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 Posted: Tue Dec 14, 2010 11:44 am
Things were going pretty great for Nohokai. He was in love with the lioness of his dreams, he'd been accepted by her family and soon she'd be living with him in a den of their own. Life was good, and it couldn't be better.
Today he was trying to clumsily put together another piece of jewelry for Sabbia, one made of a thick strip of twine that had washed up on shore and some pretty pearly shells. He wanted to give her the present when she moved in to his den but the piece just wasn't coming together like he hoped it would. In fact, it was looking like an awful mess and in a rare show of frustration Nohokai snarled softly, cursing his fumbling paws and lack of finesse. He pawed at the sand in irritation for a moment before going back to the necklace in annoyance.
He would finish this.
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Posted: Tue Dec 14, 2010 12:01 pm
Ment was hunting for materials of his own again, without Chopoa. He was beginning to worry about the fact his birdie companion hadn't returned home. He was fearful something had eaten her. He hoped nothing had eaten her. He had gotten so used to her presence that the thought of being alone again was not something he could really stand to come to terms with.
Once again lost in his thoughts he had wandered out from Simbafutaji lands into the Rogue Lands. Following the shore as it would lead him. He spotted a shiny looking shell, which looked as if a rainbow was trapped on its surface and picked it up gingerly with his paw. Chopoa would like this. He should make something for Chopoa out of it.
He looked around the sky worriedly, talking to himself loudly, "Chopoa where are you?"
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Posted: Tue Dec 14, 2010 1:21 pm
So if he twisted the knot this way, then the shells should rest more comfortably against the twine -- drat, still not right! With a heavy sigh and a roll of his eyes, Nohokai tossed the necklace away in disgust. How did Sabbia make it seem so easy? He had the hardest time making his big paws do anything for him and it frustrated him to no end.
Ears perked as he heard an unfamiliar voice call out and Nohokai rose to his feet. He didn't move to greet the stranger -- he didn't want to leave his ramshackle necklace behind -- but he did call out a greeting to the stranger.
"Hello?"
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Posted: Tue Dec 14, 2010 1:36 pm
Ment was having a hard time without his Chopoa. He kept getting caught off guard and each time it happened he'd jump ungracefully and whip his head back and forth trying to figure out where the voice was coming from. He hasn't realized how heavily he had depended on Chopoa's eyes to keep him safe until she had left him. Or at least that was what he had gathered. She had been gone for several days now, and he heard no word from anyone about her. He had even started asking any birds he came across.
Once Ment was able to match the voice with the individual, he froze a little. It was a large male lion, green in color who looked a little frustrated and crabby. He hadn't stumbled upon someone who would be aggressive had he? The last thing he wanted was to get into a scuffle, especially with his loot of items at stake.
"Uhm... Hi!" Ment greeted hesitantly, flashing an awkward smile in hopes that he wouldn't be perceived as a threat by the other male, "I'm...uh... Ment! Who're you?"
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Posted: Tue Dec 14, 2010 1:49 pm
"I am Nohokai," he said, looking a bit curious. "You are nearing the lands of the Bahari'Mtoto," Kai continued, watching the stranger with something that wasn't quite wariness -- perhaps it was concern? "Might I ask what a chopoa is?" Perhaps this lion was a bit dim or some such, and Kai felt a pang of compassion for the red-maned fellow. He seemed nice enough, if a bit shook up.
"I mean you no harm," Kai added as an afterthought, dark eyes carefully watching Ment. He tried to keep up the friendly conversation, "I was just trying to craft a necklace and I find my paws too big and clumsy to do so!"
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Posted: Tue Dec 14, 2010 2:28 pm
"Oh, really?" Ment asked, looking quite a bit more relaxed, a grin spreading across his face. That meant he was near Sabbia's pride! He wondered for a moment whether or not she was around. He found this lovely looking piece of 'sun metal' as he called it, and thought she might be interested in trading something for it.
"Do you know Sabbia than? Curly lioness, light green with a brown spot on her nose? I met her recently and was hoping to do some material trades with her for crafting," He explained with a grin.
"Chopoa?" He questioned rhetorically, "Chopoa is my traveling companion. She's a bird. She took off a couple days ago and hasn't been back since..."
Ment looked genuinely concerned about the bird. He didn't want to admit it, but she was quite important in his life now. He knew what friendship was because of her and how lonely his life on the Rogue lands was. He really did hope she was ok.
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Posted: Tue Dec 14, 2010 2:38 pm
Well, that was just kind of strange. Of course Nohokai knew Sabbia, but Ment wouldn't know that. He brightened at the topic of crafting and trading materials. "Yes, I know Sabbia. She is my mate. It's funny that you should mention her - and the material trade - as the necklace I was trying to craft is for her." He gave Ment a mournful look as he gestured at the scattered bits of mother of pearl and other shells.
"I know this might be forward of me, and I understand completely if you don't want to, but do you think you could give me some tips on this necklace? I'm getting rather, ehm.. frustrated." Nohokai smiled at Ment and tried to briefly soothe the other lion's worry about his traveling companion.
"As for Chopoa, I am sure she is fine. If she is near here, she has no reason to fear being caught by any one of us."
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Posted: Tue Dec 14, 2010 2:53 pm
Sabbia was his mate? Well... He was glad he didn't mention the fact he thought she was quite pretty, or else he'd probably be starring down the other end of another a** whooping. Why were the women in his life always bringing him some sort of trouble? Chopoa takes off on him, his new female friend had a mate she forgot to mention to him, the one lioness he was actually attracted to in his pride was much older than him and not interested in his 'vigor'. Damn he had the worst luck ever...
"Oh..." He said plainly and looked about at the scattered bits of mother of pearl and such. "Uhm, sure! Here, I've some things with me that can help."
Rummaging around through his little bag that he kept his things in, Ment pulled out a long piece of hide he had created from the skin of one of his kills, he also brought out the pretty 'sun metal' he had been hoping to trade with Sabbia. He figured the fact that she already had a mate meant he couldn't use it as a way to get her interested in dating him, so he might as well use it to help her mate score brownie points.
"The twine you were using is much too dry to hold anything in place. It would have probably broke once it got wet and dried again. This hide I have here should hold for a very long time, and well... this. I call it 'sun metal', because it has the color of the sun in it," He said with a smile.
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Posted: Tue Dec 14, 2010 2:58 pm
Nohokai was very, very pleased at the sight of the 'sun metal' that Ment had with him. It was very shiny, and Kai had never seen anything like it. It almost looked like it would be warm to the touch but when Kai reached out a large paw, he was almost disappointed that it didn't exude heat.
"I think she'll love it," Nohokai purred in excitement, "We don't get sun metal here on the beach.. only feathers and pretty wood, sometimes glass and bones." He looked up at Ment again, a broad smile stretching across his muzzle.
"If you are still interested in materials we have here, I would be happy to offer you some in return of your help. I collect Sabbia many things, and I have a small hoard of pretty rocks and such that you are welcome to pick through. I keep them near here since Sabbia hardly wanders out this far as far as I know, and keeping things hidden means she's less likely to find it."
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Posted: Tue Dec 14, 2010 3:25 pm
"It's not necessary," Ment said with a sincere smile. "Sabbia was very kind to me and gifted me with some knowledge of your pride for my own, so if anyone should be returning anything it's my kindness for hers."
"Here. I'll help you work with it," Ment said with a smile, "The sun metal is a little easier to work with than the sea shells, because even if you put lots of force on it it doesn't tend to break like the shells. It bends, so you can bend it back and forth."
Ment helped Nohokai gather up the materials he had been using to make Sabbia's gift and together they sat where Nohokai was working. He brought out more hide and some other little things he had gathered that he thought Nohokai might like for Sabbia and showed them to him, letting him pick and choose what he wanted from his stock. Ment didn't often do a lot of nice things like this for people he met, but that was generally because of his experience in the Rogue Lands. Here, in pridal lands so many things were different, and co-existing and making friends with the local populations was essential to harmonious living. At least, that's what Chopoa had always told him.
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Posted: Tue Dec 14, 2010 3:35 pm
Nohokai chuckled softly and dipped his head in acknowledgment of Ment's kindness. He watched attentively and with the same awe he had when he watched Sabbia craft her goods. He fell silent and merely watched, voicing opinions when he was obligated to. He tried to pick things that he thought Sabbia would like, and hoped she would be thrilled when she saw it. He would gift it to her when everything was said and done and she was properly moved in with him in his den, just as he planned.
The duo worked long hours together, piecing together the necklace as the sun shifted across the sky.
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