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 Posted: Sun Sep 02, 2007 8:41 pm
Something had felt wrong. Something deep within him was calling out, telling him to go forth, to leave his homeland, and to find something new and bold and exciting. A new pursuit was what he needed - A new dream was what he craved. So Anisafiwaa the Firekin had left his home, left his den in the desert and strode across the hot dunes, letting his heart lead him.
And his heart led him right into a badger's den. After receiving a few minor scratches and bruises, he had escaped, running as fast as his legs would carry him away from the vicious little badger. Ani didn't listen to his heart for a little while after that, but when he finally forgave it and let it speak to him, it said the same: Go forth, lion of Fire, for you have not reached your destination.
Soon his paws were pressing down against coarse shrubbery and grass. Soon the winds left the desert sand behind, and instead of the sun in his eyes and dust in his ears, there was... beauty. Silence. Peacefulness. All around him there was a land in which there was perfect unity and balance. He was awestruck. And apparently, so was his heart, because it had finally stopped calling out to him.
Ani tucked himself away underneath a large baobab and let his eyes take in the bountiful lands before him. What would he explore first? The river? The plains? Perhaps the large jutting rock formation to the east?...
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Posted: Sun Sep 02, 2007 8:49 pm
The lioness was out hunting for some small sort of pray. The larger herds were harder to find because of the heat, they'd moved on to cooler parts of the pridelands, none of which she was in at the moment. She saw a figure in the distance. Ears flickering forward listening.
It distracted her from her hunt of a rabbit. It wasn't pry. No she could smell it on the wind but what was it? Her Golden pelt would blend in mostly with the sand around her. Whatever it was it wasn't from the pridelands either. Curiousty grabbed her like child taken to a candy store.
But there were rumors she'd heard a while ago. They talked of hostle strangers. She wasn't sure if Ani was one of them or if he would be one of the nice ones. Her tail flickered and she stood there waiting to see what would happen. The wind slowly changeing Direction, "Oh s**t...." She said knowing if she didn't move he would soon catch her sent.
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Posted: Sun Sep 02, 2007 8:58 pm
The scent of rabbit was on the air, but it was a foreign smell to Ani, and he was focused on the lands ahead of him anyhow. There was lots of grass, sand, sandy-colored grass... That already was more than he had ever seen back at the Firekin lands. All they had back home was sand, rocks, dunes, some more sand, and occasionally a shrub that had been picked clean.
And there was water here! Water was like GOLD to his family. For a while he pondered over bringing his parents and siblings here, but then shrugged it off. His father had wandered in his younger years, and surely he had come across this land... He must have had his reasons for not staying.
After a bit more thought, Ani shuddered. Why hadn't his father stayed? This land was rich and bountiful... He could have brought them all here within a few days time... There must be something here that kept him away. That kept ALL of the Firekin away, for that matter.
Then it hit him. Others. There were others here. Now he could smell it - The faint scent of lioness on the wind. Ani's ears swiveled back, and he slowly stood, backing himself up against the tree. But where? Where was she? He scanned the grass around him, growing more and more frantic by the second. Why would she be sneaking up on him? Unless... GASP... She wanted to hurt him! And he wouldn't be able to protect himself because he couldn't see her! Maybe she was invisible... INVISIBLE LIONS. Yes! That was the reason his father hadn't stayed! And now he was to become their prey....
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Posted: Sun Sep 02, 2007 9:08 pm
Zuri watched the Male, he seemed odd. Out of place but he didn't seem to care about what was going on. Maybe he was just tired. She watched him finally deciding he wasn't much to be bothered with because he seemed to be freaking out over something she moved to get some water.
If he wanted to attack her she'd just take that chance. Because having been out in the hot sun it'd made her rather thristy. She moved slowly and when she reached the water she paused to watch him tail flickering and ears twitching to listen to him before she leaned down to take a drink.
Had she known what the male was thinking she'd most likely busted out in laughter, silly males and their over-active imagionations. But the water it was oh so cool.
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Posted: Sun Sep 02, 2007 9:20 pm
Okay, Ani... Breathe... Breathe... Ohmigawdtheresheis. She was visible! Visible lioness! Well, that wasn't as scary as an invisible lioness. Or was it...?
No, no it wasn't. And Ani decided that, since she hadn't attacked him, she must have been friendly. Or... was she...? No! Stop that!
The male took a deep breath, then slowly made his way towards her. His tail was tucked between his legs, and he held his head low to show that he meant her no harm. He took slow, deliberate steps, until finally he had positioned himself next to the water hole, and a couple yards away from the femme. He took a quick drink as well, then cleared his throat.
"L...Lovely day, innit?" He said, voice cracking.
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Posted: Sun Sep 02, 2007 9:27 pm
There was a pause, as he spoke. She looked up at him her head tilting. She looked over him curious for a second before giving a nod. "Indeed today is rather lovely. Although it'd be nice if it was to rain."
She glanced up towards the sky looking for a sign of clouds. Well he deffinatly not one of those that came to the pride lands to hurt anyone. Atleast she hoped not, why else would he have his tail between his legs and act like a scolded child. "If you don't mind...." She said pausing, "You're new around here aren't you?" It was hard to find the right words that wouldn't sound too insulting or over curious. She took a step back from the watering hole to look at the male that had joined her.
She'd not seen anything as brightly colored as him. Or atleast she didn't think she had. That red wasn't from the pridelands at the very least, he had interesting white marking too and his eyes golden. Everything about him was interesting, maybe because he was new and different from what she'd seen. Even though she had met a goddess, he was still different than even that lioness with the wings.
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Posted: Mon Sep 03, 2007 7:47 am
"Rain? You get rain here?" His eyes widened. Rain was also precious in the desert. This female spoke as if it was a normal thing here... Oh, what a land! Soft grass to walk on, a bounty of water from both the ground and the skies, and trees everywhere for shade! It was no wonder there were other lions living here - It was perfect!
He paused as she continued, and then slowly nodded, taking a step back as well. "I'm... from the desert." He winced inwardly. Did this female know about the Firekin and their... less than perfect reputation? He decided to change topics. "My name is Anisafiwaa. What's yours?"
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Posted: Mon Sep 03, 2007 7:53 am
Zuri's tail flickered, "Yes, normally we do it's been a few days since it's rained but we do get it a bit more than other places. Although I hear tell the jungle gets more."
She smiled softly as she sat down; her tail flickered and he gained a curious glance from her. "Oh The Desert? What's it like out there?" Yes she was determinded to poke information out of the stranger. He'd gotten her attetion like a ball with cat n** in it.
She blinked at the sudden topic change. Her mouth hung open for a second before shakign it off. "Aurizuri...." She said trailing off before chipping in, "My freinds call me Zuri." She nodded still curious about the stranger.
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Posted: Mon Sep 03, 2007 8:08 am
The jungle... Ani made a mental note to himself to find out what, and where, this 'jungle' was.
The Firekin male sighed softly with relief when Zuri made no mention of his pride or their vicious reputation. Perhaps she didn't know... In that case, he could be open with her. Ani was glad - She seemed very friendly, and he wouldn't want to scare her off.
"Aurizuri, eh? That's a pretty name... My folks call me Ani. 'Tis nice to meet you, Zuri." He let his ears flick forward, but kept his head and tail low. "The desert... Well, it's very open. It's covered in sand, and there aren't many trees or bushes there. It's always very hot, but I grew up there, so I got used to it. In fact, my whole pride..." He paused, then took a deep breath.
"My whole pride... They believe that they are stronger than others because of their ability to withstand heat. And their size, of course." He lifted one gigantic paw, as if to show her. "I'm not quite as big as my dad or my uncle..." He placed his paw back on the ground.
"But this place... This place is so much better than the desert. It's got so much water and shade and..." Sighing, he glanced around. "It's amazing."
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Posted: Mon Sep 03, 2007 8:22 am
Zuri watched him, she then bowed her head. "Thank you. My father told me it was giving to me by my mother....." There at the mention of her mother she frowned. She still did not know whom her mother was, nor did she think she ever would know. There came a soft sigh.
Well before she pulled herself back out of the pit of dispare to listen to ani. "It's sounds rather hot." She said because thats about all she could think of. Pondering over the pride she lofted a brow had she herd anything about a pride like that. "I barely know any of the other prides around here. I did meet a mix breed from the jungle. But that's about it.... besides what I heard of a pink and white male. But that's another story."
She looked at him and smiled, "Well even if you're not as large as them you're still quite impressive, even if you are hunkered down like you've done something bad." She smiled softly watching him wondering if he'd sit up and stop acting like a scolded cub.
"Yes, I suppose it is." Glacing around. "It all depends on how you look at it as well." She got up and stretched with a soft yawn. "Are you planning on staying a while?" For some odd reason she enjoyed the male's company, wasn't many besides cubs that she enjoyed hanging around. Well save for the one time she met the queen something oddly comforting came out of that as well.
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Posted: Mon Sep 03, 2007 8:34 am
"Your mother had good taste." He tilted his head as she frowned. Perhaps she had been experiencing problems with her mother...? He decided not to push the issue.
"A mixed breed? Like..." Blinking, he thought for a moment. "A... mix of a lion and something else? I didn't know that was possible!" He paused again. A pink and white male... He would have to ask her to tell him of that.
....Wait, what? She thought he was impressive? Him? He relaxed slightly, lifting his head up and shooting her a grin.
"Yeah... I would love to stay." This land was growing on him already. Fresh water, lots of food, and lionesses who thought he looked strong! He was going to like it here.
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Posted: Mon Sep 03, 2007 8:43 am
"Yeah, I wish I knew her...." She sighed again before shurging it off once more and going back to happier converstation.
Zuri smiled and shook her head. "Yes a Mixed breed. She was a lion and I think a leopard cross. She looked very much like both which was rather amusing because I'd never seen it myself until I met her."
Watching the male relax she smiled. "Now that's better, you don't look like you've been scolded by a mother lion for doing something wrong." She giggled before getting up and motioning for him to walk with her.
"Well, we'll see how well you behave. I'm sure if you do end up liking it here enough to make it perminant I can find Kami for you and introduce you to her. Maybe she'll let you stay." Her tail flickered as she watched a butterfly pass. "I really need to get into cub training. I've been kind of slack, I want to be a nanny..." She said trailing off. He most likely didn't want to hear about that nor would he care. "So is your family one of those that like pure lines? Or do they mingle any?" She was sort of curious. Afterall it wasn't very often that you meet someone from a different pride.
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Posted: Mon Sep 03, 2007 8:54 am
Ani opened her mouth to console her, but shut it quickly as she moved on. Perhaps another time.
"A lion and leopard cross... That sounds very cool. Maybe one day i'll get to see one too!" Ohmanohman. Wouldn't that be so neat to see? A lion crossbreed! He pondered for a moment. Would they have lion tails, or leopard tails? And what about the males - would they have manes?
He relaxed a bit more as she giggled. Well, if she didn't like him hunched over, then he wouldn't hunch.
"You want to be a nanny?" He asked, standing and walking alongside her. "That's awesome... We don't have any nannies in our pride. Well, not any formal ones, at least, not that I know of. My mom and dad both helped to raise me and my sisters and brother, so we didn't need one..."
After a moment of thought, he cleared his throat. "We have pure lines, for the most part. Our royalty are all pure blooded, and those without pure blood are usually driven out of the pride or turned into slaves. I'm pure blooded." He puffed out his chest proudly. "Descended from Kiu himself! Kiu was my dad's dad, and my dad says he was strong and brave and proud and an amazing ruler."
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Posted: Mon Sep 03, 2007 9:05 am
Zuri nodded, "Yes they are very cool from what I could tell she had a leopard tail but she had extra fluff. She was a funny color too, well funny as in not normal but she was pretty none the less."
She nodded smiling softly, "Yes we have such a large pride sometimes it's hard for those to go out and hunt that need to. So we've added the use of nannies. See it makes it easier on the pride if the huntresses leave their cubs with another, they get a break and we still get the food we need to eat to live." When she said food, her stomach gave a little growl. "Oh hush you." She said looking back for a moment with slightly flushed cheeks.
"I suppose I should've caught that rabbit a bit earlier." ^^;;
She listened to him. "Oh, I think our pride is about the same but we don't chase outsiders out. We let them stay as well. I mean I don't know how you tell royals from commoners but it's still very interesting." She paused and look at him with a questioning look, "Why do you turn them into slaves? They maynot look like you but is that any reason to have a slave running around?" The thought didn't seem too happy to but she wasn't about to tell him how prides should be ran she more curious than anything as to why such a thing would happen.
"Oh Well so you're Royal Blood! That's pretty neat. I think all dad's are proud of their own fathers espically if they were rulers." She nodded, "I think it's only natural to be pround of linage. If you know all of it or not." She paused and shurged. "I know it's been a while since I've seen my brother or father... I kind of wonder if they decided to hang around a different part of the pridelands for a while."
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Posted: Mon Sep 03, 2007 9:18 am
"Hehe... Fluffy." He chuckled to himself.
"That makes sense then..." Pausing, he listened to her stomach growl, then grinned. His grin quickly disappeared at the mention of slaves.
"Well... The slaves help us gather water and hunt... I don't know why we keep them as slaves and not pride members, but I guess it's so no one will think to breed with them and further taint the bloodlines. So... In a way it helps our lines survive." He shrugged.
"Yeah, i'm royal, I guess... But so is the rest of the pride. Kinda takes the oomph out of it when everyone's from the same family." Another pause. "Why don't we go look for them? And we can hunt something up for you at the same time, miss hungry-paws."
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