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 Posted: Mon Dec 01, 2008 6:27 pm
Willow, a fur-less lioness, walks across a grassy field, heading for a river nearby. Once she starts walking into it she relaxes, the intensity of the sun's rays getting weaker. She continues in until she is up to her neck, then starts paddling around. Ever since the huge fire in her past her fur-less body had been weak to cold and heat because it had no protection.
She had lived the life of a loner ever since the fire had engulfed the place she previously lived at. Everybody else that lived still had most of their fur. Hers would not grow back. So she just travels alone now...She lets out a sigh and closes her eyes.
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Posted: Mon Dec 01, 2008 6:32 pm
Not too far from the river was another lion--- something Willow would be aware of first by hearing his talk, then seeing him as he walked backwards. It would be his rump she saw first as he came by.
"I like it here," the lion that a human could possibly describe as raver-colored with his black base, orange and purple markings was sniffing carefully through unknown territory, "If we don't get run off again."
We? There was no one with him, not at first glance anyway.
At a very, very careful glance--- Perhaps caused by thinking one saw something unusual about his fur--one could see that he looked like he had a very, very bad flea infestation.
But if you asked him, he would say that was pure nonsense! Fleas? No way! If any flea dared come near him, his eight-legger friends would be sure to eat 'em right up. Nothing was going to eat HIM!
Eight-legger friends? Oh... oh, yeah... Looking even closer into that mess of fur, those weren't over-sized fleas, those were spiders. For the most part, they went unseen in his thick mane and dark fur, but they were mostly certainly there. Only one of them didn't hide itself, and this one currently stood on Cygnus Araña's nose.
Yup, anyone seeing Cygnus would probably be too preoccupied by the spider on his nose to really notice the other spiders in his fur. Was he talking to the spider???
Of course he was.
"Or if there's nothing that'll eat us and send us packing again," Cygnus noted as he turned around.
His ears perked up and he tilted his head at the lioness there, "Oh, hello!" The last was addressed to an unknown lion, "Forgive me, I'm new to the territory. Do you know of any good unmarked land?"
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Posted: Mon Dec 01, 2008 8:19 pm
Willow tilts her head as she watched this strange lion talking to seemingly himself. After a few moments she noted the spider on his nose and watched carefully. Was this lion really talking to a spider? If so...could it speak back somehow? But most importantly, why was he backing up?
When he turned she backed away, dunking further under the water to hide her skin. "Oh! um...no I don't. I just travel aimlessly..." She looked at him nervously, but couldn't stay under much longer. Her fur-less head became visable to him, so she looked away.
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Posted: Tue Dec 02, 2008 5:20 am
"Ah, I see." Cygnus nodded, coming closer. Only a careful look at her--which she wouldn't be able to see from having her head turned around--indicated that he was seeing a lioness like she was for the first time.
"Not too long ago, I didn't understand others that did that. Home was good enough for me! But now I think I'm beginning to understand. There is so many new and interesting things and creatures to see and meet. So many new experiences to be had. Most of them are even pleasant." Cygnus spoke with enthusiasm, nodding his head to emphasis one or two points. "Did you know that I dislike mountains? Now I've been on one, and it's beautiful there! Unfortunately, no place to stay, but that is just as well. What do you like?"
He'd stopped at the edges of the mud, pacing there in a tight-little area just so he could move while he spoke and listened to her. Supposing she'd ever turn around and look at him and talk to him.
He lowered his voice to a whisper, obviously now not speaking with Willow, but he was still loud enough so that she could hear him. "Hey, Valcor, do I have something up my nose? Breakfast still on my muzzle? Is there another web between my ears? I think she's trying to spare me some embarrassment by not staring." It wasn't sarcastic, but a sincere request of a friend to another friend, and Valcor went up to oblige taking down a few spider strands from Cygnus' right ear.
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Posted: Tue Dec 02, 2008 4:44 pm
He sure was a talkative fellow. He must've seen her head by now...thankfully he could not see the extent of the burn along her body. She began to relax, so she looked back at him and offered a smile. "Yes. That is one of the reasons I left. I have others but...I'd prefer not to get into it right now..." She lowered her ears a bit, but then looked up at him when he started talking to the spider. "Is that spider your friend then? It seems friendly enough...is it a boy or girl?" She uncontiously moved closer, exposing her burned shoulders. He might become alarmed like many others and think she just got burned and had dove into the water. But she was smiling still.
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Posted: Tue Dec 16, 2008 5:11 am
A look of concern did flash through Cygnus' eyes, but it was before she even started walking toward him, and to her words. Didn't wish to speak about why she was traveling? Had he hit upon a sore subject? Look at her too, there was probably a lot he needed to be careful with around her!
He grinned though, instantaneously glad to have her change the subject for him, and to such a fond subject! "Valcor is a male, the leader of our pride actually. He's old and wi--- Yes, you are. ... Yes, you are. ... Well, yes, but lions are supposed to live as old as I am. I'm sorry to say you eight-leggers do not. So you are old, and very wise to boot. Keeps me out of trouble if he's not too busy laughing to do so anyway." Cygnus winked at Willow.
Because the water was waving a bit now with Willow moving forward, Cygnus scooted back a bit, careful to keep his paws from getting wet. He did tilt his head in consideration of her, "You know, the last place we were at, we were chased out because my friends were being eaten to near-extinction, and the other lions wouldn't do much about it."
It was purely an informative statement, not at all to get pity, though what on earth drove him to think she needed to be informed on that wasn't clear.
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Posted: Wed Dec 17, 2008 7:54 pm
When Cygnas took a few steps back, she stopped moving. Was he moving away because she had walked closer...? She just looked at him confused for a moment, then replied when she realised he was still talking to her. "O..oh. I'm very sorry to hear of the loss. Valcor seems very nice..." She sat down in the water then, looking at her reflection in the cool water's surface. A frown was obvious on her face.
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Posted: Thu Dec 18, 2008 5:27 am
"Very much so," Cygnus agreed. "Oh! I am Cygnus Araña. Is... is something wrong?" He asked. "You seem distracted."
And, well, frankly she looked.... But Cygnus wasn't going to say that.
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Posted: Thu Dec 18, 2008 9:03 pm
"I am Willow. I live...used to live, north of here." She looked up at him again, then attempted to walk out toward him again. Would he back away again...?
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Posted: Fri Dec 19, 2008 10:13 am
"Oh. Are you looking---"
She started coming forward again, and Cygnus now took a very definitive look down, backing up a half-step, this time very clear of the water, then looked up again, "---looking for a home as well? Or are you just exploring these days? What about your pride? Are they looking with you?"
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Posted: Fri Dec 19, 2008 10:25 am
She realized this time that he was backing away from the water. That was a huge relief. "I do not know where to go. My pride..." She looked down, then at him. "Nobody survived. There was a huge fire...a rival pride brought fire to our plants and all but I was literally burned alive. My fur was singed off of my body...I tried to wrap the burns but it didn't go over well..." She lifted her front leg and shook a loose bandage off. "I'm just traveling with no destination."
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Posted: Fri Dec 19, 2008 10:28 am
"Oh...oh... Well, do you want... Maybe I could help?" He tilted his head, "I mean, I don't know the area and don't have anything to offer really, but---"
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Posted: Fri Dec 19, 2008 10:44 am
"Could you help me wrap the burns...? The sun gets unbearable after a short period of time when nothing covers my skin..." She took a final step out of the water than. Her whole burned body was now visible to the other lion, the extent of the burns obvious.
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Posted: Thu Jan 01, 2009 6:26 pm
Cygnus Araña nodded without giving much thought to what it was he was agreeing to. The he frowned, "But how?"
Valcor hopped up and down, causing Cugnus' eyebrows to furrow in concentration then smile, almost purring an answer to the spider, "Excellent idea! Those leaves and all of your precious web it is."
He turned to go, then turned back. all excitement in his eyes, "Come, come! Do you see tat tree over there? With the big leaves? Those and the little lions' special webbing workd, and tat ought to do the trick. My pridemates say that it has some soothing properities as well, How fortunate is that?"
With that announcement, Cygnus turned around to trot toward the tree, calling out again as he did so, "Come, come!"
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Posted: Thu Jan 01, 2009 6:32 pm
Willow couldn't help but smile. This lion, Cygnas, was so kind. And the spider was nice too. "I'm coming!" She trotted off after him doing her best to dodge the sun's rays.
Meeting this strange lion was turning into a fun experiance. Hopefully they could be good friends. He would certainly be fun to hang around with. That she knew. Soothing properties sounded very good to her, very good indeed.
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