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 Posted: Tue Feb 14, 2012 10:22 am
 It was very easy to get bored when you were a cub, almost as easy as it was to entertain yourself. It sounded contradictory, but, if asked, Penzi would certainly vouch for the validity of such a statement.
She had tried everything tonight! She had chased a little toad, she had tried to find things on the floor, she had attempted to play with her siblings and her parents... all to no avail! It was hopeless, nothing was keeping her very interested tonight.
So eventually the striped cub had an idea. It was a pretty good one, she thought! So Penzi hurried off to where she thought she would find the other lioness. "Taini! Taini!"
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Posted: Tue Feb 14, 2012 10:39 am
Taini had finished her duties as a huntress early day and as such she had quickly moved on to her favorite pastime. Telling stories to anyone willing to listen. She could be found in her usual spot, a small clearing surrounded by trees with one lion-sized rock that she liked to perch upon.
Today she hardly had a crowd and by the time the little lioness had arrived, her usual crowd of cubs had dispersed. She'd been thinking of leaving the area at the moment. "Penzi!" She chirped happily at the sight of her little friend. "You're late!" She jokingly scolded, pretensing to wear a displeased expression on her face. "Where have you been?"
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Posted: Tue Feb 14, 2012 10:46 am
Penzi grinned once she caught sight of the other lioness, swishing her tail behind her. She hadn't been to the last few story-sessions, probably because for the past few days she had managed to find something else to do. Kids were a little bad at planning their days, after all.
"I've been around!" She said, because she didn't really know a better, more specific answer. "Are you gonna tell a story today?" Penzi did like hearing stories, all kind of stories. Exciting ones, or even the romantic ones, though she would never admit it out loud.
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Posted: Tue Feb 14, 2012 3:05 pm
"I've missed you little one," Taini replied, a small frown on her maw as she peered down at the cub. The frown only lasted for little more than a second before a brilliant smile was back on her lips. "Well you missed my last one," she admitted tilting her head as she pondered a story to tell Penzi. "I don't know if I have any stories left to tell you," she pretended looking concerned.
"You're gonna have to ask really nicely if you want a story, and tell me the kind of story you wanna hear," Taini told her after a moment of consideration. "My last story was about star-crossed lovers."
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Posted: Tue Feb 14, 2012 5:26 pm
At the adult's tone, Penzi looked down, embarrassed. She hadn't meant to upset Tain! Really, she hadn't! Fortunately, the blue lioness seemed to get over it quickly enough, and she smiled again, relieved.
"Oh, please Taini, I'd love to hear a story!" She sat back on her haunches and looked up at the older lioness hopefully. She tried to think about what kind of story she was in the mood for. "Oh! Do you know any stories with lovers, and adventure?"
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Posted: Tue Feb 14, 2012 6:23 pm
She laughed, the kind of laugh that filled her entire face; crinkling her eyes, leaving a big smile on her face and leaving her breathless afterwards. "Okay, okay," she replied quickly, waving her paw about as if it would calm the little lion down. "I'll tell you a story, one I haven't shared with anyone!" She exclaimed leaning forward excitedly. "This is a special tale that I've been saving!"
Okay so that was only partially true. The truth was, Taini had spent most of her time trying to remember the story. After all she seemed to inherit parts of her father's forgetfulness, often she had a difficult time remembering things. That's why her stories were always a little different each time, half the time she was making it up as she went!
"It's about this lion, he was called a pirate king," she paused, "do you know what a pirate is?"
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Posted: Tue Feb 14, 2012 6:26 pm
That made Penzi feel very special, because it was like Taini had saved a great story just for her! Of course the cub couldn't read minds and know that the lioness' reason for only sharing the story now was forgetfulness.
The striped cub adored it when Taini paused to ask questions, because then she could feel smart if she answered them right, and feel like she was participating. "I know! A pirate is..." Oh no! She had said she knew, but now Penzi wasn't so sure. She went on a bit more uncertainly. "It's a lion who steals."
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Posted: Tue Feb 14, 2012 8:46 pm
"A pirate is a lion who steals, it's also a lion who is clever and cunning," she replied nodding her head firmly. "They're also troublemakers, even if they're not stealing," she added quickly while the thought was still there. "Pirates are rumored to be bad, but some of them just like having fun and enjoy being mischievous," she continued thoughtfully.
"The pirate king was one of those pirates," she explained, nodding to emphasize her words. "He pirated because he liked the mischief that came with it, he liked to cause trouble you see," she paused for effect. "He met the fair maiden by chance," she began watching Penzi's expression carefully. She wanted to see how her words effected the cub.
"He had been raiding the pride she lived in, stealing the prey of their hunters and taking pick of their crafts as he saw fit."
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Posted: Thu Feb 16, 2012 7:58 am
Penzi listened, extremely interested in the story. A pirate! Mischief! And he was a trouble-maker, but... "So is the pirate king a bad guy?" she asked with a tilt of her head, because morals were hard for her, just like they were for many other cubs. This was a point in life were she still had to learn what was right and wrong, so she felt the need to ask, for sure.
"Oh! Was the fair maiden beautiful?" she didn't really realize that could be a redundant question. But, again, Penzi was just a kid! she sunk down on the floor once she realized she might be interrupting too much, looking sheepish.
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Posted: Thu Feb 16, 2012 1:36 pm
Taini considered the question for a moment before answering. "Yes and no," she replied slowly. "To others he may have seemed like a bad guy but he had no ill intentions, he was just a playful male. He liked to have fun but his brand of fun wasn't the kind that many approved of. He never harmed anyone, unless they challenged him though." Morals were hard for Taini because most of her stories were make believe and explaining why a character acted a certain way took away the imagination behind a story and she didn't always think things through.
"Oh yes, she was the most beautiful lioness in the pride," she said excitedly, it was her favorite part of the story. "She was the kind of lioness whose beauty was simple," she explained quietly, as though this was a secret. "She had striking blue eyes, a stark contrast from her dark fur. She was the color of the night sky, with a crescent moon-like marking upon her cheek." She paused wistfully. "The rumors went around her pride, claiming that she had been kissed by the moon and that he favored her." She laughed for they both knew that the moon was the Great Lion.
"She shyly would reject those claims, she was humble. The Pirate King fell for her upon the moment that he saw her, it was in the middle of a raid and he tried to take her as a prize but," she paused for dramatic effect. "She was stubborn lioness and struggled against him and then her chosen mate came to her rescue." Another pause to allow the story to sink in. "The pirate king refused to back down and demanded a challenge."
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Posted: Thu Feb 16, 2012 3:02 pm
She nodded, that made sense. Her parents could be both nice and mean sometimes, so she supposed someone could be good and bad. Penzi also gaped at the adult, trying to picture the lioness pictured. She did sound beautiful! Sometimes Penzi wished she looked a little different, or that the Great Lion favored her more. But... Well, she could be happy where she was, she supposed.
She giggled at the rumors that floated around the pride. Imagine that! Kissed by the moon.
Then the story got exciting. The pirate king wanted to take the beautiful lioness! She gasped, perking her ears. "What happened?" Did her chosen mate save her? Or... maybe they fought! And she lost!
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