A meeting or an arguement? (kari x taku)

[Lethrossen]

Ugh, where had Amanzi gone now? Takuma growled softly to himself, using his scarred paw to rub the sleep from his eyes. He vaguely remembered his twin saying something to him, but he'd been half-asleep and had fallen back to sleep again immediately afterwards. How did she expect him to remember anything she told him when he was asleep like that? He assumed that she'd gone off to hunt, but he didn't know. Maybe she'd gone off to have a bath or something. She said she didn't miss the sea, but he knew better. And he felt kind of guilty.

The adolescent still had a slight limp in his step as he travelled slowly and leisurely across the savannah, to the south of the place he'd called home in his younger years. He didn't really miss the Pridelands at all. Nor his father - he hadn't really known him. That didn't bother Taku, though. He did, however, miss his mother, in the Bahari'mtoto. Amanzi and he had only been gone just over a fortnight, but already he wanted to go back, and visit her. But he couldn't stay. The water...he shuddered just thinking about it.

The longer he walked, the more pronounced the limp became, until he was forced to stop and rest in the shade of a large tree. His sister had given him hell when he'd come back from his meeting with Kalama - the large gashes on his back were being even slower to heal than the bite-mark on his paw. But he didn't mind - she'd been so gorgeous, after all. And he'd received her name, which had been his goal all along. So despite his injuries, it had been a successful venture.

In fact, he had a silly grin on his face as he sat in the shade, just thinking about her.  

[Lethrossen]

"Ses, no, wait!" She growled out, dashing through the woods that seperated the Kusini'Mwezi lands from the rogue territory, a place once rumored to be haunted. Mng'Kari always swayed from believing in the spirits of the forest and telling whoever was tyring to tell her stories of them that it was complete bull! It usually depended on if she was by herself actually in the forest or not. "Get back here!" She called out, panting and finally slowing down. Sesere was always so damn troublesome, sometimes aiding her and offering advice and other times just racing off on his own in the middle of a game of tag!

She huffed as she came to a stop and stomped her paw down on the forest floor, a twig breaking which caused a loud crack to echo through the oddly quiet area. She hadn't really made the connection that she and Sesere, the maned wolf, had been the ones to cause the forest to sink into silence, just because they were making so much noise.

"Aw crud.." She whined slightly, turning in a circle. "That way... no maybe this..." Her frown darkened when she realized she couldn't quite figure out which direction the pride was in, and then shuddered. Why did she have to be stuck alone in a place like this?

She began to move, shoulders slightly hunched, until she spotted an increase of sunlight spilling through the trees up ahead, which certainly meant she was going back into the pride lands! "FREEDOM!" She shouted cheerfully, not realizing she was headed straight for rogue territory. She began to run, excited as she was, and when she finally stumbled out it took her a moment to slow, stop, look around and become very puzzled. "Wait a moment.." She said softly to herself, not seeing the male that was sitting under one of the trees just behind her.  

[Lethrossen]

Ah, peace. Even Takuma, the fiery twin, had to respect and bask in the silence that blanketed the savannah at times. It was cool and refreshing, to hear nothing. Jsut sit there and contempl- WOA. Random girl jumping out of some bushes, right in front of him. Instinct caused him to scramble to his feet a little, a growl half rising in his throat before he realized that she was of a similar age to him, and didn't seem to be a threat. Infact...she didn't seem to notice him at all.

"Uh...hi?" he spoke, head cocked to the left as he pushed his front up, ending in a sitting position. So much for the charming male he'd been to Kalama only a few days ago.  

[Lethrossen]

Her left ear flicked as she heard a slight growl, and then her eyes widened. Oh s**t, she'd really gotten lost this time! As the source of the growl spoke Kari found herself whirling around, trying to look tough. Her eyes landed on a male lion, about her age. Her eyes first had taken in his blonde mane and bright blue eyes, and for a second she thought perhaps he was related to her somehow. After a closer inspection, in fact she'd moved forward without much thought that he was a stranger and could be potentially dangerous, and had leaned from one side of him to the other, as if this would make it easier to see him.

Her eyes narrowed slightly as her gaze finally came upon the scars- they looked new, on his back. Oh that meant this kid was bad news! She didn't really know many lions with scars, her best example was her Uncle Denahi, and he was a bit... mean. Though not as nasty as Uumi... but scars only meant one thing to her. You liked to fight or you were a foolish idiot! Based on her second half of judgement she probably should have had a few scars of her own.

She frowned a little and thought about sticking her tongue out at him, but knew getting home was much more important. Her eyes moved past the male and onto the woods. Alone finding her way back in there? "Hey." She finally said, a little stiffly as her eyes came back to him. What was he doing on the boundry line anyhow? "What do you think you're doing sitting there?" She gestured with her chin. Her voice was not yet offensive, or accusing. She kept it as curious as possible.  

[Lethrossen]

He watched her, blue eyes narrowing a little as she just...stood there. As far as he knew, he didn't look particularly scary? Although he did have scars now, he supposed. ..Woa, he had scars! That meant that he looked all cool and tough and stuff. Just the thing needed to get the ladies swooning all over him...

Oh, she did speak. Raising an eyebrow in mock surprise, Taku flashed a grin as a reply, although it soon faded at her question. ...What kind of question was that? It sounded like a pretty stupid one, and caused him to frown in a confused manner. "...Didn't you just answer your own question? I'm...sitting here. It's a free country, y'know."

He didn't know he was near pride lands, and even if he did he doubted he'd move. Unless it was like...the Firekin or something. He had enough scars for the time being.  

[Lethrossen]

Her face twisted into something of stronger puzzlement- free country? She doubted that! Her eyes shifted again from the boy to the woods. Those were the Kusini'Mwezi lands... weren't they? "I didn't answer my own question!" She said, her voice slightly annoyed. She could see he'd been sitting there, but she'd wanted to know why! So what if she hadn't phrased it properly?

"That is not free country!" She gestured with her paw and then was suddenly beside him, indicating the land in front of him. "That is free country... and these trees.." She motioned upwards with her paws at the large trees. "Are Kusini country. So it isn't free!" And after a moment she grinned, obviously pleased with herself. "So you shouldn't be there..." She wrinkled her nose at him. "Especially looking like that... you will scare away potential members." She raised both her eyebrows, waiting for him to move. Mng'Kari could be a bit of an a**, and normally she would be behaving very friendly, but her mind was on the scary woods and her trip back by herself. So to put it off... it was easier to cause trouble, wasn't it?  

[Lethrossen]

Taku couldn't help it - he giggled. It was a very manly giggle, but the angry, somewhat hysterical way this girl was talking to him was just a little bit funny. He watched her with a wide grin on his face - this could be fun. teasing her seemed to provoke a funny response, so perhaps he should continue?

His grin was replaced by a genuinely confused look, however, as she mentioned the pride. "Kusini?" he repeated, cocking his head to the left in a confused manner. "Is there a pride around here, then? ...I didn't know, sorry." He genuinely hadn't known, but...her next comment was uncalled for. Taku instantly bared his teeth, growling deeply. That was just...plain mean!

"What's wrong with how I look!?" he demanded, "You're supposed to, like, help people with injuries!"  

[Lethrossen]

Kari huffed as he giggled and seemed to be a bit confused and a little offended. What was he laughing at? She should cuff his ears for laughing at her like that, what she was saying was only the truth! But it seemed he dropped it because then he looked confused.

She winced a little as he apologized but immediately got mad, feeling slightly bad for what she'd said. Still, he looked scary! Like a fighter! Her ears fluttered back as if unsure how to react but then she pinned them to her skull as he bared his teeth at her. Did he want another fight? Well she'd show him! Though her thoughts were confident she took two steps away from him, her own lip curling. "Ugly and an idiot!" She spat, without thinking of the consiquences.

She really didn't realize that insults were meant to make others mad, but it wasn't as if she tried insulting others daily. Mostly she stayed near her family, which she had no need to insult, and any insults that were uttered were usually taken as fond teasing. She wasn't sure she liked the different feeling these insults were bringing about, but she wasn't about to back down. "Of course there is a pride right behind you if I said so! Through the woods... and of course you look.." She wrinkled her nose. "Terrible. Who wants to help some young a** who obviously goes around looking for fights?" And there she was, just assuming what had happened. Her eyes darted to the woods though, it was obvious she had ideas of him actually attacking her so she needed to find the quickest way to move through those trees!  

[Lethrossen]

"HEY!" Taku roared, his roar now developed fully it seemed, as the noise that vibrated through and out of his throat was nothing short of what a lion should be able to do. He seemed a little taken aback by himself for several moments, before continuing with what he'd been saying. He was on his feet by now, claws creeping out of their sheaths.

"Are you looking for another fight!?" spoke the hot-headed adolescent as he inched forwards in a threatening manner. He didn't care about the presence of a pride anymore, or even that she was clearly in it. If he started a fight, would the rest of the pride come too? ...He really didn't care anymore. he inched forwards again, another roar ripping out of his maw. "It didn't happen like that!"

And so, with a snarl, anger bubbling inside of him now, he leapt at the cocky female.  

[Lethrossen]

Oh she'd done it! At his roaring voice all traces of her anger and condifend front disappeared and she was stumbling backwards, eyes wide. She'd never been roared at in her life, she was unused to such a 'hostile' action. He seemed to be a bit surprised as well, and for a moment she almost started to laugh.

That is... until he asked if she was looking for a fight. No! No, she wasn't! Oh what had she done? Why was this guy such an idiot! As he moved forward she was at least smart enough to mirror his movements, taking a step back as well. What did he think he was doing even? See! He was just some stupid male who looked for fights, no wonder he had those gross scars! The fear was quickly being replaced with anger and she'd finally stopped moving back. "Hey! Who's looking for a fight!" She yelled at him, though her gaze had darted toward the woods. She wanted her papa! Or her mama, either coming out here would be fine with her! Though it was rare any of the pride members ventured into the rogue lands.

Her gaze jerked back toward him as he shouted and roared more, and then he was flying at her! Kari actually managed to scream, surprised, and stumbled back "Hey wai-!" Her whole body tensed as he slammed into her and she could feel the breath being knocked from her. Blindly and with no knowledge of how one went about fighting she was swinging his paws up at him, struggling from underneith him. "Get off, get off!" She was screaming up at him, though she was sounding quite panicked. Well, it'd served her right, right?

"How did it happen then you idiot! Look, you're just picking fights!! You stupid, mean... get off!" She sounded like she was about to cry, though it didn't stop her from swinging and kicking her paws at him, claws out.  

[Lethrossen]

Excellent. Smug thoughts crept into the adolescent's mind at her reaction to her roar - although admittedly, his had been kind of the same. But he had his roar! Excitement ran through his brain, only fuelling the adrenaline and anger that was alreayd mixed in there. Not a good combination. He ignored her shouts - he wasn't looking for a fight! She was asking for one! No-one was that mean unless they were asking for it!

Her scream pleased him - good, maybe she was seeing sense now. Her paws grazed at his sides, but it was nothing like how it had been with Kalama. Kalama had been a lot fiercer, and a lot better trained. This brat was...an amateur. ...Sort of like how he'd been, when he fought Kalama.

And then suddenly...she sounded like she was crying. Taken aback, Taku quickly rushed off of her, his anger dissappating a little. Her claws tore at his surface but brought nothing lasting as he looked at her curiously. "I...sorry."

What else was he supposed to say? He hadn't wanted to hurt her. But...she'd been being mean. It wasn't his fault he acted first, and talked later. Diverting his gaze downwards, a little embarrassed, he mumbled a response. "I...I was trying to impress a pretty girl."  

[Lethrossen]

She felt the weight suddenly lifted off of her and she lay there panting for a minute, very upset but also very furious. How dare he! This is exactly why she knew he'd been that type, the type just to go around picking fights! Of course, she didn't see sense of the fact that her words had kind of egged him on.

She hear the sorry tumble awkwardly from his mouth, and her anger was cooling and being replaced with extreme embarrassment. She should have whooped him good! If only she actually had known how to fight... and she was sure he was laughing on the inside, almost making her cry like he had! She dragged herself back to her rump, glaring at him. She decided it would be safer not to say one thing or another about his apology, she certainly didn't want to say something that would have him trying to go at it again. She did not want ugly scars, like his own.

Her ears flicked when he finally explained how he got the scars. The anger slid out completely from her mind, even her embarrassment was gone as he said that. She looked like she was about to laugh at his answer, and she twisted away so he couldn't see the broad smile that had come to her maw. "...are... are you daft?" She hissed out, still trying to hold her laughter in.

Her head whipped back around though and she coughed. "Sorry." She added quickly, really trying hard not to be attacked again. "..What, did you pick a fight with her boyfriend or something?" She snorted, she could not help the amusement in her voice, but she was genuinely curious.  

[Lethrossen]

She looked angry, but he didn't really care. He was too embarrassed the care, shuffling around on the spot, only looking down at his paws. he dind't want to look up - he bet she'd be laughing. Oh, why hadn't he just shut up and run away? Why'd he had to say something!? Ugh, he was so stupid!

She hissed in a way that suggested she was trying not to laugh, and he couldn't help but raise his face with an angry glare and a flash of his teeth. It wasn't funny! A growl hissed out from his maw, claws digging into the soil as he fought the urge to leap at ehr again. It wouldn't do any good, to be attacking her again.

She apologised, but it didn't do much good, the tension still there. She inquired about the nature of his attempts to impress, though, and the tension eased a little, Taku glancing to the side again, a sour expression on his face. "No. I...I was fighting her. To show her I was worthy. She was a Firekin."  

[Lethrossen]

Her ears flattened when he growled, but it did nothing to damper her amusement of the situation. And to top it all off he'd been fighting the girl he was trying to impress! What kind of backwards idea was that? What kind of girl wanted to be impressed by that?

A small giggle escaped her maw before she could help it, and it seemed she could no longer hold in her laughter. After a moment the giggles grew to an unashamed, loud laugh. Her paw was at her stomach she was laughing so much, her body hunched slightly. "What!" Her laughter died down after a few minutes, her eyes wide as she stared at him.

Oh wait... where had she heard of Firekin before? Ah! the red demon lions! Something like that, she thought. She'd heard rumors of lions in her pride saying her uncle Uumi was firekin, but she'd thought about it and after recalling that they were very strong lions she doubted the rumor very much so. He may have been an ill-tempered grump, but he was all skin and bones! How could he come from such a pride?

She eyed his scars again and just shook her head. "Bet that went well." She muttered, standing after a moment and stretching. "Sounds to me like both of you are a bit bonkers.. what kind of female wants to be attacked so she can be impressed?" Both of her brows shot up, truly she was confused by the whole manner. "... I take it you weren't very impressive?" She added, and then cursed herself because she really needed to put a filter on her thoughts. "Er... nevermind. Whatever, some lions will do anyt.." She trailed off, realizing that wasn't going to help her situation any more.

Besides, what was the point of impressing a girl at his age? She wondered if this crazy-sounding firekin was also his age... why would she want to be impressed by some dopey male? Males that only knew how to fight... bah!  

[Lethrossen]

Taku's growls and glares only grew deeper at her laughter, claws scraping against the ground beneath him. Why was she laughing at him!? She didn't know about anything! She was just...a stupid girl! His growl escalated, once more a roar breaking through his maw in an attempt to just shut her up! He didn't want to leap at her again...but he would if she continued doing this! Why did she feel the need to mock him!? It was just...pathetic!

"It did, actually," he spat back, tired of trying to be polite. It she was going to be as pathetic as she was, he wasn't even going to bother anymore. "We left on good terms and we're both looking forwards to meeting again." His voice was laced with anger and venom, Taku honestly not caring anymore. The only thing stopping him from leaping at her and taking all his anger out on her was the thought of his sister, and how horrified she would be. ...He couldn't do that to Amanzi.

"Just piss off," he snapped eventually, glaring at her, "You're just pathetic. Get lost."