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 Posted: Fri May 12, 2006 11:57 am
 Welcome to Artemis' Wild Zone, home to the wild and not-quite-yet-elusive Wild Artemis. xD This is for storing rps between herself and other gryphs, as well as her family. All art is by Tou-san, including banners. Concept for the store is mostly Tou-san with some help from Sona. xD
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Posted: Sun May 14, 2006 1:45 pm
Name: Artemis
Age: Adolescent
Flock: Damia Natura
Generation: Two
Likes:
Dislikes:
Horsefly: None
Mate: None
Chicks: None
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Posted: Sun May 14, 2006 7:32 pm
Growth requirements--
Adolescent to Adult - Must have been an adolescent for one month and have completed a minimum of seven role plays. Four role plays must be done with at least one other role player. The rest can be solo.
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Posted: Wed May 17, 2006 12:59 pm
Log 1
Gaea rolled over, feeling a lot more comfortable now. The chicks were gathered together in her nest. She reached over, gently nuzzling little Artemis as she started wiggling away. She and Autumn both were probably the most active of the chicks...well, of her personal chicks. She also had Sakuri, and Lirit was checking out his 'leam' for a while...probably with Helios.
Artemis squawked in protest at being nuzzled at. She didn't want her movements limited! She wanted to move and go and do things! ...though, she wasn't entirely sure what. She just didn't want to lie about doing nothing anymore, that's all.
Duke was the typical father figure: he lays there, sleeping. He had been up most of the night with Autumn and as such was catching up on much needed sleep. His breath slow and steady, not seeming to be disturbed by what's going on around him with his mate and their chicks.
Persephone was curled up next to her father's head, her tiny body rolled into a little ball and asleep like him. However when she hears the protesting squawks, they wake her; her ears twitch and she lifts her head, looking around though her eyes are still closed. A little squeaking whinny of curiosity, wondering what exactly was happening!
Orpheus pawed at his face grumpily, trying to block out the unknown disturbances that had awoken him. Feeling the presense of his family around him, he lifted his head slightly, sniffing the air (though for what even he was not sure). Suddenly the shrill sound of squawking filled the air, and even though his ears were still folded down he could hear enough of it to be annoyed.
Startled and tired, Orpheus let out a shrill squeak of his own as he cried aloud in frustration.
Autumn, like his father, was sleeping. Hopefully he'd not make a habit out of being a nocturnal. But for now he sleep soundly, sometimes twitching in his sleep, as near to his father as possible, hopefully stull cuddled into his fluffy warm mane. Who knows when he'd awaken.
The adult gryph whickered softly, hoping it'd quiet Artemis. She had quite forgotten how independent the little chick was already. Sighing, she leaned over to nuzzle the others who were now stirring, hoping that perhaps at least her presence would calm them, despite their sister's noises.
The newborn wiggled a bit, annoyed a little by her attentions. She bumped against one of her siblings, and squawked indignantly again. Moving around was so difficult, but she wanted to!
The sounds were enough to start stirring Duke too. His ears twisting, he forces his head to lift up and opening his eyes as he does, letting out a yawn. His large wings stretch out and flap slightly before drawing back to rest against him. He takes a moment to survey his surroundings taking notice of the fact that Persephone and Autumn have both curled up against him. Looking to the side he spies Gaea with Artemis and Orpheus.
"Mrf.." He stretches out his neck then leans to nuzzle at Gaea, glancing down at the suddenly active chicks. "Hm. What woke them?"
Persephone lets out a squeak again as Artemis bumps into her. Little tail wriggles and her tiny wings flap as she pushes at the ground with her hindpaws to snuggle in against her warm father. She turns in the direction of where Artemis had bumped her, reaching out to paw at her as if trying to fight.
Orpheus squeaked as a face suddenly nuzzled against him. He felt warm and secure, but was now far from tired. Wriggling his stomach back and forth, he worked to free himself from the entanglment of siblings, parents, and nesting that surrounded him.
Well isn't that odd? Now Autumn is the only inactive chick. Compared to his brothers and sisters, he still is asleep, the faint sound of snoring drowned out by the noise of the other chicks and whatever other daytime noises surround him. Hopefully he wouldn't get squished.
Gaea sighed, letting Artemis wiggle off to do as she pleased and focusing on the others. Orpheus too seemed ready to go do something else. She smiled softly-- she had been pretty content to just laze about as a chick, but she knew Helios, for example, did not. She saw Duke wake and stretch,
"Morning, sleepy-head," she smiled at him, getting to her feet and stretching as well, now that the chicks were all moving about but Autumn.
Artemis whimpered, settling her head on her front forepaws when she was too exhausted to keep moving around. She did like the feeling of the grass around her. She just wanted to do things!
Duke didn't follow Gaea's example; after all, Autumn was lounging against him still, as was Persephone, so it was not possible for him to move without upsetting them. He didn't want to hear crying and that crying could amplify if all four picked up on it.
"Well, at least one isn't so excited," he murmurs, pointing out that this was Autumn's behavior. "But he was up a lot during the night. You must have slept right through it."
The little ivy chick, almost an exact duplicate of her mother, rolls away from her father at that exact moment, scurrying across the dirt to bump into Artemis. Forcing herself up, she climbs over her, laying on top of her with a little squeaking whinny.
Orpheus thrusted out his front paws, and pulled himself forward the best he could. Inching and squirming, he finally managed to move his upper torso over the edge of the nest. As he triumphantly pulled further to free himself completely, he felt himself held back by his tail, which was snagged on something unknown. Why was this happening? His lips began to quiver, followed by another shrill sobbing cry.
That shrill sobbing cry was enough to wake Autumn up. His head shoots up, body rolling over from on his back, to on his belly. Wobbly chick just lays there staring through closed eyes in the direction of the crying. Amazingly enough there were no noises from him. He didn't follow Orpheus' cue of crying, and if any other chicks started to cry, he'd still remain silent. Duke could move if he wanted, and if he did, Autumn would just roll backwards (since he was leaning against his chest and mane) onto his back, paws in air, and just lay that way contently. If Duke didn't move, he'd just... stay there as he is, 'staring' at Orph!
The adult hippogryph walked over to Orpheus, lifting him up to free his tail and then settling him back down and nuzzling him gently. She peered curiously at Persephone and Artemis, not sure whether they're fighting or Persephone is just trying to be amorous or lost.
"Should I separate them?" she asks Duke, laughing a bit.
Artemis squealed as she was jumped on. Why was she being attacked! She just wanted to move around! The little hippogryph rolled over onto her back, pawing at the creature above her. Oh, it was her sister-- she recognized the smell now. Still!
Duke only lets out a laugh as he watches the two of them interacting. Or rather, Persephone climbing up atop of Artemis and proceeding to play.
"Nah, let them play," he replies, stretching out his front legs then curling one around the relaxing Autumn. It seems that Autumn and Duke will end up having a very close relationship from the looks of it. "They'll be fine."
The girl grunts as Artemis rolls, and she goes rolling with her, flopping onto the ground. She twists around to turn and face her, stretching out to paw at her sister. Her ears twitch slightly then she leans to start gumming at some part of the other girl's body.
Orpheus kicked his little legs has he was suddenly lifted into the air. Wobbling about, his muscles relaxed as he felt himself on solid ground again. Sniffing slightly at a westward breeze, he wiggled himself across the grass in the direction it came from, feeling the wind push against his face.
His wiggling began to slow down as his legs grew tired. Placing his head atop his paws, he paused to rest for just a moment. That moment quickly became several as he found himself fast asleep once more.
Since Duke hadn't moved, Autumn still sat up, perfectly content. When his father's arm settled around him, his head tilt up and leaned back, a happy little whinny at him, followed by a grunt when his head tilt back down. The chick gave a stretch, pawing at Duke's arm. Paws tuck under his own little body when he scoots forward, using his dad's arm for his muzzle-pillow. He wasn't asleep, sometimes twitching back legs or his tiny wings... just simple relaxing. Yep, he's most likely gonna' be a 'daddys boy.'
Gaea smiled, settling next to Duke and watching the two girls as Orpheus snoozed off to the side a bit. She nuzzled little Autumn gently and then reached to nibble at Duke's ears affectionately. Her little family was doing so well!
Artemis swatted back at Persephone, attempting to move herself away from whatever she's gumming at.
The ear that was nibbled at flicks at her, grunting playfully at his mate. His tail starts to sway, the long hairs and feathers easily being separated as it moves along the ground.
"See? They're doing fine," he states with a rumble in his throat.
Persephone, when swatted, lets out a sound of surprise, albeit like a chirrup before she breaks out into a loud shrieking whinnying, very, very upset by the sounds of it. Her head falls back as she cries up into the sky, obviously none too pleased with being smacked.
Autumn lift his head and sniffed at the air in Gaea's direction, his little nub of a tail 'wagging' briefly when he whinnies and chirps at his mum. Then his head turns to the crying that starts up not long after, head tilt like a curious puppy. Still, he did not join in crying.
The adult hippogryph blinks, looking at her children as Artemis gets a little feisty with her sister. She moves to fix things, but stops when Artemis moves to make reparations. Sighing, she snuggles back against Duke and gives Autumn a quick lick,
"It's okay, Persephone," she says, "Artemis didn't mean it..I think."
At the other girl's squeal, Artemis nudges her gently, offering chirping apologies of some variety and licking her sister on the nose. It's not that she was trying to hurt her! She was just responding...albeit a bit roughly.
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Posted: Wed May 17, 2006 2:46 pm
Log 2
Today had hardly been a day for adventures. As a matter of fact, Felicity was fairly sure that this was a day for unventures!... Whatever that was. Her morning and afternoon had been so uneventful that the poor little Gryph had dissolved to pushing her face into the ground, trying to let the shade of the grass give her some darkness that would make opening her eyes easier.
She hadn't gotten very far- she was still blind as she'd been yesterday, though this time she was a bit more crestfallen. Well... No matter! In time, she supposed, things would get better. And more fun. Still, though, Felicity couldn't help but to feel hopelessly bored.
The tiny white chick lolled about in the grass, her petite forepaws pulling foward, letting the newborn Gryph crawl around across the grass. It wasn't that Felicity couldn't sit still- she could- she just preferred to be up and about. What was the fun of staying in one spot, anyway?
Artemis was in about the same sort of mood. Then again, she always was. She had wandered off from her brothers and sisters, though her mother still kept a watchful eye on her from a distance. It'd taken her a good long time to get all this way anyhow!
The little gryph settled comfortably in a patch of grass for a quick rest after she had finished crawling a sizeable (read: small) distance. She would continue her explorations shortly!
And who but to wiggle herself right into the other Gryph but Felicity? It seemed as though she had a knack for blindly seeking out other chicks and then pummeling herself into them. It was an accident, of course, but something that suprised the little chick nonetheless.
Letting out a high pitched, short lived squeal, Felicity wiggled backwards for a moment. Her tiny muzzle tried to stretch into the air as she attempted to sniff out something- Oh! And there it was! It was a similar 'something' smell that she'd noticed just yesterday when she'd made two (well, one, really) new friends. Peeping happily, realizing that this smell, while familiar, was of a new Gryph, Felicity wagged her tail a bit.
Crooning gently to whoever this was, she decided to try and open her eyes. Unfortunately, the sunlight was much too strong and she was far too tired from all that crawling. So instead, the chick let out another tail wiggle, followed by a gentle pawing in Artemis's direction.
The other gryph chick did not seem impressed with this at all! She let out an indignant chirp as Felicity bumped into her, and scooted in a direction she hoped was away from the other, but couldn't be bothered to sniff out as definitely so.
She felt Felicity's paw as it reached to touch her and chirped again. She didn't want to be hit again, like her sister had the other day! So many pawing, violent chicks! Reaching out, she pawed at the other in revenge.
Felicity, cheerfully unaware of Artemis's unhappy retaliation, felt a light swat in her general direction. That was lovely! Another chick to play with! Unfortunately for Felicity, she was hardly aware that Artemis's intentions were different then her own.
Cooing softly to what she hoped would be a new friend, the little Gryph rolled onto her back happily, letting out a series of pleasently pitched trills that almost sounded like a song. Her paws batted blindly at the air, and it almost seemed as if she wanted Artemis to chirp along with her.
Artemis was quite sure she had no idea what the other gryph was about, and settled back amongst the loam and leaves to chirp in confusion to herself. She wanted to be able to roam about and explore properly just as her mother and father did. She was tired of this wandering aimlessly in hopes of finding something exciting!
Felicity frowned mildly. Why wasn't this new chick complying? Chirping twice softly in quick sucession, it wasn't long before the newborn herself had devised a game plan. A rather articulate, ingenious one, if she'd've said so herself!
Feeling her face relax into that very comfortable position- the same one she'd done yesterday when she'd smiled for the first time, Felicity steadied herself. Her little nose perked up into the air and she chirped in a huff, clearly trying to detect the exact direction of which Artemis had scootched to. Deciding that she was aiming in the correct way, the little chick gave a fullhearted pounce-tackle, her nose rather sucessfully having lead her in Artemis's direction.
Felicity pounced happiy ontop of the little Gryph, wagging her stubby tail playfully. Now it was war!
Artemis' chirp was twice as indignant this time! She rolled over quickly in an attempt to throw the other chick off of her. Why was she so unjustly being attacked? She hadn't done anything but wandered by, and suddenly this obnoxious creature felt the need to jump on top of her and swat at her most unpleasantly!
It was a good thing that Felicity couldn't read minds- for if she could, she would've been most certainly unhappy to know that Artemis thought so poorly of her already. Oblivious to the other Gryph's rage, however, Felicity continued to chirp sweetly. She interupted Artemis's swats and chirps to be mock aggressive- truly playful in nature.
It was a shame that Felicity failed to see (not literally, of course) the true nature of Artemis's behavior. She would've most certainly 'ceased fire' had she known how unhappy the other chick was with her playful attacks. Seeing as Felicity had no way of knowing, however, she continued to play.
Her teeny paws pressed happily ontop of Artemis's, though they sloppily fell off here and there, causing the chick to slide down and bump into the grass once more. As Artemis rolled, however, Felicity was completely thrown off. Where had the little thing gone to? Raising her muzzle into the air, Felicity began to crawl in all sorts of directions, trying to seek out her 'friend'.
The little gryph sighed contentedly as she had managed to roll away from the offending other gryph, and sniffed about for her, to make sure that she could escape quickly if she came close.
Artemis' nose was quite good, but she was not accustomed to Felicity's particular smell, and so did not realize she was just there. She crawled off, but likely not far from Felicity.
Unfortunately for Artemis, Felicity was one determined little chick. She whinned a bit, clearly unhappy that Artemis had seemingly vanished from the spot. A soft whimper trailed from her muzzle, which was then buried into the ground. The soft blades of grass tickled Felicity's snout, and she promptly shrieked into a small trill of giggles, her pleasent little singsong squeaks vibrating against the ground.
Pulling her muzzle up, chirping sadly as the tickling blades of grass vanished, Felicity now had a better idea of which direction Artemis had scuttled off in. Crawling in that remote direction, the chick herself was quite suprised when as she crawled, she accidently stumbled over Artemis's stray paw.
Loosing whatever ounce of coordination she'd established, the Gryph rolled onto her side, wailing in suprise as she faced directly upwards, the sun beaming against her closed eyelids.
Artemis blinked at the touching, then sighed. She was very determined, she had to give her that much. Wiggling so that she touched the other very briefly, she realized that the other had fallen over and nudged against her in an attempt to set the other right.
She wasn't a -mean- gryph, really. She just didn't understand when others tried to play with her without her initiating it.
Felicity's paws hung limply in the air above her, and she perked her head to the side about. That was so very strange... How come whenever she lied on her belly, everything was dark- but when she lied on her back, everything was brilliantly bright? She'd have to learn about that some time or other. It puzzled her very much.
The chick was estatic when she noticed that she was on the receiving end of a light nudge. Chirping pleasently to show her appreciation for Artemis's attempts to roll her over, the little chick made an effort to do so as well. Her little paws flailed to the side and she rolled back onto her belly, comfortable once more. Peeping a few times happily in what she hoped was Artemis's direction, Felicity waggled her stubbly tail a bit, her paws kneading idly beneath her.
She wished she could see this new 'friend' of hers! Trying, for some odd third time now to open her eyes, Felicity suprised herself when blurs of unrecognizeable colors flashed before her- only to disappear behind eyelids once more.
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Posted: Thu May 18, 2006 9:25 am
Helios was a little worried. He hadn't really seen Gaea and Duke around for a while, and though he knew where they had set their flock-in-progress, he didn't really want to disturb them there unless he had to.
But...it'd been so long! He hoped nothing had happened to them...maybe, for just a little while, he'd go see them. They couldn't begrudge him that! Gaea wouldn't, definitely. She was always nice! The little hippogryph trotted merrily in the direction of their 'flock' territory.
Artemis wiggled off a bit from the rest of her family, wanting a bit of freedom and fresh air as usual. She was tired of this eternal snuggle-fest and such. She wanted to be moving!
Abruptly, she bumped into the little yellow figure and let out a disappointed chirp-- in her experience this meant her moments of liberty were over and that she was about to be either snuggled or swatted at and jumped on.
Gaea followed the girl closely, noting that the rest of the chicks were sleeping contentedly in the nest. She wasn't the least bit surprised that Artemis had been the first to wake-- she usually was.
Helios chirped in surprise as the little one bumped into him, blinking at it for a minute before jumping in glee. So -this- was why Gaea and Duke hadn't been in the central area so much! He reached down to nuzzle the little one affectionately before moving forward to greet Gaea,
"She's yours, isn't she?" he asked, frolicking in circles around the adult gryph,
"Ooooh she's cute!"
Artemis chirped indignantly at the nuzzle, but then in appreciation as the nuzzler left her alone and headed off elsewhere. Settling in the grass, she decided a brief walking break was in order before she continued her explorations...and she could do some while she was here. The little gryph sniffled at the grass and bugs curiously, trying to take in as many scents as possible.
Gaea let the little gryph wander a bit, though she did keep an eye on her as she greeted Helios,
"Yes, she's mine," she flushed with pride at the little chicks, "As are the others," she nodded in the direction of the chicks surrounding Duke,
"I'm sorry I've been gone so much, but it's hard to carry all four of them anywhere, and I don't want to leave any of them unprotected."
Helios nodded,
"That's okay!" he said cheerfully, watching the little one wander a bit,
"She's pretty mobile, isn't she? I remember I mostly liked to lie in the sun when I was little," he offered.
Gaea laughed, "That's most of what you like to do now," she teased, "You may be bigger, but you still have not grown much."
Helios giggled at this,
"That's true. I don't wanna grow up, though! There are so many fun things still left to enjoy! I don't lie about -all- the time, anyhow. Sometimes I play in the water or chase horseflies."
Artemis snuffled her way back to Gaea at this point, having grown a bit weary of her adventuring and seeking the warmth and comfort of her mother. Not that she was partial to snuggling, but sometimes it was nice.
Gaea nuzzled Artemis gently, realizing the little one's occasionally desire for attention but respecting her space-- this one had already made it abundantly clear that she was probably going to be almost as independent as her father.
"That's true," she smiled at Helios, "I heard you and Lirit were playing in the water the other day."
Helios nodded, the blinked at little Artemis,
"oh...she looks sleepy. Maybe you should get her back to the others," he smiled. Chicks were always first in importance in the North Flock,
"I'll head off. I just wanted to make sure you guys were doing okay!"
Gaea nodded,
"That's fine. Stop by anytime, Helios. You know you're welcome," she said, gently picking up the chick in her mouth and heading back to her nest.
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Posted: Fri May 26, 2006 3:38 pm
Infant RP
Log 3
Artemis was bored. Very bored, in fact, and so she decided to find a way to entertain herself...she couldn't stray far or her parents would be upset, so that left using her brothers and sisters for entertainment.
As such, she pounced on her brother, Orpheus, being that he was the closest to her current position.
Orpheus squawked sharply as something big, and heavy hit him in the side. Twisting his head around, he felt the soft fuzz and smelt the familiar scent of his sister, Artemis.
Be her his sister or not, he did not appreciate having her body slammed against his. In fact, he down-right hated it. Opening up his little mouth as wide as he could, he chomped down on a mouthful of skinless fluff in warning. Hmph!
Artemis snicker-chirped at the mouthing her brother gave her-- she wasn't worried! He couldn't -really- hurt her, not when his teeth weren't really in yet! Wiggling her fur out of his mouth, she swatted, attempting to roll him over on his back so that she might pounce him again and start a wrestling match, perhaps.
Orpheus flopped over as his sister's paw pushed into his side. Why was she being so mean to him...? He didn't do anything... all he wanted to do was sleep and enjoy the fresh air.
Breathing heavily, he opened his mouth wide, tilted his head back towards the sky, and let out a shrill, sharp screeching cry.
Artemis didn't really think she was being mean, but then, she didn't really tend to take others' feelings into consideration that much. She was still in that wonderfully ego-centric stage of childhood.
She settled herself across his belly, asserting dominance, in her fashion.
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Posted: Wed May 31, 2006 1:38 pm
Log 4
Felicity whined in a small, hardly audible voice. Ordinarily, the little girl would've been frolicing carelessly through the meadow, but this afternoon was different. Her tummy felt very sensitive, and her neck almost felt sore! It seemed as though the little gryphon was just waking up, when a horrible, terrible sense of reality shook and seized her with fear.
"AAEE!" she cried out, startled as she felt a very uncomfortable pulling on her throat when she tried to leap up and trot away. Her tummy, which was sprawled against the ground, seemed to be tinted red a bit- naturally from all the rolling she'd been doing on it, perhaps in a nap she'd took earlier this afternoon. In desperation, the little gryph took one of her forepaws as close as she could to her neck, batting helplessly at the bizarre contraption that was preventing her escape.
It took Felicity several long, thoughtful moments before she'd realized what had happened. Cael had tied her up.
The full impact of this hadn't reached Felicity yet. At the moment, she was simply disappointed that she couldn't go frolicing. She didn't even take into consideration that she didn't know when Cael would be back, why he tied her up, or how far away she could walk from the tree trunk her rope was tied around. Sighing lightly, the bound little hippogryph buried her muzzle into the soft, tickly grass, her tail wagging half heartedly. This had never happened before!
Artemis blinked, looking at the chirping form in front of her. She was pretty sure she couldn't help the other out, but how awful it must be to be tied up like that! Artemis herself would not have been able to stand such a thing. Possibly, she would have taken to chewing her bindings if nothing else seemed to work.
"How'd that happen?" she asked the other.
Before Felicity could realize what had happened, another gryph had entered the area! And by area, it seemed that this peculiarly familiar creature was directly in front of her. Letting a loose, half hearted smile dance across her velvety muzzle, Felicity sat up straight as best she could, her floppy tail wagging appreciatively behind her. Company was always nice.
"I think my human tied me here," she explained, a bit crestfallen, naturally. She hadn't even the slightest clue as to why Cael would've tied her up! He always let her roam free, whenever she liked! "I don't know why, though..." she added as an afterthought, before her eerie lilac eyes wandered curiously back to Artemis.
"I think I know you," she declared happily, the tip of her white muzzle twitching a bit, her nostrils wiggling. This gryph smelled awfully familiar! Felicity couldn't ever remember seeing her, though. "I'm Ellie," she introduced herself happily, perking up considerably now.
Artemis blinked. She didn't know how the other had suddenly become so calm. She was still tied up, afterall! Her movements were restricted, her life chained to a tree. How terrible that must be.
"I'm Artemis," she replied, still keeping enough distance that the other could not touch her. She wasn't sure what it was...maybe the fact that she had no proper wings? Or her incredibly pale eyes. Or the fact that she had somehow allowed herself to become tangled..no, she said something about being tied. Intentionally. And a human, whatever...
"What's a human? And why would they do something like that to you?"
Felicity's nature was to be unconditionally naive and cheerful- and so she was. The gryphon took zero notice of Artemis's apprehensive behavior- not wanting to sit too near to her, or all of the questions that were going through the other gryphs mind. Carefree and happy, Felicity responded without worry.
"That's a lovely name!" she insisted happily, making a mental note to remember this gryph and her pretty name. "A human is... a sort of cute thing. They only walk on two legs- and they're pink. They wear things on them too, so that you can't see all of their pinkness. Oh! And they speak quite funny too," she added with a small giggle, her tail still wagging absently mindedly behind her. "I love my human. I'm very good to him, and he loves me back. I don't know why he tied me up, though... He normally lets me run around by myself," she started off, a bit of a sad, disappointed tone to her previously uppity voice. Why had Cael tied her up?
Artemis shook her head,
"I don't think he must love you very much if he would do something like that to you." For the little green gryph, nothing in the world could be worse than having your freedom so restricted,
"They don't sound like very pleasant creatures, I think. Not if they run about talking funny and tying people up."
Felicity frowned slightly, perking her head to the side a bit. For a split second, she considered Artemis's point- but whatever inkling of agreement was quickly diminished. Of course Cael loved her! They did everything together, and she'd known him since she was a teeny, blind baby! Of course he loved her. Of course.
"Well maybe some of the humans are bad," Felicity responded carefully, her mind whirling as she thought deeply. "But not my Cael. Maybe you could meet him! Since you can't really tell whether he's good or bad just by hearing about him, maybe you could meet him and see for yourself!" Felicity suggested happily. That'd be splendid! She could introduce her favorite pink human thing in the whole wide world to her new pretty-named-friend!
... It just all depended on when Cael decided to come back to the tree. Still, in the back of her mind, Felicity couldn't help but wonder how she'd gotten here- and why did Cael put her here?
Artemis backed away a bit, shaking her head like a startled horse,
"Oh no. Definitely not," she said, her eyes becoming very wide. If she met this Cael, he might try to tie her up as well! She couldn't very well abide that. No, she would avoid such a thing completely
"I don't want to end up like you."
Felicity frowned deeply now, her entire body seeming to slouch a bit. It was clear she was becoming unhappy- both by Artemis's decision to being backing up, as well as her disagreement to Felicity's suggestion.
"Oh," she started, her previously low, mellow voice a bit choppy now. "Well, that's okay. You don't have to meet him if you don't wan-" Felicity's voice was very suddenly cut off as a looming, bulky shadow very unsimilar to Cael's was cast over both of the two little gryphs. A mixture of shock and fear swept over her as she squeaked helplessly, a sensation of drowning caught in her throat as the little gryph tugged hard against the rope, which bound her to the tree. It choked her as she tried to run from it, and with time Felicity gave up, cowering fearfully beside Artemis.
"R-run!" she tried to squeak, but her voice was muffled against the grass that she was clinging to.
The shadow- which belonged to the tall, middle aged man that was Cael's father, knelt down beside Felicity. "Still here? Good girl," he sat cheerfully, patting Felicity on the head before his attention turned to... something with wings?! Shocked, the bald man put his hand over his heart. "While I'll be... Who're you? A friend of this... this thing over here?" It was very clear that Cael's father hadn't the slightest what hippogryphs were. How, exactly, he'd managed to find his way into their territory was unfathomable. The man reached over to pat Artemis lightly on the head- his actions slow and cautious.
Artemis did not run. She was much too reckless a gryph to do something like that. As much as she hated to be chained, she also hated the idea of appearing a coward. She let the man pat her head, watching him carefully, defiantly.
"If he even -tries- to tie me up, I'll give him what-for!" the little gryph explained to Felicity, though she didn't feel quite as brave as she was putting up. Part of her still wanted desperately to make tracks.
Felicity began to whimper fearfully, her face still buried in the ground. "I- I don't know this human! This is not my Cael! I've never seen it before!" she cried unhappily, her tiny body trembling with discontent. Maybe this was the man who tied her up! She couldn't remember seeing Cael at all today- and besides- her human had no reason to tie her... But then who in the world was this strange man?
Tucking her tail between her legs, the poor creature whickered unhappily once more towards the other gryph. "I'm sorry, Artemis! I didn't think the pinky would come back again!" she sputtered, trying to make this unfortunate happening up to her new friend.
The man's previously cool, patient smile melted into a grim snarl. He shoved Felicity lightly, as if using her as a stool to stand up properly. Rising, her looked down upon the two gryphs, shaking his head almost with disgust. "You creatures... I'd heard the likes of you around here, but I hadn't believed it. And to think, my own boy- my own son was keeping a freak- a wingless one in my home... Dispicable." he began, clearly talking to the wind. The gryphs couldn't understand him anyway. "I'll have him do off with you, whitey," he stuttered slowly, running his hands over his smooth, hairless head. "And then maybe I'll go hunting around these parts..." he added thoughtfully with a disgraceful grin to Artemis. Just as he was about to continue with his speech, something startled him.
Lirit hadn't been watching for very long, but for the past few minutes, he'd noticed two gryphs talking- then a huge, ugly two legged thing appear from nowhere and start bullying them. If anyone was going to bully anyone, Lirit would be the one to do the job. Not some half witted pink fleshed... thing. Enraged, the older gryphon finally made a decision to make his appearence. He tumbled out of the bushes head first- and in a sucessful attempt to make himself intimidating, the broad creature had spread his wings and jaw, shrieking roughly to the human as he trotted out of the bushes.
Lirit paid little to no mind to the two baby gryphs- his focus right now was scaring away the man. Screeching twice more, Lirit began to paw at the ground, his nostrils flaring unhappily. After a few more moments, a wave of satisfaction flew over the gryph as he watched the man steady himself as he sprinted out of the valley.
Artemis blinked as the man made some really funny angry-sounding noises like a bear. She didn't like the sound of them, and had been just about ready to show him just how much she didn't like the sound of him with a not-so-cautious n** when Lirit had shown up and scared him away.
The gryph startled her as well, though, and she backed off a bit more, watching him carefully. She wasn't sure she liked this newcomer any more than she had liked the human. Lirit snarled unncessarily, his jaw shutting abruptly to snap at the air trail that the human had left behind. "Better," he thought aloud, his attention driven away from the two young gryphs for a moment. Resettling his wings comfortably onto his back, allowing them to twitch slightly to get accustomed once again, the gryphon slowly turned around. A soft of gryph-smirk rested on his muzzle, and he sat down slowly, a safe distance away from the two little ones.
"So what've we here? Two helpless little girls. You can't even fend off from a dumb two legger, can you?" he taunted unkindly, raising an eyebrow. What sort of self centered, insecure prat picked on tiny infants? Why, Lirit, of course.
Felicity was much too grateful for Lirit's 'rescue' of them to think any negatively of the gryphon. Smiling happily and squeaking gently, Felicity tumbled upwards, almost yanking uncomfortably on the rope, but catching herself, as she sat down happily. "Thank you!" she cried cheerfully, her tail wagging furiously behind her as she let out a breif, melodious trill of whinnies. "Thanks for that!" Artemis -definitely- did not like this newcomer's attitude at all. How dare he address her like that when he didn't even know her! And she'd just been about to take care of the situation, too, and he didn't know that either!
"I'll have you know I was just about to scare him off myself!" she snorted defiantly,
"I'm not helpless." Oh, this was much too much fun. Lirit grinned recklessly, sauntering over towards Artemis until his broad shadow covered her. It wasn't fair! Lirit was a fully grown adolscent- and here he was, picking on a little infant! How had he gotten to be like this?...
In any case, it was much too easy. And fun. Looming over the infant lazily, Lirit looked down on her. "And just what were you going to do?" he hissed lightly, raising an eyebrow at her as his wings unfurled just slightly at his spine. "Cry and teeth at him till he got bored of you?" he suggested in a mock serious tone, grinning cruelly at her. It seemed he only bullied those who thought they could stand up to him. Then again, it would be hard to catch Lirit picking on someone his own size. Maybe he would- but for now, he liked to practice on the little ones.
Felicity frowned slightly, pulling at the rope a bit so she could get a better look of what was going on. What... what was going on? Peeping unhappily, the little gryphon tried to draw attention away from Artemis. She didn't want her to get hurt! Not after all this had already happened!
"We didn't catch your name, sir!" she chirped in a hopeful tone to Lirit, her tail beating lightly against her hindquarters. "I'm Ellie, and this is Artemis!" she insisted half heartedly, wondering what he was trying to do. Artemis narrowed her eyes, taking a step forward. She didn't care if he was bigger than her or not, she'd let him have what-for if he tried to hurt her or thought he could insult her and get away with it!
"I was going to scare him off. Bite him and stuff. I could have gotten him to go away. You ruined my plan."Lirit had entirely ignored Felicity. He wasn't focused on her right now anyway.
"Oh!" Lirit declared tauntingly, taking a dramatic step back, his paw fluttering over his chest dramatically. "Oh, you were going to bite him and stuff. I see. Brilliant plan. Shall I call him back, then? I could easily fly over the trees and meet him wherever he is. I'll have a quick chat, let him know that you're up and ready to go, and we'll see if you could fend him off on your own. You should be grateful that I saved you, little gryph," he insisted with a raised eyebrow, watching Artemis carefully. He truly enjoyed the spunk and charisma she was showing- but Lirit was terribly curious just to see how much of it the little gryphon possessed.
A pang of fear immedietly overwhelmed Felicity. She had nowhere to go- Artemis at least could flee if things got bad, but she was stuck to a tree! That pink man had put her on the tree! Whining softly, Felicity began to shake her head quickly, whickering softly towards Artemis. "Please, no! Don't let him call back the pink human, I don't want him to come back!" she whispered pleadingly, shaking her head rapidly as she spoke. Artemis shook her head,
"He'd probably just run away. I doubt you could have a conversation with him anyhow, his words don't make any sense at all."
She didn't really care to have the man back-- she wasn't positive biting him would have scared him off properly and he -was- bigger than herself. But, she wasn't about to let Lirit have the upper hand here.
"Of course, you're welcome to try if you really want to." Perhaps if Lirit had been just a little bit more conceited and headstrong, would he have fallen for whatever trick that Artemis was trying to play. Instead, though, he agreed solemnly. "I have my ways of communicating. Even if he can't understand our language, I'm sure I could convince him to return by charging at him in the opposite direction," he reasoned with a grim smirk, before standing up- stretching his wings, and lurking over towards Felicity.
"But- before I go," he said vaguely, stopping in front of the little gryph.
Felicity was suddenly very afraid when Lirit turned to face her. She shook a little bit, her crestfallen features lowering to the ground as she tried to nestle herself into the very earth itself. Failing, and sighing quietly, the young gryphon avoided eye contact with the older bully as he sauntered over towards her, lowered his hind legs to the rope, and easily slashed through it with the talons on the rear of his paws. Exhaling deeply, Felicity only watched with a mixture of calm and fright as she watched Lirit trot off into the thicket, seemingly to chase after the human.
"Oh no!" she cried lightly, trotting nervously towards Artemis, sitting down beside her with a worrisome look. "Do you really think he's going to bring the pink human back?" Artemis blinked as the older gryph went over to slash Felicity's bonds loose. She watched him trot off and turned to the other as she posed her questions,
"I don't know. He might. He might not. Who cares? I'm sure I can scare him off easily. Especially if he's already all frightened from being chased by him."
She stretched out a bit, getting ready. She'd prove to him she wasn't just some silly pathetic girl!
"If you're worried about it, you can go hide."
"Hide?" Felicity repeated quickly and with excitement, and her mind began to churn slowly. She'd love to go hide and be safe!... But she couldn't leave Artemis alone. Who knew what sorts of things a big human like that could do? Cael was harmless- and he loved her- but that giant thing? Felicity visibly shuddered at the mere thought. Shaking her head slowly, the little gryphon stood fast besides Artemis.
"... I think I'm going to stay here, with you." she decided slowly, not regretting her choice in the slightest. No, she would stay here loyally and protect Artemis if she needed help. It didn't seem like it, though. Artemis was awful brave!
Time passed, and yet still there were no signs of an approaching adolscent gryph, not giant human. Both calmed and relieved, Felicity was just about to suggest they go play a game somewhere else when a twig snapped in the bushes beside them. Frightened, yet stubborn, Felicity sat beside Artemis, unmoving.
Artemis stood her ground. Even when some time passed and they didn't hear anything, she kept an open ear out and an attentive posture. She was a little startled when the twig snapped, though, as she'd been rather convinced that they just weren't coming back.
"Hello?" she called out cautiously. Maybe it was something else. You never know.
If fear had overwhelmed Felicity once again, she was doing a fairly well job of hiding in. Though instead, perhaps, she had gotten over being so trembly all this while. She surely wasn't as courageous or brave as Artemis was- but she found that her shaking had diminished to nothing, and her brain was focusing intently on the noises that were coming from the underbrush. Drawing in a deep breath, Felicity was about to whisper to Artemis when a small, scrawny shadow tumbled out from the thicket.
"Cael!" Felicity cried tearfully, bolting towards the skinny, small human. Her human.
It looked like Cael had been crying. His eyes were considerably swollen and red, and his nose was dripping just slightly. His arms and shoulders were cut up and scratched- most likely from the cruel, uneven branches that he'd walked through to get to his destination. The little boy collapsed, sniffling in deeply, and opened his arms to embrace the sprinting gryphon.
"Oh, Ellie!" he sobbed lightly, burying his face into the soft, velvety fur of the hippogryph's neck. "I didn't know where you were! I woke up, and Pa had come home from his business trip, and Mama didn't know where you'd gone off to, and then Pa left home again- and oh gosh, Ellie, I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry!" he repeated over and over again, the sympathetic tone in his voice universal.
Well, this certainly wasn't what she had expected. It was a different human-- presumably the one Felicity seemed so fond of. Still, she was cautious. Just because he was a different one didn't mean he wouldn't act the same. The other had seemed pretty nice until he snapped as well.
"Looks like he won't be back with the big one." she said casually. Or even if he was, she was pretty sure she wasn't going to take on -two- humans. Felicity, who, although appreciated being used as a pillow and tissue, was also eager to introduce Artemis, gently wiggled out of Cael's grasp. She trotted a few feet over towards Artemis, pausing uncertainly as she cocked her head to the side.
"... Cael's not like that other thing. He's my friend. Like you! Except... His name isn't as pretty, and he's a human." she explained softly, her lilac eyes falling to the ground slightly. "So... Maybe? Maybe just say hello to him? S'okay if you don't wanna, though," Felicity assured Artemis hastily- though she was sure that Artemis didn't need any of that.
Cael understood mildly, watching as his beautiful little gryphon walked over to what he assumed to be one of her friends.
Cael had slept in late- forgotten to milk Anna-Lucy, the cow, and had woken to an empty nest- Felicity's empty bundle of blankets and pillows. He'd searched the house, barn, and farm, even asking his mother to help him. His father had come home early from the business trip, only to leave again an hour or so later. Cael hardly saw his father.
The next thing he knew, he was spending his entire afternoon hunting for his precious friend. He was so thankful to have found her, it was mind staggering. Artemis shook her head,
"If he's not like that other thing, then how come he tied you up?" she protested, keeping her distance and watching the newcomer avidly. He would have to prove himself before she'd let him near. [ Eep, this was fun! <3 I have to go now, but we'll rp some other time. 8D Seeya, Shia! ]
Felicity smiled happily, shaking her head with enthusiasm. "No! Cael wasn't the one who tied me up, I don't think!" she insisted, forgetting proper grammar for a moment as she spoke rapidly. "I think it was that other human... See, humans do this funny thing when they're sad," she began, clearly reciting things from what she'd observed from having lived with Cael since she was a newborn. "They make water come outta their eyes," she told Artemis lightly. "And Cael's got lotsa water coming out of his eyeballs! So he's really sad... I don't think he did this to me," she sighed finally, unable to explain why it was she thought so strongly. "I just know he wouldn't." Felicity ended with a fond smile.
Cael, who'd've loved with all his little heart to meet one of Felicity's friends, had just seemed to have noticed how dark it was getting outside. With a deep frown, he brushed his knees off, fixed his overalls, and wandered lopsidedly over towards Felicity. Kneeling down beside her, he scooped the little gryphon up into his arms. Felicity cooed happily and nuzzled his face affectionately, and Cael gave her a brilliant smile back. "Time to go home, Ellie. Mama'll be upset if we're late for dinner."
"I have to go home now, Artemis!" Felicity shouted over Cael's shoulder, her paws waggling desperately towards her gryphon friend. "I wanna see you another time, okay? Bye now!" she shouted happily, before burying her face into Cael's bare shoulders.
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Posted: Wed May 31, 2006 4:44 pm
Log 5
Keiji pounded his infant weight around the open field in hot persuit of a frog he spotted. He didn't have an intent on killing it when he reached it, but at the rate of his pounding, he just might do so.
"Get back! Stop jumping little green thing!" He insisted, continueing to bound after it.
"It's called a frog," Artemis explained upon coming up near the other gryph. Her mother had told her as much-- and she would know. Gaea seemed to know -everything- there was to know.
Keiji jumped slightly, hearing Artemis from behind. He turned to look at the other Gryph.
"A frog?-Oh hey! It's getting away!" He shouted glancing back at the frog jumping away from them as they spoke.
"Help me catch it!" He pleaded as he turned to pound after it again.
Artemis didn't like being ordered around, really, but chasing after the frog did seem like fun. She took off after it as well, though clumsily. She was, afterall, even a bit smaller than Keiji was.
"Here, you take that side and I'll take this," she said, coming around to the frog's left. Perhaps they could close in on it that way..
Keiji trotted slowly over to Artemis in excitment.
"Lemme see! Lemme see!" He pleaded and hopped around her, his tail swishing back and forth. He knew what the frog looked like, but not close up! So of course that was a priority on his list of things to do.
The little green gryph lifted a paw to let him observe the frog. He was certainly acting like the younger of the two of them! So immature. Ah well. Not everyone could be like Artemis.
Keiji calmed for a moment and bent down to look at the frog at its own level.
"Oooh.." He let out as he observed the new creature. Suddenly, the frog hopped onto Keiji's small snout and his eyes got large in fear.
"It's on me!! Get it off!!" He said as he shook his head, tossing the poor frog to the side. He let out a relieved sigh. Mostly likely convenced that he was going to die.
Artemis raised an eyebrow at the other gryph. He struck her as a little silly...but endearing in a way, she supposed. Interesting, at the very least.
"I think you'll be okay," she assured him, "Frogs aren't poisonous or anything. We have lots of them where I live."
Keiji looked to the female gryph.
"Really? Where do you live?" He inquired, turning his attention to the gryph now rather than the frog. He felt the girl seemed much older than she looked. She was so calm and knew a lot of stuff!
Artemis liked seeming like she knew a lot of stuff. So she cultivated that idea.
"I live in Damia Natura territory," she recited, remembering that her mother had told her to tell that to an adult gryph if she ever got lost.
"To the South some."
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Posted: Wed Jun 07, 2006 7:52 am
Log 6
Artemis frolicked cheerfully in the meadows. She enjoyed her freedom, though she knew her mother wasn't far enough off for her to have true and complete freedom, but that didn't matter so much to the little gryph.
She splashed into a small stream, tossing water about her. Today was a good day, indeed.
There was Grumpy nearby right at that same stream. His head was down, mouth dipped into the water and sucking it up slowly. His eyes are closed, his ears up and erect, listening to the sounds around him in case a predator tries to show up.
It's not a predator that shows up though. He hears the splashing and jerks hi s head up; in that same motion his body leaps backwards to avoid being hit with water and to get out of the path of a charging enemy. Wide eyes stare and focus on the sight of a little Hippogryph.
The offending gryph eyes him curiously, stopping with the splashing for a few moments, at least.
"Oh. Sorry. Didn't see you there." she knew how much -she- at least hated being interrupted in anything. Even something just like drinking water from a stream.
Grumpy shakes his head at her, and for once, he doesn't seem rightly irritated about the interruption.
"It's all right."
He makes his way back to the stream to resume drinking.
Artemis blinked at this dismissal. She probably would've been a little more annoyed than he was. Cautiously, she moved forward, taking a sip from the stream as well.
"Er..what's your name?" well, really, this was probably the first gryph she'd met that didn't want to budge into her personal space. It was an interesting experience.
He closes his eyes as he resumes drinking, letting the nice cool water of the stream smooth its way down his throat and cool down his body and at the same time, naturally quenching his throat. When she approaches he opens his eyes again, tilting his head to look at her before pulling his wet muzzle from the water.
"Grumpy," he answers. "What's yours?"
"Artemis," she said, daintily finishing her own sip of water and peering at him curiously. Grumpy, huh? Well, he hadn't really struck her as grouchy-- if he were, he probably would've had a lot more to say about her nearly drenching him.
"What flock are you from? I'm from Damia Natura." she asked, by way of conversation and in hopes of keeping him here a bit longer. She was still curious about him, afterall.
"I'm from Care-a-Lot," he answers, sitting himself down as he looks down at the younger and smaller Hippogryph chick. "It's near the East flock. Where's Damia Natura?"
He had vaguely heard of this flock, but he didn't have much knowledge of it. This could be due to the fact that it was still very new and small.
Artemis settled herself in the grass as well, watching him in a bit of excitement. Finally, someone she could talk to that didn't want to be hanging all over her or anything!
"It's off in the south." or at least, she thought it was. She wasn't too sure. Her mother usually carried her or she walked with her, and she didn't really pay that much attention to which directions she was going ,"And west too, maybe. It's just me and my parents and my brothers and sister and Lirit..."
She'd never met Lirit (as far as she knew) but she'd heard her parents talk about him before.
Grumpy had never been one to hang on anyone. If anything he always tries to avoid the company, but sometimes it couldn't be helped, and they would bother him anyway. However, there were times, much like this one, where he was willing to be friendly.
"Oh. I don't really go that way," he answers, coiling his feathery tail around behind him and then pulling it to one of his sides. "Where's your mom and dad? You seem a little young to be off by yourself. Aren't they afraid you'll get hurt?"
Artemis nodded,
"Well, they worry...but they know I like to explore too.." she motioned off in the distance a bit towards the east,
"My mother's off that way. She keeps and eye enough to know what direction I'm in, and as long as I don't go too far, she lets me go."
"Oh, all right," he answers, though he himself is also albeit guilty of running off without parental supervision.
"It'd be bad if you got lost. I wouldn't know how to get you home."
Artemis smiles, waving a paw at him,
"Oh, don't worry about that," she says, "I've never been lost yet. No matter how far I wander."
She nibbled at the grass now, finding her tummy a little rumbly. It had been a few hours since her last meal, really. And all this adventuring made her hungrier...
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Posted: Wed Jun 07, 2006 9:12 am
She was getting so much bigger than the other chicks, it seemed. Perhaps it was the amount of ranging about that she did. Gaea suspected it probably was. All that healthy exercise...though, she did feel a bit sad about her little darling getting bigger and bigger.
Artemis frolicked around in the grass, chasing a butterfly. She enjoyed the hunt, though she didn't usually kill anything. If she did, it was by accident-- afterall, gryphs ate grass and didn't have to kill for food. She peered curiously at her mother as the older gryph watched her, tilting her head,
"What are you looking at?" she asked with none of the brattyness she occasionally got into her voice.
Gaea took this as an okay to move closer and did so, gently whickering and nuzzling the little one,
"It just seems like you are all growing up so fast," she sighed,
"It's like almost yesterday you were just tiny chicks, and now you're so big! Before I know it you'll be colts and fillies, mares and stallions. And then you'll be off making your own flocks or something."
Artemis preened at this, puffing out her chest a bit. She liked the idea that she was getting bigger. Perhaps she was getting stronger like her father and smarter like her mother as well. She certainly hoped so,
"You really think I'm bigger?" she asked, ignoring the nuzzle because of the compliment that attached itself to the touch.
"And don't worry. I don't think I'm going to be making my own flock," she assured her mother, "I like it here." Less responsibility was better, she figured. She wanted to just be like other chicks and run about free as a bird.
But Gaea saw too much of her mate in this chick, at the least. She could see Artemis breaking off from her family-- though she wasn't sure about her forming another flock. She didn't seem to get along with other gryphs all that well, even her siblings. Perhaps she would just go rogue.
"Well, of course." She smiled, curling around the other one as though somehow hugging her this close would prevent her from getting any bigger and leaving her home.
"But some day, you might like to roam."
This talk was getting much too grown-up and confusing for the little chick. Artemis pulled away from her mother and continued her trailing of the butterfly she had noticed previously,
"Don't worry so much, mom. I'll always be a chick."
Gaea sighed. Perhaps always a chick, but maybe not always her chick...if the little green gryph ever really was -her- chick anyhow. She may have had her blood in her, but never had Artemis really seemed to act like her mother in any way.
She trotted off into the distance a bit again, back to watching and looking after the others as well.
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Posted: Wed Jun 21, 2006 10:04 am
~Child rps~
Artemis trounced through the forest, looking this way and that. She had been chasing a particularly delightful looking horsefly...well, okay, she had been chasing her mother's horsefly friend Silvanus...when she had tripped over a large root. It was an unfortunate happening primarily because she had then lost sight of Silvanus, and therefore lost her 'prey'. She wanted to find it again, though. 'Hunting' was a fun pasttime.
Suddenly, however, she found that she should perhaps have looked forward a bit more than she had been, because with a sound *thud* she bumped against another gryph.
Helios startled as the gryph bumped into him, looking down at her. Oh! He recognized her! How lovely! Smiling, he reached down to nuzzle the other gryph,
"Hello Artemis!" he said cheerfully.
Artemis sighed, then scooted away quickly. She didn't -want- to be nuzzled! Why was he always so perpetually touchy anyhow?
"Hi Helios," she said in monotone, a bit angry at his interruption in her 'hunt' as well.
Not only was he invading her personal space, but he was keeping her from catching the horsefly she had been chasing after! It was no matter that she couldn't find Silvanus anyhow.
He blinked at the other gryph's tone,
"Er...something wrong?" he asked. He may have been continually cheerful, but this sort of negativity left him bewildered enough to sober up a bit.
The female gryph snorted, lifting her muzzle to the air,
"Of course there's something wrong! Why must you always feel the need to bugger in on my personal space? Always with this cuddling and nuzzling and whatnot. I'm trying to hunt here!"
Helios' eyes grew wide at this comment, and the colt backed away,
"Er...sorry?" he asked, tilting his head, then smiling as he quickly got over it,
"Do you want to play a game with me? Tag maybe?"
"No, I do -not- want to play with -you-," she snorted again, angrier this time. Did he not get a hint? She was busy doing other things,
"I want to finish my hunt of Silvanus. Have you seen him?"
He shook his head, still taken back by her attitude, "No..."
Artemis sighed and trotted off,
"Useless," she muttered, searching for the elusive horsefly.
Helios shrugged, shaking his head some more and going to play in the river. What was her problem, anyway? ...he might never know.
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Posted: Mon Jul 24, 2006 5:54 pm
Log 7
Artemis sat on the edge of the pond, peering in at it. She hadn't told anyone why or anything, just gone off on her own to have some time by herself. She didn't like being so close to all her siblings all the time, but she wasn't really old enough to venture out too much on her own just yet and she knew it.
And she hated it.
All these restrictions on her life...bah.
Gaea watched her from not too far away. She had the other children around her to make sure they were all properly watched, but Artemis was often more difficult to keep track of than the others.
Sighing, she peered at Duke, nearby, and rolled her eyes.
Duke was laying a few feet away, but only because he was keeping a rather close eye on Artemis. Like any child her age she was rebelling; she wanted more, discovered she couldn't get it. Reflecting back on his own childhood he is trying to conjure up ideas as to how to deal with it.
He feels eyes on him, making him turn his head to look at his mate. He smiles at her and then climbs to his feet. Instead of going to join Gaea, however, he wanders over to his eldest daughter first. Once getting there he flops easily onto the ground next to her, tail starting to sway behind him.
"What's wrong, Artemis?"
Persephone was happily tumbling and climbing all over her mother, giggling loudly as she paws around at the ivy patterns in her coat, which are mimicked on her own body. She sits up between her mother's large wings, lifting her front body up to bat at the back of the bigger female's ears before squealing with laughter and falling backwards. She was rather happy; she did love to play with her parents!
Gaea smiled at her younger daughter, laughing and reaching down to nuzzle her. Persephone at least seemed to have a happy life out of it, none of this sulking and rebelling the way that Artemis always seemed to do. She twitched her ears back and forth, trying to keep them from Persephone's grasp mostly just to entertain the little one, rather than it actually bothering her.
Artemis looked up at her father. Admittedly, she was slightly more willing to have him about than her mother, because he was a bit more respectful of her boundaries and less inclined to walk over and start cuddling against her and cleaning her and stuff.
Still, she was busy sulking and he'd interrupted it, so she made sure to sound properly grouchy about that fact,
"Nothing," her tone was morose, indicating that there was indeed something bothering her, but that he'd have to work to get it out of her.
He smiles at her response. "Don't lie to me." His tone is not scolding her, but remains playful and concerned. "You can tell me."
He glances back over his shoulder at Gaea and then rises up to his feet. He does give Artemis a light nuzzle to her cheek. "How about we go for a walk and you tell me what's on your mind? Maybe we'll play a few games while we're at it."
The twitching of those ears that are victim to her playful antics gets a squealing giggle out of her. She hops up and down on her mother's back and makes a futile attempt to attack her head. She doesn't even actually get up that far, instead hitting her in the back of the neck.
She falls back onto her wings, but instead of screaming in pain she's laughing. She rolls off, plopping into the dirt and hopping to her feet again, covered in dirt, which is very evident on her white and mint colored fur. She doesn't seem to be noticing her father and Artemis, more interested in her mother at this moment as she starts to run around her, attacking random parts of her body at each turn.
Artemis sighs and gets to her feet, shaking off. She nods,
"All right, I guess."
The little gryph rolls her eyes to the sky. Guh. Parents.
Gaea laughs, stretching her wings out and then went about trying to retract whatever part of her body Persephone went after, to see if her reflexes could catch up.
He felt that perhaps if she got away from her mother she'd be able to talk albeit more openly. This was his reasoning, and he was no fool; he knew something was upsetting her. He waits for her to follow alongside him before starting to walk off with her.
After getting a good distance away and having kept quiet the entire time, he chooses to speak up, "So, Artemis. What would you like to do today?" The best way to approach, at least in his mind, is not to directly inquire about it but try to get her mind off of it and get her comfortable enough to talk about it.
Her reflexes hadn't entirely come in yet, so she was having difficulty getting after those body parts as her mother jerks them in. Despite her energy she does get tired, stopping in front of her mother, panting loudly. Ears flicking and she tilts her head up to look at her, smiling as tongue hangs out of her mouth.
"Hey..." Blinking after she looks around. "Where's Daddy and Artie?"
Artemis' ears perk up. Just her and dad, doing whatever she wanted to do? That sounded promising! Dad was much more adventurous than mom was, even if he was a -boy-.
She looked up at him hopefully, all moroseness forgotten in this challenge,
"Could we...pretend hunt?" she asked, excited, "Or adventure?"
Gaea nuzzled her little one as 'Seph got tired, and snuggled against her, licking her to get her clean from her little escapade. Between licks, however, she managed to say,
"Oh, they just went off to have a talk. Boring stuff. You and I will have fun here with the others."
He seems to ponder this, rolling his eyes up and sticking his mouth out some. Of course this is just what he does to get her anxious, grinning, and then looking at her with a nod.
"Sure. That sounds like fun. Where would you like to go, or shall we let our feet carry us?"
Giggles as her mother grabs hold of her, and like any child, she tries to get away from the bathing, squealing.
"Noooo! No bath momma!" she shouts, rolling onto her back and batting at her mother's nose, giggling loudly. She settles, blinking. "Oh. What will we do then?"
Artemis, being still very young, doesn't even bother concealing her delight and runs very quickly in circles around her father in excitement,
"Ooh!" she shouts, looking about, "I don't know! Where's somewhere that's fun to go? I'm sure you know."
Gaea grabs onto 'Seph again, laughing and pulling her close,
"Well -first-, we're going to get you cleaned up," she insists, licking the little girl 'till she's clean,
"And then we can do whatever you like. Make stick-drawings or sniff flowers or whatever else...but let's not wake the boys."
Autumn and Orpheus were, afterall, sleeping rather soundly and Gaea was rather enjoying this time with just her and Persephone.
Smiles rather glad to see that she has lost that morose demeanor and has loosened up and become happy. He gives her next question some serious thought.
"You know, your mother and I, when we were younger, wanted to go and see where the humans live..." He drops his head down to hers, whispering now, "If you promise not to tell her we went, I'll take you there. Would you like that?"
This would be their little secret, something that she could take faith in, something for them to share together.
Squeals, pawing and pushing at her mother's nose, ears flagging down against her head.
"Nooo! No! I'm just gonna get dirty again, momma!" she protests, trying in vain to still get away from her but to no avail.
She eventually gives in though, huffling and wrinkling her little nostrils at her mom but smiling. "Um... I dunno momma! What would you like to do?"
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Posted: Fri Aug 18, 2006 2:13 pm
Log 8 Artemis floundered about aimlessly. Well, not entirely aimlessly. She was looking for something specific to do, she just didn't know what it was. And she could have sworn she saw Persephone off in this direction a few minutes ago....
Aha! There she was! And another little gryph was with her. Well, that was okay. Artemis would just sneak up on them and ruin...whatever it was they were planning on doing.
She stalked silently up behind the two..."You did?"
She follows after him, seemingly unaware that now Artemis was stalking after her, and in connection, Mushu as well. Once they get to the spot that he spoke of, Percy takes a few gentle steps forward and peeks out over the edge to look at the roaring water below and then across to the island.
"Yeah, this does look like the best spot..."
Mushu was also oblivious to their stalker, he was much more interested with what was going on with himself and Percy! This was exciting.
"Yah... it's a bit closer than the rest... but," he thought again, "You still don't haveta if y'dun wanna."Artemis grinned. This was going to be a snap! She stalked closer and closer until finally.....pounce! she hopped right at Persephone,
"Hahahaaaa!" Eyes widen when she hears the scream, turning around to get hit by Artemis! A loud whinnying shriek of surprise and fear as she tries to catch herself and Artemis, to prevent them both from flying over the edge as she had been dangerously close.
No avail though! They both go over like rolling stones down a hill! With Percy screaming and kicking at Artemis.
"GET OFF! GET OFF! GE--"
SPLASH!
She lands in the water.
"PERCY!" Mushu cries out, suddenly hitting the edge of the water. "NO!" he glares at the other gryph before beginning to slide down the side of the moat.
There wasn't much room down there, but he gripped onto the ground with his little paws and moved forwards.
"PERCY!" Cri Kee buzzed out to the water above where the Mint gryph had fallen. Artemis goes giggling all the way down. She hadn't noticed the stream, but spots it on the way down and takes a big breath right before they splash in. She starts swimming, at least enough to get her head up above the water and starts looking for her sister,
"'seph?" Mind you this isn't some normal stream. This is a raging river, constantly crashing against the cliff walls, and it was deep despite earlier speculation and hope that it wasn't.
It takes a few minutes before Percy actually pulls herself up to the surface, gasping and whinnying in fright. With hard splashing paws she drags herself to the closest edge, which happens to the be island of the Tree. She grabs onto some of the stones, digging her fingers in as she battles against the current.
"AUGH!" Mushu was bereft. TWO gryph's struggling in the water! He was certain he could help one... BUT TWO!?
And just because the other one caused the problem, didn't mean he wanted her to drown either!
Catching up to where they were along the water's ledge he cried out.
"TRY TO COME AS CLOSE TO ME AS POSSIBLE!"Artemis was having a little more trouble. She'd landed closer to the middle of the river where the water was churning..Slowly, though, she managed to get over to Mushu's direction. Her face was apologetic enough at this point,
"Didn't know..." Percy turns her head to see Artemis already wading her way over to the side where Mushu is. She knew there was no way he could help both of them. And their plan had been to get over to the island right? She lifts her head up to look, to see that's where she is.
With a newfound sense of determination, she puts all of her strength into slowly scaling the slippery walls as Mushu helps Artemis out. Of course she has moments where she slides down, and occassionally almost falls back into the river! But she quickly catches herself.
It takes a good long while before she finally pulls herself up over the edge of the island, scrambling frantically with her hindlegs and getting onto solid land. Panting heavily she lays there, refusing to move, trembling from the cold and adrenaline.
Mushu pushes his head towards Artemis, "Grab one of ma horns. I'll getcha out. It's okay." he calls to the other gryph. His eyes wander over to where Percy is. She was getting out! That was great!
"GO PERCY GO!" he strains his head out as far as he can for Artemis.Artemis finally manages to climb out of the water with Mushu's help, and shakes out some of the water so that she doesn't quite as closely resemble some form of half-drowned rodent.
"Er...well, that was fun!" She puts on a jovial appearance to cover how scared she'd been once she'd realized how choppy the waters were.
"Not sure...I want to try to get across it, though. 'Seph are you okay over there?" she yells.After taking some time to try and calm down, the still trembling girl rises slowly up to her wobbly feet, dripping wet and looking over her shoulder past a hanging wing at Artemis and Mushu, glad to see both are safe.
However, anger quickly sparks in and her blue eyes flare as she yells, "ARTEMIS! I'm going to get you for that! JUST YOU WAIT!"
But then upon realization that she's not on the other side of them she turns to look at the tree, eyes widening.
"Oh wow... wow... WOW!" her voice accelerates as she shouts that final 'wow.' "Mushu, Arte, you gotta see this! It's so big!"
Walking slowly towards it, she looks over its large trunk and up into its branches. "I don't think I see any vines though...!"
"... Fun? You're crazy woman!" Mushu shook his head at Artemis, but stopped when he heard Percy calling over.
"OH! Darn... DO YO SEE ANY OTHER WAY OVER?!"Artemis shrugged. Well, at least he'd fallen for it.
She peered over the water towards Persephone,
"Maybe we can find vines over on this side somewhere?"She ponders Artemis's suggestion. "That's a good idea! Stay there!"
She trots off, looking over the Tree. It was so tall and it was so intimidating, but at the same time very beautiful. It looked to be made of gold and bronze, but it was very much alive. She stops, resisting the urge to reach out and touch it; something told her it might be a bad idea. She shakes her head, pulling herself out of that momentary daydream and resumes her search.
She does find a vine though, and giving it a swift hard yank with her mouth, she rips it out of the three. But that's not all that comes out...!
Out of the Tree where Persephone yanks the vine from is not just the vine but a little fuzzy creature! It bounces on her head, flopping to the ground.... What could it be?
It's an Angelic Avaji!
Mushu blinks as this little thing comes out and bounces off Percy's head.
"WHAT THE HECK IS THAT!"Artemis immediately trots off to look for a vine after suggesting as much to her sister. It's not really too hard to find one, and she tugs it down off the tree, trotting back in time to see...She blinks, looking down at it.
"I dunno... It's got wings and it's fluffy! And it has a horn!" She looks over her shoulder. "Should I pick it up?"
If they tell her yes she would pick it up in her teeth and set it on her back before grabbing the vine again and walking over to the edge of the island where the other two are. If they said no, she would leave it there and walk over with the vine before throwing it across the other side to them.
"I bet you could wrap it around you and I can pull you up!"
"Yah! Pick it up!" Mushu calls over, bouncing excitedly suddenly.
This had to be the most interesting thing to happen... IN FOREVER!Their plan would not come to fruition. Soon after the Avaji had dropped and Persephone had drawn the vine down from the Tree's branches, the ground begins to shake, and almost violently. However it is only on the island where it takes place.
The surface of the Tree begins to steadily glow, growing brighter and brighter. Four insignias burn their way into the Tree's surface, obscuring the glow where they show up.
The Tree almost seems to split now! A loud series of cracking though the Tree doesn't actually appear to be breaking. The light grows brighter, finally fully illuminating the island out of view. It shoots straight off into the sky as if some sort of beacon. From this line shoots off four additional beams of light, one in each direction of the earth.
Then.
It all dies down as quickly as it began with Persephone and the Avaji off the island and everything having returned to normal.
And well, she... didn't realize what was going on. One instance she's there at the island and in the next she's on the other side of the river with Mushu and Artemis, holding the little Avaji in her mouth.
"What happened!" she manages to get out, muffled around the little creature she holds.
Mushu shook his head, blinking in awe. "I... I have no idea.. but... but I think we should leave now..."
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Posted: Tue Aug 22, 2006 6:43 pm
Log 9
She stalked through the jungle, cat-like. Hidden amongst the brush and vines she viewed her prey without being seen (at least, to her mind). She pressed her forearms to the ground, her rump in the air as she prepared to leap....
As Persephone had said before, she had plans to get back at Artemis for that unfortunate fall into the water that almost ended her life. She had come back from the experience albeit more jaded to her sister, and also with a new companion: one of those strange creatures she had found while at the island. This one was sitting on her head, tucked between her ears.
She was up in a tree, leaning down to watch as Artemis stalks slowly by. Watching... waiting.. and when it looks like Artemis is about to leap she jumps out of the tree herself with a loud yell, landing on top of her sister.
Luna was moving through the jungle, on one of her very rare and few days off. Today she was dressed in a pair of khaki shorts and a nice green tank top. Her dark blue hair was now freed from the bun it had been in but now was in a long ponytail that trailed down her back. Her green eyes glanced down at her sleeping gryph. She smiled. "What a nice place. I can't wait for you to one day come along this way and see it for yourself." Suddenly she heard movement and crouched down. Peeking through the bushes, those red orbs gazed upon a more grown gryph.
Artemis nearly pounced on the little unsuspecting gryph, but was deterred by her sister's unexpected pounce,
"Aiee!" she shouted, rolling over and attempting to pull her sister under her so that she would at least have a tactical advantage.
Persephone had landed on her, hard, unaware that a human was nearby. The Avaji fluttered up off her head and landed on a nearby branch, watching the scuffle between the two sisters. It was also unaware of the human.
Percy, meanwhile, did not allow Artemis to get the advantage of being on top. She flings her down and applies all her weight to her, pinning her.
"THERE. That's what you get!" And jumping off, she turns and kicks dirt at Artemis.
Luna could notice that there was at least some kind of communication going on but she had no idea what they could possibly be saying. She petted her sleeping James that she craddled so dearly. She was going going to try to get closer. Slinking through some shadows casted down by the canopies above, she made her way at least a food closer, while crouching low to the ground and trying to take cover behind a nice tree trunk.
Artemis gave her sister a sour look,
"What was -that- for?" she asked, motioning to the other's paw and the dirt that had been flung. She didn't mind a good pouncing, really, but the dirt was completely unnecessary.
She brushed off the bits that had landed on her fur, shaking it out.
"Ha. You're lucky it's just a little dirt and not a raging river of death," she spits back, wrinkling her nostrils at her sister.
She hears something, enough to catch her attention. Eyes widen and her ears lift, turning her head to look in the direction of where the human is but not seeing her.
"Do you hear that?"
To the human, it sounds like the two fillies are whinnying and neighing to one another.
She blinked as one of them stiffened up and was looking her way. This caused her to hug James closes to her chest, which resulted him in yawning and turning over. She whispered a hushed, "Shh." to her little one. She remained still afterwards, little beads of faint sweat glowing against her forehead. Did they see her?
Artemis snorted,
"I didn't know the river was -there-," she protested, "Or I wouldn't have...."
She shrugged, sniffing, "I heard something. It's probably just a rabbit or something, though."
Percy sniffs curiously, ears pinning against her head. A little tremble went through her spine and her tail slips between her legs.
"I dunno, Arte... I think we better go."
Luna was being so quiet. Even the little beaver gryph was being quiet in his slumber. When... suddenly, his human caretaker let out a HUGE sneeze that seemed to echo around her, "AACCCHOOO!" She stumbled forward lightly but it was just enough that she and James were out in the open now. Her red eyes grew big as she just stared at the two older gryphs. Busted.
Artemis' fur stood on end,
"Eeep!" she startled, though she stood her ground as she looked towards the human. She'd met a couple of humans before, but she wasn't sure whether this was the mean variety or the nice variety, and so she stood still just in case,
"Don't move, 'seph."
It was too late. Percy had turned tail and took off. She was not sticking around.
Luna frowned. One was gone. But one stayed. She spoke very softly. "Heya... want a treat?" Slowly she moved, pulling a nice carrot from her pocket. Her hand rested the veggie on the ground and carefully, very very very sluggishly, she backed away from her offering.
Artemis was torn...well, not too torn. She knew Persephone would be okay, unless there were -more- evil humans running about....but she kind of doubted that.
She arched her neck forward and sniffed at the item the human had placed on the ground. It was -interesting- and it smelled really good. Buuuut...well, she was smart enough not to trust outright.
Luna smiled to the gryph and nodded to her. It was alright.
From her arms, a weary little eye slightly openned. James could not see a thing but in his slumber he thought he smelled something new and had to try to look around. But he was much too tired for that, so sticking up his head from Luna's arms to let otu a LARGE yawn, nudged his owner's chin and then back to sleep he went.
Artemis sniffed it a bit more. Well, it didn't smell bad. And the little thing in the girl's arms sort've smelled like a gryph...and maybe if she had a baby gryph, she wouldn't be the mean sort of human.
She nibbled at the carrot a bit, finding it good..
Luna tried to see if maybe she could try to show once more that she wasn't bad. From her pocket, still moving slowly, she pulled out a bag of cookies. She openned it and moved forward once, set it down, and moved back again to her original spot. She smiled to the gryph. Her thoughts came to wonder if her own gryph would be like this one. But then again she had to remind herself, this one was wild.
James started to snore.
Artemis sighed. This was really much more stress than it was worth. With a flounce, she snatched up the carrot and took off in search of her sister.
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