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 Posted: Fri Aug 29, 2008 11:40 am
 Risasi was hungry. He knew he should not have gone exploring on an empty stomach. It was one of the few principles of adventuring he was actually familiar with, and yet he had failed to stay with his family long enough to share of the kill he knew they had made for the rest of his siblings. He would have to find something on his own, which was a little more complicated for him than he was willing to admit.
Though he had been able to observe his parents as they hunted, and even worked with his father on style and technique, he had never actually caught something on his own before. He knew the mechanics well enough, of running and pouncing and energy conservation and vitality. All things he had heard or seen before. Yet he was unfamiliar with the practice, particularly of seeking out and stalking prey. Sitting atop a rock, glancing around the rather heavily bushed area he had wandered into, he felt as though he were completely alone.
There was nothing for him to see or hear, let alone jump on and eat. Heaving a profound sigh, which was accompanied by an angry gurgle from his stomach, the young hybrid curled his paws under his body and laid down. Maybe if he was patient something would find its way out of the brush. Keeping himself as still as possible, his focus on the shadows nearest him, he tried his best to enter a calm, meditative state as he awaited a meal.
His goal had been to explore a new patch of land, and find new encounters. He was prone to watching other creatures interact, setting a title of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ to each participant as he observed the way they handled themselves. Arguments, fights and other confrontations were particularly insightful for the young, justice oriented creature. When he could, he offered his help, though he quickly found adults were not keen to his advice. So he tried to limit his actual participation to cubs, settling disputes within his siblings and amongst his friends with ever increasing confidence and skill.
Those skills, of course, were of no use to him at the moment.
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Posted: Sun Aug 31, 2008 7:32 pm
 Xinavane was hungry, and that made her a little irritable. She had been wandering for weeks now, and she was used to helping herself... but even then, she couldn't always find food. Now she thought she was onto something... she wasn't entirely sure what, it was a fairly new scent for her... but then she saw something odd that distracted her. A small cub, like no cub she had ever seen. On it's own. How odd.
Xinavane's own travels were also about finding 'good' and 'evil', though perhaps for different reasons than the cub she had yet to meet. She was searching for an evil pride who had done her family a grave misdeed... by way of trying to kill them. She was after revenge, though of course she understood that was highly unlikely. One lioness against many would be useless... but even so, if she could not avenge her family, then perhaps she could help others.
Though her rescues had been small thus far, she had been managing do what she had always dreamed of doing. Destroying evil, and protecting the good. Whether it was rescuing Gods or telling off potentially dangerous leopards, Xinavane had been doing her best.
But now she was facing something new. A young cub, and she was hungry. And while normally she did like to meet new creatures... right now she really, really wanted to eat. But a cub alone... that couldn't be safe, could it? Perhaps he had just wandered away from his family... she had done that when she was younger all the time. Mostly to get away from the noise that came with having such a large family.
"Hey, you okay?" She asked cautiously, making sure he heard her approach. She didn't want to suprise or scare him, after all, he was awfully young... She didn't want anything to happen to him. Nothing wrong with showing her compassionate side to someone who wouldn't try to take advantage, right?
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Posted: Tue Sep 02, 2008 7:58 pm
Risasi tensed at the sound of the voice, lifting his head and looking around sharply. His vision was vaguely blurry, from his eyes being so tightly shut, and it took him a moment to locate the dark form that belonged to the feminine voice. Swallowing hard as he observed the older, larger creature, he nodded slowly.
"I'm fine..." he said cautiously, standing and turning to face her, an old saying about never turning his back to a foe or stranger coming into his head, "just a little hungry, I think. I was... just..." his voice fell off. He did not think it was wise to strike up conversation with a carnivore he did not know.
Being a half breed, Risasi knew his fair share of the prejudices that ran throughout the lands. He was aware that he was neither accepted by both sides of his bloodline, nor completely spurned. It was up to him, through careful observation and a keen wit, to see a lion or a leopard for their true thoughts on the matter. Most of the time it was easy: the ones that were cursing him and chasing him off were the ones to avoid.
Yet sometimes he felt he was being lied to, or led astray. Once he had experienced a strange case of a false sense of security in a friendship, and had learned the hard way that animals with strong enough hatred would do anything to get a small sense of triumph over those they hate. Or maybe he was just being paranoid. That, too, was a very real possibility.
Yet her eyes were soft, and her manner concerned. And he was young, hungry, and a bit dazed. Smiling softly, his eyes fell to the ground as he picked up his own line of thought, "I was just trying to get my mind off my stomach, or listen for some food. Not working, though."
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Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2008 12:25 pm
"Ah," Xinavane said, and was about to say more when her stomach grumbled itself. Well, she had just effectively proved that she was hungry herself, "Well... it seems that you and I may have something common then. I was just looking for something to eat..."
She couldn't help but notice how tense this small cub seemed to be... almost like he was afraid of something, but what could that be? He was unusal looking... Perhaps it was merely the hunger that made him so cautious? Well, she certainly wasn't about to eat him. That would make her no better than a demon. In truth, even had she known what Risasi was, she wouldn't have cared much. What other creatures did in their own time was their own business, so long as it did not hurt anyone else. And the cub could not control who, how or what he had been born as.
"Well... I simply can't leave you here to starve. Do you have family close by who can help you... or would you like to search with me? There are dangerous creatures about," like that bloody leapord she had met the day before. He had been ready to attack her, what would he do to a small cub? "I wouldn't want you to get hurt..."
Perhaps his family was close-by? If not... it couldn't hurt to bring him along so they could both find something to fill their bellies. She would hate for something to happen to the poor cub, if she left him alone there and ran off...
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Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2008 2:37 pm
Risasi's ears perked forward at the sound of her stomach, his eyes brightening as the idea that they might look for something together passed into his mind. He knew he would not be able to catch anything substantial on his own, but with her help he was sure to share something good. Even if she took the bigger portion, which he was already certain she would deserve.
The idea that she might eat him never came into his head.
He could not help but smile excitedly as she offered to hunt with him. As much as he wanted to appear capable and in control, he was glad to have made an acquaintance who was willing to help him. Not so prideful a creature as some of the lions he knew, he was not against asking for assistance when he needed it.
"I kinda wandered away from my den," he confessed easily, his trepidation fading at the idea of food. His stomach was doing front flips now, his mouth salivating and forcing him to swallow between sentences, "I know how to get back, but it's far and I don't think I can go without food. I should have eaten before I left, but I didn't and now I regret it."
The idea that there were dangerous creatures about unsettled him. He was unfamiliar with the area, but this new friend he had found seemed to know what she was talking about. He saw the way her eyes flickered with some memory, and how her voice curled around the words. He found himself agreeing with her: he didn't want to get hurt, either.
He heaved a sigh, his small frame rocked by the action, "I would really really appreciate it if you would hunt with me! I'll repay you, somehow, if I can. I promise! Uhm. My name is Risasi."
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Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2008 3:24 pm
Xinavane smiled a little, "I'm Xinavane... It's nice to meet you." She said, pleased to meet the friendly cub. He was a nice change from that other damned leopard.
Still, she was quite certain that he was very hungry, and she wasn't about to leave him there and send him back alone... especially when she was so hungry that she sincerely doubted that she would be able to wander around to find his den without food. She wanted to eat. And besides, having someone else around would be nice.
What was wrong with hanging around with a cub? He seemed pleasent enough. Cautious, but really, there was absolutly nothing wrong with that when someone was young... She had always been very careful. It was good.
"Come on, let's go and find something to eat," She grinned, nodding on, "We'll find something. Then I'll take you back home, I'm sure that soon your parents will worry about where you've wandered off too." She grinned a little, "Just considder me your white knight for the day."
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Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2008 4:25 pm
"Okay!" he bounded from his rock and trotted up to her, his long tail swishing happily behind him. He doubted he could pronounce her name after only hearing it once, but at least she had introduced herself to him. Now he could begin to feel like she was a friend, and trust her all the more for it.
"I don't think I want to go back home after, though, Xin...a... uhm. Because I came out here to learn something new, and I haven't done that yet. Sometimes when I'm alone I can see how other creatures talk to each other, and when they're yelling or doing something dangerous I can see how they decide on what to do. I want to know how others know what right and wrong are, because I want to do only good."
He was talkative, probably in an effort to ignore the pangs of hunger in his stomach. He liked the idea of a white knight, a fitting image for her and what he always imagined he might be some day. Though, he was not entirely sure what the word knight meant, he knew it was something noble and worthy.
"Are you a good person? You'd have to be, if you're white. White means good, doesn't it?"
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Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2008 4:58 pm
"Well... technically, I'm a black lioness," Xinavane laughed a little, "Though you can call me Xina, or Vane if you like... My name can be tricky sometimes." She said with a small laugh, nodding her head as she searched for something they could eat... there were some signs around... She decided to follow them, knowing something was close by.
"And I'm sure I can teach you something, if you want to do good..." Xinavane said, deciding that she liked this cub very much indeed, he might in fact see the world like she did, "Because that's all I want to do, in this life. I want to help those in need... protect the innocent, and make sure that nothing ever happens to people who don't deserve it. Because... too many things happen to good creatures. And I hate it when that happens."
There. She had definitly found something... She sniffed the ground and looked up, moving a little more quickly after it, though not too quickly since she didn't want to leave her new friend alone, "I just want to help others... like my family. They... they were hurt, by bad lions. And I don't want that for anyone else." She smiled at him, "So yeah... I guess that makes me good. Or at least, that's what I'm hoping."
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Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2008 10:21 pm
"Me too!" he exclaimed, trying not to be too loud in his excitement, in case something resembling food was near by. Still, he could not help but raise his voice in excitement, never having met someone with so similar an idea of the world in his young life, "I want to protect my family, really, but I like helping anyone that needs it. I want to be strong and do good, and be someone people can count on and respect."
Respect was the word. As a half breed, it was hard for him to garner any of it, and yet he was determined to do so. He would be more than a leopard, and more than a lion: loved by both sides for the good he accomplished. He would be strong, fast, and deftly intelligent. He would know how to handle a wide variety of challenges and situations, because he used his cub years to learn everything he could.
And Xina looked like someone who could really help him in that.
"I'm beginning to see," he said, sounding rather serious for his age, "that there are good and bad animals. I want to stop the bad ones from doing really bad things, and maybe help them be like the good ones." He stopped what would have been a good speech, in his mind, when she began to sniff and move faster.
"I'm sorry about your family," he said, meaning it with all his compassion, "that's just what I mean. That shouldn't happen. Was it bad? I'm sorry. But together we can stop bad things from happening, since there will be two of us out there doing it! Right?"
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Posted: Thu Sep 04, 2008 10:35 am
Xinavane couldn't help but grin as she listened to the young cub speak about his dreams... which were really very similar to her own. Everything she had ever wanted to do. Stop good creatures from being harmed by bad ones... He spoke in his own childlike way, all the words that her heart told her about.
"My family... was chased by a very evil pride when I was young. They wanted to kill us. I want to find a way to stop them from doing that to anyone else... and make sure they don't continue to go after my family either." Xinavane said, with a very decisive nod, "But you're right. With other creatures like us... we may be able to find a way to stop things like this from happening. To protect those who cannot protect themselves, and drive away those who would hurt an innocent."
She smiled at him, "That has always been my dream." And then her eyes flicked to the side. There... a zebra. The perfect size for her and the cub to eat their filll... and perhaps even leave some behind for the birds.
"There we go... lunch time." She whispered, glancing at him, "Stay back a moment... perhaps you will learn something new today from me. But I wouldn't want to see you trampled by mistake if it tries to get away..." Then she turned back towards her prey and crouched.
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Posted: Thu Sep 04, 2008 12:41 pm
"Evil pride? That sounds awful," Risasi pouted, his long tail drooping, his eyes on her as she spoke. He felt bad that nothing had been done to prevent it happening at all, and that an evil pride could even exist. In his head, it was unfathomable. He wanted to believe that everyone knew right from wrong, and that there might always be someone around that would step up and stop the bad things.
He followed her eyes to the zebra, perking up at the sight of something edible. Crouching down at her order, he watched her intently, eagerly, absorbing her every word and movement. He did not want to be trampled, either, but he was not about to stay too far away and miss the key details of the hunt. So if she moved, he would follow at a distance, and hopefully, in that way, learn as much as possible.
And get a meal out of the deal, as well. It seemed like a perfect set up, and he had the utmost confidence that she would be more than capable of felling the striped creature grazing just before them, unaware of the two hunters.
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Posted: Fri Sep 05, 2008 4:27 pm
Xinavane crouched down as low as she could, stalking through the grass while the creature was unaware of her movements. Then, she sprang, only a foot away from the beast, out of the grass and onto it's back, where her claws hung on nimbly.
The creature made it a few feet before it fell, Xinavane riding it the the ground, where she quickly ripped out it's throat and grinned. Then she glanced back at the cub, "Looks like we got lucky! Dig in!"
Though... his other words still haunted her. Yes, and evil pride was an awful thing... In many ways, her parents had tried to justify what their old pride had done to them. Said that for them, it was not evil, but something normal, though she could never understand why or how. How could killing your own kind, when they had done nothing wrong, be the right thing to do? Was existing really so terrible...? She didn't know.
But it was what she had always striven to stop. If she had a chance... she would stop all creatures from feeling the way she had. Helpless. Hopeless. No. No, she would not allow that for anyone else. Not ever. And she was glad she had found a cub who agreed with her so heartily.
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Posted: Fri Sep 05, 2008 6:57 pm
"That wasn't lucky!" Risasi hooted once he was able to make a sound, running over to her. He tripped over himself in his excitement, until he came skidding to a stop on the other side of the dead creature between them, "that was amazing! I can't do it like that yet, but I want to!"
He waited a moment, trying to be polite about sharing of her kill. She had done all the work, after all, so it didn't seem right for him to just dive in. His stomach, however, protested the feigned patience and soon enough it got the better of him. He ate what he could, which was not much in the scheme of things, then retreated a bit to digest.
Sighing, content now that the hunger pangs had stopped, he tilted his head at his new friend.
"Are you going to go back to that evil pride? When you're older, so you can teach them good?" He did not mean get revenge, though it seemed to be coming out that way. That concept, however, was lost on him. He just imagined setting an example and others following it willingly. It was childish and simple, but it was ideal and that was all he needed.
"I would help you, if you wanted."
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Posted: Sun Sep 07, 2008 10:45 am
Xinavane grinned a little when he praised her, "Why thank you... I've been alone a while now, so I've gotten the hang of it." That... and her kills for food had been her main practise for when she did find her parents pride. She needed to be prepared to kill them... but she would not take it out on other lions, and she would not kill anything other than what she needed to eat.
So she did eat her fill, watching the other cub with amusement as she did so. It was excellent to feel full again... she had been getting rather sick of being hungry. And it was nice to have someone to share the meal with, to be honest. It could get awfully lonely.
"I'm actually searching for them now..." She admitted with a small sigh, "But then are... difficult to find, because I can't remember where they were, and my parents didn't want me looking for them. They were afraid the pride would kill me, if they knew..." She smirked a little, "Like I would let that happen. No way. I'm going to find them... and I'll make sure they never hurt anyone ever again."
She looked down at him and smiled, "When your older, maybe you could help me. You're already very strong, for someone as little as you are." She laughed a little, giving him a light punch to the shoulder playfully, "But right now... I think your parents probably need you. But how about this? When you get older and stronger, you come and find me, and you can help me then. And maybe you and I can work together to defeat all the bad creatures in the world... it's a tough job for just one of us."
Tougher than she wanted to admit... She would never be able to take out an entire pride by herself, she knew that. But that didn't stop her from hoping. That wouldn't stop her from trying.
Someone had to try and make the world better.
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Posted: Sun Sep 07, 2008 9:27 pm
"Oh, I guess that makes sense. If the pride is really evil, than your parents wouldn't want you to be in danger. My parents are the same way. I think it's because they love you, and don't want you to get lost. They say they don't want to lose me, anyway, but I've never gotten lost yet so I don't know why they worry so much."
Risasi was a bit dense sometimes, when he had his mind on other things. Like digesting, or evil prides that were difficult to find. It had not occurred to him that his parents did not want him getting hurt or killed, and were not just concerned about him not being able to find his way home.
He toppled a bit when she punched him, though his pride forced him to weight himself down and show just how strong he was. In truth, it was enough to knock him over and deter him from further conversation, but he knew she was friendly and he was so determined to impress her that he defied gravity for that moment.
"Yeah! That sounds like a good plan! I wish I were older now, so we could do it tomorrow. They'll just keep being bad, while I'm getting bigger, and things will happen that shouldn't, and we won't be able to stop it because I'm too small. But when I'm bigger, you and I will make up for all of that, and maybe do a lot of good things that people will be happy with."
He looked up at her, his eyes glistening with honest determination. He truly believed it was possible for two lions to make a big difference in the world, and that once he was old enough, they would make good on their promises. There was nothing stopping them, after all. There was no reason for this not to be a truth. A goal.
And a damn good one, to boot.
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