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 Posted: Mon Feb 20, 2012 11:26 am
 Mazal wandered the rogue land. She walked quietly in the night, not wanting to stir any creatures that might be awake. Dealing with confrontation wasn't something she wanted to do. She preferred to stick to herself and not deal with any others. Though if a confrontation was to arrise, and the creature had anger toward her, she would be able to stick up a fight. Her years of training prepared for events like that.
As she walked she would wonder why she decided to leave her home. She felt companionship with her fellow pride members. They shared a bond. She especially cared for her sisters in her pride. By now they probably realized she was missing. They wouldn't come after her though. They were clever enough to know that she needed this more than anything. There was a freedom that was lacking ever since she joined the pride. Now she was a free rogue again. Free to do what she wanted when she wanted. No more missions, no more assignments. Best of all no more killing. She shuttered at the thought.
It was always part of her rank, to infiltrate other prides and kill the target. Mazal hated doing it, at least she did till she realized how good she was at it. Than she felt more comfortable about it. She decided it was more like the cycle of life than anything. That is until she was ordered to kill a cub. The cub was the future heir to an enemy pride. She couldn't bring herself to do it, and felt like she disgraced the whole pride. Since than her view on life changed. To her every life was precious, even if it belonged to her enemy.
As she walked she spotted a near by lake and decided to stop for a little bit and rest. She laid down beside the lake. The full moon's reflection danced on the waters surface. Carefully she bent down and took a sip, letting the cool water slip down her throat. It was relaxing having a chance to have a drink. As she laid her stomach gave a loud growl. She rolled her eyes. Why was her stomach hungry now out of all times, she asked herself. She would wait till daylight to find a meal, she decided, not wanting to make too much noise at night.
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Posted: Mon Feb 20, 2012 12:17 pm
 The night soothed Jamadagni as he listened to the night creatures, both prey and predator alike. He never really slept during the night, bouts of naps or daydream fantasies that tended to baffle his morning mind but he was always so rested. Even without the traditional sleep that most needed. If he did fall asleep during the night, Jama tended to feel exhausted come dawn. As if he'd had too much or too little to function in the day. And so Jama tried to avoid that form of rest, of sleep.
Like now, with his eyes closed and his head resting on his front paws, he was perfectly at peace. He felt like he could tackle a crocodile at a moment's notice and not feel exhausted. Odd, he knew, but that was how he was.
Closed eyes, enfolded in the darkness of the night, Jama heard the slight tinkling of moving water and pictured a fish causing ripples by swimming too close to the surface or a frog hopping from lily pad to lily pad. Maybe it was hunting a dragonfly or a damselfly. It was one of the few insects Jama took note of. He enjoyed watching them fly and so he cracked his eye open, his left eye. The eye that had a perfect view of the entire lake and saw not an insect but a lioness.
A beautiful lioness in the dead of night. She should have blended into the dark night, with her black fur and red and gray markings. She almost did, but the moon shone just enough to light the bits of white in her fur and tail tuff.
It had been a while since Jama had been the company of a lioness, one so beautiful as this even longer. But he was a gentleman and forced himself to stay laying next to the lake, watching her. He didn't close his eyes again. Instead he watched her and willed her to see him. To approach him tonight rather than having to wait to morning where he could approach her without alarming her greatly. He didn't want a fight and he didn't want to scare her.
What he wanted, well, Jama didn't even know exactly what he wanted but it wasn't in those to categories.
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Posted: Mon Feb 20, 2012 12:54 pm
Mazal's stomach growled even louder now. She was scared she would wake someone up. She glanced around to see if anyone stirred. Than she caught the pair of eyes staring at her. She looked back and was able to make out the figure of a lion. A handsome lion at that. Like her he was dark colors with hints of lighter ones. He blended so well with the darkness, she could barley see him.
She wondered why he was staring. Did she have something on her face? She looked at her reflection in the lake. There was nothing there. She looked back at the lion. As she watched him she wondered what type of lion he was. Outside her old pride she knew that most lions were not killers, but instead rather friendly. Maybe with this lion she could make a new friend? He didn't seem like he would attack, but she would still be on her guard. If there was any sign of ill will toward her she would attack instantly.
She made her way to the lion, never leaving her eyes off him. When she reached him she laid a decent length away from him. She had her front paws ready to move if anything happened. "Hello there." She said quietly, still cautious of other animals that might be sleeping. "What keeps you up at these late hours. Normally when I travel at these hours I am one of the only ones up."
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Posted: Mon Feb 20, 2012 9:22 pm
Either she could read his mind, or Jama had developed a talent or skill to communicate his desires through the night breeze. She was making her own way over to him. Jama couldn't help feel a bit of satisfaction warm his chest. Not that he showed it. He remained stoic, not wanting to either scare the beautiful female off or have her reret seeking his company. That wouldn't be gentlemanly.
Her graceful and quiet elegance captured his attention in her pace and sway. Despite his stoic nature, Jama did appreciate the beautiful, the elegant, and the graceful. Rarely did all three come together. It would be even more amazing if the lioness was intelligent.
Jama's lips twitched in what resembled a grin for him and he bowed his head in respectful greeting. His voice was deep and low already, but he spoke more softly in the darkness of the night. "The night is a world unto itself. I rarely sleep, I enjoy watching it too much. Pushing himself into a sitting position, Jama moved slowly so as not to alarm his company or the creatures in the night, living, hunting or sleeping.
"I find it more soothing than actual sleep. But company makes the night even more enjoyable" Jama admitted again the twitch of his lips, this time a small inner laugh at himself. "I am Jamadagni."
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Posted: Wed Feb 22, 2012 11:38 am
She nodded her head. It had been far too long since she had real company. The members of her old pride were solitary and hated any sort of conversation. She had miss the connection, but she learned to live without it. It would take some time to adjust again to the rogue way of life. She silently listened to him talk. It was nice to have someone to talk to finally.
"Jamadagni," she repeated. "That is an interesting name. Does it mean anything?" She always loved knowing name origins. Her own name was based down through her family. It had no real name meaning, but she loved it none the less. It was special to her family, so it was special to her.
"My name is Mazal." She said with a weak smile. Smiling, that was something she wasn't used too. There was hardly any happiness in her old pride. Unless she was on a mission, where she was required to look the part of a friendly rogue, she would not smile. To her and the rest of the pride it showed weakness. Her smile went back to a blank face as she thought of her old pride.
"If you don't mind me asking, what are you doing out in the rogue lands by yourself? I was taught from back when I was a cub that traveling by yourself out here is dangerous. No one is safe." She had heard stories of rogue lions who went out to hunt by themselves and never made it back to their family. Her father was one. She felt that she was an exception to the rule. After all she had years of training and learned how to fight others. Most rogues didn't have a chance to learn what she learned.
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Posted: Thu Feb 23, 2012 12:41 pm
A chuckling purr emerged that would have surprised Jama's family and friends, if his family had been around or if he had any friends that he chose to travel with. He didn't. He like being solitary. At least for now. When he had outside the box hunting ideas or ideas in general Jama didn't have to worry about others. Especially if he had a bad idea that he attempted to use ... Yeah, alone was better. Sometimes.
Unless time could be spent in good company. Mazal good company. A night or two or more. She was proving interesting.
"When my littermates and I were born early. Smaller. Too small really. They had a visitor from another land. A feline that wasn't a lion, cheetah, leopard or hybrid of any kind. When I was born, I was born silent and my father thought it was a sign that I would die soon. The stranger looked into my eyes and said I had fire in my belly. He named me for that reason, Jamadagni means consumes fire in the stranger's language." Jama explained as it was explained to him. His littermates hadn't survived, but he had.
Jama looked aroun at te dark scenery. "The roguelands are dangerous. Alone or not. But they are also ... freeing. There are no limits on what a lion can do. It's a good place to test boundaries, self discipline, rules, and the such. I choose to be alone in the roguelands to test myself. Maybe I will be here for the rest of my life, maybe not." Jama looked at Mazal andtilted his head. "What about you, Mazal? Traveling alone in the night through the roguelands?"
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Posted: Fri Feb 24, 2012 11:02 am
Mazal stares at him unblinking. "That is amazing. What a wondrous stranger." She pondered on it. There were no real amazing stories she had like that. She only had her missions, though she did her best to forget about them. There were no stories she could really share with a passing rogue, despite the fact that she would like to. Jamadagni was able to open up a little to her. It would have only been fair if she did the same, she thought. She knew in the end she wouldn't though. No matter how kind, how generous someone else was to open up, Mazal was not the type to let herself get close to someone. Not again.
"Traveling alone is the only way I know how to travel," she said with a fake cocky smile. She could pretend to be arrogant. That was easy enough. She didn't want to worry Jamadagni, but she also didn't want to tell him the truth, that she ran away from her pride in search of something more. That was her secret and she wanted to keep it to herself.
"Since I've been little I have always traveled by myself. My parents would get tired of me running off, going on my own adventures." She lied through her teeth. She was good at lying. Her pride required her to do so when ever she went undercover to a enemy pride. She had to blend it perfectly an lying was the way to do it. "I eventually ran away from my families den. I couldn't stand being so close to them." The truth was her mother couldn't stand being close to her, Mazal thought bitterly.
"But you are right the rogue lands are freeing. I have never felt so free before." She took a deep breath in. Even the air seemed more pure for some reason. "I am traveling through the rogue lands in search of a place I can call home though." She finally confessed the truth, a small relaxed smile went on her lips. "I want to find a place far away where I can be free, yet have some company. Maybe where I can raise a family, though that's far in the future." She laughed at the thought of herself as a mother. She felt that she was unfit currently to do any motherly duties. How could such a monster like herself raise cubs?
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Posted: Sun Feb 26, 2012 12:35 pm
Jama shrugged. The story was an old one; one that explained why his parent's didn't have any other children to survive. A small explanation. To Jama it might as well be a superstition. A silly one, but one his parents had valued enough to tell him it as a bedtime story. "The stranger did not stay long after. I have no memory of him. Only of my parents telling me of the occasion and their guest."
There was something ... sad about his beautiful company. Something ... almost lost. But Jama didn't want to make their situation uncomfortable so he accepted what Mazal stated as what she wanted to be the truth and thus a truth in its own way. It didn't matter whether or not it was, it only matter that it's what made her comfortable. "So we have that much in common, a habit of traveling alone, being alone. I wonder ... what else we may have in common."
Jama stretched his spine in a lazy motion and flicked his tail toward Mazal. A noble pursuit, a new home, a new life, several new lives. He didn't know if she wanted to hear his thoughts, but it sounded like she needed to accept herself. But maybe it was just him. He certainly could accept her. "Are you thinking of a pride? Or a place in someone's life?" A mate? A lover? A partner? A friend? What was she looking for? And would she let him help her, even if it was only for a short time?
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Posted: Tue Feb 28, 2012 7:59 pm
"There is a pride I've heard rumors of, a pride of peace and protection. I want to travel there." She said. "It would be a completely different than my previous life. I believe the pride's name is Mizani'Ulimwengu." One of her pride mates had told her about it. At the time she paid little attention to it, but as her missions went by she thought peace sounded rather nice now.
The second part of the question puzzled her. She had never thought about a relationship with someone else. It was something she never needed before. Would she want some sort of relationship when she got to the new pride. Maybe a small one. She didn't like the thought of always being attached to a mate. If anything she was more comfortable with a fling. She did not want to open her heart up again to where it could get hurt. "I want something simple relationship wise." She decided after thinking about it. "I don't really want a mate, though I do want cubs someday."
She smiled at the thought of cubs again. She was worried she wouldn't be a good mother. It would be her first time and that scared her. What if she did something wrong. What if they hated her? Those thought left her mind when she thought of cub eyes looking up at her. The reward far out weighed the risk.
"What about you? Are you looking for anything out here? Maybe I can help you find it?'"
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Posted: Tue Feb 28, 2012 8:29 pm
Jama nodded. She had a destination. That was good. "Yes, wandering the rogue lands can be ... upsetting at times. Not peaceful." Jama understood that. It was one of the reasons that he fed orphaned cubs and pups. Or helped the weak. Many were weak only because the rouge lands didn't have the support system that prides or packs or families had. Not that he truly needed those supports, but still, Jama knew others did. Especially when forsaken by their own families.
"I admit, I never truly understood that concept of mate." Jama knew the reality. You were born alone. You died alone. Between was the time to fill it with others. As many as possible. But ultimately everyone, every single being, was an individual. Frowning in contemplation, Jama continued, "Two individuals pretending to be a single unit. I didn't even understand my own parents and their relationship. But they were happy. So," he shrugged. As long as others didn't try to push their concept of happiness onto him, Jama was more than happy to leave their single mated pair to themselves.
What did he want? What was he looking for out here in the rogue lands? These questions were the second reason Jama cared for the weak and defenseless when he ran across them. They were the reason he was a bit more reckless in his hunts. He was a drift. Purposeless.
And yet, he was content.
Jama looked at Mazal. Mostly content. He grinned. "I am not looking for anything. At less nothing in particular. I am here because the Rogue Lands are home. And I am content. The only thing that I want is company for a night or two or three and a ... a friendship, for lack of a better word. A relationship of visiting pleasantly with someone I've met before going back to my wanderings. And an open invitation to visit yet again. That would be nice. A port in my wanderings so to speak."
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Posted: Tue Feb 28, 2012 10:37 pm
As he spoke she smiled warmly. It wasn't often there was someone with the same view on mating as her. It was nice to see she wasn't alone. Back in her old pride some of members had gotten mates when they became adults. They bugged her about when she would 'settle down' but she had no reason to. "I am glad that I am not alone in my beliefs. I haven't ever met anyone who thought like that before." She let out a laugh.
It was odd she felt more comfortable around this male than she had been around her own 'friends' back in her own friends. Than again they were trained assassins. Any confrontation with them would end in a bloody brawl. Jamadagni didn't seem to be the type to attack unless provoked. She liked that.
As he spoke about being content she couldn't help but be a little jealous. It seemed that he had found what she was looking for. She knew she would never find her home in the rogue lands though. As freeing as they were you had to almost always be on your guard. She didn't want to raise a family in that environment.
"I wouldn't mind being your friend." She she gave him a soft smile. It still felt odd to smile, but she was getting used to it. "I never really had a friend before. It might be nice." It was hard to consider her 'friends' in her old pride real friends. They didn't really understand her. Jamadagni however seemed to have so much in common with her. They seemed destined to meet and befriend. "Maybe we could travel together for a couple days? It would be nice to have some company on my way to Mizani'Ulimwengu."
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Posted: Thu Mar 08, 2012 3:19 pm
Jama never actually had a friend. He'd had his parents until he'd left them and there were the people he rescued or helped while he traveled through the rogue lands, but no one to rely on and no one to understand and talk with. It would be a nice change of pace. As long as it wasn't a .... Full time job. He really did like being by himself most of the time. It was nice and easy without any of the drama that people being close to one another always brought with them.
Jama smiled at Mazal. If she was willing to be a friend, perhaps she wouldn't mind being a port when he needed a rest on his adventures. "If you wouldn't mind the company, I'd escort you to the pride's boundaries. That way I will be able to visit you again some time.
"But the night is still young and full, so I don't think it would be the best time to travel. At least not quite yet." Jama traveled by night often, but never with a lioness that he didn't know. Who's strength he didn't know either. If it turned out that he needed to safe her, would she still have the same attractive appeal? Would he still want her without the responsibility of caring for her? Jama didn't know and he really didn't want to find out. What he wanted was a ... lover and a friend. He could find the defenseless and weak to take care of anywhere else. Best to wait until closer to dawn before moving on.
And maybe while dawn approached he'd find a way to suggest a romantic encounter.
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Posted: Mon Mar 19, 2012 7:37 pm
This was a surprise for her. She wasn't expecting someone so kind in the rogue lands. He was willing to travel with her to the pride, a pride she had never been to in her life. She could hardly believe anyone could be so kind in this land. This would be a turning point for her, she decided. Maybe she would be so judgmental of the rogue lands. The rumors she had heard must have been wrong about how horrible it residents were.
"I would love very much your company." She decided with a small smile. It wouldn't hurt to smile more too, she thought. Maybe just maybe it would make things around her better. He even said he would visit her again. She couldn't help but smile even more at the thought. It would seem she finally managed to make a true friend, one who she would try to keep close, even if they were far apart.
She nodded her head. "I could use a break any how." She would be sure to hunt in the morning to catch them a meal. "The pride should only be a few days away from here." She let out a small yawn. "Shall we find a place to sleep for the night?"
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Posted: Sat Apr 21, 2012 9:17 pm
Jama got up and stretched. She couldn't have been more prefect. And hopefully Maral was just as willing. "Well, there are a few decent and safe den possibilities in the area, but they're rather - tight. Two grown lions would have to be comfortable with laying all but on top of each other." Jama looked at Maral with a question in his gaze.
And he couldn't help but give her options. "Or there are a few good cave like rock formations about an hour away from here, if you prefer."
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Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2012 12:52 am
She thought about it for a moment. Than she made her choice. "I think the dens would be better, seeing as they are closer. Wouldn't want to waste time and energy going farther just for some more room. Plus it will give us a chance to get to know each other more." She couldn't deny that she had some interest in the male. She would keep that to herself though for now. She had no intention of letting her feelings known just to have them broken if he had no interest in her. For now she would just try and be friends with him. That was the best she could offer for the moment.
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