[PRP - North] My New Playground!! (Shéng and Tau)

[iPao v2]

A gold pelted lion sauntered along, having been hesitantly welcomed to some foreign land or another. Not that Tau'd really been paying attention to what the lions had actually said, but being carefree and significantly looking the part, so they only gave him a little warning then let him off. The encounter hadn't been the most pleasant, no, but this traveler wouldn't let that put a damper on his day! With a pleasant smile (that may as well have been permanently glued onto his face) on, Tau walked on. Or...sort of skipped. Yeah, skipped.

A little bird happened to fly past him, chirping a tune that made him smile even wider. A song! And a new one at that! Exactly what he needed to lighten his mood even more so. At that, Tau inhaled deeply and began to sing as well.

And sing he did. Loud, and horribly off key.

"Walking on through this foreign place!" he sang, eyes closed and smiling wide as he walked. "A bird flew past, chirping the tune to this song that brings a smile to my face!" Then the adolescent stopped abruptly and opened his eyes. His smile became one filled with pride, surprised that he'd come up with a rhyme on the first try. Usually it'd take him a minute or two to figure one out, but this time it sort of just came to him. "Maybe I'm getting a little better at this," he laughed, then continued on his walk, singing louder than ever.

 

[PhiferWolf]

Fuku had ran off again and this time, it didn't look like he was kidding. The little meerkat had sped off that morning after a very long argument with the lord, skittering long past their territory's boarder and far off into the rogue lands. Looking for a meerkat in all of this was going to be impossible, but this lion was not going to just let the meerkat just get away without his final word!

Since lunch, the Lord of the Zhi Ming had been wandering aimlessly in a rather straight-ish line of where Fukuaji, the Zhi Ming's meerkat, had wandered off to. With a full belly and a quenched throat, he was set to be walking for quite a while. And with fresh kills all around and he was aware of the water holes that littered everything, surely he'll be alright looking for him.

The large male charged off, heavy thundering footsteps, loud rumbling grunts on each impact, the male was fast for his size, and the marks he left proved his weight and strength. No idiot would dare challenge him.

"Once I get my paws on you, Fuku, you will surely regret the things you said!"  

[iPao v2]

It probably wasn't very smart of him to keep on walking with both eyes closed, but he was too into his singing to really care at this point. The key had changed several times since he started, and it still kept on changing, but the verses weren't all that bad. Tau even paused, mid-song, just to praise himself a little bit for doing such a good job with the verses. It was his best one yet!

The grin on his maw had yet to disappear as the song reached its end, and on the high note that he decided to end with Tau managed to bump into something.. big.

He was interrupted! Thus he didn't finish the song. So with a frown the adolescent opened his eyes and stepped back from what he'd bumped into - a big lion. A big lion. Suddenly his words caught in his throat, and all he could do at that point was stare at the other. After a moment, he finally managed to gather himself enough to speak, so in a quiet voice he said..

"H..i..."

 

[PhiferWolf]

The Lord only snarled through his frown, glancing down at the younger male without the need to move his heads to look. Just that downcasting glance. Who was this male? A rogue? Was this where that noise came from? The one he had been ignoring for a while now? What more was that he looked familiar to him.

"What are you doing out here, boy?" He questioned, his voice deep and strong like a wave crashing into a cliff face, one strong to break into the rock. The boy did not know but Sheng was in very little mood to deal with anyone at the moment, recruits, rogues, maybe even the members of his house. Those of the house that knew him enough knew that he was extremely dangerous and unstable when he was pissed off.

Looking around, he seemed to have lost the track of that blasted meerkat and now he had this male to deal with.

"Well, speak up!" Sheng demanded, his voice cracking loud and rumbling as thunder.  

[iPao v2]

The other had a rumbling voice, mimicking thunderclaps during the strongest of storms, and it made Tau shake a little where he stood, still unable to speak. That is, of course, until his new company scared the words right out of him. "Ah! Just.. traveling, sir!" he half-yelled, voice breaking as he said the last word. Tau cleared his throat when he'd finished, golden gaze now on the ground where he stood as he went on. "The guards said it was alright if I was just passing through." He lifted his gaze and looked at the larger lion.

"I swear I wasn't doing anything! I really was just passing through, and then this bird came and it was chirping this tune so I started making a song and then as I was about to finish I ran.. into you..."

His voice receded into a quiet, almost squeaky voice again, as he offered an apology. "Sorry.." he said, head hanging low.

 

[PhiferWolf]

"I would recommend you give your name to a lion who lives on these lands, rogue. I may not be my mate, but I do know a thing or two about manners," Sheng replied, watching him carefully, his body tense and ready to attack if he was given the slightest reason to. Emerald eyes glancing over his body, strangely, returning constantly to his shoulders. "I am Lord Sheng Kou, the Lord of the Zhi Ming, North House of the Tianxia pride. I suppose you were just wandering around our pride lands without any thoughts as to what threat you could be posing to the members here. If I did not ask you what you were doing, I would have just attacked you."

A scoff.

"Where are you from? If I know my prides as I know my way around these lands, your coat closely resembles those of those lions from that pride with that giant rock..." the pride's name was on the tip of his tongue. Thinking, he knew he heard of it before considering three of his half brothers have been there once or twice. But there was still a relative there. Then it hit him. "The Proud Lands!"  

[iPao v2]

Threat? Him? Tau almost grinned at the thought, but the look on this.. Sheng's face kept him from doing so. After the other had introduced himself Tau followed, voice quiet and quivering. "T-tau.." he said, clearing his throat to fix it so Sheng didn't reprimand him for speaking quietly again. If there was anything Tau didn't like, it was yelling. Especially if the yelling was directed at him. "I mean.. Tau!" he said, voice a bit more clear this time around. The adolescent could've given himself a pat on the back for managing as well as he did.

"The Proud Lands!"
At those words Tau snorted, unable to completely stifle his laughter. He kept quiet for a moment, lowering his head as he laughed in silence. It was obvious though, what he was doing, since his shoulders were shaking. When he recovered Tau straightened himself out, looking Sheng in the eyes. He could only hold that gaze for a second before looking away..

"Close," he said, still grinning from ear to ear and forcing his amusement down. "It's the Pride Lands, and yes, there's where I'm from." Tau gave a thoughtful look, his parents suddenly coming to mind. "Relatives? Uhh...well, my parents would be Ezekiel, my father, and Safuma, my mother. As far as relatives go, though, they never mentioned any. At least not when I was paying attention.." He glanced at Sheng, raising a brow.

Relative? Him? Tau shuddered. 'Hopefully not..' he thought, eyes focusing yet again on the ground beneath him.

 

[PhiferWolf]

"Tau, a name I will certainly remember," Sheng spoke, giving a scruffy scoff. His paws planted before him as he sat himself down, still regal presence emitting from the large, powerful lion. The reaction the young lion gave him made him feel ... dominant. The shaky voice, it only meant he was still intimidating and by no means he was not. When Tau spoke his name much clearer, it was as if he was calling out his name as if he was in row call. Amusing.

The Lord scowled when he noticed the laughter. Was he mocking him? What was this? If this lion had a death wish, he simply had to laugh a little louder for the lord to find it offensive. At least that would justify an action he would do regardless if there was one or not.

"The Pride Lands... that was it," he replied, diverting his eyes. At least he was close. Thinking about it. He and his half brothers met there once because one of them was feel a little exhausted and could not. Something about running with his son and had hurt himself. "The name Ezekiel sound familiar, but I am not definite. I have never heard a female named Safuma either. The relative I was talking about was Ger, a lion who found a home in the Pride Lands and a Pride Lander himself. Speaking of whom, I have not heard from since his son grew into adolescence." The Lord looked carefully. He had so many resemblances. The markings at the base of his paws and the shoulder marks that looked so familiar, but it was hard to remember. Too many faces. Too many scents. Too many marks to remember.

"Either way, that doesn't exactly explain why a Pride Lander is doing way out here in teh Tianxia. Unless you were planning to join us."  

[iPao v2]

"Ger.." the adolescent mused, then shook his head. "Nope, I've never heard the name. There's too many lions in the Pride Lands though, so I'm not sure if either of my parents would know him." He gave it a bit more thought before heaving a sigh. "I really can't remember if they've ever mentioned him. There were times I'd heard them talk but.."

And he went on for a while, still trying to remember. He kept mumbling about this and that, almost completely forgetting that there was another lion sitting just nearby. Watching him. When Tau caught the other's eyes, though, he stammered a bit before shutting his mouth for a minute.

"Uh.. I got bored back home so I left. No one over there likes to have fun like I do, so it got boring really fast." The male heaved a sigh. "Cubs are always more fun, of course, but being my age and playing with cubs just for fun.." he glanced up at the other, distress clearly written all over his face. "They called me weird!"

 

[PhiferWolf]

"Just makes you more useful in the den than our in the savanna hunting and patrolling, surely someone of the Pride Land's royals would have figured that one," Sheng scoffed, looking out to the savanna, giving quick glances around. What was more concerning was that this lion was from the same pride Shu was from. They shared a similar coat and they do act distantly similar. Shu could take care of his cubs very much on his own, but with the first litter growing quickly to adulthood, Shu can't just sit in the royal den and watch any cubs Fu'ren and he could be expecting. To be honest, he wouldn't be surprised if any of his sons came back with manes!

"Well, if my gut is telling the truth and you are from the Pride Lands, that means that you will have a good lion to talk with back at the Zhi Ming. I have a member who was once a Pride Lander and he has been very good to me and the rest of the House. If I allow you shelter, can I trust you to do good and hold your own? Furthermore, carry your own weight?"

The question was bound to come out eventually, it was only a matter of time. Besides, Shu wasn't with Sheng most of the time and he was certain he was getting tired of the sons and daughters and wouldn't mind a familiar face like another Pride Lander.  

[iPao v2]

The adolescent listened intently to Sheng, head tilted in a curious manner. Was he offering to let him stay in this pride? ...Whichever pride this was. The 'Zhi Ming' the larger lion had called it, or was it Tianxia? Being who he was, Tau wasn't exactly paying full attention even though the presence of his current company would usually have set him straight. After speaking with him for as long as he had, he'd gotten comfortable and his mind had started to wander. Somewhat.

Tau shook his head a little at the last question, looking a little confused. "Wait.. you want me to stay here?" he asked, still trying to wrap his mind around the idea. True, he was looking for something fun to do, but was joining another pride gonna get him that? Still, it was better than wandering. Sort of. The male glanced around, figuring the place big enough to at least have a few interesting things that he could discover.

"I don't mind, I guess," he said, sounding a little unsure. "I was kinda looking for something more fun to do, but new places can be fun. New prides, especially.. right?" There was a bit more excitement in his voice the more he talked, a smile slowly forming on his maw. "All the new faces and new things to see.. sure! I'll stay!!"