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 Posted: Fri Nov 07, 2008 3:49 pm
 Chevayo was not quite the spitting image of his father that his appearance might suggest. To be sure, he was a very sweet character and a little naive and nonsensical at times. But he was far more laidback, taking more from his mother in that sense.
Today was a good example. He was exploring close to the den, by order of mother not to go too far, when he suddenly found himself being followed by a rather large tan and white bird. Chev was happily oblivious, too emersed in new sights, smells, and sounds outside the raucous den. Two sisters could be surprisingly noisy.
And this bird was being extra quiet as well.
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Posted: Fri Nov 07, 2008 11:55 pm
 Unu'le rounded a bend in the path toward Adi'sa's and Tailsin's den, her tail-tuft flicking back and forth in anticipation. She was hoping to see Chepi again, or maybe one of her siblings. The chance at a playmate other than one of her Bird Clan brothers or sisters was always alluring. Mana and Tawa'di were letting them go a little bit farther, as long as they didn't stray too far from their den, or kept within sight of Adi'sa or Tailsin at all times -- but not get in their fur either.
As Unu'le approached the den, she ironically noticed the bird first, completely missing the cub. To the other cub, the bird might be a companion, but to Unu'le it was just something else to chase. She forgot everything else on her mind and crouched to pounce, nevermind the bird's size, bigger than anything else she'd tried hunting.
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Posted: Sat Nov 08, 2008 5:40 am
In perfect comedic timing, the bird had noticed the pale cub, but so had Chevayo. And just as the russet cub turned eagerly towards this new and interesting looking playmate, the bird carefully maneuvered himself around Chevayo and promptly began following him, still unnoticed.
She was quite pretty, he thought. Very pale, unlike both of his sisters...and his parents as a matter of fact. She reminded him of some of the flowers he'd seen hanging from the even bigger looking brown, barky things. Trees basically.
"Hello!" he beamed as he trundled up to Unu'le.
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Posted: Sat Nov 08, 2008 1:03 pm
The bird moved behind the other cub, effectively drawing Unu'le's eyes to him, and when her brain registered there was another lion in front of her she nearly jumped out of her fur. "Oh! Hello!" she greeted, a quick recovery, and straightened from her hunter's pounce. She took a moment to give the darker cub a quick once-over, noting his reddish coat and comparing it to Adi'sa's; the resemblance was unmistakable. But she noticed the differences, too: his mane tuft was darker than the nvwati's, and -- well, just about everything else was, too.
"Er, sorry," she murmured, peering around the cub to check if the bird was still there. It was. Odd thing. Wouldn't most avians have flown away by now, once two lion cubs showed up? "Is that... your bird?" How was he keeping it here if it was?
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Posted: Sat Nov 08, 2008 1:37 pm
"My name's Chevayo," he began cheerfully after taking a deep breath. He was younger than Unu'le and had much to learn. "But you can call me Chev for short, or Ayo, or Yo, or just anything really and I'll answer to it, just as long as you tell me first..."
All in one breath. He gasped a little, and then noticed what she was doing. He followd suit, craning his head round to see what was behind him. Lo and behold...it was a bird!
"Umm...I guess so..." he said, looking at the bird with the same curiosity and incredulity as Unu'le.
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Posted: Sat Nov 08, 2008 3:11 pm
"Chevayo," Unu'le repeated, trying the name out on her tongue and giggling. "I like that name! I'll call you Chev. Or Ayo. ...I haven't decided yet," she admitted finally. "I'm Unu'le. You're Chepi's brother aren't you?"
"You don't know?" she asked, confused, not realizing she was switching topics as quickly as Chevayo had been talking earlier. She stared at the bird "It's just... sitting there. What's it doing? Why isn't it afraid of us?"
Okay, so maybe Unu'le was a bit older than Chevayo, but she hadn't yet outgrown her fast mouth apparently.
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Posted: Sat Nov 08, 2008 3:43 pm
"Nice to meet ya Unu'le," he turned his head back to her and beamed. "And yup! Chepi is one of 'em at least. Awinita is the other."
This was certainly a volleying conversation, changing as quickly as a tennis match. And Chevayo's head matched. He turned his head back to face the bird again as it came back up in conversation.
The bird, unnamed for the time being, stood behind Chevayo, obviously taking a liking to him, for whatever reason. His head bobbed, his eyes darted, his wings and tail feathers shuffled. He didn't do much really, except stick by Chevayo.
"I dunno...maybe its just not afraid of us...it doesn't look scared," he said, and the tested the theory by lifting his tail and bringing it down close to the bird.
In another act of comedic timing, the bird promptly fluttered his wings and jumped back a little...only to eventually stand right back where he was.
"Dad has a bird...and so does mum...maybe its a friend of theirs..."
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Posted: Sat Nov 08, 2008 6:28 pm
"Your parents keep birds? Weird," the pale cub commented. "What do they do with them?" As far as she knew, birds were for eating... if you could catch one. She crept closer to the tan bird, gingerly reaching out a paw toward it, hoping she wouldn't get her eyes pecked out or something.
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Posted: Sun Nov 09, 2008 7:20 am
"They...actally, dunno what they do wiv 'em...they just hang and stufffff...and talk...and fly. I think dad's bird helps him wiv stuff..." he began, musing out loud more than answering her question. "Don't your family keep aminals? Nita has a...whatsit...long ears, small, kinda fluffy."
Chevayo was now quite lost in his concentration, trying to recall as much as he could about his family's 'pets'. He didn't really notice what Unu'le was doing. The bird did though. He stretched his wings a bit, ready to take flight if she decided to pounce all of a sudden. He flashed his beak once or twice and just generally fidgeted, but didn't do anything else.
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Posted: Tue Nov 11, 2008 1:55 pm
"...A hare?" she asked, head cocking to the side a bit. "Woooow. You're family's weird, Chev." she grinned, though, letting him know she didn't mean it, not really. She thought it was interesting, keeping prey-animals as companions, an idea she'd never thought of before. Her attention turned back to the bird who looked wary of her, but "scared" was definitely not the word she'd use. Hm.
She patted her paw on the ground close to it, claws sheathed. She wanted to poke it with a toe but she doubted the bird would like that much. "I'll have to find me a bird of my own," she thought aloud.
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Posted: Wed Nov 12, 2008 2:45 pm
"A HARE! Thats it!" he exclaimed with delight, like it was an amazing discovery. "Harehareharehare." He spoke this little mantra, trying to cement the word into his vocabulary.
Finally, stirred from the rigor of his concentration, he turned around until he was shoulder-to-shoulder to Unu'le, and therefore also facing the bird. He watched, as intrigued as she, for any reaction to this closeness of predator cubs. It didn't even seem to flinch when he'd decided to turn around.
"That'd be fun. There'll be a whatsit...a group...a pride of birds," he said, using the only words he knew for 'group.'
And then, rather suddenly, being the younger of the two and being the brash boy, he just walked into the bird! But how curious to find it did not fly off...instead, it fluttered a little, then started to climb onto the cub.
"Hehehehehe! It tickles!"
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Posted: Wed Nov 12, 2008 9:45 pm
Unu'le's ears flattened against her skull, at first thinking Chevayo was being attacked by the bird all of a sudden. Realizing it wasn't doing the darker cub any harm, she relaxed, but her green eyes were still transfixed on the bird. She couldn't help it, she was a predator after all, and after a moment, her tail twitched and she pounced the bird, realizing too late that she was about to land right on top of Chevayo as well.
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Posted: Mon Nov 17, 2008 2:11 pm
Chevayo would have been content to entertain the bird all day, feeling somehow a little special that it had chosen him as a perch. But the contentment was short-lived.
With a raucous squawk, the bird took flight and Chevayo was then squashed beneath the other cub.
"Urrrrrrgh! WHATCHOO DOIN!?" he exclaimed and grunted all at the same time.
Meanwhile, the bird had landed safely on a nearby rock, out of pouncing distance...for now.
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Posted: Mon Dec 08, 2008 10:57 pm
"Woops... sorry!" Unu'le yelped, jumping off of the other cub. "I didn't mean to fall on you." She stared at the ground, quite a bit embarrassed, and for now she'd completely forgotten about the bird.
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Posted: Sat Dec 20, 2008 2:54 pm
Chevayo wriggled to his paws and stood up, looking a little disgruntled and pouty at Unu'le. He was still a little young to understand that rough and tumble games were a bit of growing up. To him, it was something unpleasant and he didn't want to take part anytime soon. But, his father had always emphasised manners and at least being open minded. He said the world was so big, its a shame to waste it.
"Okay...just...don't do it again..." he said, still a little pouty.
Meanwhile the bird was happily preening a few flight feathers in the background, escaping trouble for now.
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