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 Posted: Sat Aug 21, 2010 8:55 pm
It might have had something to do with his lack of parental attention and love. Not even to himself would he admit any jealousy or longing when he saw other cubs greet parents with bouncy steps and nuzzles, leaving the minders with the cubs who had no parents. No, here merely felt that he was above such needs. Affection was not a word in his vocabulary. Instead, he watched the world around him and listened as it spoke of dark times and evil days. Or so he told himself, completely unaware that he was shifting his unhappiness and transferring it into the signs he saw.
Today was a perfectly pretty day, with a blue sky that harbored wispy clouds. The wind blew briskly, ruffling his growing knot of fur on the top of his head. He steadily ignored it, staring instead at a dry patch of land. For some inexplicable reason, all vegitation had died or avoided growing here. No strand of grass or creeping weed troubled the unadorned dirt. He stared hard at it, noting the nuances of how the wind rippled and shifted the grains of sand and dirt, drawing sublte patterns in the soil.
So focused was he, in fact, that he was blind and oblivious to the rest of the world, and to whether or not anyone approached him.
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Posted: Sat Aug 21, 2010 9:20 pm
Noticing that his brother had wandered away from the minders, Azize followed him and sat down next to the other juvenile. He didn't say anything knowing that his brother was relatively quiet most of the time so he knew he didn't have to force conversation. Looking down at what his brother was focused on, Azize sometimes thought about what it was like to have a functional family but he really tried to avoid those thoughts. He had too much time to think in general so he tried to avoid unpleasant thoughts. Glancing at his brother, Azize knew that they had never been too close but sometimes it would be nice to know what his brother was thinking about.
 Masoka decided to spend some time with the minders today as Yuusa and his other siblings were busy doing miscellaneous things in the pride. He had made some friends with the cubs that had to stay with the minders all of the time and sometimes he would much rather spend his time with them. Even though he loved his family a lot, Masoka had some... disagreements with his mother and his siblings. So, it was nice to just get away and have some fun for once. He looked around and noticed the two brothers and bounded over to them with a grin on his face. "Hello there Kejeli and Azize!" Masoka had never talked too much to the two brothers but it was because they seemed to keep to themselves most of the time. That wouldn't stop him from approaching them now though.
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Posted: Sat Aug 21, 2010 10:26 pm
His brother's approach and presence went entirely unnoticed by Kejeli. His whole being was focused on a single, light twig that had been blow into the pattern. It lay skewed, angled oddly across the smooth curves and rivulets drawn in the dirt by the wind. His eyes narrowed, and he leaned closer... closer... myopically nearly going cross-eyed with his nose hovering just above the twig.
Just then a voice loudly called his name. Startled, he exhaled sharply, stirring up the dust and sending the twig skittering away into the grasses. Exasperated, he sat bolt upright and spun to speak sharply to whomever had disturbed him. In doing so, however, he came nose to nose with one of his brothers, the quietest one, and probably the one he was most comfortable with because he was quiet and unobtrusive. Startled twice over, Kejeli merely gaped into his brother's eyes for a moment before he looked beyond him finally to see who had started all this.
With a resigned and only semi-tolerant sigh, Kejeli greeted the other juvenille cub. "Greetings, Masoka," he grumbled, avoiding eye contact. The other cubs generally thought of Kejeli as a strange, weird youngster. He'd even heard some of the adults murmuring, or so he thought. In his small, constrained world, his first thought was that everything was about him. He heaved another heavy sigh. "What are you doing?" It wasn't exactly a rude question. He didn't mean it to be. But sometimes his doledrum tones offended others. On his part, he was trying to be polite and sociable.
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Posted: Sat Aug 21, 2010 10:59 pm
Azize didn't even notice the other juvenile approaching because he was so intently focused on his brother. Jumping slightly when he heard the familiar voice approaching them, he turned to look to see the perpetrator but then turned his head back to find himself face to face with his brother. With dust flying into his wide eyes, Azize immediately reacted and his eyes shut closed feeling slightly vulnerable not knowing who was getting closer to them. Once the dust cleared, Azize didn't even know what to say because he thought that his brother was upset with him for encroaching on his privacy. When he finally found his voice, he recognized the other juvenile and smiled nervously at him. "Hello Masoka." Immediately he noticed that his brother was feeling irritated so he hoped that Masoka would leave soon.
Masoka was completely unaware of the whispers about all of the parentless cubs in the pride currently. All he knew was that there were several litters that were without parents but he didn't care. Though, he had interacted with Kejeli and Azize before and he knew that they both weren't exactly the most talkative cubs. Considering the alternative, Masoka would take his chances today and maybe he would make new friends. In general, he was relatively friendly towards everybody even though he had his own family problems to deal with. He was relatively ignorant to the fact that Kejeli seemed rather bothered by his presence and he didn't even sense the uneasiness emitting from Azize. "Chatting with you now. I was just talking to the minders for a little bit. How about you? What are the two of you doing?" Looking curiously at the two, Masoka was more interested in just making conversation and hoped that something fascinating would come up.
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Posted: Sun Aug 22, 2010 1:22 pm
His rancor eased with the natural good-nature of Masoka. He didn't mean to be as unpleasant as he tended to be. He also was soothed by the nervous look his brother gave him. Wanting to put Azize at ease, he leaned to bump shoulders with the other dark cub. "We were attempting to read the signs of nature," he intoned soberly, eyes drawn to the rippling stripes on Masoka's pelt. The shadings of color and the regular pattern combined with the chaotic irregularities of the stripes mezmerized him every time they met. "I think it might be an early winter this year," he finished his thought, glancing at his brother, almost as if for confirmation of such a reading.
Really, Azize was a pleasant companion. He never really intruded, he listened, and he did not scorn Kejeli to his face. He couldn't be sure what his sib was doing when they weren't together, but it would have surprised him if the quiet cub spoke harshly of him. He'd always tried to be nice to him, since being meek and mousey could get you overlooked. Kejeli was neither, but he also didn't participate in the silliness most cubs did. Add their lack of parents on top of that, and both of them were outsiders, even among the pride. Truthfully, being such didn't bother Kejeli one bit. So bet it, if it must be.
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Posted: Sun Aug 22, 2010 4:42 pm
Azize knew that he had a problem when it came to his nervous and almost skittish nature but he was trying his best to remain calm. Noticing his brother's touch, the juvenile relaxed slightly sensing that his brother had done the same and nodded in agreement with his comment. "Yes, possibly early winter." He had no idea if his brother was actually thinking about weather or something else but he would naturally agree. Masoka's upbeat character sometimes intimidated the already meek Azize. Observing Masoka carefully, Azize had noticed the cub's strange coloration and couldn't help but wonder if he was going to be brought up to be a sacrifice or not.
Masoka felt comfortable in almost all situations and these two brothers were no different. Azize was acting a little strangely but Masoka was too oblivious to notice any change in the conversation's atmosphere. To be honest, he had no idea why the two of them were just watching the dust settle on the ground and how that said anything about the weather but that didn't stop him from continuing the conversation. "That's interesting." Pausing for a second to recall a conversation he had with the minders, Masoka never seemed to lack topics to talk about. "So, I was listening to the minders and they were talking about future ranks for some of the cubs. They didn't say anything about us but what do you guys think? What do you want to do when you grow up?" Such a terribly cliche question but Masoka was genuinely curious. There were many litters that were quickly growing up so everybody was curious as to how they would fit into the pride.
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Posted: Wed Aug 25, 2010 1:52 pm
At first Kejeli bristled. He tended to be a ver private and withdrawn individual, and he felt at first as if this intruded on that privacy. His growing black mane down his back fluffed up a little, but he made himself look at the situation logically. They were getting older, and it wouldn't be long before they joined the pride's ranking system as something other than cubs. In fact, he himself had overheard the adults talking about such topics. He huffed through his nose and glanced sideways at his brother. He was uncertain what timid Azize would desire, but Kejeli had no qualms about his desired position.
"I am meant to be a Augur," he announced with pride and confidence. He stood straighter, his chin a little higher than usual. Unbeknownst to Kejeli, he tended to stand or sit hunched in on himself, further giving the impression he'd rather be left alone. It wasn't an intentional posture, and perhaps was due to being treated differently by the adults in subtle ways. Regardless, he looked a little different drawn up tall like this. It made him look bigger, sterner, and less sullen. Had he known the effect, he'd have made an effort to do so more often, so as to have more impact. But for now, he remained clueless. "I haven't gotten to talk to one yet, but I want to. Soon."
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Posted: Thu Aug 26, 2010 8:48 am
Azize was a little stunned by the question about what they wanted to do when they grew up. It was something that he had thought about occasionally but he tried not to too much. There was always some internal fear that the pride would prevent him from what he wanted. Rejection was a scary thing for Azize. He shrugged at first unsure of what to say but then responded meekly, "I don't know. Maybe a scryer." And he left it at that. Azize had guessed that his siblings would become a part of the Heart mostly because of their coat coloration. Easily, he could guess that Masoka was thinking about either becoming a sacrifice or part of the Claw. The other juvenile didn't seem like the type to be very spiritual.
Masoka found this very fascinating. Most of the cubs he knew were going to go to the Claw so it was interesting to hear those who wanted to go to the Heart side. "That's cool. You know, one of my friends, Urd, her mom is an scryer. Urd is with the minders a lot and I'm sure she wouldn't mind taking you to see her mom." He was completely oblivious to Kejeli's posture and body language. "I'm going to be a warrior." This was something that he had aspired to be since he was born. His twin brother was going to be deemed a sacrifice but Masoka did not want to follow in suit. This was the center of their arguments sometimes.
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Posted: Thu Sep 02, 2010 10:11 am
Kejeli beamed at his brother. They could be in the Heart together! He hadn't been aware of Azize's interest in being a Scryer, and decided then and there that the two of them would need to spend much more time together, now that he knew. He slanted a look at Masoka at his declaration that was of mixed emotions. He was taught by the minders to respect all ranks within the pride, but Kejeli's own brand of strangeness made him tend to look down his nose at those of the Claw as brutes. Still, Masoka was enough of a friend that he did not voice his personal feelings about the Warrior rank he aspired to.
"I think I'd like to meet Urd," he said instead, ears twitching with interest. A fellow cub whose mother was a Scryer! This was a valuable opportunity! If he could meet the cub, maybe he'd be able to meet her mother and learn more about the role of the Heart of the pride! His tail lashed excitedly, and his eyes shone. At this point, it didn't even bother him that he was thinking about someone else's mother, an entity he lacked. Though sometimes he had flashes of jealousy, it was hard to miss what you didn't have. Most times he simply ignored the difference.
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Posted: Thu Sep 02, 2010 11:59 am
Azize tilted his head at his brother wondering why he seemed so happy all of a sudden? He didn't really care too much about the Heart and the Claw because eveybody was just the same to him. The juvenile listed to Masoka carefully thinking about how all of the current cubs were going to assimilate into the pride. He knew of this cub named Urd and had spoken to her awhile ago. She was this hybrid and everybody looked at her strangely too. It was all very unusual and he wasn't even sure why the pride looked at her that way.
Masoka didn't care about Heart or Claw either but he did have a problem with sacrifices in the pride. It didn't help that his twin brother wanted to become a sacrifice so it was good that these two cubs weren't aspiring for the same thing or so Masoka believed. He nodded and responded, "Urd is really nice and she spends a lot of time with the minders so I'm sure that you could find her easily." Even though he had a mother, Masoka felt that something was wrong but he never told anybody that. He really avoided spending time with her at the moment so that he could figure out what felt off. He was constantly wandering so that worried his brothers a lot. Though, Masoka had met some very interesting pride members lately. He had nothing more to say about their future ranks but he still wanted to talk to them. "So do you guys have any other siblings?" He had seen almost all of the cubs under the care of the minders but he didn't want to assume that they were all siblings.
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Posted: Wed Sep 22, 2010 1:54 pm
He filed this information away for later use. Right now was not the time to go rushing off to find this female and ask such a favor of her. Yes, diplomacy was needed there. And here as well. With an effort he focused his mind on what the brown juve had asked them.
He shared a look with his brother that was partly amused and partly wry. "If they look like us, the are our brother or sister," he answered. "We have many siblings." Truthfully, he didn't spend much time with them, so that they kinda all blended together. He knew a few apart from the rest, and knew Azize best out of all ove them. But he knew there were a lot of them.
"What about you? Do you have lots of sibs?" He supposed it was possible to have just a few brothers and sisters... he'd never much thought about it. The idea of being an only cub never would have crossed his mind. Despite the lack of parents, it seemed perfectly natural to have a surfiet of siblings wandering around. The lack of parents did tend to equal a lack of family ties amongst them, though. Even Kejeli could see this, though it failed to bother or worry him. This simply was how life was.
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Posted: Wed Sep 29, 2010 11:02 am
Azize's thoughts drifted to his siblings and his relationship with each of them. It didn't take him long to go through everyone because he wasn't very close with them either. Their parents were nowhere to be found so there was no unifying factor in their relationships except that they were related by blood. Nobody told them that they had to really know each other. "Yeah, we have plenty of brothers and sisters running around with the minders. So I'm sure that you've seen most of them because our physical characteristics are distinct."
Listening carefully, Masoka wondered what it was like to have so many siblings that you couldn't even keep track. "I only have three other brothers and one of them is my twin. So we're all pretty close I guess." He tried not to think about the fact that he avoided going home at all costs because even though they had a mother, he always felt out of place. "They don't come by the minders too often though."
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Posted: Thu Sep 30, 2010 7:55 pm
Social graces were definitely not high on the list of important things (or easy things) for Kejeli. So it was when the stripey cub began blithely discussing his siblings, how close they were and how they didn't NEED the minders, it didn't sit well with Kejeli. And it showed.
He narrowed his eyes at the well-meaning Masoka, his fur bristling ever so slightly. He sub-conciously hunched more, and glared through his lowered lids. "I hope you are grateful for the wonderful life you have. It's one we will never know." He glowered indignantly. How dare he rub it in that they had no parents, relied on minders, and weren't a close group. It wasn't as if they didn't have some they were closer to! Why, look at himself and Azize!
He huffed, ears canted backwards in displeasure. "C'mon, Azize. You may not be my twin, but brothers have to stick together," he said acidicly, bumping shoulders with his brother before turning his back. It was abrupt, and most likely unfair, but Kejeli didn't generally look at the world in that way. He was proud of his pride, but he tended to have the "me against the world" view on life. Well, that could be amended to "us against the world" in this case, since he was finding this particular brother of his to be especially comfortable and assuring to be around.
With the fur along his spine fluffed, he stalked away from Masoka, not even pausing to look back. His tail lashed his legs, revealing his anger and his frustration. It wasn't their fault they were parentless! And was hardly their fault that they couldn't seem to find common ground as an entire family. With an almost spitting hiss, he dismissed the whole thing from his mind and led the way to some destination unknown, determined to find somewhere private to mull ideas about becoming members of Heart with his closest and dearest brother.
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Posted: Sat Oct 02, 2010 10:36 am
Azize eyed Masoka as he was speaking and at first, he hadn't really thought about what the striped cub was saying but then quickly came to the realization when his brother's frustration and discomfort showed. The cub tried his best not to think about the fact that his family was torn apart and he hardly found himself jealous of other lions in general. Though, he could see that these imperfections were too much for his brother and Azize felt a sense of sadness overwhelm him. He wanted to comfort his brother in some way but he knew Kejeli would not like that at all. He didn't even know what to say after Kejeli was finished and he looked over at Masoka with a frown on his face. Getting up to leave, Azize looked at Masoka one last time and spoke so that his brother could not hear, "I hope you understand why you are so lucky."
Generally Masoka was pretty oblivious to most uncomfortable social situations and this was one of them. When he was speaking, he didn't realize that anything that he said would have an emotional effect on Kejeli or Azize. It obviously was a sensitive subject for the other two brothers but why did they have to be angry that he had a family? It wasn't like he had chosen to be that way either. Actually, he wished that he could get as far away from his mother as possible but nobody could know that... Frowning as the two brothers left, Masoka hoped that he hadn't severed a friendship with Azize and Kejeli. Masoka felt bad that he had said some of the things that he did but he couldn't help who his family was. The cub was silent as the other two left and he watched them disappear into the distance.
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