The Gang of Five

Role Play => Land Before Time RPG => Topic started by: Ducky123 on February 22, 2014, 09:16:53 AM

Title: The Great Day of the Swimmers
Post by: Ducky123 on February 22, 2014, 09:16:53 AM
Character list:
Narrator: Ducky123
Ducky: Rocky
Spike: jansenov
Mama Swimmer: Ducky123
Lilly: Ducky123
Diver: Kor
Ruddy: jansenov
Lamby: Ducky123
Edmont: Pterano
Tooele: LoyfeCycleProtector
Sonar: Rocky
Mara: Cancerian Tiger
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ducky and Spike were walking towards their nest on a beautiful, yet chilly day in late season of changing leaves. The Cold Time was just about to strike, many trees had already got rid of their leaves and those who still kept some of theirs had only ones that were of a colourful yellow, orange, red or brown colour.

Mama Swimmer was counting her little ones who weren't as little as they used to. They had grown a lot since the last Cold Time had finally ended, now reaching about a sixth of her size. She was happy that they were slowly becoming bigger and more mature but she knew that the time of great growing also meant trouble sometimes. One thing in particular, she was worried about as the young ones had reached the age and size that would require them to take a certain task...
"Tooele, Mara, Sonar, Lilly, Edmont, Ruddy, Lamby, Diver..." she counted. "... And Ducky and Spike are late as always..." The two could really get on her nerves sometimes... It wasn't unusual for them to return to the nest after it had become dark in the Great Valley... but sometimes they didn't return at all...
The grown-up hadrosaur gave a mighty sigh. It just happened at that very moment, that she saw the two troublemakers making their way towards the nest.
Title: The Great Day of the Swimmers
Post by: jansenov on February 22, 2014, 12:14:32 PM
(not sure how much do you have in mind, so I'm playing it safe in the following post)

"What a day", thought Spike as he lumbered forward, tuned out to the thud of his thick feet.  Now that the ache of his muscles had waned a bit, a pleasant tiredness accompanied his rewinding of the memories of the day. He wondered if today he had slowed down or the had world sped up. His siblings had been munching their food much faster than before, almost causing Spike to snort with laughter, and his friends had been such tryhards in games of catch that he had protested sadly a few times, which nobody, not even his sister, had actually noticed. But what amused him the most today was that he hadn't been the first to stop the game to grab a bite. It had been Cera, and the others had followed soon. Afterwards, Spike had been pleased to see that the gang had now been following his schedule, stoping every now and then to eat, something the hapless spiketail had looked very much forward to.

His chain of thoughts breaking, he glanced at Ducky, and noticed that his sister was visibly animated and moving more lively than usuall, which was, he thought, kind of a feat in itself.  Spike then felt the pleasant touch of cold air on his nostrils, and listened to the sounds of distant treestars, which could only be heard during this time of cold. Then he paid more attention to what was ahead, when his eyes met the slightly annoyed eyes of his mother, pairs of other eyes, from rolling, to inquisitive, to cheerful, to sleepy, popping out in the semi-dark behind her.
Title: The Great Day of the Swimmers
Post by: Pterano on February 22, 2014, 02:45:50 PM
Edmont yawned and splayed his arms out over his head and stretched his tail out behind him as well. It had been a particularly long day, as his mother had given him a new job as part of his expanding responsibilities as he grew up. In addition to helping keep their living spaces clean, Edmont was tasked with showing migrating herds around to the major sites of the Great Valley, a job he was beginning to thoroughly enjoy. But he knew he wasn't an adult yet, and also knew there was some sort of coming-of-age ritual that was required for all swimmers to participate in before adulthood.

Hearing the approaching pair of Spike and Ducky, the swimmer inclined his head towards the both of them, and a soft sigh escaped his bill. Typical... always late. But he couldn't really stay annoyed at Ducky for too long. He placed his hands on his hips, and gave her an "again?" type look as the barest hints of a smile spread across his features.
Title: The Great Day of the Swimmers
Post by: Kor on February 22, 2014, 05:17:58 PM
Diver swam back to as close to the nest as she could before she got out of the water the walk the rest of the way.    She had been swimming & playing with some friends as well as diving deep for the water plants she liked and sharing some with her friends and some younger dinosaurs.  

She walked at her usual pace, seeing no reason to hurry at this time.  She also didn't want to arrive at their nest to tired.
Title: The Great Day of the Swimmers
Post by: jansenov on February 22, 2014, 05:18:46 PM
(I've given myself some more liberty here, but not too much. Please PM me for any complaints or advices.)

Ruddy was lying on his right elbow on the ground slightly outside the nest in thoughts, his eyes not really focused on anything. In a moment he regained focus, this time on the nest in front of him. It was a pretty big structure, a round shape with a layer of rocks and sand covered with a layer of hard beaten dirt . Though swimmers were used to rain, they appreaciated dry sleeping ground just as much as the flyers, and this ground dried pretty fast. And when the family was on it, it was a very warm and cozy place indeed. They had expanded it several times during the years, but it was quickly becoming small still. Some of his siblings had asked to have nests of their own nearby in hte past, but mother didn't want to hear about it. There would be time for nests, she said. For now, they all slept together. What he found very annoying about the nest, but also understandable now when he was older, is that every time the siblings had a fight, not only were they not allowed to sleep at opposite ends of the nest, but mother forced them to sleep right by each other. Similarly, when the mother noticed some siblings were forming groups where they would always sleep together, she would break them up. Only Ducky and Spike were allowed some leeway, though even they had to separate once in a while. He didn't get why some of his more squeamish sisters avoided to sleep with Spike. He remembered he had spent quite a few awkward nights with Edmont as a punishment, each staring to the other side deep into the night. Both of them would doze off at some point, however, or at least Ruddy would, and in the morning they would never feel mad at each other anymore. He couldn't figure out why it was exactly so. Probably one of those ancient lores gathered through painstaking trail and error, he thought.

Thinking about the past Edmont brought his attention to the present one. Watching him rest in the nest after his day and after they had chatted about it a bit, he was glad his brother had been spending so much time around herds of all kinds, giving Ruddy the excuse to pester him with all kinds of questions about them, and sometimes Ruddy would even accompany Edmont and assist him in understanding the questions put forward in broken speech of other heards. He would listen to members of the other herds speak, where he would hear all kinds of dialects and sometimes even a wholly different language might appear, and intriguing sayings and phrases, over which meanings he ruminated a lot. Ruddy was somewhat annoyed with Edmont's respect for schedule. He prefered the arrangement where he would help out at one time, and be helped out at some other time. Edmont would sometimes accept this, but he would also point that you could clean an existing nest that way, but you needed more order to build a new one. And he was right. Something about undertaking such long works as building a proper nest freaked Ruddy out. Ruddy would always help others with their stuff or do small stuff of his own, but making a something that's worth a life's work put him off.

Soon he saw Edmont and mom looking somewhere, and there he noticed Ducky and Spike. Ducky seemed a bit cold, while Spike was apparently impervious to his environment. He noticed Spike was cooling himself with his wide strides and opened in the fresh air. They both seemed happy, if mom's look dampened their mood somewhat. He looked at them with curiosity and understanding. He let a small smile on his lips. He was prone to crazy adventures himself, though he would always have to make them himself, unlike Ducky and Spike, whom the hand of fate itself guided to new adventures, it seemed. He was eager to find out what they had been doing at the first opportunity.
Title: The Great Day of the Swimmers
Post by: Ducky123 on February 23, 2014, 09:39:11 AM
Lamby and Lilly sat on a rotten treetrunk that was close to their nest. Being cold and exhausted from the games they had been playing all day with their sister Mara - something they hardly did since Mara usually prefered to hang around with the boys - they just relaxed a bit and tried to get warm again.
"Boy, it's getting really chilly. Won't be long 'till we'll have snow battles again," Lamby chattered.
"Oh yes, I do look forward to playing the Cold Time games again," Lilly responded, smiling at her sister. Her favourite sibling was Ducky but since was usually gone to play with her gang of mixed kinds, she often spend her time with Lamby. The two girls couldn't be more different. Lilly was more of a calm soul while Lamby was the very opposite. Maybe, Lilly's calm nature was the actual reason as for why they hardly ever had arguments despite Lamby's naughty nature that often got herself into trouble.
"Of course I will be the loser again..." Lilly sighed, being born weak for reasons beyond anybody's knowledge.
"Aww, don't worry so much, sis," Lamby spoke, pulling her sister closer. "Where's a will, there's a way, y'know."
"I know..."
"As long as you enjoy the games..." Lamby said thoughtfully.
"You are right, I believe..." Lilly replied, smiling weakly.
They were watching Tooele who seemed to be lost in thoughts...
Title: The Great Day of the Swimmers
Post by: Rocky on February 23, 2014, 06:01:17 PM
Sonar sat by his mother for warmth. The young blind Swimmer HATED the cold. "Stupid cold." He hissed. Out of all his siblings, he was most sensitive to the cold due to his more sensitive sense of touch.

"Sorry we're late Mama, we werejust playing with our friends yep yep yep." Ducky said to her mother.
Title: The Great Day of the Swimmers
Post by: Cancerian Tiger on February 23, 2014, 11:17:00 PM
Mara had found herself a patch of grass to sit down on.  Although she had been playing with Lamby and Lilly all day, she felt she could play more.  She was used to playing like male threehorns in a dominance match, rather than her sisters' calmer approach to playtime.  Mara could not help but chuckle at Lamby and Lilly's comments about the Cold Times.

"Oh, yeah.  Snow battles kick sharptooth butt!  I can't wait for those again," Mara said before she noticed Ducky and Spike.  "Especially the part where the last one to the nest gets ALL the snow bombs!" Mara stated as she plucked at the grass and took nibbles off the blades.
Title: The Great Day of the Swimmers
Post by: Kor on February 24, 2014, 04:27:23 PM
Diver nodded, "Snow can be fun, but I don't like how it's cold all the time and a lot of the water gets cold and hard.  I would prefer it if it were warm here and we could go to a place with some snow now and then." She said, thinking over how she felt about the cold times and the non cold times.   She would greatly prefer being in a place that was always warm and could visit cold areas with snow when she wanted.  That would be nice.  Especially if the area wasn't to far away.
Title: The Great Day of the Swimmers
Post by: Pterano on February 25, 2014, 03:08:23 PM
Edmont decided to pester Ruddy a bit, since Ruddy had been pestering him earlier today. It wasn't done with any malice however, and perhaps pestering was the wrong word to use. He was showing subdued enthusiasm when he walked over, tapping his brother's arm lightly as he spoke. "I think something's up... what do you think? Mom's been acting like the whole family's gonna be going somewhere or doing something together soon. Always making sure we're around much more so than usual... I dunno. I just seems... different." he commented. "Like something big is coming."

Edmont was trying to hide his underlying unease over a recent development he'd discovered in his life... it was a big secret he'd kept from every one of his siblings, and he still wasn't sure how he would deal with it. It made him slightly afraid but... he kept his face mellow and what he considered "the usual", or calm, collected, and confident in himself and the path he trod, betraying none of the nervousness he sometimes felt whenever it entered his mind.
Title: The Great Day of the Swimmers
Post by: LoyfeCycleProtector on February 25, 2014, 05:11:13 PM
Tooele's attention teeter-tottered between listening politely to what the others were saying and getting caught (Diver's got a point, why here and not elsewhere? Why does it even get colder at all? The days are shorter now, and the nights are longer, but it can't just be that; the nights in the warm times aren't nearly as cold as the ones in the cold times. Maybe--) in his own thoughts.
Sometimes he'd nod to what Lilly and Lamby were saying, and sometimes he'd give a distracted 'right' (which came out as as a slightly lilted 'raight'), but he didn't try to speak up too much. He picked up Sonar's grumble, and debated a moment wether to spin a pretty little word of sympathy for him. He thought of something Samuel had told him a few days ago:
'The happiest men in the world are born sick and tired.'
Besides... He was a bit occupied in his own thoughts at the moment.
He was sitting cross legged on the ground with his back curled forward and his eyes slightly upward. One of his feet jittered around in nervous comfort, massaging a little crevice into the grass.
As he picked up a leaf, realizing how strange it'd look to just sit there without eating, he saw Ducky and Spike come in.
"Hey you two. Did ya have fun with yoar friends out theyuh?" he asked more out of politeness than anything else. His accent, which had only begun to develop within the past two or three months, still didn't sound different to his own ears. He rolled the leaf around in his hands, his brow slightly furrowed. His mind was locked on two people: Ruddy, and his mother. Both seemed to be acting very strangely lately, but in a furtive way that suggested neither would tell him until the time is right. He looked up, noticing Lilly and Lamby were looking at him.
Title: The Great Day of the Swimmers
Post by: Ducky123 on February 27, 2014, 03:21:38 PM
"Hey Tooele!" Lamby called over at the absentmindedly boy. "Mind a talk?" Simply assuming he would be fine with that offer, Lamby hopped off the treetrunk and waddled towards Tooele. With a gesture she told Lilly to follow. Lilly did so, knowing that Lamby had probably an idea in mind.

Lilly then spotted Ducky and Spike and a kind of warmth immediately spread inside her. Family was really important being a hadrosaur thus Lilly was very happy to see the family together.

"Hello Ducky, hey Spike!" She called. "Did you have fun, heh?"

Simultaneously, Lamby approached Tooele. She was sometimes gawking at him in a strange way because she couldn't quite understand his occasional absentmindedness, such as now. However, he was always a great source of information for his observative nature. Her thoughts anyway...
Title: The Great Day of the Swimmers
Post by: jansenov on February 27, 2014, 05:13:09 PM
Ruddy stood up as he saw Edmont approach.

"Oh come on, when does mom not act weird?", Ruddy feigned irritation, but as he saw that Edmont was not in the mood for the joke he took a more serious posture.

"Maybe you'll think I'm crazy, but perhaps we eat too much? Remember when we were just little tailbutts", Ruddy referred the short baby tails, "and when all sixteen of us went grazing with our parents? Everybody was saying "Hey, look who's coming", "Aren't they so cute", "What a beautiful family" and things like that. Now when we go grazing, I swear, brother, I sometimes get the feeling they have faces like swarming leafgobblers are paying them a visit. Maybe mom is upset because someone, like another mom, said something very rude in passing? You know how protective mom is."

Ruddy then looked a bit to the side, scratched his head and continued, his hands on his hips:

"And then there's that swimmer who's been caught by sharpteeth just outside of the Valley you recently told me about. A really weird accident, if everything you heard is true. Mother always gets upset by such things. She becomes silent and pays less attention for a while, then sighes and everything is back to normal. Now it's different. But it's unlikely that particular story is going to repeat time soon, so, even tough I'm only a second-clutcher, " Ruddy paid deference to his brother from the first clutch of eggs, "I don't see what's much there to worry about. So it can only be part of the story. There must be something else on her mind."

 
Ruddy silenced for a bit, then looked Edmont in the eyes and said:
"It looks like we're going to try out the good old Beyond's hospitality, aren't we?"

Title: The Great Day of the Swimmers
Post by: Pterano on February 27, 2014, 11:21:11 PM
Edmont listened to his brother with a mixture of amusement and seriousness. He knew it wasn't about the swimmer that had been gobbled by sharpteeth in the Mysterious Beyond. Maybe it was about how they ate, and while he certainly knew about the annoyances, he wasn't sure they bothered his mother to the extent they most likely could. It was a fair point, but what Ruddy suggested last was exactly what Edmont had been thinking.

His face morphed into weathered stone, and his amusement was gone as he gave a solemn nod. "I think... you're spot on." It was quite the change that had come over Ruddy's brother. "For what purpose I wish I could say... but I have heard of such coming of age rituals and ceremonies, but I also know that not all families practice them. You don't think... that's what this is all about, do you? It's rather cold now, and I can't imagine traveling... ah, but I think I worry too much." he quickly corrected himself here.

Edmont had stolen out to the Mysterious Beyond a few times lately, as he was just too curious to suppress his urges to explore; he had never gone very far, however. His self-preservation was always stronger than his sense of adventure, and he'd come slinking back in, sneaky enough not to get caught before he'd start his next tour of the valley with another group.
Title: The Great Day of the Swimmers
Post by: LoyfeCycleProtector on February 28, 2014, 01:16:06 PM
Tooele blinked himself out of his thoughts and stuffed a leaf in his mouth for a moment to answer.
"Uh... Sure thang, Lamb. What's on yoar mind?" He already had an idea. He premptively looked over at mom to judge wether she was in earshot. She didn't seem to be.
Title: The Great Day of the Swimmers
Post by: Ducky123 on February 28, 2014, 01:30:47 PM
Taking a quick look at her mother who wasn't paying them any attention Lamby started to tell him what was on her mind.

"Well, y'know... It's Mum," Lamby told Tooele, trying to keep her voice at a quiet level. "She's acting weird lately, It's almost embarrassing!" She gave her mother who appeared to be absentminded a quick look before paying Tooele her full attention again. "You know any reason for it? You're usually realising such things pretty quick so I asked ya." She grinned, awaiting an answer with keenness.
Title: The Great Day of the Swimmers
Post by: jansenov on February 28, 2014, 09:49:01 PM
"That would be a good reason to go travelling, but where to? The place the old herd visited for those purposes dried up in the middle of a cold time just a while after our parents became adults themselves. And you know that a lot of nasty things happened to the old herd since then, and that's why were here in the Valley and all the remaining swimmers have strong feelings for our new mixed herd. I heard some other swimmers have coming of age rituals, but they come from herds from the side of the world without the bright circle and their ways are different. There's nothing but sand and rocks back in our folks' old place, in the land of the high bright circle. And you know how practical mom is. She would not risk getting us in trouble for some dead tradition."

Ruddy then looked over to Lamby and Tooele, two of the younger siblings for which he had a soft spot for,  for a moment, then continued: "Something unusual must have happened recently. Far more unusual than a swimmer  getting smacked by a disentangling branch in a gorge. Lamby told me she noticed mom was excited while chewing on some branch with half dried leaves four days ago. She asked me what do I make of it, but I just shrugged."

And Ruddy then shrugged like before, though he couldn't hide the look on his face speaking he could say more, but does not yet feel comfortable enough to do so. He usually had a flurry of chaotic thoughts which he mostly kept for himself, and let out only when it all just clicked and he thought about it actively no longer.

He then looked over to Mara and Lily. Those two couldn't be more different, and it was quite a task to find a game they both would enjoy at the same time. He would often be taught a lesson by Lily or be surprised with a punch or poke from Mara, and would get back at them in only in jest, especially now that he was leaving them behind in size and strength. Though when things were serious he would always be the obedient little brother to his elder sisters. It simply spared him some trouble.

He now got a hold of himself when seing a slight protest in Edmont's eyes.


Title: The Great Day of the Swimmers
Post by: Kor on February 28, 2014, 10:25:12 PM
"Why travel anywhere.  We could do any such things here, like the flyers do.  They don't go elsewhere to do their special ritual that they did." Diver said, though she was wondering if the next one would be the same or if it would change as a result of what Petrie did that made the other flyers change what they do as well.   Though, hopefully, not needing to stop part way through to rescue someone who had fallen into the water.
Title: The Great Day of the Swimmers
Post by: Pterano on March 01, 2014, 03:25:27 PM
"Fair enough point." Edmont conceded. "I haven't heard of any other places to go, and the ones who come from the places without the Bright Circle can keep their habits. That'd be too far to travel for such a thing, and I've never known mom to be that serious about anything."

Edmont caught the look of angst on his brother's face however, and narrowed his eyes, smirking knowingly. It was hard for Ruddy to hide it, and Edmont raised his brows now. "Something more you want to add? Come on!" he teased now, breaking his bill out into a wider smile. "I know that look... there's something on your mind, and you aren't sure you can relate it well enough but go on... I'm listening." Edmont's turn came now to place his hands on his hips, and he shifted his weight over to his right foot, leaning a bit as he allowed his brother to speak.
Title: The Great Day of the Swimmers
Post by: LoyfeCycleProtector on March 01, 2014, 07:12:47 PM


Tooele nodded his head. "Well thank you for saying so. I've noticed, alright. It's been a bit of a project of mine this week to try to reason my way through why mom is actin' the way she is. Well... I cheated." Tooele tipped his sister a sly wink. "Mom isn't the only swimmuh in the valley. So I asked around--every swimmuh I knew to ask-- and sure enough, I did get a few hints and a few said 'it's our time' when I told them how momma was. Now, they wouldn't tell me any more than that: when I asked around what they meant by that , they jus' told me 'you'll see'."
He watched as Lamby looked at him. "I have nevuh known mom to keep secrets without good reason, but I'm pretty sure she's keepin one from us. I may not've asked her myself, but I don't need to: I asked every grown-up swimmuh I knew, and with how word travels round here, I'd be floored if word hadn't reached her by now. It's happened befoar; when I was askin' around about where eggs come from, nobody would tell me. But word reached mom that I was out askin people that question,and she took me aside and told me."
He clasped his hands around one of his knees, smiling a little at Lamby. His eyes were the oaky, mellow color of green seaweed that was just beginning to dry in the sun, and they rarely ever met Lamby's own gaze for more that a few moments at a time.
"So it stands to reason," he continued, "That if word reached mom-- and I'm pretteh sure it has-- that I've been going around tellin' people I've been worried about her and she hasn't said anything by now, that there is something she is not telling us."
 "Now, what kind of secret? Well, some kind of event-- 'our time' usually means, 'our turn', and 'our turn' implies somethin' everyone goes through at one point or anothuh. They call those kinds of things 'rites of passage'. Not 'rights', mind you: 'rites'. I think that's one possibility that would explain why mom's acting funny."
A thought suddenly crossed his mind, once he realised how long he had just talked.
"One moment."
He brought his foot down onto the grass in two equally spaced thumps with two fast ones at the end. Thump-thump-thumpthump. 'Are you list-ning?' He kept a side ear on Sonar to see if he'd reply. With his hearing, he wouldn't be suprised if he had overheard them. He returned to speaking to Lamby.
"What do you think?"
Title: The Great Day of the Swimmers
Post by: jansenov on March 02, 2014, 07:59:49 PM
"Maybe we could do it here, Diver, I don't see why not, but for some reason we don't. Perhaps there are things that can't be done in the Valley and need a special place to do them?"

Ruddy then sighed and got back to Edmont: "You know what's worrying me? What if mom has changed? You know, accepted the ways of the other swimmers? What if she wants us to live in a proper swimmer herd? She's never paid much attention to things such as swimmers, threehorns, or longnecks, but now that's she's a bit older could she be remembering the good old days? We don't know how much is dad's absence taking a toll on her..."

He then remembered what he said to Diver and felt he overlooked something important, but the thought slipped his mind. He looked at Edmont with a tired and worried face, and he noticed Tooele talking about something, but he couldn't make out what.
Title: The Great Day of the Swimmers
Post by: Ducky123 on March 03, 2014, 07:25:48 AM
"It's our time? What does that mean???" Lamby thought. Tooele's answer was detailed and there was definitely something going on... Though the question was 'what' was going on???
"It's our time? As for we're s'posed to do somethin'?" Lamby questioned curiously. "Well, whatever Mum's hidin', we'll squeeze it outta her sooner or later, right?" Lamby replied cheekily. "There's somethin' she's hidin' so why not ask her, eh? If it's oh so important, she'll probably tell us about it anyway but... well I'm curious what it is now and you know how curious I can be, riiight?" Lamby gave him a light punch in the side. "So, anyway, how're we going to ask her? Just us or the whole bunch?"
Lamby noticed how her mother was walking in circles as if trying to remember where she'd put something. "Or as if tryin' to plan something important..."
"Hey Tooele boy! Look at mum! Reckon, she's gonna tell us in a bit? Wanna bet?"
Title: The Great Day of the Swimmers
Post by: Pterano on March 03, 2014, 12:20:06 PM
Edmont blanched at the mention of his mother wanting them go the way of a proper swimmer herd. Shaking his head here, his aversion to the idea was evident. "No! She can't make me do that!" He exclaimed, taking a step back. "I'm finally settling into my new role, and I like what I do! I don't want to have to be forced to live with just swimmers after all! I love learning about all the new things other herds are up to... ugh... if she did that, I'd run away!" Edmont said with determination, his face hardening and looking up now towards the sky.

But of course... he doubted he had the resolve to do something like that. He couldn't just leave his brothers and sisters after all... they were family. Sighing, his eyes dropped to the ground. "No... I guess I wouldn't." He said here, more softly. "But still... I would protest that as vigorously as I could!" he declared. "I've got responsibilities now... and I like those responsibilities." he added glumly. "I just can't see her as asking me to drop those and only hang around with my own kind."
Title: The Great Day of the Swimmers
Post by: Kor on March 03, 2014, 06:13:30 PM
"Hmm, Our time may mean they may want us to do something like we saw Petrie's family and the other flyers do.  Though I don't see why we can't do that here.  Plenty of water areas here."   Diver said.
Title: The Great Day of the Swimmers
Post by: Rocky on March 04, 2014, 06:24:25 PM
Sonar was on his mother's back to get away from the cold stuff. "So Mom, why are you acting weird?" Sonar asked, as blunt as ever.
Title: The Great Day of the Swimmers
Post by: Rocky on March 04, 2014, 06:24:49 PM
deleted.
Title: The Great Day of the Swimmers
Post by: Kor on March 07, 2014, 05:21:41 PM
"But perhaps mom will eventually tell us.  Hopefully not a short time before she  says ts' time to go like Littlefoot's grandparent's did." Diver said.
Title: The Great Day of the Swimmers
Post by: Cancerian Tiger on March 07, 2014, 10:49:56 PM
"So, you think this'll be something like the Great Day of the Flyers...only swimmers this time?  Cool, but I hope we get to do something more epic than acrobats like, say, kicking some sharptooth's butt?" Mara suggested before she let out a big belch from her snack of grass.  "That would give me some awesome bragging rights on even my threehorn pals."
Title: The Great Day of the Swimmers
Post by: jansenov on March 09, 2014, 10:33:00 AM
"Maybe this was just practice, and now you'll get to show your skills for real? For many of the herds of out there you're a familiar face. You'll help the family find its way around", Ruddy tapped Edmont on the shoulder, his turn now to have a beak wide open with smile. In trying to lighten up Edmont's mood, Ruddy lightened his own as well. Then he heard Diver and Mara speak.

"Our time? What are you guys over there talking about?", Ruddy said calmly. He felt things were finally falling into place. They were definitely going to have a test of coming of age, but how and where he didn't know. He suddenly felt an urge to go over to his mother and ask more, but Mara's antics brightened him up and calmed him down.

Mara. As a whelp he underwent quite a lot of "torture" from his older sister, even more than he did from his older brothers. But since there was no way to get away from them, he had no choice but to harden up. And so he did. Just a few days ago while he was grinding some aromatic plants he had been gathering all day for a special meal mom was preparing, he suddenly felt a stab in his lower back. It was Mara stabbing him with a pointy stick. He would grab a stick himself and try to stab her back, but she was faster and would always keep her distance from him while trying to stab him again. Then he would invariably grab a heavier and longer stick, which Mara had some trouble wielding, and then there would be a stand-off until both got bored. After that particular stand-off she told him he was no fun at all and that she would rather play with Sonar, Edmont or Tooele instead. But a few moments later, she was helping him prepare the plants, as she was quite interested in herbs herself.

And when he and his brothers, and Mara as the only girl, played "prey", a game where one sibling was prey and two were fast biters trying to get him/her to the ground and "bite" the prey's throat, Mara was perhaps the hardest prey. She wasn't strong enough to throw any of her brothers off, like Sonar could from time to time, but her limbs were as hard to bend as entangled wood, and reaching for the throat would usually result in having to push skull to her very hard skull. And when she was the fast biter she would jump for the throat, resulting in a fast "kill" or a desperate attempt to get out of her clinch.

"And when mom stumbles upon a game of "prey", she always laments about what she has done wrong to deserve children like us", thought Ruddy with a chuckle. After Ducky, Mara was the sister he loved hanging out with the most, and the one he felt the most comfortable at fighting back in a game, as it was mostly physical, not verbal. He quickly thought of something to throw her way: "Hey Mara, I sure hope you'll get to kick butts outside of the Valley, cause thanks to you, fresh butts are getting hard to find here! And speaking of butts, would any of you care to get your well-respected behinds over here?"

As he waited for an answer from the bunch on the other side of nest, he overheard Sonar.
Sonar's direct question pierced his ears. It wasn't unexpected from Sonar to be so blunt, a trait Ruddy often admired about his strongest sibling, but in this situation it felt out of the blue. Any urge Ruddy might have felt for confronting his mother was completely gone now.

Ruddy anxiously awaited his mother's reply.
Title: The Great Day of the Swimmers
Post by: Kor on March 09, 2014, 04:08:18 PM
Diver nodded to what Mara said, "That would be great, but also very dangerous.  I am not sure if mom would have us do something like that.  Maybe it'll be how well we can dive, swim, do some swimming stuff in groups, and alone.  Perhaps how much food one can get, things like that.  Escaping sharp teeth, or delaying them, dealing with them, perhaps with some acting like fast biters or sharp teeth.  or something else entirely." Diver said shrugging, not sure what such a thing would encompass.
Title: The Great Day of the Swimmers
Post by: Cancerian Tiger on March 09, 2014, 11:18:26 PM
"Good point, Ruddy," Mara chuckled before she responded to Diver.  "Yeah, well whatever it is, I hope it's something epic."

Moments later, a stinky bug like the one that Ducky's friend Cera had been squirted by days after her hatching landed on Mara's leg.

"Gotcha!" she barked as she snatched up the insect, only to get squirted in the face with rancid bug juice.  She yelped in surprise as she released the bug, and regained her composure shortly thereafter.

"Why, you no-good son of a tar pit!" she howled as she leaped up and chased after the bug until it flew over the pond near the nest.  "Next time, buster!  Next time!" she promised out loud while shaking a fist at the disappearing bug before she decided to give herself a quick bath.
Title: The Great Day of the Swimmers
Post by: Kor on March 11, 2014, 09:03:52 PM
Diver nodded, "yea, not something boring." She said.  She shook her head watching Mara and the bug.  "That is one bug that is not a good idea to mess with." She said.  "Though they can be annoying."
Title: The Great Day of the Swimmers
Post by: LoyfeCycleProtector on June 15, 2014, 09:20:25 PM
Tooele scrunched his beak a little as he saw his mom pace around. It wasn't a pleasant looking expression-- sometimes he could tell and sometimes he couldn't, but he swore there were times he could almost identify the little tics and creases on his mom's face and make a good guess what she was feeling. Right now, she looked like someone grappling with long term stress-- something that had bugging her for quite some time.
Tooele looked over at his effervescent sister and smacked his beak a little. "Yeah, I think yoar right, Lamby," he said as he looked around the room at his brothers and sister. "I think you have the right idea. We should probably go togethuh-- a doctor may tell their patient things to keep them calm when alone, but squeal when the patient's family all comes in askin' questions togethuh."
Lamby blinked at him, and a bit of bashful blush came across my face. "If you catch my drift," he said with a bit of a nervous chuckle. "Either way, we'd all want to know if something was really wrong-- wethuh we can guess what it is or not, right?"
He leaned in, looking up slightly at his younger sister.
Title: The Great Day of the Swimmers
Post by: Ducky123 on June 16, 2014, 10:47:55 AM
Lamby listened to her brother carefully which almost must've looked funny to anybody since the cheerful swimmer overdid it, always keeping an eye on her mother though.
"Yeah, I get'cha!" she called cooly. "So what are we waitin' for buddy? Let's get the others and squeeze it outta her!" Grabbing Tooele's arm and dragging him towards the spot where Ducky, Lilly and Spike were, she was soon interrupted in her plan as a warm yet exhausted sounding voice called the names of her and all her siblings...

"Ducky, Spike, Edmont, Ruddy, Mara, Lilly, Sonar, Tooele, Lamby, Diver!!!" Mama Swimmer called her children. She had finally made up her mind about something she wanted to tell her little ones for quite a while already. However, she figured that, if she waited any longer, the weather would work against them... "Come here, little ones! I have to tell you something..."
Title: The Great Day of the Swimmers
Post by: Kor on June 16, 2014, 03:28:51 PM
Diver got up from where she was and ran over to where their mother was calling them.  She looked up at her as she got closer.  though also being sure to look where she was going so she would not trip on anything along the way to where their mother was.

"What do you have to tell us mother?" She asked.  She wondered if it would be about what some of them had been talking about or something else completely different.
Title: The Great Day of the Swimmers
Post by: Pterano on June 16, 2014, 06:52:24 PM
Edmont perked up upon hearing his mother call his name. "Coming, mother!" he called, trotting over to her now, or maybe waddling was more akin to what he was actually doing: he resembled a frilled lizard as it ran across the desert. This was it! They would be getting answers! Swallowing hard and trying to contain his excitement and anticipation, he stopped in front of his mother now. He remained silent though, only smiling upwards at her, knowing that his patience would pay off.
Title: The Great Day of the Swimmers
Post by: jansenov on June 17, 2014, 04:22:35 AM
Ruddy ran over to his mother, visibly nervous.

Spike went over as well, not being in much of a hurry, but with a steady pace. He knew and lived by the saying that all things happen in due time.
Title: The Great Day of the Swimmers
Post by: Ducky123 on June 17, 2014, 09:11:22 AM
As Lilly heard her mother's call, she carelessly hopped to where she was awaiting her, humming a random melody.

Lamby, at hearing the call her mother was giving, stopped dragging Tooele around and let go of his arm. "Okay, don't mind her making it even easier for us to question her..." the swimmer mumbled, chuckling mildly. She walked over to where she was expected to be.
Title: The Great Day of the Swimmers
Post by: Kor on June 21, 2014, 02:01:27 PM
Diver looked at the siblings that had gathered around where their mother was.  She stood up and looked to see if any others were on their way.  She had suspicions what their mother wanted to talk to them about, but she could not be sure till their mother told them what she wanted to tell them.
Title: The Great Day of the Swimmers
Post by: Cancerian Tiger on July 08, 2014, 11:37:29 PM
Mara joined her siblings by their mother in a couple of heartbeats.

"Well, now that the treesweets are to be spilled, wassup?" Mara inquired.
Title: The Great Day of the Swimmers
Post by: LoyfeCycleProtector on February 04, 2016, 10:13:26 PM
Tooele politely gathered in front of his mom, but his eyes were hazy and far away, lost in his typical strange thoughts.