|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Sat May 09, 2009 7:11 pm
Gaelia sighed and stopped for a moment, lifting a paw and licking it before smoothing down the hair on her head. It was especially windy today, for some reason, and she glared at the air around her. Why was it doing this? It had been perfectly beautiful yesterday, the day she had decided to laze about and sleep the whole time. The lioness had regretted the decision and was now trying to make up for it, but this wind...
Another playful gust whistled by, hitting her square in the face and mussing her hair up. Again. With a snarl, she jumped and whirled around on her feet, grabbing and pawing at the air with open claws. This was so frustrating!
It didn't even occur to her that what she was doing now looked absolutely and utterly ridiculous. A grown lioness, pawing and growling at..nothing. The air. One might think her a little bit crazy.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat May 09, 2009 7:43 pm
 Juu was...well, a bit scraggly at the moment. And the wind wasn't helping any. At first, he didn't understand how getting kicked out to survive on his own was a test...but now. Now he understood. For example, a male fought. He didn't really hunt. And now, suddenly, he was having to hunt. But he was determined to survive and get back to the pride. Especially since...
Well, he'd gotten himself lost. He hoped the pride wasn't worried for him. He was very sure he was going the right way now. And once he got back, he did NOT want to leave the pride ever again. Never wanted to leave the family again.
A brown form in the near distance caught his attention, striking out at seemingly nothing. Raising a brow, he inched closer, on guard. And was rewarded to see the form was a lioness. "Excuse me, m'lady...Is there a bug bothering you?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat May 09, 2009 9:36 pm
The voice caught Gaelia's attention and she whirled around to firstly glare at the male that had snuck up on her, and then retreat the full glare into a half-one, not convinced that this stranger would be as gentlemanly as he seemed (that was the thing about males, she had found: not many of them stayed true to their first impressions). He had seen her? Well, what did he want anyway? To make fun of her? She'd see how far he would get with that intention. Hmph.
"Not so much a bug, really, as this blasted wind," she replied snottily. She stood where she had stopped jumping around like a fool, trying mightily to ignore the wind that was now taking advantage of her preoccupation to play with her hair once again. She was winning that battle, too, it seemed.
Gaelia huffed and threw her head to the side in hopes that the action would force the hair to go to one side and stay that way. Hopefully. If not, she might have to locate some water and force it to remain flat. For a while, at least.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun May 10, 2009 9:11 am
He was used to getting glared at. He didn't like it, but he could handle it. Most of the time. He was rather glad when she dimmed her glare down though, since he had found himself getting a little twitchy. Perhaps he was more tired than he thought.
"Ah...This wind is rather bad. I don't remember a day quite so blustery back home..." And home he would be soon enough. But first...well, this female seemed intriguing. And a bit like some of the females back in the pride.
"Perhaps finding shelter until the wind subsides might be advisable? You never know if it will get worse, or what it will blow your way."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue May 12, 2009 10:34 am
Gaelia raised an eyebrow. He was still being polite? Hm, she'd have to think of something meaner to say. It was only like her to push newcomers away, after all. She didn't want anyone hounding her or annoying her when she wanted alone time. The ones that she had been nice to had done that, and the lioness had never done that again. She didn't need that kind of foolery.
"No," she replied stonily. "The whole reason I came outside today in the first place was to get some fresh air and out of my shelter. The one day I pick to do so and the gods find a funny way to make me regret my decision. But they won't win." The playful breeze swirled around her again. She growled at it, then switched her gaze back over to him.
"What are you doing out in this weather, then?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue May 12, 2009 7:35 pm
Juu blinked. Well then...she was definitely like some of the females back home. He just smiled apologetically. "And I'm sure the gods are annoyed a mortal is trying to defy them. Which, to the rest of us mortals, is most admirable." The only god he was certain he would not butt heads with was Fortune. For to do so...well, he didn't relish the thought of being on her bad side.
"I'm headed home. Back to my pride." He chuckled. "Wandered a little further than I intended when I got kicked out for my Testing, but I'm on the right track now." He looked her up and down, nothing rude or crude in his eyes. "You'd fit in there, actually. Mayhap you have blood-relations in the Mzawa'kondo?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat May 16, 2009 12:24 pm
The lioness eyed him with suspcicion. Usually, by now, whoever she had encountered had either fired back at her with raging answers to her questions/insults/comments, or had turn away and left in anger. This lion, however...was being oddly stubborn in staying, but in a good way. He apologized for her rashness, and continued their conversation just like it was any other. How odd.
But intriguing.
"Perhaps," Gaelia allowed. "And perhaps that intrigues them even more, to continue sending this wind at me." She almost gave up, after glaring at the wind, the ground, the sky. And then the breeze gave her hair a last ruffle before spinning off into the east. Huh.
"Testing? The Mzawa'kondo?" she repeated rather dumbly. The lioness shook her head. "No, I've never heard of such a pride before. Where is it? Why would I fit in?" she asked, becoming defensive.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat May 16, 2009 3:02 pm
So...she'd not heard of them. That was okay. He'd just enlighten her! He kept his polite cheer. "It's a bit south of here. The reason I say you fit in is partly because of your coloring. Except for the Nje Ya, we're of natural coloring...browns and blacks and tans and white and grays. And...you remind me a bit of some of the Zengea. Strong, and not willing to bend to an outside will."
He thought that was most admirable. Of course, in Juu's mind, outside will was anyone OUTSIDE that pride. Inside that pride, however...everyone was of one will: to live and thrive as a family.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat May 16, 2009 3:07 pm
Alright, he offered a good comeback for that 'could-have-been-insult.' It made sense, it did. And she was curious to know more about his pride.
"What are your beliefs then, this natural-colored pride?"
Gaelia prided herself on her beautiful brown and tan pelt, always happy to have the access to a decent camouflage whenever she wanted it. But if there was a pride that was based around this skill, with others like her...
Well, that could be both a good and bad thing, and until she knew more, the lioness wasn't certain which it could be.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat May 16, 2009 3:16 pm
He kept himself from acting like a giddy cub. Not once, in his time outside the pride, had someone asked about his pride so..directly. "No son above his brothers." It was a lesson he'd learned as a small cub, from his mother and than the rest of the pride wen they found him. "No one lion is more important than the pride as a whole. We...are like a large family. Everyone has their place, and that place benefits everyone in the pride. Asikari protect the borders, Zengea catch the prey for mealtimes, even the Mfalme and Malkia pitch in."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat May 16, 2009 3:22 pm
This pride actually sounded...interesting. Like the secret craving Gaelia had always had but had never allowed herself to indulge in. It sounded like it would be a very good place to be. And now she wanted to know more.
"What are the Mfalme and Malkia?" she asked. "If everyone is equal, as you say, what about the ruler or rulers of the pride?"
And 'no son above his brothers' could be interpreted as a male-dominant pride, or one of those unisex things about how everyone is just as important as their pride-members. She thought it was the latter, and hoped it was.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat May 16, 2009 3:33 pm
Juu's smile grew a bit. "They're the rulers of the pride. Well...in reality, they're more like the mothers and fathers of the pride. There are two sets, with the two Mfalme being descended from the original founding kings. The Mfalme lead the Asikari, while the Malkia lead the Zengea." Although...there were no Malkia at the moment. "They're like the mothers and fathers because they make sure there's order. Imagine everyone being equal...but there was no order to it. There would be far too much pain."
Juu chuckled. "And the Mfalme and Malkia are just as accountable for their actions as everyone else."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat May 16, 2009 3:39 pm
Good, a bit more information to deal with.
Gaelia's face was a current contortion of a frown, one of thought mixed with curiosity. It was a good thing, order. It allowed everyone to be happy but in a sensible, fair way, where no one person was being a tyrant and the people were happy with the way they lived their lives.
Order was a good thing, she told herself.
"You say this pride is a bit south?" That explained why she had never come across it, or heard of it, before. She never (or rarely) went South.
"Well, just because my color may make me fit in, why would I want to join your pride anyway?" she added, almost forgetting herself and how she was supposed to be mean and snotty.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat May 16, 2009 3:48 pm
The brown lion nodded. "It is. Not more than a few days from here. Given the weather isn't trying to beat one senseless." He did find the wind a rather ironic occurrence. It impeded his progress...but he'd met another in the process.
At her last comment, he blinked...then just gave her a polite smile. "That is up to you. There are many reasons out there...but only one of them is your reason. And that's only if you think the pride is right for you." He certainly wasn't going to force anyone to join! That would be wrong. But he certainly wouldn't mind if she wanted to come with. Or think about it.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat May 16, 2009 3:58 pm
He truly and utterly confused her, this lion. And she didn't even know his name. But that didn't matter. What mattered was the fact that he was very well offering her an escape, a way to leave the world she knew so well for something better.
She got quiet.
"Would you mind, then, if I came along with you?" she asked quietly. If now was her chance, she'd better not mess it up then, huh? So perhaps she would make a promise to herself to be nicer to this lion while they traveled, so she could make a good impression on him and perhaps even end up joining the pride in the first place.
Oh, she'd still be mean, just not as mean. That is, if he let her come with.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
