Hide and Seek

Organa Park -- New Alderaan: Ord Mantell

A one meter high cobblestone wall surrounds this beautiful complex of gardens, watercourses and walkways. Organa Park is nestled between the Government District and Business Nexus of New Alderaan. Roadways for ground and foot traffic pass through the inner edges of the park, but more beautiful are the footpaths that wind in and out of the landscaping. Most of the speeder traffic is muffled by lush vegetation and tamed jungle fauna, providing a peaceful atmosphere. Some of the watercourses are traveled by boats of ornate Alderaanian design, used mostly as a tourist attraction.

The park is filled with the chirping of birds, the gurgle of water, the soft murmurs of muted conversation and the occasional burst of laughter from carefree children. Scattered throughout the park are honorariums constructed in respect for the influential House of Organa.

The sky is clear, with a gentle breeze blowing. A wispy, pinkish cloud occasionally appears overhead.

Organa Park - a perfect place for lovers of the outdoors to get their fix without straying too far from the safety that the Government Complex provides. There are a few new additions to the "regulars" that take their daily strolls this evening, taking advantage of the waning light to stalk their prey without full exposure from the sun.

Along one of the many narrow traffic-ways, a prickly bush rustles softly in response to the sudden passing of a speeder bike. Deep inside the foliage, a pair of feline-green eyes watches intently through to the brush across the path. On the other side of that bush, a meter-long, tawny tail twitches with anticipation, puzzling the few faces that pass it by. All signs of avian life have notably vacated the region, taking high to the taller trees where danger's less likely to come calling.

One of the humans taking their nightly stroll in the lustrous grounds of Organa Park is Maris. Her steps are slow as she admires her surroundings. No matter how many times she's walked the same path, the sights continue to amaze her.

The woman's green eyes lazily survey the area, not looking for anything in particular. Her hands sway back and forth along her side in rhythm of her steps except for when she pauses to pluck a bloomed flower from its stem. Bringing it up to her nose, she inhales its sweet aroma while continuing her walk.

Somewhere on the other side of that path, subject to the vigilant search by the bush-bound cub, her quarry is waiting. Two pairs of eyes stare back with greater certainty, both possessing a captivating hue of gold. Their stakeout location is situated at the base of a large root cluster, trees arching behind them and a tall hedge barricading their foreground. A fort of vegetation.

"Be still. Wait for her approach and do not move until she is upon you. The chase has carried on long enough." A garbled mix of muted growls and chuffs gets whispered into the accompanied cub's ear by his mother, her gaze focuses cleanly between his ears, her body pressing him further into the dirt with instruction. Only when she is satisfied in his posture does she slink silently aside, nestling her hefty frame into the grass beneath her belly. "A good hunter knows when he is being hunted. Patience will keep him alive and well fed." She mumbles, ears lain flat and tail motionless.

The green-eyed bush wiggles again and a few whiskers protrude forth as the lone cub inside sniffs the air outside her hide. Her prey is nearby, yes... (speaking Horansi)

The human female pauses in her steps, taking a moment to tilt her head to the side and arc her right ear upwards in an attempt to help her hear better. Brows furrowing, the woman questions herself, silently, as to whether or not she heard something. A few heartbeats later, Maris shakes her head slightly with a light 'heh' to herself, amused thinking she's hearing things. Taking a few steps forward to continue her stroll, she glances off to the side and notices something coming out of a bush. Once again puzzled, the human female's brows furrow questioningly as she strains to see if she can make out just what is protruding from the foilage. A tail? She ponders further investigation, weighing the consequences of her actions if she should decide to be bold enough to do. Before putting herself into potential danger, she looks around the area to see if she can spot anything else, or anyone else, that might be looking for whatever is in the brush.

No lost pet owners here. Ignorant of the attention that her behind is awarded, Yadumu goes ahead with her plan. She struggles another awkward step forward through the thorny hedge, snagging her loincloth in the process. Her head fully emerges into the way of vehicular/pedestrian traffic, forcing her to occassionally flinch when something zips by. A child rides by on a little hover scooter, unaware of the predatory face until he passes nose to nose. A shrill scream punctuates this encounter, followed by a holler of "Sand Panther!" and he topples from his mount, ignoring the scooter in favor of sprinting clear away.

In turn, Yadumu snarls with anger at a cover blown and fights with the branches at her rear to get free. Despite the commotion, her paired quarry remain still in their position, watching with mild amusement. (speaking Horansi)

Just as Maris is about to approach the bush to further investigate what she sees, the sound of the child screaming causes her head to snap up quickly in move in the direction from where it came from. Her hand instinctively lowers to her side for her firearm but it's not there. Grumbling to herself, she quickly ducks down while seeing if she can spot what spooked the kid. It's feline, but she's not familiar with the species. Keeping her eye on the Horansi, she remains low and quiet, waiting to see what will transpire next.

Yadumu squirms free of the bush and goes charging out of it, into the pathway, and so her tail zips from Maris' view and through the foliage. She's met by several bewildered faces and a swerving speeder. Hunt ruined, location exposed, she gives up the chase and rises to stand with dignity on two legs rather than four. At this level, she can see eye-to-eye with most of humanoid onlookers. A wary hiss is offered to the nearest one and she pads cautiously into the path, towards her concealed targets.

Heeding his mother's words, Sufa remains low to the ground, elbows folded underneath. K'tyyri shifts just slightly in her stance, maternal concern slowly overtaking the hide-and-seek ploy. She utters a low grunt in attempts to signal a reassuring hint to her stranded offspring.