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 Posted: Sun Jan 11, 2009 2:46 pm
((AIM log for Pao and me <3~))  A little red cub lay boredly, a bit of a run away from the rest of his home. Or his...would be home. It was his second home, but his first...at the same time. It was a strange place, but they had a purpose, and if it was one thing that Phae liked, it was having some sort of purpose. Which brought him to his latest predicament - he was bored, and with nothing to do. The young lion rolled onto his back, wondering why his brothers had ditched him again. He closed his eyes, bringing to mind the faces of his siblings (or the two that he could vividly recall), then he opened his eyes and sighed. Nothing...it was strange, how he could think of his mother and suddenly get a glimpse of what she was doing, or where she was sitting, sleeping, or relaxing, and yet he hadn't seen her since she had him and his two brothers taken away by a strange lioness whom he now called his mother. Surrogate, of sorts, but mother nevertheless.
It was the same for his sisters, but they were of minor importance as far as these visions went. With a gruff snort Phae rolled back onto his stomach and picked up a nearby twig, and he started idly wittling. It was fun, in a simplistic way, but he knew he'd get bored of it soon enough. He needed something to do...someone to talk to, otherwise that odd twitch of his might come back again. That, in it of itself, was the last thing he wanted to deal with at the moment. It'd take him forever to walk back with it, if he didn't get lucky.. The sun was shining down on the golden grass. Chache the Swift Pawed slowly traversed the grass, ears erect and body low, emerald eyes glinting as they focused themselves on a mouse digging grubs from the earth close by. One must be very cautious when hunting mice, for they are skittish and blessed with large ears. Suddenly Chache rocketed from the grass, a flash of orange and white and brown. Now Chache was known as the Swift Pawed to some, but he did not feel as flattered by the title as he did others, for any creature who has met a serval knows that they are elegant pouncers, honed in their skills and agile as birds. Leaping over the grass line, Chache defied gravity, floating over the ground as he had wind in his veins. Yet all the grace and tact in Africa did not guarantee a meal. His paws bit the dust as the mouse dashed and hoped away through the grass, but Chache was not one for giving up easily. He flew after his prey like a swift breeze. There was a bit of commotion happening close by, and as he wittled his mind away his silvery orbs watched the action. It was something to do, in a sense, and it'd keep him from going half-insane. The cub grinned at the sight: it was a serval trying to catch its lunch. It failed for the time being, and Phae's eyes followed after the orange-pelted feline. It was getting closer and closer, the longer he watched. So Phae moved his focus onto the ground directly in front of him, watching carefully for the mouse. He was sitting still now, for the most part, so the tiny rodent would only know to dodge him, like it would an immovable boulder. The woodchips would serve as a good sort of distraction to slow its pace down. Soon enough the mouse ran into the little chips, and Phae took his chance. He dropped his paw where he thought the mouse would be the moment after, and with a satisfied grin he lifted the little critter off of the ground by its tail. It was squeaking, and looked very in distress. "Hm.."Chache spotted the crimson cub long before his lunch and slowed to a jog. Well, damn it all! Either the cub was about to eat his meal for him, or Chache would charm it out of his greedy little paws. If the cub were another serval he would have fought for it. No sense in fighting lions, though. They grow up to be bigger than you and have temperamental mommies. Chache sauntered up to the cub with a flattering smile. “Nice catch! You’re a clever cub, aren’t you?” Phae looked at the serval, who had put on a smile and approached him rather calmly. No surprise that it wasn't afraid of him - he was small compared to the larger, very intimidating lions. And...well, cubs never looked all that dangerous anyway. He shrugged and stuck the mouse in the other's face. "I'm not hungry, just thought I could help. You can have it, if you still want it." The cub watched him carefully, wondering if he'd take it. If he did, then there was a very slight chance that he'd drop the smile and saunter away. It didn't really matter, Phae had company now, whether it was simple because he was carrying the other's meal, or because it really did want to talk to him.
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Posted: Thu Jan 15, 2009 1:27 pm
Chache regarded the cub cautiously. The odd serpent on the cub’s shoulder caused his fur to bristle. Yet, when he looked at the cub’s face, he seemed like a friendly young lion, too earnest to be a trickster. Chache sat down and lifted the mouse up by the tail. The little mouse squeaked in terror as it dropped into Chache’s open mouth. “Mmm. Thank you. That was very chivalrous of you. What is your name?”
"Phaethon, Phae for short," the cub replied quickly. The serval had taken the mouse, yet chose to stick around. It was nice, actually, since he'd been getting both bored and lonely just sitting out here alone, but it made him a little nervous. He knew better than to trust just anyone, no matter how nice they seemed. Still, Phae preferred looking on the bright side of anybody and anything, but it wouldn't hurt him to be cautious. For the sake of continuing the conversation, he asked, "So...what's yours?"
“Chache the Swift Pawed is the title by which I’m best known, though there are others. You probably wouldn’t have heard of me. It’s rare I have the opportunity to speak to a lion.” He smiled amiably, hoping to make a good impression on the young lion. “Many larger beasts would sooner eat me than call me friend, no offense intended.”
The name was a strange one, in his opinion, however he wouldn't openly say so. It'd be rude, so he decided he'd feign a smile for the time being. The more the serval talked, the more genuine his smile actually became. "None taken," Phae said with an amused grin. "I'm not particularly all that big, as you can see, plus I think it'd be a little strange eating another feline - lion or not." The cub flicked his tail, glancing down quickly to pick up his little stick, then beginning to wittle again. His eyes, however, were still on Chache. "So were you just out hunting? Or are you a traveler like a lot of other felines I run into?"
“That’s a fine sentiment. I wish there were others who thought that way. I don’t lay blame on them, though; we all need to eat one way or another.” His ears arched forward as Phae began working with his stick.
“I am a wanderer, yes. I’ve made it my duty in life to help those in need and so I must travel to find them.”
"Ah," the cub replied, somewhat amused. It wasn't often someone had such a noble cause for traveling. Usually it was to satisfy their curiosity, or they were running from something or someone. There were probably other similar reasons that he hadn't yet heard, but he was pretty certain that traveling for the reaosn that the serval had given was rare. "Well that's pretty interesting." He really didn't know what else to say about it. His pride had a similar goal, actually, but they were settled in one particular area, whereas Chache was moving around. "I'm learning to do the same thing," Phae started, furrowing his brows together as he tried to find the words to explain. "Um.....sort of. It's for the good everybody, what we're being trained to do, so I think it's the same. Isn't it?"
To Chache, right and wrong were as real and definable as rock and sand. The heroes of his mother’s fables unquestionably fought for righteousness and justice and no one ever questioned their motives or their actions. Animals always knew the difference between right and wrong; some merely chose to ignore that fine line, and that made them evil.
Of course, to say one group’s actions were for the good of all other groups meant that there must be some kind of unifying evil the group stood against, something so wicked that all creatures should be opposed to its very existence. Chache’s tail bristled at the thought. “If your actions are good for everyone then it must be a noble cause,” said Chache with a smile, though he looked a little puzzled. “What are you being trained to do?”
Phae thought a moment about whether or not the serval ought to know about the pride. It wasn't something one could just go around telling strangers, but then sometimes other creatures had to be warned about the existence of the pride that his own pride fought against. "Well...you don't seem the type to be on their side," he started, his ears twitching a bit nervously. "So I guess I can tell you." His face went from a youthful innocence to completely serious, as did his tone. "My brothers and I, along with all the other youth of the pride, are being trained to take down lions from a demon pride. We call ourselves the Mwako'bi'Giza, and we exist for the sole purpose of extinguishing that one pride. That's what the older, more experienced hunters of our pride tell us."
The strange word made his whiskers twitch. Chache had never heard the word “demon” before, but from the cub’s tone he assumed it meant something terrible. There was only one creature in the world that Chache considered inherently evil and that was the snake. He made it his mission in life to extinguish every venomous snake he came across, for snakes always abused their venom for malice. Could these lions be as evil as snakes?
“What are they?” he asked in a hushed tone that whispered many more questions beneath his breath. What are demons? What do they do? Why are they here? Where did they come from?
Phae smiled at the serval's immediate interest, and he was eager to explain as best he could. There'd be a lot of gaps, but he hoped it'd be enough to temporarily satisfy the serval's curiosity. On top of that, he hoped that he would be careful about where he travels. "I haven't encountered any of them yet, but I've heard they're merciless creatures. The worship the god of Demons, and..another one. I forget.. Anyway, the leader of our pride almost lost her life when she encountered one." He remembered a fun fact that someone had told him, and he decided to share it just to emphasize the danger. "Even a cub from this demon pride managed to give her a few good scars. That's why we, as the ones who will inherit the pride in the future, train as hard as we do. We can't afford to lose, otherwise this pride's border might grow and eventually engulf the whole of the savanna."
Chache’s ears flattened back as he listened, scanning Phae’s expression with his eyes. Could the cub be serious? How could one pride take over the entire savanna? If such a feat was possible it would be a disaster for all life. Many other prides would be wiped out, save a few small pockets, and prey would be scarce for the few that survived. A cold, hard stone of dread weighed heavy on his chest. “How large are they now?”
"I don't know, actually. Not too big, though, since we haven't been losing too many of ours when they go on patrol. At least not according to a friend of mine; he's the son of one of the higher ranked of the pride, so he would know." The cub turned back, the thought of the rival pride now making him more nervous than he would've liked. Also, the twitch started coming. It was at his tail at the moment, and if he wasn't careful it'd go up to his shoulder in no time. "Our pride is always looking to recruit those genuinely concerned and willing to fight, so you're always welcome when you feel you've traveled enough." Phae smiled at the serval, happy that he managed to share this bit of information with someone. It was always good to know who to avoid, after all.
Chache nodded soberly and followed the direction of Phae’s gaze. Presumably, that was the direction of the demon pride he wished to avoid.
Phae’s sense of justice impressed him. That was not something he expected to find in such a young cub. If the other members of the pride were as just in their actions as Phae this might be a good place for him to settle down. After wandering for so long, helping creatures he met and earning their admiration, their gratitude had thoroughly convinced him that his chosen path was the right one. Yet he always felt that he should be doing more. He saved the innocent from the wrath of snakes, he protected the weak and guided those in need. How big was the savanna? How far would he wander, aiding the ones he stumbled across while others staggered on in pain, alone and helpless? Chache accepted that he could not save the world. On the other hand, should the opportunity come up, he would have been wrong to deny it.
He looked at Phae searchingly. “Thank you for making me aware of this pride. I’d like to speak to your friend and learn more.”
"Well, he's still just a juve," Phae said with a sheepish smile. "But his mother isn't, and neither are the leaders of the pride. If you wanna learn more about our pride, and the demon pride, you should have a talk with them. I could take you." At that the cub stood, flicking his tail to hide the slight twitch it. It was slowly going away, but not soon enough. He turned in the direction of the Mwako, then glanced down at the serval. He was ready to go home to rest, and he was more than happy to lead this serval there too. "So are you coming?"
Chache nodded eagerly and walked to Phae’s side. He trusted the cub enough to follow him into the heart of his pride’s territory. This was not something he usually did, but Phae came off as sincere and the pride’s mission certainly seemed a noble one. Perhaps meeting the leaders of this pride would provide a real direction for his life, a true and noble mission. He would have to see.
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