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 Posted: Sat Apr 09, 2011 9:58 pm
 Dru saw it from afar and knew she had to copy it. Mom couldn't hunt and pounce like that, but it would be cool to be able to do it anyway. But how? How was Dru going to get up into a tree to pounce whoever or whatever walked under her.
Dru had watched as carefully as she could and later when her sisters and her brothers and Auntie Keene and Mom were busy, she snuck away, and was actually able to climb the tree. It wasn't easy, but she could do it, and it would be easier next time.
She could pounce from above! She'd be the best pouncer of her brothers and sisters who still hid in the grasses, and not very well either. She'd have to show Mura, though, since Mura stood out so much. Once Mom and Auntie Keene let her pounce again, anyway.
Dru lounged on her tree branch happily. At first. And then she grew bored. And tired. And noticed a problem. How was she supposed to get down? She had seen the leopard climb the tree, and pounce from the tree, but hadn't figured out how to climb down.
She was stuck.
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Posted: Sat Apr 09, 2011 11:06 pm
Rei wasn’t in a particular good mood after the encounter with the little odd cub who told him to go away. He supposed he’d found her amusing in a way but it was the second time he’d met a cub who had threatened to get an adult to give him a beating and the idea wasn’t that appealing to begin with and repetition hardly made it easier to take. She was cute though, he had to admit and she’d probably just been a little frightened.
Trying to see things from the little girl’s perspective made it easier to accept but he was still a bit annoyed at the way he’d been told to leave. He was still too close to the white cub’s location but he stopped to look a tree for a few seconds. A nap in the shade sounded like a great idea but he didn’t want to risk meeting the cub again - or her mother! So it was with a good amount of regret that Rei simply sighed as he gave the tempting tree one last glance before turning to leave.
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Posted: Sat Apr 09, 2011 11:20 pm
She was going to have to jump down, and possibly break a paw or something, but that was the only way to get down. Especially as no one was coming over to get pounced. And she wouldn't be missed for a few hours, until Mom brought in a meal.
Dru rocked on her branch as close to the ground as she could get. One . . . . Two . . . . Three! . . . . . She was still in the tree. Dru collasped back onto the think part of the branch where she could rest comfortablely. It just wasn't practical. How was she going to drag her broken and bloodied body back to the den? To Mom and Keene? And what was she going to tell them? That she was stuck in a tree? And had to jump out. And didn't land on her paws. Or landed wrong.
Dru thought for a moment. She could always scream for Mom or Auntie Keene, but would they hear her. Would anyone else hear her? A bad guy? A Stranger Danger? Dru sighed. She had gotten herself into a fine mess. And then she spotted the big fluffy male lion. Maybe he could help? But he was a stranger and all . . . But what other choice did Dru have? None. "Hello!" She called, not showing any sign of stress. Maybe she could find out if he was a strangerdanger, and if he was she could stay in the tree where he couldn't reach her and scream for Mom to come and get her. That sounded like a plan.
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Posted: Sat Apr 09, 2011 11:30 pm
Hello? Rei looked around, visibly confused. He’d been quite sure that no one was around. There were scents in the area, of course, but he’d assumed they belonged to the cub he’d seen before or another member of her family who had passed through earlier. Oddly enough, the sound seemed to be strangely… high.
But he could definitely detect the youth in the little voice so his eyes travelled through the ground, taking in every bit of grass, the small bushes and rock formations. He couldn’t spot anyone.
“Hello…?” he asked inquisitively, ears turning around as he searched for the origin of the voice. “You can come out, I’m not going to hurt you.”
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Posted: Sat Apr 09, 2011 11:43 pm
Dru watched the big fluffy male, tilting her head at his odd behavior. Why was he looking around on the ground? Did he lose something and wanted it found?
Oh! He was looking for her. Dru bit back a laugh and smiled. She started to lick her paws. Whether or not she was going to be rescued from being stuck in the tree, Dru was not going to be all pathetic about it. She would look cool and calm.
"Unless, you have a odd desire to be pounced from above, I don't think I should come out." Dru watched the male as she licked between her small claws. She could probably pounce him, but he wasn't being truthful about not wanting to hurt her, then she'd be in trouble, so she stayed where she was. Thank you. At least she was sure she could trust him.
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Posted: Sat Apr 09, 2011 11:51 pm
Above? Rei followed the sound up the tree trunk and all the way to the foliage, moving in to take a closer look. It wasn’t long until he spotted the small feline.
“Oh, there you are. I was starting to think I was hearing things.” He laughed a little until he noticed her lion-ish features and her leopard tail. She definitely looked related to that other cub. Perhaps the conversation would go smoother with this one though. “So little leopard, aren’t you a little small to be practicing climbing?”
The orange lion sat down, hoping that the gesture would make him look friendly instead of intimidating. She'd called for him so she probably felt safe enough on the tree branch. Safe enough to have a little chat with him.
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Posted: Sun Apr 10, 2011 12:05 am
"It was an attempt to pounce. But no one came over to be pounced. Except you. And I don't know you. So you don't get pounced." Dru told him as if she wasn't stuck. It wasn't very practical though to reveal her vulnerable position. Especially with a big fluffy male. Though he did look like a bad guy. But Auntie Keene said that strangerdanger often didn't look like strangerdanger. So she wasn't tellin'. Not until she was sure. And maybe she'd like it up in the tree, with someone to talk to. Though he called her small.
And a leopard. "I'm not a leopard though."
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Posted: Sun Apr 10, 2011 12:16 am
“Is that so…? I guess I am lucky then. But does that mean you’ll drop on me the minute I introduce myself?” Rei laughed again. This one was kind of interesting. So sure of herself! Which was adorable because she was still so tiny.
“Not a leopard?” he’d gotten the same answer from the other cub. Sure, she did lion-ish but there was no mistake about that tail! He gave her a closer look. She had the same blue eyes of the other cub and a good deal of white on her coat. Other than that, they weren’t that similar and it didn’t take long for Rei to give up on the little riddle. “Then what are you?”
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Posted: Sun Apr 10, 2011 8:09 pm
Dru would have pounced deseparately, but no not on a stranger. "Just because you tell me your name, doesn't mean I know you." She told him wisely. She had listened to Auntie Keene when she had explained strangerdanger. Strangers lied if they were bad. Dru had to determine whether or not this one was bad, though she didn't think he was, but still. Dru thought the male was rather silly. Maybe all males were either silly or bad. Auntie Keene's male that sometimes came around was silly. Her brothers were silly. So if the male proved to be like them, then he couldn't be bad. Right? "But I might pounce you if I get to know you."
She shrugged when he asked what she was if not a leopard. "I am Mom's cub. One of them. And Mom is a warrioress and huntress, so I am a little huntress and will one day be a warrioress like Mom." She confided in the male. She was proud of being one of Mom's little warriors and hunters. That's way she wanted to pounce from a tree. To be a better huntress than a little huntress. And maybe learning to see when a stranger was bad would make her a better warrior one day.
Dru tilted her head at the big fluffy male. Yep, she would talk with him for more knowledge and to hone her ablility to dedact bad stranger from okay stranger from friend. Though her only friends were her siblings, Auntie Keene and her male. But Dru would have friends once she found some. "What are you?"
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Posted: Sun Apr 10, 2011 8:34 pm
“Mmm… yes, I see your point.” Rei said seriously, doing a ridiculous amount of effort not to smirk at the clever little thing. “It’s a dilemma then. Maybe I shouldn’t let you get to know me. That way I won’t get pounced on, right?”
“I met a cub just before. She told me something similar about her mother being a lioness and a warrior. I think she’s your sister... She was white and pink.” They didn’t really look that similar but there was a faint resemblance, after all. They both looked like odd lion-ish leopards. And they’d both said their mother was a warrior. And they were both in this area. There was no way they weren’t related.
“Me? I’m a lion, of course. I have a mane. Cheetahs and leopards don’t have manes. Is your mother a lioness?” maybe he could get a straighter answer from someone who wasn’t terrified of him.
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Posted: Sun Apr 10, 2011 8:53 pm
Dru shrugged as well as she could stuck up in her tree and started to lick her paw again. "If that is you decision, then I won't stop you from being dull." She needed to get out of this tree and she really didn't want to jump out without landing on something to pounce, but if she had to she would. As soon as this big fluffy male decided to leave. Especially if he didn't want to help her by letting her pounce. She had all but begged him to let her pounce him, but he was an adult and she'd forgive him. Maybe. If it really did turn out that he wasn't a strangerdanger. But how was she going to figure that out without getting to know him?
"Yes, that was my sister." She stopped licking her paw and frowned at him. "She got into a little bit of trouble recently, but she is the cutest!" Dru admitted preening with love for Mura. She loved Tachio. And Mura. And her brothers. They were hers. But Dru felt that Mura was the cutest. While Tachio had the best personality. Kora, one of their brothers was the most serious.
At the male's question, Dru gave a laugh and said, "Of course, Mom is a lioness. What would she be? A jackal? That would just be silly." She pictured Mom as a jackal and giggled again. Silly couldn't be bad. Could it?
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Posted: Sun Apr 10, 2011 9:03 pm
“Well, I certainly don’t wish to be dull!” Rei laughed quite loudly this time. It was true, cubs said the funniest things!
“Trouble? I hope she didn’t get hurt.” He said more seriously, thinking of the little white and pink girl. It would explain why she had been so scared of him. At least she didn’t appear to be injured and he hadn’t spotted any scars on her pretty coat.
“But is she your real mother? Do you look like her?” The other cub had seemed a bit offended by this subject so Rei added his thoughts quickly. “You and your sister have leopard tails, that’s why I’m curious…”
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Posted: Sun Apr 10, 2011 9:20 pm
Ha laughed not like a strangerdanger. Or what Dru imaged a bad guy would laugh like. And he was concerned for Mura. So he couldn't be that bad. Stranger or not. He had to have some good. She just had to be sure. And then she could be practical. "She's fine. She won't make the same mistake again."
Then he asked if Mom was her real mom. She gave a little hurt hiss and scrambled higher in her tree. "You are being mean. I do not want to pounce you." Real mother. As if Mom was a fake mom. Who would be her real mom if not Mom. "We look like her. I don't have Mom's pink, that's all." She was pouting. Maybe her instincts were really off. She didn't think he was mean at first, but he was. "And we have no dad. We just have Auntie Keene, Mom, and Auntie Keene's male."
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Posted: Sun Apr 10, 2011 9:36 pm
Oh dear, he’d really done it now…
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean… I didn’t mean to offend you.” But she said she didn’t have her mother’s pink so she could be adopted… and yet the other cub did have a good deal of pink. Oh, this was so confusing! He moved a little closer to the tree trunk, trying to look appeasing.
“It’s just that I’ve never seen a lion cub without the tail tuft… Does your mother have it?” Okay, maybe he should stop with the questions when they were obviously bothering the cubs he’d met. “Anyway, I should get going. Is there anything I can do for you?”
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Posted: Sun Apr 10, 2011 9:54 pm
"Yes! Mom's a Lioness! And I don't think I want your help now." Dru blurted out. She could climb higher, but why couldn't she climber lower? And why did this mean stranger have to be the only one around.
Maybe be stuck in her tree really wouldn't all that bad after all. She could hide from mean fluffy males. Maybe that's way Mom didn't have her own male. They could be silly sometimes, but then they turned and was mean. Really mean. And Mom being a warrioress couldn't stand it. Was their dad mean? Why did their dad have to be mean, that Mom didn't want them to be around him? Why didn't Dru have Mom's tail?
She felt very sad, and sniffled as softly as she could. She didn't want to cry, especially in front of the mean fluffy male. Maybe she could grow into her tree and make friends with the birds that will eventual perch on it. Could they carry food to her? She'd have to ask one of them.
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