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 Posted: Sat May 24, 2008 2:28 pm
 
Walking down slowly towards the edge of the sand, the lioness dipped her paws in the water slowly. "The ocean is what called me to the pride actually," She commented, "The soothing sounds and the site that seemed to stretch out for as far as I could see. From what I can tell, it seems to be the main reason the pride settled here. What's amusing is that after you've been here awhile your fur starts to curl." Kamaria was no exception. She had not lived there long, but while she was there, the majority of her time was spent on the beach, where she recieved the most of the humidity and salty atmosphere.
Continueing along the water's edge, the lioness looked about, searching for something. Recently in a conversation with some older members of the pride, she came to learn that there were particular gifts from the sea that were highly valued. It would be a perfect gift to a stranger. While her eyes skimmed the sand, she was unable to find anything interesting enough to speak about.
As the two walked along the beach, they neared the rock caves that were home to many lions of the pride. "Here, Jethro," Kamaria began, "Is where many pride members reside. It is cool and protected in the caves so it is a perfect area for cubs." Kamaria was commenting about her sister Senatla with her cubs, but the mere mentioning of cubs to this male stranger was somewhat embarassing.
Jethro's heavy paws sank into the sand as he walked, leaving a fairly clear trail in his wake. But he didn't mind. Now that he knew it wasn't a crime to be there he felt better about leaving evidence in his wake. "Really? Well, it does have quite the call, doesn't it? Very lovely. I could probably watch the waves for hours and not even notice the time going by",he mused, then smiled as she continued on.
"I think the curly fur is pretty", Jethro commented, "though I don't know if it would look as nice on me! Plus, to be honest, I can't swim to save my life. Really. If I fall in a shallow puddle I completely freeze up. I think it's because I nearly drowned when I was a cub. But maybe I shouldn't have told that. It's kind of personal and we only just met!" He laughed in spite of himself, "Ah well, you only live once, right? Unless you're a God, I suppose."
Still, even if he didnt like the idea of going in- the water, looking at it was great. Nothing beat the amazing view of ocean waves crashing against the shore. It sure beat looking of dried savanna all day long. The most interesting thing about the lands he had just wandered out of were the various beetles that trotted over the floor from time to time. Not exactly a life-changing sight. But these waters invoked a strange emotion in him. Seeing them made him feel relaxed, even with the knowledge that, should he venture too close to them, he would probably drown and look really stupid doing so.
Flailing paws and whatnot.
What are you looking for? asked the male after a moment to observe her.
Letting the matter slide, he continued to follow her, peering into the dens as she explained about them. Really? he said with a grin, I love cubs! Are there any around? Do
you have any cubs? A slightly loaded question, but he couldnt help himself. He was enjoying his talk with her and wanted to find out a few things.
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Posted: Sat May 24, 2008 2:30 pm
Kamaria nodded at Jethro's comment. It was so true for the lioness. The waves seemed to have a sort of hypnotic ability and were all she needed in order to relax and feel comfortable. Unexpected, another complement arose. Kamaria kept her gaze forward as she walked to hide the growing pink to her cheeks. "I-I think the fur sort of grows on you after awhile," She laughed lightly. It certainly was not her favorite aspect of the pride, but was something she became accustomed to.
When Jethro let Kamaria know about his inability to swim, the lioness instinctly took a few steps closer to the beach. How awful was it that she was leading the poor lion into the water? Lowering her ears from guilt, the lioness spoke with an embarassed tone, "Oh, i'm so sorry! I hope I haven't frightened you. I can promise you that this close to the beach, you're entirely safe. Even when the tide comes in, the water only reaches mid-leg." Leading him farther up the beach and closer to the caves, Kamaria smiled softly. With Jethro being so open, it only encouraged the female to speak without holding anything back.
Kamaria had not found what she was looking for earlier, but realised that the observant male noticed her searching. Turning her head to look at him, she grinned childishly. "Treasure!" With a light laugh, the lioness continued along, "If I tell you, it'll ruin the surprise! I'm sure i'll find something before your tour is done." Once they were finished inspecting the dens, Kamaria pushed on, determined to visit the part of the pride in which she knew very little of.
As they walked, passing the caves now, a lush jungle could be seen a distance away. In the night, it was dark and somewhat frightening, but called towards travelers like Jethro and Kamaria. A place like that was certainly home to all sorts of exciting adventures. Kamaria was about to speak when Jethro asked her about cubs. "Well," she began, so excited to brag about Senatla's cubs, "My sister.. adopted sister actually.. gave birth to a beautiful litter of 6 little cubs." Kamaria did not feel the need to explain that they were hybrids and that their father left their mother. That didn't matter anymore to Kamaria - all she cared was that her sister was safe. "That was a big reason why we decided it was time to find a place to stay. The roguelands are certainly not safe for young cubs."
Kamaria seemed to have not heard Jethro's other questions as she continued on. It was always so nice to hear that males enjoyed cubs, especially when all Kamaria knew of families consisted of her single mother and Senatla's struggle to care for her cubs on her own. Even with the help of Aten and Kamaria, Senatla had her hands full. "I.. no," She said finally. "I don't have cubs, though I hope for some someday. What about yourself?" Kamaria realised she had been walking too far ahead of Jethro and slowed her pace in order to walk alongside him.
Jethro tried to imagine himself with curly fur, and laughed at the image. No, certainly not a look he felt he could get away with. But on the females he observed that it wasnt so bad. Cute, even.
Haha, dont worry! Jethro said quickly, its not looking at the water that worries me, its being in it. So long as I dont accidentally fall into the ocean, I should be fine. Even if I trot along the shore line to feel the water over my paws. Besides, youre supposed to experience being around your fear in order to get over it right? This is probably very good for me. If anything, I should be thanking you for showing me around here. He nodded as he spoke, as though confirming his own thoughts on the matter. Whenever he had tried to over-come his fear on his own, though, it never worked out. Still, maybe being with her would help him out a little.
Treasure is it! laughed Jethro, I didnt know you were also a pirate! Well, by all means, keep you secret. I would hate to ruin the surprise! He left it at that, happy that she was thinking about but not wanting to press his luck. After all, he did want a little souvenir to remember his visit by. If he ended up leaving fairly soon. There was no telling how long he would get to stay in the place. So long as he kept himself from stepping on anyones toes, though, he was feeling pretty good about things.
At least he wouldnt be chased off the pride lands with his tail between his legs.
Listening about the cubs, he found himself a little envious of her sister. Six cubs? Wow! Thats fantastic. And youre right, those lands really arent meant for raising a family. You made a good choice to leave for somewhere safer! Did you help her bring them up? Must be fun playing with cubs! He didnt know the father had no part in things, and subsequently didnt bring the male into the conversation. It was natural for him to assume that both parents had a hand in things, even though he had been left on his own at a young age. Both his parents had left before he was old enough to really remember them- his father because he wanted nothing to do with the family and his mother because of a hunting trip gone wrong.
Blinking, he noticed the female had gained quite a deal of ground on him, making him sprint a short distance to catch up. Thankfully she seemed to notice too and had stalled to wait for him. Meeting her new stride, he smiled. The question hadnt gone unheard.
Nah. Ive spent too much time looking for new land to explore and not enough time getting to know anyone, you know? But I hope to raise a family someday. I think having a family would be fantastic. A big one, he added with a thoughtful chuckle, anyway, are we heading to that jungle over there?
Kamaria laughed when Jethro called her a pirate. Pulling up her paw and extended her claws playfully, the lioness growled, "Arrr!!" She never would have considered herself a pirate, but enjoyed picking up tokens from the places she visited. Around her neck she wore a long narled piece of twine with a single shell tied at the end. It was simple, humble, but a token from her first visit to the pride quite awhile ago. It was nothing incredibly attractive and easily missed, but very important to Kamaria. A guard of the ocean pride was kind enough to allow the traveler to possess it.
It seemed when she met Aten and Senatla, however, many of her adventures slowed down. She would never hold it against her makeshift family, especially because there were so many more important things to take care of now. She only wondered what would happen once the cubs were older. Were they all that held themselves together? Kamaria shook the idea from her mind and returned to the conversation with Jethro. No point in fretting those matters at this point in time.
And the perfect turn in Kamaria's thoughts were the cubs. She beamed again at the mere thought of them. "Certainly! I could never allow Senatla to attempt to handle them all on her own. I adore each and every one of those mischief makers! I look forward to the day when they are old enough to explore and take this tour along my side." Simply talking about the cubs reminded Kamaria of how little she had spent with them recently. Surely when the day came she would seek out Senatla and pull a couple of the cubs away for play time with their aunt.
"A big family?" Kamaria said almost wistfully. It was exactly what she wanted. But so caught up in her fairytale ending she often dreamed of, Kamaria was unable to match anyone quite right. "That does sound lovely," She said, as though the thought never really occurred to her before.
On an entirely different note, Kamaria smirked as she examined the jungle before them, "That was my intention. Unless you think it might be too scary at an hour like this?" She teased, tail swaying about her happily.
Oh, all on her own? Jethro repeated, that cue enough of a hint for him this time around, so the fathers not there? That sucks. You dont have to tell me about it though, I know its probably a personal thing. He didnt like talking about his parents much, so he always figured it was the same for everyone else. Even when talking about extended families. It hurt whenever he thought about his mother. True he couldnt recall much about her, but he still understood that she had been taking from him and that nothing about what had happened to her had been fair. He was just glad he hadnt seen her death, though discovering her mangled body hadnt been particularly fantastic either. Maybe that was why he liked to move around so much.
Running from what had happened to her.
Though he did worry that all his exploring would make him like his father. They say the apple doesnt fall far from the tree. If he ended up walking out on someone just because the cubs werent as strong-looking as he would have liked he didnt know what he would do with himself. Maybe jump into the large ocean they had just seen, now that he knew where it was.
Smiling again, he decided to focus his attention on the cubs and keep it there for the time being. Ha! I would have loved to see them. Perhaps you can take me to visit them some time. I mean, once were better friends and you could trust me to see them. I would love to see them and your sister.
He knew it wouldnt happen right away, but he was starting to feel like it would be something worth the wait. Spending more time with Kamaria, anyway.
Grunting Jethro puffed out his chest, holding his head high as he picked up his pace slightly towards the jungle. Please! he huffed with a smile, Im Jethro the explorer! No jungle is going to frighten me off. Lets check it out. Have you been in there before? He asked as he continued on, a lightness in his step to show how at ease he really was with going into the somewhat ominous place.
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Posted: Sat May 24, 2008 2:32 pm
Kamaria paused; she hadn't even meant to say it that way. Glad when Jethro pushed the topic aside, the lioness kept moving.
When Senatla had come home, pregnant and filled with fear, Kamaria had been furious. Not with Senatla, but with the beast that left her in that condition. Her sister had been missing for months and Kamaria was beginning to fear for her life. Senatla was young and naive about much of the world and her older sister was not sure how she would manage on her own. Kamaria was so relieved to find that Senatla was alive and well enough, but felt a part of herself swell with hate. In fact, the spotted lioness swore to herself that she would find the leopard and make him pay for hurting her sister. It was only when the cubs were born that Kamaria realised this promise was not worth it.
Becoming lost in her own thought again, Jethro managed to pull her out. When we're better friends? She repeated in her mind. Kamaria's soft smile widened happily. Clearly the sound of that was something she was fond of. "I would be more than happy to introduce you. I am sure Senatla would love the company as well. We're both happy here, but it is slow making friends. At times we still feel like strangers and there is much to learn about their traditions and ways of life." Kamaria then thought about what she was saying and let out a light laugh. Had the Bahari'mtoto made her soften up a bit? In the roguelands, Kamaria would have never offered to introduce a strange new rogue to her sister's cubs!
Jethro finally caught Kamaria. This was where the female's tour ended and the two began a small adventure of their own. The lioness faced him and smiled nervously, "Actuuallyy.." She dragged on. "I haven't. Though I can assure you, this land is safe!" She had heard stories, and while many of them were told to young cubs in order to keep them from wandering at night, none seemed to be anything truly alarming.
Well, being a stranger here I wont be able to help much with any of that, but Id be more than happy to provide a little company for you and your sister. I think it would be nice to meet more people! Youre really the first person Ive talked to that Ive really felt comfortable with. Senatla huh? I really ought to consider changing my name, hummed the male thoughtfully. His name was really starting to sound pretty plain compared to some of these other ones.
Ah well, it made him different.
He was already excited, even though they hadnt planned anything definite yet. Seeing cubs sounded like a blast. He had only played with little ones a couple of times and was dying to meet some new little buddies. Unlike most male lions, he wanted to have a lot to do with the raising of his young. Maybe that made him a little girly. But do what? He would take it if it meant having a happy family.
Call him a girls name and move on with life; he would have the last laugh in the end.
Watching her pause, his grin only expanded over his muzzle. So she hadnt been exploring in the jungle. Well, that was alright. He lived for adventure and perhaps the two of them heading into uncharted land together would make things all the more interesting.
Well if its safe what are we waiting for! he laughed, heaving into the jungle without skipping a beat, wont have any fun just standing around, right? Lifes too short for hesitation! He looked around as he got a bit deeper into the brush, smiling. Jungles and forests were always a ton of fun for him to explore, he found. The various plants and animals always gave him something to look at and there were so many strange smells he sometimes couldnt decide what to go looking at first.
Indeed, he enjoyed it.
This place is lovely, he said, all these plants are so lush! Must be from being so close to the ocean.
Kamaria felt so comfortable with Jethro that it surprised her. They spoke of simple things, but without regret or caution. For some reason, the lioness did not censor herself and it seemed as though the male spoke just as openly. She knew one of his greatest fears and he knew of the thoughts she could never speak out loud. When he let her know how comfortable he felt, she smiled, feeling her muscles in her face become sore. It had been quite awhile since she smiled this much.
"There is no reason to change your name!" She exclaimed suddenly, shocked that the male would even propose such an idea. "Names are a part of who you are." Realising that she was being bold to tell the male what he should and shouldn't do, she quieted down a bit and then added, "Do you know what yours means?" One thing her mother always told her was how names were not only what you were called, but a part of yourself. Her mother stressed the importance of naming.
And before Jethro could answer her, he went bounding into the darkness, entirely disappearing from the lioness' site. "Wait up!" She called behind him with a laugh. Following after quickly, Kamaria soon realised that her eyes were not adjusted to such low amounts of light. Before she could fully see, the lioness bounded farther in, determined the find the male that went in ahead of her. She was not concerned with leading, but simply wanted to be a part of the exploration. The lioness didn't want to miss out on any news!
Still not quite able to see, Kamaria followed Jethro's voice and jumped forward to meet him. Unable to judge her distance, the lioness felt herself crash into the male rather awkwardly. "Eep!" Was all Kamaria could explain as her cheeks burned bright red.
Eyes widening, Jethro watched her, surprised to see how against him changing his name she was. He hadnt meant it to be anything serious, but she did have a point. Changing his name now would be very odd. Like he was trying to be a different person. Jethro was who he was. Nothing to be done about it. Even if he felt his name was a little on the boring side, it was still his name.
Still, he was so excited about going into the forest that he just didnt stick to the conversation. There was an adventure waiting for them. That left no time for deep conversations about names and how much value they carry!
He had walked just a little deeper before noticing he might have moved too far ahead of his friend. She hadnt replied to his comment, giving him the note that she wasnt near him at all. He wasnt used to moving around with another lion.
Whoops.
Kamaria, where did you- oof! yelped Jethro, having just turned his head back to see what had happened to her when her frame connected with his. He toppled over in his surprise, landing on his side with a heavy thud. Looking up at her, he laughed loudly, tail beating against the ground. Well! Thats one way to keep up with me, he teased lightly, but I think I simple wait up would have worked better! sitting up somewhat, he watched her. Are you alright? inquired the male, I guess I got a little ahead of myself there!
Mud stuck to his fur from the jungle floor, but he didnt seem at all bothers by it. After all, he was having fun. Dirt was a part of adventuring. He just hadnt expected to get messy so soon.
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Posted: Sat May 24, 2008 2:34 pm
Kamaria was so embarassed about her mistake that she couldn't keep herself from laughing. Lifting herself to her feet, she was surprised that she managed to send the poor male toppling over. Kamaria was, afterall, incredibly small, even for a lioness. Her mother's blood was purely from the Mistweaver pride, which was known as being home to some of the smallest lions in the savannah. Shaking some dirt from her fur, Kamaria asked, with a timid voice, "You alright? I didn't mean - My eyes are adjusted now."
Running off, as though to lead their embarassing conversation to a new direction, the lioness called back for Jethro to follow. What he said was entirely correct. The jungle was absolutely beautiful. Each tree had unique leaves decorating it, bright green in color and moist to the touch. It was so different from the sacoya's of the land which was once her home. So dry and often times appearing dead.
Kamaria was not only impressed with the jungle, but also the fact that her pride had so much diversity in its lands. It would be something difficult to tire of if she was able to explore and learn about the jungle and whatever else the pride had to offer. "Lookit this!" Kamaria said in an enthusiastic whisper. By her line of vision, it could be seen that she was talking about the bright blue and black frog resting on top of a large leaf. "Have you ever seen one of these before?"
"Its fine! Just surprised me, thats all. If I had known you were going to come crashing into me I probably would have braced myself. At least then I wouldnt have looked like a total pansy getting knocked over."
Jethro got to his feet quickly, the fall hadnt exactly been big enough to hurt him, only make him dirty, and charged after her quickly. He did well to keep her in sight, so they didnt have a repeat performance with reversed roles. Such a small creature landing on him hadnt been enough to harm the large male, but he knew she probably wouldnt be feeling as dandy if he was the one to fall on top of her.
She would probably be feeling pretty mushed.
Following her gaze to the frog, Jethro let out a light "oooo" as he drew close to it, sniffing it carefully as he tried to keep himself quiet. His eyes crossed somewhat as he stared at it, perhaps a little close now. "I havent," he whispered back at the lioness, turning his head slightly towards her, "its so brightly colored! How is it supposed to keep from getting eaten looking like that?"
He really hadnt seen a frog before. The land he had grown up in was much too dry to support the strange type of animal. But it was certainly enough to captivate him. What else was the foliage hiding? One thing he knew for certain: he had to keep looking around.
Kamaria did not think less of Jethro for toppling over. She would have imagined the same outcome no matter how large and masculine he was. Actually, if he didn't topple over, it would have been rather painful for Kamaria to find herself running head on into the large, unmoving male. With a laugh, the female continued to observe the small frog a moment long. She was not so brave as to put her face up close to the new creature, but she was just as captivated by its bright colors. As Jethro neared even closer to the frog, it filled its throat and emitted a strange croak.
Jumping back slightly, Kamaria's fur stood on end. She hadn't expected the animal to make such a sudden noise. "Perhaps we should go check out the rest of the jungle?" Certainly the two wouldn't have enough time to inspect the entire landscape, but it wouldn't be something that Kam wouldn't try. Running off again, the lioness glanced behind her only long enough to ensure that Jethro was following close behind.
While the two lions concluded their exploration, the canopy overhead appeared to open up and allow more light to enter. In truth, the dark spaces between the trees, revealing the night sky, were lightening as the sun rose in the distance. When they left the jungle and passed by the rock caves, Kamaria whispered, "Be careful, it seems like some of them are stirring now," She was surprised by how late the two stayed out, though during their tour time passed rather quickly.
Once they reached the sand, Kamaria was all smiles. Understanding that this would probably be the moment in which Jethro explained that he had to leave, the lioness took the opportunity first. Glancing back towards the place in which she came, the lioness spoke reluctantly "I should probably head back to Senatla. I don't want to frighten her when she wakes up".
Jethro was rather pleased by how late it had become, hoping she felt as though the time had flown by as well. It was always nice to think that for someone else the hours weren't just dragging on. That he wasn't the only one enjoying himself. But it was the kind of thing he could never be sure of. After all, including this encounter he had spent the day with another lion... once in his life. What he could possible know of how other people enjoyed themselves? Or how they saw him?
"Yes," he replied softly, "I guess it would be best if you headed back now. I wouldn't want to make you sister worry about you. You know, I had come here thinking it would just be a day trip, but since it's so late I think I might find some place nearby the lands to nap for the night. Perhaps I'll come back soon and we can hang out again. I rather enjoyed our time together." He felt no trouble in admitting as much to her, still hopeful that she was on the same page as him.
Watching her for a moment, he cleared hi throat, feeling suddenly awkward. Saying goodbye was supposed to be hard, but he didn't think it would be the last time he ever saw her. Not if he had any say in the matter, anyway. "I'll be back whenever you'd like to see me... so... uh... it was night meeting you, Kamaria. Good night." He offered a respective bow of his head before turning and moving slowly over the sand. He didn't want to make noise and wake up any of the other, possibly less friendly lions.
His mind was alive with various thoughts about the day. No doubt he would be up for several hours yet. Smiling, he wandered away from the beach, heading back the way he had come with a slow stride.
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Posted: Sat May 24, 2008 3:31 pm
"You should have no problem finding a place to stay," Kamaria said with a smile. The roguelands near the Bahari'mtoto would surely be more comfortable than farther out. The spotted lioness wished to offer shelter at her den with Senatla so that the male would be safe, but knew that it would be wiser to get to know the male better first. Kamaria was a good judge of character, but she had been wrong before.
"You can probably stay in the outskirts of the pride. Protected, but not really intruding," Kamaria added before glancing off again. It seemed as though she was dragging on the conversation to keep from having to say good bye. Good byes were not only difficult, but they were awkward. Jethro wished to meet Senatla and the cubs, but who knew if they'd ever really see one another again?
Kamaria was slow to leave, but once Jethro bowed politely, she returned the same friendly gesture and turned on her paws in order to return to her sister. The lioness couldn't help but glance back towards the male. When she found that he was beginning on his way, her ears lowered and she moved on.
While glancing down, the lioness spotted what she had been looking for earlier. A beautiful conical shaped shell nestled in the sand. Grabbing it out with her maw, the lioness turned back and ran to meet up with the departing male. "Mwait!" Kamaria said awkwardly, but loud enough for him to hear.
Leaning down to release the shell into the sand at Jethro's feet, the lioness spoke more clearly, "A keepsake. So that you remember your visit." Something about the way Kamaria spoke indicated that she doubted they would ever stumble across one another again.
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