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 Posted: Sat Feb 28, 2009 12:44 pm
 He was lying on the sand, well...sort of half-lying and half-sitting. His back legs were sprawled across the sand. His tummy was exposed to the sky and his back was supported by the curve of a rock. It almost appeared as if he were lounging back to enjoy the warmth of the sun on his belly. But he wasn't.
He was washing his stomach, trying to rid it of that irritating itching. His fight with that Ripuka's kid hadn't damaged him at all, but the scratches he'd been left with were now driving him made. He wanted to itch them but knew that would only make it worse, so he was licking them in attempt to rid himself of the irritation.
He'd show that orange cat who was boss if it was the last thing he did.
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Posted: Sat Feb 28, 2009 12:56 pm
Amalahle liked to keep herself busy, and most often all by herself. There were so many of them, it was just easiest to to take care of yourself. Sometimes it was just impossible to find something entertaining to do by yourself, though. And that was her problem for the afternoon. She'd wandered around looking for something to keep herself busy and found nothing, sending her back towards home to see if anybody else was up to anything fascinating. It was starting to look like the whole day was going to be boring, until she spotted her brother in an awkward position and.. grooming? She would have ignored him if the awkward angle of some of his fur didn't tip her off about why he was grooming.
Hmmm, maybe it would be worth going to see what he was up to. If nothing else, he might provide some entertainment! So she jogged up, a small grin on her face, "What happened to you?"
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Posted: Sat Feb 28, 2009 1:01 pm
He looked up at the appearance of his sister and gave her a look that clearly said: it's none of your business. He didn't talk much, this boy. He preferred to let his actions speak for him. He made exceptions for his family, however, because family was family. You didn't choose them. They were who they were and even if you didn't like them much you still shared blood.
He exhaled noisily and pushed himself up onto his paws, turning his masked face to glance at her. "Well, if it isn't my wonderful sister." He replied with a small grunt. "Nothing for you to worry your little head about. I was simply showing the riff-raff how to behave in front of one of royal blood." He curled a lip.
"So, thanks for your concern, but I can take care of myself."
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Posted: Sat Feb 28, 2009 1:12 pm
She might have laughed at the expression on his face, she would not expect anything else from Rowtag but already she was more amused than she had been wandering around by herself. She gave him a wicked-sweet smile when he called her wonderful in that tone, and tilted her head ever so slightly when he said exactly what had happened.. just without any details.
"I wouldn't dare try babying you," she shot back at him, "I was only wondering what had you laying around grooming in the afternoon." And she glanced around, wondering if this was a recent occurrence or not.
"Did I miss the show by much or what?" she asked curiously, it would be a shame if she had missed something while wandering by herself. So few things could be entertaining in a pride full of large, proud lions- watching the occasional scuffle was one of those things.
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Posted: Sat Feb 28, 2009 1:17 pm
He lowered his head so that the bangs of his dark mane fell down to partially hide those brilliant blue eyes. Eyes that looked somehow out of place in that often serious little face of his. "Glad to hear it." He mumbled, lifting an ear slightly. "Miss the show? Oh, only by an hour or so. The stupid lion fled when he realised he had no chance of beating me. Serves him right for starting something he couldn't finish."
He scowled. "I thought we were supposed to be living in a strong pride. All I've seen so far are old lions and wimps." He huffed, agitated. "We're not warriors, we're a joke."
He moved to step past her, glancing around the desert. "Do you like it here, Amalahle?"
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Posted: Sat Feb 28, 2009 1:27 pm
She snickered when he described how the fight had ended, shaking her head, "I'm sorry I missed it, sounds like it would have been quite funny." Amalahle truly had no way of knowing if that was actually how it went down, but she was willing to believe it- and arguing with her brother would not make anything more interesting, just end with her in the next scuffle and she didn't feel like it at the moment.
"We're.. recovering," she offered, her tail swaying thoughtfully behind her, rather agreeing with him but with a bit more optimism, "It'll get better, the pride has all of us after all." She was proud of her family, even if her main focus and concern was herself.
"I do," she answered reflexively, knowing better than to question anything like that. The desert was their home for a reason, even if this was not their original home, they stayed as near as they could.. so she thought, if she heard the stories right anyway.
"Do you?" she asked carefully.
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Posted: Sat Feb 28, 2009 1:43 pm
He nodded thoughtfully. Yes their family was good and strong, maybe a couple of the other cubs too, but he wouldn't have called them warriors. Rather, they were bumbling fools that thought they could fight just because they were firekin. He didn't see many of them training seriously. A fight was important and needed to be executed properly. It wasn't just a flailing of claws in the hopes of hitting something.
Yes, he was young yet and he had a lot to learn, but he would learn it.
"Without us, dear sister, this pride would be nothing." His brow furrowed. He twisted his head to look at her when she said she liked living here and wondered what his response should be. Should he tell her the truth and say that this place did nothing for him at all? No. That would be a bad idea. So, he lied.
"Of course I do, but it's not the true lands, is it? Not the lands of our ancestors." He turned to face her. He huffed and shook his head. "But it doesn't matter. We never knew those lands so it makes no difference." He made to change the subject. "Have you met any of that old Ripuka's lot?"
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Posted: Sat Feb 28, 2009 1:51 pm
She nodded when he said the pride would be nothing without them. She was not so confrontational but she could handle herself if she needed to, especially against the types that Rowtag was talking about. She didn't train often but she observed, obviously, taking the entertainment (and knowledge) from it. Her red eyes moved from her brother out to the distance where he had been looking.
"No, it's not," she agreed, narrowing her eyes off in the direction of the Simo lands, "Do you suppose, with the state of our pride, we'll ever win it back? Are they better or worse off than us?" If they had not won the fighting, she would, of course, assume they were weak and suffering.. but it was hard to say. Competition meant so much sometimes in the pride, it was hard to keep everything straight. The Rebels were bad but they had won.
She snorted, deciding not to think about it. You didn't have to win to be right, and she would cling to that as long as she had to.
"No, I haven't," she responded, looking back to their own lands, "They're the orange bunch, right?"
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Posted: Sat Feb 28, 2009 2:04 pm
He shook his head. He had been pondering all of this himself. From the threads of what had been told to him, of the rebellion, of Finar-Si and of why they were here, he'd started making his own judgements of things. He was young and of course, with a small pride and a lack of hope, he'd not had traditions pressed on him. He sensed an unease everywhere. The ebbing of life, the fading past that his kind seemed to proud of.
And what was it all for?
"We won't win it back if we run in there screaming and flashing fangs." He turned his eyes to her. "To win it we'll have to fight smart but...how many of the Safi are able to do that? Look at us, sister, talking like this. We're cubs but we're seeing more sense than adults. The land could be ours again, especially if this Finar-Si is as powerful and brilliant as they say. But at what cost? If she joins us in battle it could very well be only her standing at the end." He wrinkled his nose.
"Yeah. They're not even proper red. Not red like us. Mother liked the one that died, I think, but they never had a scrap of royal blood in them. She came from a lower line than us. A much lower line. Besides, I don't think they're all they appear. I'll have to keep an eye on them. You should, too, in case they really are up to no good."
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Posted: Sat Feb 28, 2009 2:17 pm
"If that's true," she said, commenting after he pointed out how they were making more sense than the adults, "Then we haven't got much hope of winning it back at all, even if Finar-si did help us." It was kind of upsetting, but not so much to one born after all the chaos. She only had the opinions of others to analyze, they were not at the top as stories and lessons led them to believe they should be. She shook her head and took a seat. This wasn't so amusing now, but it was fascinating.
"Hmm," she considered what he said, never having suspected any of the pride members of being dangerous. Or thinking themselves to be dangerous. "I never thought.. but then, I'll keep it in mind."
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Posted: Sat Feb 28, 2009 2:22 pm
He sat beside her, letting his gaze fix on the horizon, seemingly fascinated with the curve of the ever-lasting sand. It was contrasting against the cloudless sky, a sky as clear and bright as his eyes.
"Doomed..." He whispered. "Perhaps it is best we stop lingering on the past, pining over what we could have had. Our elders look to much to the past, don't you think? Maybe it is the job of the young to help them look to the future?" He paused. "No matter what happens, Amalahle, we'll stick together, right? No matter what happens."
He cast his eyes about. "We need to make sure that the others don't blunder head first to their doom. There's few enough of us as there is."
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Posted: Sat Feb 28, 2009 2:38 pm
"We don't even really know much about the past, obviously we see things differently than they do- how do we really know anything about what they tell us?" she pointed out, "Their past is their past, the future is all of ours, including us." Her tail swished through the sand and then curled around her feet. She was surprised when he said they would stick together. She was selfish, she was independent but.. maybe she just hadn't taken the time to really talk to her brother before. She could make an exception for him.
"Right," she agreed with a smile, "And so long as no one takes us all down with them, I don't necessarily see it all being a loss.."
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Posted: Sat Feb 28, 2009 2:43 pm
He nodded in agreement. "Well then, we're even more important than we first realised." He stood and started to head off, pausing to glance back at her. "We'll fight smart. We'll be alright. And what do they say? Only the strong survive? If we're strong we'll do just fine."
He blinked. "I'm going to see Mother. Are you coming?" He didn't wait for an answer. Instead he trusted she'd either follow or go her own way. Either way she'd be able to take care of herself. With a slow, easy gait, he moved across the sand, back towards the den, hoping that Kenna was there, though knowing that there was a good chance she might not be.
That's what happened when your mother was a Queen, he supposed idly to himself. But at least he had his mother. Some cubs were not so lucky...
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Posted: Sat Feb 28, 2009 2:50 pm
"That's right," she agreed with him confidently, not moving when he stood up but watching him go. She nodded when he said where he was going, but then immediately shook her head shortly, "No, I'll be around later." She watched him go, then took a look around. Now she had plenty to think about, to keep herself occupied. She needed to bother Rowtag more often, it seemed.
She turned, hopped to the rock where he had been relaxing and settled in comfortably. Hmm..!
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