[ORP] Deep in the Caverns

[Mila Farrell]

What was that? Swaii's eyes, primed to notice everything even when his thoughts were elsewhere, bring him back to reality with another sharp bump. His eyes narrow, and he protectively bounds the several feet to tower over his daughter, eyeing up the creature on the rock.

A jackal doesn't look dangerous; and neither does a poison-spider. But they both can be deadly to a little cub. Therefore, he's not going to give his first impression, that of an overlarge meerkat with a fluffy tail, much thought. He attempts to stop on his daughter's tail to stop her from going any further towards the creature.

"Hello," He rumbles out, uncertain. If it is a meerkat, it could possibly be a type of prey. Still, he's not one to eat something he doesn't know anything about.  

[Andrani]

The lemur jumped with a slight yelp, his bowl flying up before landing on some rocks several feet away. "Oh!" He turned around, gaping up at the lions. "Um, hi, is this YOUR water...? I'm sorry, I didn't know..." His tail stood up as he watched the lion, not really sure about what to do. Even he knew in his mind that a lemur was not something you commonly saw on the mainland in the wild. Ears flicked forward a bit, body trembling ever so slightly. "I mean, really, I was just getting some water, you know...?" He motioned with a hand at the water, then looked at his bowl. Oh, how far away it was...  

[wooga Paes]

The cub fell onto her belly when her fathers paw suddenly got a hold of her tail, but tempted to see this one, she pulled it out, and jumped on the rock, just after the creature jumped away. "Hello! " Kimaji said happly, imitating what Swaii had before said quite happly-- this one culd talk too! Her tail hung from the side of the rock, tip moving as if it where dancing, this one was fuzzy! And just like Saii's mane thingy! and he had very funny colors too!  

[Mila Farrell]

"In a sense," The large male lion says, bemused. "Or rather, it used to be." He doesn't elaborate, however, merely watching the creature. Probably prey. Prey usually is quite apologetic. Then again, so are some predators, until they've cornered you. "You'll excuse me for asking, but what, exactly, are you? Kimaji!" This last is directed at the little lioness cub, who has somehow eluded his paw and is making her steadfast way towards the unknown odd-looking meerkat. "My apologies," He offers towards the beast. Until he knows better what it is and what it's capable of, tact is called for. "She's a bit overenthusiastic at times."  

[Aris Was Here]

"Interesting.." the cheetah cub murmured from behind her cover, a mischievous tone resonating in her voice. Her golden fur peeked out from behind the rocks as she trained her red eyes on the pair of lions.

She was content to simply watch them for now; lions were unpredictable, and she wasn't used to this type of terrain. She tilted her head playfully and eyed the newborn cub, who despite her size was likely still a match for young Barazahi, as the cheetah was still somewhat small for her age.  

[Andrani]

Dogo tumbled backwards, falling off the rock he was on as the cub got practically in his face. Light now reflecting off his white belly, he blinked a bit. "Used to be...? Huh...?" Struggling to get up, he dusted himself off. "I'm a ring-tailed lemur. From the giant island off the coast of the great continent known as Africa. And you are a lion, and from the looks of it, might eat me. I mean, look at me, I can do you no harm... After all, I'm just like a monkey with a long face..." He tried to smile. Despite his sharp-looking teeth, he really was of no harm to them. Fruits were what Dogo liked, not meats.  

[wooga Paes]

Swaii called her Kimaji, right? Maybe she culd put words together like he did! She listened to the lemur, and tried to pick an easy word, and try and add it to 'Kimaji'. He did repeat 'I'm', and it was about the same thing as 'I', so why not give it a try? "I'm Kimaji! " The cub blurted, not really taking mind that she had actually made the right term. She was grinning quite happly, looking down at the lemur, laying on the rock so her head was peering over the edge.  

[Mila Farrell]

Preoccupied as he is with Dogo, Swaii doesn't register the existance of another nearby: he doesn't know about the young cheetah's existance. Instead, his sky-blue eyes watch Dogo curiously.

"Lemur..." He says, trying to get his tongue around the unfamiliar word. The words 'coast' and 'great continent' and 'Africa' mean nothing to him, but he does register 'island,' and his eyes flick out towards the island in the middle of the vast Mistweaver lake. Did the thing come from there? Unlikely, if he's never seen any of the creature's kind before...but, well, the world held wonders, and he had not yet seen most of them. And some wonders he may have been better off not having seen.

Monkey. Well, that was breakfast, if you could catch it. "Normally, you would qualify, but I think we can forego that today. I'm not incredibly hungry, and neither, I think, is my daughter...and we've never met a lemur before."

The cub's statement makes him glance around, and laugh out loud. "That you are!" He crows, chuckling deep in his throat, and pleased. She's learning to put words together! Into intelligent sentences, no less...even if perhaps she's not aware of it. "My name is Swaii, ring-tailed lemur."  

[Aris Was Here]

Barazahi stifled impish giggles from behind her rock as she watched the creatures speak. She raised her brow and wondered to herself just how a lemur tasted.. ..And quietly mused if the lions were thinking that, too.

She frowned in disappointment, having made herself hungry with her current train of thought. Perhaps there were some rodents scurrying about..  

[Andrani]

The gray creature nodded. "Yes, a lemur... And it's nice to meet you, Kimaji. I'm Dogo." He signed in releif at not having to worry about being eaten. "I don't imagine a lot of animals on the mainland have ever actually seen a lemur before, anyway, so I'm not surprised you don't know what I am." He went and picked up his bowl before freezing, sniffing the air. Looking around, he tried to spy the cheetah that he scented, then climbed up into a tree a ways, bowl on his head almost like a helmet. "I smell a cheetah..."  

[Aris Was Here]

The cub's eyes widened and she stepped back a bit. She didn't expect to be noticed before she wanted to. The ground shifted under her feet as she moved backwards, causing her to lose her balance and fall down into a sit with a tiny 'mph!'.  

[wooga Paes]

Kimaji blinked, what was a cheetah? She stood and looked around, ears trying to locate any sound, but barely fidning any. and what she did, se supposed it was a rat, not really knowing what a cheetah was. She looked back to Swaii, trying to find an anwer, but not expecting a very clear one.  

[Mila Farrell]

'Mainland'? Another unfamiliar word. Conversation with this one will be complicated. An ear twitches around at his last comment, but the large male isn't unduly worried: he's more than a match for a cheetah, or even a small host of cheetahs. They're funny little cats. "Might be thirsty," He remarks, glancing about. "Or hungry," He adds dryly, eyeing Dogo. He may not eat the lemur, but that doesn't mean anyone else won't try to.

He hears the 'mph,' and his gaze shifts towards Bara's hiding spot. "Come on out, cheetah. We won't hurt you. Well - " he says, after considering this remark. "At least, I won't. I can't speak for the other two villians here."

 

[Aris Was Here]

Barazahi let out a muffled gasp, but then moved slowly from her hiding spot, putting on a brave face and standing tall (for an undersized cheetah cub, that is). "I-I'm not afraid of you."

She lifted her nose into the air and sniffed at them as she walked forward, tail swishing confidently. She looked a little more than comical prancing up to the big lion as though she were twice his size. "You lions are weird. What're you doing talking to this fluffy meerkat?..." she questioned as she eyed Dogo mischievously. "..My mother always told me it's rude to play with your food."  

[Andrani]

Clinging to a branch, Dogo eyed the cheetah. "I don't eat meat, yano. Just fruits and the like... You know, I might stay up HERE..." He looked between the cheetah and the lions. Who knew when a predator might turn on you and eat you? After all, he'd make an easy snack if caught...