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 Posted: Fri Mar 26, 2010 11:42 am
She wasn't entirely sure how it'd started, or what she'd even said to bring down their wrath upon herself, but then.... children were often cruel and needed very little reason to lash out, verbally of physically. Unfortunately, Miako's often snobbish, superior attitude was not well greeted by many of her peers and while she'd kept to herself in her cubhood... she was growing and expected to socialize. This had brought problems upon her life, for she'd noticed that her words (while often times true), were blunt, callous and so honest they were rude.
While the lithe lioness carried herself with the elegance of a queen and her movements only helped to cement that outlook on others, her social skills were severely lacking in that she often said the wrong things to others. It wasn't always on purpose, alas, she was too proud to ask for help, too stubborn to give up... and too weak to fight back.
She'd been cornered against a wall, near one of the training fields by a female that was only a bit older than her, and a male that easily towered over her (but had not yet reached adolescence). They were past words and instead kept her cornered, hissing and swiping at her with their claws, though they weren't aiming to hit, just to scare her.
Maiko had her ears flattened against her skull and acted like a caged animal would have, lashing at the air when they swiped at her. It was obvious she was highly intimidated, but too proud to back down. It was also obvious this was not a battle she was going to win or come unhurt out of and she was having a hard time biting back tears of rage and frustration as she pressed herself against the wall.
The adults were occupied on the other side of the field and couldn't see them due to the way the rock curved.
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Posted: Fri Mar 26, 2010 12:19 pm
In the time since their first meeting, a combination of change and odd foresight has managed to force Kidondo and Miako to cross paths with alarming frequency. The prediction the red lioness had made when they first met seems to be holding true, but unfortunately for Miako there are still times when they are apart. Like now, for instance, as Kidondo should be off sparring.
'Should be' is the operative term here, of course, since something has inexplicably drawn the young female away from one of her favourite activities. Annoyance creases her features as she stalks across the parched land, pulled almost against her will to something that she can't quite see but knows to be important. Hah! What could be important about this less-used training field, out in the middle of nowh-- and then she stops, dropping low to the ground. Something is wrong, she can feel it, and in a few moments she can hear it too. Hissing. Spitting, Low angry growls, and a scent of desperation - desperation, mingled with something familiar. Miako!
Any other 'friend' would have immediately rushed to see what was wrong, but Kidondo moves with the same slow and obsessive deliberation that she showed on that first day. This measured pace brings her to the top of the rock face against which the smaller lioness is pressed, and she watches the situation unfold below her.
They want blood, she can tell that right away. Not a lot, just enough to take the insufferable white lioness down a peg. Maybe a scratch to mark her perfect nose. Maybe a notch in her ear. They want blood, and they're going to get it unless she does something; the adults are too far away to summon before this goes too far. Unless she called out, which could be amusing as it would infuriate Miako to be rescued in such a way. But no, that's not how Kidondo wants to do this. Not when she has the chance to demonstrate the value of the words she spoke on that first day.
But she's outnumbered, and that male is about as big as she is. Her attention is so focused on the situation below that the bup against her paw comes as a surprise - she jerks away and looks at the culprit, and then a wicked smirk spreads across her muzzle.
The scorpion falls first, landing squarely in the scraggly still-growing mane of the male. Kidondo lands lightly beside the female, dragging one claw along her cheek - just pressing into the skin, not quite cutting her. A gesture, to show what she could have done. She hisses, baring her fangs, and positions herself squarely between the bullies and the brat.
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Posted: Fri Mar 26, 2010 12:38 pm
They were going going to hurt her. She'd known that the moment they'd managed to corner her (while she was weaker than them, she was also faster and quite a bit more agile), which was how she'd managed to evade them when they were alone. Alas, the two lions had figured out that if they joined forced they could probably trap the pale pelted one, and that's exactly what they'd done.
Miako had known she was in trouble the moment she'd been 'herded' into the dead end, and she'd been extremely angry with herself for falling into the trap. Still, she was cornered, they were angry and she expected them to hurt her.
What she had not expected was the falling... something or other that plunged into the male's growing mane. She could have sworn it was a scorpion but that would have been impossible, wouldn't it? Miako was caught surprised halfway through a hiss and a swipe at the air with her claws; it left her in a rather comical position when Kidondo fell down from above them, planting herself firmly between her tormentors and her. For what seemed like a long moment, everything stood still, the tension so high Miako though she would have been able to slice through it with her claws.
And then, chaos erupted around them, or at least, so it seemed. The male, whom had only been able to blink as the red lioness had swooped down on them, suddenly felt the scorpion's wrath as it stung him in the neck; instantly, the male let out a horrible sound, somewhere between a yelp, a growl and a roar as he turned about himself, trying to reach for whatever was causing him harm and pain. The scorpion, firmly lodged within the unruly hair continued it's assault, and it ended with the male yelping as he threw himself on the ground, rubbing his face and neck on the dirt several times, still with little to no success. After several more moments of this, he turned around, still yelping, and left the females behind, no doubt in search of someone that could help him.
His companion had felt the p***k of claws against her cheek, but had been too absorbed by both the lion's reaction to the scorpion and Kidondo's descent to do much of anything about it. However, when the male left, she finally turned to aim a growl at the red lioness, her black pelt contrasting horribly against Miako's own white one, breathless and confused as to what she should be feeling.
Silence again, aside from the the female's growling, and then action, chaos as the black pelted bully leaps into the air, no doubt aiming to grab Kidondo and pin her to the ground; there are clear mistakes in her technique though as rage blinds her, and she's not nearly as large as her male companion had been.
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Posted: Fri Mar 26, 2010 1:01 pm
The scorpion works exactly as she hopes, creating both a distraction and enough pain to scare the male away. It won't kill him, unless she was wrong about the type of scorpion she dropped, but he'll definitely remember this and his mane may never be the same. She doesn't exactly have a tonne of time to consider this, however, since it seems that the scorpion worked a little too well. If the other bully had noticed the threat, perhaps this would always be over. But only one bully has fled the scene, so Kidondo tenses and prepares herself for the attack. Any moment now...
..and when the black lioness strikes, Kid is ready for her. The bully leaps, and her red opponent rises to her hind legs. The difference in size between the two is dramatic - Kidondo has always been a big girl - and it is almost laughably easy to catch the smaller female and wrestle her to the ground. This time, she does not allow the upstart to emerge unscathed. Her teeth find purchase in the loose skin at the dark female's neck while she pins the smaller lioness' chest to the ground with one paw; the black lioness is trapped, unable to rise or turn her head around to bite at her foe. Her ability to cry out is restricted as well, by the pressure on her throat. Any attempt to lash out with her own claws is met with a threatening growl from Kidondo, followed by a brisk shake of her head.
Once the bully settles, Kidondo lifts her gaze to meet Miako's. Her gaze is steady and intent while she unsheathes one claw on her free paw. And she brings it, almost delicately, to trace a line of blood along the black lioness' cheek - following the same path her claw had traveled harmlessly, mere moments before.
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Posted: Fri Mar 26, 2010 1:59 pm
Miako had never been a warrior. She'd always thought herself above it, acts of brutality, but when it came down to the actual facts... it was because she was not built for fighting. She was still larger than most rogues, but she was not built for war; where Kidondo had bulk and strength, she was slim and fast.
She was weak right now, untrained, and thus at the mercy of others. It came as an epiphany; maybe the challenge she'd wanted was this. Maybe she had to push her own limits... challenge herself, not others, like she'd originaly wanted to do. Maybe her challenge was to work with the cards she'd been given, prove that she was indeed every inch as superior as she felt.
Her breathing was harsh as she watched the fight, which is brief and soon settled with Kidondo looming victoriously over her opponent. She felt as if she had been the one fighting only moments ago, when in truth all she'd done was cower in the corner; despite how tired she felt, she still allowed herself to growl, the rage and frustration she'd felt earlier shinning through once more as she looked into her partner's eyes. Then, in one burst of energy, the lithe lioness came out of 'hiding' and took a swipe at the fallen warrior's face, leaving swallow, but long trails of blood across her maw with a snarl.
The black lioness could do nothing but take the assault, her eyes first looking from Kidondo to Miako, slowly filling up with the fear and uncertainty that the small white lioness had felt moments ago. It was only when she closed her eyes and recoiled, waiting for the next hit that Miako pulled away, growling deep in her throat. Unfortunately for the prisoner, the white lioness was, apparently, not going to 'order' her friend to let go. In fact, Miako sat down beside her and waited for Kidondo to deem the whole event done and over with.
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Posted: Fri Mar 26, 2010 3:16 pm
Kidondo releases her captive the instant Miako is finished, stepping back and removing her jaws from the smaller lioness' neck in one smooth motion. A disappointed scowl creases her muzzle, and she narrows her eyes at the bully. "Coward," she spits, her voice disdainful, "two of you against one? Pfft, run away with your tail between your legs like he did."
She clearly considers the matter done, and after the black lioness has departed she settles herself upon a nearby rock. First things first - she has to clean up. Each claw is meticulously scraped against the rock to remove any loose bits of fur before she lifts her paw, bathing each claw with her tongue. And then each toe, and then between them, and then her entire paw. She continues her ritualistic grooming until she is satisfied, and then turns her attention on Miako (assuming that she's stayed for the duration, of course!).
But she doesn't speak. Oh, she certainly could have offered more than a fair share of 'I-told-you-so', but the red lioness remains curiously quiet. She's not waiting for any declaration of gratitude, not by the expression she wears. She's more... curious than anything.
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Posted: Fri Mar 26, 2010 4:27 pm
She'd managed to come out of the whole ordeal unharmed (granted, her pride and ego were bruised, but she'd live to lick her metaphorical wounds), and yet she didn't feel that much a winner at all. In fact, the whole situation had cemented the fact she was indeed weak in her mind. She might be faster, and she might be smarter than many others, but when the s**t hit the proverbial fan, she'd been hand tied and utterly unable to defend herself.
Realization had come almost like a bucket of freezing water dropped over her head and Miako wasn't entirely sure what to do with the new found information. Too much, too soon, too fast; she was obviously having trouble processing it, though then again, part of the reason might've been the fact adrenaline was still pumping through her veins and her breathing was still harsh. It was making it rather hard to rationalize and think.
She'd remain sitting by Kidondo's side throughout the whole procedure; she watched the way she scraped her claws, licked them and cleaned every single finger methodically. There was a familiarity in the gesture that calmed the younger female enough to finally talk, "You were right," she told the female, and while there were no words of gratitude, the gratitude was still there, underlining her voice.
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Posted: Sat Mar 27, 2010 5:32 am
"It happens," Kidondo replies vaguely. Perhaps she is speaking about the fact that she was right (of course she was!), perhaps she is speaking about the situation in general. Whatever the reason, she does not gloat that she was right or boast about her battle prowess. It happens, and all they can do is deal with it.
In truth, the red lioness is still uncertain of her own motivation. Clearly, some part of her feels that Miako is important. But why? Why is it that her casual urges to do something a little outside the norm and those incessant feelings of being right are always related to her? Something drew her here, to this precise time and place, and events unfolded as if she was watching an instant replay instead of taking part. This has happened before, but it seems to be happening more often now - and it always relates to the white lioness.
And then, suddenly, her calm demeanour shatters. Kidondo giggles, the sound seeming extremely out of place, and points to where the scorpion-stung male had been standing. "Did you see the look on his face when it stung him?!"
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Posted: Tue Mar 30, 2010 6:12 am
At that moment in time, Miako wasn't entirely sure about anything other than her own revelation. She was still confused deep down, and hadn't even bother to think about why the other lioness had bothered to save her. It made some sort of strange... sense, as if there were no need for logic or rationality within the course of events of Kidondo's actions. It was Meant to Be, and she subconsciously accepted that.
Her eyes drifted over to the red lioness as she stood calmly, never goading, never gloating - it only reinforced the whole 'It was meant to be' feel of the whole situation. It was particularly hard to figure out just what she was supposed to say, but she was trying to dig into her thoughts in an attempt to not look like an idiot. Of course, that whole idea crashed and burned as Kidondo erupted into giggles.
Out of a long list of things she hadn't been expecting, this one was probably somewhere up high on that list. Still, there was no helping the way her maw spread into a smirk; it was a welcomed change of topic and at least it was distracting her mind from her own mistakes, "I don't think he'll come near me again, that's for sure. And I'm not sure his mane will recover from that either."
A pause and her smirk dropped a bit as she stood up; there was only one thing that remain to address, and the lithe white lioness had to bite back and swallow her pride to do so, "What am I going to do? How am I going to fix this? Any of it?" she was not delusional - she knew she wouldn't last in the battle field and she couldn't very well go apprentice now. She felt like she was trapped while knowing that the key to open her cage was just out of reach.
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Posted: Tue Mar 30, 2010 6:21 am
"I hope it leaves a mark," she huffs, lifting her head sharply, "he deserves nothing less, for acting like a coward. You'd thi--" And then she cuts herself off, before she can go on a rant about the rebels vs. the traditionals, and blah blah blah. That's something she's learned to keep well under wraps, for her mother's sake. "He should know better than to be a bully," Kidondo explains, waving one paw as if pushing away her almost-mistake.
Miako's plight (and questions) do not go unnoticed, but the red lioness does not - for once - have an easy answer. She frowns, tilting her head to the side as if considering the size and abilities of her companion. "Well, I can't spar with you. It'll just be frustrating, I doubt I could teach you much without being able to watch how you move."
She rises, padding around the smaller lioness and nudging at her legs, her flanks. Then she gives a sudden shove, as if testing Miako's balance.
"We need someone smaller. Younger, I guess, to spar with you. Outside of class time; it'd be extra practice for them and a lesson for you." And a good exercise for Kidondo as well, since she can practice giving orders and training recruits!
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Posted: Tue Mar 30, 2010 6:39 am
She was Firekin, even if she wasn't the best fighter amongst the pride members - she knew enough to know what Kidondo was getting at. There was no honor in fighting someone weaker than you. There was absolutely no honor in going after someone that could not defend themselves and there was no way she could forgive them for bullying her, when all she'd done was slip up with her words (Even that hadn't been on purpose though!).
She stopped the way her companion stopped talking and seemed to backpedal, but mentioned nothing of it and did not press further. After all, Miako had the inkling of a notion that she'd hear what Kidondo had in mind at some point or other - there was no need to hound the red lioness, for she'd voice her thought when she was ready to.
As the red lioness drew neared, Miako stood up, but there was no fear or even wariness in her movements; not after the other female had gone through the trouble of helping her anyhow. when the push came, it was a bit of a surprise, but she demonstrated that her balance was not entirely off. She was not completely a lost case, if she focused her strength in... something else. She had agility, speed and flexibility, and though she lacked strength, she could use it in her favor. She just had to figure out how.
Her ears flattened back upon Kidondo's answer, "Someone else? Who is going to accept such an arrangement?" a pause followed her words again, and the way she turned to look at the ground seemed to indicate she was thinking it over, "Maybe I should start going to training time - if only just to watch from a closer distance."
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Posted: Tue Mar 30, 2010 7:05 am
Kidondo seems satisfied with what she's discovered; at least her companion isn't hopeless. And with the right training (and dedication!) her other virtues can overcome the problem of size. Which just leaves two problems - the training itself, and a sparring partner.
For the training, "Yeah, you should watch more of them. Learn what you can by example, since you'd be flattened if you tried to participate." And Kidondo will start to pay more attention in her lessons as well, to see how the instructors teach the would-be combatants. It will be up to her to take Miako's strengths and weaknesses into account, since no proper Firekin instructor will waste their time on it.
And as for the sparring partner... "We'll have to find someone who stands to gain from it too. Someone younger, less experienced. Keep an eye on the others in their lessons, see if you can find someone who's having some trouble."
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Posted: Tue Mar 30, 2010 8:27 am
Having a plan of action... something to follow, was enough to pick up Miako's spirits. It was clear she worked better when she knew what to do and what to expect then when she had no idea what was going to happen to her in the near future.
She listened carefully to what Kidondo had to say and then nodded her head; she could work with that, she was sure of it. After all, Miako figured she couldn't be the only one having some trouble with sparing, and there were a bunch of younger firekin that weren't too distant in age from her. It was just a matter of being patient and knowing where and what to look for, "I can do that," she declared firmly, and then nodded, however, when she stepped forward, her left front paw gave up under her weight a bit. It was probable she'd sprained it during her escape from the bullies.
Needless to say, she was going to need some rest before charging head on with the plan they'd brainstormed, "You really think it will work?" for all the fire in her, at the end of the day she was but a lost child that still had lots to learn.
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Posted: Tue Mar 30, 2010 8:36 am
"Of course it will," she replies easily, shrugging one shoulder. Miako's limp is noticed, but not commented on; it wouldn't serve any purpose to point that out, not now. And it's good in a way, just in case the bullies do try to get Kidondo in trouble for that little stunt.
The young lioness stretches, flexing her claws in the dry sand, and then begins to pad back towards the main areas of the pridelands. "C'mon, there's probably something we can get to eat back there. Get some meat on your bones, maybe that'll help." She give Miako another nudge - more careful this time - and then takes care to set a pace she can follow.
It's not too hard for Kidondo to move more slowly, since she is easily distracted by anything even remotely interesting. She weaves back and forth, from an oddly-shaped rock to a hunting spider in its den to a spiny lizard to... well, you get the idea. If Miako shows any interest in the things she investigates then she'll chatter on about them, but is otherwise silent as they return to the pridelands.
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