Añuli:Añuli padded along, not really heading in any particular direction. She was fascinated by this new home. It was different from the lowlands where she had been born and spent her younger life. There had been long grasses and rolling hills, whereas here was sparser and rocky. But she didn't prefer one over the other. This place was new and nice and she found it interesting. It also helped that her family was there and her father could be around his best friend again. And Mother was enjoying herself, so the young lioness was happy. She liked that her family was happy.
She climbed up onto a rock that was so big that she couldn't just jump up on it without having to put her front paws on top of it first. It gave her a good vantage point to look around. Her reaction was quite different from her mother's. She was a quiet lioness, so when she looked around, there were no exclamations or gasps, simply a smile laced with wonder and a curious glint in her calm eyes.
Nekoda Waya:It was an adventurer's paradise! That's what it was. Danger around every turn, trails for his mind and body at every step, and new, fascinating beasts to meet every day. Nekoda's mind was indeed a magical place. The world, in his eyes, was one big story to be learned and one big adventure to take on. Even the simple act of traverling between the wolf and the shadow clan's territories was a grand epic. He'd already felled two of the terrible leapers (ie- crickets) and had even laid low, and feasted on, a horrible nibbler, a young, terrified rabbit that he'd cornered in its den.
By mid-day he was quite proud of himself. The lion, much smaller than even his already dwarfed kin, trotted with his head held high, his raggy mane bouncing between his shoulders as he loped forward, tail held high like the banner of a great lord.
"And it was with that he came, finally, to a great gorge!" Nekoda's paws teetered on the edge of another short incline. No taller than a cub, to him it might as well have been a valley. "But it's not enough to stop him!"
Añuli:
Añuli heard a voice, her ears pricking up and her head turned towards the sound. Great river, the male was small and green, the markings and his feather letting her know he was a member of the pride she and her family had just joined. She wasn't fully grown, but her parents were and even though her mother had already explained that she came from a line of large lions, Añuli figured she would outgrow this male. It was an amusing thought, mostly because all the males she knew were her father and brothers, and they were bigger than she was.
He reminded her of the grasslands when they were fresh and green. She thought it was an interesting color to see on a lion. She didn't know if he was friendly or not, but he seemed interesting.
She carefully stepped down from her perch and walked into his field of vision, pausing once she had got there.
"Hello," she said in a soft, airy voice just loud enough to be heard.
Nekoda Waya:
Nekoda yelped as a voice broke through his narration. The cub flew backwards, paws flailing at the air as he'd been coiling and preparing himself for a leap over the 'gorge'. His paws grabbed, unsucessfully, at the air. Time seemed to slow as he watched the earth vanish into the sky, soon his paws flipped up over his head, eventually leaving him laying on his shoulders with his back legs arching over his face.
He groaned and slowly brought a paw over his eyes. "An ambush! I should have known."
Añuli:
Añuli gasped when the lion fell backwards and groaned as if in pain. She ran up to him and quickly looked him over.
"Are you alright?" she asked in a mildly hurried tone, teal eyes blinking as she looked to his face. The young lioness was very much the comforting and wannabe-healer type, and she wanted to be sure that he didn't hurt his head or anything. Ambush? That didn't make any sense at all. It was just her, how could she alone ambush him? And she hadn't really snuck up on him, either. It was too open to sneak up on anyone, especially with her growing size.
Nekoda Waya:
Nekoda blinked rappidly as something blocked the light from the sun. Squinting, he turned his head to the side and brought a paw over his face to push the tangled deadlocks away from his face. After a few more blinks the lion jerked back and pointed a claw into the female's face.
"AN ADVESARY! Name yourself fiend!"
Añuli:
Añuli jumped back a pace at his outburst and she frowned.
"I'm not an adversary, or a fiend," she replied, tilting her head in confusion. She hoped he hadn't hurt his head. She didn't want to get herself or her family in trouble with the rest of the pride.
"I really didn't mean to scare you... I'm Añuli, of the Shadow Clan." She figured it was best to tell him what clan she was from, in case he thought she was an invading rogue. She didn't have any tattoos, after all. Maybe that was it. She was new to the pride and as a new member she still needed her tattoos.
Nekoda Waya:
Koda rolled himself over and rubbed at his head, checked his paw, then glanced up to her with a wide grin. "Oh! The shadow clan! I know them, the...the....subiani family. Yup. Just between you and me I think my brother has the hots for the clan leader. He's white like you but he's boring."
He narrowed his eyes. "You aren't boring are you?"
Añuli:
Well, that seemed to hit a chord.
Añuli smiled back at his grin, glad that he didn't seem hurt anymore. And he recognized the clan and Rehema's family, in a pleasant way, so she relaxed. She knew who he was talking about, Rehema's eldest daughter, but it was strange that he would tell her, a stranger, about how is brother felt for Eeva.
She didn't think she was boring. Well, she wasn't as outrageous as her mother, but she wasn't a stick-in-the-mud or anything like that. She just wasn't the very active, adventurous type.
"No, I don't think I'm boring," she said with a little laugh.
Nekoda Waya:
"Oh good. Then maybe you can help me." He stood himself up and shook out his raggy mane, sending a few small bits of dirt and dry leaves into the air around him. "I gotta get over to the shadow clan lands, I've not visited in a while! They're going to be my family....sort of...and there's monsters everywhere. Normally I handle myself well, but two going at once will make things much easier! Especially if-"
He paused and took a few quick glances around. With no regard for personal space, he threw a paw around her shoulders and pulled the stranger in close. "...the dragons."
Añuli:
Añuli nodded her head, happy to walk with him back to the Shadow lands, though they weren't far. She didn't want to wander too far away just yet. This male seemed like a nice fellow, if a little-
She gasped when he threw a paw around her and pulled her close to whisper about something she had never heard of. Great river, he was an eccentric male, as nice as he seemed. Her eyes narrowed slightly.
"Dragons? What are those?" They sounded either really interesting or terrifying, she wasn't exactly sure by his tone.
Nekoda Waya:
Nekoda gasped and put his paws on her shoulders, bringing her around to face him as he shook her a little too enthusiastically. "DRAGONS ARE TEH BIGGEST THINGS EVER! No one believes me...but I saw one, it was bigger than anything! Even a mountain! It was black with a green mane, and HUGE wings, they blocked out the sun!"
He glanced back behind him, as if he expected the creature to pop up behind him. "In fact... I even met a baby dragon."
Añuli:
"Eek!" She couldn't hold back the surprised exclamation when he shook her. She quickly put her paws on his legs to get him to stop. Añuli listened intently as he described these creatures and really didn't know what to think. Part of her wanted to be intrigued by these dragons, but she also really wanted to be afraid. Something so big, with wings that it blocked out the sun? It seemed impossible! She'd seen elephants from a distance, since Mother didn't really want them getting too close as cubs and those had seemed huge. Were there really things bigger than elephants?
"Was it bigger than an elephant? And huge wings like a giant bird? But it was like a lion?" She couldn't stop the flow of questions. "Was the baby very big, too? They seem rather scary"
Nekoda Waya:
Koda's wide grin seemed to freeze as his eyes darted between hers. Elephant...what on earth was an elephant? He'd never left the pride's territory, never cared to. Mainly because of his prior expreience at the river with a crocodile, he feared the thing would find him again. somehow.
"....yes?" He answered, not wanting to sound like a complete nut job. "And...the baby was big, big as me- and I was almost in my mane then!"
Añuli:
"Great river..." Añuli whispered in awe, having trouble imagining a lion that big. And a cub being just a little bit smaller than they were now? That was really large!
"Well, you're not very big now, but if it was a cub... goodness. Were they nice? I would be very scared if something that big was mean or dangerous," she added, unaware that he had no idea what an elephant was. She was a fairly trusting young female. Mother didn't lie and neither did Father, so why should she waste her time mistrusting others? It would just make her paranoid and worried most of the time. She had enough to be worried about, what with these... dragons wandering about the land.
Nekoda Waya:
"They like me! The big one saved my life! See I was scaling the mountain on an epic quest of fulfillment! I had to discover myself. I suppose myeslf's still up there somewhere, I fell over and he caught me! The little one...well I thought I saw a bunch of trees! I never saw them before- she was trying to fix my mane. Imagine that!"
He stepped back and nodded up towards the peak of the mountain. "See the snow? That's where the dragons live- the clan says it's where the spirits rest, but I'm sure that's where they are...maybe the dragons guard the spririts. Yeah that sounds about right."
Añuli:
Oh, well that was good. They sounded really nice. Part of her kinda wanted to meet one of these dragons, herself.
"Goodness!" Añuli looked up at the mountain, remembering her papa talking about the snow when they first got to the pride. She smiled in amusement at the second story.
"Well, your mane is a little wild, but I think it suits you." she replied with a nod. She didn't know the spirits rested on top of the mountain. It seemed there was so much she needed to learn about her new home. Maybe this male could help her learn?
"I don't think you told me your name, yet," she added, tilting her head as she looked at him.
Nekoda Waya:
"Oh!" He brought a paw up to his mouth and took another step back. Throwing his chest out, curling his tail high in the air behind him, and offering a wide, toothy grin, Nekoda took what was played out in his mind as the most heroic pose ever. He'd worked on it for days in front of a pond to get it just right.
"I'm Nekoda Waya! Pride of the wolf clan!" Okay not really, he was more or less the dirty little freak of his family, but she didn't have to know that.
"And you are more than welcome to join me on my epic quest! I do need a party, a proper one this time."
Añuli:
The pose he took and the way he introduced himself made Añuli smile even more. He was charming, in a strange, comical sort of way. She dipped her head politely.
"It's nice to meet you, Nekoda Waya," she said and looked from him to where she had come from, the Shadow Clan's lands.
"I'm not really cut out for epic quests, but I guess I could try?" she added and gestured towards where she had looked. "Is the epic quest to go to the Shadow Clan like you said, or is there something else?"
Nekoda Waya:
"Oh right now it's just a quest to the shadow clan's lands, I wanted to say hi to my friends!" He stepped over and gave the young lioness a short, careful inspection. She must have been close to his age! It would be nice to have someone to play with again. Wingu was a boring stick in the mud and everyone else was busy... Kohana, Eeva's brother, had began driving him off when he came around
"I think there's cubs there. New ones! I want to meet them."
Añuli:
Añuli nodded at his words.
"Mmhmm, I saw some younger lions when we first arrived. Rehema's cubs." She hadn't exactly met them yet, but she was told about them. She'd be happy to meet more of Rehema's family. She should really be more sociable, but she wasn't really a gregarious girl. She was friendly with others, but didn't go searching for company.
The quick look-over made her feel a little self-conscious, causing her to raise a paw to her cheek after a moment of contemplating the look.
"I must be kinda dirty after my little trek... I don't have anything in my fur, do I?"
Nekoda Waya:
"Really!? Cubs! That's why." He pushed his shoulder into hers, nudging her forward eagerly. He wanted to see the babies! And maybe if he was escorting a lady, Kohana would let off him a little bit. Afterall, it was noble to make sure a lady got home safely!
He froze and took a short look over her. "...no? Look at me! I just got done rolling in dust. It's camoflauge."
Añuli:
Añuli's smile returned to her face when he reassured her that she looked alright. And he did have a good point. The more you looked like the terrain, the easier it was to hide when you are hunting. She couldn't imagine flat-out rolling in the dust to get that effect, but she couldn't fault another lion from doing it.
She started heading back towards her new home, then, turning to glance at Nekoda.
"What other adventures have you gone on?" she asked, tilting her head a bit as she walked.
Nekoda Waya:
"Oh too many to count! I'm a great adventurer!" He threw his chest out as he walked, his steps cool and confident as he could manage. "I met the dragon in the water, it's mouth was big enough to swallow the moon and its teeth sharper than the rocks topping the mountain! His eyes were like stars, small and bright, his scales were like rocks! It almost bit my head off."
He remebered the day with a distinctive shudder. "I don't like rivers anymore."
Añuli:
That sounded like a crocodile. Her mama had told her about those, told her to always be careful of water because of them. She loved the water, but was careful of the dangers within them.
"A crocodile? Big and long like a log? Great river, I can imagine not wanting to go near them after that... Could you show me where it is sometime? I... like to swim, but I wouldn't want to go swimming with a crocodile on accident." She hoped there was somewhere that she could go swimming safely in or a river to nap by as she listened to the sound of it moving.
Nekoda Waya:
"I think that's what dad said his name was come to think of it." He looked upwards, as if the answer would present itself out of the sky and hit him inbetween the eyes. Of course, it didn't, but the name did ring a bell.
"I'll show you. I don't think he's there all the time but I don't risk it anymore. I just drink from puddles and places without logs."
Añuli:
Añuli nodded.
"That's what my mama calls them. Told me to be careful when I go in or near the water. I really like the water. Does it rain often here?" She didn't mean to ask so many questions, but it was just a topic she enjoyed. They were getting closer to the Shadow Clan's area of the pridelands. She figured her mama was off hunting or exploring, likely with her papa and his friend.
Nekoda Waya:
"Sometimes. There's seasons of rain, seasons of dry...that kind of thing. When it rains it pours! And I don't mean by the expression kind of thing, it really does. It even makes waterfalls in places, they're really pretty but that's when the dragons from the water come out more. They really like it."
He froze as they neared the clan markers. Biting his lip, he took a slow step closer to her. "...have you met...Kohana? He's a jerk, a bully!"
Añuli:
"That sounds really nice. I don't really mind going out in the rain, but I much prefer just listening to it," she replied, imagining the waterfalls. She had never seen one before, but her mama had and explained to her what it was. Huruma just wasn't a very poetic creature, so Añuli only knew the basic concept of the waterfall, not really what one looked like.
She paused with him and tilted her head.
"Kohana? Mmhmm, I met him when we entered the pridelands. He didn't seem like too much of a bully to me... Maybe a little... ish." Her opinion was part because Kohana was a member of the pride and she was new and part because she didn't really like saying bad things about others.
"Does he not like you?"
Nekoda Waya:
"They're pretty, very nice to listen to, and the new, clean smell they have is really nice, I like them. I just stay away from the big collections of water- and the lowlands. That's where the dragon goes when it gets really wet."
He wrinkled his nose as he pressed onward. "He says I'm annoying and my brother isn't worthy of his sister."
Añuli:
"You're not annoying," Añuli replied as she continued with him. He wasn't, not really. Rather active and a little odd, but not annoying. She wrinkled her nose a little bit and shrugged.
"I guess he's just protective of his sister... Goodness, I wonder what my brothers will be like when I find a male that likes me." It really was a daunting idea. Chro and she had four brothers, the two of them born sandwiched between two older brothers and two younger and she was sure they would give her problems.
"Do you think he will be nice if you're here with me? Or will he get mad at me?"
Nekoda Waya:
"I think brothers are weird. I am one too- but I don't go snipping at every boy that comes around my territory. If more came around, I'd have someone else to wrestle with." He reasoned, "I have a lot of sisters..and Wingu might as well be a girl, he hates getting dirty."
Nekoda shrugged, "Io'm not sure really. Maybe he will but-" He froze as a shadow passed over them. Eyes growing wide he tossed his head upwards. A small bird swooped down over them and landed just beyond a small rock nearby- likely to pick out a bug it had found.
Nekoda licked his chops, turned, and fell down to his belly. Alright, this time for sure!
Añuli:
"I don't think my brothers are that mean, either. I'm sure they'll... Well, I hope they'll be nice," Añuli replied with a nod. She cringed when Nekoda said that he wasn't sure about Kohana's opinion over her bringing him onto the Shadow Clan's lands.
"Oh, I hope he won't be mad, I don't want to get in-" Her words froze with his and she followed his gaze. A bird? Why would he be interested in one of those?
Sure, she wasn't an extremely picky eater, but birds were where she drew the line. Too much work with the feathers and all that. Now, if someone were to take them out for her, as a gift or something, she would be extremely flattered. But she didn't hunt them, herself.
Nekoda Waya:
It seemed Nekoda had left reality for another world entirely. The lion prowled slowly, almost painfully so, inch by inch, eyes narrowed. The bird pecked away at the ground, occassionally fidgeting with one of its wings or tipping its head to listen for the bugs underneith the soil.
Flicking his tail, Koda leapt out, claws shooting outwards and jaws flashing dangerously. Two seconds too late, sadly. The bird shot off in a blur of black and tan, leaving the lion empty-pawed in the dirt.
"Darn."
Añuli:
Once it was all over, Añuli approached Nekoda and tilted her head as she looked down at him.
"Are you alright? What was that about?" she asked, still wondering why he would want to catch a bird. Well, maybe he didn't have her issues with the feathers or maybe he just wanted to be able to say he had done it. Catching birds was difficult, after all. And the pride had a custom of wearing feather earrings, so it could have been any number of reasons.
Nekoda Waya:
Nekoda glanced up and for a moment he seemed suprised to see her there. After a few moments of silence he grinned and sat himself up. "Oh taht? The bird?" He looked up after it and gave a shurg. "Seemed like a good idea at the time. I've never caught one so I thought I'd try. It was right there!
Añuli:
"Ohhhh," she replied and looked up to watch the bird fly away.
"I've never caught one, either, but I don't really like birds anyways. Feathers and little bodies don't make for very good meals to me." Añuli added a shrug and turned her teal gaze back to Nekoda.
"Should we go and try to find your friend now?" she asked, flicking her head a bit so that her "mane" fell to the side of her face, just out of the way of her eyes.
Nekoda Waya:
Koda tipped his head again. After a moment the lion jolted, as if remembering something, and scrambled to his paws. "Oh right...Eeva, you might have already met her. She's Kohana's little sister! She'll be the clan leader once she's all ready, then she'll get married to my brother and-"
He paused again as a small moth fluttered by. The temptation...
Añuli:
Añuli nodded again.
"I met Eeva, she was the first one who we ran into when we arrived here. She was-" she paused when she saw his attention flicker away to a moth that flew between them. It amused her that she barely knew him and yet she was able to find certain tells. How easily distracted he was.
She waved a paw in his face, smiling in her sweet, little way.
"Eeva was nice," she finished, trying to bring him back to the topic of conversation.
Nekoda Waya:
He snapped back into reality, the moth quickly forgotten as he latched onto the conversation with a smile. "She's very nice! We played a lot when I was little. She loved hearing about my adventures but she wasn't allowed to join me for any. Her parents were afriad I was a bad influence."
He snorted. "Whatever that means."
Añuli:
Añuli laughed a little bit, the kind of closed-mouth laugh almost like a chuckle but more feminine.
"She is supposed to be the clan leader, so maybe it isn't a good idea for her to be going on adventures with you," she said wit a small shrug and glanced away for a moment.
"Shall we go find her, then? You get distracted a lot, don't you?" If it was a rude question to ask, she hadn't intended to be so. She was just mildly amused and really did wonder if he was always like this. He really seemed like a cub to her, but not really in a bad way.
Nekoda Waya:
"Yeah, let's go find her before the beast finds out I'm in his territory. I don't want him to bite my head off." He took a few steps forward then looked over his shoulder, eyes going wide at the question.
"It's not being distracted! It's...being observent. It keeps you alive!"
Añuli:
Añuli just kept smiling.
"Mama would call that easily distracted," she said almost on instinct. She should have just agreed with him and let it go, but... she was actually enjoying the banter, or whatever it was. She did nod, though.
"But it's not a bad thing. I find it... funny, I guess." She nodded once more before walking past him in the direction he had been heading in.
