my mother's child is a savage

she looks for her omens in the colors of stones

⎈
Rivia melded into the shadows of the night as she left the jungle. Winter's hold was fierce and frost had a chokehold on most of the vegetation. It would snow here soon, she could smell it on the air. Her footsteps crunched on the brittle grass as she traipsed through the fields and eventually found exactly what she was looking for.

- - -
The soft blue hour of the virgin morning began to brighten the gently world again, bringing light to her path as she arrived back to where @Sabine lay last. Truthfully, she wasn't actually planning on staying. Rivia thought she could disappear into the night and then inevitably run into the lynx again another day. But as she got further away from her, she found herself fighting against that decision.

She felt that she was too fragile to just.. abandon, essentially, at this time. After what she confessed to her, Rivia knew what she was feeling. Her clan had comrades to lean on in tough times. Sabine clearly didn't have anybody.

No body except her.

She hadn't returned empty-handed. A meerkat hung limp in her jaws and she placed it near Sabine, but did not wake her. Instead, Rivia moved to a log down the river a ways and perched herself upon that.

catch me by the sea

and let the tide take me to the deep

⚓︎
    She had never felt so rested or at least, she did not remember a time when she did. Her gaze flickered open, the soft light of the new morning not bright enough yet to disrupt her vision. Sabine's attention only lingered in the morning daze for a couple of seconds before she snapped her sights to the empty place @Rivia had once been. A sigh slipped through her lips and she drank in a deep breath, the fresh scent of blood making itself known. Sabine glanced down at the corpse beside her, her head tipping to the side in faint confusion.

    "Hmm," she purred softly, taking a few steps away from the kill. She shook out her newly cleaned pelt. It was thick and fluffy, perfect for winter, and it allowed her to ignore the bitter that itched to nip at her flesh. Her multicolored eyes narrowed, nostrils flaring as she scented at the wind. Sabine's pointed ears stood erect and alert, but her cautious movements were soon replaced by a deep stretch and a wide yawn. "You're quiet," she called out into the crisp air, "I am usually a light sleeper and I did not hear you leave or return; though, that was a deeper sleep than normal."

    Sabine was not sure where Rivia was, but she could smell her. Perhaps it was just her lingering scent from when she dropped of her hunting prize and she had already moved on. Perhaps Sabine only talked to a dead meerkat. "Are you going to share in this breakfast?" she asked, her gaze scanning the jungle around her before settling onto the moving waters of the river.

my mother's child is a savage

she looks for her omens in the colors of stones

⎈
Life started to wake in the jungle. The faint call of birds in the distance and the rustle of the brush here and there. The dim light gradually brightened as the morning began to unfurl on the land.

It was then that she heard her wake and call out into the jungle. Rivia lifted her head and looked behind her where Sabine would be. She was out of sight after all. She dismounted from the log and slithered her way through the brush until she came back into view of @Sabine and the breakfast she laid for her. "All yours," Rivia said, "I ate his friend." She grinned cheekily, patting her belly. She moved to sit nearby and stretch her back.

catch me by the sea

and let the tide take me to the deep

⚓︎
    Sabine couldn't help but feel oddly giddy as Rivia's voice rang out through the waking jungle and she came into view, but she shook the emotions away with a huff. "Well, thank you," she commented with a courteous nod, turning on her heels to remove the space she had created between her and the meal.

    Gripping the carcass, she lowered herself and began gnawing, ready to fill her empty stomach. Sabine hadn't had good food in a what seemed like forever either. While eating though, she kept her attention fixated on @Rivia. "You kept your word," she stated, the words muffled slightly by the mouthful of food, "Well, sort of." Technically, she didn't stay, but then again, she did come back and with food no less.

my mother's child is a savage

she looks for her omens in the colors of stones

⎈
Rivia nodded to her with a light hum, completing her stretch and plopping on the ground with a light huff. "Sort of," She echoed coolly, leaving out the weighing of options between actually leaving and staying. What now? She knew she didn't have to baby Sabine forever. @Sabine was more than capable of taking care of herself. Maybe. But Rivia couldn't charge herself to be responsible for the she-cat.

"Hopefully you can find somewhere to stay quickly. It's getting colder faster." Rivia started, her tail idly patting the ground. "I have a couple extra pelts I can give you, if you needed." The offer was there, but she had a much thicker coat than she did. Rivia's den floor was layered with what she was able to get.

catch me by the sea

and let the tide take me to the deep

⚓︎
    A kind gesture, another unexpected action from @Rivia. She seemed full of surprises now that they were not trying to murder each other. "Yes, I will need to be swift and I don't think I can afford to be picky. I would hate to get caught up in a storm with nowhere to go," Sabine agreed, nodding smoothly, "I should be able to acquire my own pelts though, thank you. My own fur is quite warm."

    Unknown this land was to her, even after many moons, so truthfully, she did not know what to expect. "Have you heard word of winters here? Any idea what we will be in for?" the lynx asked, curious if perhaps her pride had spoken of the hardships of the coming season or if they were often mild and forgiving.

my mother's child is a savage

she looks for her omens in the colors of stones

⎈
She nodded softly when her offer was declined, her cheek slightly scrubbing the ground under her and creating a new cold spot. Bad idea. “I have to say I envy that about you,” she admitted. The warm, plush fur must be nice to have for the colder seasons. The thickest fur Rivia had was on her chest and even still that was hardly anything to write home about. Enough to cover the scars @Sabine left, at least. “I think I’ll need to start wearing a pelt instead of sleeping under one.”

“No one has said anything about the season that I’ve heard,” Which could be a good thing in itself. If no one was talking about it at all then hopefully that meant it wouldn’t be too bad. But it had been a long time since she’s lived anywhere that has gotten snow.

catch me by the sea

and let the tide take me to the deep

⚓︎
    Sabine came from a family of thick pelted cats. While not everyone in her family was blessed with her sharp ears, short tail, and strong legs built for leaping and swimming, they all had their dense fur in common. It helped when growing up on the chilly coast of her home, especially in the winter. If neither of the girls had heard about the blistering winters in their new home, perhaps it's because they do not exist.

    "Hopefully that is a good thing," she said as she finished the last of her meal. Sabine began grooming herself, lapping at her freshly blood soaked paws and cheeks. Talking of Rivia's den again sparked an idea though. Sabine would like to know where this pride of hers was located. For educational purposes of course. "Perhaps you could show me your new home soon," she mentioned casually, "I could walk you home, to the edge of their land." Sabine shrugged. It was just an idea, but there was part of her that truly hoped she would agree.

@Rivia

my mother's child is a savage

she looks for her omens in the colors of stones

⎈
When @Sabine brought up the thought about showing her her home, she felt herself stiffen ever-so-slightly and withdraw into her shell. She was unsure how to answer at first. But when she mentioned walking her to the edge of the territory she let her muscles loosen again. That was something she could handle.

She felt as though the walls she was so stubborn to build high back then, before coming here, before her whole life changed, were growing thinner and weaker. Still intact, but she felt as though she was battling something changing within her. Rivia couldn't quite place it.

"We can do that," she accepted, pushing herself off of her side and laying sternal. Perhaps they could spot some places along the way that would be a suitable place for her to take shelter for the winter.

catch me by the sea

and let the tide take me to the deep

⚓︎
    Sabine nodded shortly at Rivia's response. Again, it was not the response she was anticipating, but she was glad. The more she could learn about the prides and territories of this land, the better, but the dark cat's agreement was a little more than that to the lynx woman. Sabine couldn't put her paw as to why it meant more though.

    The winter winds pulled across the jungle and ruffled through Sabine's fur. It was soothing, as was the wrestling of leaves and branches overhead. She remained quiet for a while, finishing her post-meal grooming and truthfully, just enjoying the morning with company. Albeit, she still couldn't fully wrap her head around who said company was. If she could have told herself a few months ago that she would be relaxing peacefully within proximity to @Rivia, Sabine would have never believed it.

    Shifting her weight, Sabine rose to her paws, arching her back in a stretch before shaking out her pelt. "Are you with your captain?" She asked randomly, "Romantically, I mean." He was her leader, so following him made sense, but Sabine was a curious cat.