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 Posted: Sat May 30, 2009 1:54 pm
Panju was enjoying yet another day in the Parastar lands, flicking his heavy tail, his eyes half-lidded as he relaxed in a cool spot, the tips of his forepaws paws dipped into a trickle of water that was running through the jungle. His ears swivelled around occassionally, perked to hear anything unusual moving about in the forest. He was away from the other Parastars, near the very edge of the encampment, but not wandering today. No, today was a day to relax, just another day. If he were a different lion, he might grow bored of this quiet, lazy life, but Panju, as he was, was living it up. Few expectations beside the rigid ones set in place made for easy living. He was getting a little hungry, though. He should probably see if he couldn't hunt down a meal. Getting to his feet, he shook himself off, his tail swinging low, idly, from side to side. With a gargantuan yawn he set off into the jungle, staying well away from Clan borders, closer to rogue lands than the deeper jungle. Mkodi knew how the lionesses scuffled over Clan territories. With pride blood in his veins he was already on the small side; versus the larger-than-average Kunanda lionesses, he didn't stand a chance. He'd encountered enough strict lionesses to know his place, and he tried very hard to keep all of himself in line, down to the whiskers.
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Posted: Sat May 30, 2009 2:19 pm
The orange lion sighed, sitting down on the grass to rest for a moment, expression irritated and bitter. Such a thought would have brought any lion happiness. But Akinyi wasn't any lioness. She tended to be a little bitter and cynical, if she was honest with herself. And it didn't really bother her. But this was not the reason she felt bitter this time, as she sat just within the Kunanda border, flicking her tail in irritation at a bug that tried to crawl over her paw. No, it was her sister that caused her dark mood today, as she had most of the days in the two months.
If she didn't want her company, fine.
Snorting again, the lioness flopped down onto the ground, crossing her paws and resting her chin on them, sulking a little.
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Interesting Conversationalist
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Posted: Sat May 30, 2009 2:45 pm
Panju quickly found the trail of an ape and stalked it through the less forested area near the border of Kunanda lands. He crept up on it slowly, drawing up his hindquarters and bunching his muscles, ready to spring on it. It was a largish brute and he knew he could take it down if he caught it quickly enough. The white lion eased up within strike distance, hiding in the tall grass and low scrubs, but just as he was getting close the wind changed and the ape caught his scent. Its warning call alerted him and he sprang after it, herding it away from trees and chasing it towards the border, racing after it with claws extended. He'd caught the ape off guard.
Suddenly Panju spotted a lioness up ahead and the ape did as well. In his sudden panic the ape managed to escape up a tree, and the white lion glared up at it, frustrated at the waste of energy as he slowed down, loping, then trotting, then drawing to a halt at a safe distance from the lioness. He lowered his head respectfully as he looked her over. By her coloring and size, she was a Shikar-i. As he was white himself, he could hardly hold that against her. If her expression was any indication, she was not in a good mood, and he didn't want to anger her.
"Good afternoon," he said carefully, respectfully. He noticed how close she was to the border, and, as he had never seen her before, and she certainly didn't bear any coloring or markings of the Kunanda clans, he heavily suspected she was a rogue. Still, he wasn't about to make any rash assumptions. He was still a Parastar, and in his training he'd been taught to respect all lionesses, even ones not of the pride.
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Posted: Sat May 30, 2009 3:11 pm
Akinyi sprang to her feet as the sound of the chase reached her ears, bearing her teeth and lowering herself closer to the ground in a defensive position, ready to lunge at either the ape or the lion's jugular should the need arise. As it was, the ape escaped up a nearby tree, and the lion, looking disappointed and perhaps a bit annoyed, slowed, staring up the tree after his prey. The tan lioness neither relaxed nor stopped glaring in hostility at the yellow and white male, defensive.
The greeting made her pause, her lips sliding back over her teeth at the respectful tone in his voice, her stance wary. She had never met a more polite lion than this, both his stance and his expression seeming to indicate he was less than ambitious, much less hostile. Standing up straight again, she eyed him with a suspicious curiosity, keeping her distance. She could see the muscles under his fur -- he was no pushover, despite his perhaps small size. Or perhaps that was just the way he was carrying himself?
"You are not hostile, are you?" She ignored his greeting, the suspicion of him creeping into her voice as she watched him.
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Interesting Conversationalist
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Posted: Sat May 30, 2009 3:58 pm
The white lion tensed a little, realizing that she was indeed a rogue by the way that she carried herself, if not a very agitated member of the pride that hated the very sight of a Parastar. But he was guessing the former, by the way she seemed so suspicious of him. He wondered what the lands beyond the Kunanda'Nakhun were like, for a lioness to not experience this treatment from a lion. Panju was slightly perturbed by how outwardly hostile she was, but he handled it as calmly and respectfully as he could.
"No, I am not, miss, unless you have evil intentions in the pridelands," he bobbed his head, his claws retracted as he gave up on the ape. Slowly he straightened, his flank turned to her to show he meant no harm, and showing that he truly was as small as she suspected. "The Clans can be very harsh on intruders," Panju warned her, courteous, with a veiled suggestion that she leave if her intentions were not good. They would be even harsher on someone with her colors, he guessed, particularly if she did have bad intentions. Shikar-i, with the lowest rank and the impurest souls, needed to watch their step. But still not as much as a Parastar must.
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Posted: Sat May 30, 2009 5:00 pm
Again, the 'miss' took the lioness by surprise, this courteous attitude (especially for a MALE) uncommon. She was quite use to thinking that all males were brutes, bent on spreading their seed as far as they could and spilling blood all over the savannah. Conquest was their only goal, glory, sex and power their only wants. This male... well.. maybe he was just trying to trick her. It would not surprise her in the least.
Straightening a little more, she scoffed when he implied she might have ill intentions, rolling her blue eyes before settling them back on the male. "I do not," she replied with an even tone, beginning to relax marginally, "What would I have against your pride? I don't even know where I am, much less which pride these lands belong to."
Settling back down, appeased by his non-aggressive stance, she returned to her position on her belly. Although she wouldn't admit it, she was quite tired from an entire day of walking in the hot sun, and the shade from the trees felt nice and cool on her back. She was in danger of falling asleep there, even -- for the past few months, her sleep pattern had been less than regular. Such was the life of a rogue, but she, who had always had her sister by her side, had never really had much worry. Being a single female, however, she did.
Still, she would not allow herself to fall asleep in front of this lion, no matter how non-aggressive he seemed.
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Interesting Conversationalist
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Posted: Sat May 30, 2009 5:10 pm
Panju saw her begin to relax, and so he allowed himself to relax a bit. When she lay down, he sat as well, though he stayed where he was. He figured he had to watch her, even if she didn't have ill intentions, and perhaps point her into the deeper lands where the lionesses could have a look at her, if she wished to stay for any length of time. But for now he was happy to inform her exactly where she was, now that it was perfectly clear that she was a foreigner.
"One can never be too careful, miss," he told her, apologetic. "This is the Kunanda'Nakhun. Right now you are in the Parastar--err, the the land where we males live, but beyond this you will run into the Clan lands, where the lionesses live," Panju turned his head, pointing with a wave of his paw in the direction of the female-held lands. "There is usually a lioness on patrol, so you may meet one of them soon," he glanced warily along the border.
Noticing her fatigue, he bowed his head again. "There is water and good shade further in, miss." It wouldn't hurt to offer, he decided, even though he might get some heat for inviting a rogue further into the lands without alerting the lionesses. Panju thought it might be worse if someone caught him treating a lioness without respect.
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Posted: Sat May 30, 2009 8:06 pm
She had pushed herself too far. She could feel it in the way she was too tired, and in the way that it didn't bother her so much that Panju was there while she was laying on the grass. It was not a great situation, but it wasn't too worrisome... as long as he didn't decide to rip out her throat. But the way he was calling her miss and being so polite, somehow she didn't get the feeling he would.
Glancing up at him, the lioness rolled her eyes at him when he sounded apologetic for what he had said, grumbling a little to herself as was her nature. She had a reputation for being rough around the edges, and to this small male (who, if she was honest with herself, was quite adorable in his small size) she did not make an exception. At the mention of the pride name she glanced up at him again, taking note and giving him a curious look when he corrected himself on the name.
"Parastar..." She murmured to herself, wondering if she were delusional, "That's a pretty name..." Humming a little to herself, she blinked twice and pushed herself up into a sitting position forcefully. She was losing focus! She had to be focused. Eying him suspiciously again, Akinyi tilted her head, narrowing her eyes. "Why do the lions and lionesses live apart?" For now she ignored the invite for food and water, although she longed for it desperately -- she could not let him know how weak she felt.
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Interesting Conversationalist
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Posted: Sat May 30, 2009 8:18 pm
Panju looked upon the rogue female with some concern, her exhaustion obvious. It was a hot day and if she had roamed this deep into the jungle without resting, eating, or taking water she definitely needed to rest for a bit. By comparison to some of the roughness he'd encountered among the Kunanda lionesses, her gumbling was nothing, and he waited patiently for her response. Still, he hoped she would take his offer.
He had never thought about the name Parastar as being pretty. It was just him. It was his rank, his place in the world, and more often than not what he was called by the lionesses, unless they happened to care to use his given name. He started when she sat up so quickly and wondered if she'd pass out, stammering a little at the glare. Her question didn't completely surprise him. He'd been told that rogues didn't know the proper ways, and it was his place to educate her now.
"W-well... we do not always live apart, here. Sometimes a lioness may take a Parastar to live with her and raise her cubs," he told her, sounding slightly wistful at that, although he had accepted, or told himself that he accepted, that it was not likely he'd be called upon. "It is truly at the whim of the lionesses where we Parastar may live, and it is our place to obey them. But most of us do live here, apart from the lionesses. And that is because it is our duty to rear cubs, and when we are not needed for that, we must stay here."
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Posted: Tue Jun 02, 2009 7:50 pm
The lioness gave the white and yellow lion a look that clearly stated she thought he was crazy, although truthfully he probably thought the same about her. Even though she had sat up, almost her full weight was resting on her front paws, her arms stick-straight to keep them from buckling. Still, she gave him her best skeptically bewildered look that she could, eying him up and down and thinking, once again, that it was a little strange, although oddly cute, how small he was. She had always seen such large male lions, when she saw them at all -- she tended to avoid them most of the time. Listening quietly, Akinyi waited til he had stammered through his explanation before speaking up, sounding confused, but accepting. It wasn't as if she had any place to say she thought his culture was weird. Even if she did.
"Sometimes? You mean it's not a common occurrence then."
It was more of a statement than a question, her voice punctuating the end as if she understood, although it sounded a little disdainful. She really didn't understand -- why would the males not live with the females? -- and she really didn't have anything against it, per se... that's just always how she came across. Not many tended to like her for it, but it was mostly habit, now. It kept most away from her, which she found to be beneficial, so she hardly noticed her spiteful, sarcastic tone. In this matter, again, it wasn't her place to say that it was weird... but still.
"Whim of the lioness... how disgusting."
Pushing herself to stand, she watched Panju for a few more moments before moving around him in a wide arc, still not entirely trusting, stopping when she was standing on the path from which he had come. "Tell me more of your ways as we walk," She half-murmured, staring further into the jungle, her voice dropping lower, "Although with the way these Parastars are treated, I'm not sure I want to be branded one. How did you end up one?"
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Interesting Conversationalist
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Posted: Wed Jun 03, 2009 9:11 am
Panju blinked, quailing a little under the look Akinyi was giving him. He didn't say anything though, waiting for her. It was her move now. The Parastar was relieved when she didn't snap at him, for he'd half expected her to at the gaze she rested on him. He didn't know what she expected from him, and he couldn't imagine what her life must be like to be shocked by the culture he had been born into and lived in still. It was like breathing to him, so natural he did not even think about it very much anymore.
He shook his head slightly when she remarked that it wasn't a common occurrence. Her disdain didn't altogether surprise him, given the rest of her demeanor and his understanding that her lifestyle was very different from his. Panju was growing to accept that she wouldn't understand his culture easily. He didn't dare disagree with her when she called it disgusting, although it rankled in him slightly.
Still, he got to his feet instantly when she told him to walk with her, nodding and following along after her.
"All males are Parastar, and all males are lower than females, no matter what color or size he is. From the day a male cub is born, he is taught his place in the pride. But the life of a Parastar is not unhappy, we're never treated badly," Panju answered dutifully, trying to dispell the bad airs Akinyi seemed to have associated with his rank. "Lionesses, however, are given different ranks based on the coloration of their fur and their size. The Clan Matrons or Queens usually decide what rank a lioness is when she is born."
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