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 Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2008 5:39 am
He was watching a herd, lying on a sun-warmed rock to keep himself warm as the sun rolled downwards. His family weren't too far off but he was far enough away to have shut out their voices. For a while, atleast, he wanted to be alone.
He squinted then, trying to bring the herd into focus, but his poor eyesight failed him and he could see the antelope as fuzzy, slanted brown blobs on the horizon. Up close, things tended to be more in focus, but far away...far away and he might as well have been blind!
The grey-eyed cub sighed and let his head fall onto his forepaws, giving up his attempt at seeing things.
He wasn't sure why he'd been born with the defect, especially when no one else in his family had been. Either way, he knew there was something wrong with his eyes when he couldn't see the prey that he should one day be chasing for dinner.
And it worried him; the future.
Because if he couldn't see properly, how could he survive?
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Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2008 5:59 am
For Duzi, his family was everything. They had to be. He depended heavily on them, and they were the most important creatures to him in the world. He always had time for his family. But there were days when he felt he had to spend some time away from the rough and tumble of his siblings' fun time.
The speckled cub wandered with his eyes half shut to the world, his ears half lifted to catch the sounds of nature, ticking along all about him. He had always felt an almost spiritual connection with the world around him. He felt as if nature was his very best friend, and everyone else was just outside that circle.
He padded slowly, shifting the long svannah grasses aside. He was slowly growing out of cubhood. The wheels were turning without his even being aware of it. From when he was first born, his legs had grown considerably, though his body had yet to follow. He had learned to control himself well enough to walk without tripping, but his gangly figure made for quite an awkward lope. Someday, though, he was sure he would grow into a strong leopard, like his mother was. And one day, when he grew into these legs of his, he would run with his siblings all over the savannah.
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Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2008 7:07 am
He lifted an ear as if it were heavy, letting it turn towards the approaching creature. From this distance he couldn't quite tell what it was. A hare? No, maybe a little deer? No, another cub? Had it not spotted him yet? He lay quite still on his rock, feeling the beat of his heart drumming against the stone beneath him. What should he do?
He lifted the other ear and squinted, trying to bring the shape into focus. But again, he felt his heart clench with despair. Squinting helped a little bit, but not enough to tell him what was approaching.
Either way, the creature was small, more or less his size. Cassian was a stocky, well-built cub. He had short, thick limbs and a barrel chest. When he was older he'd be a powerful lion though probably not swift on his paws.
He gathered himself, stood and gave a growling little mew - the first of many roars to utter from this little creature. Then, tail and ears up he stood, posied on his rock, waiting for the other to come into focus.
Waiting to see what he was up against.
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Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2008 5:18 pm
Often, he had wondered what his father was like. It seemed he had inherited most of his traits from mystery creature that mother had never spoken of. His coat, his facial features, his personality even. Mother had speckles, and rather long legs. He didn't know if his father did as well, but the image he had conjured up in his mind did not bring about a particularly lanky leopard.
A low, growling mew caught the cub's attention, and his eyes sprung up. He had been told, time and time again, that he had to be careful whenever he was out alone. Or, rather, that he shouldn't ever be out alone.
His eyes settled on the stocky, powerfully built lion. Lion. His brow creased into a frown. Lions, he had been told, were potentially dangerous. Especially the rogue adults.
At least, Duzi told himself, whichever way he looked at this one, it didn't seem to be anywhere near full grown. Though he did seem about twice as powerful as Duzi was.
"What are you doing?" The little cub finally asked as he took in the other's stance. It was a strange way to be standing when meeting another, especially one that was smaller.
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Posted: Fri Jun 06, 2008 12:35 am
He squinted.
The thing was talking so it was more than likely a cub or something along those lines. He doubted any other animal possessed the brain power to be able to do that. Either way he stayed where he was, rigid and statue-like as he glanced at the little brown blur.
And then, after a second, the cub leapt from his rock and approached the other, intent on bringing him into focus. He snorted. "What does it look like I'm doing?" He growled out, releasing a little breath as he stalked closer, pausing to keep some safe distance between them.
He canted his head and looked at this other. There were some diffrences between their build and their appearance, but Cassian didn't notice. All he saw was another little lion cub. What was wrong with cubs these days? Were they all just skinny and gangly? Or, again, was the issue with him? Had he been born funny, too? Ugh, what had he done to deserve this?
"I wondered what was stalking around down here and came to check it out, see?" He shook his tuft of mane. "A cub, just a cub. You have manners tough, right? No pouncing on me and getting me angry."
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Posted: Fri Jun 06, 2008 2:48 am
He wasn't quite sure if the other's question was meant to be rhetorical. What did it look like he was doing? In truth, Duzi had no idea. It didn't look like anything he had ever seen before. There was very little of the world the cub had seen, granted, but he had never before met a cub who reacted in this way to another's approach.
"Uhm..." He shrugged as the lion approached, decided it would be a better idea to simply keep his mouth shut. That was what in normally did, in any case.
But the lion looked older than him, and obviously stronger too, so Duzi wasn't about to take any risks. There was little he felt less like than being knocked out by a grumpy cub.
"Who was stalkin'?" Duzi blinked in bewilderment. Stalking? He had done no such thing, and it was a strange thing to be accused of. No matter, he decided. Grumpy buggers stayed grumpy unless something came along that really brightened up their day. He could only assume that the lion was grumpy for a reason, but he thought it a better idea to keep his mouth shut about that, too.
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Posted: Fri Jun 06, 2008 3:17 pm
"You was stalking." He rolled his eyes, taking another step towards the other. What was with this guy? Didn't he know many words? He arched a brow and sat suddenly, his tail coiling around him as he watched the brown, speckled creature in front of him.
"Can't find yer tongue?" He asked. "You sure are quiet. I didn't scare yah that bad did I? Though I have to say, yah do look wimpy." He jutted his chin and curled a lip, revealing a tiny little fang. His silver eyes contrasted brilliantly with the dark bangs of mane falling into his face.
"If you're so scared, yah shouldn't leave your oldies, right?"
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Posted: Fri Jun 06, 2008 4:14 pm
Duzi blinked. He'd never come across a bully before in his life, and the other's attitude quite confused him. What had he done to actually deserve all of this?
He shook his head with a little frown. "Jus' not worth the words," He murmured, wondering if the lion tended to approach everyone in this fashion, or just him.
Then again, it didn't quite make sense if it was the latter. After all, Duzi didn't even know who the lion was. All he knew was that he was much larger than him, and little else besides what he could see on the surface.
"You have silver eyes," He said suddenly, noticing them. There seemed to be a sudden significance about those eyes, though he couldn't quite tell how.
This lion, Duzi realized, was seemingly surrounded by a whole lot of complications. He had never been quite so confused, or had so many questions, about another creature before.
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Posted: Sat Jun 07, 2008 1:24 pm
He frowned. Not worth the words? Well, in all honesty Cassian was more of a thinker than a talker. He avoided meetings when possible, but when the opportunity arose he wouldn't just sit silent. He hadn't met many people so he was still learning so much about socialising.
Though, if this was an example of his skills he wasn't very good at being friendly.
Then again, his brother was similar in his ways, and Popi was the only one Cassian liked to hang out with.
Then Duzi commented on his eyes and the cub visibly flinched. His whole face screwed up, the muscles in his body tensing. "What about 'em?" He snapped. It had been a simple, innocent observation, but Cass was paranoid about his eyes, terrified that someone might find out his secret. Any comments made about them chilled him to the core.
"So does my old man, right? There's nothing wrong with having silver eyes, got that?" He puffed himself up, trying to make up for being so easily taken aback. "And you...you've got..." He paused, squinted. "Spots. Is that a curse or did yah get them from yah old man too?" He huffed.
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Posted: Sat Jun 07, 2008 4:27 pm
Duzi shrugged. "I never said there was," He said, rather taken aback by the lion's sudden outburst. Silver eyes, that was all. He found them rather mysterious, in truth. He had only ever seen others with brown, or amber eyes like his. But then again, Duzi didn't tend to wander off too often, and his meetings with strangers was quite a small number.
"Spots are a curse?" He asked curiously. He was a leopard. Leopards had spots, or at least they were supposed to, and they probably all had the potential to have spots. Mother was a normal leopard, was what he had learned. The original ones had spots, too. That was what Duzi had always assumed. "What's wrong with spots?"
He thought for a moment, squinting his eyes back at the lion. Perhaps doing that would reveal some sort of truth. At the very least, perhaps he could figure out why the lion had squinted at him. When all that happened was his vision narrowed, he frowned and stopped with a small shake of his head.
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Posted: Sun Jun 08, 2008 8:29 am
A growl rumbled in his chest. He didn't like this. He didn't like talking about his eyes; especially with a stranger. He took another step back, shaking his head vigorously.
"I don't know." He retorted sharply. "As much as a curse as silver eyes, right." He didn't know Duzi was a leopard. He'd never seen a leopard before and since this one was small he looked just like a cub. He didn't really suppose that spots were anymore odd than the stripes on his own pelt.
"So let's just shut up about that, alright?"
He huffed. "Lions all look different, it don't exactly mean nothing."
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Posted: Mon Jun 09, 2008 5:18 am
Duzi shrugged again. That was all fine with him. It didn't matter much to the leopon what they talked about. The colors of eyes, or pelts, or anything else.
His brow creased into a small, contemplative frown at the lion's last comment. Lions all looked different. Yes, he knew that. "Well... What's that got to do wiht me?" He asked, bewildered.
Or perhaps, he figured, it could just be that the lion had meant the comment to be aimed at himself, more so than Duzi. The cub was not well versed in the ways of reading others. He tended to wile away the time alone, letting his imagination soar where it wanted.
Granted, he did spend time with his siblings, but most of that time was for play and fooling about, rather than talking.
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Posted: Mon Jun 09, 2008 6:45 am
“Well yer a lion, ain’t yah?” He retorted sharply. “Furry little ball of spotty fur.” Cassian hadn’t seen a leopard let alone a leopon. He didn’t even know hybrids existed! To him, anything that had four legs, round ears and fur was a lion. End of story. “You’re different. I’m different. The whole bloody world is different. Let’s just leave it at that.”
He thumped his tail against the ground and set his teeth, letting a small growl rumble up from his chest.
“This just ain’t my day.” The ‘lion’ was just too quiet. He had a mouth so why didn’t he darn use it? Cassian quite liked to talk – not in front of everyone mind you. No, he was a good talker when he felt he was bigger and stronger. He liked to assert his authority that way. Otherwise, if he felt that he might be given a good cuff, he’d most certainly keep himself to himself and not say a word.
A thought occurred to him. Maybe this one thought he was going to hurt him?
“Look. Don’t be a scaredy-cat. I ain’t gonna scratch your eyes out or nothing.” He stepped closer, pausing a little way off. “What’s wrong with you? Being so quiet and stuff. You’re freaking me out, kid.”
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Posted: Mon Jun 16, 2008 3:59 am
((I'm so sorry this took such a long time. Didn't have a lot of time to reply to all my RPs these past few days xDD))
"No, I'm a leopard," He muttered. Him, a lion? What a strange idea. He glanced down at himself, then over at the white lion. Did they look alike? He doubted it. For one, Duzi had no mane.
He shrugged. "Least you're alive, right? That's good enough. For me, at least." There were times when the little leopon would glance up at the sky and wonder if ever something would happen to him that would make him regard the world differently. Perhaps the sky would turn bluer, and the flowers brighter? Hopefully.
Duzi gazed over at the lion, and his customary little half smile crossed his face. "Didn't think you would," He said with a little giggle. "Didn't look like the kind."
He paused and thought for a moment. What was wrong with him? He didn't see anything wrong with him. He was a little quiet, granted, but he had gotten used to that, and so had his entire family. Perhaps it was just a first impression thing. "Nothin's wrong with me. Just don't like to talk a lot."
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Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2008 12:23 am
(( That's alright! I'm just trying to catch up with RPs myself, today @_@ too many and not enough time! ))
"A...leopard?" He tilted his head. "Oh, right, I knew that. Yeah my mother told me all about your kind, skulking through trees and all that lark. So you're one of those cats that like the jungle." He huffed. "I dunno how you put up with it!"
"What's the point of being alive if there ain't nothing to do, right? I just wanna get bigger and stronger so I can get out and about." He twitched an ear. Then, realising he was making conversation with this one he elapsed into another silence, taking another step towards him in an effort to bring him into sharper focus. Looking at a blurry figure for too long gave him a headache and he could feel one coming on.
"Why not? You dun have nothing to say, or what?" He sat then, curling his tail loosely around him. "Well, you are still little, you prolly haven't seen all that much, right? Maybe you should get out a bit or something, just like I am. That'll give you something to talk about."
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