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 Posted: Mon May 25, 2009 11:10 am
Today was just like any other day it seemed. The sun had risen in the air, and once again it’s heat seem to trap the moisture in the swamplands. Every day though Odijo had gotten better at acclimating himself to the said humidity. He knew upon joining the pride that there would be changes. This was one of them.
He had been there for a few weeks now, meeting more pride members every day. He remembered one of them most clearly though, as it wasn’t every conversation he had with others that went in an intellectual way. Since he had met her however, he hadn’t seen her again.
The dirt sunk in below him as his walked the path he had first taken when meeting the female. Maybe she was in that same spot.
Bari was currently digging around a particular bush, hunting for the hidden flowers her grandmother liked so much. Ever since the two had found their two separate (but close) spots of privacy, the younger lioness had offered to help decorate her elder's space with pretty flowers and rocks and such. Now some of the flowers were wilting, and she was on a mission to find more pretty ones for her grandmother. It seemed like the light-colored ones stood out the most against the dark browns and greens of the swamplands, and they seemed to last longer as well, so these were the ones Bari hunted for.
And in the back of her mind, she kept thinking of the male she had met some days ago. Their conversation had been good, one that she kept smiling over when she replayed it in her head. He had been eager to learn, and she had been happy to share her knowledge of whatever it was he had asked about. With his questions, she could learn as well, and she loved it.
A small smile on her muzzle at the memory, she didn't hear the pawprints slowly heading her way as the very male she was thinking about trotted up towards her. Her head was busy with her front paws, snooping around under a bush. Her rear was sticking out of the grasses and her tail was swishing from side to side. A comical sight, to be sure.
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Posted: Mon May 25, 2009 11:30 am
Hearing the rustles in the grasses, Odijo turned his corn-blue eyes towards the noise, smirking upon seeing the sight. Well think of the devil, there she was. At least…he thought it was her. Sniffing the air slightly, he confirmed it as that was her scent. His head tilted; what was she doing? Thinking it was a rather polite gesture, the male gave a little cough to let her know he was here.
When he realized that his cough was emitted to quietly, he sat down, watching her tail sway back in forth. Raising one paw off the ground, he tried to catch her tail—just as a little cub would do when playing. He chuckled when he caught it.
“Gotcha!”
Bari didn't even hear the cough he gave, or smell him, until suddenly her tail was caught in a paw that was definitely -not- hers. She knew that because it was, for one, impossible for her to reach around herself with a paw and grab her tail without her knowing it. And, for another, the paws she would have used to do so were currently right near her head, which she could see perfectly. So, obviously, it was someone else who had suddenly snatched up her long limb.
She jumped and gave a little shriek at the surprise, quickly turning her head to peer out from the bush's leaves at Odijo. The lion had a smile on his face that she knew would be there. Half-glad that he had come to visit again and half-embarassed to be found in this position and situation, the lioness backed up slowly and steadily out of the bush, tail still caught in his paw, and turned around to greet him.
"Can I have my tail back, please?" She wiggled it in his grasp with a grin on her face. "Unless you want it, but if you do, I get yours." Bari peered around him to eye his own tuft-tipped tail
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Posted: Mon May 25, 2009 3:38 pm
“I guess. Next time I catch it though, I’ll think about keeping it,” he joked. He watched as she exited the bush, trying to peer into the shadows that half her body was under. “What were you doing, fishing for hares?” You know, hunting a hare didn’t sound too bad right now. What was it she had mentioned last time the male and she had met? Something about a swimming spot, that was it. That idea didn’t sound too bad either.
“No luck with my name yet,” he smiled. Everyday he had wandered a new part of the pride. He watched the trees, the ground, anything that would make his heart jump as it was something that just needed him. He was still looking for his true name, but it hadn’t seem to find him yet. One of these days he knew it would come to him. “Maybe I am trying to hard, what do you think?”
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Posted: Mon May 25, 2009 3:47 pm
"I'll keep that in mind and be sure to watch it whenever you're around," she returned, teasing. Then she laughed. "Nope, not hunting hares. Hunting flowers actually. My grandmother likes them so I thought I'd pick up a few more bundles on my way to my swimming hole, since it's near there. But this is the first bush I found, and I haven't had any luck finding any so far." She shrugged. Oh well. Patience was a virtue; she'd go look under another bush.
But she grinned at him. "Perhaps trying to hard, yes. Remember, it finds you, not the other way around." The reminder was gentle. He couldn't push it, really, since it didn't work that way.
She debated whether to ask him to help her hunt the flowers or not. It was a rather girly thing to do, after all, but perhaps if he was hungry they could hunt hares as well (since he had asked about it while she was under the bush in the first place).
"So, what'll we do now? We could hunt, or go swim..."
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Posted: Mon May 25, 2009 3:59 pm
“Flowers, huh?” Odijo thought for a moment. Wasn’t there a few small flower patches where he slept. “You know, near the den I sleep in, there are some nice purple flowers. Perhaps your grandmother would like some of those.” The brown male offered, trying to help the female who was helping her own family.
Odijo nodded at the reminder. Perhaps he should just let it go. He knew it would come to him one day, it’ll just take some time apparently.
“Well, last time I remember you mentioned about showing me your swimming spot,” he grinned. “On a hot day like today, I think a swim would be rather refreshing, don’t you think?” He smiled. If she wanted to get the flowers afterwards, he could take her to his home and she could pick out the ones she wanted.
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Posted: Mon May 25, 2009 4:32 pm
Oh, he did know of some flowers! "I'm sure she would like purple flowers as well, thank you! I'll have to come by and visit sometime, then." She hoped it wasn't a self-inviting comment, only that she was also interested in seeing him again (plus having pretty flowers nearby helped), too. Unless they went after swimming, which was fine by her. Then she could see where he lived, and then she could really visit him. Of course, Bari would show him her own den as well. It was close to the rest of her family's, but far enough away for her own privacy.
"Ha, I did mention my swimming pool. Of course we can go there." As he said, it was a rather hot day outside. The cool water would do them both good. She stood and nodded her head at him. "Just follow me, good sir, and I'll lead you right to the place."
And she was off, slowly at first to make sure he was following, in the direction of her little pool. In her mind the lioness was double checking that everything was clean, tidy, and ready for visitors. She knew that it was, but figured it didn't hurt to run through everything in her mind anyway.
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Posted: Tue May 26, 2009 9:59 am
Odijo had continued to smile. He didn't know much bout flowers, but he was glad to help in any way. Even though it wasn't a 'manly' thing, picking flower and all that jazz, the male loved to help anyone that needed. Besides, he was a grown adult. He didn't really care what others thought of him because those who spoke like that all-in-all meant that they had nothing better to do with their time but to degrade others. The brown male knew how the mind liked to work.
"Lead the way, Miss Bari," he grinned, giving a formality title to anyone he met. When he got to know them better, it would become just their real name, to show a more personal side of Odijo. He could already feel the water on his pelt. To think about it was nice, but to actually enjoy it was even nicer.
He followed her slowly, watching the path she was taking. He wouldn't come here on his own, however. This was her special place, and to be there without permission was disrespectful. "After the swim, I'll take you to get those flowers for your grandmother."
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Posted: Tue May 26, 2009 10:31 am
Bari grinned and led the way with ease. It wasn't too far away from where he had found her, so the walk was a comfortably quiet one. She twisted in between a couple of trees and trotted around a bend that revealed her little swimming pool. "I would like that," she replied in response to going to his den after their swim.
It was a quaint, perfect spot for the young lioness. A tall wall of half-stacked, half-falling rocks faced her from the entrance into the small area, shielding the small pool from view from outsiders. As she walked towards it, the wall of rocks made way to the pool of water it covered. It wasn't all too deep, really. Perhaps as deep as she was long, or perhaps even as deep as Odijo was long. He was a good-sized lion.
"Here we are!" she announced with a chuckle and a bounce in her step. "Simple, but I love it.
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Posted: Sun May 31, 2009 10:14 am
His blue eyes gazed to the small pool. Water...He hadn't been for a nice refreshing dip in a while. He smiled as he walked towards the liquid, deeping a paw into it. Nice and cool, perfect for the weather that had plagued the Swamplands today. "How did you manage to find this place?" He asked, turning around so his tail just dipped into the water. When he took it out, he flicked it towards the female, splashing her slightly.
"Simplicity is sometimes the better way to go."
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Posted: Sun May 31, 2009 11:27 am
She beamed at him happily at the compliments. She was so entirely in love with this little place; it made her happy to see that someone else appreciated it as much as she did. "It was really a chance of luck, to be honest." Bari shrugged modestly. "I'm lucky to have found it so empty and unused, where no one else has found it." She didn't finish her short story because he flicked water at her; the lioness made a face and narrowed her eyes at her new friend.
"Oh, it's on. You're going to wish you hadn't done that."
She trotted forward to the water and scooped a paw into the water, making a wave with the motion, and directed the flowing water at Odijo.
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Posted: Sun May 31, 2009 1:26 pm
Odijo nodded. "Well, I will make sure not to tell anyone else about this spot. It'll be our little secret place?" He chuckled. He liked the idea sharing a 'secret' place with Bari. It would be as if they were cubs again, having a secret fortress (usually within sight of their parents) in which they could go too, but this time it would be of a more...adult place, as Odijo and Bari would both older.
His eyebrows shot up as a smirk was placed on his maw. "Done what...?" he asked innocently, taking a step backwards into the water, so his front feet were now slightly wet. He didn't get to splash her, as she trotted forward before the water would reach her.
Instead, he was doused by the wave, causing his blonde mane to cling to his skin.
He took a moment to compose himself, flashing his eyes at her deviously before pouncing on her into the small pool.
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Posted: Sun May 31, 2009 1:46 pm
She liked that idea. Calling it 'their' secret place made it just that much more special. Although she hoped he knew that because of that, he was now free to come and go to this secret place of theirs whenever he liked. She didn't mind; after all, the lioness had been kind of hoping for someone else to share it with.
"Done that. Eeeek!" She couldn't hold back the shriek when he unexpectedly pounced her into the pool and under the water. It was a good thing it was really a very spacious thing, though it didn't look like it. Otherwise she would have probably hit a few rocks and had some bruises. Bari pushed her head back above the surface to glare at him once he came back up, too.
Then she pushed both of her front paws down onto his head to dunk him into the water.
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Posted: Sun May 31, 2009 2:27 pm
He laughed at her little squeal, as she went under, just as he did. He regretted doing that though, as he had a mouth and a nose full of water. He opened his eyes under the murky water, staying under just a moment after Bari had popped up, before rising to the surface, spilling out the water from his maw like a fountain. He reached a paw to his eyes to wipe out the water, but soon found himself under the murky water once more. He didn't open his eyes this time, just waited for the pressure to be off his head before rising once more to the surface.
As soon as Bari lifted off him, his head popped out of the water, his blonde mane and tail no longer bright, but almost a dullish, dirty brown color. He made a hmph noise, flicking his head up to his forelock didn't cover his eyes like he had.
"Okay! You win!" He surrended.
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Posted: Sun May 31, 2009 2:44 pm
Bari laughed, shaking the water out of her eyes, and lifting a paw to help try and fix his wet mane so it didn't drip into his eyes. He looked so...wet, she thought with another giggle. Not hopeless, but definitely took a little blow to his ego with his defeat. Poor Odijo.
"I'm sorry," she offered softly, grinning, and giving him a gentle lick on the cheek before paddling over to the shore and pulling herself out. Once there, and a fair distance away from the water and her friend, she shook herself out as much as she could, getting rid of the droplets that were weaving down her spine from her hair. Almost instantly, the small curl of hair sprung up on her mane to stand upright.
Once only damp, now, the lioness sat and began to lick a paw to help dry the rest of her, still smiling in Odijo's direction.
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Posted: Sun May 31, 2009 2:51 pm
"I forgive you," Odijo said, still in the water. When she got out, so did he. The male had a feeling when he dried his mane was going to be very poofy; he would have to spend all night and tomorrow day trying to get it back under control. He walked a little away from her, shaking the water off his body. Since she was drying herself, it would be pointless for him to get her wet all over again. As expected, his mane and tail tuft stuck out slight, hairs clumped in little spikes.
...He'd work on it later.
The brown male also began licking himself to try and dry the damp fur. When he thought he was done (he was a male meaning that he was done within just a few minutes) he smiled towards Bari.
As soon as she finished drying herself, he offered, "Shall we head off to get some flowers?"
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