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 Posted: Sat Jul 31, 2010 2:29 am
The young lion made his way across the pride's territories, his steps light and his movements smooth, though his eyes were wary. He knew to watch his step, but this time Kayin was determined to find his friend. It had been so long since they'd last seen one another, and he'd promised that he would.
He really did miss his friend. Kafele was the first cub he'd met aside from his brothers, and they'd had so much fun playing together. Even after the...accident. But it seemed almost like it made them somehow closer. Blood brothers, the other had said. Kay touched a paw to his chin at the thought. The scrape had faded over time, not even a scar was left. But it still seemed to tingle whenever he thought of the other cub.
Blood brothers. Best friends too maybe? They might be from different houses, but Kayin didn't care about that. Kafele had been a bit...shocked...but they'd had fun anyway.
He had to see him again. He had to!
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Posted: Sat Jul 31, 2010 12:30 pm
Kayin wasn’t the only one who still looked back somewhat fondly at the time the two cubs from different houses had played together. The red lion missed spending time with the Tama cub but, unlike Kayin, he had almost given up on ever finding him again. Training with aunt Fila and his siblings had been taking an increasing amount of time and his attempts at finding the cream-colored cub had all ended rather terribly - as if the universe itself had been sending some kind of sign.
Not quite a cub anymore, Kafele’s white mane had started growing in much to the young lion’s delight – his wisdom hair he called it - and he had actually started making a few good friends his age. His sudden and slightly surprising increase in popularity had come after sharing a few words with a Tama adult, a conversation that had a far greater impact in the young lion than he might’ve showed at the time. It’s not like it took a massive compromise from his part to change his ways, not really. In fact, the answer had been ridiculously simple.
In order to keep playing as roughly as he liked without suffering the unpleasant consequences that always came with it, he had started a different kind of game, the handicap. Basically he reserved his more aggressive behavior and rough-housing for his older friends or challenged two cubs at the same time. That meant the others were much more confident in fight... playing with him, he didn’t get admonished quite as much and he felt amore accepted outside his family. Life was pretty good on the young red lion.
He loved to be with other cubs his age. That was exactly what he was doing right now, caught between two lions of similar size and colors. Kafele grinned, lowering his head as his friends half-circled him, getting ready to pounce. If they could get him on his back while they counted to three, he’d lose. Of course he’d been losing a lot more these days – not that he liked it one bit – but he wasn’t about to make it any easier for them, now was he…? An uninformed bystander might think the two lions were ganging up on the red juvenile but Kafele’s broad grin showed he was having the time of his life… like he always did.
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Posted: Sat Jul 31, 2010 6:05 pm
What else could happen to keep him away? Kayin glanced cautiously about as he drew nearer to the place where he'd played with Kafele last time, the only time. He'd nearly run into a Ligi once or twice on his way, but he'd managed to dodge around this time rather than just slipping back to go curl up in the den and hide. He wasn't frightened of the guards, but he wasn't stupid either. He didn't know how to fast-talk like his brother, and while his training had left him both strong and skilled, he didn't think for a second he could take on an adult lion. There was a tremendous difference between sparring with his brothers under mother's guidance than trying to win a fight.
But he needed to find his friend. He could find him, it wasn't like the pride lands were that huge. And the Atmaja lions were still about where they'd been last time. Surely, surely Kafele was among them. Soft blue eyes peered curiously at groups of cubs as the splotchy brown young lion moved through the pride. His friend's bright red fur was not uncommon among this half of the pride, but the bright golden markings were quite distinct. Besides which, Kafe was his friend. His only friend. Kayin would have died of guilt had he failed to recognize him, no matter how he might have changed.
Kay paused, frowning at a small group of lions about his age. Was that...yes, it must be! He'd know that grin anywhere, even if it was from a distance. What was going on over there?
"Two against one hardly seems fair to me," Kayin said softly as he padded up to the group, his tone was mild and his expression friendly, but he knew that he was a bit bigger that Kafe, being a bit older. And while he didn't like the idea of intimidating anyone, maybe they'd think twice on giving his friend a hard time if he were around. Perhaps this was part of the reason why Kafe had been playing by himself when they'd first met...?
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Posted: Sun Aug 01, 2010 8:11 am
“K... Kay?” Oh crap, he couldn’t remember his full name! Kayen? No, that wasn’t it. But he would recognize his friend anywhere: blue eyes, light tan coat and a white tuft of hair sprouting from his head – and neck now. Just a tad bigger but Kafele thought the difference wasn’t quite as pronounced as before “Kay!”
The other two Atmaja eyed the new arrival curiously, sitting back on their haunches. One of them gave Kayin a clearly measuring look as if wondering if there was a new challenger in the game but Kafele’s enthusiasm seemed to keep both of them in place. The red juvenile didn’t really notice their reactions as he was far more interested in talking to his old friend.
“Is that really you? I thought I’d never see you again! Where have you been?! I looked all over for you!” He was still unaware his friend wasn’t just another cub of the Tama house. Kafele trotted to the cream-colored lion with bouncy steps filled with barely containable excitement. Kayin was more than a friend to him. It was odd considering that he felt closer to many other cubs his age than he once had but Kayin was different. He was like a secrete friend, someone he didn’t have to share with the other Atmaja youngsters… and his blood brother. There was a silent giggle inside his head. He’d almost forgotten about that. “I was starting to think I’d imagined you! My brother said I was lying about you. Not Livi, he wouldn’t do that. My other brother.”
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Posted: Sun Aug 01, 2010 12:34 pm
Kay's ears lifted brightly forward when his friend called his name, and in spite of his attempts to seem solemn in regard to the pair that looked to have been ganging up on the other young lion he couldn't help but smile. He hadn't been forgotten after all. He didn't miss the measuring look, mother had made him too observant for that, but he didn't react to it, instead moving a bit closer to Kafele. The enthusiasm was more than catching, though he might already have been excited enough to see the Atmaja lion without any more assistance.
"I'm not imaginary," Kayin laughed, "And I'm sorry, mother has me practicing all the time..."...and every time he tried to go and see him there was a Ligi about, or a storm rolled in, or something! It just seemed absurd really, and would surely sound like he was making up excuses if he tried to explain this.
"How've you been Kafe?" he asked, glancing briefly at the two cubs who'd been circling his friend. "Your mane is coming in," he added as he looked back to the vivid red young lion, sounding impressed. It was so thick, a lot like his brothers' were. Maybe his too, but it was much harder to see it on himself than it was on another.
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Posted: Sun Aug 01, 2010 8:22 pm
When Kayin moved closer, Kafele fell back to a sitting position and raised his paws pretending to hit his friend with painfully slow movements.
“I know! My aunt is like that, too! She’s tough.” He didn’t look too bothered by it though, more like excited. “And then every time I tried to look for you, there were like Ligi EVERYWHERE and it was impossible! I found a few Tama cubs playing around a couple of times but you were never there.” The red youngster was still slowly learning how to speak with caution in public.
“Oi Kafele, we’re going to go back to the others. We don’t want to get between you and your boyfriend!”
“Oh, I’m gonna make you eat those words...” Kafele said with a somewhat friendly growl crouching a little before he glanced back at Kayin. “…tomorrow.” He added with a grin that the young lions mirrored before they started moving away. They eyed Kayin curiously one last time – probably wondering why they’d never seen him around before – and broke into a very dirty run, racing to see which one would be the first to reach the small group of adults and youngsters playing nearby.
Competitive as always, Kafele eyed the running pair with a hint of envy but when Kaying mentioned his “mane”, the red youngster’s attention was suddenly back on his cream-colored friend with the usual intensity.
“It is, isn’t it?!” he stood up and started circling on the spot as if trying to look at the back of his neck. “It’s pretty cool! But I think yours is a little bigger… at least you won't look so much like my sister, aha. But just you wait, mine’s going to mop the ground one day. And then it will turn brown.”
He looked at the Tama youngster with a grin that was both fierce and playful. He didn’t quite understand it but even though he didn’t usually have any trouble talking to young lions his age, being around Kayin seemed to be especially easy somehow.
“Why are you working so hard anyway? Is your mom Atmaja at heart?” he laughed at his little joke but he hoped there wasn’t a serious reason behind his friend’s training. Time’s were tough, his aunt always said but Kayin looked well-fed and generally happy. He would just die if the cream-colored cub was training to be a Ligi or something!
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Posted: Mon Aug 02, 2010 5:20 pm
Kayin lifted a paw to bat lightly back at his friend, the happy grin only growing as the other spoke. He'd missed him a lot. It was nice to know that Kafele had tried to find him too. He glanced at the other cubs when they left, his head tipping quizzically at their comment. Boyfriend? What was wrong with playing with a friend, boy or girl? Clearly he needed to get out more...but he was always so busy with Indira...his only friend, really, was Kafele.
"Well, if mine is bigger," Kay began in a tone that said he didn't think it was, "That's only because I'm a tiny bit older. Yours will probably be huge when you stop growing." Though why Kafe would want his mane to turn brown was beyond Kayin. He liked it white. He liked that they looked alike, even if it were only that one small part.
"Atmaja? Oh, no, I don't think so,"' he started, frowning faintly. She was the Mwanasheria, so surely she was only Tama at heart. But there wasn't anything wrong with balance. "It's good to be prepared?" he tried, that seemed like a decent explanation, right? Or...oh no...it didn't hint that he and his brothers were being trailed in the hope that one of them might be the Chosen One, did it? Couldn't they be prepared without being involved in that? He knew Kafe wouldn't betray them, but it wasn't his secret to tell...
...just as he couldn't say that his mother was not the one who'd given birth to him. And, suddenly, just for a moment, he felt like there was a wall between them, blocking him from his friend. It was gone in a flash, having never existed anywhere but his own mind, but still...he didn't like it.
"So, Kafe," he laughed, dropping into a playful crouch, "Do you wanna play?" He hadn't played since he'd last seen the other cub, not really. Batting a stone around by himself was hardly 'playing'.
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Posted: Tue Aug 03, 2010 2:57 pm
“Yeah, I suppose… being prepared is important. My aunt says times are rough…” Kafele said slowly still trying to get a better look at his “mane”.
It annoyed him greatly that he couldn’t have a truly honest talk with Kayin. As much as he trusted his friend there was always that tiny fear in the back of his mind. He didn’t know Kayin’s family, his parents and siblings… most lions both feared and hated Sahen but what if his friend came from a family that secretly (or openly!) supported the evil ruler? That would terrible!! But no, Kayin was so nice, there was no way his family was bad! And what would Kayin think if he found out about the strange interest Sahen had in Kafele’s family? What if he knew about his sister’s crush (UGH!)? Oh no, he couldn’t let Kayin ever hear about that!
Slowly dropping to a similar crouch, Kafele grinned as Kayin’s offer erased all the negative thoughts from his mind.
“Of course! What do you want to play? Do you want to wrestle? Play tag? Oh, oh, let’s play color chase! We close our eyes and turn on the spot and then one of us says a color and we have to find something of that color around us!“ Wait, that was a little childish, wasn’t it? Perhaps they were a little past those games.
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Posted: Wed Aug 04, 2010 10:21 pm
Kayin nodded, relieved, as Kafele agreed with him. His friend's aunt sounded wise, she spoke the same way Indira seemed to whisper to them. Except...except none of his brothers had ever thought to laugh and joke about Sahen like Kafe had slipped into the one and only time Kayin had played a game with a friend... Was Kafe's aunt more open with her dislike of the Shatkona and his ways? It...it made Kayin nervous for his friend.
But he wouldn't say anything. He'd promised, not a soul would hear it from him, not even his own brothers, not even...not even mother if he could help it. But it wasn't like he was hiding things from her! It just...it just wasn't his secret to tell.
"Color chase?" Kay repeated, puzzled by the game he'd never heard of before. That didn't sound too hard...but it didn't sound like the sort of training he'd ever had before. Maybe...maybe this game wouldn't be like training. A broad smile washed across his features at that idea. "Okay! Let's play! Do you want to say the color first?" he asked, turning in an eager circle before settling down to watch his friend expectantly. He liked to let others do as they wished, he was happy to follow along if it made them happy. Like that game he and Jabby almost played...he'd wanted to be the Chosen One, but he didn't mind being the Ligi to make his brother happy.
Not that he'd liked that game much. Sometimes it still slunk into the darker corners of his dreams...but his dreams were far away now. He was here, with his best friend. He shouldn't worry about bad dreams now...
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Posted: Thu Aug 05, 2010 5:54 am
“Okay!” Kafele exclaimed, delighted by the easy acceptance of the simple game. Closing his eyes, he started turning on the spot until he felt a little dizzy. “Close your eyes, hide your face, we are playing color chase… Blue!”
Stumbling over his own paws as he tried to get regain his bearings, he quickly located a blue flower he’d seen before. He had to admit he felt just a little guilty for running towards a pre-determined target, it was a bit like cheating, wasn’t it? Still, he was too young to feel properly guilty over a little thing like a childish game like this one. Also, he so loved to test Kayin to see what he’d react in different situations!
“The sky doesn’t count!” Kafele laughed quite loudly, quickly getting closer to the blue flower.
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Posted: Wed Aug 11, 2010 12:28 am
The sound of delight in his friend's voice was more than enough to content Kayin with this game. Quickly he shut his eyes as the other cub, though they were bigger than cubs now, began a little chant. Kayin darted in small quick circles, his energy running high in his excitement to be playing with a friend. He cracked an eye when the other yelled out 'blue' then opened both properly when he was sure the Kafele had. Should have double checked before they started, but no harm was done.
It was just a game after all.
"The sky is too far to reach anyway!" Kayin laughed, then squeaked when, dizzy, he nearly fell over his own paws. He cast about himself, what was blue, what was blue... oh, that flower! ...which Kafe was practically already at. It didn't seem likely that Kay would be able to overtake him but, aside from the sky, he didn't see anything else that was the right color. Weaving slightly, and utterly fascinated by the new sensation as he'd never had reason to spin in circles before, having always assumed that the dizziness from taking a tumble was related to clonking his head on the ground, he still closed the distance between himself and his friend.
It just wasn't anywhere near quick enough to beat Kafe to the flower. "W-wow, you're really sharp!" Kay laughed again, utterly unfazed by his apparent about-to-be loss.
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Posted: Wed Aug 11, 2010 3:31 am
He almost ripped the flower from the ground but seemed to reconsider. There was no point in destroying such a pretty thing for no reason after all. Kafele gave the blue flower a sort of quick nuzzle as he considered returning for it later and giving it to mom or maybe Dada. Mom had taken them to an amazing forest patch full of pretty flowers once and girls liked that sort of thing in general, right?
Kayin’s awe felt as good and undeserved. For some reason, he didn’t really like the idea of cheating in the game especially against the cream-colored friend.
“Ah well, that’s ‘cause I cheated, I peeked…” he admitted with a wicked grin before laughing. He loved that even though they were far past cub stage, they could both still have this much fun with a silly game. “You should’ve seen your face! This one doesn’t count. Your turn!”
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Posted: Wed Aug 11, 2010 10:32 am
"You...?" Kayin blinked, utterly confused. Cheated? Why? The smile didn't fade for long though, he still wanted to play with his friend after all. Besides, if it were really cheating, Kafele wouldn't have told him. "Okay, my turn?" Kay asked brightly, trotting over to stand nearer his friend. Pick a color and then chase it down, that wouldn't be too hard...oh, wait, idea...
His grin turned slightly mischievous as he shut his eyes and, somewhat more carefully, turned in circles, "Uhm...close your eyes, hide your face...er...we are playing color chase...red!"
Kayin's eyes flew open as he declared the color, and, as quickly as possible, he whirled to pounce gleefully on his friend. Kafele was red after all.
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Posted: Thu Aug 12, 2010 6:17 pm
Kafele always got the feeling that Kayin wasn’t used to playing cub games but he paid it no mind this time as the cream-colored juvenile seemed to quickly rise to the challenge – as usual!
Kafele didn’t have time to look for something red (that was a hard color!). He didn’t remember seeing any red flowers around and the only other thing he could think of was blood. But that was as far as his reasoning went because before he could even recover from the natural dizziness that always followed the reckless spinning, Kayin was on him after successfully landing a very treacherous pounce. Why did he do that?! It looked like he was enjoying the game, why would he pretend to look for something red and then suddenly jump him and… oh. Oooooh. Oh no, he didn’t!
The red lion’s expression turned from one of offended surprise to blissful release and it wasn’t long before Kafele was bursting in loud laughs and giggles as he tried to kick the cream-colored friend from him. It was a good thing it was only Kayin, Aunt Fila would hate to see him being so easily surprised, she would.
“Let’s see if you can hold on to this red for a bit longer than that, Kay.” Kafele jumped to the side, his wicked grin widened to its full splendor before he made a run for it. So it was tag now, huh? Ahah, being with Kayin was the best!
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Posted: Sat Aug 21, 2010 3:47 pm
His head still spinning slightly, it took him a moment to register the expression on his friend's face wasn't exactly happy. Had he upset Kafe with his pounce? It was only a joke, it was just for fun... oh. Kayin began to grin again when the other cub realized what had happened and started to laugh right along with his friend.
His laughter turned into a whoosh of breath as one of the red cub's paws landed in his belly, effectively knocking him off of his bit of red. His very favorite bit of red. "Here I come then!" he laughed again, twisting to give chase. It was almost...magical. So much time had passed, and yet they might as well have been playing together yesterday for all the difference it made.
Dimly, in the back of his mind, he remembered, as he always did, that times were hard. That there were troubles abounding everywhere, that danger and treachery were paw in paw, and claw in claw. But it was so...easy with Kafele. All of that went away, just a little bit. Hours of training, carefully minded lessons, a young lifetime of preparation... All lost in the joyous abandon of playing with his best friend.
Slowly catching his breath, his steps evening out as the dizziness wore off, Kayin's paws pounded against the earth as he pressed after Kafe. He'd catch him soon! Or, well, eventually. Kafe was fast! If the other cub was the same age as he was, the same size as he was, even if it was just a tiny bit of difference, Kay probably would never manage to catch him. Or at least, that was what he believed. Perhaps Indira's training was what made the difference but, in any case, the game was still wonderfully fun.
With a playful growl, a sound he would never have made were he training but only felt right with the game, Kayin bunched himself up to spring at his friend. Had to try to catch him at least!
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