|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Fri Dec 21, 2012 11:35 am
A frown slowly began to appear at the thought of the trouble she'd be in if her mother ever found out. They were her pride and joy. Not only were they a full female litter but her father was a god which only doubled the pride. Luckily there wasn't much expected of her. She did after-all have seven other sisters and a few half siblings out in the world somewhere. No, she's make something of herself. Her linage proved that much. There was no way she'd just sit idly by and become another in the crowd. Maybe that was why she was out so early in the morning.
Why she was really out was a mystery to even her at this point. There was just something...pulling her almost out into the night.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Dec 25, 2012 2:23 pm
On the surface, Kovu would deny any envy towards the Pridelands. Their lions were lesser. Weaker. They were spoiled and snobbish, with upturned noses and sour demeanors. He’d never been, but Kovu recalled his mother’s stories. Even his father, demure and soft, had been from there, once. It reflected in the colors of his coat, soft and pale as compared to the darker Outlanders. To this day, the older lion seemed… softer. More easy-going.
It was something Kovu both envied and hated.
Tonight, he sat at the border of their lands, where the grass began dying and the dirt grew harder. Even he could admit that the night made it more lovely- that grand rock, stark against the sky, dark against the dark. What a sight to behold!
He had to wonder, though. Would they know what their home looked like, from the distant darkened sky? Would they know its beauty? Likely not, if the stories his mother had told him were true. Ugly souls, ignorant of the beauty they were provided with.
They likely wouldn’t see the beauty of his home, either.
The sound of crunching grass stirred Kovu from his thoughts. There, coming from the distance, was a young lioness. Not one of his, but… why was she out here? Did she not know the dangers, just at the border? Sighing, the older lion trod over to the lioness. He was quiet on his paws, of course- years of experience bred that into him- and he cleared his throat.
“Such a young lioness, out on her own. Aren’t you aware of how dangerous the things out here at night are?” Kovu asked, tilting his head to the side. This was followed by a chuckle- a deep, rumbling thing- and he simply regarded the lioness.
“Myself excluded, of course. You’d be dead, were I so inclined to harm you.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Dec 25, 2012 2:34 pm
A audible yelp escaped Huo Banshui's throat at the sudden words. The growing cub jumped, stumbling back as her eyes widened at the male lion that was suddenly so close to her. Where the hell had he come from?! He didn't look like any lion she knew but there were so many members in the Pridelands it was possible for him to be a member and no one to really know it.
She was just about to ask him if he was a Pridelander as well but he managed to speak first. Dangerous? "O-of course I do! I've been out here plenty of times!" She retorted, her eyes suddenly narrowing at the full grown male, nose flaring, ears going back, tail flicking angrily behind her and her chest puffed out as she spoke. "Besides, I'm not worried about you or anything really. My daddy's a god and my mama would beat that mane off of you if you hurt me. Sooo..." Her demeanor suddenly changed, no longer as threatened as she was just moments ago after she reminded herself about the safety her pride offered her. "Whatcha doing out here mister?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Dec 25, 2012 3:54 pm
A mortal, the child of a god? Well well! This was certainly an interesting turn of events! Smiling in a nearly predatory fashion, Kovu lowered himself to sit near the little lioness, looking her over with great curiosity. She was spoiled, certainly- that much was evident in her physical stature. And that she had announced herself as the child of a god… wasn’t that terribly telling? Kovu had to bite back a scathing remark on the nature of Gods, to keeps from scaring the girl off. No, he wasn’t getting rid of her when she was this interesting.
“Oh, I wasn’t speaking of myself. I worry about elephants, confident in their ability to trample little lionesses. Hungry, opportunistic alligators.” He rambled, clearly unphased by her threats. Good luck, he thought, the honeyed saccharine slipping from his demeanor. No God alive could overcome the will and the strength of an Outlander at their best. And Kovu was very certainly at his best, as of late.
“Me?” He asked, surprised by her interest in him. He’d expected her to only have her thoughts on herself; maybe bugs, if she were so inclined. But asking of him was… strange, really.
Just childish curiosity, he supposed.
“Enjoying the lovely evening, I suppose. Appreciating the view,” Kovu offered, nodding in the direction of Pride Rock. It was a monolith, even if the Pridelanders didn’t know it. Something they all saw and looked upon. Envied, hated… no matter the feelings, it was something they all felt and knew. Every Outlander spoke of it in hushed tones, acknowledged it in secret.
Why? Why did they not deserve something so grand?
“Do you need an escort back to your den? I’d hate for something to happen to you,” he murmured, drawing his attention back to the young lioness.
Yes. Better to think on less upsetting things.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Dec 25, 2012 6:19 pm
"Elephants?" The small cub questioned, her head tilting to the side. "We've never had much trouble with the herds in the Pridelands but I suppose they could stampede..." It wasn't something she would enjoy. Being trampled or eaten by crocodiles that is.
"The views?" Huo Banshui's head turned around to look towards the direction he motioned his head in. "Oh you mean Pride Rock? Yeah, it is pretty awesome looking right? You could come visit you know." She paused a moment, pawing at the ground as she averted her eyes from the older feline. He was an odd fellow, that was for sure but there was something about how he spoke that made her want to just stay out and talk to him. Her head raised and she swiftly shook it.
"I don't need an escort. I got out here by myself, I'd like to think I could get back just as fine." Four little paws carried her as she jogged around in a circle, making a pass around the unknown lion. "So you got a name or should I just call you my guardian since you seem so worried about my safety?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Dec 25, 2012 8:10 pm
“No? Well that’s very fortunate. I’d hate to think of anything happening to such a lovely young lioness,” Kovu practically purred, amused by how easy it was to sway the cubs of the Pridelands. An Outlander would be… tough. Disciplined. Not believe the words of a stranger, without reason. How were these cubs so naïve?
Humored by her easy nature, Kovu fell back on his haunches to sit with the girl. She was… so lackadaisical. It was completely foreign to him. Had his father been like this, as a cub? He was going to have to ask. It might be a hard conversation, but… Kovu was curious. And perhaps it would make them closer, if they discussed it. Father and son bonding.
But for now…
“Ah. I’m not… The thought of visiting makes me nervous, perhaps another time,” he supplied, looking up to Pride Rock once more. Oh, the situation it’d cause if he visited. His subjects would have his head, if nothing else, for the action. It just wasn’t heard of, Pridelanders and Outlanders getting on.
Well. Anymore, anyway. He’d heard the stories of the current ruler, but…
“Well then. I won’t intrude on your adventure, little miss.” Kovu responded, deciding that he would have nothing to do with Pride Rock today. Besides, acting as an escort would mean he’d have to possibly deal with the royal family. And that wouldn’t do at all.
At the question of his name, or being her guardian, Kovu raised his eyebrow. What a strange question. They didn’t even know each other, and here she was, so trusting and innocent. A scathing remark came to his tongue, ready to be said… and yet, he didn’t. Kovu regarded the cub, and gave her a bemused smile. What a peculiar little girl.
“I suppose, for now, your guardian would work,” he agreed, not yet willing to give his name.
“And what is your name, dear heart?”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Dec 25, 2012 8:17 pm
"Bannie!" Came the quick reply to the question of her name. Instantly she became flustered at her outburst, slinking back as she looked away almost shyly. Well that was embarrassing! What in the hell got over her? Oh geez, was he looking at her? Should she say something else? Gathering her courage, Huo Banshui looked back at him, trying to regain the dignity she had lost in that single word.
"Well, that's what my family calls me. You on the otherhand can refer to me as 'Princess' since you're not family." She was no princess by blood, but she sure seemed to act like it sometimes.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Dec 25, 2012 9:46 pm
“Princess?” He repeated, shock evident on his face. The would-be king was typically good at schooling his features, but… this little lioness was something else. This innocence was not something he had been taught to deal with- not even Sukari had told him of the eases of Pridelander life, to this extent. It was almost as if they lived in different worlds.
“I… Bannie sounds much cuter to me, though if you wish to be called Princess, so be it,” Kovu finally conceded, unable to keep from genuinely smile. They were different, these cubs, but it wasn’t a bad thing. They were what he, in the deepest places of his heart, hoped the cubs of the Outlands might be like. That they could laugh, and be care-free. Play without worry, where it was for fun and not training. Perhaps, someday, it could be a reality.
For now, he would humor this girl.
“You know that you speak to another prince, correct?” Kovu asked, tone still humored and jovial. He was honestly unable to stop smiling- as silly as this all was, it was terribly contagious. His tail flicked slightly with his mirth, and the large lion continued.
“Should I ask you to address me as Prince then, Princess? Or am I to be humbled to Guardian, for the rest of my days?”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Dec 26, 2012 11:33 am
A prince?! Oh man would her sisters be jealous once they knew she was talking to a prince. Though the young cub raised a brow as a question brewed in her mind, itching to come off of her tongue. "So what are you the prince of? A termite mound?" There was a hint of playfulness in her last words as she made her way back around to sit in front of him.
"Hm..no, I'd rather think you a guardian than a prince, since I knew you as that before I knew you were a prince.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Dec 26, 2012 9:17 pm
Oh, that struck too close of a chord. Kovu managed to steel his reaction and not show his anger, though he was certainly upset by the comment. There was more to the Outlands than dead termite mounds, he wanted to protest. But this cub was so young, and wouldn’t understand. Another day, perhaps, he would explain it.
“My pride is small, dear princess. Not one whose name is well known, especially in these parts,” Kovu fibbed, honeying his tone slightly. With the way this cub carried herself, he wasn’t certain if she’d know the history of the Outlands or not. Personally, he thought it better not to risk it.
“We shall stick with Guardian, then,” he agreed, once more slipping into the ease of the conversation. It was better, the less she knew. For now.
“Do you intend to stay out the whole night, little princess? I cannot imagine your parents would be pleased, should they wake and find you missing.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Dec 26, 2012 9:25 pm
Huo Banshui's ears went back at the mention of her parents. Diverting her eyes, she finally spoke after moments of silence. "I have seven other sisters, no brothers. I don't think my mother would miss me if I was gone before she woke. So long as I came back, of course. As for my parents I have only one. I know of my father, but I do not know him." Another moment of silence and she looked up at him, her face contorted into a large frown, her jaw quivered, her brows furrowed as she looked back up at him. "You better miss me when I leave." Or he'd be sorry. At least that's what she wanted to say as well but managed to refrain from doing so.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Dec 26, 2012 9:44 pm
At the mention of her mother, Kovu frowned slightly. It wasn’t one of his fake charms for impressing people; no, he understood not being the favored sibling. He wanted to assure her that it would be worse with less siblings, but… it did not seem the time for such a comment. Instead, in an uncharacteristically charitable moment, he moved to offer the young cub an embrace. Nothing too intimate, but a sympathetic sign of understanding.
“I did not have so many siblings, but… it was made clear to me, from my birth, that I was not my mother’s favorite. She was not terribly fond of me at all,” he admitted, strangely willing to be honest on his past with this cub. The future? No. But his past was not something she could change, or influence. Not where Sarafinah was concerned, at any rate.
He could not help the piteous look when she nearly begged him to miss her. It was not in so many words, nor was it so kind, but Kovu understood it all the same. He hugged the little lioness once more, this time more generous with his affections.
“You shall be missed, little princess. And dearly. I’ll count the sunrises until we meet again, if it so pleases you.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Dec 26, 2012 10:35 pm
The hugs were weird, but they were also good. It was something that she had never really gotten from any of her family before. Sure there were nuzzles and things of brief affection, but for some reason this hug felt reassuring. Regardless though, it was something appreciated. Doubly so with the second hug.
"That's good or I'd be mad."
"Huo Banshui!" Came another voice, this time an older female's. It was distant, worried and nearing a frantic state. Ki, her mother, was out in the early morning. Having woken up and down her head count she had noticed that she was one short. Only seven of her darling girls were sleeping around her and the mother had gone into a panicked state as she hurried from Pride Rock, yelling and asking any scout she passed if they had seen her little girl.
Ears turned back, her throat soar and her tail tucked under her, the pridelander scoured their hunting lands for her daughter. "Huo Banshui! Where are you?!" She yelled again, her voice growing ever desperate.
It was just loud enough though to reach the little cub's ears as it caught her attention. In the midst of her second hug, the flame-tailed cub's head turned towards the direction of the owner of the voice. "Mother?" Her little voice echoed.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Dec 26, 2012 10:45 pm
The older lioness’ voice reached Kovu’s ears well before the cub reacted. Looking down at her, he couldn’t help but laugh.
“See? And here you thought she wouldn’t be worried,” he chuckled, stepping back to properly distance himself from her. He might not have had the best relationship with his own mother, but Kovu was not fool enough to know a protective lioness when he saw one. Padding back some steps from Bannie, he sat back and offered the new lioness a kind smile.
“Your Huo Banshui is fine. A bit too excited to see the world, for a girl so young, but fine none the less. It’s a rather good thing she did not make the border to the Outlands,” he commented, turning his attentions back to the pride from whence he came,
“Or she might have very well met someone considerably less friendly than I.” And wasn’t that the truth? If someone like Mauld had found her… Kovu suppressed the thought immediately.
He once more looked to Bannie, serious in expression this time.
“Do be careful when you wander, little princess. Times are not what they were, and as I said- there are far meaner things out there than I. Your mother would be beside herself with worry, I’d believe, if something happened to you.”
There. It wasn’t entirely an I-told-you-so, but he had been right. Kovu was both smug and thankful that things, for this little girl, were not so bad as he’d initially been lead to believe.
“No more late night adventures, yes?”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Dec 26, 2012 10:58 pm
Ki approached with a much more tense, worried expression that quickly shifted to that of an angry mother as she saw the male lion near her. More importantly, it was one he did not recognize to be a member of the Pridelands which meant he was either from another pride or a rogue. The first obviously a much better option but still close to as bad as the second. With a low growl, the mother approached, her once limp tail now raised as her claws came out to rake against the ground.
"And just what were you doing with my daughter?" She questioned as she moved to pull the growing cub away from Kovu, putting a bit of distance between her daughter and the rogue.
"Mama, don't worry. He's nice!" The little girl cried, her brow furrowed as she stared up as her dam. Why was her mother so angry that he was with her? Did she know him or something? He didn't seem bad to her...
"Shush, Huo Banshui." The mother shushed her daughter, putting a paw around her to pull her closer to her body. "You shouldn't even be out here. You could have gotten hurt. We might be accepting of rogues but that does not mean we are not cautious. Especially...you," Ki spat the last word out, referring to the dark-maned male as her attention turned back up to him. "Where are you from? You're obviously not from around here or you would have just brought her back to Pride Rock."
"He's a prince, mama! Not a rogue."
"A prince you say?" Well that may change things but now it depended on one important answer to an important question. "So where is this 'prince' from?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
