Nimbus Bay - The Best Part of Waking Up...

[V for Vizetta]

The sun rose slowly over the bay, reflecting on the water even as it reached a small campsite on the beach. The fire had long since died, leaving only a pile of very faintly glowing embers in the pit.

Around the pit were five mobians, all of which were asleep at the moment, even if only four seemed to be doing so.

The eldest, an echidna priest, was actually sitting up, as he, much to his eventual chagrin when he awoke, had dozed off while meditating.

So, his head rested against his chest, his hands clasped together in his crossed-legged lap...

And he was snoring softly, the quiet, whistling variety.

[Leda]

The first to wake happened to be Tikal. She didn't seem in a hurry to be such, though; the young echidna groaned and rubbed her eyes, still a little tender from the strain of the night before, and glanced around camp. The others apparently were still asleep, but most importantly, Pachacamac was still asleep. Deciding to take advantage of as much rest as she could possibly gain, Tikal pulled the hood of her cloak over her face to block out the morning light and attempted to drift back off to her dreams.

[V for Vizetta]

Athair was the second to wake up, looking around the campsite for a moment, before he realized that he'd fallen asleep during his meditation. He'd chosen to meditate a short distance away from the camp to get the slight quiet that was best for meditation... which had backfired, because it'd gotten too peaceful.

I really am getting old when I'm unable to keep myself awake to even meditate properly... A slight frown crossed the elder's face as the thought crossed his mind.

With a quiet grunt as he stretched, he searched for his cane, and spotted it lying next to his grand daughter. With a slight smile at seeing her relaxed, even if only for a little while, the elder stood, and collected his cane... before promptly sitting back down next to her. He was going to ensure she got enough rest to make up for the night before, even if he had to knock her father out to do so.

[Leda]

"Mmph.." Tikal softly grunted, pulling the hood from her face and gazing at the aging priest. For a moment she started to speak, but was interrupted by a yawn. "I'll be up in a moment, Elder," she eventually managed to say, rubbing her eyes and apparently trying to adjust them to the light. "Just a second, and I can go find something to eat..."

[V for Vizetta]

Athair smiled down at his granddaughter, cracking his neck slightly before he responded.

"Just go back to sleep, Tikal. You need the rest." The elder's smile softened slightly, before he looked over at the other, still sleeping mobians.

"After all, it's still a bit early for breakfast yet."

[Leda]

The young priestess stretched and rolled onto her side. Flecks of sand clung to her fur in patches, but Tikal took no notice. "I know," she managed through another yawn, "but people'll be awake soon, and probably better not to make them wait." She glanced up at him again with sleepy, half-open eyes. "Besides, aren't you hungry? You didn't eat with us last night."

[V for Vizetta]

The elder shook his head. "I'm not hungry at the moment, but perhaps a little later I may be." The echidna looked at the rest of the camp, and then at the fire, which still possessed glowing embers.

After a moment's thought, the priest smiled at his granddaughter. "All right, if you go find us something to eat, I'll get the fire going again."


There wasn't any firewood left from the night before. So how would he manage THIS one?

[Leda]

Despite her promised resolve, Tikal still found her body utterly unwilling to rise. Not that she was particularly comfortable, but her muscles felt stiff and achey from the previous day's flight. The echidna yawned, and with a low grunt, finally forced her body upright. Several joints let out loud pops as she twisted this way and that to wake herself further.

Eventually Tikal's eye fell on her father, still in a deep sleep across the firepit. The priestess's lips pressed together in a thin, worried line. She still wasn't quite certain what her future held, and could only hope he'd be in an agreeable mood when he awoke. And having food ready would aid in accomplishing that. Tikal quickly climbed to her feet.

"Um.... Elder?" she softly asked Athair, wiping the sand from her fur. "Was.... Well, did my father... I mean... I was just wondering if... ..." Tikal suddenly stopped speaking all together; she didn't trust herself to not speak of her father without staining his name again. Instead she a small, apologetic bow to the priest and began to wander off in search of foragables.

[V for Vizetta]

The elder watched Tikal wander off, and opened his mouth, as if to ask what the young woman had been about to ask, but changed his mind. He would ask her about it later, perhaps try talking to her alone.

But first... The fire. The elder stood slowly, almost seeming to creak a little as he turned his attention to the fire pit.

"Now... How to deal with you." The echidna frowned slightly, looking down into the dying fire pit.

A few minutes later, after some searching of the nearby forest edging the beach for some more firewood, Athair smiled at his handiwork. A new, crackling fire had replaced the dying embers, and was swiftly warming the air of the campsite. But something was off.

Wouldn't Tikal have been back by now? The priest looked towards the forest, wondering where his grandaughter had gone, and walked/shuffled over to Pachacamac. He simply stared at his descendant sternly for a moment, then lifted his cane slightly from the sand...

Moments before jabbing it into his ribs. Then, without waiting to see if this had actually roused the younger echidna, he started to walk away.

"Watch the camp, Pachacamac. I will return shortly."

And he was gone.

[DB]

There was a angry grunt from the larger echidna as he slowly got up, awakened by the rather painful jab to his already sore ribs. Slowly is the keyword here, as, as mentioned, he was still sore from the day before, and the majority of his body was not yet ready to be awakened yet. After a great deal of popping, cracking, and under the breath cursing, Pachacamac was back on his feet. With a frown, he watched as his attacker walked off.

Looking around at what was left at the campsite, he frowned again. Just himself and the two ... outsiders. Muttering, he slowly put himself back down into a sit, staring into the fire. Maybe he could drive them off while Tikal and the Elder were away, and say that they left at their own violation...?

[V for Vizetta]

As Athair walked away from the camp, he realized he was leaving his great grandson ALONE with the two canines, who it was obvious he didn't like. He's probably try to get rid of them somehow, unless...

So Athair glanced over his shoulder, and whispered, although to Pachacamac, his voice sounded as if he were standing right next to the younger echidna.

"And I expect to find our guests being taken care of when I return."

Then Athair, that small issue now dealt with, continued walking away.

[dcbishigirl]

Bella rolled over away from her grandfather, unfortunately onto a rock. She grunted slightly and sat up. The event from the night before... bothered her to say the least. She looked over and was not happy to see the only person there, other than her grandfather, was Tikal's father. Bella looked out at the lake and was more than content just waiting. She didn't like Tikal's dad... something about him bothered her... probably the way he looked at her and her grandfather.

Soren... however.. was still fast asleep... snoring lightly.

[DB]

The bearded echidna's snout wrinkled at the elder's words, and, hearing the young ... mutt... awaken, he turned.

And said nothing.

At least, for awhile, until he cleared his voice.

"Are you hungry?"

[dcbishigirl]

Bella looked over when he spoke and smiled hesitantly. "Oh... no.. I'm alright." She felt very awkward. Thankfully though she wasn't actually hungry.

[DB]

The echidna made a "hrmph" sound before averting his gaze, staring out over the lake, as if wondering what could possibly be on the other side.

And he remained that way.

For a very, very long time.

Eventually, though, he managed to make himself speak.

"Where are you two planning to go?"

[dcbishigirl]

Bella was slightly surprised he was talking to her again. She looked back at the older echidna and replied, "We didnt have any particular place in mind.... We were supposed to be on our way to a village... but I dont think that's a possibility now, so I'm not certain where we're going."

With a slight grunt, the old dog shifted and started to wake.

[Leda]

Meanwhile, the youngest of the echidnas waded her way through the tall, wild grass until she made it back to the sandy shore, carrying her green cloak in a small bundle. Finding the other campers away, she flashed a pleasant, albeit weak smile. "Good morning," Tikal greeted softly, kneeling beside the smouldering fire and setting about unpacking her findings. "I'll just be a minute, and then I'll get a tea going for us to share... then we can divide up food..."

[V for Vizetta]

And following shortly behind was the eldest echidna, who, for the moment, was silent, sitting near the once-fire, resting his cane in his lap.

His eyes, however, fell to Pachacamac, who he was... more displeased with than when he'd left.

This would not be a good day his his great grandson..

[DB]

While part of Pachacamac was glad for the return of his great great (etc) grandfather and his daughter, another part of his was... quite unnerved.

It was that look.

That look.

And he hadn't even done anything yet.

Shifting uncomfortably, he turned his gaze away from the elder and instead turned to his daughter.

"Have you found anything interesting?"

[Leda]

Tikal perked up slightly at Pachacamac's attention. If she could please him now, it would probably be easier to keep him happy for the rest of the day -- but that could be difficult considering what she'd done just the day before.

"Nothing too unusual," she replied brightly, spreading the array of her bounty. "Lots of berries, some mushrooms, a couple of ripe apples, some leaves for tea..." The priestess let out an uncertain chuckle. "...I also fetched some medicinal herbs for the Elder!" Before her father could question her too extensively on that detail, Tikal snatched her can from the night before and scampered to the shoreline to wash it out.

[dcbishigirl]

With a quick glance at the adults she stood and dusted herself off lightly. "I think.. I'll go help Tikal, Excuse me." With that she dashed off after her friend.

Just as her grandfather decided to wake up. With a few pops and cracks the old dog sat up and stretched lightly.

[V for Vizetta]

With no explanation for his new displeasure with Pachacamac, the elder turned his gaze to the dying fire.

What have you done to break your daughter's will so thoroughly, Pachacamac? ... And how long will it take to repair the damage?

Athair looked towards the shore, where Tikal was washing out the "cup" from the night before... and his expression softened a little.

As long as it takes. I won't rest until I've undone your vicious handiwork, great-grandson.

[Leda]

It wasn't long before to two girls returned, carrying the carefully cleaned can full of water and setting it near the glowing embers. Noting that they would need more heat, Tikal quickly scrambled to retreive more wood, with Bella following shortly after her to assist. Working together, the teens restored the fire, and boiled the water and leaves into tea in no time.

"We can start breakfast now, now that we have something to drink!" the young echidna announced, glancing around at her elders. "We'll have to all share the tea, I'm afraid, but there should be plenty, and I can always make more!"

[DB]

Pachacamac's nose wrinkled. If there really was 'enough tea' they wouldn't have to share it. Especially not with outsiders.

But, oh well.

"But do we have enough to -eat-?"

[Leda]

"Um..." Scampering back to where she'd left her cloak, Tikal began arranging her findings into different groups. "I found a lot of berries; there should be plenty of those to go around. There's six full mushrooms, and two that had been broken... I salvaged a couple of walnuts, too. Then there's these hawthorne stalks... those are edible, even though they don't taste very good..." Suddenly it didn't look like she'd reaped nearly as much as she'd previously thought. Biting her lip, the young echidna glanced up into her father's face, hoping to find approval.

[DB]

Pachacamac frowned, ever so slightly.

"I suppose that's the best we can do without our supplies."

[V for Vizetta]

Athair chose that moment to speak up, his eyes once more fixing themselves on the younger male.

"It will actually be easier on everyone if we simply collect supplies each morning. There is plenty to forage in this region, and we won't be encumbered by unnecessary weight." The elder smiled a little, glancing in Tikal's direction, hopefully signifying (to the young woman, at least) that the smile was intended for her.

"In fact, we won't need to worry about collecting extra supplies unless we decide to head much farther north."

[Leda]

"Speaking of unnecessary weight," the older canine suddenly interjected, "you won't need to worry about the two of us adding stress to your party. My granddaughter and I are very thankful to have been able to share the campsite with you for the night, but we need to be getting back to business today. I'm sure we'd only disrupt the flow of things among your family if we stayed, anyway."

Peering at the food Tikal had gathered, Soren added, "In any case, I think I'll pass on breakfast itself; just some of the tea will do for me."


Nodding at the comments, the priestess turned her focus to trying to divide the portions equally among the group, minus Soren. With his omission from the rations, it actually made the other helpings look a lot more plentiful, even though only small amounts had been added to each. With a humble smile, Tikal began delivering breakfast to each of the parties waiting around the fire...

Then, upon second thought as she was about to deliver Pachacamac's, the young echidna added a bit to his portion from her own.


During all this, Bella had brought the can of tea to her grandfather. After all, if he wasn't going to be eating, it was only fair he got the first drink.

[DB]

Nodding slightly to his daughter and apparently making no note of the fact he'd recieved extra, he muttered "Thank you, Tikal."

Oddly enough, he was also smiling.


But it wasn't because of Tikal.

[V for Vizetta]

Tikal's act of generosity wasn't unnoticed by her grandfather, a VERY slight frown crossing his face and vanishing almost as soon as it appeared, before he patted the ground next to him.

"Please, grandaughter. Join me, will you?"

The elder said nothing to the young woman's father. He would speak to him LATER.