Cat and Mouse [open!]

Rhindeer · December 23, 2023, 11:05:34 AM

Raxta had not planned for this.

She had not planned to care for the woman long term, had expected her to maybe sleep a couple hours and then move on, and yet she suddenly she found herself tasked with the human's survival. When she didn't wake up that night, Raxta felt her stomach sink. Had she...somehow made things worse? Would she wake up? What was she supposed to do with her?!

The wise women back home would know what to do. But Raxta wasn't home, so she found herself stumbling through figuring this out.

When it was obvious this would be no short snooze, Raxta did the only thing that seemed sensible: she carefully undressed the woman and tossed her bloodied clothes outside, fetched clean water, and washed and properly dressed her wounds. Then she tucked her back under the bundle of furs and...waited. Found little tasks to busy herself with. Checked her wound now and then and changed the dressing, adjusted the furs to make sure she wasn't too hot or cold. She hunted when she was sure Kaela would be okay alone for a few hours, and every now and then she held Kaela's head in her lap and carefully dripped water onto her lips, not wanting to risk her choking or growing dehydrated.

By day two, she was genuinely considering her options. Should she just suck it up and ask for help? This was well beyond her knowledge! She made sure Kaela was settled before she left to hunt, less because she needed to (she had speared a fat peacock the day before) and more to have a think.

How on earth had she gone from captive to captor?!

She had just returned from her hunt empty handed (for she had spent most of that time up a tree, watching a flock of parrots bicker amongst themselves as she debated what to do) and was just approaching her den when a weak voice inside made her ears perk upright. Raxta stiffened in surprise, then quickened her pace, squeezing through the roots to crawl inside.

"Kaela?" she called, and she was by her best of furs in a heartbeat, one hand on the woman's forehead to check her temperature as she had done so many times before. She leaned in, peering into her face. "You're awake?"

Because it was still possible she wasn't, and was only crying out in her sleep.

wandering_giraffe · December 23, 2023, 09:26:43 PM

Kaela was so confused and disoriented. Was she underground? It felt like her body was delayed from the world around her, and it took her a minute to catch up.

A faint voice in the distance...

"Kaela?"

Kaela latched onto that sound. The only sense of familiarity she had right now...

...Rhaxta...

She felt a hand on her forehead and that grounded her more, somehow bringing the world into focus. Even though it was dark, and she couldn't see much, she could see the silhouette of Rhaxta beside where she was on the nest of furs.

"You're awake?"

"I think I'm awake...Rhaxta...is that you?" Kaela faintly asked...Ansgar above her voice sounded weak...
"Everything hurts..."
Kaela wanted to get up, but her body was not cooperating.
"Thank you. For all of this."
Kaela was grateful. Rhaxta could have left her to die in the jungle.

Rhindeer · December 24, 2023, 01:10:47 AM

She was responsive. Weak, but alert enough to answer her questions. Raxta let out a relieved breath and pulled her hand away, sitting back in a crouch with her too flicking anxiously behind her.

Wait...anxiously?

No, she had definitely not been concerned about the woman.

"Don't thank me. What was I gonna do? Leave you out there, defenseless as a kitten?" She snorted, rolling her eyes. "After going through the effort of pulling the poison out? Why would I save you just to let you die?"

With a shake of her head, she reached for the clay pot she'd filled with water that morning and poured a bit onto a large, broad leaf.

She picked the leaf up, holding it carefully so it formed a sort of cup, and held it toward Kaela. "Can you drink on your own or do I need to pour it into your mouth again?"

wandering_giraffe · December 24, 2023, 12:20:12 PM

Even though she was bundled in a nest of furs, she still felt strangely cold
...oh...oh...well her clothes must have been bloody. Where was she going to get new ones? Kaela didn't even know where her knapsack was...probably outside still.
Kaela tried to push herself up, so she could drink, but she couldn't.
"Damn...I can't, I'm sorry."
She frustratedly sighed.
"I don't think I've ever been this weak before...I really messed with the wrong dragon."

Her eyes were adjusting more and more.
"Are we underground?"
Now that she could see better, she could see the underlyings of roots crisscrossing above them.
"I...I could go for a cold bath right now. Might wake me up some..."

Rhindeer · December 25, 2023, 11:52:37 AM

Raxta frowned and cocked her head, tail swishing.

"Not deep underground," she said as she shuffled closer. "Just in my den. Here."

She had settled near Kaela's head and begun to reach for her, but stopped short, suddenly awkward. Why, she had no idea. She had given the woman water a dozen times while she was zonked out, but the idea of doing it while she was awake was abruptly very...hmm...

Personal?

Oh, spirits, get over it! She had brought the woman into her home and that made her Raxta's responsibility—and not just because those were the rules of hospitality among her people. Out in the jungle, it was one thing—but now she had cared for her, tended to her, dressed her in her blankets and given her shelter and her bed...

Whatever.

With a slight huff, she slid a hand under Kaela's bare shoulders and lifted her up, helping her sit as best as she could, but slowly so as not to cause as little pain as possible. Then she let her arm rest on her back, keeping her supported. "Let's start with drinking before we jump to bathing, yeah?" she said, and offered her the water with her other hand.

She flicked a look over her, shaking her head. "Why mess with dragons, anyway? Every dragon is 'the wrong dragon' in my eyes."

wandering_giraffe · December 25, 2023, 12:33:34 PM

"Thank you," Kaela said as she felt herself being gently sat up.
The water felt amazing, quenching her thirst, which wasn't as crazy as she thought it would be. She drank the water extremely fast. Rhaxta must have given her water while she was out.
"Why mess with dragons?" Kaela repeated.
"Well, money talks for one thing. And the thrill you get when hunting one...it's just amazing...This last kill though...I don't know about it anymore. I've been questioning killing dragons...this last one looked almost human...I don't know..."
Damn, when did merely talking become exhausting? She leaned more against Rhaxta's hand that was supporting her. She absolutely hated being this weak.
"Damn, how long was I out for?"

Outside, the birds chattered, and the myriad sounds of the jungle could be faintly heard from the den.

Rhindeer · January 10, 2024, 07:35:51 AM

"Two days," Raxta answered as she stayed there, awkwardly holding Kaela and not really sure what to do now. Keep supporting her? Help her lay back down?

Kaela hadn't given her any cues as to what she wanted, so Raxta just stayed like that, shifting her eyes away as she felt her cheeks heat.

This was so stupid.

"Your last kill got its revenge and nearly took you with it. Maybe that's a sign. That's exactly why no amount of thrills makes it worth it. You want thrills, there's plenty of water buffalo to hunt—they're mean, they'll give you a hard time."

wandering_giraffe · January 10, 2024, 11:47:29 AM

Kaela decided to try and sit up, slower this time.
"But people don't pay you to hunt a water buffalo for them, do they?" But then she fell silent, considering everything that had happened the past week.
"Maybe you're right..." she admitted.
Her eyes had finally adjusted to the dark.
"Nice little den you have here," she commented, trying to think of something to say. Kaela wasn't used to communicating with people. She wasn't used to feeling a slight blush on her cheeks either.

"Is there a spring nearby? Perhaps I could wash there?"

Rhindeer · January 10, 2024, 01:59:51 PM

Raxta fixed Kaela with an incredulous stare. "Who cares if you are given your silly 'money'?" she said, for she only had a basic understanding of what that actually was. Her tribe had dealt with humans long ago, enough to have a vague concept—but it was utterly meaningless to them, and confusing as well.

"It's just shiny metal. You don't need to hunt buffalo for that. You can eat the buffalo and use its skin and bones and sinew and have all you need." She shook her head like she was explaining the most basic concepts that even a child should know!

"Anyway, there's water close. But...should you be getting up so soon? Can you even sit up without me?"

wandering_giraffe · January 10, 2024, 02:08:29 PM

"I care!" Kaela said indignantly. "You can get a lot of things with money...good alcohol...cool weapons...warm clothes...a place to sleep."
"I'm going to be honest, I don't think I've ever had water buffalo." She thoughtfully said.
"Most of the time I end up eating squirrel, or deer."
Kaela's body protested her trying to sit up...a lot...her side was screaming at her to rest.
"Yeah I can sit up...kindof..." She attempted to push herself up, then collapsed back onto Raxta, Kaela wincing from the effort.
"I guess not," she admitted sheepishly.

Rhindeer · January 12, 2024, 05:47:50 PM

Squirrel...? Raxta wrinkled her nose at that. That was beggar's food—desperation food. The sort of food you ate when you were surviving and not exactly thriving, at least in her eyes.

...Which was why she had also eaten her fair share of small game like that as of late. But Kaela didn't need to know that.

She snorted. "You don't need 'money', you can just make those things. No amount of shiny rock is worth your life. Ah, whatever. It's not my problem."

Tail twitching, she regarded Kaela for a moment. No, Kaela was in no condition to walk if she couldn't even sit, but Raxta could empathize with her desire—she, too, absolutely hated feeling dirty, and no doubt the woman felt disgusting after marinating in her own sweat and oils for two days. Plus, the dirt of travel! Raxta had only washed her wound; she had not bathed her, so she had laid in her den as she was when she encountered her.

Call her a neat freak, but the girl was gonna stink up her den.

She sighed. "Anyway, if you truly feel up to bathing, I suppose I could just carry you."

wandering_giraffe · January 12, 2024, 06:04:40 PM

Kaela realized she owed a lot to Raxta...literally even something like Raxta having to carry her to the water source was something she hated asking. She was a hunter. And until about two or three days ago a tough hunter at that.
"How the mighty have fallen," she sighed to herself.
"If you wouldn't mind carrying me," she reluctantly admitted.
"Trust me this hurts my ego as much as it hurts yours." She mustered up a smile.

Rhindeer · January 13, 2024, 08:03:04 AM

A single eyebrow lifted. Hurt her ego? Oh, not at all, actually. It was the opposite: it was a veritable ego boost to be strong enough to lift a pretty woman in her arms and carry her about.

Raxta, however, would die before she admitted that to Kaela.

The jaguar wasn't blind. She had eyes, and she had spent the last two days making sure the human didn't die, which had included stripping her of her filthy, bloody clothes and keeping her wound cleaned and dressed. She had worked with surgical efficiency, yes, but her head had also cooled over those days—which meant she could also observe the woman objectively.

In other words, she would have had to have been the single most unobservant fool in the world not to have acknowledged that Kaela was rather pretty—

—For a human.

Now Kaela was awake. And suddenly she was faced with the task of carrying the troublesome woman, fully conscious, to bathe.

"Very well," she said slowly, her ears pinned back, before she sucked it up and got to it. One hand was already supporting Kaela's back so she used the other to throw back the furs, slide under Kaela's legs, and scoop her up bridal style.

Of course, Kaela would find that she was very naked. Which didn't seem to phase Raxta as she stood from her crouch, lifting her with ease.

wandering_giraffe · January 13, 2024, 08:58:51 AM

Kaela was normally a very confident, 'has-it-all-together' woman. But as Raxta picked her up, she became a flustered, blushing mess. She didn't want to fall out of Raxta's arms, so she put her arms around Raxta. Her heart felt like it was going to throb out of her chest. Surely Raxta could feel it. She tried to lookanywhere but at Raxta.
She cleared her throat.
"How's the weather been recently?"
Gods damn it get it together Kaela.

Rhindeer · January 18, 2024, 08:51:15 PM

Uhhhhh, what?

Raxta blinked slowly at the question. "Humid...?" she said, brow furrowed in puzzlement, because the weather did not change much there. Every day was near identical: it was warm and it rained everyday.

What a strange creature.

Ducking so as not to hit her head on the low ceiling, Raxta carried Kaela out through the front entrance. Her den had two entrances so as to prevent being cornered there; the claustrophobic back entrance that squeezed out through the roots, providing an escape out into dense jungle, and a larger front entrance that opened up toward the river. She had blocked that one off with piles of leaves and foliage, and she kicked it out of the way as she walked.

"You okay?" she asked suddenly as they walked, glancing down at Kaela's face. The woman felt hot, and her face was an unusual shade of pink. And with the woman pressed so close to her, her keen ears, so much stronger than any human's, could clearly hear the tell-tale drumming of her heart. Just moving that little bit must have taken it out of her. Maybe this wasn't wise.

"This won't be too much for you? You've barely moved and your heart sounds ready to give."

wandering_giraffe · January 18, 2024, 09:28:29 PM

Wow. Now that she wasn't in pain, and could actually pay attention, the jungle was beautiful. She could see a toucan perched on a vine overhead, and the sun filtered through the trees, casting shadows onto the ground.

Then Raxta asked if she was ok.
"Me? I-I'm fine."
Oh gods Raxta could hear her heart.
Raxta could hear her heart.
Cmon pull yourself together Kaela! good grief. She chided herself.

Kaela could see the river up ahead. It looked beautiful. Crystal clear blue water, bubbling gently, the current very gently flowing. A perfect river for a bath. Or a swim, even! There was even a tree overhanging the river, its vines just low enough to pass for a swing, the foliage providing shade.
They got to the river's edge.
"If you could just set me down by that tree, I think maybe I could manage," Kaela suggested. But then she felt herself slipping out of Raxta's grasp, and she fell right into the shallow, cold water, splashing Raxta accidentally.

Rhindeer · January 23, 2024, 10:34:00 PM

"Wait—what! HOW?!" Was all Raxta was able to stutter out as, somehow, Kaela slipped from her grasp like a big, limp fish and splashed into the water, spraying her in the process.

And then Raxta just stood there, staring at Kaela, her ears back, arms limp at her sides, and expression flat as water dripped from her hair and clothes and off the tip of her nose. Only her tail, switching rapidly back and forth, gave away her sheer exasperation.

"How. How did you do that?" she said at last, and gave herself a shake in a motion that was classically feline, sending out a fine spray of water from her hair—which immediately floofed up. Awesome. She heaved a sigh and marched over to Kaela, kneeling down beside her.

"You fool. If you'd just hold still we could've made it. C'mere, grab onto my shoulders. You didn't hurt yourself, did you?"

wandering_giraffe · January 23, 2024, 10:43:37 PM

The water was COLD.
Oh.
Raxta looked pissed. Or maybe that was just pure exasperation.
Kaela shivered, and then looked towards Raxta, a stupid, stupid idea forming in her mind.

At Raxta's question, she shook her head.
"Nope. Alittle sore, but I'm good, I think."
An impish grin formed on Kaela's face, and then, her eyes sparkling with mischief, she splashed Raxta with all the energy she could summon.
On purpose this time.

Rhindeer · January 23, 2024, 11:05:06 PM

Raxta had opened her mouth to say something—but got a full mouthful of water instead as Kaela SPLASHED HER with her whole arm! Like, the girl must have put the full force of her body behind that because it went up her nose and absolutely drenched her. It didn't help that she'd knelt down to be on her level, which put her at perfect splashing height to get her entire goddamned body.

Raxta squealed from the cold, though it soon turned into a choked, sputtering sound as she snorted water out her nose and shoved her hair out of her eyes so she could stare wide-eyed at Kaela like she was absolutely deranged. Her tail shot up, stiff and rigid and puffed out, and her claws sprang out as she held her hands in front of her in a strangling motion.

"Are you OUT OF YOUR MIND?!" she wheezed. But then, as quickly as the shock of it hit her, the absurdity of it followed. Kaela, butt-ass naked, getting a watery sneak-attack on her. What on earth?! Her claws retracted and her wheeze suddenly turned into a giggle, then full-on laughter, and she sat back on her heels and wiped water out of her face, shaking her head.

"Okay," she said at last, looking at Kaela with a wicked smile, fangs bared. "You wanna play? We can play."

And then she scooped the woman up and swiftly waded deeper into the water until it came up to her hips—and then dropped Kaela into the stream.

wandering_giraffe · January 23, 2024, 11:20:47 PM

Damn, Raxta went through the 5 stages of grief. Raxta's reaction sent Kaela into a laughing fit.
"You...you look like a drowned cat!" She giggled, desperately trying to get ahold of herself. But every time she would finally stop laughing, she'd steal a glance at Raxta, water dripping off of her, and she'd fall right back into laughing.
And then she felt Raxta scoop her up, only to find herself dropped into deeper, colder water.
Kaela laughed.
"I bet you didn't drop me accidentally that time," and then she used both of her arms to splash Raxta.