Jua was bored, as he often was when Yu had a lesson with someone, and he couldn't find anyone to fool around with. Everyone was always busy, and it often left him in the cold... he couldn't really help that he demanded attention. He could be practicing to keep Azula happy he supposed... But he could also not do that. She was always more interested when she was angry anyway. Which seemed to be all the time. Oh well... as per usual, his parents were ignoring him, and his siblings were off doing their own things. He hadn't quite managed to gather himself out of shame from his last practice fight with Iroh either...
"Man... there has to be something to do." Maybe they'd have another war. That would be something to look forward to, wouldn't it? Well, except for the blood and the screaming and the death, and the part where someone who didn't really fight like Yu would be caught in the middle of it. Yu... crazy, crazy Yu. He wished he knew what she was thinking, but she probably wouldn't have been as interesting if he did. It came with the... well, the crazy, he supposed. But he couldn't let his life revolve around one girl who only seemed to know who he was every other day.
"There's gotta be more to do than kick around sand..." He mumbled under his breath. What did teenage lions in the firekin DO when they weren't practicing fighting or their skills or hanging around with the families anyway? Even his poetry muse was dead lately. Or had possibly alwyas been dead and he just didn't know it. "Something to do..."
Jua wasn't the only one facing that delima. Ursa was also bored, though her boredom stemmed more from the fact that she had someone to hang out with, but he was oblivious... He was probably the only one left that was oblivious, in fact. She could have spent the day with one of the others, Iroh or her father, training (Or at least she could if he didn't seem so damn grouchy and overbearingly protective everytime she came around now.), but oddly enough she just felt like being alone, or practically alone at least. She actually really wanted to spend more time with Azar, but she didn't-- it was uncomfortable to do so with him crushing like crazy on Uuo, and on top of that, she didn't trust herself around him when she was like this.
Ursa was grateful for a mother like Ilahle, well, stepmother, whatever though. A little woman to woman chat let her know exactly what she was getting into, but it, unfortunately, didn't help with her built up aggression levels or the new desires she was beginning to feel. She was constantly torn between ignoring it, confronting Azar, and finding someone else to flirt it up with in his place.
Dark paws carried her across the pale golden sands, swiftly heading in any direction that lead away from the two cliff walls that made up their cavernous homes, which for her happened to be in the direction of the oasis, but she'd pass by Jua first, on her way.
"Yeah, well good luck finding it..." She muttered to his kicking sand comment, keeping her eyes ahead.
Jua glanced over at her, a little suprised to see someone else out there. "Yeah... thanks." He mumbled, though a though occured to him as she walked past him. "Hey... what are you doing? You're uh... one of Iroh's sister's, yeah?" He asked, having seen her aound once or twice, but usually he only came around there to see if Iroh was around. After all... friends stuck together.
Even when stupid things happened between them. He didn't even want to think about their practise fight. "I was thinking... erm..." He reached for her name, but nothing was coming to him. For the life of him, he could not remember who she was. He was sure Iroh had dropped a name once or twice... or had it been his brother?
Had he seen Azar hanging around with him before...? It passed right over his head. He was so bad with names. Always nicknames with him. Made it easier to remember who everyone was, "Come on stripes... you look as bored as I am!"
Iroh's name stopped Ursa more than Jua addressing her did, though being far from mannerless would've been reason enough for her not to ignore him. She paused, glancing back towards him, finally taking him in properly. He was one of Azar's brothers, Jua, she was sure. She'd heard about him from grandmother Azula, easy to remember because both master and apprentice had stripes.
Ah, right, and so did she. Reminded of this Ursa blinked, glancing quickly over her own dark coat before looking back at him again. He must be almost as hot in this desert as she since he was predominantly black as well. Her tail gave an agitated flick, pent up energy making her paws itch to keep moving despite her body's orders to stand still.
"Maybe I am... My name is Ursa."
"Ursa, right, got'cha stripes." He was so bad with names. Most of the time, he called Iroh "whitey". But he wouldn't admit to that right of the bat. He had gotten a little better with tact recently... mostly because of Azula's version of 'tutoring'. "Yeah... I've seen you around your brother. And well... mine too." He was friends with Iroh, and he did speak to his brother.
"Come on, you don't really look like you have much to do." He mentioned, "You're wandering around as aimlessly as I am." Jua mentioned. He was good at spotting that kind of thing. Boredom, people who wanted to be doing something else... since it was the look he generally got from his parents, it made it easier to spot.
He kept up the pace with her, dancing around playfully, "Come on, I'll make it worth your while if I can. Two heads are better than one when there's nothing to do, eh?" Oh please, let her be as bored as he was. This was getting desperate.
Ursa didn't mind the apparent nickname, let him call her that, she considered it a sign of friendship and he certainly seemed more readily social than his brother did. Oh they had butted heads HORRIBLY when they met, and every time after until finally they managed putting their differences aside. At the mention of Azar, now though, she felt her body stiffen just a bit as she fell back into pace. She immediately let it go again. Was going anywhere alone with him a good idea...? How had Ilahle said it? The further into heat she went the more cautious she should be about being alone with males she had no intention of courting?
"Well...." She glanced away. This WAS Azar's brother, and he didn't even seem to notice anything off. What was the harm, maybe he could give her some advice or insight on his brother's current situation. Was he really crushing on Uuo that hard, or was it maybe, JUST maybe a cover up for not returning Ursa's feelings of attraction, or a cover up for something else, even?
When it all came down to it, though, whatever excuses she made it was still mostly her hormones to blame. She was sure that she didn't want to turn down the company of an unrelated male her own age, and hell, you only lived once. Probably nothing would come of it and he'd never pick up that there was anything different about her from the other girls anyway.
"Alright. I was going to stop off at the oasis for a bit."
Excellent. Something to do. Besides... Ursa seemed readily more interesting than most girls. Except Natara... but Natara... was, well... you could never really figure out what she was talking about. But hey, Ursa was fun, at least she hadn't minded the nicknames so far, which was a nice change. Like her brother then, and didn't mind that kind of thing? Hell, if she was like Iroh at all, he might just take her as his mate for life.
...well, except there was Natara. But Natara... was she interested, was she not? Did she know his name, or was she just playing around with anyone who came her way? She was probably certifiably nuts. It made it a hell of a lot more difficult to figure out if she liked him like he was starting to think he liked her... but what was the point, really, of trying to be with someone who didn't want to be with you...?
"Sure, sounds like a party." He mentioned, in a good mood now. He could mention to Iroh that he was getting along with his sister now... He didn't know if Iroh personally hung around with any of his siblings, but whatever. Such was life. "Had anything in mind for when you got there... or just going with the flow?"
Ursa knew all about that. Liking someone who didn't want to be with you, or at least she thought she might. She was all for some company now, no more hesitation left.
"Does it? It can't be much of one with only two lions..."
She smiled a little to show she was only joking, though her tone, soft as it was, also indicated as such all on it's own. The two walked side by side now, her own mood lifting a bit.
Just going with the flow... It seems the best way to live life. It gets tiring trying to always see what's coming and map out everything. Yes?"
"Eh, big parties are over-rated. You can have way more fun with only a few other people, your own party, than you can with a bunch of people you don't know." Jua said, giving her a small salute with his paw. "Two lions can always find something to do... big parties, you can never please everybody." Or at least that's what he found. Really, he could go any which way as long as he had something to do.
"Oh course." Jua chuckled, rather liking the way Ursa thought about these things. "What's the point of making a big thing out of it? Go with the flow, do what works. If I'd spent all my time mapping stuff out instead of doing something fun, then I would have walked right past you." He chuckled.
"Then we wouldn't be having such an amusing conversation, now would we?"
Ursa chuckled, glancing ahead and keeping her eyes on the horizon in the direction of the patrolling guards, where the scruffy shrubs of the den areas faded to loose and shifting sand. Oh, but if he just realized the double meaning in half the things he was saying. Ursa could think of one thing that she'd heard was plenty fun with just two lions and she was MORTIFIED by the fact that her mind was taking that path. She'd be so glad when she was done with all this until next season.
"You're right, of course. It's Jua, by the way, right?"
"Ah, yeah. Sorry. Jua'Mwiba, but Jua is fine with me." Jua chuckled a little, the double-meaning of half the things he was saying going right over his head. Honestly, he played things straight most of the time and spoke his mind. But he rather liked Ursa... she was a lot more fun and straightforward than most girls he knew. Especially Natara... what was she thinking anyway? Were they or weren't they? Maybe he should flat-out asked... because hinting at it seemed to get a lot of talk about sand and stars that he didn't really understand. Sometimes she could at least try to be straightforward... a little more like Ursa. She was fun... pretty too... And related to Azula. Which brought up whole other weird things in his life.
"Sorry, should have introduced myself earlier stripes. I forget stupid things like that sometimes."
"I'd give you a nickname too but, obviously--" She laughed, pondering on it as she loosened up as the moments ticked by. Talking to him was much different than talking to Azar, more loose and relaxed, easy going, not that she disliked talking to Azar, this was just sort of like talking to Iroh, but vastly different. Jua almost rambled in a different way than Iroh, more broken, where as Iroh just sort of flowed in large pieces. She wondered just briefly if maybe she and Azar were just meant to be friends. They had had to work at every step in their friendship so far already, so who said anything else was even possible? "I think I'll call you Cloud-puff." She grinned semi-toothily at him, glancing to his growing mane.
"Don't worry about it, if small talk doesn't suit you forcing it is just rude anyway."
Jua blinked, then snorted, "Cloud-puff? Seriously Stripes?" He laughed, grinning with amusement. "Is it the mane? I always thought it was more of a... I don't kow... Well, you can't call me Stripes I guess. I've got that covered." He mentioned, chuckling. Yeah, Ursa was different than the other girls he knew well. His sisters, manipulative. Zii, shy. Natara... crazy. Ursa was just like Iroh, except a girl. So different, and lots of fun! Talking to her was easy.
"And don't worry about the small talk. I like it well enough... I just forget some of the little things sometimes. Get caught up in the other stuff. Skip the formalities and all that jazz."
She just had to giggle a bit at his reply as he spoke, feeling girlish for the first time around a boy other than her siblings or father and rather enjoying it. She had never flirted before but found it coming quite easily if not discreetly.
"Good, good... then you won't mind if..."
BAP-- went her paw against his shoulder, harmlessly, before she took off, moving with practiced ease into a playful escaping pace, glancing back with a laugh.
"--you're it!!!" Yes, she was acting like a cub. Yes, she was having a total dork moment. No, she didn't mind or care.
Jua was suprised. How long had it been since he played tag...? Ages really. This could be fun... and why not? After all, he had been running laps for ages, might as well find out if it paid off in the hot desert sun. So a grin spread across his face.
"We'll see how fast you can run Stripes!" He called enthusiastically before taking off after her. She was certainly something... he didn't think that he could get anyone else he knew to play around like this. Except maybe Iroh...
This was entertaining though, as he took off after her at top speed, sand flying in every direction when he ran at top speed. But still... this loose fun feeling. Was it... flirting? Was he flirting with a girl? Or was she flirting with him? Or was it both...? Well, why not? It wasn't like Natara had made their relationship clear... it couldn't hurt to play around now could it?
Besides, Ursa was fun. At the very least, he had someone new to play around with. And she was a lot like her brother.
"Faster than you I bet!" Ursa laughed, moving easily into a full out run of her own then as the oasis slowly came within view.
Of course, she really wasn't faster. She was training to be a storyteller and a huntress, true, but she hadn't trained in running alone-- let alone followed Azula's training regime. It likely didn't take him long at all to catch up, but she didn't care. Her blood was pumping, her heart was singing, she had a friend whose company she was enjoying quite thoroughly and for the moment her restlessness was placated, if only while they ran.
Jua took off at full speed towards her, "We'll see about that!" He called, gaining ground quickly. Yeah, Azula's training regime of DEATH, as he fondly liked to call it, was clearly paying off because he certainly gained some ground fast when he came closer to her.
At the bitter end, he pounced at her, not intending to hurt her, but he would certainly knock her off guard a bit. And he would almost definitly get his paws on her, and he liked to think she would be lucky if she caught him. But then, being a cocky b*****d had always been one of the things that Azula hadn't been able to knock out of him. That would have probably taken a lot more than anyone knew how to do.
Ursa yelped, a sound filled with both surprise and mirth as he pounced on her, sending the two of them toppling in the sand just a short ways away from the oasis which was now a sizeable vision in the near distance. "Okay... fine, maybe you are faster, cloud-puff." She laughed, almost breathless, and taking a moment to get her bearings back before she'd even think of trying to detangle, only to find that she really didn't mind if they didn't.
Jua laughed a little, staying in place, "That was a good pounce eh? Gotta be careful when you challenge one of your granny's trainees to a competition... a little game of tag is..." He rolled his eyes a little, thinking back on his trainer, "Well, a nice change actually." He chuckled, meaning to move out of where he and Ursa were stuck... but he was having trouble convincing himself to move. "Still, was a nice try Stripes." He grinned, looking her in the eye, "But you've gotta be a little quicker to catch me offguard."
He didn't seem to want to move either. He kept her indirectly pinned with his own body, and she had by now made eye contact with him and stopped properly proccessing everything he said. Her heart continued pounding but for an entirely different reason, now. With a loud, rumbling purr in her chest she reached up and out to buffet the top of her head against his neck and underside of his chin, rubbing boldly.
Well, they were predators first, Firekin first, and one thing could be said for both, they went after what they wanted-- especially Firekin females.
If Ursa never showed her true colors in any other way she would at least show it in this, emboldened by the aggressive level of hormones rushing her system.
Jua might later blame his teenage hormons for what was going on between them right then and there, but he did like her... and he did like when she touched him. And hell, he liked to think of himself as a lover and a fighter... and she was certainly lovely. And she wasn't holding back in the obvious flirting... so why should he?
He nuzzled down into her neck, not bothering to supress a purr that ran through his body. She was fun after all... why not? "You're quite the charmer aren't you?" He chuckled.
"Hmm... if that's not the sun calling the desert unforgiving..."
She purred more, tail flipping lazily in the sand once or twice before she reluctantly pulled away from his returned and equally inviting touch. Wherever this was going she didn't fancy it going there under the full heat of the sun and watchful eyes of the buzzards or anyone that happened their way. She gave another purr, surprising herself with the tempting tick of her tail as she looked back over her shoulder after detangling. She headed for the oasis.
"We should get a drink while we're here..." And from there, if she wasn't reading them both wrong, there was the rock outcropping that they could seek shelter in for the time for some privacy.
She thought she understood now why Ilah, AND Yin, had mentioned she should be careful. First season was definitely "dangerous", but like she'd told Jua, go with the flow.
Jua grinned, standing up a little, "Sure, why not?" He didn't really fancy where this was going, going on in the middle of the desert where anyone -especially, Gods FORBID- his father seeing what his son was up to. Following up to the family name... in a weird way. Oh well, best not to think about what his father would stay.
"Come on... let's go see what's going on at the oasis." In a place where they wouldn't be noticed by some poor unsuspecting victim. Jua had never really been private... but well, there was a time and a place for everything he supposed.
He grinned, swatting her tail playfully as she walked. He couldn't help but purr. This was bound to be an... interesting day. He wondered what it would lead to... But for now, he was going with the flow. It was what he did best after all.
