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 Posted: Mon Sep 05, 2011 3:42 pm
 She had come to the border in search of a specific herb, a herb that usually grew on drier, sheltered land where the seas salty spray couldn't harm it. She had come searching for this buried treasure as it were and had managed to find something else entirely. A rogue.
He was tall and handsome and young and carefree. Everything she liked in a male..Well not really he was a bit too well primped for her. There was something very handsome about a male who could wear that just woke up from a nap by the sea look. The dishevelled wind swept look she appreciated so much. Still, she was enjoying the conversation with this roguish rogue. He was very complimentary. Coming this way he hadn't expected to run in to anyone. He'd never been to the sea before, though he had heard of it, he wanted to see what all the fuss was about. It was lovely sure enough with it's crashing waves and briny air but he hadn't seen anything special, at least not until he had run in to one of the natives.
She was a deep beautiful blue and her eyes sparkled with some sort of laughter. He liked her instantly, though she was a little, robust, for his tastes he still liked her, she was, pretty. So he had stopped and made conversation and now they were laughing and he was he felt, sweeping the young female off her paws with his charming ways and roguish grins. It was going quite well, perhaps there could be more here in these lands than just salty air and pretty water, if all the babes were this pretty, well, perhaps he could hang around for a while.
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Posted: Tue Sep 13, 2011 3:12 am
Xenon had settled into a routine after a number of months in the presence of the Bahari. He had successfully managed to piece together a method of satisfying his hunger and wanderlust, and in doing so, had adjusted quite well to his rather unique circumstances. With a necessity to stay put and under the almost constant supervision of a certain male, he had to respect the conditions that had been placed upon him and this had required a certain level of creativity. All in all, the older lion had been rather impressed with the strategy he had come up with and once certain individuals had recognised it was a routine and he could be trusted to return, they had left him to it.
Many of the rogues who had elected to join the Bahari had settled comfortably into their new way of life. Fish had become their staple diet, swimming was their source of exercise and they had even adjusted to their new hairstyles. Alas, in the case of Xenon he still craved the more substantial meals that the preybeasts provided and, truth be told, he rather enjoyed the walk. It wasn't that Xenon didn't enjoy residing in the Bahari but there were some things it just couldn't give to him and a large, tasty preybeast was one of those.
...He had flat out refused to hunt monkeys.
With this in mind the lion had been absent for the last three days, disappearing off into the roguelands to locate a meal that would last him for at least a week or so. Unsurprisingly his hunt had been successful and he had begun to make his way back with most of his catch in tow. Admittedly he had already eaten quite a bit of it upon felling it, but he liked to drag the rest back so that the borderguards would catch sight of him and recognise his return. However, rather than being greeted by the sight of a passing borderguard, he was greeted by a very different one entirely.
A flirtatious rogue and Afina.
His pace slowed as he continued towards the border, his mouth sealed by the presence of the meat clasped between his teeth. It was just as well really, given that he was inclined to say quite a bit, particularly when he knew what the younger lion was up to. He'd seen that sort of body language before, he knew what the feline was after and under no circumstances would he let it happen. After all, not only did he dislike lotharios in general, but any mistakes with rogues were generally looked down upon by the pride and if there was one thing he wouldn't permit, it was that.
Xenon's silence continued until he was within their immediate vicinity and then, it was with a wrinkled nose that he cleared his throat and let his presence be known...
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Posted: Tue Sep 13, 2011 3:43 am
The young lioness lifted her head, her golden eyes smiling "Hi Xenon!" She breaths her tail flickering and a look of innocence on her features. "You hunted well then?" She giggles looking back at the mint coloured rogue.
Orion looks at the older male and smirks, a wink twitching one of his eyes. Clearly he thought Xenon would be in on this little tactic, after all, what male wouldn't get a rise out of a young female. "This old guy your uncle or something?" He asks a brow raising as he looks over the older male deciding he could probably take him if it came to it.
Afina giggles "No, Xenon is... He's my friend." She flushes slightly her deep blue cheeks hiding the fact pretty well. "And he's not old Orion." She pouts prettily and pushes the pale maned male playfully.
The mint coloured male raised a brow, seriously, the little slip of a thing liked this elder? He looked like he needed a good grooming. The idea was ridiculous to him. "Well, good to meet you old man, names Orion." He smirks a brow raised at the older male. He wondered briefly if any of the feelings the young female felt for Xenon were returned or if he was just some sort of daddy figure. It didn't matter, he could easily take this youngster out from under the old males nose, she was clearly nieve, young in both body and mind, she would hardly be a conquest but it would be fun to see what Xenon would do.
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Posted: Tue Sep 13, 2011 4:03 am
Xenon's eyebrow lifted slightly in response to the provocation Orion seemed determined to use. He'd heard worse insults in his life and some of them had been a damn sight more creative too. Thus, it should have come at no surprise that he ignored the bait, his jaw remaining tight around his prey. It was better for him to observe the pair for a short while, to assess and to consider before he made any immediate moves. However, there was one thing that he would do and it was of the utmost importance - he was going to have to shatter the mint male's illusion that he had any chance of successfully seducing the Bahari female.
Most individuals would have started a war of words, a contest between both parties in which they competed for the female's attention. However, Xenon had seen how poorly such competitions went and he had better things to do with his time - for a start, he needed to take the rest of his meal home! Thus, he finally sucked in a breath, set his carcass down and glanced between the pair with a relatively unreadable expression.
"So were you going to give it another ten minutes or an hour before you attempted to bed her?" he enquired softly, his voice a touch hoarse through lack of use. It wasn't that he was terribly antisocial, but when his main focus had been on finding food, conversation wasn't one of his immediate concerns. Still, the more he spoke, the less his throat cracked and the more clear he became. "Suffice to say that I really don't think you're her type," he mused, deliberately looking the male over from tail tip to nose. He paused at this point, allowing the words to settle in before he continued.
"You're on the scrawny side," he said finally before finally turning his attention to Afina. "Unless you've suddenly developed a taste for midgets in which case I apologise for being presumptious," he murmured, providing the female with a polite nod, though it was clear he wasn't terribly impressed with the situation that had been presented to him.
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Posted: Tue Sep 13, 2011 4:16 am
"Xenon!" The young lioness flushed deeply now the blush showing clearly through her fur, spreading all the way to her throat. Usually the deep blue of her coat hid the worst of her blushes but the straightforwards question from the older male embarrassed her. Xenon had, well what had he done? He'd caught her chatting to another male and assumed..He'd assumed she would just..Well!
She huffs and glares at the older male "I know I am younger than you Xenon but I know the rules of the pride." She pouts and looks at her toes. She felt more upset at his words. It burned her that he thought she could be lead astray by this handsome rogue. "You know my type.." she mumbles under her breath, her toes twitching in the sandy dirt.
Orion scoffed and shook his head. "Seriously old man, I'm just passing through." He chuckles, okay, the older male obviously could see through his advances, what difference did it make? "Who you calling straggly?" He growls "Least I know how to groom myself, you sir look like you have walked through several bushes backwards." He lifts a paw and brushes a strand of his white mane from his eyes.
"I'm just chatting to Afina here so why don't you just shove off?" He snorts flashing his sharp pale fangs. He wasn't going to be deterred from the young female, especially now he was being challenged.
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Posted: Tue Sep 13, 2011 4:36 am
Xenon raised his eyes heavenwards at Afina's response and noted that he really shouldn't have been surprised at her overwhelming naivity. Even in the face of another lion who had gone out of his way to deliberately insult his elder and now, seemed intent on starting a fight. Fortunately, Xenon was an individual who didn't resort to violence immediately and Orion was going to have to push his buttons a lot more for the older lion to make a move. Instead, Xenon's eyes glazed over just a touch in an indication of his disinterest towards the mint feline and then he spoke.
"I have walked through several bushes backwards," Xenon replied smoothly, without a hint of irony in his tone. It was another provocation he hadn't taken, another piece of bait he had a reasonable answer for and all in all, should have infuriated anyone with a short fuse. Alas, given Xenon was unaware of the type of 'fuse' that Orion had, the results of his own response had yet to be seen. Orion could either have a hissy fit to rival a toddler's, he could launch an assault or he could demonstrate a type of maturity that Xenon doubted he had and walk away.
"However, if you anticipate that an individual such as yourselves would be welcomed within this territory then you are sorely mistaken," he murmured, his lips pursing into a thin line as he regarded the feline. "The females of this pride are held in high regard and their sanctity is paramount," he explained softly, shaking his head ever so slightly. "Passing through or not, even I can see that your intentions of impure and conquest is at the forefront of your mind. Your presence would not be tolerated," he continued.
He refrained from any hostile body language for the time being, electing to remain calm, controlled and at a reasonable distance, but given good reason he would bare his teeth just as easily as the youngster before him.
"You are more than welcome to cast your insults towards me, regardless of how lacking in originality they might be, but I will not 'shove off' as you put it," he concluded.
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Posted: Tue Sep 13, 2011 4:48 am
Afina looked between the two males, what exactly was going on here? She opens her mouth to speak only to close it again her paws shuffling in the sand. "I can protect my own virtues thank you very much!" Orion was being perfectly nice and sweet before Xenon showed up and now he was treating her like a cub and riling her new friend.
"I was just talking to Orion.." She pouts a bit and moves forwards plonking her butt down directly in front of Xenon. "Theres no need to start a pissing match." She rolls her eyes. Why was Xenon being so.. So protective? She could look after herself! "I can take care of myself thanks and I choose to talk to Orion. He's a nice guy." She smiles brightly. "He had no intention of doing anything but having a look at the sea. Do you want to come?" She asks, raising both brows.
Orion chuckles a little. The female certainly had an attitude on her for a youngster. Clearly she was rebelling against the older male for some reason he didn't know or understand. He snorts "Yeah old man, why don't you come for a look?" He smirks, if the older male didn't come all the better he could carry on doing what he was doing, and if he did, he could just abide by him until he got bored.
All this talk of virtues made him grin a little insides. Ah the females here were all virtuous? He wondered just how many of them were as young and nieve as the blue lioness, how many of them he could flirt with and lead astray before he moved off? Well, things had been going well with Afina until the older male had shown up.
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Posted: Tue Sep 13, 2011 5:04 am
"You know, you've asked me more than once as to why I treat you like a child," Xenon remarked, disregarding Orion's existence for the time being. His lips were pursed in a thin line as he regarded the lioness with a surprisingly critical eye, one that should have spoken volumes about his discontent. She was deliberately disregarding his remarks and wished to see only what she wanted, not what was really there. "You may have done your rites but your naivity and stupidity are astounding," he growled. He shook his head abruptly at this point and nudged his prey into an appropriate angle so that he could pick it up again.
"I am male and I was his age once, he wants only one thing and he will not take 'no' for an answer," he pointed out flatly. He glanced the lioness up and then down, wrinkled his nose and gave an almighty snort of distaste. "But if you wish to rebel against me then do so, it will not be me you have to explain your ridiculous behaviour and its consequences to," he continued and flicked his gaze back towards the core of the pridelands. "If you end up with child then don't come whimpering to me, hopefully your father will be more accepting of your foolishness and more importantly, I sincerely hope the pride can accept it too."
"Gods only know that you'll never be worse a grain of sand once you screw up," he snarled. It was with that, that he lifted the carcass into his mouth and proceeded to haul it back towards the centre of the pride and his current 'home'. He had no desire to accompany them, nor did he have any desire to watch the train wreck - instead, he'd do the most logical thing that came to his mind.
He'd let her father deal with this.
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Posted: Tue Sep 13, 2011 5:25 am
She was gob smacked, completely, utterly gob smacked. How dare he! Racing after the big gray male she grabs a leg of the carcass he was carrying and tugs as hard as she could to make him stop and turn back to her. "How dare you!" She breaths out with a growl, her eyes tearing up. "How..Just how dare you!" She blinks purposefully trying to rid herself of the tears that were threatening to spill on to her cheeks. There was no one in this pride that she wanted to impress more than Xenon and yet all he could see in here was some babe in arms completely incapable of looking after herself. Unable to protect herself from some rogue male, a male she just wanted to have a little conversation with.
"You think so little of me that I would let a stranger take advantage of me?" She asks, her voice level, calm. "I am not stupid and I am not a cub you can speak to like that Xenon!" She takes a deep breath, lifting a paw she quickly bats at his face, her claws sheathed. "You hurt me." She whispers, her bottom lip attempting without much success to stick out in a pout. She was resisting the need to sob and stomp her paws and dare Xenon to say those things to her again.
Orion raises a brow and huffs. Well, it seemed he was getting nothing from this now. This had become some love struck puppy match. He huffs and turns walking away without so much as a backwards glance or a good bye. He wasn't interested in getting in to some spat between these two. Clearly they had something that he couldn't get in between and get what he wanted out of it. He breaks in to a gentle trott, all thoughts of females and the sea leaving his mind. There would be easier places to find females than lands were the males were clearly stuck up and over protective of their females. the pride wasn't worth the effort.
"Why are you so cruel to me Xenon?" She whispers, her voice wavering in its determination, she didn't even notice that Orion was retreating.
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Posted: Tue Sep 13, 2011 6:03 am
Well, no one could fault Xenon's flawless performance when it came to deterring young and lustful males! Truth be told, any scout or borderguard would have have been grateful for his intervention...hell, Poseidon would probably have been grateful for it as well! While Afina may not have noticed Orion's retreat, Xenon did and he held a reasonable level of satisfaction at this. Nevertheless, he didn't have much time to celebrate when it came down to such an observation and instead, was forced to focus his immediate attention on a very disgruntled female...
A very grumpy and opinionated female.
"Hurt you?" Xenon enquired incredulously and shook his head. "You think that I hurt you..." he sucked in a breath and closed his eyes briefly, regathering his thoughts as he considered of the best way to express what he wanted to. There was very little he could say that wouldn't be considered horrific or offensive at this moment in time, but it would certainly get the point across. If she genuinely wanted to be treated as an adult, then she would need to appreciate that sometimes an individual needed to be crude to make a valid point.
"It was not a question of letting him do anything, he would have done it regardless of what you wanted," he snapped sharply and shook his head again. "Sometimes a lion has to be cruel to be kind, if you won't accept a diplomatic approach then a blunt and horrific one is the only one I have left and I guarantee it's significantly milder than what your father would do if he found out what could have happened," he pointed out. He at last opened his eyes fully and regarded Afina with a less hostile expression and a more exasperated one, his temper now completely in check.
"I think a great deal of you and that is why I am so tough - and until you are less naive about how this world and beyond works, then you will be a cub, no matter what rites you have been through," he finished, puffing out his cheeks just a touch as she smacked his face with her paw. "I am not sorry that you are hurt, it was necessary and perhaps you will even learn from it."
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Posted: Tue Sep 13, 2011 6:22 am
The young lioness takes a deep, exasperated breath. "I'm not a cub and why do you think he COULD take advantage of me Xenon hmm? I'm not some little flighty puff of smoke I have the firekin in my veins. I am strong and fast and no one could take advantage unless I let them!" She didn't understand, she just didn't get it, why was he being so mean to her? He had no need to be, he could treat her as the adult she was and he just didn't.
"I'll always be a cub then!" She snaps, "Is that all I'll ever be? A cub who can be taken advantage of? You don't trust my judgement? I could take you if I wanted to!" She frowns a deep brow furrowing frown and lets out a long desperate sigh.
"If you care so much about me, you would know I can be trusted." She glances around noticing that Orion had left at last before he gaze fell back on Xenon. "You just do everything you can to hurt me and push me away. Maybe I liked Orion, maybe he would have joined the pride as you did. Maybe he would have come and gone in a day and a night and nothing more would have come of it, but you, you just think I was going to let him get away with something dirty! You could have come down to the water with us if you were so worried about me but no, you're so self absorbed and cruel that you prefer to hurt me instead of help me!"
"I hate you so much! Why can't you be nice to me, just once?" She snuffles, it was a lie, she respected Xenon so much and she wanted his respect in return but he didn't want anything to do with her. He just saw her as a cub and that hurt more than his words.
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Posted: Tue Sep 13, 2011 6:48 am
"Oh come on!" Xenon snapped in exasperation at the lioness's outburst. She seemed determined to learn nothing from this experience and no matter what he did or said, it probably wouldn't make a difference. She had decided that she wasn't going to consider anything that had happened to her and any insistance or direction from him would be ignored. He was getting too old for this, there was no way in hell that he was equipped to deal with frustrated and angry children...especially one as forceful as Afina. This in mind, why in the gods' names was he still arguing with her?
"Afina you would not stand a chance if I decided to assault you," he pointed out darkly and shook his head. "You forget who I am, what I am and where I come from. I hunt prey bigger than you and fell it with sufficient ease. You might be larger than most females but you are nothing in the grand scheme of things," he explained, a slightly poisonous tone to his voice. It had taken all of his self control to hold back what he really wanted to say, even more so to prove his point by pinning her to the ground and holding her there.
"Your over confidence would leave you in a dire state in the roguelands. Your family has kept you sheltered and safe, but out there 'no' is ignored. You are weak to most rogues and as such, you're an easy target. You might think you are strong around here, but you aren't in the big, bad world," he added and heaved a sigh. He elected to stop at this point and went to pick up his carcass again, pausing only once to clarify one more thing.
"If you truly believe that he would join this pride then why don't you chase him? And while you're at it, inform your father of your intentions and see his reponse. Contrary to belief, I am not being a complete a**." He snapped and now finished, picked up his prey and stalked off. Let the child speak to her father, let him shed light on the truth and maybe she'd wise up.
...Well, he could hope she'd wise up.
Right now he wasn't so sure.
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Posted: Tue Sep 13, 2011 7:16 am
Oh how she wanted to bite and claw him and prove that she wasn't some little lost lamb. She wanted to fight him and prove that she was stronger than she looked. "Fine then, I will!" She growls turning around, she was going to prove to Xenon that she could take care of herself against a rogue. That she could say no, that she wasn't just some sheltered little girl who needed his or anyone else's protection.
"At least he was nice to me, you're just some cruel old fuddy duddy! You don't care about anyones opinion but your own. I'm going to find Orion and go down to the sea and I won't get taken advantage of or come back pregnant or even tell my father about meeting him cause he doesn't matter one jot! He was just being friendly and you had to ruin it!" She huffs and starts to storm off, pausing for a moment she looks back at Xenon and frowns.
She just didn't understand why he was being so mean all the time. "Why can't you have one nice thing to say about me?" She pouts her heart clenching as she said it. "I am not nothing, I am strong and fit and healthy and I can take care of myself! I'll prove it to you!" She growls storming off, she was undecided if she was going after Orion or if she was just going to find some where to sulk and let the verbal wounds close.
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