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 Posted: Sat Mar 12, 2011 3:37 pm
A week had passed since Rei had left the Pridelands and things couldn’t be better... at least that’s what he’d tried convinced himself. He couldn’t deny that he missed Mzuza and the beautiful lush lands where he'd been living with the beautiful lioness. And that little snot Akairo and his wolf. And Mzuza. Well, mostly just Mzuza. It was easier to pretend when he kept moving forward like he was doing at the moment or when he had the good fortune of meeting someone friendly but when the night fell and he was left alone as everything around him grew quiet, the orange lion couldn’t deny that he fell something missing.
His purple eyes rose to the sky and he smiled. It was a beautiful day and he was a young and healthy lion with no obligations or attachments to tie him down and a multitude of paths ahead of him. Yep, he was just fine! Now if only he could find someone around these lonely parts. He could certainly use a bit of a chat to liven up the day.
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Posted: Tue Mar 15, 2011 12:58 pm
 Slausale was napping. She'd found a small, but somewhat shadowy spot. It was cool enough to doze comfortably in. The cheetah had been walking relentlessly all day. Walking because running was hard on her bad leg. Even through walking, it ached now. She wanted nothing more than lay here and rest it.
With her eyes mostly closed, she contemplating setting up a lunch ambush. Ambush was the easiest way for her to hunt. Never could she chase down anything fast since she'd broken her back leg as a juvenile. Instead she'd had to learn an alternative method for hunting. Countless times she'd been mocked for not being a 'proper' cheetah.
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Posted: Tue Mar 15, 2011 1:43 pm
Rei barely noticed the female cheetah as he trotted right past her with light steps. Only after, when the gentle breeze brought him the scent of the other feline did he stop to look around.
“Hello?” He didn’t see her right away but he could definitely smell her now. He tried to sound as friendly as possible. After all, a bit of company was exactly what he had been hoping and the distraction would be most welcome. “Is anyone here?”
Even though he was aware of her presence, it would probably be less intimidating if the other cat was the one to show herself instead of having the lion sniff her out.
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Posted: Tue Mar 15, 2011 5:18 pm
Slausale heard the voice and bolted, all be it awkwardly, to her feet. She looked wide eyed at the lion. Oh no! Oh no! There hadn't been a lion here before. How did he get there without her noticing. She was quiet easily panicking.
"N-no!"her voice quavered, "no one's here. Go away!" She hoped that would work. Please let it work! What could he want from her anyhow? Slausale didn't have a kill of any kind.
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Posted: Tue Mar 15, 2011 5:56 pm
What was… that? Rei watched as the shape of a female cheetah rose from the tall grasses – such interesting markings! - but looked somewhat baffled by her greeting. And amused. Well, very amused. If she wanted to go unnoticed, he’d expected her to remain quiet until he left or at least to simply tell him to do so. To be told that there was no one there by… well, obviously someone… well, he hadn’t expected that.
“No one, huh? Are you sure?” he asked, looking around at nowhere in particular while keeping the female on his peripheral vision only. She seemed scared of him which was only normal and while he assumed she could probably outrun him easily, he had the decency to take a couple of steps away from the cheetah before promptly sitting down to look at the sky. Maybe she had cubs or a kill nearby. Or maybe she was just scared of lions. Either way, he didn’t intent on mentally torturing her, playfully or not. “Sorry if I scared you, I just haven’t seen anyone in a while so I was a little happy when I caught your scent.”
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Posted: Sun Mar 20, 2011 2:12 pm
Oh no! It's not going to work.
"Com-completely! Sure, nope no one here." Her paws shifted slightly nervous. It didn't make sense. He wasn't looking at her. Could he really beleive? For a moment Slausale hoped. He even moved away some.
She knew that he could still easily catch her if he wanted. Maybe she didn't have to let him know. Instead of walking closer or further, the cheetah sat back down.
"You..... you're happy?" Utter bafflement. How could the lion be happy to find her? He said he hasn't seen anyone, that must mean he was hungry and intended to eat her. Slausale almost tried to bolt right then. Only knowing if she took off would he see her limp.
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Posted: Sun Mar 20, 2011 10:16 pm
“Mmm? Of course I was. I love roaming around but it does get a little lonely sometimes.” He smiled, still avoiding eye contact of any kind. “So I was really happy when I thought I’d found someone to talk to.”
He looked down, apparently focused on the pointless task of shuffling the dirt and playing with the pebbles. But he was curious as to what the cheetah girl was thinking, how she was reacting to his words and what else he could tell her in order to ease her worry. She still sounded a bit fearful.
“Am I the only one? Don’t you get lonely?” the way he was looking at the ground, it almost looked as if he was talking at the grass between his paws.
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Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2011 2:17 pm
Slausale had a chocie to make. He didn't sound mean to her; in fact he sounded lonely. She couldn't believe she might be the only one around for him to talk to. Her ears gave a small twitch.
"Lonely? No, not really." Most of the time, she was too busy reminicing her lot in life to be lonely. Slowly she got up again, trying to disguise her limp as best she can, and came much closer. After all, what was as the worst he could do? Kill her of course. But if he wanted to do that there was no way she could possibly stop him.
"What are you doing way out here?"
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Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2011 8:23 pm
“Really. Mmm, maybe it is just me.” Rei said slowly, settling his paw down. He watched her slow approach for his peripheral vision, unable to detect anything usual. Just a cheetah girl whose trust he was slowly earning. Was it too soon to make eye contact?
“I left my family to visit the pride of my ancestors.” And that was one topic he’d rather avoid. It still wasn’t easy to talk about all he was missing whether he liked to admit it or not. Instead of turning his whole body to face the cheetah, Rei craned his neck up and to the side until his gaze met hers. Oh, she was pretty!
“And if it isn’t strange too to introduce myself to someone who isn’t really here, I’m Rei!” He said cheerfully, holding back a wink. Too soon? Yeah, probably.
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Posted: Thu Mar 24, 2011 8:51 pm
Slausale wondered. Was there something wrong with his head? Oh no, maybe he was mentally unstable and went on killing sprees. She nearly moaned in horror. Her out here alone with him. She was doomed!
He left his family; more like they ran him off to same themselves. Drove him out here to die. She coughed. "Ah, ancestors. They can be fun to meet. I mean the living ones of course." She blinked, panicked, hoping what she said wouldn't set him off.
Trying to appear confident she sat down a couple feet away. Slausale coughed. "Um..... I'm Slausale." Long pause. "Its.... uh..... nice to meet you Rei." Oh dear oh dear. What did she just get herself into?
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Posted: Thu Mar 24, 2011 9:08 pm
“Ah, yes, I assumed you were taking about the living. I haven’t met any dead ones yet…” Rei said with a laugh. He decided to lie down leaning sideways in a very leisurely pose as if getting ready for a nap but he was facing the cheetah now, slowly realizing she was still kind of jumpy. Easy does it, one little step at a time. “I did enjoy my time there. The Pridelands are really something.”
“I’m going to have to hunt later today. Have you seen any herds nearby?” Yes! Perfect idea. A little idle chit-chat. That should calm her down a little. Right? Now that he was really looking at her, he could see her interesting markings more clearly. She was quite pretty for a cheetah. Now, Rei had never really shown much interest in other felines but he had to admit she was rather lovely.
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Posted: Sun Mar 27, 2011 2:15 pm
The cheetah chuckled nervously. "Not meeting them yet, is kinda good right? No... no point in rushing things after all." Slausale felt like hyperventalating. Did lions have ghosts? What if Rei sent his ghostly ancestors after her?! She'd never get rid of them. They'd probably lead her off a long drop cliff.
She watched him lay down. He was clearly calm. Slausale felt slightly better. There was no way he could pounce on her from there without giving some warning first. She took the chance to look over his unmarked coat. It was interesting.
"Really? I've never been to the Pridelands. Those are one of those lion filled spots isn't it?" She did not want to head right into a clan of lions. They'd rip her apart first and ask questions later.
She blinked. He was going hunting? And he asked about herds? Did he mean herd of cheetahs? Slausale gulped. Hopefully not. She tilted her head as though thinking. Being unable to chase the larger game, she didn't often pay attention to it; except to stay out of its way.
"Um maybe. There might be a decent size wildebeast herd over that'a way. Near a waterhole I think." Oh what a happy day it would be to have a mouthful of such an animal. Her mouth started to salivate. A strong lion like him probably needed a lot of food. He'd surely hog it all to himself.
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Posted: Mon Mar 28, 2011 7:01 pm
Completely oblivious to the cheetah’s thoughts and worries – the orange lion actually believed he was doing a pretty good job at calming her down! – Rei laughed at her remark.
“Mmm, the Pridelands are pretty big. Dozens and dozens lions.” Rei said lightly. “It’s one of the biggest prides I’ve seen. And quite beautiful, too.”
He took the new information, carefully considering his hunger against the desire to continue talking with a pretty girl. Knowing there was a water source nearby was a rather encouraging incentive.
“Oh wildebeest, nice! Let’s hope they haven’t moved yet… did you see any easy targets?” He wasn’t really that hungry, a big calf would do nicely. But perhaps he could catch something bigger and invite Slausale for a meal… hopefully she wouldn’t just assume he had second intentions.
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Posted: Sun Apr 03, 2011 2:45 pm
Slausale shook her head. "No. Not big enough if I'll run into scores of lions!" She gave a delicate shudder. The horrors she might begin to see there couldn't even be put into words for her. Big meant bad. Beautiful lions could still be bad lions. Not a place for the likes of her.
She stared at him. The excitement about wildebeest was easy enough to read. How often did this lucky lion get a chance to hunt them? "Are... are you going to go back to them?" It was back for her, but maybe not him. She never bothered going back because of large prey. A cough of embarrassment escaped when he asked about easy target.
"I... um... They stayed pretty far away from me, so I couldn't tell." What was the point in looking for easy targets when she couldn't even catch them? Slausale didn't want to tell him, that she hadn't even bothered to look. At least if he left she might be able to make a slow escape before he thought about her again.
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Posted: Mon Apr 04, 2011 12:01 pm
“They’re pretty friendly there.” Rei said with a chuckle. “They teach their young about the value of peace and the respect for all creatures. The Circle of Life.” He seriously doubted Slausale would ever be considered a threat by anyone’s standards and would no doubt be well treated even by the grumpiest of Scouts at the border. She seemed to be the type to evoke the desire to protect rather than harm as far as the orange lion could tell.
“Mmm, shame. You know, I wasn’t really that hungry, but talking about herds and targets has a way of playing with one’s appetite.” He laughed, clearly amused, looking far into the distance almost as if expecting to see the herd the pretty cheetah had told him to look for. He doubted she’d just go with him and help him catch something… he still felt he needed to prove he didn’t have ill intentions of any kind. “But I feel terribly for just leaving so abruptly so I have an idea… I’ll go hunt something big. If I’m successful and you see the vultures flocking in that direction, how about you join me?” unless, of course, he suffered some terrible hunting accident and the cheetah found the birds fighting over his remains instead of something slightly more edible. Though the thought brought him more amusement than concern, he (wisely) decided it would be best if he didn’t share it with the jumpy girl who would certainly question his sanity.
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