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 Posted: Mon Jul 14, 2008 6:32 pm
She noticed his shudder at the mention of the Firekin; good. At least she saw that he was against them, the same pride that had stolen her uncle away. That was a good similarity between them (otherwise, her mother would have an absolute fit).
Auri stood, stretching for a split second, before turning and leading the way towards the shade she had mentioned. "Yes sir," she teased.
She walked slowly in order to conserve energy, but at a fast enough pace for Sharifu's long legs. Even if he was younger than her, he was bigger than her and his strides were so big. He could easily beat her if he chose, but it was too bad he didn't know the way. Otherwise there could have been a little race. Tiring, yes, but at least it would be some entertainment.
"So..." she drawled, searching for a decent conversation starter.
"What's your favorite thing to do around here?"
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Posted: Mon Jul 14, 2008 8:44 pm
He followed along with Auri cheerfully, not at all minding the pace at which they walked- and her teasing making him grin. A race would normally have been welcome, of course, but where he didn't know the way and there was still plenty he didn't know about Auri conversation filled in the gap nicely. Before he could think up anything to say, though, he was asked a question.
"That depends," he answered with a smile, "I'm pretty flexible, depends who I'm hanging out with. I like to keep busy, I guess you just caught me on an off day. Relaxing by the water, humph."
With a grin, he glanced over, "What do you spend your time doing?"
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Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2008 7:36 am
Auri laughed at his reply. "What, you don't normally have an 'off' day? All my days are 'off' days, I'm too lazy to do anything else," she giggled.
"Actually I do love wandering around the edges of our borders. It's so interesting to see what kind of lands are so close enough to touch, and yet forbidden to enter. I've met some lions that are traveling from other lands, and some actually told stories of their adventures. I love listening to stories. It makes me feel like I'm with them in the tale, right beside them as they experience different things." She shook her head at herself, realizing that she was babbling on and on.
"I suppose that's a childish aspect to have. I'm sorry, I was rambling. Hanging out with new or the same old people is always fun as well. As much as I love my family, they aren't exactly the "let's go out and do something" type. Father is, I suppose, but Mother is not. And the boys..." she gave a dramatic sigh and rolled her eyes. "Who knows what the boys do."
They continued walking, curving around an invisible path Auri knew by heart and gracefully trod on with light steps. The dirt gave way to sparse tufts of grass here and there as they finally neared four huge rocks that had been naturally built into a cozy den: two large slabs made up the walls, a huge boulder in the back, and the last was a rather flat one as well for the top, leaving a good-sized opening for them to walk through.
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Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2008 9:24 pm
Sharifu had to resist the temptation to stick his tongue out at Auri childishly when teased about his reply, but decided not to look too immature just yet- so far it didn't seem he'd made a bad impression upon her, but he didn't have many friends and seeing someone more than once would be a bonus. No need to scare anybody off.
"Ok, ok," he said, "I didn't think saying I was lazy sounded as cool, but since you've admitted it.." He trailed off with a smirk. Then he just listened to her describe her explorations, smiling and nodding as he walked along waiting fo a moment to cut in. It sounded like a lot of fun. He liked to explore, to look for something new and interesting to do, but he usually stuck near home.
"Don't be sorry, it's very interesting!" he assured her, "There are so many lions in my family, it's not too hard to find something to do- everybody likes different things. But time alone or with someone outside the family is nice, too!"
He fell silent as they approached their destination and it became very obvious. It was a very nice looking den. Shady and comfy looking, he observed.
"I assume we're here."
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Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2008 7:35 am
"No, actually. The one I was talking about is over there." She leaned away from the entrance to gesture towards a very small den, almost a miniature version of the larger one, some feet away. "But if you like this big one more, that works too," she teased again. This was just too easy; he was fun to be around. She wondered how long he would hang around for today, and if they would ever 'run into' each other again. If so, that would be fun. She would look forward to that.
"Oh, time with friends and strangers alike is always fun and interesting," Auri agreed. "Family can get so boring and monotone sometimes...or, in your case, I suspect, too crazy and busy." She gave him a grin. "I can imagine how nice it is to simply find a peaceful spot and stay there."
She entered the den first, reaching the back wall and turning around to face him from the shelter and shade. "Its a lot cooler in here," she suggested, sliding over to one side to give him more room.
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Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2008 9:27 am
Sharifu looked at first almost as if he believed her as he turned to look to where she gestured- until he saw it and he looked back with a grin. Now he did stick his tongue out at her, finding it to be the best response he could have at the moment. He went back to looking over the den, nodding as she spoke to show his agreement though his attention was now divided between Auri and inspecting the den.
"Yeah, a bit of change can be fun," he commented, "Keep things new and exciting." He smiled, finishing going in a complete circle around the den and following after Auri into the den- taking a seat directly beside her despite having plenty of room otherwise.
"Much better," he agreed.
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Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2008 2:41 pm
She couldn't help but giggle again when he turned his head to look at the smaller den, and just laughed harder when he stuck his tongue out at her. It was such a refreshment, his energy and youth. She wasn't that old, of course, but old enough to miss being a cub.
Her mouth dropped, though, when he chose to take a seat directly beside her instead of across to the other wall, which she had planned for. This had not been thought of.
"Oh, sitting next to me is much better, then?" she asked, mouth twitching upwards.
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Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2008 3:00 pm
Smirking smugly, he glanced over at Auri at her reaction to his choice of seating. They were trying to escape the heat, but where they had relocated at the very worst all this did was cancel out the fact they were in the shade. But it wasn't even that much warmer in Sharifu's opinion. Of course, his opinion was likely biased and he had other things to worry about it.
"Sure," he answered, "I don't often find someone so entertaining and nice to hang out with. Have to take advantage of the situation."
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Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2008 3:15 pm
Sure, sitting right next to each other wasn't that smart of an idea to try and get away from the heat, but she wasn't the one who had suggested such an idea in the first place. In fact, if she probably moved away to the other side of the cave, he would probably follow. And it would be a little game of "Follow the Leader," the kind where parents play with their kids so the little ones don't wander off and get lost or anything.
Her smile softened at the compliment but tweaked into a smirk before disappearing. "And what, pray tell, would the situation be, exactly?" she blinked innocently at him.
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Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2008 3:21 pm
He didn't expect Auri to move, though she was probably right to guess that he just might follow after her if she went across the den herself. A couple times to make a point, maybe, but he would not consistently. He did have some respect for personal boundaries, but the decision was already made in his mind that she was a friend. The more amusing he could be to start, the better- limits were best tested on good friends, long-time friends, the ones who would actually put up with crossing the line more certainly than a recent acquaintance.
The way her smile changed ever so slightly before her entire expression became innocent and curious made his own smirk widen a little bit.
"What do you think?"
His own question was said in an innocent tone, but his amusement was impossible to hide at that point, really.
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Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2008 3:29 pm
Oh, they were friends alright. With this much teasing and flirtation going on, it would be surprising to say they weren't friends. She would actually be sad if they never met up again. But who was to say if that were so? She would certainly try to be out and about more, if it meant increasing her chances of meeting up with him again.
She blinked.
"Uh, I think I asked you first," she replied. She heard his amusement in his reply and hoped that hers was showing as well, although a bit more subtle.
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Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2008 3:49 pm
Her blink and overall reaction was rather amusing, and convinced him that if he could get an answer out of her it would be more interesting than any excuse, anything he could come up with. And that he would have more fun not saying anything.
"You might have," he agreed, "But I'm more curious."
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Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2008 8:04 am
"And how would you measure your curiosity against mine to come to such a conclusion?" she shot back, shifting her weight so she had a better angle and could therefore sit in front of him better. This was almost getting to the point of being ridiculous. But that was okay, since Auri had never gotten to that point anyway and had often wondered what it was like.
Outside, she could see clouds forming, swirling around the sun. One by one they were getting darker, resembling rain clouds. Auri hoped it would be one of those sudden rains, those that come without any warning and don't last very long anyway. They needed the water, and it would be a short, much-needed reprieve from the heat.
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Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2008 10:20 am
"You won't let me think I'm clever enough to just know that?" he asked, feigning disappointment at the comment. It didn't last, though, and he was very soon smiling again now that they were more face to face, "Ok fine. What were we even talking about again?" Another evasive tactic, but through the minor exchange avoiding it it was easy to say one lost the point of the 'arguing'.
As outside started getting darker, though, he was more genuinely distracted when he caught sight of it out of the corner of his eye. It'd been so bright and hot out, it was an unexpected change. His eyes went to the mouth of the den and he tilted his head.
"Did it get darker?"
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Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2008 10:38 am
"Oh, don't think you can get out of this one that easily, mister. We were arguing about who was--" the lioness was cut off by a distant rumble of thunder. Auri's smile twitched the tiniest bit and she stood to lean out of the mouth of the den, looking each way to try and see which direction the storm was coming in from.
She didn't see it from the West or East, and it was all blue skies to the North. She carefully stepped outside of the den, backed up far enough to see over the huge rocks, and found the storm clouds.
"They're still some ways off," she called back to Sharifu, tail flicking. "But they look really cool from out here. Wanna come see?"
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