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 Posted: Tue Dec 09, 2008 10:21 pm
Ciaran looked up from drinking out of a river, wondering who was nearby. He had enough trouble for one day. He had to fight away from a crazed lioness, and he had run into another lioness presumable on her death bed. She was pretty, he'd give her that. But she was too sweet for his taste.
When he looked up he spotted a young cub colored green with a vine around his hind legs and tail. He blinked and moved closer, gently giving the little thing a nudge with his nose. "Are you Aidan little guy? If you are, I have news on your mother." Aidan had jumped down from Grinch's back to get a drink of water when a new lion appeared in front of him. He looked pretty mean to him, but when he nudged him with his nose, he was gentle. "How do ya know my name?" He backed up wide-eyed when the big lion mentioned the word mother. "You know about her too?! Tell me!"
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Posted: Wed Dec 10, 2008 4:19 pm
The strange lion had only gotten close enough to nudge Aidan because Grinch and Cygnus were in and all out snarl-argument over spiders and manners. It wasn't to remain that way for long.
Already bristle-furred from his argument, Grinch leapt over so he was standing over Aidan and nearly nose-to-nose with the new lion, "Who are you?" He growled, "Don't you know not to go sniffing around others' cubs?"
"Where is Harmony?" Unlike Grinch, Cygnus seemed completely unruffled. He stretched over casually, standing just slightly apart from the group. "We would like to find her as soon as possible, and we thank you for being on the look out for Aidan."
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Posted: Wed Dec 10, 2008 6:04 pm
"He don't belong to you greenie. You ain't his pa." He looked at the big green lion in his face a bit irritated, but then looked over to the other adult, his expression softening again. "Well. You'll find 'er all right. But I'm not sure you want to." He backed away from the group then motioned for the spider lion to move closer out of the two green lion's ear shots.
He moved around Grinch's legs until he reached the big lion's tail, then climbed up and layed down, his head resting on Grinch's mane. "He wasn't hurtin' me papa."
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Posted: Tue Dec 16, 2008 4:50 am
"I have certainly been taking care of him enough to be concerned!" Grinch snapped loudly, but as Cygnus went to follow the other lion, he fell into grumbling as Aidan came over to climb atop him, "I'm not going to go tromping about meeting idiot and insane lions just to have the cub killed. I aimed to get rid of him, I'm going to get rid of him."
He looked up, crossing his eyes as he did so, "And you!" He snarled even at Aidan, "You mind what you're doing, do you hear me? He COULD have been out to hurt you. Do you want to get stuck with someone that's going to hurt you, huh? What are you going to do if you get---" Grumble, grumble, something Aidan couldn't hear.
Cygnus tilted his head with curiosity, following the new lion with his tail moving ever so slightly, both in irritation and in uncertainty. "What do you mean not want to? Harmony seemed like a nice enough lioness. She didn't go in---" Cygnus shook his head. Oh, the nonsense that Grinch had put into his head! "What is wrong?"
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Posted: Wed Dec 17, 2008 8:17 pm
Aidan sighed and layed on his back as Grinch started yelling. He flinched as he was yelled at, pulling his tail close to his chest. "He said my mama's name! If he knows her name, he knows her!!!" He stood up, staring at Grinch in a hurt manner. "And you just wanna get rid of me...thanks Papa..."
He frowned a little when the green lion yelled at the cub, not giving a care when he was yelled at. Most lion yelled at him, he was used to it. "Why would the little guy stick to a "papa" like him? The big guy's obviously not gonna have anything to do with him...." When Cygnas approuched, he lowered his voice so only he could hear him. "Thing is. I saw her not too far off...Aidan can't see her now...or ever. She looked like she'd been dead for a week or so."
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Posted: Thu Dec 18, 2008 5:12 am
"Did he say you knew your mother BEFORE he let you come up to him like that?" Grinch demanded. "You need to learn to be safe. And of course I want to get rid of you, the same way a person with a really great present for another person wants to get rid of the present so that the other person can have it." He snorted.
Cygnus frowned, at first concerned and horrified, but then confused, "That long dead and she's not already been eaten by something? How often do lions come back to life around here anyway, for that record? ---What?" He tilted his head as Valcor came into view, waving his legs around. Cygnus winced, took a glance behind him, then looked back to the other lion, and again behind him, "Uhm, Grinch? We have an adult-secret for you."
Grinch had been watching the others whispering over there, his eyes narrowing when Cygnus' ever-happy body language seemed to droop into something less-than-happy. A great-big frown appeared on his face when Cygnus addressed him by his real name for the first time since their first meeting. He looked around at Aidan, plucked him off his back, and sat him on a low branch in a nearby tree, "Stay there a moment for me, ok?" Not his usual demand, but an almost kindly sort of question. Then he joined the others, "What?" That one wasn't so kindly.
"Uhm...." Cygnus was caught up at realizing he didn't even know the lion's name for a moment, "Uh---He said that Aidan's mother has died."
Grinch's lips pursed together, he eyed the stranger. His look both asked for confirmation of Cygnus' words and seemed to be sizing him up to figure out whether or not he wanted to believe that.
"What are you going to do with Aidan?"
"He one of those cubs whose parents don't have a pride? Probably not, never mentioned anyone else. Guess we'll head back and look for a surrogate mother along the way."
"What if you don't find one? And what are you going to tell Aidan?"
"We meant only Aidan and myself. I will tell him the same way he talks about his papa, and I guess I'll have to have the others help me raise this one too." He sighed, "I'm already a surrogate father of sorts to one." He sighed, "Are you SURE it was this Harmony? Do you think she had no pride too?"
Cygnus looked annoyed at Grinch's first announcement, softened at his second, and then surprised at his third. As ever, the other lion didn't want him around, but now both that sensitive manner of going about telling Aidan and the announcement that he both had a pride and had already taken in an orphaned cub made him start to rethink the old grouch. Could things get more confusing in this strange land?
So he opted for the other thought that crossed his mind to answer, "With your standards of lion, Grinch, even the most perfect lioness won't satisfy you for giving that cub away. He's pretty protective of something he's just trying to get rid of, sir." He winked at Ciaran with a smile, and nodded a bit to Grinch in that acknowledgment.
Grinch didn't exactly seem to accept the fact that Cygnus has both just stood up for him and offered a sort of peace offering. He made a grumping sound in the back of his throat and focused instead of Ciaran to answer his questions.
OOC: Sorry so long, but if I'd broken this sucker down, it would have taken us three weeks to get through all of those thoughts and questions! =D
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Posted: Thu Dec 18, 2008 9:25 pm
Aidan tilted his head, staying back when Grinch had told him to. His curiousity was growing unfortunatly, but he sat down and waited as patiently as possible. Why couldn't he be over there too?
"Well, vultures 'ave gotten to her. A main reason why the little one shouldn't see 'er." He looked back over to the little cub. "She had no pride that I know of. I just happened to recognise her, barely. She's about a mile away directly behind me. Why don't you look to confirm it big green guy. You seem apprehensive about it." He looked at Grinch with a quirk of his eyebrow. The two lions in front of him sure were a pair. A pair of what, he had no idea.
He looked over at the three lions and finally gave in to curiousity. He took off at a run and climbed up onto the spider lion's back. "What's goin on?! Where's my mama?! Tell me!!!!"
((Ok. I was talking to Apathy and she informed me that like you were saying, it would be better if she were not dead. So how do you think of the dead lion be a similar looking lioness? Or possibly a sibling, but not Harmony? When customs happen, she could show up still desperate to find him? I'd like your thoughts on the idea. Or we can just go along with this.))
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Posted: Fri Dec 19, 2008 10:21 am
"I told you to wait, and when I tell you to wait, I expect you to listen." Grinch turned on Aidan, firmly pointing with his nose for him to walk off. When the cub did so, he turned back to the others, looking to Cygnus and speaking with a lowered voice, "Well, you're the one that saw her. Go take a walk over to see."
Cygnus' ears immediately fell down, "But..."
"Or leave us alone already." His lowered voice fell into a growl, the challenge very clear in his voice.
"...but...but...but..."
Grinch turned his back completely on Cygnus and Ciaran to go back to Aidan.
"...but..."
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Posted: Fri Dec 19, 2008 10:39 am
Aidan ran back to where he had been told to stay, wondering if he was in trouble for dis obeying. He sat down, staring at the ground as Grinch walked toward him. "I'm sorry papa...I just wanna know..."
He arched a brow as the big green lion walked off. "A bit of sunshine he is." He again focused on the spider lion. "So. Tell me exactly what you remember she looked like. Or go an' check out what's left. If you don' hurry, there won' be much of 'er left to see." With that he sat down.
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Posted: Mon Dec 29, 2008 9:06 am
"Brilliant," Cygnus agreed with all sarcasm, "Charming as an eel and little lion eater all mixed in one. Spiteful to bot." Cygnus Araña shuffled his feet. "Guess I better go check." He slunch out toward the direction Ciran had directed them to.
Meanwhile, Ginch wandered to Aidan, very slowly explaining that he meant what he said, said what he meant, and expected Aidan to listen when he spoke. Then he went on to say that "that cobwebbed head" had something he needed to do alone. He and Aidan would rest and wait here.
Cygnus was off and back again as quick as he could be, only nodding a confirmation to Grinch before walking back around behind some rocks where he couldn't be seen.
Ginrch frowned, scraped his paw against the sand, sighed then pulled Aidan close to him, explaining as gently as he knew how that Harmony had left to go stay with her husband and Aidan wouldn't be able to see them. he sat with the cub to comfort him, promising that he would ake sue that Aidan would be taken care of.
It was a promise Grinch kept, he was slow in wandering back toward his mountain home, continuously on the look out for other lions that could possibly take care of the cub for him. Cygnus Araña stayed just long enough to make sure that Aidan was indeed well taken care of before taking his leave of the big grouch and clinging cub.
Grinch was careful with Aidan, as he had been throughout his journey, though certainly relaxed a bit more when the spider lion left them. Not by much, but enough that he wasn't always growling and snapping anyway.
But he was just as eager as ever to give Aidan a proper mother where he could be properly taken care of because he certainly wasn't up for the position!
OOC: Tag opens for Umi and Apathy now, I think. =)
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Posted: Wed Dec 31, 2008 8:01 pm
Ciaran left shortly after Cygnas had seen the mother was gone. He had no connections to any of them nor really cared to tag along. He had wished them luck on their travels and left for more wandering.
Aidan had stayed practically under Grinch's toes for several days in mourning. The realising that he'd never see either of them tore his heart in two. For the next few days he either had to be carried in the big green lion's mouth, or ride on his back.
Finally the little cub woke one morning and felt comfort again. Grinch had been so...protective...maybe loving to him. It had given him strength and had caused him to grow ever more attached to the loveable green lion. He was sure he'd prove to be a good "son".
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