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 Posted: Sun Apr 25, 2010 9:37 am
 Gliri dreamed of pleasant things in the afternoon sun. She dreamed of finding a place where she and her brother could be safe and live without fear of being chased off or challenged for their home. It wasn't quite a pride that she dreamed of, though there were other lions around her in the dream. She knew these lions in her dream, though she'd never seen them before in life. She felt safe with them, as though they were family. It was a good dream.
The dry grasses nearby rustled. Gliri's blue eyes opened just long enough for her to dismiss it as the wind. They closed again and remained so until she realized a few moments later that there was no wind. Then her mind raced, trying to recall whether the grasses had sounded like something solid was coming through them. She decided that they had and looked around without moving anything except her eyes, though her ears were also moving, trying to catch another sound. Sure enough, there was more rustling, this time from a little closer.
"Muscar?" she called hesitantly. They had a signal worked out that he would never neglect to give before coming this close, but she asked anyway, hopefully. He was out hunting again and she was alone, and although she had been calm and at peace moments earlier, she was now spooked and on high alert.
When no one answered her call Gliri tried again, though in a smaller voice this time. She didn't try a third time after her second call went unanswered. She leapt away and landed already running. She ran until she couldn't run anymore, and then she stopped and looked around, a new fear occurring to her on top of her previous one: she was lost. Not one to deliberately call attention to herself, Gliri crouched low and curled in on herself miserably, trying to be as small and invisible as possible.
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Posted: Sun Apr 25, 2010 10:15 am
 His cream form blended almost perfectly with the light golden grasses he waded through. They only went up to about his elbows, but they tickled as he walked. The sun warmed his back and he looked toward the horizon. His family's den was just over that hill.
As the grass shortened and he walked out of it he tripped, something large and meaty catching under his paw and causing him to stumble forward over it. He cried out, landing hard on his chest, and sucked in a pain breath. "Ouch..."
He turned to see a grey form, a lionness, and closed his eyes tight. "Crap."
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Posted: Sun Apr 25, 2010 11:52 am
Still winded from her last bout of prolonged running at top speed, Gliri was in no condition for further flight, even a brief sprint, and so when something larger than herself stumbled over her, she could only flatten herself further and cower. At the other lion's exclamation of pain she looked up, cringing a little. That was not the sort of utterance a pursuer tended to make when coming across his quarry, she imagined. Besides, he clearly hadn't been running. Gliri would have heard that. He could not be who- or whatever had startled her to begin with.
Despite the fact that he probably hadn't been the person who had prompted her flight and he clearly hadn't expected to stumble over her, Gliri remained wary, shrinking in on herself as much as she possibly could. Meanwhile she looked carefully at the lion she'd tripped. In his current predicament he didn't look particularly fearsome, and his coat was a beautiful creamy color that made her want to believe he wouldn't pose a threat to her.
"I'm sorry," she said, her voice coming out as an embarrassing squeak at first. "I didn't mean to be in your way."
As she spoke she realized how stupid she must sound. Apologizing for being tripped over was just pathetic. If anyone should be apologizing, it should be him. However, she wasn't about to retract her apology. In the very likely event that his coloration had nothing to do with his personality and his intentions toward her, she didn't see how it would hurt to be polite to him.
She just wished her heart would slow down. It was beating so fast from the new scare of being tripped over that everything else seemed to be muffled by its pounding. She was unaware of it, but she was also shaking like a leaf, or like someone who anticipated the worst.
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Posted: Sun Apr 25, 2010 5:40 pm
When he opened his eyes and saw how terrified she looked, his heart dropped in shame. He straightened up and looked her over from where she was.
"You weren't in my way." He muttered absently, focused on checking for injury. "I'm the one who should apologize. I was wandering and didn't see you there."
He gave a soft smile as he completed his look-over and tilted his head, brows furrowed in sympathy. "Are you okay? I know I'm not the smallest lion. I'd feel awful if you were hurt." He wanted to make her feel more comfortable before he started prying into the whats and whys of her condition. He couldn't be the only reason she was about to jump out of her skin, and it tore something up inside him to know that something could scare and innocent lioness so bad.
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Posted: Sun Apr 25, 2010 7:01 pm
When the lion spoke again his intimidation factor came down a notch. For Gliri, the idea of being so absorbed in the act of wandering that a person might fail to see another person was impossible. She was always on such a high alert for potential dangers, it was more common that she would jump and take fright at things which weren't really threats, but which had presented themselves in the form of potential threats. Like the rustling she'd heard back at the den. Now, even though she was away from the den, she didn't have time to consider that because she was dealing with an entirely new situation which required all of her concentration.
"I think," Gliri said with a hint of good humor, "that I must have been in your way. But thank you for trying to displace the blame. Perhaps we can agree that we were mutually at fault?"
Gliri was still nervous, but the lion really didn't seem like he was interested in injuring her and she found his demeanor somewhat soothing now that he couldn't surprise her by suddenly appearing and tripping over her. His soft smile was reassuring in much the same way her brother's was and she became aware that her heart rate was gradually slowing and she wasn't quite quaking anymore, though the tension did not completely leave her body.
"I'm not hurt," she assured the lion. She didn't check to make sure she was telling the truth, but she knew it wouldn't do much good to check now anyway. There was still too much adrenaline running through her system for her to really tell whether she'd been injured or not. She didn't think he'd hurt her though. He'd definitely scared her, but so many things did that it would hardly be fair for her to hold that against him. And as she'd guessed, he hadn't meant to do that.
"Are you all right? Unexpected meetings with the ground can be...uncomfortable." She was trying to be tactful and spare his pride by not asking if she'd managed to hurt him simply by crouching in his path and tripping him up. The careful circumlocution made her nervous again and her tail twitched as she awaited his response.
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Posted: Mon Apr 26, 2010 4:04 am
He flashed an amused grin. "I think I can manage a bit of mutual blame." Though on the inside he would still blame himself. He was an idiot for not watching his paws, and she could have been seriously hurt for his mistake. Could have, but wasn't, he reminded himself.
He shifted a bit, actually a little happy underneath all the guilt. He'd tripped over a bit of company; someone outside he large rough-and-tumble family. And she was adorably shy in a way that made him want to ward off whatever ghosts haunted her, even if he was just as likely to run away screaming along side her.
"I'm fine." He nodded, patting the front of his mane. "Natural padding for hazardous falls." Another flashed grin, and then a curious look at her twitching tail. "Something the matter?" His brows furrowed. He didn't think he was particularly threatening. He was a bit on the small side, with coloring that made him look like he couldn't touch a butterfly without crying over it, soft eyes, social, if a little quiet, demeanor. He'd always seen himself as quite approachable.
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Posted: Mon Apr 26, 2010 11:06 am
The mouse-colored lioness tilted her head to one side and looked at the lion thoughtfully. She decided, impetuously, that she liked him and wondered what her brother would think of him. She'd never brought anyone home with her, and neither had he. There was no precedent for inviting friendly acquaintances for the siblings, which was something Gliri blamed herself for. She should make more of an effort to be social, if for no other reason than that Muscar shouldn't be limited by her anxieties.
"Then I suppose we've settled that," she said, relaxing a little more. Her tail uncurled from where it had been wrapped tightly around her body like an extra layer of security. She didn't realize that it had been twitching nervously while they spoke, but now that he had drawn her attention to it she made an effort to still it. He didn't mean her any harm, and there was nothing for her to be nervous about except for the continuing fact that she was lost.
"I'm glad you're all right." Gliri would not have been able to help feeling guilty if he'd been hurt because of her. She studied her paws for a moment before continuing shyly, "You're fortunate that your 'natural padding' is also decorative." Almost instantly she felt like kicking herself. Those were possibly the stupidest, most awkward words she'd ever uttered, including her wide repertoire of terrified noises and exclamations.
Gliri blinked quickly at the lion's question. Was something the matter? No, not really. Not unless one counted her usual lack of social skills. She hated being such a scaredy cat, but the fact was that pretty much everything scared her. It was a wonder Muscar hadn't killed her for her skittishness years ago. The thought brought a small smile to her face. Her brother indulged her horribly.
"No, nothing's the matter," she assured him. "I'm just very bad at meeting new people. Truly. I haven't even thought to ask your name until just now."
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Posted: Mon Apr 26, 2010 12:33 pm
He smiled proudly. He'd always been quite fond of his dark mane, and it felt good to know that others liked it too. "Thank you. I get the color from my mom. She's pretty dark compared to me." Weird to talk about his mother on a first meeting? Not to him. His world only turned because he got helpful nudges from her. He'd never forget that she'd always been there for him.
A deep blush colored his cheeks. He'd honestly forgotten that introductions were necessary. He was so worried about making sure she was okay and comfortable, that names seemed unimportant. "I'm so sorry. I'm Shazidi," he offered apologetically. "I normally don't forget things like that," he added with a nervous chuckle.
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Posted: Mon Apr 26, 2010 1:20 pm
Gliri returned Shazidi's smile, though hers was more a smile to indicate that he should continue speaking than one of pride. After all, what had she said to be proud of? Mentally, of course, she was proud of herself for speaking at all, but that was hardly the sort of achievement a normal lion would crow over. Not that it would stop her from doing so when she and Muscar met up again, but Muscar would understand what an accomplishment it was for her to hold a conversation with a stranger.
"Is she? Are the two of you close?" Gliri asked. "My brother and I look almost identical, but very little like our mother."
It occurred to her that mentioning her brother might be a little off-putting for Shazidi, but it was too late to take it back. Besides, she couldn't bring herself to pretend like Muscar wasn't part of her life. That would be doing her brother an enormous disservice. And it wasn't as if Shazidi would believe someone as spooky as she capable of surviving on her own anyway. Gliri herself didn't believe that she was capable of that.
Gliri almost laughed at Shazidi's chagrin. She hated to be embarrassed, but she was used to it and she could sympathize with him on having forgotten the social niceties like introductions. Clearly neither of them was exactly doing their mothers proud in that respect.
"There's no reason to apologize. I forgot, too," she reminded him. "My name's Gliri."
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Posted: Mon Apr 26, 2010 1:57 pm
He nodded his head eagerly. "Yeah, we're real close. I spend most of my day with her honestly. A little weird, I know, but I enjoy spending the time with her. Though I'm sure Dad wouldn't mind me being out of the way more often." He pulled an 'ewwww' face at the thought of his mother and step-father and their den activities. He loves his step-dad, but some things just crossed a gross factor that he didn't want to touch.
He perked his ears curiously. "What's your brother like?" He imagined a male version of her, hiding and being tripped over, and tried to hide his amusement. Hopefully he took care of Gliri, instead of both of them running away from everything.
His blush faded a little and he shifted his paws. "It's great to meet you. Do you and your brother live nearby?" If she did, he wondered how they'd never met. He lived within eyesight, if you could see through the hill.
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Posted: Mon Apr 26, 2010 3:07 pm
Gliri flashed a genuine grin at Shazidi. For her, the fact that he was close with his mother put him in a very similar category to herself and her brother. Both of them were very close to their families. Something in common that they could talk about when they tired of criticizing their mutual lack of manners and deportment. Gliri could do self-effacing all day, but she did tend to believe Muscar when he said it was annoying to listen to for long periods of time.
"I think it's really wonderful that you and your mother are close. My brother and I more or less raised ourselves. Our mother's interests lay elsewhere." She didn't say that their mother was self-absorbed and thoughtless and generally treated them with benign neglect, though all that was true. It didn't bother her in that way.
"Muscardini protects me and provides for the two of us," Gliri explained with a shy smile as she thought fondly of her brother. "He's really sweet and considerate, and he's basically my best friend."
She didn't go into the fact that he was also her only friend. That would just sound a little pathetic, even if it was true. Gliri found herself in the unusual position of wanting to make a good impression on someone for reasons not related to self-preservation and was treading very carefully, so to speak. In other words, she was trying to act like one of the characters in the stories she told her brother. It was a very odd feeling all around.
"He and I live..." Gliri looked around and remembered her predicament. "Well...We move around a lot. I don't really know where we live in relation to where I am at present."
Which was a very nice way of saying she was lost. It was also a way to neatly evade the matter of where the den was. She liked Shazidi and wanted him to like her, but a lifetime of caution and paranoia wasn't going to go away just like that. When strangers found the den, it meant it was time to move on. She wanted to stay and have future opportunities to see Shazidi, which meant he couldn't know where the den was.
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Posted: Mon Apr 26, 2010 3:21 pm
Her smile made him extremely happy. When others felt comfortable enough to give a real smile to him, he knew he was doing at least something right. At least, he'd always imagined that's what it meant. Sometimes his brothers truly smiled when they were making fun of him. That wasn't so much fun.
"Is he your only brother? I have a few. Tajenye, DonnDubhan, Usi, Mashaka, and Madzimoyo." He chuckled. He had a large family. "I have three sisters, too. Miw-sher, Kanani'emer, and Nephthys." Eight siblings in all, and he loved them each, even if they sometimes got into little spats among themselves. He generally tried to stay out of those. "Don't worry about trying to remember all that. If I weren't their sibling, I wouldn't even try." He smiled jokingly and shrugged.
"It's good that he takes care of you. That's what a good brother should do." Not that he really could take care of his siblings. It was more the other way around. They watched out for their kid brother who needed all the protection he could get.
"You mean you're... lost?" He frowned. He didn't like that.
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Posted: Mon Apr 26, 2010 3:38 pm
Gliri watched Shazidi as he spoke more about his family, her eyes unconsciously growing as wide as saucers when he began listing his brothers. At first she tried to keep track of them, but soon the syllables of their names began to blend together. And then he went on to name his three sisters. She was dismayed and astounded.
"However did your mother manage nine of you?" she couldn't help asking. "Mine felt two cubs was too much of a drain on her time and desires."
Immediately she ducked her head apologetically. She had forgotten for a moment that she and Shazidi barely knew each other and she'd spoken to him like she might've spoken to Muscardini. And she hadn't even spoken like one of the clever or interesting characters she created for Muscar. She'd just said the first thing that occurred to her. Gods, she was bad with people.
It took a colossal effort to force herself to continue the conversation. If it hadn't been for Shazidi's remark that he wouldn't even try to remember his siblings' names if they weren't his siblings, Gliri probably would have given up and made up some excuse to flee. But that remark had amused her and put her at her ease. Instead of cringing, she smiled and then giggled. It was only a brief burble of a giggle, but it was unmistakably a sound of delight.
"He is a good brother," she said, sobering quickly. "The gods could not have given me a better one. I sometimes feel like I burden him with all my insecurities, but he's incredibly patient with me and he always finds me when I get frightened and run."
She glanced down at her paws and then looked back at Shazid wearing a self-deprecating half-smile. "Lost. That would be a very brief way to describe my condition. Unfortunately, I think it's very accurate, too."
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Posted: Mon Apr 26, 2010 3:58 pm
His frown was immediate, but her discomfort brought him to move around the subject a little. Sometimes everyone said something that made themselves uncomfortable.
"She had a rough life, and sees us as... kind of the prize at the end of the dank, dark cave." He shook his head. "But she loves us all, and gets a lot of help from my step-father. It wasn't easy." How could it be easy? Every day she saw four sons who were a reminder of an awful night when Nazih hadn't been there to ward off dangers.
Her giggle lightened his mood again, and he watched her, thinking. "Well if he always finds you, then perhaps you should stay put, so he can get to you. I'll stay here with you, if you'd like." He shrugged as he offered it, though really he hoped she'd agree. He wanted to make sure she got back to her home safely.
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Posted: Mon Apr 26, 2010 7:13 pm
Gliri's fertile imagination immediately began to construct possible scenarios of tragedy and heartbreak befalling a lioness darker than Shazidi, one after another. Her mind tried to conjure an image of a family so large and couldn't manage it. Not all from one litter, surely. What a misery that labor must have been. Though, really, Gliri had never been in labor and had never seen one of her own kind being born, she did know how babies were conceived and produced. She and her brother weren't stupid and were quite capable of inferring that what worked for a waterbuck would probably work for a lion.
"I would imagine she does. At least if your siblings are anything like you," Gliri said, speaking without thinking once again.
Her mind was still occupied trying to imagine the process of raising nine cubs, even with male assistance. Muscardini would probably be tremendously helpful if she ever had cubs. Even if the father of her hypothetical cubs didn't decide to stay and help raise them, Muscar could be like their father. It might be nice to have cubs of her own. Maybe it would even encourage her to be braver in their defense than she was in her own.
"I'm sorry, what? I was woolgathering," she admitted when she realized she hadn't heard the first bit of Shazidi's suggestion that she stay put. If Shazidi had known her better, he might have known that it was very rare for Gliri to let her attention wander to the point where she actually didn't hear something when she was in the company of strangers. It was an odd sort of backward compliment which indicated that she felt safe enough with a person to ignore them.
"I would like it if you stayed here with me, but sometimes it takes Muscar a while to track me down, particularly if I run far. I think I ran pretty far, since I don't recognize any of the scenery around me. Also, he probably won't even be returning from hunting for some time, so he won't know to look for me yet."
She dropped her eyes and shut up, realizing that if she wanted Shazidi to stay with her she should probably stop trying to talk him out of it. "I just don't want to take up too much of your time if you have other things to do."
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