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 Posted: Wed Jul 07, 2010 9:04 am
 Nohokai felt good. He'd been making friends lately, and that was important to him. Sometimes it was hard for him to open up to strangers, though if the other was doing something engaging it was easier. Kai thought about the lioness he'd first met; she'd been playing in the surf, and he couldn't help but join in. Another thing to love about the sea. It brought strangers together. Kai was so thankful to call this pride home. So to show his thankfulness today, he'd gathered a mouthful of small flowers from a ragged bush not far from the dens and was now sitting in the small waves that lapped against the sandy shore, offering the flowers to the sea that he loved and adored.
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Posted: Wed Jul 07, 2010 9:11 am
Getting down off the rock, after a moment, the sea green cub stretched out and pawed at the water, not trying to hurt anything, but just goofing off. She had no idea what these little pools of water were called, but each one held some kind of different life. "Hey little crab.." Her eyes found that little pinkish crab walking sideways, and she tried to do it too. She'd follow him a ways, giggling and tripping over herself a few times before finally going toward the real ocean. She got her paws wet in the foam and waded out until her knees were covered completely, the gentle waves hitting her chest. Yes, Sabbia loved water very, very much!
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Posted: Wed Jul 07, 2010 9:29 am
Nohokai hummed pleasantly to himself. He'd finished offering the sea the humble flowers. It was inspiring, watching the ocean take his offering, gentle waves drawing the flowers into the open sea. Beautiful. Kai closed his eyes and breathed deep, the salty air tickling his nose and throat.
Rising to his feet, Kai opened his eyes and turned back towards the shore... almost. His attention was grabbed by a small one playing in the surf. She was enjoying the ocean, and it made Kai smile. This was why he loved the sea! He made his way towards the cub, calling out softly so as not to startle her.
"Hello, little one." His voice was deep and raspy and carried with it a blatant kindness. She looked to be enjoying herself so much!
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Posted: Wed Jul 07, 2010 9:34 am
Indeed she was enjoying herself! Sabbia was biting at the salty water and laughing when the ocean seemed to be playing right back with her, pushing her back with a slightly bigger wave. She got swept off her feet and was carried back to the sandy part of the shore before shaking herself out and puffing up. Blinking, she heard a voice and turned her head to see a big, fuzzy male padding towards her.
Instinct told her to hide, but mother had tried to get her to socialize more. It wasn't her specialty, talking to others. So she looked uncertain and flicked a wet ear as she figured out if she should run back to her rock and trinkets she would offer the sea, or if she should just stay where she is.
She crab-walked a step away, tumbled over herself and landed upside down, on her back, still looking at the male. Great! She'd gone and made herself look silly! And now she was covered in sand. Somehow twisting herself, she got up on her paws before spitting sand out. "Ewwww..." Sand was gritty! Well, she should talk to him. He did talk to her first. And it was the polite thing to do, momma said. She said running away was rude.
"H-hello..."
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Posted: Wed Jul 07, 2010 9:43 am
Kai's eyes widened as the she took a tumble. He made no move to help her up, sensing that she was a bit wary of him. Nohokai didn't want to make matters worse. After she righted herself, Kai had to hide a smile as she spit out the sand that had gotten in her mouth. Kai knew the feeling. Sand didn't taste all that great.
Kai beamed at her when she spoke. It was much easier to talk to younger lions; Kai seemed to get along with older pridemates just fine, but the carefree playfulness of cubs was just so endearing to Kai. It was why he'd taken the job he had, that of storyteller to the cubs.
"I am Nohokai," he spoke softly, keeping his distance so as to not frighten her. "You can call me Kai if you like, though. What is your name?"
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Posted: Fri Jul 09, 2010 6:54 am
Sabbia was glad when the bigger lion didn't make a move to help her. But he started to talk to her, and she gave him a little smile. Her tail flicked this way and that as she slowly, oh so slowly, inched up near him. "Nohokai? It's... pretty. I'm Sabbia. ...I don't know... if you can shorten it..."
She was still a distance away, but she felt a playful air about this adult. Something told her that he would end up playing with her, and not minding it. Her older sister, Feana, didn't usually mind playing with her, but there were those times she got snappy. Her siblings always wanted to play, and way too rough. Momma and daddy were usually too busy to play, now a days.
"....Why're you down here?"
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Posted: Tue Jul 13, 2010 10:31 am
Nohokai didn't try to stop the chuckle from bursting past his lips. "Sabbia, a lovely name. It needs no shortening, it's perfect as it is." He grinned, nodding at her.
"Why am I here? Well, I love the ocean. I wanted to pay tribute to her this morning, and so I came down here to do so." He looked out at the water with dark eyes, still smiling. "It's so calming, so wonderful here at the shore, don't you think, Sabbia?"
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Posted: Tue Jul 13, 2010 11:23 am
"...I like it, 'cause ....these pools.." Her voice was that of a child trying to say something to an adult, but not sure if they would find any interest in it whatsoever. She motioned to the little pools teeming with life not to far from her. "Each... pool got something different in them. ...Life wise, anyway. Like separate prides. I look for things the sea gives us, too. Then I give... her something I made from them..."
The sea green and brown lioness looked to her stash of stuff on the rock and wandered over to it, to grab a crudely crafted necklace. It showed promise, but it was clearly done by a child. She moved it around her neck and showed him the whole sand dollar in the center with little clam shells lining the rest of it. Maybe he was interested in crafting like she was.
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Posted: Thu Jul 15, 2010 9:44 am
Kai listened to her very carefully, nodding when it was appropriate. Their love for the sea had brought them together this morning, and that pleased Nohokai. He went where the ocean took him, and this morning it had brought him to Sabbia.
Attentively he peered at the pools, each of them swarming with small fish, starfish, anemones, sand dollars. And when she brought forward the necklace she'd crafted, Kai's eyes widened. "It's beautiful, Sabbia! You made this?" He wanted to move closer, wanted a better look, but didn't dare frighten her away.
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Posted: Thu Jul 15, 2010 10:02 am
Sabbia could tell that he wanted to move closer toward her, so she moved first. She held it in her mouth and nodded at his question. It had taken her a long time to make, too! The white, pinks, blues and browns went well together; she had a good eye for color. Or so she thought. Clearly, Sabbia was getting more comfortable with him being around, slowly letting her eyes warm up and her guard down.
"Made it for momma," she mumbled, drool escaping and she made a slurping sound to get it back in. A red stain spread across her cheeks, embarrassed by that, as well.
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Posted: Thu Jul 15, 2010 10:16 am
"I'm sure she'll love it very much," he murmured, eyeballing the piece with great detail. Little Sabbia had great potential to be an amazing crafter, and the thought made him smile. He choked back a chuckle when she drooled, not wanting to embarrass her further, but he was utterly charmed by his new little friend.
"When I am beach combing, I will save special things I find for you, Sabbia," he grinned at her, hoping it pleased her to know this. "If I cannot find you, I will leave them here by your tide pools so you know where to find them."
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Posted: Thu Jul 15, 2010 10:25 am
She flushed even further when she put the necklace on over her neck with little difficulty. The sea green lioness wiggled in her spot as Kai spoke and then she nodded a bit. "Y...you don't have too. B-but thank you." Her voice was dripping in embarrassment. Then she actually looked at him and noticed the colors.
"You... you look like me.. I mean, color wise. ....Like the sea foam that comes up sometimes..." She studied the ocean when she looked in the pools. Tide pools? Is that what they were called? She really didn't know that. No one taught about them, she just kind of found them there.
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Posted: Thu Jul 15, 2010 10:33 am
She was just utterly adorable and her innocence charmed Kai more than he could say. Her embarrassment only endeared Kai to her further, and he nodded, pleased by her acceptance of his offer.
"Yes, we are very similar in appearance!" He chuckled at her analogy to the sea foam. "Just like the foam, yes!" Kai had never thought about it that way, but he liked the comparison. Her view on the world was refreshing.
"Or even like kelp, yeah?"
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Posted: Thu Jul 15, 2010 10:41 am
"I'm like sea foam, sea weed, and wet sand." She wiggled her brown and dark green toes in the sand and put on a happy smile. Now she was truly relaxed with him. Sabbia had found common ground with an adult! It was the first time it had happened with someone not family. Her tail wiggled and she moved a bit closer then nodded. "Kelp, too. ....I use dried kelp pieces for bracelets. I made one once, and offered it to the ocean. She was happy with it!"
Sabbia went so far as to n** at his lower mane, the part she could reach and gave it a playful tug before running a way and laughing happily. "Your it!"
It was funny how children went from awkward and shy one moment, to open and welcoming the next.
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Posted: Thu Jul 15, 2010 10:48 am
Kai went from nodding seriously one moment as she talked about using kelp to make bracelets to looking at Sabbia's curly-tipped tail as she tore off across the sand in a game of tag. He would never get tired of the spontaneous nature of children; it was something he sometimes had in common with them. It allowed him to just let loose and have fun, sometimes it was hard to do with other adults.
With a playful shout he gave chase, though staying far enough behind and running just slow enough so he didn't catch her.
"I'll get you!" he called after her, laughing loudly. He was having a great time!
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