I know, it's weird when you think about it XD. Birds do grow up fast, though.

It had been a long time indeed since Ruri had visited with Niro, and she was both shocked and very worried when he revealed the cause of his discomfort. "Shouldn't you be resting if you're hurt?! Niro, you shouldn't have caused yourself pain just to come check on me," she replied, in both a worried and somewhat scolding tone. She had, by now, caught her breathe and she was now far more concerned with her friend than her own exhaustion. When he indicated the nearby porch of the hotel and his regret that he could not help her, Ruri resumed her worrying, perhaps it was her motherly instinct to be concerned coming out. "Nonsense, Niro, you need to rest. Come on, we'll sit on the porch together, how does that sound? That way we both can get the rest we need," she replied, her scolding, motherly tone turning back to her normal warm and friendly tone as she spoke. Milky blue gaze turned towards her cat, whose tail had just brushed her leg, "Come on Soleil, I'll introduce you when we get to the porch." She spoke to her cat, essentially because he was getting impatient. Though he would wait on his mistress silently, she could tell when the adolescent cat was getting antsy. He wanted to get to their destination and explore like he always did. With her encouragement, the green eyed kitten did just what he was told and followed his mistress and the other, wounded, wolf to the nearby building.

Upon reaching the porch Ruri climbed the steps slowly before settling herself down on the porch itself, her plumed tail swishing back and forth contentedly as she gave her feet a much needed rest. Soleil moved up and laid down right next to her, figuring he would beg for some petting before sauntering off to explore the hotel. Ruri listened as Niro took his time, which she expected of course, making sure he did not injure himself further climbing the steps. She did not know the extent of his injuries, but it must have been bad to confine him to lupus form. She would not press him at the moment, but eventually she would want to learn what happened. As the Dauphine it was her job to try and keep tabs on her pack mates and what was going on in their lives.

ooc goodnesssss

At Niro's response, the merle and ivory female felt her face flush red in mild embarrassment. She had just scolded a fully grown wolf, and worse one of her friends, for doing something nice. Albeit, the act was potentially harmful to him, but his intentions had been good. "I-I'm sorry, Niro. I didn't mean to talk to you like that. I just, worry about people, especially my friends, when they put themselves in harms way to look after me. That's why I try to do as much on my own as I can, so people don't have to be there to watch over me all the time. I wasn't mad at you. In fact, I really appreciate it. Please forgive me." She really had no idea why her tone had changed so quickly when Niro had told her of his injury. It wasn't like her to be so abrupt in scolding people. She usually took the soft, gentle approach to everything. Of course, the natural explanation to her actions was her pregnancy, sending her hormone levels skyrocketing and giving her mood swings. Fortunately, Ruri's mood swings were not severe as with some cases of pregnancy, but she noticed them all the same.

Her delicate hand reached to stroke her kitten on his back as his fluffy form leaned against her. Soleil immediately expressed his gratitude and approval with his usual, deep, rumbling purr. He loved it when his mistress stroked him. He could just relax and enjoy it, knowing that she was safe. He even found himself closing his bright green orbs, completely absorbed in Ruri's relaxing touch. However, scarcely a few seconds passed before a strange sound snapped him to attention. The sound of wings, great big wings reached his tufted ears and he opened his eyes to see a gigantic bird, bigger than him, landing on the porch beside the other wolf, large eyes fixed on him. For the first time in a long time, Soleil's bravery faltered and huddled against Ruri's form, ears folded back a frightened kitten's mew escaping his voice. He couldn't defend against something like that! That bird was huge, at least ten times the size of the sparrows he found himself catching. Perhaps that's what this was about, this was the mother bird come to take her revenge on him for killing all of her small offspring!

Ruri could only gigglee at her large kitten's reaction. The normally fearless Soleil, pressed against her in terror at the sight of the large bird that had just joined their group. "Now, now Soleil, it's okay," she whispered to the kitten comfortingly, her smile betraying the laughter she was holding back as she scooped the kitten up in her arms. Niro's inquiry was an easy one to answer, and after she felt she had sufficiently calmed her flame-colored cat, she turned and smiled at the wounded man. "Yes, this is my cat, Soleil. He acts tough, but as you can see he's a big softy. I don't think he's ever been around such a big bird before. That's probably why he's frightened," she replied, her nightingale's voice ringing with amusement at her brave kitten's change of heart. Fear was nothing to be ashamed of, and she did not wish to make light of it. But to feel a kitten, who would stare down a full grown wolf, quivering in her arms at the sight of one of Niro's trained birds was just too cute not to chuckle at. "So, what's your bird's name, Niro? Oh, and did your egg hatch?! It's been so long since I last visited you, that I almost forgot. Goodness, I've been missing a lot lately," she commented, greatly interested to learn how Niro's 'baby' bird was doing. She would never have guessed that the large bird she had just heard land on the porch had been not but an egg last time she and Niro had met.

ooc goodnesssss

As Niro forgave her for her earlier rudeness the Dauphine could not help but smile in relief. Being a naturally friendly, and social, person it worried Ruri whenever she accidentally upset one of her friends. This rarely happened, but today something had made her slip and scold Niro for coming to check on her while he was injured. Another, more experienced wolfess would have likely just chalked it up to the raging hormones associated with pregnancy, but with her lack of knowledge on the subject Ruri was baffled by her attitude. However, Niro had forgiven her and it was all water under the bridge now.

Her delicate hand continued to stroke Soleil as he huddled against her side, green eyes fixed on the bird beside the white wolf. The young Maine Coon just could not shake his sudden fear of the large bird. He was supposed to be protecting his mistress, not her protecting him. But that bird was huge and it had claws sharper than his! The other wolf spoke to him in a reassuring tone, which his mistress added to with a gentle squeeze of encouragement. Green gaze broke from the bird and looked up at the milky blue eyes of his blind caretaker, knowing she could not see him but still finding comfort in her gaze. Satisfied that he would indeed be safe, Soleil slowly moved away from Ruri, though he still sat nearby.

Niro introduced his bird as Marahute, which Ruri quickly logged in her memory. That was one of her little recognized gifts, her memory. Rarely if ever did it cross her mind about how much she could remember, whether it be names or the numerous pathways she knew around Cour des Miracles. She was quite skilled at memorizing. The lautari would certainly make it a point to remember Niro's bird's name. After all, she liked it when people remembered Soleil when they came to visit her. When she came to visit Niro again, Marahute would be someone she would ask about. However, she was not quite prepared for what Niro said next. This gigantic bird was from that little egg? Though Ruri could not see Marahute, the bird had sounded gigantic when she had swooped overhead and landed beside Niro. The merle and ivory woman spent enough time in nature to know what most birds sounded like as they flew by and this bird was at least ten times the size of most of the song birds she knew. Her jaw fell slack for a moment as the Takekuro male explained his reasons for not introducing her to Marahute sooner, but Ruri quickly chimed in. "No need to worry about that. I'm just astonished by how quickly she's grown. Her egg wasn't this big," she paused to gesture with her hands, indicating the rough size of the egg as she remembered it from feeling its shell, "when we last met. I had no idea that birds grew so fast! That's amazing! What kind of bird is she?" she inquired, wanting to know more about this surely magnificent creature. She remembered that Niro had told her about a few types of hunting birds, but she wanted to know what Marahute was. Without sight, the name would be relatively meaningless as she would have nothing visual to associate it with. She would remember the bird's sounds, though. That would be Marahute's identity to Ruri.

Sorry for the delay. Yay for short post failness -_-

Ruri smiled as Niro compared luperci growth to his eagle. It was true, both species did start out very small only to grow quite large in comparison over the course of their lifetimes. Her hand moved to rub her belly, as her thoughts drifted to the two lifeforms within. They would be tiny, delicate things when they were born, but she hoped they would grow to be big and strong, like their dad. Of course, they had to be born first, and that event was still a ways away

Half-folded ears perked as her injured friend told her more about Marahute. She was a golden eagle. The name alone sounded pretty. She must have been a lovely bird. The next bit of information did indeed surprise and amaze her. She was lighter than Soleil? She couldn't help but giggle and turn towards the adolescent cat. If he only knew, he would have been far less afraid of the bird she guessed. Oh well, perhaps it was best that he remained ignorant of that fact. Niro's next question took her off guard a little. After what they'd been talking about, it seemed a little odd to ask her if she knew how to whistle. "Yes, I can whistle. I'm a little out of practice, but I can. Why?" she asked curiously, her head tipped slightly to the side as an added expression of confusion. What did whistling have to do with Marahute? She hadn't the foggiest idea, but he was the expert after all. Perhaps he would tell her.

ooc goodnesssss

Ruri listened to Niro's instructions, agreeing that a fight between her cat and Niro's eagle would be quite unpleasant indeed. Milky blue eyes wandered as she awaited the eagle's approach. The click-click of her talons on the wood of the porch informed Ruri just how close the bird was before she flapped and landed on her leg, ever so gently. Half-folded ears perked as she heard her almost silent feline rise from his sitting position, ready to rush to his mistress' aid at the first provocation. A delicate, white hand was held out flat towards the kitten, and her face turned towards him, hoping he would see her reassuring smile. "Easy Soleil, you don't have to worry about her," she cooed, wishing to ease her feline companion's anxiety over the large bird. Soleil's posture almost immediately relaxed and he managed to ease himself onto his haunches, though his gleaming green eyes never left the bird. They seemed to speak an unspoken warning to the feathered creature that if she so much as thought of hurting Ruri, he would make her regret it. Though, it was likely only an empty threat.

Satisfied that her cat would leave the large bird alone, Ruri turned her attention back to Marahute who still sat, gently perched on her thigh. While one hand still rested on her belly, the other reached out to touch the eagle. She hadn't ever had the chance to feel a bird like this. This would give her a much clearer picture of just how big an eagle was. Softly, her delicate fingers gently landed on the bird's back, slowly tracing a line down from Marahute's shoulders to the tip of her wing."She's so soft! I don't know why, but I thought a big bird like this would be a bit...I don't know...tougher on the outside, I guess," she exclaimed, her face aglow with excitement. This was, in all likelihood, the first bird Ruri had ever touched. She knew what their feather's felt like, for she had found them before, but she had never, ever, touched a living bird before.