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 Posted: Fri Oct 14, 2011 3:02 pm
 Aruná had gone for a run and left her two companions behind at their temporary den. It wasn't much of a den, but it offered some shelter and the hunting was decent in the area. She didn't think that was where she wanted to live in the long run, but it worked for now. Life had been very strange recently and she wasn't sure where they were headed. They had stayed in other places, but never very long, and she had a feeling they'd soon move on from this "den" too. It wasn't home, not even close, so being on the move was better.
It felt good to stretch her legs a little and she figured she could bring something back if she found something to hunt. That wasn't why she had left the others, however. She just needed a change of scenery. To be alone and think.
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Posted: Fri Oct 14, 2011 9:11 pm
 The dark male stretched on a rock, the morning light was beautiful. He had stayed up all night doing wandering and hunting. He yawned and he heard it echo around the barren lands he was on. It was a subtle sound that made his ears perk up, already he wanted to know who was disrupting his quiet moments away from his pride. The rambunctious pride was grand of course, but every so often you needed some time off from that life.
With the little light coming up you wouldn't see much of the male, but he could sneak up in the embers that were starting to catch fire. As she came into view he could see she was beautiful and his heart seemed to leap from his chest. A strong feeling he had never felt before but he submersed the feeling quickly, love at first sight didn't work for him.
Again he yawned, this time trying to catch her attention. As is he was trying to play the dumb blind male.
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Posted: Mon Oct 17, 2011 6:00 am
A sound and some movement in the corner of her eye caught her attention. Aruná turned her head and was startled to see another lion so close. He wasn't hostile, but it annoyed her that she hadn't noticed him. She had to try to be more careful! His dark colours put him somewhat at ease since he looked similar to the lions in her old home. Dark colours were common, but there were usually accents of blue, purple, red or orange. As the wind turned she caught his scent, and there was no hint of hostility there either. Good.
Mature spirit, she thought, but hard to read. She knew colour didn't say everything, but in unfamiliar lands she used what she had learned in her pride to make sense of it. Coming from lands that had been plague stricken she watched him carefully to size him up. There was no sign or smell of disease, no runny eyes or discharge at the nose. His coat looked healthy in the rising sun and he gave an over all well fed appearance. Wherever he came from there had been enough food to go around. She kept watching him in silence, not wanting to make the first move.
When outsiders had visited her old pride they hadn't always been well fed and healthy. Before she was forced to leave she had figured the roguelands was hard and unforgiving. Living a life without a pride had worked out well for them so far, but with two females hunting and a big intimidating male to make sure no one stole their kill they were doing just fine. Aruná worked a bit harder when hunting than she had done with her old hunting group, but she didn't really mind the challenge. If they needed to hunt more difficult game Udongo could always help her.
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Posted: Tue Oct 18, 2011 1:17 am
He sniffed and continued to look straight ahead. "Whose there?" His voice a bit gruffer to make him sound older. "Sneakin' up on an ol' blind lion like meself." She was beautiful but he wouldn't let on he could see her just yet. Already he could tell she wasn't hostile, if the dark lioness was then they would already be in a fight.
Carefully he edged himself off the rock he had laid on, still playing the blind lion. Tail twitching the pirate lowered his head. "Nothin' front of me that I could run into?" He asked, pawing at the ground with uncertainty.
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Posted: Thu Oct 20, 2011 1:08 am
Aruná was puzzled by this new development. She hadn't seen many disabled lions at all and wasn't sure what to think. In her pride most old lions who felt their vision going either asked to be sacrificed or made sure to die in battle while they could. She had yet to see the clouded eyes of an old lion with cataracts so she didn't associate Cythraul's unusual eye colour with blindness when she first saw it.
"How do you hunt if you can't see," she asked, still keeping her distance. The thought that a pride might feed him didn't occur to her. Why live with a pride if you were a burden after all? If he was looking for sympathy he had run into the wrong lioness... She was just mystified.
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Posted: Thu Oct 20, 2011 8:22 pm
He turned his head to her, swiveling his ears. "That's a new one." blinking he walked towards her, looking down at a rock as he kicked it out of the way. "I 'aven't 'ad anyone be so cold ta me. I guess I won't be able ta fool ye then. Yer a sight to see though."
She was gorgeous and he was a womanizer. He wanted her. "Cythraul." He pointed out, giving her his lion name not his pirate name. He didn't know her and to her, he was just some rogue lion wandering. "Yours?"
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Posted: Fri Oct 21, 2011 3:26 pm
Aruná's ears flickered back and forth, as if she couldn't decide what to think. The male walked towards her with purpose, not with aggression, but she wondered how wise it was to let a stranger get too close. This dark lion might look like one of her own, but he sure didn't behave like one. She decided to stand her ground and met his gaze without looking away. Cold? Perhaps. He had showed weakness and that made her feel stronger, even if his weakness had been an act.
"Aruná," she said. "Hunter" She looked as if she was about to add something more, but never did. Hunter of the Mizimu'tungika didn't apply anymore, did it? But instead of dwelling on the past she decided to focus on the present. She didn't understand his behaviour, but she wanted to.
"Why would you pretend to be weak," she asked with genuine curiosity, "Weakness can attract hostile spirits."
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Posted: Sat Oct 22, 2011 1:11 pm
"Aruná." He toyed with the name in his mine for a moment. She was a hunter too, by the looks of it very good. "If yer opponent thinks dat yer weak, sometimes it throws them. They get close, they get sloppy. I watch fer 'em weakness and attack when they least 'spect it." he replied. "It may bring me some 'ostile spirits, but I'm 'ostile too."
He wondered where she came from, her scent was not one he recognized and she didn't look like she was just some rogue passing through. She also stated her title, which meant she had come from somewhere. He of course wouldn't state his title or give up much more information, that's how he was unless he was going to drag this woman back with him once he knew her.
"Ye travelin' with anyone else?" He asked, turning his head to look around wondering if they were being watched.
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Posted: Mon Nov 07, 2011 8:33 am
The dark lioness appeared to think about this. She understood his reasoning, but still found the behaviour puzzling. Make yourself look weak and others might take the opportunity to attack. He must be pretty confident in his own powers to take that risk. Weak lions weren't regarded very highly in her old pride, but she figured he must come from a place that tolerated weakness for some reason. Still, his boldness was intriguing her, even if his actions bordered on stupid according to her world view.
"I do have some companions nearby," she said, "Just some warriors and others..."
'Nearby' was vague enough, she decided. She was confident that she could hold her own in a fight, or at least make it very costly for him to fight her, but if she could convince him she wasn't worth messing with that was much better. She should probably try to make sure they weren't trespassing on his territory. Or his prides territory, they were bound to reach inhabited space sooner or later.
"And you," she continued, "Do you live nearby?"
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Posted: Fri Nov 11, 2011 12:34 pm
Companions nearby. She wasn't alone as he was at the moment. If they got into a scuffle he was sure to come back to the pride lands with some wounds. No scuffle then. Keeping a calm demeanor he went to answer her, she wasn't going to be totally forthcoming to a stranger and neither was he.
"Aye." He replied, short and succinct. In truth, it wasn't as nearby as she might think. "I'm not one to stay long in a single spot." He lied, "Movin' with the wind."
She was quite pretty so maybe he could convince her to let him join her and her companions for a bit. Learn more about her and them. "Might ye be lookin' fer some more ta travel with?" He asked, "I can hunt just as well as any other."
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Posted: Mon Nov 21, 2011 2:46 pm
Her ear flickered as if she was bothered by an unseen fly. She wasn't sure what to think about the male's request. She was fairly sure the three of them could drive him away if he proved to be bothersome, but it might be costly. Aruná hadn't told him anything about the number of lions she travelled with, and she was reluctant to give him that information just yet. Oh, he could probably track them later if he wanted to, but she was hesitant about letting him in. He was an outsider after all. Not Mizimu. Not familiar. Not safe. For a moment she wondered what it would be like to live like that, to move with the wind.
"I'll need to talk to my companions," she said, and then realised that it might have sounded as if she had to ask for their permission to decide. She didn't like that but she wasn't sure how to fix it. "We're all a bit on edge so it might be a good thing to give advance warning at least."
A bit better but not good. She couldn't just invite him because of her stupid pride. It was easier back home. Strangers were welcome, sort of. A haruspex could always tell if they were fit to stay or if they were up to something.
"Have you always been a wanderer," she asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.
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Posted: Wed Nov 30, 2011 4:00 pm
She was definitely strange, he would have to give her that. It seemed she dodged his words as if they would come to life and strike her down and then she'd let something slip as if it wasn't supposed to come out. Trying to pinpoint her was difficult and usually he was pretty good at telling who was trustworthy and who wasn't. Then again as a pirate, no one was really trustworthy.
"I be alright if ye say no ta me. I be understandin'." The male answered back. Being on edge did that and he could also tell she was no rogue. Her body language spoke of a strict regime or group she had been with, however prying with a woman never led to good things especially if you wanted something out of the woman.
When she asked if he was a wanderer he nodded. "Ever since I be a cub. I've learned ta fend fer meself and get by when I need ta. Methinks ye 'aven't been travelin' too long, if'n I be so bold."
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Posted: Thu Dec 01, 2011 1:33 pm
It was strange for her to talk to someone with a colouring that would have fit perfectly in Mizimu, but who was so very different from her kin. Cythraul's name was different, as was his speech and his thought pattern. It was her first real encounter with an outsider, actually talking to one. If the hunting party met someone while on an outing a higher ranking member would usually do the talking. Aruná was still young and she found the situation exciting. There was also an element of danger to it that she liked more than she wanted to admit. Could she trust him? Probably not.
"No, not very long," she said, figuring there was no use denying it, "Our home... The bad spirits took over and we had to leave."
She wondered if some good spirits had followed them on their journey or if they would be forever lost and wandering her abandoned homeland. It was disconcerting to think about so she focused on the lion in front of her instead.
"I wont bore you with details," she said and tried to sound as dismissive as she could, "Now tell me about yourself, and the wandering."
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Posted: Thu Dec 01, 2011 7:06 pm
Spirits? Hmm. "I be sure them good spirits are with ye now. And yer companions." She was an inquisitive one he'd give her that. "I be likin' ta 'ear it though. If ye don't mind since ye be askin' bout me wanderin'."
He began anyway. "I be a wanderer. From the time me mother conceived me till now. I 'aven't known much else. I learned ta fend fer meself at a young age. I met many on me travels. None so pretty as ye though. Wanderin' ain't so bad. Ye travel ta see some beautiful places and ye meet the strangest of travelers. It be a 'ard life though. 'Specially by yeself. Lookin' o'er ye shoulder, makin' ends meet ta stay alive. It be nice ta have companions like yeself."
The male gazed at her. Maybe he could convince her and her companions to come with him to his pride. Though he didn't want to jump into that right now, usually he would but she just wasn't ready for that just yet.
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Posted: Wed Dec 21, 2011 3:22 am
It might have been something he said to every female he met, but Aruná was still pleased by the compliment. She tried not to let it show however. She was intrigued to hear about his travels, but she supposed she'd have to talk a bit about her own to make it fair. She was selfish enough to keep it to herself a little bit longer however. He might not want to talk to her when he realised that disease and bad spirits might follow in her footsteps.
"I think I'm able enough to survive on my own," she said, confident in her own abilities, "But it's better in a group. Easier. I'd like to see more of the world than I've seen so far."
If he didn't shy away from them the minute she mentioned the plague she figured she could talk to Udongo and introduce the two. Her sister was a good judge of character, and if she thought he was safe he could travel with them for a while, no problem.
"I suppose you have encountered illness and drought on your travels," she said. Aruná tried to sound neutral, but she probably came across as a bit tense.
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