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 Posted: Wed Apr 28, 2010 7:00 am
 Gliri was up a tree, literally and figuratively.
Literally she was up a tree because a small family of wild dogs had made its way past the den barking and yipping exuberantly and her instincts had told her to take the back way out of the den and climb a tree where they couldn't possibly get to her. She knew, of course, that she wouldn't have been in much danger in the den either, but there was always the possibility that one of the cubs might have gotten curious and taken it into its head to explore, which would bring her into contact with them.
Figuratively she was treed because her brother Muscardini wanted to move on and she was decidedly unenthusiastic about moving on. She'd met someone a few days ago that she didn't want to leave. A lion who interested her greatly and who made her feel as safe and relaxed as Muscar did, but also made her feel other things her brother didn't. She liked him, and she didn't want to leave. But she hadn't told Muscar that she'd been going back to see him after their initial meeting, and at this point having hidden that for so long would probably not go over well.
And so the lioness perched in the tree trying to puzzle a way out of at least one of her predicaments. In her mind, both were equally urgent, since she had no desire to live the rest of her life in the tree. Well. It would solve the other problem, that of moving on, but it would be a temporary solution at best since she'd soon starve or dehydrate. With that in mind, she told herself firmly that it was more important to get down from the tree first, and then figure out what to do about Muscar and moving on.
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Posted: Wed Apr 28, 2010 7:19 am
 Ugh. No one he'd met since he left what he used to call 'home' had really been able to make him feel better. Sure, Hak'Zhakuu had found momentary solace in the company of others, but it lasted only as long as the conversation was good, and until he found he had to move on again.
Why couldn't he be happy?
It was as if the world didn't want him to feel happy. When he thought about it though, it was more that he wouldn't let himself be happy. Nothing BAD had happened, and in fact it had been his actions that had balanced the scale of karma. But murder was not who he was. Nor was torture. He'd become something he wasn't in effecting his revenge, and now he had to deal with that. It was as if he'd become two things in one body...and he wasn't sure the one had entirely left when all was said and done.
The thoughts were so distracting and distressing that the blue lion (both literally and figuratively) didn't see the lion up the tree (also literally and figuratively.) More importantly he didn't see the tree. The tree he'd walked right into. Oof!
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Posted: Wed Apr 28, 2010 7:40 am
Gliri was on the wrong side of the tree to see the blue lion's approach, but she definitely heard and felt his impact when he walked into the tree. Moving quickly and surely through the branches she maneuvered herself to the other side of the tree, moving more easily because she wasn't over-thinking her actions. She also managed to get herself onto a lower tier of branches, though she had no idea she'd done so. Her attention was focused completely on the lion below her.
"Um," she said so softly she could barely hear herself. She cleared her throat and tried again. "Excuse me. Are you all right?"
She had no intention of coming down from her perch until she'd ascertained whether or not this lion meant her any harm, but just going by the fact he clearly had no idea the tree was there, let alone that it was occupied, Gliri suspected he didn't mean to do her any harm. She hoped that was the case, anyway, because there was a possibility that he might be one of those lions who disregarded their weight and the inherent risk in tree-climbing when heavy, and then both of them could get hurt.
His markings were unusual, but not as unusual as his eyes. Gliri had never seen anyone with eyes which weren't both the same color. She wondered if it was because something was wrong with one of them, or if it was just an accident of his birth. She hoped it was the latter. Unless he wanted to hurt her, in which case it would probably be better if it was the former. She waited on her perch for him to respond.
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Posted: Wed Apr 28, 2010 7:54 am
Ow, ow. Well that was just GREAT. At least the konk on the head provided a distraction from thinking about the past. He hunkered down and put his paws on his head, massaging the sore spot with a grimace. "Completely wonderful..." Huh? He heard movement above and he stood back up to check it out. Someone had seen him do something so foolish? Ugh! Thank goodness he wasn't known in these parts.
"I assure you I'm quite fine. A bit sore thanks to distraction, but nothing that would need tending." At first he was inclined to move right along, away from this tree-climbing stranger who'd seen him look so absent-minded. He even started moving around the tree to make his escape...
...But maybe she would be entertaining. He could use a bit of chatter to boost his morale. Rather than leave he just circled the tree, pretending to be looking for any damage he'd done. He probably still looked strange. "Pardon my manners, Miss. I am Hak'Zhakuu. Forgive me for disturbing your perch, I'm afraid I'm somewhat lost, and driven rather to distraction from worry of it."
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Posted: Wed Apr 28, 2010 8:26 am
Gliri recognized his tone. She didn't often employ it aloud, but in her mind there was much about herself that she criticized with sarcastic praise. Basically anything she said to anyone who wasn't her brother for one thing. She was really incredibly bad with people. However, she wasn't stupid or unobservant, and could actually be quite empathetic on occasion, her imagination allowing her to put herself in another person's place quite easily. It was how she managed not to hate all the people and things which frightened her, by trying to relate to them.
"I'm glad to know it," she replied, carefully retreating to a slightly higher branch.
Gliri was sure he would know better than she if he was in need of any sort of aid, and she doubted she'd have the courage to suggest he needed it anyway, but she followed him as he circled the tree, keeping to the branches and out of easy leaping reach. As she followed him she watched for signs of dizziness or difficulty balancing. He was walking in circles, but he was circling the trunk of a tree, so that was natural. Unless he meant to be walking in a straight line away from the tree, but his strides seemed too purposeful for that.
"No need to ask for pardon," Gliri assured him. "And I'm not sure where you're trying to go, but I promise you if you continue heading left as you have been you'll end up exactly where you started."
She only joked because she was relatively certain she was high enough in the tree he couldn't reach her without climbing and she weighed less than he, and so could climb higher. Also, she'd liked making Shazidi smile with her quick, off-the-cuff remarks and wanted to get better at making them so she could amuse him more. Had she not had the safety of altitude and inferior weight, she probably would have just introduced herself and waited for him to say something else or go away.
"I'm Gliri." Almost forgot that part. She was sorry to hear that he was lost, but she probably couldn't help him. Getting lost was a specialty of hers and if it weren't for Muscar's tracking skills she probably would have gotten permanently lost seasons and seasons ago.
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Posted: Sat Mar 19, 2011 7:35 am
For an instant her snide remark made him tense--it HAD been an accident, and he was already lost, he didn't need some lion who'd gotten herself up a tree putting him down. The anger passed like a breeze though, and he managed to smile slightly. She more than likely had just been trying to lighten the mood.
He sat back on his haunches to regard her. Gliri? That was an easy enough name to say. "And I am Hak'Zhakuu. I would imagine a portion of my being lost is due to not being sure where I am going either." It was true, he had no real destination in mind. He just assumed he'd know the place when he found it. Somewhere far from where 'home' had once been.
"Pardon my asking, madame, but do you mean to be up in that tree? I cannot say that within memory I have seen any but cubs climbing regularly." Perhaps there was something dangerous around. Upon looking he spotted nothing.
Perhaps she was just odd.
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Posted: Sat Mar 19, 2011 8:41 am
"Hm," Gliri said contemplatively, pacing through the branches. "If you don't know where you're going, then it's not likely you're actually lost."
She came a little bit lower so that she could explain herself without having to raise her voice to be heard. Gliri was not a lioness who particularly enjoyed making a lot of noise or speaking loudly, and would avoid doing so as much as possible, though in this case it was a difficult balancing act between being close enough to speak to the blue lion and being far enough away that if he turned out not to be as nice as he seemed she wouldn't be in any danger.
"I mean. If you don't have a specific destination, there's nothing to say that anywhere you end up isn't actually on the way to where you're going." It made perfect sense to her. It was also a surprisingly optimistic way to look at things, given how full of danger Gliri assumed the world was. Simply because she was shy and scaredy didn't mean she couldn't also hope for the best.
His question about what she was doing in the tree made her stop pacing momentarily, and instead balance somewhat precariously between two branches, her tail twitching with some annoyance. Not at Hak'Zhakuu, who was most definitely not at fault for her situation. Rather, at her situation in general. She didn't enjoy being afraid of everything, and she really didn't enjoy finding herself in predicaments like this one. They were so embarrassing.
"You know, I could tell you a fantastic story about what I'm doing up here, full of adventure and intrigue, and it would paint me in a much better light than the truth. I don't suppose you'd like to hear that?"
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