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 Posted: Sun May 22, 2011 8:28 am
 Odd was probably the calmest of his many siblings, and so far he had been adapting to the more rigid restrictions their mother had imposed on them since Calder was taken. He had not been awake for the theft of his brother - none of them had been, it seemed - but it had been difficult to sleep through their mother's resultant fury. That had been undeniably scary, and Odd pitied the lion who had provoked her ire. He didn't think the thief would last very long with their mother on the hunt.
Just the same, it was somewhat irritating to be forbidden to leave their little glen without their mother accompanying them. It had certainly curtailed his extensive and intricate games of pretend, though that was as much due to the fact that Calder, a preferred playmate, was no longer able to join him. He wished he knew what had happened, and why Calder was taken, and what would happen to him. His fertile imagination had no difficulty conjuring up all sorts of horrible scenarios based on the lingering scent of the lion, who had smelled of blood and other things.
"Do you think he'll come back?" he asked, addressing no one in particular and not making it clear whether he referred to their stolen brother or the lion who had taken him.
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Posted: Mon May 23, 2011 6:23 am
 "If he does, he'll not get away again." A voice replied from behind Odd. A moment later the dark grey shape of Ëmber slipped up next to her brother. Her answer was equally appropriate for both versions of her brother's question. If the male turned up, she seriously doubted their mother would let him leave alive, and if it was their missing sibling, then she expected him to be grounded for eternity, at the very least.
Dropping her rear to the ground she peered out into the shadows of the trees that surrounded their glen. Clearly restless since their activities had been restricted, she was constantly found prowling about the glen, staring into the forest that had been their playground. Turning to stare at her brother, she stood again, tail twitching high over her back with unburnt energy. "Wana do something?" She asked suddenly, eyeing him with cubbish seriousness.
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Posted: Tue May 24, 2011 7:47 am
Odd looked over his shoulder at his sister when he heard her voice. Every time he looked at her, he couldn't help but be amused by the color of the longer fur that tufted her tail and crowned her head. The cubs in his family tended either to have black, blond, or orange colored fur there, and he had both blond and red, but only Ëmber had all three, and for whatever reason that amused him. His amusement took the form of a small smile.
"You're right about that," he agreed, understanding both of the meanings implied by her answer. "But I hope at some point the rest of us are allowed to leave the den."
For one thing, the area was confining and he and his siblings weren't getting any smaller. For another thing, and this was really more pressing for Odd at the moment, he wasn't really sure what kind of restrictions or exceptions were in place for cubs who needed to leave the den to relieve themselves. He knew, of course, that one did not do that in the den, but that meant he had to hold it in until their mother came back and could grant him permission to go out and do his thing. It was incredibly uncomfortable.
His sister's question was, then, a welcome distraction from his present predicament. "Absolutely. What shall we do?"
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Posted: Fri Aug 05, 2011 9:44 am
His smile made Ember screw up her muzzle and give him a puzzled look, wondering what about herself was so amusing to him. But she shrugged it off, not at all sensing the reason behind his smile, and leaned over to rub her cheek against his shoulder.
Pricking her ears at his reply she huffed in annoyance, turning to stare out into the forest beyond their clearing. "Yeah... its already really boring being stuck here. Mom can't keep us here forever, right?" Pausing she looked back at him then gave him a second, strange look. "Are you ok? You look kind of... pinched." Nipping at his ear lightly she paused then considered his question with a very serious, thoughtful look. "I have no idea... hide 'an seek doesn't work, stalking doesn't work.... we could wrestle?" Laying her ears back it was clear Ember wanted to do more than the restricted area allowed.
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Posted: Fri Aug 05, 2011 7:01 pm
"She could," Odd said darkly. "But I'm really hoping she doesn't. Like you said, it's boring."
He twitched his ears away from her sharp teeth and retaliated by licking the nearest of his sister's ears. His tail swished in a dismissive, generally cheery way. He generally tried not to dwell on things too much, preferring to let them percolate in his subconscious. A solution or means of dealing with the issue at hand would usually present itself if he left it alone.
"Pinched?" he repeated. That wasn't an adjective he would have applied to another lion unless they actually were being pinched by somebody or something. "How do I look pinched?"
He wondered if she meant that he seemed pinched in some way other than the physical. Like maybe their mother's orders not to leave the area were acting like a pinching vise on his spirit. Even thinking that sounded excessively dramatic, however, and Odd dismissed the idea. Pinching his spirit indeed.
"Not much space for wrestling," he observed. Leaning in close to his sister he whispered very softly indeed, "But if we move carefully we could probably sneak out without anyone noticing, and come back before our mum."
Usually Odd wasn't one to go against the rules his mother laid down because he really believed she wouldn't impose them if not for reasons of safety, but he wouldn't mind a little bit of danger right now. With typical cublike resilience he did not feel any concern that he, too, might be taken like Calder had been. The only danger he could imagine was that their mother would return to the den and find them gone, and then get angry.
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Posted: Wed Dec 14, 2011 8:36 am
The thought of being stuck in the den forever made Ember wince, ears flattening against her multi-hued tuft briefly. "Eww... that would be... be death by boredom!" She declared hotly before her scowl was lifted by her brother's licking, making her grin back at him. "Yeah, pinched.. kinda like..." Standing she went stiff and pulled a face that frankly looked rather painful, sucking in her cheeks and screwing her eyes shut. She held the pose for a moment then relaxed, looking at him expectantly. "Pinched."
Distracted from her brother's state of need she flicked an ear in consideration as he ran through their options, though the moment he leaned in with a conspiratorial whisper, her golden eyes lit up with excitement. "Lets!" She whispered back eagerly. "If we aren't too long, no one will even notice we left!" Now determine to escape for a bit of quality play time she eyed her brother and then glanced back at where their siblings were splayed about the den.
"Lets get out of here." She whispered, grinning.
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Posted: Wed Dec 14, 2011 9:31 am
"What does it look like?" he asked. "Were you going to show me or just sit there?"
The implication, of course, being that she always looked like that. It was too easy. Odd just couldn't resist. Just like he couldn't keep himself from giggling a few moments later, despite his best efforts to keep a straight face.
It took him a while to contain his mirth once more and put on his Serious Sneaking Face. It wasn't like he could just start sneaking after all. His expression needed to be completely and utterly innocent so that if he was caught he wouldn't get into as much trouble.
Once he was ready to sneak he nodded enthusiastically and began to make his way toward the den's entrance. When he reached it he stuck his head out and peered around cautiously. He would abandon the caution when they were out of sight of the den, but until then there was always the chance of being seen and caught.
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Posted: Tue Feb 07, 2012 6:59 am
Blink at his statement she scowled. "I just did! ...." Realizing he was teasing her when he started to giggle she mock-growled at him before crouching, chest lowering to touch the ground, her rump high in the air. Pouncing with a yell she barreled them over the floor, wrestling him till they were both breathless with laughter.
Puffing but triumphant she stood and shook herself off, one ear flicking at his words, though she smirked at the face he was pulling. "If you say so." She giggled back before glancing about herself quickly before dropping to he belly and creeping after him. "We need to hurry." She stage-whispered, nudging his backside to get him to move faster.
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Posted: Tue Feb 07, 2012 9:25 am
Odd wasn't much for fighting, and he hadn't been quick enough to dodge, so he had no choice but to submit to his fiercer sister's attack. He mostly just reacted defensively, tucking his chin to protect his throat and pulling his hind legs up toward his tummy so that soft portion would be safe, too.
"You win," he gasped. "I submit."
When she released him and he was able to peer out Odd's tail dropped close to the ground as he realized that their little tussle had probably attracted attention. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. His ears turned back and flattened to his skull.
"Ah...I don't know if we should do this. People probably noticed you jumping on me." So that she wouldn't think he was blaming her, he added, "Not that I was being very quiet either."
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Posted: Tue Feb 21, 2012 8:42 am
At his words she turned and stuck her tongue out at him. "But mama isn't here!" Her voice was almost a whine as he started to back out of the idea of a little adventure. "The others wont tell, even if they did see." Shuffling a little further forwards she raised her head, sniffing the fresh air. Oh... they were so close! "Come on Oooooooooooooodd!!!!" She whined. "We can dash out and back again... race you to that tree!" She suddenly stood up and pointed to a tree across the clearing.
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Posted: Wed Feb 22, 2012 11:21 am
Odd began to physically back out, too. Ember was, perhaps, bolder than he. Or maybe their ma hadn't had as many occasions to scold her. Either way, Odd was not as willing as she to defy their mother's rules.
"I'll just keep watch from here," he told her. "But I'll count how long it takes you to get there and back."
It was, in his mind, a compromise. He wasn't quite going back to the others, thereby submitting completely to their absent mother's will. In fact he was enabling Ember to to break the rules by serving as lookout. That made him almost a co-conspirator, but not actually a rule-breaker.
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Posted: Sun Mar 04, 2012 6:06 am
Ember pouted mightily for a moment at her brother, but then she saw the opportunity for what it was, another game. Even if it wasn't the original one they had planned.
"OK! Don't add on numbers though!" She grinned at him and crept to the entrance of the den, then with a nod to Odd, she dashed out into the bright sunlight, racing towards the tree for all she was worth only to tag it with her paw and dash back again.
Each time she tried to be faster, quicker on the turn and stretched her little body as far as it would go. The game did as it was supposed to and long before their mother returned, Ember collapsed n a heap in the cave, happily exhausted and chattering away to Odd about whatever t was their cubby minds dreamed up.
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