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 Posted: Mon Jan 25, 2010 1:15 pm
The Ruins beyond the temple were to Akhenaker like the Elephant Graveyard was to Simba. Though the Ruins certainly weren't a trap for an unsuspecting cub – at least he hoped they weren't, he had had enough of vultures for one life time – they were certainly a place of wonder and adventure. That was, of course, if you were a historian looking to study the eroded hieroglyphs on the ruin walls.
The sun had begun its trip towards the western horizon when the scribe made his way out of the Temple he called home, heading towards the collection of human buildings half buried in the sands. He wanted to get a good look at them while the light was still present, but as any desert-loving lion knew, it was better to wait until the sun was not at its peak. His fur was certainly not dark enough to cause him any great discomfort but that darned mane! Some days he wondered why he even kept the thing.
Muttering under his breath, the lanky lion moved through the shadows of the Ruins, pausing every now and then to trace a hieroglyph. One particular set of carvings caught his attention and he stood up on his hind paws, touching the stars on it with a single claw.
"Fascinating," he whispered to himself.
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Posted: Sat Jan 30, 2010 5:24 pm
New to the lands, Hyundur'ton had taken to meekly exploring the pride's territory. And for this lioness, meek was far from her normal nature. Her past had been violent and a travesty at times, the lows far deeper and more extreme than any highs, such as the birth of her children, that was then followed by the loss of one. Now, in her new home, was the opportunity for her to build a new family.
The lightly colored lioness was enthralled by the ruins, the only homes she'd ever been in had been made by nature alone. To to see something made by man's hands... Well to her it was something extraterrestrial, and bizarre. But the lack of human presence for so many years, and the reclamation of the earth made them safer in her mind. And their patterns and writings! Oh, they were the most interesting thing she'd seen in her life, and now to see them in context, she was able to make sense of the lions with the same markings covering their pelts.
So she wandered through the ancient halls, wove through the very same pillars captive lions had padded through centuries ago, while looking up at every wall and engraving, mouth agape and eyes wide in awe. She didn't see the lion investigating the same thing, no, she was just as distracted as he was.
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Posted: Mon Feb 01, 2010 1:04 pm
Humans were such bizarre creatures, but it made Akhenaker love them even more. He couldn't help but be envious of their ability to shape and carve, being able to do very little with his claws. His scratch marks would fade away after several months, but this…. this would last forever.
The lion gave a soft, pleased sigh, putting his paw down and turning to go further down the ruined wall. It was only then did he catch sight of the lioness, who seemed as fascinated by these human-built structures as he was.
"Oh I say! I didn't interrupt you, did I? I'm very sorry! I didn't even notice you, I was just looking at these star charts. Have you seen them? They are some of the most beautiful carvings in these…. ruins…" Akhenaker finished sentence almost awkwardly, aware that he had started prattling on even after apologizing for his intrusion. So much for starting off on the right paw.
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Posted: Tue Feb 02, 2010 1:32 pm
Hyun flinched at the sound of the voice as it bounced off the tall and sandy walls. Her ears pinned back on her head and with her red eyes, she looked at him with great uncertainty. "Interrupt me? Oh, no!" She stammered out. Around her daughters, she was fine, and forward. But within the new pride, the former fighter was soft-spoken as she got to know the lands and the members better. She didn't feel comfortable yet, and now, she felt embarrassed.
Meekly, almost, she padded forward, hugging the opposite side of the great chamber, and standing back both from the lion and his reading so she could get a glimpse of what he spoke of. A member of the Dawnwalkers might have called her 'uneducated', and that's really what she was, or at least to their ways.
"Star chart...?" She tilted her head, still not looking at him, and instead trying to make meaning of the carvings and scriptures. To her, they meant nothing. Stars did, yes, charts, nope. She squinted her eyes, looking down her nose, and tried to see how these human works could be stars. It just didn't make sense.
"Can you read them?" She asked, finally looking at the lion.
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Posted: Thu Feb 04, 2010 4:48 pm
The lion's ears flicked back and forth, almost as though following the pattern of his brain. Half of him was entirely focused on the lioness at hand, trying to figure out if he had offended her, while the other half desperately wanted to focus back on the ruins he had been studying. Even with his devout attention on Hyun, however, Akhenaker was not the best at reading body language. Thus, he could only assume that perhaps she was shy, or that he had somehow made her uncomfortable. Whatever the reason, he definitely didn't know how to alleviate her discomfort, which left him in a rather awkward position.
He was all too glad when the conversation turned back to the star charts, allowing him to look away from the lioness and back at the ruins. "Yes, star charts. The humans had a peculiar habit of documenting the movements of the stars, and to my knowledge, the brighter stars that they called 'planets.' See here," Akhenaker touched a claw to one of the stars, "This is what they use to designate a star. You know, like the ones you see up in the sky. I've been studying them as best I can, but sometimes it's hard to make up and down of the matter."
The scribe cleared his throat, frowning a little as he stared back at the images. "Have you seen these before?"
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Posted: Thu Feb 11, 2010 4:57 pm
Hesitantly, she took a step towards the described drawings. Humans were almost as abstract of an idea as understanding the star charts. Plopping her bottom down in front of the charts. "...Planets?" Yes, she knew of them. They shone brighter and of a different color. And her daughter, Tibu, thought of the stars as her playmates. Thinking of her child, the lioness smiled, and turning her attention back to the charts, she raised a paw and scratched her chin.
Shaking her head, she answered "No... I'm very new to these lands, you see. I haven't really seen much of anything." Casting her red eyes downward, she looked away, almost embarrassed for herself.
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Posted: Wed Feb 17, 2010 6:41 pm
"Planets, yes. Sometimes they're different colours in the sky. It depends on the time of year, as far as I know, which ones you can see and which ones you can't." Akhenaker had to try very hard to stop talking before he got ahead of himself. It was no use telling the lioness all of his theories on the human's ability to see planets better than they could, thus giving them the ability to record more accurate data on them. Humans were fascinating creatures as far as the lanky lion was concerned, but Hyun might not share his love of their secrets.
His ears twitched when she announced that she was new to these lands, and it dawned on him that he hadn't even introduced himself. Typical, he thought with a small grimace. Work before pleasure. But now was no time to chastise himself. He had best make up for his lack of social graces before she noticed. "It's quite alright, I'm rather new here myself. I was born here, but I didn't live here. It's a long story. But I don't believe I've introduced myself. I'm Akhenaker. And you are?"
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Posted: Tue Mar 16, 2010 2:04 pm
The tan lioness nodded. This was all new information to her, but she could wrap her mind around it with the ease of which he explained it. When he stopped himself short, her ears leaned towards him, though her paws were grounded firmly where she stood. Her eyes followed suit, though, and their red gleam watched curiously.
Aaahh, so he was new too? Sort of. She pursed her lips, curious, but not wanting to press further on a first meeting. Hyun bobbed her head as a sort of bow, and answered, "I'm Hyundur'ton. Hyun, for short, and I've only recently come to these lands, as well. I was born... Somewhere else." Sheepishly, she shrugged, not knowing much of her own early or much about her parents.
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Posted: Mon Mar 29, 2010 2:34 pm
"Hyundur'ton…. That's certainly a very pretty name! I can't say I've ever heard anything like it. Do you know its roots?" It wasn't usually the first question most asked about a name, but Akhenaker did enjoy language very much. Hopefully her reluctance to disclose the nature of her birthplace was due to a past memory rather than the fact that she didn't know about her origins. That would have been very sad indeed.
The thought of the outside world got him thinking again, and his tail flicked along with his brain. "I haven't been outside of the desert before. I heard it's pretty cool out there, though I suppose that's all relative. Did you enjoy life out there in the… what's the word… ah! Savannah?"
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Posted: Mon Mar 29, 2010 6:57 pm
Hyun smiled, put on the spot and worried about how to respond. "I, uhm! I think it's just something that struck my mother's fancy, but she said it was a family name. Her family had been in the grasslands for a very long time." Perhaps it was a little disappointing that Hyun couldn't pass on many legacies from her family name, or weave colorful tapestries of the lions before them for her cubs, but she was making her own history, so that was enough for her.
She bobbed her head at his inquiry, "Mmm, it was pretty nice. My last place of residence was an oasis protected on nearly all sides by rocks and caves used for dens. However, it was only for myself, a male, and the cubs he had that I took care of. And cubs that I had, too." She didn't want to insinuate there were two litters of his cubs, one of them also hers. It wasn't her favorite memory, but in the end she loved her cubs very much. Part of her was surprised that Akhenaker wasn't well traveled, but he was very well learned, it seemed. "I'm glad to have found this pride, though it was hard getting here." She laughed and looked down, thinking her past life was interesting to no one but herself.
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Posted: Fri Apr 02, 2010 3:10 pm
"How very fitting! I heard that there were some families who chose to give the same kind of name to every child of theirs, sort of like a family heirloom. I can't say either of my parents did that, but it certainly sounds fascinating." This was why it was never a bad thing to invite outsiders into the pride. They brought with them all kinds of stories of the lands beyond these, and with the new stories came insight. Perhaps Hyun or one of her children (should she decide to have any) would take up as a scribe.
At the mention of cubs Akhenaker blinked, before realizing his own stupidity. Just because she was an outsider didn't mean she hadn't had any cubs. She was certainly old enough to have them, married or not, and he shouldn't have assumed she was without a family. "Ah, so you family came with you to this pride? That must have been quite the journey! Do your cubs like it here?"
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Posted: Thu Apr 08, 2010 6:11 pm
Hyun smiled, she hadn't quite done the same for her children, she'd just given them names that seemed to suit them. Glancing around the ruins, she quite liked the aesthetics of her new home, and thinking of her past, thought it best that she be a protector of it, say, by being a guardian. Her daughters, however, she didn't exactly know what they would take to. Maybe one a nanny, perhaps the other a scribe. Hopefully, were she to have any more, they would know more about the land in which they were born. But, she could only dream! This pride had rules and customs about the production of cubs, and she'd not even found a male she fancied! Well, besides Akhenaker, but he was just an acquaintance.
At his question, she nodded, then laughed, "Ha, well I guess it's more of a force of habit that I call them cubs, they're nearly adolescents now." The mother smiled fondly at the thought of her babies, "They seem to like it as much as I do, but it's much easier to make friends at a younger age. It's probably not socially acceptable for two adults to rough-and-tumble as a hello." Then again, she could be wrong.
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Posted: Wed Jun 30, 2010 5:06 pm
"Adolescents, then," Akhenaker corrected almost immediately, never liking to be incorrect about things even if it was something as simple as the way in which he referred to a group of lions. Knowing them or not knowing them, it would do him no good to think of them as babies if they weren't. Not to mention it would be extremely embarrassing if he met them later and wasn't expecting them to be quite so filled out. (Though time did seem to pass by rather quickly, in his experience. There were never enough hours in a day).
The mention of rough-and-tumble hellos made the lion cringe slightly, shuffling his weight from foot to foot at the though. No, those kinds of greetings were definitely not for him. He hadn't even liked them very much as a cub, but then again he had been rather frail. He liked to think of himself as studious, not barbaric, but most cubs tended not to see him in that light. "I'm afraid not. Have they put any thought into what they'd like to do? Profession-wise, I mean. I mean, that's not to say they have to make a choice anytime soon but I was just wondering if they'd shown some sort of inclination…"
Translation: New scribes?
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Posted: Mon Jul 12, 2010 9:54 am
Hyun sat where she stood, almost as a way of saying she wasn't one to play fight either. Of course that was entirely wrong and it had been one of her favorite past times before her cubs- as was actual fighting. But having cubs changed her. She knew it was risky and stupid to pick fights when she had lives that depended on her.
She tilted her head, trying to remember what they'd said as far as interests. "...I think one will probably be a nanny. The other, I believe, mentioned being a scribe." She herself was probably bound to be a guardian. It was where her interests lay and with her history, it suited her well.
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Posted: Mon Jul 12, 2010 10:44 am
The lion seemed quite pleased with her children's choices, if his nodding was any indication of his feelings. In many ways he was thankful to be in a pride such as this where everyone's talents could be put to use. Just because he wasn't a good hunter didn't mean he couldn't help the pride in other ways, and so on and so forth. Still, the fact that there would be new scribes around soon was most definitely very exciting. He always enjoyed talking to others who loved the things he did.
"That is very good to hear! I wish both your children the best in their studies. If either of them needs assistance they are always welcome to come to me. I can't promise any life-altering help for the one who wishes to be a nanny, but I do know a thing or two about being a scribe. History mostly, but there you have it." It was his best attempt at being friendly, and Akhenaker was quite proud of himself.
"I shouldn't keep you though, I'm sure you have lots to do." He certainly had lots to do, but that was merely a fact of life. "It was a pleasure to meet you!"
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