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 Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2008 1:50 pm
It seemed she contradicted everything that anyone had ever told him of the firekin. She wore a pure white pelt and was kind and sincere. Or at least Hodari liked to think that what she told him was truth - he couldn't think of any reason why someone would want to lie about the things she spoke of.
As he grew, Hodari and his siblings had been rewarded with a more lenient set of rules. Despite his determination to set a position example, the boy couldn't help but stretch them, carefully making his way back to that same place where he had met Savitri. He didn't expect to find her there, but was curious to learn what he might find.
Indeed, her wonder about the world beyond the dunes had only grown. Whispers of her uncle's iminent return with an army of rogues had her creeping towards the borders. With careful paw placements, the snowy juvenile made her way southward.
Her whole life so far, she'd been told by others of the pride that Pridelanders were weak, growing fat on the food of their lands. But were they really? Her father had told her that other lions that knew of the pride believed them to be all cruel brutes, after all. She'd met a few members of the pride that weren't. The story teller's daughter was simply arrogant, as far as she could tell...
Edging around a bramble, Savitri felt a strange... Thrill. As she crossed the border into the invisible boundry lands between the prides, she began to almost prance. This was, in essence, a land of rogues. At any moment, one could show up and she'd never know where it came from, nor would it know where she came from.
Hodari, filled with adrenaline simply at the thought of being caught by something new on the lands, had his pale green eyes alert and curious about the world around him. Jumping from one rock to another, it was not long before the pale white cub stood out to him like a sore thumb.
Both excited and surprised to come across her again, the cub quickly made his way to her side. "Savitri!" He called out, eager to strike up a conversation, especially considering this time he had made sure to come alone. While he adored his siblings, Jasiri and he always seemed to have a sort of rivalry about them. Their first meeting with Savitri had been no exception as the two boys fought for her attention.
Ears lifting up, the white cub spottted the other very quickly. "Hodari!" As her paws began to move faster, she became less cautious of where she stepped. As a result, she tripped on a rock and stumbled. But this didn't deter her in continuing to rush to meet the other.
As she got closer, she realised that Hodari had grown. What had been a head free of any form of mane now had the beginnings. She swore she could even see some of it peeking through his coat. Though they were grown, though, she still recognised him.
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Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2008 1:52 pm
Hodari's ears perked when he heard Savitri call out his name in return. He was glad to find out that the female hadn't forgotten him. While some time had passed since their first meeting, the striking white cub had certainly left an impression on Hodari. At times, the dark cub even brought her up to Jasiri, curious as to whether or not his brother wondered what she was up to as well.
Jasiri seemed so interested when they met, though Hodari assumed it was simply because she was a firekin and such an interesting coloration. Never would Hodari have guessed that his brother was beginning the development of a crush on the female, nor that he, himself, was beginning to feel a sort of pittering in the pit of his stomach.
Having a difficult time making close friends in the pridelands, the cub was glad to find that he had at least made one friend - or he at least hoped that Savitri and he were friends. Perhaps during this meeting he would find out. "How have you been? It's exciting to see you again!" Hodari exclaimed, quick to speak and almost tripping over his words, "Wow! You're gotten bigger!"
Crouching in front of him, Savitri positiviely wiggled before pouncing on him. "I've been missing a friend, that's how I've been!" Trying to pull him down, she grinned. "You got bigger, too!" Her tail lashed, ears perked. In her blue eyes danced the desire the play, to have fun, to just be a cub.
How was it that a cub from a pride she was supposed to hate could be more a friend than a cub from her own pride? She had no worries about the color of her coat being a problem out here. Though she had no markings, she looked just like any rogue, any... Any Pridelander. There was no worry about looking like a slave.
Still caught up in his excitement from coming across Savitri again, Hodari was caught off guard when the other cub pounced on him. Falling back, the male let out a light laugh and batted a paw very carefully in her direction. So used to playing with his brothers and understanding that Savitri was a girl, Hodari didn't want to hurt her. He remembered Dakarai taking the same precaution with both Naga'nika and Tiamat.
It was a learning experience to put the world together. Every situation had to be taken as something new. He knew, for example, that his sister Angavu was always willing to play just as rough with the boys, in fact, she sometimes played even rougher than them! With Savitri, something in the back of Hodari's mind, told him to be careful and kind.
"Missing a friend?" Hodari repeated, a gentle smile spreading across his maw. This was certainly new to his ears, though something he could become used to. It turned out he had made a friend and one that appeared as happy to see him as he was to see her, "Aw! I missed you too!"
Jumping back and onto his feet, Hodari waved his tail about behind him, prepared for a play fight.
Backing off, Savitri crouched again, claws digging and kneeding at the ground. A grin lit her face as she wiggled, prepared to pounce. She never really played like this with her own sisters. In fact, she rarely even socialised with her sisters, except at meal and bed times. This was a welcome change to her usual routine.
Muscles bunched, the Firekin launched forward, intending to be the one doing the pinning. The intent for play-fighting was obvious, and she would do her best to be a good match. Maybe he could surprise her. She'd been taught, after all, that the males of the Pridelands were weaker than the females of the Firekin. She wanted to find out the truth or falacy of the believed notion herself.
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Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2008 1:53 pm
This time around, Hodari awaited Savitri's tackle and was prepared. Used to the very rough playing of his own siblings, Hodari jumped to the side in order to avoid the young female's pounce. Once she landed on the ground, Hodari took his opportunity to lunge at her, full intent to go tumbling until he could pin her. As he jumped, the young male's tail waved about behind him. Like he had noticed during their first encounter, Savitri was of equal size to the male, something very curious about the lions of her pride.
While entirely playing with the female, Hodari was eager to win and hoped that he might impress the Savitri during their mock fight. Hodari certainly had pride in the fact that he was first born and of noble blood in the pridelands. While this meant nothing to the female, the cub couldn't help but constantly be a bit full of himself, or puff up proudly on occassion. To lose to a girl would certainly damper his ego - He didn't count his loses with Angavu as loses considering she was a sibling and "trained" with the boys!
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Posted: Fri Jul 25, 2008 5:59 pm
She met his pounce mid-air, sending both tumbling. As they rolled, she attempted to gain the upper paw. It wouldn't be easy - After all, she'd never played with a male before. There was no care from her as dirt got into her white coat, twigs clinging to her fur.
She did care, though, when she felt the pricks of the thorns. A paw shot out, managing to land between two huge thorns on a bramble. Blue eyes widened as the Firekin realized just how close they were to the thorn patch. And yet... What was in there?
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Posted: Mon Jul 28, 2008 6:17 pm
Hodari was entirely impressed by the quick reactions of the female, as well as how well she could hold her own. Savitri was certainly a skilled little combatant, something that Hodari imagined was due to her Firekin heritage. There had a be a reason that so many pridelanders held fear for Savitri's pride and Hodari guessed that their size and skills in combat were two of them.
While the two rolled about, each trying to pin one another, Hodari noticed the sudden change of expression on Savitri's face. Fearful, the dark cub managed to jump back and land a ways from the female, avoiding the thorns. "Did I hurt you? Are you okay?" He quickly asked, making his way slowly to where Savitri landed.
Upon getting a closer inspection, Hodari realised that there was a thick patch of bramble nearby and that Savitri likely pricked herself on one of the thorns. Still worried, Hodari made his way to her side and looked her over, "If you're hurt, I can take you to my den. My mom could help you out!"
Normally the cub's curiosity would have got the better of him, but in this situation, he found that Savitri's safety was much more important to him.
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Posted: Mon Jul 28, 2008 7:21 pm
Savitri nodded, though distractedly. "Yeah, I'm okay... Nothing serious...." She started towards the brambles, staring at them. "Wow..."
As far as she could see, they stretched on. Where had they come from? And how had they ended up at the edge of the desert? Carefully, she started to climb on a root. "Hodari, have these always been here...?" She looked back, blue eyes filled with curiosity. "I've never seen anything like this before..."
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Posted: Mon Aug 04, 2008 5:05 pm
Hodari, not entirely convinced by Savitri's explanation only stopped worrying when he heard the female quietly 'wow'. Curiously, the cub made his way over, eager to see just what it was that had caught the female's attention. Surely, after such a dramatic fall, it must have been something impressive to catch her eye so quickly.
Peering into the brambles, the dark cub looked about anxiously for something. Was it a beetle, or maybe a shiney stone? When Savitri exclaimed her curiosity about the plants themselves, Hodari looked confused. "The bramble?" He asked with a cocked ear. "It's been here for as long as I remember. Mama always says to be careful and--" The cub paused and let out a nervous laugh. Here he was with Savitri, a firekin, on the Pridal borders. It wasn't exactly something his mom would approve of in the first place.
"It is quite the site," He finally concluded, trying to ignore his earlier statement.
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Posted: Wed Aug 06, 2008 7:45 pm
After much gaping and admiring, Savitri started to pick a path in. "I wanna see what's at the center of this all!" She paused, looking at Hodari. "Wanna come, too?" A grin lit her pale face, showing her lack of fear of the thorns. But really, was it the Firekin in her?
There were few things the white juvenile was confident about. Going into a bramble patch, without knowing anything about it, seemed to be one of those few things. She looked back at it, at the massive vines and thorns. Some were larger than SHE was. Was there a center to it?
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Posted: Wed Aug 27, 2008 12:48 pm
Hodari was reluctant at first the follow the female. His mother was always clear about the types of things that they should avoid and weaving vines with massive spikes seemed to be one of them! When the pale female seemed to set on adventuring within the tangles, however, the dark male couldn't refuse her offer. This would certainly lead them to some exciting adventure! Something he could retell his brothers, secretly, when he returned home.
Following after with a nod, Hodari called out, "Yea! Of course!" Still a bit nervous about the thorns, the cub was very delicate and careful as he followed after, aiming to ensure that he didn't p***k himself on anything and come home with multiple small cuts. That would be clear proof that he was off doing things that he probably shouldn't have been!
Hodari was glad now that Jasiri wasn't in their company as well! His brother would have been so quick to call the darker cub on his reluctance and point out his fear boldly. Jasiri was typically the wild cub and willing to take on any crazy ideas.
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Posted: Sun Aug 31, 2008 8:25 pm
Paws moving carefully, Savitri looked about. Thorns twice her size, almost as big as her father and mother, loomed about, only appearing to get larger. Here and there were much smaller ones, which she did her best to avoid. Looking about, her eyes shone with wonder, before--
A vine under her broke, sending her tumbling to the ground. When her eyes opened, the white cub found herself nose-to-tip with a very large thorn. Blue eyes widening, she began to back up, stopping when she found a thorn pressing into her back. It occurred to her, at this moment of realizing how dangerous these thorns were, that they shouldn't have been in there. Looking around, she began to crawl her way back. "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea..."
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Posted: Sun Aug 31, 2008 9:05 pm
Following after, Hodari was very careful to observe all of his surroundings and those of his friend's as well. When he was beginning to get the hang of avoiding the large thorns, he noticed a vine beneath Savitri's feet begin to shift as though the small, white cub stepped on it wrong. Lifting a paw, the male opened his mouth to say something when it snapped!
"Savitri!" Hodari yelled out, feeling an immense guilt for having not noticed it earlier. His friend fell to the ground, barely missing a thorn as big as the two of them! Having been holding his breath in fear, the dark cub suddenly released a huge breath of air and crept towards the white female. He avoided any other vines and finally made his way beside her.
"Are you okay, Savi?" Like always, Hodari's voice was genuine with worry. Still wanting to explore with his friend, Hodari was reluctant at first, but decided to suggest something else, "Maybe we should explore somewhere else? This place looks like it'll be more painful than fun."
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Posted: Tue Sep 02, 2008 5:33 pm
The white cub nodded, getting out of the thorn patch as fast as she could. Sitting down, she panted, staring at the ground in front of her. That was... Different. She looked back at the massive vines, swallowing. "My life flashed before my eyes..." She paused, ears flicking back. "It was very boring..."
A roar in the distance, reverberating south from the desert, had her turning her head and ears north. Oh, she knew THAT roar... "Uhoh... Daddy's looking for me..." Not that it was hard to find her... She DID stand out in a crowd of black and red and the odd gold...
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Posted: Tue Sep 02, 2008 5:38 pm
Hodari followed after Savitri, though like he had been earlier, the cub was very careful not to p***k himself on any thorns. He was surprised as how quickly the female had been able to move through the tangles of branches. Still, he managed to keep close behind. When the two returned to the uncovered ground, Hodari was panting and let out a light laugh, "Well, that certainly was exciting." His tone was clearly somewhat sarcastic, but despite the fact that the two cubs were almost lost amongst the tangles, Hodari enjoyed himself. It was surprising how entertaining things were when in Savitri's company.
Eager to continue on another adventure, Hodari prepared to speak, cut off by a great roar in the distance. Noticing how quickly Savitri's head turned, Hodari's ears lowered and his voice came out quietly, "I suppose that means you have to head off?" Upset to see her leave, the cub forced his ears back up and smiled, "Well, i'm sure we'll come across one another again! You don't live too far away!"
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Posted: Tue Sep 02, 2008 5:45 pm
"Oh, only in the middle of the desert, FAR away from any rivers, where no rain falls..." She stopped, blinking. "What IS rain, anyway...?" She'd never seen it before in her life. "I only know it's unpleasant..." Another roar, much closer, had her jumping up. "Uhoh... Daddy's close... I dunno what he'll do if he sees you!" She looked at Hodari, eyes wide.
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Posted: Tue Sep 02, 2008 5:59 pm
Hodari, surprised that Savitri had never seen rain, hoped that sometime in the future he'd have the pleasure of introducing her to it. Before he had a chance to try and explain, he heard the sound of a roar coming closer to the pair. Lifting himself up, as though preparing to run, Hodari remembered all that Savitri had told him during their first meeting. The firekin had made slaves of lions whom did not belong to their pride. Even though Savitri was different, he couldn't expect that of her father. With a gulp, the dark cub looked around. It didn't seem there were any places to hide. "Should I run?" He asked, voice sounding nervous.
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