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 Posted: Fri Jun 19, 2009 1:51 pm
His tread was soft. His breathing still. His pelt blended into the shadow of the backdrop of trees. In fact, the only sign of his presence was when he turned his head at an angle which caught the beams from the steadily rising moon.
Altair favoured the evening. Favoured darkness. In its embrace he could move unseen, no longer worrying if he was being hunted or watched. He could disappear and pass by as a ghost would. If ghosts were real, that is.
He paused then, lifting his head to scent the air. Bright green eyes turned to blazing white fire under the light of the moon and he cast his head to the side, scanning the land for any sign of life. No one? Good. With quick precision he darted from cover and across the stretch of open land to where a water hole blemished the savannah like a brilliant white eye. He reached it swiftly and, casting another glance over his shoulder, lowered his head to drink.
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Posted: Fri Jun 19, 2009 2:00 pm
Night time. It seemed to be the only time when he felt truely alive, when he actually found himself wanting to move, to do something. But he had a good indication of exactly why he felt that way. It was simple, in the dead of the night there was nothing but peace and silence. Something that wasn't readily accessible in the daytime. It seemed like someone somewhere was doing something, making some kind of noise to disturb what little peace Mahaskah found in cloud watching.
So there he was, sitting by the edge of the water, laying on his belly, pressed against the grasses. It seemed to be a miracle that he didn't stand out with his blue colored pelt but it was night and the moon's reflection off of the water's surface proved to be a good mask.
He watched as creatures fluttered by as quietly as possible, they didn't want to wake other. Or let prey know they were around. When a dark shadow came to stop before the water. His green eyes studied the figure trying to decide if it wouldn't be too troublesome to talk to it.
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Posted: Fri Jun 19, 2009 2:04 pm
Thirst slaked for the moment, Altair lifted his head to survey the lands better. He had slept during the best part of the day and had been so exhausted from his troubles that he hadn't really taken any notice of where he had ended up.
Far from the Pridelands, no doubt.
He thought of that golden lioness then, for he often did. Her gentle ways. Their light, polite conversation. He also thought of how things had taken that sudden turn. Perhaps it was loneliness, perhaps it was something else. All he knew was that, though he would never openly admit it, he had a weakness for golden females.
What he wouldn't know, however, was that the brief encounter would leave the female pregnant and him a father. Sad, really, that he would never find out unless he happened upon her again and that was not a likely thing.
Water dripped from his chin as he sat back in the rushes, drawing in a deep sigh of relied. His ear flicked and he did his best to hold back a yawn.
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Posted: Sat Jun 20, 2009 1:38 pm
Mahaskah's green eyes were glued to the lion as he lay there, completely still watching. He was frozen except for the small rising and falling of his chest. He had come to be an expert in controlling his breathing, after all when he wanted to be left alone he just needed to look like he was sleeping. And when he wanted to sneak around, out without getting any attention, well he was careful not to make any noise. He was like the human's ninja.
Never before had he been so thankful for his talent, as his chest was barely rising and falling, he could easily be mistaken for something dead if it hadn't been for his brightly colored eyes.
But now he felt as though he needed to speak to end the silence that blanketed the night. So he did. "Tired?"
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Posted: Sat Jun 20, 2009 1:40 pm
"In the name of the Night Mother, who goes there?" Was Altair's instant response. He was on his paws now, growling low in his throat, clearly startled and shocked by being snuck up on. Who was so skilled that they could watch him without his knowing it? Was it his brother, Hala? Was this the moment he had been waiting for? The fight to the death?
No...no, it was not.
Calm yourself. He inwardly chided, curling a lip as he finally noticed the other male lying on the opposite side of the water. He was aware now that the moon was in his face, giving his eyes an unnaturally glow.
"Not an assassin then, but skilled in the art of stealth, I see." He continued, more of a statement than anything else. This one was interesting.
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Posted: Sat Jun 20, 2009 1:48 pm
Maha couldn't help but smirk as the other male practically lept to his paws in terror. Of course it was something to be expected when one was snuck up on. He flicked his tail behind him as he pushed himself up, lazily, to sit.
"Perhaps," he agreed with a nod of his head. He did find that rather accurate, he was no assasin, no killer but he was definitely talented in stealth. If he wasn't he might actually be made to do stuff, and that would be far too troublesome. "Though I very well could be an assasin, though I might be too young." He shrugged letting out a yawn. He hoped it would get the other male to yawn, then he could just prove his own point.
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Posted: Sat Jun 20, 2009 1:51 pm
Altair tightened the muscles in his face to keep from an involuntary yawn and swished his tail behind him, rustling the blades of feathered grass.
"One is never too young to learn that art." He corrected, then halted himself. What was he thinking? He couldn't give the male any idea that he might have some such skill. Not many assassins trod this world and he was trying to keep himself as low-key as possible! He growled, irritated at himself and diverted his eyes, glancing off across the water.
"I am Altair." He replied. "Do you have a name, Quiet-One?"
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Posted: Sat Jun 20, 2009 2:02 pm
"I know," he stated almost smugly as he caught the tightening of the others jaw. Bingo! "But one can be too young to be a full-fledged assasin," he told him. "There is always more to learn," he commented with a shrug. Already he was gathering information on the other without giving any of his own information out.
"Altair," he repeated storing the name in his memory banks before sinking back into the grass. Sitting up for too long was too much trouble. "Mahaskah." He replied with the slightest nod of greeting. "Now tell me, why would you speak of assasins?"
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Posted: Sat Jun 20, 2009 2:13 pm
He nodded respectfully. Despite his past life of murder for payment, the ex-assassin was a nobleman of sorts. He was polite and never rose to temper without being provoked. He had found himself slipping into bouts of panic since leaving his pride, but his training helped to overcome it and the panic usually only lasted for a few brief moments.
"Mahaskah." He repeated. "Nice to meet you."
He paused then, knowing that the question was going to come but not really sure what to say in response. "It's better I not speak of such things." He considered after a moment. "Where I come from shadows have teeth and claws. Shadows bring death. Sometimes I feel as if they follow me even now after all this time." It was all he would say, or all he hoped to say, anyway.
His green eyes flicked to the male. "Where did you learn to mask yourself so well, Mahaskah?"
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Posted: Sat Aug 15, 2009 7:55 am
"Likewise," he replied shrugging. "Or at least for now," he mumbled more to himself than to the other. He didn't think that any harm would come from this meeting but the older male seemed to be on edge and the male had learned to never drop his guard, even when it appeared that he already had. It was easy to be too trusting, when meeting someone knew you never know if they mean well or they were just pretending.
He didn't need his visions to tell him that much.
"Very well," he said with the smallest wrinkle of his nose. "From what I have seen everything has teeth and claws no matter now innocent they look," he commented boredly. He hadn't been in any fights per say but he had learned to be careful. Even if you trusted someone so much, with your life for example, they could always turn around and stab you in the back.
Ignorance was not acceptable.
"You learn when you have the desire to be left alone."
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Posted: Sat Aug 15, 2009 9:23 am
"Makes sense, I suppose." He thought of how hard he had tried to keep himself seperate from the world. How badly he had failed. For though he had been an assassin, he was only alone on missions. The rest of the time had been spent with family in a tight-knit social group.
He missed it. Desperately.
"Then I take it, since you like to be alone, that you do not belong to a pride?" He allowed himself to ease a little better into conversation. "I am trying to adapt to this rogue life but it seems to come with some difficulty." He wasn't ashamed to admit it. Generally speaking, lions were social creatures and so preferred not to be alone.
But could he afford to allow himself to find a new home when those shadows still might follow him? He glanced over his shoulder, startling himself with such thoughts.
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Posted: Fri Aug 13, 2010 12:48 pm
"Everyone is dangerous until proven otherwise," Mahaskah pointed out boredly as he yawned. He rose to his paws and stretched his body out before flopping back down onto his belly. He was being far to laid back for a potentially dangerous situation but he had been the one to first speak to the lion so he figured all the cards were on the table.
He was small and young but boy was the lion brilliant. He would do what he had to if the situation arose.
"Yes and no, I do not belong to a pride yet," he shrugged. "When I am older I will, I've seen it," he stated not bothering to hide the fact that he was a seer. He didn't see the point. There was no need for secrets. Not yet anyway.
"I just like my alone time," he stated.
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