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 Posted: Wed Apr 23, 2014 3:56 pm
Satu sat with a quiet excitement in her stomach. She had spent a few hours at dusk each evening perfecting her stories and now she was ready to finally retell one. As much training as she'd had from Tai, she'd never really told a whole story to another before. Not in the way that she had, with the right expression, tone and excitement.
The lioness had spent so much time going through everything in her head, that now she began to doubt whether or not it would translate correctly in spoken word. She'd been so out of practice since her childhood.
But here she sat, waiting for Ishiwa. She knew that if any lion was worth testing it on, it was him. Satu knew that he believed in her and he gave her confidence that he would not mock her if she were to make a mistake or do badly.
The deer-spotted lioness waiting, running a paw through the long grass playfully.
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Posted: Thu Apr 24, 2014 11:06 am
 Ishiwa was very happy to be meeting with Satu again, and he hoped that he would be able to help her with her storytelling, even if that was just by being a good listener. He had the patience for it, but he also knew it would be entertaining for him, so there was no reason to worry.
Still, in the back of his mind he had something nagging at him. He did not want to disappoint her. Really, all he wanted to do was make sure she was happy and having fun with something she liked to do, and if he could help her do that, he would be happy as well. It was a simple little idea, and he hoped that he would be able to fulfill that goal, at the very least.
He didn't have any big or important goals like she did, but in the day to day, he was content to follow this little path he had set for himself. He saw her sitting in the grass, mostly because he thought he saw a deer at first. Smiling, he padded toward her, swishing his tail behind him.
"Hello again!" he called when he was close, plopping down beside her and offering her a warm smile, "it's good to see you!"
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Posted: Fri Apr 25, 2014 2:20 pm
She smiled as soon as she saw him, pale and moving closer towards her with the happiness of a young cub. He was very sweet indeed, from what she'd seen so far.
Maybe if today went well she could talk to the King and work on become a storyteller for the pride. Maybe she would become more confident with everything, now she'd become more confident with this.
Satu gave Ishiwa a gentle smile. "It's good to see you too, thank you for coming. I really appreciate it." The lioness purred quietly. "It is a very selfless thing to do, to help someone else. Maybe I could do something for you in return?" She offered.
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Posted: Sat Apr 26, 2014 11:04 am
Ishiwa was all too happy to help her, and wanted to make sure he made good on his promises to her. He had absolute faith that she would achieve her goals, despite not hearing any of her stories just yet. He just knew that she was a good kind of lion, and since she wanted the job so badly, she would be very good at it.
It made sense in his head, anyway. She was determined and motivated, and lions like that were not a dime a dozen, and if she wanted the job so badly that meant she had to be made for it.
Ishiwa was invested in it, maybe because he had no such goals, or maybe because he liked her and wanted to see her succeed. Most likely, a combination of both of those options.
"Oh, I don't need anything in return! I just want to help you get your goal, and I think you would do the pride really well, and do a great job! I don't need anything in return though." He smiled at her dumbly. Maybe he was already getting what he could want in return, by making a new friend and being able to spend time with her.
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Posted: Tue May 06, 2014 12:44 pm
To know he would do something so selflessly, with absolutely no reward or gain for himself, was a beautiful thing. Generosity and selflessness were two attributes that could sometimes be hard to come by. Satu knew most lions in the Pridelands were friendly and kind, but she had heard of other places where the majority of lions were selfish, mean or unforgiving. Perhaps they had difficulty functioning as a pride, as surely it would be harder for them to work together? She pondered this for a few seconds before she looked at Ishiwa with a wide smile and a nod, pulling herself a little further away from the pale lion.
"Should I start?" She asked, her brown eyes wide.
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Posted: Tue May 06, 2014 1:03 pm
Ishiwa nodded his head and smiled brightly at her. He settled himself a bit more comfortably, wanting to make sure he did not have to get up or shift while she was speaking because he did not want to seem like he was being rude or like he wasn't interested. He was very much so, and he knew she would be an excellent story teller when she got the rank. And there was no question in his mind that it was a matter of when and not if.
Who would be foolish enough to turn her down? If he saw how good for the pride she was, he did not doubt others would, too.
He grinned once he was comfortable, curling his tail around his paws and looking at her with his eyes wide and his ears perked forward. He nodded one more time, this time more certainly.
"Yes, please do!" He thought that he would need to do something nice for her when she was finished, because he was getting the better end of the deal right now. She was practicing, but he got a nice story! He decided he would go and catch her a meal, and save her having to hunt or go to one of the other hunters for some food. That would be nice, and he would be doing his own job, for what it was worth, for her! A fair trade.
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Posted: Tue May 06, 2014 1:26 pm
She looked up at him and gave him a final smile before clearing her throat and looking a little nervous. "This is something I've been thinking up for a little while, it's my own story." Satu paused. There was something about Ishiwa's face that was comforting.
"Obviously, being a storyteller involves telling stories to lots of cubs, like the old storyteller did with me. So, it may sound a little childish, but I'll try not to make it too bad!"
Her face changed slightly, it was still friendly, but a little more serious.
"I'm going to tell you the story of Bibu." The female said simply.
"Bibu was a small hare, chocolate brown except for one white foot. His mother called it his lucky foot, but he didn't think he was very lucky. He had a big pink nose and amber coloured wide eyes.
He was a fearful little hare, and he always had been. Fearful of others, smaller and larger. Fearsome lions but even chattering birds made him quiver and hide away, and no-one knew why. It's okay to be scared, but poor Bibu was scared of lots of things, and he could not help it, not one bit!" Her eyes widened as she raised her voice at the end of the sentence.
"One day, he met a friend called Nono, as fearful as himself. See, the only things he didn't fear were other hares, as he had known many in his warren. He found comfort in his friend, and together they explored and hid away, and looked after each other.
They ventured far and wide, being very careful and quiet." The lionesses voice grew very gentle and quiet. "They found a beautiful snow-covered mountain, so far from home. They made a den and played and laughed and had such such fun!
But there was someone else there, a light grey lion with teeth as sharp as a crocodiles." There was a sudden tension in her voice
"He saw the two hares and he licked his lips. He was hungry. They didn't see him. Bibu stopped playing and ran into the warren to fetch something to eat for Nono.
The lion stopped watching and edged closer. With a swift move he POUNCED ontop of Nono, his face inches away from her!" Her body jumped as she told the story.
"Bibu looked out of the den and his heart nearly stopped in fear. His dear dear friend was close to being eaten and he had no idea what to do. He thought of all the fun he had had with his friend, and how much he loved her, and without another second spared he rushed towards the big grey lion."
Satu took a moment to look past Ishiwa to the horizon, and then to the ground. She had learnt that pauses were an effective tool.
"He nudged Nono as hard as he could, bouncing off the lions black nose and they both bounded off into a deep snow drift.
"Neither could move, and they could hear the crunching pawsteps of the lion underneath the snow. They hoped they would not be caught, but a little bit of bibu was sticking out of the snow drift. He could not move. The two friends waited in fear, but in the comfort that they had each other.
The lion could not smell the hares under the thick wet snow, nor could he see them. For the part of Bibu that was sticking out of the snow was as white as the snow itself - his lucky foot.
After a few moments they heard the pawsteps growing distant, and Nono was brave enough to kick strong and dislodge some of the snow from around them. It was safe.
Bibu had saved his best friend, he had been brave, and they had survived. It was hard for him to have courage, but he was rewarded by the feeling of bravery and the everlasting love of Nono. Knowing what they had done and that they could face their fears, the two hares were never quite as scared again." The cadence in her voice spelt out the end of the story and she smiled as Ishiwa.
"I hope it was okay, I mean, it might need a little tweaking, but stories all evolve anyway." She grinned, having thoroughly enjoyed telling the first version of the story that had been whirling around her head her whole adult life. This one was very different from the others she had told in passing, when she was so young, and it felt different.
This one was hers.
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Posted: Tue May 06, 2014 1:39 pm
Ishiwa laughed and clapped his big paws together as she finished, though it was a clumsy gesture. Lions were not built for clapping, but he did his best anyway, nodding his head and letting his mane flop around. The actions made his fur stick out a bit, and he grinned at her looking ruffled and fluffy.
"That was incredible! You're a very vivid story teller and I'm sure the cubs will love that story! I did, and I'm considered an adult, by most anyway." He chuckled, aware that he was a bit of a softie, and some lions, especially other males, might think him childish because of it. But he was no cub, and he understood a good story was more than just the story itself. He saw the teller, the lion speaking the heart of the story, and he felt that it came through gracefully and naturally.
He smiled at her, bouncing to his feet and moving closer to bump his head against hers, stepping back to look at her directly.
"You're very talented, I know you'll be the best storyteller this pride has ever seen!"
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Posted: Wed May 07, 2014 3:25 pm
Ishiwa looked very sweet, and Satu couldn't help but notice that he was a little clumsy. It was another endearing thing about him, she supposed. She beamed at the light coloured male and purred gently. "I am so glad you liked it!"
The deer pelted lioness could feel a warm flush spreading across her fur and moved to give him a short nuzzle on the shoulder.
"Thank you for listening Ishiwa, really. You've helped me along these past few days and what is a story without a listener?" She gave him a grateful smile.
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Posted: Mon May 12, 2014 8:29 pm
"I'm glad I could help, even if I did not do too much! Your story was so good, and I really enjoyed it! I'm sure you're going to be the best there is, I just know it!" Ishiwa scooted closer to her, giving her a very friendly nuzzle. He could not help himself, as happy and affectionate as he was feeling, though he looked at her bashfully after it occurred to him that he was being very forward.
He cleared his throat and shook his mane out a bit, mostly to distract himself.
"Well. I uhm. I guess I shouldn't take up too much more of your time, if you want to go and share with others, or do more work on your stories or... or something. But uhm. I would like to see you again some time, if you wanted... I mean, any time, really. You know. Storytelling or just... to say hi, maybe." He looked bashful, tilting his head curiously.
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Posted: Mon Jun 09, 2014 3:14 pm
((Woah I thought I rounded this off, so sorry!))
Satu sat smiling at him for a moment, listening to the way his voice changed. Had he become shy all of a sudden?
"I have had plenty of time alone." She was not wrong. She had used a lot of her alone time to build up her stories and ideas, often coming out when it was quieter so she could listen to her mind better.
Satu enjoyed Ishiwa's company far too much to just use him as an audience.
"Ishiwa, maybe we should get something to eat a little later?" She cocked her head gently. "And then we can talk about things you like, as you've done so much for me."
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Posted: Tue Jun 10, 2014 2:28 pm
Zohwhee I think this is a good wrap for this one!
Really, he could not think of anything he wanted to do more with his time than spend it with her, and that was strange for him. He did not want to say something like that out loud, though, and make her think he was moving too fast. If she wasn't even on the same page as him, after all, he would really mess things up.
And he wanted to be friends with her, if nothing else. He couldn't risk losing that.
He smiled at her and agreed to meet her again a little later, so she could relax and they could have a moment before they met up to get some food. He was very excited about it, though, and looked forward to hanging out with her some more... though he would have to think up something good to tell her about, as far as his own interests went. He thought he was fairly boring, comparatively, but he was sure there was something he could come up with.
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