[PRP] Slow Turtle (Adisa x Hari x Kabiro)

[Hopefolly]

Shia bean

BAM. Let's do this. BD

Kabiro couldn't say how he knew what Hari's dad looked like, he just did. What he didn't know was that it would start so much trouble, or else he'd never have mentioned it. Yesterday, games were played, laughs were had, and the scrawny cub finally felt he'd made a friend. This morning he'd made one little comment, one innocent observant, and the close rapport they'd established crumbled before his eyes.

Hari had followed him around since then, well into the afternoon; he said mean things, he pushed and shoved him. Kabiro was so much smaller, so much more timid. He was helpless to fend off the berating. Apologizing did no good. Changing the subject was futile. His only hope was to fumble around in search of an adult or a sibling.

Hari's mother was smart. She separated her twins when it came time to learn the basics of hunting, roaring, and an assortment of other things growing lions needed to know. They looked alike, acted alike, but they were not the same and Chyou never forgot that. Sometimes, that meant Hari had to occupy himself.

So yesterday, he'd found Kabiro lazing beneath the sun and convinced him to play. He was younger than Hari, a lot smaller, but he did what he was told. There was no arguing over who had to be the hyena in the lions versus hyenas game: Kabiro gladly took up the role.

Hari had enjoyed his company so much he'd sought him out for a rematch the next morning. At some point, they had started discussing their parents. The subject was always a sore spot, but he handled it with grace until Kabiro said something that sent him reeling.

Hari had told him, "I don't look nothin' like my dad." He'd always assumed his father looked like his sister, with her out-of-place green. Chyou had never answered many inquiries about their sire, including his appearance, so his assumption was not only sensible but the obvious conclusion.

To this, Kabiro had responded, "You look like him to me. Same colors."

What Hari did know about his father was that he was not amongst the Pridelanders. He had never been here, ever, and there was no way Kabiro had seen him. The joke baffled him, but it was enough to trigger some spiteful behavior. If Kabiro thought he was funny, he had another thing coming.

They were in the lush grass, near the watering hole. Hari pushed him down again. "Why don't you stop falling?"  

[Shia bean]

Everyone had their faults...

What the large yellow male had in the way of likability, he lacked (greatly) in his sense of direction. For a social lion like himself, one who favored the attention of others and the company that came with it, this detrimental fault made his first few days familiarizing the lay of the land a bit... lame. One day after another Adisa managed to stumble across unmarked grounds, past the invisible boarders of his new home, and in all cases straying back onto rouge territory. He would often spend his entire morning losing his place, only to turn right around and walk the same path back until the sun would set. Lost. He was almost, always lost. And alone while doing it. A downright despicable combination.

Fortunately for him, 'lost' on this particular day would put him on the same path of two youngsters meandering about the watering hole. At first he smiled wide, took to a hastened pace, but then-- wait. Wait what.

Adisa'Uzoma loved children. It helped that he also had quite the way with them, got down to their level, enjoyed the same pastimes... From the home he had left behind long ago, to the free land wilds, to the present day settlement amongst these 'Pride landers'-- youth gravitated toward him.

And, as it would seem, Adisa to them.

The conversation they shared was out of earshot, but the male had a decent pair of eyes and felt confident in his assumptions. It was a crime that hurt the most as a child, one of the few that cubs could commit and then actively be punished for--bullying. How could such adorable little creatures, with innocent minds and seemingly innocent intentions, go about picking on each other. Knocking one another down. Didn't they know once they grew up, s**t got real? Vengeance was a real threat?

No. They probably didn't.

...And that was why he was here. Fate. It was his duty, now more than ever, to instill good morals in the 'lost' youth of the land.

And the lion decided he would start with them.

He had given Emrys enough time and space to accept the presence of an unknown, formally rogue male. It was not his goal to frighten, but to inquire. Now, feeling a bit more 'official' and the pressure to act impending upon his conscience, the good Samaritan charged the two boys; this time hoping that that alone would stop the violence.

But as he grew nearer, he worried it might not. The older male promptly spoke out in a booming voice,

"What seems to be the problem here, gentlemen?"  

[Hopefolly]

Shia bean

Adisa is amazing, okay? Okay.

Kabiro scampered toward the new voice. A savior! A protector! An adult! Tragic Hari was just so much better at things than him. At being bigger, smarter, louder, and more swift in delivering his response. It was curt, yet there was a hesitation to it Kabiro was too young to pick up on. An adult would recognize as the equivalent of a youth caught terrorizing their sibling's familiar for kicks. "There's not a problem," Hari said. He'd stopped dead in his tracks and maintained wavering eye contact with this stranger. "I didn't do nothin'."

Kabiro would have told the story differently if he'd been the first to reply. Unfortunately, Hari's words deflated him. He did nothing more than linger anxiously at Adisa's side, eyes darting between the two.

"We were just playing," Hari added after his defensive proclamation.

Thou dost protest too much.

 

[Shia bean]

(( 0.08 sec ))

"Mmmm" Adisa's head tilted, his gaze narrowed, and as the older cub spoke all he could manage was this look of sheer, immovable doubt. As if at any moment he might just blurt out 'Mmmhm, mmmhm yeah, okay whatever you say punk. Whatever you say. Let me push you down in the dirt and see if you like it.'

But of course, that wouldn't be quite right. His goal now was to teach a lesson, not resort to bullying himself... although the lines were often blurred. Turning his large mane to the smallest amongst them, Adisa began to whisper with a brow raised in question. "Playing, huh?" It was meant to be rhetorical, however if the cub chose to respond to it, Adisa wouldn't complain.

But just in case terror held the boys tongue still ... "Well it's a good thing I ran into you two, then. I love games. What were you playing, exactly?"

Hopefolly

LOL TYTY

 

[Hopefolly]

Shia bean

LOL'D

Adisa's intentions were good. His methods? Ineffective. Sticks and stones weren't needed here, but words were not enough to cease the unsightly behavior of such a headstrong lion at such a critical age. Hari's current status was risk-free : his mother was not around, his possessions far out of reach. Nothing could this meddler take from him, so that's exactly what his disapproval amounted to. Nothing.

Who did he think he was, anyway?

"We were playing hyenas and lions," Hari replied, the sound of his voice more disdainfully proud than it had been before. Not to mention that smug look. He knew exactly what would happen.

And he was right.

Tiny Kabiro had not said anything when Adisa spoke to him. With his safety now secured, the biggest threat to his well-being was disharmony. He didn't want them to argue, or worse, physically fight. He nodded at Hari's words, the only form of concession he could manage.

 

[Shia bean]

Adisa's intentions were good, and he would continue to work off of the assumption that a few choice words might deter further violence. Unfortunately, he probably wouldn't be able to do as much good as he had hoped to. Adisa, after all, had happened upon them by accident... what was to say their 'game' would not continue long after he parted ways again? The flaxen male knew well of sibling cruelty, if indeed the two were even that, particularly when it came to the game known to bully. "Is that so?" Was all he chose to rumble, although it hung with inflected curiosity as he passed another look Kabiro's way.

Come on, boy. Speak up.

Fine then. If for only a short while, while his presence remained imposed upon them, the peace would be kept. Adisa tilted his head, formed a suspiciously large grin upon his face and continued on to say, "I don't believe I caught either of your names." Pausing only to exchanged eye contact from one to the other. "I am Adisa'Uzoma, and I have played a mighty fierce hyena in my day."

Hopefolly

 

[Hopefolly]

Shia bean

This RP cracks me up still. NO IDEA WHY I TOOK SO LONG TO POST IN IT.

Speak up? The littlest seer could manage that. The will to sound off -- a different thing entirely -- was lost on him. Adisa's encouragement served only as a prime example of wasted effort. "I'm Kabiro," the cub said instead, and still his voice was small as his stature.

On the other paw, Hari was a ball of muscle and had a promising future if he got his behavior in check. A superb hunter in the making, just like his mother. Or a warrior like his father. What he would never be was a scholar. Figuring things out didn't always come easy to him; Adisa was a subject of study he was bound to fail.

What did this weirdo want? Other than his name...

"I'm Hari." Given what had led them to this, it was surprising to hear him place such an emphasis on fairness and have it sound so sincere. "The teams won't be even if you play."  

[Shia bean]

"Hmm" He gave the young Kabiro another sideway glance that, like the others, was filled with the very heart of his concern. But he could see the potential in this 'Hari', as he had with his older sisters some time ago. Strength was often a very difficult thing to match when the field was set unevenly; and Hari was an older, larger, and stronger male then the pale cub he tortured. By natures standards, this was the game of picking off the weak as literal as hunt on sickly prey.

But fortunately for Kabiro, Adisa had no intentions of letting Nature have all the fun today. Hari's reply forced a snort out of the male, and for a moment he seemed without a retort of his own. Then,

"What's a second hyena to a fierce lion? You are… a fierce lion, aren't you?"

Hopefolly

 

[Hopefolly]

Shia bean

Nature was a b***h, but so was circumstance. In a perfect world, Hari would have his father, his self-esteem, and his sense of self all playing an active role in his life. He wouldn't need to bully, harass, and he wouldn't so easily fall into the trap of a bruised ego. How cliche.

He hesitated, nose drawn back. The emotions — and indeed they were more emotion than thought — raging through his mind were all in his eyes. Arrogance told him not to care. Pride told him he was not a fierce lion if he didn't.

Hari was, in fact, a fierce lion.

He shot a look to Kabiro that made it clear he was a big crybaby loser for needing backup. Still...

"Fine, but you have to play right," said Hari. He didn't wait around for agreement. They'd do it or else.

Or else, uh... Something.

Yeah.

Hari jumped to the top of a nearby rock. "I'm on the borders. Guardin' 'em. And you're the mangy hyenas who want to kill everyone. Even the babies. Especially the babies."  

[Shia bean]

Adisa had many years collected under his belt when it came to the art of emotion reading, and was no stranger to the change in Hari's eyes...

As good-natured as the male was, he had played this game before. Being the experienced adult, he knew what cards to hold and which would force others to fold. There was no science to it-- He saw strength in both boys, only happened to play to Hari's weakness in the present moment; in order to bring out what Kabiro possessed. The same would come for the latter in time... a game of checks and balances, which was very fitting.

No, life was not fair, but if one could attempt to balance it while present...

From his place, as it was beneath Hari on his platform, Adisa couldn't help but grin.

"I do love to nibble on the toes of lion cubs." Adisa cackled in a voice not his own, heaving his girth with every sharp breath. He took a step toward Kabiro, nudging the boy's side. "But I'm much too hungry for cub toes alone... What should we do, boss?" He sustained an encouraging stare with the youngest male even if he chose not to acknowledge it.

Hopefolly

 

[Hopefolly]

Kabiro had been called many things: Dumb. Wimp. Weird. Given time, he'd be called many more — most importantly, seer — but this was possibly the only time he'd hear a title of authority designated just for him. His response to it depended entirely on Hari's reaction. If he seemed agitated, Kabiro would back down, being smart enough to reason anything he did now he'd pay for later. This big lion couldn't be around all the time.

"I'll take you both on!" Hari declared, full of hauteur but lacking the malice Kabiro was listening for. This absence led the younger and smaller cub to compose himself with some semblance of courage.

"We're gonna get him!" Not the greatest strategy to come to fruition, but Kabiro was prepared to see it through... provided Adisa emboldened him by leading the charge.

Shia bean

 

[Shia bean]

And the semblance of courage would be enough for Adisa. Perhaps, in time, Kabiro would grow from this experience. A cub could learn so much from a simple, well played game.

Now, to ensure it would play out well. His voice was a whisper, carrying the weight of two meanings. "Excellent." He would bump the cubs side once more, the physical nudge Kabiro seemed receptive of, before going on with his rouse of choice.

Taking a wide step around the podium Hari claimed, Adisa cackled again. "Should we make it fun, or just eat him up now." His tongue would, quite comically, slop (a purposefully gathered pool of) saliva over his lips while his eyes would look on in mock-hunger. The messy slurping sound would end in a hard swallow, audible for those within range; of which both boys most certainly were.

"Wonder how fast those tiny bird legs can move, boss? What do you think? Turtle speed?"

Hopefolly

 

[Hopefolly]

Shia bean

Kabiro cracked a grin, his head ducked low to conceal it. Adisa had changed not only Hari's temperament, he had changed the atmosphere. It became easier to get swept up in it and forget your inhibitions, despite the looming threat of what the future could hold.

"Hey!" Hari snapped. His eyes went wide. Kabiro suddenly lunged for him, pouncing him and rolling them both off the rock.  

[Shia bean]

Hari was not the only one stunned by Kabiro's enthusiasm. Reflexes sent Adisa a few paces back, making room for the wrestling match while keen eyes watched out for the wellbeing of both males.

With all concerns aside, however, the twinkle of amusement in Adisa's gaze could not be helped. On the one hand any sane adult would find the situation charming and chuckle endlessly over it. On the other, for a boy like Hari who had more pride then he knew what to do with, great offense would likely be taken.

With all this in mind, Adisa refrained from cracking a wide grin or letting loose the cackle of his character. He would also keep his distance and let the flail of tiny paws and claws come to their own end; for the sake of Kabiro's confidence, and Hari's humility. As important of a lesson it was to fight the battles needing fighting, it was just as important to finish what one started...

Crouching low to the earth, with the thick of his tail sending shivers through the grass, Adisa cheered. "Good one, boss! I think the victory goes to Hyena's today!"

Hopefolly

 

[Hopefolly]

Shia bean

Kabiro had jumped back over the rock and trotted over to Adisa. When one never looked smug, the slightest bit of it was all the more obvious. He turned around when he heard paws thump on stone.

"Not so fast," Hari bellowed dramatically.

The "battles" carried on for the rest of the afternoon, into the evening. Their immersion shattered with the call of a mother seeking her son.

"Hari?" Chyou beckoned him from afar, echoing it in every direction. "Time to come home, Hari!"

Kabiro watched him go. Before he left himself, he smiled at Adisa. "Thanks for the... Thanks for the game. Goodbye, sir."