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 Posted: Sun Jul 13, 2014 3:15 pm
 Life in the Pridelands was proving to be peaceful. Setu's ordeals out in the roguelands were already fading from his memory, the sting of painful emotions being soothed with time. These days he spent a lot more time feeling secure with his surroundings and his place in it, which was something he hadn't experienced in some time.
There was one thing about the pride that still daunted him, however; the extreme size of it all. It much larger than he had expected, and he seemed to spot new faces every day. Sometimes he wondered what it would be like to take a dive and get really involved, but he tended to find himself lingering at the pride borders. It was often quieter, there.
As he lounged on his favourite rock, he thought about his brother and his family. He hadn't visited them much, lately. The cubs were now grown up with their own lives and they didn't need an uncle pestering them. In fact, he hadn't visited anyone for quite some time.
Should he be concerned about being isolated in such a huge pride? He tried to quell his worries by focusing on the horizon. At least he could make himself useful and watch for herds and rogues.
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Posted: Sun Jul 13, 2014 4:10 pm
Vizuri enjoyed the slow pace of the Pridelands, though sometimes she wanted something a bit more exciting than what the quiet life had to offer. She would like a bit more adventure in her life, or something new and different, at any rate. Living alone as she did, grown and separated from her family members scattered about the pride, everything fell into a normal kind of pace.
She spotted another lion not too far from her, his blue pelt making him easier to spot than some.
Smiling, she moved toward him, thinking he would be friendly enough if he was living here, and she wanted some company anyway. She looked at him as she got closer, slowing her pace and trying to not come up on him too quickly. She cleared her throat, hoping he did not get grumpy when interrupted during lounging.
"Hello, there."
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Posted: Tue Jul 22, 2014 11:13 am
It wasn't unusual to see others out here, and Setu for the most part tended to leave them be. Usually they were just travelling down to where the herds were last spotted, or to meet a friend. They usually smiled and went on their way, a purpose in mind.
He thought the lioness in his vision would do the same. A lady on a hunt, perhaps? Her tan and black fur would keep her well camouflaged in the dry grass. He watched her with interest, and smiled when she smiled.
But he wasn't quite expecting her to approach. A number of emotions flickered through him: curiousity, shyness; an old, lingering wariness.
"G-good afternoon," he greeted, a brief crack in his voice from not being used enough. He paused, then tried to avoid an awkward silence with another statement. "You are the first person I've seen today."
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Posted: Sun Jul 27, 2014 9:53 am
"Am I? Well, it's still early enough, I suppose. This place can be a bit lonely, though, with everyone all over the place. Unless, of course, you were aiming not to see anyone else today? In which case, I'm sorry for interrupting."
She smiled as she spoke, though, her expression light and playful. Her tone was sarcastic, but not in a malicious way. All she wanted was to talk to him and see if he was an adventurous sort, or if he had something interesting to share with her. Was that a selfish reason to talk to someone?
Making friends was not one of the skills she had managed to finely hone. In fact, it was one she had put very few 'training' efforts in to, so far. That did not make her a mean lioness by any means, just a solitary one.
"For my own part, today has been very slow and a bit on the boring side. I can never think of interesting things to do any more. I think I've exhausted my own company."
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Posted: Sun Jul 27, 2014 10:32 am
Lithiasaur Sorry for the double quote!
He chuckled, finding amusement in her playful tone. "I am inclined to agree," he said with a slight nod of his head. "It's all right, I'm not against some company now and then." As long as it didn't get too crowded, of course.
He shifted on his rock, as if he was going to jump down, but then stopped. He wasn't exactly an expert on social interaction himself, and he didn't want to scare the friendly lioness away. He moved cautiously, like a lioness creeping up on prey.
Still, Setu attempted a bit of humour of his own. "Enjoying your own company is fine... until you start talking to yourself." He chuckled again, smiling.
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Posted: Sun Jul 27, 2014 11:46 am
"Well, that's good. I didn't have anywhere else to go, so you might have had company whether you wanted it or not, if I couldn't think of something else." She smiled and chuckled, shaking her head as she settled down a bit more comfortably. She sat down and watched him placidly, surprised when he started to creep around.
What was he doing?
"You can hop down if you'd like," she said with a laugh, realizing after a moment what he was doing, "I'm not that skittish, I promise."
She watched him with a quiet look on her face, amused, her tail flicking lazily behind her.
"Well," she said with a wink, "I think talking to yourself is well and good, it's just when you start talking back that's the issue. Can't carry a conversation both ways. So, how are you? I haven't seen you before. I assume you live here in the pride as well?"
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Posted: Mon Jul 28, 2014 4:38 pm
"Oh um, yeah, great," he said awkwardly, as he peered down from the rock while trying to ignore the burning sensation in his face that her words had conjured up. Well, at least he now knew that she wasn't going to hurry away anytime soon. He dismounted smoothly, first reaching down with his forelegs, and once reaching the ground, letting the rest of his body fall neatly off.
He sat down and wiped his face with a paw. It was a bit easier to talk when they were both at ground level, but now he had to hide his embarrassment. He briefly groomed his mane so he didn't have to make eye contact for a moment, then smiled at Vizuri. At least she had laughed, and not in a nasty way.
"It works out then. Our meeting, I mean. We'll talk to each other instead of ourselves. My name is Tlotlego'Setu... Setu if you'd like. And I can say the same of you. " He inclined his head slightly towards her. "Yes, I live here, though I was not born here. How about you?"
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Posted: Sat Aug 02, 2014 2:57 pm
Vizuri smiled as she watched him continue his climb down from his rock, tilting her head at him and making herself look as non-threatening as possible. She did not want him to think she was just there to tease him, as she was most definitely not. She wanted to talk to him, and enjoy a bit of company, not scare him off by being mean.
Which she had to admit, sometimes was too easy to do, and she could not get a good read on others quickly enough to know where the line was.
He seemed very nice, though, and she was at least glad for that.
"Tlo... Setu, yes, that seems a bit better. How did you say that again?" She smiled at that, shaking her head and wondering. It was a very exotic sounding name to her, when most in her family and her litter had pretty simple names, at least by comparison. "Mine is not as pretty, though not as difficult to say, either. I'm Vizuri."
"I was born here. My father, Hadaya, came here as a rogue and settled here, and found a mate from inside the pride. My mother, of course. They seem very happy, at any rate. I don't know much about that whole life, though. Love and cubs and all that. I've mostly just been hunting and exploring, and trying to figure out what I want to do with my life here."
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Posted: Sun Aug 03, 2014 10:18 am
Setu, while he wasn't always the most confident lion, was at least quick to recover. Especially when his company was as kind as this lioness. He relaxed, tail swishing gently behind him. His posture had gone from stiff to casual in just a few moments.
"Tlotlego'Setu," he repeated with a chuckle. "Yes, it's quite a mouthful, so I insist on Setu to keep everyone sane. And your name is perfectly pretty, Vizuri. It feels soft on the tongue." He smiled warmly, as he listened to her speak of her family.
"Oh, so you're father was a rogue as well," Setu said, his eyes curious. "I came here after my pride disbanded... it was a tough journey, but I eventually found my brother. He had a family here, so I came here too." Normally Setu was reluctant to share anything personal, but since Vizuri had been kind enough to tell him a little bit about her family, he felt comfortable sharing a little about his own.
"I'm... trying to do the same thing," he admitted. "Now that my brother has his own life, and grown cubs, I'm left to do my own thing." He laughed a little. "Whatever that means."
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Posted: Fri Aug 15, 2014 8:32 pm
Setu seemed like a very nice lion, and Vizuri found herself relaxing. So far, she had not had a reason to defend herself or bolster her own pride, as she did sometimes with others. She had a reputation of her genetics to beat. Her father was known as a clutz and a goof, and she was not prepared to carry on that legacy.
She worked very hard to rise about all that.
It was nice to find someone that did not bring out those instincts in her, though, as she was able to relax and talk to him without showing off or being braggy. She had no impulse to tell him about her accomplishments, however few they were, unless they actually came up naturally in conversation. So the story of how she took down the largest zebra in its herd, alone, would have to wait.
"I'm glad you found your brother here. It's nice to have a little family around, no matter how annoying they can be. And mine can be, let me assure you. But I still love them. Are you finding life here to be nice? It must have been hard, to come from somewhere else and start over."
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Posted: Sun Sep 07, 2014 10:09 am
In the past, conversations such as this would have sent Setu running headfirst into the mist. Privacy and secrets were his world. But he had mellowed more than even he realized after his journey in the rogue lands. He had learned that some lions wanted to make others suffer, but even more were generally good. So while he felt some apprehension, it wasn't as sharp as it used to be.
Besides, he was finding Vizuri too amusing to worry all that much.
He grinned a little. "My father is here as well, but it has been some time since I've seen him," he admitted, then chuckled. "Isn't it a family's job to keep you on your toes? Life's too simple without them."
He gazed off at the horizon for a moment, before warmly meeting Vizuri's eyes. "It's pleasant here. Calm. Everyone can choose what they'd like to do. Perhaps if I had come here directly from my birth pride, it would have been hard to adjust... But I had help and experience on my side." He paused and looked away. "I am still not sure where my place is, so I am still looking."
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Posted: Sat Sep 13, 2014 2:29 pm
Vizuri chuckled and nodded her head. For all the trouble she had with her family, sometimes, she knew she was loved and that made it worth in the end. And she cared about them in her distant way, though she was often vexed by their 'fail' streak and the way her brother, most of all, could not seem to stay on his paws for more than two minutes.
She prided herself on being capable and useful, and beat the reputation her family line had.
"I hope you find your place here," she said honestly. "I like this place, though I suppose things are different for me. At any rate, I would like to get to know you a bit better, and maybe I can help with... well, I'm not sure what I could do, but I can at least offer you some friendship."
She chuckled, feeling a little silly because she was not used to making friends and was not familiar with how to do it, really. It was probably a lot easier than she was making it.
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