|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Fri Oct 26, 2007 9:49 pm
"Do you understand me?" Azula asked the rodent cowering in front of her. Her bright teal eyes narrowed slightly, adding to the already haughty look upon her features. The female's eyebrows rose slightly, her ears tipped back against her skull and body gracefully strewn over the dusty earth. Despite the amount of pure dirt about them, Azula managed to keep herself clean at all times--in some parts due to her sister's help--and so looked almost picturesque upon the ground in the afternoon sunlight. The regal affect she contrived was partially planned, and partially natural to her, but either way it worked. Before her paws, the field mouse cowered.
One back paw had already been broken, stopping it from leaving. Azula hadn't done that part, actually. The mouse had already been broken when her parents had brought her the "toy," but unlike her siblings she hadn't killed and maimed the thing right away. Actually, she'd picked hers up by the tail as the creature watched the rest of its family be torn to shreds, and carried it off away from the others. Her backside was still in sight of the den, but this wasn't something she wished her family to learn about.
Unlike her siblings, Azula wasn't a full-fledged, blood thirsty firekin like her parents wanted. Or, at least, she wasn't in the same way. Though she didn't mind the carnage and rotted stink of her family's habits, she also prefered not to "dirty" her paws with it, when it wasn't necessary. At the moment she wasn't hungry, but she knew she would be later. "If you understand me, you're free to go and deal with that paw--though I'd make haste before my father catches you."
Azula gave the softest of snickers. The mouse's mind had cracked a little, but she supposed that watching ones own children be torn limb from limb could do that to a creature. At any rate, he'd been more than willing to bargain for his own life, once he'd seen the light. This was the way the world worked, after all--it was the lion's right to eat those beneath them, and everything that was not a Lion was automatically beneath them. He could either remain the marked food of lions and die at any time, or he could cooperate with the one who had spared his life, for now, in exchange for the lives of other mice when she needed them. There was no guarantee this would work, of course, mice were simple creatures and prone to forgetfulness... but if he didn't serve correctly, she figured she could always hunt him down and eat him.
When the creature gave a nod, Azula leaned down, well aware of his cowering away from her, and gave his ear a simple puncture. It didn't quite rip, but it would heal with a visible scar so that she'd know he was hers. After that, the mouse drug himself off at a painful pace. His leg would heal with time, but it would never be the same.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Oct 26, 2007 10:31 pm
There was another cub making his way over, drawn by the small traces of blood carrying on what little breeze carried into the "god-forsaken" land. When he spotted the cub up ahead he was intrigued, but confused. There seemed to be an abundance of them popping up these days, cubs that was.
The juvenile carried himself closer to the younger female, his steps certain with older age by now, no longer clumsy. In fact, the only thing he still had no control at all over were his gifted powers, but that would come with time he was sure. He was working on it, and dilligently too!
The mouse with it's broken limb only managed to catch his interest further, and to all of this Kadogo quirked an eyebrow.
"Playing with your food? Seems a bit wasteful in a place like this..." He couldn't help but comment, watching her calmly with his red-eyed gaze.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Oct 26, 2007 10:52 pm
"Patience is a virtue," Azula replied to the cub that had wandered up to her. He was older, that was obvious at a glance, but Azula raised her nose a little higher. She'd never before met someone outside of her own litter, though she'd heard enough of "their" kind from her parents. According to Azachamorel and Mwali there were plenty of "firekin," especially in the royal family, with fake bloodlines; outsiders that had polluted the noble beauty of the Motoujami. ... Who was this kid anyway?
Azula, as was her nature, ignored the fact that he was older or that he was a 'guest' or whatever else someone with actual politeness might normally comment on, Azula tilted her head at him, "it would seem more wasteful to eat when not hungry... Who are you?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Oct 26, 2007 11:05 pm
Kadogo simply flicked his tail against the dry earth, studying the female's words more than the girl herself. He didn't seem the least bit put off by her demand for the information, because even if she did ask for it rudely, she'd still asked for it. As far as Kadogo was concerned she nullified any lack of manners by showing an abundance of interest.
"Hmm..."
She made a good argument, something he did recognize, not stubborn like his eldest sister was. For now though, he had a question to answer, so the matter of the mouse was quickly forgotten, and he calmly flicked his tail again.
"I'm Kadogo'moto, son of Tamu'meka and Azula."
Well, not actually by blood, to Tamu, but his father and everyone else needn't know that. Tamu was a good lion, even if a bit lazy or odd, a Firekin none the less, and a far better parent to Kadogo than his own mother had been, even if he could resentfully understand her reasons. He didn't even ask her name in return, but if it was because he had no manners or if it was because he didn't have an interest in finding out was unclear.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Oct 26, 2007 11:16 pm
"I see," Azula wasn't bothered by the lack of return questioning. Instead she raised one delicate paw to run her tongue over it. Slowly, with a strange amount of patience, she groomed the fur out, getting her tongue between her toes and spreading her claws as she did. The tiny, baby points gleamed a little in the sunlight. After a few moments of this, eyes half lidded and concentrating, the green orbs once more slid over to her strange little companion. "And what business do you have telling me what to do with my breakfast? Really. You would think your parents would raise you better."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Oct 26, 2007 11:24 pm
It manifested in the slightest twitch of his eyelids, the most minuscule movement possible as they almost narrowed again. He fought the urge to comment but it was on his mind. His mother had done nothing but cast him away as worthless, a move she'd live to regret.
Instead, he put his thoughts to a better use, smoothly pointing out--
"For starters, I didn't -tell- you to do anything. I made an observation. You might want to make a note of the difference."
When he narrowed his eyes this time it was accompanied by a small smirk. He calmly moved to stroll back a few steps in the direction from where he'd come, turning only to sit on his haunches. He didn't even mind the cold nature of the banter they were swapping right now, on the contrary. It was just what he wanted to hone himself.
"As if I have nothing better to do than boss around a girl even younger than me."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Oct 26, 2007 11:35 pm
Azula snorted with laughter, "If you have nothing better to do then why are you still here?" She gave a smirk of her own, continuing to clean herself. While a vain creature at heart, the amount of time she spent grooming wasn't entirely her own choice. Grooming herself was, in the end, preferable to being molested by her sister and said sister's incredible OCD. "You claim there to be a difference between what you said and the way that I took it, but despite your meaning if it was phrased in a way that made its audience misunderstand, doesn't that then mean that the original context isn't what you meant, but rather what was inferred?" Despite the fact that she'd just confused herself, Azula didn't flinch or backtrack in the slightest. For all the other cub might think, Azula knew exactly what she was talking about. "And you're not my son, that's impossible."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Oct 26, 2007 11:49 pm
Kadogo waited as he watched the cub groom and speak up, her words reaching his ears and causing them to perk, listening intently to translate what she said.
She was certainly confident, but did that confidence stem from certainty, or simply the empty pride that this dying group was so stubbornly known for?
He first answered with a short, but heartfelt laugh, only calming down long enough to reply. "Oh, my mistake then, I thought I might be able to find some intelligent conversation here. I suppose I was certainly wrong about that. Oh... and don't blame -me- if you're so expectant to be ordered around that you can't even tell a statement from direction. I'd think that -your- parents would have taught you that much..."
He scoffed, shaking his head, taking a breath, then explaining, as if it were a huge trouble to him to have to break it down for the other.
"If you misunderstood the original context of what I said, that just means that you indeed don't know the difference between an order and a comment. You can verbally twist it and turn it all the ways you want, but in the end it still comes down to your ability- or lack there of -to comprehend."
Oh, but as odd as it might sound, Kadogo was indeed enjoying this spat. Far from pleasant, it might be, but it was one of the few times when he felt free to speak more than a few sentences. He needed to work on that still, though, it wasn't very efficient to speak in such long winded ways, and he knew that to be one of the reasons his mother left him behind, inefficiency.
"Please." He snorted. "Use your head. My mother had that name long before you were so much as a speck of thought in your parent's mind. Do you know how many lions in this pride have double names?"
She wouldn't care, he'd bet, but it was meant to be a rhetorical question anyhow.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Oct 27, 2007 12:05 am
Azula's nose raised a little higher. Though her fur wanted to raise at this 'teasing', for that's what she felt it was, she was younger than he and thus behind on education. Perhaps in a few months, or a year, she would be able to trump him in matters of educational debate, but as a child with limited access to educational sources, it was difficult neigh impossible. She refused to let him see that discomfort, but her ears did flicker backward.
She finished with her paw and settled it back down, eyes once more flickering to the male in her presence. For a long moment there was silence, then she looked away again, making a soft sound in the back of her throat. "Fine. Make fun of a girl younger than you."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Oct 27, 2007 1:13 pm
Another shrug from Kadogo, who didn't think much of it either way, or tried not to. He did feel a bit guilty, but hid it, thinking it to be a weak and unnecessary emotion, guilt.
"If you don't like being corrected, maybe you shouldn't try to talk as if you know everything... Better to keep quiet and be thought a fool than to open your mouth and prove it beyond doubt."
So, from that he'd gathered her name to be Azula. He thought to question her parents since he'd never seen her around before, but knew only two females to be expecting, but said nothing. It didn't really matter.
"You'll learn... same as I did." He dismissed, glancing in the direction the mouse had gone again, then towards the open pride territory once more. He debated going to find something to eat, but wasn't sure he was hungry enough to need to yet.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Oct 27, 2007 5:52 pm
"And if you don't like being misunderstood in the first place, you shouldn't go around making statements that are criticizing for no reason. After all, if you didn't intend to do anything about the mouse, then why bother mentioning it?" Azula lifted her nose again, glad to have found something she deemed smart enough to answer with. No, she did not like to be corrected, not in the least, but she wasn't about to say that.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Oct 27, 2007 6:04 pm
"I don't really care either way." He stated bluntly, eyeballing her with an unimpressed stare. "I'm free to say whatever I want, so I commented that I thought it was wasteful. Why, do you care what a passing stranger thinks, so much that you have to get your fur all ruffled over it?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Oct 28, 2007 5:33 pm
"I reply when addressed, as is only polite. Do not think you're important enough to have ruffled my fur, peasant." Azula's nose rose a few millimeters higher, gaze and head turning slightly away from the boy. This was beneath her, really, so why was she even staying. That in mind, the girl hopped to her paws with a delicate 'swoosh' of her tail that nearly, but not quite, hit him in the nose. With that she turned and began to make her way away from him, staying along the perimeter of her family's home. She'd be in a large deal of trouble if her parents lost sight of her, after all.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Nov 13, 2007 11:59 pm
"My most humble apologies, 'princess'." He monotoned, not even giving it enough thought to consider her comment insulting. "Rest assured, though, hard as it may be for you to fathom, I want nothing to do with your fur."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Dec 25, 2007 11:22 am
"And you have nothing to do with it, so rejoice!" She called back, an obvious dismissal with the added raise of her nose. She snapped her tail back towards him in a shooing manner and edited her walk to take her back to the family den. She may not want to be there, but neither did she feel like staying for this 'conversation.'
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
