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 Posted: Thu Jan 29, 2009 1:56 pm
Time moved slowly in the Pridelands. Vu quickly grew accustomed to the rhythm of the days. Hunters left in late afternoon when the land was cooler and returned after dusk, the guards patrolled the borders constantly, where Vu dreamed of one day venturing on his own, and the cubs played. Today, Vu was bored.
Vu was bored lying on his back in the grass and looking at the light shining through the leaves of an umbrella thorn tree. All of his siblings were off playing some stupid game. Vu hated playing hide and seek, because he always lost and they never let him be the seeker. He could win if he were the seeker. Why couldn’t they all just play tag? Vu liked tag. On days like this, Vu wished his father was around. Then he would have somebody to play with.
“This is so stupid!” He sighed and rolled onto his side, crushing the grass under his plump tan belly.
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Posted: Sun Feb 22, 2009 8:50 pm
 Shangwe was exploring the lands by himself, taking a break from his somewhat over-bearing family. They were nice, of course, and he loved them all very much, but sometimes it was just nicer to spend some time on his own to muse over his thoughts. He was starting to get older, after all. Did that mean he would have to think about what he wanted to do with his life? Would he be just another member of the pride, or would he be able to do more?
It was all unclear. Maybe he would wait a little longer before really worrying about it. None of his siblings seemed remotely interested in the same sort of concerns. He was always the only one worrying.
Or so it seemed.
Blinking, he heard someone grumble off to his side, causing him to shift course and investigate things further. He soon spotted a cub lying on his side looking board. “Hello,” he offered, “what are you doing?”
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Posted: Sun Feb 22, 2009 11:05 pm
Vu looked up at the strange blue eyed lion. He twisted his neck around so that the blue eyed lion turned upside down and glared at him miserably. The older cub’s age left him unfazed, for he was also growing up and never developed any shyness toward his elders. Besides, with all the training he was going through, he felt confident in the power of his claws. What did he have to fear from some other cub?
“What does it look like I’m doing?” Vu grumbled, hitting the grass with his tail.
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Posted: Tue Feb 24, 2009 1:42 pm
Watching Vu, the older cub gave a short grunt, sitting himself down where he had been standing not far from the cub. He didn’t like the way the other was glaring at him, but that didn’t mean he was going to leave. If dark glares were all it took to get rid of him he would never spend any time with some of the members of his family. Brothers and sisters always got into fights.
He was used to the grumpy nature that brought, though he was a little surprised to see it already in this stranger. He hadn’t said very much to the boy and already he felt unwelcomed.
Vexing.
“It looks like you’re being childish,” he replied quickly enough, eyes never leaving the lighter animal, “are you in a bad mood with me? I don’t remember doing anything to offend you.”
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Posted: Wed Feb 25, 2009 7:47 pm
Vu flipped onto his tummy with an annoyed growl, a few loose bits of grass sticking to his mane tuft. “I am not acting like a kid! You don’t even know why I’m mad.”
He gave the other cub a nasty look, or started to, when his mood abruptly shifted. Something about the other cub felt familiar. He squinted at him, head tilted slightly to one side. Clawing the earth thoughtfully, he tilted his head a little further and spotted the stripes going down the cub’s back. Then he knotted his brow. “Hey, do you know a cub named Chani? She’s got two-colored eyes…”
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Posted: Wed Feb 25, 2009 9:32 pm
“Okay! You’re not a kid,” Shangwe said quickly, holding no real interest in starting a fight with some young punk who seemed to be rather in a bad mood for some unexplained reason, “I just said it because you asked, that’s all. It was only an observation.”
Watching him, he couldn’t help but feel a little awkward. Why was this boy looking at him so intently? He felt like he was on show and this other cub was there to find out his quality.
It was unnerving.
“Chani? Yeah, I know her. In fact, I know her very well. She’s related to me. I’m her brother. Well, one of them. I guess you’ve met her, huh?”
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Posted: Fri Feb 27, 2009 1:04 pm
Shangwe’s reply took some of the fire out of Vu’s chest. He had a feeling he still wasn’t being taken seriously. Other cubs called him rude and bratty. Shangwe might not have meant what he said, but Vu liked it better than being called names.
“Yeah, she’s not very nice. She thinks I’m a brat.” Manners were not excluded from his mother’s teachings. Vu usually forgot about them unless he was talking to somebody important, and even then his boisterous personality took over before he thought of being polite. Besides, from what Chani’s uncle said about her, he figured Shangwe would agree.
He rose and sat on his haunches. “My name’s Vu. Chani told me that she’s related to Sarabi but I don’t believe her. She doesn’t look anything like a queen to me.”
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Posted: Sun Mar 01, 2009 12:09 am
“You shouldn’t say that!” Shangwe gasped quickly, looking at the boy in mild surprise, “especially not to that girl’s sister! Don’t you know how rude that sounds? I think you should apologize for that!” He didn’t think, though, that the boy would be one to listen to him. He had been blunt enough to make the comment in the first place, after all.
Maybe he just… made a mistake.
“Even if she’s not very nice, it isn’t kind to say that. How does that make you any better? Anyway, I think she would be very mad if she ever learned that you were talking about her behind her back when she’s not around, you know?”
Listening to the cub, Shangwe felt his body tense. It wasn’t like him to get mad, but he couldn’t help himself. This cub was being very blunt about things and had no right to run his mouth. “My name is Shangwe,” he said, trying to be calm, “let’s not talk about Chani.”
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Posted: Fri Mar 20, 2009 10:58 pm
Suddenly the other cub’s attitude changed from civil to confrontational. How dare he make those assumptions! For a moment Vu thought he would be able to meet the other cub half-way. Now he understood the way this cub really thought of him. He stood abruptly, slashing his tail through the air with his ears pushed back and teeth bared. “You calling me a liar?”
So the other cub wasn’t calling him a liar. At least, that was what he said. His name was Shangwe. Vu still didn’t like him. “My name is Vu and I can say whatever I dam well please.” He gave the other cub a shove with his paw. “What are you going to do about it?”
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Posted: Fri Mar 27, 2009 1:15 pm
“No, I’m not calling you a liar,” Shangwe said quickly, “I just don’t think that we should talk about her anymore. You’ve got the wrong view on her, is all. And I’m sure she has the wrong view of you. It’s just a… misunderstanding. But being her brother, you can see why I would get a little worked up you saying she’s not nice.”
Frowning, he watched the other move. Defensive, it seemed.
Taking a step back after being shoved, the little lion shook his head, not retaliating. He did his best to keep his temper in check for now. One of them had to be sensible, and he had already lost control once. “Well, Vu, I think you should take a moment to notice that I’m a lot bigger than you are. I really don’t think you should try to pick a fight with me. It probably won’t end well for you, you know.” It wasn't a threat. Just an observation that sounded a hell of a lot like a threat.
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Posted: Sat Mar 28, 2009 8:08 pm
Vu looked the older cub up and down. He made a good point. His mother had been teaching him ways to take down larger opponents. All her lessons had something to do with center of gravity, using your opponent’s weight against him, but Shangwe didn’t look like he was going to give him an opening. “Well, if my dad was here, he’d beat the snot out of you. You’re just lucky he’s not.”
Where was his dad anyway? He would much rather be playing with him than Chani’s brother. With that in mind, he decided to take his leave. He walked away in a direction that allowed him to see Shangwe at all times. His mother taught him to never turn his back on anyone. When he got to be big and strong like his dad, he would never let anyone tell him what he could and couldn’t say or do, especially someone related to Chani.
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