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 Posted: Sat Sep 18, 2010 6:37 pm
He was nature walking that day, when he'd been sucked in to the dance of a palm tree. He was fascinated by how tall those trees got, how much the towered over the other plants. He felt a slight kin to them, as he was a bit larger than some lions in the pride. As a cub, he'd been given the nickname "bear" because of it. He wondered if the other plans called palm trees bears. He also wondered why he would wonder if plants talked to eachother. Deep in thought, he nodded politely to the palm and turned to move on down with his walk.
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Posted: Sat Sep 18, 2010 7:04 pm
Kasida was slowly beginning to feel more at home in the desert and the pride that had taken her in. She was being more independent, in some ways, as she no longer felt the need to see Henya as much as possible-- or felt any guilt about wanting to. This was largely because of Sagira. Kasida had been wandering on her own, thinking old, depressing thoughts when she had found the small, abandoned jackal pup. Sagira had been alone, hungry and frightened.. and Kasida had rescued her. Helping Sagira was helping her. She needed the little jackal as much as the little jackal had needed her.
Kasida did not want Sagira to be as frightened and antisocial as she had been so as soon as the pup was healthy and active again, she was keen on taking her out and about. So she was slowly headed for the oasis, limping along with her new little friend at her feet.
"The oasis can be quite busy," she murmured, "We might run into others, but don't be shy." Before Kasida had found her, Sagira wasn't even sure if she had had a name. She remembered her mother but even that seemed fuzzy at this point. Being lost and then being found by Kasida were what really stuck out in her mind. If Kasida hadn't promised she would always find her, she wouldn't have agreed to go for a walk and even now, she was still nervous.
"Are they your friends?" she squeaked, looking way up to Kasida for a second and then around them. She could see more lions and they seemed to be heading right towards them. She didn't realize just how close they were to one of them, though.
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Posted: Sat Sep 18, 2010 7:21 pm
On his hunt for stones, he spotted a stone colored lioness. That was ironic, he thought happily. He hadn't met her before, which was odd for Banda. He'd been in this pride his entire life. Though it seemed to grow every day, and he was beginning to realize that there were many faces that were new to him, he still thought he knew the majority. Perhaps not. Quiet in nature, but far from shy, he picked up the pace towards the lioness, now noticing her little companion. "Hello." He smiled cheerfully. "Have we met? I'm Banda'fuadi." He dipped his muzzle a bit in greeting. Then his warm eyes turned on the little one.
His mom was a nanny for the pride. He'd spent his cubhood and young life around an abundance of cubs. From a very young age, he'd learned to appreciate caring for those who were even younger than him. He'd been known to try to help his mom take care of them, though he wasn't much good at it back then. For a while, he'd wanted to be a nanny, too. Eventually, he fell out of that dream and became content with a regular, generic lifestyle. He missed babies, though. "Hi." He lowered himself as best he could, trying to look more like a teddy and less like a bear. "What's your name?"
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Posted: Sat Sep 18, 2010 7:28 pm
"Some of them," she answered Sagira, glancing down with a smile. When she looked up she spotted the large lion heading their way. She felt a familiar twist of anxiety in her stomach but having Sagira with her made it easier for her to control it. If she panicked, Sagira would panic.
"Hello," she returned when he greeted them and introduced himself, "I- I don't think we have, I joined recently."
She had joined with two deities and so there had been a festival to welcome them.. but everybody overlooked their mortal companion and Kasida was OK with that.
"I'm Kasida."
Sagira's brown eyes widened when Banda came up and introduced himself. He'd seemed gigantic from a distance but.. Kasida seemed gigantic from a distance and she really wasn't. Banda really was. She continued to stare are him when he ducked down moving in a bit closer to Kasida's legs.
"I'm Sagira," she murmured, looking both amazed and nervous staring up at him.
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Posted: Sat Sep 18, 2010 8:39 pm
"That must be why." Banda was oblivious to her presence at the festival. Though he was there, of course, he spent most the time paying attention to the honorary guests as well as catching up with family. Usually, Banda was gifted with keen observation. It was how he found his prizes on his nature walks. At festivals, though, he was so overloaded with sights and sounds and smells it was hard to zero in on one in particular thing. He continued on smiling, sensing the slight discomfort, but completely unsure as to why there would be any. He didn't consider himself very threatening. Big, perhaps. That had been one of the reasons he'd opted to not become a nanny. But not threatening! At least, he certainly hoped not.
"It's nice to meet you, Kasida! And you, too, Sagira! Are you enjoying the pride?" He was always pleased to meet new members. Having never been outside the pridal boundaries, he often wondered what made rogues and the like wander in.
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Posted: Tue Sep 21, 2010 2:56 pm
Kasida smiled down at Sagira when she bravely introduced herself, certain the jackal would adapt much faster than she had. Kasida was still working on it, in fact. If she kept up with Sagira, it would still be amazing.
"I am very grateful," she responded, though not quite addressing what he asked. She was enjoying it here to some extent, she was better off with a pride around her- not just because it kept her fed but because, no matter how anxious it made her, it was keeping her sane. Even observing the others interacting, treating each other as they ought to be treated.. it was good for her to see.
Sagira didn't have an answer for Banda's question and instead pressed up against Kasida's leg as she responded. She wasn't even really listening to what was being said, she was thinking about just how gigantic Banda was. Kasida had small paws, though Sagira had no idea it was in part a lingering reminder of the poor state she had been in when Henya found her. But Banda had huge paws. Way bigger than her head, Sagira decided.
Wiggling her own tiny white toes, Sagira silently looked back and forth around at everybody's paws.
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Posted: Fri Sep 24, 2010 5:23 pm
Blissfully unaware of Kasida's deeper meanings and her harsh history, Banda took what she said completely at face value - he had no reason not to. In his world, horrible things didn't happen between lions. There were lifetime hardships, of course. But it was a foreign idea to him that lions could be cruel to each other and create their own hardships for others. If he was told someone was doing it, it wouldn't have been a ground breaking discovery, but it would be surprising. It happened so rarely in his little bubble. "I'm glad!" He found her use of the word grateful to be extremely endearing. That was how he felt for being born here, and also for his life here. Her sincerity was refreshing.
"I was on a search for pebbles. Would you both like to join me?" He particularly pointed his question to Sagira. Though he still enjoyed his walks, they had been most exciting when he was a cub. There was just something magical about hunting for treasures. It didn't really lose it's fun over time, but it had lost some of the glitz and glamor. Having a youngster around would lift his spirits and get him motivated to find a new rock for his collection. "If you aren't busy, that is." He directed that one to Kasida, not wanting to intrude on anything they might have been on their way to do.
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Posted: Tue Sep 28, 2010 7:43 pm
It would have been hard not to notice just how friendly and optimistic this lion was. There was something about the way he smiled, the way he spoke and the way he invited Sagira along on the search for pebbles. She looked down to the jackal, smiling encouragingly. She would probably be left far behind to eager hunters but that was no reason to say no to some fun. Sagira needed to socialize. Kasida needed to socialize but hiding behind the excuse of helping Sagira was more comfortable.
"What do you think?" she asked.
Sagira was in the middle of trying to figure out just how many of her heads would fit on Banda's paw when she realized he was looking at her. Her brown eyes widened and then, suddenly, she smiled.
"OK!"
She took half a step out from under Kasida, glancing up once before continuing. A treasure hunt would be fun! Even if it was just pebbles. That's what your imagination was for!
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