____ _ __ __ / __ \____ ____ ___ ____ _____ ________ (_)___ / /_/ /_ ___ / /_/ / __ \/ __ `__ \/ __ `/ __ \/ ___/ _ \ / / __ \ / __/ __ \/ _ \ / _, _/ /_/ / / / / / / /_/ / / / / /__/ __/ / / / / / / /_/ / / / __/ /_/ |_|\____/_/ /_/ /_/\__,_/_/ /_/\___/\___/ /_/_/ /_/ \__/_/ /_/\___/ _____ __ / ___/____ __ ______ _____ ____ ____ _/ /_ \__ \/ __ `/ | / / __ `/ __ \/ __ \/ __ `/ __ \ ___/ / /_/ /| |/ / /_/ / / / / / / / /_/ / / / / /____/\__,_/ |___/\__,_/_/ /_/_/ /_/\__,_/_/ /_/ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - [ November 03, 2006 ] \ Kopje / Thicketed Savannah Grasslands The nearby Wilderness River provides an important water source for this area of thickets and grassland. Although elsewhere the land tends to be flat, here there are a number of hillocks; these and the tangles of assorted vegetation make this area a little difficult to move through smoothly. Yet there are faint paths, as well as tunnels and dens made by the plentiful prey: rodents and other small mammals. [Exits : [In]to a Den in the Thicket, [W]est to the Southern Savannah Grasslands, [S]outh to the Thicketed River Bank, and [N]orth to the Upper Savannah Slope ] [Players : Ayorith ] Ayorith Ayorith is a young natural serval, standing around twice the size of a big housecat and reaching above knee height. As a serval she's fairly tall, but especially lithe/thin, her body is covered completely in a short, but thick and plush, layer of fur; Mostly a soft sandy brown in color, though its covered in little black speckled dots all over her body. In particular a series of black marks are dotted close together just under neck, creating the impression she's wearing a necklace of natural markings. As she's nonmorphic she walks around on all fours in a digitigrade stance, all four of her limbs ending in a neat set of toes with heavy but soft padding underneath them. Her Legs are long and slender though surprisingly lean looking despite some inherit strength, the rear legs are longer then the front legs meaning her thin rear stands about the same height as the tip of her head whilst both sets of legs contain a sharp set of sheathable claws. Behind her body is her tail, a fairly long one as it trails near the floor, also being round and fairly thin it spends most of it's time in the air to some degree, either held aloft or curled upwards since it's agile enough; The end of it ends in a black tip with extra fluffy fur. Being a healthy female serval her body is slender though a little lanky looking, her rear hips thicker set then her front limbs, while underneath her lower underside hangs trimly with her soft fur covering it up. Her neck is fairly short, ending in a surprisingly small, almost dainty, looking head. Atop of it, and easily one of her most noticable features, are her ears as they are twice the size of a normal cats, being especially long and rounded; They also twitch and swivel about to pinpoint sound and are filled with a plush layer of fur to keep them warm, often giving them a cute effect. Her muzzle is fairly short and flat, though the sides of the bridge of her nose have thin lines of black markings defining her face. Her eyes are suitably feline, an odd pale gold with a black pupil that contracts or the reverse due to the light; Each eye is also lined with black. Her mouth, joined to her nose by a thin line like any felines, is soft, almost always mirthfull looking. Her nose is flat and rounded, almost 'buttony' and cute in a way, while the sides of her muzzle and face are covered in extremely long, fluffy white whiskers. Itikadi This female Serval is true to form, long curves of neck and body atop stick-thin long legs. Despite her gracile build, Itikadi has a solidity to her stance, and a certain look of arrogance in her greenish-yellow eyes. Dark smudges trail from around her eyes up to the narrow space between her large ears. The near-black markings on her tawny pelt form long streaks on either side of her supple spine, blotching on her shoulders and legs, and more scattered spots on her flanks. The looser fur of her underside and throat is white, albeit a little greyed by shadow. There's a faint stripe of white on the lower side of Itikadi's ringed tail as well. Short as her tail is, not even half the distance of her hindlegs, it moves quite sharply from side to side. Servals are among the smaller cats, but this one of them has attitude to belie her size. Itikadi emerges from the den with an easy stride, works her way along to one of the faint paths in the tangles of plant growth, and once on a clearer patch of ground drops o her haunches. She turns her head to groom her dark-streaked shoulder, both ears turning slowly through a few angles. She assumes the other female is nearby, and they haven't had more than sleepy, half-awake conversation since Itikadi returned to their den, just barely in time to escape the rain, the evening before. Having risen earlier than her counter-part the other Serval is already out and about to stretch her legs and try to persuade her body to wake up relunctantly! The somewhat lack of success behind this means she hasn't gone far and even now lopes back toward the den with her ears pricking momentarily in spying Itikadi emerging. A simple chirp is offered in way of greeting at first, but she noticably beelines toward the other cat. Itikadi swings her head towards the other, her mouth opening in a trill. "Morning, you," she says in a fond tone, and shuffles her position slightly, offering Yori a place next to her. "Found anything good this morning?" She half-stifles a polite yawn, squinting up at the pinkish light of this early part of the day. There's some trapped damp on the surrounding plants, but the rain stopped sometime during the night, and has yet to return. Ayorith walks immediately behind Itikadi in a tight circling, enough so that when she comes up against from the other side her body brushes affectionatelly close before she's dropped down onto her stomach with a small off. "Only that I'm still tired..", she chuckles softly, head dipping to brush the surface of her headjust before an ear against Itikadi's nearest foreleg. Itikadi begins a rich purr, rocking towards Yori's light touch, then raises her front paw on that side, placing it on the ground so that she's in a somewhat odd pose, her mate's neck between her straddled front legs. She continues to purr as she cranes her own neck to gaze down. "We could go back to sleep for a while, then. Maybe visit Darwuzi again later." She pauses briefly. "We were spending time yesterday--not sure if you were properly awake when I told you that back in the den." Ayorith's ears perk up in feeling the forelimb stepping over, though it's momentarily pushed back by the passing limb it soon springs free again. "Oh? Did you have fun?", she asks with a chuckle and a flick of her tail. Itikadi shows two or three teeth at one side of her mouth as she smiles, remembering the extended joking and now taking added enjoyment in sharing it. "Mmhmm," she answers. "Discussed having cubs, and all... He thought the ears'd be nice and large and I worried about them coming out dark." Ayorith chuckles in amusement and dips her head down again, instead focusing on drawing her tongue out in a brief rasp and tug of its surface along the edge of Itikadi's foot as she smiles wryly, "You couldn't handle kids with dark ears, huh?" Itikadi looks faintly puzzled, then mentally goes over her words and realises her unclear phrasing. "Nah, the whole cubs, I mean--I know ears are, mostly. But little mutant Leopard-Serval ones from Darwuzi might get his lack of colors," she says, with another sharp grin. It's a good joke, and she and the Leopard in question had spun a whole, silly vision from it. Ayorith laughs softly and twists her body around quite suddenly, rolling herself up onto her back in the mildly confining space as only a cat might do, her forelimbs curling in toward her chest and her hindlimbs splaying out as she peers up at Itikadi whth her chin dipped in doing so, "What would you call them? Leopvals? Servards?" Itikadi dips her head to nuzzle at Ayorith's face and tucked-in front paws, her breath stirring the short fur as she laughs quietly. "Leopvals. I like that." Another, harder-pressing nuzzle to Yori's cheek as she shifts her hindpaws, settling herself down half over her mate, cuddled against her side. "You could think of names," she says, her voice slowing with content. Ayorith murrs in a soft noise in feeling the breath running against her fur, before she chuckles and pushes a forelimb up, framing Itikadi's face with a gentle, playful push of it's surface as she feels the other Serval starting to sprawl out over her in cuddling partially on, partially over. "But I'm sure you'd come up with wonderful names.." "Leopval and Servard," Itikadi repeats, mock-firmly. "That's two name right there." She presses closer, squinting in pleasure as Yori's paw strokes her face. "Maybe I'll dream up more of them," she suggests, already interested in drifting back into sleep. The ground they're on is dried and warming, and it promises to be a bright, comfortable day. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -