[JRP] New Places, New Faces (Aslan x Mindra)

[SilverLutz]

The Pridelands. He'd heard about them in his journey from his old home across the rouge lands. It was a very old pride, very respected, and a very nice place to live. Food and water were easy to come by, there were plenty of lions and lionesses so that one would never feel alone, and there was great strength in numbers. Aslan knew his mother had come from these lands - her father had sired many cubs in his prime - and he hoped he might find a familiar face or two in coming here.

He had left his pride as a cub and, although he grew up in the rouge lands, he kept those values he had learned from his parents. Aslan knew that the Pridelands were probably vastly different from his home, where he could have as many females in his harem as he pleased, but the idea of disrespecting and treating females badly was one he despised greatly, and he hoped that that was not the case here.

Pride Rock rose majestically from the early morning fog, and he paused to catch his breath. Shaking his mane out of his eyes, Aslan surveyed his new home. This place would be good, he thought to himself. He could hear birds chirping and smell zebra not far off. The sound of a running stream caught his ears as well. With a nod, he stepped onto the lush grass that stretched out from the tall rock before him. This was home now, he was sure of it.  

[Depawsit]

She'd been watching him from afar for a while now, slowly stalking behind him. She did this a lot with new comers to the land, mostly because she didn't trust them, because who could trust a shadow? A shadow was just that, in order to know one, you had to stalk them, get to know what the shadow was truly about. This shadow seemed strange, unlike most shadows who came into the land he wasn't eager to find the first lion he could find. He was instead taking in his sights,taken aback by land itself.

Mindra smiled, or at least she hoped she did. She'd never seen a smile, so she had no way of knowing if that's what she was doing. Her Mother told her that's what it was, but she would never know for herself if it was the truth. As the male began to walk yet again, she perked her ears and again walked forward, but instead stumbled over some boned left behind by a lazy lion's last meal.

"Mrrrrr..."

She whined pitifully unsure of exactly what had just happened to her.

SilverLutz

 

[SilverLutz]

Having been so caught up in his surroundings, Aslan didn't notice the young female until she made a noise. He turned in surprise and saw the grey lioness on the ground, in a pile of antelope bones. She didn't seem to be a threat, and had the same look about her that his mother had: strong, healthy, and full of life. She must be from the Pridelands, even if they were so close to the border.

"Hello there," he said with a tiny smile. She didn't look to be fully mature, but she was certainly old enough to appreciate her beauty. "Terribly sorry...did I startle you?" He moved a bit closer but kept a respectable distance, not wanting to make her feel threatened. He certainly wasn't here to do that. Quite the contrary, to be honest.

"Is this your home?" he added as he sat down, tilting his head just a bit. He didn't want to assume, after all. He'd been on his own in the rouge lands since he was young, so perhaps she was here to join the pride as well. Her comfortable appearance led him to believe otherwise, though.

Depawsit

 

[Depawsit]

Mindra fought with the bones for a good couple of minutes before finally freeing herself enough to stand on her own four feet. As she did she could sense the shadow coming up on her, and she straightened herself out to seem presentable. She wasn't fearful of him, though she was not prepared to trust him just yet. " 'llo'" She mumbled, trying to nonchalantly dust the dirt from her legs before he could notice she'd taken a fall.

"N-no you didn't startle me, no need to apologize. I think I tripped on something, that's all." Looking up at the shadow once again, she offered her assumed smile and tried to peel his vibes from the air. He seemed easy going, very interested in her, and her well being. But that could all be a rouse, shadows had to prove themselves. This was a fact.

"Actually, this is my home ... but it isn't your's ... is it?"

SilverLutz

 

[SilverLutz]

The way the young female carried herself made Aslan chuckle. She was so...not serious, but very poised, even despite her fall. Dusting her legs off as if she hadn't. How cute.

"No, it's not my home. Not like it is yours. But I'd like it to be," he said, the easy smile returning to his lips. "My mother is from here, though, so...it's kind of like my home. The pride I was born into is no more, so I thought coming to the land of my ancestors would be fitting."

He wondered at the wording of her statement, though, and he tilted his head just a bit. He, being a young adult, was still getting used to his new mane, and it flopped over in his eyes for a few moments before he lifted a paw to fix it. "You think you tripped? I can assure you you did. The best of us trip, though, so there's nothing to be embarrassed about. I'm Aslan, by the way," he said, sitting up a bit straighter.

Depawsit

 

[Depawsit]

Mindra's ghastly white eyes widened in curiosity at his words and she leaned in a bit to better hear exactly what he was saying. Just to ensure she wasn't hearing things. "Oh, so you are trying to make this land your own. I thought as much, that's why i've been following you Mr. Shadow Lion." Mindra nodded her head matter of factly, proud of her ability to deduce what the shadows around her were doing. "Oh is she now?" Tilting her head to the right, Mindra's ears twitched with excitement, "If you don't mind my intrusion, would you tell me about your heritage? I love hearing about bloodlines!"

Mindra could see the shadow tilt his head slightly, but she herself was too excitable for words. Her rump was swishing with excitement and her claws were digging into the dirt. Having no idea who her own Father was, she'd grown up with quite the obsession for bloodlines and family trees. Those who knew her well would understand this behavior, while this stranger would look at her with crazy eyes,

"Embarrassed? What's that?" Again this shadow had stumped her, he seemed to be quite good at that. Peculiar thing he was ... that was for sure.

"Aslan huh? That name is pretty! My name is Mindra, its very nice to meet you Aslan."

SilverLutz

 

[SilverLutz]

Aslan nodded just a bit, surprised that he'd been followed for long. "You're very good at that, then. I didn't know you were following me until just now." Perhaps females here were very good at hunting. He knew some prides left it to the females, and there were others that left it to the males, and still others that had slaves to do it.

"My mother is from the first litter of Mwali. I believe he came from the Firekin and had quite a few litters here. Other than that...I have no idea. She'd tell me stories about this place, though, the huge rock and the plentiful lands. I'm looking to find out more about my family while I'm here, too." He paused here and leaned in just a bit, finally realizing why Mindra used the words that she did.

"Shadow lion...my dear, I'm anything but. I couldn't blend in with the shadows if I tried," he said with a little chuckle. "Are you blind?" He didn't say it with any accusation, nor mocking. He just wanted to know so he could work around it. He'd known a few males to take blind females as their favorites in his old pride, since they didn't like to stray and would stick close to the males that picked them.

"And that is a very pretty name as well, Mindra. A pretty name for a pretty young lady."

Depawsit

 

[Depawsit]

"Oh yeah! I'm very good at following, at least, I am until I make a noise, but I tend to not make a lot of noise so I guess that makes me really good!" Mindra let out a chuckling snort and smiled happily at the shadow again as he spoke. She was intensely interested in his words, especially about his family, but she was saddened to say she didn't know his line. With a furrowed brow she made a mental note to do some digging once she got back home.

"Maybe we could learn about them together! I really like to learn these sort of things! I promise I won't get in your way either!" Now bouncing up and down on her paws, she tried to contain her excitement. But the only thing that did the trick was his abrupt change of subject, it was very sombering to say the least.

Mindra took a deep breath and loosened up her shoulders. "You caught me! Yes, I am blind, though not your typical blind, I suppose. I can see very faint shadows, very dark black almost. You say you don't look like a shadow, but to me that is just what you are my friend."

Mindra could feel her cheeks heat up a blush at Aslan's comment and she managed a smile despite her distrust of his comment. "I can't say that I believe you as I have never seen for myself, but I suppose you seem trustworthy enough, that a thank you is in order."

Lightly dipping her head between her paws, Mindra dipped her head a little too low and bumped it into the ground clumsily before lifting her it quickly and sheepishly.

SilverLutz

 

[SilverLutz]

"I don't doubt it for a moment, my dear," Aslan said with an amused purr. "I've lived most of my life in the rouge lands, and it takes quite a bit to sneak up on me. You did very well." He had to admit that he was impressed, even if she was still a bit cub-like in attitude. There was nothing bad about that, of course. Aslan enjoyed having a light-hearted outlook on life.

As Mindra confirmed her lack of sight, Aslan had to frown in sympathy. It was good she could see well enough to get around, but just a shadow...and she'd never seen herself. That in itself was a shame. "Well, you're very pretty," he reassured her. "No one has ever told you what you look like?" He tilted his head, chuckling as she bowed in thanks to him.

"Now now, my dear, I can promise you I mean you no harm. I'm very trustworthy! And as much as it saddens me to know you'll never see my lovely mug in all it's glory, I'd be more than happy to be your Shadow Friend."

Depawsit

 

[Depawsit]

"Weeeeelll .... I wouldn't say others haven't TRIED to tell me what I look like ... but it's hard to understand what a rainbow is or what a stripe is if you've never seen one. I hear they are really colorful things, but I don't even know what colors are, except for black. I do know what black looks like." Nodding her head, she smiled at her own sad disposition. "But its OK that I can't see myself, because I do not need to, as long as I can see the good inside of someone, I don't need to know what they look like on the outside. Some lions think i'm weird for thinking that way, but I think that way of thinking makes a lot of sense."

Mindra shrugged her shoulders at her comments, and the ideals of the other lions who looked down on her's. To each their own was another motto of her's. But if Aslan stuck around long enough, he would soon hear all about that one too!

"Y'know something Aslan, I think I believe you. You seem like a very genuine lion, I get good vibes off of you, and I like that!" Chuckling lightly she tried to nudge the lion with her paw but instead hit nothing but air, she quickly pulled her paw back and planted in firmly on the ground. "I'm sure your mug isn't all that bad anyway, and thank you! I would love to have you as my shadow friend,"

SilverLutz

 

[SilverLutz]

"Ah...that is very true," Aslan murmured. Perhaps he'd figure out a way to describe color to her some day. If he stuck around, he was sure he'd see much more of her. Her unique outlook on life was far from childish, and the frown was chased away by her kind words. He chuckled and moved forward, reaching out to touch her paw with his so she'd know he was close enough to reach, should she care to try again.

"I'm mostly the opposite of black," he said as he sat down again. "I'm very pale...which, if black were the warmth of sleeping in a pile of cubs with your mother in your den at night, my color would be standing on the open plains during a windy evening. Cool, refreshing, if a bit lonely."

Describing colors was difficult, but he found it presented a fun challenge. "But I can try as much as I like later. Perhaps you'd care to show me to someone who can make me a part of this pride for good? There must be someone, a king or queen, that needs to know I am here."

Depawsit

 

[Depawsit]

Mindra found herself trying her hardest to make a connection with the descriptions he presented her with, and she was getting quite close. She knew all too well the warmth of sleeping in a den with her mother, and that strange glow it seemed to give her. It almost seemed to chase the shadows away ... almost ... though when it did ... it only made things bright ... never visible. Though the new sense he was describing to her was one she would have to sit on for a while. For now, he had a more important task to attend to, and he had asked her to assist him in it!

"Oh yes! I can bring you to our King! Soon we will have a new King, but right now he's undergoing his training, so lucky you! You get to meet the old King before he retires! You'll like him, he's a very noble lion, very respectable of his pride, and caring of each and every one of us!"

Now aware of exactly where he was, she tapped lightly on his arm and stretched her legs before heading forward once again. A new destination in mind this time, no longer a stalker, but a leader.

SilverLutz

 

[SilverLutz]

"Ah...perfect," Aslan said as he stood, a smile on his pale face. A new king...that could prove interesting. He'd have to see how this pride worked, but he doubted that would be easy to figure out so soon. The grass under his paws was warm, though, and the company very enjoyable, so he had no problems in waiting to figure that out.

"Lead the way, my dear," he said, tail wishing as he followed Mindra close behind, following her multi-hued tail. A little smile crossed his lips as he lowered his head, hopeful that she wouldn't lose her good outlook on things as she grew up. If she didn't, she could very well be a potential mate. He'd have to look into how things were done here as far as that went, too. Hopefully there was no bargaining. As a rouge, he doubted he'd have much to offer the lions here.

Depawsit

Last post! I think that should be good owob