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 Posted: Sat Feb 27, 2010 2:14 pm
 Of the three brothers, Jabari liked to think he got out the most. Whether this was true or not, he didn't really care, but it gave him a silent feeling of superiority, so he clung to it. He slipped past a tree, peeking around it to look around. He didn't want to run into a Ligi. They knew who he was, sure, and he wouldn't get into too much trouble, but at the same time, they gave him the creeps. Stories were told amongst the other lions, stories about how callous and violent they were to the other lions. No, he wanted to meet one of the upperclass lions this time around. If he could do that, he could see how they acted. Sure, he knew how his mother acted, but he would like more references for when he grew. So when he saw no Ligi on the path heading down the hill he started off, almost prancing to keep from falling head over hills as he went down the steep incline.
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Posted: Mon Mar 01, 2010 4:38 am
 Anya halted her leisurely walk to watch with interest as a couple of small pebbles came rolling down the steep slope. A few of them bounced against her velvet paws, and she backtracked their path with her eyes. A mostly white cub that she couldn't recall having seen before, but judging by the colors of his pelt ought to be Atmaja, had dislodged the gravel. She tilted her head to the side, a subtle smile playing at the corners of her lips.
"You there," she called out, just loud enough that he should be able to hear her. "Be careful, or you're going to take quite a tumble from up there."
Boys. They never changed. He was probably playing on the slope just to challenge himself, she thought, but daintily settled herself into a sitting position to observe him anyway, tail wrapped neatly around her paws. She didn't have any special plans for today after all, and watching a young cub's escapades for a while could be entertainment as good as any.
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Posted: Mon Mar 01, 2010 12:54 pm
"Wa--wa--wa--WAH!" he yelped as he lost his footing, his large paws tripping his body up and making him tumble down the incline, landing on his face at her feet. "Oooowwwww," he mumbled, making sure he hadn't broken anything before pushing himself up into a clumsy seated position. His nose twitched a bit before a sneeze escaped him from the dust that had gone up his nose.
Smoooooth, he thought with self disgust, looking up at the pretty lady in front of him. He wondered if he could play it off, as if he had meant to do it. Then he realized that no one was stupid enough to buy a line like that. So he decided to go for the cute angle.
He looked up at her through his lashes, a guilty expression on his face. "I fell," he told her.
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Posted: Tue Mar 02, 2010 10:43 am
Anya did recognise the lightning-quick look of calculation that passed over the cub's features, but it only served to further her amusement. He was a proud little one, for sure, but still smart enough not to fall for the urge to pretend like he didn't fall on accident. And to top it all off, the look that he gave her through his black bangs was so cute, it pretty much had to be practiced.
She found, to her surprise, that she rather liked him - something that she hardly ever felt for anyone, much less at first sight like this - and she couldn't stop her soft, melodious laughter from spilling out.
"I saw that," she replied, still giggling, but not at all in an unfriendly way, and bent down to sniff his face for cuts and scrapes. "You didn't hurt yourself, I hope?"
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Posted: Tue Mar 02, 2010 5:30 pm
He stood hesitantly, shaking one leg after the other just to make sure, then twitched his tail a few times. "No, I think I'm okay," he said with just a bit of hesitation. "It's a steep hill," he added, looking up at it. If his brothers were here, he thought, he would have never heard the end of it.
"My name is Jabari," he introduced himself. "What's yours?" He didn't mind being laughed at, at least, not when it was by a really pretty lady. In fact, for some reason he felt quite proud that he had made her laugh at all.
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Posted: Sun Mar 07, 2010 3:51 am
"Good," She said, smiling as she licked a bit of dust from his face. It was a very motherly gesture, and perhaps a bit inappropriately familiar, but it was instinct - and he HAD gotten himself a bit dirty. "I'm Anya, of house Tama," she replied. "Pleased to meet you."
"I know it's exciting and challenging," she added, casting a glimpse up at the rocky slope, "But you're going to make your mother worry if you keep playing in dangerous places like that."
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Posted: Sun Mar 07, 2010 10:52 am
"Uh huh," he agreed, letting her do all the cleaning she wanted to. He was used to his mother fussing over him and didn't think a thing over another female doing the same. In fact, it made him blush slightly, happy to have the attention just because she wasn't his mother. "I'm from the Tama house, too!" he said. "I came out to learn how to act like a proud Tama lion!"
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Posted: Fri Mar 19, 2010 10:26 pm
Anya blinked, taken aback only for a second, and then she smiled again. Of course, the colours did not always match the House, she knew that.
"A proud Tama lion, I see. I must admit, by your colours I thought you were Atmaja. But that explains why you weren't upset by your little tumble, there, I guess." Remembering again that little flash of calculation that had sparked in the youth's eyes before he addressed her the first time, Anya arched one eyebrow and her smile took on a sly edge. "I'd say you are well on your way already, young Jabari. But if you would like some pointers, I think I might be able to give you a few."
This was certainly turning out a lot more interesting than she had at first thought it would.
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Posted: Sat Mar 20, 2010 10:46 am
His face lit up. "Would you?" he asked, getting just the right amount of excitement in his tone. "Would you, please? I want to be an--an asse... asstii--helpful to my Mommy and brothers when I get older, so I gotta be a good one!"
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Posted: Sun Mar 21, 2010 1:30 pm
"An asset?" She smiled. "Wanting to be helpful to your family is a good motivation." She knew that was what she was supposed to say, and she made it sound like she truly believed it, but truthfully she had never really thought to further anyone else's ends than her own. In fact, even helping little Jabari here with valuable tips from her own experience was something that she, in some part of her brain, calculated to turn into something favorable for herself, some day, somewhere down the line.
And yet, there was something about him, that somehow reminded her of a younger self. She pondered what to tell him for a little while, bright eyes wandering slightly with her thoughts.
"Hmmm, well... First of all, you should be careful not to show your true thoughts to just anyone. Sometimes you may even have to lie, and when you do, you really have to make sure that your lie doesn't show in your face or your body. Sometimes you just have to pretend like you are not angry or insulted, even though you are, and that's also a little bit like lying, but you know, sometimes you can gain more from swallowing an insult than from lashing out about it. Like how you sraped yourself and got dirty when you fell, just now, but you didn't yell or cry about it, even though the fact that I saw you fall easily could have made you feel embarrassed. If you had, I might have just laughed at you and been on my merry way, instead of giving you these pointers. See what I mean?"
She paused, giving him an opportunity to ask questions if he should like to.
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Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2010 11:42 am
He listened, nodding in agreement. He had always figured those things, to be honest. But it was nice to have them confirmed. "But what if it makes you really, really angry?" he asked. "Sometimes I see things," he admitted in a quiet voice. "Things that make me really, really mad. But I don't tell anyone."
He looked up at her. "Is revenge a good thing?"
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Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2010 5:37 pm
Anya paused, considering for a moment just how much she ought to tell this little cub - that is, how much of her own inner workings that she should be revealing.
"Hmm," She said, her face shifting slightly, hinting at a deeper coldness behind those bright eyes. "A good thing? Well... Yes. I think it is. You shouldn't let people get away with just anything. BUT..." She paused for a moment, and the coldness slipped back under her polished surface, "It is good that you don't say anything. You have to choose your fights, you see. Even if you are really, really angry, and even if you have all the reason in the world to strike out against someone, you must never lose your head and act without thinking. It makes you weak, because the one who offended you could very well be prepared for your actions and stand ready to make an even bigger fool out of you, should you act rashly."
A hint of a smile played at the corners of her mouth. "Savour the anger. Keep it. Cultivate it. And observe the target for it, carefully. Find out how they work, where their weaknesses lie - you might even want to try to win their confidence, everything that lets you get in close to them. And then, at the moment when they least expect it, you strike at the place where it hurts the most. A proper revenge should sting worse than the insult did, so that those who offended you, or would offend you in the future, learn not to try anything like that again."
She realised that she had said too much, and closed her mouth with a tiny 'pomp'-sound, giving the cub a sharp, direct look, that was quickly covered by a motherly/teacher-like expression. "This having been said, however, you should know that not every little thing warrants a revenge. If your anger feels like it's about to fade and die while you are still planning to strike back, let it. It won't do you any good to carry every little grudge with you, and you won't get any friends if you can never forgive or forget any insult, no matter how small. Choose your fights, yes, but also choose which fights are truly worth fighting at all. Do you understand?"
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Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2010 8:47 pm
There was an awed expression on the cub's face and he nodded quite often as she spoke, agreeing with every word she said. It was true, he thought, exactly what he had always felt, but never been able to put into words.
To be honest, his little heart was beating a bit harder and he quite fancied himself in love with this lioness, for both her beauty and her wisdom. He swallowed, his mouth suddenly dry, his paws antsy as one usually felt with their first love, and wondered which affected him more, her gorgeous pelt or the devious cunning underneath.
"So I should try and become his friend," he said, a bit too embarrassed to confess his new found love to the lioness just yet. "And become close to him... closer than I am even to my own brothers..."
It was risky, he knew. But was it possible?
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Posted: Fri Mar 26, 2010 6:26 am
Anya blinked, a spark of curiosity glinting in her eyes. This little cub already had such a serious enemy? She couldn't deny that the thought intrigued her, but then she remembered that he was just a cub, after all, and a cub's mortal enemy one day could be his bestest friend the next, so she gave him a very private, very sly grin, complete with mischievously raised eyebrow as she leaned in and purred conspiratorially:
"A wise old lion once said, 'keep your friends close, but your enemies closer,' dear. That's certainly food for thought, don't you think?" Then she let slip a soft giggle and gave him a playful nose-nudge before leaning back again. "Just make sure you don't live only for revenge, little Jabari. All right? It'll only make you old before your time," she drawled, touching her chest with one paw in a comically posh gesture.
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Posted: Sat Mar 27, 2010 7:58 pm
He nodded, taking her words to heart. "I know," he said, as if he really did know. "But I never thought of getting close to him," he admitted, his eyes gleaming with the rapid thoughts racing through his head. "It'll be risky," he said, more to himself than to her. "But of the three of us, I might be best..."
He looked at her with a little smile. "Thank you, Miss Anya," he said. "You've given me a very good idea." He turned, starting back up the hill. "I'd like to see you again sometime!" he added before racing off. A few pebbles fell down in his wake, then he was gone.
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