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 Posted: Fri May 31, 2013 5:07 pm
Ni sighed, as he left his newest nesting place. He'd been here long enough, and it was finally time to move on. Looking back, he felt strange about his choice in places to sleep. Especially after the encounter he's had. He was still a bit dumbfounded by the strange experience with that lioness. A shudder ran down his spine, and he shrugged it off. The lioness was long gone, and so were her rather strange ways of doing things. But if that was the case, why was he still so weirded out? He equated it to having never experienced such a thing before, and continued on. He'd never been to this area before, and he hoped that during his travels here, he wasn't going to run into very many strange lions. Mtoto had been quite a handful, and he wasn't prepared to deal with something like that again. At least, not yet he wasn't. .
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Posted: Fri May 31, 2013 5:15 pm
Quinlan was hovering over a small flower patch, pawing at a small flower sitting in front of him. He smiled down at the rooted plant, brushing his paw over the petals in a somewhat dramatic sweep. He watched as his paw moved past the flower, which had vanished from sight. In its place say a small hare, who was looking up at him like his heart was going to explode through his chest at any moment. The terror in his expression was natural when looking at a lion, but Quinlan only smiled at him. "don't worry, little friend. You helped me with my trick, so you're free to go. I'm glad you helped me figure out the movements- I wouldn't eat you for that!" The little creature nodded and jumped away, which amused him to watch. Sighing, he turned his head, spotting a pale lion moving in his direction. Night and day, they were. "Well hello," he offered kindly, flattening his right ear against his head. When he brought it back forward, the flower from earlier was resting behind it, nestled contently in his mane like it had been there all along. "New to the area, my friend?"
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Posted: Fri May 31, 2013 5:23 pm
Ni's attentiveness was out the window and he strolled along without much in the way of watching his step. It wasn't until he nearly tripped over a hare that he pulled himself into the here and now. He watched for moment as the hare dashed out of site. Where had it come from? It was definitely a random sight, in his time here so far he hadn't seen one. Shaking his head free of the hare, he figured it was probably a good idea to watch his step from here on out. Less he run into another random hare. The voice hit him pretty quickly, and Ni perked his head up to the sound of the male's voice. "Greetings friend!" He hollered from a distance, quickening his pace a bit to better hear the other's voice. He had to blink once or twice to make sure he wasn't seeing things. But sure enough something had appeared behind his ear, he was near certain it hadn't been there a few moments ago. "Actually, yeah! How did you know?" Ni shifted his eyes from left to right, and lowered his voice in disappointment. "Is it that obvious?"
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Posted: Fri May 31, 2013 5:46 pm
Quinlan laughed. "No, I suppose it's not obvious," he said lightly, "I just happen to be a regularly here so I know most of the locals, that's all. You look just as sturdy as any of the other lions around here, trust me." he moved a little closer, not the type to feel threatened or nervous in company. He was generally too smart to be out-witted, and too quick to be attacked. So he allowed himself room for be casual with strangers. "My name is Quinlan, and I live near here. Is there anything I can help you find? Most of the lions who come this way are looking for the tree pride." He smiled- it was a nice place, but only if you have the right coat. He, for example, did not belong there... at all. but he didn't mind. Living in the trees sounded more like a leopard thing, anyway.
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Posted: Fri May 31, 2013 5:58 pm
Ni let out a sigh of relief and visibly relaxed at Quinlan's words. "Phew, for a second there you had me worried." The male let out a chuckle to make himself more comfortable. It seemed Quinlan didn't have an issue with boundaries, and while he didn't either it was something he wasn't used to. "I am Ni'awtu Ni'ul, but you may call me Ni. Least, that's what everyone else calls me." Ni shrugged his shoulders, at his own words. He didn't have much opinion to how what he was called, a name was merely a label. It had nothing to do with who he really was. "It's good to meet you Quinlan, you have a fine home here." Ni flicked his tail against his leg. "I wasn't looking for anything in particular to be honest. Though I have heard of this tree pride before ... is it really near here?" His interest was perked, if only because he knew Mtoto came from there. Perhaps Quinlan knew more about the pride, and he could find out if Mtoto was just an odd exception.
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Posted: Fri May 31, 2013 6:19 pm
"Yes, it's not more than a couple days from here," Quinlan hummed, "I see a lot of lions with your kind of coloring heading through here on their way to it. I guess it's a pretty peaceful place." He smiled lightly. It intrigued him that this lion who looked so much like the others lions from that place was not intentionally seeking it out. Or maybe he was and he just didn't want to talk about it. Either way, he wasn't going to poke and prod too much. Apparently he got into trouble when he was too forceful with his questioning sometimes and it got to be a little rude. "I can't say I know too much about the place," he added, "they only seem to allow certain colors inside, and I'm... not the right coat. but you are, I believe. Where have you heard of the pride before, if I may ask?"
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Posted: Fri May 31, 2013 6:29 pm
A couple of days ... perhaps he would take a stop by ... if only to make sure the ditzy lioness had made it back safely. As he listened to Quinlan's assessment, he felt more at ease with the idea. At least he wouldn't be thought and enemy, that would work well in his favor. "That's a little odd of them, don't you think?" At least, it was odd to him. Though it seemed a lot of things were really odd to him. Especially in this area. "I've never heard of a pride that discriminates based upon color ... OF ALL THINGS!" Ni laughed a bit, trying to pull attention away from his high pitched voice. Sometimes it just happened and he couldn't control it. Though it was really embarrassing. "OK ... this is going to sound a little weird .., but bare with me." Pausing for a moment, he cautioned the male with his paw. "I met this young lioness, she was uh ... pretty out there. She claimed to be able to talk to plants, and understand them!" Another nervous laugh escaped his lips, "She told me she was from a pride - the Eeek - knee - mai - yuh, I think?" Shrugging his shoulders, Ni continued. "But enough about me Quinlan, what about yourself. You say you live near here, were you raised here?"
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Posted: Fri May 31, 2013 6:52 pm
He laughed at the sudden outburst. It was nice he seemed to be against discrimination. "Well, I don't think they're bad lions, from what I've seen, so there must be some kind of reason for it. maybe it falls into their beliefs or something? Who knows." he shrugged his lion shoulders, wanting to believe the best in others. Though knowing as much as he did, that was also a difficult task. Most lions didn't seem worth believing in. he chuckled. "That does sound very strange. I've seen a couple lions talking to plants- maybe there's something to it we just don't understand. Or... maybe they're crazy." He couldn't imagine flowers and bushes chatting up a storm, so he was more willing to believe the latter. If they did talk, well, he felt a little guilty about the one in his ear. "I wasn't, no, I came from a pride that disbanded a long time ago. A war broke out within and the pride was divided. It was never able to come back together in piece, so I moved on. Are you roaming for the heck of it?"
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Posted: Fri May 31, 2013 7:10 pm
Ni couldn't help but let out a chuckle at Quinlan's words, he agreed with them whole-heartedly. But he wondered if the two were being a little harsh. Mtoto hadn't been all that bad, just different than him. "You might be right, she just seemed really dedicated to the flowers. She even slapped me for trying ot pick one! Something like that takes dedication." Nodding his head, he continued to listen to the other's story. Only butting in when he felt he had something to add. Quinlan's story, while nothing like his own, still made him feel sorry for the male. He'd never encountered it, but he'd heard war was a terrible thing. "Oh, i'm sorry to hear that. I hope you lost nothing you couldn't easily replace." Ni frowned lightly, trying to show his sympathy for Quinlan. Though it seemed Quinlan wasn't very bothered by his story, as he quickly changed the subject. "Well yeah I guess you could say that. I've always been a wanderer. Staying in one place tends to get on my nerves after a while."
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Posted: Fri May 31, 2013 7:32 pm
"Thank you," Quinlan replied, "I'm glad I didn't have anything to lose back then. All I have now I gained from walking away from that place, so I can't feel bad about the choices I've made." He was happy with his life. Going from having to struggle for a chance to live to being happy, healthy, and steeped in magic wasn't an easy task. He was proud of his accomplishments, even if they just seemed normal to anyone else. A part of life. "That's not a bad attitude to have- there's plenty this world has to offer! Lots to see an experience. I enjoy roaming as well, though I tend to come back to this little spot." He smiled and started to turn, nodding politely as he did so. "I should head back to my den, now. I have some matters to attend to- it was very nice meeting you, Ni, and I hope you have a good journey."
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