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 Posted: Tue Nov 20, 2007 8:56 pm
 It hadn't been too long since the green striped female had run into her mother in the land of the golden lions, the pridelands. It had been maybe a day or two since she had passed through the desert on her way to the only place she had ever really known. The oasis. It was odd, back when she had been forced out of the lands and tried so desperately to return she was unable to find her way back and now, with ease she had returned having to difficulty finding the ridge that she knew so well. She had spent most of her mornings, from dawn circling the perimeter of the oasis in hopes of seeing her mother.
Her mother.....
The thought of the almost completely white female made Zagaa'Tamanio snarl spitting rather angrily to her side. The thought also reminded her of the fact that she too would be a mother. The female planned to make a difference in her children's lives, however many there were to be. A shiver went down her spine as she trotted from the shade of the trees that littered the lands to the spring in almost the center, near the ruins that her dead father so dearly loved.
Once reaching the sight she saw that the water was just as plentiful as it had been when her mother was still around, before they learned of their father's death. Quickly, as quickly as a pregnant female could, she made her way to the water's edge, bending to lap up water, needing to quench the thirst that she had acquired from her travels.
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Posted: Tue Nov 20, 2007 9:20 pm
Leo marched along with stumbling strides, head low, scowling. Honestly, he ought to be feeling a lot better now that they were out of the dry desert heat, but he wasn't. Leo was hungry, and thirsty, and tired, but he couldn't rest until he'd taken care of the other two. "Who's bright idea was this?" he snarled to his little passenger.
Beni, in contrast to his grumpy companion, was quite content at this moment in time. Perhaps because he didn't have to do any of the walking. He rode along nestled in Leo's scruffy, too-short mane, clinging to his golden hair. This, he thought, was the only way to travel. Hearing his oldest friend's voice, the ratel glanced down, though he still could not see Leo's face. "Mmh," he reminded Leo with a little squeak.
"Was not!" Leo insisted, tossing his head up in defiance and almost losing his little passenger in the process (Beni, fortunately, had learned the art of hanging onto Leo's short mane for dear life). "It was totally your idea to come out here and look what it's cost us! We have no idea where we are." And, he thought to himself, we'll have to cross that god-forsaken desert to get back again. He'd heard things about the lions that lived in the desert... and none of them were pleasant.
Beni wrinkled his little brown nose. Of course Leo was trying to pass this off on him. He always did. "Mm mmhmm mm mmh mm mmm," he pointed out to his companion, somewhat impatiently. Honestly, sometimes he didn't know why he hung out with this guy.
Momentarily, Leo hesitated, realizing that a dreadful flaw in his logic had been pointed out. "Well... that may be... but..." he began lamely, trailing off as he desperately searched for a subject change. He found it quickly enough... a glimmer of water between the trees. He pointed with one broad tan paw. "Hey look! Water!" And he bounded eagerly to the water's edge, with his little friend hanging on tight, skidding to a stop at the shore and shoving his head into the water.
It was at this point that Beni finally lost his grip and tumbled down into the water. Upon surfacing, he glared up at his friend indignantly, flailing his paws to indicate the sheer mass of his displeasure. "MMMH MM HMM MMHM!?" he squealed at Leo. But Leo was far too busy hydrating himself to pay him any mind.
In fact, upon lifting his head, the first thing Leo noticed was not his affronted little friend, but the white and green lioness across the way. A native, perhaps... he couldn't be sure, although he felt that only a crazy person or an idiot would cross that desert willingly (and not appreciating the irony in that thought). Either way, he cleared his throat and called out to the other lion, "HEY! Do you know where we could get something to eat around here!"
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Posted: Wed Nov 21, 2007 7:07 am
When the small familiar was thrown into the water the female had lifted her head. Squinting briefly she studied the lion, wondering if he had been one of the pride members from before. Shaking her head she knew he wasn't especially because he didn't know where the prey often frequented like anyone who had lived here would know. Rising to her paws she waded into the water to help out Beni, grabbing him gently with her jaws before returning the the edge of the water setting him down.
Shaking out her fur she looked at the male. "Head into the trees behind me and you should be able to find something." She motioned back with her head. She had checked that area when she had first returned and saw that prey could not only be found but it had multiplied since she had last been here.
Tama then turned her attention back to the ratel before tilting her head at him. "Are you alright?" She questioned softly.
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Posted: Wed Nov 21, 2007 9:57 am
It was not in Benibeni's nature to be paranoid or suspicious, but he couldn't help but get a little nervous as the strange lioness approached him from across the water. He held his ground confidently, but regreted it as soon as she started to loom over him. He wondered if perhaps Leo's question about food had reminded this lioness how hungry she was. And so, when she picked him up her jaws, Beni shrieked and flailed wildly, panicking, not stopping until she set him down again upon the shore.
For a second, he was confused, wondering why he hadn't been eaten. It was only then that he blushed, realizing that he had panicked prematurely, and he looked up to Tama when she questioned him. He dismissed her question with a little wave of his paw. "Mmm hmmm," he assured her, and shook the dampness out of his coat.
Leo himself had leapt to his feet on the lioness' approach, ready to defend his friend if neccessary... but quickly found himself that the lioness meant no harm. "Oh... um... thanks..." he muttered. He stared at Benibeni a moment, wondering, before looking back to the lioness and asking, "Erm... what was that for?" This was the first time in recent memory he could recall someone helping he or Beni out in any way... and so he was confused.
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Posted: Wed Nov 21, 2007 3:22 pm
The female wasn't surprised by the small creatures reaction to her approach. He must have thought she was going to eat him, she wasn't though, after all it appeared as if he belonged to the lion, that and the fact she had eaten earlier. "Good." She replied with a nod of her head. Tilting her head she blinked, looking almost confused by his question.
Rolling her shoulders back in a shrug she said, "It's only natural to help out someone who needs help, especially in this oasis. I learned that the hard way." Whether he understood her reasoning or not it didn't matter. "Anyway, there's a small herd in the clearing just past those trees if you want to hunt something." That having been said she carefully settled down on her side.
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Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2007 11:15 am
For a few moments, Leo just stared blankly at the female, uncertain how to react, or what to think. It's only natural to help out someone who needs help... Huh. He couldn't remember having that thought before, himself, but he felt that it should make sense. And so, he reacted the only way he could muster: with a nonchalant shrug, and an "Oh. Okay, cool." He stood up and gave the little ratel a light tap. "C'mon, man, let's go get some eats."
But Benibeni, still regarding the lioness with some curiosity, was not ready to budge just yet. With a tiny gray paw he smacked Leo in the leg. "Hmmph!" he snipped at him.
Glancing down at his friend, Leo squinted with perplexity. "What?" he hissed through his teeth. Honestly, he loved the guy but sometimes he could be such a pain.
Beni simply wouldn't stand for this rudeness. He pointed at the lioness and, gesticulating wildly in Leo's direction, squeaked out at him, "Mmh mm mmhmm mmmhmm mmmh hmmhmm mn mmnhmmmmhmm!?" Honestly, it was a wonder Leokaa had any success at all in comprehending him.
The lion rolled his good eye at the ratel. "God, fine," he grumbled. With a sigh, he straightened himself up and looked back at the lioness, "Um... my friend thinks we should have a proper introduction. I'm Leokaa... you can call me Leo..." He picked up Benibeni in his paws and held him out. "And this is my best friend, Benibeni. But I call him Bean. 'Cause he's little like one."
Scowling, Beni ran his paws down his face in humiliation. Again with the nickname...
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Posted: Sat Jan 05, 2008 9:47 am
Tama nodded her gaze turning back to the water until she heard the mums of the familiar then the words of the male. Looking up she tilted her head slightly. "My name is Zagaa'Tamanio, but please just call me Tama." she told them with yet another nod. "It's nice to meet both of you." she replied a light chuckle escaping her maw at Beni's obvious disdain of the nickname.
"It's nice that you have a friend that goes everywhere with you." she commented spacing a bit as she spoke. Growing up and even now she never really had any friends. No she had had her sisters, for a short while before most of them left or before she ended up running. Other than them she never had a friend, it didn't bother her much, she had always been so busy trying to make sure they all got out alive but...in some ways thinking about it made her realize just how lonely she really was.
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Posted: Sat Feb 02, 2008 11:12 am
Leo nodded rapidly--his best attempt at feigning an interest. "Uh huh. Uh huh. Yeah. Great," he shot off in his gravely voice. Graciousness, clearly, was not one of Leokaa's strong suits... but Beni would have his hide if he didn't at least try. Well, have his hide as much as a ratel could have the hide of a lion.
After being plunked down on the ground rather unceremoniously by Leo, Beni took a moment to brush himself off and glare up at his friend. Then, recieving an introduction, the ratel made a graceful bow to the lioness to express his equal pleasure in meeting her aquaintance. He then jerked a paw back towards Leo and rolled his eyes. "Mmph mm mmmh mm mh mmp mp mmh hmm mmhhmmph," he mumbled.
In response to his friend's little squeaks, Leo responded under his breath, "Because you'd be lost without me." Then he looked back up at the lioness. Well, she had a point there. Leo wasn't sure what he'd do without Bean always by his side himself. As far back as he could remember, Beni had always been there with him, through thick and thin, and even through the... incident. Sometimes he felt a little guilty, because his little friend clearly felt worse about the whole affair than Leo himself did. But he couldn't allow himself to dwell on it too long. "Yeah, it's pretty cool, I guess," Leo commented nonchalantly. "So what... are you one of those rebel, drifter, travel-alone types, or do you just have no friends?"
Doing a quick double-take, Beni stared up at Leo in horror. The things that came out of this guy's mouth! Scrambling quickly to Tama, Beni laid down a paw sympathetically on hers and looked up to her imploringly, holding up hope that this meeting wouldn't come to blows.
Like so many others did...
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Posted: Thu Mar 06, 2008 7:38 pm
Zagaa'Tamanio didn't mind the less than grateful attitude of the lion she had just pointed in the direction of food. Life had never been easy on the green striped female, no things had always been hard for her and her sisters. Mostly her though. She was used to non attentive treatment from others, being ignored. It was nothing new to her.
His next string of words resulted in her arching a brow but she did nothing. She didn't attack him nor did she say anything. Not at first at least. "I don't have time for friends." She replied bluntly not batting an eyelash. "I have things I need to rectify first." Tama looked down at the small paw upon her larger one. A soft almost sad smile crossed the females lips as she slowly nodded her head.
"Friends I suppose would be nice but since I don't stay in one place for too long it wouldn't work."
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Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2008 12:15 pm
Benibeni's shagrin at his callous words was lost on Leokaa. He snorted a bit at his familiar. Honestly, he overreacted so much. Looking back up to meet Tama's eyes, then, Leokaa furrowed his scruffy brows. Rectify? Leo himself didn't know much about rectifying things and making amends because... well, he never did. He was very much the in-the-moment type, and as long as a situation didn't get him beat up, he considered things to be over the second the moment had passed. Not especially concerned about a right to privacy, Leo asked, "So... what is it exactly you're trying to rectify?"
Beni just shook his head slowly. Leo never would grow up and learn manners, would he? Well, it wasn't Beni's business to change him. The ratel glanced back up to the lioness and returned her faint smile, nodding at her words. If Leo wasn't going to be welcoming, then Beni would. The poor lady looked like she needed it, a welcoming smile and some warmth. It was times like this he wished he could talk so he could say something comforting. For now all he could do was put one paw to his heart and hold it out to her to express his sympathy.
But that was about when the ratel was seized unceremoniously off the ground, squeaking and flailing, to be held up as an example. "Well," Leo began, about to offer the soundest advice he'd given all day, "What you need is the kind of friend you can take with you, like Bean here. We don't stay in one place long either, but he rides around in my mane and I feed him, so he doesn't have much choice." He nodded firmly, then plopped Benibeni onto his head.
Beni scowled. He had half a mind to start pulling out chunks of hair right now, but he was trying to make an impression.
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