[PRP] Leaf Games [Sayen x Taji]

[Skyflu]

A breeze kicked up the dead leaves that winter claimed earlier in the season. A few floated in the air before they landed back on the ground. Sayen's eyes carefully watched them. Her tongue stuck out a bit from her concentration. She really wanted to catch them, but she needed to wait for another gust of wind. Luckily, it didn't take long before another woosh sent a fresh wave of leaves flying. She lashed out her claws and jumped towards them like a cub playing. A satisfying grin plastered on her face when she saw that she managed to catch one.


 

[SilverLutz]

It was a bit cool today - for Africa at least - and Taji couldn't have been more thankful to have his nice thick mane to keep him toasty. He knew the heat would come one again, without fail, so he enjoyed the cooler days by taking walks away from his pride to explore the area around where he lived, to see what he could see. He always enjoyed meeting new lions and other creatures, too. Talking and getting to know them were a blast!

He spotted a lioness not too far off after walking for a while and decided to go talk with her. She seemed friendly enough. He shook his heavy mane to fluff it up just a bit more, never wanting to skimp on first impressions. Taji observed as the green lioness caught a leaf, and he let out a loud laugh. Well! That was an interesting game she was playing.

"Good afternoon," he called out, tail swishing behind him as he approached. "Looks like you've caught a mighty beast between your paws."  

[Skyflu]

Sayen smiled and giggled as she attempted to free the leaf from her claw without touching it. This took expert care as she needed to get the motion perfect for the leaf to fly off. Of course... flailing worked just as well. She was happily shaking her paw, a bit of her rump got involved too, before she jumped, startled.

Sayen quickly spun around, unaware that another creature was in the area as well. But, she quickly relaxed when she noted that he seemed welcoming and inviting. Her eyes glanced back down to the leaf, which now rested in pieces on the ground. "Of course! Leaves are no match against my fierce claws!" Giggles erupted from her chest as she flexed her claws. "Why don't you see how many you can catch?" He seemed like the type of lion that would enjoy a good game.

 

[SilverLutz]

Taji chuckled softly as the female shook the leaf free from her claws. Thanks to the rather dead nature of the leaf, it broke into a few pieces before it hit the ground. At the offer, his ears perked up and he glanced up, gazing at the sky. There were a few leaves fluttering around up there, waiting for the wind to die to fall down.

"All right...I'll take you up on that challenge," he said, striding forward just a bit. This would be a very easy game, he was certain. "But only if you give me your name."

Of course, there was a catch. How could he play anything without knowing his opponent's name? "I'm Taji," he offered, not wanting to be rude and skimp out on giving his own name. He loved games and, by default, loved the rules that went along with them. If you didn't follow the rules it would be a pretty boring game, and very unsafe at that!  

[Skyflu]

"Sayen!" She pipped up then giggled some more. Taji seemed very official in this business and she didn't want to ruin his moment. Leaf catching was no laughing matter. Her paw clamped over her muzzle in an attempt to stop the noise. When she caught her leaf, things were quiet, so he needed the same atmosphere. Though, Sayen wasn't doing a very good job at keeping silent.

Before he started Sayen spouted, "See if you can beat my record of one!" She was sure he could do it, but it never hurt to feel a little pressure. If he did, she'll have to see if he could top his score.
 

[SilverLutz]

"Sayen. Well, it's a pleasure to meet you," Taji said, bowing his head just a bit in greeting. Along with the rules of games, he enjoyed being polite when he had the presence of mind to do so. While playing whatever game he was in, he tended to get competitive and a bit rowdy. Probably not during this leaf catching game, but it was always best to start a friendship with your best paw forward.

"One? Hmmm..." He glanced up at the sky, not minding that Sayen continued to giggle. He was used to noise while trying to focus. "I'll see what I can do." He moved to stand under the leaves and, just as he found a good spot, the wind died and they began to float to the earth. He crouched low, wanting to get a good jump first to meet them halfway, and once they were low enough he pounced.

He managed to catch one in his mouth and scrambled for two more before the other leaves hit the dirt. He spat out the one in his mouth and shook the other two off his claws. "Three!" he said triumphantly, a grin on his face. "Your turn."  

[Skyflu]

Sayen nodded back and watched as Taji prepared for 'battle'. She glanced up and tried to figure out which leaves he'd go after first. There were definitely some good ones up there. She wanted to win, but couldn't help but pull for her opponent to have a successful catch.

Her heart raced in anticipation when he rocketed up and flopped around in the air. When he landed and spat out the leaves she said, "Wow! You got quite a bunch!" She'll have to make sure to beat that.

Sayen walked pasted Taji a bit before looking for a few floating beauties. Once she spotted her targets, she leaped up and laughed while she attempted to flail for more. She landed with only two. "Oh! So close!"

 

[SilverLutz]

Taji strutted around his little broken pile for a few moments, proud of his accomplishment. It was all those years of training, he was sure. He might be a big, bulky lion but he had the agility of a cheetah!

"That I did," he said with a grin before sitting down to let Sayen take another turn. He watched her leap into the air and had to laugh at how she twisted herself around. When she landed with only two, he got that rather satisfied feeling whenever he won.

"Not bad, not bad," he said, standing up again. "They're tricky leaves. They kind of blew back up when you jumped. Try again?" he offered, motioning to the leaves that were once again floating back down to the earth. He loved winning, but he also loved seeing others succeed.  

[Skyflu]

Sayen shook her leaves free, appreciating Taji's words. It was nice of him not to make fun of her. She didn't expect he was that type of lion, but others weren't so lovely. "I've got a better idea, why don't you pick a new game?" Leaves were fun and all, but she was getting a bit bored with it since she'd already started playing before he came. Besides, maybe he had something better in mind. She could learn something new, which was always exciting! Plus, she'd give this one to him. That way she'll be double impressive when she came back for a win. Sneaky, sneaky.
 

[SilverLutz]

Taji tilted his head just a bit as Sayen suggested a new game. He nodded, not minding switching games. This one was a bit hard to play since the leaves would keep blowing away, bringing them further from his pride. He'd find his way back, surely, but it would be a long walk home and that was never fun. If they played a different game they could make sure it was a bit more fair. The leaves didn't care how many fell at the same time, after all.

"That sounds like a good idea. I live not too far from here, and I know a stream that's close by. There's some rocks that we can try to cross it on. They're very slippery though, and it's quite difficult."

He would know: he had used it as a training method to be sure on his feet and to have good balance when he was younger. He'd gotten in trouble for doing it, though, since it was out of the pridal lands. But now he was older and couldn't get in trouble! Ha!

"If that pleases you, my dear miss, then we can go on our way."  

[Skyflu]

Her tail twitched while she waited for his response. Maybe they could play a game involving bugs. Though, some times she ate them... which was sad because she enjoyed chasing after them. Oh, wait...were lions able to eat bugs? They didn't taste fantastic, but her natural instincts always took over and the bugs ended up dead. Some times in her mouth and other times under her pads.

Sayen jumped up in excitement. "That sounds like fun!" It really did too! She'll have to be extra careful so as not to fall in. She didn't find the water gross or anything, but the whole point would be to keep dry. Definitely a challenge worth trying out. She tried her paw at crossing downed logs, but always ones that fell in the forest. Though, the water didn't scare her because she was quite a good swimmer. Plus, it would be interesting to see where he lived. Or close to where he was from. Sayen was a rogue through and through, but she enjoyed visiting new places.

She dashed forward before giggling. How stupid of her. She padded back, of course he needed to lead the way since she didn't know where they were going. "After you!"


 

[SilverLutz]

Taji remained where he was as Sayen dashed ahead in the completely wrong direction. He laughed as she realized her mistake and waited for her to return before setting off in the direction he had come from. "You certainly have a bunch of energy. I like that!" he said in approval. You needed a lot of energy to have fun, in his book. Laying around and doing nothing all day was not fun, not at all. Being active and running around and playing games...that was fun!

"This way," he said as he turned his head forward again, happily leading Sayen in the direction of the stream. Perhaps if she continued to impress him like this he'd ask her to come visit the pride. They could always use extra members.