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 Posted: Mon Nov 16, 2009 12:28 pm
 A vicious wind had lifted as the sun had departed the sky, casting the land into that odd state between light and dark. Some called it dusk. And above her head a few stars could be seen twinkling between the clouds that had drawn up to shroud her. All it needed now was some rain to set off her mood completely.
Nissa had had better days.
Since morning she had been walking, trying to put as much distance between her and that rotten pride lands she'd accidently stumbled into. Now that she was sure no angry males were following her, she realised how hungry and lonely she was.
Being a rogue had good points, yes. Freedom. Independance, no emotional ties. And yet, the loneliness had started to gnaw at her. It had made her gruff and fed the bitterness that she had harboured since her childhood. It was at times like this that she thought of her mother and lost siblings.
Where were they now?
Were they happier than she was?
Lowering her head, she pressed onwards, the feathers of her headdress flapping madly. One came free and alighted into the air, spinning and spinning away into darkness until it was lost from sight altogether.
It was promising to be a depressing night...
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Posted: Mon Nov 16, 2009 12:45 pm
 Sure, it was dark and cold. Yes, it was lonely- Elewa'ndale traveled alone. But that was how it had always been! He didn't even remember his family; as far as he was concerned, he had been born of the earth. Elewa'ndale was a solitary creature, though he did not shy away from company. He would simply rather being alone.
Well, for the most part. It was just easier to be alone. Especially being a rogue creature. Hunting for one was easier than hunting for two, or more. Survival was easier when you had only yourself to protect. But, there were those long, cold nights. Elewa'ndale wouldn't mind some company tonight. It was dark, it was cold, and he hadn't eaten all day. He wasn't grouchy, not just yet.. but he was on his way there.
But then something happened that brought a small smile to his face. A feather floated down in front of him, brushing the tip of his nose before falling to the ground. "Huh," Elewa observed with a low chuckle. "Would ya look at that," the lion mumbled to himself, picking up the feather and inspecting it. That's when he saw her. The lioness with the headdress. Why, the feather must be hers! Elewa'ndale proudly held the feather out to her. "Here, miss... this must be yours, I just happened to find it here on the ground. Can it be reattached?"
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Posted: Mon Nov 16, 2009 12:51 pm
She was so startled at the voice that her fur bristled on end. She whipped around so fast that all her paws left the ground and when she landed again her eyes were wild and her teeth were bared. There was still enough light that her eyes and teeth sparked in the shadows. And then came the rumble of a growl, deep within her chest, that rose up to threaten the one who had sneaked up on her in the dark.
And no wonder! He was as dark as shadow, himself, only his odd markings truly visible in the thickening shadow. Her whiskers flinched and then, suddenly, his words seemed to sink in. Her eyes fell to the feather he held out to her and she noted, suddenly, that his voice had not been unkind.
But then...what was he up to? She regarded him suspiciously, her gaze flickering between him and the feather.
"What do yoos want, eh? Come tah bother meh ah'm bettin'. Yah'd betta jus' skip on 'ome, alright. Yah 'ear me, eh? Ah ain't in no mood for any trouble fer a change."
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Posted: Mon Nov 16, 2009 2:02 pm
Elewa'ndale stood his ground. he hadn't meant to frighten the lioness, honest! She was somewhat darkly colored, so he hadn't even realized that he had snuck up behind her. The lion laid his ears down flat against his skull, letting his head hang low. he shook his mane out and sniffed, shrugging. "Trouble? Nah, no trouble, promise. I just wanted to give this back to you," the lion insisted, pushing the feather to Nissa. "Hoenst! I found it on the ground, and it looks like the other feathers there. I guess its yours?"
Elewa'ndale regarded Nissa with growing suspicion. Why was she so jumpy and on edge? I mean, sure, he had inadvertently snuck up on her in the dark. he hadn't meant to, but he could understand her being afraid, or startled. she probably wasn't afraid, just caught off guard. But why was she being so defensive? He was trying to help and be nice to her, and she was ready to bundle him back off home? Hmph. I guess that's what you get for trying to help someone out!
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Posted: Mon Nov 16, 2009 4:03 pm
He just wanted to...what? So...he was just wandering by, or what? She wrinkled her nose and looked over at him, suspicion still evident in her expression. If he'd been one of those males from that ridiculous pride, wouldn't he have tried to tear her throat out by now? Unless, of course, he was trying to ease her into a false sense of security.
She growled anew and stretched out a forepaw, snatching the feather from him and then bouncing back a step or two. "Fine." She snapped. "Wha'ever." She hesitated a moment longer, glancing down at the feather in her claws. She supposed she really was thankful to get it back. Finding the same coloured feathers was not an easy task.
"Well, yah've given it now. An' yer, was mine." Her eyes lifted up to him. "So yah can go 'ome to yer stupid pride, now." She backed up further, still suspecting him. "Unless o' course, yoos were sen' 'ere tah chase me, righ'?"
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Posted: Mon Nov 16, 2009 4:12 pm
Sheesh! Elewa'ndale had met his fair share of lions and lionesses, especially with a wandering, nomadic lifestyle. but he had never met anyone as wary and suspicious as Nissa! The lion vaguely wondered what must have happened in order for the lioness to become so defensive. He couldn't imagine that she was always like this, or had been born this way. Something traumatic had to have happened to change her personality into something so guarded and suspicious. Elewa'ndale frowned, feeling a moment's pity.
Then she suggested that he run back to his pride. Elewa'ndale laughed and flopped down on the ground; his back end slid out from underneath him and his front end flopped down to the ground with an audible *THUD!* He flipped his tail back and forth, finally settling down after a few moments to where only the tip twitched back and forth. Elewa'ndale laughed and shook his head. "I'm not part of a pride," he said very nonchalantly, adding a slight shrug for emphasis. "I live a wonderful, nomadic life~ I go where I want, when I want, and do what I please! Overall, I much prefer it to being part of a pride," he informed the lioness casually.
Not that Elewa'ndale had anything to compare his life to. he had never been part of a pride, so he really should not be making that comparison.
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Posted: Mon Nov 16, 2009 4:27 pm
"So yer not..." She trailed. Could it be that this male had just wanted to help her? That he hadn't been after her for any reason other than to give her the lost feather? She glanced down at it in her claws again and then, slowly reached up to thread it back into place. The wind had died down a little, perhaps due to some of the cover offering slight respite.
She blinked at him and then shifted uncomfortably. "Uhhh...thanks, then, I guess..." But that didn't mean she was going to trust him entirely. Males could never be trusted on face value. However, could it hurt to stop and talk for a bit? Probably not.
"So yer a rogue." She replied, not really one for all the romanticism of the way of life. "Jus' like me." She sat hesitantly and curled her tail around her, finding some comfort in the darkness. "'Cept yer not havin' as bad a day as ah am." She continued, muttering to herself quietly. "Look, if I fin' out tha' yer up tah no good, I mean it, I'll fight yoos and you'll wish yah'd ne'er dared try anythin'." She huffed and drew her shoulder up, hunching slightly.
And then, as if that were quite a reasonable thing to say, she continued. "Ah'm Nissa. Who're yoos then, nomad?"
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Posted: Mon Nov 16, 2009 4:43 pm
Elewa'ndale watched the strange lioness thread the feather back into her headdress, wondering where she had gotten it. He liked it! Elewa'ndale pictured himself wearing such a thing and couldn't help but chuckle. He looked awfully silly. But on Nissa.. it looked good. He smiled warmly at her, just a friendly smile- nothing more. The lioness seemed to be waiting for something; waiting for Elewa to betray her, or reveal himself to be something he wasn't. It was obvious she didn't trust him. He didn't trust her ,either, but he wasn't going to be rude by throwing it in her face.
Elewa'ndale inclined his head politely to Nissa. "My pleasure, miss," he insisted, his eyes large and warm, eerily reflecting the moonlight as he met her gaze levelly. His face split into a wide grin and the lion bobbed his head emphatically; "Yes! A nomad, like yourself. A rouge," he growled impressively, drawing out the word to add meaning and depth to it. Elewa'ndale liked being a rouge, and wouldn't ever want to be part of a pride. He also couldn't help but laugh at her threat. Sure, she may think she was tough.. but Elewa was larger than she was. He fully expected to overpower her if it ever came down to physical fighting, though Elewa'ndale tended to avoid that sort of thing.
"Well, nice to meet ya Nissa! I'm Elewa'ndale, but please, call me El or Elewa," he grinned and inclined his head again as a show of respect.
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Posted: Mon Nov 16, 2009 4:53 pm
She wondered what he had in his past that did not allow for him to settle? She had her reasons, dark reasons, really, so what was he hiding? What skeletons did he have in his closet? Murder? Betrayal? Forbidden love? Oh she was a suspicious creature alright. And yet...that smile on his maw, it helped ease that suspicion a little. She didn't smile back - because such a thing had come harder nowadays - however, the frown eased into something far more neutral. The fur on her neck and shoulders had smoothed, too.
"El, then." She replied easily. She couldn't be dealing with long, flouncy names. Something short and to the point. El was good. It suited him, too. She supposed the fancy, longer name suited him as well, being so dulled up with those twirly markings that made her feel somewhat drab. Then again, wasn't that what the headdress was for? To grab attention, to glam up her otherwise regular pelt?
"So yoos all by yerself, then." She said, mainly to herself, rather than a question. She felt more comfortable knowing that, but either way, she tested the breeze with her nose. As far as she could tell, there was no one else around. "Well tha's fine by me. S'all I can say." Her claws unsheathed and raked grooves into the dirt, almost a habit. "So wha' are yoos doing out 'ere, exactly? Like...takin' in the scenery or sumthin'? Ain't it yer bed time, eh? Dark an all tha'."
Maybe, if he did have something to hide, he'd slip up.
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Posted: Tue Nov 17, 2009 5:37 am
Elewa'ndale was relaxed and it read as so in his body language. his shoulders were held back and at ease, his head held high but not proudly, just high enough to observe. His body seemed to list to one side, his hind legs sticking out away from him. His tail had even ceased twitching. Elewa was a lion with nothing to lose, and more importantly, nothing to hide.
"Yep, all by myself," he repeated, shrugging and sighing quietly. "I've always been a rouge, not even my family stuck around long after they had to," he informed Nissa matter-of-factly, like it was totally commonplace for one's family to up and leave. At least, to Elewa'ndale it was nothing strange. It was all he knew and all he had to go on. He couldn't imagine what life might have been like had he had a large, supportive family. To be honest, he didn't really want to envision it. Elewa had grown up successfully, on his own, and wouldn't have wanted it any other way.
"What am I doing? Well, I could ask you the same thing, pretty miss," Elewa purred and his eyes glinted with the moonlight as he watched her. Then he laughed; the lion was just playing with Nissa. Sure, she was pretty, but no, he wasn''t really hitting on her. Elewa'ndale wouldn't know how to flirt if his life depended on it.
"Oh, I don't know. I kind of just wander around, wherever I please. I got bored at the last place I stayed. I was only there for a couple days, but I caught all the small prey around and then it just got boring, so I moved on," he informed her with a shrug. He unsheathed his claws and began idly picking at dirt clumped underneath them. "What about you? Why are you out here, all alone?" He could have added that she was sans protection, but Elewa got the feeling that Nissa would take offense to that.
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Posted: Wed Nov 18, 2009 4:43 am
(sorry for the delay, tuesdays and wednesdays are my hectic days! ;o; )
So his family hadn't stuck around either. Had they left him or had he left them? She had left her family, and though it saddened her, she knew that there was no other way. They may not have physically told her that they were leaving and she wasn't allowed to come. Instead she had been pushed away by their actions.
Her mother's actions.
"Yoos could ask meh." She agreed with a hiss. "But ah asked first, so yer'll 'ave to answer before ah say anythin'." She wrinkled her nose at the comment but didn't say anything. He was clearly just humouring her, trying to knock her off guard, to lure her in. She knew how males worked. Or she thought she did, anyway. Nissa thought she knew everything.
She dipped her head a little and stared at him through her short bangs. "Same." She muttered. "Lookin' fer a place tah hang out, some place where ah can vent ma frustration in peace." She fell silent again.
"So yer family jus' ditched yer, eh? Ain't families jus' the most unreliable of things?" A deep sigh followed.
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Posted: Sat Nov 21, 2009 7:44 am
(( Its okay! This whole week has been hectic for me! DDDDD smile )
Elewa'ndale crossed his front paws over one another, flexing his muscles and throwing out his claws, then retracting. Out, then in. It was an idle habit, something to do when he was waiting while someone spoke, or while he was plain bored. Elewa listened patiently to Nissa, and watched her carefully. She seemed slightly unpredictable. He had to stay on his guard. Who was to say she wouldn't attack him suddenly, or just run away? Well, if she ran, he would probably let her go. But if she came at him.. he would be forced to defend himself.
But with Nissa, he wouldn't tell exactly what she was going to do. She seemed uneasy, like she didn't know what to make of him. So Elewa just waited, patiently, and watched. Listened, too. He laughed quietly, then sighed, tilting his head slightly to the side to gaze at her. "I don't really know why I'm here, I just.. ended up here. I wander around a lot, I kind of just go wherever my feet take me." It was the honest truth. Elewa'ndale wandered, all day, every day. He slept in different places every night and didn't stay anywhere for too long. The lion had a problem with wanderlust.
To her comment about families, Elewa just shrugged. He didn't have too many strong feelings about family. His had never really been there; he didn't know what it was like to have a family, then lose them. He had always been alone. "I guess so," he replied to Nissa, agreeing with her only because it seemed like that was what she wanted to hear.
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Posted: Sun Nov 22, 2009 9:58 am
( *hug* hopefully it won't be so bad this week! ))
She stood and paced slowly from side to side. It was clear she was feeling uncomfortable with this situation, unsure whether to just leave or to stay. After all, the night was drawing in fast and at least here, with the rocks to shelter her from the wind, she'd be more comfortable than wandering the plains alone.
And yet...what if she stayed and he ended up tearing out her throat? She supposed she could stay and not sleep. Just rest her legs and move on in the morning. She was sure she could do it.
"So..." She paused and glanced at him, the moonlight glaring in her eyes. "Are yah's feet gonna take yer away tonigh'? Or are yah gonna be stayin' righ' there, eh?"
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