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 Posted: Thu Nov 06, 2008 2:03 pm
They'd started as two cubs with a pile of rocks they were gambling for just because there wasn't anything better to do. The game got more serious, without really getting that serious, the older they got. So really held no ill-will toward Shwari. They wouldn't still be playing if he did. There were too many opportunities for both of them to sabotage the game when they were losing, or cheat so they never were to begin with, neither had taken. There was a mutual trust, a friendship, and dare he say a brotherhood.
That didn't mean he still wasn't going to school him.
At this point in the game, the current score was near even. So recalled Shwari currently had just one more rock atop his pile than So himself, and there were still plenty more to be distributed. As he'd lost last round, it was his turn to pick the game, and he knew just what he wanted to do.
They'd never run short of games before, and probably wouldn't. Now they had even more, because in their nearing adulthood, more opportunities opened up. Mainly, girls. They wouldn't go near them before. Because they were annoying, and kind of gross in the annoying way, and, you know, annoying. So still thought so. It was why he'd enjoy this one a whole hell of a lot.
"Since everyone is so swept up in this "fling" non-sense, you have to sway the first female we see into being your mate. If you can't do it by sun down then I win."
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Posted: Thu Nov 06, 2008 2:13 pm
Rock gambling was serious business. Everybody knew that. Ever since Shwari and So had started their little competition as cubs, Shwari had since realized that there was more to rocks than he had first imagined. It was funny how, at first, they had seemed so inconsequential. After all, what was so special about round bits of ground that you couldn't stomp on? Now, he counted his rocks every day, and tried to count So's pile whenever he could get the chance. It was just a count to make sure he was still winning their friendly competition. Since neither So nor Shwari really hated the other enough to cheat or ruin the game, it made for a sort of friendship between them. A strange one, but a friendship just the same.
But all is fair in love and war, and especially in the games of two young lions.
It was So's turn to pick the game, and Shwari was still waiting to see what kind of strange plot his solid purple friend would choose. Last round it had been easy: a simple game of hide and go seek but in the dark in a dense forest. Everyone knew that the purple lion was easier to spot than a dark blue one and green one, and thus Shwari had creamed his partner in that game. But since the stakes had been so high in Shwari's favour, that meant that the next game So picked would be weighed much more heavily in his favour.
When the challenge was set out, the young lion frowned for a moment, but then nodded. "Fine! Got it. Let's go looking for this female then!" Not like he would need the extra time to woo her. By sundown? Urg. Why was So so obsessed with females?
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Posted: Thu Nov 06, 2008 3:42 pm
Because Shwari wasn't good with them, and his track record for games involving them proved it. There had been that one match as cubs they'd had to trick a girl into giving them a present. He'd lost. Another when they were grown almost as much as now where the task had been to pick a female, then through them, find another with a solid white coat before the sun rose. He'd lost. These were only a few of examples. There were many others in between. So didn't like women but he had a charm with them that didn't get exercised, picked up from dear ol' dad.
"Fine." That frown on his rival's face all but spelled victory. Not that he could spell victory, he was a lion, but you get the point. "The first one we find who isn't my sister." That'd just be creepy. He should've specified his mother, too. Thankfully it wasn't her they found first.
Really, they hadn't found anyone. She'd found them. Alake had approached them from behind, in a good mood. There were bouts of random inspiration she had every now and then on her search. "Hi there."
Indeed, Shwari had one of the worst track records for trying to snare girls. It wasn't like he didn't like them – his only other choice for potential mates would have been So and that would have been ten billion shades of weird – he just didn't know how to deal with them. Well… that wasn't really true either. He knew theoretically how to deal with them too. He just didn't think very highly of them. It all stemmed from his mother's inability to tell him apart from his twin, but that was a long story and not worth telling to So. Instead, he just have to suffer with his handicap.
Luckily, So had several other weaknesses that Shwari could exploit, so the games always ended up being even. A game in Shwari's favour, a game in So's favour. Today, however, it seemed like the game might be a little more in Shwari's favour. A girl had walked up to them unannounced. Now was his chance!
"Hi there. Are you looking for someone… miss?" Shwari wasn't about to lose this one to So. He wanted that extra rock. And if he was going to win then he had to make a good impression on this lucky girl that they had stumbled upon. Yeah… lucky girl. "My name is Shwari, and this is So." Introductions were a good start. Inwardly, Shwari patted himself on the back. So far so good.
So had once heard a saying he would never forget: "There's a difference between living and living well." That saying, so full of morale and truth, he twisted into something the same, yet completely different. For, you see, there was cheating, then there was playing the game. That's exactly what he intended to do if he had to. Already he was tempted to stand behind Shwari and mouth secret, silent messages to this unfortunate stranger.
"He's crazy," he might tell her.
'He still lives with his mom." Could be better. (Sure, So still lived with his, but he wasn't the one trying to win over a girl now was he?)
Alake remained pleasant, unaware of the impending doom that was to soon strike like a hungry snake. She offered her name in a polite way, "Alake." Not because she was really that polite, but because she wanted something and the best way to get it was to be nice. "I'm looking for someone."
Indeed, there was cheating, and then there was playing a game. Some might have found the tactics that So and Shwari used in order to win the games a little unethical, but to Shwari it wasn't really cheating. It was just manipulating the situation in your favour, that was all. Your opponent couldn't swim well and you ended up trying to fight on a log? You rolled the log so you both ended up in the water and you swam back to shore. And then you snickered while he tried to do the same. That was how you played this game.
Thus, Shwari kept an ear on So, but didn't take his eyes off the lucky girl who had wandered into their game. He would suspect some sort of effort on his rival's part to best him in this game, but he couldn't sacrifice too much of his focus. Let So do what he wanted. Shwari would counter him.
"It's very nice to meet you Alake. And you are looking for someone? Anyone that we could help you look for?" Please don't say she has a mate. That would suck hardcore.
So never had to sabotage the chances of his opponent. He doubted he would have ever had to, because Shwari always messed up these challenges himself. This might have been the one he hadn't, where So would have actually had to bother putting in the amount of effort he had to when it wasn't his turn to pick to win. Might have, had fate, luck or just pure chance decided it didn't like Fadhi that day.
"My mate, Fadhi," was Alake's answer. She got out the rest of it just before So burst into laughter, nearly collapsing on the ground. "He's got stripes and spots of a few different colors. Tan and brown and white mostly." There was more to it, like that he had the most beautiful eyes and the best claws ever in the whole world, but So's abrupt (to her) fit of laughter had her startled into silence.
Making her think he hung around lunatics was probably a good method of attack he hadn't really noticed yet. It wasn't like he wanted his sides to hurt this much, you know.
…
For a moment, Shwari could only stare at Alake. This girl, the first girl they'd seen all day and had actually approached them HAD A MATE? Aaaaaargh! And he had thought he'd been doing so well! Shwari wanted to kick himself, but settled for kicking So instead, deciding that he deserved it for laughing out loud like that. "D-don't interrupt her when she's trying to speak!" Shwari grumbled, trying to at least save some face. He could already see him handing over that rock to So. Urrrg.
"I see. So he's covered in lots of markings," he emphasized the words just to take another stab at So, "Is there anything about him personality wise that you can tell us about? Does he go on adventures or just hang around at home?" Stupid So and his stupid 'first girl you see!' Shwari should have made him promise to switch the girl if the first one they found had a mate. He should have known So would come up with something underhanded like this! It was a secret clause! So, so unfair. And damn that was a bad pun.
Out of reflex, "Ow!", but no sooner had So straightened up and moved back too far to be kicked again did he start snickering, louder and louder with each passing second. Might as well just give me the rock now, Shwari. The reason he hadn't is because watching him flop like a fish out of water was just too sweet.
And getting sweeter.
The markings comment pushed the envelope enough So leered at his competitor. Not too venomously, mind you. The lack of markings issue was still a touchy subject for him, but less than it had been as a cub, and it certainly wasn't enough to make him forever angered at his best friend. Even the "who has the most markings" game hadn't bothered him too terribly much (shame Fadhi wasn't there to stomp them both). Surprise, surprise. The following game had been a competition of less markings.
"He's the best male ever," Alake stated, as a matter of fact. Details? Not her strong point. Things were either black or white, and Fadhi? All on the good side, baby. Admittedly, Alake wasn't positive if it was black or white that was suppose to be good. "He goes out sometimes, I guess, but he mostly stays with his family. I'm not sure what pride they're in, that's why I'm asking around."
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Posted: Thu Nov 06, 2008 3:49 pm
The snickering was getting on Shwari's nerves, however he did his best to ignore it. No use giving his rival the satisfaction of knowing that he had ruffled Shwari's feathers. Even if things looked quite grim and his rock was pretty much gone at this point he wasn't going to let So continue to laugh at him. But alas he was currently out of kicking range, which was a terrible pity. He settled for just pretending he didn't exist. So long as he could get a couple of jabs in about So then he would be content to hand over his rock. He'd just make So try and touch Pride Rock without getting spotted by any of the royalty. That would get him back.
"The best male ever? Huh. How can you be so sure? How many other males have you met?" It was always possible that he could get this girl to give up on her missing mate and take him instead. It was a long shot, but it could just work. He just had to keep talking and impressing her. "So he is with his family in some pride. This here is the Pridelands. Did he say he was going here?" If he was here then Shwari knew they would never, ever find him. It was just way too big.
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Posted: Thu Nov 06, 2008 4:11 pm
(*bitchslaps guild* :< )
Shwari didn't say that out loud but if he'd done so Alake would've told him something cheesy like there was no place to big to keep her from looking until the end of her days. She was a hopeless romantic like that. Or maybe just hopeless.
Had she met any other males? Well duh.
"Well duh. Of course I have. Tons of them." Tons, a few. Details. Not important. Alake didn't like to stress the little things (when they made her look wrong). She was not wrong. Fadhi was the best thing ever. Stupid pridelanders. "I know where this is." Except until he'd said it she really hadn't. "He... know which pride when he left. We were younger."
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Posted: Thu Nov 06, 2008 4:17 pm
Shwari would have probably face-pawed if she said that there was no play too big to keep her from looking for her mate. There was devotion and then there was this. Shwari knew what it was like to want to be around another feline all the time. Heck, his twin had practically been his other half until he'd decided to just up and leave without telling anybody. Poor sod had probably gotten himself lost, but he was too far away from the Pridelands for Shwari to find him. Shwari had just given up once he had gone far enough that Pride Rock was barely visible. If his brother was lost way out there then he could just stay lost.
"Oh. I see. And you can't just find another mate, seeing as yours appears to be lost?" Was this salvageable? He didn't know. The rock was practically So's anyways, so there was no harming in giving this another try. "And you knew him from when you were younger?" How cute. Young love. Young rivalries were totally better. "He didn't tell you where he was going at all?" Tsk tsk. What a shame.
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Posted: Thu Nov 06, 2008 4:23 pm
"He's not lost, he's out looking for me!" He damn well better be, or she'd be so mad! That's what she told herself. Alake didn't really have it in her to be angry with her prince; she'd just take it out on everyone else and move along. Not these two. They were jerks. Especially the darker one. Telling all those lies! "He did so. You should go back to your mother and have her teach you manners again."
Alake worried not about being poltically correct, thus didn't worry his situation with his mother. Had she been the type to she'd still have said it. If he was in the pridelands, he had a mom. They had actual families here. Supposedly.
The lioness stuck her nose up, 'hmph'ed and trotted off like she owned the place. Let the record show she would never really want to. The pridelands weren't big "enough", but they were still too big. So was the world for that matter.
"Nice," So congratulated.
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Posted: Thu Nov 06, 2008 4:31 pm
It appeared that things were taking a turn for the worst. Shwari could only sit there and stare as Alake promptly told him off. Not only was her stupid, lost boyfriend apparently looking for her, but he was also not stupid and he had better manners than Shwari. That really wasn't very nice. And why should his mother teach him manners? His mother was a pretty weird lioness. She would probably tell him that he and Shwari needed to find a mate soon or something. Yeah. Right.
His luck had most definitely run out when Alake stomped away, and he could only resist the urge to face-paw at his complete and utter loss. Sigh. Oh well. It was over now, and he could go back to normal life.
"Oh shut up. She wouldn't have taken you anyways," Shwari grumbled at his rival-friend, and then sighed in defeat. "Fine, I give. You wanna like… go for dinner or something?" They were friends. Sort of. A little bit. And even though he had lost the game, it was only today's game. There was always tomorrow.
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Posted: Thu Nov 06, 2008 4:35 pm
"Are you kidding me?" So couldn't believe what he was hearing. Okay that wasn't true. He couldn't believe Shwari dared to, you know, go there. "I'd have had her by sun down. You're just too impatient. You've gotta be patient with girls. Let them get all their angry out in small doses then go in for the kill."
Speaking of kill, his stomach rumbled on cue at the mention of food. Oh, right. Eating. He hadn't done that today, had he? "Yeah, sure," he readily agreed. "No more zebra though. They're making you kinda fat."
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Posted: Thu Nov 06, 2008 4:41 pm
Shwari scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Dude, she totally had a mate that she was all googly-eyed over. She wouldn't have taken the bait." Having a mate meant that you couldn't have another. Nobody could have two mates. Or at least, that was what Shwari had been taught. Somewhere, out in the big wide world, somebody probably had more than one mate and actually had kids without having a mate, but as far as Shwari was concerned they didn't happen. He'd have to see it to believe it.
"Yeah sure. Fat. You're looking pretty porky yourself." With a chuckle, the lion set off towards the Pridelands, hoping to find some sort of leftover kill. The hunters always provided food, so why not mooch?
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Posted: Thu Nov 06, 2008 4:52 pm
So scowled at him. "No, because I wouldn't have had to toss any bait out there. By the end of the day she'd have been clinging to me," he insisted. He also scowled at the idea of someone cheating on their mate. If they got another mate, that made the old mate not their mate anymore. Otherwise they'd be having kids like some random fling kind of thing, and who wanted that? The pridelanders were better than such rogue traditions.
Fat? See if he slept in the cave tonight.
"I barely weigh more than the day I was born." He'd just ignore that he was the heaviest of his litter mates at birth because it wasn't the point, and missed what the point actually was. There was a point there somewhere.
There was no contest when it came to mooching, the one thing they held a equal skill and truce at.
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