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 Posted: Tue Sep 11, 2012 7:26 am
 Many a times, Jamadagni has bedded down with a lioness in the evening and woken to a sense of ... Jackal Ugly situation. Where he needs to be extra careful and escape as the pre-dawn light just started to invade the sanctuary of the night.
Thankfully, this wasn't one of those days. In fact, it was the complete opposite, where Jama knew that somehow he'd pleased a higher entity and was being rewarded. Mazal was that reward, at least this morning. A surge of contentment and appreciation welled up and turned to something else. Something Jama really couldn't identify and didn't try to. He wasn't a complicated lion, and that just seemed like a complicated emotion and feeling.
And Mazal didn't seemed to be complicated herself. A dock in his wandering desert sea. Jama smiled to himself and quietly and carefully slipped out of the comfortably small den. Morning treat for himself and for his new found ... friend was in perfect order.
Could he call Mazal a friend yet? Or was there some other label or title he should be giving her? Jama shook his head at his ridiculous thoughts. Whatever they were, they were easy and his morning wayward thoughts were trending too far into over-thinking.
Time for food.
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Posted: Tue Sep 11, 2012 11:07 pm
 Mazal thought she had heard someone stir. She opened one of her eyes and saw Jamadagni. At first she felt her body tense, but than she allowed herself to relax. She wasn't sure what she was expecting to happen. Did she think that Jama was going to sneak away at night? She knew that she had thought about leaving, but felt the need to stay. For once she had found someone like minded. She did not want to ruin their friendship because she wasn't used to it.
She silently watched him for a moment, deciding what she wanted to do. Last night had been one of her more peaceful nights. Terrors of the night did not visit her. Only the peaceful darkness did. She wondered if it was because of Jamadagni or if there was something else. Either way she was happy for a good night rest.
Once she was ready, she pushed herself up and walked toward him. "Good morning," she said. She sat down next to him and looked around the land. The land she was desperately looking for was out there. It would take them a few more days to travel, but that shouldn't be a problem. They would just need to make sure they were never hungry on their trip. She had learned from her travels not to take prey for granite, that if the opportunity was to present itself that she should hunt rather than be hungry later.
She wasn't partially hungry yet, though she was hardly ever hungry. Her thought went to Jamadagni and wondered if he was hungry at all. "If you would like I can catch us some prey." She felt that she owed the kind lion something for traveling with her. She felt it would be rude of her not to offer to hunt for him.
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Posted: Wed Sep 12, 2012 6:15 am
Jama turned his head to Mazal stirring and joining him outside of their temporary den. He had either not been as quiet as he thought, or Mazal was a light sleeper. Probably the latter, since they both traveled alone most of the time. It didn't sit well when there was a portion of time where an enemy could sneak up and attack or where the unexpected could tumbled down on their heads. Sleeping light was the way of the solitary wanderer, and that quality was never going to change. Not with one night of company and not, Jamadagni doubted, with years of family, friends and pride surrounding them. In fact that would probably making sleeping harder.
With that thought in his head, Jamadagni felt a new surge of appreciation for Mazal. Not only was she graceful, even in the mornings, but she was brave. Braver than he himself was. He couldn't see himself settling down only to start to worry about those he surrounded himself with. He'd probably only fall into a light sleep and wake up after three to four hours. No being alone, or with a new found companion only was the way to go.
Despite the prey Jama had taken down with Mazal's help the night before, or because of it, there was no hunger, only the survival and habit of the rogue hunter. If there's prey about, eat it.
When Mazal offered to go out hunting, Jamadagni had mixed reaction. He hunted for himself, and many times for those that couldn't do for themselves as he traveled. But Mazal was a good huntress, and lioness tended to be better hunters than lions. Plus wasn't there some kind of protocol about this? He didn't know how to react or what to say. Finally, hoping he wasn't going to screw this up after their first time traveling together, he nodded. "If there's fowl or small prey in the area, I think we could hunt that, ensuring we have food as fuel as we travel, but are not blotted. What do you think?"
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Posted: Wed Sep 12, 2012 2:45 pm
Mazal gave him a nod. "I like that plan." She felt that they must have been on the same wave length. She had always thought that traveling with a companion would lead to arguments between them as they traveled. However so far her and Jamadagni hit it off pretty well. As much as she hated to admit it, she would hate it if they did have a disagreement. She was sure that if they did have an argument, that it wouldn't be a huge issue. It certainty wouldn't ruin their friendship. She wouldn't let her first real friendship end like that.
"Shall we see what we find?" she asked, able to hide the eagerness in her voice. She was a bit interested to see what the day had in store for them. Going to new lands was exciting, even fore Mazal, though she would never admit it. Plus for the first time she was traveling with someone. This small journey was becoming quite a new experience for her.
And she was with someone so interesting. She felt that he respected her, just like she respected him. From her own experience she knew that some lions felt that lioness were beneath them. She didn't get that vibe from Jamadagni. Plus she felt pleasant when she was near him. At first she wasn't sure if she liked the feeling, but it had started to grow on her.
Her thoughts went to the pride they were heading to. A pride of peace, she thought with a genuine smile. Peace was something she had always lacked in her life. Finding a place that allowed her to finally settle down, she would not need to fight anymore. There would be no more bloodshed on her paws. She could even start a family if she wanted to. That thought was so ridiculous to her, yet it made her warm inside. She knew she wasn't the mother type, but she thought that maybe she could turn into the type?
She glanced at Jamadagni. He would make the perfect mate for her. He was handsome, and together they made a striking pair. His personality blended wither her and they worked together well. If things had been different they could have been the perfect couple, she thought.
"Mizani'Ulimwengu, should be a few days travel from here. I don't know about the terrain though. The pride is hidden in a giant jungle. It shouldn't be too hard to find." she said, bringing her thoughts back to reality. Now was not the time to daydream.
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Posted: Wed Sep 12, 2012 4:31 pm
Mazal's smile intrigued Jama because she lite up with that small. And glowed, warming as they should outside the den they'd used. It was ... breathtaking. Jamadagni mentally shook himself. He didn't want to be caught staring, at least not this early in their travels. Maybe by the time they stopped tonight, Jama would find a way to brouch the subject of ... friends with benefits that enjoy sharing some ...pleasant activities. Without creeping the lioness out. Afterall, he was a single lion rogue. Many single rogue lions and lionesses became bitter, insane, unhinged and did things that Jama just didn't approve of. He didn't want Mazal to mistake him for one of those lost souls.
Jamadagni brought his concentration and attention back to the task at hand. Food and direction. Mazal sounded like she knew where she was going, but it was always a good idea to get up high and redirect yourself. Sometimes, without realizing it, the landscape changed, turning a lion around if they weren't watching. If could have happened last night as they made their way to their little sleeping area.
"Do you object to hunting and then climbing that peak over their?" Jama nudged her shoulder gently to indicate which large steep hill he meant. It was the first friendly touching he'd initiated outside the den, where there was more of an excuse to touch and be touched because of the close quarters. Outside, not so much. The day would have to be a careful balance of light touches and flirtatious comments.
Jama was actually nervous about it, despite his past experience, this was ... well it was more than the one night stands he'd had with out felines. He had had no intention of traveling with them or visiting them after they arrived to their destination. Mazal though, well obviously that was not the case.
"The height will give us the advantage of seeing the terrain and in a way confirming our direction. We should see some jungle or woods from that height if the pride's lands are within a few days travel from here."
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Posted: Fri Sep 14, 2012 1:30 pm
When he nudge her, she wasn't sure how to react. Instead she just looked at the direction he was talking about. She didn't want to make a big deal of him touching her. It was a nice feeling though, she thought, and she wouldn't be upset if he were to do it again.
"That sounds good to me. We shouldn't have an issue hunting down some prey. And seeing the area around us is a good idea. It could help us see if there is any activity that we might want to... avoid." She knew that she could hold her own in a fight, and was sure that Jamadagni could do the same. However she didn't want to fight. She wanted to leave that part of her behind.
She noticed a flock of large birds getting a drink from a near by creek. "What do you think of them," she nodded her head down toward the birds. She could feel herself getting into her hunting mode. Hunting was a task that she actually enjoyed doing. As long as she was hunting prey, she enjoyed herself.
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Posted: Sat Sep 15, 2012 3:17 pm
Jama always felt that hunting birds was difficult, more difficult than some of the bigger beast that weren't technically prey, but he'd made into prey every now and again when necessary. But then he'd been a solitary hunter for most of his life, so expect for a falcon hunting companion every now and again, he'd never dined on fresh bird. They always flew away long before he could even start to plan the how of pouncing and catching them.
Hopefully, this wouldn't make Mazal think less of him, but ... Smiling, Jama admitted, "I am embarrassed to say, Mazal, but I have never hunted bird before. At least not without a bird of prey hunting companion, which happens very rarely. I will gladly follow your instruction, if you would lead the hunt."
And that would give him some more opportunity find the right way to suggest a little more than friendship on their journey together. A strong female accelerated Jama's attraction. He just doubted he'd ever met a more compatible lioness, or female in general, before Mazal. Not just strong and able, but someone that shared a similar mind set, thoughts, beliefs, among other things.
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Posted: Mon Sep 17, 2012 3:42 pm
Mazal was a bit surprised when he said he had never hunted birds before. When she started her training years ago, one of her exercises was to learn how to hunt different prey animals. At the time she enjoyed the experience, however now she usually only hunted when she needed to and never just for fun.
She liked that he smiled. Not knowing how to do something wasn't something to be embarrassed about. She liked how he did ask for help. "I wouldn't mind leading at all. Since we are teaming up it shouldn't be as hard to catch them. My thought is that one of us could be the distraction. The distraction would come from the front, quietly at first. The other will go around behind the birds. Once the birds notice the distraction they will be on edge.The moment they get started enough, the other will pounce them from behind before they fly too high."
She gave him a smile. "But that's just what I suggest we do. If you want to go with it you can pick if you want to be the distraction or the hunter. Either way is good with me. It is nice to have a chance to team up to hunt for once. I've never had the chance to work with a lion to hunt, so this will be a new experience for me." She thought that she would have liked to have a partner when she was younger. Though she knew that if she had a partner when she was younger that a lot of her personality probably would have been different.
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Posted: Mon Nov 05, 2012 4:35 pm
Jama's grinned widened at the thought of hunting birds, of pouncing them just as they noticed something else, and what that something else might be doing. "If you don't mind, I'd like a hand at distracting the birds. I'll watch you and make sure to learn how to properly sneak up on them as their being distracted." Jama leaned in close and lowered his voice just a tad. "Honestly, I'd probably end up distracting them from whatever distraction you thought up. I can picture myself stumbling over the birds rather than properly pouncing them. I'll have to make sure and practice, after this initiation."
Jama stretched and popped his spine thinking about the silly distractions he could do to keep the birds' attention on him until it was too late. He thought about the times when he'd hunted with others. "Sometimes, when the two partners are on the same leaf, I find the hunt to be an intimate and almost meditative state. Everything just falls into place. You don't even have to speak to know what the other is thinking or what they're going to do next."
Looking out over the entire horizon, a memory rose up from when he was a bit younger. Not an adolescence, but a young lion none the less. "But there have been times where I've been hunting and the fellow with me has made the hunt worse. They become challenging or prideful against you. One huntress I met doubted everything I did. I had to go out and hunt a giraffe alone in the end." Smiling, he refocused on Mazal. "I don't think that's going to be a problem today, do you?"
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Posted: Tue Nov 06, 2012 2:21 pm
Intimate, she never thought of hunting like that. Then again she always hunted alone, so it would make sense. Getting a chance to get closer to Jamadagni wasn't something she would regret. He was the first in the rogue lands that she felt a connection to. Having a more intimate relationship seemed like it could be the next step in their relationship. He seemed interested in it, she thought, feeling her heart beat louder. It was because of the hunt, she reminded herself.
“Practice will help. If we travel long enough, I can help you some more if we come across more we can do another hunt, though you can do the catching and I can do the distracting.” She said with a nod. Mazal then listened to him speak and about his giraffe hunting experence. “I feel hunting in pairs is something that must be done carefully. If one is too focused on themselves and showing off, it could distract their partner or cause them to lose the prey.” Hunting was a bit life relationships, she thought. It had to click together right, or it wouldn't work at all.
“Don't worry about me. When I hunt, catching my prey is all I think about.” She said, giving him one of her rare smiles again. She ducked down into the grass as she walked behind the birds. Her mind wasn't just on hunting though. It was partially on her new partner. It had been odd how she had just decided to go over to him when they first met. She wondered if maybe there was some sort of higher power that was helping her. Her whole life was spent not believing in the gods, however now she questioned it, because she felt that is was impossible that she was actually falling in love. That was something she could never do.
She peeked over the grass to see where Jamadagni was. In a moment she would strike.
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Posted: Tue Nov 06, 2012 2:57 pm
Jama was distracted for a moment, watching Mazal prowling through the grass on her way to get behind the birds. He snapped himself out of it quickly, but the image stayed with him. Beautiful and wise. A rare combination to stumble across.
Pulling his mind, concentration, and attention to the task at paw, Jama stored the image, feelings, and thoughts away from further examination later. After he didn't make a fool of himself during this hunt. After they were successful. Crouching down in the grass, Jama moved slowly and quietly through the waving stalks until he was sure he was in front of the birds.
Now he just had to quickly decide how to distract the things. The wind would help bring their attention onto him in seconds from now, and away from Mazal since he was upwind of them. To bad he couldn't distract his mind into coming up with a distraction plan while he had stalked foward instead of attempting to NOT focus on Mazal. Too late now. A strong breeze came and blew his scent toward the birds. A stronger scent now for ... well for reasons he'd much rather not focus on.
Jama stopped crouching and quickly stood. He got onto his hind paws, before balancing himself onto his back right paw. Then he posed. Facing to the right, so the birds would see the silly, confusing profile of a lion standing on one paw, tail curled into a spiral, one front paw extended and almost pointing into the distance, while the other was tucked into his chest. If this didn't distract the birds long enough for Mazal to get most of them, then he was the worst distracter ever.
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Posted: Tue Nov 06, 2012 4:12 pm
When she caught sight of Jama, she had to chuckle to herself. It was an interesting strategy, she would give him that. She bent back down while the birds watch Jama, she moved closer and closer until she was ready to strike. With a quick pounce she grabbed two of the birds with her paws, pinning their wings down.
“Sorry about this,” Mazal said as she broke their wings.Then she saw the rest flying away. She darted after them and did a quick pounce before they could get too high, catching another in her mouth. Gracefully she fell to the ground and landed on all fours. She brought the third to the other two and laid it next to them. “I think that will be enough.”
She quickly finished them off, so they wouldn't be in anymore pain. Sometimes she wished she could just stop killings things, but in the end it was in her blood and she couldn't change that. The best she could do was thank her prey for their sacrifice and make sure none of their meat was wasted.
Once they were dead she picked them up in her mouth and headed toward Jama. She was curious about what had inspired his distraction performance. It was something she had never seen before. It did the trick though. Once she was close to him, she set down the birds. “I didn't catch as many as I wanted, but I think this will be enough for both of us. I was wondering what inspired your distraction? It was very... unique.” She said holding back a laugh. She wondered what the birds thought of him.
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Posted: Tue Nov 06, 2012 4:46 pm
When the flock flew away, Jama collasped. It was not a pleasant feeling, stretching his muscles into that pose, but it had been worth it. Three birds dangled from Mazal mouth when Jama finally felt his muscle relax enough to stand and move toward her. Not that he needed to. She was in front of him before he realized it. She was quick, which was a good thing. A great thing actually.
Jama threw her a grin at her question. "I think three birds is just fine for breakfast." They looked delicious especially since ... well Jama wasn't going to go there. Not right now.
He settled back down with the birds in front of him and looked up at Mazal, hoping she'd sit next to him sooner rather than later. "Promise you won't tell any one else? I have a small reputation to protect. Can't have the prey out there start getting smart one my ways." He teased as he pulled one of the birds towards him and started to de-feather the meal. He hated to eat feathers. "I panicked. I couldn't think of anything else to do by the time the wind had pushed my scent towards them. So I did the silliest thing I could think of on the spot." Jama smiled, inviting Mazal to laugh with him at himself. After all, it was ridiculous.
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Posted: Tue Nov 06, 2012 8:11 pm
Mazal sat down near him. They worked well together, she thought as she laid down the birds. Perhaps she wasn't meant to hunt alone forever. “I promise I won't tell.” She said with a nod. When he explained, she did laugh. “And here I thought it was some sort of clever strategy. No matter though. It did the trick.”
She started to eat one of the birds. “I think we made a pretty good team.” She stated, after a couple bites. “I've never had a better hunting partner, one that I felt confident with. Usually I have to worry about them screwing up, but I knew you could distract those birds, even if the distraction was a bit different.” She laughed again thinking of it. How long had it been since she laughed? To long, she thought.
“I would like to thank you for traveling with me again. I know I could have made it there by myself, but I am glad to have company for my trip. You are so different then anyone I have met, the first who I feel comfortable to be with.” She said, speaking her mind. Once she was done, she gave him a smile. She hoped that her thoughts wouldn't trouble him. If it had been the other way around, she wasn't sure how she would react. Instead of worrying about it, she continued to eat her bird.
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Posted: Wed Nov 07, 2012 9:14 pm
Jama returned her smile. He didn't remember smiling this much with any one creature before. Then again, most of the lions and beasts he'd known, he had not planned to spend any length of time with beyond a day and night. And they did make a good team, so hunting would be all the more enjoyable. And the birds tasted even better somehow.
"I should be thanking you. I've never even heard of this place and pride before. An adventure to a new place, good company along the way, and good hunting. Not much more I could ask for, actually." Jama finished his de-feathered bird and used his claws to dissect the last remaining one down the middle. Normally, he'd have given it to some scavengers he thought needed it, but in this case, he and Mazal had quite a bit of traveling to do. The last bit of food would keep their energies up for a while yet.
"Mazal, I feel very comfortable around you too. No pressure or tension." Well, negative tension. "Friends. Almost like I've known you for a while already."
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