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 Posted: Sat Dec 27, 2008 11:15 am
Vu sniffed the earth, tail twitching. Was this the place where the God of War came down to earth? His grandfather met the god when he was Vu’s age, while practicing to be a fighter by leaping from rock to rock, honing his balance and strength. That was the story, as his mother told it. Vu looked up at the formation of rocks and perked his ears as if the stones had something important to tell him.
Vu took his mother’s tales of Mrost more to heart than any of his siblings. How often he daydreamed that Mrost would appear by his side and show him how to be stronger than any lion who ever lived. Maybe Mrost would even take him away to the realm of the gods and show him how to become a god himself. That was what Vu truly wanted. Why dream of being the strongest lion of them all when you could dream to be the strongest god of all?
The tawny cub trotted up to the nearest stone and placed his paws on the rock. His deep red eyes slowly widened. Claw marks! This had to be the place!
Vu clambered up onto the rock and looked around, panting with excitement. He unsheathed his little black claws and fit them into the marks on the stone and smiled. His claws fit almost perfectly. He glanced over his shoulder, half-expecting to see the god standing over his shoulder, looking upon him with fatherly pride. That is not to say that Mrost was his father. Vu only wished it were so. Of course, Mrost was not there. Vu rolled his eyes and gave the stones a glare of determination. He would need to prove himself first!
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Posted: Sat Dec 27, 2008 11:44 am
Uidan Fyja had been exploring wider and wider areas lately. Since meeting that strange Amira, he'd become even more curious about the lives of other lions outside his family. Not that he ever wanted to leave his family, it was just interesting. She'd left him with all this stuff too, and to keep the others from tearing it up, he had to haul it around every day. Not that it was that big a deal. He'd grown used to the weight of the ancient pelt on his back, and the odd feel of the beads on his neck.
He'd spotted some odd stones the day before, and was determined to return to them for a better look today. No one had been around yesterday, and so he was a little surprised to come over the ridge and see another cub, pawing at something on the rock. One of the locals, he guessed. Well there were plenty of stones to share, he shouldn't mind.
Without a word he slipped away between two of the other stones, inspecting them and inadvertently hiding from the other cub.
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Posted: Sat Dec 27, 2008 12:01 pm
Vu hunkered down with his rump in the air and tail high for everyone to see. He was trying to attract attention. If he wanted to meet Mrost, he would have to do this just like his grandfather. His mother never explained exactly how his grandfather succeeded in getting Mrost’s attention. Vu used his imagination. “Here I go!”
He leapt to the next rock and landed perfectly. Perfectly! Oh boy, he hoped someone was watching. Maybe a god? He flew through the air from rock to rock, a shadow above the earth, and though he had to slow down and take a guess at the distance, he only fell off once. This being his first try he could only fall off once. But he tried to look at that in a more positive light. Surely his grandfather fell off the rocks a few times before he got it right. After all, why else would there be claw marks everywhere?
The young cub shook himself off, spraying dust from his white mane, and blinked. There was something in the corner of his vision, something black hiding between the rocks. Ears went back, teeth bared, and Vu spun around and let out a cubbish growl. He thought he was intimidating. “Hey! Who are you? Are you spying on me?”
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Posted: Sat Dec 27, 2008 12:22 pm
Woosh! Woosh! Fyja glanced up now and then as the other cub leapt about. He seemed pretty agile, though unobservant to miss Fyja so many times. Not that it was any of his business.
Interesting. The rocks all had claw marks. Was that what the other cub had been looking at? He raised a paw and fit his own claws to the marks. Huh...
"Hey! Who are you?" Ah, he'd been seen then, at last. No point hiding, he simply stepped out from behind the rock. The other cub still had some dust on him, but Fyja could tell he was trying to seem threatening. He was tawny and white. like many of the lions he'd seen around. A native for certain then.
"Ah," He sighed, trying to not appear threatening at all. He could tell by how the cub held himself, he wasn't thrilled to have company. He shook his head, no he wasn't spying. Just exploring, he explained by half nodding, half shrugging at the rocks.
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Posted: Sat Dec 27, 2008 12:39 pm
“Well, who are you then?” said Vu, sounding impatient. His muscles loosened a bit as he struggled to take in the strange objects the new lion wore. He remembered his mother mentioning how his grandfather earned a blue feather from the god Mrost, but this cub’s items did not look like they came from a god. Vu wasn’t sure where they came from at all.
He noticed something else too. This cub had red eyes, almost the same shade as his. He wondered if the cub was related to Mufasa, too. Grama Radi said he had a lot of relatives. Maybe this was one of the uncles she talked about. Was it normal to have uncles the same age as their nephews? Vu had to wonder.
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Posted: Sat Dec 27, 2008 12:50 pm
Well it looked like the other cub was relaxing a bit. That or he was just settling from stopping his jumps a bit. He looked about to say something when he felt the pelt on his back slide a bit. He shifted the fix it, swishing his tail out behind the tattered ends. He'd have to find a better way to carry this thing around, or he'd lose it fro sure, then Amira'd be mad.
When he looked up, the cub was regarding him much differently. Suspicion had been changed to curiosity, maybe even a hint of friendliness. Fyja offered a slight smile in return and blinked. He leapt up onto one of the stones, the ends of the pelt catching the breeze and fluttering a bit. He looked back down at the cub and nodded at the rock beside him, motioning for the other to join him.
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Posted: Sat Dec 27, 2008 1:01 pm
“Hey…” His impudent voice trailed off. At first he felt angry that the cub still refused to answer him. What was he, stupid or something? Didn’t he know enough to speak when he was spoken to? But Vu’s tail thrashed in confusion. Now the cub seemed to be inviting him to play. Maybe he was challenging him to a game. He stared, unsure of what he should do.
Finally Vu trotted over to the rock the other cub had indicated and climbed up. Any lion who wore strange items had to be of some kind of importance, royalty or something, but this cub still puzzled him. He sure didn’t act like a prince. He gave the other cub an irksome look.
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Posted: Sat Dec 27, 2008 1:10 pm
The other was back to being confused again. Fyja sighed mentally and looked over at him, as if to say 'Is my name that important?' They hadn't known eachother before just now, had they? A sly look. 'Maybe if you beat me, I'll tell you.'
He made a sort of movement, and looked firmly at Vu. 'I'll show you the path,' those eyes said. Without another word he was off, from his rock to the next, pausing on each to look back. 'See, go this way!' It was easy enough to construct a course for them to take. One end to the other, with one big jump at the end. The largest rock, across from them, was the end. Once there, he slid down and trotted back to leap up on his original perch. 'Got it?' He flicked an ear.
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Posted: Sat Dec 27, 2008 1:19 pm
Vu’s ears went back as he watched the cub leap. He was good, better than Vu. That bothered him. Ears flattened, Vu frowned sourly at the cub. “Alright. But if I beat you, you have to promise to tell your name.” He hopped onto the rock where the other cub stood - the starting line, he figured - and looked him in the eyes. “Okay?”
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Posted: Sat Dec 27, 2008 1:27 pm
That was the deal, he'd already said, but for Vu's sake he nodded. The other cub was worried, he could tell. Well he'd be alright, probably. He gave a searching look. 'You ready?'
He took a ready pose, tail lashing gently behind. Eyes went to a bird, ruffling its feathers on a branch nearby. It spread its wings, ready to fly. He nodded at it, and made sure Vu was watching. That would be the go signal then, the moment the bird took off. That way it'd be unbiased.
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Posted: Sat Dec 27, 2008 1:52 pm
Vu copied the other cub’s posture. His eyes went to the bird and back to the cub in confusion, but when the bird took off and the cub started to spring Vu’s heart leapt into his throat and he sprang forward, already needing to catch up. The cub’s language was a bit too complex for him to master yet. He thought the cub was being a smart a**.
As he passed the other cub on the fourth jump his chest started to burn. His mind felt as if it were on fire. From stone to stone, guess distance, guess angle, deep breath, take aim and fly. A lot of information to process, and the connections needed to be completed with haste. Fortunately his mother’s training prepared his mind and body to work in unison. The disadvantages of cub hood still impeded him. On some jumps he was ahead and on others he fell slightly behind but he always managed to make up for lost ground, at least until the final jump.
They were neck and neck when Vu leapt from the stone. In mid-air everything became a blur. He saw the edge of the stone rushing toward him. Then the ledge started to sink. He felt his chest slam into the side of the stone, the air knocked from his lungs in a rush, and felt his claws crack as they dug trenches in the granite. He set his hind paws against the stone and tried to pull himself up but his head swam dizzily and he started to slip.
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Posted: Sat Dec 27, 2008 2:02 pm
Fyja had to admit, the other cub was good. Especially having to make up, seeing as he'd not understood the cue with the bird. Still, Fyja felt confident as he leapt, less calulation and more reflex and instinct than his companion, making the effort a little more seamless. He frowned when the other got ahead, made his final leap...Oof! He skidded to a stop as the cub hit the side of the stone and clung, obviously stunned.
Concerned that Vu was injured, Fyja slithered to the ground and scooted under Vu, offering a sort of stepping stone of hi back, either to help the cub up or to ease his descent. The cub would be glad to know, once he'd recovered, that he'd won, as Fyja's feet had hit the dirt below first. Though he seemed less concerned with that now, and more worried with catching his breath.
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Posted: Sat Dec 27, 2008 2:12 pm
Gasping, eyes screwed shut, Vu felt the tips of his claws slide to the very edge of the stone. He tried to claw his way up with his back legs but his airless lungs offered no strength. Suddenly, just as he thought he was about to fall, one of his back legs touched something sturdy. He had no idea what. Maybe there was a rock there he hadn’t noticed. The fire in his lungs slowly dimmed, allowing him to breathe again. Gritting his teeth, Vu pushed off the rock he had been standing on and stretched one paw over the side of the stone, lifting one foot onto the wall and digging in with his claws, gaining enough height to painstakingly lift the other paw. His forelegs ached as he pulled himself over the ledge. He lay on top of the stone for a minute with his tail curled around him and his head resting on his paws as he caught the rest of his breath.
Did he win? Vu blinked his eyes open and looked around. The other cub seemed to have vanished into thin air. Maybe he already ran off, too proud in his victory to stick around. Vu hung his head in shame.
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Posted: Sat Dec 27, 2008 2:32 pm
Fyja waited below a moment, listening to the sounds of the other's ragged breathing. He seemed to calm after a while, which meant he wasn't too badly hurt. Still, after not seeing much movement from above, he figured that it would be a good idea to check in on the poor cub.
He circled the stone and found a part that looked low enough to jump onto. With a powerful kick, he was up, and he pulled himself up to sit behind the other. He sniffed at him, scenting for injuries. None were present, and he was glad. It had been a silly idea to challenge such a small cub this way. What if he'd been hurt? Fyja'd have been upset with himself for days.
He smiled a bit. It seemed the cub thought he'd run off, and that Fyja'd won, by his pose. Well win or lose, the other cub had played along, and so he deserved to know his name. "Ah, I'm Uidan Fyja," he commented, almost offhandedly.
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Posted: Sat Dec 27, 2008 2:52 pm
Absorbed in self-pity, Vu flinched at the unexpected sound. Despite having a few lingering aches he spun around quickly, startled by the sudden appearance of the other cub - Uidan Fyja – standing behind him. Uidan Fyja. The edges of his open mouth curled up in a stunned smile.
“I won!” He laughed and batted his paw playfully at Fyja’s muzzle. He was a rough little cub and always showed affection with a swat on the nose or a bump of heads, but considering they were sitting precariously atop a rather high rock this gesture came more gently than usual. “Boy, I beat you good! My name is Misilivuma. My friends call me Vu.”
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