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 Posted: Fri Aug 11, 2006 11:39 am
Lefika nodded thoughtfully at this. Judging by his demeanor alone, she was not surprised at any element of his family structure. He seemed quite independant, which told her that his blood family would probably be few in number, but he was a loyalist, which told her that he would probably have many more that he kept close. It all made sense to her. Lefika murmured quietly, "I can't say that I've ever had a true friend. I never stay in one place long enough to make one." She shrugged indifferently at this. "I don't feel I really need any friends, though. The only person I've ever really needed was myself, and that's enough for me." She was perfectly ready to leave it at that and drop the subject.
Meanwhile, her stinging paw was getting to her a little. For a non-venomous bite, that snake certainly still packed a whallop. She hissed through her teeth slightly and inquired, "How far is it to where we're going?"
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Posted: Fri Aug 11, 2006 2:53 pm
Actually, if she had known his reasons for traveling she might not have thought him so independent at all. His only real reason for moving around was to meet others. He loved making new friendships and seeing new people. It wasn't a very independent longing.
"Oh...but everyone needs friends, my dear. The world is a very lonely place without them, even if we don't realize it," Mteuli told her silkily. It was his honest and true belief. She could say what she liked, but he had never met anyone who was happy all alone. "We're not far," He assured, "just a little ways more and we'll be there."
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Posted: Fri Aug 11, 2006 3:28 pm
Quite the opposite of Mteuli, Lefika's independance was fierce and constant. In the time since she'd started wandering she'd never had want for company. Then again, it hadn't been long, in the grand scheme of things, since she'd left her homeland. Certainly it felt like many long months, and it felt like she'd already spent a lifetime quite happily on her own, but she had many years yet left ahead of her. It was a lot of time to spend alone, even for the independant-minded.
"I suspect I'll make a friend or two someday," Lefika mused, "But as of now I have no need of them." That said, she hushed up and walked along quietly. She had nothing else to say, and she saw no use in idle and pointless conversation.
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Posted: Fri Aug 11, 2006 3:45 pm
"I hope you do," Mteuli nodded simply. It was his hope she would find someone she could call a friend someday. Perhaps then she would know the difference of being alone and among others. But he wouldn't lecture her verbally. He was foolish enough for that. And he'd let others keep their own beliefs, even if they clashed head on with his own.
Suddenly the ground became rough, rocks spiking out of the ground. He leaped up to one, standing a top of it. The water vanished not far after his perch. He smiled, "Come see. It's quite a view." He looked out from his height down at the pool a great distance below. Mist rose at the waterfall's end. Stretched out before them was the snake of a river and the trees. You could see for miles, flowers and colorful plants littering the area with colorful birds flying overhead.
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Posted: Fri Aug 11, 2006 4:39 pm
Lefika gave a tiny polite smile to Mteuli as a subtle thanks for his well wishes. He had been frustrating at first, but now Lefika began to think that maybe she could count this lion a friend himself, should she ever return to these lands that frustrated her so greatly. Well, so long as he continued to not try to change her mind about anything. Lefika was stubborn, entirely immovable in her convictions.
You could move her heart, though, and when she reached the crest of the cliffside and looked down on the waterfall, she could be considered to be moved. She gasped in awe at the sight of it, enraptured by the beauty. She wasn't sure she'd seen anything like it before, though it was comparable to the beauty of the sunset, she thought, and she had a great love for sunsets. She laid down slowly there on the edge and looked down on the pounding water and flying mists. "It's absolutely lovely," she declared in hushed tones, one paw held up against her chest.
Then, after taking a moment's pause, she had to smirk; she could see what was transpiring here. Turning back to Mteuli she batted an eyebrow and said. "Alright. You win. Maybe the jungle isn't so bad after all." Lefika may be proud, but she wasn't completely arrogant, and she wasn't afraid to admit when she'd been proven wrong.
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Posted: Sat Aug 12, 2006 8:39 am
Mteuli smiled at the awe the view inspired. Beauty like this was held in his mind and heart when he thought of his homeland and he was glad to share the sight with another. He didn't expect it to make her like the jungle any better, but he knew she couldn't refuse that it was wonderous.
"Yes...it really isn, isn't it?" he said warmly, taking a long look himself. He never got tired of seeing such things. At her other comment, however, he grinned. Never would he dream to force someone to change their mind, but it was nice to have her at least loosen her view on the jungle a little, "Yes...though there is no denying the grasslands you love so much are wonderful too. The places aren't really, in my mind, comparable. They are too unque for one another."
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Posted: Sat Aug 12, 2006 11:39 am
Lefika nodded thoughtfully at this comment as she turned 'round to gaze again on the lovely waterfall and the expanse beyond it. It was quite true, undeniably. They were entirely different worlds, the grassland and the jungle. There was no comparison, none at all. "I couldn't agree more," she murmured. The last word was lost, though, in a yawn. Her maw stretched open wide and the yawn lasted long. Once done, she shook her head a bit, a feeble attempt to keep herself awake, but it was no use.
Her legs slid out from under her and she dropped down into the leaves, nestling in them. She smiled contentedly; fallen leaves made a wonderful bed. Laying her head across her paws, she looked up at Mteuli and quietly told him, "I'm afraid I'm going to have to cut this tour short. I think I'll be calling this place home for the night." Again she yawned, her body insisting that she give it the sleep she had been so long denying it. She was just about ready to give in, too. "I hope you don't mind," she mumbled. Her eyelids were growing heavy, half-draping her eyes.
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Posted: Sat Aug 12, 2006 12:57 pm
Mteuli smiled, unsurprised by her being so tired. He didn't blame her. She should have been sleeping when he arrived and she hadn't. And she had hurt her paw to boot and moved over some rough terrian. She deserved a good rest. "Of course not," He told her smoothly, warmth in his voice as a reassurance. "Would you like me to remain?" He questioned after a comfortable pause. It was his polite and friendly way to ask if she wanted him gone.
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Posted: Sat Aug 12, 2006 4:24 pm
Lefika finally stopped fighting the enormous gravity of sleep and let her eyes close. It was so soothing to let herself go into sleep, having been up so long. She even forgot a bit about the stinging in her paw and the raw irritation of an old sore on her nose from the previous night. "Do as you wish," she yawned. "But in a few minutes here... I'm 'fraid I won't be... terribly good... com...pan...y..." Here she trailed off, curled up a bit slightly, and finally collapsed into the darkness of sleep. Nestled in a half circle amongst the leaves, she looked smaller and more innocent (despite the knicks and cuts on her nose and paws), looked almost cub-like. Her sleep was dreamless and intense.
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Posted: Sat Aug 12, 2006 5:14 pm
Mteuli smiled tenderly at the female, shaking his head. Well it sure hadn't taken her long to settle down. Still feeling the sun overhead he knew he couldn't remain. He was in no mood to sleep, being fully rested from his nap in the tree. And by the time he would be tired she'd be up again. No...it would probably be best he was on his way. "Ah...I suppose I will have to leave you, my lady," He murmured to her sleeping form, " But I'm sure we'll meet again." And with that he began to vanish into the surrounding jungle.
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