Introductions, warren 1.1.1

Welcome one and welcome all,

I sit here before you, a 25 yo female in australia who is an avid reader, learner designer and disgruntled writer.

This blog is for me and for you; for me to help keep my writing moving forward and for you as i get to share my stories with the world without the fuss of convincing some publisher to take me on. All you need to know is a cavy is a guineapig ie the proper name for guineapig is cavy.
The stories shall fall under various series titles 'Mulberry gang' for 6-9 yo kids, 'warren' for 10 yrs + and occasionally 'Cavy Tales' for smaller children. The occasional peom may slip in as well depending on where my hands take me. If my creative jucies are thoroughly squelched (which is possible as i am a design student) then non fiction articles shall take presedence. Members of Cavywest will recognise some of these.

All stories are written in the loving memory of the ones i lost during my 11 years as cavy breeder and exhibiter. Just a few notes on language though...
Boar- male Sow- female moon- period of about four weeks Cycle- 13 moons (1 human year) pair- male and female without a warren warren -community group of numerous boars and sows, run by the male and female warren 'heads' Valley- territory/ group of warrens run by male and female 'valley heads' along with a council consisting of three members of each warren. The callout is the ceremonial handing down of a title to the next generation.

So without further adieu let me get the ball rolling

Warren Book 1 Chapter 1 piece1

On the Move

When Peros awoke it was still dark, if it wasn’t for a golden paleness in the surrounding mist and the dull ache of his face then he would have rolled over and gone back to sleep. Shifting slightly Peros looked at the view below them and wondered if he would remember it. It occurred to him that they might not have a view wherever they were going. With a stretch he rolled onto his feet and looked to where his parents were sleeping; his father was there, floppy pink ear flapping as the dew dripped on it, but his mother wasn’t. A refreshing shake to remove the beads of water from his coat was all that he needed as he left to look for her.
Peros found her on the finger of rubble that stretched across the valley and together they watched the sunlight as it surfed down the side of the Moongable Hill towards the dry creek bed below. For a while the whole hill glittered golden as the dawn-light was reflected off the thousands of tiny white blossoms that grew on it’s side.
Jaqui’s pink lips formed a smile as she noticed her son. He was so much like his father. All three family members were gold and grey. Jaqui had more grey than gold. She was a rich rusty slate colour with a gold patch on her face and another, the size of an adult human thumb, on her left side. Peros and Fireflecks were more gold with the occasional patch of grey being blended in with the gold. Peros looked like a pirate with a patch over one eye and over his hind third like pants. Fireflecks was covered in a less distinguishable, patches giving him a very mottled look. Otherwise they all had dark grey ears, dark pink eyes and a pale pink nose and feet. The combination of colours is called Argente.
However, Fireflecks and their son had something very special that she didn’t have. They were satins. This meant that the sunlight would catch in their fur and be reflected back as gold or silver. The catch was, that as well as being very soft it was not particularly warm. Another downside was how the genes, that gave them this elegant satin coat, made them grow slowly and increased their risk of having problems medically; super fast metabolisms and therefore poorly mineralised teeth and bones.
‘Should I wake Dad?’ asked Peros as he began to turn back.
He looked into her eyes as he waited for a reply. She was still humming that ancient tune and he could see years of wisdom in her remarkably young eyes.
‘Let him sleep a little while longer.’ Jaqui finally answered after shaking her head gently. She slowly turned to face him. ‘He was up most of last night on the hill.’
‘What was he doing there?’ Peros followed her gaze towards Moongable Hill.
‘Um…Meditating.’ She hesitated long enough to find a word her son would understand.
‘Meditating?’ echoed Peros quietly; having only a vague idea.
‘He completely relaxed and let his spirit search for a new home for us. You know, a direction to head off in.’ Jaqui gave a deep sigh and climbed back down to where Fireflecks was still asleep. Peros followed in silence.
It wasn’t until the sun was a few hours higher that Fireflecks showed any signs of waking. He lay there for a while without saying anything. He had sleep in his dusty, dark pink eyes and wore the dazed expression of someone who had just woken up from a dream. Peros watched on as Fireflecks received an embrace from Jaqui as he got up. It was amusing to him how much smaller Fireflecks was than his mother, Jaqui, particularly when she was almost half his age. As he lay there thinking about it he realised that he and his sister, Sasha, would probably be no different. Thinking of her he realised that she was nowhere to be seen.
Jaqui saw him looking around with a confused look and it didn’t take much to figure out what he was looking for, or who for that matter. Jaqui looked to Fireflecks before turning to face him,
‘Sasha has already started. She is on her way south as we speak; working as a look out. We’ll probably catch up with her a little later. If all goes well she would have found us somewhere to spend the night.’
Peros turned to hide a fattening lip and rolled his eyes. Of course she is, she’s perfect.
At this Fireflecks raised his head from resting it on his paws. “I was unaware that She’s already started. I assumed that we were waiting for her… Sorry folks.”
He slowly got to his feet. He balanced precariously on his hind legs as he groomed the sleep out of his eyes. ‘What made her choose south?’
Jaqui looked at him blankly. She had suddenly realised that he must have been talking in his sleep that night.
‘Didn’t you say last night that we were heading south? Did you not say that she could go ahead and scout?’
‘Did I?’ replied Fireflecks in confusion. He looked to Peros who simply shrugged. He turned back to Jaqui,
‘We’ll she must have read my mind because I don’t remember saying it but I definitely thought about it.’ Fireflecks suddenly broke into a broad grin as he thought about his daughter, he couldn’t be prouder of her and it made Peros ill with jealousy.
Together the trio headed off towards Moongable hill. They wove their way through the patchy undergrowth towards its base. By the time they got there they were damp from the dew. Moongable rose up before them like the sun out of the mist. Its east bank was slippery and steep; the family dared not try and climb it. Instead they looked for a path that followed the base around to the south.
Suddenly, out of nowhere a large blob of thick sticky mud came flying out of the long grass. It landed on Peros’ shoulder and he freaked out (had a mild panic attack); bolting into the bushes which circled the clearing. Fireflecks turned on his rear legs, twisting around to try and see where they had come from as another sailed overhead. Jaqui had disappeared within a second or so. Sasha appeared near her father, impressing him no end, and, as a flash of orange, she left his side again having pinpointed the source of the mud. A moment later the mud stopped coming and there was the sound of a scuffle. Sasha came out of the grass nosing along a little sow probably half her size. The little sow seemed very annoyed at being discovered,
‘Leave me alone!’
‘Why don’t you tell us what you were doing?’ Sasha said sternly and with a voice well beyond her age
‘ ‘I was practicing; It was not my fault that you were in my firing field.’ She wined.
‘Firing field? What are you practicing…’ Warfare? Fireflecks smiled
‘Just target practice; there is a boar who has been hanging around my friend and is bothering her. I scare him away with mud.’
‘Mud isn’t that scary?’
‘It is if you’re a long hair.’
Things now made a little sense. This little sow seemed to get very defensive over her friend. The question remained as to who the long haired boar was.
‘Who is your friend?’ Fireflecks asked her half hoping that they would be old enough to give them somewhere to stay.
‘Her name is Gumnut. She’s a sow of Buster, so don’t try anything funny.’
‘I’m sorry little one we’re not from around here.’
‘Don’t call me little. I am big enough and my name is Booqui’
‘I’m sorry Booqui. You’re right. You are a big girl now.’ Fireflecks toyed with her, but all he ended up really doing was encouraging her.
‘Come on, Fireflecks,’ came Jaqui’s voice, ‘We need to keep moving. I don’t like the sound of this Buster.’
Fireflecks silently agreed. Together he and Jaqui collected Sasha and continued on south, making their own trail as they went. Fireflecks could not have been prouder of his daughter. While Peros had bolted away Sasha had appeared to protect the family. On top of that she had appeared out of no where. She was a stunning sow; bright golden orange, (satin like her father). She bore a long white stripe down her right side/shoulder leading to an elegant white gloved fore foot. She had gorgeous pink eyes and large pale floppy ears. She was a prize for any boar, beautiful, charming and very wise. Jaqui had taught her all her “bush wise” methods and Sasha had been a keen and spirited student.
Peros had also been taught but had always faced huge difficulties. It did not come naturally to him as it did for his sister; therefore he had to work hard at it. But he just didn’t understand so no amount of learning would be able to help him. He would never be able to silently vanish the way the rest of the family could and then there was the pain, constant and nagging. It had been a problem on and off for a long time now. Not wanting to tell his parents; they did not seem to have any difficulty in eating, he made sure that he didn’t stand out any further. He did not return to them right away, knowing that he should not have panicked or bolted like that. Now he’d have to face even more shame when he returned to his family.
Peros walked along in silence, wondering what the next move was to be, when suddenly something caught his leg and he was thrown on the ground. As if things are not embarrassing enough he thought just as a shower of sticky yellow pollen fell over him.