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 Posted: Tue Oct 28, 2008 4:45 am
Grinch had gone on a little ways with the cub sleeping again, and finally stopped late into the night to curl up and sleep himself. He didn't know why precisely he was going so far, except knowing that they had not had any success with finding a home for Phoenix Shelley. Far seemed better than near.
When he woke the next morning and went out to get a drink of water, he met up with---well, it wasn't a girl, but-- "You don't happen to know a lady missing her cub, do you? I found one and am trying to get rid of it."
It was weird for him to start a conversation, but this little shadow had to go away!
The other lion wasn't at all perturbed. As a matter of fact, his eyes lit up, "It doesn't happen to be a male greener than you with a vine wrapped around him, does it? Ah-ha! Yes, yes I do!" He was able to respond enthusiastically seeing the relief in Grinch's eyes, "She's...uh..." He frowned, "Probably two moon phases that way by now." He looked in the direction he meant, "Somewhere. I'd be glad to take him to her for you."
"You have a spider on your forehead." Grinch wasn't sure which of the two facts dismayed him more, and sounded fully displeased with the situation.
"I do! This is Valcor, he's my luck eight-legger. Precious little creatures they are. The lions of the little world."
..... What now?
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Posted: Tue Oct 28, 2008 4:54 am
Aidan wakes from a good night of sleep with a smile. He stands and stretches, then bounds off over to Grinch, looking at the new male lion curiously. "Hey! You have a spider on your head!" He tilts his head to the side and moves closer. "Don't it hurt ya?" His eyes light up in innocent wonder.
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Posted: Tue Oct 28, 2008 5:27 am
Cygnus Araña smiled down at Aidan, "No, child, Valcor would never hurt me. We're very close friends, but you should be careful of eight-leggers, because some are nasty tempered or scare easily and can hurt you. Eight-leggers are just my special friends. Some of us have gifts like that." He pent down low so that his head was level with Aidan's, "My, your mother will be so pleased to see you again." He murmured, ""would you like to come with me to find her?"
"Well, Aidan't doesn't have a spider sense or anything, so you can't stay with him." Grinch bristled all the way up, moving a leg to come forward and push Aidan back away from the other lion, "You stay away from the cub, and your ugly little spiders too. What if they would hurt him, hmm? I don't think he needs to be around a spider-attracting lion. We'll find his mother ourselves." He frowned, "What does she look like? What is her name?"
Cygus Araña gave Grinch a sad smile, "She didn't say her name. She came by swiftly enough to describe Aidan and ask about him, then left off in the direction she thought he might be. She's quite the beauty, and seems to miss Aidan very much. Have you ever been far from this area? You'll need a guide, at least."
Grinch huffed, "That tells me nothing. You never met her."
"You never introduced the cub to me yet I knew his name and description."
Grinch hesitated then, frowning and looking down at Aidan. Well---that was true---but===this seemed more like an evil lion. What if he was the lion that had hurt Aidan's family in the first place? "Well, I promised I'd help him find his mother, and I intend on keeping that promise." Grinch snarled, "And protecting him."
"A beautifully noble thing of you. Allow me to help, I'll keep my distance as well as Valcor, if you wish. And I'll keep you clear of the eight-leggers you are so frightened of."
"Frightened? Me---"
"I am Cygnus Araña, and I'm very, very--"
"I am not frightened, I ought to--"
"--pleased to have met you and to help you both out! Shall we begin?" He smiled, completely ignoring the tirade that Grinch was going on at that moment.
"--show you what fear means. How dare you suggest---What? We've already begun!"
"Wonderful! Let's go on then."
"What?" Grinch wasn't sure how it was that Cygnus Araña took that as an acceptance to his offer, but he certainly had. Grinch settled for trying to glare the other lion down now, since he was apparently wasting his breath trying to growl him down.
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Posted: Tue Oct 28, 2008 5:30 am
Aidan just stares at this new male for a moment. "My...my mama...?You saw my mama...?" He looks up as Grinch pulls him back, wrapping his paws around Grinch's paw tightly. He was at a loss for words. "Mama...." He blinks several times in a daze, then looks up at the big green lion above him. "Does the spider-lion mean it...? Did he really find my mama...?" Tears well up in the yound cub's eyes at the thought.
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Posted: Sun Nov 02, 2008 5:09 pm
"Yes, child, I saw your momma. Shall we go after her?" Cygnus Araña smiled at the child.
"We'll get eaten by spiders first."
Cygnus did frown then, head shaking a bit, "No, no, the eight-leggers would never hurt a friend of mine. If you're searching to help that child, then I will not allow them to give any harm to you. They know better! Besides, you're too fuzzy."
"Well, Aidan isn't fuzzy!" Grinch reached down and picked Aidan up, then spit him out again to talk, "You can talk with the spiders? Are you insane? Aidan, he's insane, he only imagined your momma."
Cygnus' eyes flashed, "Grinch, what kind of surrogate daddy are you, keeping him from his mother? Shame, shame, sir!" Cygnus snorted, standing, "Oh, well, if that's the way it is, I'll go find her and let her know....and YOU can deal with Momma deprived of the cub."
"Mmm...You stay close to me, Aidan," Grinch picked him up again, anticipating his running off.
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Posted: Sun Nov 02, 2008 5:15 pm
Aidan listens to Cygnas and Grinch talking, squirming when Grinch picks him up only to spit him out. He lands with a thud on his belly and looks up. "Insane?" When Grinch picks him up again he just crosses his front paws and tucks in his hind legs. "Don't spit me out again! That hurt papa!" He looks at Cygnas for a moment, then realises something. "I remember my mama's name! Tell me what her name was...then we'll know!"
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Posted: Sun Nov 02, 2008 5:46 pm
Cygus Araña shook his head, looking back with the look of ire still in his eye, "I told you, she was too frantic to say her name. She ran by, described you, said your name, and ran off. She said that the harmony had been messed up loosing you or something---She wasn't making much sense." He shook his head, frowning.
"Maybe you just knew him from before and are causing some kind of trouble. Maybe you're just trying to hurt things worse." Grinch growled, now stepping to hover over Cygnus, "I'll take the lioness over you."
Cygnus did growl a little that time, not quite snapping, but his jaw slacking a bit as if he might, "You have room to talk, fur toes! Maybe you just want to assimilate him into your own close-minded way of thinking. I'll go get---" Cygnus frowned, "No. She said---She's Harmony, ain't she? That's what she said in that garble. I'm not going to hurt you or your momma, or you, fur toes. She's beside herself, it was awful to see. Come on now."
Grinch shifted his weight. On one hand, he wanted nothing to do with this oddball lion. On the other--- On the other, he hung out with King Bowser. And--well, he was not close-minded. He was working on that! He looked down to Aidan for confirmation.
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Posted: Sun Nov 02, 2008 5:50 pm
When the older lion says the name Harmony, Aidan squirms wanting to be let down. "That's my mama's name! Her name is Harmony!" She turns and faces Grinch. "I never met this guy before, so he ain't hurtin' me or tryin' to either. He just wants to help. I can tell papa!" Aidan runs under Cygnas and around his paws, his tail swishing behind him.
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Posted: Sun Nov 02, 2008 5:57 pm
Cygnus Araña grinned then, lifting a paw as the cub ran around him, then bringing it down to pat his bottom end, "There, I saw your momma, but she was headed in the wrong direction. Let's go set her right, shall we?"
"Would be glad to do so, if we survive the trip." Grinch grumbled under his breath, "Biggest mistake of my life, trusting a spider-lion or a shell lion or something. I need to meet less freaks in my life. Why do I always meet freaks?"
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Posted: Sun Nov 02, 2008 6:02 pm
Aidan laughs when Cygnus pats his rump. He bats at the big paw playfully then runs out from under him. "Yea! I'm ready to go get her!" He runs behind Grinch and crawls up the big green tail until he is sitting on the big lion's back. "Let's go papa! Then you and mama can meet and we'll be one happy family!"
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Posted: Sun Nov 02, 2008 6:14 pm
"That's right, one big happy family," Grinch said, sarcasm the only thing in his voice, "One mother, one uncle, and lots of little creepy brothers. Maybe they'll weave more fur for you."
Cygnus shot Grinch another acid look, but looked at Aidan with a smirk, "And the grouchiest ol' pa in the world--you really wanna be my brother, fur toes?"
Grinch gave a reserved sigh, "I'll be glad to hand that boy off." He muttered.
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Posted: Sun Nov 02, 2008 10:01 pm
Aidan blinks and nuzzles Grinch's head gently. "Did you say somethin' papa?" He looks up smiling at the spider lion, watching the spider. After a while he falls asleep and slips off the big green lion's back to the ground. He whimpers a little being woken up like that. "...Papa!"
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Posted: Wed Nov 05, 2008 6:53 pm
"Yeah, I said you'll have web for fur." Grinch muttered, but fell silent to follow well behind the other lion.
"Well, you shouldn't have slept! Aren't cubs supposed to have more energy than adults?" Grinch demanded, only taking a moment to sniff at Aidan before walking over him, smacking him just a bit with his final foot as he walked past.
"Do fur toes tickle? You're a real jerk, you know that?" Cygnus turned first to look at Aidan, all gentleness in his voice, but switched immediately to snarl at Grinch, "He's a good cub, you should care for him more."
"He's not my cub, if he gets to Harmony without a broken bone and a wiser head, I'm happy." Grinch's voice also fell to a growl, "Unfortunately, he'll probably get stupider, us following you."
"He'll learn not to judge." Cygnus answered with a sigh, "Maybe we should stop to rest."
"No, let's go on." Grinch moved his back leg to nudge at Aidan, "How do I get you to move like most dirt crawlers, cub?"
"Tag?---Whoa, and you're afraid of my eight-legger's venom? That look could murder. Oh, ah, your pa murdered me with a look, Aidan!" Cygnus flipped over and landed on his side, one eye open and one closed as he looked for a reaction.
"Ain't his pa." Grinch grumbled, still glaring at Cygnus.
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Posted: Wed Nov 05, 2008 7:22 pm
Aidan looks up at the big green lion after being yelled at and hit, again. "Quit hittin' me papa! Don't you care about me...?" Tears fill his eyes as he looks up Grinch. "All you do is yell an hit me...do you even care if i find my mama...?" He sees the spider lion play dead, but it doesn't affect him as he lowers his head. "Maybe you weren't my papa...but your big an green....my first papa...he went to heaven and left me here." He stands up and turns away as tears fall. "You probably don't remember my name!"
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Posted: Thu Nov 06, 2008 10:05 am
At first, Grinch sort of rolled his eyes as Aidan started to protest, but then his mouth fell into an unusually large curve of a pout for any lion, chin and chin fur hanging down as he looked at the cub, "Wouldn't be following some lion that might get us killed if I didn't care, Aidan." He muttered.
Cygnus Araña hid his face in his front legs to prevent them from seeing his amusement at that comment, though his shoulder shook with it.
"Look, Aidan," Grinch laid down beside him so that they could be nose to nose, "if you want to pretend I'm your pa, you can do it just until we find your mother, but when we find her, no more of that nonsense, got it? But, you know what?" He leaned in to whisper conspiratorially, "My nasty, old, moldy paws are evil even though my head's ok." He gave Aidan a lick on the cheek to show off the kind-head, "So they'll hunt you down if you're not careful. Better hurry." And with that, he gave Aidan another swipe across the ears with his paw, "Stop it, paw!" And he bit at it, "Wun, Aifaaan! Fahow Spiderlion!"
Cygnus didn't catch right away that he was supposed to lead, too busy staring at Grinch with a good amount of confusion on his face--What, so he just turned cute and playful like a switch like that or something? And--Oh, oooh, it was a manipulative tactic. "Ugh, I don't want to be stepped on by moldy fur toes either, let's get out of here! Didn't know it was you that stunk, fur toes!
When Grinch waved a paw with claws out in Cygnus' general direction, it wasn't with the friendly-face he had shown to Aidan.
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