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 Posted: Mon Oct 05, 2015 2:53 pm
 A slow rumbling rolled through the lands, bringing behind it gray clouds. They quickly covered the sky and blotted out the sun. Laying a top a still warm rock, the leopard stretched his long legs. He had been enjoying a nap in the heat, his ebony coat soaking in the sun like a sponge.
Arak yawned, his pearly whites shining in the still fading light. He pulled himself to his feet, his muscles rippling beneath his skin. He leapt easily down from his perch, a tall boulder beside a lazy stream. He had found it a few days prior and had found it much to his liking. There were lots of new species of plants and rocks he hadn't seen before, or in quite some time, and he had been enjoying the alone time to study them.
Arak padded over to the edge of the stream, lowering his neck to lap at the water. Small guppies swam around as he stirred them, and he watched them quizically. They shone multiple colors as they swam about. Arak decided to study them, as he often decided to do with things that caught his eye. He laid himself back down, perfectly content to sit and observe this new oddity.
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Posted: Mon Oct 05, 2015 3:51 pm
 Kiva didn't like being out in the rogue lands, but sometimes it was called for. He had been sent out for a little recon mission to make sure there were no Druid groups or rogues that were gathering on the outskirts of the pride. So far all he had come across was grass, some rocks, and tree. He hadn't been walking too long, though, so he was still on edge. there could be anything out here! Anything at all! He flinched as a few birds took off into the air not far from where he stood, and it made him look down the small river that he had come to. He froze when he noticed he wasn't the only feline by the water. A leopard was a few meters down the way, drinking peacefully. "...!" Kiva opened his mouth to say something but nothing came out, so he coughed at tried again. "Are you alone! I mean! I'm right here!" God, he was about as smooth as the bark of a tree. He bit his tongue to stop himself from speaking more and making a fool of himself. Some Knight he was.
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Posted: Mon Oct 05, 2015 4:10 pm
A flock of birds tore his eyes off the fish swimming about happily. He watched as they made their ascent into the air, then dispersed and came back down to their tree. It seemed they had judged whatever startled them as no threat. Arak was bringing his eyes back down to the stream when they landed on another feline.
Arak hadn't met very many lions in his travels, and the striking green mane on this one caught his eye. As he spoke a small smile tugged at the leopard's lips.
"Hoy there," He called, straightening up. He was small in stature, even for a leopard. "Thanks for letting me know of your presence. I was caught up watching these little minnows here." He heard another low growl of thunder, a little louder than the earlier one. The sky got ever so slightly darker.
Arak padded slowly towards the other cat, "What brings you out on this gloomy day?" He asked amiably as he neared.
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Posted: Mon Oct 05, 2015 4:20 pm
Kiva held his breath as the leopard looked at him and smiled. Oh...phew. He wasn't going to make fun of him. That had happened more often than not when his mouth had started working before his brain could. "Ah..." He paused as the thunder rolled overhead, making him look up at the sky. It was getting rather dark...perhaps it would be best to get away from the river. Sometimes it rained so hard the waterways would swell and flood. They had some time before the heavens opened, though, so he turned his attention back to the dark male. "Oh...just at the request of the leaders of my pride," he said, finally answering the question. "Every now and then they ask that some of the Knights make sure the rogue lands around the prides lands are safe without large gatherings of lions or other creatures."
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Posted: Mon Oct 05, 2015 4:33 pm
Arak was intent on watching the other large cat as he spoke. His lavendar eyes shone as the other spoke of his pride. Arak had heard of these pride's, large groupings of cats or other animals that spent their lives together. He could see the logic in it, but the lack of privacy made him avoid them.
At his mention of Knights and leaders, Arak's ears perked a bit. "So... you're a Knight then? How does one become a Knight? Have you found any threatening packs on your search so far? What does your pride do if you do find a pack?"
Arak stopped himself as he realized the questions were pouring from him as they often do.
"My apologies," He said a little bashfully. "Sometimes the questions come out faster than I realize."
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Posted: Mon Oct 05, 2015 5:04 pm
The slew of questions surprised Kiva a bit, but it also made him smile slightly. He wasn't the only one who blabbered on and on, it would see. "Well...I became a Knight by training when I was younger," he said with a nod. "It's not too hard, it's just deciding what you want to do when you're young and sticking with it. And no, I haven't...but I haven't been looking for long," he admitted a bit sheepishly. "I've only been walking for a little while. I could probably run back home before this storm rolls in the rest of the way." He nodded up to the boiling clouds above them which were looking angrier by the minute. "I'm not too sure what we do. I'm to report back to the king if I find anything and he'd make the decision from there. We'd probably just keep an eye on them unless they seemed hostile."
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Posted: Mon Oct 05, 2015 5:31 pm
Arak processed the information as it was spoken, nodding his head slightly at the answers he received. As was the usual circumstance, the answers only filled his head with a thousand more questions. He stopped himself from asking them all at once, although his tail twitched with the effort.
"Ah, I see.. So we must be close to the lands of your pride then hmm?" He glanced around, almost as if he would see more lions in the vicinity. He dragged his attention back to the lion in front of him, this Knight.
"Your King sounds like a wise one." Arak nodded, almost to himself. "Do you enjoy being in your pride? I suppose it's nice to be surrounded bu friends and family. I always felt it to be a bit too stifled for me personally. Do you have a mate? I do adore cubs. They seem to be the only individuals that are as curious as myself. Although they do have a sort of annoying amount of energy."
He realized he was babbling again and closed his mouth. He almost said something more, but stopped himself and instead looked expectantly at his new acquaintance, ignoring the small drops of water that had begun to fall from the sky sporadically.
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Posted: Mon Oct 05, 2015 5:47 pm
The second wave of question had Kiva a bit tongue tied. The first round had been fine, but these questions were starting to tread on difficult to answer ground. He tried his best, though, gamely pushing on as a few drops of rain fell on his nose. "Well...it's usually very nice. There's some discontent within the pride right now, though, that's making it a bit stressful. But as long as we stay strong we'll pull through it," he said, although the tone of his voice made him sound as if he were just repeating what had been told to him by someone else, and that he wasn't very confident that it would happen. "As for a mate...um." He swallowed thickly. "There's...there's a female that has been. Interested in me. But she's the king's daughter so it's very...ah...very tricky ground I"m walking on. I'm certainly a nobody in his eyes still, and I don't wish to anger him by asking for her as a mate."
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Posted: Mon Oct 05, 2015 5:56 pm
Arak nodded along as the new lion began to asnwer his questions. "The King's daughter, eh?" This brought a smirk to his maw. "Dangerous ground you walk, indeed. But you are required to ask her father if you want her as a mate? How odd." His brow furrowed at this, as if it was splayed on his face how his mind was working to wrap around the concept. It was alien to him. Any time he had wanted to be with a female he had just... Done it. Of course with the ladies consent. But still, he had never thought before of needing permission. "How much more complicated that must make things," He mused as he thought of his new friend's situation. He ran scenario's through his mind. Assuming this pride had a King, he assumed they had rules. And because of the permission asking, he assumed these rules were strict. With this train of thought, he spoke, "Seems there's not many outcomes where you come out on top in this." He stated simply.
As the rain began to pick up, Arak glanced at the sky with an annoyed scowl. He stood and shook hios coat lightly, then looked back to his companion.
"Let's walk, shall we?" Without waiting for an answer, he began to trot to an outcropping of rocks, beneath a tree with long branches. The tree gave mild shelter, the rocks better, but not perfect. Arak nestled himself beneath them.
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Posted: Mon Oct 05, 2015 6:10 pm
"Well...it's not a rule, persay, but I feel like it would go better if I asked him," Kiva said, not telling the leopard of the confrontation he'd already had with the kind due to his pelt color. He had to agree, though, that his chances were very slim in actually taking Sercy as a mate. He could only hope she'd talk to her father about him and promise that he wasn't out to sabotage him. He followed the leopard under the tree, but glanced over his shoulder. If it was going to storm he should probably go back to his pride. "Sorry...I don't think I got your name," he said, realizing he'd been talking with the other male for a while now without knowing what to call him. "I'm Kiva."
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Posted: Mon Oct 05, 2015 6:23 pm
Arak licked one of his paws absentmindednly, cleaning the mud from his pad. He listened as Kiva spoke, nodding along. He still found the whole concept strange, but Arak was the type that could fairly easily wrap his mind around something, thus gaining understanding in a situation. Even for a creature he had just met. "It must be hard. But it seems as though you care for this lioness," He assumed the female he spoke of was another lion, since usually pride's lasted a lot longer with same species couples. "But if you care for her, then it should prove worth your while. Especially if you would like this pack to continue to have you among them." He woolgathered aloud, then chuckled at Kiva's introduction.
"I apologize. I tend to have a million questions in my mind, and introductions get pushed to the side." He nodded his head slightly in a sort of bow. "I'm Arakhor." He watched the other lion as he scanned the sky, another roll of thunder above them. He wasn't all that great at social cues, and assumed Kiva was just admiring the lightning in the distance. Arak himself liked to watch the scenery. Especially during storms.
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Posted: Tue Oct 06, 2015 1:48 pm
"Arakhor...nice to meet you," Kiva said as he glanced from the sky back to the leopard. "I do care for her, so anything I have to go through to have her will be worth it. I'll honestly be surprised if it happens, but very glad if it does." The rain started to pick up, the dirt quickly becoming thick mud. A loud boom of thunder shattered the sky as a lightning bolt lit up the entire area. Kiva flinched, his tail curling under his body a bit. "I do appreciate the conversation but I'm afraid I must head back to the pride. We're not supposed to be out for very long and especially not during bad weather." Not while patrolling alone, anyway.
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Posted: Tue Oct 06, 2015 4:37 pm
((Sounds good!))
Arak frowned at the sky above them as the water began to pour harder on their heads. His dark coat got darker, his spots fading to become almost invisible now. The small amount of shelter they had was now useless, the trees getting pushed down with the pressure of the rain.
He nodded once, standing up. His paws were soaked with mud now. He shook one off then set it back down, only to get covered in mud again. His frown grew deeper.
"I believe you are right, my new friend. We'll have to continue this another day. Perhaps we will meet again while you are on your patrol." He smiled warmly, glad of the chance to meet a new creature, even if he got soaked to the bone in the meantime. He bowed his head low, "Until we meet again."
The small leopard began to walk out into the storm, in search of better shelter. He knew of a few small caverns not far away, and hoped that he was the only one that had them in mind. Although he enjoyed meeting Kiva very much, one new acquaintance in the day was enough for him. Besides, the striking looking lion had given him much to think on, and that was enough to entertain Arak for the rest of the night. He smiled as he walked, despite the rain that dripped from his muzzle to the ground below.
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Posted: Fri Oct 09, 2015 11:14 am
Kiva nodded as Arak decided it would be a good idea to find better shelter than a tree with very few leaves. Once the leopard took his leave, Kiva headed back in the direction of home. A loud clap of thunder sent him into a run and he was off like a shot, splashing and slipping his way back to the pride.
FIN
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