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 Posted: Sun Apr 15, 2007 2:31 pm
She saw the emotions - anger, resentment, frustration - flash across his face. They were easy to read, plain to see, and she was dismayed to discover a grim pleasure in their appearance. Her brown eyes narrowed to slits however, at his unbelievable promise. She eyes him dolefully, clearly doubtful of the situation.
He had agreed? Hmph. Yeah, and how long would he manage to keep his fat mouth shut? Tara snorted. Not long, she was willing to bet. Well, hopefully it would last long enough for her to collect herself again. She was more than aware of her own grating personality - Rune must hate her now. Tara certainly wouldn't blame him.
But that was neither here nor there.
"Good." She smiled sweetly at him. "Let's go."
She wondered if this had been a good descision. Hopefully he wouldn't carry his silence too far out of spite. She needed to know what prey lurked around in this area - night wasn't too far off, and she rather wanted to eat tonight. The lioness gave a mental shrug and shook off the problem. She'd worry about that when the time came.
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Posted: Sun Apr 15, 2007 6:35 pm
The only reaction from Tara's reply was that of an awefully loud, unmistakable grumbled noise that sounded rather like a mix between a snort and a growl. The adult turned to trail after his companion about ten to fifteen steps behind, making sure that he wouldn't have to put up with that stupid smile on her face for any longer than need be. If you couldn't see it you need not put up with it, right?
The pair probably looked silly wandering around with one extremely far in front and the other rather far behind, however Rune didn't care. Besides, this way his mouth could stay shut, considering that there could be no distractions from Tara. In fact, the more he thought about the situation, the more he found entertainment in the idea of him keeping his silence. Depending on how long this girl could take neither of them speaking, or rather holding an actual conversation, her reaction could probably go one of two ways.
One. She could ask him to talk and he refuse, resulting in her frustration from telling him to shut up. He could keep himself quiet so long as it pushed her buttons.
Or two. She could become so crazy from the amount of silence that she could begin talking to herself out of needing to hear /something/ other than the grass blow. Either which way, the scenario they were stuck in could turn interesting. To him, at least.
This did nothing more than triggor his eyes to narrow and a smirk to appear as he trailed along. Meanwhile, he secretly looked forward to the moment Tara's order backfired. And he would make it backfire, one way or another, unless for some reason she preferred a prolonged silence?
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Posted: Sun Apr 15, 2007 11:37 pm
Tara laughed to herself when she heard his 'reply'. Any concern over his continued silence was (for the moment) suspended as she reveled in his frustration. Served him right! Maybe she could actually focus her attention on -getting- somewhere, rather than on his stupid comments and distracting grumping.
Let's see... The young lioness cast a curious glance around her, noting down the landmarks. Stripey trees - check. She gazed at the patterned boles proudly, almost as if she'd put them there herself. Just follow these trees, and then around the rocks...
Squinting into the fading light, the lioness could just make out what -might- be the rocks they were supposed to stay away from. The vague shapes marched off into the dusk, stretching from the middle of her view and disappearing into the west. The sun was just sinking below the highest reaching formations.
Alright. So travel slightly southeast then. Tara nodded to herself and altered her course. Good.
It wasn't long before night fell completely and left the landscape wreathed in darkness. Tara slowed her pace, uncertain. If they continued onward, they could get lost without light or stumble upon something best left to itself. Better to stop for the night, anyways. Casting about, she spotted what looked to be a slightly thicker growth of scrub bushes; it should serve as shelter enough for the night.
Her stomach rumbled and she grunted. Hunting, right.
Riiiight. Tara's face twisted in annoyance, but she sucked a breath in and turned to face Rune.
"Since you're incapacitated," She smirked, her eyes focused on his wound, "What prey is around here, and how do I catch it?"
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Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2007 12:54 pm
Rune trailed behind rather obediently while Tara navigated through the unfamiliar terrain. However despite that they seemed to be on course, the male couldn't help but continue his elevating bitterness towards his companion. He could only bet that she was all snug and beside herself up there as she realized she could follow dumb directions and get somewhere without needing anyone else.
He was suprised that by sundown the silence hadn't cracked her already, considering that she seemed like a more social creature than solitary. However the increasing boredom of being absolutely quiet had begun to wear on the adult, and it showed rather plainly from the particular bland expression on his face. If he would've been permitted to talk they could've been screaming at each other by now, but even that would have prooved to have been more entertaining than this.
However the moment he'd been waiting for finally came after the area had become shrowded in darkness. Finally, Tara had stopped and turned to face him. After tolerating quite a hefty amount of neither speaking to each other, how hard was it to wait just a little bit more..? Not hard at all.
Runai meandered forward until he was perhaps three or four steps from his travel buddy, and seated himself almost immediately before her. With his silence retained, he watched and listened. He could always drop a comment later, afterall.
If he knew that he could make noises instead of talking, Runai may have actually somewhat laughed at the girls attempt to get him to talk. Despite her intentions, the most responsive thing out of the adult was an expectant raise of an eyebrow. If she wanted him quiet, why did she bother to talk to him? Pssh.
So she thought he couldn't hunt because of his shoulder? Hmph. That wasn't fair for her to hog all the fun. He liked the hunt, and his stupid shoulder nor Tara was about to keep him from that. Besides, what could she do to stop him..?
And as far as prey went? Why the hell would she ask him? He'd never left the graveyard, besides traveling to the pridelands for a decent meal or for water. How should he know if zebra or antelope or whatever lived out HERE in the middle of no where?
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Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2007 5:57 am
Irritation boiled to the surface and Tara was barely able to contain it and keep it from showing blatantly on her features. God, leave it to Rune to take her simple request too far!
... well, two could play at that game. Lord knows -she- wasn't going to be the one to recant! The lioness took a deep breath - several deep breaths - and spoke again.
"Alright, fine. Whatever. But I can still talk to you." She huffed and peered doubtfully into the darkness. "That bushy place over there, we can stay there for the night." She flicked her tail in the direction of the scruffy plants. "But we both need food. I'll go see if I can find something... well, at least edible. You stay here and try not to get into any trouble."
Even if it was dark, she had no doubts Rune could manage to find something to get into. The last thing she wanted to deal with was another angry creature - she already had one on her paws. That was enough.
With a last meaningful stare at her traveling companion, Tara spun on her heels and set out at a slow jog. Her ears were pricked and straining to catch any hopeful sounds, nose raised to the air to pick up the scent of prey. Not that she knew what it was anyways, but maybe all prey smelled the same?
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Posted: Tue May 08, 2007 5:55 pm
While a raised eyebrow was his only previous show of emotion, a sudden distressed, confused sort of look began to work it's way into the mix. Him? Stay? ..with the bushes all alone while she went and had a little hunting fling..? True, he wasn't very.. useful at the moment.. but still!
He rose almost automatically while his companion began meandering off, however immediately took to a halt. ..what if this attempt to play tag along again chased her off for good this time? He didn't need that again, considering that she'd not be as easy to sway this time around, now that she'd managed to keep him quiet for a decent frame of time. It would require much more of a bargain that he most likely wouldn't prefer to comply with.
Heaving an exceptionally heavy sigh, Rune readied to redirect himself, eyes meanwhile shifting between the bushes and Tara's vanishing figure. He probably shouldn't.. but.. he'd be so bored if he stayed here. She'd already provided him with his borderline fill of no entertainment for a prelonged amount of time. Who was she to extend that further..? Besides. She might need him, judging by her reaction from the stunt he'd pulled when they'd first entered this bit of the savannah.
He stood bickering in the back of his head of why to stay behind and why to follow, and well.. at the end of the few seconds of debating? Rune found himself trodding after, meanwhile squinting to make sure he was in fact following his fellow traveler rather than some random creature.
Confirming that this was the case, Runai loudly cleared his throat. It would at least allow Tara some warning that he wasn't about to stay behind and was meaning to follow along for the fun. In the very least it would catch her attention. Unless.. for some reason she thought he was some sort of.. prey wandering around in the darkness? Hmph. She'd have to be blind to not realize that he was in fact Rune, but then again..?
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Posted: Mon May 21, 2007 10:13 pm
Tara wasn't suprised to hear the grunting cough behind her. In fact, she would have been suprised (though pleased) if he -had- managed to keep himself at their decreed campsite. Admittedly she felt a little bit better knowing that he was behind her, injured or not. He was bigger, stronger...
No.
No, he was NOT stronger than her. He was not better than her! She'd grown up full of strength, spent afternoons wandering their jungle home and climbing trees like leopards. She was more than strong enough to take on whatever the... higher powers threw at her! Predator OR prey.
She might know that Rune was behind her, but that didn't mean she needed to acknowledge him. Not if he wasn't going to acknowledge the truth in her admonishion to stay behind! Tara rolled her eyes and sighed inwardly. If she made too much noise, something might hear her and run away.
Or some after her.
Tara lifted her nose to the wind and caught the scent of another creature near, and it didn't smell like lion or leopard. What else could it be but prey? She fell into a crouch and crept forward, her shoulders low and hunched and her stripes aiding her hiding in the moonlit savanah grasses. Movement caught her eye in front of her and she froze.
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Posted: Thu Aug 09, 2007 2:32 pm
Runai pondered whether or not the female in front had even heard him, judging by how much she had continued to ignore the fact that he was there. Nah, he had been too close and he'd made too loud of a noise for her to have not heard him. Well fine, then. If she figured she could just ignore him (despite the fact that he deserved it) then that only gave him more of a reason to push her buttons.
Those jet black eyes of his narrowed in thought while continueing to follow his companion through the darkness. Eventually, however, his gaze fell upon that swinging tail of hers. It was just hanging there.. Perhaps she'd be on edge and vulnerable due to the darkness and unfamiliarity of this particular area..?
A slight smirk began to creep across his muzzle as he sped up momentarily before outstretching a single paw and taking a swipe at that swaying bit of fur just dangling a few feet in front of him. Unluckily it was a blank, and the adult managed to seize nothing but a few bits of grass and a handfull of air.
Damn.
Rune had just barely looked up in time before Tara stopped, cueing his own four legs to freeze on command as well. At this point he, too, could hardly ignore that tempting scent in the air and whatever it belonged to. But to hell with his stomach, which sounded a mild rumble. He could hardly pass the opportunity to catch Tara offguard again. If she was that into whatever she was stalking then she probably could have cared less as to what Rune was doing just behind her.
Without hesitation and any consideration to the movement that had caused Tara to stop to begin with, the male outstretched his paw for a second time toward her tail. He wouldn't miss again.
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Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2007 8:12 pm
Something was there. She could -feel- it. Hell, she'd just seen it. Nose to the air, Tara held still and opened her senses.
Behind her she could hear Runai, and in front of her the savanna grasses rustled in a light breeze. A breeze that placed her upwind of her prey - or potential enemy. Swearing softly under her breath, Tara started to circle around. Hopefully whatever was there wouldn't be able to get behind --
-- Something grabbed her tail and -pulled-. With a noise that was halfway between a scream and a growl, Tara spun around and lashed out with her claws.
"You b*****d" She shrieked, barely checking her blow. "You idiot!"
It certainly didn't matter if anything heard her. Whatever was out there had already heard her scream, so her hurled insults wouldn't do any damage. Matter of fact, they were doing a world of -good- for the dark lioness.
"What the hell are you thinking?" She hissed, trembling with fury.
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Posted: Mon Aug 13, 2007 7:41 pm
Naturally, Runai's mood was lifted temporarily at the sudden scream, even despite the (what seemed like immediate) collision between Tara's claws and the side of his face. He couldn't help but laugh quietly under his breath, either, at how easily she had been spooked and how irritated she had become by just a simple seizure of her tail. And the name calling? He was a b*****d for freaking her out and scaring her meal away? To Rune it honestly didn't seem like much of a big deal, but hey. To each their own.
"Y'know it was asking for it, just swinging in front of me like that," He responded with a hushed tone, another small laugh carrying beneath his voice. "And chill, will ya? It's a huge place, there's probably something else around here somewhere, c'mon. Y'should probably try keeping it down a tad, though. Might scare everything away."
Leaving it at that, the male resumed his silence once more, meanwhile moving to push past his companion. Afterall, now that he'd been satisfied mentally, he supposed that his stomach was next in line. And since the meal Tara had targed had fled? It probably would be easier just to find something else. True, he'd been the original cause of her squeal, which had triggored her target to flee, but hey! If she hadn't been so easy to creep out..
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Posted: Tue Aug 14, 2007 5:25 pm
"Might scare... !!!"
Tara took a deep breath. Several deep breaths. Her legs were tensed and her body still wound like a spring, ready to flee or attack at the least provocation. OF COURSE she would scare everything away! But everything was ALREADY scared away by Rune's stupid stupid... AGH.
"WHY did you do that? What the HELL were you hoping to achieve?" Tara whispered furiously. She tried to keep her voice down, but at this point she didn't really care. Just who did he think he was? "You think it's funny, to scare someone half to death? To chase away a meal? Oh, it's HILARIOUS. Brilliant." The female stalked forwards, tail twitching madly despite it's recent run in with her companion.
"Yeah, it's huge, sure. But I was planning on eating soon and getting REST. Not spending my whole goddamn night hunting with a lazy layabout!" She'd never met a more irresponsible, idiotic, annoying lion in her LIFE. If her mother had sent him to bring her back home, she'd chosen well. Tara was starting to rue the day she'd left.
She doubted she'd get a good answer to ANY of those questions though.
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Posted: Wed Aug 15, 2007 6:18 pm
A loud, snort-like sound emitted from the male while Tara continued to badger with questions. He could've sworn his intentions were obvious, but obviously.. not. Despite this, he continued moving, meanwhile making his best attempt at keeping ahead of his companion.
"I was bored and needed some entertainment," He responded, his voice unusually flat and low. "And if I remember right it was you who originally decided to stick that on me," he added with a raise of a single, questioning brow.
"Not really a lazy layabout, either. I'm 'incapacitated', as you put it. Least I came with you instead of sitting on my a** under some bit of a bush in the middle of no where," Runai continued with another quiet grunt. Sure, whatever. He'd ruined her meal AND he could admit openly to himself that he wouldn't be much help at this point. But at least he'd came with, even if his motivations were more to help himself rather than Tara.
"Whatever. Keep it down. Can't imagine whatever the hell that was ran too far off. S'not like it'd keep running and running. It's bound to stop sometime. There's the chance of finding something better if we keep going, if you're honestly that hungry."
His replies weren't wonderful, but in the very least they were something.
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Posted: Wed Aug 15, 2007 7:02 pm
"Oh. You were bored." Her dark eyes flashed, lips twisting into a sneer. "Well. Glad to be of service then."
God. Apparently some lions never grew up. She'd see how bored he was when his stomach was growling and his shoulder was riddled with infection. Where would the need for entertainment rank then? The lioness snapped her jaws at a branch that scrapped across her side. Stupid wastelands.
"Alright, you're incapacitated." She had to admit it was true, but still! "That doesn't mean you can frolick around, squashing my plans for dinner! Besides," Tara sniffed the air, then glanced at Rune. "Do YOU know everything out here? I'm not just worried about prey."
She remembered the incident earlier and flushed. If he dared laugh at her... !
"Anyways." She hesitated for a moment, ears flickering. "I think whatever it was went this way."
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Posted: Wed Aug 15, 2007 7:45 pm
"I bet," He snerked, peering out of the corner of his eye in the direction of Tarajia at her opening comment. The sarcasm was easily noted, although he decided against elaborating on the subject. He'd lose that arguement for sure.
"And good, glad we can agree on something, then," Rune added with a mild roll of his eyes. Figures. The one thing they can agree on is how useless he was for the time being in this sort of situation. Honestly, what COULD he do if they found something..? Hobble towards it and wave his paw at it? Yea right, that'd work real well. Running and jumping around would only ruin his shoulder again, he was sure, and Tara had already mentioned that she wouldn't fix it for the millionth time. Damn, wasn't he just in the best situation.
Runai shook his head roughly at the thought.
"Psh, frolicking..?" He huffed at the term. "Who said I was frolicking around? Girls frolick, not guys," he corrected with a frown, tail giving a mild twitch. "And whatever. It's the middle of no where. Like anything would want to run around attacking things. Wouldn't worry about it. And psh. I doubt YOU know any more than me."
Well. Technically.. it was unfamiliar territory.. but whatever happened happened. No point in worrying over it, right? Besides. He could defend himself and Tara could always just run, soo.. who cared. Seemed like a good idea to him. Keep it simple and sweet.
"Fine, we'll head that way, then. D'you at least remember what the hell the thing looked like?"
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Posted: Wed Aug 15, 2007 7:59 pm
"Well, for one -- WE are out here running around in the middle of nowhere attacking things."
He'd left THAT one wiiiiide open. She couldn't help herself, and despite her anger she smiled. Granted, it was more of a baring of teeth than anything, but still. Yeah, they could agree on something -- that he was completely useless right now. Probably couldn't even defend himself properly.
"That's true. I DON'T know anything about this place." She snorted rudely, ears pinning back. "That's why I'm worried."
She'd be right at home in the jungle. Prey was abundant there, if you knew where to look. And the fruit! Amazing. She licked dry lips and dreamed of it. Right now she'd settle for a little water though. Her muzzle lifted to the air and she sniffed; dry. Dry everywhere.
"Fine. Prancing. ROMPING. Whatever is is GUYS do." Geez. She rolled her eyes. Like it even made a difference! "It all amounts to the same thing anyways."
Settling down with a huff, she rolled her shoulders in a shrug. "I didn't see it. I smelled it, and I heard it. Didn't smell like a lion or leopard, so I don't know."
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