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 Posted: Sun Mar 04, 2007 2:54 pm
Considering the jungle was his new home, Muroki was still wandering outside the hidden pride lands. He'd yet to loose the wanderlust that had gripped him as a cub. After a few more walks, Muro kept telling himself, he'd be ready to settle down. It was just because this place was so beautiful, that was all. It was all so new.
Despite telling Laini she'd be the last rogue he'd probably ever meet on a wander, and that he'd not return to the free areas again, it was not fated to be. He'd meandered through the undergrowth and come across the jungle's edge. As the trees thinned, grasslands stretched out as far as the eye could see. Unclaimed territory. Roguelands.
Shaking his head at himself, he sat down and just looked at the open space with fond golden eyes. The Unity Walkers were a fine bunch. Just a few more visits. Though he'd better not run into any idiots tonight....
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Posted: Sun Mar 04, 2007 3:11 pm
A thick jungle of ancient trees loomed in the distance, calling to her, taunting her with the promise of shade and, perhaps, even water. To them she travelled, promising herself that she would rest once she had reached that destination. It was not a final destination, to be sure, but it was one she could work towards for the day, and one she could obtain. It would've been more easily obtainable, though, if there had not been a lion sitting on the edge of a jungle. Normally she would've avoided another lion, especially since he looked older and larger then she. But, loneliness was partially driving her, and so she made her way towards him.
She did not dare, though, intrude on his personal space, so she stopped, the aching in her muscles growing more prominent now that they were no longer working, and then she sat, making herself seem vulnerable and weak, so he would not be threatened. "Greetings," she purred, her voice smooth and melodic, defying her very nature, her very nearly dark ambitions.
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Posted: Sun Mar 04, 2007 3:22 pm
It somehow didn't surpise the golden male when a dark shape appeared on the horizon and made its way towards him. After a while it couldn't be written off as a trick of the sunglare and he watched as the younger female got closer. He mentally checked his posture and pose, making sure that he seemed unthreatening and almost welcoming.
"Greetings." A slight bow of the head. He'd come to the conclusion lately that meaningless small talk was pointless - counterproductive. If they had a proper conversation about something worthwhile...well, that was a different matter. But introductions had to be got out of the way first, and not unpolitely, he offered his name. Drawing it out would be a waste of the daylit hours.
"I'm Muroki...and what do they call you?" Muroki smiled. And none of his old false name giving nonsense. Lying was also counterproductive.
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Posted: Sun Mar 04, 2007 3:34 pm
Baala could've laughed about how Muroki's mind worked, but she had no such insight, and could only smile cooly at him. She did not disbelieve in lying, as long as it suited her purposes. But, to Muroki she would not lie, because there was no point in it. He was another lion, most likely a rogue, and it was possible they would never see one another again. There was no harm in offering him something so simple as her name, and there was certainly no harm in giving him a conversation the lended him insight into her personality.
He had nothing to offer her, this she had already decided, and it pleased her. For once she could have a conversation in which she did not try to gain something. It was refreshing, and she revelled in it. "I am Baala, though I do not know anyone well enough for them to remember it and actually call me by it. But, yes, my name is Baala. It is nice to meet you, Muroki."
Her light, grey-blue eyes stared at him, carefully examining and judging him. He was trying not to be imposing, not to be threatening, and she apperciated it. Like her, he was willing to have this conversation. Nothing bad, she could predict, would come out of this meeting.
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Posted: Sun Mar 04, 2007 3:41 pm
"The pleasure's mine. I know what it's like to have no one who'd recall my name. I'm guessing you're a rogue with nothing to tie you to anyone or where, then?"
He'd been a rogue. And thrice, tentively, a pridemember. Two times before now he'd been a part of a pride but both times, it'd faded like the sunlight at dusk. Third times were supposed to be lucky however and he hoped this was where he'd stay from now on. And so others would learn his name and would remember him, and vice versa.
"Sorry if I'm being presumtious. I'm just curious by nature."
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Posted: Sun Mar 04, 2007 3:55 pm
She gave him a ghost of the smile, and to him she showed her displeasure with her current position in her life. She wanted a pride of her own, somewhere to belong to, somewhere that would give her a title, some power to content herself with for the rest of her life. "Yes, I was born a rogue, and today still I am a rogue with no ties to anyone, and no ties to anyplace. That is me, and that is my life." Her head turned, eyes gazing out over the grasslands she had just crossed, nearly barren and devoid of large prey. It was hard living on her own, but if it was the life she would be forced to lead, she would not complain. Baala would never complain about her life; it was her own fault for not changing it.
"It is alright, you can assume things about my lifestyle, and I can or cannot correct you. I do not truly mind. A life of a rogue is similar to the life of many other rogues. We can't really be considered individualitists, we're following the trend of being alone." She chuckled at her own words, eyes closing for a second to enoy that chuckle that had came to her by surprise.
"May I guess that you are a rogue as well, or will you take me by surprise and announce that you belong to a pride?"
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Posted: Sun Mar 04, 2007 4:05 pm
"That's an interesting idea. But not all rogues are the same and many, I found, were more interesting and individual than the pridals I've met. Pridals tend to be raised to fit in with their pride whereas I'd think rogues have more room to develop freely."
He mused aloud, clearly interested in what she thought on such matters. It was something they'd undoubtedly have different points of view on, Muroki decided, she being a rogue and he a pridal turned rogue turned pridal. Had he known her ambitions, he'd have been even more intrigued.
"And you're guess is not far off. I was a rogue but I've just joined a pride who I hope to stay with. It's odd. I've gone from being of a royal line to being a mere hunter and yet the lost title doesn't matter a wit to me. I just hope this will become home."
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Posted: Sun Mar 04, 2007 4:19 pm
"There is reasoning behind that, I suppose. I have not met as many rogues as you, I believe, and those I had conversed with I found to be dull, in a manner. All of them were dull, all of them were the same. It is in my experience to assume that only a few rare members of the rogue population have individual qualities. It's probably worse off in a pride, but at least you can fit in with them. There is a reason, behind pridals, to their similarities. We rogues have no explinations behind being the same." She shrugged her shoulders, not at all bothering to speak what was on her mind, what she believed. Baala did not care if other lions disagreed with her, so long as she managed to at least show her side of reasoning.
Her eyes widened as he gave evidence to his royal bloodline, and she could not help but express her thoughts on this. "Why are you no longer of that royal line? It has to be the greatest thing you can obtain. It provides ultimate stability in a pride. You'll be loved and cherished, and could get whatever you want. It's what..." She shook her head, deciding that her last words would be pointless. He would know now, he would know what she wanted. He would know that she sought a pride, a pride that would offer her high status. She believed it would give her everything she wanted, everything she could ever dream of.
But she just couldn't... get it.
"Sorry for the... outburst. But, you are fortunate, then, to have found yourself a home. I, on the other hand, will just have to keep looking. Perhaps I'll find a home of my own one day. Perhaps." But she could still not take her mind off of the information he had given her. He had been royalty... and he no longer was. How was that possible?
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Posted: Sun Mar 04, 2007 4:46 pm
"I named heir to the throne when I was but a cub...it wasn't long after that ceremony that a plague came. Maybe you're old enough to have known lions who were alive back then? Maybe you were? It was devestating to many of the prides. Only a few lived from mine and those who did grew up rogues. I rallied the ones I could find but we decided that we liked life better as it was. The land was still barren from the plague for one thing."
Muroki didn't mention his lost intended which had been the only blight on the otherwise refreshing exercise of going back to the Dawnwalker lands. He'd been nephew to the cubless king, his dear uncle...and he'd owed it to his beloved family to try. As unexpected an end to his lifelong quest as it had been, disbanding the Dawnwalkers for good had been the best thing to do.
"I've met many rogues. The only thing I find dull about them is how conversations always go the same way. Everyone follows the same conventions. Like, at this point, we shouldn't have talked so much and so out of 'conventional manners' I should be offering to show you the nearest water whole as a last ditch resort to keep in contact."
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Posted: Sun Mar 04, 2007 4:59 pm
"I do not remember the plague; I was born after it. My mother was a survivor, probably because had left her pride. But, that's really all I know about my mother. It was fortunate she left, because I can only assume that it travelled more easily when lions are closer together. I do not really know, but my mother and I survived for awhile." That sentence indicated that her mother was no longer alive, and it was true. Her mother had died just before Baala had reached her adolescence. It was why Baala craved attention, craved companionship, because she had known it for most of her life, and being left suddenly without it made her feel lost.
"The plague was a terrible thing to happen. It is... tragic, sad, to think about how many of us were lost to it." She shook her head, unable to truly understand the losses of the plague, for she had known no one who had died of it. Her mother and herself had been alone for so long, Baala could now only guess what it was like for some of the lions who had family and friends who had died.
"Yes, that is true, but that is mainly because for some of us rogues, finding water is very important." At this point she laughed, life flittering back into her eyes, making her seem rich and youthful, and showed Muroki how truly young she was to be alone. "Ah, but that will not happen with us. You have a pride to keep in contact with, and I will be content to be on my own once again. Though, I'm almost curious to ask you if you would show me to a watering whole as a last ditch attempt to try and see me again."
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Posted: Sun Mar 04, 2007 5:12 pm
Muroki sighed one last time - his entire pride, almost, to that plague...and now his recent loss of his beloved.... - before he chuckled too. The past was for remembering and honoring with his actions in the present. He'd never forget and he still cared. But the now was for living in, else he may as well be dead too. Baala was proving to be interesting enough to spend his time talking to today.
"I wish you luck with getting to your pride - and their own waterhole. In the meantime I'll gladly show you a fresh spring just inside the jungle. It's a bit of a walk but unfortunately, the nearer one is stagnant."
He got to his feet and barely noticabley, shook his head so his mane flopped out of his eyes. Muroki needed to be able to see his way of course. Expecting her to follow or walk along side, he turned and started towards the cool green of the trees.
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Posted: Fri Mar 09, 2007 6:27 pm
(( Sorry I had a reply typed up, but the computer shut off and I lost it. 8D Then I've been working a project for the past week. Whoop. X_X ))
"I will need the luck, because I seem to be lacking my own." Her paw was raised, and with a short twitch of it she gestured to the lands she had recently travelled over, pointing out the partially barren landscape and lack of anything that look slightly edible. "If I had luck of my own, I would already be settled in beautiful luxury, and not wandering on my own. In fact, I am quite the bringer of bad luck, I could accurately say."
He began to lead the way, and Baala stood up, taking a few spare moments to stretch out her aching limbs before trotting up next to Muroki. Some part of her, deep in the recesses of her mind, could not stand to be walking behind him. Insuperiority was something she could not accept out of herself, and so she walked beside him, her legs moving more often to keep up with his longer strides. Her shoulders were even with his, and to her it signaled and equality in status, and made her feel comfortable.
"Thank you; I'm parched." Her light blue-eyes slid to the side to peer at him before turning back to the path ahead of them. She weaved her way through the undergrowth, always making sure to stay beside Muroki, to stay in his sight.
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Posted: Sun Mar 11, 2007 2:05 pm
Muroki didn't say a word about her obvious need to stay level with him. He tried to choose the wider paths and the more open undergrowth to go through, to make it easier. The ex-Dawnwalker wasn't one to judge. If Baala felt the need to run alongside then he wasn't going to argue the toss.
He could guess at the significance - he'd always preferred to run with his friends rather than lead, one of the factors that had made him happily give up his royal status. Muroki saw all lions as equal.
It took them a short while to reach the better pools. It was humid in the jungle and the cool, shaded water was a relief. Muroki kept walking until he was paw-deep in it.
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Posted: Sun Mar 11, 2007 3:18 pm
They finally came to water, and she let herself fall behind him to soak in the sight of the glorious liquid. It was dark underneath the shade of the trees, and she watched idly as a leaf tumbled down from the canopies to land daintly on the surface of the water. With a happy sigh she moved to the edge of the water, and bending her front two legs, she brought her lips to the water to languidly take a drink of water. It felt so pleasant, rushing down her parched throat in a cool wave, and driving away the heat of the day.
It prompted her to step forward into the cool water, catching up and even moving ahead of Muroki. A childish urge overcame her, and she dunked herself under the water, a smile tugging at her lips as her hair stood on end, moving with the small waves she had created underneath the water. Finally she came back up to breath, casting a careless glance back at Muroki. With his position settled in her mind, she began swimming, enjoying the drastic change in evironment from the nearly desert-like plain.
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Posted: Mon Mar 12, 2007 12:41 pm
Wading in behind her, Muroki dipped his head under the water. It had been boiling on the grasslands the while the cold water caused the tan furred male to shiver temporarily, it was glorious. With a flick, her tossed his wet fur out of his face and swam as well.
Many lions he knew hated water, but he'd always loved it.
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