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 Posted: Fri Oct 21, 2011 11:50 am
Nahasi sat in his den, passing around the room. It had been a couple days since Juan had gotten hurt. He had assigned one of the council members to guard him until he got better. Hopefully it wouldn't be Ijara. He couldn't stand that leopard. After letting out a sigh he curled up. No one would want to protect him like Juan. Juan was his perfect guard, his best friend. He had no idea how he was going to cope the next days. Hopefully Juan would heal up quickly so he could come back as his guard.
Today he wanted to do a quick round around the main tunnels to make sure they were being kept up. With all the traffic it was sometimes the tunnels would wear down. He didn't want anymore major accidents. Usually he would assign someone to do the task, but he felt a bit guilty since Juan got hurt. He felt he would be the best at the task of making sure the tunnels were being kept up.
When his new guard arrive he would be able to go. He stood up and stretched his limbs. It would be a long walk and he knew he needed to be ready. He didn't want the guard to have to wait on him. It would be much better if he had to wait on the guard. Show off his patience and understanding. Not everyone could be as perfect as his Juan. The thought of the leopard guard made him proud. He couldn't ask for a better guard or friend.
He made his way to the entrence of the den and waited there so he could see his guard coming. Hopefully they would be confident in the position and not a complete failure. If they did screw up he would have to tell Juan about them and get someone who was more able. Juan would know someone better, he was sure, than again he probably would assign the task to the most able in the first place. Nahasi pondered on it for a moment as he waited.
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Posted: Fri Oct 21, 2011 1:50 pm
 Arancion had been chosen to cover the King's Guard duty today, not that he minded. Juan had been injured in a tunnel collapse and the King had to be protected whether Juan was available or not. The grey leopard had sent for Arancion some hours earlier and once the darker leopard had arrived at the injured male's den, he had briefed Arancion on his tasks, what to expect and the likely things he would be expected to know. Luckily for everyone involved, Arancion knew the caves well, though not as well as Juan who seemed to have the eerie ability to turn up almost anywhere at any given time, often right when something had just gone wrong or when the pride members were arguing. One look form those ghostly pale eyes and the miscreants would apologize and slink away. No one really know anything about Juan and with his silent manner and those eyes that seemed to stare right into your soul, more than one rumor about him had made its way around the pride.
Arancion never paid such stories much mind though, he had his own rumors, conjured by the younger or insulated pride members who knew nothing of the suffering held within the outside world. But he did nothing to dissuade them, as he suspected Juan did nothing about his. Rumors could be useful, especially when it came to keeping the younger members under control. Still, Arancion held respect for the grey leopard, he had a unique way of keeping the peace but it worked, and he also took care of the King with impeccable manners and no small amount of hard graft. Maybe only those few of the council knew half of what went on behind the scenes, but it was best if the rest of the pride remained oblivious.
Shaking his head to dislodge his thoughts, the dark-coated male padded up to the King's den entrance and called out politely to alert their ruler he was on duty. "Arancion, reporting for the guard." His own voice was a low, deep rumble, and like Juan he was known for being one of the quieter members of the pride.
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Posted: Tue Oct 25, 2011 5:19 pm
He saw Arancion and jumped when he spoke. "Hello Arancion," he said in a mildly bored tone. He stood next to him. "How was you trip here." His thought were on Juan and how he was doing. Perhaps Arancion had stopped by to check on him before coming to check on him? Maybe, once his duties were done for the day he could take a quick trip to see Juan before it was too late. He wouldn't want to wake the injured leopard after all. A visit would be nice though, for both of them.
"Today I need to travel the main tunnels. Everything should be fine, but since the cave in I want the pride to be on watch. If one of the main tunnels were to cave in we would be a disaster and could destroy our pride." He started to make his way toward one of the main tunnels. It would take a while to get there, at least for him. "If Juan was here he would know the best way to get there." he spoke quietly, under his breathe. He didn't want to offend Arancion, but he wasn't Juan. Juan was perfect as a guard and Arancion could not compare to him.
"Do you know which tunnels are getting the most traffic right now? I would like to look at those ones first and go from there. Hopefully there are diggers there so I can talk to them about the shape of the tunnels. Perhaps they would have a suggestion on how to keep the tunnels in the best possible shapes. They are the ones who deal with them the most so I figure they are the experts in that field."
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Posted: Wed Oct 26, 2011 4:54 pm
The dark leopard bowed when addressed, torso dipping gracefully though otherwise he didn't reply, just listened silently to the king's list of orders. He suspected there was something between Nahasi and the grey guard, but it was not his place to comment so he had kept silent on the issue, after all, the king deserved someone to love just like the rest of them did.
"My walk was quiet." He finally replied, his low voice level, almost detached through that was how he spoke no mater who it was with him. Had Nahasi asked about the grey leopard, Arancion would have offered what little news he knew, but since the king did not, the councilman didn't interrupt, and instead nodded quietly at the instructions.
"I will do my best." He replied to the hushed comment, appearing not at all offended, simply as stoic and as emotionless as always. As the king moved off, Arancion walked beside him, subtly guiding the king in the right direction as they took the back tunnels to where Nahasi wanted to go. It took longer without Juan, but Arancion did know many of the less well used tunnels which helped their time more than a regular guard would have. For he had been in the pride a shorter time than the ex-forest lord and had not had the time to acquire his knowledge of the pride's maze-like home.
"Finger-cave is fairly busy Sir, as is Kissing Cousins." The leopard spoke of the areas that followed the main route through the pride, so named for the rock formations that stood there. Such formations provided the pride members with reference points and allowed them to identify certain parts of the tunnel system. Inevitably over the years, such places had become known by common names. Thee was also the Two Claws (which looked like two claws sticking out of the tunnel wall) and the Wishing Well which held a chilly pool so deep no one living knew how far down it went, and younger members of the pride would go there to wish for a mate.
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Posted: Thu Oct 27, 2011 11:26 am
He nodded his head. It was strange. He was used to a quiet companion, however it was a different silence. When he was with Juan he still felt a connection between them Arancion he felt nothing. Perhaps it was because he didn't really know the leopard. That was probably it, he told himself. Maybe if he got to know him, he would find a connection forming. It wouldn't be anything like his to Juan. Nothing could compete with that, but maybe a smaller connection other than King and Council member could be formed.
“Let's head to Finger-Cave first than to Kissing Cousins. It shouldn't take us too long,” he decided as they walked. As he walked he let the silence fill him. It was sorta comforting and gave him a chance to reflect on his choices. If either of these tunnels were warn down he would have to close them for a short time and have the diggers repair them. However that would mean more traffic in the other caves as well. He would have to choose carefully which tunnel to close down. “Is there anything you suggest to help fix the tunnels up?” he asked curiously. He didn't mind hearing others onions. In fact he thought others inputs were just as important as his. Though he had to admit he would get a little hurt if someone went against his idea. His feelings didn't matter in the situation though. The pride was more important than that.
As he walked he realized how little he actually knew about his current companion. Arancion knew plenty about him. The whole pride knew his story, but Nahasi never did hear how and why Arancion ended up in Mazu. His father knew, but refused to tell him. Story of his life, he thought a bit bitterly. He looked at Arancion curiously wondering if he should ask and start sharing a connection with him. “Arancion, what happened to you before you came to Mazu?” He hoped he was being rude, prying into things that he shouldn't.
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Posted: Tue Nov 01, 2011 12:57 pm
Arancion nodded silently to the king's words and guided him down an offshoot to the tunnel they had been walking down. It was a short-cut trough to the cave
To be continued
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