you think this mangrove swamp would be safe enough?" He smiles at Lakshmi. "Oh, good evening to you Lakshmi."
Bhata says, "if there are these tigers around, why haven't we seen them yet? Why haven't they showed themselves?" "You'd think they'd want to make their presence known.""
Finally Bhaskar shifts, leaning around the other male to exchange a rather beleaguered look with his kol-bahl. Lakshmi shakes her head, her right ear flicking, one-two-three, in rapid succession. "Do you show yourself to your prey, Bhata?" she asks rhetorically. "Ordinarily I would grant to you that we have no way of knowing whether or not they'd take an interest in the son of Vijayi, but you know as well as I that Utkrosh said Ananth was among them, and that he is quite likely to have a vendetta against you." The jackal regards him steadily and unblinkingly. "Besides," she continues, not breaking eye contact with the considerably larger animal, "I have heard the black tiger Dushta speak, and from that I have reason to believe that /he/ is the one responsible for the disappearances in this region. If that is true, then he needs no reason to come after you aside from the fact that you are here."
Bhata frowns looking around as if he is being watched. "I'm tired of running----I know what I did had to be done....to end the war, but I feel like I can never settle down, raise a family, I'm always watching my back. Do you know how that feels?" He says. "Why can't I just be a normal tiger without always having to worry about everything going on all the time?" He paws the ground a bit with his claws, "Am I going to be running my entire life?" He wonders. He frowns. "Ananth is a part of them?"
"You are /not/ the only one who has to worry about what is going on, Bhata." A hint of steel has crept into Lakshmi's voice now, and though she may be so small in comparison to the felines she certainly doesn't speak like she is. "This is not only about you. Consider everyone who has been lost in the southern jungles over the past few months, and who they've left behind--their offspring, their mates, their pack members. Those who have vanished are likely dead. Would you join them so that you no longer have to feel as if you are running?" The jackal lifts her head, staring up at him with aggrieved dignity. "Yes, Utkrosh told us that Ananth is among them. I have no way of verifying that, as I'm unfamiliar with his scent and I did not see him when I went to investigate the temple they've purportedly taken up residence in. However..." Here she trails off, though from the look of it what she's about to say is quite significant.
Bhata feels a lump in his throat growing, and stares down at his paw in the soil. "I...I..didn't mean it like that. I went into the jungle to investigate myself.....I saw the bone piles...I know the pain others have gone through in these lands....but we have only now begun to piece together the answers as to what is causing them. I am beginning to see this new group of tigers could very well be responsible. This Dushta you speak of who is he? Was he part of Sakht Nakh, a survivor perhaps? If Ananth is part of them, then they probably know everything or will soon enough. I doubt peace will last too much longer if that is the case." He looks back at the jackal..."I did not mean it to sound like it was all about me. I am merely a cog in the wheel of history.---Besides, I never saw myself as a hero, and don't expect anything from it. What happened happened, the lands have been at peace for five cycles now. Whats done is done. No one needs to thank me you know." He says.
Whatever she was about to say, Lakshmi pauses now. Then she shakes her head again, negating. "There were never any reports of a black tiger among the Sakht Nakh. In any case, though I saw him from somewhat of a distance, he looks younger than Bhaskar and yourself. I suppose he might have escaped the cullings as a child, but I doubt it." Here she pauses once more, frowning. "Any ties he may have to the Sakht Nakh matter little. If he is, indeed, the one responsible for all the disappearances, then he is an opportunist--and were I him I would be overjoyed to find you all alone out here."
Bhata frowns....looking into the water of the mangrove and lets out a sigh. "I guess, I have no choice then I must move away from here. South would be too risky as would west. I guess the only option is North? He flicks his tail again as he moves off the log onto the mangrove branches where they are standing. "If this group is forming, we do not yet know how many they will become, nor how many furs in these parts we can trust. It would be imperitive that we develop our own network alliance with all peaceful species in the lands, who will support each other if the need arises. We should do this for the sake of peace in our lands. Perhaps we should talk to every animal we come across and see if they will join our alliance?" He wonders. "For if this threat is as real as you say, I am afraid the times for peace will be on a decline. We must be prepared. "As far as a home for myself, I have heard of an area near the glacier, with a stone arch marking the eastern boundary....there are mountains and a pine forest nearby, and it is far enough north I doubt this new group would be able to seek me out any time soon. What do you guys think?"
Though Bhaskar has seemed content to let his kol-bahl do the talking, he at last speaks up again. "Speaking to every animal you come across may be an ill decision. Gossip spreads quickly, and if this clan caught wind of the possibility that they may be opposed it could only drive them further underground." Lakshmi rises to her feet, in the meantime, and adds: "Though I saw Dushta at the temple, I believe the others have left--his scent was fresh, but the others' were not. It seems unlikely that they've gone north themselves, so if you wish to head up that way I don't think you'll run into trouble." Well, the geography may be a problem, but she doubts that any of the Ran Garjana will want to visit a glacier.
Bhata nods...."Very well, north it is....But how can we form an alliance? We need furs on our side....We do not need this new group to get even more stronger by luring other furs to their side down the road. I think eventually they will have to know that they're not the only group out there, that they can't go walking around here unopoosed like the own us. We need to take a stand at some point. I agree, not right away, but wouldn't it be wise to at least find out who is on our side and who is not? Or who should be watched more than others? It feels vulnerable knowing that there's a group of tigers forming and yet we are but a small force at this moment. Many of the other animals probably don't even know of them yet. They should be warned..herbivore and carnivore alike!" He nods. "One of the wolves told me of the land by the glacier...look for the stone arch and go west and north, you will find a ledge with a lone pine on it. That is where my new home will be." He says. "I just hope we aren't heading for another war."
"If another war does break out," Bhaskar rumbles, "then I'll not shy away from it. We aren't entirely alone ourselves, Bhata. The varga will come if we need them. The Anekanta will cooperate with us, and though they are not warriors their own departure from this region might well cause the the entire clan to go hungry." A tiger cannot subsist on small prey for long, let alone an entire group of them. Large animals need a large amount of food to survive.
Bhata looks up at the setting sun breaking through the darker clouds, that come in from the rain clouds in the jungle to the west. "It is getting late, it won't be long before darkness. I should travel in the cover of the night. Would you care to see my new home? From what I hear it is rather beautiful, and just how many tigers, and jackals for that matter get to see a glacier!?" He grins. "C'mon, what do you say, will you travel with me?" He hopes they will say yes, as he'd hate to be all alone up there, at least at the beginning. It will take time adjusting to a different landscape, different prey selection, and different weather conditions.
Though Bhaskar isn't a gregarious creature himself, with Lakshmi, the occasional chance meeting, and the Do-Rakhanaa's once-monthly gatherings forming the brunt of his social interactions, he's willing to accompany Bhata up north if that's what it takes to get him there. He glances briefly at Lakshmi, who dips her head. "Very well," he agrees accordingly. "Lead the way."
Bhaskar and Lakshmi (Tiger, Golden Jackal)
------
Seaside Mangrove
Depending on the time of day and season, the mangroves are soaked by varying degrees in a mixture of ocean water and the fresh water borrowed from the river to the west, even occasionally drying up completely. The branches of these tall, sturdy, sprawling trees form an intricate network of dappled sun and shade over the water, a network mirrored from below by their arching roots. It's as if the trees are on stilts, and some species of the mangrove’s trees have large knobby protrusions on their roots designed to remain above the water no matter how deep it becomes. Here, the creatures of land, sea, and river can meet - particularly further back in the mangrove forest, where the water is more brackish. The ground rises out of the ocean’s waters to the west and north, creating an end to the mangrove and the beginning of a rainforest.
------
Bhata is currently swimming through the mangroves trying to learn different routes and the landscape. After all, you never know when it might come in handy to know different routes and such in a place that would be unfamiliar to other creatures. The mangrove could provide a good hiding place in the event he'd need to find one. So here Bhata is swimming through the twisty vines and tree roots keeping an eye out for crocs in case he needs to make a mad dash for shore. He is enjoying the cool waters on a rather warm late spring evening....down south.
The Ran Garjana have not been idle, and nor has Bhaskar. Through Lakshmi, he's kept his ears to the wind and the ground and now, this evening, something has brought him down to the mangrove. Unlike Bhata, he stays out of the brackish water; instead he traverses the enormous roots that arch above its surface, moving with brisk deliberation, his head lowered but alert. He appears to be alone.
Bhata hears a noise rustle above and a root snap....under paws. "Who Who is there?" He asks, ears flattening a bit in alarm...he looks around, nope its not coming from below, its coming from above. "Show yourself." The igter says. Better find out who it is first before doing anything foolish. He stops swimming and treads water for a moment looking up.....its quite foggy/misty this evening and its getting dark so its hard to see.
The instant that Bhata speaks, the barely-audible sound of passage above simply ceases. Bhaskar does not make any move to show himself, but his low, guttural sigh drifts out of the fog a moment later. "I should have known you'd be down there," he comments. Knowing that it's unlikely he'll see Bhata through the thick, milky-white mist, he doesn't try. Instead he listens, and he keeps his whiskers arched, sensitive to abnormal changes in the sea breeze that tickles them.
Bhata looks up at a barely visible shadow through the fog. "Aye, Been trying to find my way through this mangrove...would be agreat hiding spot if the need arises....though, what do I have to worry about...the lands are at peace. We did our job....we stopped the Sakht Nakh...I doubt a couple tigers getting together in a group nearby is that much of a threat to worry about...but it never hurts to be on the side of caution you know and learn to navigate places like the mangroves..." He grins "Besides with the warm weather lately its quite refreshing."
Silence greets the other male's words at first; Bhaskar's shadow remains unmoving, strung out across several of the large roots that characterize this area. "Indeed?" he responds eventually, idly. "You do one 'job' and then you have nothing to be concerned about for all your life after, Bhata?" He's not smiling. In fact, were his expression visible Bhata would be able to see that he's started to look exasperated. "I beg to differ. Come out of that water before one of the Jwaar Santaan bites your tail off and I'll tell you why."
Bhata shrugs. "I've been here long enough the crocs don't bother me anymore. I've actually befriended some of them by providing them meat from my kills in exchange for free movement through the mangroves." "But you're right you never know when a rogue croc might come by or a new croc that doesn't know who I am." He grabs onto a branch and begins to climb up from the swamp, climbing up a vine to swing himself up to a log that has fallen across the mangrove.creating a bridge. He stands a few feet from his friend and grins. "Still got the tiger touch....and agility.." He says with a grin as he lands on all fours after doing a semi-flip from the vine.
Now that Bhata is out of the water, and closer, the two cats can see one another more easily--and Bhaskar's expression does not look promising, his face tense with growing irritation. He suffers the other male's acrobatics in silence, however, his tail ticking and his ears nocked back. "They are more than a couple of tigers banding together," a voice says from somewhere behind Bhata, as Lakshmi emerges from the shadows and settles herself almost daintily on one of the overgrown roots. Apparently Bhaskar wasn't as alone as he looked. "Were I you, amgikrita, I would not dismiss them so easily."
Bhata looks at Bhata..."More than just a couple of tigers? If there were more than just a couple of tigers, wouldn't we have seen them by now? Or at least smelled them if they were nearby?" He sniffs the air. "Nothing." "Besides, this mangrove is pretty safe. How do I even know these so called tigers, even know who I am or have anything to do with me? Don't you think this mangrove swamp would be safe enough?" He smiles at Lakshmi. "Oh, good evening to you Lakshmi."
Bhata says, "if there are these tigers around, why haven't we seen them yet? Why haven't they showed themselves?" "You'd think they'd want to make their presence known.""
Finally Bhaskar shifts, leaning around the other male to exchange a rather beleaguered look with his kol-bahl. Lakshmi shakes her head, her right ear flicking, one-two-three, in rapid succession. "Do you show yourself to your prey, Bhata?" she asks rhetorically. "Ordinarily I would grant to you that we have no way of knowing whether or not they'd take an interest in the son of Vijayi, but you know as well as I that Utkrosh said Ananth was among them, and that he is quite likely to have a vendetta against you." The jackal regards him steadily and unblinkingly. "Besides," she continues, not breaking eye contact with the considerably larger animal, "I have heard the black tiger Dushta speak, and from that I have reason to believe that /he/ is the one responsible for the disappearances in this region. If that is true, then he needs no reason to come after you aside from the fact that you are here."
Bhata frowns looking around as if he is being watched. "I'm tired of running----I know what I did had to be done....to end the war, but I feel like I can never settle down, raise a family, I'm always watching my back. Do you know how that feels?" He says. "Why can't I just be a normal tiger without always having to worry about everything going on all the time?" He paws the ground a bit with his claws, "Am I going to be running my entire life?" He wonders. He frowns. "Ananth is a part of them?"
"You are /not/ the only one who has to worry about what is going on, Bhata." A hint of steel has crept into Lakshmi's voice now, and though she may be so small in comparison to the felines she certainly doesn't speak like she is. "This is not only about you. Consider everyone who has been lost in the southern jungles over the past few months, and who they've left behind--their offspring, their mates, their pack members. Those who have vanished are likely dead. Would you join them so that you no longer have to feel as if you are running?" The jackal lifts her head, staring up at him with aggrieved dignity. "Yes, Utkrosh told us that Ananth is among them. I have no way of verifying that, as I'm unfamiliar with his scent and I did not see him when I went to investigate the temple they've purportedly taken up residence in. However..." Here she trails off, though from the look of it what she's about to say is quite significant.
Bhata feels a lump in his throat growing, and stares down at his paw in the soil. "I...I..didn't mean it like that. I went into the jungle to investigate myself.....I saw the bone piles...I know the pain others have gone through in these lands....but we have only now begun to piece together the answers as to what is causing them. I am beginning to see this new group of tigers could very well be responsible. This Dushta you speak of who is he? Was he part of Sakht Nakh, a survivor perhaps? If Ananth is part of them, then they probably know everything or will soon enough. I doubt peace will last too much longer if that is the case." He looks back at the jackal..."I did not mean it to sound like it was all about me. I am merely a cog in the wheel of history.---Besides, I never saw myself as a hero, and don't expect anything from it. What happened happened, the lands have been at peace for five cycles now. Whats done is done. No one needs to thank me you know." He says.
Whatever she was about to say, Lakshmi pauses now. Then she shakes her head again, negating. "There were never any reports of a black tiger among the Sakht Nakh. In any case, though I saw him from somewhat of a distance, he looks younger than Bhaskar and yourself. I suppose he might have escaped the cullings as a child, but I doubt it." Here she pauses once more, frowning. "Any ties he may have to the Sakht Nakh matter little. If he is, indeed, the one responsible for all the disappearances, then he is an opportunist--and were I him I would be overjoyed to find you all alone out here."
Bhata frowns....looking into the water of the mangrove and lets out a sigh. "I guess, I have no choice then I must move away from here. South would be too risky as would west. I guess the only option is North? He flicks his tail again as he moves off the log onto the mangrove branches where they are standing. "If this group is forming, we do not yet know how many they will become, nor how many furs in these parts we can trust. It would be imperitive that we develop our own network alliance with all peaceful species in the lands, who will support each other if the need arises. We should do this for the sake of peace in our lands. Perhaps we should talk to every animal we come across and see if they will join our alliance?" He wonders. "For if this threat is as real as you say, I am afraid the times for peace will be on a decline. We must be prepared. "As far as a home for myself, I have heard of an area near the glacier, with a stone arch marking the eastern boundary....there are mountains and a pine forest nearby, and it is far enough north I doubt this new group would be able to seek me out any time soon. What do you guys think?"
Though Bhaskar has seemed content to let his kol-bahl do the talking, he at last speaks up again. "Speaking to every animal you come across may be an ill decision. Gossip spreads quickly, and if this clan caught wind of the possibility that they may be opposed it could only drive them further underground." Lakshmi rises to her feet, in the meantime, and adds: "Though I saw Dushta at the temple, I believe the others have left--his scent was fresh, but the others' were not. It seems unlikely that they've gone north themselves, so if you wish to head up that way I don't think you'll run into trouble." Well, the geography may be a problem, but she doubts that any of the Ran Garjana will want to visit a glacier.
Bhata nods...."Very well, north it is....But how can we form an alliance? We need furs on our side....We do not need this new group to get even more stronger by luring other furs to their side down the road. I think eventually they will have to know that they're not the only group out there, that they can't go walking around here unopoosed like the own us. We need to take a stand at some point. I agree, not right away, but wouldn't it be wise to at least find out who is on our side and who is not? Or who should be watched more than others? It feels vulnerable knowing that there's a group of tigers forming and yet we are but a small force at this moment. Many of the other animals probably don't even know of them yet. They should be warned..herbivore and carnivore alike!" He nods. "One of the wolves told me of the land by the glacier...look for the stone arch and go west and north, you will find a ledge with a lone pine on it. That is where my new home will be." He says. "I just hope we aren't heading for another war."
"If another war does break out," Bhaskar rumbles, "then I'll not shy away from it. We aren't entirely alone ourselves, Bhata. The varga will come if we need them. The Anekanta will cooperate with us, and though they are not warriors their own departure from this region might well cause the the entire clan to go hungry." A tiger cannot subsist on small prey for long, let alone an entire group of them. Large animals need a large amount of food to survive.
Bhata looks up at the setting sun breaking through the darker clouds, that come in from the rain clouds in the jungle to the west. "It is getting late, it won't be long before darkness. I should travel in the cover of the night. Would you care to see my new home? From what I hear it is rather beautiful, and just how many tigers, and jackals for that matter get to see a glacier!?" He grins. "C'mon, what do you say, will you travel with me?" He hopes they will say yes, as he'd hate to be all alone up there, at least at the beginning. It will take time adjusting to a different landscape, different prey selection, and different weather conditions.
Though Bhaskar isn't a gregarious creature himself, with Lakshmi, the occasional chance meeting, and the Do-Rakhanaa's once-monthly gatherings forming the brunt of his social interactions, he's willing to accompany Bhata up north if that's what it takes to get him there. He glances briefly at Lakshmi, who dips her head. "Very well," he agrees accordingly. "Lead the way."