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 Posted: Fri Jul 16, 2010 2:58 am
Rior:
Rior found it easy to creep away from his family, when they had stopped for the afternoon. Admittedly, Rior was fairly sure his father had seen him leaving but it was the thought that he had successfully sneaked off that was exciting, so the juvenile ignored that thought. The sun was heading towards the horizon, and it would set within the next few hours, but that gave him long enough to walk around, to explore. He saw a different landscape almost every day, with his father's travelling habits, but he was curious as to what he could find on his own.
The mostly white cub was easy to spot on the savannah, the dirt and patches of dried grass beneath his paws were extremely dry, making a crushing noising whenever he stepped on them. He watched the grass crush as he walked, careful not the step on any sharp rocks or else his father would have to help him, and that simply wasn't going to happen. After a few moments of exploring, he decided that the landscape was a little boring. There was nothing interesting to do out there. He huffed a little, and batted a rock between his paws.
Kapera:
In contrast, Kapera's family was eluding her. She'd become distracted by a small bird with a wounded wing and had, unknowingly, wandered far from her den. She'd lost sight of the markers, lost the scent of her littermates and of her mother. Thinking she'd seen a fallen stump at least once before, the young female had started off in the oppisate direction. That had been two sunsets ago. Two long, miserable sunsets. The days were hot and terrible. Herdbeasts would watch her curiously and on occassion they'd scamper away, but none had taken her as a serious enough threat to give much mind to. During the day, she devoted herself to the search for water, often times seeking out the herds to find where they gathered. Unfortunately, come night fall, this meant the predators were nearby. Two miserable nights she'd spent curled up in the nook of a rock or in an abandoned burrow hearing the laughter of hyenas, cries of the wild dogs, and the occassional territorial call of a male lion.
It had only been two days but her stomach ached terribly, the roof of her mouth was dry and pastey. Her tail hung loose behind her, dragging in the dry grass as weary paws pressed onward. She had to find a den...
It didn't take much, in her anxious state, for the other cub's presense to go noticed. She flinched as movement in the form of a blur of white moved through her vision. She jerked backwards into her haunches and flattened back against the dry grass.
Rior:
Rior had prided himself on being observant, so when something move from the corner of his eye, he immediately turned towards it. Unfortunately, he was not the keenest observer yet, and in his scanning look, at first, he missed the cub pressed into the dried grass. Frowning little, Rior stopped batting the rock between his paws and straightened. There had to be something there, he decided, else he wouldn't have thought he saw something, or it was just his mind playing tricks on him. Either way, it was at least some form of entertainment in the boring landscape.
He set off towards the movement he had seen, his eyes narrowed in concentration. It took a moment or two for the figure of the cub in the dried grass to come into focus, and even then it could have been a trick of the light.
“Hello,” he called out, making sure it didn't sound a question. If something was there, then he would sound confident, and if no one was there, well, then he probably would look crazy but it wouldn't matter, because no one else would be around.
Kapera:
Kapera relaxed, just slightly, when the blurr she'd seen solidifed into the form of a cub. A little older than her with a charming white pelt. She blinked and slowly leaned forward, ears relaxing just slightly as she squinted her eyes. She'd not seen a white lion before...her siblings, like her, were covered in browns, tans, and flicks of white here and there. Never solid white.
As he called out, she ducked right back into the grass. Wide-eyed and uncertain, it was another few moments before she answered back, in a small, hesitant voice. "H-hello...."
After a moment she added. "Is...this your home?"
Rior:
It was a cub! He was right. Good, now he wouldn't sound crazy. She seemed a little...skittish though, he thought, eyeing her curiously. She was not running away though, so maybe she was just paranoid and not really afraid of him.
“My home?” He repeated, looking a little amused as he walked a little closer, towards where she was hiding. “No, no. I don't have a set home, at least, not yet. Father, myself, and my siblings are wandering until we return to Father's pride.” He looked at her, eyeing the grass she was hiding in and the lack of anything else around him.
“Is this your home?”
Kapera:
Skittish would have been a gentle way of putting it. Harmless as another cub was, he was still a stranger. She hadn't spoken to anyone since she'd left her den. The preybeasts would often ignore her or roll their eyes when they felt especially spirited. She was a little too young to know that where cubs where, their parents were likely nearby, but it was no less intimidating. He was big!
Taking a few clumsy steps back as he approached, she shook her head sharply and wrinkled her nose. "I...", she looked over her shoulder. "I got lost."
Rior:
Rior frowned when she backed away. Why was she so skittish? He wasn't going to hurt her! He wouldn't hurt cub, especially not a girl. It would be just...wrong, but he supposed that she didn't know that. Glancing back over his shoulder towards here his family was, though he couldn't see them from where they were, he hesitated before lowering himself to the ground, a little while away from where she was still hiding. Perhaps that would relax her? He was around her size now, even though he was not an exceptionally big juvenile, he was still larger than a cub.
“You got lost?” He repeated, a pang of worry in his stomach. “So you are alone?” Didn't she know how dangerous that was? She was just a cub!
Kapera:
She seemed to relax a little more when he lowered himself to the ground and abandoned his attempt to draw closer. She rolled her ears back again and looked away. The defensive posture had melted into one of insecurity. She'd been in denial for the last few days, telling herself that she'd find them around the next turn or beyond the next hill. Her paws hurt, now that she had a moment to lay off of them she realized how sore they were.
"Mmm hmm..." She answered. "I...thought I was close but I don't know this place."
Rior:
“How long have you been walking?” He asked, glad that she seemed to relax a little. He still felt a little insulted that she was afraid of him, but he supposed it was for the best. What if he had been dangerous? She was being clever, in being cautious of unknown people so he spared her a little smile.
He wanted to help her somehow though, but he didn't know this area, having just travelled into it with his family, but maybe his father knew? No, he didn't want to ask his father. He wanted to help her on his own, or else it wasn't really him helping him, it would be his father and that wasn't the same. Still, if it came down to being truly necessary to help her, he would ask his father for assistance.
Kapera:
"Two sunsets.. I had to stop to hide. There's things out there..." She almost whispered the last part, her tiny body trembling back at the thought. The cries had been the msot horrible things she'd heard in her life. Hungry, seeking cries...
His smile seemed to crack through her caution a little. Rolling her ears forward, she offered a very faint smile and slowly drew herself up to a sit. "Is...it safe here? Where are you going?"
Rior:
Rior felt a protective instinct reared up inside him at her obvious fear. “That must have been scary, on your own. You were very brave,” he told her honestly. He loved night himself, but he felt safe with his family nearby and his father willing to protect them.
He nodded firmly. “It's very safe here, I promise. Nothing will harm you here,” he didn't want that scared expression back on her face. “Father is taking us to his pride, the Tete'boma, but we're not going straight there, we're just...wandering at the moment.”
Kapera:
"It was scary." He admitted, though with a twinge of guilt. She shouldn't have gone out on her own, she wasn't stupid...but she'd wanted to bring something back to eat, just to show her brothers up. "I was brave?" She looked over, sheepishly. A small smirk cracked the corner of her maw. She was brave... yeah! Yeah she was! She'd not thought of it like that.
"Oh...am...I allowed to come too? I don't know how to go home...maybe I'll see my family on the way?"
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Posted: Fri Jul 16, 2010 3:18 am
Rior:
Rior nodded firmly at her question of bravery. He would be able to do it, but he would have been scared. If he had been a cub when he attempted it, he would have been terrified. She was very brave to him, for being able to do it at all.
He looked surprised at her question. He couldn't talk for his father or his family but - “Of course,” he agreed readily. He couldn't leave her on her own! That would have been cruel. He would convince his father to take her in, he decided, smiling at her. She needed someone to look after her and to be honest, he didn't mind if that someone was him. “We'll take care of you.” He meant that he would, but that might have startled her, so he made sure it sounded as if it would be a family thing. “and if we can't find your family, you can just stay with us,” he added.
Kapera:
She let her tension melt fully from her posture as he nodded firmly. A long drawn-out sigh deflated her chest and had her slumping over slightly. Her body ached, now that the adreniline was slowly draining out of her. Almost immediently, her stomach began growling eagerly. She clasped a paw over her mouth and looked to the side. Well that was...embarassing.
"...thank you so much." She turned her attention back to the young male and pushed herself up to a stand. After a moment of hesistation she stepped forward. "I'm Kapera..."
Rior:
Rior's eyes went wide at the rumbling noise from her stomach. She had been alone for two whole days, of course she would be hungry. “Do you want me to get you something to eat?” He had been practising hunting. He could take down small prey, like slow hares or some birds but nothing very large.. His Father would hunt for them later that night, but she was obviously hungry now.
“It's no problem,” he told her, his chest puffing out just a little in pride. He was, essentially, saving someone. It felt good. He smiled, when she stepped closer. He raised himself up from his lowered position but did not stand, and instead stayed sitting up. “I am Rior,” he returned the introduction, before bowing his head politely. “A pleasure to meet you, Kapera.”
Kapera:
"I can help." She insisted with another flush of her whiskers. How embarassing...he'd already offered saftey and now food? She didn't want to be dead weight. "I...can hunt little things. I'm not too bad, I'm just real tired."
She chuckled and brushed back the tufft of fur over her eyes. She must look like a mess! Her mother had always groomed her to near-perfection. Now she looked like a dusty little furball.
"Nice to meet you too...sorry I was... you know." She nodded back over her shoulder. "I've...never met anyone new before."
Rior:
Rior looked pleased at her offer to help. “Well then, we can hunt together. I can hunt little things too. I'm too small to try and hunt big game, but father will get us food later tonight. We'll just catch a snack for you to tide you over until he gets food.” He stood up, happy to have something else to do to help Kapera.
He tilted his head to the side at her comment. “Don't worry. It was good you were cautious. I could have been mean or dangerous, so you were right to be a little cautious before revealing yourself.” He gave her another approving smile. She was doing well at taking care of herself so far, even if she didn't seem aware of her own cleverness.
Kapera:
"I'd like that. Thank you." She offered him another warm smile before lifting her head over the grass to scan the surrounding area. So far, only a few fireflies flickering towards the distance could be seen moving through the grass. The rabbits and birds would be getting ready to sleep soon.
"True." She tipped her head. "But...you were brave for coming to find me too. I could have been something bad too. Where...is your family anyway? You can't wander off too far!"
Rior:
Rior glanced the same way she was, hoping to find some flicker of movement which wasn't bugs. You could eat the bugs, he'd tried, but they weren't filling or particularly tasty, so he didn't think that Kapera would appreciate them. He wanted to get her something good, like a tasty hare or a plump bird.
He gave a half-smile at her words. “They're not far away. I'm allowed to wander, as long as I go back before dark, or Father will come after me and Father won't leave unless I'm with the family, so they won't leave without us. We had stopped for the night anyway, so we have time.” He was faintly aware that he was likely rambling, but he wasn't really paying attention to his own words. He was thinking about how he was going to explain Kapera's sudden appearance in their group to his Father. It was obvious she had to go with them, but would his father see it that way? He didn't know.
Kapera:
Well it made sense, he was a little older than she was, and he was a little larger. He'd be able to handle himself, and it was unlikely he'd get himself lost if he was used to wandering. It was an intreguing thought, to know one's surroundings no matter how far they walked or how often they moved around. At the same time, it was terribly comforting. She'd not get lost if he had those kind of skills.
"Do you know where water is? I need to rest before I hunt anymore." She lifted one of her paws and slowly flexed her claws. They were sore and stiff, she wasn't sure she could catch anything at that point.
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