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 Posted: Wed Jun 24, 2009 4:15 pm
The Mtaishi was a quiet pride. By the standards of today, you could even call it boring. There was no war, no famine, and any problem they did have was easily taken care of with their neighboring Nchi members. It was, more or less, a never changing land.
So one might wonder where that big pile of dirt suddenly came from.
Upon closer inspection, it would likely be noted that said pile was much more than just merely a bunch of dirt. It was a carefully crafted, miniature shelter. Leaves and rocks were stacked up at the entrance. Talis had been a perfectionist since she could wobble around on her little paws as a cub, and she wasted no effort on making her hideaway like as authentic as possible.
The problem, again, was that landmarks like these didn't just pop up around here on their own. Sadly, she hadn't taken that into account, and depending on who got sent after her to drag her back to one of many daily lessons, she was doomed.
Who was it today?
One of Lakisa's sons, Rubrum.
Being her primary 'teacher' (gag!), Lakisa spent more time with Talis than even her own mother. Because of that, it was almost always one of her sons or daughters that got lured into helping the crazy old lady (in Talis' opinion) rope her back in. That day she just happened to see him first, and thus his mother had shooed him away to seek out the princess.
But, oh no. Not this time.
This time, she was far too clever.
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Posted: Tue Jun 30, 2009 12:01 pm
 Rubrum was not a big fan of being sent on errands. While some were fun, others were just tedious and not worth his time. He had ladying to do, after all! Or, at least he would have if not for the one small fact that he just wasn't as suave and confident in actual application as he was in theory. But practice made perfect, and that's was how he would have rather been spending his time, instead of this stupid fetch-and-return mission he had been sent on.
Of course, he wouldn't say no because he was, for all his whining and complaining, a dutiful cub. He did what he was told, generally around the time he was told to do it. It was just his style to do it with a whole lot of moaning.
He giggled inappropriately at the thought.
Spotting the weird pile of dirt, not marking it as anything but, he padded toward it and quickly spotted the cub he had been sent to round up.
"Yo," he said nonchalantly, not putting much effort into this, "you're supposed to be doing some learning. Or something. Right? Come on."
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Posted: Tue Jun 30, 2009 3:42 pm
Talis found herself in a state of disbelief. A cub? Really? They sent a cub to get her? Close enough, anyway. She knew about all Lakisa's kids and was pretty sure she and her stupid brothers were older. As if she'd just stroll out to take orders from some baby.
The future queen didn't budge an inch. If anything, she withdrew further into her sad excuse for hiding place. Too far for him to see her scowling at him.
"No, who told you that? I'm supposed to be right here."
She could only hope he was as stupid as he looked.
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Posted: Tue Jun 30, 2009 3:55 pm
Rubrum, oblivious to his company's status for some reason or another, tilted his head when she retreated. That was the exact opposite of what he wanted her to do, and that was annoying.
Clearing his throat, vocalizing his impatience, he took a step forward and ducked his head a bit so he could squint deeper into the little den-like mound of dirt. He couldn't see her very clearly, though, her face obscured by the relative darkness that his eyes just weren't adjusted to.
"Yeah, no. Mom said you're supposed to be with her. So apparently you have your information wrong. Can we just go back? Or do I have to come in there?"
He stepped on step closer, sniffing carefully.
"Because I don't think I'll fit."
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Posted: Tue Jun 30, 2009 4:22 pm
Talis didn't know her father. No one but her mother did. It made it all to easy to assume she got her negative traits from him. After all, who would want to admit their queen was all these bad things?
Bad things like, let's say, being too impulsive. Such as lashing out to smack Rubrum on the nose when he dare invaded her temporary sanctuary.
"Are you stupid? I said no. I'll take your mom's stupid future queen lessons later. I'm not coming out."
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Posted: Tue Jun 30, 2009 4:32 pm
Rubrum blinked. What had just happened? Did she... did she just whap him on the nose?
All this trouble, just to follow orders. It was vexing, at best. Feeling whiny, the strained lion emitted a long grumble that was closer to a moan than a growl. Pushing his paws against the ground obstinately, he didn't retreat when she tried to smack him away.
"Listen, you, I'm just doing my job! Don't take it out on me. I'm sure if I were in your shoes I wouldn't want to do any lessons, either, but I guess that's one more good thing about being a boy."
He moved forward another step, trying to get close enough to grab her by some part of her fur and pull her out. His mother had said to make sure she came, so he imagined that meant by any means necessary.
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Posted: Tue Jun 30, 2009 4:42 pm
Talis, literally, was drug out kicking and screaming. What all she screamed was hard to tell, since most of it didn't sound like real words as opposed to a hybrid of curses strung together.
Not too long after the sun hit her for the first time in a while, she wiggled free of her captor and made a quick attempt to pounce him to the ground. "You're sure? You're sure?! Could could you even think you know? Are you going to be queen? Are you going to run this place? No? Then you don't know and you're not 'sure', you stupid boy!"
Hmph!
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Posted: Tue Jun 30, 2009 4:52 pm
Rubrum kept his ears flat against his skull as he pulled her from her little den, struggling to keep her from slipping back in. He had to pulled back with all his might, and he was surprised that what he considered a small, petite little girl was giving him a good run for his money. It was an immense relief when she was out of his grasp, though he was quickly reminded that she had some fire in her.
He probably shouldn't have let his guard down. What, in any of this, had indicated she would just calm down and give in to him now that she was out of the den?
Stumbling when she pounced on him, using his size, though it wasn't that great a difference, to his advantage as he got back to his feet, letting her cling to him as much as she wanted as his legs wobbled.
"Well, no, but come on. I can be sure of something, even if I'm not living it! I'm sure, for example, that I don't like lessons about anything. So your lessons wouldn't be any different! I'm not stupid, so stop saying it!" He puffed out his chest in what he found to be a distinctly not-stupid way, "If you don't want to learn how to run this place I'm going to have to remember to skip out of here before you're put in charge! What good are you going to be if you don't know anything? Maybe you're the stupid one!"
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Posted: Tue Jun 30, 2009 5:02 pm
Talis clung to him like a leech, her tiny claws grasping his fur with no sign of easing their grip in the near future. Her bright blue nose drew back in utter disgust at his ramblings.
Somewhere near the middle, she began to take what he was saying into consideration. Maybe he had a point. It wasn't like she was the only cub who had to deal with Lakisa's lessons. Besides--
--Wait. Wait. Did he just call her stupid?
Oh, it was on.
Talis didn't say anything after that. She just roared at him (okay, it was more of a squeak really, but shh), then made another pounce, grabbing his ear between her teeth and gnawing... uh... viciously. Or something.
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Posted: Tue Jun 30, 2009 5:10 pm
Rum winced under her claws, but was determined to be as stubborn as she was. He wasn't going to back down if she was going to hang on to him, so he stood and let her cling to him uselessly. His paws were rooted to the floor and he imagined himself like a tree, until the point where he realized he didn't want to stay in one spot: he wanted to take her back to his mother.
He was about to start ferrying her back, like some sort of odd and generally unwilling mode of transportation, but she yelled right into his ear. Or roared? Made a very loud sound right into his ear. He shook his head, fighting the urge to bring his paws up and bat the echo out of his ringing ears.
"No, no, no!" He yelled angrily when she latched on to his ear, letting out a yelp and a growl that did nothing to make appear fierce, "let go, you crazy girl! This is not what I signed up for! Getoffgetoffgetoff." He shook his head in an effort to get her to loosen her hold, but it didn't really help. So he turned his head in her direction suddenly, butting it into her face out of desperation.
His ears were sensitive! She didn't need to be chewing on them.
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Posted: Tue Jun 30, 2009 5:18 pm
With her mouth still full of ear, the muffled 'Never!' sounded more like 'Navmmr!' If he thought she'd ever let him go, he was even more stupid than she'd thought! There was no way--Ow!
The juvenile toppled off as a result of the headbutt. Because she felt like it, that was all. Had she not wanted to let go of him, she wouldn't of. This was all... part of her plan. Yeah.
Seeing the window of opportunity wide open--and that window being the entrance to her little safety shelter--Talis scurried away from him and back where he'd found her. This time, she moved back as far as she possibly could.
"Then you go ahead and go! No one cares! I'm not coming out, I'm not taking those stupid lessons and you can't make me! If you come in here one more time I'll beat you up again!"
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Posted: Tue Jun 30, 2009 5:35 pm
Rum looked at her in shock and dismay, his soggy, chewed ear down against his head while the other perked forward as if ready to pick up the slack. He still had a weird ringing in his head from her roar/squeak, and he wasn't happy about it.
"No!" He yelped in surprise when she scurried back to her self-made den. Not this again! Now he was back to square one, and with only an uncomfortably drooled on ear to show for all his hard work. He dove after her, skidding to a stop on his belly, paws meeting her paws, all but squishing her against the back of the den.
"You need to come out of here right now. I promised I would bring you back, and that's what I'm going to do!" Well, he hadn't promised, per se, but he had agreed and he wouldn't be made to look like a liar. Plus, there was a matter of pride invested in this now, and he was not going to back down for anything.
"I'm not scared of you! You're going to go learn how to be a queen, and that's that! Come on!" He reached for her with his mouth, trying to grab onto her paw without actually biting her. Though, at this point, if he accidentally bit too hard he wasn't going to lose sleep over it.
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Posted: Tue Jun 30, 2009 5:45 pm
For the second--and probably not last--time, Talis was drug out of her shelter. Same as before, it was with her paws rapidly waving and a nice fit of screaming. "No! No! You can't make me do it!" Grrr! She was going to beat him up so bad now!
This time, a new factor added itself in the incident. One Talis saw before he did. Lakisa was approaching them, her son's back to her as it were, and Talis saw opportunity again. Much better than the previous one, too.
Suddenly, her screaming shifted into full blown sobbing, and her attempts to free herself became more desperate than angry. "Stop! Stop! I said I would go!"
"Rubrum!" The voice of his mother that sounded from behind them was shocked and horrified. Only then did Talis make the extra effort to free herself and hurry over to her teacher. A teacher she knew just happened to favor her daughters and other women while being more hard pressed in disciplining her sons.
To top it off... Well, she was a good actress.
"I-I... I..." The princess sniffed and stumbled. "I-I told him I would go, but he said I wasn't fast enough! He--He--He hit me! And he bit my paw! And--And...!" With that, Talis collapsed into a fit of crying against the older female's paws.
Lakisa shot her a sympathetic look. Her eyes moved then to her son, and there was little hope left, it seemed.
"Well?"
Yes, his mother always gave them a chance to explain themselves before she grounded them forever.
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Posted: Tue Jun 30, 2009 5:53 pm
Rum tugged on her with all his might, wanting her out of that den once and for all. He was going to kick that thing in when he got a chance, and that would be the end of this annoyance forever. It was something he was actually looking forward to now, because it would be a satisfying catharsis for all the annoyance and stress he was accumulating now.
Completely oblivious to the new arrival, Talis's sudden outburst startled him but was not enough to make him back down. This had to be some kind of trap. She never said any such thing, after all, so for her to suddenly start crying about it had to be some kind of-
His mother's voice filled his ears and he was jolted from the den, shooting backwards and releasing his intended captive in an instant as his body instinctively retreated from the scene of the crime: even if it was a set up.
"Trap!" He yelped, finishing his previous thought out loud. He turned and saw Talis was already plastering herself to his mother's side, and he shrank back toward the den, this time the one in need of some shelter.
"I did not! Well. No. I did, but she didn't! She's lying!" he stammered in his defense. He was getting a sinking feeling about this. That little liar! "She was not coming and she kept going back in there and she hit me in the face! And she said she didn't want to go to any lessons and she said it was stupid! She called me stupid, too! Mom! She's faking!"
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Posted: Tue Jun 30, 2009 6:05 pm
Talis didn't tone down the water works. On the contrary, the flow of tears became more numerous and her raspy breathes sounded oh-so-believable. "Why doesn't he like me?! I just... I just wanted to be friends!"
Would Lakisa really believe someone over her own son just because she was a girl?
Sources say yes.
Then again, Rum didn't exactly help his case with that little slip up. "So you did hit her," Lakisa noted with a disapproving tone. That look on her face? 'You're in trouble, Mister!'
Talis hadn't planned for this, but she was ready for it. What she had planned for was Lakisa to come looking for her like she always did. The youngster moved away from her and returned to the den. She appeared again seconds later, a blue flower that had seen better days hanging from her jaw. She placed it at her teacher's feet and looked up with sad eyes.
"I went to get this for you because I know blue is your favorite color, and because flowers are so important to this pride that I wanted to get practice with them. I love my pride. You know I love my pride, right?"
Lakisa bought every word with a sigh. "Honestly, Rubrum... I raised you better than this. I blame your father. You boys take after him, that sad excuse for a lion." Sigh number two. It was all over. "Why don't you go get someone to get you some food, dear? I'll handle this."
"Can I..." Talis hesitated until she was urged to continue.
"Can I... Can I give him a hug? I just-just wanted him to like me!"
"Of course, dear," Lakisa cooed gently. A look of warning was directed at her son. "Don't you hit her again. We're going to have a long talk, you and me."
As if frightened, Talis approached the male, nuzzling the side of his face. Very, very quietly, she whispered, "Don't mess with me." Then, she was gone.
"Alright, son, let's go. You've got some chores to do."
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