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 Posted: Sat Nov 26, 2005 7:28 pm
 As the faintest glimmer of dawn streaked across the grassy horizon, A large black lion made his way through the tall grasses, his sleek coat positively alight under the slowly intensifying light that danced across the savannah. Teal and gold marked his legs, his face, and even nestled amongst the fur of his mane and tail, lending grace to his lean, muscular body.
It had been a long while since he'd had contact with others of his kind, and it showed--his gaze was far more direct than most, and he was not prone to mincing words unless he deemed it absolutely necessary--one lesson he had learned well in his many travels was that subtlety could often lead to confusion...and besides, when you lived on your own, for the most part, efficiency was the highest order of business.
Cresting a small rise, Makadara raised his head to sniff at the air--the sky was clear, and he could feel the animals around him, most just waking up to greet the day. Lowering his head once more, he continued forward, silky black paws virtually soundless in the hard-packed dirt.
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Posted: Mon Nov 28, 2005 9:16 am
As the sun creeps across the savannah, something else creeps through the grassy hills of the Southlands.
This feline appears to have missed out on the natural colors that Mother Nature blessed upon the land: she's a dull gray, with white points. Her eyes, half-slitted, show the faintest of glimmerings that might be a teal blue, or green - but it's difficult to tell, especially from this distance. It's a full-grown lioness, although smaller than one usually sees, trekking through the hilly landscape. She looks listless, head hung low and ears flattened back. It's clear by the swell of her belly that she's heavily pregnant, but it's something she bears poorly, as if she didn't quite know what to do about it.
At the movement of something up ahead, the rogue slowly lifts her head. Eyebrows slowly narrow, and she stares at the ebony lion with a certain amount of curious, restless defiance. She comes to a slow halt, drawing up and carefully scenting the fresh morning air. An unknown lion, this...and certainly not Ramses, for he's far too large to be the adolescent. Which is a relief...it means perhaps Maji hasn't followed her out after all. The same thought almost brings tears to her eyes - for if he didn't follow her, he didn't truly love her...and she was right all along. She hadn't seen Hodari, either. So much for knights. Males were males, no matter what title they held: king, knight, or rogue.
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Mila Farrell Vice Captain
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Posted: Mon Nov 28, 2005 8:14 pm
Spotting the...rather forlorn looking lioness, Makadara stepped forward, tilting his head slightly to the side and taking her measure, a faint expression of concern furrowing his brow. However, he was careful not to lose track of his surroundings--after all, surely this lioness was not alone, and in such a condition? Surely she had a pride to help her through what must certainly be a trying time, both physically and mentally...
He halted, a good five feet or so from where she stood. "Are you alright?" he asked cautiously, hardly able to keep his gaze from her so-obviously pregnant belly. "My name is Makadara, and I mean you no harm." he went on, his tone an attempt at being soothing (not all that successful--lack of practice showing!). After all, survival was hard enough in the savannah, and far be it for he to risk making it that much harder for cubs yet in the womb.
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Posted: Tue Nov 29, 2005 2:56 pm
She appears to contemplate the question. A detatched part of her brain supposes, dully, that the answer depends entirely upon the definition of 'alright' in this case. So she ignores the question. It's something she's very good at: in a few minutes, she's going to forget he even asked it. She frowns, ears tugging back against the back of her neck, and stares at him in perplexion. Black, not gray. Still, the resemblance is enough to make her quiver - not from Maji, but from her father.
She's about to cringe back, when she realizes he's halted a good distance away, and isn't towering over her. Her breath evens out, but she still remains tense: as if she were going to spring away, but forgot how to.
"Ciyari," She says curtly. After all, there seems very little point in lying. She used to be so good at it. She wonders why she shies away from it now.
She doesn't say anything else, though, merely watches him like a mouse would a cat: but her mind registers that he's large. Well-fed. Probably a pridal, or a very well-to-do rogue...and probably not a king, although he could be, patrolling his territory...but she doubts it. She hasn't smelled many new traces of lions since she came here.
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Posted: Wed Nov 30, 2005 11:19 am
Shifting uncomfortably--did she have to look at him like he was going to eat her?!--Makadara sat back on his haunches, doing his best to look like one of the antelope babies that made such tasty snacks. With a small sigh, he shook his head, sending tendrils of his dark mane flying in all directions. "It's a pleasure, Ciyari." he replied, inclining his head slightly. The movement felt awkward--where had his manners gone?
Hesitating a moment, he continued, his voice betraying the slightest trace of tentativeness. "Is your pride somewhere nearby?" he asked simply, eyeing her carefully to gauge her reaction. If she really didn't have a pride...things were going to be exceptionally difficult for a lioness so obviously heavy with cubs. He wasn't quite sure why he asked, however--he'd spent so long as an observer, watching and learning from the behaviors and experiences of the many creatures he'd had the benefits of seeing in his travels, that it felt awkward, attempting to hold a conversation with one so obviously troubled, although about what he couldn't be sure.
Truth be told, he thought to himself with a self-directed snort, he was finding that he had little patience for the art of conversation. If the lioness needed a hand, she should come right out and say so...
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Posted: Tue Dec 13, 2005 8:06 pm
She, however, doesn't seem fooled. A 'pleasure'? She's about to make some snappy comment to the statement, but bites it back.
"I don't have one." The tone is edged in acid, and the lioness's ears shift back onto her neck, almost aggressively, as if daring him to ask why, probably because she doesn't want to answer the question. Her words have about the same effect as if she had said: 'I don't need one.' Or, just as likely: 'I don't want one.' She's had too many bad experiences: it's an old prejudice, and one that will not be easily overcome, if ever.
The dark male's attitude, however, shows out in the form of a snort, and her eyes narrow decisively, expression of disgust writ all over her features. He doesn't care - and, more likely, he's asking for reasons of his own. It's not something she wants to deal with at the moment, in any case. She turns, her bulk making he motion awkward, as if to walk right on past him.
She should feel faint now - fading away, distancing herself from the world. But she's shakingly angry.
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Posted: Tue Dec 13, 2005 8:38 pm
Makadara's eyes narrowed slightly, a mix of genuine concern, and budding irritation. Deliberately, he stepped into her path. Let it not be said that he couldn't be stubborn, too. "No need to be unpleasant, now--I apologize if I've offended--it's been some time since I made any effort at the social niceties, and it shows, I fear." he attempted to mend whatever bridge he'd broken, shaking out his multi-colored mane.
Steadfastly, he continued, eyes watching her carefully as he spoke. "And, in your current...condition," he paused delicately, eyeing her...rather distended belly "I would feel better knowing that there was another around to aid you, should you have need--not all rogues are going to let a lone lioness on her way, you know."
Honestly, he should know better than to interfere in the affairs of others--it had been so long since he'd last even made the attempt at approaching one...perhaps he was simply craving some sort of intelligent companionship, even if only for awhile. Although he was a lion in his prime, there were times that, perhaps because he'd remained detached from everyone and everything around him for so long, he felt far older than his physical age.
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Posted: Wed Dec 14, 2005 1:29 pm
He's so different in personality than her ice cold father - but the towering is the same, and some habits are hard to break. The similarity is close enough for her body to function in reflex, even if her mind knows the difference. She flinches, visibly. But she doesn't offer an excuse for the reaction, focusing her gaze instead at the ground in front of his paws, as if looking for inspiration there.
Her condition. That was a way to put it. The second comment brings her head up. She can't hide the biting sarcasm in her tone this time, however.
"And you're volunteering for the position?" She snaps, ears drawing back again. "Some would also say that rogue lions have a tendency to kill cubs that aren't their own." A pointed, if not quite courteous, comment. It's odd how quickly she's become defensive of the lives growing inside of her - one reason she ran away from their father. She doesn't trust him, anymore than she trusts this ebony-pelted rogue.
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Posted: Fri Dec 16, 2005 10:51 am
Although her flinch caused him to furrow his brow in concern--he hadn't had contact with others since he'd been a juvenile, and so had no idea how intimidating his full-grown self could be, honestly. However, at her last...Makadara's lips twitched into the beginnings of a smile--his first in a very, very long time. "I'm glad to hear that you understand the risks," he retorted, eyes flashing with vague, guileless good humor.
"However, on a more serious note--I really would not feel...comfortable leaving you alone in so obviously a vulnerable state--if need be, I can do so from a short distance--but...perhaps it is due to my own childhood, near-forgotten though it may be--my mother always taught me that the life of our young was paramount, and although I would not have even said anything if you were with a pride I find that I cannot stand back and decrease their chances of survival by offering nothing." he replied, his expression slipping back into seriousness.
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Posted: Fri Dec 16, 2005 11:25 am
So he's doing this by being noble, is he? Having not been in high standing with her previously, he can't really drop several levels: but he doesn't gain any bonus points, either, for the speech. Her frown darkens, but for reasons of her own, she merely rolls her shoulders back into a shrug. "Do what you want, then. Only don't get in my way. These are my cubs," She finishes, with the barest hint of a growl on the last as warning. She doesn't trust any male, with the exception of perhaps Hodari, whom she doesn't appear to classify as a normal 'male,' for whatever reason. For one brief moment, she desperately hopes her cubs are born female. No more heartbreak should have to come into the world. Perhaps the large male, if he really did have thoughts about killing her offspring, would do her a favor and kill any boys she might have.
She chews on this rather morbid thought for a moment before putting it aside for later dissection. First things first. "I'm looking for a place to stay," she says, shortly. "Away from pridals, which is why I came here...it's so forlorn, and, I thought, empty." Until I saw you, those eyes add.
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Posted: Fri Dec 16, 2005 11:37 am
Makadara shrugged, mimicing her own action. "I told you--I have no intention in lingering in yours or the cubs life beyond the barest minimum...after all, as you've made clear, they are your cubs, not mine. This is purely a case of upping their odds, so to speak." at this, he yawned.
After all, it really wasn't his place to question her ties, or lack thereof, to a pridal body--however, his intentions were not nearly as noble as he'd made them out to be--yes, he was concerned for the cubs' survival, as this was the first lioness he'd ever observed who had no pride to accompany her in such a physically challenging time...however, he was also reluctant to part ways with the first lion he'd gotten to speak to since childhood--conversing with her was an excercise in survival of a different sort, and he was just plain stubborn enough to stick around long enough to kill two birds with one stone.
"As for non-pridal lands...to the best of my knowledge, these lands remain unclaimed." he continued, blatantly ignoring her pointed glance.
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Posted: Sat Dec 17, 2005 1:20 pm
"Fair enough," She says, almost as if she were granting him a favor, and not the other way around. Old habits die hard, and Ciyari has spent most of her life pretending to be royal: she's got it down pat, from the elegance to the arrogance to the stern, subtly commanding tone. She's really rather wasted on being a rogue, but paradoxially, it's the only place she fits in. For a flitting instant, she wonders about the male's background - where he was from, what kind of family he had, what led him to be out here on his own. But it's only for an instant. To think such thoughts is to make him more a person, and less an entity: and that's not in the best of her own interests at the moment. So she lets the thoughts slowly drift away.
"Let's go, then." She says, slowly moving around him. "We won't be getting far if we stand here chatting about nicities all afternoon. If these lands are unoccupied, nobody's going to mind me settling down in them for awhile." There's also more of a chance there's good hunting here, if the herds haven't had a chance to get used to a resident pride.
((Want to assume a time skip while they find the place? ^__^; Or would you rather they search for awhile for someplace?))
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Posted: Sun Dec 18, 2005 2:00 pm
((I'm easy XD. heart *whuffs on*))
Shrugging, Makadara didn't even deign to reply--after all, he wasn't taking on the role of obedient lapdog--he'd been on his own long enough that it was challenge enough to not simply have done what he felt was best.
"I think I saw a rather large tree in sight of the land's water hole." he offered, although honestly, since he usually moved from night to night, he wasn't all that picky. Slowly, almost lazily, he got to his feet. Actually, considering how quickly their conversation had descended from a...semi-polite greeting to outright hostility, things were going rather well, he couldn't help but notice, a thought that brought a small, amused smile to his maw.
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Posted: Mon Dec 19, 2005 4:15 am
She offered a faint nod. Being in sight of a waterhole would be a good thing; but it would also open her to predators, who lingered around the waterhole. Still, if the black lion was going to stick around, she couldn't see any yena, short of the full pack, being too much of a problem for him. And she wants to rest her weary paws. They ache from fleeing the Mistweaver's valley...she hasn't rested much, some inner fire, built mostly on fear, driving her along. In fact, she hasn't eaten since the day before yesterday. She's exhausted, and all she wants to do right now is lie down for a period of time.
Without saying anything else, she follows in his trail.
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Mila Farrell Vice Captain
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Posted: Sat Jan 07, 2006 5:38 pm
Eyeing the tired lioness suspiciously out of the corner of his eye, Makadara nonetheless led her to the spot he'd described, only a short distance away. "Have you eaten recently?" he rumbled, slightly gruff.
As he waited for her response, his stomach rumbled slightly--it had been awhile since he'd last eaten, also.
((so, SO sorry dust, for UBERSLOW/crappeh reply. D: gonk ))
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