InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "It's not my club. Not my rules"

Black Bear (native_soul) wrote in devils_tower,
@ 2009-07-03 18:14:00

Entry tags:

bear, ruby

Week Fourteen- Thursday
Who: Bear and Ruby
What: Bear just returned from hunting.
When: Thursday, 8:30 a.m.-ish
Where: the Canopy.
Rating: TBD

Bear huffed as he carried his prize back to the Canopy. The sun was out and the wind had died. Bear's t'shirt actually clung to his skin, damp from the sweat of his exertion of carrying the buck over his shoulder. His long hair flicked from side to side as he walked, for once simply laying down his back, no wind to lift strands about his face. Wishing his hands were free to strum the string of his bow like an instrument, Bear let a low chant, the simple words growling out of his throat and voicing the joy that came with this war being over. Of course, the aftermath would include the Feathers in a way that was more unpleasant than the tree-dwellers would like. They hadn't chosen a side during the battles, hadn't made a move against the Jackals... but they couldn't stay tucked up in the branches forever. Bear knew that his services as a negotiator would be in high demand soon. The leaders would be at each others throats if they did all of the talking directly to each other and Bear did have a tendency to think before he spoke. He wasn't terribly excited about meeting these Jackal people and their Leader, but he supposed someone had to set up contact.

The buck thudded to the ground at the base of Bear's tree, it's rack almost cracking as the full force of its weight hit the earth. It was a beautiful work of nature, something the Great Spirit must have been proud to create. But this morning had been the first time in a week and a half that Bear had found the time to go out and hunt- the Feathers needed the meat and the buck had been a great prize indeed. Pulling the creature behind his tree, where no one would see the blood coming from it, Bear took out his knife and began skinning and gutting the animal, letting the blood wash over his hands as he thanked the Great spirit for his gift. Bear's low, rough voice carried slightly through the light air, the Cheyenne words almost mystical in the golden light of the morning.

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Sorry this took me so long!

ruby_red
2009-07-09 08:46 pm UTC (link)

It was amazing how little sleep you got when you were taking care of a young girl. Tink was always full of energy and never seemed to stop going a hundred miles a minute. Last night the poor girl hadn't been able to sleep, so to be the good "big sister", Ruby had sat up with her all night to make sure that she settled to sleep eventually. And that had taken until 3 a.m. Not able to get to sleep herself, Ruby just stayed up the entire night, going through her medical kits and seeing what she had left and how much. It was important that she wasn't running low on the important things. People would still continue to need medical care, after all. Before she knew it, the sun was up and it was early morning. Around 8 or 9 from just a guess. With a yawn, she came down from her treehouse. Tink was still asleep, so there wasn't much to be gained from staying up in the tree. She'd go back and check on her in a couple hours.

She ran a hand through her hair as she just walked, letting the sunlight warm her and wake her up. Things weren't extremely busy around the Canopy in the early morning. Because most everybody else was sleeping unless they had something of more importance to do. Because of that things were rather peaceful in the morning glow. That was what Ruby liked most about the Canopy. It was so serene. Perfect.

Ruby wasn't paying too much attention to where she was walking, so eventually her wandering took her past Bear's tree. It was the sound of unfamiliar words that caught her attention and had her stopping. Her curiosity got the best of her and so she walked around the tree, not really knowing what she'd fine. But what she did see there made her stop in her tracks. It seemed that he'd just come back from hunting...and was skinning and gutting a buck.

"Oh my..." she said, immediately brushing her haid back behind her ear. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be nosy. The words you were saying before just got me curious."

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Re: No Problem at all!

native_soul
2009-07-10 02:06 am UTC (link)

Bear picked up his head so quickly that tendrils of his hair whipped about his face. he hadn't expected anyone to be up and about this early, otherwise he would have gutted the animal in the woods. He placed his body between Ruby and the blood-stained grass, not wanting her to have to see the blood soaking the hide of such a brilliant animal. He was much taller than her and felt every bit the savage, towering over her with blood on his hands and a glistening knife tight in his fingers. She was fresh and clean and beautiful in the early morning light, lovely even with the shadows beneath her eyes. He glanced at the buck behind him and then back at her glowing face, offering a sheepish smile as a silent apology. He hoped she wouldn't take his silence as an insult. After all, he rarely talked to anyone much less the subject of his long-time crush.

Spreading his arms, Bear urged her around to the clean side of the tree, at the base of which sat a medium sized basin full of water. He dipped his hands and his knife into it, cleansing them of the thick blood before turning back to Ruby. He looked down at her, his every feature speaking his embarrassment.

"Sorry..." His low, smooth voice rumbled in his chest. "I didn't- I was just-" He swallowed his nerves and stuck his clean hands in the pockets of his cut-off jeans. "Thanking the Great Spirit..." His voice trailed off. he never knew what to say to Ruby. Tink he could talk to without trouble. She was a pistol, that little fairy of a girl. But Ruby was all woman, one that he would wait a lifetime for... not that he knew how to tell her that. He cleared his throat and straightened his shoulders.

"So... you're up and about early... you look like you could use a bit more sleep." There. The longest sentence he was sure he had ever said to her that didn't have to do with business...

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ruby_red
2009-07-10 07:47 pm UTC (link)

Ruby stepped back the tiniest bit when Bear stood up and put himself between her and the blood-covered buck. It really was quite the sight, him standing there in front of her. He towered over her naturally and he looked...well...savage. His hair hung down like it always did and there was blood on his hands as well as the knife he'd been using. Any words that she might have had pretty much died on the tip of her tongue. Was she scared? No. Startled perhaps, but not scared. And, oddly enough, she was in awe of the strength she saw in him right then. But all of those thoughts were kept to herself. His sheepish smile, most likely an apology, brought her back some. She didn't take his silence as an insult, not at all.

She stepped around to the other side of the tree, watching him silently as he washed his hands and the knife of the buck's blood. There wasn't any reason for him to be embarrassed. There was nothing wrong with what he'd been doing. It was perfectly natural and, of course, necessary for their welfare.

"Oh, no...you don't have to be sorry. It was my fault for intruding in the first place." Ruby almost couldn't concentrate enough because she liked the sound of his voice so much, so her words were a tiny bit rushed. Wasn't that just sad? It was such fun to be a girl with a crush, now wasn't it. She normally was good with her words. So why didn't that apply when she was talking to Bear? When she talked to him she walked away feeling like a complete and total idiot. In the past, it had never been difficult for her to interface with a guy she liked. Then again, they were always more interested in having sex with her than anything else. God, she never could win, could she?

When he remarked on her being up early and looking like she needed more sleep, she certainly couldn't blame him for the observation. "Tink was having trouble sleeping last night, so I sat up with her so she could fall asleep." She shrugged a little bit, almost shyly. "She didn't end up drifting off until about three in the morning, so I pretty much pulled an all-nighter and needed to get out. And here I am." That time the words weren't so rushed. But who knows when that would wear off.

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native_soul
2009-07-12 01:56 am UTC (link)

Not his fault? It had been his choice to gut the deer behind a tree where anyone, even one of the children, could have happened across him. It was most certainly his fault... but he didn't want to argue with Ruby. Sure, they had had minor disagreements in the past. It was rare that Bear had disagreements with anyone, and even more rare for him to have a full on row, but he had, unfortunately, had at least one with each member of his tribe over the years. He'd even had a few with people outside of the Feathers... with good reason, of course. And he wasn't proud of the fact that he almost always won. His common sense and 'think-before-you-speak' attitude just happened to serve him well.

He sighed and smiled, a smile that was a bit of center but that suited him. The little fire-cracker couldn't sleep. Poor thing. None of the children of the nearby tribes deserved the hardships that had been forced upon them, and some of them were just a bit spoiled, not willing to fight for the way they should have been raised. It was the spit fires like Tink that kept the others going, that gave the older tribesmen hope for the future they were trying to build. He thought for a moment. Was it possible that the girl suffered from nightmares? So many of the youngsters did these days. He ran a hand through his hair frowning a bit as he glanced at Ruby, up to his tree house, then back at Ruby.

"I, uh... may have something to help you both... I'll go get it..." he started turning towards the ladder that led to his dwelling, then stopped, realizing it was rude to leave Ruby waiting at the bottom of his tree. He actually felt a blush steal across his chest as he turned back to her. "It might take me a minute... to find it... You can, uh-" He stopped to clear his throat- "come on up, if you'd like..." He turned again, climbing agilely up into the heights and loving how the rising sun felt on the burn scars across his back. If Ruby decided to come up, he wasn't going to be accused of gawking up at her when he suggested ladies went first... of course that would have been the gentlemanly thing to do... of course, a lot of gentlemen only let women to go first because they wanted to gawk... 'Oh just stop thinking, Maheo...' He pulled himself up onto the platform and turned to see if Ruby had followed, hoping he'd have the chance to take her hand and help her up.

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ruby_red
2009-07-12 03:10 am UTC (link)

Ruby found herself a bit preoccupied with her smile for an extra moment or so. Could you really blame her? The man was gorgeous to start with, but when he smiled it was just...something that she couldn't really accurately describe in words. It actually took her thoughts off of Tink for a bit. But then her thoughts went right back to her adoptive "little sis". It made her feel bad that the poor girl was having trouble getting to sleep. During the day she acted just like normal, but Ruby knew that recent events had affected her more than she let on. But Tink just kept on. It was admirable, actually. The fact that she had the spunk to do what some adults couldn't even do. It made you want to build a better future for her and other children like her to live in. Ruby hadn't thought to ask if it was nightmares keeping the younger girl up. Normally Peter Pan was enough to let her get to sleep peacefully. But maybe in the coming days it wouldn't be enough. She saw Bear look up at his tree house before he looked back down at her.

"Oh, alright." She really wouldn't have minded if he just went up. Patience was a virtue and all that, so she could wait. When saw him blush and saw the color spreading across his chest, her eyes wandered for a moment to follow that blush. But once she realized what she was doing, her eyes snapped back up to his face. "Um, okay. Yeah...I'll come up, then." Dear Lord, why did she not have the usual power of speech that she normally had? Well, she already knew the answer to that question. But why did it have to be so bad today?

Once he'd started up the ladder, she took that first step up to follow after him. And that's when she realized that by being the second one up the ladder that, for the entire time going up, she'd have a perfect view of his backside. Extremely glad that he couldn't see her, Ruby climbed up after him, both looking and not looking at...well, you know. And the entire time there was a blush in her cheeks that she hoped would fade by the time they got to the top. Reaching up, she took his hand (something else to make her blush) in order to pull herself up onto the platform. "Um...thanks."

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native_soul
2009-07-12 03:51 am UTC (link)

Her hand was so tiny in his... of course, most things were tiny to him in general, and she was fit but wasn't a little imp of a girl. She had a great figure. She was slim enough to look the slightest bit vulnerable but could most definately hold her own. Bear respected that about her. Of course, he couldn't help wanting to brush his fingers over the blush on her cheeks, caused by the heat maybe? Or by him? Nah... he wasn't anything special... why on earth would she blush over him. Shaking his head slightly, to clear his thoughts, Bear realized he'd paused at the top of the ladder, his hand clasped firmly and warmly around Ruby's, just looking at her. Surely the storms of confision in his eyes and the flush still lingering onhis chest were making her uncomfortable... he dropped her hand as if it had scorched him, turning to walk through his door and motioning Ruby to come on in.

His place wasn't a mess exactly. More of an organized clutter. He'd liked everything neat and sparse before the virus. But now, he had become a bit of a pack-rat. He was unwilling to part with anything to do woth his family or his culture, so beaded talking sticks and drums, painted skins and braided costumes adorned most of the right wall. Opposite them, all of his grandfathers papers and books, the one's he didn't really trust the library to hold on to, were crammed on to makeshift shelves. he had the meticulously ordered and cataloged, the one thing he was a bit obsessive over. At the far end of the room was a makeshift alter of sorts. It displayed a painting of a black bear and the symbol of Maheo, the Great Spirit of the Cheyenne in his spider form.

Bear strode past all of this and under an open arch. His bedroom was his alone so there was no need for a divider between it and his library. His bed, rather large to accomodate his frame, was covered with a dark, patchwork quilt and a thick black fur. his clothes were folded into trunks for the most part, except for the boxers he had taken off and thrown onto the end of the bed that morning. He snatched them up, hastely, hoping Ruby hadn't seen them. That would be awkward...

he shoved them into a chest at the foot of his bed, then called out for Ruby to come to the arch so she could see the wall of Dreamcatchers. All shapes and sizes, some simple,l some complex, som ebeaded and adorned with feathers, and some simply sticks and twine, they cover the entire wall. "Pick one," he said, and then sat on the top of his trunk to kick off his dirty moccasins.

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ruby_red
2009-07-12 04:40 am UTC (link)

She wasn't exactly the tiniest and slightest of girls, but there was no doubting that she was rather tiny in comparison to him. Her hand was small in his, that was for sure. It felt really nice to hold his hand...so nice that it only deepened the blush in her cheeks. Everything about him did that to her. He was just so different from any other guy that she'd met in her life. Tall, strong, and yet soft-spoken. It was different, but in such a good way. A way that made her have such a crush on him that wouldn't go away. Bear was something special. Something very special. Ruby mentally willed herself to try not to blush several deeper shades of pink as she appreciated the very nice view of his muscles and how nice the warmth of his hand felt around her own. But it definitely wasn't working. With her luck, her eyes were probably giving her away entirely. And then, all at once, her hand was out of his and he was walking into the treehouse. Trying to get a grip, Ruby followed after him.

It was the first time she'd ever been in his treehouse and, needless to say, she was interested to see what it was like. Blue eyes wandered curiously over all of the things adorning the walls. The drums, the paintings, the costumes...it was all so interesting looking. The shelves on the other side of the room were full of books and papers and Ruby found herself wondering just what they all said. Undeniable curiosity. Finally her eyes fell on what looked to be an altar. That made her stop and look for a minute or so, her focus going to the painting of the bear and what looked sort of like a spider. It was beautiful in its own right. Something that she'd never experienced before.

Hearing her name drew her to the archway only to see something even more incredible than the altar. A wall full of dreamcatchers of varying styles and sizes. When he said she could pick one, she looked at him with a smile. "Really?" Slowly, she walked over to the wall and began to look through the dreamcatchers. Ever so delicately, her fingers would drift over ones that she liked. But they lingered the most on a black dreamcatcher, decorated with beads in shades of blue. However, the dreamcatcher wasn't supposed to be for her, now was it? It was for Tink. Turning back to Bear, she pointed to a red dreamcatcher with white beads and feathers adorning it. "This one's really nice."

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native_soul
2009-07-12 06:49 am UTC (link)

Finally, someone who really appreciated what he held so dear... Bear sat on his bed, one soft leather slipper dangling from his fingers, frozen in the process of throwing them to the floor as he watched the way her fingers floated over wood and suede. He didn't have to ask and she didn't have to say anything. She way she so delicately traced over the weaves and beads mirrored the reverance that he felt for his culture and religion every second of every day. She took the time to admire each and every Dreamcatcher, lingering on two specifically. One suited her. The black leather was wrapped around a sturdy frame, soft and tender and supportive, just like Ruby was with Tink. At the same time, the roughly hewn blue beads glistened like an undiscovered treasure. Something new and still in need of the minimal amount of polishing, but already dazzlingly beautiful. And a couple were exactly the same color as her eyes.

Bear gently placed his moccasin on the chest before standing and going to inspect the small dreamcatcher she selected. This one wasn't her. It was all Tink- all fire and spark and angelic sweetness rolled into a pretty little web. The black and blue of the other catcher was better suited to Ruby, would guard her slumbers the way the red would perfectly protect Tink- The way the large black and tan catcher, adorned with deer bone beads and golden feathers and hanging above his bed protected him. It was meant to be hers.

The red catcher came off the wall and was placed gently into her hands. It was a gift for Tink alone and he told Ruby so. The red catcher was to hang only above Tink's bed. Then he moved a little closer to Ruby so he could reach the black and blue catcher. He placed a hand tenderly on her shoulder, keeping her from leaving before he could give her the gift, and slowly lowered it from the wall. His eyes spoke volumes as he turned back to her- screamed tenderness and warmth and care that he didn't know how to express in words. The flush was spreading slowly over his chest again and his pulse thudded in the palm that rested on Ruby's soft shoulder. He placed the Dreamcatcher tenderly in her hands.

"This one is for you and you alone... before you hang either of them... thread a piece of your hair-" He lifted the hand on her shoulder, almost reaching out to touch her glowing hair before stopping himself and lowering it to his side. "And wrap it around the strongest thread in the web." He gestured to his own, and to the dark strand of his long hair that had been braided into the thickest part of the catcher. "They'll keep your dreams pleasant... they keep the shadows from your eyes..." He voice, always a low rumble in his chest, had gone soft, melted into a whisper, as if he was gifting Ruby with a secret. She didn't have to know that the real secret was his joy at being able to help Ruby... to care for her and for Tink in a way the his ancestors had cared for wives and children... not that he had any hopes of having that with Ruby... Dreams maybe... but not hopes.

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ruby_red
2009-07-12 07:06 pm UTC (link)

How could a person not appreciate something so beautiful? Each dreamcatcher was a piece of art in and of itself. They made the wall a wash of colors and designs that you just couldn't help admiring and appreciating. At least, Ruby couldn't. She'd never seen so many dreamcatchers in one place at one time, and the ones she'd seen in her own walk of life hadn't been nearly as beautiful as Bear's. Each one got her attention in an entirely new way. Because of some difference in design from the last that made it unique and entirely special. She could have honestly stayed and looked at them for hours and hours, looking into what made each and everyone special and lovely in their own right. But that wasn't what she was there for, now was it? Hence why she'd picked out the red dreamcatcher for Tink and, sadly enough, why she would have to leave the black dreamcatcher with the lovely blue beads behind. It was a shame, yes, but it was Tink's welfare that she was much more worried about. Her dreams and her peaceful slumber.

Ruby took the red dreamcatcher, handling it gently and gingerly so she didn't ruin it. It would have been a horrible shame to ruin something so nice with just a slip of the hand. She nodded her understand when he said that it was only for Tink, meant to hang only above the little girl's bed. When he moved closer to her, she couldn't help but blush again and wonder just what he was doing. You didn't get so close to someone for no reason, right? And then, as if she couldn't make a bigger fool of herself, his hand was on her shoulder. There was a large chance now that her cheeks had bloomed in shades of pink and red. Why oh why did her feelings have to read so vividly on her face? She looked up into his eyes when he turned back to her and she had to admit that she wasn't sure what sort of look it was...it almost seemed like a warmth and caring that she hadn't necessarily seen in someone's eyes when they looked at her. It was nice. Almost forgetting how to think, she got back to reality and took the black and blue dreamcatcher when he gave it to her.

Her ability to speak hadn't really come back and she could only stand there, looking up at him and nodding at the things he told her. The black dreamcatcher was a gift for her and she thought it exceedingly sweet for him to give it to her. "A piece of hair around the strongest thread in the web...I understand." Her voice was also soft as she smiled softly up at him. It had been a long time since someone had cared for her that way. Cared about what might have been troubling her. She hadn't realized how much she'd missed it until right then.

"Thank you. I really appreciate it." And then, all at once, Ruby leaned up to kiss him on the cheek. It was soft, it was gentle...but it was also genuine. Once she was back just standing in front of him, that smile still graced her features as did the slight blush in her cheeks.