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 Posted: Sat May 08, 2010 11:07 am
 Ate sighed, tail drooping toward the sands, drawing a swaying line right between the even but shortly placed steps, eye lids heavy and eyes aching from the sun blinding her with its reflections on the sand.
Part of her knew it was suicidal to go walking during the day, but the other part of her didn't care; she'd been lost for far too long and she knew no one cared whether she lived or died - and even if she walked in the night and conserved energy, she wouldn't last for too much longer with no water. The simple fact was that she didn't care. So was she suicidal? No, not at all, she didn't /want/ to die, she just didn't care - the difference was subtle, but there, and so she kept on walking. If she /wanted/ to die, then she would have just curled up in the sands and let the sun take over her mind and kill her.
Another step, and then ten, and twenty, thirty, forty... And then, a lovely sight for her wearing and rapidly fading eyesight, green. Green and blue and dear deities, /water/. A burst of energy came from some place she couldn't name, and she took off running towards it.
It wasn't until she was nearly there that she noticed the two males talking; she slunk back for a second, and then quietly snuck forward, trying to look as though she belonged there; that neither male could tell her what to do, whether it the one with odd hair and tail or the rainbowed one. Perhaps in a different circumstance, she would have introduced herself, or perhaps flirted in a vague manner, but as the water slipped down her sandy throat, she wanted nothing more than to keep drinking. As she took gulp after gulp, she noticed that the energy boost she'd used to run to the water had faded quickly; she was struggling not to fall face first into the water, and her vision was darker on the edges than in the middle (which, with the sunblindness, was already darkened).
She, however, kept her attention on them from the corner of her eyes, wide with terror, through pupils, shaking in the same emotion. It was an irrational fear, she knew, that either or both males would want to or even attempt to hurt her, but there was no chance she would risk it; she had been so long without company, that she was afraid each and ever other modifox was out to get her - and that wasn't that much of a bad way to live.
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Posted: Sat May 08, 2010 11:31 am
When Kalevi didn't answer, Conundrum made to stand up--but then there was a green, black and pink fox, looking at him like he was about to tear her throat out.
But he wouldn't do that, especially to someone who reminded him so much of Rave...no, he corrected himself, especially to a female fox.
"Hello," Conundrum greeted softly and gently, not making a move towards her, lest she get spooked and run off. "Don't be alarmed, no one will hurt you here," Conny reassured her--seemed like he'd been doing a lot of that today. Nobody but the squirrels and the birds here for days (or was it weeks...?) on end, and then two foxes on the same day. How strange...
Glancing upward, toward the supposed Modideities, Conundrum shook his head to clear it, making himself focus. This vixen needed help.
"Drink as much as you like," Conundrum said, though he quickly added, "Not that I could tell you otherwise," as a sort of subtle way of saying, 'I'm not an Elder here, I can't tell you what to do', same as he had told Kalevi, albeit in clearer terms.
"I'm Conundrum," Conny said, internally cursing himself for forgetting his manners, both with the vixen and Sir. "Sorry, I should've told you that before," Conundrum apologized to Sir over his shoulder--he seemed to be a bit more stable than he had a few moments ago, but all the same, Conny knew he would have to find some more squirrels and birds to keep the two of them sustained until they regained their energy, assuming this vixen wasn't just passing through.
"What's your name?"
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Posted: Sat May 08, 2010 11:56 am
She squeaked quietly at the sound of his voice, choking on a mouthful of water. Ate coughed once or twice to dislodge it, then looked up at him, deep purple eyes studying his yellowish ones, trying to tell if he was telling her the truth.
Deciding it was (or close enough - or perhaps just that even if he was lying, it hardly mattered) true that at least /this/ fox wouldn't kill her, she then shifted her eyes over him to study the other one.
Too tired to stand, she took her relief that at least the bigger of the two foxes wasn't likely attack her in the form of sitting down at the water's edge, lazily drawing a paw through the clear surface before leaning down to take another big sip, listening to him speak.
She followed his gaze upwards, wondering what was there, what he was seeing other than the sun (and looking up toward its brightness hurt her eyes; she immediately looked down and winced them closed tightly, willing the pain to go away).
However, the mere sound of another modi's voice soothed her exponentially, and she managed to nearly meet his eyes once the pain stopped shooting through her skull. Conundrum? An odd name, but she had no reason or position to speak against an elder - however, she wondered if she'd be able to remember it, her brain too sun-fried to be counted on for much of anything. She set to memorizing it, but failed to respond for a few seconds. Upon realising he was most likely waiting for a response, she flicked her eyes between the two other males quickly before responding.
"I, uh." Her voice was coarse from the sand, and she cleared it softly, flicking the tip of her tail. "I'm Ate."
Even her own name sounded odd, her own voice so unfamiliar that she nearly jumped and looked around for who else had echoed her words.
There was a pause, then hesitantly, "It's nice to meet you..."
Another pause, and then an unexplainable burble of words, "Well, anyone really, but especially someone friendly."
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Posted: Sat May 08, 2010 12:08 pm
Conundrum fought a smile and didn't quite succeed at smothering it as she choked in surprise on the water--it had been so long since he'd smiled, anyways.
"It's my pleasure, Ate," Conundrum returned, his eyes jovial now. Well, more jovial than they had been, but that wasn't by much. He chuckled softly as she continued speaking, answering, "Yes, I can understand that." Conny said with a slight nod, making the beads in his hair jingle.
"This is...actually, I do not know his name, but he said it didn't matter, so I have taken to calling him Sir," Conundrum explained, stepping slightly to one side so she could get a better look at the brown and green fox who was in much the same shape as she was herself.
"Keep drinking, save your breath," Conny encouraged her gently, wrapping his poofy tail around his feet. "You should rest,"
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Posted: Wed May 12, 2010 3:46 pm
 Helios soared over the barren landscape, pink eyes scanning the ground for signs of life. This wasn't his first time in a desert, but that didn't make it feel less lonely. Still, the sun beating down him was invigorating, in a way that didn't even really make sense. But much like his brother lived for the moon and the calm, cool nights, Helios thrived on heat and energy and light. Nights were meant for sleeping, and days were for living and stirring up trouble and meeting people. If foxes broke into a sweat, he'd gladly live in one every day.
So sure, he was a bit of an unhealthy freak of nature. But he wasn't suicidal; the black Modiphim knew his limits, and so he was headingfor that oasis on the horizon. He'd merely been looking for life on the ground for company, or to assist a lost Modifox find safety there. The desert was too harsh for some.
Finding none, he quickened his pace, knowing the sun, as much as he loved it, could quickly tire him out as heat built up in his black pelt. Helios had no interest in heat exhaustion, sun lover or not.
He reached the edge of the trees and glided down to the ground, landing with a soft thump in the sand. After shaking loose sand from his pelt Helios ducked into the shaded shelter, heading for the sound of water.
And of course there were others gathered there when he found it. Seeing an Elder in their midst, Helios nodded his head in acknowledgment of an equal and smiled. "I apologize if I'm intruding," he said, mistaking this small band for a tribe. "My name is Helios, and I was merely here to rest." No need to create enemies.
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Posted: Wed May 12, 2010 4:07 pm
Conundrum's attention was again diverted, his ears picking up the thud of feet on the ground. Another Modifo-...Oh, well, that was different. A Modiphim, come to join the group.
"Of course," Conundrum said with a nod. "Anyone is welcome here, none of us have any stake here," Conundrum said, growing a bit tired of explaining to everyone that he wasn't an Elder of a Tribe anymore, just an Elder. But he supposed this new black fox wouldn't care--he didn't look as tired as the other two around him.
"I am Conundrum," Conny said after a few minutes, adding, "This is Ate and this is..." Conny paused, sending the brown and green fox a look that asked him to speak up, for it was a touch embarrassing that Conundrum still didn't know his name. "Well, this fox has chosen not to share his name, so I merely call him Sir," Conny admitted with a chuckle, taking a step closer to Ate so the winged fox could have space.
"Rest as long as you need, Helios," Conundrum repeated firmly, wrapping his bushy tail more around himself. "Because you are not intruding at all," Conny said with a small chuckle again.
Having nothing else to say at the moment and not being one for idle prattle, Conny moved to lay down relaxedly, his nose still close to the water and his fluffy tail still against his side--he didn't want to alarm anyone by seeming unnecessarily aggressive, especially since he had never attacked another Modifox in his life.
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Posted: Sat May 15, 2010 7:37 am
Ate had agreed to Conundrum’s statement and had fallen into drinking deeply, hoping to refresh herself in the life-giving water, maybe find some strength to marginally act like herself, when the ‘phim walked up.
Of course, the vixen, lost in drinking, neither heard nor saw the Modiphim, and so jumped into the water on reflex of getting away from the things behind her. She also gasped, and so inhaled a lungful of water – she coughed loudly for a second, stepping out of the water.
Her ears, weighted down by wet fur, drooped at the ends, giving her a sort of sad look as she shook some of the water out. More tired, wet, and anxious than before, she watched the elder and the Modiphim speak, feeling somewhat like a stupid kit (though this could have been the fact that she was acting like one, jumping into the water at nothing).
She made a few, shuffled steps toward Conundrum; of the new foxes, she trusted Conundrum far more than this new “Helios,” though she gave a slightly terse smile and a muttered hello; he likely thought she was mentally unsound anyway, so it didn’t matter to her one bit whether or not she furthered this view – besides, Modiphim always made her uncomfortable anyway, with their size and impressive wings…
Softly, unsure if Conundrum would want her much closer (often she found herself blissfully unaware of the conception of “personal space,” and so had developed a hypersensitivity to it; she was still a good, safe distance away from the elder), she stood only slightly more toward Conundrum than Helios and again gave a terse smile, “Yes, like-like Conundrum said.. I’m Ate.”
The heat from the sun was drying her quickly, as once again her ears stood as they were supposed to, and she glanced toward Conundrum, whose larger size was no longer shielding her from view, so she too lay down.
In a bit of a hurry to continue what Conundrum had been saying, she nodded softly, "I-I just got here too.."
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Posted: Sat May 15, 2010 1:11 pm
Kalevi snorted when Ate called Conundrum friendly--she must be a naive one. There were no such things as friendly foxes.
He was perfectly content to watch the little group that was forming from the far side of the oasis, where he had managed to slink to unnoticed. Or at least uncommented on, which was good enough for him.
Something that might have been a smile passed over his face as Ate nearly fell in the water--but faded just as quickly as it had come. Now there were two foxes who were bigger than he was here, and both of them in much better condition than he was. He really didn't like those odds.
(And he was still considering them all threats--especially the rainbow-colored elder. He was the first there, was an elder, so he had every right to the oasis. So saying otherwise was definitely suspicious, and so Kalevi was keeping his eyes on him.)
((I am sorry he's insane gonk ))
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Posted: Sat May 15, 2010 10:58 pm
Conundrum blinked in surprise as Ate fell into the water, raising his eyebrows as she crawled back out. Apparently, it was her instinct to dive underwater when strange foxes came around...? How strange.
Shaking his head to clear it, Conny focused back on the fact that she was definitely nervous around the new Modiphim, and less nervous around himself, so he didn't mind it when she shifted closer to him. He took a sidestep closer to her, just enough to reassure her that he was there and wouldn't let this 'Phim hurt her (not that his breed had a reputation for that, of course), not enough to freak her out.
"Er, I apologize for Sir over there," Conundrum said, wrinkling his brow in confusion when he noticed that Sir wasn't in fact where he thought he was, but rather on the other side of The Oasis. Huh. He really was a jumpy one.
"Are you alright, Ate?" Conny asked kindly, looking back at the green fox. "You took quite a spill..."
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Posted: Sun May 16, 2010 11:16 am
Ate gently pawed her face in embarrassment at his question, pointedly looking in the other direction. He was concerned - and kind about it - but there was no doubt that she'd been completely and utterly idiotic in jumping forward when she'd been drinking.
She spoke quietly, trying to make herself as small as was possible, constantly tucking her tail closer and arching her back to pull her feet closer together.
Her voice was distant - but obviously embarrassed, despite the distance's attempt to hide it. "Y-yes... I'm fine.."
She sighed quietly, finally glancing back towards Helios and Conundrum. "Thank-... Thank you for your concern, Conundrum."
Conundrum was closer to her, she noted - and that made her smile slightly, and did indeed make her feel safer.
She looked to him, wondering what would come to this small group at this oasis; Ate was calming down quickly and found she liked it here - it was hot, but it wasn't the desert. It seemed like somewhere that would make a nice home, and she wondered if that was why an Elder was here - but then why did he not have a claim to this land?
She closed her eyes and spoke quietly, "C-Conundrum... Is this going to be a tribe?"
There was a bit of hope in her voice, and she opened her eyes to follow his, nervously shifting her paws.
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Posted: Sun May 16, 2010 11:29 am
Conundrum blinked in surprise, the question metaphorically taking his feet out from under him. The mention of Tribes brought Enigma back to his mind, which made his body ache for his old friends, and brought up old questions that Conny still didn't have the answer to: where had they gone? why had they gone? where they alright? was it something he'd done? should he have never been chosen as Elder?
Conundrum chastised himself mentally--he should be answering Ate's question, whether or not that he liked it.
"I don't know," Conundrum confessed, his shoulders sagging slightly. "I don't believe our friend Sir plans on staying, and I am not sure about Helios..." Conundrum trailed off, frowning thoughtfully. The Oasis would be a good home base for a Tribe...
"I don't know," Conundrum repeated, looking down at his paws. "I suppose it could...but I lost control of my oth-...a previous Tribe I was in charge of. I'm not sure if I'm...fit." At the last word, he looked back up at the sky, wondering once again what the Sun God and the Goddess of the Oasis wanted with him, why they had told him to stay. Why he had even listened to the crazy voices in his head.
"I...don't think I'd...mind, if it did become a Tribe..." Conundrum said carefully, surprised at himself for the words coming out of his mouth. He had been ready to live alone for the rest of his life, away from contact with all foxes, save maybe his sisters--if they were lucky. But here, this green and pink fox, the one who had plummeted headfirst into the spring for no apparent reason, was asking him, and he found himself not wanting to let her down.
"But...three foxes and an old semi-retired Elder does not a Tribe make," Conundrum cautioned her, frowning thoughtfully again. "I...I don't know, Ate. Maybe."
Then, he turned back to Sir. "What do you think? And you?" Conny added, looking back at Helios.
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Posted: Sun May 16, 2010 11:56 am
Ate blinked at him, standing up next to him, frowning a bit as she paced, trying to keep a respectful distance away from Helios as she thought.
"I want it to be. You say you do - and you would be the elder. Not fit - 'half-retired'?"
She snorted softly, pacing still, tail flicking thoughtfully as she did so. "Of course you are (and your retiring is your own decision, is it not -- can you not decide something else?) - you would not be brought here if it weren't so -- well, I'm assuming you felt the same pull I did to this place... It's like I was brought here, by something - I don't know why I entered the desert in the first place or why I didn't die or how I got here or what it means, but I-I came here. And I don't know about Helios or Sir or anything else, but... I feel like this is where it should stop. That /here/, this oasis, is the end of the line for me. It's just what I know. I don't know how I know it, I just do."
She shrugged, still walking around, still thinking. "No, it- it's not a tribe yet, but you won't say you want to make it one, so of course it's not, and no, as we are now, if both of you stayed here, it would not yet be a tribe...
"But isn't that how they all have to start? A fox and an elder - that's /somewhere/, isn't it? It's more than nothing - it's more than a vague idea.
"We - if you don't mind me using 'we,' - have this oasis. Food, water, shelter..." She paused to point her nose back at the desert, "Protection from most of the outside world."
She sighed, wondering where all of this energy had come from, and blinked. "You may not mind, but I.. I want it to. I was brought here, and I think it had to have been for a reason."
Ate shook her head, the pink fringe sweeping across her eyes. "I... Maybe I'm stupid, but... I want this to be a tribe." She fidgeted softly, then much quieter than any of her speech had been, "My tribe."
It was an odd feeling, and it was safely the first Ate could say she'd ever felt; she never thought she'd ache for a tribe so badly and it was an odd feeling, needless to say, but she knew what it was -- she was positive she wasn't mistaking it for anything else. She shook her head again and watched him hopefully, flicking her eyes between Helios and the stranger on the other side of the oasis.
"One of you - anyone of you -- did that not move you? Is-Is that feeling nothing more than a feeling in my sun-exhausted mind? Would none of you help me...?"
She looked down quickly, embarrassed at how quick she had been to speak, but peered up at Conundrum, more than a little hopeful.
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Posted: Sun May 16, 2010 12:37 pm
Conundrum raised his eyebrows again as Ate started pacing--she never ceased to surprise him, this strange, passionate green fox before him. There were multiple times when Conny opened his mouth to respond, but she seemed to cut him off at every turn.
After a long few moments of silence, Conundrum stood to his full height and looked down at the green fox, his eyes considering all that she had said. It was obvious that this Ate needed a place to call home, a place to feel...safe...
How did he know that? Conny didn't feel like it was just his normal, average powers of observation. He remembered feeling the same with the members of Enigma...
Well, he supposed that settled it.
"Alright." Conundrum looked around at the other two foxes, then said louder, "This land...is claimed by the Tribe that worships Solarus and Miraja, God of the Sun and Goddess of The Oasis."
But that felt too official, and he didn't want his new maybe-friends to leave.
"But...others are welcome, whether or not they choose to be part of this...Tribe."
Conundrum looked back at Ate, wondering what her reaction would be--and how in the name of the Deities above he had gotten talked into this.
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Posted: Sun May 16, 2010 3:49 pm
Kalevi scoffed at Ate's words, at the weakness, the huge vulnerability. Her wanting to belong to a group. A tribe. So weak that she had to rely on others for help. "No," he spoke to the green-colored vixen, "I did not--do not--feel called here." It was a moment of carelessness that had allowed him to get lost in the desert, that and nothing more. "Make a tribe here if you want, it doesn't matter to me." He was going to rest here, heal up, and in a few days --a week at most--he would be healed, ready to leave, to go back to living on his own, with the only person he could trust: himself.
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Posted: Sun May 16, 2010 3:51 pm
Conny's ears pricked as he heard Sir chuff, raising an eyebrow as he spoke more than one or two monosyllabic words. It was almost a speech in and of itself, at least when it came from the brown and green male.
"Alright," Conundrum said, nodding slowly. "You are still welcome here. Whether or not you will be staying is your choice, Sir." Conundrum wasn't surprised that this vine-y fox hadn't instantly jumped on the bandwagon--in fact, he had been expecting such.
But then he couldn't help himself. He added gently, "But just because you didn't feel a...pull, or a call or what have you, does not mean that you do not belong here. However, I respect and understand if you choose not to belong, Sir, I do." And, as Ate had said, that's what it boiled down to: a choice. Could come out of 'retirement'? It was a choice. Could he be a leader again? It was all a choice. Somehow, Conundrum didn't think Sir would choose to stay for a moment longer than he had to.
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