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 Posted: Fri Oct 08, 2010 12:08 pm
 Tsilihu was fearless.
Or, kinda. Okay, sure, there were definitely things the adolescent feared, but she definitely wasn't afraid of being alone. She was fine with not having anyone around, though company was nice. So, almost to test how comfortable she was, she had decided to leave the lands for a couple of days. Or, more like a day and a half. She had to make sure she got back before anyone noticed too large an absence, but she didn't regularly see any same lion every day, so no one should really wonder or worry too much. Everyone would just assume they missed her a day and not wonder too much about it!
However, Lihu was finding that the "outside world" wasn't really as exciting as she thought it might be. Really, since she was only about half a day's journey away, it was all pretty much the same. Grass, occasional tree, hills, preybeast. She was sure there was more out there, further away, but that was, of course, a bit to far for her to just randomly slip off to.
As it was, Lihu was honestly about to head home early, though it was a little nice to have some totally-alone time, it was getting boring fast. She perched on a rock and attempted to enjoy the peace.
It wasn't really working.
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Posted: Fri Oct 08, 2010 12:47 pm
Add to that his drive to know about his father, and that equalled wandering paws that went much further than the quest required or possibly even sanctioned. Knowing he'd go so far, he'd tucked his drum tino a niche not far from the pride's borders, and then struck out on his own.
It wasn't as if he knew where he was going. His mother had been vague, and he'd never felt brave enough to press her for details. Now that he was out here, he somewhat regretted taht cowardice. Which didn't help his state of mind at all.
In fact, right now he was feeling rather worthless. No drum, no rhythm, no pride. Sure, he could catch his own food without much trouble, but what was he beyond that? A big nobody. Unaware of how his own worries matched his father's, though not his father's actions, he kept plodding on, not at all focused on what was around him. In fact, he padded right by the rock where a female his own age was perched. His head was low, his tail dragging behind him, the picture of dejection.
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Posted: Fri Oct 08, 2010 1:00 pm
Normally, Lihu wasn't one to pry. She didn't usually want others all up in her business, so she wasn't one to get up into anyone else's business, either, either.
Bt, for whatever reason, when she saw the other adolescent walk right by her, she suddenly felt like maybe she should at least say hi or something. He seemed pretty bummed, enough not to even notice her. And some people dealt with problems better when they had someone to talk to! She shrugged slightly, sat up on her rock, and called back to the male, since he was now a bit further away from her rock.
"Hey! You okay?"
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Posted: Fri Oct 08, 2010 1:14 pm
He came to an abrupt halt and whirled around to see who'd spoken. It was so unexpected, in fact, the hadn't managed to register that it was a female voice. But as his eyes found and focused on the source, his pupils narrowed. Why... it was... a girl!
Being the teen he was, and seeing a pretty girl, he did what you'd expect any young male would have done. He stood up straighter, straightened his shoulders, threw out his chest, and attempted to look as confidently at ease as he'd looked bereft before. He managed to not quite swagger back to her, merely padding boldly instead.
However, when he got to the base of her rock, it dawned on him that she'd asked a question. He paused and blinked a little, thinking back to moments before. Was he okay? Of course he was! He opened his mouth to brashly answer, but stopped, a twinge in his heart making this untruth almost impossible. He closed his mouth and reconsidered.
After a few moments, he looked back up at her. "I'd like to say yes, but I'm not really," he confessed. "I mean, I'm not in any trouble or anything," he hastened to reassure her. This could get complicated... trying to look macho and being truthful at the same time. Still, his upbringing made the truthfulness stronger than the need to look good. "I"m just... feeling down, I guess." Some of the wilt came back to his body, and he took a deep breath, eyes falling to the base of the rock and the shadows that hid there.
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Posted: Fri Oct 08, 2010 1:22 pm
As the green male straightened himself up, Lihu almost giggled. Boys, so silly. She flicked her tail in amusement, settling back down on her rock and crossing her paws so she'd be slightly more on level with him. Being an Ela, with old blood in her, she was rather smallish, and so with her lying down on the rock she was just a bit taller.
When he began to talk, she remembered that he hadn't been looking nearly as confident moments ago, and made note to put off her amused face for a politely concerned one. It had to be politely concerned, because if she looked too concerned it might be a little weird. Lihu could tell he didn't really want to seem weak, but she figured there wasn't harm in seeing if he wanted to vent.
"I'm sorry. What's wrong? I mean, if you don't mind...talking about it. Or anything."
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Posted: Fri Oct 08, 2010 1:37 pm
At least she wasn't laughing at him. Or mocking him. Not that he'd had terribly many interactions with girls like that, but one in particular always seemed to do almost the opposite of what he expected of her, thus making him just slightly wary of feminine tenadncies. This one seemed nice, though, so he sat himself down and looked up at her with an honest expression.
"It's kind of complicated," he began, almost as a warning. He didn't want to whine, but this did seem rather involved and tangley to him. "I don't mind telling you, but it might come out as a tale instead." He didn't mean an untruth, of course, but a story, rather than just a simple problem. He cleared his throat and thought about how best to tell it.
"Before I was born," he started, eyes defocusing as he recounted it, "my mother met a lion in the roguelands." A brief flicker of amusement and a flash of a grin at her indicated that maybe now he had a better idea of how that might come to be. He tried not to imply too much into their own situation, but the next part kinda ended up doing that for him. "It wasn't love, but they shared some time together before my mother had to move on, coming back home to her pride." His mouth quirked, still trying to repress the automatic suggestiveness of telling this to a random female in the roguelands himself.
"Once home, she realized she was pregnant. My brothers and I were born into the pride, not knowing much about our father at all. Our mother herself knew very little, and wasn't always comfortable telling us cubs about what had happened to seperate us from him." This was told more matter-of-fact. Not knowing his father was, after all, part of the problem, but a lesser part of it.
"Growing up, the pride took good care of us, treated us like their own, which we were." His expression clouded a little here, despite the words of acceptance. "But I couldn't help feeling... different." He ducked his head a little self-conciously. "My pride was all about drums, and dancing, and rhythm. We danced to welcome the seasons, and we drummed to welcome new members...," he trailed off, sounding both sad and frustrated.
"But I wasn't very good at any of it. I couldn't make drums very well. I can do simple dances, but nothing like our pride's dancers can. And even my drummed beats are not quite right." His tone was defeated and as dejected as his body posture had been earlier. "I'm supposed to be out here finding my rhythm, but I don't think I have one to find."
He raised his eyes again to hers, almost pleading for understanding. "I don't think I belong there. I think I should feel guilty about it, and I do a little... but if I don't belong there, where do I belong?" Perhaps it was a classic adolescent question, but for him, as so many others, it was a real life-changing question, and one he had no answer to.
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Posted: Fri Oct 08, 2010 1:49 pm
Lihu nodded, deciding it best not to say anything, so as to not discourage him from telling his story. She did smile back at him, though. Funny boys, oh yes. Of course, she wiped the smile off at the appropriate moment, and also made note to not every now and then so he'd know she was listening. And to make sure she was following the story well enough, she summed it up quickly in her own mind. Mom meets dad, goes home and has kids and he grows up feeling like he's not a part of the pride.
The pride itself seemed really interesting. Drums and dancing and all that. Though he didn't seem to fit in there (and Lihu probably wouldn't either), maybe she should add that to her list of "things to see someday!"
When he finished, she paused to think of what to say for a few moments. Tsilihu couldn't exactly relate, she was perfectly comfortable and happy in her pride, and when she thought of leaving, she only really considering going on sigh seeing trips; Ela'wadiyi would always be her home.
"I can't exactly relate to that." She began, honestly. "I'm happy in my pride. But, I think if you don't feel like you fit in there, maybe you just don't." She offered meekly, not exactly sure if what she was saying was right. "And if I were to think about where I belonged, it would be where I'm happiest, and where the people I love are." She continued. "So maybe you're not out here finding your rhythm, you should be looking for where you're happy."
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Posted: Fri Oct 08, 2010 2:06 pm
He found her a satisfactory audience to talk to, which helped ease some of the embarassment of laying out his life to a stranger, and a girl at that! His whiskers and ears drooped, though, when she seemed to agree with him that he probably didn't belong in the only home he'd ever known. It wasn't a pleasant thought at all, though it was becoming more and more clearly true.
She had a good point, though. Finding where he was happy. He mulled on that for a little bit, his tailtip swishing back and forth beside him, echoing his thoughts. What made him happy? He didn't know exactly, not yet. He frowned in thought. How did one figure out what made them happy? Sometimes what pleased him changed from day to day. One day he wanted rabbit, the next he wanted antelope. But did that define his happiness, or merely his wants?
His cubbish expression of confusion was almost comical as he gazed at her again. "But... how does one figure that out?" He didn't mean to be slightly adorable in it, but it was one of those rare flares of innocent vulnearability that happens with teens from time to time. He hadn't been on his own long enough to learn to mask that vulnerability, and he certainly wasn't mature enough to have grown out of it yet.
"It isn't as if I've been unhappy," he added informatively, still thinking hard. "I just don't think my old home is my place in the world. I still have to find that." For some reason it didn't bother him whatsoever to speak so candidly with this adolescent girl. It just helped to have someone to talk to about it. He'd have bounced his thoughts off his brothers back at home, but that wasn't available to him now. "It's hard to know what makes me happy when I'm just out here wandering around." There was another frustration buried in the other issues. He didn't exactly savor being alone, knowing he had no family and no pride to return to each night. He hadn't realized it'd be so lonely out in the big wide world.
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Posted: Fri Oct 08, 2010 2:19 pm
Tsilihu almost 'awwwww'ed out loud. Really, she did. The adolescent wasn't the sort to gush over cute things, but it had been kind of...well, cute. But she felt a little awkward, it seemed what she had said hadn't exactly comforted him much. At least it hadn't exactly been her objective, though if it had happened, she would have welcomed it.
"I...don't know." She frowned slightly, feeling bad for not being able to provide advice. Lihu didn't have any experience in the looking-for-a-home business. "Maybe you've just got to try things out." Said Lihu, thoughtfully.
"Like...when you're a kid, and your friends want to play a game you haven't played before. How will you know if you like it or not, if you don't try it out?" It seemed like a logical enough idea to her. "Let's see. What do you know you like? Do you like being a rogue?" Maybe she shouldn't really call him a rogue, but that was sort of the life style he seemed to be leading right now.
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Posted: Fri Oct 08, 2010 2:29 pm
His ears swivelled uncertainly. Try things out? That meant trying out... well, sort of trying out other people's lives. It seemed odd to him, but he was distracted by her last question. An instinctive blurting of, "No!" answered whetehr he liked being a rogue or not. It was a brutally honest answer, and probably not exactly the most diplomatic. His face heated at his indiscretion. "I don't like being a rogue," he answered more quietly and moderately. "It's too lonely."
But that left her other question. What did he like? "I like... being around others," he started hesitantly. "Like you!" This time the smile he flashed her was both honest and a little layered with more meaning. How could he help it? She was a pretty girl, after all. But what else did he like? "Families that," he started again slowly, hating the words that were welling up inside, "don't expect so much." That wasn't exactly fair, as his mother had never pushed him. "I mean prides that don't expect so much," he amended, his concience pricking him.
"But families that stay together too." But once again, that made him feel guilty. He'd been the one that left. But his mother had left his father behind first. They'd never really been a real family, and he wanted that. Flustered and feeling mixed up, he rose to begin pacing back and forth in front of her rock.
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Posted: Fri Oct 08, 2010 2:40 pm
She managed not to flinch at his quick answer, and instead just nodded. Okay, then he definitely didn't want to be a rogue. Lihu felt like she would probably be a better rogue than he was, and even then the idea didn't appeal much to her. She smiled as he answered her second question, and felt a little flattered. "Thank you!" Being liked was kind of a compliment, right?
"So, you're obviously a pride kind of lion." No duh, captain obvious. "Well..." She paused, thinking a bit. The Ela'wadiyi was a very family oriented pride, but it would seem awkward to just ask him if he wanted to check out her own home. Like she were advertising, or something.
"Uuuh...my pride is a little like that. I guess. If you wanted you could visit it? If that's not too..weird."
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Posted: Tue Oct 26, 2010 12:45 pm
He paused in his pacing and squinted at her sideways, tail slowly twitching. It was in truth a little weird. Come to think of it, he didn't even know this girl's name! He swished his whiskers back and forth in thought. She had a point though. He wouldn't know where he belonged if he didn't experience the pride life in other areas.
He placed himself directly before her, gazing slightly up at her. "My name is Kaleth'matar," he introduced himself formally. "If it wouldn't be an inconvenience, could you show me what your pride is like?" He gave her a solemn bow, not even smiling to ruin the moment. "I would be honored."
There was not a micron of mocking or laughter in his eyes. For him, this was serious business. This was the rest of his life he was trying to map out, and this girl's pride just might the key to that future. It was no laughing matter. Even her prettiness was beside the point right at this moment. Right now, it was all about her pride.
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Posted: Tue Oct 26, 2010 5:13 pm
She smiled sheepishly for a moment, averting her eyes briefly. Yeah, it was definitely kind of silly. And weird. Who invites random strangers to their home? She should keep in mind not to ever do that again. At least this kid seemed fine.
...She blinked, somehow caught off guard by the introduction. When you talk for someone long enough, you might just forget you don't even know their name. "Oh! My name is Tsilihu Waya. Nice to meet you!" She offered, though still somewhat uncertain of what he'd thought of her 'idea'.
Lihu was pleasantly surprised to find he didn't think she was totally insane. "I could! But, I'd have to get you approved." She paused. "As a visitor, I mean. So people don't see you and freak out because you might be some insane rogue. Or. Something." Ela weren't particularly scared of things like that, but she supposed borders were there for a reason.
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Posted: Tue Oct 26, 2010 8:30 pm
Approved? It made him faintly squirmy to think of being examined as to his worthiness, but he bore up under his discomfort. Surely they had their reasons for being so wary and protective. His previous pride had been very open, but he'd rarely seen a stranger. If security for this pride was this tight, perhaps indeed his presence would or could cause a stir. He mentally tamped down stirrings of misgiving. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. He was begun now, he might as well continue!
"Alright, lead me to become approved, lovely Tsili." He said her name very nearly like the word "silly" but said it so solemnly, the contrast was stark. Though he was far from teasing, his eyes did indeed gleam with the intended compliment. Not empty words at all, oh no. He said what he meant, and meant what he said. She was indeed lovely, and he was finding the urge to make sure she knew of his opinion. "I am ready," he concluded a bit lamely, but with a note of an adventurer setting bravely onto a leg of his trip fraught with dangers, known and unknown.
In a more relaxed and youthful tone of voice, not deepend by formality, he asked, "Do you think we can go soon?" His eyes pled with her in an eager, innocent way, like a youngster begging to be allowed to start a special trip. Unaware of the conflicting glimpses of maturity and immaturity that he was giving her, he fidgeted and dearly hoped that he wouldn't make a fool of himself with her.
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Posted: Fri Nov 05, 2010 5:24 pm
Lihu nodded, both happily and a bit awkwardly because the idea of taking a boy home really was a little awkward. "Alright!" She offered cheerfully, turning to begin her way back home, but pausing long enough for him to not get left behind or anything. Because that would be rude! "I should be heading back anyways." Eventually someone would notice she'd been gone for some time. It's not like she was too far, though!
She almost laughed at the way he kept switching from a more serious to a goofy tone. Silly guy. She briefly wondered if he intended to do that, which is what kept her from laughing out loud in the first place. Wouldn't want to make him feel uncool!
"I'm sure no one will mind you. You seem pretty cool!" She paused. "Or at least not a murderer sort. Or anything bad." She mused. Yeah, it would suck if she brought some serial killer home...Not that she even had the vaguest feeling that he was one. He obviously wasn't! It would just be bad. That'sall.
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