Welcome Guest [Log In] [Register]
New to the forum? Check out our Introduction Page and New Members Guide! 1.1: Statistical Updates have been completed for the month.
Add Reply
A Not-So-Subtle Matchmaker
Topic Started: Jan 13 2014, 08:57 PM (3,881 Views)
Demoness
Member Avatar

Despite being the dead of winter in the northern hemisphere, all was not gloom in Demoness. The season was called Second Summer and was indeed more like its counterpart than an opposite. The weather was warmer and slightly humid, though the latter was due to the shower was predicted to visit Sacred Rock later that evening. For the time being, the weather was overcast as Ned Davion descended into the airport. He would soon be followed by Gavrila de Sud, but he was not quite aware of that fact yet.

Visits between Fenwick and Demoness had become more than routine, with the prince representing his country more often than his father, and they had lost all their formality; a simple phone call announced his arrival and a car would meet him at the airport with little fanfare. He was admitted to the Plateau and after a little witty banter with the Guardian of the Gateway, an ex-girlfriend, he was led into Jia Li's private solar.

Though technically a solar, it was more specifically a library and Jia Li lounged with her legs across her husband's lap; a chitael, either Nemesis or Aphrodite, lay in hers. She propped up a book on her chitael's head, reading happily while her husband reviewed something on a tablet. She looked up as Ned entered and smiled. "Hey, Ned-mitsu," she greeted. "I'd stand but..." She indicated the hundred pound animal purring on her lap. "When did you get in?"
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Replies:
Cetatsenia
Member Avatar

"I find it strange zat feral chitaels are as docile as zey are; chitaels seem to be really damn chill for a big cat," Gavrila said, "A feral great rat is gonna have you calling animal control. Zey can be dangerous as hell."
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Demoness
Member Avatar

Jia Li looked up from her cats. Aphrodite put her head back on Jia Li's lap while Nemesis leaned her head on Jia Li's shoulder and sat behind her, staring at the guests. "Chitaels have always been 'chill'. That's probably why they were so easy to domesticate, though the Bible states that Daemonesu-kae placed them here to serve us. That's why they're so obedient."

"From my understanding, most cheetahs are relatively docile in comparison to other bit cats," Xel interjected. "I don't know much about their psychology or why that is, but cheetahs are the only big cats who must suffocate their prey rather than tearing out their throats."
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Cetatsenia
Member Avatar

"Oh, chitaels are actually a kind of cheetah? Huh. Well, I zought zey looked a little similar," Gavrila said, and then shrugged, "And I guess some animals are just docile; like our noroc spiders."
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Demoness
Member Avatar

Jia Li shrugged. "They're classified as a subspecies at least," she replied. "They may even be able to crossbreed, but I think they have the same issues breeding in captivity. Vultaels are a subspecies too, but you won't see them roaming free like chitaels. The easiest way to see them is to go to the zoo."
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Cetatsenia
Member Avatar

"What does a vultael look like?" Gavrila asked, curious, "And do all the big cats in Demoness have names that end with -tael?"
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Demoness
Member Avatar

Jia Li shook her head. "Just those two," she replied, "because they're the same species according to folk lore, but they are related according to biology. The only other large cat we had was the tiger and it didn't have the same suffix.

"I think 'vultael' comes from a contraction of 'dark chitael'," she continued. "They're a bit larger and heavier than chitaels and probably quite a bit stronger. I've never seen one myself because they're endangered, but their fur is strange: they're still spotted, but it's also black so it's like the spots are hiding beneath the color."
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Cetatsenia
Member Avatar

Gavrila listened to Jia Li, grinning as she described the vultael. However, her smile faltered a bit when Jia LI mentioned the vultael being an endangered species. "All right, I have decided zat I want to visit ze zoo sometime," Gavrila said, "I want to see a vultael; zey sound awesome."
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Demoness
Member Avatar

Jia Li turned. "Are they in the local zoo?" she asked, puzzled. She honestly couldn't remember, as she hadn't gone to the zoo for a long time.

Xel nodded. "The Sacred Rock Zoo is in charge of their breeding program," he replied. Turning to Gavrila, he added, "It's not been very successful due to physiological shortcomings in the vultael for captivity, but they have had some mild successes using cloning and genetic engineering techniques. Before you ask, we don't know why they are endangered. We weren't even sure they existed until late last century. Folk lore always stated vultaels were chitaels with an unusual amount of magic in them, so it was assumed they were simply legend."
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Cetatsenia
Member Avatar

"Why not just let the vultaels wander around ze city?" Gavrila asked, "Or are zey more aggressive zan your cute little chitaels?" In her mind it made sense; if they had trouble breeding in captivity why not just let them roam around free? She realized they'd probably want to track them, but that didn't seem too hard to do.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Demoness
Member Avatar

"Possibly concerns about territorial conflict," Xel replied. "But I don't know much about them other than their status. I believe there's less than a hundred left and they mostly live on preserves. This breeding program is the only one in existence and I think it's more about delaying the inevitable than saving the species."

Jia Li frowned. "Don't say that. I'm sure there are more out there that we haven't yet discovered and when we perfect cloning then I'm sure they'll make a strong comeback." Xel sighed rather than argued; despite being well-educated and having a scientist for a cousin, Jia Li still overestimated the advance of science and often blurred the lines between what was possible and movies she'd seen as a child. It was why she'd authorized many "futuristic" plans, such as the MAGI Project, which was to fully automate with artificial intelligence the country by 2075.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous)
Go to Next Page
« Previous Topic · Archive · Next Topic »
Add Reply

Theme Designed by McKee91