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 Posted: Tue Dec 02, 2008 1:58 pm
The large male had been in these lands for quite a while now. He had been, more so intrigued to have stayed here for so long. He had met what looked to be a brother of his, in which bore the markings of his father, as well as a sarcastic golden lioness who had nothing better to do but yell at him for just being alive. The crimson lion rolled his eyes, recollecting the meetings he had with the lioness he had given so many petty nicknames to for mere amusement.
Today, Ukir could be found near a waterhole with a few trees surrounding it. He had not seen the golden female in a while, nor his sibling for that matter. His tail hit the water, raising it off and flicking the driblets off into all sorts of directions.
Ikwezi was tired and she hated it. She was tired because she was bored and she was bored because she wasn't doing anything exciting, but she couldn't muster up the energy to do anything because she was tired, and so she remained bored. It was one of the most aggrivating states of being she had experienced for a while. She figured she might as well head down to the waterhole. At least there there might be life. She only hoped she wasn't too irritable to talk to someone, and then she might be able to find something to do.
She caught sight of the male lion before she ever arrived or even caught wind of him, catching glints of bright red between the blades of grass. It was too dry out now for flowers, so it had to be a creature. Thank god, there was life. She bounded into the open, landing smack in front of the male. "Hi," Ikwezi blurted out. "Amuse me." It was not an option.
“Er…hi?” Brown eyes focused on the female as his lifted himself up. His head tilted, giving the female a questioning look. Were the pridelands always filled with strange felines? First Vi and now this one? He blinked a few times before shaking his head. “Excuse me?” He asked questioningly. “How would you like me to amuse you?” A question better than that was ‘why would you like me to amuse you. I am quite comfortable right here’ but the male did not dare say that.
“Perhaps we should get introductions out of the way first, so while I am amusing you, you can call me by my name eh?” His eyebrows lifted slightly, speaking his name in his next words. “Mine is Ukir. And yours…?”
Oh, the poor thing was confused. She should've known. She sighed and hung her head. Sometimes, she should really make an effort to try patience. But damn, it was hard. When she picked her head back up, though, her eyes were still narrow with expectation. "I don't know," she told him. "But I haven't hung out with anyone or done anything for..." She glanced up at the sun to guage the time. "Hours."
But remembering the manners her mother had taught her, Ikwezi bowed her head down in greeting at the request for introductions. "Of course," she said. "My name is Ikwezi, but you can call me Zi. It's nice to meet you, Ukir."
When she picked herself up, an idea came to her. He was a boy... boys were a little tougher than other girls... usually. Ikwezi's tail lashed, and she grinned so wide she bared all her pointy teeth. "Hey, maybe we could wrestle." The front half of her body hit the ground, haunches waggling, ready to pounce at any moment.
“That’s sad,” the male thought out loud as the female spoke. She hadn’t done anything for hours? Poor thing. Ukir hadn’t done much either in a few days. However, he wasn’t as bothered by it as much as this female seemed to be.
“It’s nice to meet you Zi.” He said with a short, curt nod, giving the female a smile.
But after she spoke, and got into the same position he and his brother had been in so many times when they were cubs, he smirked. Ukir wasn’t one to truly fight a girl (especially one of a pride with a large number of lions in it), but he enjoyed the word that she used to describe it. Wrestle. He could definitely so that. After all, that was just another term for play, was it not? His form mimicked the female’s although it was a little more awkward to look at. A semi-chubby lion wriggling his bum in the air to play.
"Isn't it!?" Ikwezi cried, springing up from her lowered stance. His sympathy had gotten to the heart of her. She wasn't really all aggression, not like some. Her mother had raised her well.
Still, Zi needed something exciting, something to really get her moving. She hit the ground again and bounced around to Ukir's left, then right, ready to strike from anywhere. When he got down too, she knew he'd accepted the challenge. Excellent. Ikwezi bounced back once, kicked back against a nearby tree, then lunged around, doubling back and trying to pounce him from behind.
The female was fast and had gotten him on the first pounce. His head whipped around, bucking like a bronco to get the female off. He raised a lip in a playful snarl, twisting his body to swing lightly at the female. He didn’t want to harm the female, nor leave any marks upon her body that would leave scars if she were to go home to a family. The heartless didn’t know much about the female, and he would be royally screwed if he actually screwed something up. That would really give the golden lioness known as Vikali to ridicule him for the rest of his life.
When the female was off him, Ukir raised onto his hind legs, ready to plop straight on the female. He could pin her, and win this wrestle quickly.
The strike hit Ikwezi, not hard enough to hurt her, but just hard enough to throw her off balance. She scrambled with her hind legs, but lost grip with her forepaws. Snarling just a little bit, she hit the ground and threw up dust. Zi rolled over once before finally landing on her back.
She craned her neck to see Ukir. He was up and ready to pin her down. Well, Ukir might have body mass on his side, but Zi had agility. She kicked up her hind legs, trying to catch Ukir in the chest just once and topple him before backflipping and leaping back to her feet. She seized her head up quick to see if she got him.
She did, right in the gut too. Ukir groaned, legs given out from his body weight on them for the time as he fell backwards. His paws rested on his chest where the female had socked him, blinking one brown eye open to stare at the female. “Some kick you got there.” He groaned softly, rolling onto his feet. He noticed the water in the drinking spot situated behind the female before giving a small smirk.
“Truce?” He asked, moving towards the female.
Before she had given an answer, the male growled playfully, charging towards the female quickly to knock her into the water.
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Posted: Wed Dec 03, 2008 1:18 pm
Ikwezi bit her lip. "Oops." And here she thought she'd been going easy on him. Sometimes she really forgot her own strength. Hopping up to her feet, she strode over to him, quickly looking him over for any obvious injuries. "Sorry 'bout that," she said. "Thought you were ready for it." She hadn't really meant to get him in the gut either, but he was a bit bigger than her usual opponents and she'd missed her intended striking position. Concerned she'd done some damage, she completely missed the smirk on his face.
She nodded and extended her paw, "Yeah, truce." It was a shame though. Now she'd have to figure out something else to do, lest she get bored again. What a shamefully short game.
And before she realized quite what was happening, she was on her back, in the waterhole, soaked head to toe. She sprung up and looked back at where Ukir had charged her down. "Liar!" she cried, laughing. That was a good one. He was good. Rearing back, she lunged at him, water flying off her like a rain cloud. She'd get him good and dirty now.
Ukir laughed at the now dripping wet female. His smirk grew larger, given the female a large brown eyed puppy dog stare. “Who, me?” He tried to put on his best innocent act, but it was quickly overcome by more laughter. His eyes widened as the female went after him again. So much for that little truce, eh?
The crimson male backed up quickly, pivoting on his feet as fast as his body could do, before shooting in the opposite direction. This game of wrestling at now turned into a game of cat and mouse, and Ukir was the prey.
"Don't give me that look," Ikwezi snapped with a sneer. "I have six brothers and sisters. I know how this works." You don't grow up in a large litter without learning a thing or two about being tricked. Missing him on the landing, Ikwezi shook herself off and took off running, still trailing water and bits of mud behind her.
He was pretty agile for a big guy, she had to give him that. In fact, he was pretty impressive. But Ikwezi still had the upper hand; Ukir wasn't from around here, but Zi grew up here and knew the lay of the land by heart right now. There was a small ditch nearby, which in the rainy season held a stream. Right now, though, it was nothing but a dirt trench, and yet from a certain distance it was virtually invisible in the tall grass. She dove into it and ran along its track, knowing that if she went fast enough and got around the turn, she could get ahead of Ukir.
Once around the curve, she sprung once more, and only hoped she hadn't gotten upwind of him and tipped him off.
The male listened, learning a little more about Ikwezi. So, she was born in a large litter. He wasn’t. He had a two brother and a sister, all whom he hadn’t seen probably since he was an adolescent. Ukir risked the chance in saying his next sentence, “if you know how this works, I think you would still be dry.” He never looked back after that.
It was only until they were running when his chocolate orbs turned to glance back at the female. However, she wasn’t there. What the hell?
His eyes turned straight ahead of him as he tried to skid to a stop. How did she get in front of him? Wrinkling his nose, he ducked, but rather slowly as the lioness had already sprung off the ground, and was now aimed mud and all for the crimson male. When her body collided with his, he could feel the grim from the waterhole clinging to his pelt, causing the once red fur to now be slicked with a tinge of brown.
This lioness was fast, but how the hell did she do that? Ukir had no clue about the trench she used. His eyes were still in bewilderment, trying to figure her out. “Damn, you’re good.” He chuckled once she was off him. “How’d you do that?”
The mud rather blended in with Zi's monotone pelt. It had been a blessing to her when she was small and loved to get all dirty, as she could frequently convince her mother that she was cleaner than she really was and didn't need a grooming. Landing upon Ukir, grinning in triumph, she declared, "I do know how this works. I just expected better from you." Winking, she leapt back from him, her tail lashing.
"That's my secret," she replied to his question and, giggling a bit more girlishly than was typical for her, bopped him on the nose and took off again. She leapt clear over the ditch, considering that it might trip him up a bit in his persuit of her, then bounded down a steep hill. It was a work of talent just to keep from falling all over herself on the way down.
His nose twitched when she bopped him, causing him to go cross-eye as he stared down at it. There, a small glob of mud was place. He shook his head, the dirt flying off easily before he watched her take off again. This time, he spotted a leap, walking quickly to where she had jumped, and gazing into the ditch. This had to be it, he noted as he followed the speedy female.
It was hard for the rogue to keep up with the female as his feet didn’t like him as they wanted to fall out from underneath him down the hill. After a few ‘too close to call accounts’, he walked down the hill instead of loping, quickly loosing the energy he had before.
This was the most exercise the male had gotten in a while. He was tired.
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Posted: Wed Dec 03, 2008 1:44 pm
Ikwezi knew she'd give away the secret of the ditch like that, but she didn't much care; she had plenty more tricks up her sleeve. Pretty soon, though, it didn't seem to matter. She cleared several yards across the field at the foot of this hill before glancing back, then skidding to a halt. Well, now she'd completely lost him. Pausing, she sniffed the air and glanced about herself, sure for a second that he was waiting to sneak up on her somewhere, but no. She didn't smell him and couldn't see him... and all that red was hard to miss when you were looking for it.
Her breath was heaving and heart racing, but she was hardly tired yet. This was a pretty standard day for her. She trotted eagerly back to where she found Ukir taking a precarious yet leisurely stroll down the hillside. She cocked her head to the right and said, "Perhaps a short hike would be more suited to you." A smirk twitched at the corner of her mouth. It wasn't nice to wear out your elders.
Ukir’s chest moved quickly, catching his breath as he sat down just when the female returned over to him. “Aye,” He stated, stretching his paws as if he were about to lie on the ground.
“I’m too old for this.”
Actually Ukir really wasn’t that old. It was just an excuse for his rather laziness for the most part. “A short hike is a little better.” But nonetheless, he still agreed with the female.
: Ikwezi stood over him a moment, staring down and blinking. Wow. She really did wear him out. She still could help but chuckle at him a little. He made it seem like she beat him up something fierce, with how worn out and miserable he looked. Some people just needed to get more excersize, she figured, but she didn't feel like pointing it out. Besides, he seemed to know.
Glancing about, she wondered what points of interest she could take him to without forcing him to climb that hill again. "How long have you been here?" she asked as she paced and pondered her route. "I mean, what have you seen so far? We've got a few pretty famous landmarks in these parts... and then some nice places that aren't so well known."
Ukir needed to go out into the Southlands for a few weeks. They were much harsher conditions, and therefore would cause him to become in better shape than he was in now. This pride life thing made him change his ways, seeing as it was a little easier to gather a meal then to forage and fear for your life.
How long has he been here. Hmm… “About the same amount of time to see the silver star at night fade to black, before returning the next night.” In other words, about a month. “I haven’t seen much either. Just… a few watering holes and some dens,” the male shrugged. “I am not one to venture into unknown territory without the company of a member, and the member who I seem to keep running into here wants me out.” He chuckled slightly, his breathing returning to normal now.
“Perhaps you can show me these nice places and famous landmarks.” Always intrigued to learn more this lion was.
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Posted: Wed Dec 03, 2008 2:07 pm
A month, huh. She'd think he would've seen more than that in a month. Granted, these lands were expansive and held many, many things to be seen. There was plenty that Zi herself probably took for granted having grown up here. Still, there was one thing that was hard to believe. "You've been here that long and haven't been to pride rock? I mean, you can kind of see it from everywhere... but you have you actually BEEN there?" She leaned in. It was the heart of the land, and if she was turning into a tour guide now, it would naturally be the primary starting place.
It didn't help, she supposed, that he was being bossed around. She shook her head. "We're a diverse bunch," she said. "You've got your angels and your cranks and everything in between. When you're in the Pridelands, I say, if you don't like who you're with just walk a few yards." She let out one short laugh before rolling her shoulders and stepping forward. "Ready when you are."
“I’m ready.” The male stated, following the female now acclaimed tour guide.
He shook his head though. “I can’t say that I have been there. I mean, I have seen it,” at this, he looked up focusing towards the large rock formation just in the distance. It was kind of hard to miss that. “Obviously.” He continued. “But to actually go there I haven’t done. Today I guess I get to do something new.” He joked.
“There’s a lot of… ‘angels’, but it’s sad what one bitter lion(ess) can do.” He flashed a smile towards Ikwezi. “I walked a short distance away today, and met an angel.”
It seemed to fly over Zi's head, for the moment, that the angel was supposed to be her. "Angel" wasn't a descriptor she was used to hearing in reference to herself. "Here, let me give you a pice of advice," she said as she set off ahead of him, hips swinging in a sort of strut. "You get free advice with your tour today; think of it as a complementary gift or something. Don't take other people's crap. Not ever. Because when you let the crabs just walk all over you like that, you'll never stand up the same again. Stand up straight and tell them they can't tell you how to live or who to be." She looked back at him over her shoulder. "Never once in my life have I let someone get me down. Not once."
She laughed aloud as Ukir went on. She understood that feeling. Sometimes she just had to give folks crap too. Some lions just asked for it, especially the spoilsports like that. "Give me a name and maybe I will," she said. "I'm always up for serving up a piece of my mind to those who need it." The big spire of rock was looming up ahead, getting a little bigger all the time. It wasn't much to Zi, who saw it all the time, but she understood that it could often strike outsiders as impressive.
Ukir smirked. He knew all to well what the female was talking about. As a rogue, he dealt with the crabby lions on a daily basis (whenever he actually met one). The crimson lion nodded, however. This female was smart, and she definitely seemed to know how to handle herself when it came down to certain situations. “Don’t I know that all too well. It’s one of the reasons I am actually still here, else I would have left a while ago.
“Call me a little crazy, but I think I have more fun torment this female by staying here, than she does by actually trying to get me to leave.” It was sort of a twisted humor, but nonetheless, it caused Ukir to chuckle at the thought. “You should pass those words onto her I say. Maybe she’d think differently about everything then.
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Posted: Wed Dec 03, 2008 3:21 pm
"Good for you!" Zi declared, thrusting a paw into the air with great enthusiasm. "You stand your ground and tell that b**** what's what." Ikwezi was never one to watch her language, despite constant reminders from her mother. Zi felt that sometimes a good, solid cuss was the most earnest language she could use, and boy did Zi believe in being earnest.
She laughed aloud as Ukir went on. She understood that feeling. Sometimes she just had to give folks crap too. Some lions just asked for it, especially the spoilsports like that. "Give me a name and maybe I will," she said. "I'm always up for serving up a piece of my mind to those who need it." The big spire of rock was looming up ahead, getting a little bigger all the time. It wasn't much to Zi, who saw it all the time, but she understood that it could often strike outsiders as impressive.
”I’m keeping up just fine.” He said, before the female continued to talk.
A devious smirk was placed on his maw as his trot elongated to move up towards the female. He could have oh so much fun torment the golden kitten just by Ikwezi talking to her. That would be so thrilling to the heartless he almost couldn’t contain his excitement.
”Her name is Vikali.” He said lowly, so any other lions that had passed wouldn’t hear him. He didn’t want the whole pridelands to know what would be going on. Being such a large pride, he was sure they’d fly quickly as a rumor. “She is a large golden lioness. She has a son, but possibly more,” Ukir didn’t know much about her family.
He trailed behind the female now after the description was rendered. “I think you’ll get a kick out of her. I really do.” He did that was for sure.
"Vikali," Ikwezi repeated aloud, but quiet. She furrowed her brows. "Haven't heard of her." It wasn't surprising. The Pridelands were huge, and there were so many there that it was likely Zi would never know them all, and had no intention of even trying. One thing about the discussion struck her. "A son?" She snorted. "Who would mate with her?" A snicker came from her maw. Zi had a pretty level head on her shoulders, but she was not above a snap judgement.
"We'll see. If I run into her." The creek turned away, but Zi kept heading straight. It wouuld be pretty much a straight shot from here on out, with only a small hill to contend with. "I'm not exactly one to go looking for..." She trailed off before she could even finish that sentence. "Okay, that's a lie. I do go looking for trouble." She glanced back and pointed a claw at him to ensure this next point was clear. "But I DON'T go around creating unnecessary drama."
Ukir’s thoughts exactly! But he didn’t say this out loud. A rude lioness could only bear rude children, and Africa didn’t need anymore rude or unruly felines. It needed to deal with whatever was there now before it created anew.
The lion’s eyes shout up, narrowing slightly before raising again in amusement. He stood on his haunches, raising his two front paws to act as if he were innocent. “Hey, I don’t go around creating unnecessary drama. I just can’t help it if it seems to follow me everywhere I go.” However, today was different. It was nice to have a decent conversation without words being tossed down your throat.
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Posted: Wed Dec 03, 2008 4:38 pm
Ikwezi cackled at Ukir's defensive attitude. "So defensive!" she called out. "The more defensive you are, the more guilty it makes you seem." She winked at him and clicked her tongue.
For herself, Zi had no real desire to actually climb Pride Rock. That seemed like pushing boundaries. Therefore, there was no real definitive place to stop. She settled for dropping down as soon as she felt close enough. Close enough being such that you could still see the top of the thing if you craned your neck up far enough. Dropping into tour guide mode, Zi announced, "Right, so... Pride Rock. Here it is. Our royalty lives here, and we hold our ceremonies here like cub presentations and coronations and such." She shrugged. "But mostly it's just a cool looking rock."
The male’s eyes narrowed. He wasn’t guilty! He never went looking for trouble, that was a fact!
His eyes gazed upon the rock. Well…it certainly was bigger when you were standing next to it. If lions could sweat drop, he would have done so right now just thinking about climbing up that slope. Er…Yeah, he’d definitely pass on that if she suggested to go up to the top. Luckily for him, she didn’t. He would hate to be the royalty of this pride. Making that travel down the slope everyday to leave the den, ouch. The hill tired Ukir out, could you imagine this?
”Right, cool looking rock.” He nodded, eyes shifting towards the sun. It had moved significantly since he had met this lioness, and quickly night was approaching. They’d have to finish this tour quickly while there was still light, else he’d have to take her offer up another time.
”Our next destination?” Pride rock was big, but as said earlier, it was just really a rock.
Ikwezi just couldn't stop snickering. He was a fun one, for sure, and a great amusement. Her boredom was now long forgotten. She settled back, watching him in smug delight as he boggled at the rock's sheer size. It didn't seem THAT big to her, but she grew up around it and saw an awful lot of it. You just got used to some things.
"Next...?" Zi said, apparently bewildered for a moment. She really hadn't thought ahead that far. She knew a lot of places, but she wasn't sure they could reach all of them. After all, the sun was setting, and they wouln't be able to make it very far before nightfall.
Wait, sunset! "Okay, one more thing, I'm gonna show you something I found that... well..." She sighed and looked at the sky. Damn, they didn't have a lot of time left. "We'll have to run." Completely without warning, Zi began bounding off to the west, towards the sun.
His face followed hers as she looked on. When she said one more place, he nodded, ready to start walking. However, the mentioning of running just brought chills to Ukir. He sighed, “Okay.” He could run one more time tonight he thought. As she bounded towards the sun, the large male followed quickly in pursuit, trying to match the smaller lion’s steps. Being of bigger mass, he could do that easier with his long body. He just hoped they were almost there, for he couldn’t run for very much longer at this pace.
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Posted: Wed Dec 03, 2008 5:36 pm
Zi was used to this, running around all day; it was pretty much her life. Pretty soon she was like a black dot against the setting sun, which seemed huge upon the horizon, melting into shimmering lines of orange and red. Zi sighed. It would be a perfect sunset for this. She leapt clear over a few fallen logs, and up a slight slope. Almost there...
When she reached the top of the ledge, she found it there below. Ikwezi had always been a tomboy, loved rough housing and exploring more than pretty dainty things like a little girl is supposed to. But there was one thing of beauty that held a soft spot in her heart, and this was it. Down below, there was a river, the river which those dried out streams branched from. In just the right light, at just the right time at sunset, the river looked like it turned to running, glimmering fire, virtually illuminated, its glow shed back on the field of wildflowers that stretched beyond. Like fierceness and frailty, evil and purity, all at once. Zi sighed. "Yeah, there we go."
Although the male lagged behind quite a bit, he still managed to not trip over his own feet as he cleared the same logs and slope she had ld him through.
As she came to a stop on top of a ledge, Ukir slowed his gallop to a trot, just not to risk his feet failing and skidding over the cliff. Knowing his luck today, that probably would have happened.
His eyes widened looking on. It seemed to be just an old river valley, but as he moved to say something, the light hit it in that just right moment. He was speechless. Never in his life had he seen something so…so magnificent. This land had so many stunning features, but this definitely took the cake. Ukir’s gaze never left the view, but he did manage to utter some words. “Beautiful.” It wasn’t to Zi, mainly the land itself.
“I think you should make a living of this guide thing” he joked.
It seemed just as quickly as the light hit, it was gone, leaving the valley to look just like a valley. Night was approaching rapidly on the pridelands. “Is this another secret of yours?”
Ikwezi laughed out loud. "Thanks for the career advice," she said, voice oozing with sarcasm, "But I really don't do this for everyone. You were entertaining. You're an exception." She laid down, settling on the cliff's ledge, her forepaws dangling over. Now she was content. Between wrestling, hiking, a nice healthy jog, and now this lovely sight, well... she no longer had to contend with that awful boredom. A soft smile overtook her. Yeah, beautiful was about the only word for it.
Now the inky dark started to settle over, extinguishing the river of fire. She laid her head down over her legs. "Kinda," she said. "I mean, other people probably know about it, but... it's a place I go when I need to think. The sunset thing I noticed as a fluke one day." Picking up her head, she smirked at him. "But I think I can trust you with it..."
“Glad to know I am entertaining enough for you.” He smirked, backing away slightly.
“Well, you have placed your trust in the right paws,” he liked to be on his haunches, and once again, if Ikwezi turned around to look at her, he would be saluting. “Scout’s honor!”
Though he was on his feet in no time after this. “Perhaps another day we can continue this tour,” his eyes shifted, “or that wrestling match. I’m going to get into shape just for you so you won’t be as lucky next time.” Another smirk was placed on his maw as his pivoted on his heels. “Until then, I bid you farewell Ikwezi.”
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Posted: Wed Dec 03, 2008 5:40 pm
Ikwezi giggled and rolled over onto her back. "Scout's honor," she repeated in amusment. "Yeah, sure." But she did believe him. Zi trusted her judgment, and knew he'd be as good as his word.
Well, this seemed like a good enough place to stay the night. Her tail flicked as she settled in, crossing her paws over her chest. "Whichever you're up for, mister," she said, and winked at him. "Anytime." She held up her forepaw and waved to him as he departed, though she knew he could not see her. "See ya, Ukir! You go rest up from that big adventure!" And her laughter echoed over the river below.
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