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 Posted: Fri Jun 01, 2007 5:49 pm
"Quite a while," she said, personally wondering why she was confiding in the little cub as much as she had been. Kizu wasn't a very open leopardess, so she hoped the little cub would understand. "Most certainly not by your age," she assured him, picking up on his slight discomfort. However, she did wonder if he had the ability... Who knew, perhaps he'd end up with the weight of the leopard and the strength of the lion, and be able to climb earlier than she. Of course, she still didn't let on that she knew he was a half-breed.
"I'd have to say... oh..." She remembered back to her past... "Definitely by adolescence," she thought out loud, "But not as a cub cub. Late cub, I'm going to say." She hoped he had followed her thought process.
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Posted: Fri Jun 01, 2007 7:35 pm
The cub nodded, comforted by the knowledge that a full leopard his age would also be grounded. He was, after all, pretty young, even if he didn't want to admit it. He still had time to learn how to climb. Maybe it was like his sister had said and he just wasn't strong enough to oull his weight up the bark yet. That idea was a bit unhappy, though, considering he wanted to be a big, strong male some day. In cub logic, if he wasn't strong at that exact moment then he'd never be. The last thing he wanted to be was weak. Just to think of how he'd be picked on was depressing him.
"Well that's neat." He pulled himself out of the slump as best he could, looking back up at the leopardess with a somewhat cheerful face. "I really want to be in the trees." There was a slight dreamy tone in his voice as he said it. There must be beautiful flowers on tree branches, if only he could get up there to see them. Of course, he wasn't about to bring that point up. Other than the flowers, though, it must be just nice to get away from the ground.
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Posted: Sun Jun 03, 2007 2:30 pm
"That can be arranged," Kizu said slyly. She lept down out of the tree quickly, approaching Mezi. "Have you ever been up in a tree? Or does your mother leave you earth-bound?" She asked. Kizu's mom carried her up the trees before she could climb. Even if this youngster was half-lion, he still needed to know how to climb- he still deserved to call the tree tops his home as well as the ground. In some ways, he'd be better than a leopard. He'll never be as good in the trees as a full leopard, but he'll be good on both, the thief thought to herself.
"Want a lift?" she asked, bending down so that if he wanted, she could take him up the tree with her.
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Posted: Mon Jun 04, 2007 10:02 pm
Mezi got all jittery with excitement as she offered to bring him up. "Mom never brings me up in the trees..." He trailed off for a second, not sure how he should respond to that question. He didn't want to loose his cool and seem to eager, but he simply couldn't help it. His eyes widened with excitement and his mood brightened significantly. "Of course!" He bounded over to the adult, and quickly tried to mend his outburst. "I-I mean... yeah sure." He flashed a little smirk and mentally prepared himself for what was to come. The magical land of full leopards and freedom was only moments away from his paws. This was a great moment in his life.
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Posted: Tue Jun 05, 2007 1:41 pm
Kizu smirked. She thought the cub's mother had made a huge mistake in not taking her boy into the trees, no matter how much she despised the father. Besides, this would be a good test for Kizu to see if she could handle youngsters. Who knew when the next one would invade her treetop stash...
She grabbed the boy by his scruff, careful not to puncture the skin, but also careful not to have too loose a grip. She'd never done this before.... It was kind of awkward for her at first. She got used to the feeling though, as she picked him up and searched for a taller tree. Not too much taller, just in case he would get scared of heights, but definitely one tall enough to awe. Her eyes found the proper branch on a tree behind her, and she headed that way, picking up momentum as she approached the base of the tree. She lept, allowing her strong front legs to hold herself to the tree as her backs gave her the upward thrust. One more push, and she was to the desired branch. She set Mezi down carefully in a crook in the branch and stradled herself into a comfortable position.
"What do you think, Mezi?" she asked, glancing quickly at the ground. Yes, the branch was a comfortable height.
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Posted: Tue Jun 05, 2007 3:23 pm
Mezi's cub instincts kicked in as soon as she lifted him. He went limp in the legs and curled his tail up so Kizu wouldn't trip over it. He remained that position as they sped towards the tree trunk, though he was certain if he hadn't been held by the scruff he would've squirmed a little. When it had almost seemed as if they were going to smack the bark, they flew. It was magical, the way the leopardess glided with ease up to a branch, even with a cub in her mouth.
Once placed in the crook of the branch, the purple leopon took a moment to soak in what had just happened. He was in a tree! He crouched a little, finding his balance. Due to his mixed species, he had instincts from both leopard and lion, so it took a second for his mind to decide what to do in the situation. After a few moments of unsteadiness, he found his blanace and crouched into a more comfortable position from where he could look down. It was dizzying to see just how high he was for the first time, but exciting at the same time. With a wild grin on his face, he looked at Kizu. "This is so cool." He looked back at the ground, and then back to the leopardess again. "I've got to learn how to get up here."
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Posted: Sun Jun 17, 2007 10:27 am
"I'm sure you will someday soon. Start with smaller trees," she instructed. "Once you can get to the top of a shorter one, try a taller one. You'll be climbing bigger trees before you know it." She remembered back to her cubhood. That jealous desire of watching a parent climb easily, but not being able to do it yourself... Dependence was a jail. A jail that held it's prisoners too long. That's probably how the cub felt, at least.
"You'll have to get used to heights though. If you feel comfortable, you should meander around a bit on this branch. Get used to the feel of the bend beneath your paws..." Kizu's voice trailed off. She'd unearthed the talent she never though she had- teaching.
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Posted: Mon Jul 09, 2007 1:21 pm
ooc -- sorry this took nearly a month. <33 i was on vacation with limited internet access. :/
The idea of hving to start small wasn't particularly appealing to the cub, but he supposed the leopardess was right. She was a master of trees, after all, and it ould be best if he took her advice. "Alright." He nodded, taking another peak at the ground below. It was some what dizzying, but exhilerating all at the same time. He could hardly wait to tell his siblings he had been in a tree.
After a few moments of shifting his weight around to get used to the feel of bark, the purple leopon took a few careful steps forward, wiggling around his tail for balance. Step, step, stop. Step, step, stop. Everytime he stopped, he regained what balance he had lost, until he was right next to the grey leopardess, a smug grin on his face. Though he was a bit uneasy on the swaying branch, he had done it. With practice, he was sure he'd have the trick down pat in no time.
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Posted: Mon Jul 09, 2007 8:25 pm
((No sweat, I don't mind. blaugh ))
She watched his cautious steps. Each one reminded her of her first time out on a limb. And it was her mother in the place of Kizu. As introverted as the leopardess may be, she certainly seemed to like the presence of a cub, even if it wasn't her own, even if it wasn't completely her own species! There was something about Mezi... Perhaps it was that cute smug look. She gave her head a quick jerk that could be passed off as ridding her ear of a bug. It truly shook these ideas out of her head. She wasn't a softy! She was Kizuka'Mchopozi, the greatest theif to ever live! She couldn't let anyone know she had feelings for anything other than herself!
And with that she locked the motherly feelings that had come out instinctually away as best she could, which honestly wasn't very well. "I can take you up higher if you want," she found herself offering, not entirely upset about it.
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Posted: Tue Jul 24, 2007 10:02 am
The leopard in him seemed to be instinctively taking over. His tail moved out behind him to help balance, his claws splayed to grip the uneven surface. As he moved around on the branch, he flashed a cocky grin at Kizu, obviously proud of his ability to walk on a branch. Even if his steps were choppy, his tail waggling around in an attempt to help balance, he was quite pleased with himself. In an attempt to do something more tricky, he turned around on the bark, scraping a little as he tried to grip, and walked away from Kizu. Once he was as far as he could go, he once again turned around and walked back to the adult leopardess, that same smile planted on his face.
"Higher?" There was a tinge of fear in his voice as he said it, but it was immensely outweighed by the excitement. Surely he had known that there were higher branches, but he hadn't really put much thought into it until it was mentioned. From where they were, he already felt like he was on top of the world. "I - I'd love to go higher." He couldn't hide the enthusiasm in his voice.
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Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2007 9:14 pm
"Alright," Kizu said, a happy expression coming across her face. She rose to her feet on the branch, grabbed the cub by the scruff again, and looked upward, looking for a good branch to aim for. Finally, she picked one. It was higher up, of course, had a comfortable looking bend in the tree where she could perch, and it looked thicker towards the ends, capable of holding the cub up quite a way out the branch if he wanted. She made a leap up to one branch, trying to be as steady as possible, then up to the branch she had targeted.
She draped herself across the tree branch and released the cub on the thicker branch. "This one should hold you really well," she told him with a nod.
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Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2007 10:36 am
Wincing a little as theyflew through the air and upward, Mezi almost shut his eyes. Somehow, though, he kept them open, watching in half fear half exhileration as they came to the branch Kizu had decided on. When he was set down, his legs were a little wobbly, his whole body surging with adreneline. It was a rush, alright, being up that high. As he slowly relaxed his muscles, he took the chance to peer over the edge of the bark, staring at the dizzying hieght. "We're really high..." For a few moments, he considered asking to be let back down a few branches. No no, that'd just be silly. He had to take advantage of this moment. Breathing in and out, slowly, relaxing, the purple cub closed his eyes.
After a few moments of calming down, he opened his eyes and started walking. This branch, being thicker than the lower one, didn't rock under hsi weight as much. He left the bark with his claws, scratching at it curiously. It was thick, all right. "Can I go out farther?" He wasn't sure why he felt the need to ask Kizu, but it just seemed right. He wanted to walk farther out, since the branch stayed thicker longer here, but he couldn't help but feel Kizu should be at least informed of this.
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Posted: Mon Jul 30, 2007 3:35 pm
"Of course, just be careful. Get your footing first, you know? Get used to the height," she said, giving him a funny look. She wondered why he'd asked... She figured it was a cub thing. The branch was thicker here, he'd be alright.
She rested her head on her paw and watched the cub go out. Why was she helping him? What had gotten into her, instinct? She was a solitary cat, why on earth was she hanging out with another leopard? Scratch that, a half leopard? The likes of her current actions she couldn't fathom. But then, there always existed the counter-question, why not? Why shouldn't she help him.
Because there might come a day where he climbs into my stash tree, that's why not, she answered herself angrily in her head. This was a good point, her teaching him the heights would certainly enable the cub to climb her tree. Then again, perhaps he'd respect her, and if she ever caught him in her tree he'd leave immediately, just because she'd been kind to her.
Yes, that was it, he'd respect her more. Maybe.
The conflict continued in her head as she silently watched Mezi climb out.
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Posted: Mon Jul 30, 2007 5:08 pm
He nodded enthusiastically after being granted permission, and flipped about. Faster than he had before, he moved down the branch, feeling it sway more and more the farther out he went. It was like a dream, being up here, but a dream he would soon have to wake from. Mleli wasn't fond of her cubs being issing for all that long. and he wasn't really sure what the leopardess would say if she found him in a tree with Kizu. Honestly, he didn't know if she'd be upset or if she'd care at all. After all, being in a tree made him more leopard like, and didn't his mom want her brood to be leopards? For now, though, those bitter thoughts were things that the cub really didn't want to dwell on. He simply wanted to enjoy the moment and the height until next time.
Once he was out as far as he felt comfortable, he crouched down and looked over the edge of the bark. He was starting to get used to seeing the ground all the way down there, to the point where he didn't get dizzy. Not even a sense of vertigo plagued him anymore. It was amazing how fast instinct could set in, he mused while flexing his claws. "This is incredible." He looked over his shoulder at the adult, a sparkle in his eyes. "Thanks so much." It wasn't often that the leopon thanked anyone, but the occasion seemed to call for it.
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Posted: Mon Jul 30, 2007 5:20 pm
That was why she helped him. She hadn't expected it, nor known it was coming, but that look on his face was enough for her. If helping people got her that treasure, she'd be sure to do it more often. Still, the sudden softness she felt caught her off guard.
"Uh... You're welcome," She said, snapping completely out of her previous inner argument. "Can you turn around alright?" That was an important skill, turning around on a branch. She wondered if he'd keep the flexibility of the leopard over the stiffness of a lion.
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