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 Posted: Sun May 02, 2010 2:35 pm
 A small red and black lion cub was crouching low apparently stalking something close to him, standing very still and quiet. It wasn’t long until the object of his attention, a tiny green lizard, suddenly moved haphazardly trying to run away from the looming shadow. The little thing was fast and when it failed to find a safe spot for the fifth time, it quickly put some distance between itself and the cub and hid behind a few grass blades. Kafele quickly followed in pursuit, trying not to lose the creature’s scent but he was growing tired of this game. The lizard’s movements were too quick and erratic and the green creature was very much aware that it was being hunted. Therefore, the lizard always managed to escape just as the cub was about to pounce and Kafele never managed to catch the stupid thing.
Kafele climbed to a small rock and sniffed the air, getting ready for a final attack. Amira was talking to some of the other moms as they watched all their cubs at play. He’d been told to be nice which hadn’t really lasted that long and he was now sulking alone after some annoying whiny cub had run to tell on him, earning him a few reproachful stares from the group. Weak little runt.
Kafele leaped when he was almost sure where the little lizard was hiding, his pounce missing it by ridiculously big distance. He didn’t even bother to follow it this time and instead plopped down, rolled to the side and sighed.
He was very much bored.
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Posted: Sun May 02, 2010 5:29 pm
The youngest of Indira's sons wandered quietly through the pridelands. He was by himself, but it wasn't like he would misbehave in any way. He just wanted to go for a walk was all, wasn;t going near the borders or the Shatkona. And he knew his mother saw him leave. Kayin would never disappoint her, not if there was anything he could possibly do about it. But he was starting to get bigger, and someday he'd have to look after himself. It couldn't hurt to look around a little while he was still small enough to be excused for a mistake.
Saying he was alone might not have been accurate after all. There were other lions here, and though he'd crouched in silence when he first saw them, they looked to be a family. Not a group of Ligi then. So he would probably be okay.
He hadn't really met any cubs besides his brothers, and while he loved them dearly, he still felt as though he might be missing something. He didn't want to worry his mother though, but... but this didn't seem like something that she would have to be concerned about. Kayin wasn't a fool, though Jabari usually seemed to know better. But he rather thought he'd be able to look after himself just a little bit. And he did so want to meet another cub...one that wasn't a brother...
"...hello?" he tried, shyly, as he padded towards the bright red cub laying on his side.
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Posted: Sun May 02, 2010 6:22 pm
Kafele rolled back into his paws as soon as he heard a voice he didn’t recognize. He eyed Kayin appraisingly, taking note of the other young lion’s colors and posture. He looked a little older which was pretty neat as far as Kafele was concerned.
“You look a lot like my sister!” It was strange greeting but Kafele wasn’t exactly known for his politeness. “Except, well… she has a lot of red markings and stuff. I’ve never seen you around! You came to play?” After darting one quick look back at his mother, Kafele immediately dropped to a playful bow, black tail waving from side to side and a mischievous grin suddenly appearing on his features. He noticed they also shared the same mane color and similar eyes… seriously, this kid could easily pass as one of his siblings (especially next to Dada).
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Posted: Mon May 03, 2010 2:00 am
"Sister?" Kayin repeated, looking somewhat puzzled. Curious, he glanced over to where he'd seen the other cubs playing, trying to guess if one of those was the sister this red one was talking about. He might have approached them as well, but they seemed to be happy with each other. He wouldn't want to interrupt...and besides... the other boy had seemed so bored. He was the one who would probably have wanted someone to play with.
"If you want," the cub replied cheerfully, his ears pricking forward with some excitement at the prospect of playing with someone new. Sometimes playing with his brothers felt more like training, and while he didn't mind sometimes it was more fun to just...play. "What do you want to play?" Kayin asked, his head tipped to one side as he waited for the other to decide. He just wanted to play, it didn't matter much to him what they did.
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Posted: Mon May 03, 2010 5:25 pm
“Let’s play catch and pin!” Kafele said at once, delighted by the positive reply. “You first!” Okay? Okay?”
The red cub had a wide grin as he hopped with abundant enthusiasm before turning on the spot and running away from his “opponent”. Because Kayin was a bit older, Kafele fully expected him to be faster, so the red cub put all his efforts into that first initial sprint.
“Catch me!”
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Posted: Tue May 04, 2010 7:09 am
Catch and pin? Kayin blinked for a moment, watching as the other cub took off at a full-blown sprint. Belatedly, he wondered if they ought to have traded names first, but he supposed if it mattered then the red cub would have said something.
"Coming!" he called in reply to the other's words of 'catch me'. He might have been the youngest, and slightly smallest, of his brothers but he seemed to be just a smidge bigger than this other cub. Longer legs, even if they were just a tiny bit longer, would give him an advantage. Not to mention...all of mother's training would help.
Looking more intent then playful, Kayin bolted after the fleeing lion, taking a while to catch up enough to try a pounce. Maybe if he hadn't just stood there when the other started to run... but it wouldn't be as 'fun' if he'd caught him right away anyway, right? Not that he was saying he could catch him so fast! That wasn't what he meant at all! Even though he possibly could have, but that was only because of Indira's training!
Without a sound of warning, he leaped, fulling intending to tackle the other in a pounce. If it worked they'd probably wind up rolling in the dirt, they were moving pretty fast and it wouldn't have surprised him. Kay wasn't going to hurt him though! Rolling in the dirt wouldn't hurt anyone... and Kay didn't have his claws out and wasn't going to hit him in the head or anything.
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Posted: Tue May 04, 2010 10:08 am
Kafele was usually good at this game. He was quick on his toes and tended to catch the other cubs just when they’d started running and was able to put a good distance between himself and whoever was trying to catch him when it was his turn. Also, he was usually so fierce during the pinning part that he almost always came out on top. He was quite surprised that things weren’t playing out like that.
The cream cub got to him a little quicker than Kafele expected and even though he was fully prepared for the pounce, the hit was a little stronger than he expected and they rolled pretty fast. The momentum didn’t seem to be in his favor, however, and Kafele ended up with his back on the ground – a position he really hated. He fought back a nasty hiss (because strange cubs didn’t always take it too well) and he tried to escape the pin, a little upset – but oddly delighted! – that we couldn’t wiggle out of it as easily as usual. Still, he was growling a little more aggressively than perhaps most cubs did when playing though his grin was proof he was doing just that. If he failed to turn the tables quickly, he would have to give up and admit he lost the first round.
Unwilling to give in that easily, Kafele tried to push his back paws up in order to kick the other cub off of him.
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Posted: Wed May 05, 2010 2:18 pm
Kayin hadn't exactly been ready to tumble quite that fast. But then, he'd never really tried it with a smaller cub, even if the red cub was almost the same size as him. His brothers were bigger, he had to hit them hard to knock them down. Had he pounced on this one too hard? He hadn't hurt him, had he?
He wasn't paying too much attention, so he wouldn't remember later if it had been reflex or mere luck that he wound up on top. Instinctivly, he caught the wriggling cub under his paws, trying to keep him from escaping. Catch and pin he'd said, right? So...so he was supposed to pin him...right?
The growling made him nervous though. He hadn't hurt the other cub, had he? Oof! Kayin squeaked slightly at the kick that landed squarely on his stomach. Was he hurting him? He didn't mean to!
"I'm sorry," Kay squeaked, leaping off the other cub and backing a few uncertain steps away. He...he wasn't sure this was how to play. Was he playing wrong? Or did he just...not know how to play? Was he only able to train and practice fighting? Was he meant never to just play? He didn't want to hurt anyone! "I didn't hurt you, did I?" he asked anxiously, his ears flattening slightly. Maybe he should just go away...
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Posted: Wed May 05, 2010 6:21 pm
Kafele was annoyed. He was being overpowered which was unusual and unpleasant and the red cub had just given a mental sigh as he prepared himself to say those dreadful words: “I give”. Those words were more often than not reserved for his brother Azu and he was very much against saying them easily but it seemed he wouldn’t have a choice here. However, his kick had the desired effect as he managed to get the cream cub off of him… but apparently not by Kafele’s strength. Had he hurt him badly? The red cub was almost sure he had unsheathed his claws but he did get a little overexcited sometimes and wasn’t quite as certain anymore. He seemed to be standing normally so everything was fine, right? Well, apparently not, judging by the other cub’s reaction. He was stepping away with ears all laid back and Kafele was looked positively dumbfounded when he spoke.
“I’m fine! We’re playing. It’s supposed to hurt a little!” he said at last, standing very straight with his head tilted to the side. “You had to pin me until I gave up. Don’t you play, hum…? You…? Want was your name again?”
It never crossed his mind that that was just how his little group of Atmaja cubs played and that there were dozens of variations to the game. It was strange though. Granted, Kafele was usually the one administering the pain but he wasn’t used to having someone that worried about hurting him – with of course the exception of the adults in the family. And boy! Did the cream cub look worried! Kafele wasn’t used to getting that look from other cubs… it was actually nice in a way. It made them seem closer, like old friends.
“If you want to play soft, you have to go to those weaklings over there.” his chin pointed to the other cubs but he looked suddenly afraid that Kayin might actually take that to heart. He was quick to continue, a tentative smile dangling on his maw. “But it’s your turn to run now… it’s a draw but it’s like you won ‘cause I couldn’t push you off.”
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Posted: Fri May 07, 2010 10:53 am
The cream colored cub watched him uncertainly for a while. He seemed okay. Maybe a little confused. But Kayin didn’t mean to make a mistake. He just…he just wasn’t sure. He knew he was a little bigger than the other cub, he just didn’t want to hurt him. He didn’t like the idea of hurting someone, especially by accident.
”Kay,” he replied after a moment, ”I’m Kay. And…and I’m sorry. I’ve never played with someone besides my brothers before…” He wasn’t entirely sure what they did was playing either. It always seemed more like training. Practice. The one ‘game’ he’d really played with Jabby wound up scaring him so badly that he didn’t want to tell any more stories. Afterwards, he’d thrown himself even more into the training their mother gave them, desperate to make sure that no matter what happened, if one of his brothers were the chosen one that he’d be able to help them defeat the Shatkona and not get killed. What would he do if one of them got hurt? He had to be stronger, he had to be able to help them!
He turned to look in the direction of the other cubs when the red one indicated them. They seemed happy, playing with one another. Nobody seemed to be making any mistakes either, and their parents watched over them. Sometimes Kay wondered about his parents, but he loved Indira more than anything in the world. Except maybe his brothers. She was his real mother, as far as he was concerned. She was the one who looked after them, who trained them to be strong enough to look after each other. But sometimes he felt odd, not looking like her. He wanted to look like her…but at least he looked like his brothers.
Playing soft, the red cub had said. Was what they were doing playing hard? It hadn’t felt hard to him, it felt normal. Was that bad? Confused, he looked back to the other in time to catch what looked like an anxious expression on his features. Was he worried Kayin wouldn’t want to play with him anymore? The smile covered it up pretty fast, but it still bothered him somewhat. Was the red cub lonely?
”What’s your name?” Kayin asked, his head tipped to one side as he looked the other over carefully. He seemed a little younger…maybe. Kay wasn’t that good at guessing ages yet. But he was a little smaller. So he was probably a little younger, right? Nodding at the other’s instructions that it was his turn, Kay turned to run, picking a direction that led away from the other cubs. He wouldn’t have minded playing with them, but he’d said that they were ‘soft’. Kayin had a feeling that meant playing with them like this might hurt them. And he didn’t really know how else to play.
So instead, he took his turn and ran away. He wouldn’t go easy on the red cub, it felt dishonest to not do his best. And if the other caught him just because Kay was slow on purpose, then his victory would probably feel hollow. Besides, the red cub was fast and strong too. He’d catch him without much trouble, and then they would wrestle again. And this time Kay knew what they were supposed to be doing, he wouldn’t mess up again. This seemed like it might actually be kind of fun.
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Posted: Fri May 07, 2010 9:42 pm
“Kay… that’s a really short name! Almost like a nickname.” Kafele replied with a small frown that quickly lifted. “Never? Really? I have two brothers but they’re not that fun!”
The red cub giggled before he answered the question. “My name’s Kafele! It means… something. I forgot. But you can call me Kafe ‘cause we’re friends now.“ the cub stated plainly before dashing off after Kayin.
It would be a bit of a stretch to say Kafele was lonely. After all, he had his mother and aunt Fila always watching out for him, his uncle, his siblings and the nearby cubs to play. Still, adults were well, adults. And he’d never purposefully hurt his sister. His brother Azu was probably the one he played the most with and Livi was quieter and somehow strangely similar to Kayin - they would probably get along rather nicely not that Kafele would tell that to either one of them anytime soon. But it wasn’t easy finding opportunities where he could just let go and have fun without being reprimanded. Kayin looked tough, more than capable of dealing with the red cub’s antics and Kafele was delighted with this new acquaintance. Now that the red cub took a proper look at him, Kayin couldn’t be that much older… He had to catch him!
“Hey, you move funny…” How could he explain it properly? He just got this strange feeling that his new friend was a lot less like his finicky cream-colored sister (with whom he shared some physical similarities) and a lot more like his trained and tough aunt Fila. Strong, fast and most of all… extremely focused. “Do you… play a lot?”
It wasn’t easy keeping up with the cream-colored cub especially when you’re spouting words needlessly. But at least from behind Kafele could predict where Kayin was heading for the most part and he tried to cut the distance between them when he could. Even though he was quite proud of his natural stamina (for he was truly a furball of energy) he couldn’t keep running for too long. He so wished he'd had a few more lessons with aunt Fila, she’d been totally right about the whole running thing.
He was so focused that he didn’t even notice the shadow that followed the two cubs from a distance. It was most likely one of the mothers that wished to keep the two cubs under watch but Kafele had more important things on his mind. Like the hit he was trying to land on Kayin right now in hopes the cream cub would lose his balance and open an opportunity for a nice well–aimed pounce.
(you could chose how well that goes but it would be funny if Kafele managed to pounce but then was unable to keep him pinned down, lol. ‘Cause Kayin got moves, yo!)
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Posted: Fri May 07, 2010 10:54 pm
"Oh...it...it's short for Kayin," Kay explained, a little embarrassed. He wasn't sure if he wanted to say what it meant, it felt too much like praising himself. Saying he was 'celebrated child' seemed like bragging to him. It was just a name, it didn't have to be significant. His brothers mostly called him Kay anyway, it was shorter.
The red cub's statement, that he could call him Kafe because they were friends, made Kayin smile with an unexpected warm feeling while he ran. Usually this sort of 'game' he was playing would be more serious, Indira taught them well. But it seemed like it would be okay if he smiled, no one would be offended now. Because playing was meant to be fun, right?
"I...move funny?" Kay asked, barely resisting the urge to look back. If he didn't look where he was going, he might run into something. That would be foolish and clumsy. His mother would have been disappointed in such an obvious error. But he was curious... "Oh... mother...uhm...mother showed us games like this one," he decided finally. Some of the training had been like this, only it had felt more serious. But he didn't want to say he spent all his time training. Was that odd?
He squeaked in spite of himself when he felt something hit him, and he stumbled as he twisted to see what was going on. He hadn't quite mastered that part yet, some things were getting to be reflexive but mostly...not so much. He tried though! He always did! No matter what it was, he tried with everything he had in him. Because anything less than his best wasn't deserving of the effort.
It seemed like Kafe had come out of nowhere, he'd been distracted by talking. It wasn't like he conversed with his brothers during a training drill. He tumbled, landing on his back because of his clumsiness, but had his paws up to protect his belly and face, lashing out fiercely before he remembered that this was a game, not a practice battle.
Kayin winced, hoping that he hadn't kicked Kafe too hard, that the swat he'd taken to knock the other cub dizzy had missed and hit his shoulder or something instead. He hadn't been able to see where he was aiming, it wasn't like he was good enough to hit every target anyway. He was pretty sure he'd hit something though, and probably too hard for just playing.
"Sorry!" he heard himself squeak before he'd really thought about saying anything. Gah! Hadn't Kafe told him it was okay before? Why did he always apologize? He knew it bothered some people...
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Posted: Fri May 07, 2010 11:45 pm
Wait, so Kayin had given him his nickname in the first place! To Kafele nicknames were proof of familiarity and to be given that so freely was somewhat moving. So he smiled and pushed harder – he had to keep up with his new friend! - until…
Success! Or maybe not. He thought he’d managed to push Kay’s back paws down enough so he wouldn’t be pushed off but them something happened right in front of his face and he got a pretty good hit on the head, right on his temporal bone. He fell to the side and staggered for a few moments with his eyes closed, looking a little uncoordinated but not falling. Finally, Kayin’s apology seemed to wake him up.
“You’re always saying that, Kay!” he laughed even though the landscape was still moving a little funny. “You got me good. How did you do that?! Your shoulder just… something just flipped and your paw got me. I need to get my aunt to teach me that! Your mom must be an awesome teacher!”
He shook his head again before looking suddenly excited as he blurted out a string of words.
“Hey, hey, Kay! Ahah, that sounds funny. What else can you do? I know! Let’s play another game! I’ll hide and you have to find me!”
Kayin was so very interesting. He was strong! And Kafele had the sudden urge to test him and see what he’d do in another situation. His blood was literally boiling in eager anticipation as he rushed a little far ahead.
“Close your eyes! Close them, Kay!”
When he was sure he couldn’t be seen, Kafele climbed a large rock formation and waited, tail twitching a couple of times before freezing. The plan: wait for Kay to get close enough – would he be able to scent him out? – and then jump him from above! Well, it didn’t sound very nice but Kafele wasn’t exactly an angel. And this was so much fun…
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Posted: Sat May 08, 2010 10:07 am
Kayin stayed on his back, his blue eyes anxious again as Kafe staggered sideways. Oh, he had hit him! His paws folded against his chest as the other cub tried to get his balence, feeling miserably guilty. He was really terrible at training. He’d hit the cub he hoped might be a friend as if he was one of his brothers during a training session.
And yet…somehow…Kafe wasn’t upset. Or hurt. Or offended. Or…anything. He was…he was…laughing…
A small smile started tentativly on his features as he rolled to his feet again. ”She is a good teacher,” he said, sounding almost proud to be considered her son. It was the furthest he ever came from his humble unassuming nature, thinking about her. He would never let her down. Never! No matter what it took, he would show her that her efforts were not wasted on him. Just as his brothers showed that they were skillful as well.
He was about to offer to show the other cub, it wasn’t so hard to do really. It was mostly learning how to do it on reflex, and hit the right spot, that was hard. The motion itself wasn’t too complicated, and it was hitting the target that counted more than sheer strength. When someone had him pinned, they wouldn’t be expecting a whack on the head. But then Kafe got excited again, he had a new idea it seemed.
Ever eager to make someone happy, Kayin found himself nodding in agreement before he really finished talking about what he wanted to do. Find him when he hid? It sounded like the exercise Indira had given them, only he’d had both his brothers to help him then. ”Okay,” Kay replied, shutting his eyes as instructed. Find Kafe? Wait, how long until he could open his eyes? Kayin sat there for a long minute, eyes shut as he listened to see if there were further directions forthcoming. When he didn’t hear anything, Kay shuffled his forepaws uncertainly.
”…I’m gonna look now,” he called finally, ”If you’re not ready just say so.” He waited for a few seconds, ears pricked for a cry of ‘wait, not yet’. When he didn’t hear anything, he cracked one eye, then opened both. So…now he had to find Kafe. Frowning faitly, he looked around himself. There were lots of places someone could have hidden around here. Rocks, trees, some of the plants could have been big enough to hide a cub. He took a few steps in the direction the other cub had seemed to be heading before he told Kay to shut his eyes.
The cub listened carefully, hoping to hear some sound to hint where the other might have gone. Of course, it seemed Kafe was too clever for that. Somewhat lost now, he looked around some more, wondering if the other cub was watching him. How had they gone about finding Indira…oh! Maybe he could catch Kafe’s scent. Except it wasn’t nearly as familiar as mother’s was. Was this Kafe’s scent? Or was it this smell? Or…oh dear. How was he going to find him then?
Well, it he looked long and hard enough, he would surely find the other cub. It might take longer, but he had to be able to find him eventually. Slowly, he moved along the area, checking every single spot he thought the other might have hidden in. Some places were easy to rule out, others he had to look to be certain. But it didn’t take him that much time before he was searching around the rocks Kafe had climbed, frowning as he tried to decide if the scent here was Kafe’s. It seemed like it might be but…but he wasn’t sure…
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Posted: Sat May 08, 2010 10:36 am
Belatedly, Kafele realized he hadn’t told how long Kayin had to wait before coming to look for him. But he was afraid of revealing his position right now so he just waited – rather impatiently – for the cream colored cub to start moving. He was restless, screaming so loudly in his mind he was actually afraid his thoughts might betray him.
Kafe’s eyes widened as he watched the other cub finally moving closer to his location, a wicked grin following Kayin while the red cub kept his body glued to the sturdy rock. He tried to be as silent as possible as he took one careful step to the edge and then another before lunging from the higher position hoping to fall right on Kay.
In another situation he would most likely growl his lungs out or shout a witty “Gotcha!” but he was quite aware Kayin was on a different level than most cubs. Keeping his claws unsheathed was the only thing he was willing to hold back on.
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