Nodin - Mountain Lion(Cub)

Player Information

Player Alias: Sigurd or Nodin
Player Age: 31

Player Gender: Male
Player Contact: Through the forum, right here. 
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Character Information

Name:
Nodin
Age:
4 months
Gender:
Male
Species:
Mountain Lion


Character Image

See icon. 


Physical Description:
Nodin is a normal sized cub for his age. Not too big, not too small, although he is a little on the skinny side.
His pelt is a nice golden tawny color, with dark brown undercoat. Instead of spots, like most other cubs, he was born with a darker cape along his spine. The same dark brown color runs in tear marks from the inside corner of each eye, all the way down to large patches on his muzzle. He has a black nose and vibrant blue eyes. 
His left ear is ripped rather badly, still showing red and raw, and he seems to be favoring his right forepaw. 


Personality: 
Nodin has always been a very loving cub, always cuddling, always loving to be close to others. He's playful, and would love nothing more than to spend his days chasing leaves or insects, bouncing around in a field of long grass, or climbing rocks and trees. He enjoys being out and about, but is also easily frightened. Especially when nobody else is around. He's very insecure when left to his own devices. 

Food is amazing. Any kind of meat, or anything he can stomach, really. He'll gorge himself on it until he's sick if he can get to it. This probably comes from not having much food after being prematurely, and abruptly weaned from his mother's milk. 
The cub absolutely hates being left alone, and for good reason. 




History:
During the summer of this year, Tama, a female mountain lion gave birth to a littler of two cubs. Two strong males. She named them Lise, and Nodin. Nodin was the smaller of the two, having been born second. Both cubs were dark, like their mother, having the same markings she had when she was a cub. One would almost have called them twins if they hadn't had different color noses. Lise had a rosy salmon colored nose, while Nodin's was as black as coal. That was the only way she could tell the two apart. Even their eyes were the same color of vibrant blue. It was a bit of a shock the first time they opened their eyes. They seemed to have figured it out at nearly the same moment. 

Tama rarely left the cubs, and when she did it was only for food and water. Their den was tucked back into the side of a cliff in the foothills of the mountains, and it was enclosed enough, and hidden well enough, that she was pretty certain no other animals would be able to find it. None ever had. She'd given birth here several times before. Still, she never left for that long, and always came back after a few hours, even if she hasn't caught anything. 

The cubs grew nicely, and at one month, they were ready for their first trip from the den. It sure was an adventure. Nodin had gotten into a clump of bracken so tight that he'd gotten himself stuck, and had to be rescued. Lise had tried to follow, but pricked his nose on a thorn, and decided against it. After that they were made to stay beside Tama, and spent most of the afternoon cuddling in the warm sunshine. 

One day Tama had come back from hunting feeling a little ill. She'd caught a rabbit close to the den, and had eaten it quickly. Maybe too quickly. She'd shrugged it off and settled down with her cubs, thinking that the sick feeling in her stomach would pass... However, it did not. The next morning she awoke with a horrible cramping in her gut. 

The cubs were made to stay inside the den, and play carefully while their mother rested.

Nodin didn't like staying inside that much, but as long as he got to play with Lise, he guessed it wasn't too bad. They got to play all they wanted as long as they stayed on the opposite side of the den, and stayed somewhat quiet. Once they tired themselves out they settled down beside their mother to nurse, and then fell asleep. 

Several days had passed since their mother had fallen ill, and she had begun shifting around a lot, as if she couldn't get comfortable. She hadn't gone out for food or water, and both cubs had noticed this fact. 

"Momma, are you ok?" Nodin asked, nudging her chin with his head. 
"Yes dear, just a little sick. It should pass in a couple of days." She rasped. Her voice had gotten rough from thirst. 
"Do you want me to go find food?" Lise piped in, stepping around his brother and looking into Tama's bleary eyes. 
She tried to purr, but the sound caught in her throat. "No, you two stay inside where it's safe. I have to keep an eye on you." 

They did stay inside. They stayed inside for what seemed like ages. Days had passed, and they had watched their mother with wary, unsure eyes. She had shrunk, her skin seemed to sag on her body, and her pelt had become patchy. She's stopped fidgeting, and lay on her side. Her breath was rough, and seemed to hurt. As much as the rest of her had shrunk, her stomach seemed to have swollen to twice it's normal size. It was hard for the cubs to feed, and Tama seemed to be providing less and less milk every day. 

The cubs stayed huddled together, no longer playing, but casting worried glances at their mother. They had asked several more times if they should go out to find food or water, and see if they could bring it back, but she had refused each time. Telling them that they needed to stay safe. Their bellies rumbled a lot now. 

One morning a few days later, Nodin awoke to the sound of his brother grunting and fidgeting beside him. 
"What's wrong?" He whispered quietly. 
"My tummy hurts." Lise groaned. 
"Are you hungry?" Nodin asked, pulling himself closer to his brother and bending his nose to sniff him. There was a sour hint to his fur. The same scent that his mother stank of. Sickness. 
"No. It feels like someone's clawing my guts out." 
"I'm sorry. I don't know what to do." Nodin mumbled, leaning in and laying his head on his brother's shoulder. He was shivering. Was he next to get sick?

Tama provided no milk that day. Her breathing had gotten worse, and she could barely speak. Her eyes seemed clouded and even more unfocused than they had been before. 

Both cubs slept uneasily that night. 

The morning brought them both startling awake to the sound of gasping. Tama had pulled herself onto her other side and crawled half way across the den, trying to get to her cubs. Nodin stood, nosing Lise, who staggered to his paws and he helped him across to where their mother now lay heaving for breath. Their pelts stood on end, fear pulsing through both of them. The scent of fear and sickness pressed in from all over the den. 

"Momma..." Nodin collapsed, pressing his face to his mother's cheek. Tears streamed from his eyes. "Momma....." He couldn't bring himself to say the words that stabbed like claws through his heart. Don't go. Don't leave us. 

Lise staggered to her other side, nuzzling against her face and licking her forehead with shaky, but gentile strokes. Tears stained his fur, and he let out a pitiful mewling whine. 

They both listened as their mother's breathing slowed, and she sighed, closing her eyes. They stayed close, nuzzling and licking, clinging to her as the sound of her breathing quieted and faltered. She gave another long, quiet sigh, and seemed to relax. She stretched, as if feeling the warm sunshine on her fur, and then lay still. 

The den sat silent as the minutes passed. The cubs had stopped licking, stopped nuzzling, and both sat watching their mother's body, hoping to see her chest rise again. Hoping to hear one more beat of her heart. Hours seemed to pass as they sat waiting. It never came. 

Lise was the first to move away, staggering to the corner of the den and pressing himself against the cold rock wall. 
Nodin followed after another moment, slowly padding to lay beside his brother. Sleep seemed to crash down on them like the entire den falling in.

Neither cub knew how long they had slept, but when they awoke, pale evening light was seeping in through the den entrance. 
Lise lay curled, his eyes squinted as if he were in a lot of pain. His stomach seemed bigger than it had been earlier. 
Nodin glanced from his brother to their mother's body, and back again. What were they going to do now? He sat down, still staring at his brother. Numbness seemed to creep through his fur. Are we going to die? He thought miserably. Tears began to stream down his muzzle again. He stood up and turned, walking towards the light, to the mouth of the den. 

The forest outside was calm. Birds chirped and the forest sang with life. A bright red leaf spiraled from the top of a nearby tree, floating down to land on the cub's paw. He stared down at it. Tama had told them about a season called Autumn, where the leaves fell from trees. When the days became cold, and the nights became long. Prey was harder to find... They couldn't even hunt yet. They still needed their mother's milk.... But she was gone. 

Two days passed, and the cubs had remained in the den with their mother's body. Lise had gotten worse, and Nodin was determined not to let him starve to death. His own stomach growled and ached from hunger as he stepped out of the den for the first time on his own. He had to find food. He had to find water. 

Luckily for him it had rained that night. A large puddle had formed not far from the mouth of the den, and he had easily drank his fill. How would he get water back to Lise though? It hadn't taken him long to find a spongy piece of moss, and claw it from a tree. "This should work", he thought, as he dropped the moss into the puddle. It soaked up water pretty quickly, and he was able to gather it up and take it back into the den. He'd managed to get his brother to drink some of the water, and left the wet moss there for him while he went back out. 

Food was much harder to find. He'd tried to hunt, but had a hard time tracking anything. Scents were so mixed up, and he had no idea where to begin. He didn't even know what prey smelled like. Only what his mother had come back with on her muzzle. 

Night was closing in by the time he finally picked up what he thought was an appealing scent. Blood.

He followed it to where a clearing opened up further down the hill. The trees thinned just enough for him to see a strange creature standing over a kill that it had made. The creature was tall and lanky, with a long muzzle and large ears. It's fur was golden and white, and it bristled over it's shoulders. Golden eyes darted back and forth as it tore at it's food. 

Maybe it will share it's food. Nodin thought, as he worked his way down the hill towards the creature. 

He soon found out how wrong he was. He had gotten near enough to really get a good smell of the food before the creature had noticed, but when it had, it had growled and launched itself at him. Nodin ran, heart pounding, into a tangle of brambles. The creature couldn't follow, and had stayed, pacing for a long time. 

What was that? Why did it attack? "I need food, please! I'm hungry!" The creature only yowled in response, rushing the brambles again and slammed the thorns with the side of it's body, stalking back towards the kill. Nodin crouched and shrank back. Clearly he wasn't getting any food today.... But Lise needed it.... Maybe if he wanted long enough the creature would leave it's food, and he could get whatever was left. 

The late evening blue had turned to black by the time the creature moved away from the kill and into the bushes on the opposite side of the clearing. Nodin crept from his hiding place, warily looking around to see if anything else was around. He could hear nothing, and there were no scents that hadn't been there before. Slowly he made his way towards the kill, keeping his eyes trained on the spot where the creature had gone. Green dots flashed from the darkness, and a loud snarl erupted from the bushes. A blur of gold rushed towards him. Without thinking the cub bent, grabbed a leg from whatever animal had been killed, and raced back towards the brambles. The creature's breath was hot on his heels as he ran as fast as his small legs could carry him. 

Blunt claws smacked into his hind paw and he stumbled, rolling as his front paws caught on the leg he had been carrying and sent him rolling head over tail. He'd barely stopped moving when heavy paws pounded into his shoulder and right forepaw, pressing him to the ground. Pain seared through his body as sharp teeth met in his ear and began to pull. Nodin shrieked, feeling his flesh rip away. 

He threw a paw, small claws outstretched, and connected with the creature's leg. His claws curled into flesh and the creature leapt back, yipping angrily. The cub scrambled to his feet, gritting his teeth as pain ached in his right front leg. He turned and hissed, showing his teeth. The creature rushed him again, but he ducked just in time, narrowly avoiding another bite. He sank his claws into it's side, feeling them rip through flesh as it sped past him. Blood sprayed. This time it didn't stop running or turn back around. It crashed off through the threes screaming loudly, dripping a trail of blood behind it. 

Nodin stood panting, his ear bleeding and holding his injured paw off the ground. For a long moment he just stood in the clearing, waiting to see what would happen. It didn't come back. The night was quiet again. Slowly he limped off to where he'd dropped the leg of whatever animal had been killed, and picked it up. 

The journey back to the den was difficult, and took a lot longer than it should have. He'd gotten turned around once and had to double back to find something he recognized again. Dawn was breaking by the time he'd finally returned to the den. Pale sunlight warmed his fur as he stood in front of the mouth of the cave, looking inside. He could smell sickness and death inside, and his stomach churned with the thought. His mother was gone, and Lise was sick. He'd managed to get water, and food, but how much longer could they last alone?

Taking a deep breath to calm himself, he entered the den. His mother's body still lay in the center of the den where she had died, and his brother lay curled against the wall where he'd left him. Slowly he padded over to Lise and dropped the leg. "Lise. I got food." ... 
"Lise, wake up. I got food." ... "Come on, you need to eat."

Nodin's fur bristled, and he stepped closer.

"Lise?"... " Lise, wake up." He said loudly, pressing a paw against his brother's shoulder. Fear gripped him as his pad fell on cold fur. 

He was alone. 

----

Nodin had carried the food from the den, eaten it, and left behind all that he had known. He had wandered for days, eating what he could. Catching insects or stealing from smaller creatures. Hiding from larger ones. He had no destination, no place to go. Nowhere to be. How would he survive? He'd already grown thin, his fat reserves gone. Insects barely kept him going. His ear was coated in dried blood, and his front paw still ached, but it wasn't broken. 




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I am Sigurd on another account. ;)