CUDDLE FUDDLE // preening

[EXODUS--]

≡ -- // retro to the pack heading to rosebloods

[member=1684]VIRGO[/member] [member=1827]AMENT .[/member] [member=232]LUCIFER GRIMM.[/member]

their nest was lined with velvety feathers, padding against the golden granules of sand and lined with the alabaster skeletones of trophies from their hunt; a barbaric means of ‘decoration,’ and a trademark calling card for their presence. a staked claim to their sacred nesting grounds.
distantly, the youth could hear the placid, gentle sweep of rolling, frothy white waters pounding gently against the shore, the cry of faraway fauna within the jungle’s belly, and the distant bustle of the typhoon’s residents from the barracuda bay where their home had been built and firmly nestled into the crag of cliffs overlooking the wide, blue sea.

her family was warmth. comfort. a safe resting place, and a refuge from the shenanigans of the day. exodus knew not of peace, but she certainly felt it’s caress. and it was perhaps, just what the adventurous child of youth needed from her daily adventures.
she could feel the heat of their bodies pressing beside her, the stretch of their barrel as their ribcages expanded. it was all she ever needed. they were all she ever needed.

a soft slapping click of the tongue against the roof of her mouth was a silent call to anyone awake. a purr burbled from her throat; comfortable, deep and unbidden as she rolled over, unabashedly finding the nearest warm body next to her and rubbing her cheek against a bundle of flaxen feathers.

preening was a sign of close affection and respect. the venandi pack prided themselves on their close bonds; it wasn't uncommon to see them engaged in physical closeness to increase unbreakable union. union that would lead to discipline and cooperation. cooperation that would lead to an efficient, lethal pack with relationships not nearly as flimsy as to be broken by petty squabbles or nigh nonexistant battles for dominance. union to align their goals. union to be in sync with another pack member's wants and needs and work like a unit. a family, as they were. until their closeness and collaboration became unstoppable against enemy and prey alike; unshakeable and powerful, and all the more greater for it.

they relied on each other, their hierarchy and social structure rigid. not fluid in the way that it was subject to change at the drop of an issued altercation. it was not in their innate sense to fight among one another. as strong as their sense of self worth may be, their pride was not worth risking the sake of the family on social disputes. they had no definite sense of rank, yet whatever power and authority established within the pack from an early age was likely to go unchallenged. disputes of dominance lead to fractured unity and weakness. weakness that could cripple them if they were far too shrouded in their bitterness to work together.

there was that, and the fact that the stimuli was absolutely stunning.

preening was something far more than just bonding; it was a time to assist in making sure their family members were healthy. preening kept the wings glossy, well kept and in good shape.

exodus leaned in with a hearty grumble as she set to work on the raptor next to her. smoothing out the feathers with explorative teeth and a scruffle, and then set to work removing the grime and dust from the bristles with a soft tug.

she paused, only to press her head into the base of her tail, smearing oil from the gland hidden within her growing feathers, and return to smooth it across the bristles of her recipient in a single, disciplined stroke. a coo escaped her maw, accompanying the movement meant to send cozy tingle up the spine of her kin.

preening was tedious, but worth it. there were times when exodus would pay hours upon hours on end tending to her appearance and her appearance alone. not out of vanity, but necessity.

[OWEN.]

track!

[Luciferr]

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The endless Void, The gazing abyss, The bottomless ocean of [i]horror...It coiled itself around your tender heart[/i]

/here comes a fluffy luci variant, big fluff mane.

if you asked Lucifer, it was something of a novelty that he was even tall in his smaller form - and even then when he lacked the absolute plating, did he still carry the armouring across most of his form sans his face, neck and a good portion of the front half of his body - it seemed to stretch more from his ribs and onward.

something of a novelty that his neck went from a spiky hellscape to an inordinate amount of fluff - despite the horns that now shifted to splay more like the traditional 'satanesque' goat horn placement, oh irony.

it was still quite obvious it was himself however - there was no one quite so monochromatic with two pairs of wings, an amount of scales - and lest we forget the very obvious bright red scarring across half his face.

the scarring was something that wouldn't change across all forms, his cross to bear so to speak.

of course the first thing Lucifer did when he emerged from his beachside cave home - sans crabs now thankfully - was head down the incline and across the sandy beaches at a sedate pace to check in on his kids - his nearest next door neighbours truthfully if one didn't count the ship secured off the coast where the others of the grim ray division slept.

and of course he comes across Exodus, first to be awake and hums a quiet croon - not wishing to disturb her work and her slowly waking siblings - the fond spark in his small smile enough as he chooses to stretch and settle down beside the three's nest, careful not to disturb the placement of various items.

hm, he should probably gift them things for their small home no? a reminder for later.

LARGE DRAGON — HELLION [5FEET] — TYPHOON / REAVER — PLAYLIST — TAGS

[rhosmari]

[align=center][div style="0px; width:450px; height:auto; text-align: justify; font-size: 8pt; line-height:13px; color:black;"]The other pack, she found herself irritated with. She did not like competition and she did not enjoy sharing a territory. Being around the other Typhoon members was pushing it but Alpha had said that they were food-givers, yet none of them had given food. Her patience was growing ever thinner as the days went by. She still didn't understand when Alpha had stopped her from attacking the threat that had chosen to attack the pack first. It made no sense to her instincts and she was highly confused by his sudden anger with her. It had forced her to back down but she was ever more irritated and that wasn't something that the more aggressive raptor needed. Even now as she stalked along the underbrush of thick foliage her malignant orange eyes were narrowed in frustration. Her jaws parted on a soft breathe as thick muscular legs moved the beast through the terrain with ease. She was oddly silent for such a large creature and her body moved with such precision that she never caused too much noise. A creature who was made for ambushing prey always knew how to hide and how to move.

Even though she was the youngest raptor she was highly dangers. With six inch sickle like claws used for slicing into her prey and holding them down. Her jagged teeth meant for ripping apart flesh her tail made for breaking bones. Despite that there were creatures that were bigger than her. Which was one such thing right now. Her head jerked up as a large mass passed over her and she almost hissed, stepping back slowly to keep herself in the shadows of thick trees and shade. Her gaze narrowed as she watched Lucifer go forth to an area and she began to chuff, taking in lungfuls of air and taking in the scent of the area. The other pack. Curling her muzzle the claws on her arms curled in agitation before she began to track, carefully keeping her distance all the while. Her thick legs moved against soft ground but she never announced her presence, only watching, seething. Her claw tapped quietly against the sands and her head tilted up slightly, tail held up in a sign of dominance.

[AMUNET]

soft dowry and gentle tugs woke the slumbering kin, letting out a content purr at his siblings ministrations, such a gentle way to wake up when looking at the nature of their kind. Vicious little monsters made for war- some insolent thought made for controlling. In the soft glow of the morning ament feel his own rumble spill freely, announcing his own slow awareness into the waking realm. It was very rare to wake up like this, slow and careful and kind. SO often would ament wake suddenly, not a jerk awake but a sudden sensation of awareness that couldn't be tampered until his muscles screamed in exertion. So little did his mind let itself wake peacefully, that ament was content. Secure in the silk netting of their home. Throne fit for the divine.

His purr only stuttered when he finally let out his own chirp, blinking his eyes finally awake to see the sun glaze over their realm. Dark feathers glinting like shards of freshly picked bone. the gold, dull bronze of Exodus' movement caught his attention, and a slightly harsher tug at his growing wing joint as he moved to reciprocate. lazy, slow, contentment settled deep into his bones and the wraith in his bones hummed in stillness. He ducked under his own wing, catching the oil from the gland there as he puffed out the feathers under exodus' chest- hard to reach sparsely cleaned between lethal tools turning into a simple comb. Eyes still half closed, awareness staying here in his den of warmth and home and loyalty. They did not stretch, did not expand to the void mother's nearing presence, nor the jealousy tethered sprite.

Predators can wait for this. Even ament, who held the darkest feathers, and the very little care of slelf- took time to preen. It was a necessary element to them, it was an instinct that ament felt no shame in extending. It made lazy afternoons out of successful hunts and his pack into a closer tighter knit unit. But ament's calm was fragile as the water, it rippled into a compounding effect. Until a small disturbance made for a raging wave that tore at the shore with it's own brutality. Slowly, the world around him expanded, and his tail stretched out stright alignment of his back. outside wing adjusting as he watched the world from behind his sister's form. A grumble in his threat as he  moved to do the same just behind her head.

A dark shape smeared along the beach towards them, and it was only by the scar that adorned it's face that ament didn't tear himself away from his sibling's hold. he let out a louder sound, chittering in greeting towards the hellion. FOr gallant wings at his sides and dark tuff's of coarse fur or no- void mother was indistinguishable from the power that seemed to surround him, and the way the heat just disappeared at his very presence. Dark blue eyes watched it's mother before he returned to his ministrations, curling his tail around virgo- a gentle probing to her awareness. he didn't want to jostle her, but it was time to preen with them- and mother's presence, it would make a long time before they got time.

THere would be time to wake up slowly today, and ament felt nothing but grateful.

ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴛᴏᴏᴛʜ ᴀɴᴅ ᴄʟᴀᴡ ᴀɴᴅ ʙʟᴏᴏᴅʏ ᴍᴀᴡ // ɪ ᴡɪʟʟ ᴄᴀᴛᴄʜ ʏᴏᴜ- ᴀɴᴅ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡɪʟʟ ʀᴇɢʀᴇᴛ ɪᴛ.

[EXODUS--]

≡ -- there was the rolling timbre of her brother's awakening chirp from beside her body-- serenity sheathed around the atmosphere, and the pleasant buzz of rare tranquility.

a brief brush of limbs against another; and exodus knew her brother was awake; clacked her little jaws together, fighting against the choked up morning phlegm clinging jealously to her throat. revelled in the flush of violet fuzz accompanying a waking day, streaking the sky with a blanket of clouds to hide the still sleeping sun.

exodus churred with satisfaction, pressing flush against the talons that speared through her feathers to move underneath her breastbone. these were one of the few things in life her animalistic nature enjoyed.

her keen senses picked up the arrival of mother. their aura easy to sense through their different form, still enveloped in a hidden power thrumming beneath the skin that so familiar that exodus could sense it with easeful skill.

the new vessel of such drastically different stature did little to phase exodus; apart from mother's overwhelming aura and crimson scar that she had come to associate with, she was fine tuned to the desensitization of once unexplainable things. exodus was coddled into an environment where the unthinkable had turned into the norm; forced to swiftly adjust to the sight. she and her siblings have lived a considerable time with the anomalies to anticipate a majority of it in turn; though they did not know everything. they were the children of forebears who thrived for a millenia, breathing and adapting in time to a changing world; advancing beside prey who began to adorn devastating capabilities in response to the flourishing earth. their ancestors had left them behind a gift coded into their very blood; an innate recognition of their seemingly hapless prey's potential. knowledge not to be caught unawares in their ascension to the perfect killing machines.
and though exodus could not comprehend how it could be, she only knew that it was.

as seamlessly as she reacted to mother’s new form, the child was no less inwardly awed or wondrous of the fact. she was still under the firm belief that she and her mother were connected by blood in some way-- pondered fiercely over the indomitable power and appearance mother displayed, and wondered if one day, she’d exhibit the same graces and strength. she was already learning, mimicking those powerful moves in preparation
exo extended her muzzle in greeting, reaching out to wiggle into the hellion's fleecey mane, accompanied with another purr rolling like quiet thunder. the babe only knew of grooming feather opposed to fur, but mother had needs for health as well, much like her siblings, and she was more than willing to try to accommodate them.

amidst this all; somewhere within her ever churning mind was the faint acknowledgment of one lurking beyond their nest. one that dare intrude on a moment of privacy. it was blasphemy of the highest degree, and at this her crest briefly flexed with unbridled disdain before softening in swift dismissal. virgo had warned them of these strange beasts-- overgrown prey that tended to strut around with self imposed superiority, posturing with inconsequential displays of illusions of strength-- it infuriated her. made her blood boil at their mere existence with toxic contempt.

a breathy exhale pushed through parted jaws in glaring displeasure. exodus cast a look to the seething beast. there was no curl of lips and silently bared teeth. she refused to acknowledge the other as an equal challenge, or even a superior-- she funneled the mannerisms of the deity that her mother was. the savage child was familiar enough with the throes of power to begin channeling the behavior itself-- and replicated the a picture perfect imitation of god staring down a mortal. she took those barbaric, impartial features and schooled it into the rawest form of a disinterested display to mask her facial features and glinting molten irises.
it was not a mere act of foolishness, but one of spite and the ugly, fiendish urge to ridicule a would-be-rival’s attempt at social aggression and spit on it. she was furious beyond belief despite this her actions, her maleficent, primal instinct trembling with the inborn command to mutilate the other beyond recognition for it’s act of disgrace-- her teeth itched. the fire of unbridled wrath makes her lungs tremble with feverish, malignant lethality. yet she could not, would not allow the ignorant mock of her species to dampen her mood of joviality.

feeling satisfied at her apparent display, the youngster went right back to tending to her mother. lovingly brushing over the fringe of fine hairs with teeth like a comb.