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 Posted: Wed Apr 16, 2014 7:41 pm
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At first, Gnaw was hesitant to enter the cave. A canopy of leaves and branches is one thing, a rock cover is another. However, his curiosity, as well as interest in the doe, allowed him to follow her into the cave. He gasped a little bit at the interior of the cave. He was humbled by what looked like huge bones, and turned his gave from one side of the cave to another to look at the sparkling of the rocks. Gnaw slowed his steps to look at the strange objects and structures surrounding him. He almost forgot about the doe for a moment, but then she dropped a tooth by his hooves. He looked down at the tooth, then at his shoulder. He narrowed his eyes. "It does look a lot like my shoulder scale." He leaned down and nosed the tooth, "This is from the ocean?"
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Posted: Sat Apr 26, 2014 12:43 am
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Gnaw picked up the tooth in his mouth, marvelling at the shape of it as he moved it around slowly in his mouth. He was not used to having idle time. He walked around a little, nosing salty sea grasses and smooth shells in shapes he had never imagined. In the back of his mind, there was a nagging voice reminding him that the doe said this place was a hazard. Gnaw looked over towards the doe, who was relaxing on a rock, and felt a little more relaxed. He could only trust that she knew the cycles of the ins and outs of the ocean. Gnaw walked over to the doe and rested on a reasonably flat rock beside her. He was more used to resting in the marsh grass or in the sands in the spaces between mangrove roots. The hard surface of the rock took some getting used to.
"I am glad you brought me here," He said after placing the tooth in front of his hooves. Gnaw rested his gaze on Tidal Wave's flank. Shades of blue like the ocean. He always fancied his own flank the colour of the cloudy sky, or the marsh water after he stirred up the sand with his hoof steps. Now, turning to look out towards the water, he saw himself in the sea foam. He saw himself in the tooth of the ocean. He never imagined he would find himself so far from the familiar and practical landscape he had become used to. After looking out towards the shore for awhile, he looked back towards the doe, hoping to catch her eye. They were a pale red like some of the breathing structures beneath the surface of the ocean water.
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Posted: Tue May 06, 2014 8:14 am
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Tidal Wave smiled knowingly, "You are welcome, it really is a wonderful place."
She waited awhile longer, letting it all soak in. As if she had some inner timing, the doe stood and shook herself off. "Well, Gnaw, it is time for us to go!" Nodding to the tooth. "Here, let me," and Tidal Wave grabbed a sinewy-looking thing from the nearby pool and using her hooves twisted it around then through several times. Without invite, and perhaps a little unwelcome, she walked around and did the same with it to his tail, securing the tooth as best as possible without flexible digits. "I would perhaps recommend convincing a mongoose, jerboa, or lemur, to tie that more comfortably around your neck." With a wink she led the way out.
The water was to the top of their hooves by this time, and once they were safely on the beach, the doe looked back longingly. "Until next time..." she gave her farewell to the cave and looked back at the buck. The sun was much lower in the sky, and Tidal Wave watched his expression carefully with a sigh. "I guess that means it is probably time for you to go back to... whatever it was you do."
"You are always welcome around here. I don't lay any claim, but along these shores is where I usually stick around if you want to come by again..." and how she wanted him to stay and/or come see her. Maybe she should walk through the swamp more, meet new kin. The shores can sometimes be lonely, but she always found it just so rewarding as well. Just... she wouldn't go at night. You never know what the shadows hold... and she could never begrudge that someone might not want to stick around unknown areas in the darkness.
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Posted: Tue May 06, 2014 2:33 pm
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Gnaw waved his tail a little side to side to make sure the tooth was secure. He had stopped questioning the doe since the shores were a place where he could not really use is knowledge from the swamp. There had been no reason not to trust the beautiful doe. He followed her out of the cave, still marvelling at how her colours interacted with the colours of the ocean in front of her. As the sun started to perch on the horizon, the reflections of light off the ocean became even more beautiful.
Today was a day that Gnaw let himself take in his surroundings without much reaction other than admiration. In the swamp, any information his senses took in were there to serve a purpose. Where the fish were, which way his shadow fell, which way the wind was blowing. He didn't know what to really sense for by the ocean. As they walked farther from the cave he turned his head to look back at it. The water rose slowly, covering the front of the cave. As Gnaw needed his senses, he felt a developing attachment to the doe who led him across the damp sands by the ocean. "I would love to visit, and you should visit me in the swamp as well." He waved his tail a little, "Though the shore is so vast, how am I to find you again?"
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Posted: Sat May 10, 2014 3:07 pm
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The doe looked over the ocean, the waves gently brushing the beach, before looking back at Gnaw. "The Sea will tell me. All you would have to do it stick by the sands, I will see your marks and know you wish to see me. The water will lap it up and the breeze will whisper your name in my ear..."
Tidal Wave watched his face to see if he believed all that. Finally, she grinned, her pink eyes twinkling. "Follow the moon. Just before a full moon, I am up in the direction, as the cave is better exposed during that time. During the full moon I am a little north from here. There are more rocks, and it is easiest to see at night. Otherwise I am usually more south. Of course, you could always wander aimlessly, I would eventually find you."
She started walking back towards the Swamp. "And what about you? How will I find you in the marshes? I will admit, I am more at home by the ocean so am not as comfortable navigating the vines and fresher waters.... or..."
Tidal Wave turned again to face him. "Is there a place nearby... in the Swamp - we could try and meet every other Full Moon for sure, and then as needed in between in a manner as mentioned before?"
As she thought of it, Tidal Wave really did miss more Kin around...
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Posted: Fri Feb 03, 2017 6:53 am
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Gnaw nodded. It sounded like she would track him like he tracks prey. Not the most romantic description his mind could have formed, but that didn't matter as long as he got to see her. He usually doesn't walk about at night, as he always sleeps early and wakes up before the sun rises to fish. However, he was willing to make an exception for this doe. "I will find you every full moon if you wish, on the rocks north of here."
He looked back towards the mangrove trees, "The place you found me is where I am almost everyday when the sun is at its highest point." Gnaw is usually quite secretive about his hunting routine, despite it being extremely predictable, "At dawn and before sunset I am a little farther out where the roots of the trees become less dense. I don't move around too much from where you find me. It's a good place and I have no need to wander if my prey does not."
As a buck whose life revolved almost purely around hunting and resting, going out of his way to see another kin was very new to him. While he valued his steady momentum of life, he couldn't help but to feel some excitement at the prospect of seeing this doe with some regularity.
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