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 Posted: Tue Feb 28, 2012 5:32 pm
 There was a whole new world outside the den and the den's front yard. With rocks and short sharp thorny bushes that catch on the tail tuffs, and fog, well the fog was in the front yard too, but still! It added feeling to the nice adventurous setting of the land beyond.
That's what Sif decided she was going to call it! The Land Beyond! It sounded so much more .... scary. Okay, she was going to change the name to something else. Something only adventurous and not scary. Adventure Land? Adventures Await Land? Not The Front Yard?
Sif sat on her haunches and looked around at the land beyond the front yard of their den. Mommy and Mama were close by so there was not need to be really scared. Maybe Land Beyond wasn't so bad. But what if it was bigger than even Sif imagined? Taking a deep breath, Sif decided she was going to have to go exploring and name all the territories she could get to around the Land Beyond because that was just too much Beyond to just name it that.
At least one thing was decided, the den, the front yard and the backyard were Home. Mommy, Mama and her siblings were Heart. So Home was Heart. Nothing else was going to be able to be named that.
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Posted: Wed Feb 29, 2012 7:34 am
 Already exploring the "Land Beyond," Kivi was a short distance away from the den, sniffing one of the many objects there very thoroughly. What she was actually sniffing was a moss-covered rock, and she knew what rocks were, but the moss part was new and different. She was making a detailed examination of it because of its newness. Her eyes were practically crossed with the effort of looking down her nose to see the exact patch of moss she was sniffing as she sniffed it.
"It is a good day to die," she remarked to her sister. "Come out and join me. You can help me come up with a name for this stuff on the rocks."
Kivi didn't quite understand what appealed to her sister so much about naming things, but she enjoyed hearing the names Sif came up with. Lots of the time they were so much more descriptive than things' real names. And apparently there was a whole other language that things were named in, too, which was used outside the pride and someday Kivi might have to learn that, too. It was a little daunting to think about, so she didn't.
"So far I've decided it's a plant, and it's fuzzy, like the short fur above our noses or on our ears. I'm going to taste it next."
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Posted: Wed Feb 29, 2012 9:24 am
At Kivi's remark, Sif went completely cross-eyed as she tried to examine the fur above her nose. As she llooked at the fur on her nose, Sif stood and started to make her way over to Kivi. And tripped over her own paws, tumbling over herself and ending up sprawled next to the rock and the thing Kivi was examining.
Blushing to match her pink markings, Sif was immensely glad Kivi was the only one around to see that. Sif wasn't really .... she was clumsy. She couldn't walk a few feet without somehow getting tripped or tugged or something even in the den. Danger Prone, at least thats what some of the adults that were around the den said. Sif just thought she should have been born a fish. Fish didn't trip over their own fins while they swam. Then again, maybe the fish-Sif would have found a way.
Choosing to ignore the trip she'd taken, Sif concentrated on the rock's coverings. She pressed and pushed at it, sniffed it, closed one eye and used the other to look at it really closely. She gave it a lick because Kivi was going to taste it so licking it wasn't that bad. Then she got up and licked Kivi's beyond the ear fur.
The rock's fur was fuzzy and soft, but it was also squishy and wet and slimy-like. Kivi's fur behind her ear wasn't like that at all. "I think we should call it Squishy-Slimy Blanket, cause look it's covering that swamp tree log as well." Sif pointed with her tail at the moss covered tree log. It looked oddly warm and comfortable under it's Squishy-Slimy Blanket. Yet at the same time, not.
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Posted: Wed Feb 29, 2012 10:42 am
Kivi waited while Sif performed her own examination, politely pretending not to have noticed her little stumble. Kivi wasn't always steady on her feet either, but she was a lot more graceful than Sif. Usually if she said anything, she told Sif she'd definitely be less clumsy when she grew into her paws. She didn't know what that meant, but adults said it like they meant it to be reassuring.
"Hey!" she exclaimed when Sif licked the moss first. "I was getting to that. You're rushing things."
There was a frown on her face, but it didn't last long. Kivi wasn't the sort to hold grudges. Their moms told her that they were going to have enough difficulties in the pride because they had two mothers where most cubs had a mother and a father, or just one parent, and so they should try not to alienate their sibs. Alienate was a big word, but Kivi had figured out that it meant she should stay friends with her siblings.
Kivi sniffed disdainfully at her sister and then took a delicate lick of the moss. It felt a bit like nose fur, too, but colder and kind of clammy. Her next lick had more force, and then she understood what Sif meant when she said it was squishy. It was squishy. But she wouldn't agree that it was slimy. Also, it tasted like dirt.
"It tastes like dirt," she announced. "And it's not slimy. That name won't work."
But she was already making her way carefully to a log to investigate the moss there, to see if it was different.
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Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2012 8:12 pm
Sif cast her eyes down when she upset Kivi. Sif didn't like making her siblings upset or angry. Mommy and Mama said that would need to support each other, so getting them angry couldn't be supportive. "Sorry," Sif mumbled.
When Kivi started over to the log to check out it's blanket, Sif followed scrunching up her muzzle thinking of a better name. If Kivi didn't think it was slimy then others wouldn't think it was slimy either and there was no point in having a name that others wouldn't use as well. But Sif still didn't think it was like Kivi's behind the ear fur. Maybe Earth's Nose Fur Blanket? Sif needed to taste Kivi's nose fur now.
Tripping into a rather sprawled sitting position, Sif watched her sister start examining the log fur, for lack of a better name. Sif wouldn't definitely think of a better name. After she tasted Kivi's nose fur.
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Posted: Tue Apr 17, 2012 4:59 am
Kivi didn't notice Sif's downcast eyes, but she was momentarily confused when her sister apologized. She could think of no reason for Sif to be apologetic. So she'd not been as thorough in testing things as she ought to have been. These things happened.
"Silly," Kivi told her affectionately.
Her eyes narrowed just a hint when she saw Sif watching her in a way that seemed somewhat out of the ordinary. If it had been one of their other siblings, Kivi would have supposed that she was about to be pounced upon, but Sif had never done that to her. So it would have to be something else.
"Why're you looking at me like that?" she asked, trying to sound nonchalant. She didn't want to hurt Sif's feelings by directing undue suspicion toward her.
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Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2012 4:38 pm
Oh no! Sif looked away nervously. Kivi had noticed her looking at her. She was never going to get the hang of pouncing apparently. Or even thinking about being sneaky or anything like that. Kviv was right, she was silly. Probably too silly to make a proper lioness. Sif really was starting to think she was suppose to be born as a fish.
Fish didn't have to learn how to pounce and that means she wouldn't have to learn to pounce either. But that meant that she would propably be pounced upon. Not that she was pounced on often by her other siblings. And Sif had no dellusions, once she meant any other cubs or juvies, they were going to pounce on her too.
But did she have to be SO bad at being sneaky. She only wanted to examine Kivi's nose fur. Sif bit her lip. "What does the top of your nose fur taste like?"
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Posted: Tue Apr 24, 2012 10:24 am
"Um...Probably like the rest of my fur. I've never thought about it before. The only time I really notice what it tastes like is if there's dirt that I have to lick off, you know? Why? Is it important?"
She was squinting at the moss again, but now she was also trying to get her tongue to touch the top of her noise while she studied it. She could do it, but she really didn't taste anything. She wasn't sure she wanted Sif to taste her nose for her though.
"You could try it on yourself," she said, turning away from the moss. "Your tongue should reach. Mine does."
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Posted: Thu Sep 06, 2012 2:30 pm
Sif contorted herself in awkward bodily positions just to get her tongue's taste side to get a good taste of her nose fuzz. She didn't notice how silly she looked or even the flailing limbs that occured as she attempted it, she only had the concentration of tasting her snout.
All that energy and effort, and it didn't even taste like anything. Well, it kinda had the same feel of the stuff on the rock, but there was definitely no taste involved beyond dirt.
Sif frowned and plopped down to lay before the rock stuff and stare at it while she waited for a good name to come to her. "Maybe Rock Fuzzy? Or Rock Fur? Green Fur?" Sif looked up at her sister for her opinion.
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Posted: Thu Sep 06, 2012 3:03 pm
Kivi considered Sif's new suggestions as she prodded the moss contemplatively. They were much easier to say, and sounded a good deal more like what they were actually describing. All in all, much better.
"I like rock fuzzy or rock fur," she decided. "Green fur doesn't really describe it as well. We could just be talking about that priestess with the bells!"
Kivi didn't remember Saraneth's name, but the bells were pretty memorable. Each one was supposed to do something different, or so Kivi had been told. She'd never seen them in use, but the idea was still appealing.
"We should go tell our mums about it! Or maybe the Miz. He might have some good suggestions." Or he might be rude and confusing. The hyena could really go either way, but Kivi loved him no matter what. He was her brother.
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Posted: Thu Sep 06, 2012 3:10 pm
Sif smiled when Kivi confirmed her preferences. Now they just needed to decide which was better.
Sif didn't really remember the priestess or what she looked like, but she remembered lots and lots of bells. Bells she always wanted to swat at while laying on her back. But somehow she never did. Sif would like bells to swat at. She'd call them Bing and Ting. And they would be her friends even as she swat at them.
As for Miz ... well Miz scared her. But then there weren't many males that didn't scare her. Truly. But not for the normal reasons of size or anything. It was their voices. Or the potential of their voices. They boomed like thunder above her head. And if they didn't yet, they would eventually. But Kivi really liked Miz, and so Sif could go with her. And hide behind her sister.
As long as she didn't trip. Or draw attention to herself. By breathing loudly. Or blinking too often. "Do you know where Miz is?"
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Posted: Thu Sep 06, 2012 3:20 pm
Kivi grinned. "Nope! No idea!"
But finding the Miz was never difficult. One had only to listen for the sounds of a commotion or irritated reavers. Their hyena brother liked to antagonize reavers. Kivi thought it was both brave and foolish of him, and wished he wouldn't do it, but that didn't stop him.
"But it can't be that hard to find him, right? Or, y'know, we could just stay here. He'll be back around dinner, guaranteed." Kivi giggled. "He never misses dinner, does he?"
Either way worked for her. Kivi was an easy-going girl.
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Posted: Sat Sep 08, 2012 6:26 pm
And that's why Sif made sure to one of several things at meal time. One: sit silently and eat quickly. Two: make a spot to eat comfortably between Mom and Mama. Three: sit in a corner by herself. Four: sit next to Kivi who would when Kivi sat next to Miz. Five: don't eat.
Obviously the last option was not her favorite option, but sometimes it happened. Sif didn't like fighting and espeically not over food. If the fifth option popped into her head during a meal, then that meant that Sif didn't really need as much of that meal if any of it. Sif would compensate for the lost meal at the next one, but at least her siblings would get a little extra during the meal she skipped. As long as their mothers didn't catch her skipping of course. And that was harder than it seemed, but Sif did it none-the-less whenever she felt the need.
"True. Miz never misses a meal. Did you want to go look for him then or continue to explore?"
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Posted: Sun Sep 09, 2012 7:18 am
"Iunno," Kivi said. "D'you think the Miz would be mean about it?"
She knew the Miz was more than capable of being sharp-tongued. He had some of the most amazing insults ever! But he wouldn't turn it on her and Sif. They were his sisters and their moms would be really mad at him if he did.
Obviously, she didn't have Sif's hang-ups about their hyena sib, and because she tended to look for the best in people she had a hard time seeing the things in the Miz that made Sif so uncomfortable around him. She actually hadn't made the connection that Sif was uncomfortable.
"I could go look for him, if you want. Maybe you could decide which name is better by the time I come back?"
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Posted: Mon Sep 10, 2012 8:30 pm
Sif perked up at that. Kivi could go and find Miz and it would give Sif time to at least try to be a lioness instead of a fish. "I think that's a good idea, Kivi. And maybe if you find one of the Moms, they could put in a vote too. Or any of the others as well." After all, it wasn't their Rock Fuzz. It was everyone's Rock Fur. And everyone should get a chance to decide which name was the better name.
"I'll decide which one is better by the time you get back!" Sif smiled feeling almost like a real non-fish lion. Almost. Because Sif knew the moment others got here, she'd feel like the out of place fish, but at least she could help by naming things.
A flower lay near by, and Sif instantly named it a Decision Flower. When Kini left, Sif would pluck the flower and using the petals, decide which name was really the best one. Plan made and ready to go.
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