Cloud Bend — [AW] Waiting on the sky to change

art by Zambiemaster

Eon had been out exploring the realm. For the time being, he had been staying at the beach in the small shelter Enya had found for him. His aye-aye stayed there while he was on his travels, as the primate was too large to carry on wings. However, neither Eon nor his familiar were overly fond of the place.  The ocean was beautiful in its own way, but Eon didn't like getting wet. Seafood wasn't his favorite either but on the coast, there weren't many other options.

On the plus side, he had grown more skilled at hunting shellfish in the tidepools during his time there. At first, he had found it tricky to spot and trap the small creatures, but over time he had grown used to it and now it came easy for him. Even if it wasn't his favorite thing to do, at least the new skill would come in handy in a pinch.

Still, Eon had been keeping an eye out for a new place to set up camp for both him and his familiar. One that would suit both of them better.  He remembered the flowery plains where he had first met the king of the realm for a meeting. The alluring color and beauty of the fields had drawn him back to the place, yet - it still didn't feel quite like home to him. Besides, his familiar liked areas where there were trees to climb, and this place was nearly vacant of them. Not to mention finding shelter might prove hard in the open fields. Despite that, the area still lured him close, and he searched the surrounding lands.

He eventually came across a valley filled with forests, freshwater, and colorful flowers. That wasn't what caught his interest the most, however.  All around were clouds of space dust and stars that danced in a beautiful display. He was memorized by it, a strange feeling of familiarity washing over him as he traveled into the land. Suddenly, he felt lighter and soon found himself floating without the use of his wings.

This was… strange. It briefly crossed his mind that maybe he should be concerned, that some powerful magic had wrapped its arms around him. He stayed, however, and soon, that gentle hug became comforting.  He got the feeling that perhaps he could trust this place and its strange magic. That, perhaps this was it… perhaps this was home. He'd dance around in the clouds a bit, a comforting familiarity washing over him, though he couldn't place where it had come from. It was like he had been here before, or somewhere similar, in some long-forgotten dream from years past.

Floating gently through the cloud bend he’d flutter closer to the forest below to search for a shelter. The forest had to have something,  right? It took a bit of searching, but the galactic canine eventually found it - a crevice in a rock just big enough to shelter both him and his familiar. Surrounding it was a bustle of colorful flowers. All that was left now, was to drag the aye-aye here and see if he liked it  here too.

Compared to the pretty dog type creature in the sky, the jaguar could figure she was pretty drab. Or, maybe that was an unkind thought to herself. He was the cool relief of twilight, she was a raging late summer afternoon.

No, too poetic. Blech.

No familiar to speak of, not much to her name besides, well, her name. At the very least, groundbound, the serf kept her coat meticulously clean, right down to in between her meaty broad toes. But for a moment his dancing about in the sky had mesmerized her enough to pause.

Overly friendly she was not, but she could appreciate faraway beauty all the same. 

As he neared the ground, she rose, looking to see where among the trees he'd go. One of her ears flicked as some early winter bug fell from it. She prowled, a stocky cat built of power and ambush and confidence.

He'd likely hear her approach, and that she did not mind at all. He was one of those important types, had to be by how adorned and magical he was, and what harm could it do in the end to differentiate herself from the others among her lowly rank.

Maybe it would be fun. Maybe it would be dangerous. Maybe it would be both. Maybe something else entirely.

art by Zambiemaster

Suddenly, Eon would hear the sound of footsteps approaching. He had been so distracted by how, well, perfect this place was, that he had completely forgotten there were others in this realm too. Perhaps, ones who had already laid claim to this place. This very den. He could be trespassing on someone's home.

Nervousness hit him like a powerful wave at sea. His blue eyes caught a glimpse of the much larger feline who had slowly approached. His head went down, his ears went back, and he slowly backed his body away.  “Is this your home?” he’d ask, lifting his head ever so slightly as he spoke. “ I didn’t mean to intrude.  I just found this place quite beautiful.”

He was not prepared for a fight if this turned into one, though at least he had some magic on his side that would help him if it came to that. He just hoped it wouldn’t. Maybe this feline was just out exploring this place like he was. There were no smells that alluded to this den being claimed. Maybe he had the completely wrong idea and this feline was no threat at all.

Still, he’d take precautions and keep his head low. He wanted to remain as least threatening as possible. Perhaps a bit more courage and authority should have been shown considering his ranking in the kingdom. Perhaps he should have prepared himself to fight for this place, to claim it for himself. That just wasn’t who he was though. He was one to avoid getting his feathers ruffled at any cost. A fight would mean there would be a lot of cleaning to do afterward…

For this den though….?  Well, he supposed he’d wait and see what happened first. Maybe the feline was friendly and had no intention of taking it for herself anyway.

Oh, and he was very polite too. She eyed him, that unsettling feline stare at she decided what to make of his unprompted kindness. Lie, and say it was hers? But they both had noses.

Rather, her jaws parted, teeth exposing as her lips began to pull back. More, more, her mouth opening wider — it was just a yawn. Her tongue hung long, curling, then the entire apparatus of her mouth jittering some for the end of it.

"No intrusion," she answered very simply, tip of her tail curling a bit now. Mild interest in what was going on, what may happen. "Do you plan to live here now, Star-Dog?"

As for herself, live here? She lived on whatever ground was currently beneath her feet.

art by Zambiemaster

Eon would allow himself to relax as the feline simply yawned in response. He was glad that in this case, he had been wrong about the potential brawl.  She confirmed there was no intrusion on his part and he sat back down. However, he made sure to keep his eyes on her. Her question he didn't have an answer to, at least not yet. Even if he did, would it be smart to tell the stranger where he was living?

“That depends on several factors” he’d answer. It was no lie, it did depend on several things. First, he had to be sure the area was not claimed.  His senses told him it was not, but he wanted to be sure. A quick scout around the area would be required before he decided to mark it as his own. 

Second, it would depend if his familiar liked it here. Eon thought so, considering there were a myriad of trees to climb, but he also knew the aye-aye could be picky. Additionally, he wasn't sure how he would react to the strange magic here that made things float.  Perhaps the primate would enjoy it, but Eon wasn’t sure.

Lastly, there was always the possibility he could find somewhere even better than this. Chances were low, considering he had flown across the realm searching for a place like this for some time now, but this was the first of its kind. He had to admit, he had a bit of an attachment to this place already - and he hadn't even looked inside the den yet.  It just looked pretty from the outside. Maybe he should do that before making any kind of decision, but that would be something for when he was alone. Right now, he had company and he wanted to make sure he could trust her.

If she was going to know where he would potentially live, then it was only fair he knew a little something about her too. “So where do you come from, if not here then goldie-cat?”  She had given him a nickname based on the color of his fur, so he figured giving it right back shouldn't be an issue.

Several factors, and none he wished to share with her, which she could not begrudge just yet. After all, they were not even at the first name stage. Just going with silly nicknames.

Mahasuri lapped a velcro-textured tongue at her upper lips, a personal gesture of thought more than one of hunger. Goldie-cat.

"I come from the tropics, I think. Or was it the mountains...?"

An orange glare out into the distance, as if the glamorous sky itself might tell her. But these things did not speak, much. They could not be trusted to spark her memory. "I don't know that I recall. I mostly wander, mark, and find myself shifting where I sleep depending on who I piss off."

Honest, but not delivered with any sense of sorrow. Goldie-cat hardly felt such a thing most days.