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 Posted: Wed Aug 22, 2007 10:29 pm
Sepoko listened quietly and intently, rapt with attention: the perfect student. Periodically he would nod at a point to show that he understood. His eyes didn't even stray as the firefly flickered off into the night. He tried not to let a smile betray his amusement when Ilori admitted that being quiet was the hardest part for him. Really? Sepoko never would've guessed. Fortunately, Sepoko was a master of controlling his expression.
As Ilori went on with his instruction, Sepoko glanced down at his leg. "Hmph... guess chasing's out of the question," he muttered under his breath, then turned his attention back to the other boy. Poko continued to listen carefully for the rest of the instruction, then decided to try it out for himself. "Alright, here goes nothin'," he half-whispered, then crept into the woods. Situating himself near a bush, he waited there patiently, stone still, watching the flickering lights, waiting for them to come to him.
Finally, after some time, a single firefly came fluttering by to rest on a leaf... and Sepoko sprung. He clasped his paws quickly but gingerly around the little bug, then anxiously peeked inside.
He gasped. "I got one!" he hollered to Ilori. He was fairly impressed with himself that he'd gotten one on his first try. It seemed that the skills he had learned to appease his older brother--being submissive, still, and very quiet--were actually going to serve him well in life.
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Posted: Thu Aug 23, 2007 4:00 pm
"OH WOW!" Ilori clapped his paws together and ran over, skidding to a stop beside Sepoko, "You're amazing! I wish I was as good a student as you are! I can almost never catch one unless I try really, really hard! Let's take a look and see how bright yours is! I bet you caught the best one in the whole jungle!"
Ilori was never good at being quiet, and it had taken him ages to manage to catch even a single one. He was really impressed! And Sepoko had gone off thinking that his limp would stop him, but Ilori had just known he could do it, "You see Sepoko! You can do anything if you put your mind to it! You're even better at this than I am... but I'm not very good, I make too much noise like I said..." the little cub's eyes were wide with anticipation as he sat up, trying to catch a glimpse of Sepoko's catch of the night.
"I wish I could be quiet like you all the time Sepoko! Then maybe I would win at hide-and-seek with my mom... but she always beats me because I try to find better hiding spots in the middle of the game..." he shrugged, still grinning, "I'm sure I'll beat her one day!"
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Posted: Fri Aug 24, 2007 1:38 pm
Sepoko blushed intensely under his fur and had a sudden urge to hide his face in his bashfulness. He really wasn't used to being complimented and encouraged like this. His brother had been cruel to him, he and his father had never had many bonding moments, and his mother was rather quiet herself, usually. So this was a new experience for Sepoko... and he was starting to like it. "Oh, it wasn't much," he mumbled, trying to excuse his own skill. Then he cracked open his paws to take a peek.
Again, he was taken aback by the power of the glow... but this time he held it in his very own paws. "Well, you teach very well," Sepoko said, desperate to return a compliment. He wasn't sure even that was good enough. He just didn't know what to say. He offered Ilori a smile. He was awfully glad he'd met the cub.
Distracted a moment by the other boy, Sepoko glanced back just in time to see the firefly escaping from his open paws. "Oops..." he gulped. Then he turned back to Ilori and shrugged. "Well... if you want to learn to be quiet... all you really have to do is practice." And if there was one thing Sepoko was, it was well practiced at keeping his mouth shut.
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Posted: Fri Aug 24, 2007 6:48 pm
Ilori himself blushed a little, "Wow... Thanks so much! I'm glad you think I'm good at teaching... my mom never really says... but I never really show her anything new..." He smiled again, jumping up as he watched the firefly escape, "Oops! Looks like we'll have to go and find some more!" He started off in that direction, but then he stopped, a lightbulb going off in his brain.
"Wait... I've got it! You're really quiet, I'm really loud, right?" Ilori said, flipping around to face Sepoko, "So... what if I go and find the fireflies, then chase them over here to you, and you can lie in wait and catch them! I'm sure I'll give you away otherwise..."
Which he probably would. And Sepoko seemed to be having so much fun, and he wasn't afraid of bugs anymore, and they didn't gross him out! For Ilori, this was like christmas. Since he didn't run into other lions all that often, he was always glad to make a new friend. But Sepoko wasn't like the others he had met before. He was one of the first lions that Ilori would say needed a friend. Which Ilori was glad to be! And besides, when he came out of his shell, Sepoko was awsome!
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Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2007 6:08 pm
"Maybe you should try showing her sometime," Sepoko suggested quietly. "I mean... I think moms just like it when you let them know stuff, let them know anything. They just like to hear from you." He watched the ground, not quite looking Ilori in the eye. He wasn't sure he was in any position to talk about mother/son relationships, considering he wasn't so sure about even his own. But when Ilori suggested that they go find some more fireflies, the older boy looked to his companion eagerly and nodded. "Yeah, let's," he said.
Ilori managed to catch Sepoko off-guard in mid-stand, such that Sepoko nearly fell back over again. He held himself, frozen in an odd stooping position, staring at Ilori for his sudden outburst. But once Ilori had fully explained himself, the rust-colored boy managed to straighten himself out and grin very slightly. "Hey yeah, I like that," he said.
Sepoko then set to looking for a place to hide while Ilori flushed out the fireflies. Though he'd been worried before, the juve no longer seemed concerned with how little sleep he was getting. Lying down amongst some bushes, Sepoko hissed, "Ready when you are."
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Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2007 6:30 pm
Ilori looked thoughtful for a moment over his mother, "Yeah... yeah, maybe..." He shrugged, grin nearly splitting his face in two, "You're really smart Sepoko!"
Then he waited until his new friend had a hiding place before he took off. He was quiet, for a little while, as he searched around the forest for the fireflies in question. It didn't take too long for him to discover them. They kind of stood out.
With a cry of happiness, he burst out of hiding, the fireflies starting and flying off in the direction that Ilori chased them, straight back towards Sepoko. He hearded them as best he could, losing only a few along the way as he made it back, running full speed, "SEPOKO! GET READY HERE WE COME!"
The advantage of hunting fireflies was definitly that they didn't understand what he was saying, and weren't quite swift enough to realize that Ilori was leading all of them right into a trap.
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Posted: Fri Sep 28, 2007 9:00 am
Now Sepoko couldn't stop blushing to the point where it felt as though his face was on fire, and he felt compelled to hide his face in the leaves where he hid to conceal it. "Thank you," he murmured to Ilori just before the younger boy departed to wrangle up their catch.
If Sepoko had honed one skill particularly well, it was patience. He could wait forever, if he really had to. It helped, though, that Ilori created so much chaos; it gave Sepoko something to gauge his time with. When the other boy cried out, the juve braced himself and watched the horizon for the glow.
As soon as the little flickers came flying his way, Sepoko lunged out and threw his paws into the sky. He came down as gently as he possibly could, then peeked into his paws. Then gasped. "Ilori, come look at this! I caught three!"
For a moment he just stared into his paws, stunned, then looked up at Ilori briefly and said under a sheepish smile, "We work really well together, don't we?"
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Posted: Sun Sep 30, 2007 11:09 am
Ilori's face lit up as he ran back around to Sepoko, stopping next to the other boy's side as he nodded furiously, "We make an excellent team! I've never, ever, ever, ever, ever been able to catch more than one!" He was positively glowing about as bright as the fireflies were, "I think we're the best team ever!"
He peered into Sepoko's paws, looking completely bedazzled, "Sepoko... they look like little stars all grouped together. They're so pretty..." he looked back up, dark eyes sparkling, "Don't you wish we could do stuff like this all the time?"
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Posted: Wed Oct 03, 2007 11:02 am
Sepoko positively beamed at Ilori's excitement and praise--a rare sight, as the juve's countenance was usually quite solemn. "I guess anything's possible if you work together well," he murmured, and he turned his head to gaze upon the fireflies as well, getting lost in their glow and the joy of the moment. He sat there, sharing in awe with his new friend.
"They really do," Sepoko whispered in agreement to Ilori's statement. The amber boy stared intently at the little flickering lights. "It feels like holding the whole sky in my paws." This thought made his heart grow warm, but Ilori's next comment caused Sepoko to release the bugs into the sky in surprise. Just a moment, he hesitated, the delight slowly fading from his face just as the evening stars were now fading from the sky. Then, he hung his head. "I do..." he mumbled. And the thought was nearly devistating because he knew it couldn't be done. In fact, quite soon the two would be parted, and Sepoko had grown to feel so close to Ilori so quickly that the idea of being apart from him was devistating.
But the sun insisted on rising, and just then it showed it's first rays through the trees to the two boys. Sepoko's ears flattened back against his head. "The sun is coming up," he observed miserably. "My mother will be waking soon." He looked to Ilori with damp eyes. "I guess I've got to go."
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Posted: Wed Oct 03, 2007 1:35 pm
Ilori's heart sank a little as he watched the fireflies dissapear, following Sepoko's line of vision to realize that the sun was coming up. They had played together for almost the entire night... for Ilori it hadn't seemed nearly long enough. He hadn't seen Sepoko smile and be happy for nearly long enough... because when he did, Ilori had more and more fun with him. He was... for once, completely devistated to leave someone behind. He did it often enough, his family never stayed anywhere long enough to make any real friends. Why did he have to go this one time...? The usually upbeat cub felt absolutly empty as the idea of leaving Sepoko now. They would have to leave so soon...
"Yeah... my mom's a bit of an early riser too... she and dad will start to wonder if I'm already gone when they wake up and they didn't see me come to sleep..." Ilori forced a smile, brightened at a sudden idea. He turned around and, well, gave Sepoko a big hug, "I'm going to miss you lots Sepoko!"
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Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2007 9:30 am
Sepoko didn't know what to do with himself. He sat there staring miserably at his paws. He knew he had to leave, but he didn't know if he could make himself go. This inner conflict created a state of inertia that only lifted when Ilori suddenly flung himself at him.
Sepoko's initial reaction was to flinch and try to slip away, far too used to his brother's attempts to hit him. Then, for a second, he froze, uncertain of Ilori's intent. But soon, with the realization that this was nothing but a warm embrace, and with Ilori's words, Sepoko relaxed and, somewhat hesitantly, returned the hug. "I'll miss you too."
It was Sepoko who first broke away from the hug, growing anxious of becoming too attatched. He dropped his eyes and turned away from Ilori, trudging off to meet his mother and leave the jungles he had called home. A voice in his head kept telling him not to look back... but he couldn't resist. Just once more he glanced back at his young friend and said one thing, and one thing only: "I promise you we'll meet again someday." And he said this with a seriousness and determination which he'd never known before. That said, he finally had the confidence to leave with his head held high.
Sepoko never broke his promises. Never.
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Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2007 6:38 pm
Ilori had felt warm, happy with Sepoko there. It was a little like a mallet to the chest, watching him walk away. He would miss him, a lot... but then he promised. He promised that they would meet up again. That was great! Because this time... This time he knew that it would happen.
"Okay! BYE SEPOKO!" Ilori caught himself yelling again, quickly covering his mouth before he smiled under his paws, "I know we'll meet again... I just know it. Positive!"
((...They're so cute lol, anyway, you want to start a new one with them... bigger?))
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Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2007 7:12 pm
((Soon. I want to work on some plot stuff first...))
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Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2007 8:59 pm
((Sounds good ^_^ PM me whenever))
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