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 Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2008 10:33 pm
Cream-tipped paws padded nearly soundless down a small game trail, following it to where the red lioness could scent water in the distance. She really should be getting back to her patrol of the borders and then to the young cubs she'd left in the den, but it was harder than she'd thought it would be to turn back. Maybe she'd just get a drink, then she could head back. Maybe she could make it a little retreat for herself, something special she could do, just for herself, when things got to be too much. After all... didn't everyone deserve something like that?
A smile curved over the red queen's face as she broke out from the brush to the curve of a small stream, where the water had formed a shallow pool. It was well shaded, trees hanging over the water, and blissfully, it was vacant at the moment. Kiuma sighed as she padded to the water, crouching down to lap at the cool liquid.
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Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2008 10:50 pm
She sat a moment, looking herself over. Dirt covered her fur in patches, making her look more like a walking dust cloud than a lioness. She needed a good wash...more than a tongue bath could ever accomplish. Sighing, Kannon started her search for water. She didn't mind water...not in the least. But she did hope she found running water rather than stationary. Such waters bred disgusting creatures and bugs, and it was hard to wash oneself without getting ill from something.
Relief washed over her as she scented water and heard the gentle rush that came with running water. She made her way towards the foliage that crowed around a part of the stream, hoping to be clean again. Kannon stopped dead in her tracks at the sight of another...a very LARGE other. And very red. Her ears lay back on her head. She hoped this other wasn't trouble...they didn't smell male...She cleared her throat and came a bit closer.
"Pardon me...would you mind company?"
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Posted: Sat Sep 20, 2008 6:27 pm
The sounds of a body coming through the undergrowth drew Kiuma up from a drinking crouch to a defensive position, her tail flicking behind her. Red eyes focused on the source of the sound and the lioness waited, tensed for action should the intruder be male or intent on harm. Without anyone to defend, she could take care of herself easily, so she wasn't really worried.
It took her a little by surprise when the stranger turned out to be female, dark and richly colored. It calmed her a little and she rose from her crouch, adopting a more regal manner as she studied the new lioness. Her voice with the polite words did a lot to sooth Kiuma and she felt herself relaxing, giving a dignified nod.
"I came here to be alone, but this land isn't mine. You are welcome to join me here and quench your thirst, if that is what you wish." She replied, returning the politeness.
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Posted: Sun Sep 21, 2008 10:27 pm
Ah....so in a way, she was intruding. Kannon bowed her head.
"Thank you...though I was more hoping to wash up. I've had more than my fill of dirt lately." As if to emphasize her point, she raised a paw, showing the dirt that turned silver fur to dun. "Wouldn't want to deny you your drink, however. I've a little more sense than that." She smiled calmly, a hint of humor in the expression.
"You're rather larger than any lioness I've seen."
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Posted: Mon Sep 22, 2008 7:38 pm
Kiuma felt a smile curl over her face, a fierce and proud smile.
"Wash yourself then, Lady. I've had my drink and you have more need of the water than I do." She chuckled, stepping back from the water as she went to sit on the shore in the shade. "And I suppose I should thank you for your comment on my size. I am large I suppose, in comparison with many of the rogues I've met, but such size is common place in my family and the pride I was born into. My mother was delicate and graceful, but my father was large and powerful, a true king and son of his line. In inherited a little of both, I suppose."
She made idle conversation, not inclined to leave at the moment. She seized on this new lioness as a reason not to go back just yet, grasping at time alone for once, with someone she hadn't given birth to.
"Are you a wanderer, Lady? You've traveled far to come so close to my secluded pride's lands. My name is Kiuma, by the way."
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Posted: Tue Sep 23, 2008 9:36 pm
The water was free to bathe in then! Ah...to be clean again was a luxury Kannon would relish. She nearly jumped into the water, but she kept her wits and stepped into it, enjoying the cool feeling on her paws and legs.
"It must be quite a sight, your birth-pride. My own mother was smaller than I. And my father...." Her face soured. "I would much rather not talk about him, the brute." The dark lioness set the cleaning the dirt from her fur, glad it was moving water rather than stagnant. The dirt just floated down the river.
"I am for now. Until I find a place I belong." Kannon's calm smile returned. "I have indeed traveled far...I once lived two moon-cycles north of here. Glad to be further south, though. It's warmer here."
She made something of a bow. "Lady is a term I...don't think rather fits me. My name is Kannon."
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Posted: Sat Oct 04, 2008 10:50 pm
The slight smile never quite left Kiuma's face and she rather enjoyed having the opportunity to talk with someone new, to explore a new mind with new experiences.
"The Pridelands are one of the largest prides in world, or at least as far as I've seen, and I've seen a lot. Those with a lineage in the pride, with little rogue blood, tend towards large, but its really no more common than any other size... They accept any creature that wishes to join them, something I always found to be weak of them... they had no restrictions and turned no one away, whether or not they could contribute to the pride." She chuckled as she shook her tattooed head, the necklace she wore clicking softly.
"I can understand your dislike of the male... I've not had much for good experiences with males and many bad ones, to be truthful. It is my opinion that at best, males are weak minded. At worst, they are evil and apathetic, with most falling in the middle as brutes and liars. You can trust nothing they say... it is only a matter of time before you realize that everything they say is false." Realizing she was getting ruffled by her words, she soothed herself with the thought that she no longer had to deal with them.
"That is why I formed my pride... so I could protect my daughters." She chuckled as she shook her head gently. "And Lady, well... I didn't know what else to call you." She laughed softly. "Kannon. It is a pleasure to meet you and a pleasure to share this secluded oasis with you. After such a long journey, it is your right to enjoy a place like this. I know the feeling."
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Posted: Sun Oct 05, 2008 8:09 am
Kannon wrinkled her nose as she washed herself. "It's things like that that allows creatures like my father to do what he does." She sighed. "I have only met one male that I trusted...but we had to separate nonetheless." She hoped Hisoka had found a place to belong.
"You have daughters?" She smiled wistfully. "One day I'll have little ones of my own..." She growled softly, not a show of violence to the lioness before her. "And any that tries to take them away when that day comes will discover size matters not." Oh yes...Kannon would chose the male she would spend a night with carefully...And ensure he couldn't find her again.
Even males from her own body deserved better than the fools she had encountered in her journeys.
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Posted: Tue Oct 07, 2008 9:32 am
Kiuma grinned fiercely as she commiserated with Kannon, both on her view of males and her fierceness to protect her children. The red lioness would die to protect her young, so she understood the feelings.
"Yes, I have quite a few, actually. My first litter had four, my second had five. I'm very proud of them... they have grown strong and intelligent, and there is little more I could ask for in life." A sharp little laugh came from her as she nodded, idly watching as the dirt fell away and Kannon's brighter colors showed through. She was a pretty thing, she noted, a fine lioness.
"Daughters are one of the greatest joys in life, I have found. A home is another. Do you have a home, Kannon, or are you searching for one? I traveled a lot in my youth, but it was the thought I had a home waiting for me that comforted me when I was far from it in a strange, unfamiliar land."
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Posted: Wed Oct 08, 2008 11:44 am
Kiuma had Kannon's admiration already. A strong and intelligent lioness who raised her daughters to be the same. Kannon removed herself from the water once the dirt was gone.
"I do not have a home. But...one would indeed be a joy. The last true home I had I was taken from young." She would have to find her mother one day...Kannon hoped the noble mother she remembered still lived, so she could tell her she lived. She smiled softly. "My comfort in traveling has been the knowledge that I am far from my father, and the only male I've known worth caring for is far from him as well...and far from me."
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Posted: Thu Oct 09, 2008 9:52 am
Kiuma shrugged off the mention of males, a grimace on her face. "The only males I ever loved betrayed me. I have no sympathy for them." She said sharply as she rose, stretching herself till her spine popped. Flicking her tail, she went to the water to crouch down and drink again, a way to sooth herself from her irritating thoughts.
When she raised her head, she sighed softly, her tongue flicking to lick up the water coating her muzzle. A small bit of smile curved her mouth as she thought and turned to Kannon. "Would you like to visit my home, Kannon?" She said softly, turning to face the other female. "I'm sure my daughters would love to meet someone new and I think you might enjoy seeing the place I chose to establish my pride and family. Its a rather lovely place, I like to think."
Turning to face the way she'd come, she glance back at the black female to see what her answer might be, her tail swaying gently behind her.
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Posted: Mon Oct 20, 2008 8:33 am
Kannon took a drink herself, listening to the other lioness' words. Betrayal...it was something she knew of in theory, but not in experience. And she hoped to never experience.
At Kiuma's invitation, she nodded and made to follow the other. "I would like that. To see your home and meet your daughters." Perhaps, after this...she could rest her paws. She had traveled far enough...her father could not touch her among so many other females.
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Posted: Tue Oct 21, 2008 8:21 pm
A smile spread over Kiuma's face as she let Kannon catch up before turning and leading the way back to the pride. She'd spent enough time away, it was about time she got back to her home and her family. It was fortunate she'd come here today after all since it led to her meeting this new lioness, one of a mind with her. It was rare enough among those not related to her, she'd found, and rather refreshing to not have to foster it.
"Our dens are rather well hidden, which was my purpose for choosing the site. Thankfully, one could wander right past without knowing they're near them. It gives us a measure of privacy and safety, to be unknown. But we're not completely alone, either. An ally of ours, Moto'Nyota, has started a pride of her own to the north west of us. Safety in numbers as well you know." She offered light conversation as they traveled, hoping to fill the silence with companionship.
"The river that flows before the dens is a slight barrier of safety as well, slowing down any that try to get close to the dens. The waterfall beside them offer another. They're beautiful to top it off, giving us quite a fine place to den."
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Posted: Sun Oct 26, 2008 8:03 am
Kannon listened intently, nodding sometimes. "To be unknown to most is certainly a good way to be safe. The less one knows about a pride, including its existence, the less one wants to mess with it." She remembered the river that had flowed around one border of her father's territory...it had been one of her favorite places. "Yes...beauty and safety certainly make for prime dens."
Her smile was calm. "And the hunting is good?" Kannon couldn't really imagine Kiuma overlooking something like that. Inside the large body, there seemed to be an equally great mind that missed VERY little.
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Posted: Tue Oct 28, 2008 11:31 am
Her smile turned fierce as Kiuma's body hardened, her muscles more sharply defined as her movements became even more fluid, a simple walked turned into the hunting stalk of a perdator. It was a subtle thing and she was unaware she did it.
"Oh, the hunting is very good. The pride is still new enough that the prey have yet to learn to fear us, so they make stupid mistakes. We have cleared out the immediate area of the dens, but the hunting is still rich out in the bush. I'm sure times will get leaner and the prey more clever over time, but for now things are good. Our cubs can grow up strong, learning their skills on easy prey before they are forced to really put those skills to the test." She nodded with her steps, her eyes on the faint trail they followed. "But don't let that fool you, I haven't allowed my daughters to be soft. I've trained them very hard, to a point where they may hate me as much as they love and respect me... but its the way I am and I cannot change."
A roll of her shoulders served for a shrug. She was hard and she suspect she always would be. She could not temper herself for anyone, even for her beloved daughters. Perhaps that was why the ones she loved left her... but even that thought, painful as it was, was not enough to change who, fundamentally, Kiuma was.
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