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 Posted: Mon Sep 14, 2009 11:57 am
The sun was shining and the savannah seemed alive with new life and energy. Prey animals gathered in their herds and went about their day naturally, looking out for predators while simultaneously filling their bellies with pounds of grass. Predators remained silent and out of sight, perhaps not stalking the prey at the moment. It was all peaceful on the plains, but the wandering black lioness couldn't get into the spirit. The white lioness that was going to teach her how to be a wild lion had bluntly told her off before proceeding to run away. Now she was all alone, and with no one to teach her how to behave like a wild lion.
Salem wondered if she had done something wrong. Kilinge had said that wild lions often listen to others and take orders. She could tell that the other female often got irritated with her, because she liked to ask so many questions. But she couldn't help that she was curious. She had been raised by humans, and so had no clue about what was the norm for wild lions. How else would she learn if she didn't ask someone who did know?
But she seemed to have driven the other off, and now she felt that it was hopeless, that no one would ever want to teach her. She would remain ignorant forever, without a friend in the world.
Sighing, she let herself move on. She didn't have a clue as to where she was going or where she would end up, but she knew that she had to keep moving. Staying in one spot for too long often kept her lonelier than wandering for days, so she opted to continue despite the obvious ache within the pads of her paws. She was tired, thirsty, hungry, and in desperate need of a friend, but so far she hadn't had any luck. She couldn't hunt, hadn't been able to find a decent watering hole, and everyone seemed to avoid her.
She wasn't that strange, was she?
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Posted: Mon Sep 14, 2009 12:41 pm
Kobe had seen so many cycles of the moon he could no longer keep track of how long he had been gone. He was so far from his pride now it would take weeks before he was even close to home. He never imagined he would be to homesick of the Simbafutaji. Afterall, it seemed he waited his entire life to go on his seeking!
Ah. The seeking.
The mere thought was beginning to make his blood boil! It was a rite of passage and a way to prove yourself to your pride. You went out into the world, found something and brought it back to the pride to share it with them. His mother had told him this might be physical or it might simply be information. Either way it would be clear when he found it and it would help make himself whole. Kobe growled at the thought. He had found nothing worth while to share with his pride and was doubting he ever would.
Were members really expected to stay gone until they found something? What if he never did? Why hadn't his mother explained what to do if he didn't find something? Kobe thought he had all the direction in the world when he set off, but now that he thought about it, he was given nothing. How could he find something when he didn't even know where to start! The world was so big!
Kobe shook his head again and continued through the savannah, eyes scanning the tall grasses for the perfect prey animal. Perhaps a hunt would clear his mind. As he took in the smell from nearby herds or eyed the closer groups, he tried to find the most helpless animal, whether it be from age or sickness. When the smell of fatigue filled Kobe's nostrils, the male tensed and prepared to stalk. Approaching, Kobe was surprised to see a skinny, exhausted lioness.
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Posted: Mon Sep 14, 2009 2:15 pm
Salem herself was beginning to learn just how big the world could be. She could wander for days and never see the sight of another living soul, not hear the whispers from the herds or the soft chirping of birds. There were times where she felt she had crossed into another dimension, if that were even at all possible. She felt in a completely different world, one where she was isolated and doomed to never find another of her kind.
Sometimes, her dreams were like that as well, and they often kept her from getting a full night's rest. Usually, she woke up sweaty and more tired than when she had first settled and closed her eyes. It seemed almost pointless, but there was something in her that kept her going. Perhaps it was hope, or perhaps it was just determination to find some place for herself, but she knew that if she kept looking she would eventually find what she was looking for. Although, at the moment she wasn't sure she was really looking for anything in particular.
Sighing to herself, she stopped for a moment and took the time to look upwards at the sky. It was blue, cloudless and sunny as ever. Which only made her that much more uncomfortable. Kilinge never seemed to be bothered by the heat as much as Salem, since Kilinge had a purely white coat. But Salem, having ebony fur, suffered constantly from heat exhaustion. It was a miracle she hadn't had a heat stroke yet. But, she supposed, that could be because all she ever did was walk. She couldn't hunt, so she never overexerted herself in that sense. Plus, she never really ran from anything, since nothing ever sought her out or chanced upon her.
Until now.
Letting her head fall back into its natural position, something caught her eye. It moved in her peripherals, and her ears fell back submissively. She thought maybe she was overreacting and that what she was seeing was simply a rock seeming to move due to the constant heat waves. But as she turned her head and peered to her side, she noticed that it wasn't a rock, but was rather another lion! It had some long fur growing atop its head and on its chest between its shoulders. Salem had never seen an adolescent lion before, and so was rather intrigued. Tilting her head, she made a strange squeaking sound, before smiling and wiggling like a little cub.
"Oh, hello!" she called, her body posture and language expressing pure joy at having bumped into another of her kind. "Hi!"
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Posted: Mon Sep 14, 2009 3:56 pm
Kobe was taken back when, what he thought was a dying lioness, suddenly livened up and called out towards him. The nearby herds shifted uncomfortably at the sudden sound breaking the silence. Some fled, leaving Kobe with a poor selection of those that remained. Lifting himself slowly from the grass, the male cocked his head with a laugh. "I hope you weren't planning to hunt. You scared off the good prey." He teased.
After traveling such a long distance with his sister, the male was glad to find any other company. He adored Maha and they were incredibly close, but he hadn't spent so much time with her since they were cubs and forced to stay in the den. He was certain she probably noticed his wandering behavior increasing recently. He figured she could probably use a break from his persistent questions and thoughts. Kobe was known to talk a lot when given the opportunity.
Mentally reprimanding himself for teasing a stranger, Kobe dipped his head and offered Salem a charming smile. "I'm Kobe, seeker of the Simbafutaji." His mother, Kamaria, had been clear to be weary of strangers as not all were as accepting of those from his own pride. Kamaria had told her cubs enough stories from her past to prove that to them. Having never run into a bad encounter, himself, Kobe was growing over confident. Upon his first inspection of the female he didn't believe he had anything to worry about.
While waiting for Salem's response and proper introduction, Kobe adjusted his position to be more comfortable and looked her over to get a better impression of her. Like he thought, she was skinny, but not from her small build. It appeared to Kobe as though she hadn't a meal in days. He glanced back towards the retreating herds. Perhaps it would have been better if he hunted?
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Posted: Mon Sep 14, 2009 5:16 pm
The lioness followed the gaze of the other and blinked at the retreating herds. She wondered blankly what could have startled them, not connecting the dots and realizing that she might have spoken rather loudly. Nor did she realize that the male might have wanted to catch one of those prey. Turning back towards Kobe, she grinned awkwardly and let one ear creep back to stand atop her skull.
"Oh, I can't hunt," she spoke matter-of-factly. She knew that it was something she needed to learn to do, for she couldn't continue scavenging for the rest of her life, but there was simply no one to teach her the ropes. Not a single lion had stuck around long enough to take her under their wing and teach her the basics. So, the black lioness found herself incapable and most of the time starving for food. It was a miracle she had been able to find the leftovers to sustain her for this long.
Looking at him for a moment, it finally hit her that he was probably hunting or planning to hunt before he ran into her. "Oh!" she suddenly spoke, rather loudly once more. "I'm sorry if I ruined your hunt. I didn't mean to, honest." She frowned and let her head sink somewhat, truly ashamed for having ruined things for him.
But when he introduced himself, she perked right back up and let another smile overtake her features. "Kobe!" she repeated, committing his name to memory. "Seeker of... what?" Having been a captive lion recently escaped from the humans, and with no wild friends to speak of, Salem found that she was rather ignorant of... well, everything. She didn't know the lingo for anything out in the wild, and she was beginning to learn just how handicapped it was making her. "I don't mean to offend but... what is the... Simba.. fu.. fu... what you said?" Her head canted to the other side, tail moving curiously.
Then she realized that she had failed to introduce herself, having been distracted by the strange word Kobe had used. "Oh! I'm sorry, I forgot to tell you my name. I'm Salem! Nice to meet you, Kobe." She wiggled once more, excited at having a real conversation with a wild lion.
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Posted: Sun Sep 27, 2009 10:13 am
Kobe was not the most observant of lions when it came to others, but he could tell something wasn't quite right about the way Salem looked blankly towards the retreating herds. She wore no look of embarassment, shame or frustration. He thought at first that perhaps the few that stayed were ideal for hunting, but upon further inspection he saw that only the strongest remained and the smaller, weaker animals followed the majority of the group. When she grinned again, he shook away his thoughts and returned a smile. Maybe she wasn't hunting, he thought quietly to himself before she spoke.
Although Kobe set aside his constant curiosity for a moment, Salem's statement hit him like a large nut falling from a tree. He cocked his head to the side and looked her over again. He thought she looked entirely sane to him at first inspection, but could you really tell when you were talking to a crazy lion? He hadn't met one before so he wouldn't know! How had she survived so long? As ar as Kobe knew, hunting was almost required for female lions!
"Y-you can't hunt?" He stammed, trying to wrap his brain around the idea of a rogue, adult lioness on her own without the ability to catch prey. "Weren't you ever ta-" Kobe stopped dead in his tracks and tried to remember his manners. He did not know this female or her history that brought her to this point. Lowering his ears almost sadly, Kobe glanced back towards the remainder of the gazelle. "I mean to say. Would you like me to help you?" Growing up in the Simbafutaji, Kobe had always been taught the importance of finding knowledge and sharing that with the pride and everyone else. This was his first opportunity to actually share something he had learned with a stranger.
Before he could add anything else, Salem's expression suddenly changed to something rather guilty as she noticed the herd leaving. He let out a light chuckle - it certainly took her awhile. At this point in their conversation, however, Kobe found her innocence endearing and he was incredibly curious about her. At her questions, he stood tall and puffed out his chest proudly. "The Simbafutaji is my pride," he started slowly, watching her reactions to see how little she knew of their group. She seemed rather clueless about very basic things he assumed most everyone knew. Trying to explain things clearly, he added more, "We're a large group of lions and other animals that live together near the ocean. The ocean is what we call the huge water and sandy ground beside it. When we reach adolescence we leave our pride in search of information to bring back to everyone. I am supposed to learn something."
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Posted: Tue Oct 06, 2009 12:57 pm
Salem had to admit that she probably wasn't making the best of impressions with this male. She knew that she lacked the basic skills that all wild lions seemed to possess and that it hindered her in her interactions with them. She didn't know how to hunt, didn't know about the social structure of prides. The only group she had ever lived in had been with humans and their strange prey animals they kept locked up. She had never gone after those animals, for she had seen what they did to predators that thought they could get away with an easy meal. It frightened her, yet at the same time kept her alive and in the favor of the humans.
"Nope!" she spoke cheerfully, despite her inability to hunt for herself being a rather devastating fact to her wellbeing. "I never learned." Naive as she was, she didn't realize that saying she had never learned could translate into she was too stupid to catch on. But the truth of the matter was simple: no one ever taught her. Without a teacher, there could be no pupil.
When he offered to help, the black female's spirits immediately lifted. She had been wandering around, hoping to bump into someone that would be willing to teach her how to be wild. She realized that he hadn't exactly offered to do that, but teaching her to hunt was the first step in becoming just like all the others. "Oh, you'd do that for me?" she asked, her eyes sparkling. She truly believed that he wanted to help, as he seemed kinder than others she had managed to find wandering about the landscape. "That would be wonderful!" she exclaimed, bouncing around on her paws. "I've been trying to find someone to teach me but a lot of the lions I meet are really mean. Are all wild lions mean, Kobe?" A bit of a strange question, considering he was wild and actually very nice to her. But she was far too happy at the prospect of learning to hunt to notice.
Then, as he explained about his pride, Salem felt rather silly for having questioned him. She hoped she hadn't hurt his feelings by not knowing about his pride. Did all wild lions know about all the prides?
"That sounds lovely," she spoked quietly, trying to imagine what it would be like, living with a bunch of other lions. She supposed she wouldn't be welcome, since she'd most likely just be a burden. Unable to hunt and without any real sense of instinct, she wasn't worth much.
"I've never seen the ocean," she continued, keeping up her peppy attitude. "Is it nice?" At the mention of Kobe needing to learn something, the female frowned slightly. She knew that she couldn't possibly have anything to teach him, and she felt bad for not being able to aid him. "I don't know what I could teach you.. I don't know a whole lot."
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Posted: Wed Oct 21, 2009 10:10 pm
Salem's cheerful response about her inability to hunt once again had Kobe questioning the female's sanity. He pushed away the thought with a nervous laugh and then eyed the prey animals once again. Kobe couldn't figure out whether the female didn't mind not knowing how to hunt, or if she simply had never been offered assistance? He remembered his first lesson out with his father and all the pointers and days of trial and error before he finally caught his first hare. If she didn't know, perhaps that meant she never had a family to teach her? Was that what it meant to be a rogue? He also remembered his mother's stories of growing up without a father and her mother's passing. But his mother had been taught before she was alone. He imagined not everyone could be so lucky.
Salem's light hearted response and sparkling smile was enough to pull Kobe out of his daze and remind him that he would have time to ask all his questions once he had finally helped her out. Some things were more important! The way she explained life in the roguelands made Kobe shudder. During his travels with his sister they had obviously been lucky. While Kobe had always thought their adventure had been dull and uneventful, he now appreciated that they hadn't the opportunity to deal with aggressive or violent rogues.
While Salem's question was strange in itself, the one thing that really caught the pale male's attention was her use of the word "wild". What exactly did she mean by that? Cocking his brow, Kobe asked, "Wild males? Do you mean rogues? I can't say i'm very famililar with rogues. In fact, you're one of the first that i've met. I can say that my mother has stories of the dangers of these lands, so it'd be best if you were cautious before approaching strangers..." Kobe trailed off, looking over the thin, scarred female. Was he actually thinking he'd be able to leave her after he gave her hunting pointers? And as though she could read his mind, Salem commented about his pride and having never seen the ocean.
Finally, offering a bright, charming smile of his own, Kobe padded over to Salem's side and made a gesture for her to follow. "Well, first things first. I will teach you to hunt and then I will show you the ocean. That is, if you'll have me as your escort for the travels."
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Posted: Fri Oct 23, 2009 10:10 am
Salem's main goal was to always remain optimistic. She realized that she wasn't in the best of situations, and that it was only a matter of time until her luck ran out, but until then she felt no reason to get herself down in the dumps. If she became sad and unwilling, then she would never be able to learn to hunt and fend for herself. Although, she did have to admit that life was growing harder with each passing day. The leftover kills she found were becoming fewer, and with less meat left on them. She could feel her own energy being sapped away as she traveled longer and longer without sustenance. But Kobe was here now, and he had offered to help her!
As Kobe became confused by her words, the lioness found herself lowering her head slightly and acting embarrassed. Had she gone and made another social slip? Having not been raised with wild lions, she had no idea about their behavior and terminology. Perhaps wild wasn't what they called themselves at all.
"Oh, does rogue mean wild?" she questioned, tilting her own head slightly to the left. "If that's so, then I'm not a rogue lion. I'm not wild, although I wish I could be." Her words trailed off as she glanced longingly back towards the herds of prey watching the pair cautiously. She wished she could live up to her nature and hunt and kill like the rest of the wild lions. She felt silly only being able to watch them and drool with desire for fresh meat. She had never before felt the blood thirst come over her, never before had her jaws stained red from the feast, never before had her claws unsheathed to cause real harm to another living being.
She frowned, wanting so much to become a true lion.
Salem's own thoughts had distracted her so much that she nearly missed his next words and the bright smile that accompanied them. But his look immediately lifted her spirits and she forgot all about her longings. Instead, she focused on him and on learning everything she could from him.
"Oh, that sounds so wonderful!" she exclaimed, wiggling her body and dancing upon her paws. "I'd love to learn and see the ocean!"
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Posted: Tue Nov 24, 2009 10:26 am
Kobe listened carefully when Salem continued her discussion about what 'wild' meant. The male wasn't quite certain he knew what the word meant in that context, though he didn't quite trust Salem to understand whether or not she was a rogue. It wasn't that he thought she'd lie, he just wasn't quite sure she knew exactly what she was talking about. In between looking over the herd, Kobe glanced back to the female and tried to clarify, "I'm not entirely sure, though it's something we can ask my father when we're back at the pride. I do know that rogues are lions without prides though. They don't have a group they belong to and just travel in the unclaimed territories."
It was when Salem began to wiggle about in excitement that Kobe realised the pair should begin the hunt quickly if they were to continue traveling together. Kobe was hungry himself and imagined it might take twice as long to bring something down if he'd have to teach her all the steps, much as he would one of the cubs of the pride. Being larger, however, she was much more visible to the gazelle. "First things first, you need to become invisible. Follow my lead."
Kobe padded alongside Salem and then ducked low in the tall grasses. He eyed the group of retreating zebras in front of them and then spotted a couple lone gazelle farther off. Assuming that Salem would struggle with her first hunt, Kobe slipped in the direction of the gazelle, hoping Salem would think to do the same. In the case that Salem was entirely clueless as to what he was doing, the male paused far enough away to avoid frightening the gazelle. Grinning with excitement, Kobe glanced back and whispered, "Get as low as you can. You'll need to crawl, but while you're down feel the ground. When they move you can feel the vibrations from their hooves... it'll guide you where to go."
Although the zebras had been alert to their presence, the gazelle were quietly grazing towards the back of the striped group. Kobe circled them and went around towards the side as to avoid possible confrontation with the much larger animals. He wanted a clear path in the chance that his strategy failed and he'd need to run on his own to take one down. As he approached he kept a close eye on their movements, determining which appeared to be a better target. As he looked them over, he made sure Salem was near him and whispered, "One of the most important parts of the hunt is to know what to hunt. You probably want to stick with smaller animals to start off. Those striped ones over there have a lot of kick to them so i've picked these smaller brown ones. We'll be traveling soon so we don't want to leave much behind. It attracts hyenas and we don't want those on our tails." He knew it was all a lot to take in at once, but he tried to provide all the information he could think of.
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Posted: Tue Feb 16, 2010 2:35 pm
At Kobe's explanation of what a rogue was, Salem became thoroughly confused. She had thought that rogue meant wild, but apparently it just meant a wandering lion. In that case, she thought, then that made her a rogue. Perhaps she was closer to becoming a wild lion than she had ever dreamed. But, she knew, there were still critical aspects of wild life that she had yet to conquer.
Then, when the male seemed ready to teach her about hunting, the lioness could hardly contain her excitement. She bounced upon her paws and smiled from ear to ear, her rear end wiggling with joy. She almost seemed like a cub, ready to take its first steps out into the world beyond its mother. It took all of her self-control to listen to him and to actually push herself into a hunting mode. She noticed him ducking into the grasses, as if he were going to lay down. But instead, he crouched low on his belly.
Salem tilted her head at first, but then followed suit, although the movements felt foreign to her. She tried to feel the vibrations through the ground, as he said, but found that it was difficult for her. She frowned at first, but figured it would take some practice. She knew naught, however, of the selection process or sneaking up on prey. She was a blank slate, and knew nothing but what Kobe was doing in front of her. But his explanations sounded reasonable. Start off with smaller prey, then work towards larger prey once she got better.
She nodded slightly, trying to take everything in. She wasn't sure if she would be able to do it correctly on the first try, but she was willing to give it a shot. "Do we go now?" she whispered, ready to spring out from their hiding spot.
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