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 Posted: Fri Sep 03, 2010 12:15 am
Gremio:
"YOUNG MASTER!" The lion's voice broke through the troupe's early afternoon's silence, sending a flock of nearby birds into the air with a series of startled chirps. Towards Taban's den a loud, aggrivated groan echoed through the narrow opening, followed soon by another, younger voice instantly protesting the early start to the night.
Gremio tore through the brush, looking under every fallen log, every cluster of tall grass, every thick series of fallen branches. It was no use... Tir was one. Likely off to catch breakfast for the troupe...what if something happened!? What if he ran into another lion, another PRIDE of lions?! Or worse...one of those supposed 'demons'! Nevermind that Tir was more or less a hero in his own right... those psychotic, rabid monsters couldn't be trusted to play fair.
His chest heaving, eyes wide, the veteran began dancing back and forth on his front paws, head swirling. Where to look first?! He could be anywhere...what if he brought young Riou with him! Oh heavens... where Riou went, Jowy went. A million scenerios went blazing through his head, each one worse than the previous one.
Safi:
"Someone's flustered today." A quiet voice matched the young female who'd spent a good bit of her life doing her best not to talk. Safimoto had followed the cry and frantic sounds only to find one of the older lions of the troupe. Gremio, that was his name. Or, at least that's what she thought. She was still getting to know everyone and her memory was nothing in comparison to her father's.
She stood casually behind the older lion, her head tilted just a bit. Altai, the baby falcon she had adopted, had been left with her father. She hadn't realize how demanding being a parent was until she tried it and every once in a while she just wanted so time away. And it was good for Altai, she got to hear Shaha's stories, and Shaha got to tell them to someone again, someone who hadn't already heard them.
But back to Gremio.
She'd watched him search about for a good few moments before approaching with the question. It was a rather amusing sight to see him running about looking for the other lion... Tir. It was why there was a small, amused smile on her face as she spoke to him.
Gremio:
It wasn't fair! He, Tir, and Riou had been seperated for so long, after the earthquake he thought he'd never see his charge alive... He had spent months searching for any shread of evidence for any sign of them. Through word of mouth and the occassional nudge of fate, he'd managed to find his way to the troupe.
And now he was gone again. AGAIN! He'd just been so tired from his travels...and they'd eaten quite well the other day. He'd been so sleepy...or perhaps he was getting old...he'd not even heard Tir leave that morning!
No, that was silly...he was just a few years past his prime. The movement behind him caught his attention almost instantly. Turning over a shoulder, ears perking momentarily, the lion half hoped that it would be Tir- about ready to tug on his ears or jab at his sides again. Sadly...that wasn't his master's voice nor was it Tir. Instead one of the troupe members, a strange hybrid... 'cheetion'? 'lio....tah?' whatever it was...
"Oh..g-good morning. I'm...sorry did I wake you?"
Safi:
Safi's smile grew slightly as she shook her head.
"Nope. I'm just an early riser," she replied, her tail flicking back and forth. Well, that wasn't entirely true, but then it wasn't completely false either.
"Actually, I'm more used to the day than the night. It's when my mother would take us hunting." Her mother. It probably should have been more difficult for Safi to talk about her, but it wasn't. Her mother was her mother, even if she wasn't there anymore, even if Safi could still see the pain in her father's eyes. It wasn't right, but what had happened, happened. There was nothing she could do to change it.
"Do you need help?"
Gremio:
"Oh..." He slowly looked around, noting a grouchy cheetah dragging himself from the den, his fur still in disarray as one of the hyenas glared viciously from across the field. Apparently...he had caused quite a stirr. It would still be a while before he adapted back into the life of a group rather than a solitary one. Even with Tir there had been a few others, but they were so used to his ways that few of them even stirred when he had oen of his.....moments.
"Oh...well yes... I...I can't seem to find Master Tir. It's almost sunset and he needs to stretch before training or hunting- or he'll get cramps... or pull a muscle."
Safi:
Goodness, was this how she was going to become with Altai? Sure, she coddled her baby bird and made sure she was alright, but this...
"Master Tir's grown-up, yes? I'm sure he'll be fine." It was a little endearing to see him so concerned over his charge, but too much of it and he could burst a blood vessel or something. And that really would be sad.
She sat down, then, her smile growing back to its original size, as it had fallen a bit with her musings.
"My name's Safi,: she added, uncertain on whether or not the older lion knew her name yet. Well, it was Safimoto to be precise, but no one called her than unless she was in trouble. Not that she ever was... Well, maybe sometimes.
Gremio:
The lion sighed and slowly settled down to a sit. His shoulders, still tense, slowly slumped downwards. He'd heard that talk before... a long time ago. Master Tir had come into his adult mane, he had proven time and again that he could care for himself. There had been a period where he'd been unable to defend him... he'd nearly lost his life...
"Safi... oh yes, I'm very sorry." He cleared his throat, clearly embarassed that he'd abandoned his manners, even for a moment. "I am Gremio. I'm.. a little new here."
Safi:
Safi's memory was struck by Gremio's posture, by the look on his face. It was how her papa had looked when her brothers and sisters had left to make their own stories. It was part of the reason she had never left. Everyone was gone, her mother and all her siblings, her aunt and uncle and cousins. If she left, too, her papa would have no one again and she knew how much that would hurt him. He'd had to watch them grow up and set out on their own to work on their own lives and all her papa could do was sit back and let them grow up. She hadn't made the connection until that moment, but she had to wonder if that was how Gremio felt when Tir wasn't there.
"I know, but so am I," she finally replied, adding a dainty little shrug.
"Well, I've been a member of the troupe since I was just born, we just didn't stay with them until recently."
Gremio:
"They seem like a kindly lot... warriors and seekers all under the same name." He took a short look around the troupe. Fakhir rolled over and had flopped a paw across the bridge of his nose, trying to steal a few more minutes of sleep. Feng, apparently one of the older members of the troupe and one of the members chosen to keep watch during the daytime, loped back into the denning area. Did he ever look tired?
"Master Tir and I have long kept company with the likes of this lot. Many of them have gone their own way since then. I suppose old habits die hard... his...father saved me when I was barely in my adolecent mane.-" He motioned to the scar across his face, "And since then, I have devoted myself to his family. I owe both the late Master Teo and Master Tir my life. I...get a little over the top sometimes."
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Posted: Tue Nov 16, 2010 2:32 pm
Safi:
Safi smiled and nodded. She loved her troupe, it was like one big family. She missed her old family, her mother and siblings, aunt and uncle and cousins. But she had more family now, more to share with her papa. More stories to make.
"My father was born into a troupe much like this, only my grandfather was the only warrior. The golden cheetah, she was his older sister when they were young. He left when he was old enough and tried to start his own, but... most of the members left, so we did our best to come back here," she paused to let out a soft sigh, smiling a bit.
"I was very relieved when we found them again. Not for me, though I like the company and the young ones, but more for my papa. He needed others around him."
She laughed a bit, reaching out to pat his shoulder a bit. She'd never had a problem with personal space.
"We all get a little carried away sometimes, especially when it comes to those we care about."
Gremio:
: "The end of one thing always marks the rise of something else, often times something greater." His eyes softened as they drifted out towards the distance. "The leader here is under the impression that we were brought together for a purpose. Mummers and fighters, healers and schemers alike. ...Old and young."
He glanced over to the hybrid as she reached out to pat his shoulder. He had no problem with personal space, but it seemed a little odd for a stranger to be so open. They'd only just met.
He smiled weakly and gave a quiet chuckle. "I suppose that's true. You sound as if you care for your family very much. An admirable quality.... so where do you fit in? Are you a mummer or are you more of a soldier?"
Safi:
: Safi nodded in agreement, knowing he was right. She didn't like change so much, but in the long run she felt that this would be better, that this was where they belonged.
She smiled again and tilted her head a bit to one side at his compliment, taking it graciously. She cared greatly for most creatures she met, always trying to comfort and sooth. Thoughts of faces she had met, happy, sad, even frightening in the past, and still she had tried to help them. A shiver went up her spine at the thought of the young hybrid she had met when she was very little and the frightening male he had grown into. Knowing she was safe here with her family and the Troupe helped ease her worry there. She would never be without someone to protect her when she really needed it.
Oh, she could hunt and fight, to a degree, but she was no soldier. Against someone like Feng or even her papa, she would definitely lose. She stood and twirled gracefully, her tail curling around her side with her almost liquid movements. It was barely a moment of dance, just a few movements, but it was clear she knew what she was doing.
"I'm a dancer." Yes it was rather stating the obvious, but it was a testament to her character. She hated telling others things when she could easily show them, but just to make it clear, she had started adding verbal explanations.
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Posted: Tue Nov 16, 2010 10:38 pm
Gremio:
"Sometimes not raising your paw is as bad as if you did against innocents. Sometimes in the inability to act, you end up hurting more." He cleared his throat and looked down to his paws.
"....Master Tir is a gentle spirit, but he understood necessity. Master Riou is even more so... you see, if you fail to take down someone who intends on hurting others, your inaction would be at fault as much as that individual."
He cleared his throat and sat upright. "...I...ramble a lot."
Safi:
: Safi looked down, her face falling a bit and her ears drooped as Gremio explained why it would sometimes be wrong not to raise a paw against another creature. He was right of course and she knew it. If there was a dangerous creature out there, it could come back and hurt someone else if she didn't do something. But she really didn't think anything she would be able to do would help. It was embarrassing, but even in hunting she needed help from at least one other creature to bring down most hooved preybeasts. And it wasn't for lack of training, her mother and father were both skilled hunters and taught their cubs everything they knew. Safi just wasn't good at it.
"I... know, it's not that I couldn't bring myself to try..." she trailed off there with a small shrug, not wanting to explain further. No one liked parading their weaknesses about and that just happened to be one of hers.
Gremio:
: He nodded slowly. "I suppose it takes a lot of insight or the right instinct to know when ti's best to act or not... but still. It is something I want you to consider. There may be a time when someone you care very much for needs your strength."
He flicked his tail and slowly settled himself down to the ground. It was hard just sitting there, waiting. For all he knew, Tir and Riou could be in terrible trouble.
"I'm sorry, old soldiers never forget their ways. "
Safi:
: Safi mewled a bit in acknowledgment, still looking down. She'd momentarily fallen back into her old habit; no words, just sounds and expressions. It usually happened when she was upset about something. But she didn't allow herself to stay that way for long. She especially didn't get that way when her papa was around, he had enough things to worry about without her being in a mood.
She body jumped a bit as if remembering something and her ears perked back up a bit, her gaze rising, though it focused on Gremio's chin and mane rather than his eyes.
"Everyone has bad habits, I fall back into my own sometimes. When I was little, I wouldn't speak so that I could listen to others. It's odd, but you're so much more trustworthy when you can't convey what another has told you."
Gremio:
: He shrugged his large shoulders, having not missed the nervious posture or her inability to meet his eyes. She was upset...she wasn't a fighter in the least, that much was obvious. She had a good frame for hunting, and a very good set of running legs, but there were no scars showing through her fur, nor muscled limbs to suggest a lifestyle of fighting. Hunting, perhaps, but not fighting.
"I'm sorry, Safi. I should learn to keep my mouth shut."
Safi:
: "No! It's okay, really. You didn't know it would be a... touchy subject," Safi replied quickly, pausing to give him an apologetic smile, blue eyes finally meeting green again.
"It's fine," she added with a little nod. She curled her tail around her front paws. The band that had once been wrapped around it, from which had hung several flat pieces of gold had long since grown too small for her to wear anymore. Sometimes she missed the jingle when she moved, but she still had the leather bands, hidden in a bag out of sight from Altai. Safi knew if her baby bird found out about the treasures, there would be trouble.
Gremio:
: He smiled apologetically then rolled himself onto his side and took a deep breath. "I should get to sleep... I'm sorry to have...disturbed you this morning." He'd raised quite a riot, and now he was exhausted. Tir was still out there...somewhere. The young lion was getting depressingly good at evading his guardian.
Safi:
Safi sighed and shook her head a bit, standing.
"I told you, I was already up," she replied, but she kept a smile on her face. It was the smile a mother would give her child when they had done something naughty but remained too adorable to be mad at. Gremio was a nice male, he just had his quirks, like everyone else.
"I hope you have a good rest, Gremio. Perhaps we can talk again, sometime," she added before turning and walking back towards where she had left her father and her baby.
Gremio:
"I would like that." He called after her softly. Smiling, he let his eyes fall closed. Truth be told, if he didn't get some sleep now, it was unlikely he would when Tir did return home. He'd work himself right back up looking over he and Riou for any new injuries. He'd have to give Tir a lengthy lecture about going off by himself, especially with a cub, and he'd likely be put in charge of watching said cubs for the rest of the day. They were relentless...
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