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 Posted: Wed Aug 15, 2007 10:14 am
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Posted: Wed Aug 15, 2007 10:35 am
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With a soft yawn cracking the bones of his jaw, Isithunzi made a sleepy stumble out of the den he had been napping in. An insomniac, Issy usually spent most of his night wandering, then came home to crash and sleep until later in the day. He had tried more than once to break the horrible habit, but his thoughts wandered to freely at night. Night was his domain, when the gold of the sun was eaten instead by the shadows that mimicked his own pelt. He wasn't so out of place during the night. It never really bothered him too much, but he knew he had relatives more closely colored to him somewhere out in the world. He would never leave to find them, but he thought about them constantly.
As he stalked along the pride rocks of his beloved home, he happened to notice one of the many siblings he had laying out. How long had it been since he had spent time with any of them? Besides Ezzy, who popped in and out at times, he hadn't seen many of them in months. Due to their wandering and his unusual sleeping pattern, he was sure. It wasn't as if he tried to avoid them, he just never got an opportunity to see much of anyone, let alone his brothers and sisters.
"Ushu?" he said with a little yawn attached to the words, coming closer to the brother that was very nearly everything appearance-wise that he was not. He shook his head, letting the rusty mane fly about wildly, in an attempt to shake the sleep from his thoughts.
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Posted: Wed Aug 15, 2007 6:29 pm
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Posted: Thu Aug 16, 2007 9:31 am
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Issy passed off the second's hesitation without comment; they hadn't seen each other in ages, and there were certainly quite a few siblings to go through to begin with. After all, he hadn't been sure that it was Ushu to begin with. Last time he had seen him, he had considerably less mane and was quite a bit smaller.
"It's good to see you too," he said with the answering bob of his own head, the rusty mane wavering slightly as he did so. He was fairly happy to see Ushu, when it came right down to it. He really didn't spend enough time around his family due to his odd sleeping patterns, and he missed them.
As he faced his brother, he lowered his haunches to the warm rock beneath his paws; it was more comfortable than standing up, especially when one has just woken from sleep. "Me? Well, the usual, I guess. Wandering, thinking, up to no good," he said with a little chuckle, and then added, "looking for a nice lioness - though I only seem to find the touchy ones." He smirked at the thought of Ilanga and shook his head; she was probably trying to convince someone to murder him by now.
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Posted: Mon Aug 20, 2007 7:36 pm
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Ushu's smile was warm as he came to plop is own rear end on the rock, sitting face to face with this dark brother. Brown-tipped tail curled around and over his paws, twitching with the good humor its owner suddenly had.
"Sounds much like me... And I agree about the lioness part too. It just doesn't seem like there are any girls in the Pridelands that really perk my interest." He rolled tanned shoulders in a shrug that sent a ripple through his dark mane. "To silly, or to young, or just not what seems to be a good match." His grin was ironic, and he shook his head slowly. "I'm starting to think I should venture beyond the borders..."
He shook his head again as his thoughts threatened to settle into brooding again. "Seems all I do lately is hunt, wander, and sleep... The Pridelands are great, don't get me wrong, but there is just nothing to do here, especially if you're a young lion like us. Where's the challenge? Where's the fun?" Soft laughter rolled out as he brought his own personal concerns into the light, passing them off as a joke.
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Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2007 10:54 am
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He tilted his head at his brother, studying the lion with a thoughtful gleam in his deep emerald eyes. Well, he certainly looked about as different as possible on the outside, but inside they seemed to have a common thought. Traveling outside the pridelands. However, Issy was sure that they wanted to for two completely different reasons.
"I've thought about that a lot too. Though, I think my reasons for leaving the pride are different," he said with a little glane towards the horizon, a wrinkle in his brow. "I just want to know who Dad's family was, or is, and where Baridi went.." He shrugged it off though, letting the thoughts of their vanished sister dissipate with them. "I don't think, when it comes down to it, that I could ever leave though. This is just.. my home, you know?" He quirked a brow at his brother to accentuate his question.
"Yeah, well, maybe we have to make our own fun, eh?" he said with a chuckle, letting his tail flicker around behind him idly as he spoke. "There has to be something that two young lions can get into around her," he said, wondering to himself what they really could do. It was a drag lately, being here, but there had to be something fun they could do.
((Sorry that was so blah, but I'm brain-fried from the heat xD))
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Posted: Wed Aug 22, 2007 10:43 am
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The brown and tan head tilted as Ushu listened, ears cocked.
"I guess it never really occurred to me. I never really knew Baridi, and family stuff just doesn't seem that important. We've got all the family we need right here, why go looking for me?" He joked. Unlike his brother, he was a prime example of a Pridelands male. He fit the gold and tan coloring that was predominant, with the red eyes that marked so many of this side of the family. He even had a touch of their grandfather's size, though he wasn't nearly as big as their aunt Kiuma's children. He'd seen those two around, but only from a distance. I just meant that he didn't have the same drive to find others like him, since they were already here.
"I agree with you though. I might leave, but I don't think I could... really leave. We grew up here, its home. As solid as Priderock, a place that will always be here for us to return to." He felt a warmth spread through his chest, a patriotic sort of feeling for his homeland. Such noble thoughts were soon banished as red eyes took on a mischevious gleam, a grin splitting his maw. "Oh, there is. Trouble, that's what. I bet there is all sort of trouble we could get into." Laughter rolled from the day-brother as he lifted paw to pat Issy's shoulder, giving him a playful push.
"It would just be a matter of figuring what kind of trouble we want to get into. You don't have anything in mind do you?"
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Posted: Wed Aug 22, 2007 1:49 pm
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"Well, I never really knew Baridi either, but I've heard Ezzy and Mum talking about her sometimes," he said with a little crease in his brow, "and I know she left to go find Dad's family." He shrugged it off with a little smile on his maw, "I just wondered what kind of lions they were - and if they all looked like.. me." As he said me, he inclined his head and brought his paw up to his chest, indicating that he meant his dark pelt. "I did meet one of them a long time ago, though," he said with a chuckle, "I was even darker than him.."
He was a big boy, himself; as tall and large as the general royal blood males of the Pridelands go. Of course, he was nothing on Kiuma's children either; and the male cousin that he had encountered that had both Kusini and Pridelander royal blood was much larger as well. He had been nearly as big as any natural lion could be, what with a giant rogue and a giant Pridelander for grandfathers and lucky enough to get a mix of both genes.
"The most I think I could ever do was visit somewhere else, but I'd always come home. My heart belongs here in the Pridelands," he said with a smile, glancing out at the world beneath pride rock. He knew that these lands would always be his home, and as such, he could never find it in his heart to leave them. That left his eternal ache to find the rogue half of their family nothing more than a dream - and that was all it ever would be. He didn't expect the brother that was so unlike him to understand - and he wouldn't ask him to.
With a wide grin, he reached a wide paw up to shove his opposite back, "I don't know, I'm sure there's something I can think of." He stood up slowly, rising to his full height and glancing out across the lands. "We could always chase down a herd or something," he said with a chuckle, "run them across the land. That would certainly make things difficult for everyone else." An evil grin had spread across his maw at the thought; Isithunzi really enjoyed being difficult.
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Posted: Mon Sep 10, 2007 10:01 am
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Ushu broke out in bright laughter as he rocked on his haunches, tossing his head to make his brown mane dance on his shoulders.
"Fantastic idea! A stampede? Something out in the open though, so no one gets hurt. It'd be amusing, watching all those animals flee in terror of their lives... like a pair of lions could take down the whole lot." He chuckled as he settled back, red eyes shining. Oh, this could be great fun... a test of their skill, courage, and physical prowess. Be a chance to see if this dark brother could match up to him, if the bloodline ran true in both of them.
"Well then... where should we look first? The waterhole maybe? Lots of herds come there about this time of day for a drink. Sure, they're more wary, but that makes it fun, right? A challenge for two noble felines."
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Posted: Wed Sep 12, 2007 4:37 pm
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Issy grinned at the way his brother took to his idea, reveling in the laughter that erupted from his maw. Shaking his own rusty mane out with a lopsided smile plastered to his face, he turned back to his brother. This would certainly be a good time, the first chance he had gotten to spend time with Ushu, or any of his brothers for that matter.
"Yes, a stampede," he echoed again, an image of hundreds of beast galloping away lingering in his minds. Would he match up to Ushu in strength? Would he be better? He had never tested his skill against anyone before, but it would be a good time to see what mixing the blood did. Did having more rogue blood make you better or worse? It would be an answer to some of his questions, at least.
"The water hole sounds good," he said with a chuckle, "they'll run easier from us there, considering they'll already be on the look out." He smirked and began to head down the slope of the mountain, glancing back at his brother with his lopsided smirk, "come on."
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Posted: Sun Sep 16, 2007 12:08 pm
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Posted: Mon Sep 17, 2007 1:12 pm
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As Issy strolled lackadaisically down the slope of pride rock, he hadn’t been expecting the sudden outburst from his brother. By the time his ears caught the words and connected it to the site of his brother barreling past him down the rock path, Ushu had already gained a huge lead. With a laugh on his maw and his eyes spread wide, he leapt immediately into action. He took a good jump that let him soar slightly down a section of the slope, then landed and immediately put his paws into motion. Lowering his head slightly and taking large, galloping strides, he found himself right on his brother’s tail. However, try as he might, he could only keep Ushu from putting distance between them – he couldn’t actually catch up, which suggested the brothers were more evenly matched than their opposite appearances would suggest.
He laughed, however, finding it more fun than competition. He had spent little time with the siblings that were of his own age, and only any real amount of time with Ezzy. While his older brother was amusing, it was good to finally be around someone that didn’t have a mound of cubs (he loved his nieces and nephews, don’t get him wrong!) attacking him every moment. Oh, but he had missed his brother!
Suddenly, spying the watering hole’s shining expanse in the distance, he turned his emerald eyes on Ushu, “slow down!” His call was enough to reach the speeding lion’s ears, but not enough to carry out past the rushes sprouting up in the field directly around them. Issy immediately began to slow, and by the time he had come to a stop, he was crouched deep in the golden rushes. His darker pelt made him have to be extra careful, while Ushu’s would let him blend in almost perfectly. Still, he had done this many times, and now he simply set to observing the creatures around the water hole.
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Posted: Sat Sep 22, 2007 10:19 pm
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Ushu laughed as he ran, great bounds eating up the distance. He glanced back to catch sight of his brother eating up the distance, and he grinned brightly, increasing his pace. Still, he couldn't pull ahead of him more than his headstart, his tail whipping the air.
His breath was starting to come hard when the watering hole finally came into view, catching the call from his brother. He shot a glance back, then slowed himself, trotting to a stop and circling back, the rustle of the grass the only sound he made.
"That was fun... but now the real effort starts. You see anything that looks promising?" He said to Issy, keeping his voice pitched low. They didn't want any of the herds getting wind of them before they were ready.
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Posted: Sun Sep 23, 2007 1:12 pm
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Issy smiled widely as his brother circled back to join him, crouched low in the golden grasses of the savannah. His breath was coming a little hard, but it had already begun to calm down, and in moments he was back to his normal, silent breathing. He let his eyes wander over the herd around the watering hole, taking in the weak points of the gazelle herd and seeking out the best way to go about this. After a few minutes, he smirked, leaning closer to his brother.
“I think if we got to either side,” he began quietly, tail flickering behind him, “we can push them together and force them off that way.” He jerked his head in the direction he meant, driving them away from the water hole and farther away from the pride itself. “I think we can probably take down a couple of younger ones at the edge there, too, just for a good meal, but we’ll have to wait until they’re far enough out.” He smirked, glancing at Ushu again.
“What do you think?” he crouched a little lower, examining the gazelle as he awaited his brother’s answer. Of course, they couldn’t get them out but so far. As far as endurance goes, the gazelle could last much longer, but they could still get them out far enough to be a pain for everyone else to find.
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Posted: Sun Sep 23, 2007 9:58 pm
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Ushu came back to crouch at his brother's side, two large bodies hidden by the gently waving savannah grass. He gave a low, satisfied chuckle as he scanned the layout of the herd, nodding along as Issy's suggestion.
"Makes sense..." He said softly. "Force them into a tighter group and push them out, away from Priderock. Though, it would be fun to just skatter them too, run right into the center and watch them bound off in all directions." The tan male chuckled as he shook his mane out, stretching his forepaws before him leisurely.
"I wouldn't mind getting a little something to top off my stomach... That's a good idea." His eyes scanned the group, picking out a few he thought he might be able to take down. He weighed the possibilities, noting a few that might get lost in the crowd before he could get to them, and settled on a few that looked most likely. "Ready when you are, brother." He murmured softly.
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