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 Posted: Fri Mar 27, 2009 3:20 pm
 Xenia was beginning to move farther from her nanny’s den. Usually she stuck close to her brothers and sisters, but today she wanted to make new friends! Maybe someone her age?
Following a scent trail into the grasslands, she hopped up onto a fallen tree and looked around. Even when she tried sitting up she couldn’t see very far. Fortunately there was a branch sticking up in the air and Xenia was a very good climber. She clambered up the sturdy branch until she found a bend where she could sit and gaze over the grasslands.
A gentle wind rocked the branch back and fourth. As always, Xenia's leopard blood showed and she kept her balance with grace, smiling as the wind stroked her fur.
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Posted: Sat Mar 28, 2009 6:43 pm
 Though her sons and daughters had cheetah blood in them...they also had lion blood in them. Forest-lion blood. And Maluuni was determined to see if her cubs had the potential to climb as she did. Oh...one day, they would weave through the trees and underbrush as well as she did in the jungle...but could they climb? And so she had decided to take them out, one at a time, and test...and maybe teach.
Spotting a likely tree, the brown and red lioness looked back to her daughter. "Today...we see...if...you climb." Though her voice was rough from he injury once done to it, her smile was soft. "Watch...and try." With that, she started up the tree slowly, claws digging into bark.
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Posted: Sat Mar 28, 2009 7:06 pm
Malu eagerly watched her mother's movement, and after a long moment, she decided to try for herself. She extended her claws (further than they naturally were) and attempted to climb a nearby tree. It was difficult, and the bark scratched her sensitive paw pads, but she managed it. The young cheeton perched triumphantly on a nearby branch, only to notice someone else in the branch.
"Hello!" she said nervously, her ears pressing back against her neck.
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Posted: Sat Mar 28, 2009 7:27 pm
Suddenly the branch started to shake of its own will. Xenia hunkered down on her branch and stared at the big lioness coming up the tree. At first she thought the lioness was Muli the storyteller. When she was about to say hello she realized that this lioness was too brown to be Muli and couched down again, unsure of what to say. Somehow her bright pelt went unnoticed.
While she was hiding and thinking she noticed a small brown something coming toward her and her blue eyes lit up instantly. Xenia felt absolutely sure she was looking at a lion cub. Only lions had little tufts of fur on their tails. Leopards did not, leopons did not, leotahs did not, and cheetahs did not, so what else could it be? Xenia always wanted to meet a lion cub. She wanted to meet leopard cubs too, but lion cubs were even more interesting to her. She clawed at her branch excitedly and made room for the other cub.
“Hello!” she cooed, feeling no shyness this time. “What’s your name?”
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Posted: Sat Mar 28, 2009 8:09 pm
Maluuni blinked as the bright pelt of another feline caught her sight, and then Malu's joined the other. Ah...one of the new young ones. She smiled. Perhaps this would get her quiet little one out of her shell. Nothing to fear in the jungle, unlike out in the savanna. She smiled at her daughter, nodding. It was okay.
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Posted: Sun Mar 29, 2009 1:33 pm
"I'm Malu. Who are you?"
The small cub looked at her mother nervously, her tufted tail flicking behind her in a display of anxiety. What now? She didn't know what to do... And this cub was so bright! Just what was she anyway?
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Posted: Sun Mar 29, 2009 3:21 pm
"My name is Xenia, you can call me Xexe if you want." As if reading the other cub's thoughts she added, "I'm a leopon. My daddy was a lion."
By now she was getting much better at reading the thoughts of others by judging their facial expressions. Her mute brother made good practice. Since everyone seemed to have different facial expressions, she could be wrong sometimes. She hopped to another branch and looked back at Malu with a big friendly smile.
"Do you like tree climbing, too?"
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Posted: Sun Mar 29, 2009 7:53 pm
Maluuni adjusted herself so she was comfortable in the nearby branches. The wonders of being adapted for the forest...Maluuni was as comfortable in the trees as a leopard. She would keep an eye on her daughter and her new 'friend'.
"I...am Malu's...mother...Maluuni." She nodded to the young leopon, calm smile on her face. Then she looked to Malu. "She...is like...your...cousins." Because Muli was her 'sister', Maluuni was raising her little ones as if Muli and Chuk's offspring were related to them.
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Posted: Fri Apr 03, 2009 3:06 pm
"This is my first time tree climbing," Malu said softly, claws digging into the bark beneath her as the branch swayed with Xenia's movement. Her ears flicked absently and she shook her fur once the branch steadied. "My daddy was a cheetah..."
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Posted: Fri Apr 03, 2009 3:21 pm
Xenia turned to Maluuni with a bright smile and open eyes. The grown-up lioness reminded her of her older brother. Even though her voice was hoarser than that of a normal grown up, Xenia took their meeting in stride. “Hello, nice to meet you! I like your pretty coat,” she said to Maluuni.
She gently put her paw on Malu’s back to help her steady herself. She felt a little disappointed to hear that Malu wasn’t a real lion – she always wanted a lion cub to play with, but excited that Malu had cousins like her. “I know a bunch of cheetahs. I bet you’ll learn to run real fast when you grow up. As for me, my mom was a leopard, and that’s why I climb trees. It’s really easy once you get the hang of it. Watch, walk like me.”
She took a few steps along the branch, keeping her tail straight for balance. Using your tail is the most important part of tree climbing.
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Posted: Sun May 03, 2009 7:05 pm
Malu's words made Maluuni miss Aang. The strange, carefree cheetah had wrangled his way past her scars and into her heart. Whether he was just friend or more...Maluuni wasn't certain she'd ever know.
"Thank you...Xenia." It...was still a little strange hearing her fur referred to as 'pretty'. But it was a nice sort of strange. At this point..well, Maluuni settled herself and watched. To make sure they didn't fall or any such things.
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