Closed After The Storm (Kaden)

[Spirit Frostfawn]

Spirit watched Kaden in surprise, not even bothering to cover her eyes when the man shifted. The snow was deep enough, and he was sitting again… however, the numerous scratches and cuts caught her eye. She frowned, but decided to hold off comments till later. ”Because I’m human?” she asked, letting confusion in her voice, but understanding the general idea. He thought she was in charge because she was the human. That made a little bit of sense, but still. With dogs, if you didn’t assert dominance, some would try and take the alpha position for themselves. Being human didn’t automatically make you in charge. Being smarter and stronger did, in the canine world. She was possible smarter, though wasn’t about to judge, but certainly not stronger. ”Kaden. Just because I’m human doesn’t mean I’m in charge. It just means I don’t have four feet like you do. You can make your own decisions for yourself you know, you could have followed the logic and decided it was safer to kill the Sabertooth thing. You have a human and a cat brain, so use both!” She finished with a grin, feeling relatively proud of herself. That was the longest motivational speech she’d ever said… probably one of the only ones too. And it hadn’t gone so badly! She hoped the Kelvic got the idea, because he was really just being silly right now… being human automatically made her in charge. He was more experienced in this area, so why just let her submit? It was kind of…nice… that he thought so much of her, but still. Once she’d finished her little explanation, she turned on his wounds, and the current situation. ”Ok… so, we can’t carry and eat all these on our own…” she mused off for a bit, before coming to a decision. They could always get some of the people from the Frostfawn hold to go help out, and since they’d actually taken down one of those Sabertooth things… she could persuade them with the profit if needed. Kaden would get the most, however, as he’d worked the most. But… there was a nasty wound on the Kelvic’s shoulder that she wanted to deal with. ”Ok… so… I deal with that wound on your shoulder, so you don’t bleed to death or anything, then ride off to get some help. I’ll come back with a few Frostfawns, they’ll help us bring these to the city. Once there, we’ll… um… deal with our kills, and then I’ll take you to the Whitevine healing center… Sound like a plan?” She cocked her head, before fishing her companions clothes out of her saddle packs. She would recommend him staying in human form, just for safety’s sake. Annoyingly, she didn’t have any bandages, so… she’d have to use his shirt. ”Put these on” she said, handing him his breeches. While he complied, the Frostfawn looked stubbornly away, turning back a chime later. ”Ok… I’ll have to use your shirt for bandages, if you don’t mind. I can buy you a new one or two when we’re in the city.” Without another word, she began ripping the cloth into long, thick strips. There weren’t as many as she’d like for such a big wound, but she’d deal with that later… instead, she moved over and wrapped the first around his upper shoulder, going under his arm to get it to fit right. She didn’t want it too tight, however, so tested the stiffness under her finger before once again wrapping it up in a second strip… she could already see the blood soaking through the first layer. A few more strips later, she was out, and shrugged. ”Ok… don’t shift with that, and don’t move your arm too much. Just… try and scare any predators off in your human form, ok? But if anything really big comes around, you can shift… though I don’t recommend it… Are you good with this plan?” OOCY’know, chat has a dice which you can give as many sides as you like… 2… 4… 81… you name it, it’ll make it Also, I’ll get to Spirit setting off in the next post ^-^

[Kaden Swift]

Kaden looked at Spirit lazily. The tiger Kelvic’s mind was hardly on what she was saying and more or less urging him to sleep. He stared at her unblinking and when she finished he huffed. “If I did that I would have killed your horse when I ran into you. Human says don’t trust; tiger says kill everything. Both are bad, listening to humans is easier and less painful.” He glanced at himself, most of the time. He yawned and looked around them. The snow really was a mess but the carcasses were freezing. Least that would mean less of a smell to attract more of those big white cats.

He wasn’t sure what Spirit wanted of him. If he listened to the humans he got to stay out of the cage; he got to see the sun and to walk and eat. He wasn’t about to ignore what they wanted just because he had a brain; two if he was really split apart like everyone said. He didn’t feel split apart. His thoughts in whatever form he was in were his own. Looking at the dead things he didn’t argue. When they were fresh he could have gotten one on his back, but now they were stiffened and heavy. He looked at her and nodded without protest, not understanding what going to somewhere would do for healing.

Having his pants pressed into him Kaden growled but complied, standing up he wiggled into the cloth before collapsing back to the snow. Frowning he turned to ask what she meant, when his eyes widened at the sight and sound of his shirt ripping. Oh. As she approached him, it took a lot for him to stay still but when she touched his wound Kaden growled and clenched his jaws. The jostling and press of the cloth wasn’t pleasant and he was tempted to bite her or smack her away. “The plan is fine.” He barred his teeth, most definitely not a smile. It hurt and itched now. Reaching up he tugged at the cloth, but once was enough and Kaden jerked his hand away. How was he to do anything in this form?

It was strange that the human wanted him to decide things for himself but she plowed ahead and decided things regardless. He wasn’t about to stop her but it was some small amusement as he watched her leave. Ticker moved toward him and ignoring his pains Kaden lifted the puppy to his lap and started stroking his fur. It had been a long day and didn’t seem as if it would be over. He wanted to sleep but that was impossible to do in this form; he didn’t trust it enough and shifting Spirit said was a no unless he had to defend the area. So he stood and moved to the dead cat. Sitting beside it he leaned his back against the white fur and closed his eyes.

He knew nothing would come here, not with the scent of the Ice Cat. With a yawn he cuddled Ticker and chuffed to the puppy which made his tail wag but that was it. Seemed Ticker had learned fear after all, and wasn’t so excitable. The tiger Kelvic felt saddened that his pet had to learn about these things the hard way.

oocOh I did not know, thanks! Spirit has to escape the grumpy cat. Hope the bit of power playing was okay that she left in the end, you said she would in the next post. If it's not I can rewrite. I just didn't want to put to much in to prevent her from leaving.

[Spirit Frostfawn]

Spirit left Kaden with a wave, climbing back onto Silver's back for... what... the third time this day? And nudging her heels into the mare's sides twice. They set off at a trot, the horse obviously relieved to get away from all the scary commotion. The Frostfawn actually felt quite bad for her companion, after the day Silver had been through... cats, dogs, more cats... it must have been horrifying. Thinking back on it, even the groom herself found it a little chilling. Still, she'd been through one or two near death things in the wastes herself, and she hadn't been that much in danger this time. Actually, it was a miracle she still went out of the city... but despite all the danger she still loved the solitude and scenery of the area. It was very... calming. As she rode, her mare's speed mostly because of her fear of what lay behind, Spirit thought back on her experiences with Kaden. He was... odd... and certainly not human. That much was clear. But he was pretty nice all the same. The whole 'leadership' thing had kind of confused her, and even though she complained about the Kelvic immediately submitting, she still took charge anyways... almost like it fit. It was odd in the least. She decided her problem was more that the man was willing to follow any human, without knowing anything about them. He should wait for them to prove their strength, their brains, before coming to a decision to lead or follow. Shaking her her head, the Frostfawn chuckled to herself. She was thinking just like one of her own dogs... the way a pack formed. But... Kaden was exactly like one of her pack, despite being feline rather than canine. She'd always thought the two groups were very different, but... apparently not. Shrugging mentally, she found herself and Silver near a group of men she recognized as Frostfawns. One was her Uncle, his hair sporting tinges of grey and green among the black. Another was her cousin, an avid and pretty skilled hunter with oddly long, shoulder length brownish-black hair with a single orange streak at the back. He was taller than the rest of the group, and holding onto his dapple grey gelding. In fact, to of the other members of the group... somehow relatives, but Spirit couldn't remember exactly how, were there, also holding the reins of their horses. "Hey!" she called, and all four turned with raised eyebrows. "Spirit!" her Uncle called, waving. "How are you?" This question caused the girl to snort, thinking back on what she'd just been part of, before stating honestly "I'm fine... but I need some help." She eventually explained her situation from the quartet, with a bunch of raised eyebrows and even a laugh from her cousin. She even stayed on Silver's back, not wanting to bother getting down then up again... it would just unsettle the mare anyways. However, after a little discussion, the group agreed, and all mounted up. All three other than her Uncle were hunters, and two went to fetch a sled-contraption they used to carry particularly large kills. Her Uncle had opted out, being neither a rider nor a hunter. As she and her cousin waited, the young man- a few years older than herself- started a short conversation. "So... this cat Kelvic... he's an odd fellow, isn't he? Is he... safe?" Spirit stared at him in confusion, surprised by the odd question. "Yes!" she blurted out immediatly, before pausing. "Well..." she thought back to what Kaden had said just before she'd left... his tiger had wanted to eat them all, and his human half didn't trust them. But... he'd said that was 'bad'. "Yes." she finished, causing her companion to chuckle. Soon enough, the two other hunters returned, and they rode off at a trot back to Kaden and the dogs. They found the odd trio where she'd left them, all three of the kills still there. Her cousin, Maroah, trotted over to the Sabertooth and whistled in amazement. "You were telling the truth! This one isn't very big, but still..." he glanced over at Kaden, a wide grin on his face. "You did a good job with it! This'll sell for... a lot..." The other two hunters had set off hauling the two deer onto their sled thing, the contraption pulled by two horses. "We wont be able to take the cat yet... it's too heavy. We'll be back after we dump this, ok?" Said one of the hunters, his voice gruff and low. His companion nodded mutely, and the pair set off, leaving the group in the solitude of the wastes once more. As Spirit patted and coddled the two dogs, telling them what great hunters they both were, her cousin moved over to chat with the Kelvic. He'd dismounted, holding his gelding securely by the reins. The horse was much steadier than Silver, used to the smell of blood and dogs and cats. "Well... Kaden, is it? I hear you were out here during the storm! What was that like!?" Maroah asked, a wide grin on his face. He was just as bubbly and enthusiastic as his relative was, and considering the two were practically siblings... it wasn't saying much. He, however, was much more mature seeming, and the unstringed longbow tied to his saddle was an obvious sign that he was a decent hunter.

[Kaden Swift]

Kaden woke from his light doze, Ticker no longer on his lap. The puppy was beside him since the tiger Kelvic had drawn his knees to his chest to keep himself warm. Seeing all the new people his sleepiness broke and he glared at the group. He did see Spirit but he hadn’t expected so many people and horses. As one approached close to him to see the cat, Kaden visibly stiffened and bared his teeth in reply to the man’s smile. Tired hurting and itchy, he wanted them to go away. He watched stiffly as they took the deer, this in itself would have made him agitated. He had defended that prey and now humans were taking it.

Sullenly he watched Ticker greet Spirit even as he listened to the men say they would go back for the cat. He was sure they didn’t mean him, not while he was awake and quiet able to get away from them. They meant the dead cat. Shifting he glanced behind him to look at the cut up white fur. It could be fixed but he wondered what they meant by selling it for a lot. His head snapped forward as he heard the approach of another one, seeing the man leading his horse Kaden didn’t move to speak until he heard his name from the man and a question. “Loud, it was hard to dig out of the snow when it stopped.” Kaden didn’t flash his teeth; instead he looked to Spirit confused.

What were they doing? Looking back to the man he brushed his shoulders to rid himself of snow. “Why did you take the prey?” He still wasn’t happy; what would they do with it? He was momentarily distracted by the bandages again. Plucking at them until he managed to rip it a bit then he left it alone. He was making a silent show of not being scared of the man. He was still sitting despite the human standing in front of him. The snow swirling around them suddenly changed directions and Kaden perked and glanced off to the side. “There is the other cat.” He had seen it earlier when Spirit had left. It was larger than the one he killed and it kept skirting him.

He didn’t know if it was waiting for the dead Ice Cat to get up or waiting for them to leave it. “That one is male.” The dead one was female; he had only noticed it when he had been left alone. Some small part of him was sad he had killed her now. She had someone who had been waiting for her to come back and now she never would. Yawning he stretched just a bit before settling his back once more against the dead cat. He wasn’t worried about the male since it was obviously a coward. It could have attacked long ago and choose to stay back despite its larger size. Then again, it could be smart. Amber eyes looked at the new human; this one wasn’t as harmless as he was acting.

Still, he looked to Spirit; waiting now. She choose to kill the other cat, maybe she wanted the male dead to. Each circle the Ice Cat drew closer then moved away again. Perhaps it was the smell of Kaden, an unfamiliar male cat, or it was the smell and sight of its still mate. “Want that one to?” He had looked from Spirit to watch the circling cat; he didn’t know what it would do when the humans returned to take its dead mate. Standing up then, Kaden yawned and stretched; rolling his shoulders to test them. No stiffness and no real pain. All his wounds were closed and the blood either dried or frozen. He could take the other cat to, this time there was another hunter to help.

Let those other humans dare tell him then that it was sort of small. He wanted to see them take on the Ice Cat with their teeth and claws.

[Spirit Frostfawn]

Spirit's cousin frowned at Kaden's comments, confused. "Another one? I... Oh PETCH!" he finally realized that the Kelvic had been talking about another lion. A panicked look covered his face as he hopped up, grabbing his rearing horse. Both the mare and gelding had also noticed the wandering prey, and had been spooked. Spirit herself had soon noticed Silver's fear, and was also holding onto the bridle with both hands, using all her strength to keep the mare from rearing onto to legs. It wouldn't just be annoying, it would be dangerous. Either horse could easily land a fatal kick, maybe to the chest, or head, in an instant. The Frostfawn's mind raced, and she came to a decision. Petch the binding... "I Morwen's name..." she muttered irritably into Silver's mane, having mostly calmed the mare down. "Kaden... shift. I'll get new bindings. I hope you can deal with it?" At least, from what she knew, the females were bigger than the males... so it would be easier to take down. But the first had been small anyways... and she didn't know if the Kelvic would be able to take down another of the creatures with his shoulder... well, he was their best chance unless the other pair of hunters came back. Instead, letting Kaden deal with the fight, she concentrated on calming Silver down. Her cousin, who had moved closer with his much quiter gelding, whispered "Can he deal with this one?" his face was pale. He knew better than most, being a hunter, what damage the cats could do. Spirit shrugged, not really sure. "I hope" she replied simply, and both of them fell into a stressful silence, waiting out the fight. Maroah was watching whatever fight ensued with interest, curious to see what followed.

[Kaden Swift]

Kaden gave a grunt but shifted. The tiger listened as the makeshift bandages split apart. That was quiet a satisfying sound. Kaden gave himself a shake, once more he had to test muscles to see if any would fail him, but though his shoulder was stiff and sore he found there wasn’t much of anything else to note. He moved from their little packed snow clearing to head for the other cat. Being male the fight would be different; it wasn’t about food it was about territory and females. The last Kaden had no use for. He was too young yet. Not that the other cat would care.

He was half and half as he stopped between the humans and the pacing cat. Sucking in a deep breath Kaden let out as a challenging roar. This stopped the Ice Cat dead in its track before it screamed in reply and charged Kaden. The tiger was ready; hunkering low so the other cat bowled over him and fell. Swift as his name Kaden turned and struck out at the Ice Cat even as the large male hit the tiger in the chest. The Kelvic was surprised as air was forced from him and spots danced across his eyes. He didn’t let it stop him from biting the other cat and shaking it.

Kaden was disappointed that all he managed to bite was the other cat’s leg, but the scrape of bone was nice enough. When the Ice Cat bit into him, Kaden felt a flash of fear go up his spine. The last cat he had been luck with, keeping himself at odd angles so she had been unable to bite into him with her sabers. The large male wasn’t making it easy to duplicate. The bit was to the side of his neck but Kaden had thick fur there and muscles; the Ice Cat had to pull back getting only a mouth full of Kaden’s winter fur. For his part the tiger let the limb go only to lie on the ground and roll to his back swatting up and kicking.

The Ice Cat tried biting at Kaden’s throat again but the tiger shoved at the other cats stomach, rabbit kicking it all while holding to the cats shoulders with his claws. Teeth sunk into Kaden’s throat but he stubbornly kicked harder and was rewarded with his back claws sinking into flesh; then he simply shoved his back legs. Both cats sprung away from each other when the Ice Cats blood rained down, it took only a glance for Kaden to see that he hadn’t pushed his claws deep enough. On the other hand Kaden was bleeding heavily. Shivering he backed away from the other cat but the Ice Cat wasn’t having any of it and the two clashed again.

This time it was fear spurning Kaden on and he struck quickly for the Ice Cats eyes. His swipe went wide but it was with a nice surprise that Kaden heard a crack. He had broken its jaw. The other cat screamed but Kaden was on it again hitting it over and over with his claws until the other cat tried to run. Kaden closed his teeth around its neck and ripped. He watched panting and shaking as the blood turned into pink foam as the other cat could no longer breathe. Kaden was tired even more so than the last fight and Morwen’s mark or not he was cold. As the Ice Cat struggled and kicked in the snow Kaden gripped it by its back foot and slowly dragged it back to the waiting humans.

He got within an few steps distance but by then he was sore. The Ice Cat was getting up; its airway had cleared enough that it could breathe again. Kaden was just too tired now and didn’t have anything else to give. He bristled and growled and the Ice Cat did the same; both bleeding and worn. Kaden was casting his hope that the human hunter would do something. The Ice Cat could still bite, it would still hurt him. Hissing Kaden gave a halfhearted swipe the other cat’s way. Old wounds had opened and new ones were bleeding; the Kelvic shivered and found himself lying down despite the other cat; but then the Ice Cat wasn’t moving toward him either.


oocSorry all of this was written on a cellphone. Hard to do a grammar check. I am at the airport and I will be gone tomorrow but should be back the next day. I have to go to France for a meeting but they never take long.

[Spirit Frostfawn]

Spirit's cousin, having watched the ongoing fight, had noticed Kaden's problems. Quickly and quietly, he'd passed his relative the reigns, and grabbed his bow, stringing it as the two cats yowled at each other. That done' he grabbed a pair of arrows and knocked one, sticking the other into the snow at his feet. He was prepared in time to see the Kelvic sink to the ground, and took the moment as an advantage. He drew and aimed his bow, not needing too much time to aim, as all he needed to hit were the general head area, and the Sabertooth was relatively close. He quickly released, before picking up the next arrow and also sending it flying into their attacker. One of the two was a lucky hit- and the creature was weakened by its battle anyways- so it sank to the ground, before collapsing beside Kaden. "Spirit. Your furry friend needs help!" His voice was surprisingly calm- this was his element. He knew what to do in a fight, or when hunting. The groom glanced over, having spent most of the time with her face pressed against Silver's hoping to never see one of those Sabertooths again. They were WAY too scary. Shuddering slightly, she turned, and, seeing the collapsed Kaden, rushed over to the orange cat immediately. The two horses, seemingly sensing the urgency, didn't run or spook, but instead stood close together in general companionship, with Apple at their feet. Ticker, however, had noticed his best friend's dilemma and rushed alongside Spirit to the Kelvic. Kneeling next to Kaden, the Frostfawn took in the seriousness of his wounds... they were bad. She could probably help the cat in his animal form, but she doubted he would be able to move easily after this. Instead, she muttered to him "Shift Kaden, shift!" OOC...No problem! Also, I'm sending you a PM with a bunch of important stuff, so look out for that!

[Kaden Swift]

Kaden closed his eyes and let out a sigh as he saw the other cat fall with arrows in its hide. He was relived he wouldn’t need to get up again but couldn’t help wondering if he even could should the cat had charged. He heard Ticker and opened his eyes to look at the puppy. He had seen the poor animal scared to many times today. Then it wasn’t just Ticker beside him but Spirit. Peeling his lips back he growled at her. He didn’t want to shift, he was safer like this and it was warmer. Still the tiger closed his eyes and shifted; even as he flinched.

Human again he was curled in the snow, no claws teeth or thick fur. He wasn’t happy. The bite was very clear and looked much like the one on his shoulder but this one the cats saber like fangs had dug into him. It ripped open muscles and scraped his spinal cord. If Kaden had been a smaller cat he would have been dead. As a tiger he had a thick neck and with a winter coat it was padded with plushy fur. “What’s the point of making me shift?” He glared at Spirit, for once a clear emotion showing on his face. He had more claw marks and bites; but only his neck bared the wound of the cat’s great long fangs.

“I don’t have more shirts for you to ruin.” Now he was just sulking. Kaden had meant to blink, but instead the Kelvic fell asleep where he was in the snow. He would have fought tooth and nail to stay awake if he wasn’t tired from more than the fight. Blood loss was a nasty thing and Kaden was to worn to stay up any longer. At least the cold had once more closed the smaller wounds. The blood freezing so it blocked the wound. It didn’t work for the larger wounds however, and the one at his neck and shoulder bleed sluggishly. Ticker barked but Kaden didn’t so much as twitch.

oocOkay this post sucks. I'm sorry I have never needed to make an ending post to anything. Please feel free to power play to get him where you want him. He's sound asleep and as a human kind of scrawny, so someone could pick him up in need be. Yes, the post was horrid. I am so sorry.

[Una Tanta]

Spirit :

Experience:

Horseback riding +2
Tactics +2

Lores:

Apple: Guard
Apple: Clever Hunter
Kelvics: Unabashed nudity
Sabertooth Danger
Cat in a Pack
Asked permission by a killing kelvic

Notes

Beautiful guys, just exquisite!

Kaden: :

Please update your CS to receive your grade. Your seasonal deductions need to be made. When you have done so feel free to PM me and I will post your Grade.Your injuries were not described but considering the ferociousness of the sabertooths please require approximately 20 days to recover. You also sustained 2nd degree frostbite on your toes, fingers, and testicles. Morwen's gnosis is not THAT strong, you cannot be naked for that long. I am being lenient this time because you are new but please be aware of this in the future as next time you may lose limbs.

Please don't be afraid to PM me with any questions ^-^