[ P ] When We Were Younger

Tae

The braid was a familiar friend to Tae and as she stood on the precipice she felt her heart hammer in her chest as adrenaline coursed through her veins. She smiled as she swayed back and forth the edge of a tall cliff that overhung the falls basin. She'd been eyeing this spot for a long time but had never before made the leap. Well, today was the day. She was bound and determined, especially after all the trouble it took to even get up here. It had been an arduous task and she'd nearly fallen a couple times but she'd made it and there she stood, ready to take the plunge.

Except... she wasn't quite ready.

Tae drew in a breath and the crisp autumn air chilled her lungs along with the cold spray from the falls. She knew she shouldn't do this, especially this time of year, but she couldn't stop herself from thinking about how amazing it would feel to fly through the air and crash into the pool of water below.

That alone was what made it worth it and before she could second-guess herself, she was sailing through the air.

D

ual-colored eyes watched as a female of odd coloring (light on top and dark on the bottom) stood at the ledge. He had been resting near the peak for a while now, thinking, pondering. He had much to think of, especially with the realization that he would have to be a fulltime father soon. Was he ready for such a task? Maybe he could pawn the kid off on another if it got to be too much? He was unsure. He crossed his paws and watched as the female seemed to be standing on the edge and either talking herself into jumping or talking herself to leave the area. He couldn't tell which it was, but she wasn't showing any signs of really wanting to make the jump. Tiberius knew that this could go one of two ways. He could convince the girl to jump, to feel the chill of the water engulf her form. It was so icy that it could make her shiver. But that was half the fun, wasn't it? He could potentially sit there and watch her going back and forth with herself, or he could do something about it.

Lifting his mighty form off the ground, Tiberius gave a good shake of his coat to get off any loose gravel or dirt that might have clung to his form. His maw took the shape of a soft smirk as he approached her. He stood beside her, looking down at the water over the ledge, as his toes dangled over it. He turned his head to look at her. "Sure is a steep fall, but do you really want to be labeled as a chicken for the rest of your life? Think of what others might say..." he made a tone in his voice that was full of shame. There were better ways to egg someone on, but he wanted to toy with this way first. If it failed, he could always just push her in - he supposed. But then she jumped.

Now that just went and took away all of the fun. He didn't get to see if she would take his bait or not, she just did it. He thought about going in after her, but did he want to get wet? No... not really. He had just cleaned himself off and was looking rather handsome. He stared at the water and with a second thought about it, he too jumped in. What would she think if he called her a chicken and then he did not also join her? "Ahh fuck it..." he said to himself as he pushed off with his hind legs. As he moved through the air, he splashed into the water, away from her. As his head breached the water's surface, he looked around for her to pop up.

@Tae

code by Yahtzee-Penguiduck

Tae

Tae had not even noticed the man beside her, speaking words of 'encouragement' in her ears before she leapt. She had been so transfixed on the adrenaline pumping through her veins that she'd been wholly and utterly consumed.

As she fell down, down, down, she threw back her head and let loose a howl of joy.

It was cut short as she crashed into the icy waters below and dipped beneath the surface. She floated there, suspended, for what seemed like an eternity. Bubbles left her open jaws and she saw someone crash into the water beside her before she finally started swimming to the top. She threw her head out of the water like she were a siren coming to shore. Inhaling sharply, eyes wide, she looked to the stranger who'd decided to join her in her wild escapades. A toothy grin plastered onto her maw, she let out a laugh.

"WOW!" she exclaimed, breathless.

She looked to the man beside her and then to the shore, where she slowly began to swim. As fun as that had been, even she knew not to stay in the chilly waters for long. She hoisted herself up onto the bank and then turned her body to face the stranger. "What a RUSH! That was insane! Wicked, awesome!" she practically whooped.

W

hen the female resurfaced, she was set afire with the chill of the water's clutches to give a shriek of a laugh. The pitch was so high, Tiberius wished there was a way he could close his ears - or at least muffle the sound. "First time, huh?" he asked, as though he was professional adult who constantly was throwing himself off of high places into chilled pools of water beneath him. Anyone could jump off a cliff, but it really mattered with how you kept yourself as you fall through the sky. If you flail, it will hurt, but if you can make yourself as small as possible, there is little chance to be injured. As she moved for the shoreline, he followed after her - just in case she lost her breath and sunk down below the surface, or just grew tired from the swim to safety. Tiberius moved onto the shore and shook out his coat, spraying her in the process with the excess water. "Adventure seeker, I see?" he asked her with a smirk as he turned to face her.

A couple rather dangerous ideas came to mind of what he could introduce the newbie to. He watched her effortlessly jump from the cliff, but would she do something that was less physically dangerous, but more apt to be considered illegal? They could also pester some dangerous wild folk in the area, and see how she responded to it. The thoughts and ideas were endless. Smiling to the female, his eyes fell over her oddly colored form. "You got a name, firecracker?" he asked as he walked around her slowly, trying to see if there indication of who she was or where she was from. Not that he really cared about the politics of the land, but it was still nice to know who he was speaking with.

@Tae

code by Yahtzee-Penguiduck

Tae

Tae grinned at the man, her eyes still wild, and nodded her head. "Yeah, I've always thought about making the jump but I never did..." she breathed. It was like she'd been missing out on something great all this time.

He shook out his thick coat and sprayed her with cold water. "Hey!" she complained, though she couldn't help but laugh.

She opened her amber eyes back up and looked him once over as he asked for her name. Firecracker? She liked that. Another lilting laugh left her and she shook out her own coat, her white cape sticking up once she was done. "Name's Tae." she said simply. That was it. She didn't have a family or a family name to pull from, she was simply... Tae!

"What's your name, big guy?" she asked, quirking a brow at him. In comparison she was quite small but that wasn't enough to set off 'danger' in her head.

T

his snappy little female had a lot of spunk, and seemed to be full of adventure. She had only been so young, and he had experienced so much. He could smile at all the things he could teach her, show her. The rush of running from a stampede, climbing higher heights, maybe even stealing from the locals and running for their lives. Idea after idea of trouble rushed to the foregrounds of his mind. "Tiberius, or you can call me Tibby. Whatever you want, firecracker." He gave her a smirk as she shook off her coat on him as well, as if trying to give him some of his water back. He laughed and splashed a paw in the water, trying to get her back. "So aside from jumping off cliffs, you do anything else exciting? Got any family around these parts?" He had to make sure he was not going to get her into trouble with any adults that cared for her. That would cause some trouble for him.

@Tae

code by Yahtzee-Penguiduck

Tae

"Tiberius, huh?" she repeated, canting her head to the side. "That's an awful prestigious name. Are you some sort of royal?" she asked. Of course, when he said she could call him Tibby it made her think otherwise, but she was still curious so the question between them remained.

He swiped a paw at the water and tried to hit her back, but she dodged away nimbly and with a smug little smile on her face.

"I do all sorts of stuff for fun. I bet someone like you could hardly keep up!" she said, referring to his much larger size. She'd run from larger predators, jumped cliffs, fought, but of course she was always looking for that next thrill. "And nope," she said firmly. "No family. I was dumped off as a kid and had to make my own way." she explained. "Maybe mama and papa couldn't keep up," she said, her tone taunting and whiny as she mocked the monikers.

She was nearing her second year now and and was far from what she'd consider a 'kid' but she wondered if that was all Tiberious saw when she stood before him. "What about you? You got any family, royal?" she teased, a smile on her lips as she looked at him.

S

crappy would be a word that he would use to explain Tae. She definitely was a firecracker. "You got it," the trickster lied. It was not unusual for him to lie here and there when speaking to others. He was never sure when he could trust anyone, so it was always better to lie. His fibs always came off as facts, and he could always muster up some fake details to seal the words as truth. "My father's side.. I was named after a great king generations ago, or so they say." He acted nonchalant about it. She was able to dodge his playful water trick, and it seemed she was quick on her paws. He noticed these things, and the more he noticed Tae, the more he was intrigued by who she was. He wanted to know more about this female that he had wandered into. "You would be surprised..." he said with a smirk as he remembered when he literally chased and tackled Onyxia several times. It seemed that was their way, and he didn't hate it. It just made him have to work for it.

"Lost my parents a long time ago.." he said softly, as he actually spoke the truth. It didn't make sense to lie about that. It was like playing two truths and a lie, only backwards. Tiberius smirked at her, wanting to change the mood. He didn't want things to take a turn for the sad. "You wanna prove your speed or just talk the talk?"

@Tae

code by Yahtzee-Penguiduck

Tae

Tae's eyes flashed with suspicion as he agreeably stated he was some kind of royal. Too bad she didn't care about those types of things, even if they were true. He spouted off something about being named after a great king on his father's side and she laughed a little. "Is that so?"

As he continued to look at her she did not wane beneath his gaze. In fact, she might've puffed up a little more out of pride or whatever it was. He was a daunting creature to some, but not to her. He hadn't done anything frightening to warrant her fear of him, anyway, plus... she wasn't all that sure she could even feel fear to begin with. Her ears twitched at his softer words; he'd lost his parents but she'd been straight up abandoned. She wondered what that was like but didn't feel the usual sadness she should've felt when he said it because he was now challenging her and her brow quirked curiously at him.

"What? You wanna race or something?" she questioned. Her paws already began tapping the ground in place as she danced about, drawing closer to him than darting away. "King Tiberius wants to race little 'ole me?" she sneered playfully. Now why would he wanna do that?

I

t was the way that she laughed when he told her of his name's origin that also made him smile. "Oh so you think my family to be silly, do you?" he asked her with a smirk. Dual-colored eyes watched her, focused on her and if only for a second, it seemed as though she too had felt some sort of sadness from his words. Either she had lost someone or maybe she was feeling bad for him? Either way, he didn't want to push the issue and decided to stick to his plan. He taunted her, and she did the exact same. This tat-a-tat was a rather unusual way that females did not treat him. He had been insulted, friend-zoned, and once again insulted more times than he could count at this point. But here was this breath of fresh air, something that entertained and delighted the male, in only the few minutes he had known her. She was wild, he could tell, and he utterly enjoyed seeing that side of her. Drawing close to him and then darting away was how the game began. She was smaller than him, so obviously she would be faster - but Tiberius had more than just speed on his side, he had intelligence, and the thought to look ahead and plan things as it was happening before him.

He pushed himself after her, kicking up dirt behind the pads of his paws. Beating against the ground, Tiberius chased her. He watched her form as she darted around trees and rocks alike, carefully weaving her way around each obstacle as it came before her. He was making mental notes of it all, all the while keeping a steady pace that was several paces behind her - but he was storing his energy the best that he could, waiting for the opportune moment to pounce out and startle her, also ending the game of chase. She was very fast, and he was not going to be giving up any time soon. He could feel his heart beating in his chest. The adrenaline and the rush of just chasing something like this, of proving oneself before another. "King Tiberius" had a good ring to it, and he had to admit that he rather liked its sound a little too much. Eventually, he was starting to grow tired, and he came up with a plan. "Crap..." he called out and stopped running. His chest filled with air and released it quickly, repeating it as he started to limp on his hind left leg. "Bummer," he said to himself.

He was playing up his injury rather well, and should she come back to check on him, he had planned to pounce on her and pin her in great success. For the ability to have the last laugh, and opportunity of surprise - that was what the male lived for.

@Tae

code by Yahtzee-Penguiduck