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 Posted: Sat Aug 20, 2005 10:38 pm
Al-Hattal remained cool and composed, and very hard to dissuade. He had a vast appreciation for lionesses of all types, even rude ones. After all, a lioness was a lioness, and well...he was a LION. A fiiiine lion, at that. "Oh, I simply pursue the..finer things in life," he answered in his deep, smooth tones, "And I had not yet sampled what this particular region has to offer. So I have come to do just that."
"It is not flattery, my dear girl, if it is true." He paused, then amended, "So perhaps that was flattery...this time. Could it be there is charm hiding somewhere beneath such a lovely, if thorny, exterior?"
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Posted: Sun Aug 21, 2005 10:23 am
Wrinkling her nose, Binti stared at Al-Hattal with burgeoning horror. What HAD he been sniffing? Perhaps a patch of some of the odder-smelling plants had caught afire, and he'd inhaled too much? Shaking her head, she forced her attention back to the conversation at hand. "I don't think so." she said shortly, sitting back on her haunches. "And one would be mindful to watch thorns-they can bring a fair measure of pain, if worried at excessively." she said, teal eyes glittering with vague irritation.
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Posted: Sun Aug 21, 2005 12:00 pm
"Ah, but sometimes, the pain is worth the rewards." He shook his dusty black mane back out of his eyes, sitting opposite the irritated lioness. "Allow me to introduce myself; I am Al-Hattal."
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Posted: Sun Aug 21, 2005 2:47 pm
"...Hmmmmph. I suppose that hinges upon what kind of 'rewards' you're anticipating, doesn't it?" she stared down her nose at him, finding that she was rather enjoying matching wits with this one--he seemed harmless enough. "I'm Binti." she continued, raising an arrogant eyebrow.
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Posted: Sun Aug 21, 2005 2:58 pm
"Binti," he sampled slowly, tail snaking back and forth behind him, black eyes calmly appraising. "Often the best rewards are those you were not anticipating."
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Posted: Sun Aug 21, 2005 3:11 pm
Inclining her head slightly, Binti couldn't fail to concede...on that point. "So, how is it that your scent is not familiar? have you been in this area long?" she queried, her tone far more civil than it had been at the beginning of their meeting.
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Posted: Sun Aug 21, 2005 3:25 pm
"Perhaps I am simply stealthy and skilled at escaping notice." Al-Hattal laughed, his eyes glittering humorously. "No, you are right. I have not been here long, though I am finding it to my liking."
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Posted: Sun Aug 21, 2005 9:08 pm
Binti snorted, tossing her head. "Somehow...I doubt that. However, it is a nice territory, I'll grant you that.." she trailed off, a small smile softening her face slightly for a bare instant. "It used to be so empty, also..." she sighed, wrinkling her nose slightly in distaste.
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Posted: Mon Aug 22, 2005 11:35 am
"What, I can't be just that good?" Al-Ha struck a momentary pose, an intentional exaggeration of his usual posturing. He looked quite silly, really, especially when his mane fell down into his eyes and he shook his head, giving off a small cloud of dust that made him sneeze rather powerfully. Then he lifted his head and grinned, irrepressible. "But empty can be SO horribly boring. Quiet and dead and unexciting."
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Posted: Mon Aug 22, 2005 12:04 pm
Unable to help herself, Binti chuckled at the dust cloud that enveloped the black lion, barely avoiding sneezing herself. Shaking her head, she was still grinning as she thought of her reply. "I suppose that depends on what you want from life, doesn't it?" she began, looking pensive. "Some of us just want to be self-sufficient, and so an empty territory is ideal." she forced a small grin at this, unsure as to why she was sharing so much with what was, essentially, a virtual stranger. Us'kali had a helluva lot to answer for, she decided.
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Posted: Mon Aug 22, 2005 12:17 pm
"Ideal for being self-sufficient, or simply for remaining isolated?" Al-Ha asked thoughtfully, head tilted just to one side. "Having others around makes life so much more interesting." He grinned, dark eyes glittering...oh, no doubt he thought he was just the sort of lion who could make things interesting.
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Posted: Mon Aug 22, 2005 12:38 pm
Blatantly ignoring his grin--it was probably closer to a leer, when she thought about it, anyway. "Nothing wrong with isolation, if it means that you're not dependent upon someone else's actions, either." she replied, wrinkling her nose--there should be a rule that lions so irritating shouldn't be clever. at ALL.
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Posted: Mon Aug 22, 2005 12:45 pm
"Enjoying the benefits of others' company does not have to be dependence," he returned, flicking his tail from side to side as he watched Binti's expressions. "And besides, there's such a thing as a healthy amount of dependence. No less healthy than isolation, at any rate."
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Posted: Mon Aug 22, 2005 1:07 pm
Binti shrugged, gnawing on a forepaw idly. "No, but it usually leads to it, doesn''t it?" she remarked pointedly. "And isolation is unhealthy? how do you figure that?" she quirked an eyebrow, her curiosity piqued.
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Posted: Mon Aug 22, 2005 1:18 pm
"Does it? Maybe I should stick around, then." He laughed, teasing, figuring she wouldn't be happy about that one. "First, there's the sheer practicality of living with others. Isolation is more dangerous. And then, well..there are the emotional benefits of being with others, instead of stagnating alone. Same goes for mental, too." Apparently, this was something Al-Ha had thought on before.
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