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 Posted: Wed Oct 01, 2008 2:00 pm
Continuing with her bounding, Leilani soon discovered an activity that was extremely leopard-like, and that she knew she'd have to perfect one day. And that was the art of climbing trees. The only problem? They were all so big.
Deciding to find one that was more to her beginner standard, she continued searching for a good ten minutes before she found a suitable tree, that didn't look too high. Crouching, wriggling her butt high in the air, she leapt gracefully, claws scratching at the tree bark as she pulled herself up, and onto the first branch. A sense of pride swelled throughout Leilani as she grinned. And then...well. She looked down.
How was it so high?! It hadn't been this high looking up. How on earth was she supposed to get down? It was too far to jump, and she didn't want to climb down unless she fell on her head. Helplessly, the leopard cub began to mew, her mews growing louder in volume as she realized she was quite alone in this part of the jungle. She'd be stuck here forever!
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Posted: Wed Oct 01, 2008 7:24 pm
 It was daytime. It was hot. And...well, things couldn't too much worse for the young godling. He was grateful for his wings, which kept the cold in and the heat out, however it wasn't only his body that needed to stay cold. His tail, paws, and, more importantly, his head needed to stay particularly cold. Especially his head. But he seemed to be out of luck. The heat had sapped him of a lot of his energy already, and carrying the weight of his wings around was enough to keep him from even thinking about flying. Convinced he'd have to settle down for the rest of the day, he looked up in hopes of some sort of oasis.
Well...he wasn't entirely out of luck yet. A bit further away he saw the border of the jungle, and with a wide smile the juve felt a bit of his energy return. "Thank Mkodi.." he whispered to himself, the sight of refuge for the night putting him in a bit of a better mood. As he approached the jungle's safe-haven he used a bit of his power to disguise himself lest he run into any mortals. He decided on a simple white pelt, his wings completely hidden from any mortal eyes.
Almost as soon as he stepped foot into the jungle, a strange mewing reached his ears. Was that normal? With a quirked brow he stopped moving and looked around him, then up into the canopy of the trees. Sure enough his eyes landed on the figure of a cub...stuck up on a high branch of a tree. He scoffed and walked up to the said tree and stared at it without saying a word.
Should he help? Would he, if it asked? ......Maybe. He didn't say a word to see if it would notice him, a smirk on his maw.
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Posted: Thu Oct 02, 2008 6:02 am
Leilani mewed once more, and again, still increasing in volume until her throat was sore. Why wasn't her mother coming? Or her father? Didn't they want to rescue her? She hadn't thought that she'd travelled all that far, and certainly not far enough for them not to hear her. Unless they'd moved on a little in the opposite direction. With a small whine, Leilani's ears drooped. She didn't want to be stuck up here.
A rustle in the grass down below caught the cub's attention, and she saw a flash of blue fur. Amber eyes lit up in joy, believing the blue to be her father's, or maybe one of her siblings. They'd go get help! However, her eyes widened when she spotted the God, smirking up at her. And...wow! He had wings! Wings wings wings wings! He could fly!
"That's so COOL!" exclaimed the cub, jumping a little, before remembering where she was and clinging to the branch again. However, her fear of heights had disappeared, replaced with a childish fascination for the God below her.
"How'd you get wings?! Can you give me some!?"
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Posted: Fri Oct 03, 2008 12:15 pm
Tarik quirked a brow up at the cub as it kept on mewing for a bit longer. He was actually a little surprised that it noticed him so quickly since he thought, in most instances, mortals were scared of heights. Particularly young ones who don't have a way of getting back down to the ground. And when one was afraid of heights, they tend to avoid looking straight down.
He shrugged it off now, and his smirk widened when she jumped a bit before clutching to the branch once more. He probably wouldn't have saved her should she lose her footing..
He would've kept on smiling too, had she not mentioned sight of his wings. Wings? He thought he'd disguised himself. With a disgruntled look in his eyes (not on his face..) he glanced back to see if his disguise had worked.. And, of course, it hadn't. He was probably already too weak when he had tried earlier. Tarik heaved a sigh and looked up at the cub, wondering what he could say in response.
"I was born with them, and...no." he said, then lied down and concentrated on disguising himself once more.
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Posted: Fri Oct 03, 2008 1:15 pm
She'd never seen anyone with wings before! It must be so cool to soar among the birds, looking down on a teensy tiny world where everyone looked as small as ants! Oh, if she had wings she'd have no problem getting down out of the tree. She'd just leap, and unfurl her wings, and glide down leisurely. Oh, if only!
However, she was rather taken aback by his blunt, abrupt answer, ears and tail both drooping a little as her amber eyes clouded over, the cub reminded of her position. She was stuck up in a tree, away from her family, and now this...whatever he was (because although he looked like a lion, lions most certainly didn't have wings) was being somewhat mean. Deciding not to say anything yet, Leilani tried to make herself look a little happier, mewing quietly.
"...Oh. Okay then," was her somewhat saddened reply to his statement, and was quickly followed by another question as he sat himself down, making no move to help her.
"C-Could you maybe help me down? I'm...I'm stuck."
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Posted: Sat Oct 04, 2008 12:58 am
The mewing was a definite distraction, breaking his concentration again and again each time he tried to focus. Finally, frustrated enough and just about fed up with the sound, he glared daggers up at the cub, who still had the audacity to ask for his help after (unknowingly...and, in fairness, rather reasonably) interrupting him so many times.
"You know.." he started. "You have got some nerve asking for my help. Do you have any idea how annoying you've been within the two minutes that I've known you!?" His brows furrowed once more. "What with all that spazzing about my wings, which, by the way, aren't all that great, and that mewing. I'm surprised your family can even put up with you." He grunted and went back to his task of disguising himself again.
"You'd think cubs would at least know not to climb trees if they didn't have a way down.." he muttered, eyes closed and mind working on getting up enough energy to mask his true form.
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Posted: Sat Oct 04, 2008 1:15 am
Leilani paused in her mewing, shrinking backwards a little as she was glared at. Why was he glaring at her? She only wanted some help down. Surely it must be easy for him, what with those huge wings? And then...he started shouting at her. The curious cub felt tears begin to cloud over her eyes as she shuddered a little. She'd only been curious. And wanted to get down. And that comment added onto the end about her family...that was mean. With a small hiccup, Leilani felt the first tears stream down her face, soon followed by a few more.
"I-I'm s-s-s-sorry," whined the small cub, cowering backwards onto the branch where she was situated, curling into a small ball. Her family did love her, didn't they? As for Tarik - well. He no longer had annoying mewing to distract him. But he did have the occasional sobs and whimpers of the now distraught leopard cub up in the tree.
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Posted: Sat Oct 04, 2008 1:30 am
And then came the sobs. And the tear droplets that managed to fall down onto his mane tuft. And the whining...and the whimpers. Geez, was there no end to this! Tarik now stood on all fours, absolute fury in his eyes. It wasn't something one would normally see, since he was usually stoic about everything, but given his current mood and the situation he unfortunately happened upon...well....suffice it to say that it wasn't good for anybody that managed to get on his bad side. Very much like this little cub here..
But, with all the effort he put into looking as though he doesn't care about anything at all...he still wasn't as heartless as he put off. A helpless cub stuck in tree in tears wasn't something he could easily ignore and not feel like a p***k later on. So, he slowly exhaled to calm himself (though the smallest comment would probably push him back into a rampage anyway...at least he was trying..) and floated up to the branch.
"Yeah, yeah...whatever," he said as he gently took hold of her and brought back down to the ground. The juve didn't look happy, but at the very least he wasn't snapping at her anymore....and then it was back to his stoic expression as he lay down to concentrate again.
"I need some sort of quiet.." he muttered. "And I take it if I didn't get you down I would've gone deaf with all the sobs and whispers... That is, if I didn't drown in all the tears first.."
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Posted: Sat Oct 11, 2008 2:05 am
Leilani squeaked as she suddenly heard the strange, winged-lion's voice, but a lot closer to where she was. Carefully pulling a paw away from in front of her eyes, she opened an amber eye, and squeaked when she saw him there, right in front of her. He could fly! But then...he had wings. So that made sense. Forcing herself not to say anything, since she'd learned by now that he didn't like talking about his wings, he gave another small squeak as he toold hold of her, carrying her back to the ground. For a few wondrous moments, Leilani actually felt like she was flying, before she was placed on the ground again, paws grateful for the solid ground.
He laid down again, muttering something about quiet. Leilani nodded a little, but didn't leave. She didn't want to leave. his strange cub had just saved her from being stuck in a tree. She had to say thank you, right? ...But how was she supposed to say thank you without speaking!? He'd asked for quiet, and she didn't want to annoy him again! Glancing around, she slowly padded off through a few leaves, disappearing from sight for a few moments.
She soon returned, however, a fish quite proudly carried in her maw. Her father had taught her how to catch fish - to put your tail in the river, and then strike when their defences were down. This one had seemed like it was injured anyway, making it an easy catch. But it was the thought that sounded, right? She quietly approached Tarik, laying the fish in front of his paws, before backing away a little and laying herself down, watching him curiously.
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Posted: Sun Oct 12, 2008 9:39 pm
Tarik sighed somewhat contentedly when he noticed Leilani had stopped making any sort of noise. He was almost asleep too, until he smelled...a fish? The godling opened his eyes and stared at the limp body of a little fish before him, then he moved his eyes so he could see the leopard cub a few feet across from him.
Didn't she leave already? That was the first question that came to mind, but he kept himself from asking. From what he could tell from her, the smallest little insult would probably set her mewing and crying once again...and that was the last thing he wanted to hear. So, instead, Tarik opted to be a bit more subtle and sat up, taking the fish's tail in his paw and lifting it so it was right in front of his face.
He quirked a brow, then sighed. "And this is supposed to be?" he asked, turning the fish this way and that to see if there was anything wedged in it that made it special somehow.
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Posted: Sat Oct 18, 2008 4:43 am
Leilani beamed a wide smile out to the god as he spotted the fish, her tail even wagging a little behind her in excitement. Surely he had to be excited too, right? It was a fish! And fish were tasty! Leilani licked her lips a little in anticipation, now quite fancying the fish herself, but refraining from taking a bite before it was a gift to Tarik for saving her.
At his words, she pushed herself to her feet, lowering her front and wiggling her hind in a playful manner, bouncing from side to side, "It's a fish! Fish are yummy! It's a thank you present for saving me!"
She paused for a few moments, watching him with large, sincere eyes, before she sat up again, smile breaking open into a grin.
"I'm Leilani - what's your name?"
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Posted: Tue Oct 28, 2008 11:03 pm
Tarik's brow quirked as she replied oh-so enthusiastically. Was anyone, including a cub, allowed to be that perky and energetic all the time? Not to mention moody - no more than 5 minutes earlier she was bawling her little eyes out among the branches of a tree. Now she was...bouncing and going on about a fish that she managed to catch. A feat he was more than capable of doing, of course, but it might have been a challenge for her.
Still. It wasn't something he'd outwardly acknowledge and praise her for. With a sigh he looked unappealingly at the fish and back at the cub - he noted the look of anticipation and eagerness on her face. Tarik raised his brow even more, then tossed the fish her way.
"Thanks, but I'm not hungry," he said. "You eat it, you look hungry." The juve then tried, yet again, to lower his head and go to sleep. Her voice, yet again, broke the very brief silence. She'd told him her name, and then asked him for his. He gave it some thought, then looked up and shook his head.
"It isn't something I like to give out to just anybody," he said simply, then lowered his head again. His eyes stayed on her though, so she wouldn't think that he was ignoring. He was, for the most part actually, but at least this way it wouldn't be as obvious.
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Posted: Tue Nov 25, 2008 9:39 am
Leilani's wide amber eyes watched Tarik with interest and excitement, as she eagerly awaited his reply. From where she was sat you could see she was tensed, practically shaking in her eagerness to see what he had to say. He thanked her, to which her reply was a positively beaming smile and a squeak of excitement. At the mention of her eating it, though, she paused, frowning a little, forehead furrowed in confusion.
"I can't eat it - it's a present for you. Momma says it's rude to eat or take back something you give to someone else."
He lowered his head, before raising it again at her next question, giving another answer to prompt confusion in the cub. Why wouldn't you give someone your name? It didn't make sense. "Why not?"
It was more of an inquiring tone of voice than a demanding one, curiosity clear in her voice. Her tail wagged like a dog's, swaying from side to side in a rhythm as she watched, eagerly awaiting the next reply.
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Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2009 10:55 pm
He thought about her last question, raising a brow before getting up on all fours and heading back the way he came. "Simply...because. It'll make it harder for anyone to find me, which is......essentially, what I want." And at that Tarik flapped his wings once, just so he could give them a stretch, then started walking.
"Don't go getting stuck in another tree. I won't come back for you."
He didn't look back, pale blue eyes closed (as he was still tired, with the interruption of his nap) as he went. He would head for an isolated area, probably somewhere up north, where he could have a pleasantly safe nap. A place where no mortal cubs would be able to reach him, or bother him. It was a pleasant thought...sort of, and once it passed the godling took off, heading back toward the cave that his guardian raised him in. It was the only place he could think of, and for now that was good enough.
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