[PRP-Spar] Language Barriers [Urit'Alya x Ifiso]

[oo Ded]

Claws raked through the sand, warm under the midday sun. Wind blew through the training grounds, but it wasn't by any means cooling. The training grounds were as they were any day. Lions where and there, some mostly minding their own business, some interacting in groups. Urit'Alya stood alone, pacing and exercising. Her breath was steady, her pulse low. The lioness circled a small pile of rocks, a piece of wood set on top. She watched it with golden eyes. Calculating.

After a moment of stillness, Aly darted towards it. Her legs moved through the in a way that suggested that she was more than comfortable moving through the fluid sand. A paw extended, claws out. The wood crumbled beneath it, and the movement ceased.

She exhaled. Her jaw set. Aly was anxious.

Kaelyndra

 

[Kaelyndra]

Isifo pulled in a deep, strong breath as he may his way towards the training grounds.

He was a soldier. Being young, impressionable, and wanting to defend his once-family had placed him here. Isifo himself was growing tired of the heavy smacks to his skull, going home with bruises, and trying to combat the hot day sun.

Isifo wanted to take a break, lay down in the cool shade of a communal overhang and rest. The Firekin were strange, violent, and impossible to understand. After months of being here, Isifo would have thought the culture shock would have worn away. It was worse now more than ever.

As he nodded his head to some of the other soliders, his eyes caught on a rather peculiar site. All the training he'd done had been practice spars between lions, but there was a solitary female attempting to deal blows to a piece of wood.

Isifo decided that he could put off starting a spar a few minutes. This behavior was strange, so he would watch for a while and learn.

oo DeD

 

[oo Ded]

Alya's movements were precise and methodical, her mind focused heavily on each motion, each twitch. Though it didn't help much in terms of actually fighting other lions, the lioness believed this sort of "training" helped focus her mind. She wasn't much of a socialite, either, so any sort of activity she could do on her own was one she tended to prefer.

There was, of course, also the possibility of doing nothing. Of simply resting. (After all, with everything going on in the pride, it was easy for one to get worn out). That possibility seemed far off, though. Too much to be done. Too much to strive for.

There was no time for just resting.

The piece of wood had been near obliterated and the lioness fell still. Her golden eyes still pressed intensely into the sand. Too much to be done.

Alya felt a gaze on her. Her brow furrowed and she turned her head, just enough to rest that golden gaze onto the lion who had apparently been watching her. Hongshan, she noted. Curious, and with nothing left to do, she stared back.

Kaelyndra

 

[Kaelyndra]

The pair held gazes for a while, Isifo wondering if this Firekin simply preferred to stare. Some of them were quiet; one of them was mute. Many more of them simply did not wish to talk at all.

A greeting, however, would have been polite. Isifo had been caught staring.

"Hello," he ventured though he made no move forwards.

"I am Isifo." A name was polite. It was a form of trust, and what could a Firekin do with a name that most did not know? "Soldier?" he further inquired.

oo DeD

 

[oo Ded]

"Urit'Alya," she responded simply. A name was indeed polite. A return was common courtesy.

If the lioness was upset at the staring, she certainly didn't seem to show it. Alya instead kept a straight face, not moving her gaze from the lion's (social awkwardness, it seemed, wasn't something the Firekin lioness registered).

"Yes." She stated simply in response to his question. "You are Hongshan," she continued, more of a observed statement than a question. As she spoke, Alya's muscled tensed and relaxed, as if she was in a state of physical training that she couldn't quite shake. Just as the lion made no move forwards, Alya made no move towards him. She just stood. And stared.

Kaelyndra

 

[Kaelyndra]

The continued stares left a sore spot in the back of Isifo's mind. The Hongshan briefly glanced down, but found her still staring as he raised his head.

The short words and her continued gaze were all indications of dislike, cold shoulders. Or, perhaps, this was how some of the Firekin communicated. There was a slight, nervous shift from the foreigner as she stated his origin.

"Am I bothering?" He inquired. Surely this would give him an honest answer. Isifo truly believed it would.

oo DeD

 

[oo Ded]

"...No." Alya broke her gaze as he asked. She'd noticed his shift, realized she must have been giving an impression that was more rude than she intended. "Your kind are... foreign to me. I..." Her mouth twitched to the side, as if searching for the words to say. It's not that she was sorry. Well, perhaps she was. But she wasn't really going to say it. "I am giving implications I do not mean to," she said instead, simply.

Cold shoulders were simply how things were done sometimes, here. Being unaccustomed to it all... Alya could understand how it could come across as... well. As a sign of disdain.

Kaelyndra

 

[Kaelyndra]

oo DeD

This Firekin spoke in many words Isifo did not understand. The Hongshan's brows furrowed and he concentrated. However, the language was still much too difficult to fully understand.

Unlike a cub, or a simple-spoken lion, her words were more complicated. Some of them he could not recall hearing.

Rather than delving into them, he tried a different path.

"Practice?" Isifo motioned to he sands behind him. Then, he lifted his tail in recognition of himself. "Soldier." If she spent as much time fighting others as she seemed to in attacking pieces of wood, she would perhaps be able to teach him some things.  

[oo Ded]

A little smile crossed Alya's face. Communicating wasn't really something she was good at. This practice, though. Practice was something she could do.

"Soldier," she repeated, giving a knowing nod. Her claws extended, her back arching into a stretch as her paws raked into the ground. "Yes, we can practice." The lioness moved towards him, to the sands behind him. She hadn't fought a Hongshan before, and knew little of how they fought. She was intrigued.

Kaelyndra

 

[Kaelyndra]

Nodding to himself, Isifo followed the Firekin out towards the thicker sand.

Already, he was uncomfortable with how it sank beneath his toes. It made the muscles taughter, and his mind start to overthink. Should he attack first, or she? In battle, he thought, the decision would be made for him.

Perhaps he should wait.

The Hongshan circled in his picked location until he felt comfortable enough to begin. Isifo took in a deep breath and clenched his teeth. He had been told that teeth tended to crack easily, and after loosing part of his canine, he believed them.

"Ready," he said, but remained firmly planted in his spot.

oo DeD

 

[oo Ded]

Alya moved out past him, breathing deeply and steadying herself before turning and watching him settle into a position. Her muscled tensed before settling into a familiar feeling. Before a fight, whether it be serious or just a little spar, a wave of something fell over her. Comfortability, perhaps. This was her element.

At his call, she nodded and gave one last exhale before leaping forward, her body tucked towards the sand, close enough to feel the heat of it and to send a spray out behind her. Her eyes narrowed, her pulse quickened and, when she was close enough, she outstretched a paw towards his legs, where he stood planted, hoping to trip him up. Her teeth bared, a snarl subconsciously left her maw.

Kaelyndra

 

[Kaelyndra]

The low crouch left Isifo on high alert.

He'd expected a charge, not a swipe at his feet. The lion had leapt to the side, stumbling a bit in the thick sand, but managing to avoid the blow to his feet.

Isifo's opponent had him on the defense. Grunting, he shifted his body, tried to find a more solid stance.

oo DeD

 

[oo Ded]

Alya skid when she missed the lion, a cloud of sand blowing up at her side. Her lip curled, teeth bared. Her tail stuck out straight behind her, a bit of a rudder to stable her as she turned quickly and rushed forward again.

Ifiso was on the defensive. She couldn't afford to let him get the upper hand now. Her paws lost traction for the slightest moment as she moved, but it was an easy recovery. Moments later, she moved forward paw outstretched, trying to find the weak point in his seemingly solid stance.

Kaelyndra

 

[Kaelyndra]

Isifo was a bit like a rock outcrop. While the male had a strong stance, he also did not do much moving.

Any manner of attempting to throw him off balance was likely going to be met with difficulty. Seeing her charge towards him again, he shifted his weight and swung at her as hard as he could.

Unfortunately, he also saw the outstretched paw at the same time. The large male backpedaled, but still retained a solid hit to his shoulder which knocked his weight onto his opposite foot.

The blow he had been aiming swung wide, and Isifo was left shuffling again, avoiding those quick paws.

oo Ded

 

[oo Ded]

Alya planned to take full advantage of the wide swing. The lioness composed herself quickly, gritting her jaw. She wasn't going to let herself underestimate the Hongshan soldier; she wasn't accustomed to battling the foreign lions. She didn't want to be caught by surprise. Swiftly and close to the ground, Alya moved forward, nearing the lion before bucking upwards in an attempt to knock him off his balance.

Kaelyndra